Lecture Notes of ME 475: Introduction to Mechatronics

Note 4 Operational Amplifiers (Op-Amp)

Department of Mechanical Engineering, University Of Saskatchewan, 57 Campus Drive, Saskatoon, SK S7N 5A9, Canada

Lecture Notes of ME 475: Introduction to Mechatronics

1. Basic Op-Amp
As the name implies, an operational amplifier (Op-Amp) performs an operational amplification function where the operation may be add, subtract, multiply, filter, compare, convert, etc. There are a number of operational amplifiers, such as LM741 and NE741, manufactured by multiple vendors under license. Each of the operational amplifiers incorporates multiple discrete devices into one compact chip which is typically in dual-inline-packaging (DIP) form. For example, the 741 op-amp has 17 BJT transistors, 12 resistors, 1 capacitor, and 4 diodes. Figure 1 show the DIP package and symbol for a basic op-amp. An operational amplifier is a high gain amplifier with two inputs and one output. Its purpose is to amplify the voltage difference between the two inputs, i.e. vo = (v+ v-) K where vo is the output voltage, v- the voltage at the inverting input terminal, v+ the voltage at the noninverting input terminal, and K the open-loop gain.

Figure 1: Operational amplifier: (a) op-amp DIP-packages, (b) op-amp pins, and (c) opamp symbol
4 7

vo V+ v+ vV-

The gain of an op-amp (K) ranges from 10 to 10 5 with a typical value of 10 . To amplify the difference between the input signals, the op-amp draws power from an electrical power supply. If V+ and V- denote the positive and negative voltages provided by the power supply, the output of the op-amp cannot exceed these limits and therefore saturates at these levels, as shown in the figure on the left.

Department of Mechanical Engineering, University Of Saskatchewan, 57 Campus Drive, Saskatoon, SK S7N 5A9, Canada

Lecture Notes of ME 475: Introduction to Mechatronics

Figure 2 shows the equivalent circuit of an op-amp, in which Zin is the input impedance of the amplifier, Zout the output impedance of the amplifier, i+ the current though the +In terminal, i- the current though the -In terminal, and io the output current.

io i+ v
+

vo

vi-

Figure 2: Equivalent circuit of an op-amp There are 2 important assumptions, which you always need to use in the analysis of circuits that consist of op-amps.

Assumption 1: v+ = v -.
When an op-amp is not saturated, i.e. its voltage is between the two saturation voltages, we say that it is operating in its linear region. The high gain of the op-amp and the supply voltages (typically V+ = 15 V and V- = -15 V) limit the difference between v+ and v- to a very small value.
For example, if vo = 10 V, and K = 10 , then v v =
5 + -4 v0 = 10 V. K

This difference is so small that we can consider it as being negligible, so we have v+ = v-.

Assumption 2: i+ = i- = 0.
The second assumption pertains to the input current. The input resistance of the op-amp is typically very large (ranging from 100 K to 100 M with a typical value of 2 M ). Using the previous example, if v+ v- = 10 V and Zin = 2 M = 2 x 10 , then the -11 v+ vinput current i = i + = = 5 x 10 A. The value of the input current is so Z in small that it can be ignored.
-4 6

Department of Mechanical Engineering, University Of Saskatchewan, 57 Campus Drive, Saskatoon, SK S7N 5A9, Canada

Lecture Notes of ME 475: Introduction to Mechatronics

2. Common Op-Amp Circuits

2.1 Inverting Op-Amp

2.2 Noninverting Op-Amp

2.3 Differential Input Op-Amp

Department of Mechanical Engineering, University Of Saskatchewan, 57 Campus Drive, Saskatoon, SK S7N 5A9, Canada

Lecture Notes of ME 475: Introduction to Mechatronics

2.4 Derivative Op-Amp

vo (t ) = RC

dvi (t ) dt

2.5 Integrating Op-Amp

vo (t ) =

1 vi ( )d RC 0

Department of Mechanical Engineering, University Of Saskatchewan, 57 Campus Drive, Saskatoon, SK S7N 5A9, Canada

Lecture Notes of ME 475: Introduction to Mechatronics

2.6 Comparator Op-Amp

1 2.7 Low-Pass Filter Op-Amp. A low-pass filter is a filter that passes low-frequency signals but attenuates (reduces the amplitude of) signals with frequencies higher than the cutoff (or break) frequency.

Vo ( s) 1 = Vi ( s) 1 + Ri Cs (a) Low-pass filter op-amp

B =

1 Ri C

(b) Frequency response

Department of Mechanical Engineering, University Of Saskatchewan, 57 Campus Drive, Saskatoon, SK S7N 5A9, Canada

Lecture Notes of ME 475: Introduction to Mechatronics

Example 1

A special case of the noninverting op-amp is obtained if Rf = 0 and Ri = . Such an opamp configuration is called the voltage follower op-amp or buffer op-amp. What is the voltage gain? Why do we need this configuration?

Example 2

Consider a noninverting op-amp with saturation output voltage of Vsat = 13 V, Ri = 10 k, and Rf = 10 k. Determine the range of input voltage in order that the output is not saturated.

Example 3

Consider the differential op-map circuit. Determine the values of the resistor in order to obtain the following input-output voltage relationship, vo = v1 - 2 v2.

Department of Mechanical Engineering, University Of Saskatchewan, 57 Campus Drive, Saskatoon, SK S7N 5A9, Canada

Lecture Notes of ME 475: Introduction to Mechatronics

Example 4

The following circuit is used to implement the PID control. Find its transfer function, i.e., Vo(s)/Vi(s).

Example 5

Consider the op-amp comparator circuit shown in the following figure, in which R1 = 4 k, R2 = 6 k, VC1 = 10 V, and the saturation output of the op-amp Vsat = 13 V. The input voltage vin = 9 sin(2t ) . Draw the output voltage (vo) as a function of time.

Department of Mechanical Engineering, University Of Saskatchewan, 57 Campus Drive, Saskatoon, SK S7N 5A9, Canada