Last modification - 8/31/13 Page - 1

University of Minnesota

Department of Electrical and
Computer Engineering


EE 3101 Laboratory Manual


A Second Laboratory Course in
Electronics
Last modification - 8/31/13 Page - 2
Introduction

You will find that this laboratory continues in the mode initiated in EE2002. It is intended to supplement the
Junior microelectronics course sequence and to familiarize you with instruments that will be used in later labs.
It is also intended to further develop your self-confidence in laboratory procedures and in drawing conclusions
from observations. As a consequence the instructions are very spare and assume you will be able to extract
conclusions from each experiment and will relate parts of the total lab to each other without being explicitly
asked to do so.

Important Points

- Your grade in this course will depend principally on your in-lab work.

- You are expected to maintain a lab notebook. Your lab notebook must contain a running account of the
experiment. It is not intended to be a book into which you copy notes previously gathered on the back of an
envelope. It must however be legible and coherent. Write in such a way that another person could perform the
same experiment based on your account and this same person could understand the conclusions that you drew
from your data. It is not necessary to hide your mistakes. If you make a mistake in an entry simply draw a line
through that entry and start over - you will not be penalized for this.

- The lab notebook should have the following characteristics:
- It should be a bound notebook (spiral bound is ok).
- Lab entries should be dated, and should include:
- Complete circuit diagrams.
- Explanation of circuit, methods, procedures, etc.
- All calculations for designs.
- All measurements (including component values).
- All analysis and comparisons of data with theory.

- There are no formal lab homeworks or pre-labs in this course, but it will pay great dividends for you to make a
careful reading of the experiment description before arriving in the laboratory. You will also note that some
parts of the "experiments" involve analytical work which can be better done elsewhere. Most problems
students have with this course are due to lack of preparation prior to coming to lab. If after reading
through the lab and consulting the relevant section of your EE2001, EE2011, and EE3115 texts you do not
understand something, seek out either your TA or the faculty member in charge of the lab.

- MILESTONES. In each experiment there will be a few milestones. These are specific tasks which must be
accomplished and demonstrated to the TA or professor before going on to the next item. All milestones must be
completed or you will not pass the course. If the milestones are not completed by the end of the semester you
will receive an F for the course. While the milestones are not a part of the grade formula, delays in milestone
completion will unavoidably delay the submission of your lab notebook with the corresponding grade penalty.
Lab notebooks and lab write-ups will not be accepted if more than one milestone remains to be completed
for the corresponding lab.







- Grades. Grades will be determined from the following components of the course:
Last modification - 8/31/13 Page - 3

Lab Notebooks - 30%
Lab Practical Exams - 40% Take them seriously, they are forty minutes to one hour in
duration and account for a significant portion of your final
grade.
Lab Reports- 30%


Lab notebooks will be collected up to three times during the semester. They will be due at 4:30 pm three
working days after the scheduled completion date of a lab.

Lab write ups will be collected one week after scheduled completion of the lab.

You will be given a schedule during the first week of class which contains all lab practical exam dates and
notebook and lab write-up due dates.

- Late Penalties. The penalties for late notebooks or lab reports are as follows:

1 or 2 days late: 3% deducted from your FINAL SCORE.

3 or 4 days late - an additional 3% deducted from your FINAL SCORE.

and so on...

-You will receive a separate handout containing the specifications for the lab reports.

- Housekeeping Requirements.

No food or drink to is be brought into the lab and most especially is not to be placed on the lab benches. At the
conclusion of each laboratory session, all cables, etc. are to be returned to the proper wire racks and any
borrowed equipment (there should be no borrowed equipment without the approval of the TA) returned to its
proper location. The only items on the lab bench when you leave should be the equipment normally found on
each bench. The TA will record a demerit against your record in his gradebook each time you fail to meet the
above standards. Four or more demerits at the end of the term after grades have been computed will result in
grade reduction of one level (A to A-, A- to B+, etc.). If for some reason, you find the lab bench does not meet
the above standards when you first come in, inform your TA immediately. You are still responsible for leaving
the lab bench neat when you leave.
Last modification - 8/31/13 Page - 4
Experiment Schedule


Week # Experiment Title
1 No labs in Week #1
2 Frequency Response and Filters
3 Frequency Response and Filters
4 Parasitic Capacitance and High Frequency Measurement Problems
5 Lab Quiz #1
6 Power Supplies
7 Power Supplies
8 Differential Amplifiers
9 High Frequency Behavior of MOSFETs
10 High Frequency Behavior of MOSFETs
11 Lab Quiz #2
12 Op Amps
13 Op Amps
14 Feedback Amplifiers
15 Feedback Amplifiers


Last modification - 8/31/13 Page - 5
Experiment #1

Frequency Response and Filters

Sessions #1 and #2

The behavior of a circuits transfer function as the
input frequency is changed (i.e. the circuits frequency
response) is important in many situations. This
experiment explores how frequency response
measurements are made and investigates the behavior
of several important filter circuits.

Experiments

1. Design and construct the R-C shown below which
implements a low pass filter. The corner frequency
should be 2 kHz and the high frequency input
impedance should be 10 k. Measure the magnitude
and phase of the output of the circuit as the frequency
of the driving sinusoid is varied over a suitably wide
range. Determine the frequency at which the
magnitude is down to 0.707 of its frequency-
independent value. Determine the frequency at which
the output is phase shifted by 45 degrees with respect
to the input.

Figure 1-1. RC low pass filter.

2. Interchange the position of the resistor and
capacitor in the circuit of Fig. 1-1 (thus implementing
a high pass filter) while keeping the component values
unchanged. Repeat the measurements of step #1.
Determine the frequency at which the magnitude is
down to 0.707 of its frequency-independent value.
Determine the frequency at which the output is phase
shifted by 45 degrees with respect to the input.
___________________________________________
MILESTONE #1-1: Collect the results of items 1 and
2 and show them to your instructor.
___________________________________________



Filter circuits utilizing inductors, capacitors, and
resistors have much better characteristics than R-C
based filters. A prototype R-L-C low pass filter is
shown in Fig. 1-2. The resistance R
w
represents the
winding resistance of the inductor.



Figure 1-2. R-L-C low pass filter.

3. Using your 10 mH inductor design and construct
the prototype low pass filter of Fig. 1-2. The 3 db
cutoff frequency is to be 2 kHz which is also the
resonant frequency of the circuit. Measure the
frequency response of this filter. Use the results to
determine the resonant frequency and the Q of the
circuit.








Demonstration

The measurements in items #4 and #5 of the circuit
transfer function as a function of frequency (so-
called frequency response) were manual point-by-
point measurements. Such repetitive measurements
can be automated with the PXI-based instruments
using a so-called LabView VI (virtual
instrument).Two identical PXI-based setups will be
available on a dedicated bench in the laboratory
where the LCR meter is also located. Your lab
instructor will demonstrate the use of a VI entitled
Bode Plotter which automates frequency response
measurements. This VI is found in UofMnVI
folder located in the Programs folder.
Last modification - 8/31/13 Page - 6





















The R-L-C prototype filter of Fig. 1-2 is not a
satisfactory low pass filter because of the large
resonant peak at 2 kHz. That peak must be removed in
order to have a decent filter.

4. Put a resistor in series with the inductor as shown in
Fig. 1-3. Choose the value of R
1
so that the circuit Q
= 1. Measure the frequency response from 200 HZ to
20 kHz. Compare the response of this circuit with that
of the R-C low pass of Fig. 1-1 by plotting both
magnitude frequency responses on the same graph.


Figure 1-3. R-L-C low pass filter. R
1
is chosen to
make the Q = 1.

5. Investigate the effect of your lowpass filter of step
#4 on square waves of various frequencies in the
range of 200 Hz to 2 kHz.






















6. Design and construct the series RLC circuit shown
in Fig. 1-4 (which implements a bandpass filter) to
have a resonant frequency f
o
= 5 KHz and a Q = 5.
Measure the magnitude and phase of the transfer
function V
o
/V
i
over a wide enough frequency range
(0.1f
o
< f < 10f
o
) so that the complete frequency-
dependent behavior of the transfer function is
determined. Use your 10 mH inductor.




Fig. 1-4. R-L-C bandpass filter

7. The parallel resonant circuit of Fig. 1-5 implements
a bandreject filter. Design and construct this circuit so
that the rejection frequency (the resonant frequency of
the circuit) is 5 kHz and the circuit Q = 5. Measure the
amplitude frequency response from 500 Hz to 50 kHz
RLC Bandpass Filter Transfer Function


Vout
Vin
=

/(
o
Q)
{1 ( /
o
)
2
}
2
+{ /
o
}
2
Q
2
;
e = 2f

<) (V
out
/V
in
) = tan
-1

Q

o













resonant frequency f
o
=
1
2 LC
;
Q =
2f
o
L
R
; R = R
w
+ R
1
in Fig. 2-4.


Trasnsfer Function of RLC Low Pass
Filter


Vout
Vin
=

1
{1 ( /
o
)
2
}
2
+{ /
o
}
2
Q
2
;
e = 2f

<) (V
out
/V
in
) = tan
-1

1
Q /
o

o
/
( )







resonant frequency f
o
=
1
2 LC
;
Q =
2f
o
L
R
; R = R
w
in Fig. 2-2.
R = R
w
+ R
1
in Fig. 2-3.

Last modification - 8/31/13 Page - 7

Figure 1-5. Bandreject filter.














___________________________________________
MILESTONE #1-2: Demonstrate the circuit of item
7 to your instructor.
___________________________________________

Experiment #2

Parasitic Capacitance and High Frequency
Measurement Problems

Session #3

Shunt Capacitance and the RC Compensator

Shunt capacitance in interconnect cables and
measuring instruments present unknown shunt
impedances at the measurement terminals. Figure 2-1
illustrates the potential problem. If R
m
>> R
th
and the
effect of C
m
were neglected, then it would be
expected that V
out
= V
in
. However at high
frequencies neglecting the effect of C
m
could result in
serious measurement errors because the impedance of
C
m
could be much less than R
m
.

1. Drive the circuit of Fig. 2-1 with a 2 V p-p 20 kHz
square wave and compare the rise and fall times of
V
in
and V
out
. Use a 100 k resistor for R
th
and
connect V
in
to channel #1 of your oscilloscope and
V
out
to channel #2 of the scope. Use a two or three
foot coax cable with a banana plug adapter to connect
the scope to the circuit.

Use the experimental results to estimate the shunt
capacitance of the oscilloscope-cable combination.
The value of R
m
for oscilloscopes is 1 M.


Figure 2-1. Circuit for demonstrating the effect of
measuring instrument (oscilloscope) input
capacitance.


The use of a voltage probe consisting of the parallel
combination of a resistor R
p
and a variable
capacitance C
p
as shown in Fig. 2-2 forms a
compensated attenuator circuit offers a solution to the
shunt capacitance problem. When the attenuator is
properly compensated (R
p
C
p
= R
m
C
m
) the effective
impedance at the V
in
terminals presented by the
attenuator circuit is a resistance of R
in
= R
m
+ R
p
and
a capacitance C
in
= C
m
R
p
/( R
m
+ R
p
), For a
conventional X10 voltage probe, R
in
= 10 M and
C
in
= C
m
/10.and the transfer function V
out
/V
in
= 0.1
independent of frequency.

RLC Bandreject Filter Transfer Function


Vout
Vin
=

1 ( /(
o
)
2
{1 ( /
o
)
2
}
2
+{ /
o
}
2
Q
2
;
e = 2f

<) (V
out
/V
in
) = tan
-1

1
Q

o






















resonant frequency f
o
=
1
2 LC
;
Q =
2f
o
L
R
; R >> then inductor winding
resistance in circuit of Fig. 1-5.


Last modification - 8/31/13 Page - 8


Figure 2-2. Compensated attenuator.



Figure 2-3. Compensation of a voltage probe.
The waveforms are V
out
of the attenuator
when V
in
is a square wave.

2. Obtain a X10 voltage probe from wire rack in the
lab and adjust C
p
until you achieve compensation.
Your oscilloscope has a pair of terminals which has a
1V p-p 1 kHz square wave available for doing the
compensation. Use your compensated probe in place
of the two to three foot long coax cable with the
banana plug adapter to repeat the measurements of
Step #1.

What is the measured rise/fall time of V
in
and the
shunt capacitance of the X10 probe?

___________________________________________
MILESTONE #2-1: Demonstrate the use of the X10
voltage probe to your lab instructor and how you
estimated the C
in
of the probe.
_________________________________________


Non-ideal Frequency Behavior of Passive
Components

3. Measure V
o
/V
i
as a function of frequency for this
circuit with R 500 kO and R
L
= 5 kO.


Figure 2-4. Measuring circuit for estimating the
parasitic capacitance in shunt with a large resistor.

Measure well beyond the - 3 dB frequency. Use the
data to determine the parasitic capacitance in shunt
with the resistor R. IMPORTANT you must use a
10x probe to minimize the capacitance in parallel with
R
L
.

The circuit shown in Fig. 325 is an equivalent circuit
used to account for the parasitic capacitance and
resistance found in real inductors.


Figure 2-5. Equivalent circuit of a physically
realizable inductor


4. Use the circuit shown below to determine the
magnitude |Z(je)| of the impedance of the inductor
from 100 Hz to 1 MHz. Use the 100 mH inductor in
the your lab kit.
Last modification - 8/31/13 Page - 9

Figure 2-6. Measurement circuit for characterizing an
inductor.

Use the data to estimate the L , R
w
, and C
w
of the
equivalent circuit shown in Fig. 2-5. What is the self-
resonant frequency of the inductor and what is
inductor Q at this frequency.

Quiz #1 - Exps. 1 - 2

Session #4


Experiment #3

Power Supplies

Sessions #5 and #6

Introduction

In this lab you will examine the basic building blocks
of circuits used in ac to dc conversion and the
construction of DC power supplies.

Experiment

Transformer and auto-transformer

Each station is supplied with a box containing a variac
(variable transformer) and a step-down transformer.
These units are fused and it is easy to blow these
fuses. Your TA will give you a short list of
procedures. If you follow them they will save you a
good deal of trouble.

1. Measure the voltage across the secondary of the
transformer as a function of the primary voltage.


2. Connect this circuit and examine the diode and
resistor voltage waveforms.



Note that the diode is ungounded so a single
oscilloscope channel cannot be directly connected
across the diode. Use both scope channels to
implement a pseudo-differential measurement.
Consult your lab instructor if you are unsure about
how to do this.

Capacitive Filtering

3. Place a suitable capacitor across the load (the
resistor) of the previous item (observe the polarity).

Choose a capacitor that will give an RC time constant
of about 15 ms. Again examine the waveforms.

4. Repeat item 3 using a different capacitor.

5. Repeat item 3 using a different load resistance.

___________________________________________
MILESTONE #3-1: Demonstrate and explain the
circuit of Item 5.
___________________________________________

6. Choose from the circuits of items 3,4 and 5 the one
that shows the minimum ripple (peak-to-peak) in the
load voltage and check the effect of reversing the
polarities of both the diode and the capacitor.

When the diode in the half-wave rectifier is reversed,
the capacitor must also be reversed because you most
likely used an elecrolytic capacitor which has a
Last modification - 8/31/13 Page - 10
polarity designation. If electrolytic capacitors have a
dc voltage voltage across them in the wrong direction,
they may fail, sometimes even explode.

Full Wave Rectifier

7. Construct a circuit, driven from the center-tapped
secondary winding, that contains 2 diodes and 1
resistor (the load) and is such that load current flows
on both half-cycles of the 60 Hz input.

(This type of circuit is known as "full-wave".)

8. Add to the circuit of Item 7 so as to make the load
voltage the best possible approximation to a DC
voltage.

Investigate the dependence of the resulting ripple
voltage on the load current.

9. Investigate the following power supply circuit
(known as a "bridge" circuit).



Do not attach ground to point S in the circuit.

10. Add capacitive filtering to the circuit of Item 9.
___________________________________________
MILESTONE #3-2: Demonstrate the output voltage
you have achieved in the circuit of Item 10.
_____________________________________

Voltage Regulators

11. Investigate the power supply obtained by
adding a Zener regulator to the output of either of the
full-wave circuits above.


Design the regulator (and modify the full wave circuit,
if necessary) so that the load current may be varied
from 0 to 20 ma while the load voltage varies by no
more than 1%.

12. Measure the output voltage of the 7805 voltage
regulator over appropriate ranges of input voltage
and load current.
___________________________________________
Milestone 3-3: Demonstrate the practical working
range of the 7805 voltage regulator.
___________________________________________



Experiment #5

Differential Amplifiers

Session #7

Introduction

The differential amplifier is one of the most important
and widely-used circuits in electrical engineering. In
this experiment, you will design, construct, and test
such an amplifier.

Experiment

1. Design the differential amplifier shown so that I
o

is less than 10 ma and R
e
less than 2 kO, and the
output voltage swing V
c1
> 10 V peak-to-peak for a
differential input signal.

Use power supplies V
CC
= =15 V and V
EE
= -15 V.
The 2 KO resistors are used to provide a DC path to
ground. Verify your dc design.

Last modification - 8/31/13 Page - 11



2. Measure the single-ended common mode gain at 1
kHz

A
c
= 2V
o
/(V
i1
+ V
i2
)

3. Measure the single-ended differential mode gain at
1 kHz. Do not apply excessive differential voltages at
the input

A
d
= V
o
/(V
i1
-V
i2
)
.
Use the results of parts 2 and 3 to estimate the
common mode rejection ratio CMRR.

4. Measure the output signal swing capability before
clipping occurs. Use differential input signals.

5. Replace the emitter resistor R
e
with the current
source shown below.



Design the current source so that the current I
0

remains the same. Verify the correct dc operation of
the modified differential amplifier. NOTE: Your
instructor may substitute another matched pair for the
3096 array. Consult your TA for more information.

6. Determine the common mode rejection ratio CMRR
at 1 kHz for the modified differential amplifier.
___________________________________________
MILESTONE #4-1: Demonstrate that your final
circuit functions well as a differential amplifier.
___________________________________________

Experiment #5

High-frequency Behavior of MOSFET's

Session #8 and #9

Introduction

The objective of this lab is to measure the components
in the small-signal model of the MOSFET and to
investigate the high frequency response of some
amplifier circuits using it. The diagram below shows a
small signal high frequency equivalent of a MOSFET.
The component r
o
will be ignored in the experiment
because it will be shunted by a much smaller load
resistor. The 2N7000 n-channel enhancement mode
MOSFETs in your lab kit will be used for this
experiment.
Last modification - 8/31/13 Page - 12

Experiment

1.
Construct the common source amplifier shown.
Determine the transconductance of the transistor at
midband frequencies and the midband gain
V
o
/V
i
.



Bias the transistor at a drain current of approximately
2 mA and a dc drain-source voltage of 8 V. C
G
and
C
S
are intended to be short circuits at

midband
frequencies as low as 1 kHz so choose them
appropriately. Set R
g
to 5k. Notice

that R
G1
and
R
G2
shunt the input so they will have to be chosen so
as to maintain the high input impedance that a
common source amplifier is capable of having. Set
R
D
= R
S
and use V
DD
= 15-16V.
__________________________________________
MILESTONE #5-1: Demonstrate your measurement
of the MOSFET transconductance.
__________________________________________

2. Measure the high frequency 3db down f
H
circuit
designed in step #1.

The voltage gain of the amplifier v
o
/v
g
versus
frequency shows an approximate single-pole behavior
with the frequency of the pole given by

f
H
= 1/{2t{R
g
||R
G1
||R
G2
}[C
gs
+ C
gd
(1 + g
m
R
D
)]}

where f
H
is the frequency at which the voltage gain
has fallen 3 dB from its mid-band value.

You now have one equation in the 2 MOSFET
parameters, C
gs
, and C
gd
. You already have a value
of g
m
from step #1.

3. Now measure f
H
again, this time a resistor R
D

equal to one half the value used in steps #1 and #2.

Now you have a second equation in the two unknown
quantities along the value of g
m
measured in step #1 .

4. Solve the 3 equations that result from the
measurements (steps 1,2 and 3) to determine the
values of C
gs
, and C
gd
.

Cascode Amplifier

You have observed the connection between the
midband gain and the bandwidth of the common
source amplifier with the bandwidth decreasing as the
midband gain increases. A circuit which allows
greater bandwidth at a given gain is the cascode which
is a common source / common gate pair (CS-CG)

5. Build a cascode amplifier using the figure below as
a guide. Measure the gain and bandwidth of this
circuit and compare with the values obtained earlier
in this lab

The bais points of the two transistors in the CD-CG
amplifier should be the same as the transistor in the
CS amplifier, i.e. a drain current of about 2 mA. Also
R
S
, R
D
, and R
g
in the cascode circuit should be the
same as the common source amplifier. This will make
the bandwidth comparison between the two amplifiers
as consistent as possible.



___________________________________________
+
-



C
gs
r
o
g
m
V
gs
V
gs
+
-
v
ds
S
S
A
m
p
li
fi
e
r
G
C
gd
Last modification - 8/31/13 Page - 13
MILESTONE #5-2: Demonstrate that your cascode
amplifier has a reasonable dynamic range and explain
how the gain and bandwidth were measured.
___________________________________________



6. Measure the gain and bandwidth of the common
drain/common gate amplifier (CD-CG pair) shown
below for comparison with the common source and
cascode amplifiers. Design the bias points of the
MOSFET to be the same as in step #5 as closely as
convenient. Again set R
g
to 5 k



___________________________________________
MILESTONE #5-3: Demonstrate that your CD-CG
amplifier has a reasonable dynamic range and a
bandwidth exceeding the previous two amplifier
configurations.
__________________________________________


Quiz #2 - Exps. 1-5

Session #10

Experiment #6

Operational Amplifiers

Sessions #11 and #12

Introduction

This lab will investigate some of the non-ideal
operating behavior of the 741 opamp, with particular
emphasis on frequency response characteristics. In
addition, opamp use in the design of active filters will
be studied. The op amps are to be operated from

15
V supplies, unless otherwise stated.

Experiment

Operating Characteristics

1. Use the circuit of Fig.67-1 to determine the low
frequency (i.e. dc) open loop gain

A
v
of the 741 op
amp in your lab kit. Use a low frequency (less than 5
Hz) sine wave or triangle wave signal for the input
V
in
. Control the amplitude of the input so that the
output waveform is not distorted.

Show the derivation of the equation for the open loop
voltage given below in your lab notebook. The
derivation assumes the op amp has infinite input
resistance, zero output resistance and a finite voltage
gain A
v
V
out
and V
in
have a phase difference of 180.

A
v

V
out
V
out
+V
in
3x10
4

V
out
| V
out
| | V
in
|
3x10
4







R
g
C
G2
R
G1
R
D
V
DD
R
S
C
S
v
o
+
-
v
g
+
-
R
G2
C
G
Cascode

R
G3
Last modification - 8/31/13 Page - 14


Figure 6-1. Test scircuit for measuring the dc open
loop gain of an op amp.

2. Construct an inverting amplifier with a voltage
gain of 5 and investigate the linearity and dynamic
range of its output as a function of op amp supply
voltages for an input sinusoidal signal at 1 kHz. Use
the oscilloscope for this purpose.

3. Measure the voltage gain vs. frequency for an
amplifier having gains of 1,5, 20 and 40.

In particular, determine for each case the frequency at
which the gain falls to 0.707 of the low frequency
value. Use these results to deduce the open loop pole
frequency (i.e. cutoff or 3db down frequency) of the
op amp.

4. Determine the slew rate of the op amp using a
unity-gain voltage follower with a square wave input
signal v
s
(t) at 50 kHz.

Also investigate the effect of the slew rate on
sinusoidal input signals of various amplitudes and
frequencies. Does the relationship between the slew
rate, the signal frequency, and the maximum
undistorted output amplitude agree with theory?
___________________________________________
MILESTONE #6-1: Demonstrate the slew rate
limitation effect to your instructor or TA.
___________________________________________




Active Filters

5. Construct the circuit shown below and determine
its transfer characteristic and its cutoff frequency f
3dB
.



Figure 6-2. Active filter circuit.

What filtering function does this circuit implement?

Compare the low frequency gain and the cutoff
frequency with the theoretical value of:
A
o
= - R
2
/ R
1

e
3dB
= 1/CR
2 .


___________________________________________
MILESTONE #6-2: Demonstrate the transfer
characteristic of the active filter and its cutoff
frequency. PSPICE DEMO: Bring the results of a
PSPICE simulation of the amplifier (an AC sweep)
and demonstrate that the simulation reproduces what
you have just demonstrated on the lab bench.
___________________________________________

6. Construct the circuit shown below and determine
its transfer characteristic and its cutoff frequency f
3dB
.

Last modification - 8/31/13 Page - 15


Figure 6-3. Active filter circuit

What filtering function does this circuit implement?
Compare the cutoff frequency with the theoretical
value of:
e
3dB
= 1/(1.414RC)
.

Compare the roll off (in dB/decade) of this filter with
that of Item 4.

7. Construct the circuit shown below. Determine its
transfer characteristic and the center frequency f
o
at
which the gain is a maximum.

What filtering function does this circuit implement?
Compare the mid band gain H (the gain at e
o
), the
center frequency e
o
, and the bandwidth Ae with the
theoretical values of:

H = 1
e
o
=
1 + R/R
r
2RC

Ae = 1/RC
.

Investigate the effect on the parameter
Q = e
o
/Ae of varying R and compare with theory.



Figure 6-4. Active filter circuit.
___________________________________________
MILESTONE #6-3: Demonstrate the transfer
characteristic of the active filter of Item 7.


Experiment #7

Feedback Amplifiers

Sessions #13 and #14

This experiment explores the characteristics of
feedback amplifiers including stability issues and how
to compensate such amplifiers. In the first four steps
of this exercise you will explore the four feedback
topologies.

Preview: You must know the following about
each of the four feedback topologies and
the equations for each should be in your
lab notebook:
a. The closed-loop voltage gain (the transfer
function)
b. The feedback factor ()
c. The input and output resistances with feedback
d. The 3-dB frequency










Last modification - 8/31/13 Page - 16
Series/Shunt Feedback



1. Design the series/shunt topology shown above for a
midband no-load voltage gain of about 15 and
measure the midband voltage gain for various
resistive loads. Also determine the low-frequency
small-signal input resistance and the location of the
dominant pole in the sinusoidal steady state response.
Deduce the location of the dominant pole in the open
loop response of the op-amp itself.
___________________________________________
MILESTONE #7-1: Your TA will tell you which one
of your amplifiers from items 1 through 4 to leave
connected. When you have completed item 4
demonstrate that amplifier.
___________________________________________

Shunt/Series




2. Design for a mid-band short-circuit current gain of
about 100 and measure the mid-band value for
various resistive loads.

In this case the input current source is to be
approximated with a voltage source in series with a
large resistance (e.g. 1MO).

Series/Series




3. Design for a mid-band short-circuit
transconductance of about 1 ma/v and measure the
mid-band transconductance for various resistive
loads.

Shunt/Shunt


4. Design for a mid-band open-circuit trans-
resistance of about 100 kO and measure the mid-band
trans-resistance for various resistive loads.

Frequency Response

5. Connect 2 identical amplifiers as designed in item 1
in series and provide overall feedback to make the
overall voltage gain about 15 at mid-band.
Last modification - 8/31/13 Page - 17

(Remember that the dc offset voltage of opamp #1 is
amplified by #2 and this may cause saturation. You
may have to do something about this.)

i. Measure the frequency response of this
compound amplifier.
ii. Examine the output for input square waves of
various frequencies.
iii. Determine the Q of the circuit.
___________________________________________
MILESTONE #7-2: Demonstrate the response of this
circuit to square waves of various frequencies.
___________________________________________

Stability

6. Connect 3 identical amplifiers as designed in item 1
in series (cascade) and provide overall feedback so as
to give an overall mid-band voltage gain variable
from 10 to 100. In other words, insert a series-shunt
stage between the two amplifier stages in step #5.
Investigate the stability of the circuit as a function of
gain.


Compensation

7. For the 3-stage amplifier of item 6 determine a
dominant pole compensation to give stability with a
phase margin between 45 and 90 degrees.

Find a way to add this pole to your circuit and
determine experimentally the bandwidth of the
compensated amplifier. (Suggestion: inserting the
following network between stages is one way to do it.)


___________________________________________
MILESTONE #7-3: demonstrate that the phase
margin is in the range specified.
___________________________________________