Op-Amp Operational Amplifier

Op-Amp name derives from early usage of these elements in performing mathematical operations in analog computers.
Non Inverting Amplifier Inverting Amplifier Adder (and Subtractor using an Inverter)

Differential Amplifier
Integrator

Differentiator

Three Ways to Examine Op-Amp Behavior

Consider as an Ideal Op-Amp Component Consider as a Feedback Model and Examine Behavior Perform Conventional Circuit Analysis

 Differential amplifier is a closed loop amplifier circuit which amplifies the difference between two signals. Such a circuit is very useful in instrumentation systems. Differential amplifiers have high common mode rejection ratio (CMRR) and high input impedance. Differential amplifiers can be made using one opamp or two opamps. Both of these configurations are explained here.

DIFFERENTIAL AMPLIFIER USING ONE OP-AMP

R1 and R2 are the input resistors
Rf is the feedback resistor RL is the load resistor.

The circuit diagram of a differential amplifier using one opamp is shown above

Derivation for voltage gain

When Va is made zero the circuit becomes a non inverting amplifier. Let V1 be the voltage at the non inverting input pin. Relation between Vb and V1 can be expressed using the following equation.

Output voltage Vob due to Vb alone is according to the equation

Let R1 = R2 and R3 =Rf , then

Then overall output voltage is

Therefore overall gain is

DIFFERENTIAL AMPLIFIER USING TWO OPAMPS

R1 is the input resistor for IC1 R3 is the input resistor for IC2. Rf is the feedback resistor RL is the load resistor Va and Vb are the two input voltages applied to the non inverting inputs of IC2 and IC1 respectively V+ and V- are the positive and negative supply voltages. Circuit diagram of a differential amplifier using two opamps is shown below. Main advantage of differential amplifier with two opamps is that it has increased overall gain.

DERIVATION OF VOLTAGE GAIN

The equation for the output voltage V1 of the first opamp (IC1) is as follows.

V1 and Va are the inputs for the second stage (IC2). Output voltage due to Va alone is.

Output voltage due to Vb alone is

Overall output voltage Vo = Voa + Vob

Let R1 = R2 and Rf =R1, then we have

Therefore overall voltage gain Av can be expressed using the equation

The Summing Amplifier

The Summing Amplifier is a very flexible circuit based upon the standard Inverting Operational Amplifier configuration that can be used for combining multiple inputs. We saw previously in the inverting amplifier tutorial that the inverting amplifier has a single input voltage, ( Vin ) applied to the inverting input terminal. If we add more input resistors to the input, each equal in value to the original input resistor, Rin we end up with another operational amplifier circuit called a Summing Amplifier, "summing inverter" or even a "voltage adder" circuit as shown below

The output voltage, ( Vout ) now becomes proportional to the sum of the input voltages, V1, V2, V3 etc. Then we can modify the original equation for the inverting amplifier to take account of these new inputs thus:

However, if all the input impedances, ( Rin ) are equal in value, we can simplify the above equation to give an output voltage of: Summing Amplifier Equation We now have an operational amplifier circuit that will amplify each individual input voltage and produce an output voltage signal that is proportional to the algebraic "SUM" of the three individual input voltagesV1, V2 and V3. We can also add more inputs if required as each individual input "see's" their respective resistance, Rin as the only input impedance. This is because the input signals are effectively isolated from each other by the "virtual earth" node at the inverting input of the op-amp. A direct voltage addition can also be obtained when all the resistances are of equal value and R is equal to Rin.

A Scaling Summing Amplifier can be made if the individual input resistors are "NOT" equal. Then the equation would have to be modified to:

To make the math's a little easier, we can rearrange the above formula to make the feedback resistorRF the subject of the equation giving the output voltage as:

This allows the output voltage to be easily calculated if more input resistors are connected to the amplifiers inverting input terminal. The input impedance of each individual channel is the value of their respective input resistors, ie, R1, R2, R3 ... etc. The Summing Amplifier is a very flexible circuit indeed, enabling us to effectively "Add" or "Sum" (hence its name) together several individual input signals. If the inputs resistors, R1, R2, R3 etc, are all equal a unity gain inverting adder can be made. However, if the input resistors are of different values a "scaling summing amplifier" is produced which gives a weighted sum of the input signals.

Summing Amplifier Audio Mixer

Digital to Analogue Converter

Example No1 Find the output voltage of the following Summing Amplifier circuit.

we can now substitute the values of the resistors in the circuit as follows,

we know that the output voltage is the sum of the two amplified input signals and is calculated as

Then the output voltage of the Summing Amplifier circuit above is given as -45 mV and is negative as its an inverting amplifier.

the Op-amp Integrator is an operational amplifier circuit that performs the mathematical operation of Integration

the voltage on the plates of a capacitor is equal to the charge on the capacitor divided by its capacitance giving Q/C. Then the voltage across the capacitor is output Vouttherefore: Vout = Q/C. If the capacitor is charging and discharging, the rate of charge of voltage across the capacitor is given as:

But dQ/dt is electric current and since the node voltage of the integrating op-amp at its inverting input terminal is zero, X = 0, the input current I(in) flowing through the input resistor, Rin is given as:

The current flowing through the feedback capacitor C is given as:

Assuming that the input impedance of the opamp is infinite (ideal op-amp), no current flows into the op-amp terminal. Therefore, the nodal equation at the inverting input terminal is given as

From which we derive an ideal voltage output for the OP-amp Integrator as:

simplify the math's a little, this can also be rewritten as

Where = 2 and the output voltage Vout is a constant 1/RC times the integral of the input voltageVin with respect to time. The minus sign ( - ) indicates a 180o phase shift because the input signal is connected directly to the inverting input terminal of the op-amp.

The Op-amp Differentiator Amplifier The basic Op-amp Differentiator circuit is the exact opposite to that of the Integrator operational amplifier circuit that we saw in the previous tutorial. Here, the position of the capacitor and resistor have been reversed and now the reactance, Xc is connected to the input terminal of the inverting amplifier while the resistor, R forms the negative feedback element across the operational amplifier as normal. This circuit performs the mathematical operation of Differentiation, that is it "produces a voltage output which is directly proportional to the input voltage's rate-of-change with respect to time". In other words the faster or larger the change to the input voltage signal, the greater the input current, the greater will be the output voltage change in response, becoming more of a "spike" in shape. As with the integrator circuit, we have a resistor and capacitor forming an RC Network across the operational amplifier and the reactance ( Xc ) of the capacitor plays a major role in the performance of aOp-amp Differentiator.

amplifier summing point, X resulting in zero output voltage. The capacitor only allows AC type input voltage changes to pass through and whose frequency is dependant on the rate of change of the input signal. At low frequencies the reactance of the capacitor is "High" resulting in a low gain ( R/Xc ) and low output voltage from the opamp. At higher frequencies the reactance of the capacitor is much lower resulting in a higher gain and higher output voltage from the differentiator amplifier. However, at high frequencies an op-amp differentiator circuit becomes unstable and will start to oscillate. This is due mainly to the firstorder effect, which determines the frequency response of the op-amp circuit causing a second-order response which, at high frequencies gives an output voltage far higher than what would be expected. To avoid this the high frequency gain of the circuit needs to be reduced by adding an additional small value capacitor across the feedback resistor R. Ok, some math's to explain what's going on!. Since the node voltage of the operational

Ok, some math's to explain what's going on!. Since the node voltage of the operational amplifier at its inverting input terminal is zero, the current, i flowing through the capacitor will be given as:

The charge on the capacitor equals Capacitance x Voltage across the capacitor The rate of change of this charge is

but dQ/dt is the capacitor current i

from which we have an ideal voltage output for the op-amp differentiator is given as:

Therefore, the output voltage Vout is a constant -R.C times the derivative of the input voltage Vin with respect to time. The minus sign indicates a 180o phase shift because the input signal is connected to the inverting input terminal of the operational amplifier. One final point to mention, the Op-amp Differentiator circuit in its basic form has two main disadvantages compared to the previous integrator circuit. One is that it suffers from instability at high frequencies as mentioned above, and the other is that the capacitive input makes it very susceptible to random noise signals and any noise or harmonics present in the source circuit will be amplified more than the input signal itself. This is because the output is proportional to the slope of the input voltage so some means of limiting the bandwidth in order to achieve closed-loop stability is required