Operational Amplifier

COMPARATORS
A comparator is a specialized op-amp circuit that compares two input
voltages and produces an output that is always at either one of two
states, indicating the greater or less than relationship between the
inputs.
In this application, the op-amp is used in the open-loop configuration,
with the input voltage on one input and a reference voltage on the
other.
Comparators provide very fast switching times, and many have
additional capabilities (such as fast propagation delay or internal
reference voltages) to optimize the comparison function.
For example, some ultra-high-speed comparators can have
propagation delays of as little as 500 ps. Because the output is always
in one of two states, comparators are often used to interface between
an analog and digital circuit.

 For less critical applications, an op-amp running without

negative feedback (open-loop) is often used as a
comparator.
Although op-amps are much slower and lack other special
features, they have very high open-loop gain, which enables
them to detect very tiny differences in the inputs.
In general, comparators cannot be used as op-amps, but opamps can be used as comparators in noncritical applications.
Because an op-amp without negative feedback is essentially
a comparator, we will look at the comparison function using
a typical op-amp.

Zero-Level Detection
One application of an op-amp used as a comparator is to determine
when an input voltage exceeds a certain level. Fig(a) shows a zerolevel detector.
Notice that the inverting (-) input is grounded to produce a zero level
and that the input signal voltage is applied to the noninverting (+)
input.
Because of the high open-loop voltage gain, a very small difference
voltage between the two inputs drives the amplifier into saturation,
causing the output voltage to go to its limit.
For example, consider an op-amp having Aol =100,000. A voltage
difference of only 0.25 mV between the inputs could produce an
output voltage of (0.25 mV)(100,000) = 25 V if the op-amp were
capable. However, since most op-amps have maximum output voltage
limitations near the value of their dc supply voltages, the device
would be driven into saturation.

 Fig (b) shows the result of a sinusoidal input voltage applied to the
non-inverting (+) input of the zero-level detector.
When the sine wave is positive, the output is at its maximum positive
level.
When the sine wave crosses 0, the amplifier is driven to its opposite
state and the output goes to its maximum negative level, as shown.
As you can see, the zero level detector can be used as a squaring
circuit to produce a square wave from a sine wave.

Nonzero-Level Detection
The zero-level detector can be modified to detect positive and
negative voltages by connecting a fixed reference voltage source to
the inverting input, as shown in Fig(a).
A more practical arrangement is shown in Fig(b) using a voltage
divider to set the reference voltage, VREF.

Where +V is the positive op-amp dc supply voltage.

 The circuit in Fig (c) uses a zener diode to set the reference voltage
(VREF = VZ). As long as Vin is less than VREF, the output remains at
the maximum negative level.
When the input voltage exceeds the reference voltage, the output goes
to its maximum positive voltage, as shown in Fig(d) with a sinusoidal
input voltage.

Effects of Input Noise on Comparator

Operation

In many practical situations, noise (unwanted voltage fluctuations)

appears on the input line.
This noise voltage becomes superimposed on the input voltage, as
shown in Fig below
the case of a sine wave, and can cause a comparator to erratically
switch output states.
In order to understand the potential effects of noise voltage,
consider a low-frequency sinusoidal voltage applied to the
noninverting (+) input of an op-amp comparator used as a zerolevel detector, as shown in Figure 136(a).

 Part (b) of the figure shows the input sine wave plus noise and
the resulting output.
When the sine wave approaches 0, the fluctuations due to noise
may cause the total input to vary above and below 0 several
times, thus producing an erratic output voltage.

Reducing Noise Effects with Hysteresis

An erratic output voltage caused by noise on the input occurs because
the op-amp comparator switches from its negative output state to its
positive output state at the same input voltage level that causes it to
switch in the opposite direction, from positive to negative.
This unstable condition occurs when the input voltage hovers around
the reference voltage, and any small noise fluctuations cause the
comparator to switch first one way and then the other.
In order to make the comparator less sensitive to noise, a technique
incorporating positive feedback, called hysteresis, can be used.
Basically, hysteresis means that there is a higher reference level when
the input voltage goes from a lower to higher value than when it goes
from a higher to a lower value.
A good example of hysteresis is a common household thermostat that
turns the furnace on at one temperature and off at another.

 The two reference levels are referred to as the upper trigger point
(UTP) and the lower trigger point (LTP).
This two-level hysteresis is established with a positive feedback
arrangement, as shown in Fig below.
The noninverting input is connected to a resistive voltage divider such
that a portion of the output voltage is fed back to the input.
The input signal is applied to the inverting (-) input in this case.
The basic operation of the comparator with hysteresis is illustrated in
Fig a , b & c.
Assume that the output voltage is at its
positive maximum, Vout(max). The voltage
Fed back to the noninverting input is
VUTP and is expressed as

 When Vin exceeds VUTP, the output voltage drops to its negative
maximum
as shown in part (a).
Now the voltage fed back to the noninverting input is VLTP and is
expressed as
The input voltage must now fall below VLTP, as shown in part (b),
before the device will switch from the maximum negative voltage
back to the maximum positive voltage.
This means that a small amount of noise voltage has no effect on the
output, as illustrated by Figure (c).
A comparator with built-in hysteresis is sometimes known as a
Schmitt trigger.
The amount of hysteresis is defined by the difference of the two
trigger levels.

Output Bounding
In some applications, it is necessary to limit the output voltage levels
of a comparator to a value less than that provided by the saturated
op-amp.
A single zener diode can be used, as shown in Figure 1310, to limit
the output voltage to the zener voltage in one direction and to the
forward diode voltage drop in the other.
This process of limiting the output range is called bounding.
The operation is as follows. Since
the anode of the zener is connected
to the inverting input, it is at virtual
ground Therefore, when the output
voltage reaches a positive value
equal to the zener voltage, it limits
at that value, as illustrated in
Fig(a).

 When the output switches negative, the zener acts as a regular diode
and becomes forward-biased at 0.7 V, limiting the negative output
voltage to this value, as shown
in part (b). Turning the zener around limits the output voltage in the
opposite direction.
Two zener diodes arranged as in Fig below limit the output voltage to
the zener voltage plus the forward voltage drop (0.7 V) of the
forward-biased zener, both positively and negatively, as shown.

RELAXATION OSCILLATORS
The second major category of oscillators is the relaxation
oscillator. Relaxation oscillators use an RC timing circuit
and a device that changes states to generate a periodic
Waveform.

A Triangular-Wave Oscillator
The op-amp integrator can be used as the basis for a triangular-wave
oscillator.
The switch is used only to introduce the concept; it is not a practical
way to implement this circuit.
When the switch is in position 1, the negative voltage is applied, and
the output is a positive-going ramp.
When the switch is thrown into position 2, a negative-going ramp is
produced.
If the switch is thrown back and forth at fixed intervals, the output is
a triangular wave consisting of alternating positive-going and
negative-going ramps, as shown in Fig (b).

A Practical Triangular-Wave Oscillator:

One practical implementation of a triangular wave oscillator utilizes
an op-amp comparator with hysteresis to perform the switching
function, as shown in Figure 1628.
The operation is as follows.
To begin, assume that the output voltage of the comparator is at its
maximum negative level. This output is connected to the inverting
input of the integrator through R1, producing a positive-going ramp
on the output of the integrator.
When the ramp voltage reaches the upper trigger point (UTP), the
comparator switches to its maximum positive level.
This positive level causes the integrator ramp to change to a
negative-going direction.
The ramp continues in this direction until the lower trigger point
(LTP) of the comparator is reached. At this point, the comparator
output switches back to the maximum negative level and the cycle
repeats. This action is illustrated in Figur.

 Since the comparator produces a square-wave output, the circuit in

Fig below can be used as both a triangular-wave oscillator and a
square-wave oscillator.
Devices of this type are commonly known as function generators
because they produce more than one output function.
The output amplitude of the square wave is set by the output swing of
the comparator, and the
resistors R2 and R3 set the
amplitude of the triangular
output by establishing the UTP
and LTP voltages according to
the following formulas:

Summing Amplifier with Unity Gain

A summing amplifier has two or more inputs and its output is the
negative algebraic sum of its input voltages.
A two-input summing amplifier is shown in Fig below.
Notice that both the input voltages are applied to the inverting input.
The output voltage for the amplifier can be written as

If all three of the resistors are

equal
, then

Summing Amplifier with Gain Greater Than Unity

When Rf is larger than the input resistors, the amplifier has gain of
Rf /R , where R is the value of each equal-value input resistance.

The output voltage has the same magnitude as the sum of all the input
voltages multiplied by a constant determined by the ratio -(Rf /R).

Averaging Amplifier:
A summing amplifier can be made an averaging amplifier by setting
the ratio Rf /R equal to the reciprocal of the number of inputs(n).

Scaling Adder:
Different weights can be assigned to each input of the summing
amplifier by simply adjusting the values of the input resistors.

Example

Example

The Op-Amp Integrator

As its name implies, the Op-amp Integrator is an operational

amplifier circuit that performs the mathematical operation
of Integration, that is we can cause the output to respond to changes
in the input voltage over time as the op-amp integrator produces
an output voltage which is proportional to the integral of the input
voltage.
An ideal integrator is shown in Fig below.
Notice the feedback element is a capacitor that forms an RC circuit
with the input resistor.
In order to understand how the circuit works, it is necessary to review
how a capacitor charges.
The charge Q on a capacitor is
proportional to the charging current
IC and the time t.
Or in terms of voltage it becomes

 From these two relationships the capacitor voltage can be expressed

as
This equation is a form of equation of line with slope
. This
shows that the capacitor voltage increases linearly with time.
Formula for a straight line is
In reality this is not true because capacitor charging rate changes
exponentially rather than linearly in RC circuits.
For the charging to be linear, the current should be constant and the
op-amp makes sure that it is constant.
In Figure 13, inverting input of the op-amp is at virtual ground (0V),
so the voltage across equals . Therefore the input current is

 If Vin is a constant voltage, then Iin is also a constant

because the inverting input always remains at 0 V,
keeping a constant voltage across Ri.
Because of the very high input impedance of the opamp, there is negligible current at the inverting input.
This makes all of the input current go through the
capacitor, as indicated in Fig below, so
IC = Iin
.

 The Capacitor Voltage:

Since Iin is constant, so is IC. The constant IC charges the capacitor
linearly and produces a linear voltage across C.
The positive side of the capacitor is held at 0 V by the virtual ground
of the op-amp. The voltage on the negative side of the capacitor,
which is the op-amp output voltage, decreases linearly from zero as
the capacitor charges, as shown in Fig-1.
This voltage, VC, is called a negative ramp and is the consequence of
a constant positive input.

 The Output Voltage:

Vout is the same as the voltage on the negative side of the capacitor.
When a positive step input voltage is applied, the output saturates to
its maximum negative level as shown in Fig-2.

 Rate of Change of the Output Voltage:

The rate at which the capacitor charges, and therefore the
slope of the output ramp, is set by the ratio IC / C.
Since IC =Vin / Ri , the rate of change or slope of the
integrators output voltage is

Integrators are especially useful in triangular-wave oscillators

 When a step voltage, Vin is firstly applied to the input of an

integrating amplifier, the uncharged capacitor C has very little
resistance and acts a bit like a short circuit allowing maximum current
to flow via the input resistor, Rin as potential difference exists
between the two plates.
No current flows into the amplifiers input and point X is a virtual
ground resulting in zero output.
As the impedance of the capacitor at this point is very low, the gain
ratio of Xc/Rin is also very small giving an overall voltage gain of
less than one, ( voltage follower circuit ).
As the feedback capacitor C begins to charge up due to the influence
of the input voltage, its impedance Xc slowly increase in proportion to
its rate of charge. (As for DC supply capacitor act as open circuit. so
for step input (DC) capacitors Xc increases gradually and reach to
infinity.)
The capacitor charges up at a rate determined by the RC time
constant, ( ) of the series RC network

 Since the capacitor is connected between the op-amps inverting input

(which is at ground potential) and the op-amps output (which is
negative), the potential voltage, Vc developed across the capacitor
slowly increases causing the charging current to decrease as the
impedance of the capacitor increases.
This results in the ratio of Xc/Rin increasing producing a linearly
increasing ramp output voltage that continues to increase until the
capacitor is fully charged.
At this point the capacitor acts as an open circuit, blocking anymore
flow of DC current. The ratio of feedback capacitor to input resistor
( Xc/Rin ) is now infinite resulting in infinite gain.
The result of this high gain (similar to the op-amps open-loop gain),
is that the output of the amplifier goes into saturation as shown below.

 The rate at which the output voltage increases (the rate of change) is
determined by the value of the resistor and the capacitor, "RC time
constant".
By changing this RC time constant value, either by changing the
value of the Capacitor, C or the Resistor, R, the time in which it takes
the output voltage to reach saturation can also be changed

 For example if we apply a constantly changing input signal such as a

square wave to the input of an Integrator Amplifier then the capacitor
will charge and discharge in response to changes in the input signal. Thi
results in the output signal being that of a saw tooth waveform whose
frequency is dependant upon the RC time constant.
This type of circuit is also known as a Ramp Generator.

Example

The Practical Integrator

The ideal integrator uses a capacitor in the feedback which is open to
DC.
This implies that for DC voltage the capacitor becomes open and the
op-amp becomes open-loop.
Any DC offset voltage due to offset error would cause the output to
produce a ramp that moves toward either positive or negative
saturation (depending on theOffset) even when there is no input.
The simplest solution available to avoid this situation is to use a
resistor is parallel with the feedback capacitor as shown in Fig.
Rf should be large as compared to Rin.
Rc can be added to the noninverting input
to compensate for the bias currents.

The Op-Amp Differentiator

The Ideal Differentiator:

A differentiator produces an output that is proportional to the rate of
change of the input voltage.
In other words the faster or larger the change to the input voltage
signal, the greater the input current, the greater will be the output
voltage change in response, becoming more of a "spike" in shape.
To see how the differentiator works, apply a positive-going ramp
voltage to the input as indicated in Fig below.
In this case, IC =Iin and the voltage across the capacitor is equal to Vin
at all times (Vc = Vin) because of virtual ground on the inverting
input.
From the basic formula,
VC = (IC/C)t, the capacitor
current is

 Since the current at the inverting input is negligible, IR = IC.

Both currents are constant because the slope of the capacitor voltage
(VC/t) is constant.
The output voltage is also constant and equal to the voltage across Rf
because one side of the feedback resistor is always 0 V (virtual
ground).

The output is negative when the input is a positive-going ramp and

positive when the input is a negative-going ramp, as shown in Fig1.
During the positive slope of the input, the capacitor is charging from
the input source and the constant current through the feedback resistor
is in the direction shown.
During the negative slope of the input, the current is in the opposite
direction because the capacitor is discharging.

 Notice in Equation-1 that the term VC/t is the slope of the input.
If the slope increases, Vout increases. If the slope decreases, Vout
decreases.
The output voltage is proportional to the slope (rate of change) of
the input. The constant of proportionality is the time constant, Rf C.

 The input signal to the differentiator is applied to the capacitor. The

capacitor blocks any DC content so there is no current flow to the
amplifier summing point, X resulting in zero output voltage.
The capacitor only allows AC type input voltage changes to pass
through and whose frequency is dependant on the rate of change of
the input signal.
At low frequencies the reactance of the capacitor is "High" resulting
in a low gain ( R/Xc ) and low output voltage from the op-amp.
At higher frequencies the reactance of the capacitor is much lower
resulting in a higher gain and higher output voltage from the
differentiator amplifier.
Since the node voltage of the operational amplifier at its inverting
input terminal is zero, the current, i flowing through the capacitor will
be given as:

 The Op-amp Differentiator circuit in its basic form has two main
disadvantages compared to the previous integrator circuit.
One is that it suffers from instability at high frequencies as mentioned
above, and the other is that the capacitive input makes it very
susceptible to random noise signals and any noise or harmonics
present in the source circuit will be amplified more than the input
signal itself. ( noise is usually consist of high frequencies)
This is because the output is proportional to the slope of the input
voltage so some means of limiting the bandwidth in order to achieve
closed-loop stability is required.

Op-amp Differentiator Waveforms

If we apply a constantly changing signal such as a Square-wave,
Triangular or Sine-wave type signal to the input of a differentiator
amplifier circuit the resultant output signal will be changed and whose
final shape is dependant upon the RC time constant of the
Resistor/Capacitor combination.

Example

The Practical Differentiator

The ideal differentiator uses a capacitor in series with the inverting
input. Because a capacitor has very low impedance at high
frequencies, the combination of Rf and C form a very high gain
amplifier at high frequencies.
This means that a differentiator circuit tends to be noisy because
electrical noise mainly consists of high frequencies.
The solution to this problem is simply to add a resistor, Rin, in series
with the capacitor to act as a low-pass filter and reduce the gain at
high frequencies.
The resistor should be small compared to the feedback resistor in
order to have a negligible effect on the desired signal. Figure 1342
shows a practical differentiator.
A bias compensating resistor may also be used on the noninverting
input.