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Op-Amp Fundamentals
Operational amplifiers, or op-amps for short, got their name from the modules used in analog computers
to perform "operations" such as adding, multiplying and so forth. Now they are integrated circuits for
application as general feedback amplifiers. They seem easy to use, but the many types available and the
great variety of ratings hint that their use requires considerable knowledge and skill, which is very true. In
this page, I will present a dozen or so circuits that will give a good understanding of how to use op-amps
in DC applications, where an oscilloscope is not needed. Most of the really interesting uses of op-amps
involve changing signals, but this topic will be reserved for later.
The power supply for an op-amp is normally bipolar, with voltages above and below ground, called +V
and -V. Most common op-amps can stand up to 36V, or 18V. It is convenient for our experiments to use
12V, which is usually available from multi-ouput power supplies. You can always arrange a bipolar
supply from two ordinary supplies. Ground in this case is merely a voltage between the supply rails, as
they are called, of no special significance. Op-amps have no ground terminal, since this reference is
unnecessary. If you have trouble remembering polarity, have lots of op-amps around, since they are
instantly destroyed by any mistake.
The connections marked + and - are the inputs to the op-amp, and the
connection from the point of the triangle is the output. The output can go from a value near +V to a value
near -V. When the ouput is near one of these limits and can go no farther, it is said to be saturated. You
can short-circuit an output if you want, since it is internally protected against too much current. On the
other hand, the output will handle only up to about 20mA at best. Op-amps are not for power
applications, but can drive a power amplifier (usually transistors) if power is needed. The output is
proportional to the difference in voltage v+ - v- between the two inputs, where v+ is the voltage at the + or
noninverting input, and v- the voltage at the - or inverting input. The voltage gain of the amplifier is
perhaps 100,000 or 100 dB at low frequencies. With such a gain, the voltage between the inputs must be
very small if the output voltage is not to be at saturation. This amounts to a rule: the voltages at the inputs
are equal when a circuit is working properly.
In order to make the voltages at the inputs equal to each other, it is necessary to arrange this by feedback.
All op-amp circuits use feedback, and the properties of the circuit are determined by the feedback, not by
the properties of the op-amp. It's best to study op-amp circuits with no reliance on feedback theory, and to
use the results to understand and appreciate feedback theory instead. Then one can come back with
greater knowledge to handle more difficult cases.
The common-mode input signal is the average of the potentials of the two input connections. Since they
are usually at the same voltage, this voltage is the common-mode input voltage. The op-amp ignores the
common-mode input, and determines its output only by the difference signal. Nevertheless, it is important
to look at the common-mode input voltage and see that it does not leave its permissible range. The
common-mode range of an op-amp is less than from +V to -V, and the op-amp usually does something
unpleasant when the range is exceeded (the 411, for example, goes from a large negative output suddenly
to a large positive output when this happens). Some early op-amps had a very limited common-mode
range. In the LM10 and the 324, the common-mode range goes to -V (as does the output voltage), which
makes these op-amps suitable for a +V to 0 supply.
That the inputs are usually at the same voltage does not mean that they can be connected to each other. If
you do this, the output usually saturates. The voltages must be held equal by the active participation of the
output, acting through the feedback network. The inputs also carry a small dc bias or leakage current that
must have a route to the power supply. With bipolar op-amps, this current is actually the base bias current
for the input transistors, and sometimes has to be considered in the circuit design. JFET's, on the other
hand, have a much smaller input current that is largely leakage, and does not affect the circuit much--
except that it has to have a route to ground. In ordinary circuit analysis, the bias currents can be neglected,
and it can be assumed that the inputs carry no current. Don't forget that this is only approximate!
The most important factor hidden from the casual user of op-amps is the question of stability. Stability is
always important with high-gain amplifiers, and when feedback is applied. The feedback loop can
become the route for a signal to be fed back to the input in the proper phase to cause oscillation, called
instability. Without some care, feedback always results in instability, which is always fatal. The
oscillation can occur either at a higher or a lower frequency than that for which the circuit is designed,
usually higher (like the feedback with a microphone and speaker). With the ordinary op-amps, stability is
guaranteed by making the gain fall off at 20 dB per decade of frequency, beginning at about 10 Hz, so
that the gain of the amplifier falls to unity at around 1 MHz. Unless you have capacitors in unfortunate
places, this guarantees that the circuits you put together will be stable, no matter what you do. What you
pay for this is a severe restriction on the bandwidth of op-amp circuits, and overcoming it is advanced
work.
It may be useful to restate here the assumptions that make the analysis of op-amp circuits easy. First, the
inputs carry no current. Second, proper feedback acts to make the voltages at the inputs equal. To check
that the feedback is proper, suppose the noninverting (+) input to rise slightly in potential. This makes the
output voltage increase; if this increase acts to raise the potential of the inverting (-) input, then the
feedback is correct (negative). Finally, there must always be a conductive path from either input to
ground.
Circuits
You will need, in addition to the bipolar power supply, three op-amps (more if you cannot keep power
polarity straight), two 10k pots, and resistors of 100, 1k, 10k and 100k values. A couple of the circuits
involve transistors, and a 100, 1W resistor is needed as a load in one circuit. Most of the circuits are
simple, but a few can be a challenge. There are two ways to construct a fairly complex circuit on the
breadboard. One way, the one I use, is to wire things in logically, looking up the proper pins at the time.
The other way is to sit down with the pinouts and the circuit diagram and label each connection with its
pin number, then make the connections accordingly, not worrying about what you are connecting. The
first method is faster and more intuitive, while the second can avoid mistakes, especially when you are
dealing with integrated circuits with lots of pins. In either case, the circuit
diagram is the basic reference.
This is the familiar inverting amplifier circuit. The output must strive to keep
the - input at ground whatever voltage you apply at the input. The circuit is
easily analyzed to give a gain equal to the negative of the ratio of the feedback
resistors. In this case, G = -1. Try a few values of the input, positive and
negative, and measure the output voltage. As usual, two meters make this work
much more pleasant. The - input is at ground (which can be verified with your
meter), but connecting it with ground would destroy the functioning. This is
called a virtual ground. If you connect more inputs to it, each with its resistor,
you will get a summing circuit. What is the common-mode input voltage in this circuit?
The feedback is again from the output to the - input, through a voltage divider.
The output strives to hold the - input equal in voltage to the + input, but here the
voltage of the + input is the input to the circuit. This is exactly the same circuit
that we considered in the preceding paragraph, except that the input is now at
the terminal that was grounded there, and the old input is now grounded. This
circuit is as easily analyzed, with the result that the gain is positive, and is 1
plus the ratio of the resistors. So, here we expect a gain of G = +2. Make some
measurements to verify this. What is the common-mode voltage here?
The input resistance of a circuit is the ratio of an applied voltage to the current that results. In the
inverting amplifier, it is equal to the input resistor, while in the noninverting amplifier, it is very large.
However, bias currents must still have a way out (they do not affect the input resistance) even if they are
not appreciable. The output resistance of an amplifier is the ratio of the voltage drop when the amplifier is
loaded, to the current drawn from it. Attach a load of 1k to 10k to the amplifiers above, and see how
much the output voltage drops. The output resistances are very small in either case. The drawback of the
inverting amplifier is the low input resistance, while the drawback of the noninverting amplifier is the
common-mode input.
This circuit is another kind of gain control, where the gain can vary
from -1 to +1. The input impedance is rather low, but the control could
be preceded by a buffer. Also, an amplifier of fixed gain could follow,
so that the gain could be varied from -G to +G.
The previous circuit had the disadvantage that neither terminal of the
load was at ground. Such a load is said to float, and must be allowed to
vary as the circuit requires. The circuit shown at the right has a load
with one terminal grounded, which is usually much more convenient.
This circuit is called a Howland current source. It is not really a very
good current source; even trimming the resistors does not improve it
very much. I found a Norton resistance of about 5k. However, it is
an interesting circuit. The analysis of this circuit can start by assuming
some unknown voltage v at nodes a and b. The feedback will act to
keep these nodes at the same potential, in the usual fashion. Now the
currents in the branches to the left of these nodes can be written down,
and the voltage at the third node, c, can be determined. Now all currents flowing into node b can be
found, and the load current is found to be the input voltage divided by the resistance in the other input, 1k
in this case, provided the ratios of the resistances are equal as shown. Test this circuit to see that is
produces the advertised current in response to the
input voltage.
The important thing to note in this circuit is that the feedback loop is closed around the whole circuit, so
that the output voltage is accurate. The outputs must supply an additional voltage to turn the transistors
on. When the output is 10V, the op-amp is supplying 10.7V (close to saturation). The load in this circuit
is a 100 resistor. With 10V across it, the current will be 100 mA, and it will dissipate 1W. Therefore,
use at least a 1W resistor for the load, not the usual 1/4W resistors, which will certainly get too hot. Test
the circuit, observing that you can get more than 20 mA output, and that the output can swing both
positive and negative.
Take a 324 op-amp and connect +5 and ground as power. The connections are rather
unexpected, so take care. The +5 seems to me to be on the wrong side! Note how the
power supply is represented in a circuit diagram when necessary. Usually, the power
supply is not shown explicitly. Construct a unity-gain buffer as shown, and feed it
with a potentiometer also connected between +5 and ground. Find the range of the
output voltage (or common mode range). I found 0 to 3.89V. The range 0 to V - 1.5V
is guaranteed in the specifications. It is quite remarkable that the op-amp will operate on such a small
voltage, and that both the common mode and the output voltage range go to zero.
Here is another test circuit, while you have a 324 connected to +5. It is a
voltage to current converter driving an LED. Measure the voltages at nodes
a, b and c and consider them. I did not get the voltages at nodes a and b
quite equal; this is probably a result of an input voltage offset, or bias
currents. The 324 has a bias current of about 1 A, which I determined by
experiment on a sample.
References
1.- J. R. Hufault, Op Amp Network Design (New York: John Wiley and Sons, 1986). An
extensive collection of practical op-amp circuits, with many excellent hints and ideas. On
p. 136, the polarity of the inputs of the upper op-amp is reversed.