EXPERIMENT ‘NON-IDEAL OPERATIONAL AMPLIFIER CIRCUITS. 2.6.2 Input and Output Offset Voltage 2.63 Input Bias and Input Offset Current 264 Slew Rate Limitation Purpose Inall the experiments with op amps up to this point, it was assumed that no current enters {he input terminals and that the output voltage is exactly zero when v, = .. This experiment deala with the real situation; you will measure how muich error is incurred by making these approximations. Antroduction Input Offset Voliage I'hen the input terminals of an op amp are connected together, the output voltage is. enerally not zero because of imperfect matching of components in the differential input stage of the amplifier. For example ifthe two collector resistors in Fig. 183 (Experiment 18) are not ‘identical, even ifall other paired elements are exactly matched, there will be a voltage difference at {he output terminals when the inputs are equal. The input offset voltage Vio ofthe op amp is defined as the magnitude of the differential input voltage v.-v. that must be applied under open- loop conditions to set the output voltage to zero, orto overcome the internal offset. Itis usually ‘modeled as a positive voltage source connected to the non-inverting terminal of an otherwise ideal op amp. In the feedback amplifier of Fig. 1, the output voltage, in the absence of an extemal source i vor “Ve 1482) ovt Bias and t Tn an op amp such as the LM741, which uses bipolar transistors as input elements, the base currents ofthe input transistors constitute the input bias current. The manufacturer's specification sheet cites a typical bias current of 200 nA. In an op amp such as the LF856, which uses JFET input ‘elements the input bias currents are far smaller because they are only the leakage currents of the reverse-biased gate junctions. With MOSFET input elements the bias currents are still smaller. If ‘he input transistors were perfectly matched, the bias currents into each input terminal would be ‘the same, and the input offset current, defined as the magnitude of the difference between the bias currents, would be zero. In practice, exact matching is impossible; therefore there is a non-zero input offset current. ‘The effect of input bias current can be found by analyzing Fig. 3-2. Since there is no external voltage source, there will be an output voltage LR caused by flow ofthe bias current through the feedback resistor. Re Fig.3:2 Slew-Rate Limitation ‘The maximum rate, in volts/s or volts/uis, at which the output of an op amp can change is, determined by the rate of charge or discharge of a capacitor inside the op amp. This quantity is called the slew-rate. It isa large-signal quantity that is not directly related to the high-frequency rolloff point.. If, for example, the input signal toa linear feedback amplifier with voltage gain Ay is a sinusoid Vasinat, then the slew rate limits the frequency and/or the amplitude of the output sinusoid AyVasinat, above which there will be significant distortion of the waveform, The ‘maximum rate of change is Ber] AV, cosa], = a4,V, < slew rate 2 ‘Any combination of the three factors that satisfies this condition will give an undistorted sinusoidal output. Fig. 3-3 shows what happens when the slew rate is exceeded. The dotted sinusoid isthe expected output fora given amplifier and input signal 1. However, whenever the magnitude ofthe slope of the ideal output curve exceeds the slew rate, the output can change only atthe slew rate Therefore the ideal output curve (dotted sinusoid) is distorted into the slew-ratelimited output #1. ‘The slew rate is the slope of the stright segments ofthis curve. Case #2 represents a smaller 15input signal or smaller gain. Since the slew rate is never exceeded, the ideal sinusoidal output (dashed sinusoid) is observed. ideal output #1 ‘deal and actual ‘output #2 slew-rate-limited Procedure ‘A. Input Offset Voltage tne oPetoop gain ofthe opamp. Ifitis no then the output wil estes ‘Compare the data ‘hect value of Vio with your value caleulated from the output voltage. B. Input Bias Current Build the circuit of Fig. 3-2, using a value for Re lary voltage due tothe bias current ‘measurement and compare that the data sheet gives a value for aus, Which is the mean of L, and L. 16C. Offset Null ‘The output voltage due to the combined effects of offset voltage and bias current is a random quantity; it might even be zero in a particular circuit ifthe two effects happen to cancel ‘each other. Many op amps provide an additional par of offset null terminals that allow the designer to cancel out the unwanted output voltage by applying an external voltage via an external resistor. Although the nulling procedure is different for different types of op amp, many follow the procedure given below forthe LM741. When in doubt, you must consult the manufacturer's data sheet for a given op amp type. The offset terminals for the LM74] are shown in Appendix C. Build the non-inverting amplifier shown in Fig. 35, and set the input voltage to zero by ‘grounding the input node. 100k © Vee “Measure the output voltage with a digital voltmeter; the oscilloscope will not provide sufficiently accurate readings. Adjust the potentiometer setting and note its effect on Vour- Cam you find a setting that wil give nour = 0? What isthe fll range over which you can change tourby adjusting the ral control? D, Slew Rate Build the unity-gain follower of Fig, 3-6, using +15-V power supplies, and set the input source to a 100-Hz square wave with 10-V p-p amplitude. At this amplitude the output will not saturate. Gradually increase the frequency of the input square wave until the output ceases to look like a square wave on the scope trace; at this point it is slew-rate limited. Ifa Polaroid camera available, position the trace in the upper half ofthe scope screen and photograph it. Do not develop the photograph yet. Your goal isto obtain two scope traces on the same print. ‘Now, without changing the input signal frequency, switch to a 10-V p-p sine wave Position the trace of vour in the lower half ofthe screen and take a second exposure. Paste the photograph {in your notebook and label the two traces. If a camera is not availabe, then sketch the two ‘waveforms in your notebook as carefully as you can. Finally, switch the generator back to a square wave, and increase the frequency until the ‘output looks like a triangular wave. The op amp is now strongly slew-rate limited. Measure the v7slew rate directly from the lope of the waveform, and compare it with the value given in the data sheet for the op amp. Your 18