Print this page Operational Amplifier Fundamentals and Design
George Rutkowski, P.E.
Course Outline
This course introduces you to Operational Amplifier parameters; ideal and the practical ones that are specified by their manufacturers. This will enable you to understand many existing Op Amp circuits and enable you to select components for many applications.
Operational Amplifiers are very flexible electronic devices. They are ubiquitous in instrumentation and measurement equipment used in industrial, medical and military applications. After completing this Op Amp lesson you will be able to interpret manufacturers’ specifications and select components for inverting , noninverting and buffer amplifiers. And you’ll be postured to understand and design many others applications; differential amplifiers, summing amplifiers, current-to-voltage converters, comparators, differentiators, integrators, comparators, modulators, to name a few. For some Application Notes, go to http://www.national.com/analog/amplifiers/application_notes.
This course includes a multiple-choice quiz at the end, which is designed to
enhance the understanding of the course materials.
Learning Objective
At the conclusion of this course, you will become familiar with the following operational amplifier parameters and applications:
- Open-Loop Voltage Gain AVOL;
- Output Offset Voltage Voo;
- Input Resistance Ri;
- Output Resistance Ro;
- Bandwidth BW;
- Response Time;
- Power Supply Requirements;
- Op Amp behavior under open-loop conditions;
- Select Components for Inverting Amplifiers;
- Select Components for Noninverting Amplifiers;
- Uses of the Voltage Follower (Buffer);
- Determine Output Waveforms resulting from Input Waveforms.
Intended Audience
Engineers, technologists and anyone familiar with Ohm’s and Kirchoff’s laws (basic electrical circuits) that is interested in becoming competent with this very flexible electronic component.
Benefit for Attendee
Operational Amplifiers are very flexible electronic devices. They are ubiquitous in instrumentation and measurement equipment used in industrial, medical and military applications. After completing this Op Amp lesson you will be able to interpret manufacturers’ specifications and select components for inverting , noninverting and buffer amplifiers. And you’ll be postured to understand and design many others applications; differential amplifiers, summing amplifiers, current-to-voltage converters, differentiators, integrators, comparators, modulators, to name a few. A number of common applications are provided in the Appendix.
Course Introduction
For scientific and engineering applications, analog computers preceded digital computers. Analog computers are able to perform complex calculations with relatively few electronic components, an important advantage in the days when the components were much larger and far less reliable than they are today. The basic building blocks of these analog computers were operational amplifiers (Op Amps). The early Op Amps were large, bulky vacuum tube circuits. As transistors replaced vacuum tubes, Op Amps became smaller, more reliable, and less expensive. These features, combined with the flexibility and ease of use of Op Amps, catapulted them into many industrial and military applications. The demands of the space age stimulated development and growth of integrated circuits (ICs) that offer more size reductions and much improved reliability. A large variety of Op Amp-types are available on Integrated Circuits (ICs). And they are often part of complete and complex circuits on larger ICs.
While ICs change convulsively with time, IC Op Amps are relatively stable. As a near-perfect electronic device for the niche it fills, the IC Op Amp has somewhat reached an evolutionary plateau. Metaphorically, we can say that there is an island of stability in the turbulent sea of electronics, the isle of the IC Op amp. Since old and new applications abound with Op Amps, you can rely on the knowledge that you gain here to be useful for years to come.
This lesson consists of chapters 2 and 3 which are part of a larger document that has extensively served to train engineers and technologist on the fundamentals and applications of Op Amps.
Chapter 2 emphasizes Op Amp parameters. Some lexicons define a parameter as a variable constant which sounds like a contradiction of terms. With Op Amps, most parameters discussed here are the specifications that their manufacturers provide on the spec sheets. These specs can vary in different Op Amp types but are usually considered constants in equations involving their circuit applications. The following list of sections in this lesson will enable you to understand the manufacture’s specs and how to choose components for common Op Amp applications.
Chapter 2: Parameters of Op Amps and Their Power Supply Requirements
2.1 Open-Loop Voltage Gain AVOL
2.2 Output Offset Voltage Voo
2.3 Input Resistance Ri
2.4 Output Resistance Ro
2.5 Bandwidth BW
2.6 Response Time
2.7 Power Supply Requirements
Chapter 3: Op Amps With and Without Feedback
3.1 Open-Loop Considerations
3.2 Feedback and the Inverting Amplifier
3.3 Feedback and the Non-inverting Amplifier
3.4 The Voltage Follower
Course Content
The course content are in the following PDF files:
Chapter 2: Parameters of Op Amps and Their Power Supply Requirements
Chapter 3: Op Amps With and Without Feedback
Please click on the above underlined hypertext to view, download or print the document for your study. Because of the file size, we recommend that you first save the file to your computer by right-clicking the mouse and choosing "Save Target As ...", and then open the file in Adobe Acrobat Reader from your computer.
Course Summary
This lesson consists of chapters 2 and 3 which are part of a larger document that has extensively served to train engineers and technologist on the fundamentals and applications of Op Amps.
Related Links
Many Application Notes are available from National Semiconductor at: http://www.national.com/analog/amplifiers/application_notes
Quiz
Once you finish studying the above course content, you need to take a quiz to obtain the PDH credits.
DISCLAIMER: The materials contained in the online course are not intended as a representation or warranty on the part of PDH Center or any other person/organization named herein. The materials are for general information only. They are not a substitute for competent professional advice. Application of this information to a specific project should be reviewed by a registered architect and/or professional engineer/surveyor. Anyone making use of the information set forth herein does so at their own risk and assumes any and all resulting liability arising therefrom.
