ECEN4827/5827 lecture notes Effects of op-amp imperfections on application circuits (part 1) Objectives in this segment of the course are

to: 1. Define op-amp static and dynamic characteristics and examine the effects of opamp imperfections in several circuit application examples. 2. Motivate follow-up discussions about transistor-level op-amp circuit design techniques aimed at improving op-amp characteristics. 3. Review some of the prerequisite circuit and device modeling and analysis techniques required in subsequent course topics. Op-amp imperfections DC and low-frequency small-signal characteristics: Open-loop low-frequency voltage gain Ao = vo/(v(+) v()) Output resistance, rout Input resistance, rin Supply voltages VDD, VSS (or VCC, VEE); supply currents IDD, ISS (or ICC, IEE) Output saturation limits, VOmin, VOmax; output voltage swing VOmin < VO < VOmax Maximum output (source or sink) current Input offset voltage, VOS; temperature drift of the input offset voltage VOS/T [mV/oC] Input bias current, IB = (IB+ + IB)/2; temperature drift IB/T Input offset current, IOS = IB+ IB; temperature drift IOS/T Common-mode rejection ratio CMRR Power-supply rejection ratio PSRR Input common-mode voltage range, VCMmin < VCM < VCMmax

Dynamic (small-signal and large-signal) characteristics Open-loop transfer function AOL(s) Gain-bandwidth product GBW, or unity-gain bandwidth Input and output impedances, Zin(s), Zout(s) Slew-rate SR Frequency-dependent common-mode rejection ratio CMRR(f) Frequency-dependent power-supply rejection ratio PSRR(f) Input noise

We will introduce the op-amp characteristics and imperfections through application examples.

Application circuit examples 1. Basic inverting gain circuit example, effects of finite Ao, finite rin and non-zero rout
R2 VDD R1 _ + vI + VSS vO

Figure 2.1: Basic inverting-gain application circuit Assuming an ideal op-amp, the closed-loop gain of the circuit in Fig. 2.1 is well known: (ACL)ideal = vo/vi = R2/R1. Analysis of ideal negative-feedback op-amp circuits, such as the example of Fig. 2.1, is usually based on the fact that the ideal op-amp with very large open-loop gain forces the (+) and () input voltages to be equal. For example, in the circuit of Fig. 2.1, v() = v(+) = 0, and the () input of the op-amp is called the virtual ground. Suppose that the op-amp in Figure 2.1 has a finite open-loop gain Ao. It is of interest to find the effect of Ao on the closed-loop gain ACL. A model of the op-amp with finite Ao, and all other characteristics ideal, is shown in Fig. 2.2.

+ + Ao(v(+)v())

Figure 2.2: Model of an op-amp with finite Ao Applying this model in the circuit of Fig. 2.1, we obtain the circuit model in Fig. 2.3.

R2

R1 + vi + + A (v(+)v()) o vo

Figure 2.3: Model of the circuit in Fig. 2.1 using an op-amp with finite Ao. Solving the circuit model in Fig. 2.3, yields the closed-loop gain
R1 Ao v o R2 R1 + R2 . = = vi R1 1 + Ao R1 R1 + R2

ACL

It is instructive to note that the closed-loop gain is in the form

ACL = ( ACL )ideal T , 1+ T

where T = AoR1/(R1+R2) is the loop-gain in the negative-feedback circuit of Fig. 2.3. Note that the loop gain represents the total gain for a signal starting from a point in the feedback loop to the same point around the loop. Analysis and computation of the loopgain T will be addressed in more detail later. Comments: Op-amps are usually constructed with a relatively large open-loop gain Ao, e.g, Ao > 104 (80dB). The open-loop gain of an op-amp can vary significantly from one component to another, or over temperature, bias or other operating conditions. As a result, opamp application circuits are rarely based on a precise value of Ao. The closed-loop gain of a negative-feedback application circuit is close to the ideal value, independent of Ao, as long as the loop gain T is much larger than 1. In other words, as long as Ao is large enough so that T is much larger than 1, the exact value of Ao is not important. The loop gain T is smaller in an application that requires a larger magnitude of the closed-loop gain, i.e. a larger R2/R1. Therefore, an application circuit with a larger closed-loop gain is more sensitive to variations in the op-amp open-loop gain Ao.

Suppose that the op-amp in Figure 2.1 has a finite open-loop gain Ao, a finite input resistance rin, and a non-zero output resistance rout. A model of the op-amp with these imperfections is shown in Fig. 2.4.

+ rin

rout + Ao(v(+)v())

Figure 2.4: Model of an op-amp with finite Ao Applying this model in the circuit of Fig. 2.1, we obtain the circuit model in Fig. 2.5.
R2

R1 + vi + rin rout + A (v(+)v()) o vo

Figure 2.5: Model of the circuit in Fig. 2.1 using an op-amp with finite Ao, finite rin, and non-zero rout. A feedback-circuit analysis technique (to be studied later) can be used to obtain the closed-loop gain by inspection:
ACL = ( ACL )ideal rout rin T 1 , + 1 + T rout + R2 + R1 || rin rin + R1 1 + T

where the loop-gain T is given by

T = Ao R1 || rin R1 || rin + R2 + rout

and (ACL)ideal = R2/R1. You may want to verify the result for ACL using standard circuitanalysis techniques.

Comments: If the loop-gain T is very large, the closed-loop gain is close to the ideal value, independent of Ao, rin, or rout. An op-amp with a very large open-loop gain Ao (so that T is very large) can be used to construct precise negative-feedback application circuits even though it may have significant imperfections in rin or rout. Large gain is the most important characteristic of an op-amp. Finite rin, and non-zero rout tend to reduce the loop gain in application circuits, requiring a larger Ao to achieve large loop-gain values. The parameters Ao, rout, rin, are small-signal parameters they apply to smallsignal variations of voltages and currents around a DC operating point. 2. Static transfer characteristic; output voltage swing The ranges of output and input voltages such that an op-amp operates with a large smallsignal open-loop gain Ao are constrained by the supply voltages VDD and VSS. On the output side, the saturation voltages Vomin and Vomax define the available output voltage swing. A typical static transfer characteristic of an op-amp is shown in Fig. 2.6.
Vo VDD Vomax
output voltage swing Vomin < Vo < Vomax slope = Ao

v(+) v()

Vomin VSS

Figure 2.6: Static transfer characteristic of an op-amp. In a typical op-amp, due to the limitations of the transistors in the output stage, the output voltage swing is smaller than the supply voltage range, Vomax < VDD and Vomin > VSS. Using more advanced circuit design techniques, it is possible to achieve an output voltage swing approximately equal to the supply voltage range, Vomax VDD and Vomin VSS. Such op-amps are said to have a rail-to-rail output voltage swing, which is particularly advantageous in low-voltage applications where achievable signal-tonoise ratios can be limited by the available supply voltages.

3. A positive-feedback circuit example Consider the circuit of Fig. 2.7, which is the same as the basic inverting amplifier of Fig. 2.1, except that the op-amp inputs have been swapped.
R2 VDD R1 + _ + vI VSS vO

Figure 2.7: A positive-feedback circuit. Assuming vI = 0, Figure 2.8 shows a graphical analysis of possible DC operating points in this circuit: the op-amp transfer characteristic overlaps the DC transfer characteristic of the feedback circuit around the op-amp: VO = V(+)(R1+R2)/R1.
Vo b Vomax

a V(+) V(+)

Vomin

Figure 2.8: Graphical analysis of the possible DC operating points in the positivefeedback circuit of Fig. 2.7. There are three intersections of the two curves, i.e., there are three possible DC operating points. If the circuit operates at the operating point a, i.e. assuming that vi = 0 results in V(+) = VO = 0, the ideal closed-loop gain of the circuit in Fig. 2.7 would be R2/R1, the same as in Fig. 2.1. However, consider an arbitrarily small perturbation V(+) in V(+) around the operating point a. In a practical circuit, this perturbation, from internal noise or offset imperfections, or from external disturbances, would be unavoidable. The graphical analysis in Fig. 2.8 shows that the operation of the circuit diverges from point a to one of the saturation limits at point b or at point c, depending on the sign of the disturbance. In conclusion, the DC operating point of the positive feedback circuit in

Fig. 2.6 is at one of the two saturation limits, not at the point a where the closed-loop small-signal gain ideally equals R2/R1. Finally, we note that the small-signal closedloop gain at point b (or c) is zero: a small-signal input voltage vi = Vi results in no output voltage variations, vo = Vo = 0. Comments: The ideal op-amp circuit analysis based on v(+) = v() holds only for negativefeedback application circuits, and under the assumption that the op-amp operates with very large open-loop voltage gain Ao away from the saturation limits. Negative-feedback is used to construct amplifiers and other linear application circuits. Stability of negative-feedback circuits is an important topic, which will be addressed later. In positive-feedback circuits, the non-linearity of the op-amp transfer characteristic, such as the saturation limits, must be included in the analysis to find possible DC operating points. Positive-feedback is used to construct circuits such as voltage comparators or oscillators.