Operational Amplifiers Types

Objectives:
To analyze an inverting operational amplifier (OPA)
To investigate a non-inverting operational amplifier

Equipments used:

Com 3Lab Master unit

70081OP board
Connecting wires
PC
Multism 8 for circuit drawings

Virtual:

Connecting wires
Operational amplifier
Resistors
Capacitors
Voltmeter
Oscilloscope
Function generator
Bode plot graph

Introduction:
An operational amplifier (OPA) is a very high gain differential amplifier, having very high input
impedance and low output impedance. An OPA contains a number of differential amplifier stages
to achieve a very high voltage gain.OPA can be used as an inverting or non-inverting amplifiers
according to the circuit given. The following figure shows a typical op-amp:

Procedure:
Experiment 3: Inverting OPA:
In the case of an inverting operational amplifier the signal is to be amplified is fed into the
inverting input. So, the output voltage and the input voltage have opposite signs as shown in the
following figure:

Fig. 3.2: Inverting amplifier connection

For the negative feedback idea, through the negative feedback part of the output voltage,Vo , is
led back to the inverting input. This leads to damping of the gain. There is always a negative
feedback in amplifier circuits in order to counteract an oscillation caused by positive feedback.
This is shown in the following figure:

Fig. 3.3 inverting feedback

The positive feedback is meant by connecting part of the output voltage back to the noninverting input that is mostly leads directly to oscillations of an amplifier circuit. This effect is
well known from acoustic feedback.
For calculating the gain of a given circuit, connect the following circuit:

Fig. 3.4: voltage gain calculation

This connection requires for changing 4 resistors Rf1=5.1K, Rf2=10 K, Rf3=300 K and
Rf4=1M, thus for the first two resistors use the function generator as DC voltage 5V and for the
last two resistors use the function generator as DC voltage 0.1V. Then measure the output voltage
and input voltage as shown in the above figure. The values are listed below in table 3.1.

The voltage gain is the ratio of the output voltage and the input voltage:
Vu = Uout / Uin and it is usually is given in the logarithmic ratio units of decibel (dB) and its
function is vu = 20

( Uout
Uin )

log

= 20

log ( Vu )

Note that the frequency dependence of the gain is called the transfer function that describes the
ratio of the output and input signals at various frequencies in a linear system.
Connect the circuit below:

Fig. 3.5: Calculating the voltage gain

Since the input voltage has a low difference, the inverting input or the negative input is almost
grounded. This means the drop voltage at Rn corresponds to the input voltage and the voltage
drop at Rf1 to the output voltage.
Thus we can say the voltage gain is Vu = Uout / Uin = URfi / URn = - Rfi / Rn
For the above circuit, Rn = 10 K and Rfi = (5.1 K, 10 K, 300K, 1 M)
Also as the same before, the connection requires for changing 4 resistors R f1=5.1K, Rf2=10 K,
Rf3=300 K and Rf4=1M, thus for the first two resistors use the function generator as DC
voltage 5V and for the last two resistors use the function generator as DC voltage 0.1V.
Thus the values of the voltage gains for the above two circuits are given in the following table:
Table 3.1: Voltage gain values

Rfi /
5.1 K
10 K
300 K
1M

Uin / V
9.97
9.97
0.096
0.097

Uout / V
-5.1
-10.02
-2.96
-10.02

Vu
-0.511
-1.005
-30.833
-103.29

Vu (dB)
-5.822
0.043
29.78
40.281

URn / V
9.97
9.97
0.096
0.096

URfi / V
-5.09
-10.00
-2.88
-9.13

Rfi / Rn
0.51
1
30
100

After analyzing the table, URn = Uin and Urfi = Uout for Rf1 and Rf2 also for Rf4 the magnitude differs
form that of Uout significantly.

Thus the gains should be equal in both experiments. For higher gians this is not the case here
because of the internal resistance of the multimeter. The internal resistance of the multimeter is
connected in parallel to the feedback resistance R fi, which results in a reduction of the feedback
resistance and of the gain.The internal resistance of the multimeters is approximately 9.2 M.
Then the gain is reduced from 100 to about 90 in case of Rf4.

The following circuit represents what is written above:

Fig. 3.6: The result of the two experiments

Table 3.2: Comparing the gains

Rfi /
5.1 K
10 K
300 K
1M

Vu
-0.511
-1.005
-30.833
-103.29

Vu (dB)
-5.822
0.043
29.78
40.281

URn / V
9.97
9.97
0.096
0.096

URfi / V
-5.09
-10.00
-2.88
-9.13

URfi / URn
-01
-01
-30
-95

Rfi / Rn
0.51
1
30
100

Thus the two gains Vu and URfi / URn are fairly good agreement for Rf1 and Rf2 and also for Rf4 a
stronger deviation of the gains is observed.
Now connect the following figure:

Fig. 3.7: Amplitude frequency response for Rf3

The above circuit is connecting Rf3 = 300 K as a feedback resistor. The internal capacitance
leads to a reduction of the gain with increasing frequency. At the cutoff frequency, which the
magnitude of the transfer function has fallen by -3 dB compared with its maximum value, the
gain of the OPA has fallen by a factor of 1/

0.707 ( -3 dB) compared with its maximum

value. Without frequency dependent external circuit elements, the OPA has its maximum gain in
the case of direct voltage.
After using the Bode plot the following graph is obtained:

Fig. 3.8: Frequency response graph

The Bode plot is adjusted for Fmin / Hz = 1000 and Fmax / Hz = 100000 with steps of 50 and Upp/V
is 0.1 V with log scale. From the graph, the cutoff frequency = 19.456 KHz.
Now replace the resistor Rf3 by Rf4 of 1 M, and then connect the following figure:

Fig. 3.9: Amplitude frequency response for Rf4

Thus the following graph is obtained using the Bode plot:

Fig. 3.10: frequency response graph

The Bode plot is adjusted for Fmin / Hz = 1000 and Fmax / Hz = 100000 with steps of 50 and Upp/V
is 0.1 V with log scale. From the graph, the cutoff frequency = 5.777 KHz.
Thus from the above experiments, the cutoff frequency with Rf4 compared with the cutoff
frequency with Rf3 has decreased, and it has dropped to about 30% of the original value (with R f3)
The result is obtained in the following graph:

Fig. 3.11: The response of the frequencies graph

The gain-bandwidth product of an operational amplifier is constant and equal to the transition
frequency. Thus the greater dc gain can be achieved with a smaller cutoff frequency. We have:
V0fg fT = constant.

Connect the following circuit:

Fig. 3.12: override circuit

Theoretically, the output voltage would exceed the supply voltage in case of too great or too high
an input voltage. Then, the OPA cuts off the signal when it reaches the limits of the output range.
The magnitude of these limits is about 13V below the supply voltages. There are also OPAs
with a rail-to-rail output range. Also set the function generator to sine function, 1 KHz, and 0.5
Vpp. Also set the oscilloscope to Y1/div = 5V and X/div = 200s.
After connecting the circuit, start to increase peak-to-peak voltage from 0.5V to 2V, the following
graphs are obtained:

Fig. 3.13: Oscilloscope graphs (a) for 0.5 Vpp and (b) for 2.0 Vpp

Connect the following figure:

Fig. 3.14: Measuring voltages through an oscilloscope

Thus after the connection of the circuit above, the limits of the output voltage range is as follows:
Umax = 15 V and Umin = -15 V. Therefore, the dynamic range of an OPA is limited by the minimum
and maximum voltage that the operational amplifier can generate at its output.

The following graph represents what is said above:

Fig. 3.15: Output voltage limitations

The internal capacitances and the switching times of the transistors integrated in the operational
amplifier cause a change to the phase shift between the input and the output signal as the
frequency increases. Connect the following figure:

Fig. 3.16: Frequency-phase response of an inverting OPA

The input and output voltages of an inverting amplifier have exactly opposite signs (for dc and
low frequencies). Thus there is a phase shift of 180 between the output and the input signal. Also
set the function generator for sine wave form, 500 Hz and 0.8 Vpp. After that increase the
frequency form 500 Hz till 10 KHz and observe the graphs. And the oscilloscope of Y1/div =
200mV and Y2/div = 5V with X1/div = 200s and X2/div = 50s:

Fig. 3.17: Oscilloscope graphs (a) for 500 Hz and (b) for 10 KHz

Therefore, if the frequency increases, the phase shift changes continuously, and due to the slew
rate the output signal does not remain sinusoidal.
For the Bode plot, the following graph is observed:

Fig. 3.18: Bode plot diagram

Bode plot is adjusted for Fmin / Hz = 1000 and Fmax / Hz = 100000 with steps of 50 and Upp/V is 5
V with log scale with phase on. The inverting amplifier has a dc gain of V= -1 (0dB).
Now connect the following figure:

Fig 3.20: Phase-frequency response

The above circuit is changed from the previous one by changing the feedback resistor form 10
K to 1 M.
For the Bode plot, this how it looks like:

Fig. 3.21: Bode plot configuration

Bode plot is adjusted for Fmin / Hz = 1000 and Fmax / Hz = 100000 with steps of 50 and Upp/V is
0.1 V with log scale with phase on. The resulting dc gain is now V= -100 (40 dB).
Thus the frequency response or if the frequency increases, the higher the gain, the earlier a
change in the phase response is observed.
The phase shift changes with increasing frequency. This effect is more pronounced if the gain
given by the feedback resistor is great. The amplitude and frequency response means that the
decrease in gain is accompanied by a change in the phase shift when the frequency increases.
Then, these graphs show the spice simulation that represents the amplitude and frequency
response of the circuit for several values of the dc gain Vo varies between 20 dB and 40 dB:

Fig. 3.22: Spice simulation graphs for different frequencies as function of gain and phase shift

Fig. 3.23: Graph of measuring result for Rf4

This graph shows the measuring result for Rf4 (V=100) together with the theoretical curves. The
highest curve represents the theoretical amplitude response, and then the curve below it represents
the measured amplitude response. Also the third curve represents the theoretical phase response
and the last curve represents the measured phase response.
Thus the inverting amplifier is characterized by the following figure:

Fig. 3.24: Inverting OPA circuit

Experiment 4: Non-inverting OPA:

In the case of a non-inverting operational amplifier the signal to be amplified is fed into the noninverting input. Thus, the signs of the output voltage and the input voltage are equal. However,
the feedback takes place via the inverting input as in the case of the inverting amplifier. The input
signal is loaded with a very small positive input current. So the control is powerless. The noninverting amplifier is as follows:

Fig. 4.1: Non-inverting amplifier

Powerless means that, at the non-inverting amplifier, the input signal source is only loaded with
the positive input current in the nA range. At the imverting amplifier, the load of the input signal
source depends on its voltage and the resistance.The following figure demonistrates what was
explained above:

Fig 4.2: Powerless amplifier

For calculating the voltage gain, connect the following circuit:

Fig. 4.3: Calculating the voltage gain

Because of the very small difference voltage between the two inputs, the inputs are approximately
on the same potential. In other words, the voltage drop at R n corresponds to the input voltage and
the voltage drop at Rn and Rfi corresponds to the output voltage. Then, Rn and Rfi form a voltage
divider.
The gain is Vu = (URn + URfi) / URn = 1 + Rfi / Rn with Rn= 10 K and Rfi= (5.1K; 10K;
300K; 1 M)
Set the function generator to a direct voltage of 5V in case of R f1 and Rf2 , and 0.1V in case of Rf3
and Rf4. Then measure the input and output voltages and fill the following table:
Table 4.1: Voltages of the input and output signals

Rfi /
5.1 K
10 K
300 K
1M

Uin / V
4.98
4.98
0.097
0.097

Uout / V
7.52
9.96
3.10
10.07

Vu
02
02
32
104

Vu (dB)
04
06
30
40

URfi / V
2.53
4.97
2.91
9.14

URn / V
4.98
4.98
0.097
0.097

Rfi / Rn
0.51
1
30
100

Table 4.2: Comparing the gains

Rfi /
5.1 K
10 K
300 K
1M

Vu
02
02
32
104

Vu (dB)
04
06
30
40

URfi / V
2.53
4.97
2.91
9.14

URn / V
4.98
4.98
0.097
0.097

URfi / URn
001
001
030
094

Rfi / Rn
0.51
1
30
100

Thus after analyzing the tables above, for Rf1 to Rf3 the results of the measurement agree fairly
well with the values derived from the theory, and for Rf4 a greater deviation of the two gains is
observed.
Now for measuring the hase angle, connect the following circuit:

Fig. 4.4: Measuring the phase angle

The output voltage and input voltage at a non-inverting amplifier have equal signs (for dc and
low frequencies). So the ac signal at the output is in phase with the input signal. The phase
response is comparable with that of an inverting OPA apart from the fact that the latter starts from
180 instead of 0.
Set the function generator to sine wave, 500 Hz, 0.2 VPP. Also set the oscilloscope for Y1/div =
100 mV and Y2/div= 1V and X/div = 1ms for dual curve. The following graph is obtained:

Fig. 4.5: Voltage oscillations at the input and output

Now change the frequency from the 500 Hz till 10 KHz, and setting the oscilloscope at Y1/div=
100 mV and Y2/div = 2V and X/div = 100s we get the following graph:

Fig.4.6: Oscillations due to frequency variation

Thus the phase shift varies starting form 0 (at 500 Hz) if the frequency increases.

Therefore, the results are shown in the following graphs:

Fig. 4.7: Variation of voltage gain and phase shift as a function of frequency

The above graphs show the spice simulation of amplitude and phase response of the noninverting amplifier for several value of the dc gain v o (20dB 40dB).
Thus the non-inverting amplifier is characterized by the following figure:

Fig. 4.8: Non-inverting amplifier

Conclusions:
The inverting amplifier is used in communications, measuring and control engineering
Inverting amplifier is the basis of many applications, such as integrators, differentiators
and active filter circuits
The non-inverting amplifier is also used in communications, measuring and control
engineering
The non-inverting is applied when a phase shift between the input and output in
undesirable or when the signal to be amplified should not be loaded
The inverting amplifier has an output voltage and input voltage of opposite signs, while
the non-inverting amplifier, the input and output voltage are of same signs
In the inverting amplifier, the input voltage has a low difference, the inverting input or
the negative input is almost grounded
At the cutoff frequency, which the magnitude of the transfer function has fallen by -3 dB
compared with its maximum value
The dynamic range of an OPA is limited by the minimum and maximum voltage that the
operational amplifier can generate at its output
The phase shift changes with increasing frequency in the inverting amplifier
In the non-inverting amplifier, because of the very small difference voltage between the
two inputs, the inputs are approximately on the same potential
The output voltage and input voltage at a non-inverting amplifier have equal signs, so the
ac signal at the output is in phase with the input signal
The control in the non-inverting amplifier is said to be powerless
In the inverting amplifier, the amplitude and frequency response means that the decrease
in gain is accompanied by a change in the phase shift when the frequency increases