COMPARATOR, ZERO

CROSSING DETECTOR AND

SCHMITT TRIGGER
Prepared by: Ms. Nisha G R
Asst. Professor
Dept of EC
VCET Puttur

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Basic Comparator
■ A comparator compares a signal voltage on one input of an op amp with a known voltage
called the reference voltage on the other input. The output may be + or – saturation voltage,
depending on which input is larger.
■ Comparators are used in circuits such as digital interfacing, Schmitt triggers, discriminators,
voltage level detectors and oscillators.
■ Fig1 shows an op amp used as comparator.
■ A fixed reference voltage (V ref) of 1V is applied to the inverting terminal and the other time
varying signal voltage(V in) is applied to the non inverting terminal of the opamp. Because of
this arrangement it is called non inverting comparator.
■ When Vin< Vref, the output voltage(Vo) is at –Vsat (= -VEE) because voltage at inverting
terminal is greater than non inverting.
■ When Vin> Vref, the output voltage(Vo) is at +Vsat (=+Vcc) because voltage at non inverting
terminal is greater than inverting.
■ Thus the Vo changes from +Vsat to –Vsat whenever Vin=Vref.
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• The diodes D1 and D2 protect the
opamp from damage due to excessive
input voltage Vin. Because of these
diodes the difference input voltage
Vid of the opamp is clamped to either
0.7V or -0.7V. Hence the diodes are
called clamped diodes.

The resistance R in series with Vin is

used to limit the current through D1
and D2.

To reduce the offset problem, R is Fig1: Non inverting comparator

connected in series with Vref

• In short comparator is a analog to digital converter. At any given time the Vo waveform shows whether Vin
is greater or less than Vref.
• The comparator sometimes called voltage level detector because for a desired value of Vref the voltage
level of the input Vin can be detected.

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■ Fig1a: If Vref is Positive Fig1b: If Vref is Negaitive

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Inverting Comparator

■ In Inverting Comparator the reference voltage is applied to (+) input and Vin is applied
to (-) input.
■ In this circuit Vref is obtained by using a 10KΩ potentiometer that forms a voltage
divider with the dc supply voltages +Vcc and –Vee and the wiper connected to the (+)
input.
■ As the wiper is moved toward –Vee, Vref becomes more negative, while if it is moved
toward +Vcc, Vref becomes more positive.
■ Thus a Vref of a desired amplitude and polarity can be obtained by simply adjusting the
10KΩ potentiometer.

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 ■ Inverting comparator

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 ■ Input and output waveforms

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Zero crossing detector
 Comparator can be used as a zero crossing detector or sine wave to square wave
converter provided that Vref is set to Zero.
 Output voltage Vo is driven into negative saturation when the input signal Vin passes
through zero in the positive direction.
 Conversely, Output voltage Vo is driven into positive saturation when the input signal
Vin passes through zero in the negative direction.
 Because of the noise at the op-amp input terminals, the Vo may fluctuate between two
saturation voltages +Vsat to –Vsat, detecting zero reference crossings for noise voltages
as well as Vin.
 Both of these problems can be cured with the use of regenerative or positive feedback
that causes the output Vo to change faster and eliminate any false output transitions due
to noise signals at the input.

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 ■ Zero crossing
detector and input
output waveforms

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Schmitt Trigger
■ This circuit converts an irregular shaped waveform to a square wave or pulse. The circuit is known
as Schmitt trigger or squaring circuit.
■ The input voltage Vin triggers the output Vo every time it exceeds certain voltage levels called upper
threshold voltage(UTP), Vut and lower threshold voltage(LTP),Vlt as shown in the fig.
■ These UTP and LTP are obtained by using the voltage divider R1-R2, where the voltage across R1 is
feedback to the (+) input.
■ The voltage across R1 is a variable reference threshold voltage that depends on the value and
polarity of the output voltage Vo.
■ When Vo=+Vsat the voltage across R1 is called UTP. The input voltage slightly more positive than
UTP in order to cause the output Vo to switch from +Vsa to –Vsat.
■ As long as Vin<Vut, Vo is at +Vsat. Using the voltage divider rule,

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Inverting comparator as Schmitt trigger

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 ■ Input output waveforms

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Plot of Hysteresis voltage

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■ Thus if the threshold voltages UTP and LTP are made larger than input noise voltages
the positive feedback will eliminate the false output transitions.

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