BIOE Circuits - Op Amps

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Table of Contents
1. Introdution 2. Ideal Op Amps 3. Negative Feedback 4. Buffers 5. Inverting Amplifiers 6. Non-inverting Amplifiers 7. Differential Amplifiers 8. Lab Exercises

Introduction
Operational amplifiers are integrated circuits that have important uses in many analog electronic systems. Even in systems that are largely digital, operational amplifiers are often needed to acquire a signal of interest or to produce an analog output. As indicated by the name, op amps are voltage amplifiers with extremely high gain. By using negative feedback (i.e., connecting part of the output to the input), the gain can be set to a lower level or the op amp can be used to perform other functions like filtering. In this section, we will discuss the characteristics of an ideal op amp and the use of negative feedback. Then we will show examples of circuits that can be built with operational amplifiers. In the Lab Exercises, we will build and test these circuits and discuss the effects of non-ideal op amp behavior.

Ideal Op Amps

The op amp circuit symbol is shown in Figure 1. It has two inputs, the non-inverting (labeled +) and the inverting (labeled -), and one output. Ideally, the op amp has these characteristics:

where Av is the open-loop voltage gain and is extremely large. Because the output depends on the difference between the inputs, op amps are called differential amplifiers.

The resistance of the inputs is extremely large so

no current can flow into them and .

The output resistance is zero so the op amp

output acts like an ideal voltage source and can supply any amount of current.

The above characteristics are not frequency

dependent. That is the op amp has infinite bandwidth.

Figure 1 : Op amp circuit symbol and LM741 Operational Amplifier Operational amplifiers are "active" meaning they can provide power to a circuit. Thus, op amps must be connected to power supplies, typically two equal and opposite voltages like VS+=15 V and VS-=-15 V. The output voltage of the op amp cannot exceed the power supply voltage which can cause problems if the op amp is not used with negative feedback. Suppose that an AC signal is applied to the inputs so v+-v- = A sin (&omega t) V. Realistically, there will be a small DC offset associated with this signal that will also be applied to the inputs. Because of the large open loop voltage gain, Av, this DC offset will be amplified into a large DC voltage at the output. Because the output cannot exceed the power supply voltage, the output voltage will be the power supply voltage, VS+ if the offset is positive and VS- if the offset is negative. When this happens, we say the op amp's output is saturated.

Buffers

A simple op amp circuit that uses negative feedback is called the buffer and is shown in Figure 2. The input voltage, vin, is connected to the non-inverting input and the output voltage is connected to the inverting input. We can find an equation relating the input and output voltages as follows:

Figure 2 : Op amp buffer The output of the buffer is the same as the input. Because no current can enter the op amp, the buffer offers a way to measure a voltage without effecting the circuit that is being measured. In biomedical instrumentation, electrodes are often first connected to buffers before the signal undergoes further processing.

The overall gain of this circuit is now equal to 1 and is not the open loop voltage gain, The new gain is called the closed loop gain.

Negative Feedback
The buffer is an example of a circuit that uses negative feedback. With negative feedback, perturbing the output in one direction causes a change in the input that tends to counteract the

perturbation. In the buffer, if the output tried to increase the differential input

would

decrease and therefore the output would decrease. Similarly if the output tried to decrease the differential input would increase. As a result, the output is held steady at a value equal to the input voltage as described in the previous section. A general diagram of an amplifier (not necessarily an op amp) with negative feedback is shown in Figure 3. is called the feedback factor and is how much of the output is fed back into the input ( = 1, for the buffer). The relationship between the input and output can be found as follows:

Figure 3 : Op amp with negative feedback Because the open loop gain, AV, is so large for operational amplifiers, the closed loop gain is simply 1/.

Another practical implication of using negative feedback with operational amplifiers is that the non-inverting input voltage and inverting input voltage must be nearly equal. If the input voltages differed very much, the operational amplifier would saturate because Av is so large. With negative feedback, the output is "corrected" by keeping the two inputs close in value. In general, if an op amp circuit uses negative feedback the relationship between the input and output can be found by applying these two rules:

Inverting Amplifiers
Figure 4 shows an op amp in an inverting amplifier configuration. To find the relationship vout in terms of vin apply the two rules.