The Differential Amplifier

• A typical op-amp is made up of three types

of amplifier circuits:
– Differential amplifier
• Input stage for the op-amp; it has two inputs and provides
amplification of the difference voltage
– Voltage amplifier
• Usually a class A amplifier that provides gain
– Push-pull amplifier
• Class B amplifier is used for the output stage
Negative Feedback
• The inverting input (-)
effectively makes the
feedback signal 180°
out of phase with the
input signal
• When negative
feedback is present,
the noninverting and
inverting inputs are
nearly identical

Negative Feedback
• Since the inherent open-loop gain of a typical opamp
is very high, usually > 100,000, an extremely
small difference in the two input voltages drives
the op-amp into its saturated output states
– The usefulness of an op-amp operated in this manner is
severely restricted and is generally limited to
comparator applications
– With negative feedback, the overall closed-loop gain
(Ao) can be reduce and controlled so that the op-amp
can function as a linear amplifier

Imran Mirza (MSc Physics, PGCC Scotland, UK) 033365

FIGURE : Without negative feedback, an extremely small difference in
the two input voltages drives the op-amp to
its output limits and it becomes nonlinear.

•Vout is limited by the positive

and negative voltage supply
•For example, if the supply
was +/-15 Volts, the output
signal would clip at +/- 15
Volts

Op-amp Configurations with Negative Feedback

• Closed-loop voltage
gain
– Closed-loop
voltage gain is the
voltage gain of an
opamp
with negative
feedback
– An external
feedback network
connects the output
to the inverting input
– The closed-loop voltage gain is determined by the
component values in the feedback network

Imran Mirza (MSc Physics, PGCC Scotland, UK) 033365

Summary
• The op-amp has three terminals, not including power and ground:
inverting (-), non-inverting (+), and output
• Most op-amps require both a positive and a negative dc supply voltage
• The ideal op-amp has infinite input impedance, zero output impedance
and infinite voltage gain
• A practical op-amp has high input impedance, low output impedance,
and high open-loop voltage gain

Summary
• A diff-amp is normally used for the input stage of an op-amp
• A differential input voltage appears between the inverting and non-
inverting inputs of a diff-amp
• A differential output voltage appears between two output terminals of a
diff-amp
• Common mode occurs when equal, in-phase voltages are applied to
both input terminals

Summary
• Negative feedback occurs when a portion of the output voltage is
connected back to the inverting input such that it subtracts from the
input voltage, thus reducing the voltage gain but increasing the stability
and bandwidth
• There are three basic op-amp configurations:
inverting, non-inverting, and voltage-follower
• All op-amp configurations (except comparators, covered in the next
chapter) employ negative feedback

Imran Mirza (MSc Physics, PGCC Scotland, UK) 033365