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Physics
assignment on
operational
amplifi ers

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Name: Romario Thomas

Form: 6A3
Subject: Physics
Teacher: Mr. C. Powell
Introduction
This portfolio is a compilation of information about operational amplifiers. The information
illustrates a vivid explanation of what an operational is and some of its uses.
An operational amplifier (or an op-amp) is an integrated circuit (IC) that operates as a
voltage amplifier. An op-amp has a differential input. That is, it has two inputs of opposite
polarity. An op-amp has a single output and a very high gain, which means that the output signal
is much higher than input signal.
The uses of the op amp which are covered by this portfolio include:
1.
2.
3.
4.

The voltage follower

Summing amplifier
Voltage comparator
Sine wave converter

It also outlines the general characteristics of an ideal operational amplifier and compares these
characteristics to a real op amp.
The aim of this project is to enhance the readers knowledge about operational amplifiers in an
effort to achieve the objectives of the CXC CAPE (Caribbean Advanced Proficiency
Examinations) syllabus.
I hope that the information is well received.

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Acknowledgements
I am expressing gratitude to the Lord for supplying me with the blessing of physical and
psychological health which was the pivotal element which allowed me to complete this project.
Thanks also to my teacher, Mr. C. Powell, for tasking me with this assignment, it was a learning
process. In addition, I thank my mother for providing me with internet access that I could obtain
the necessary information.

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Table of Contents
Contents

Page number

Introduction

acknowledgements

What is an ideal op amp?

Characteristics of an ideal op amp

6-8

The voltage comparator

9-12

Sine wave converter

13-14

Voltage follower

15-17

Summing amplifier

18-20

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What is an Ideal Op Amp?

An ideal op amp is an op amp that has perfect conditions to allow it to function as an op amp
with 100% efficiency.
An ideal op amp will display the following characteristics, of which are all explained in detail
below. Ideal op amps will have infinite voltage gain, infinitely high impedance, zero output
impedance, its gain is independent of input frequency, it has zero voltage offset, its output can
swing positive or negative to the same voltages as the supply rails, and its output swings
instantly to the correct value.
In real life, as with all ideal components, an ideal op amp does not exist. However, if we can get
an op amp to display as close as possible the characteristics of an ideal op amp as closely, we can
make a more efficient op amp that has better output in real-world conditions.

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Ideal Op Amp Characteristics

Characteristics

Ideal Op Amp

Infinite Voltage Gain

An ideal op amp will have infinite voltage

gain. Op amps are devices that many
times are used to function as amplifiers. A
voltage is input into the op amp and as
output, it produces the voltage amplified. A real op amp can only produce a
An ideal op amp will produce mega-gain, finite gain.
practically; it will be able to produce
infinite gain. It will amplify the signal
infinite times over so that we can have as
much gain as we'd ever need.

Infinitely high input

impedance

An ideal op amp will have infinitely high

input impedance. This will ensure that the
op amp causes no loading in the circuit.
The lower the input impedance, the more
current that an op amp will draw. The
higher the impedance, the lower the
current that an op will draw. We want
high input impedance so that the op amp
doesn't disturb the original circuit by
pulling current from it. To do this, we
need infinitely high input impedance.

Zero Output
Impedance

An ideal op amp will have zero output

impedance. When an op amp produces its
output signal, we want the op amp to have
zero voltage so that the maximum voltage
will be transferred to the output load.
Voltage is divided in a circuit according to
the amount of impedance present in a

Real Op Amp

A real op amp has finite input

impedance. Even though many
types of op amps, such as
MOSFETs, have extremely high
input impedance, in the order of
Tera ohms, it is still finite.

A real op amp will always have

some output impedance, though it is
low. A typical value can be
75.

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circuit. Voltage drops across a component

of higher impedance. In order for the
voltage to drop across the output load,
that load must be of greater impedance
than the output of the op amp. This is
why, ideally, we want the output
impedance of the op amp to be zero

Gain Independent of
Frequency

In an ideal op amp, the gain that the op

amp produces will be independent of
frequency. This means that regardless of
the frequency of the input signal going
into the op amp, the gain that is produced
will be constant and good across all
frequencies.

In real op amps, the gain that is

produced is only for a certain
bandwidth of frequencies. Outside
of this bandwidth, the gain that the
op amp produces will decline.

Zero Input Voltage

Offset

In an ideal op amp, if no voltage is

applied to the inverting and noninverting
input pins, the op amp will output a
voltage of 0, since there is no difference
at all of the voltage applied to the 2 input
pins.

A real op amp will have slight offset

even if the voltage applied to the
pins are the same. To correct this
offset, voltage must be applied to
the offset pin.

Positive and Negative

Voltage Swings to
Supply Rails

In an ideal op amp, the ac voltage which

is fed into the op amp to be amplified will
swing all the way up for the DC positive
supply rail and all the way down for the
DC negative supply rail, making 100%
efficient use of the DC voltage supplied to
an op amp.

In real op amps, the amplified

signal will not fully reach the DC
supply rails. They will fall short of
it.

Output swings instantly In an ideal op amp, the output will swing

to the correct value
instantly to the amplified voltage value.
There will be no time delay between the
time the voltage is input into the op amp

In real op amps, the amplified

signal will take time to reach the
fully amplified voltage value. This
is determined by the slew rate of the

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till the time it is output. It will all be

instantaneous.

op amp.

Again, ideal op amps can't exist because op amps, as all electronic components, will have some
internal resistance, which won't allow maximum efficiency. However, if we can get real op amps
as closely as possible to ideal conditions, we will have very efficient, useful op amps.

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The voltage Comparator

A voltage comparator is an electronic circuit that compares two input voltages and lets you
know which of the two is greater. Its easy to create a voltage comparator from an op amp,
because the polarity of the op-amps output circuit depends on the polarity of the difference
between the two input voltages.
Suppose that you have a photocell that generates 0.5 V when its exposed to full sunlight, and
you want to use this photocell as a sensor to determine when its daylight. You can use a voltage
comparator to compare the voltage from the photocell with a 0.5 V reference voltage to
determine whether or not the sun is shining.

In the voltage-comparator circuit, first a reference voltage is applied to the inverting input (V);
then the voltage to be compared with the reference voltage is applied to the noninverting input.
The output voltage depends on the value of the input voltage relative to the reference voltage, as
follows:
Input Voltage

Output Voltage

Less than reference voltage

Negative

Equal to reference voltage

Zero

Greater than reference voltage

Positive

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Note that the voltage level for both the positive and negative output voltages will be about 1 V
less than the power supply. Thus, if the op-amp power supply is 9 V, the output voltage will be
+8 V if the input voltage is greater than the reference voltage, 0 V if the input voltage is equal to
the reference voltage and 8 V if the input voltage is less than the reference voltage.
You can modify the circuit to eliminate the negative voltage if the input is less than the reference
by sending the output through a diode. In this circuit, a positive voltage appears at the output if
the input voltage is greater than the reference voltage; otherwise, no output voltage exists.

To create a voltage comparator that creates a positive voltage output if the input voltage is less
than a reference voltage, apply the reference voltage to the inverting (V) input, and the input
voltage is applied to the noninverting (V+) input.

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The final voltage-comparator circuit you should know about is the window comparator, which
lets you know whether the input voltage falls within a given range. A window comparator
requires three inputs: a low reference voltage, a high reference voltage, and an input voltage.
The output of the window comparator will be a positive voltage only if the input voltage is
greater than the low reference voltage and less than the high reference voltage. If the input
voltage is less than the low reference voltage, the output will be zero. Similarly, if the input
voltage is greater than the high reference voltage, the output will also be zero.
You need two op amps to create a window comparator. One op amp is configured to produce
positive output voltage only if the input is greater than the low reference voltage (VREF(LOW)). The
other op amp is configured to produce positive output voltage only if the input is less than the
high reference voltage (VREF(HIGH)).
The input voltage is connected to both op amps; the output voltage is sent through diodes to
allow only positive voltage and then combined. The resulting output will have positive voltage
only if the input voltage falls between the low and high reference voltages.

Notice that the power supply connections arent shown separately for each op amp in the circuit.
Its common to omit the power supply connections when multiple op amps are used in a single
circuit. If the power supply connections were shown for all of the op amps, the power supply
connections would complicate the schematic unnecessarily.

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One application the comparator

For all practical purposes, we can say that the output of an op-amp will be saturated fully
positive if the (+) input is more positive than the (-) input, and saturated fully negative if the (+)
input is less positive than the (-) input. In other words, an op-amps extremely high voltage gain
makes it useful as a device to compare two voltages and change output voltage states when one
input exceeds the other in magnitude.

In the above circuit, we have an op-amp connected as a comparator, comparing the input voltage
with a reference voltage set by the potentiometer (R1). If Vin drops below the voltage set by R1,
the op-amps output will saturate to +V, thereby lighting up the LED. Otherwise, if Vin is above
the reference voltage, the LED will remain off. If Vin is a voltage signal produced by a measuring
instrument, this comparator circuit could function as a low alarm, with the trip-point set by R1.
Instead of an LED, the op-amp output could drive a relay, a transistor, an SCR, or any other
device capable of switching power to a load such as a solenoid valve, to take action in the event
of a low alarm.

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Sine wave convertor

Another application for the comparator circuit shown is a square-wave converter. Suppose that
the input voltage applied to the inverting (-) input was an AC sine wave rather than a stable DC
voltage. In that case, the output voltage would transition between opposing states of saturation
whenever the input voltage was equal to the reference voltage produced by the potentiometer.
The result would be a square wave:

Adjustments to the potentiometer setting would change the reference voltage applied to the
noninverting (+) input, which would change the points at which the sine wave would cross,
changing the on/off times, or duty cycle of the square wave:

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It should be evident that the AC input voltage would not have to be a sine wave in particular for
this circuit to perform the same function. The input voltage could be a triangle wave, saw tooth
wave, or any other sort of wave that ramped smoothly from positive to negative to positive
again. This sort of comparator circuit is very useful for creating square waves of varying duty
cycle. This technique is sometimes referred to as pulse-width modulation, or PWM (varying,
or modulating a waveform according to a controlling signal, in this case the signal produced by
the potentiometer).

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The voltage follower

What is a Voltage Follower?

A voltage follower (also called a unity-gain amplifier, a buffer amplifier, and an isolation
amplifier) is a op-amp circuit which has a voltage gain of 1.
This means that the op amp does not provide any amplification to the signal. The reason it is
called a voltage follower is because the output voltage directly follows the input voltage,
meaning the output voltage is the same as the input voltage. Thus, for example, if 10V goes into
the op amp as input, 10V comes out as output. A voltage follower acts as a buffer, providing no
amplification or attenuation to the signal.

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What is the Purpose of a Voltage Follower?

One may ask then, what is the purpose of a voltage follower? Since it outputs the same signal it
inputs, what is its purpose in a circuit? This will now be explained.
An op amp circuit is a circuit with very high input impedance. This high input impedance is the
reason voltage followers are used. This will now be explained.
When a circuit has very high input impedance, very little current is drawn from the circuit. If
you know ohm's law, you know that current, I=V/R. Thus, the greater the resistance, the less
current is drawn from a power source. Thus, the power of the circuit isn't affected when current
is feeding a high impedance load.
Let's look at both illustrations below:
The below circuit is a circuit in which a power source feeds a low-impedance load.

In this circuit above, the load demands and draws a huge amount of current, because the load is
low impedance. According to ohm's law, again, current, I=V/R. If a load has very low resistance,
it draws huge amounts of current. This causes huge amounts of power to be drawn by the power
source and, because of this, causes high disturbances and use of the power source powering the
load.

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Now let's look at the circuit below, connected to an op-amp voltage follower:

This circuit above now draws very little current from the power source above. Because the op
amp has such high impedance, it draws very little current. And because an op amp that has no
feedback resistors gives the same output, the circuit outputs the same signal that is fed in.
This is the reason voltage followers are used. They draw very little current, not disturbing the
original circuit, and give the same voltage signal as output. They act as isolation buffers,
isolating a circuit so that the power of the circuit is disturbed very little.
Voltage followers are important to buffer or isolate a low impedance load from a voltage source.
This means that rather than connect a relatively low value of load resistance across the terminals
of the power source, the op amp can be used to eliminate any loading that might occur. Thus, the
power source will not be loaded down. The circuit acts as an ideal voltage source with nearly
zero internal impedance, since it barely uses any current, yet outputs the full voltage.

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The summing amplifier

The Summing Amplifier is a very flexible circuit based upon the standard Inverting
Operational Amplifier configuration. As its name suggests, the summing amplifier can be used
for combining the voltage present on multiple inputs into a single output voltage.
The inverting amplifier has a single input voltage, (Vin) applied to the inverting input terminal.
If we add more input resistors to the input, each equal in value to the original input resistor,
(Rin) we end up with another operational amplifier circuit called a Summing Amplifier,
summing inverter or even a voltage adder circuit as shown below.
Summing Amplifier Circuit

The output voltage, ( Vout ) now becomes proportional to the sum of the input
voltages, V1, V2, V3etc. Then we can modify the original equation for the inverting amplifier to
take account of these new inputs thus:

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However, if all the input impedances, ( Rin) are equal in value, we can simplify the above
equation to give an output voltage of:
Summing Amplifier Equation

We now have an operational amplifier circuit that will amplify each individual input voltage and
produce an output voltage signal that is proportional to the algebraic SUM of the three
individual input voltages V1, V2 and V3. We can also add more inputs if required as each
individual input sees their respective resistance, Rin as the only input impedance.
This is because the input signals are effectively isolated from each other by the virtual earth
node at the inverting input of the op-amp. A direct voltage addition can also be obtained when all
the resistances are of equal value and R is equal to Rin.
A Scaling Summing Amplifier can be made if the individual input resistors are NOT equal.
Then the equation would have to be modified to:

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To make the maths a little easier, we can rearrange the above formula to make the feedback
resistor RF the subject of the equation giving the output voltage as:

This allows the output voltage to be easily calculated if more input resistors are connected to the
amplifiers inverting input terminal. The input impedance of each individual channel is the value
of their respective input resistors, ie, R1, R2, R3 etc.

Sometimes we need a summing circuit to just add together two or more voltage signals without
any amplification. By putting all of the resistances of the circuit above to the same value R, the
op-amp will have a voltage gain of unity and an output voltage equal to the direct sum of all the
input voltages as shown:

The Summing Amplifier is a very flexible circuit indeed, enabling us to effectively Add or
Sum (hence its name) together several individual input signals. If the inputs
resistors, R1, R2, R3 etc., are all equal a unity gain inverting adder will be made. However, if

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the input resistors are of different values a scaling summing amplifier is produced which will
output a weighted sum of the input signals.