EMT 359/3

ANALOG ELECTRONIC
II

CHAPTER 2:
OP-AMP APPLICATIONS &
FREQUENCY RESPONSE
Content
1. Op-amp Application
 Introduction
 Inverting Amplifier
 Non-inverting Amplifier
 Voltage Follower / Buffer Amplifier
 Summing Amplifier
 Differencing Amplifier
 Integrator
 Differentiator
 Comparator
 Summary
2. Frequency Response
Op-amp Application
 Introduction
Op-amps are used in many different applications. We
will discuss the operation of the fundamental op-amp
applications. Keep in mind that the basic operation
and characteristics of the op-amps do not change —
the only thing that changes is how we use them
Inverting Amplifier

 Circuit consists of an op-amp and three resistors.

 The positive (+) input to the op-amp is grounded through R2.
 The negative (-) input is connected to the input signal (via
R1) and also to the feedback signal from the output (via RF).
Inverting Amplifier

V-

V+

 Assume that amplifier operates in its linearly

amplifying region.
 For an ideal op-amp, the difference between the input
voltages V+ and V to the op-amp is very small,
essentially zero; V   V   0 V  V 
Inverting Amplifier

V-

V+

 Hence; Vin  V  Vin

iin  
R1 R1
Inverting Amplifier
 The op-amp input resistance is large, so the current
into the +ve and –ve op-amp inputs terminal will be
small, essentially zero
V   Vout  iin RF

 Vin  V 
V  Vout  RF
R1
V 0
Vin
 Vout  RF
R1
Vout RF
Av  
Vin R1
Inverting Amplifier
 Currents and voltages in the inverting op-amp
Inverting Amplifier - Example
 Design an inverting amplifier with a specified
voltage gain.
Specification: Design the circuit such that the
voltage gain is Av = -5. Assume the op-amp is
driven by an ideal sinusoidal source, vs = 0.1sin wt
(V), that can supply a maximum current of 5 µA.
Assume that frequency w is low so that any
frequency effects can be neglected.
Inverting Amplifier – T-Network

R2 R3 R3
Av   (1   )
R1 R4 R2
Non-Inverting Amplifier
 Circuit consists of an
op-amp and three
resistors.
 The negative (-) input to
the op-amp is grounded
through R1 and also to
the feedback signal from
the output (via RF).
 The positive (+) input is
connected to the input
signal.
Non-Inverting Amplifier
 Input current to op-
amp is very small.
No signal voltage is
created across R2 and

hence V  vin
 V   V so it follows
that;
 V   vin
Non-Inverting Amplifier
 I   0soRF and R1
carry the same
current. Hence vout is + +
V
related to V through a -
V
voltage-divider I
-

relationship
 R1
V  vout
R1  RF
R1
vin  vout
R1  RF
vout RF
Av   1
vin R1
Non-Inverting Amplifier
 The output has the same
polarity as the input,
 a positive input signal produces
a positive output signal. +
+
 The ratio of R1 and RF V
determines the gain. V
-
 When a voltage is applied to the I
-

amplifier, the output voltage

increases rapidly and will
continue to rise until the voltage
across R1 reaches the input
voltage. Thus negligible input
current will flow into the
amplifier, and the gain depends
only on R1 and RF
Non-Inverting Amplifier
 The input resistance to
the non-inverting
+
amplifier is very high V
+

because the input V

-

current to the I
-

amplifier is also the

input current to the
op-amp, I+, which
must be extremely
small.
Non-Inverting Amplifier
v1  v2
v1
i1  
R1
v1  vo
i2 
R2
i1  i2
v1 v1  vo
 
R1 R2
vout R2
Av   1
vin R1
Voltage Follower / Buffer
Amplifier
 This “buffer” is used to control
impedance levels in the circuit
– it isolates part of the overall
(measurement) circuit from the
output (driver).
 The input impedance to the buffer is very high and its
output impedance is low.
 The output voltage from a source with high output
impedance can, via the buffer, supply signal to one or
more loads that have a low impedance.
Voltage Follower / Buffer
Amplifier
 High input impedance. Vout  Vin
 Low output impedance.
Vout
 Voltage gain = 1 Av  1
Vin
Summing Amplifier
 The inverting amplifier
can accept two or more
inputs and produce a
weighted sum.
 Using the same
reasoning as with the
inverting amplifier, that
V ≈ 0.
 The sum of the currents
through R1, R2,…,Rn is:

V1 V2 Vn
iin    ... 
R1 R2 Rn
Summing Amplifier
 The op-amp adjusts if
itself to draw iin
iin
through Rf (iin = if).

Vout  iin R f
 Rf Rf Rf 
 V1  V2  ...  VN 
 R1 R2 RN 
 The output will thus be the sum of V1,V2,…,Vn,
weighted by the gain factors, Rf/R1 , Rf/R2 ….., Rf/Rn
respectively.
Summing Amplifier
 Special Cases for this Circuit:
1. If R1 = R2 =……= R then:
Rf
Vout   VIN 1  VIN 2  .....  VINn 
R1
if

iin
Summing Amplifier
2. If R1 = R2 = … = R and VIN1, VIN2, … are either 0V
(digital “0”) or 5V (digital “1”) then the output
voltage is now proportional to the number of (digital)
1’s input.
if

iin
Summing Amplifier - Application
 Digital to Analog Converter
- binary-weighted resistor DAC
Summing Amplifier - Application
 Digital to Analog Converter
- R/2R Ladder DAC
Differencing Amplifier
 This circuit produces an output which is proportional
to the difference between the two inputs
Rf
+
R1 v out   v1  v 2 
v1 R1
- RF +
+
- v out
R1 -
+ RF
v2
-
Differencing Amplifier
 The circuit is linear so we can look at the output due
to each input individually and then add them
(superposition theorem)
R1
+
v1
- RF +
+
- v out
R1 -
+ RF
v2
-
Differencing Amplifier
 Set v1 to zero. The output due to v2 is the same as the
inverting amplifier, so
R1 Rf
v out  2   v2
v1 = 0 R1
RF +
+
- v out
R1 -
+ RF
v2
-
Differencing Amplifier
 The signal to the non-inverting output, is reduced by
the voltage divider:
R1 Rf
+ v in  v1
v1 + R1  R f
- RF v in +
+
- - v out
R1 -
RF
v2 = 0
Differencing Amplifier
 The output due to this is then that for a non-inverting
amplifier:
R1  Rf 
+ + v out 1   1  v in
v1  R1 
- RF v in +
+
- - v out
R1 -
RF
v2 = 0
Differencing Amplifier
Rf
v in  v1
R1  R f
 Rf 
v out 1   1  v in
 R1 
 R f  R f 
v out 1   1   v1
R R R 
 1  1 f 
 Rf 
v out 1   v1
 R1 
Differencing Amplifier

 Rf  Rf
v out 1   v1 v out  2   v2
 R1  R1
 Thus the output is:
Rf
v out  v out 1  v out  2   v1  v 2 
R1
 Thus the amplifier subtracts the inputs and amplifies
their difference.
Differencing Amplifier - Example
 Determine voltage output, vo when vi1=+1 V, vi2=-1V,
R1=R3=10 kΩ, R2=20 kΩ and R4=21 kΩ
 When vi1=vi2=+1V

 Solution: vo=-4.0323
 Solution: vo=0.0323
Integrator

 The basic integrator is easily identified by the

capacitor in the feedback loop.
 A constant input voltage yields a ramp output. The
input resistor and the capacitor form an RC circuit.
Integrator

 The slope of the ramp is determined by the RC time

constant.
 The integrator can be used to change a square wave
input into a triangular wave output.
Integrator

1 1
 The capacitive impedance: X c  
jC sC
Integrator

 The input current:I  Vin   Vout   Vout   sCVout

Ri Xc 1 /sC
Integrator

Vout 1

Vin sCRi
Integrator

 Thus the output in time domain:1 1

Vout 
jRi C
Vin  
Ri C  Vin dt
 Differentiator

V in V out
- +
0 + - 0
t0
t
t0 t1 t2 t0 - t1 t1 t2
V in
0 V out
Differentiator
 The differentiator does the opposite of the integrator
in that it takes a sloping input and provides an output
that is proportional to the rate of change of the input.
 Note the capacitor is in the input circuit.
 The output voltage can be determined by the formula
below:
R dVin
Vout  Vin   RC
1 dt
j C
Comparator
 The comparator is an op-amp circuit that compares
two input voltages and produces an output indicating
the relationship between them.
 The inputs can be two signals (such as two sine
waves) or a signal and a fixed dc reference voltage.
 Comparators are most commonly used in digital
applications.
Comparator
 Digital circuits respond to rectangular or square
waves, rather than sine waves.
 These waveforms are made up of alternating (high
and low) dc levels and the transitions between them.

Transitions "High" dc level

"Low" dc level
Comparator
 Example:
Assume that the digital system is designed to perform
a specific function when a sine wave input reaches a
value of 10 V
Comparator

V ref + Comparator
V
-
Digital
Variable
system
voltage +
source -
V
Comparator
 With nonzero-level +V
detection the voltage
divider or zener diode R
sets the reference
voltage at which the V Z
-
op-amp turns goes to V out
the maximum voltage +
level.
V in

(c) Zener diode sets reference voltage

Comparator

V REF
V in 0 t

+V out (max)
V out 0 t
- V out (max)

Comparator Waveforms
Comparator
 Remember that the comparator is configured in open-loop,
making the gain very high. This is open-loop configuration.
 This makes the comparator very susceptible to unwanted
signals (noise) that could cause the output to arbitrarily switch
states.
Comparator
 If the level of the pulse must be less than the output of a
saturated op-amp, a zener-diode can be used to limit the
output to a particular voltage. This is called output bounding.
 Either positive, negative, or both halves of the output signal
can be bounded by use of one or two zener diodes
respectively
D1 D2
V in R i +V Z 2 + 0.7 V
0
0

- V Z 2 - 0.7 V
Comparator - Application
 Over-Temperature Sensing circuit
Comparator - Application
 Analog to Digital Converter
Summary
 The summing amplifier’s output is the sum of the inputs.
 An averaging amplifier yields an output that is the
average of all the inputs.
 The scaling adder has inputs of different weight with
each contributing more or less to the input.
 Integrators change a constant voltage input to a sloped
output.
 Differentiators change a sloping input into a step voltage
proportional to the rate of change.
 The op-amp comparator’s output changes state when the
input voltage exceeds the reference voltage.
Frequency Response of Op-amp
 The “frequency response” of any circuit is the
magnitude of the gain in decibels (dB) as a function
of the frequency of the input signal.
 The decibel is a common unit of measurement for the
relative magnitude of two power levels. The
expression for such a ratio of power is:
Power level in dB = 10log10(P1/P2)
 Note: A decibel is one-tenth of a "Bel", a seldom-
used unit named for Alexander Graham Bell,
inventor of the telephone.
Frequency Response of Op-amp
 The voltage or current gain of an amplifier expressed in dB is
20 log10|A|, where A = Vout/Vin.
 The frequency response of an op-amp has a low-pass
characteristic (passing low-frequency signals, attenuating
high-frequency signals).
Frequency Response of Op-amp
 The bandwidth is the frequency at which the power
of the output signal is reduced to half that of the
maximum output power.
 This occurs when the power gain A drops by 3 dB. In
Figure shown before, the bandwidth is fc Hz.
 For all op-amps, the Gain*Bandwidth product is a
constant.
 Hence, if the gain of an op-amp is decreased, its
operational bandwidth increases proportionally.
Frequency Response of Op-amp
 Another parameter reflecting the op-amp’s ability to
varying signals is the slew rate. SR  Vo
t
 Slew rate provides a parameter specifying the
maximum rate of change of the output voltage when
driven by a large step-input signal.
 If one tried to drive the output at a rate of voltage
change greater than the slew rate:
 Output would not be able to change fast enough and

would not vary over the full range expected

 Clipping or distortion
Frequency Response of Op-amp
 The maximum frequency at which an op-amp may
operate depends on both the bandwidth (BW) and
SR parameters of the op-amp.
 Sinusoidal signal: vo  K sin(2ft )
 Signal maximum rate of change: 2πfK
 To prevent distortion at the output, the rate of
change must also be less than SR:
SR
f 
2K
SR

K
Example 1
For the signal and circuit below, determine the
maximum frequency that may be used. Op-amp
slew rate is SR = 0.5 V/µs.
Solution
Rf 240k
A   24
R1 10k
K  AVi  24(0.02)  0.48V
SR 0.5
   1.1 106
K 0.48

Since the signal frequency, ω = 300 x 103 rad/s is

less than the maximum value, no output distortion
will result.
Exercise 1
Calculate the output voltage for the circuit below: