EE380: Exp.

Measurement of Op-Amp Parameters and Design/

Verification of an Integrator

Introduction: An Opamp is a basic building block of a wide range of analog circuits. To

carry out design of circuits consisting of one or more opamps, a good knowledge of
opamp characteristics is essential. Any element, including an opamp can be modeled in
many different ways. The complexity (and therefore accuracy) of the model required
depends on the nature of the design task at hand. In the initial stages of the design
process, when a new circuit structure is being conceptualized, it is best to use the simplest
model that captures the essence of the circuit element. For example, for an op-amp, an
ideal op-amp model which assumes the following characteristics is commonly used:

Voltage gain ( AV )  
Bandwidth ( fT )  
Input resistance ( Ri )  
Output resistance ( Ro )  0

And others such as infinite common-mode rejection ratio, no limits on input and output
voltages and currents, zero noise etc. In negative feedback the ideal Op-amp has a very
convenient property of virtual ground which provides us with an element that has short-
ckt and open ckt simultaneously between its input terminals. Many interesting circuits
can be designed based on this useful property including an Integrator shown in Fig. 1

+VCC
R
VIN
VO

-VCC Fig. 1

Once a circuit such as the Integrator has been conceptualized , the next step is to proceed
with the design using a more realistic model that approximates closely the behavior of

1
real op-amps. Some of the important features of the model for a real op-amp are
discussed in the next section.

Op-Amp Model : A practical opamp has neither infinite gain and bandwidth nor zero
output resistance. Besides the fact that all these parameters have finite values, there are
several other new parameters which can have a significant impact on the circuit
performance. These include :

Input offset voltage ( V IO ): This parameter highlights a shortcoming in all practical op-
amps namely that even if V  V  0 , the output voltage is not zero. It arises due
imperfect matching of components within the op-amp circuit. Its effect is modeled by
connecting a dc voltage source of value V IO to the non-inverting terminal as shown in
Fig. 2.

VIO Fig. 2

 Input bias current ( I IB ): This represents the base current of the input transistors
inside the op-amp circuit. It is modeled by connecting dc current sources to the inverting
and non-inverting terminals as shown in Fig. 3. The difference of the two bias currents is
called the Input offset current I IO .

IIB-

Fig. 3
IIB+

 Bandwidth ( f T ) : As mentioned earlier, the bandwidth of a real op-amp is finite.

The open loop voltage gain of the amplifier can be described by the relation

2
 AoL (0)
AoL ( f )  (1)
f
1  jAoL (0)
fT

where f T is called the unity gain frequency of the op-amp because the voltage gain
drops to unity at this frequency. Eq. (1) can be used to determine the frequency
characteristics of any op-amp circuit. For example, for an inverting amplifier, the voltage
gain can be shown to have the following relationship with frequency

 R2 R1
AV ( f )  (2)
f
1 j
f
fT
where f 
R
1 2
R1

It is important to remember that virtual ground assumptions are not true whenever
frequency response of op-amp is considered important.

 Slew Rate (SR): This parameter is a characteristics of the large signal transient
response of an op-amp. Normally the transient behavior is governed by the frequency
response characteristics of Eq. (1) but because of internal current limitations there is a
limit to the maximum rate at which the output voltage can change with time. The
dVo
maximum value for is called the slew rate. It is typically measured for an op-amp
dt
in the unity gain mode.

Besides the parameters mentioned above there are several others including limits on the
max. output voltage swing and max. output current which are likely to be important for
Integrator design. The full range of op-amp parameters and their typical values can be
obtained from the data sheets provided by the manufacturer. Data sheet for 741 opamp is
given in the end.

Measurement of op-amp parameters: Design suitable experiments to measure the

parameters mentioned in the previous section for a 741 op-amp provided to you in the
laboratory. Although values for these parameters is provided by the manufacturer, an
effort to design experiments that selects one parameter at a time and magnifies its effect
so that it is measurable at the output besides deepening the understanding also provides
us with a feel for conditions under which these parameters become significant.

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Design of a Practical Integrator: The circuit of Fig. 1 has to be modified in light of the
new information about op-amps mentioned in section 2. In particular, the effect of offset
voltage and bias currents is to force the op-amp in circuit 1 to saturation. This can be
avoided by connecting a resistor across the capacitor as shown in Fig. 4. Design this
circuit for the following specifications:

Specs.: The Integrator is to be used for converting a square wave into a triangular
wave is shown in Fig. 4.

RF

VO
C Vo
+VCC
R
VIN
VO

-VCC Fig. 4

VO
The nonlinearity in the triangle wave (  100 )  5%
VO
Input frequency  100 Hz.
Input voltage =  5 V.
dc offset  5 % of peak output voltage

Design the Integrator so as to maximize the upper limit on the frequency of operation.
The nonlinearity mentioned above refers to the max. deviation (%) of the integrator
output from the value obtained from an ideal Integrator.

The design requires equations that describe the behavior of the Integrator can be
obtained through the well known methods of op-amp ckt. analysis. These are listed at the
end .

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Verification : verify your design through SPICE simulations and through experimental
measurements in the laboratory. Explain any discrepancy observed. The specs.
concerning nonlinearity will be difficult to measure in the lab. Use your subjective
judgement to decide when nonlinearity becomes just visible on the oscilloscope.

Appendix

Design equations

Vo  RF R
 (D1)
Vi 2 
1  j
T o 1
1
o  (D2)
RF C
o
1  (D3)

1  o (1  RF R)
T

RF
Voffset  VIO (1  )  I IB  RF (D4)
R
Vo  VCC  2 (D5)

From the equations given above, derive an expression for nonlinearity so as to carry
out the design.

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 The circuits given below can be used for the measurement of different opamp
parameters:

R2

R1 R

VO
VO

For measurement of Input Offset Voltage For measurement of Input bias current

VO
VO 5

0
VIN Adjust Input frequency such that the required
R output is abtained

For Measurement of Slew Rate

For Meas urem ent of Input Bias Current

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 Simplified Datasheet of 741 Opamp

A741A and A741E

Electrical Characteristics Vs=15V,Ta=25C unless otherwise specified

A741A/E
Characteristics Condition Min Typ Max Unit

Input offset voltage 0.8 3.0 mV

Average input offset 15 V/
voltage drift C
Input offset current 3.0 30 nA
Average input offset current 0.5 nA/C
Drift
Input Bias Current 30 80 nA
Power Supply Rejection VS=+10,- 15 50 V/V
Ratio 20;Vs=+20V
,-10V,Rs=50
Output Short Circuit 10 25 40 mA
Current
Power Consumption Vs=20V 80 150 mW
Input Impedance Vs=20V 1.0 6.0 M
Large Signal Voltage Gain Vs=20V,Rl=2k 50 200 V/mV

Vout=15V
Transient Response 0.25 0.8 s
Rise Time 6.0 20 
(Unity Gain)
Overshoot
Bandwidth 0.437 1.5 MHz
Slew Rate(Unity Gain) Vin=10V 0.3 0.7 V/s

Reference:

(i) “Analysis and Design of Analog Integrated Circuits”, Gray, Hurst, Lewis and
Meyer, pp. 404, John Wiley,2001.
(ii) “Understanding Operational Amplifier Specifications” http://www-
s.ti.com/sc/psheets/sloa011/sloa011.pdf