AMPLIFIERS AND

GROUNDING
JOSEPH CRAIG DUNGOG
BSME–5
AMPLIFIERS

• What is an amplifier ?

x Signal
A SIGNA
L
A
x
Current
Voltage
 A properties of Op-Amps
OPERATIONAL AMPLIFIER - HIGH GAIN
+V - FEEDBACK CIRCUITS
NON INVERTING - DIFFERENTIAL
INPUT
TERMINAL
INVERTING
V+ INPUT
TERMINAL
Vo
V-

The OUTPUT signal is proportional

V o = A ( (V+) - (V-) )
to the difference in the input signals
-V Where Vo = Output voltage
A = Gain
 V out
+V Saturation

• A  The slope is

V in
Saturation
-V

V out cannot go beyond its power supply voltage

THE IDEAL OPERATIONAL AMPLIFIER

• Is a three-terminal device • Basic building block of Analogue Electronic

Circuit
• Two high impedance inputs • Signal Conditioining
• Filtering
• One non-inverting input (+) • Add
• One inverting input (-) • Subtract
• Integration
• One output can sink and • Differentiation

source either current or

voltage
INVERTING OP-AMP : CLOSED LOOP
 Where Rf = Feedback resistor

Wheren there is a feed back

resistor, the VOLTAGE gain is
set to be a CLOSED LOOP
VOLTAGE GAIN

Where

Since its in the inverting

input terminal, the signal
wave will be 180 degree
inverted
NON-INVERTING OP-AMP : CLOSED LOOP

 Where Rf = feedback resistance

R2 = input resistance

A=

The feedback resistance are still

connected at the output and
inverting terminals

The input signal orientation will

still be the same since its not
inverting the signal
GROUNDING

• “ground” as a concept can be confusing as it relates to three

different situations: chassis ground, signal ground, or earth
ground. All three indicate connecting to a point of
(theoretically) zero voltage, but within a different context:
chassis ground for a device, signal ground for very low
voltage signals within a device, and earth ground for a power
system.
GROUNDING

• COMMON RETURN PATH FOR ELECTRIC CURRENT

• THREE TYPES OF GROUNDING
• EARTH GROUNDING
• SIGNAL GROUND
• CHASSIS GROUND
EARTH GROUND

• Grounding adds a third wire (a ground wire) to provide a path

for current that is unable to complete the circuit. An exposed
conductor wire, for instance, can create a situation where the
current could flow through a person’s body in a path to
ground if not for the ground wire, which instead safely
dissipates the current to the earth and hopefully trips a fuse
due to excessive current draw to earth ground.
EARTH GROUNDING

• Physical connection earth

• Defined as 0 volts
• On electrical devices , it is the third pin on the power plug
• In many circuit diagrams , will use ground to denote as 0v
even there is no actual physical ground connection
SIGNAL GROUND

• A signal ground is a reference point from which a signal is measured.

There may be more than one reference ground in a given circuit. A
clean signal ground, or a ground connection without injected noise, is
essential to electrical equipment that must accurately detect very small
voltage levels or differences, such as those in medical equipment.
When there are multiple paths for electricity to flow to ground, the
duplicate ground paths pick up interference currents and transform the
currents into voltage fluctuations. The ground reference in the system is
then no longer a stable potential and noise becomes part of the signal.
SIGNAL GROUND

• Is used for data transmission lines

• Is generally not connected to the earth
• To isolate it from electrical noice
• To isolate from interference from electric currents
• To isolate from fields in the earth
CHASSIS GROUND

• A chassis ground is a ground-collection point that connects to the

metal enclosure of an electrical device
• A chassis ground may be used for shielding and grounding to
prevent electrical shock
• A chassis ground is typically only made at one point
• This prevents a return current path through an available but undesirable
means and prevents current circulating through the chassis. Current
circulating through the chassis can induce a “ground loop.”
CHASSIS GROUND

• Usually connected to conducting shell or chassis in a

particular piece of equipment
• Battery terminal of a car battery is wired to the metallic shell of the
car

• provides a reference voltage that may or may not be

connected to the earth, although for most high-power
appliances, it usually is.
IMPORTANCE OF GROUNDING

• It is especially important to have earth ground if high voltages are

involved. If electrical equipment has a failed component that causes
the live voltage to come in contact with a conducting chassis, for
example, the equipment may continue to operate due to the internal
isolation of systems, but the first person that touches the chassis
becomes a path to ground and will suffer serious injury or even death.
Even if a fuse is in the path from the live voltage source, it still takes
micro or milliseconds for the fuse to blow and open the circuit,
preventing flow.