E40M

Op Amps

M. Horowitz, J. Plummer, R. Howe 1

 Reading

A&L: Chapter 15, pp. 863-866.

Reader, Chapter 8

• Noninverting Amp
– http://www.electronics-tutorials.ws/opamp/opamp_3.html
• Inverting Amp
– http://www.electronics-tutorials.ws/opamp/opamp_2.html
• Summing Amp
– http://www.electronics-tutorials.ws/opamp/opamp_4.html

M. Horowitz, J. Plummer, R. Howe 2

 How to Measure Small Voltages?

• Arduino input has full-scale around 5V

– It produces a 10 bit answer (1024)
– This means a LSB (least significant bit) is 5mV

• Need to make the signal bigger before input to Arduino

– So, we will use an amplifier

• Many ways to build amplifiers

– One often uses a standard building block for amplifiers
• Called an Operational Amplifier, or Op-Amp
• A circuit with very high gain at low frequencies (< 10 kHz)

M. Horowitz, J. Plummer, R. Howe 3

 Electrical Picture

• Signal amplitude ≈ 1 mV

• Noise level will be significant

• ∴ will need to amplify and filter

• We’ll use filtering ideas from the

last two lectures

M. Horowitz, J. Plummer, R. Howe 4

 OP AMPS

M. Horowitz, J. Plummer, R. Howe 5

 Op Amp

• Is a common building block

– It is a high-gain amplifier

• Output voltage is LM741

A (V+ ⎯ V-)
Gain, A, is 10 K to 1 M

• Output voltage can be + or –

– Often can swing between
+Vdd and -Vdd supplies
– Huh?

M. Horowitz, J. Plummer, R. Howe 6

 Op-Amp Power Supply

• Up to now we had one supply voltage, Vdd

– All voltages were between Vdd and Gnd
– Generally measured relative to Gnd
• So all voltages were positive.

• A sinewave goes positive and negative

– And most input signals do that too

• It is convenient to have a reference where

– The output can be positive and negative
– Can do that by changing what we call the reference

M. Horowitz, J. Plummer, R. Howe 7

 Moving the Reference

Vdd = 2.5 V
Vdd = 5 V

+ +
+ vout
+ - - -
-
vout + 2.5 V
-
-

The voltages are all the same, only the reference voltage has moved

M. Horowitz, J. Plummer, R. Howe 8

 What You Will Actually Do

• Use the USB supply

– Just change the reference voltage

R
+ +
5V -
-
R

M. Horowitz, J. Plummer, R. Howe 9

 Op Amp Behavior

• Relationship between output voltage and input voltage:

( ) (
v o = A v + − v − = A vp − vn )
A is the op-amp gain (or open-loop gain), and is huge 10K-1M

• The input currents are very, very small

so ip ≈ 0 and in ≈ 0.

M. Horowitz, J. Plummer, R. Howe 10

 Since the Output Swing is Limited

• The high gain only exists for a small range of input voltages
– If the input difference is too large, the output “saturates”
• Goes to the max positive or negative value possible
• Close to supply voltages

M. Horowitz, J. Plummer, R. Howe 11

 What Does This Do?

vout
Vcc = 5 V
5
+
4
vin + + vout
- - 3

2
+ 2.5 V
- 1

- 1 2 3 4 5

M. Horowitz, J. Plummer, R. Howe 12

 Same Circuit Different Reference

vout
Vdd = 2.5 V
+ 2

vin + +
1

- - 0
vout
+ 2.5 V
-1

-
-2
- -2 -1 0 1 2

M. Horowitz, J. Plummer, R. Howe 13

 How To Get A Useful Amplifier

• The gain of the op amp is too high to make a useful amplifier

– We need to do something to make it useful

• We will use analog feedback to fix this problem

– Feedback makes the input the error between the value of the
output, and the value you want the output to have.

• Let’s see how to do this

M. Horowitz, J. Plummer, R. Howe 14

 Connect Vout to Vin-

v out = A(V+ − V− ) = A(vin − v out )

Vcc = 5 V
( )
∴ A +1 v out = Avin
+

vin + A
-
+ ∴ v out = vin ≅ vin
-
-Vcc = -5 V vout
(A +1 )

M. Horowitz, J. Plummer, R. Howe 15

 What Is Going On

• We solved the equation to find the answer

– But how does the op-amp get this answer?

• Think about what happens when the input increases in voltage

– From 0 V to 0.1 V
– Initially the output can’t change
• There is capacitance at every node
– The op-amp thinks it needs to create a huge output voltage
• So it drives current into the output
• Which charges the capacitor
• Causing the output to increase
– This then decreases the input difference

M. Horowitz, J. Plummer, R. Howe 16

 Feedback in an Op-amp Circuit

• As the output rises

– The input difference decreases
– So A* DVin also decreases

• The system is stable when

– A* DVin is exactly equal to Vout

• If A is large (106) for any Vout

– Say in the range of ± 10V
– Dvin will be very, very small
– Can approximate that by saying Dvin will be driven to 0
– Output will be set so vin+ ≈ vin−

M. Horowitz, J. Plummer, R. Howe 17

 BUT

• This is only true if you connect the output feedback

– To the negative terminal of the amplifier

• What happens if you connect it to the positive terminal?

M. Horowitz, J. Plummer, R. Howe 18

 Ideal Op Amps

The Two Golden Rules for circuits with ideal op-amps*

No voltage difference between
1. op-amp input terminals

2. No current into op-amp inputs

* when used in negative feedback amplifiers

M. Horowitz, J. Plummer, R. Howe 19
 USEFUL OP AMPS CIRCUITS

M. Horowitz, J. Plummer, R. Howe 20

 Approach To Solve All Op-amp Circuits

• First check to make sure the feedback is negative

– If not, STOP!

• Find the output voltage that makes the input difference 0

– Assume V+ = V-

– Find Vout such that KCL holds

• We’ll do some examples

M. Horowitz, J. Plummer, R. Howe 21

E40M Lecture 19
 Non-inverting Amplifier

• ip = 0 so vp = vs

• V+ = V- so vn = vp = vs

vo − vs vs
i1 i1 = i2 so =
R1 R2

vo ⎛1 1 ⎞
i2 ∴ = v s ⎜⎜ + ⎟⎟
R1 ⎝ R1 R2 ⎠

⎛R + R ⎞
∴ v o = v s ⎜⎜ 1 2⎟
⎟
⎝ R2 ⎠

M. Horowitz, J. Plummer, R. Howe 22

 Inverting Amplifier

At node vn

vn − v s vn − v o
+ + in = 0
Rs Rf

But vn =vp = 0 and in = 0, so

vs vo Rf
− − = 0 or v o = −v s
Rs R f Rs

M. Horowitz, J. Plummer, R. Howe 23

 Current-to-Voltage Converter

i2
• ip = in = 0
i1
• vn = vp = 0
iR
• So iR = 0 as well

KCL at the vn node:

vo
i1 = is = i2 = − so v o = −isR f
Rf

M. Horowitz, J. Plummer, R. Howe 24

 OP AMP FILTERS

M. Horowitz, J. Plummer, R. Howe 25

 Adding Capacitors
Cf • Suppose we add a
capacitor in the feedback
• We can treat this exactly as
we did the earlier circuits
by using impedances.
• Our earlier analysis
showed Rf
v o = −v s
Rs
1
Zs = Rs Zf =
1
1 + j ∗ 2πFCf
Sinusoidal voltage Rf
1
+ j ∗ 2πFCf
Zf Rf Rf ⎛ 1 ⎞
∴ v o = −v s =− = −v s ⎜⎜ ⎟⎟
Zs Rs Rs ⎝ 1+ j ∗ 2πFR f Cf ⎠
M. Horowitz, J. Plummer, R. Howe 26
 Sketching the Bode Plot

20 log10 |Vo/Vs|
Vo v o R f ⎛ 1 ⎞
= ⎯− ⎜⎜ ⎟⎟
60 Vs v s Rs ⎝ 1+ j ∗ 2πFR f Cf ⎠

40

20

0
0.1 1 10 100 103 104 105 F [Hz]

-20
Rs = 1 kΩ, Rf = 100 kΩ, Cf = 160 nF Fc = 1/(2pRfCf) = 10 Hz
M. Horowitz, J. Plummer, R. Howe 27
 Learning Objectives

• Understand how living things use electricity

• Understand what an op amp is:

– The inputs take no current
– The output is 106 times larger than the difference in input
voltages

• The two Golden Rules of op amps in negative feedback

– Input currents are 0; Vin- = Vin+

• Be able to use feedback to control the gain of the op amp

– For inverting and non-inverting amplifiers

• Understand op amp filters and differential amplifiers

M. Horowitz, J. Plummer, R. Howe 28
 More Examples

M. Horowitz, J. Plummer, R. Howe 29

 Summing Amplifier

i1 i • ip = in = 0
3

• vn = vp = 0
i2

KCL at the summing point (or summing node):

v1 v 2 vo
i1 + i2 = i3 so + =−
R1 R2 R
Output voltage is a scaled sum of the input voltages:
⎛R Rf ⎞
f
v o = − ⎜⎜ v1 + v 2 ⎟⎟
⎝ R1 R2 ⎠

M. Horowitz, J. Plummer, R. Howe 30

 A Subtracting (Difference) Amplifier?

• Take an inverting amplifier and put a 2nd voltage on the other input?

vn − v1 vn − v o
i1 + i2 = 0 so + =0
Rs Rf

v 2 − v1 v o − v 2
vn = v 2 so =
Rs Rf
v1
v o v 2 − v1 v 2
∴ = +
Rf Rs Rf
v2

Rf R f + Rs
∴ v o = −v1 + v2
Rs Rs
• Not quite what we wanted. We’d like vo a (v1 – v2).

M. Horowitz, J. Plummer, R. Howe 31

 Differential Amplifier 1.0

v1 − vn vn − v o
=
R1 R2

R4 R4
v1 − v 2 v2 − vo
R3 + R 4 R3 + R 4
=
R1 R2

vo v1 v 2 ⎛ R 4 R1 R 4 ⎞
∴ = − + ⎜⎜ + ⎟
R2 R1 R1 ⎝ R3 + R 4 R2 R3 + R 4 ⎟⎠

But if R3 = R1 and R4 = R2

R2
( )
v o = v 2 − v1
R1

M. Horowitz, J. Plummer, R. Howe 32