Analysis of circuits with

negative feedback
Fondamenti di Elettronica AA 2014-15
A.Castoldi
v1.6

A mathematical introduction to feedback

Feedback is an important concept in electronics. Feedback is covered also in courses

on control theory but the complexity of circuit topologies require to develop a specific
approach in order to fully analyze a real circuit within the framework of feedback
theory. New concepts and terminology need to be developed (open and closed-loop
parameters, loop gain, ideal gain, direct feed-through, etc.). It must be stressed that
feedback is virtually present in all analog circuits, therefore it is important that
students develop a good understanding of feedback concepts in circuits and learn a
sound analysis method.

In most circuit design books, feedback analysis is presented with reference to the
classical block diagram (*) consisting in a unilateral forward amplifier (forward
gain, G) and a unilateral feedback network (feedback factor, H) - where sin and sout
can each be either a current or a voltage.

The closed-loop gain (sout/sin) is easily obtained from the following passages:
sout=Gse=G(sin-sf)=G(sin-Hsout) and, solving for (sout/sin), you get

Gclosed loop

sout
G

sin 1 GH

(*) other possible block schemes could be employed, but all lead to the same general properties

Loop gain

Loop gain (GLOOP): it is the distinctive feature of the feedback system. It is the
amplification of a test signal after one lap around the feedback loop. It can be
measured by inserting a test signal into the loop, with the input signal set to zero (it
must be stressed that the insertion of the the test source must be such that it does
not alter the loop gain). If GLOOP is equal to zero there is no feedback in the circuit.
The computation of the loop gain in the classic block diagram is shown below.

G LOOP

u out
GH
uin

The ideal condition for the feedback loop is to have infinite G and hence
infinite GLOOP.
The loop gain can be either positive or negative. When the loop gain is negative, if
you apply a positive step at the input, the loop returns a positive feedback signal sf,
which is subtracted from the input so that the error signal s is smaller (s=si-sf<si)
It will be clear after studying the stability of feedback systems (e.g. see Bode
criterion for stability) that systems with positive feedback (GLOOP >0) tend to be
unstable, i.e. with poles having positive real part, while systems with negative
feedback (GLOOP <0) can be designed to be stable.
Here we will restrict to the analysis of negative feedback circuits, which are
commonly used to design analog amplifiers with superior performances.
The inherent instability of positive feedback circuits is exploited in special circuits
(comparators, oscillators, etc.).
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General properties of negative feedback systems

The main variables (sout , sf , s) of a negative feedback system, in response to the

input signal (sin), are summarized below. The asymptotic behavior for G is also
shown.
sout
G
1

G

sin 1 GH
H

sf
sin

GH

G
1
1 GH

s
1

G
0
sin 1 GH

It is interesting to note that for G the closed-loop gain does not depend on
G any more but it depends only on the feedback factor H. In this limiting
condition, the feedback signal (sf ) is forced to be exactly equal to the input signal, so
that the error signal (s) tends to zero.
The asymptotic (or ideal) closed-loop gain, GID, equals (1/H). Therefore in
order to have closed-loop gain with magnitude >1 the feedback factor H is an
attenuator.
It is normally easier to make a precise attenuator (e.g. the attenuation of a resistive
divider is related to the ratio of resistances, which can be made very precisely), than
to make an amplifying stage with precise gain because the parameters of any active
device depend on several variables (time, environmental conditions, aging, etc.).
This means that using the concept of feedback we can design an amplifier with
very precise gain (more precise than a single amplifying stage) by using a
precise attenuator and an (intrinsically less precise) amplifying stage,
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provided it has very large gain.

Application of feedback to real circuits

The classical feedback diagram is very useful as it can explain all the general
properties of feedback. However it is an idealized picture that does not fit all real
circuits (see Notes below).
Alternatively we can re-express the closed-loop gain in terms of two other relevant
quantities: the Loop Gain (GLOOP) and the Ideal Gain (GID):

Gclosed loop

sout
G LOOP
G
1 GH

G ID
1 G LOOP
sin 1 GH H 1 GH

GID corresponds to the asymptotic gain of the system, which is typically the designed
gain and it is a meaningful quantity by itself. By computing the actual value of GLOOP
one obtains the exact closed-loop gain.
The main advantage of this formulation is that both quantities can be derived
directly from the circuit, with no previous knowledge of G and H and of the block
diagram.

Notes:
o
The classical feedback diagram assumes unilateral blocks (while it is intuitive that even simple resistive networks
have bilateral transfer), moreover in electronic circuits the analysis is complicated by the interaction of the
feedback network with the forward amplifier (i.e. the gain of a stage depends on the ratio of its output resistance to
the load resistance, the well-known load effect).
o
In order to apply it to a real feedback circuit, we have to manipulate the circuit to fit the idealized block diagram,
i.e. we have to define the blocks G, H in terms of unilateral two-port networks. Then one can use the known
expressions to compute the variables (sout , sf , s). This procedure is tedious and not always feasible due to the
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above mentioned assumptions.

Computation of the ideal gain in real circuits

Let us analyze the following feedback circuit in a qualitative way:

The input voltage vin (1) is applied to the positive input of the opamp (2) (there is no current on R)
and produces a positive step at the output of Vout (3) and therefore a positive step vf is fed back
to the negative opamp input (4). Therefore , due to the KVL at the vin-v-vf loop, the differential
voltage v=v+-v- which drives the op-amp is reduced by the action of negative feedback.

If the loop gain is high, V tends to zero (i.e. V- tends to be closer to V+) and, asymptotically for
A, you have V-=Vin. The current on R1 (=Vin/R1) flows in R2 so that the output voltage
Vout=Vin+Vin(R2/R1)=Vin(1+R2/R1). This represents the ideal gain of the circuit.

Computation of the ideal gain in real circuits (2)

Lets see a second example.

The positive step Vin, applied to the negative branch

of the opamp, forces a current in R1 and a fraction
of it will go into Rid. This fraction produces a positive
step on V- and, being V+ at ground, a negative
differential voltage V=(V+-V-) which drives the
opamp output. The negative output voltage increases
the voltage drop on R2 and therefore the current
fraction flowing into R2 increases, thus reducing the
current fraction going into Rid.

If the loop gain is high, the current in Rid and Vtends to be closer to 0 and, asymptotically for A,
you have V-=0. The current on R1 (=Vin/R1) flows in
R2 (as Rid can not take current) so that the output
voltage is given by the drop on R2: Vout=(Vin/R1)*R2=Vin(-R2/R1), which shows the ideal
gain of this circuit.

In conclusion, to compute the ideal gain directly on the circuit:

set the controlling quantity (in the example v=v+-v-) of the dependent source to zero
(v is like the error signal in the classical block diagram)

Find the output variable with constraint v=0.

GID = (Vout/Vin)v=0

Computation of the loop gain in real circuits

We need to break the loop without altering the signal transfer along the loop. To this end we
identify the dependent source which has generally the role to provide gain in the
feedback loop. This is straightforward as a dependent source is present in the equivalent model of
any active device (op-amp or transistor).

Then:
Set all independent sources to zero
Break the connection between the dependent source and the rest of the circuit and restore the
original impedance (Z).
Drive the circuit at the break point with a test source (sT) of same type of the dependent source to
probe the loop gain
Find the output of the dependent source (sT0)
GLOOP = sT0/sT

G LOOP

sT 0
( R1 // Rid )
A
sT
( R1 // Rid ) R2

Computation of the loop gain in real circuits (2)

Breaking the loop may alter the impedance level at the break point and therefore it may lead to a
wrong value of GLOOP, i.e. different from the loop gain in closed-loop condition. Breaking at the
dependent source is a smart way to avoid the problem, as the output of the dependent source does
not depend on the value of the load impedance (Z) which need not be computed.

Breaking at a different point along the loop is also possible but - as the break point is no more
generally driven by an ideal source in order to obtain the correct loop gain one must compute
the original load impedance Z at the break as it now affects the result. The computation of the loop
gain is shown in the following scheme. The result is of course the same as before.

G LOOP

sT 0
( R1 // Rid )
A
sT
( R1 // Rid ) R2

Effect of negative feedback

on equivalent impedances

A general property of circuits with negative feedback is to stabilize all the voltages
of the nodes belonging to the loop and all the currents of the branches of
the feedback loop. Here to stabilize means to minimize the change in the
voltages/currents of the feedback loop in response to an external source of
perturbation. In particular, for infinite loop gain (i.e. ideal feedback) the change in
the voltages/currents of the loop tends to zero.
For instance, if one injects a test current into a node belonging to the loop, the action
of negative feedback tends to minimize the voltage change of the considered node.
The same happens if one inserts a test voltage source in a branch of the loop: the
current change in that branch is minimized by negative feedback. When the loop gain
is infinite, the response to the external perturbation tends to zero.
The same concept can be also stated in terms of equivalent impedance: for infinite
loop gain, the impedance seen by a test current source, perturbing the
voltage of a loop node, tends to zero (i.e. equivalent to Vnode0); the
impedance seen by a test voltage source perturbing the current of a loop
branch tends to infinity (i.e. equivalent to Ibranch0);

Note:
o
The stabilization effect of negative feedback can be explained in terms of transfer functions of the feedback
circuit, as all have the general expression of the closed-loop gain given before, with (1-GLOOP) in the denominator
(e.g. see slide 4).
o
In case the output variable is the voltage of a loop node, it can be shown that the ideal transfer (Vnode/Isource)ID is
zero and the transfer function reduces to the direct feed-forward term (Vnode/Itest) = (Vnode/Itest)0 /(1-GLOOP). This
transfer function is the impedance seen by the current source which vanishes for infinite loop gain.
o
The same applies when the output is the current of a loop branch and the transfer function is reduced to
(Ibranch/Vtest) = (Ibranch/Vtest)0 /(1-GLOOP). This transfer function is the admittance seen by the voltage source, which
10
vanishes for infinite loop gain (or alternatively the equivalent impedance goes to infinity).

Qualitative analysis

To compute the output impedance Zout of this amplifier, we set the input to zero and we choose a
source to probe the output impedance. Here we choose a current source because if we had chosen
a voltage source the loop gain of the circuit would be zero (and the concepts of feedback could not
have been used).

Sourcing a positive current iT, the output node tends to rise (1) and also V- (2). This produces a
negative differential voltage that tries to reduce the initial rise of the output voltage v (the negative
step of the dependent voltage source (3) attracts more current into R0 (4) and reduces the current
flowing into R1,R2 and therefore reduces also the output voltage v).
The effect of reducing the output voltage stimulated by the input current is equivalent to
decreasing the equivalent impedance seen by the source. For infinite loop gain, v0 and therefore
the asymptotic value of Zout = (v/iT) 0.
After this qualitative analysis it is clear that in this case we were perturbing the voltage of a loop
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node and therefore the use of a current test source was the appropriate choice.

Computation of equivalent impedances

In general, we need to understand whether we are perturbing a node (voltage) or a branch

(current) of the loop and then use the appropriate excitation source.

This can be understood by computing the asymptotic value of the impedance Z seen from the
considered test source when the loop gain goes to infinity, i.e. when the controlling variable of the
dependence source is set to zero (i.e. v=v+-v-=0), as we do for the computation of the ideal value
of any closed-loop gain in feedback circuits.

Let us check in the previous example that the asymptotic value of Zout is in agreement with the
qualitative analysis of the circuit discussed before:

if we apply v-=0 for infinite loop gain, the current in R1 and in R2 is forced to be zero, therefore
v=0. This means that the feedback loop stabilizes the voltage of the output node and therefore we
must use a current source. The impedance Zout tends to zero (as we saw before).

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Computation of equivalent impedances (2)

In general, the asymptotic value of the impedance Z will be either 0 or infinity:

Z0 is the open-loop impedance, i.e. the impedance seen when the output of the
dependent source is set to zero, that is Z0=Z|A=0.
If we fall in one of the 2 above cases, we just have to compute Z0 and GLOOP and
insert in the proper expression to obtain Z. Returning to our example, let us compute
Zout|0 and GLOOP:

If Z0: the excitation source must be a test current perturbing the voltage (v) of a node of
the loop stabilized by negative feedback and therefore Z=v/itest0/itest=0. For finite GLOOP the
following expression holds: Z=Z0/(1-GLOOP)
If Z: the excitation source must be a test voltage perturbing the current (i) of a branch
stabilized by negative feedback and therefore Z=vtest/ivtest/0=infinity. For finite GLOOP the
following expression holds: Z=Z0*(1-GLOOP)

Open-loop impedance Zout|0

Loop gain

G LOOP

AR1
R1 R2 R0

As we found Zout0 for GLOOP, we use the expression Zout=Zout|0/(1-GLOOP):

Z out R0 // R1 R2

1
1 A R1 R1 R2 R0

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Computation of equivalent impedances (3)

This example shows the case in which the current of a branch is stabilized by negative feedback.

Asymptotic impedance (|GLOOP| infinity)

As Zin for GLOOP, we use the expression Zin=Zin|0*(1-GLOOP):

Open-loop impedance (A=0)

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Computation of equivalent impedances (4)

Finally, consider this case:

when we apply v-=0 to compute the asymptotic value of Rin, we get RinR1, i.e. neither zero
nor infinite. This means that we are neither perturbing a voltage nor a current of the
feedback loop, i.e. it is a node/branch of the circuit outside of the loop.
We try to recover the standard situation by moving closer to the loop i.e. by splitting the
impedance computation in two steps:

We compute the new feedback impedance R*in, hoping that moving beyond R1 would bring us on
the loop and therefore fall into one of the two main cases Rin0 or Rin. (Note: splitting
impedance computation in smaller problems is often advisable, even if not needed in principle,
because it leads to easier computations).

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Computation of equivalent impedances (5)

To compute the equivalent impedance Z*in seen from the new standpoint we apply the same
procedure to the new sub-circuit. From the figure we see that now we are actually on a node of the
loop, as from the asymptotic analysis we get v=0 and therefore the impedance tends to zero.

We can now compute R*in|0 and G*LOOP. It must be remembered that by splitting the circuit one
also changes the loop gain, which must be re-computed for this special sub-circuit.

The total impedance is therefore:

Rin R1

R2
1 A

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Frequency response of the closed loop gain:

graphical method (1)

When either GID or GLOOP depend on frequency (s=j), we can obtain the frequency response of the
closed loop gain Vo/Vin(s) analytically, i.e. by direct substitution of GID(s) or GLOOP (s) in the
following equation.
v
GLOOP
Gclosed loop out GID
vin
1 GLOOP

However, in order to know the poles of Vout/Vin(s) (and be able to draw its Bode plot) we have to
compute the roots of the expression at the denominator [1-GLOOP(s)]. In the case of 1st order
systems (i.e. GLOOP(s) with 1 pole), the analytical procedure is trivial but it quickly becomes
cumbersome for 2nd order or unpractical for higher order.
A useful method to draw an approximated Bode plot of |Vo/Vin(j)| is based on the 2 asymptotic
curves of Vout/Vin(s), obtained in the limit of |GLOOP| much larger or much smaller than 1:

v out
v in

j G ID j

G LOOP j
1 G LOOP j

GIDGLOOP
GID GLOOP GID

|Vo/Vin|

G ID j

for G LOOP 1

GLOOP 1

GID

closed

loop

GLOOP

for G LOOP 1

GIDGLOOP GID

GLOOP 1

0dB

G ID j G LOOP j

GIDGLOOP GID

GLOOP 1

closed
loop

The Bode diagram of the 2 asymptotic curves is

straightforward (zeros and poles are known).
The Bode diagram of the closed-lop gain |Vo/Vin| can be
obtained by joining the sections of the 2 asymptotic curves in
their respective regions of validity (dashed orange).
It is useful to verify that when the curve |GID GLOOP| is above
|GID|, this corresponds to the case |GLOOP|>1 and viceversa
(see also the associated plot of |GLOOP| below). This allows an
easy selection of the valid asymptotic curve at any frequency.
The point of intersection of the 2 curves (red point) is the
breakeven point (i.e. |GLOOP|=1), where |Vo/Vin| leaves the
ideal behaviour |GID|. That frequency typically corresponds to
the dominant pole of your circuit.
Note: this graphical method is rigorous only for first-order
systems. However, due to its simplicity, it is often used in
circuit design for approximate estimation of the dominant pole
of a feedback circuit.

Frequency response of the closed loop gain:

graphical method (2)
Example:

The frequency response of the closed-loop gain of the previous circuit example (slides 7-8-9) is
shown below (yellow line). It follows the asymptotic curve |GID| when |GLOOP|>>1 while is follows
the curve |GID GLOOP| when |GLOOP|<<1. The frequency at which |GLOOP|=1 (i.e. the crossing point
between the two asymptotic curves) corresponds to the closed-loop pole (CL).

Once the Bode plot is drawn, the analytical expression of Vo/Vin(s) can be easily deduced from the
diagram.

GID

GIDGLOOP

As (v v )

A0 ( R1 // Rid ) R2
( R1 // Rid ) R2 R1

A0
( R1 // Rid )
( R1 // Rid )
R2
, GLOOP As

R1
( R1 // Rid ) R2
1 s / 0 ( R1 // Rid ) R2

A0
( R1 // Rid ) R2
1 s / 0 ( R1 // Rid ) R2 R1

computation of CL :

G ID G LOOP

R2
A ( R // R ) R2
CL 0 1 id
0
R1
( R1 // Rid ) R2 R1

G ID
R2 / R1

CL

vout
R2 R1

vin
1 s / CL

CL 0
s j

A0 ( R1 // Rid )

( R1 // Rid ) R2

2 GBWP

Note: it is useful to remind that this is the same level of approximation of the
usual straight-line approximation of the Bode plot of transfer functions with real
poles or zeros: we neglect 1 when <<1 or we neglect when <<1.

A0 ( R1 // Rid )
( R1 // Rid ) R2

(GBWP A0 f 0 gain bw of O. A.)

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Appendix

19

Direct feed-forward

Let us consider the example of the inverting amplifier when the opamp has a finite output
resistance r0. In this case, if we set the gain of the dependent source (A) to zero, we obtain a nonzero output voltage.

But setting A=0 also means zero loop gain and, if we recall the general expression of the closedloop gain derived before, we should have ended up with Vout=0 (?!).

Gclosed loop

vout
vin

GLOOP
1 GLOOP

A 0
(GLOOP 0 )

The contradiction is due to the fact that the given expression of the closed-loop gain was
incomplete. The complete expression, valid for all feedback circuit, is the following:

Gclosed loop

A 0
( GLOOP 0)

G ID

G0
vout
G LOOP

G ID
1 G LOOP 1 G LOOP
vin

G0 is called the direct feed-forward gain and it corresponds to the closed-loop gain when A=0
(more generally, when the output of the dependent source is set to zero).

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Direct feed-forward (2)

Although the direct feed-forward is small and usually neglected when the loop gain is high, it
becomes more important at high frequency, where the loop gain generally tends to zero. Let us
study the frequency response of the previous circuit, including also the direct feed-forward term.
We will adopt the usual asymptotic approximations for the Bode plots.
The 3 ingredients of the frequency response are therefore GID, GLOOP and G0:

G ID

R2
R1

G LOOP A( s )

A0
R1
R1

R1 R2
1 s 0 R1 R2

G0

R0
R1 R2 R0

The asymptotic values of the closed-loop gain for |GLOOP|<<1 and >>1 are the following:
G ID G LOOP

vout
G LOOP
G ID
vin
1 G LOOP

G ID

G0

( for G LOOP 1)

G0
1 G LOOP
G0
( for G LOOP 1)
G LOOP

The final amplitude plot (dashed

red) is obtained by selecting the
dominant term at each frequency,
as we usually do in the straightline approximation of Bode plots.
Here the direct feed-forward
term is responsible for a zero at
high frequency (z).

z A00

R1 R2 R0
R2
R1 R2
R0

CL A00 R1 R1 R2

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