5/31/2011 Balancing the Input Offset

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Balancing the Input Offset

Introduction
In the previous experiment (The Basic Op Amp Inverter), we learned that there are at least three basic
limitations on the accuracy of an op amp circuit: the tolerance of the resistors, input offset voltage and current,
and output saturation. We can't do anything about output saturation, and we can only deal with resistor
tolerances by selecting resistors of the degree of precision required for a specific application. However, in
those cases where it is necessary, we can make use of a feature of the basic 741 op amp to balance out the
input offsets and thus remove their influence on the output voltage.

Fortunately, in most applications this is not necessary. This permits the construction of dual- and quad-op
amp packages, where the offset adjustment connections are not available outside the package. However,
there are some cases where the input offset must be balanced as closely as possible. Therefore, we will
examine the required method in this experiment.

Schematic Diagram
The recommended circuit for balancing out the input offset is quite simple, as shown here. The offset null
pins (1 and 5) give direct access to the 1K emitter resistors in the input stage, and the offset null circuit is
simply a 10K potentiometer connected between them, with its slider connected to the negative power supply.
This is equivalent to putting a 5K resistance in parallel with each of the 1K resistors inside the IC. The
difference is that we can vary the external resistances by adjusting the potentiometer, until the voltage offset
becomes zero.

Since we're dealing with the input stage of a high-gain amplifier, the output voltage will be very sensitive to

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potentiometer changes. Therefore, we'll use a 15-turn
trimpot here.

So how do we tell when we have exactly balanced out

the offset? After all, the input offset is internal to the IC, and
is rated to be no more than 6.0 millivolts (0.006 V) and 0.2
milliamps (0.0002 A). These require very accurate and
sensitive measuring equipment, and are inaccessible in any
case.

What we can do is select Rin and Rf to amplify an input

voltage of zero. We'll make Rin = 1K and Rf = 100K, and
connect the input end of Rin to ground. This will give the
overall circuit a gain of 100, and assure us that the correct
output voltage should nevertheless be 0.000 volt. Any
output voltage will be due to offsets in the op amp itself, and we will use the 10K trimpot to balance them out
as closely as possible.

Parts List
To construct and test the offset balancing circuit on your breadboard, you will need the following
experimental parts:

(1) 741 op amp IC.

(2) 1K, 1% resistors (brown-black-black-brown).
(1) 100K, 1% resistor (brown-black-black-orange).
(1) 10K trimmer potentiometer.
Orange hookup wire.
Blue hookup wire.

Constructing the Circuit

Select an area on your breadboard socket that is clear of other circuits. You'll need to mount the 741 IC
so that its pins are in line with contacts on the bus strips. Then refer to the image and text below and install the
parts as shown.

Circuit Assembly

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5/31/2011 Balancing the Input Offset
0.5" Orange Jumper

You should have some 0.5" orange jumpers

left over from earlier experiments. If not, prepare
a 0.5" orange jumper in the manner you have
used in the past. Install this jumper as shown in
the assembly diagram to the right.

Click on the image of the jumper you just

installed to continue.

Performing the Experiment

Turn on your voltmeter and set it to measure voltages in the range of ±20 volts, and connect it to monitor
the output voltage of the 741 op amp at pin 6 (the top end of the 100K resistor). Turn on power to your
experimental circuit, and note the output voltage of this circuit. If the trimpot is still at one end of its range from
the last experiment, the output voltage may well be quite high. This is not a problem; simply note it for now.

Adjust the trimpot over its range and note the effect on the output voltage. Then, readjust the trimpot to
reduce the output voltage to below ±1.00 volt.

Reduce the range on your voltmeter to measure voltages up to ±2 volts, and then continue to adjust the
trimpot to reduce the output voltage to zero.

If your voltmeter has a 200 mV range, switch down to that and use the trimpot to adjust the output voltage
to as close to zero as you can. By now the adjustment will be very sensitive to slight changes, so you may have
difficulty balancing out the last millivolt. If so, don't worry about it; just do the best you can.

When you have reduced the output voltage as closely as possible to zero, leave the trimpot alone and
simply observe the output voltage for a few minutes. What does this observation show you?

Finally, remove the trimpot from the breadboard socket and set it aside. What is the output voltage now?
Keeping in mind the op amp gain of 100, what was the effective initial input offset voltage?

When you have made your determinations, turn off the power to your experimental circuit and voltmeter
and compare your results with the discussion below.

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Discussion

The 10K trimpot allows considerable control over the input offset errors inherent in the 741 op amp. You
should have been able to adjust the output voltage over a range between ±3 and ±4 volts. Thus, you can
certainly adjust the trimpot to balance the circuit for a zero volt output.

As you continued to reduce the output voltage and set your voltmeter to more sensitive ranges, you found
that adjusting for precisely zero volts at the output was a bit more difficult. At the millivolt range, even a very
slight adjustment of the trimpot caused a significant change in output voltage. Nevertheless, you should have
been able to set the output to some value less than ±1 mV.

It is possible to get more sensitive adjustments by replacing the 10K trimpot with two fixed 4.7K resistors
and a 1K, 15-turn trimpot. This will reduce the overall adjustment range to about 10% of its original range,
and allow greater adjustment sensitivity over the reduced range. However, as you discovered when you
watched the output voltage for several minutes, this is not helpful in this case. The op amp output voltage did
not remain constant, but kept shifting up and down by a millivolt or more.

This behavior is called drift, and the output voltage of the op amp will continue to drift over time, and with
changes in temperature. As a result, you can minimize the offset, but you cannot completely eliminate it over a
period of time. You'll need to use other techniques to minimize and compensate for drift in a critical op amp
circuit.

When you removed the trimpot, the output voltage jumped to an amplified representation of the inherent
offset. Our sample 741 jumped to an output of 79.5 mV, indicating that the input offset voltage and current of
this particular IC combine to a result that is slightly less than 0.8 mV. This is well within the maximum ratings of
this IC, and is small enough that we can ignore it in the remaining experiments covered in these pages.

When you have completed this experiment, make sure power to your experimental circuit and voltmeter is
turned off. Remove all of your experimental components from the breadboard socket and put them aside for
use in later experiments.

Your next experiment is: Summing Amplifier

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