OPAMP WIKI BOOK

WIKIPEDIA
Contents

1 Operational amplier applications 1

1.1 Practical considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.1.1 Operational ampliers parameter requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.1.2 Component specication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.1.3 Input bias currents and input oset . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.1.4 Power supply eects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.2 Ampliers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
1.2.1 Dierential amplier (dierence amplier) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
1.2.2 Inverting amplier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.2.3 Non-inverting amplier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.2.4 Voltage follower (unity buer amplier) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.2.5 Summing amplier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.2.6 Instrumentation amplier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.3 Oscillators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.3.1 Wien bridge oscillator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.4 Filters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.5 Comparator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.6 Integration and dierentiation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.6.1 Inverting integrator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.6.2 Inverting dierentiator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.7 Synthetic elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.7.1 Inductance gyrator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.7.2 Negative impedance converter (NIC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
1.8 Non-linear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
1.8.1 Precision rectier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
1.8.2 Logarithmic output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
1.8.3 Exponential output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
1.9 Other applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
1.10 See also . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
1.11 Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
1.12 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
1.13 Further reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

i
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1.14 External links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

2 Comparator applications 10
2.1 Comparator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
2.2 Threshold detector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
2.3 Zero crossing detector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
2.4 Schmitt trigger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2.5 Relaxation oscillator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2.6 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

3 Dierential amplier 12
3.1 Theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
3.2 Long-tailed pair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
3.2.1 Historical background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
3.2.2 Congurations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
3.2.3 Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
3.2.4 Dierential Amplier Improvements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
3.2.5 Interfacing considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
3.3 Operational amplier as dierential amplier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
3.4 Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
3.4.1 Symmetrical feedback network eliminates common-mode gain and common-mode bias . . 16
3.5 Footnotes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
3.6 See also . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
3.7 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
3.8 External links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

4 Instrumentation amplier 18
4.1 See also . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
4.2 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
4.3 External links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

5 Comparator 20
5.1 Dierential voltage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
5.2 Op-amp voltage comparator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
5.3 Working . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
5.4 Key specications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
5.4.1 Speed and power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
5.4.2 Hysteresis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
5.4.3 Output type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
5.4.4 Internal reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
5.4.5 Continuous versus clocked . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
5.5 Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
5.5.1 Null detectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
CONTENTS iii

5.5.2 Zero-crossing detectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

5.5.3 Relaxation oscillator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
5.5.4 Level shifter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
5.5.5 Analog-to-digital converters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
5.5.6 Window detectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
5.6 See also . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
5.7 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
5.8 External links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

6 Op amp integrator 25
6.1 Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
6.2 Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
6.2.1 Ideal circuit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
6.2.2 Practical circuit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
6.3 Frequency response . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
6.4 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

7 Gyrator 28
7.1 Behaviour . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
7.2 Name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
7.3 Relationship to the ideal transformer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
7.4 Application: a simulated inductor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
7.4.1 Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
7.4.2 Comparison with actual inductors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
7.4.3 Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
7.5 Passive gyrators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
7.6 In other energy domains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
7.7 See also . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
7.8 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
7.9 External links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

8 Negative impedance converter 33

8.1 Basic circuit and analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
8.2 Application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
8.2.1 Negative impedance circuits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
8.3 See also . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
8.4 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
8.5 External links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

9 Precision rectier 35
9.1 Basic circuit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
9.2 Improved circuit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
9.3 Peak detector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
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9.4 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
9.5 External links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

10 Log amplier 37
10.1 Basic op-amp diode circuit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
10.2 Transdiode conguration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
10.3 See also . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
10.4 External links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

11 Voltage regulator 39
11.1 Electronic voltage regulators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
11.2 Electromechanical regulators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
11.3 Automatic voltage regulator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
11.4 AC voltage stabilizers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
11.4.1 Coil-rotation AC voltage regulator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
11.4.2 Electromechanical . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
11.4.3 PWM static voltage regulator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
11.4.4 Constant-voltage transformer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
11.4.5 Commercial use . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
11.5 DC voltage stabilizers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
11.6 Active regulators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
11.6.1 Linear regulators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
11.6.2 Switching regulators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
11.6.3 Comparing linear versus switching regulators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
11.6.4 SCR regulators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
11.6.5 Combination or hybrid regulators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
11.7 Example linear regulators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
11.7.1 Transistor regulator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
11.7.2 Regulator with an operational amplier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
11.8 Measures of regulator quality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
11.9 See also . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
11.10References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
11.11Further reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

12 Operational transconductance amplier 47

12.1 Principal dierences from standard operational ampliers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
12.2 Basic operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
12.3 Non-ideal characteristics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
12.4 Subsequent improvements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
12.5 See also . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
12.6 Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
12.7 External links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
CONTENTS v

13 Transimpedance amplier 49
13.1 DC operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
13.2 Bandwidth and stability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
13.3 Noise considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
13.4 See also . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
13.5 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
13.6 Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
13.6.1 Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
13.6.2 Images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
13.6.3 Content license . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Chapter 1

Operational amplier applications

Main article: Operational amplier operation susceptible to signicant errors due to bias or
leakage currents.
A non-ideal op amps equivalent circuit has a nite in-
put impedance, a non-zero output impedance, and a nite
gain. This article illustrates some typical applications of
operational ampliers. A real op amp has a number of 1.1.3 Input bias currents and input oset
non-ideal features as shown in the diagram, but here a
simplied schematic notation is used, and the reader is Practical operational ampliers draw a small current from
reminded that many details such as device selection and each of their inputs due to bias requirements (in the case
power supply connections are not shown. Operational of bipolar junction transistor-based inputs) or leakage (in
ampliers are optimised for use with negative feedback, the case of MOSFET-based inputs).
and this article discusses only negative-feedback applica-
These currents ow through the resistances connected to
tions. When positive feedback is required, a comparator
the inputs and produce small voltage drops across those
is usually more appropriate. See Comparator applications
resistances. Appropriate design of the feedback network
for further information.
can alleviate problems associated with input bias currents
and common-mode gain, as explained below. The heuris-
tic rule is to ensure that the impedance looking out of
1.1 Practical considerations each input terminal is identical.
To the extent that the input bias currents do not match,
1.1.1 Operational ampliers parameter there will be an eective input oset voltage present,
requirements which can lead to problems in circuit performance. Many
commercial op amp oerings provide a method for tun-
In order for a particular device to be used in an applica- ing the operational amplier to balance the inputs (e.g.,
tion, it must satisfy certain requirements. The operational oset null or balance pins that can interact with an
amplier must external voltage source attached to a potentiometer). Al-
ternatively, a tunable external voltage can be added to one
have large open-loop signal gain (voltage gain of of the inputs in order to balance out the oset eect.
200,000 is obtained in early integrated circuit ex- In cases where a design calls for one input to be short-
emplars), and circuited to ground, that short circuit can be replaced with
a variable resistance that can be tuned to mitigate the o-
have input impedance large with respect to values set problem.
present in the feedback network.
Operational ampliers using MOSFET-based input
stages have input leakage currents that will be, in many
With these requirements satised, the op amp is consid- designs, negligible.
ered ideal, and one can use the method of virtual ground
to quickly and intuitively grasp the 'behavior' of any of
the op amp circuits below.
1.1.4 Power supply eects
1.1.2 Component specication
Although power supplies are not indicated in the (sim-
Resistors used in practical solid-state op-amp circuits are plied) operational amplier designs below, they are
typically in the k range. Resistors much greater than 1 nonetheless present and can be critical in operational am-
M cause excessive thermal noise and make the circuit plier circuit design.

1
2 CHAPTER 1. OPERATIONAL AMPLIFIER APPLICATIONS

Supply noise 1.2.1 Dierential amplier (dierence

amplier)
Power supply imperfections (e.g., power signal ripple,
non-zero source impedance) may lead to noticeable de- Rf
viations from ideal operational amplier behavior. For R1
example, operational ampliers have a specied power
supply rejection ratio that indicates how well the output V1
can reject signals that appear on the power supply inputs.
Power supply inputs are often noisy in large designs be- Vout
cause the power supply is used by nearly every compo- V2
nent in the design, and inductance eects prevent current R2
from being instantaneously delivered to every component Rg
at once. As a consequence, when a component requires
large injections of current (e.g., a digital component that
is frequently switching from one state to another), nearby
components can experience sagging at their connection to
the power supply. This problem can be mitigated with ap- Main article: Dierential amplier
propriate use of bypass capacitors connected across each
power supply pin and ground. When bursts of current are Amplies the dierence in voltage between its inputs.
required by a component, the component can bypass the
power supply by receiving the current directly from the The name dierential amplier must not be
nearby capacitor (which is then slowly recharged by the confused with the "dierentiator, which is also
power supply). shown on this page.

The "instrumentation amplier, which is also

shown on this page, is a modication of the dif-
ferential amplier that also provides high input
impedance.
Using power supply currents in the signal path
The circuit shown computes the dierence of two volt-
ages, multiplied by some gain factor. The output voltage:
Additionally, current drawn into the operational amplier
from the power supply can be used as inputs to external
( )( )
circuitry that augment the capabilities of the operational (Rf + R1 ) Rg Rf R1 + Rf Rg Rf
amplier. For example, an operational amplier may not Vout = V2 V1 = V2 V1
(Rg + R2 ) R1 R1 R1 Rg + R2 R1
be t for a particular high-gain application because its
output would be required to generate signals outside of Or, expressed as a function of the common mode input
the safe range generated by the amplier. In this case, an V and dierence input V
external pushpull amplier can be controlled by the cur-
rent into and out of the operational amplier. Thus, the
operational amplier may itself operate within its factory Vcom = (V1 + V2 )/2; Vdif = V2 V1 ,
specied bounds while still allowing the negative feed-
back path to include a large output signal well outside of the output voltage is
those bounds.[1]
R1 R1 /Rf R2 /Rg 1 + (R2 /Rg + R1 /Rf )/2
Vout = Vcom +Vdif .
Rf 1 + R2 /Rg 1 + R2 /Rg
In order for this circuit to produce a signal proportional
to the voltage dierence of the input terminals, the coef-
cient of the V term (the common-mode gain) must
1.2 Ampliers be zero, or

We begin these examples with that of the dierential R1 /Rf = R2 /Rg

amplier, from which many of the other applications
can be derived, including the inverting, non-inverting, With this constraint[nb 1] in place, the common-mode re-
and summing amplier, the voltage follower, integrator, jection ratio of this circuit is innitely large, and the out-
dierentiator, and gyrator. put
1.2. AMPLIFIERS 3

1.2.3 Non-inverting amplier

Rf Rf
Vout = Vdif = (V2 V1 ) .
R1 R1
Vin
where the simple expression Rf / R1 represents the Vout
closed-loop gain of the dierential amplier.
The special case when the closed-loop gain is unity is a
dierential follower, with:
R1 R2
Vout = V2 V1 . A non-inverting amplier is a special case of the
dierential amplier in which that circuits inverting input
V 1 is grounded, and non-inverting input V 2 is identied
1.2.2 Inverting amplier with V above, with R1 R2 . Referring to the circuit
immediately above,
Rf

( )
Rin Vout = 1+
R2
Vin
R1
Vin
Vout
To intuitively see this gain equation, use the virtual
ground technique to calculate the current in resistor R1 :

An inverting amplier is a special case of the dierential

amplier in which that circuits non-inverting input V 2 is Vin
grounded, and inverting input V 1 is identied with V i1 = R ,
1
above. The closed-loop gain is R / R , hence

then recall that this same current must be passing through

Rf R2 , therefore:
Vout = Vin
Rin
The simplied circuit above is like the dierential am-
plier in the limit of R2 and R very small. In this case, ( )
though, the circuit will be susceptible to input bias current V = V + i R = V 1 + R2
out in 1 2 in
drift because of the mismatch between R and R . R1
To intuitively see the gain equation above, calculate the
current in R : Unlike the inverting amplier, a non-inverting amplier
cannot have a gain of less than 1.
Vin A mechanical analogy is a class-2 lever, with one terminal
iin = of R1 as the fulcrum, at ground potential. V is at a length
Rin
R1 from the fulcrum; V is at a length R2 further along.
then recall that this same current must be passing through When V ascends above ground, the output V rises
R , therefore (because V = V = 0): proportionately with the lever.
The input impedance of the simplied non-inverting am-
Rf plier is high, of order R AOL times the closed-loop
Vout = iin Rf = Vin gain, where R is the op amps input impedance to dif-
Rin
ferential signals, and AOL is the open-loop voltage gain
A mechanical analogy is a seesaw, with the V node (be- of the op amp; in the case of the ideal op amp, with AOL
tween R and R ) as the fulcrum, at ground potential. V innite and R innite, the input impedance is innite.
is at a length R from the fulcrum; V is at a length R . In this case, though, the circuit will be susceptible to in-
When V descends below ground, the output V rises put bias current drift because of the mismatch between
proportionately to balance the seesaw, and vice versa.[2] the impedances driving the V and V op amp inputs.
4 CHAPTER 1. OPERATIONAL AMPLIFIER APPLICATIONS

1.2.4 Voltage follower (unity buer ampli- Vout = Rf (V1 + V2 + + Vn )

er) R1

Vin When R1 = R2 = = Rn = Rf
Vout

Vout = (V1 + V2 + + Vn )
Used as a buer amplier to eliminate loading eects
(e.g., connecting a device with a high source impedance
to a device with a low input impedance).
Output is inverted

Vout = Vin
Input impedance of the nth input is Zn = Rn ( V
Zin =
is a virtual ground)
Due to the strong (i.e., unity gain) feedback and certain
non-ideal characteristics of real operational ampliers,
this feedback system is prone to have poor stability mar-
gins. Consequently, the system may be unstable when
connected to suciently capacitive loads. In these cases,
1.2.6 Instrumentation amplier
a lag compensation network (e.g., connecting the load to
the voltage follower through a resistor) can be used to re-
store stability. The manufacturer data sheet for the oper-
R2 R3
ational amplier may provide guidance for the selection V1
of components in external compensation networks. Al-
ternatively, another operational amplier can be chosen R1
that has more appropriate internal compensation.

Rgain Vout
1.2.5 Summing amplier

R1
Rn
Vn V2
R2 R3

Main article: Instrumentation amplier

R2 Rf
V2 Combines very high input impedance, high common-
R1 mode rejection, low DC oset, and other properties used
in making very accurate, low-noise measurements
V1
Vout

Is made by adding a non-inverting buer to each in-

put of the dierential amplier to increase the input
impedance.
A summing amplier sums several (weighted) voltages:

( )
V1 V2 Vn
Vout = Rf + + +
R1 R2 Rn
1.3 Oscillators
When R1 = R2 = = Rn , and Rf independent
1.6. INTEGRATION AND DIFFERENTIATION 5

1.3.1 Wien bridge oscillator output to swing to nearly the supply voltage. However,
it is usually better to use a dedicated comparator for this
purpose, as its output has a higher slew rate and can reach
either power supply rail. Some op-amps have clamping
diodes on the input that prevent use as a comparator.[3]

1.6 Integration and dierentiation

1.6.1 Inverting integrator

Main article: Op amp integrator

The integrator is mostly used in analog computers,

analog-to-digital converters and wave-shaping circuits.
C
Main article: Wien bridge oscillator

R
Produces a very low distortion sine wave. Uses negative
temperature compensation in the form of a light bulb or Vin
diode.
Vout

1.4 Filters
Integrates (and inverts) the input signal V (t) over a time
Main article: Active lter interval t, t 0 < t < t 1 , yielding an output voltage at time t
= t 1 of
Operational ampliers can be used in construction of
active lters, providing high-pass, low-pass, band-pass, t1
reject and delay functions. The high input impedance 1
Vout (t1 ) = Vout (t0 ) Vin (t) d t
and gain of an op-amp allow straightforward calculation RC t0
of element values, allowing accurate implementation of
any desired lter topology with little concern for the load- where V (t 0 ) represents the output voltage of the circuit
ing eects of stages in the lter or of subsequent stages. at time t = t 0 . This is the same as saying that the out-
However, the frequencies at which active lters can be put voltage changes over time t 0 < t < t 1 by an amount
implemented is limited; when the behavior of the am- proportional to the time integral of the input voltage:
pliers departs signicantly from the ideal behavior as-
sumed in elementary design of the lters, lter perfor- t1
mance is degraded. 1
Vin (t) d t
RC t0

This circuit can be viewed as a low-pass electronic lter,

1.5 Comparator one with a single pole at DC (i.e., where = 0 ) and with
gain.
V1 In a practical application one encounters a signicant dif-
Vout culty: unless the capacitor C is periodically discharged,
V2 the output voltage will eventually drift outside of the op-
erational ampliers operating range. This can be due to
any combination of:
Main article: Comparator
Main article: Comparator applications
The input V has a non-zero DC component,

An operational amplier can, if necessary, be forced to Input bias current is non-zero,

act as a comparator. The smallest dierence between the
input voltages will be amplied enormously, causing the Input oset voltage is non-zero.[4]
6 CHAPTER 1. OPERATIONAL AMPLIFIER APPLICATIONS

A slightly more complex circuit can ameliorate the second analysis would show, increasing feedback gain will
two problems, and in some cases, the rst as well. drive a closed-loop pole toward marginal stability at
the DC zero introduced by the dierentiator.
Rf

Ri Cf
Vin
Vout
+

Rn RL

Here, the feedback resistor R provides a discharge path 1.7 Synthetic elements
for capacitor C , while the series resistor at the non-
inverting input R , when of the correct value, alleviates
input bias current and common-mode problems. That
value is the parallel resistance of R and R , or using the 1.7.1 Inductance gyrator
shorthand notation ||:

1
Rn = 1 1 = Ri ||Rf
+
Ri Rf
RL
The relationship between input signal and output signal is Z in
now:

t1
1
Vout (t1 ) = Vout (t0 ) Vin (t) d t
Ri Cf t0 C
R
1.6.2 Inverting dierentiator

R RL
C
Vin Z in
Vout L=R L RC

Dierentiates the (inverted) signal over time.

Main article: Gyrator

d Vin Simulates an inductor (i.e., provides inductance without

Vout = RC whereVin and Vout time. of functions are
dt the use of a possibly costly inductor). The circuit exploits
This can also be viewed as a high-pass electronic l- the fact that the current owing through a capacitor be-
ter. It is a lter with a single zero at DC (i.e., where haves through time as the voltage across an inductor. The
angular frequency = 0 radians) and gain. The capacitor used in this circuit is smaller than the inductor
high-pass characteristics of a dierentiating ampli- it simulates and its capacitance is less subject to changes
er (i.e., the low-frequency zero) can lead to stabil- in value due to environmental changes.
ity challenges when the circuit is used in an analog This circuit is unsuitable for applications relying on the
servo loop (e.g., in a PID controller with a signi- back EMF property of an inductor as this will be limited
cant derivative gain). In particular, as a root locus in a gyrator circuit to the voltage supplies of the op-amp.
1.8. NON-LINEAR 7

1.7.2 Negative impedance converter (NIC) output voltage across the load with the input voltage and
increases its own output voltage with the value of VF. As a
result, the voltage drop VF is compensated and the circuit
R2 behaves very nearly as an ideal (super) diode with VF =
0 V.
R1 I2 The circuit has speed limitations at high frequency be-
cause of the slow negative feedback and due to the low
slew rate of many non-ideal op-amps.

1.8.2 Logarithmic output

IS R3 See also: Log amplier

VS D

R
Main article: Negative impedance converter Vin
Vout
Creates a resistor having a negative value for any signal
generator.
In this case, the ratio between the input voltage and the
input current (thus the input resistance) is given by:
The relationship between the input voltage V and
the output voltage V is given by:
R1
Rin = R3
R2
( )
Vin
In general, the components R1 , R2 , and R3 need not Vout = VT ln
be resistors; they can be any component that can be de- IS R
scribed with an impedance.
where IS is the saturation current and VT is the
thermal voltage.
1.8 Non-linear
If the operational amplier is considered ideal, the
inverting input pin is virtually grounded, so the cur-
1.8.1 Precision rectier rent owing into the resistor from the source (and
thus through the diode to the output, since the op-
amp inputs draw no current) is:
Vin

Vin
Vout R
= IR = ID

RL where ID is the current through the diode. As

known, the relationship between the current
and the voltage for a diode is:

Main article: Precision rectier

( VD )
ID = IS e V T 1 .
The voltage drop VF across the forward biased diode in
the circuit of a passive rectier is undesired. In this active
version, the problem is solved by connecting the diode in This, when the voltage is greater than zero, can
the negative feedback loop. The op-amp compares the be approximated by:
8 CHAPTER 1. OPERATIONAL AMPLIFIER APPLICATIONS

voltage regulator and current regulator

VD
ID IS e VT . analog-to-digital converter

Putting these two formulae together and con- digital-to-analog converter

sidering that the output voltage is the negative
of the voltage across the diode (V = VD), voltage clamp
the relationship is proven.
oscillators and waveform generators
This implementation does not consider temperature sta-
bility and other non-ideal eects. Analog computer

Capacitance multiplier
1.8.3 Exponential output
Charge amplier
R

D 1.10 See also

Vin
Vout Current-feedback operational amplier

Frequency compensation

Operational amplier
The relationship between the input voltage Vin and
the output voltage Vout is given by: Operational transconductance amplier

V in Transimpedance amplier
Vout = RIS e VT
where IS is the saturation current and VT is the thermal
voltage.
1.11 Notes
Considering the operational amplier ideal, then the
negative pin is virtually grounded, so the current [1] If you think of the left-hand side of the relation as the
through the diode is given by: closed-loop gain of the inverting input, and the right-hand
side as the gain of the non-inverting input, then matching
( VD ) these two quantities provides an output insensitive to the
ID = IS e VT 1 common-mode voltage of V1 and V2 .

when the voltage is greater than zero, it can be approxi-

mated by:
1.12 References
VD
ID IS e VT . [1] Paul Horowitz and Wineld Hill, The Art of Electronics.
2nd ed. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1989
The output voltage is given by: ISBN 0-521-37095-7

[2] Basic Electronics Theory, Delton T. Horn, 4th ed.

McGraw-Hill Professional, 1994, p. 342343.
Vout = RID .
[3] http://e2e.ti.com/blogs_/archives/b/thesignal/archive/
2012/03/14/op-amps-used-as-comparators-is-it-okay.
1.9 Other applications aspx

audio and video preampliers and buers [4] AN1177 Op Amp Precision Design: DC Errors (PDF).
Microchip. 2 January 2008. Archived from the original
lters on 2013-01-11. Retrieved 26 December 2012.
1.14. EXTERNAL LINKS 9

1.13 Further reading 1.14 External links

Design with Operational Ampliers and Analog In-
tegrated Circuits; 4th Ed; Sergio Franco; McGraw
Hill; 672 pages; 2014; ISBN 978-0078028168.
Op Amps For Everyone; 4th Ed; Ron Mancini;
Newnes; 304 pages; 2013; ISBN 978-0123914958.
(3 MB PDF of older edition)
Single supply op-amp circuit collection (PDF).
(163 KiB)
Op-amp circuit collection (PDF). (962 KiB)
A Collection of Amp Applications (PDF). (1.06
MiB) Analog Devices Application note

Operational Ampliers - Theory and Design; 2nd Ed;
Johan Huijsing; Springer; 430 pages; 2011; ISBN
978-9400705951. (7 MB PDF)
Small Signal Audio Design; 1st Ed; Douglas Self; Fo-
cal Press; 556 pages; 2010; ISBN 978-0240521770.
Lessons in Electric Circuits - Volume III - Semicon-
ductors; 2009. (Chapter 8 is 59 pages) (4 MB PDF)
Linear Circuit Design Handbook; 1st Ed; Hank
Zumbahlen; Newnes; 960 pages; 2008; ISBN 978-
0750687034. (35 MB PDF)
Op Amp Applications Handbook; 1st Ed; Wal-
ter Jung; Newnes; 896 pages; 2004; ISBN 978-
0750678445. (17 MB PDF)
Basic OpAmp Applications (PDF). (173 KiB)
Handbook of operational amplier applications
(PDF). (2.00 MiB) Texas Instruments Application
note
Low Side Current Sensing Using Operational Am-
pliers
Log/anti-log generators, cube generator, multi-
ply/divide amp (PDF). (165 KiB)
Logarithmically variable gain from a linear variable
component
Impedance and admittance transformations using
operational ampliers by D. H. Sheingold

Op Amps For Everyone; 1st Ed; Ron Mancini; 464 High Speed Amplier Techniques very practical and
pages; 2002; Texas Instruments SLOD006B. (2 MB readable with photos and real waveforms
PDF)
Single supply op-amp circuit collection
Design with Operational Ampliers and Analog In-
tegrated Circuits; 3rd Ed; Sergio Franco; 672 pages; Properly terminating an unused op amp
2002; ISBN 978-0072320848.
Op Amps and Linear Integrated Circuits; 1st Ed;
James Fiore; Cengage Learning; 616 pages; 2000;
ISBN 978-0766817937.
Operational Ampliers and Linear Integrated Cir-
cuits; 6th Ed; Robert Coughlin; Prentice Hall; 529
pages; 2000; ISBN 978-0130149916.
Op-Amps and Linear Integrated Circuits; 4th Ed;
Ram Gayakwad; Prentice Hall; 543 pages; 1999;
ISBN 978-0132808682.
Basic Operational Ampliers and Linear Integrated
Circuits; 2nd Ed; Thomas Floyd and David Buchla;
Prentice Hall; 593 pages; 1998; ISBN 978-
0130829870.
Troubleshooting Analog Circuits; 1st Ed; Bob Pease;
Newnes; 217 pages; 1991; ISBN 978-0750694995.
IC Op-Amp Cookbook; 3rd Ed; Walt Jung; Prentice
Hall; 433 pages; 1986; ISBN 978-0138896010.
Engineers Mini-Notebook OpAmp IC Circuits;
Forrest Mims III; Radio Shack; 49 pages; 1985;
ASIN B000DZG196. (4 MB PDF)
Analog Applications Manual; Signetics; 418 pages;
1979. (Chapter 3 is 32 pages) (32 MB PDF)
Chapter 2

Comparator applications

A comparator is an electronic component that compares

two input voltages. Comparators are closely related to
operational ampliers, but a comparator is designed to
operate with positive feedback and with its output satu-
rated at one power rail or the other. An op-amp can be
pressed into service as a poorly performing comparator
if necessary, but its slew rate will be impaired.

2.1 Comparator

V1 Circuit diagram for threshold detector with hysteresis

Vout
V2

R1 R5
Main article: Comparator Va = Vin + VT HRout
R1 + R5 R1 + R5
Unlike the zero crossing detector, the detector with hys-
Bistable output that indicates which of the two inputs has
teresis does not switch when Vin is zero, rather the out-
a higher voltage. That is,
put becomes Vsat+ when Va becomes positive and Vsat-
when Va becomes negative. Further examination of the
Va equation reveals that Vin can exceed zero (positive or

VS+ ifV1 > V2 , negative) by a certain magnitude before the output of the
Vout = VS ifV1 < V2 , detector is caused to switch. By adjusting the value of


0 ifV1 = V2 , R1, the magnitude of Vin that will cause the detector to
switch can be increased or decreased. Hysteresis is useful
where VS+ and VS are nominally the positive and nega- in various applications. It has better noise immunity than
tive supply voltages (which are not shown in the diagram). the level detector, so it is used in interface circuits. Its
positive feedback has a faster transition, so it is used in
timing applications such as frequency counters. It is also
used in astable multivibrators found in instruments such
2.2 Threshold detector as function generators.

The threshold detector with hysteresis consists of an

operational amplier and a series of resistors that provide
hysteresis. Like other detectors, this device functions as
a voltage switch, but with an important dierence. The
state of the detector output is not directly aected by in-
put voltage, but instead by the voltage drop across its in-
put terminals (here, referred to as Va). From Kirchhos
Current Law, this value depends both on Vin and the out-
put voltage of the threshold detector itself, both multi-
plied by a resistor ratio.
2.3 Zero crossing detector
A zero crossing detector is a comparator with the ref-
erence level set at zero. It is used for detecting the
zero crossings of AC signals. It can be made from an
operational amplier with an input voltage at its positive
input (see circuit diagram).
When the input voltage is positive, the output voltage is

10
2.5. RELAXATION OSCILLATOR 11

a positive value, when the input voltage is negative, the 2.5 Relaxation oscillator
output voltage is a negative value. The magnitude of the
output voltage is a property of the operational amplier Main article: Relaxation oscillator
and its power supply.
Applications include converting an analog signal into a
form suitable to use for frequency measurements, in phase
C R
locked loops, or for controlling power electronics circuits
that must switch with a dened relationship to an alter-
nating current waveform.
This detector exploits the property that the instantaneous
frequency of an FM wave is approximately given by fi =
Vout
t
2 where t is the time dierence between adjacent zero
crossings of FM wave
[1]

R R
2.4 Schmitt trigger By using an RC network to add slow negative feedback
to the inverting Schmitt trigger, a relaxation oscillator is
Main article: Schmitt trigger formed. The feedback through the RC network causes
the Schmitt trigger output to oscillate in an endless sym-
metric square wave (i.e., the Schmitt trigger in this con-
A bistable multivibrator implemented as a comparator guration is an astable multivibrator).
with hysteresis.
R2
2.6 References
R1 [1] Elliott Sound Products Application Notes : Zero Crossing
Detectors and Comparators
Vin
Vout

In this conguration, the input voltage is applied through

the resistor R1 (which may be the source internal resis-
tance) to the non-inverting input and the inverting input
is grounded or referenced. The hysteresis curve is non-
inverting and the switching thresholds are R
R2 Vsat where
1

Vsat is the greatest output magnitude of the operational

amplier.
R2

R1
Vout
Vin

Alternatively, the input source and the ground may be

swapped. Now the input voltage is applied directly to the
inverting input and the non-inverting input is grounded
or referenced. The hysteresis curve is inverting and the
switching thresholds are R1R+R1
2
Vsat . Such a congura-
tion is used in the relaxation oscillator shown below.
Chapter 3

Dierential amplier

Where Vin+ and Vin are the input voltages and Ad is the
VS+ dierential gain.
In practice, however, the gain is not quite equal for the
two inputs. This means, for instance, that if Vin+ and Vin
are equal, the output will not be zero, as it would be in
V+ the ideal case. A more realistic expression for the output
Vout of a dierential amplier thus includes a second term.

V Vout =
VS
Dierential amplier symbol
The inverting and non-inverting inputs are distinguished by ""
and "+" symbols (respectively) placed in the amplier triangle.
Vs+ and Vs are the power supply voltages; they are often omit-
ted from the diagram for simplicity, but of course must be present
in the actual circuit.
( )
Vin+ + Vin
Ad (Vin+ Vin ) + Ac
2
Ac is called the common-mode gain of the amplier.
As dierential ampliers are often used to null out
noise or bias-voltages that appear at both inputs, a low
common-mode gain is usually desired.
The common-mode rejection ratio (CMRR), usually de-
ned as the ratio between dierential-mode gain and
common-mode gain, indicates the ability of the amplier
to accurately cancel voltages that are common to both in-
puts. The common-mode rejection ratio is dened as:

A dierential amplier is the combination of invert- ( )2 ( )

ing and non inverting amplier. A dierential am- Ad Ad
CMRR = 10 log10 = 20 log10
plier is a type of electronic amplier that amplies the Ac |Ac |
dierence between two input voltages but suppresses any In a perfectly symmetrical dierential amplier, Ac is
voltage common to the two inputs.[1] It is an analog cir- zero and the CMRR is innite. Note that a dierential
cuit with two inputs Vin and Vin+ and one output Vout in amplier is a more general form of amplier than one
which the output is ideally proportional to the dierence with a single input; by grounding one input of a dieren-
between the two voltages tial amplier, a single-ended amplier results.

Vout = A(Vin+ Vin )

3.2 Long-tailed pair
where A is the gain of the amplier.
3.2.1 Historical background
3.1 Theory Modern dierential ampliers are usually implemented
with a basic two-transistor circuit called a long-tailed
Many electronic devices use dierential ampliers inter- pair or dierential pair. This circuit was originally imple-
nally. The output of an ideal dierential amplier is given mented using a pair of vacuum tubes. The circuit works
by: the same way for all three-terminal devices with current
gain. The long tail resistor circuit bias points are largely
determined by Ohms Law and less so by active compo-
Vout = Ad (Vin+ Vin ) nent characteristics.

12
3.2. LONG-TAILED PAIR 13

The long-tailed pair was developed from earlier knowl-

edge of push-pull circuit techniques and measurement VCC
bridges.[2] An early circuit which closely resembles a
long-tailed pair was published by British neurologist
Bryan Matthews in 1934,[3] and it seems likely that this
was intended to be a true long-tailed pair but was pub-
lished with a drawing error. The earliest denite long-
tailed pair circuit appears in a patent submitted by Alan RC1 RC2
Blumlein in 1936.[4] By the end of the 1930s the topol-
ogy was well established and had been described by var- Vout
ious authors including Frank Oner (1937), [5] Schmitt
(1937)[6] and Jan Friedrich Toennies (1938) [7] and it was
particularly used for detection and measurement of phys- +
iological impulses.[8] Vin Q1 Q2 Vin
The long-tailed pair was very successfully used in early
British computing, most notably the Pilot ACE model and
descendants,[nb 1] Maurice Wilkes EDSAC, and proba-
bly others designed by people who worked with Blum- RE
lein or his peers. The long-tailed pair has many favor-
able attributes if used as a switch: largely immune to
tube (transistor) variations (of great importance when VEE
machines contained 1,000 tubes or more), high gain,
gain stability, high input impedance, medium/low output
impedance, good clipper (with a not-too-long tail), non- Figure 2: A classic long-tailed pair
inverting (EDSAC contained no inverters!) and large out-
put voltage swings. One disadvantage is that the output
voltage swing (typically 1020 V) was imposed upon a
high DC voltage (200 V or so), requiring care in signal Single-ended output
coupling, usually some form of wide-band DC coupling.
Many computers of this time tried to avoid this problem
If the dierential output is not desired, then only one out-
by using only AC-coupled pulse logic, which made them
put can be used (taken from just one of the collectors (or
very large and overly complex (ENIAC: 18,000 tubes for
anodes or drains), disregarding the other output; this con-
a 20 digit calculator) or unreliable. DC-coupled circuitry
guration is referred to as single-ended output. The gain
became the norm after the rst generation of vacuum
is half that of the stage with dierential output. To avoid
tube computers.
sacricing gain, a dierential to single-ended converter
can be utilized. This is often implemented as a current
mirror (Figure 3, below).

3.2.2 Congurations

A dierential (long-tailed,[nb 2] emitter-coupled) pair am-

plier consists of two amplifying stages with common Single-ended input
(emitter, source or cathode) degeneration.
The dierential pair can be used as an amplier with a
single-ended input if one of the inputs is grounded or
xed to a reference voltage (usually, the other collector is
Dierential output used as a single-ended output) This arrangement can be
thought of as cascaded common-collector and common-
[nb 3]
With two inputs and two outputs, this forms a dieren- base stages or as a buered common-base stage.
tial amplier stage (Figure 2). The two bases (or grids or The emitter-coupled amplier is compensated for tem-
gates) are inputs which are dierentially amplied (sub- perature drifts, VBE is cancelled, and the Miller eect
tracted and multiplied) by the pair; they can be fed with and transistor saturation are avoided. That is why it is
a dierential (balanced) input signal, or one input could used to form emitter-coupled ampliers (avoiding Miller
be grounded to form a phase splitter circuit. An amplier eect), phase splitter circuits (obtaining two inverse volt-
with dierential output can drive oating load or another ages), ECL gates and switches (avoiding transistor satu-
stage with dierential input. ration), etc.
14 CHAPTER 3. DIFFERENTIAL AMPLIFIER

3.2.3 Operation common point does not change its voltage; it behaves
like a virtual ground with a magnitude determined by the
To explain the circuit operation, four particular modes are common-mode input voltages. The high-resistive emitter
isolated below although, in practice, some of them act element does not play any role it is shunted by the other
simultaneously and their eects are superimposed. low-resistive emitter follower. There is no negative feed-
back since the emitter voltage does not change at all when
the input base voltages change. he common quiescent
Biasing current vigorously steers between the two transistors and
the output collector voltages vigorously change. The two
In contrast with classic amplifying stages that are biased transistors mutually ground their emitters; so, although
from the side of the base (and so they are highly - they are common-collector stages, they actually act as
dependent), the dierential pair is directly biased from common-emitter stages with maximum gain. Bias stabil-
the side of the emitters by sinking/injecting the total qui- ity and independence from variations in device parame-
escent current. The series negative feedback (the emit- ters can be improved by negative feedback introduced via
ter degeneration) makes the transistors act as voltage cathode/emitter resistors with relatively small resistances.
stabilizers; it forces them to adjust their VBE voltages
(base currents) to pass the quiescent current through their Overdriven. If the input dierential voltage changes
collector-emitter junctions.[nb 4] So, due to the negative signicantly (more than about a hundred millivolts), the
feedback, the quiescent current depends only slightly on transistor driven by the lower input voltage turns o and
the transistors . its collector voltage reaches the positive supply rail. At
high overdrive the base-emitter junction gets reversed.
The biasing base currents needed to evoke the quiescent The other transistor (driven by the higher input voltage)
collector currents usually come from the ground, pass drives all the current. If the resistor at the collector is
through the input sources and enter the bases. So, the relatively large, the transistor will saturate. With rela-
sources have to be galvanic (DC) to ensure paths for the tively small collector resistor and moderate overdrive, the
biasing current and low resistive enough to not create sig- emitter can still follow the input signal without saturation.
nicant voltage drops across them. Otherwise, additional This mode is used in dierential switches and ECL gates.
DC elements should be connected between the bases and
the ground (or the positive power supply). Breakdown. If the input voltage continues increasing
and exceeds the base-emitter breakdown voltage, the
base-emitter junction of the transistor driven by the lower
Common mode input voltage breaks down. If the input sources are low
resistive, an unlimited current will ow directly through
At common mode (the two input voltages change in the the diode bridge between the two input sources and will
same directions), the two voltage (emitter) followers co- damage them.
operate with each other working together on the common
At common mode, the emitter voltage follows the input
high-resistive emitter load (the long tail). They all to-
voltage variations; there is a full negative feedback and the
gether increase or decrease the voltage of the common
gain is minimum. At dierential mode, the emitter voltage
emitter point (guratively speaking, they together pull
is xed (equal to the instant common input voltage); there
up or pull down it so that it moves). In addition, the
is no negative feedback and the gain is maximum.
dynamic load helps them by changing its instant ohmic
resistance in the same direction as the input voltages (it
increases when the voltage increases and vice versa.) thus
keeping up constant total resistance between the two sup- 3.2.4 Dierential Amplier Improvements
ply rails. There is a full (100%) negative feedback; the
two input base voltages and the emitter voltage change Emitter constant current source
simultaneously while the collector currents and the total
current do not change. As a result, the output collector The quiescent current has to be constant to ensure con-
voltages do not change as well. stant collector voltages at common mode. This require-
ment is not so important in the case of a dierential out-
put since the two collector voltages will vary simultane-
Dierential mode ously but their dierence (the output voltage) will not
vary. But in the case of a single-ended output, it is ex-
Normal. At dierential mode (the two input voltages tremely important to keep a constant current since the
change in opposite directions), the two voltage (emitter) output collector voltage will vary. Thus the higher the
followers oppose each other - while one of them tries to resistance of the current source Re , the lower (better) is
increase the voltage of the common emitter point, the the common mode gain Ac . The constant current needed
other tries to decrease it (guratively speaking, one of can be produced by connecting an element (resistor) with
them pulls up the common point while the other pulls very high resistance between the shared emitter node and
down it so that it stays immovable) and v.v. So, the the supply rail (negative for NPN and positive for PNP
3.3. OPERATIONAL AMPLIFIER AS DIFFERENTIAL AMPLIFIER 15

Transfer Characteristic @ T = 300 K

1

+U

0.5

current

Ratio Iout/ IABC

mirror 0

output
-0.5
non-inv
Q1 Q2
input (+)
-1
-0.2 -0.1 0 0.1 0.2

inv V = V in1 Vin2 in Volt

input (-)
current Figure 4: Transmission characteristic
source
3.2.5 Interfacing considerations
-U
Floating input source

Figure 3: An improved long-tailed pair with current-mirror load
and constant-current biasing
transistors) but this will require high supply voltage. That
is why, in more sophisticated designs, an element with
high dierential (dynamic) resistance approximating a
constant current source/sink is substituted for the long
tail (Figure 3). It is usually implemented by a current
mirror because of its high compliance voltage (small volt-
age drop across the output transistor).
It is possible to connect a oating source between the two
bases, but it is necessary to ensure paths for the biasing
base currents. In the case of galvanic source, only one re-
sistor has to be connected between one of the bases and
the ground. The biasing current will enter directly this
base and indirectly (through the input source) the other
one. If the source is capacitive, two resistors have to be
connected between the two bases and the ground to en-
sure dierent paths for the base currents.
Input/output impedance

The input impedance of the dierential pair highly de-

pends on the input mode. At common mode, the two
Collector current mirror
parts behave as common-collector stages with high emit-
ter loads; so, the input impedances are extremely high. At
The collector resistors can be replaced by a current mir- dierential mode, they behave as common-emitter stages
ror, whose output part acts as an active load (Fig. 3). with grounded emitters; so, the input impedances are low.
Thus the dierential collector current signal is converted
to a single ended voltage signal without the intrinsic The output impedance of the dierential pair is high (es-
50% losses and the gain is extremely increased. This is pecially for the improved dierential pair with a current
achieved by copying the input collector current from the mirror as shown in Figure 3).
right to the left side where the magnitudes of the two in-
put signals add. For this purpose, the input of the current Input/output range
mirror is connected to the right output and the output of
the current mirror is connected to the left output of the The common-mode input voltage can vary between the
dierential amplier. two supply rails but cannot closely reach them since some
The current mirror inverts the right collector current and voltage drops (minimum 1 volt) have to remain across the
tries to pass it through the left transistor that produces the output transistors of the two current mirrors.
left collector current. In the middle point between the two
left transistors, the two signal currents (current changes)
are subtracted. In this case (dierential input signal), they 3.3 Operational amplier as dier-
are equal and opposite. Thus, the dierence is twice the
individual signal currents (I - (-I) = 2I) and the dif- ential amplier
ferential to single ended conversion is completed without
gain losses. Fig. 4 shows the transmission characteristic An operational amplier, or op-amp, is a dierential am-
of this circuit. plier with very high dierential-mode gain, very high in-
16 CHAPTER 3. DIFFERENTIAL AMPLIFIER

Rf 3.4.1 Symmetrical feedback network

R1 eliminates common-mode gain and
common-mode bias
V1
Vout
Vin
V2 Ri Rf
R2 V
Rg
Rd Ib
Aol

Vout
Rd
I+
b
Figure 5: Op-amp dierential amplier
V+
Vout =Aol (V+ V)
+
Vin Ri+ Rf+

put impedance, and low output impedance. An op-amp

dierential amplier can be built with predictable and Figure 6: Dierential amplier with non-ideal op-amp: input
stable gain by applying negative feedback (Figure 5).[nb 5] bias current and dierential input impedance
Some kinds of dierential amplier usually include sev-
eral simpler dierential ampliers. For example, a fully In case the operational ampliers (non-ideal) input bias
dierential amplier, an instrumentation amplier, or an current or dierential input impedance are a signicant
isolation amplier are often built from a combination of eect, one can select a feedback network that improves
several op-amps. the eect of common-mode input signal and bias. In Fig-
ure 6, current generators model the input bias current at
each terminal; I + and I represent the input bias current
at terminals V + and V , respectively.
The Thvenin equivalent for the network driving the V +
terminal has a voltage V +' and impedance R+' :
3.4 Applications
V + = Vin+ R/+/ /Ri+ Ib+ R/+/ ; R+ = R/+/ = Ri+ //Rf+
Dierential ampliers are found in many circuits that
utilize series negative feedback (op-amp follower, non- while for the network driving the V terminal,
inverting amplier, etc.), where one input is used for the
input signal, the other for the feedback signal (usually im-
plemented by operational ampliers). For comparison, V = Vin R/
R = R/
/ /Ri +Vout R// /Rf Ib R// ; / = Ri //Rf .
the old-fashioned inverting single-ended op-amps from
the early 1940s could realize only parallel negative feed- The output of the op amp is just the open-loop gain A
back by connecting additional resistor networks (an op- times the dierential input current i times the dierential
amp inverting amplier is the most popular example). A input impedance 2R , therefore
common application is for the control of motors or servos,
as well as for signal amplication applications. In discrete
electronics, a common arrangement for implementing a V + V
Vout = Aol 2Rd = (V + V )Aol R// /(R// //Rd )
dierential amplier is the long-tailed pair, which is also 2R// + 2R d
usually found as the dierential element in most op-amp
integrated circuits. A long-tailed pair can be used as an where R// is the average of R+ // and R //.
analog multiplier with the dierential voltage as one input These equations undergo a great simplication if
and the biasing current as another.
A dierential amplier is used as the input stage emitter
+ +
coupled logic gates and as switch. When used as a switch, Ri = Ri and Rf = Rf
the left base/grid is used as signal input and the right
base/grid is grounded; output is taken from the right col- resulting in the relation,
lector/plate. When the input is zero or negative, the out-
put is close to zero (but can be not saturated); when the in- [ ]
put is positive, the output is most-positive, dynamic oper- V + V R I = V Ri 1
in in i b out +
ation being the same as the amplier use described above. Rf Aol Ri //R
Ri
f//Rd
3.6. SEE ALSO
which implies that the closed-loop gain for the dieren-
tial signal is V + - V , but the common-mode gain is
identically zero. It also implies that the common-mode
input bias current has cancelled out, leaving only the in-
put oset current I = 'I+ b - 'I still present, and with
a coecient of R. It is as if the input oset current is
equivalent to an input oset voltage acting across an in-
put resistance R, which is the source resistance of the
feedback network into the input terminals. Finally, as
long as the open-loop voltage gain A is much larger than
unity, the closed-loop voltage gain is R / R, the value one
would obtain through the rule-of-thumb analysis known
as virtual ground.[nb 6]
3.5 Footnotes
[1] Details of the long-tailed pair circuitry used in early com-
puting can be found in Alan Turings Automatic Comput-
ing Engine (Oxford University Press, 2005, ISBN 0-19-
856593-3) in Part IV, ELECTRONICS
[2] Long-tail is a gurative name of high resistance that rep-
resents the high emitter resistance at common mode with
a common long tail with a proportional length (at dier-
ential mode this tail shortens up to zero). If additional
emitter resistors with small resistances are included be-
tween the emitters and the common node (to introduce a
small negative feedback at dierential mode), they can be
guratively represented by short tails.
[3] More generally, this arrangement can be considered as
two interacting voltage followers with negative feedback:
the output part of the dierential pair acts as a voltage
follower with constant input voltage (a voltage stabilizer)
producing constant output voltage; the input part acts as
a voltage follower with varying input voltage trying to
change the steady output voltage of the stabilizer. The
stabilizer reacts to this intervention by changing its out-
put quantity (current, respectively voltage) that serves as
a circuit output.
[4] It is interesting fact that the negative feedback as though
has reversed the transistor behavior - the collector current
has become an input quantity while the base current serves
as an output one.
[5] In this arrangement it seems strange that a high-gain dif-
ferential amplier (op-amp) is used as a component of a
low-gain dierential amplier, in the way that a high-gain
inverting amplier (op-amp) serves as a component in a
low-gain inverting amplier. This paradox of negative-
feedback ampliers impeded Harold Black obtaining his
patent.
[6] For the closed-loop common-mode gain to be zero only
requires that the ratio of resistances R / R be matched
in the inverting and non-inverting legs. For the input bias
currents to cancel, the stricter relation given here must ob-
tain.
17
3.6 See also
Gilbert cell
Instrumentation amplier
Op-amp dierential conguration
Emitter-coupled logic
3.7 References
[1] Laplante, Philip A. (2005). Comprehensive Dictionary of
Electrical Engineering, 2nd Ed. CRC Press. p. 190. ISBN
1420037803.
[2] Eglin, J. M. (1 May 1929). A Direct-Current Am-
plier for Measuring Small Currents. Journal of
the Optical Society of America. 18 (5): 393402.
doi:10.1364/JOSA.18.000393.
[3] Matthews, Bryan H. C. (1 December 1934).
PROCEEDINGS OF THE PHYSIOLOGICAL
SOCIETY. The Journal of Physiology. 81 (suppl):
2829. doi:10.1113/jphysiol.1934.sp003151. Retrieved
15 February 2016.
[4] US Patent 2185367 (PDF). Freepatensonline.com. Re-
trieved 15 February 2016.
[5] Oner, Franklin (1937). Push-Pull Resistance Coupled
Ampliers. Review of Scientic Instruments. 8 (1): 20
21. doi:10.1063/1.1752180.
[6] Schmitt, Otto H. (1941). Cathode Phase Inversion
(PDF). Review of Scientic Instruments. 12 (11): 548.
doi:10.1063/1.1769796. Retrieved 15 February 2016.
[7] US Patent 2147940 (PDF). Google Inc. Retrieved 16
February 2016.
[8] Geddes, L. A. Who Invented the Dierential Amplier?.
IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology, May/June
1996, p.116-117.
3.8 External links
BJT Dierential Amplier Circuit and explana-
tion
A testbench for dierential circuits
Application Note: Analog Devices - AN-0990
: Terminating a Dierential Amplier in Single-
Ended Input Applications
A discrete OpAmp with complimentary dierential
amplier (in German)
Chapter 4

Instrumentation amplier

This article is about ampliers for measurement and elec- The rightmost amplier, along with the resistors labelled
tronic test equipment. For ampliers for musical instru- R2 and R3 is just the standard dierential amplier cir-
ments, see instrument amplier. cuit, with gain = R3 /R2 and dierential input resistance
An instrumentation (or instrumentational) ampli- = 2 R2 . The two ampliers on the left are the buers.
With Rgain removed (open circuited), they are simple
unity gain buers; the circuit will work in that state, with
V1 R2 R3
gain simply equal to R3 /R2 and high input impedance be-
cause of the buers. The buer gain could be increased
R1 by putting resistors between the buer inverting inputs
and ground to shunt away some of the negative feedback;
however, the single resistor Rgain between the two invert-
Rgain Vout ing inputs is a much more elegant method: it increases
the dierential-mode gain of the buer pair while leav-
R1 ing the common-mode gain equal to 1. This increases the
common-mode rejection ratio (CMRR) of the circuit and
V2 also enables the buers to handle much larger common-
R2 R3 mode signals without clipping than would be the case if
they were separate and had the same gain. Another bene-
t of the method is that it boosts the gain using a single re-
Typical instrumentation amplier schematic sistor rather than a pair, thus avoiding a resistor-matching
problem, and very conveniently allowing the gain of the
er is a type of dierential amplier that has been outt- circuit to be changed by changing the value of a single
ted with input buer ampliers, which eliminate the need resistor. A set of switch-selectable resistors or even a po-
for input impedance matching and thus make the ampli- tentiometer can be used for Rgain , providing easy changes
er particularly suitable for use in measurement and test to the gain of the circuit, without the complexity of hav-
equipment. Additional characteristics include very low ing to switch matched pairs of resistors.
DC oset, low drift, low noise, very high open-loop gain,The ideal common-mode gain of an instrumentation am-
very high common-mode rejection ratio, and very high plier is zero. In the circuit shown, common-mode gain
input impedances. Instrumentation ampliers are used is caused by mismatch in the resistor ratios R2 /R3 and
where great accuracy and stability of the circuit both short
by the mis-match in common mode gains of the two in-
and long-term are required. put op-amps. Obtaining very closely matched resistors is
Although the instrumentation amplier is usually shown a signicant diculty in fabricating these circuits,
[3]
as is
schematically identical to a standard operational ampli- optimizing the common mode performance.
er (op-amp), the electronic instrumentation amp is al- An instrumentation amp can also be built with two op-
most always internally composed of 3 op-amps. These amps to save on cost, but the gain must be higher than
are arranged so that there is one op-amp to buer each two (+6 dB).[4][5]
input (+,), and one to produce the desired output with
Instrumentation ampliers can be built with individual
adequate impedance matching for the function.[1][2]
op-amps and precision resistors, but are also available in
The most commonly used instrumentation amplier cir- integrated circuit form from several manufacturers (in-
cuit is shown in the gure. The gain of the circuit is cluding Texas Instruments, Analog Devices, Linear Tech-
nology and Maxim Integrated Products). An IC instru-
mentation amplier typically contains closely matched
( )
Vout 2R1 R3 laser-trimmed resistors, and therefore oers excellent
= 1+ common-mode rejection. Examples include AD8221,
V2 V1 Rgain R2

18
4.3. EXTERNAL LINKS 19

MAX4194, LT1167 and INA128. The Instrumentation Amplier

Instrumentation Ampliers can also be designed using A Designers Guide to Instrumentation Ampliers
Indirect Current-feedback Architecture, which extend (3rd Edition)
the operating range of these ampliers to the negative
power supply rail, and in some cases the positive power Three is a Crowd for Instrumentation Ampliers
supply rail. This can be particularly useful in single-
supply systems, where the negative power rail is sim- Instrumentation Amplier Solutions, Circuits and
ply the circuit ground (GND). Examples of parts uti- Applications
lizing this architecture are MAX4208/MAX4209 and Fixed-gain CMOS dierential ampliers with no
AD8129/AD8130. external feedback for a wide temperature range
Feedback-free instrumentation amplier is the high (Cryogenics)
input impedance dierential amplier designed without
the external feedback network. This allows reduction in
the number of ampliers (one instead of three), reduced
noise (no thermal noise is brought on by the feedback
resistors) and increased bandwidth (no frequency com-
pensation is needed). Chopper stabilized (or zero drift)
instrumentation ampliers such as the LTC2053 use a
switching input front end to eliminate DC oset errors
and drift.

4.1 See also

Isolation amplier

Operational amplier applications

4.2 References
[1] R.F. Coughlin, F.F. Driscoll Operational Ampliers and
Linear Integrated Circuits (2nd Ed.1982. ISBN 0-13-
637785-8) p.161.

[2] Moore, Davis, Coplan Building Scientic Apparatus (2nd

Ed. 1989 ISBN 0-201-13189-7)p.407.

[3] Smither, Pugh and Woolard: CMRR Analysis of the

3-op-amp instrumentation amplier', Electronics letters,
Volume 13, Issue 20, 29 September 1977, page 594.

[4] Don't fall in love with one type of instrumentation amp -

2002-05-30 07:00:00. EDN. Retrieved 2014-10-28.

[5] Ampliers for bioelectric events: a design with a minimal

number of parts. Biosemi.com. Retrieved 2011-10-03.

4.3 External links

Opamp Instrumentation Amplier

The instrumentation amplier

Lessons In Electric Circuits Volume III The

instrumentation amplier

A Practical Review of Common Mode and Instru-

mentation Ampliers (PDF)
Chapter 5

Comparator

For other uses, see Comparator (disambiguation). to swing below the negative rail and above the positive
rail, although by a narrow margin of only 0.2 V.[3] Dier-
In electronics, a comparator is a device that compares ential input voltage (the voltage between two inputs) of a
modern rail-to-rail comparator is usually limited only by
two voltages or currents and outputs a digital signal indi-
cating which is larger. It has two analog input terminals the full swing of power supply.
V+ and V and one binary digital output Vo . The output
is ideally
5.2 Op-amp voltage comparator
{
1, if V+ > V
Vo =
0, if V+ < V
V1
A comparator consists of a specialized high-gain Vout
dierential amplier. They are commonly used in devices V2
that measure and digitize analog signals, such as analog-
to-digital converters (ADCs), as well as relaxation oscil-
lators. A simple op-amp comparator

An operational amplier (op-amp) has a well balanced

5.1 Dierential voltage
The dierential voltages must stay within the limits spec-
ied by the manufacturer. Early integrated comparators,
like the LM111 family, and certain high-speed compara-
tors like the LM119 family, require dierential voltage
ranges substantially lower than the power supply volt-
ages (15 V vs. 36 V).[1] Rail-to-rail comparators allow
any dierential voltages within the power supply range.
When powered from a bipolar (dual rail) supply,
VS V+ , V VS+ with negative feedback, using a balanced, split-voltage
or, when powered from a unipolar TTL/CMOS power typically written as: V = A (V V ) . However, this
supply:
0 V+ , V Vcc
Specic rail-to-rail comparators with p-n-p input transis- tor presents several disadvantages as compared to using a
tors, like the LM139 family, allow the input potential to
drop 0.3 volts below the negative supply rail, but do not
allow it to rise above the positive rail.[2] Specic ultra-
fast comparators, like the LMH7322, allow input signal
dierence input and a very high gain. This parallels the
characteristics of comparators and can be substituted in
applications with low-performance requirements.[4]
In theory, a standard op-amp operating in open-loop con-
guration (without negative feedback) may be used as a
low-performance comparator. When the non-inverting
input (V+) is at a higher voltage than the inverting input
(V-), the high gain of the op-amp causes the output to sat-
urate at the highest positive voltage it can output. When
the non-inverting input (V+) drops below the inverting in-
put (V-), the output saturates at the most negative voltage
it can output. The op-amps output voltage is limited by
the supply voltage. An op-amp operating in a linear mode
power supply, (powered by VS) has its transfer function
out o 1 2
equation may not be applicable to a comparator circuit
which is non-linear and operates open-loop (no negative
feedback)
In practice, using an operational amplier as a compara-
dedicated comparator:[5]
1. Op-amps are designed to operate in the linear mode
with negative feedback. Hence, an op-amp typically

20
5.4. KEY SPECIFICATIONS 21

has a lengthy recovery time from saturation. Almost though the performance still lags that of circuits with am-
all op-amps have an internal compensation capaci- pliers using analog signals. Slew rate has no meaning
tor which imposes slew rate limitations for high fre- for these devices. For applications in ash ADCs the dis-
quency signals. Consequently, an op-amp makes a tributed signal across eight ports matches the voltage and
sloppy comparator with propagation delays that can current gain after each amplier, and resistors then be-
be as long as tens of microseconds. have as level-shifters.
The LM339 accomplishes this with an open collector out-
2. Since op-amps do not have any internal hysteresis,
put. When the inverting input is at a higher voltage than
an external hysteresis network is always necessary
the non inverting input, the output of the comparator con-
for slow moving input signals.
nects to the negative power supply. When the non invert-
3. The quiescent current specication of an op-amp is ing input is higher than the inverting input, the output
valid only when the feedback is active. Some op- is 'oating' (has a very high impedance to ground). The
amps show an increased quiescent current when the gain of op amp as comparator is given by this equation
inputs are not equal. V(out)=V(in)

4. A comparator is designed to produce well lim-

ited output voltages that easily interface with digi- 5.4 Key specications
tal logic. Compatibility with digital logic must be
veried while using an op-amp as a comparator. While it is easy to understand the basic task of a compara-
tor, that is, comparing two voltages or currents, several
5. Some multiple-section op-amps may exhibit ex-
parameters must be considered while selecting a suitable
treme channel-channel interaction when used as
comparator:
comparators.

6. Many op-amps have back to back diodes between
their inputs. Op-amp inputs usually follow each
other so this is ne. But comparator inputs are not
usually the same. The diodes can cause unexpected
current through inputs.
5.3 Working
A dedicated voltage comparator will generally be faster
than a general-purpose operational amplier pressed into
service as a comparator. A dedicated voltage comparator
may also contain additional features such as an accurate,
internal voltage reference, an adjustable hysteresis and a
clock gated input.
A dedicated voltage comparator chip such as LM339 is
designed to interface with a digital logic interface (to a
TTL or a CMOS). The output is a binary state often
used to interface real world signals to digital circuitry (see
analog to digital converter). If there is a xed voltage
source from, for example, a DC adjustable device in the
signal path, a comparator is just the equivalent of a cas-
cade of ampliers. When the voltages are nearly equal,
the output voltage will not fall into one of the logic lev-
els, thus analog signals will enter the digital domain with
unpredictable results. To make this range as small as pos-
sible, the amplier cascade is high gain. The circuit con-
sists of mainly Bipolar transistors. For very high frequen-
cies, the input impedance of the stages is low. This re-
duces the saturation of the slow, large P-N junction bipo-
lar transistors that would otherwise lead to long recovery
times. Fast small Schottky diodes, like those found in bi-
nary logic designs, improve the performance signicantly
5.4.1 Speed and power
While in general comparators are fast, their circuits are
not immune to the classic speed-power tradeo. High
speed comparators use transistors with larger aspect ra-
tios and hence also consume more power.[6] Depend-
ing on the application, select either a comparator with
high speed or one that saves power. For example, nano-
powered comparators in space-saving chip-scale pack-
ages (UCSP), DFN or SC70 packages such as MAX9027,
LTC1540, LPV7215, MAX9060 and MCP6541 are
ideal for ultra-low-power, portable applications. Like-
wise if a comparator is needed to implement a relax-
ation oscillator circuit to create a high speed clock sig-
nal then comparators having few nano seconds of prop-
agation delay may be suitable. ADCMP572 (CML out-
put), LMH7220 (LVDS Output), MAX999 (CMOS out-
put / TTL output), LT1719 (CMOS output / TTL output),
MAX9010 (TTL output), and MAX9601 (PECL output)
are examples of some good high speed comparators.
5.4.2 Hysteresis
A comparator normally changes its output state when the
voltage between its inputs crosses through approximately
zero volts. Small voltage uctuations due to noise, al-
ways present on the inputs, can cause undesirable rapid
changes between the two output states when the input
voltage dierence is near zero volts. To prevent this out-
put oscillation, a small hysteresis of a few millivolts is in-
tegrated into many modern comparators.[7] For example,
the LTC6702, MAX9021 and MAX9031 have internal
hysteresis desensitizing them from input noise. In place
22
of one switching point, hysteresis introduces two: one for
rising voltages, and one for falling voltages. The dier-
ence between the higher-level trip value (VTRIP+) and
the lower-level trip value (VTRIP-) equals the hysteresis
voltage (VHYST).
If the comparator does not have internal hysteresis or
if the input noise is greater than the internal hysteresis
then an external hysteresis network can be built using
positive feedback from the output to the non-inverting
input of the comparator. The resulting Schmitt trig-
ger circuit gives additional noise immunity and a cleaner
output signal. Some comparators such as LMP7300,
LTC1540, MAX931, MAX971 and ADCMP341 also
provide the hysteresis control through a separate hystere-
sis pin. These comparators make it possible to add a pro-
grammable hysteresis without feedback or complicated
equations. Using a dedicated hysteresis pin is also conve-
nient if the source impedance is high since the inputs are
isolated from the hysteresis network.[8] When hysteresis
is added then a comparator cannot resolve signals within
the hysteresis band.
5.4.3 Output type
A Low Power CMOS Clocked Comparator
Because comparators have only two output states, their
outputs are near zero or near the supply voltage. Bipolar
rail-to-rail comparators have a common-emitter output
that produces a small voltage drop between the output and
each rail. That drop is equal to the collector-to-emitter
voltage of a saturated transistor. When output currents
are light, output voltages of CMOS rail-to-rail compara-
tors, which rely on a saturated MOSFET, range closer to
the rails than their bipolar counterparts.[9]
On the basis of outputs, comparators can also be classied
as open drain or pushpull. Comparators with an open-
drain output stage use an external pull up resistor to a pos-
itive supply that denes the logic high level. Open drain
comparators are more suitable for mixed-voltage system
design. Since the output is high impedance for logic level
CHAPTER 5. COMPARATOR
high, open drain comparators can also be used to connect
multiple comparators on to a single bus. Push pull out-
put does not need a pull up resistor and can also source
current unlike an open drain output.
5.4.4 Internal reference
The most frequent application for comparators is the
comparison between a voltage and a stable reference.
Most comparator manufacturers also oer comparators
in which a reference voltage is integrated on to the chip.
Combining the reference and comparator in one chip
not only saves space, but also draws less supply cur-
rent than a comparator with an external reference.[9]
ICs with wide range of references are available such as
MAX9062 (200 mV reference), LT6700 (400 mV ref-
erence), ADCMP350 (600 mV reference), MAX9025
(1.236 V reference), MAX9040 (2.048 V reference),
TLV3012 (1.24 V reference) and TSM109 (2.5 V ref-
erence).
5.4.5 Continuous versus clocked
A continuous comparator will output either a 1 or a 0
any time a high or low signal is applied to its input and
will change quickly when the inputs are updated. How-
ever, many applications only require comparator outputs
at certain instances, such as in A/D converters and mem-
ory. By only strobing a comparator at certain intervals,
higher accuracy and lower power can be achieved with a
clocked (or dynamic) comparator structure, also called a
latched comparator. Often latched comparators employ
strong positive feedback for a regeneration phase when
a clock is high, and have a reset phase when the clock
is low.[10] This is in contrast to a continuous compara-
tor, which can only employ weak positive feedback since
there is no reset period.
5.5 Applications
Main article: Comparator applications
5.5.1 Null detectors
A null detector is one that functions to identify when a
given value is zero. Comparators can be a type of am-
plier distinctively for null comparison measurements. It
is the equivalent to a very high gain amplier with well-
balanced inputs and controlled output limits. The circuit
compares the two input voltages, determining the larger.
The inputs are an unknown voltage and a reference volt-
age, usually referred to as v and v. A reference volt-
age is generally on the non-inverting input (+), while v
5.6. SEE ALSO
is usually on the inverting input (). (A circuit diagram
would display the inputs according to their sign with re-
spect to the output when a particular input is greater than
the other.) The output is either positive or negative, for
example 12 V. In this case, the idea is to detect when
there is no dierence between in the input voltages. This
gives the identity of the unknown voltage since the refer-
ence voltage is known.
When using a comparator as a null detector, there are lim-
its as to the accuracy of the zero value measurable. Zero
output is given when the magnitude of the dierence in
the voltages multiplied by the gain of the amplier is less
than the voltage limits. For example, if the gain of the
amplier is 106 , and the voltage limits are 6 V, then no
output will be given if the dierence in the voltages is less
than 6 V. One could refer to this as a sort of uncertainty
in the measurement.[11]
5.5.2 Zero-crossing detectors
For this type of detector, a comparator detects each time
an ac pulse changes polarity. The output of the compara-
tor changes state each time the pulse changes its polarity,
that is the output is HI (high) for a positive pulse and LO
(low) for a negative pulse squares the input signal.[12]
5.5.3 Relaxation oscillator
A comparator can be used to build a relaxation oscillator.
It uses both positive and negative feedback. The posi-
tive feedback is a Schmitt trigger conguration. Alone,
the trigger is a bistable multivibrator. However, the slow
negative feedback added to the trigger by the RC circuit
causes the circuit to oscillate automatically. That is, the
addition of the RC circuit turns the hysteretic bistable
multivibrator into an astable multivibrator.[13]
5.5.4 Level shifter
Texas Instruments LM393
23
This circuit requires only a single comparator with
an open-drain output as in the LM393, TLV3011 or
MAX9028. The circuit provides great exibility in
choosing the voltages to be translated by using a suitable
pull up voltage. It also allows the translation of bipolar
5 V logic to unipolar 3 V logic by using a comparator
like the MAX972.[9]
5.5.5 Analog-to-digital converters
When a comparator performs the function of telling if
an input voltage is above or below a given threshold, it
is essentially performing a 1-bit quantization. This func-
tion is used in nearly all analog to digital converters (such
as ash, pipeline, successive approximation, delta-sigma
modulation, folding, interpolating, dual-slope and others)
in combination with other devices to achieve a multi-bit
quantization.[14]
5.5.6 Window detectors
Comparators can also be used as window detectors. In a
window detector, a comparator is used to compare two
voltages and determine whether a given input voltage is
under voltage or over voltage.
5.6 See also
Current comparator
Constant fraction discriminator
Digital comparator
Flash ADC
List of LM-series integrated circuits
Sorting network
Zero crossing threshold detector
This article incorporates public domain material from
the General Services Administration document Federal
Standard 1037C.
5.7 References
[1] LM111/LM211/LM311 datasheet. Texas Instruments.
August 2003. Retrieved 2014-07-02.
[2] LM139/LM239/LM339/LM2901/LM3302 datasheet.
Texas Instruments. August 2012. Retrieved 2014-07-02.
[3] LMH7322 datasheet. Texas Instruments. March 2013. Re-
trieved 2014-07-02.
24 CHAPTER 5. COMPARATOR

[4] Malmstadt, Enke and Crouch, Electronics and Instrumen-

tation for Scientists, The Benjamin/Cummings Publishing
Company, Inc., 1981, ISBN 0-8053-6917-1, Chapter 5.

[5] Ron Mancini, "Designing with comparators, EDN,

March 29, 2001.

[6] Rogenmoser, R.; Kaeslin, H, The impact of transistor

sizing on power eciency in submicron CMOS circuits,
Solid-State Circuits, IEEE Journal of Volume 32, Issue 7,
Jul 1997 Page(s):11421145.

[7] Ron Mancini, "Adding Hysteresis to comparators, EDN,

May 3, 2001.

[8] AN3616, Maxim Integrated Products, Adding Extra Hys-

teresis to Comparators.

[9] AN886, Maxim Integrated Products, Selecting the Right

Comparator.

[10] Pedro M. Figueiredo, Joo C. Vital (2009). Oset Reduc-

tion Techniques in High-Speed Analog-to-Digital Convert-
ers: Analysis, Design and Tradeos. Springer. pp. 5462.
ISBN 978-1-4020-9715-7.

[11] Malmstadt, Howard V.; Enke, Christie G.; Crouch, Stan-

ley R. (January 1981), Electronics and Instrumentation for
Scientists, The Benjamin/Cummings Publishing Co, pp.
108110, ISBN 0-8053-6917-1

[12] Electronics and Instrumentation for Scientists. Malmstadt,

Enke, and Crouch, The Benjamin/Cummings Publishing
Co., In., 1981, p.230.

[13] Paul Horowitz and Wineld Hill: The Art of Electronics,

Cambridge University Press, Second edition, Cambridge
1989, pp.284285.

[14] Phillip Allen and Douglas Holberg: CMOS Analog Circuit

Design, Oxford University Press, Second edition, Oxford
2002.

5.8 External links

IC Comparator reference page at home.cogeco.ca
Comparator tutorial video with example circuits

A Java based resistor value search tool for analysing

an inverting comparator circuit with hysteresis
Chapter 6

Op amp integrator

The operational amplier integrator is an electronic 6.2.1 Ideal circuit

integration circuit. Based on the operational amplier
(op-amp), it performs the mathematical operation of
integration with respect to time; that is, its output voltage
is proportional to the input voltage integrated over time.

6.1 Applications

The integrator circuit is mostly used in analog computers,

analog-to-digital converters and wave-shaping circuits. A
common wave-shaping use is as a charge amplier and
they are usually constructed using an operational ampli-
er though they can use high gain discrete transistor con-
gurations. The circuit operates by passing a current that charges or
discharges the capacitor C during the time under con-
sideration, which strives to retain the virtual ground con-
dition at the input by o-setting the eect of the input
current. Referring to the above diagram, if the op-amp
is assumed to be ideal, nodes v1 and v2 are held equal,
and so v2 is a virtual ground. The input voltage passes a
current vRin1 through the resistor producing a compensat-
6.2 Design ing current ow through the series capacitor to maintain
the virtual ground. This charges or discharges the capaci-
tor over time. Because the resistor and capacitor are con-
The input current is oset by a negative feedback current nected to a virtual ground, the input current does not vary
owing in the capacitor, which is generated by an increase with capacitor charge and a linear integration of output is
in output voltage of the amplier. The output voltage is achieved.
therefore dependent on the value of input current it has The circuit can be analyzed by applying Kirchhos cur-
to oset and the inverse of the value of the feedback ca- rent law at the node v2 , keeping ideal op-amp behaviour
pacitor. The greater the capacitor value, the less output in mind.
voltage has to be generated to produce a particular feed-
back current ow.
The input impedance of the circuit is almost zero because i1 = IB + iF
of the Miller eect. Hence all the stray capacitances (the IB = 0 in an ideal op-amp, so:
cable capacitance, the amplier input capacitance, etc.)
are virtually grounded and they have no inuence on the
output signal.[1] i1 = iF

25
26 CHAPTER 6. OP AMP INTEGRATOR

Furthermore, the capacitor has a voltage-current relation- currents ( IB ). This can cause several issues for the
ship governed by the equation: ideal design; most importantly, if vin = 0 , both the
output oset voltage and the input bias current IB can
cause current to pass through the capacitor, causing
dVc the output voltage to drift over time until the op-amp
IC = C
dt saturates. Similarly, if vin were a signal centered about
zero volts (i.e. without a DC component), no drift would
Substituting the appropriate variables:
be expected in an ideal circuit, but may occur in a real
circuit. To negate the eect of the input bias current, it
is necessary to set:
vin v2 d(v2 vo )
= CF Ron = R1 ||Rf ||RL . The error voltage then becomes:
R1 dt
v2 = v1 = 0 in an ideal op-amp, resulting in:

vin dvo
= CF
R1 dt
Integrating both sides with respect to time:
( )
Rf
VE = + 1 VIOS
t t R1
vin dvo
dt = CF dt
0 R1 0 dt
If the initial value of vo is assumed to be 0 V, this results
in a DC error of:[2]

t
1 The input bias current thus causes the same voltage drops
vo = vin dt
R1 CF 0 at both the positive and negative terminals.
Also, in a DC steady state, the capacitor acts as an open
6.2.2 Practical circuit circuit. The DC gain of the ideal circuit is therefore in-
nite (or in practice, the open-loop gain of a non-ideal
op-amp). To counter this, a large resistor RF is inserted
in parallel with the feedback capacitor, as shown in the
gure above. This limits the DC gain of the circuit to a
nite value, and hence changes the output drift into a -
nite, preferably small, DC error. Referring to the above
diagram:

( )
Rf
VE = + 1 (VIOS + IBI (Rf R1 ))
R1

The ideal circuit is not a practical integrator design for where VIOS is the input oset voltage and IBI is the input
a number of reasons. Practical op-amps have a nite bias current on the inverting terminal. Rf R1 indicates
open-loop gain, an input oset voltage and input bias two resistance values in parallel.
6.4. REFERENCES 27

6.3 Frequency response [2] AN1177 Op Amp Precision Design: DC Errors (PDF).
Microchip. 2 January 2008. Archived from the original
on 2013-01-11. Retrieved 26 December 2012.

The frequency responses of the practical and ideal inte-

grator are shown in the above gure. For both circuits,
the crossover frequency fb , at which the gain is 0 dB, is
given by:

1
fb =
2R1 CF
The 3 dB cuto frequency fa of the practical circuit is
given by:

1
fa =
2RF CF
The practical integrator circuit is equivalent to an active
rst-order low-pass lter. The gain is relatively constant
up to the cuto frequency and decreases by 20 dB per
decade beyond it. The integration operation occurs for
frequencies in the range [fa , fb ] , provided that fa < fb .
This condition can be achieved by appropriate choice of
RF CF and R1 CF time constants.

6.4 References
[1] Transducers with Charge Output
Chapter 7

Gyrator

A gyrator is a passive, linear, lossless, two-port electri- 7.1 Behaviour

cal network element proposed in 1948 by Bernard D. H.
Tellegen as a hypothetical fth linear element after the
resistor, capacitor, inductor and ideal transformer.[1] Un-
i1 R i2
like the four conventional elements, the gyrator is non-
reciprocal. Gyrators permit network realizations of two-
(or-more)-port devices which cannot be realized with
just the conventional four elements. In particular, gyra-
tors make possible network realizations of isolators and
circulators.[2] Gyrators do not however change the range v1 v2
of one-port devices that can be realized. Although the gy-
rator was conceived as a fth linear element, its adoption
makes both the ideal transformer and either the capaci-
i1 i2
tor or inductor redundant. Thus the number of necessary
linear elements is in fact reduced to three. Circuits that
function as gyrators can be built with transistors and op Gyrator schematic labelled
amps using feedback.
An ideal gyrator is a linear two port device which couples
the current on one port to the voltage on the other and
vice versa. The instantaneous currents and instantaneous
voltages are related by

v2 = Ri1
v1 = Ri2
where R is the gyration resistance of the gyrator.
The gyration resistance (or equivalently its reciprocal the
gyration conductance) has an associated direction indi-
cated by an arrow on the schematic diagram.[3] By con-
vention, the given gyration resistance or conductance re-
Tellegens proposed symbol for his gyrator
lates the voltage on the port at the head of the arrow to the
current at its tail. The voltage at the tail of the arrow is
related to the current at its head by minus the stated resis-
Tellegen invented a circuit symbol for the gyrator and tance. Reversing the arrow is equivalent to negating the
suggested a number of ways in which a practical gyrator gyration resistance, or to reversing the polarity of either
might be built. port.
An important property of a gyrator is that it inverts the Although a gyrator is characterized by its resistance value,
current-voltage characteristic of an electrical component it is a lossless component. From the governing equa-
or network. In the case of linear elements, the impedance tions, the instantaneous power into the gyrator is iden-
is also inverted. In other words, a gyrator can make a tically zero.
capacitive circuit behave inductively, a series LC circuit
behave like a parallel LC circuit, and so on. It is primarily
used in active lter design and miniaturization. P = v1 i1 + v2 i2 = (Ri2 )i1 + (Ri1 )i2 0

28
7.2. NAME 29

A gyrator is an entirely non-reciprocal device, and 7.2 Name

hence is represented by antisymmetric impedance and
admittance matrices:
Tellegen named the element gyrator as a portmanteau of
gyroscope and the common device sux -tor (as in re-
[ ] [ ] sistor, capacitor, transistor etc.) The -tor ending is even
0 R 0 G 1
Z= , Y = , G= more suggestive in Tellegens native Dutch where the re-
R 0 G 0 R
lated element transformer is called transformator. The
gyrator is related to the gyroscope by an analogy in its
behaviour.[9]
The analogy with the gyroscope is due to the relationship
Customary[4] between the torque and angular velocity of the gyroscope
on the two axes of rotation. A torque on one axis will
produce a proportional change in angular velocity on the
other axis and vice versa. A mechanical-electrical anal-
ANSI Y32[5] & IEC standards ogy of the gyroscope making torque and angular velocity
Two versions of the symbol used to represent a gyrator in the analogs of voltage and current results in the electrical
[10]
single-line diagrams. A 180 ( radian) phase shift oc- gyrator.
curs for signals travelling in the direction of the arrow (or
longer arrow), with no phase shift in the reverse direction.

If the gyration resistance is chosen to be equal to the

characteristic impedance of the two ports (or to their
geometric mean if these are not the same), then the 7.3 Relationship to the ideal trans-
scattering matrix for the gyrator is former
[ ]
0 1
S=
1 0
R1 R2 R1 : R2
which is likewise antisymmetric. This leads to an alter-
native denition of a gyrator: a device which transmits
a signal unchanged in the forward (arrow) direction, but
reverses the polarity of the signal travelling in the back-
ward direction (or equivalently,[6] 180 phase-shifts the
backward travelling signal[7] ). The symbol used to repre- Cascaded gyrators
sent a gyrator in one-line diagrams (where a waveguide
or transmission line is shown as a single line rather than
as a pair of conductors), reects this one-way phase shift.
An ideal gyrator is similar to an ideal transformer in being
As with a quarter wave transformer, if one of port of the a linear, lossless, passive, memoryless two-port device.
gyrator is terminated with a linear load, then the other However, whereas a transformer couples the voltage on
port presents an impedance inversely proportional to that port 1 to the voltage on port 2, and the current on port 1
of the load, to the current on port 2, the gyrator cross-couples voltage
to current and current to voltage. Cascading two gyrators
achieves a voltage-to-voltage coupling identical to that of
R2 an ideal transformer.[1]
Zin =
Zload
Cascaded gyrators of gyration resistance R1 and R2 are
A generalization of the gyrator is conceivable, in which equivalent to a transformer of turns ratio R1 :R2 . Cascad-
the forward and backward gyration conductances have ing a transformer and a gyrator, or equivalently cascading
dierent magnitudes, so that the admittance matrix is three gyrators produces a single gyrator of gyration resis-
tance RR1 R2 3 .

[ ] From the point of view of network theory, transformers

0 G1 are redundant when gyrators are available. Anything that
Y =
G2 0 can be built from resistors, capacitors, inductors, trans-
formers and gyrators, can also be built using just resistors,
However this no longer represents a passive device.[8] gyrators and inductors (or capacitors).
30 CHAPTER 7. GYRATOR

( )
Zin = (RL + jRL RC) R + 1
jC
RL
Z in With RLRC = L, it can be seen that the impedance of
the simulated inductor is the desired impedance in par-
allel with the impedance of the RC circuit. In typical
designs, R is chosen to be suciently large such that the
rst term dominates; thus, the RC circuits eect on input
C impedance is negligible.
R Zin = RL + jRL RC
This is the same as a resistance RL in series with an in-
ductance L = RLRC. There is a practical limit on the min-
RL imum value that RL can take, determined by the current
output capability of the op amp.

Z in
L=R L RC 7.4.2 Comparison with actual inductors
Simulated elements are electronic circuits that imitate ac-
tual elements. Simulated elements cannot replace physi-
cal inductors in all the possible applications as they do not
possess all the unique properties of physical inductors.
An example of a gyrator simulating inductance, with an approx- Magnitudes. In typical applications, both the inductance
imate equivalent circuit below. The two Z have similar values
and the resistance of the gyrator are much greater than
in typical applications. Circuit from Berndt & Dutta Roy (1969)
that of a physical inductor. Gyrators can be used to create
inductors from the microhenry range up to the megahenry
7.4 Application: a simulated in- range. Physical inductors are typically limited to tens of
henries, and have parasitic series resistances from hun-
ductor dreds of microhms through the low kilohm range. The
parasitic resistance of a gyrator depends on the topology,
A gyrator can be used to transform a load capacitance but with the topology shown, series resistances will typi-
into an inductance. At low frequencies and low pow- cally range from tens of ohms through hundreds of kilo-
ers, the behaviour of the gyrator can be reproduced by hms.
a small op-amp circuit. This supplies a means of provid- Quality. Physical capacitors are often much closer to
ing an inductive element in a small electronic circuit or ideal capacitors than physical inductors are to ideal in-
integrated circuit. Before the invention of the transistor, ductors. Because of this, a synthesized inductor realized
coils of wire with large inductance might be used in with a gyrator and a capacitor may, for certain applica-
electronic lters. An inductor can be replaced by a much tions, be closer to an ideal inductor than any (practical)
smaller assembly containing a capacitor, operational am- physical inductor can be. Thus, use of capacitors and
pliers or transistors, and resistors. This is especially use- gyrators may improve the quality of lter networks that
ful in integrated circuit technology. would otherwise be built using inductors. Also, the Q fac-
tor of a synthesized inductor can be selected with ease.
The Q of an LC lter can be either lower or higher than
7.4.1 Operation that of an actual LC lter for the same frequency, the
inductance is much higher, the capacitance much lower,
In the circuit shown, one port of the gyrator is between the but the resistance also higher. Gyrator inductors typically
input terminal and ground, while the other port is termi- have higher accuracy than physical inductors, due to the
nated with the capacitor. The circuit works by inverting lower cost of precision capacitors than inductors.
and multiplying the eect of the capacitor in an RC dif-
ferentiating circuit where the voltage across the resistor Energy storage. Simulated inductors do not have the
R behaves through time in the same manner as the volt- inherent energy storing properties of the real inductors
age across an inductor. The op-amp follower buers this and this limits the possible power applications. The cir-
voltage and applies it back to the input through the resis- cuit cannot respond like a real inductor to sudden input
tor RL. The desired eect is an impedance of the form changes (it does not produce a high-voltage back EMF);
of an ideal inductor L with a series resistance RL: its voltage response is limited by the power supply. Since
gyrators use active circuits, they only function as a gyra-
Z = RL + jL tor within the power supply range of the active element.
From the diagram, the input impedance of the op-amp Hence gyrators are usually not very useful for situations
circuit is: requiring simulation of the 'yback' property of induc-
7.5. PASSIVE GYRATORS
tors, where a large voltage spike is caused when current
is interrupted. A gyrators transient response is limited
by the bandwidth of the active device in the circuit and
by the power supply.
Externalities. Simulated inductors do not react to ex-
ternal magnetic elds and permeable materials the same
way that real inductors do. They also don't create mag-
netic elds (and induce currents in external conductors)
the same way that real inductors do. This limits their use
in applications such as sensors, detectors and transducers.
Grounding. The fact that one side of the simulated in-
ductor is grounded restricts the possible applications (real
inductors are oating). This limitation may preclude its
use in some low-pass and notch lters.[11] However the
gyrator can be used in a oating conguration with an-
other gyrator so long as the oating grounds are tied negative elements are absorbed into an adjacent positive
together. This allows for a oating gyrator, but the induc-
tance simulated across the input terminals of the gyrator
pair must be cut in half for each gyrator to ensure that
the desired inductance is met (the impedance of induc-
tors in series adds together). This is not typically done as
it requires even more components than in a standard con-
guration and the resulting inductance is a result of two
simulated inductors, each with half of the desired induc-
tance.
7.4.3 Applications
The primary application for a gyrator is to reduce the
size and cost of a system by removing the need for bulky,
heavy and expensive inductors. For example, RLC band-
pass lter characteristics can be realized with capacitors,
resistors and operational ampliers without using induc-
tors. Thus graphic equalizers can be achieved with capac-
itors, resistors and operational ampliers without using
inductors because of the invention of the gyrator.
Gyrator circuits are extensively used in telephony devices
that connect to a POTS system. This has allowed tele-
phones to be much smaller, as the gyrator circuit carries
the DC part of the line loop current, allowing the trans-
former carrying the AC voice signal to be much smaller
due to the elimination of DC current through it.[12] Gy-
rators are used in most DAAs (data access arrange-
ments).[13] Circuitry in telephone exchanges has also been
aected with gyrators being used in line cards. Gyra-
tors are also widely used in hi- for graphic equalizers,
parametric equalizers, discrete bandstop and bandpass l-
ters such as rumble lters), and FM pilot tone lters.
There are many applications where it is not possible to
use a gyrator to replace an inductor:
High voltage systems utilizing yback (beyond
working voltage of transistors/ampliers)
RF systems commonly use real inductors as they are
quite small at these frequencies and integrated cir-
31
cuits to build an active gyrator are either expensive
or non-existent. However, passive gyrators are pos-
sible.
Power conversion, where a coil is used as energy
storage.
7.5 Passive gyrators
Numerous passive circuits exist in theory for a gyrator
function. However, when constructed of lumped ele-
ments there are always negative elements present. These
negative elements have no corresponding real component
so cannot be implemented in isolation. Such circuits can
be used in practice, in lter design for instance, if the
element. Once active components are permitted, how-
ever, a negative element can easily be implemented with a
negative impedance converter. For instance, a real capac-
itor can be transformed into an equivalent negative induc-
tor. A passive gyrator that does not have the drawback of
negative elements is the quarter-wave impedance trans-
former which is widely used in microwave circuits. This
is an example of a distributed element circuit.[14]
7.6 In other energy domains
Analogs of the gyrator exist in other energy domains. The
analogy with the mechanical gyroscope has already been
pointed out in the name section. Also, when systems in-
volving multiple energy domains are being analysed as
a unied system through analogies, such as mechanical-
electrical analogies, the transducers between domains are
considered either transformers or gyrators depending on
which variables they are translating.[15] Electromagnetic
transducers translate current into force and velocity into
voltage. In the impedance analogy however, force is the
analog of voltage and velocity is the analog of current,
thus electromagnetic transducers are gyrators in this anal-
ogy. On the other hand, piezoelectric transducers are
transformers (in the same analogy).[16] Thus another pos-
sible way to make an electrical passive gyrator is to use
transducers to translate into the mechanical domain and
back again, much as is done with mechanical lters.
7.7 See also
SallenKey topology
7.8 References
[1] B. D. H. Tellegen (April 1948). The gyrator, a new elec-
tric network element (PDF). Philips Res. Rep. 3: 81
32 CHAPTER 7. GYRATOR

101. Retrieved 2010-03-20. 7.9 External links

[2] K. M. Adams, E. F. A. Deprettere and J. O. Voorman
(1975). Ladislaus Marton, ed. The gyrator in electronic
systems. Advances in Electronics and Electron Physics.
Academic Press, Inc. 37: 79180. doi:10.1016/s0065-
2539(08)60537-5.
Good description of this form of the simulated in-
ductor Elliot Sound Products
Another description, with the same circuit

[3] Chua, Leon, EECS-100 Op Amp Gyrator Circuit Synthe- LC lter design using equal value R gyrator, an al-
sis and Applications (PDF), Univ. of Calif. at Berkeley, ternative design
retrieved May 3, 2010
An alternative circuit
[4] Fox, A. G.; Miller, S. E.; Weiss, M. T.. (January 1955).
Behavior and Applications of Ferrites in the Microwave Webarchive backup: Another alternative circuit
Region (PDF). The Bell System Technical Journal. 34
(1): 5103. doi:10.1002/j.1538-7305.1955.tb03763.x. Discussion of the gyrator in general and a macro for
Micro-Cap V
[5] Graphic Symbols for Electrical and Electronics Diagrams
(Including Reference Designation Letters): IEEE-315-1975 Java simulation of this circuit
(Rearmed 1993), ANSI Y32.2-1975 (Rearmed 1989),
CSA Z99-1975. IEEE and ANSI, New York, NY. 1993. Single transistor gyrator for telephony applications
[6] Hogan, C. Lester (January 1952). The Ferromagnetic SPICE Analysis of gyrator for telephony applica-
Faraday Eect at Microwave Frequencies and its Ap- tions
plications - The Microwave Gyrator. The Bell System
Technical Journal. 31 (1): 131. doi:10.1002/j.1538- Negative oating inductor with only 2 Op-amps
7305.1952.tb01374.x. Article here
[7] The IEEE Standard Dictionary of Electrical and Electron-
ics terms (6th ed.). IEEE. 1996 [1941]. ISBN 1-55937-
833-6.
[8] Theodore Deliyannis, Yichuang Sun, J. Kel Fidler,
Continuous-time active lter design, pp.81-82, CRC Press,
1999 ISBN 0-8493-2573-0.
[9] Arthur Garratt, Milestones in electronics: an interview
with professor Bernard Tellegen, Wireless World, vol. 85,
no. 1521, pp. 133-140, May 1979.
[10] Forbes T. Brown, Engineering System Dynamics, pp. 56-
57, CRC Press, 2006 ISBN 0849396484.
[11] Carter, Bruce (July 2001). An audio circuit collection,
Part 3 (PDF). Analog Applications Journal. Texas In-
struments. SLYT134.. Carter page 1 states, The fact
that one side of the inductor is grounded precludes its use
in low-pass and notch lters, leaving high-pass and band-
pass lters as the only possible applications.
[12] Joe Randolph. AN-5: Transformer-based phone line in-
terfaces (DAA, FXO)".
[13] Gyrator - DC Holding Circuit
[14] Matthaei, George L.; Young, Leo and Jones, E. M. T. Mi-
crowave Filters, Impedance-Matching Networks, and Cou-
pling Structures, pp. 434-440, McGraw-Hill 1964 (1980
edition is ISBN 0-89006-099-1).
[15] Clarence W. de Silva, Mechatronics: An Integrated Ap-
proach, pp. 62-65, CRC Press, 2004 ISBN 0203502787.
[16] Forbes T. Brown, Engineering System Dynamics, pp. 57-
58, CRC Press, 2006 ISBN 0849396484.

Berndt, D. F.; Dutta Roy, S. C. (1969), Inductor

simulation with a single unity gain amplier, IEEE
Journal of Solid State Circuits, SC4: 161162
Chapter 8

Negative impedance converter

The negative impedance converter (NIC) is a one-port The current going from the operational amplier output
op-amp circuit acting as a negative load which injects en- through resistor R3 toward the source Vs is Is , and
ergy into circuits in contrast to an ordinary load that con-
sumes energy from them. This is achieved by adding or
subtracting excessive varying voltage in series to the volt- R
Vopamp Vs 2

age drop across an equivalent positive impedance. This Is = = Vs R1 .

R3 R3
reverses the voltage polarity or the current direction of
the port and introduces a phase shift of 180 (inversion) So the input Vs experiences an opposing current Is that
between the voltage and the current for any signal gen- is proportional to Vs , and the circuit acts like a resistor
erator. The two versions obtained are accordingly a neg- with negative resistance
ative impedance converter with voltage inversion (VNIC)
and a negative impedance converter with current inversion
(INIC). The basic circuit of an INIC and its analysis is Vs R1
Rin = R3 .
shown below. Is R2
In general, elements R1 , R2 , and R3 need not be pure
resistances (i.e., they may be capacitors, inductors, or
8.1 Basic circuit and analysis impedance networks).

R2 8.2 Application

R1 I2 Main article: Negative resistance

By using an NIC as a negative resistor, it is possible to

let a real generator behave (almost) like an ideal genera-
tor, (i.e., the magnitude of the current or of the voltage
generated does not depend on the load).
IS R3

VS
Is Rs -Rs ZL

Negative impedance converter

INIC is a non-inverting amplier (the op-amp and the

voltage divider R1, R2 on the gure) with a resistor (R3) Figure: Negative impedance converter
connected between its output and input. The op-amp out-
put voltage is An example for a current source is shown in the gure on
the right. The current generator and the resistor within
the dotted line is the Norton representation of a circuit
( )
R2 comprising a real generator and Rs is its internal resis-
Vopamp = Vs 1 + tance. If an INIC is placed in parallel to that internal
R1

33
34 CHAPTER 8. NEGATIVE IMPEDANCE CONVERTER

resistance, and the INIC has the same magnitude but in- 8.3 See also
verted resistance value, there will be Rs and Rs in par-
allel. Hence, the equivalent resistance is Negative resistance

Miller theorem applications

Rs RINIC
lim Rs (RINIC ) lim = . Gyrator (which uses operational amplier to imple-
RNIC Rs + RINIC Rs + Rs + RINIC
ment an inductor with a capacitor)
That is, the combination of the real generator and the
INIC will now behave like a composed ideal current
source; its output current will be the same for any load 8.4 References
ZL . In particular, any current that is shunted away from
the load into the Norton equivalent resistance Rs will be [1] Chen, W.-K. (2003). The Circuits and Filters Handbook.
supplied by the INIC instead. CRC Press. pp. 396397. ISBN 0-8493-0912-3.

The ideal behavior in this application depends upon the
Norton resistance Rs and the INIC resistance RNIC being
matched perfectly. As long as RINIC > Rs , the equiva-
lent resistance of the combination will be greater than Rs
; however, if RINIC Rs , then the eect of the INIC
will be negligible. However, when
[2] Mehrotra, S. R. (2005). The Synthetic oating negative
inductor using only two op-amps. Electronics World. 111
(1827): 47.
[3] US patent 3493901, Deboo, G. J., Gyrator type circuit,
issued 1970-02-03, assigned to NASA

1 1 1
8.5 External links
> + , when (i.e., RINIC < Rs RL )
RINIC Rs RL
Introduction to Negative Impedance Converters
the circuit is unstable (e.g., when RINIC < Rs in an un- Nonlinear Circuit Analysis
loaded system). In particular, the surplus current from the
INIC generates positive feedback that causes the voltage
driving the load to reach its power supply limits. By re-
ducing the impedance of the load (i.e., by causing the load
to draw more current), the generatorNIC system can be
rendered stable again.
In principle, if the Norton equivalent current source was
replaced with a Norton equivalent voltage source, a VNIC
of equivalent magnitude could be placed in series with
the voltage sources series resistance. Any voltage drop
across the series resistance would then be added back to
the circuit by the VNIC. However, a VNIC implemented
as above with an operational amplier must terminate
on an electrical ground, and so this use is not practi-
cal. Because any voltage source with nonzero series resis-
tance can be represented as an equivalent current source
with nite parallel resistance, an INIC will typically be
placed in parallel with a source when used to improve the
impedance of the source.

8.2.1 Negative impedance circuits

The negative of any impedance can be produced by

a negative impedance converter (INIC in the exam-
ples below), including negative capacitance and negative
inductance.[1] NIC can further be used to design oating
impedances - like a oating negative inductor.[2][3]
Major applications: (1) To eliminate the losses of a re-
active circuit element (2) In Ordinary transformers,The
mutual inductance is negative, designed with NIC.
Chapter 9

Precision rectier

The precision rectier, also known as a super diode, high open loop gain operational amplier, the output sat-
is a conguration obtained with an operational amplierurates. If the input then becomes positive again, the op-
in order to have a circuit behave like an ideal diode and
amp has to get out of the saturated state before positive
rectier.[1] It is useful for high-precision signal process-
amplication can take place again. This change gener-
ing. ates some ringing and takes some time, greatly reducing
The op-amp based precision rectier should not be con- the frequency response of the circuit.
fused with the power MOSFET-based active rectication
ideal diode.
9.2 Improved circuit
9.1 Basic circuit
R2

Vin
D2
R1
Vin
Vout Vout
D1
RL

An improved precision rectier circuit.

A simple precision rectier circuit. An alternative version is given on the right.

In this case, when the input is greater than zero, D1 is
The basic circuit implementing such a feature is shown OFF and D2 is ON, so the output is zero because one side
on the right, where RL can be any load. When the in- of R2 is connected to the virtual ground, and there is no
put voltage is negative, there is a negative voltage on the
current through it. When the input is less than zero, D1 is
diode, so it works like an open circuit, no current ows
ON and D2 is OFF, and the output is like the input with an
through the load, and the output voltage is zero. amplication of R2 /R1 . Its input-output relationship
When the input is positive, it is amplied by the oper- is the following:
ational amplier which switches the diode on. Current This circuit has the benet that the op-amp never goes
ows through the load and, because of the feedback, the into saturation, but its output must change by two diode
output voltage is equal to the input voltage. voltage drops (about 1.2 V) each time the input signal
The actual threshold of the super diode is very close to crosses zero. Hence, the slew rate of the operational am-
zero, but is not zero. It equals the actual threshold of the plier, and its frequency response (gain-bandwidth prod-
diode, divided by the gain of the operational amplier. uct) will limit high frequency performance - especially for
This basic conguration has a problem so it is not com- low signal levels - although an error of less than 1% at 100
monly used. When the input becomes (even slightly) neg- kHz is possible.
ative, the operational amplier runs open loop, as there Similar circuitry can be used to create a precision full-
is no feedback signal through the diode. With a typical wave rectier circuit.

35
36 CHAPTER 9. PRECISION RECTIFIER

Vout Patent from 1982 (expired) detailing a simple very

accurate design

-R2
R1

Vin

Super diode improved

9.3 Peak detector

With a little modication, the basic precision rectier can
be used for detecting signal level peaks. In the following
circuit, a capacitor retains the peak voltage level of the
signal, and a switch is used for resetting the detected level.

Vin

Vout

Peak detector

9.4 References
[1] Paul Horowitz and Wineld Hill, The Art of Electronics.
2nd ed. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1989
ISBN 0-521-37095-7

9.5 External links

Precision half-wave rectier

Precision full-wave rectier

Single op-amp full-wave rectier circuits

Rod Elliotts improved version

Chapter 10

Log amplier

A log amplier is an amplier for which the output volt-

age V is K times the natural log of the input voltage
V . This can be expressed as, resistor on capacitor

( )
Vin
Vout = K ln
Vref

where V is the normalization constant in volts and K is

the scale factor.
A transdiode conguration with a BJT connected in the negative
feedback loop.
10.1 Basic op-amp diode circuit
(since the op amp is in the inverting conguration) and is
large enough to forward bias the emitter-base junction of
D the BJT keeping it in the active mode of operation. Now,

R VBE = Vout
Vin ( VBE )
Vout VBE
IC = ISO e VT 1 ISO e VT
( )
IC
VBE = VT ln
ISO
where ISO is the saturation current of the emitter-base
Basic op-amp diode log converter diode and VT is the thermal voltage. Due to the virtual
ground at the op amp dierential input,
The relationship between the input voltage Vin and the
output voltage Vout is given by:
Vin
IC =
( ) R1
Vin ( )
Vout = VT ln Vin
IS R Vout = VT ln
ISO R1
where IS and VT are the saturation current and the thermal The output voltage is expressed as the natural log of the
voltage of the diode respectively. input voltage. Both the saturation current ISO and the
thermal voltage VT are temperature dependent, hence,
temperature compensating circuits may be required.
10.2 Transdiode conguration
10.3 See also
A necessary condition for successful operation of a log
amplier is that the input voltage, V , is always positive.
Diode
This may be ensured by using a rectier and lter to con-
dition the input signal before applying it to the log amp Operational amplier applications Logarithmic
input. As V is positive, V is obliged to be negative output

37
38 CHAPTER 10. LOG AMPLIFIER

10.4 External links

Integrated DC logarithmic ampliers from Maxims
AN 36211
Analog electronics with Op Amps by A. J. Peyton,
V. Walsh
Chapter 11

Voltage regulator

Feedback voltage regulators operate by comparing the ac-

An integrated circuit voltage regulator in a TO-220 style package.
Such devices are popular because they require few or no external
components and provide the functions of pass element, voltage
reference, and protection from overcurrent in one package.
A voltage regulator is designed to automatically main-
tain a constant voltage level. A voltage regulator may be
a simple "feed-forward" design or may include negative
feedback control loops. It may use an electromechanical
mechanism, or electronic components. Depending on the
design, it may be used to regulate one or more AC or DC
voltages.
Electronic voltage regulators are found in devices such
as computer power supplies where they stabilize the DC
voltages used by the processor and other elements. In au-
tomobile alternators and central power station generator
plants, voltage regulators control the output of the plant.
In an electric power distribution system, voltage regula-
tors may be installed at a substation or along distribution
lines so that all customers receive steady voltage indepen-
dent of how much power is drawn from the line.
tual output voltage to some xed reference voltage. Any
dierence is amplied and used to control the regula-
tion element in such a way as to reduce the voltage error.
This forms a negative feedback control loop; increasing
the open-loop gain tends to increase regulation accuracy
but reduce stability. (Stability is avoidance of oscillation,
or ringing, during step changes.) There will also be a
trade-o between stability and the speed of the response
to changes. If the output voltage is too low (perhaps due
to input voltage reducing or load current increasing), the
regulation element is commanded, up to a point, to pro-
duce a higher output voltageby dropping less of the input
voltage (for linear series regulators and buck switching
regulators), or to draw input current for longer periods
(boost-type switching regulators); if the output voltage is
too high, the regulation element will normally be com-
manded to produce a lower voltage. However, many reg-
ulators have over-current protection, so that they will en-
tirely stop sourcing current (or limit the current in some
way) if the output current is too high, and some regulators
may also shut down if the input voltage is outside a given
range (see also: crowbar circuits).
11.2 Electromechanical regulators

11.1 Electronic voltage regulators

A simple voltage/current regulator can be made from a
resistor in series with a diode (or series of diodes). Due
to the logarithmic shape of diode V-I curves, the voltage
across the diode changes only slightly due to changes in Circuit design for a simple electromechanical voltage regulator.
current drawn or changes in the input. When precise volt-
age control and eciency are not important, this design In electromechanical regulators, voltage regulation is eas-
may be ne. ily accomplished by coiling the sensing wire to make an

39
40 CHAPTER 11. VOLTAGE REGULATOR

into the generator and attempting to run it as a motor. The

rectier diodes in an alternator automatically perform this
function so that a specic relay is not required; this appre-
ciably simplied the regulator design.
More modern designs now use solid state technology
(transistors) to perform the same function that the relays
perform in electromechanical regulators.
Electromechanical regulators are used for mains voltage
stabilisation see AC voltage stabilizers below.

11.3 Automatic voltage regulator

A voltage stabilizer using electromechanical relays for switching.

Graph of voltage output on a time scale.

electromagnet. The magnetic eld produced by the cur-

rent attracts a moving ferrous core held back under spring
tension or gravitational pull. As voltage increases, so does Voltage regulator for generators.
the current, strengthening the magnetic eld produced by
the coil and pulling the core towards the eld. The mag- To control the output of generators (as seen in ships and
net is physically connected to a mechanical power switch,
power stations, or on oil rigs, greenhouses and emergency
which opens as the magnet moves into the eld. As volt- power systems) automatic voltage regulators are used.
age decreases, so does the current, releasing spring ten-
This is an active system. While the basic principle is the
sion or the weight of the core and causing it to retract. same, the system itself is more complex. An automatic
This closes the switch and allows the power to ow once
voltage regulator (or AVR for short) consists of several
more. components such as diodes, capacitors, resistors and po-
If the mechanical regulator design is sensitive to small tentiometers or even microcontrollers, all placed on a cir-
voltage uctuations, the motion of the solenoid core can cuit board. This is then mounted near the generator and
be used to move a selector switch across a range of re- connected with several wires to measure and adjust the
sistances or transformer windings to gradually step the generator.
output voltage up or down, or to rotate the position of a How an AVR works: In the rst place the AVR moni-
moving-coil AC regulator. tors the output voltage and controls the input voltage for
Early automobile generators and alternators had a me- the exciter of the generator. By increasing or decreasing
chanical voltage regulator using one, two, or three relays the generator control voltage, the output voltage of the
and various resistors to stabilize the generators output at generator increases or decreases accordingly. The AVR
slightly more than 6 or 12 V, independent of the engine's calculates how much voltage has to be sent to the exciter
rpm or the varying load on the vehicles electrical sys- numerous times a second, therefore stabilizing the output
tem. Essentially, the relay(s) employed pulse width mod- voltage to a predetermined setpoint. When two or more
ulation to regulate the output of the generator, controlling generators are powering the same system (parallel opera-
the eld current reaching the generator (or alternator) and tion) the AVR receives information from more generators
in this way controlling the output voltage producing back to match all output.
11.4. AC VOLTAGE STABILIZERS
11.4 AC voltage stabilizers
11.4.1 Coil-rotation AC voltage regulator
Basic design principle and circuit diagram for the rotating-coil
AC voltage regulator.
This is an older type of regulator used in the 1920s that
uses the principle of a xed-position eld coil and a sec-
ond eld coil that can be rotated on an axis in parallel with
the xed coil, similar to a variocoupler.
When the movable coil is positioned perpendicular to the
xed coil, the magnetic forces acting on the movable coil
balance each other out and voltage output is unchanged.
Rotating the coil in one direction or the other away from
the center position will increase or decrease voltage in the
secondary movable coil.
This type of regulator can be automated via a servo con-
trol mechanism to advance the movable coil position in
order to provide voltage increase or decrease. A braking
mechanism or high ratio gearing is used to hold the ro-
tating coil in place against the powerful magnetic forces
acting on the moving coil.
Magnetic mains regulator
41
11.4.2 Electromechanical
Electromechanical regulators called voltage stabilizers or
tap-changers, have also been used to regulate the voltage
on AC power distribution lines. These regulators operate
by using a servomechanism to select the appropriate tap
on an autotransformer with multiple taps, or by moving
the wiper on a continuously variable auto transfomer. If
the output voltage is not in the acceptable range, the ser-
vomechanism switches the tap, changing the turns ratio
of the transformer, to move the secondary voltage into
the acceptable region. The controls provide a dead band
wherein the controller will not act, preventing the con-
troller from constantly adjusting the voltage (hunting)
as it varies by an acceptably small amount.
11.4.3 PWM static voltage regulator
This is the latest technology of voltage regulation to pro-
vide real-time control of voltage uctuation, sag, surge
and also to control other power quality issues such as
spikes and EMI/RFI electrical noises. This uses an
IGBT regulator engine generating pulse width modulated
(PWM) AC voltage at high switching frequency. This AC
PWM wave is superimposed on the main incoming wave
through a buck-boost transformer, to provide precisely
regulated AC voltage. The regulation in this technology is
instantaneous, thus making it suitable for electronic ma-
chines which need precise regulated power.
11.4.4 Constant-voltage transformer
The ferroresonant transformer, ferroresonant regu-
lator or constant-voltage transformer is a type of sat-
urating transformer used as a voltage regulator. These
transformers use a tank circuit composed of a high-
voltage resonant winding and a capacitor to produce a
nearly constant average output voltage with a varying in-
put current or varying load. The circuit has a primary
on one side of a magnet shunt and the tuned circuit coil
and secondary on the other side. The regulation is due to
magnetic saturation in the section around the secondary.
The ferroresonant approach is attractive due to its lack of
active components, relying on the square loop saturation
characteristics of the tank circuit to absorb variations in
average input voltage. Saturating transformers provide a
simple rugged method to stabilize an AC power supply.
Older designs of ferroresonant transformers had an output
with high harmonic content, leading to a distorted output
waveform. Modern devices are used to construct a perfect
sine wave. The ferroresonant action is a ux limiter rather
than a voltage regulator, but with a xed supply frequency
it can maintain an almost constant average output voltage
even as the input voltage varies widely.
The ferroresonant transformers, which are also known as
42 CHAPTER 11. VOLTAGE REGULATOR

Constant Voltage Transformers (CVTs) or ferros, are also use out-dated technology.
good surge suppressors, as they provide high isolation and Voltage regulators are used in devices like air condition-
inherent short-circuit protection. ers, refrigerators, televisions etc. in order to protect them
A ferroresonant transformer can operate with an input from uctuating input voltage. The major problem faced
voltage range 40% or more of the nominal voltage. is the use of relays in voltage regulators. Relays create
Output power factor remains in the range of 0.96 or sparks which result in faults in the product.
higher from half to full load.
Because it regenerates an output voltage waveform, out-
put distortion, which is typically less than 4%, is indepen-
dent of any input voltage distortion, including notching.
Eciency at full load is typically in the range of 89%
to 93%. However, at low loads, eciency can drop be-
low 60%. The current-limiting capability also becomes
a handicap when a CVT is used in an application with
moderate to high inrush current like motors, transform-
ers or magnets. In this case, the CVT has to be sized to
accommodate the peak current, thus forcing it to run at
low loads and poor eciency.
Minimum maintenance is required, as transformers and
capacitors can be very reliable. Some units have included
A three-phase bank of voltage regulators used to control the volt-
redundant capacitors to allow several capacitors to fail age on long AC power distribution lines. This bank is mounted
between inspections without any noticeable eect on the on a wooden pole structure. Each regulator weighs about 2600
devices performance. lbs and is rated 576 kVA.
Output voltage varies about 1.2% for every 1% change
in supply frequency. For example, a 2 Hz change in gen-
erator frequency, which is very large, results in an output
voltage change of only 4%, which has little eect for most 11.5 DC voltage stabilizers
loads.
Many simple DC power supplies regulate the voltage us-
It accepts 100% single-phase switch-mode power supply
ing either series or shunt regulators, but most apply a
loading without any requirement for derating, including
voltage reference using a shunt regulator such as a Zener
all neutral components.
diode, avalanche breakdown diode, or voltage regulator
Input current distortion remains less than 8% THD even tube. Each of these devices begins conducting at a speci-
when supplying nonlinear loads with more than 100% ed voltage and will conduct as much current as required
current THD. to hold its terminal voltage to that specied voltage by
Drawbacks of CVTs are their larger size, audible hum- diverting excess current from a non-ideal power source
ming sound, and the high heat generation caused by sat- to ground, often through a relatively low-value resistor
uration. to dissipate the excess energy. The power supply is de-
signed to only supply a maximum amount of current that
is within the safe operating capability of the shunt regu-
11.4.5 Commercial use lating device.
If the stabilizer must provide more power, the shunt reg-
Voltage regulators or stabilizers are used to compensate ulator output is only used to provide the standard voltage
for voltage uctuations in mains power. Large regula- reference for the electronic device, known as the voltage
tors may be permanently installed on distribution lines. stabilizer. The voltage stabilizer is the electronic device,
Small portable regulators may be plugged in between sen- able to deliver much larger currents on demand.
sitive equipment and a wall outlet. Automatic voltage
regulators are used on generator sets on ships, in emer-
gency power supplies, on oil rigs, etc. to stabilize uc-
tuations in power demand. For example, when a large 11.6 Active regulators
machine is turned on, the demand for power is suddenly
a lot higher. The voltage regulator compensates for the Active regulators employ at least one active (amplifying)
change in load. Commercial voltage regulators normally component such as a transistor or operational amplier.
operate on a range of voltages, for example 150240 V Shunt regulators are often (but not always) passive and
or 90280 V. Servo stabilizers are also manufactured and simple, but always inecient because they (essentially)
used widely in spite of the fact that they are obsolete and dump the excess current not the load. When more power
11.6. ACTIVE REGULATORS 43

must be supplied, more sophisticated circuits are used. In

general, these active regulators can be divided into several
classes:

Linear series regulators

Switching regulators

SCR regulators

11.6.1 Linear regulators

Main article: Linear regulator

Linear regulators are based on devices that operate in

their linear region (in contrast, a switching regulator is
based on a device forced to act as an on/o switch). Lin-
ear regulators are also classied in two types- 1. Series
Regulators 2. Shunt Regulators
In the past, one or more vacuum tubes were commonly
used as the variable resistance. Modern designs use one
or more transistors instead, perhaps within an integrated
circuit. Linear designs have the advantage of very clean Switching regulator integrated circuit LM2676, 3A step-down
output with little noise introduced into their DC output, converter.
but are most often much less ecient and unable to step-
up or invert the input voltage like switched supplies. All
linear regulators require a higher input than the output. If 11.6.3 Comparing linear versus switching
the input voltage approaches the desired output voltage, regulators
the regulator will drop out. The input to output voltage
dierential at which this occurs is known as the regulators The two types of regulators have their dierent advan-
drop-out voltage. Low-dropout regulators (LDOs) allow tages:
an input voltage that can be much lower (i.e., they waste
less energy than conventional linear regulators). Linear regulators are best when low output noise
Entire linear regulators are available as integrated cir- (and low RFI radiated noise) is required
cuits. These chips come in either xed or adjustable volt-
age types. Linear regulators are best when a fast response to
input and output disturbances is required

At low power levels, linear regulators are cheaper

11.6.2 Switching regulators and occupy less printed circuit board space

See also: Switched-mode power supply
Switching regulators rapidly switch a series device on and
o. The duty cycle of the switch sets how much charge
is transferred to the load. This is controlled by a simi-
lar feedback mechanism as in a linear regulator. Because
the series element is either fully conducting, or switched
o, it dissipates almost no power; this is what gives the
switching design its eciency. Switching regulators are
also able to generate output voltages which are higher than
the input, or of opposite polarity something not pos-
sible with a linear design.
Like linear regulators, nearly complete switching regula-
tors are also available as integrated circuits. Unlike linear
regulators, these usually require an inductor that acts as
the energy storage element.[1][2]
Switching regulators are best when power eciency
is critical (such as in portable computers), except that
linear regulators are more ecient in a small num-
ber of cases (such as a 5 V microprocessor often in
sleep mode fed from a 6 V battery, if the com-
plexity of the switching circuit and the junction ca-
pacitance charging current means a high quiescent
current in the switching regulator)
Switching regulators are required when the only
power supply is a DC voltage, and a higher output
voltage is required.
At power levels above a few watts, switching regula-
tors are cheaper (for example, the cost of removing
heat generated is less)
44 CHAPTER 11. VOLTAGE REGULATOR

11.6.4 SCR regulators stant output voltage, Uout, for changes in the voltage of
the power source, Uin, and for changes in load, RL, pro-
Regulators powered from AC power circuits can use vided that Uin exceeds Uout by a sucient margin, and
silicon controlled rectiers (SCRs) as the series device. that the power handling capacity of the transistor is not
Whenever the output voltage is below the desired value, exceeded.
the SCR is triggered, allowing electricity to ow into the
The output voltage of the stabilizer is equal to the Zener
load until the AC mains voltage passes through zero (end-
diode voltage minus the baseemitter voltage of the tran-
ing the half cycle). SCR regulators have the advantages
sistor, UZ UBE, where UBE is usually about 0.7 V for
of being both very ecient and very simple, but because
a silicon transistor, depending on the load current. If the
they can not terminate an ongoing half cycle of conduc-
output voltage drops for any external reason, such as an
tion, they are not capable of very accurate voltage regula-
increase in the current drawn by the load (causing a de-
tion in response to rapidly changing loads. An alternative
crease in the Collector-Emitter junction voltage to ob-
is the SCR shunt regulator which uses the regulator out-
serve KVL), the transistors baseemitter voltage (UBE)
put as a trigger, both series and shunt designs are noisy,
increases, turning the transistor on further and delivering
but powerful, as the device has a low on resistance.
more current to increase the load voltage again.
Rv provides a bias current for both the Zener diode and
11.6.5 Combination or hybrid regulators the transistor. The current in the diode is minimum
when the load current is maximum. The circuit de-
Many power supplies use more than one regulating signer must choose a minimum voltage that can be toler-
method in series. For example, the output from a switch- ated across Rv, bearing in mind that the higher this volt-
ing regulator can be further regulated by a linear regula- age requirement is, the higher the required input voltage,
tor. The switching regulator accepts a wide range of in- Uin, and hence the lower the eciency of the regula-
put voltages and eciently generates a (somewhat noisy) tor. On the other hand, lower values of Rv lead to higher
voltage slightly above the ultimately desired output. That power dissipation in the diode and to inferior regulator
is followed by a linear regulator that generates exactly the characteristics.[3]
desired voltage and eliminates nearly all the noise gener-
Rv is given by:
ated by the switching regulator. Other designs may use
an SCR regulator as the pre-regulator, followed by an-
Rv = IDmin +IVLmax
Rmin
other type of regulator. An ecient way of creating a /(hF E +1)
variable-voltage, accurate output power supply is to com-
bine a multi-tapped transformer with an adjustable linear where VR min is the minimum voltage to be maintained
post-regulator. across Rv
ID min is the minimum current to be maintained through
the Zener diode
IL max is the maximum design load current
11.7 Example linear regulators hFE is the forward current gain of the transistor (IC/IB).[3]

11.7.1 Transistor regulator

11.7.2 Regulator with an operational am-
In the simplest case a common collector amplier also plier
known as emitter follower is used with the base of the
regulating transistor connected directly to the voltage ref- The stability of the output voltage can be signicantly in-
erence: creased by using an operational amplier:

U U
CE CE
+U +U +U
In
+U
In Out Out
Rv Q R1
Q OA
Rv +
U
BE
U R2
BE U R
_ Out L
U R
Out L
U Dz R3
Z

U Dz
Z

In this case, the operational amplier drives the transis-

tor with more current if the voltage at its inverting in-
A simple transistor regulator will provide a relatively con- put drops below the output of the voltage reference at the
11.8. MEASURES OF REGULATOR QUALITY
non-inverting input. Using the voltage divider (R1, R2
and R3) allows choice of the arbitrary output voltage be-
tween U and U .
11.8 Measures of regulator quality
The output voltage can only be held roughly constant. The
regulation is specied by two measurements:
Load regulation is the change in output voltage for
a given change in load current (for example, typ-
ically 15 mV, maximum 100 mV for load currents
between 5 mA and 1.4 A, at some specied temper-
ature and input voltage).
Line regulation or input regulation is the degree
to which output voltage changes with input (supply)
voltage changes - as a ratio of output to input change
(for example, typically 13 mV/V), or the output
voltage change over the entire specied input volt-
age range (for example, plus or minus 2% for input
voltages between 90 V and 260 V, 50-60 Hz).
Other important parameters are:
Temperature coecient of the output voltage is the
change with temperature (perhaps averaged over a
given temperature range).
Initial accuracy of a voltage regulator (or simply
the voltage accuracy) reects the error in output
voltage for a xed regulator without taking into ac-
count temperature or aging eects on output accu-
racy.
Dropout voltage is the minimum dierence be-
tween input voltage and output voltage for which the
regulator can still supply the specied current. A low
drop-out (LDO) regulator is designed to work well
even with an input supply of only a Volt or so above
the output voltage. The input-output dierential at
which the voltage regulator will no longer maintain
regulation is the dropout voltage. Further reduction
in input voltage will result in reduced output voltage.
This value is dependent on load current and junction
temperature.
Inrush current or input surge current or switch-on
surge is the maximum, instantaneous input current
drawn by an electrical device when rst turned on.
Inrush current usually lasts for half a second, or a
few milliseconds, but it is often very high, which
makes it dangerous because it can degrade and burn
components gradually (over months or years), espe-
cially if there is no inrush current protection. Al-
ternating current transformers or electric motors in
automatic voltage regulators may draw and output
several times their normal full-load current for a few
45
cycles of the input waveform when rst energized
or switched on. Power converters also often have
inrush currents much higher than their steady state
currents, due to the charging current of the input ca-
pacitance.
Absolute maximum ratings are dened for regula-
tor components, specifying the continuous and peak
output currents that may be used (sometimes inter-
nally limited), the maximum input voltage, maxi-
mum power dissipation at a given temperature, etc.
Output noise (thermal white noise) and output
dynamic impedance may be specied as graphs
versus frequency, while output ripple noise (mains
hum or switch-mode hash noise) may be given
as peak-to-peak or RMS voltages, or in terms of
their spectra.
Quiescent current in a regulator circuit is the cur-
rent drawn internally, not available to the load, nor-
mally measured as the input current while no load is
connected and hence a source of ineciency (some
linear regulators are, surprisingly, more ecient at
very low current loads than switch-mode designs be-
cause of this).
Transient response is the reaction of a regulator
when a (sudden) change of the load current (called
the load transient) or input voltage (called the line
transient) occurs. Some regulators will tend to os-
cillate or have a slow response time which in some
cases might lead to undesired results. This value
is dierent from the regulation parameters, as that
is the stable situation denition. The transient re-
sponse shows the behaviour of the regulator on a
change. This data is usually provided in the tech-
nical documentation of a regulator and is also de-
pendent on output capacitance.
Mirror-image insertion protection means that a
regulator is designed for use when a voltage, usually
not higher than the maximum input voltage of the
regulator, is applied to its output pin while its input
terminal is at a low voltage, volt-free or grounded.
Some regulators can continuously withstand this sit-
uation. Others might only manage it for a limited
time such as 60 seconds (usually specied in the data
sheet). For instance, this situation can occur when a
three terminal regulator is incorrectly mounted on a
PCB, with the output terminal connected to the un-
regulated DC input and the input connected to the
load. Mirror-image insertion protection is also im-
portant when a regulator circuit is used in battery
charging circuits, when external power fails or is not
turned on and the output terminal remains at battery
voltage.
46 CHAPTER 11. VOLTAGE REGULATOR

11.9 See also

Constant current regulator

DC-to-DC converter
List of LM-series integrated circuits

Low-dropout regulator

Third brush dynamo

Voltage regulator module

11.10 References
[1] Texas Instruments LM2825 Integrated Power Supply 1A
DC-DC Converter, retrieved 2010-09-19

[2] Linear Technology Module Regulators, retrieved 2011-

03-08

[3] Alley, Charles; Atwood, Kenneth (1973). Electronic En-

gineering. New York and London: John Wiley & Sons. p.
534. ISBN 0-471-02450-3.

11.11 Further reading

Linear & Switching Voltage Regulator Hand-
book; ON Semiconductor; 118 pages; 2002;
HB206/D.(Free PDF download)
Chapter 12
Operational transconductance amplier
V+
Vin+
Iout
Ibias
Vin
Iabc
V sistance can be chosen that keeps the output from
Schematic symbol for the OTA. Like the standard operational
amplier, it has both inverting () and noninverting (+) inputs;
power supply lines (V+ and V); and a single output. Unlike the
traditional op-amp, it has two additional biasing inputs, Iabc and
Ibias, explained in Basic operation and Subsequent improve-
ments, below.
The operational transconductance amplier (OTA) is
an amplier whose dierential input voltage produces an
output current. Thus, it is a voltage controlled current
source (VCCS). There is usually an additional input for a
current to control the ampliers transconductance. The
OTA is similar to a standard operational amplier in that
it has a high impedance dierential input stage and that it
may be used with negative feedback.[1]
The rst commercially available integrated circuit units
were produced by RCA in 1969 (before being acquired
by General Electric), in the form of the CA3080 (discon-
tinued product) and they have been improved since that
time. Although most units are constructed with bipolar
transistors, eld eect transistor units are also produced.
The OTA is not as useful by itself in the vast majority
of standard op-amp functions as the ordinary op-amp be-
cause its output is a current. One of its principal uses is in
implementing electronically controlled applications such
as variable frequency oscillators and lters and variable
gain amplier stages which are more dicult to imple-
ment with standard op-amps.
12.1 Principal dierences from
standard operational ampli-
ers
Its output of a current contrasts to that of standard
operational amplier whose output is a voltage.
It is usually used open-loop"; without negative
feedback in linear applications. This is possible be-
cause the magnitude of the resistance attached to its
output controls its output voltage. Therefore, a re-
going into saturation, even with high dierential in-
put voltages.
12.2 Basic operation
In the ideal OTA, the output current is a linear function
of the dierential input voltage, calculated as follows:
Iout = (Vin+ Vin ) gm
where V is the voltage at the non-inverting input,
V is the voltage at the inverting input and g is the
transconductance of the amplier.
The ampliers output voltage is the product of its output
current and its load resistance:
Vout = Iout Rload
The voltage gain is then the output voltage divided by the
dierential input voltage:
Vout
Gvoltage = = Rload gm
Vin+ Vin
The transconductance of the amplier is usually con-
trolled by an input current, denoted I (amplier bias
current). The ampliers transconductance is directly
proportional to this current. This is the feature that makes
it useful for electronic control of amplier gain, etc.
47
48 CHAPTER 12. OPERATIONAL TRANSCONDUCTANCE AMPLIFIER

12.3 Non-ideal characteristics 12.5 See also

As with the standard op-amp, practical OTAs have some Current dierencing transconductance amplier
non-ideal characteristics. These include:
Transimpedance amplier

Input stage non-linearity at higher dierential in-

put voltages due to the characteristics of the in-
put stage transistors. In the early devices, such as
12.6 Notes
the CA3080, the input stage consisted of two bipo-
[1] Jung, W.G., IC Op-Amp Cookbook (Howard W. Sams -
lar transistors connected in the dierential amplier
Bobs Merrill First Ed. 1974) p. 440 et seq.
conguration. The transfer characteristics of this
connection are approximately linear for dierential [2] Jung, W.G., IC Array Cookbook(Hayden, 1980) p. 40-41.
input voltages of 20 mV or less.[2] This is an im-
portant limitation when the OTA is being used open [3] Data Sheet for LM 13700 Graph of Distortion v. Dier-
ential Input Voltage (National Semiconductor, June 2004)
loop as there is no negative feedback to linearize the
p. 6.
output. One scheme to improve this parameter is
mentioned below. [4] LM13700 Dual Operational Transconductance Ampli-
ers With Linearizing Diodes and Buers (PDF). Texas
Temperature sensitivity of transconductance. Instruments. 15 December 2015. Retrieved 26 January
2016.
Variation of input and output impedance, input bias
current and input oset voltage with the transcon-
ductance control current I .
12.7 External links
A Short Discussion of the Operational Transconduc-
12.4 Subsequent improvements tance Amplier (OTA)

Earlier versions of the OTA had neither the I termi- Comparison of Operational Transconductance Am-
nal (shown in the diagram) nor the diodes (shown ad- pliers (content found on wayback machine)
jacent to it). They were all added in later versions. As
Examples: CA3080(obsolete product) , MAX
depicted in the diagram, the anodes of the diodes are at-
435(obsolete product) , MAX 436(obsolete prod-
tached together and the cathode of one is attached to the
uct) , LM13700 , OPA860 , OPA861 .
non inverting input (Vin+) and the cathode of the other
to the inverting input (Vin). The diodes are biased at Discussion of alternatives: .
the anodes by a current (I ) that is injected into the I
terminal. These additions make two substantial improve-
ments to the OTA. First, when used with input resistors,
the diodes distort the dierential input voltage to oset a
signicant amount of input stage non linearity at higher
dierential input voltages. According to National Semi-
conductor, the addition of these diodes increases the lin-
earity of the input stage by a factor of 4. That is, using
the diodes, the signal distortion level at 80 mV of dier-
ential input is the same as that of the simple dierential
amplier at a dierential input of 20 mV.[3] Second, the
action of the biased diodes osets much of the tempera-
ture sensitivity of the OTAs transconductance.
A second improvement is the integration of an optional-
use output buer amplier to the chip on which the OTA
resides. This is actually a convenience to a circuit designer
rather than an improvement to the OTA itself; dispensing
with the need to employ a separate buer. It also allows
the OTA to be used as a traditional op-amp, if desired,
by converting its output current to a voltage.
An example of a chip combining both of these features is
the National Semiconductor LM13600 and its successor,
the LM13700.[4]
Chapter 13
Transimpedance amplier
Rf
IP
Vout
Simplied transimpedance amplier
In electronics, a transimpedance amplier (TIA) is
a current-to-voltage converter, most often implemented
using an operational amplier. The TIA can be used
to amplify[1] the current output of GeigerMller tubes,
photomultiplier tubes, accelerometers, photo detectors
and other types of sensors to a usable voltage. Current-
to-voltage converters are used with sensors that have a
current response that is more linear than the voltage re-
sponse. This is the case with photodiodes, where it is
not uncommon for the current response to have better
than 1% linearity over a wide range of light input. The
transimpedance amplier presents a low impedance to
the photodiode and isolates it from the output voltage
of the operational amplier. In its simplest form a tran-
simpedance amplier has just a large-valued feedback re-
sistor, R . The gain of the amplier is set by this resistor
and has a value of R (because the amplier is in an in-
verting conguration). There are several dierent con-
gurations of transimpedance ampliers, each suited to
a particular application. The one factor they all have in
common is the requirement to convert the low-level cur-
rent of a sensor to a voltage. The gain, bandwidth, as
well as current and voltage osets, change with dier-
ent types of sensors, requiring dierent congurations of
transimpedance ampliers.[2]
49
13.1 DC operation
In the circuit shown above the photodiode is connected
between ground and the inverting input of the op-amp.
The other input of the op-amp is also connected to
ground. This provides a low-impedance load for the pho-
todiode, which keeps the photodiode voltage low. The
photodiode is operating in photovoltaic mode with no ex-
ternal bias. The high gain of the op-amp keeps the pho-
todiode current equal to the feedback current through R .
The input oset voltage due to the photodiode is very
low in this self-biased photovoltaic mode. This permits a
large gain without any large output oset voltage. This
conguration is used with photodiodes that are illumi-
nated with low light levels and require a lot of gain.
The DC and low-frequency gain of a transimpedance am-
plier is determined by the equation
Vout
Ip = ,
Rf
so
Vout
= Rf .
Ip
If the gain is large, any input oset voltage at the non-
inverting input of the op-amp will result in an output DC
oset. An input bias current on the inverting terminal
of the op-amp will similarly result in an output oset.
To minimize these eects, transimpedance ampliers are
usually designed with FET input op-amps that have very
low input oset voltages.[3]
An inverting TIA can also be used with the photodiode
operating in the photoconductive mode, as shown in the
gure. A positive voltage at the cathode of the photo-
diode applies a reverse bias. This reverse bias increases
the width of the depletion region and lowers the junction
capacitance, improving the high-frequency performance.
The photoconductive conguration of a transimpedance
photodiode amplier is used where fast switching speed
is required but high gain is not. The feedback capacitor
C is usually required to improve stability.
50 CHAPTER 13. TRANSIMPEDANCE AMPLIFIER

Cf At low frequencies the feedback factor has little eect

+Vb on the amplier response. The amplier response will be
close to the ideal,
Rf
Dlaser Dphoto
Vout = Ip Rf
Vout
IP as long as the loop gain,

Transimpedance amplier with a reverse biased photodiode AOL ,

is much greater than unity.
13.2 Bandwidth and stability |A|

Cf A OL

Rf

I-to-V
Ip Ci Vout gain
1/

f
Incremental model showing sensor capacitance fzf fi fc

The frequency response of a transimpedance amplier Bode plot of uncompensated transimpedance amplier.[5]
is inversely proportional to the gain set by the feedback
resistor. The product of the gain, V /V, is very close In the Bode plot of a transimpedance amplier with no
to being a constant for any given op-amp. The sensors compensation, the at curve with the peak, labeled I-to-
that transimpedance ampliers are used with usually have V gain, is the frequency response of the transimpedance
more capacitance than an op-amp can handle. The sen- amplier. The peaking of the gain curve is typical of
sor can be modeled as a current source and a capacitor uncompensated or poorly compensated transimpedance
C.[4] This capacitance across the input terminals of the ampliers. The curve labeled AOL is the open-loop re-
op-amp, which includes the internal capacitance of the sponse of the amplier. The feedback factor, plotted as
op-amp, introduces a low-pass lter in the feedback path. a reciprocal, is labeled 1/. In Fig. 5 the 1/ curve and
The low-pass response of this lter can be characterized AOL form an equilateral triangle with the frequency axis.
as the feedback factor The two sides have equal but opposite slopes, since one
is the result of a rst-order pole, and the other of a rst-
order zero. Each slope has a magnitude of 20 dB/decade,
XCi 1 corresponding to a phase shift of 90. When the ampli-
= = ,
Rf + XCi 1 + Rf Ci s ers 180 of phase inversion is added to this, the result is
a full 360 at the f intercept, indicated by the dashed ver-
where XCi is the reactance of the capacitance C. This l- tical line. At that intercept, 1/ = AOL for a loop gain of
ter attenuates the feedback signal, which places a greater AOL = 1. Oscillation will occur at the frequency f be-
demand on the amplier gain. cause of the 360 phase shift, or positive feedback, and
[6]
When the eect of this low-pass lter response is consid- the unity gain. To mitigate these eects, designers of
ered, the circuits response equation becomes transimpedance ampliers add a small-value compensat-
ing capacitor (C in the gure above) in parallel with the
feedback resistor. When this feedback capacitor is con-
Ip Rf sidered, the compensated feedback factor becomes
Vout = 1 ,
1 + AOL
1 + Rf Cf s
where AOL is the open-loop gain of the op-amp. = .
1 + Rf (Ci + Cf )s
13.4. SEE ALSO 51

The feedback capacitor produces a zero, or deection in The output-referred voltage noise is directly the volt-
the response curve, at the frequency age noise over the feedback resistance. This Johnson
Nyquist noise has an RMS amplitude

1
fCf = .
2Rf Cf vn,or = 4kB T Rf f .
This counteracts the pole produced by C at the frequency
Though
the output noise voltage increases proportionally
to Rf , the transimpedance increases linearly with Rf
, resulting in an input-referred noise current
1
fzf = .
2Rf (Ci + Cf )

In the Bode plot of a transimpedance amplier that has a 4kB T f
in,ir = .
Rf
|A|
For a good noise performance, a high feedback resis-
A OL tance should thus be used. However, a larger feedback
resistance increases the output voltage swing, and con-
sequently a higher gain from the operational amplier is
needed, demanding an operational amplier with a high
gain-bandwidth product. The feedback resistance and
therefore the sensitivity are thus limited by the required
I-to-V operating frequency of the transimpedance amplier.
gain
1/
13.4 See also

f Photodiode
f zf fi fC
PIN diode
Bode plot of compensated transimpedance amplier[7] Optical communication

compensation capacitor in the feedback path, the com-

pensated feedback factor, plotted as a reciprocal, 1/, 13.5 References
starts to roll o before f, reducing the slope at the inter-
cept. The loop gain is still unity, but the total phase shift is
[1] Electronic Principles Paul E. Gray, Campbell Searle, p.
not a full 360. One of the requirements for oscillation is
641.
eliminated with the addition of the compensation capac-
itor, and so the circuit has stability. This also reduces the [2] The Art of Electronics, Horowitz and Hill.
gain peaking, producing a atter overall response. There
[3] Design of a Modied Cherry-Hooper Transimpedance
are several methods used to calculate the compensation
Amplier with DC Oset Cancellation, Kyle LaFevre.
capacitors value. A compensation capacitor that has a
too large value will reduce the bandwidth of the ampli- [4] Photodiode Ampliers. Jerald Graeme. p. 39.
er. If the capacitor is too small, then oscillation may
occur.[8] One diculty with this method of phase com- [5] Photodiode Ampliers. Jerald Graeme. p. 40.
pensation is the resulting small value of the capacitor, and [6] Photodiode Ampliers. Jerald Graeme. p. 41.
the iterative method often required to optimize the value.
There is no explicit formula for calculating the capacitor [7] Photodiode Ampliers. Jerald Graeme. p. 43.
value that works for all cases. A compensation method
[8] St. Pease on Transimpedance ampliers.
that uses a larger-value capacitor that is not as suscepti-
ble to parasitic capacitance eects can also be used.[9] [9] Photodiode Ampliers. Jerald Graeme. p. 49.

13.3 Noise considerations

In most practical cases, the dominant source of noise
in a transimpedance amplier is the feedback resistor.
52 CHAPTER 13. TRANSIMPEDANCE AMPLIFIER

13.6 Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

13.6.1 Text
Operational amplier applications Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operational_amplifier_applications?oldid=774980353 Con-
tributors: Michael Hardy, Haukurth, Omegatron, Pengo, Giftlite, TedPavlic, Evand, Kanzure, Pbevin, Bobo192, Microtony, Pearle, PAR,
Wtshymanski, TenOfAllTrades, Kenyon, HappyCamper, Alejo2083, Ecacy, Who, Enon, Fresheneesz, Bgwhite, Tole, Bota47, Adi-
carlo, Light current, SmackBot, Melchoir, Gilliam, Eug, Chris the speller, Oli Filth, Barney Stratford, SmilingFace, Ohconfucius, TJJFV,
Archimerged, CyrilB, Laogeodritt, Dicklyon, Yves-Laurent, TristanJ, Addict 2006, Circuit dreamer, Harej bot, Ddaj124, Pedro Fonini, Rm-
cgiv, Plangner, Seaphoto, Secret Squrrel, Somebody2014, SwiftBot, JJ Harrison, Cpl Syx, Dravick, Scottr9, Glrx, Mu li, Eliz81, Extransit,
Zen-in, GandalfDaGraay, Homer Landskirty, Red Thrush, CardinalDan, VolkovBot, ICE77, PDFbot, Inductiveload, Spinningspark, Dusti,
Flyer22 Reborn, Misiu mp, ClueBot, ArthurOgawa, Mesdale, Brews ohare, Katanada, Johnuniq, XLinkBot, EastTN, Garylcamp, Ad-
dbot, Mortense, Download, 5 albert square, Yobot, Ptbotgourou, Jordsan, AnomieBOT, Elostirion, Materialscientist, Msmdmmm, 78.26,
Maitchy, FrescoBot, Smurfettekla, Ong saluri, Berrinkursun, I dream of horses, Skyerise, ApusChin, NortyNort, Theo10011, Analog-
guru~enwiki, Orphan Wiki, Akjar13, Klbrain, Mohit3095, Armael, East of Borschov, Sbmeirow, ClueBot NG, Frietjes, Widr, Vhvbe,
Frze, Enforcer83, Fylbecatulous, Hello57691, Pratyya Ghosh, MarinSwimmer, Hijazifm, SD5bot, TwoTwoHello, Lugia2453, Frosty,
Emareg, Lemnaminor, Tejash.my26, Mmpozulp, Rwfuchs, Mubashar06, Prevalence, Vaishu06, BikeJ4K3, Awfulspirit01 and Anonymous:
189
Comparator applications Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparator_applications?oldid=773205518 Contributors: Bearcat,
Chris the speller, Barney Stratford, Magioladitis, Andy Dingley, Flyer22 Reborn, Animalparty, NHCLS, Filedelinkerbot, GreenC bot
and Anonymous: 2
Dierential amplier Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Differential_amplifier?oldid=760715916 Contributors: RTC, Ahoerste-
meier, Docu, Glenn, Omegatron, RedWolf, Andries, TedPavlic, Hooperbloob, Avian, Theodore Kloba, Wtshymanski, Woohookitty,
FlaBot, Chobot, Rohitbd, Spike Wilbury, JulesH, SmackBot, Audriusa, Harumphy, Radagast83, Vina-iwbot~enwiki, Estarapapax,
Rock4arolla, Rogerbrent, Dicklyon, Kvng, Iridescent, Yves-Laurent, Chetvorno, TuringBirds, Circuit dreamer, AugustWest, Shadowriver,
Alphachimpbot, RebelRobot, Tom.jennings, Leyo, J.delanoy, Zen-in, KylieTastic, Colorbow, VolkovBot, ICE77, Oshwah, Spinningspark,
Yintan, Johnanth, Binksternet, ArthurOgawa, Yuckhil, Giraultjones, Vivio Testarossa, Brews ohare, BOTarate, RyanCross, Addbot, Math-
ieu Perrin, Yobot, AnomieBOT, CBMalloch, JackieBot, Materialscientist, Maitchy, Prari, FrescoBot, Ong saluri, Xavier016, Kopiersperre,
Tom.Reding, AndreAdrian, John of Reading, GoingBatty, DesbWit, , K6ka, ZroBot, Jwortzel, Zueignung, Ramjar,
Lv131, ClueBot NG, Ulrich67, BG19bot, ENSEA92, Andserkul, Wikimpan, Siva6085, Klilidiplomus, Killer Mo, W.D., G1VaE, Kas-
parBot, Menner, Suami1212 and Anonymous: 106
Instrumentation amplier Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instrumentation_amplifier?oldid=698477297 Contributors: Bryan
Derksen, Mahjongg, Glenn, GRAHAMUK, Schneelocke, Omegatron, Smither, AJim, Guanaco, JRR Trollkien, Ot, Danh, TedPavlic,
Hooperbloob, Wtshymanski, Graham87, Alejo2083, YurikBot, Mpa, Dhollm, Searchme, SmackBot, Commander Keane bot, Chris the
speller, Oli Filth, Prasad.raghavendra, Beetstra, Novangelis, Kvng, Dl2000, Yves-Laurent, Menswear, MaxEnt, Ikurtz, Editor at Large,
DmitTrix, Colorbow, TXiKiBoT, CanOfWorms, Inductiveload, Andy Dingley, Spinningspark, Akshay37, Binksternet, PipepBot, Yuckhil,
DumZiBoT, Addbot, Hssp, Semiwiki, Luckas-bot, Yobot, Ruby2010, Ong saluri, I dream of horses, Alan.poindexter, ,
Cory in texas, Analogguru~enwiki, John of Reading, PhaseQ, ChuispastonBot, ClueBot NG, Satellizer, Ulrich67, FJRocha, Rodesywiki,
Tanay.rastogi, Terongis34, BKNS005 and Anonymous: 44
Comparator Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparator?oldid=779380969 Contributors: Heron, Edward, Ahoerstemeier, Glenn,
Smack, Schneelocke, Omegatron, Dbroadwell, Stuuf, Jaan513, Discospinster, Sietse Snel, Smalljim, Hooperbloob, Andrewpmk, Ray-
mond, Cburnett, Jannex, Matthew Platts, Mandarax, Maxim Razin, Arnero, Crazycomputers, Stassats, Guerberj, Katieh5584, Bmearns,
Lindosland, Bluebot, Daydreamer302000, Af1218, Barney Stratford, S Roper, Je Wheeler, Paul Rako, Av, 16@r, Dicklyon, Iridescent,
Daharde, Chetvorno, Mikiemike, Circuit dreamer, TAB, Wdspann, Thijs!bot, CosineKitty, Adilsm, Scottr9, R'n'B, Amikake3, FlyingAce,
Grantdj, Miwanya, Inductiveload, AlleborgoBot, Flyer22 Reborn, Sokari, ClueBot, The Thing That Should Not Be, Optics guy07, VQuakr,
Mild Bill Hiccup, Somno, Three-quarter-ten, ChardonnayNimeque, PixelBot, SpikeToronto, Analogkidr, Addbot, Mortense, Yobot, Jord-
san, Xqbot, NSK Nikolaos S. Karastathis, FrescoBot, Febert, Smurfettekla, Berrinkursun, Cannolis, I dream of horses, Calmer Waters,
Chotugubbi, Eguru37, Wikieditorz, Reconsider the static, EmausBot, ZroBot, East of Borschov, Derekleungtszhei, Sbmeirow, Chuispas-
tonBot, ClueBot NG, Widr, Helpful Pixie Bot, CitationCleanerBot, BattyBot, Jaspritsgill, Imneerajgarg3, Monkbot, Ksumatrob, KasparBot,
ProprioMe OW, Bender the Bot and Anonymous: 122
Op amp integrator Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Op_amp_integrator?oldid=744831315 Contributors: Bearcat, Hooperbloob,
Gaius Cornelius, Khazar, Laogeodritt, Zureks, Dougsim, Guy Macon, Katharineamy, DoorsAjar, Andy Dingley, Ost316, Addbot,
AnomieBOT, LittleWink, ItsZippy, Jesse V., Klbrain, Widr, JamietwBot, Rupeshgedam, Rutujadeshpande, Akshay.ahire, Laodah,
Ashiataka, Justin15w and Anonymous: 15
Gyrator Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gyrator?oldid=756751440 Contributors: Glenn, Charles Matthews, Omegatron, Ancheta
Wis, DavidCary, Palapala, Rich Farmbrough, TedPavlic, Pavel Vozenilek, Hooperbloob, Atlant, Aliencam, Wtshymanski, Tsunade, Pfal-
stad, BD2412, Rjwilmsi, Alejo2083, FlaBot, Enon, Antikon, YurikBot, CecilWard, Light current, Prodego, KD5TVI, Oli Filth, Audriusa,
Ozhiker, Joeylawn, MTSbot~enwiki, Rahul bagaria, Chetvorno, Circuit dreamer, Jasen betts, Igodard, Catslash, Sub40Hz, Gwern, Glrx,
R'n'B, Zen-in, MarekLew, TottyBot, Mlewis000, VolkovBot, Constant314, Inductiveload, Spinningspark, SieBot, Flyer22 Reborn, Wordy-
Girl90, Sabbah67, Cpcnetworking, Drowe67, Addbot, Yobot, AnomieBOT, Jeni, Kid222r, RjwilmsiBot, Beatnik8983, DesbWit, Helpful
Pixie Bot, Test35965, Sparkie82, BattyBot, Freshman404, Aloncervera, Monkbot, KasparBot, GreenC bot and Anonymous: 42
Negative impedance converter Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negative_impedance_converter?oldid=780848340 Contributors:
Heron, Michael Hardy, Glenn, Omegatron, Jpp, Rich Farmbrough, TedPavlic, SCEhardt, Tarc, Alejo2083, Ecacy, Gaius Cornelius,
Light current, Commander Keane bot, Bluebot, Oli Filth, Mouse Nightshirt, John, Rogerbrent, Circuit dreamer, Gimmetrow, Zen-in,
Alexander Bell, Inductiveload, Spinningspark, Anchor Link Bot, Wdwd, Addbot, Mkretz, Helpful Pixie Bot and Anonymous: 15
Precision rectier Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Precision_rectifier?oldid=754608659 Contributors: Omegatron, DavidCary,
Leonard G., Aulis Eskola, TedPavlic, Hooperbloob, Alejo2083, Femmina, Commander Keane bot, Oli Filth, Audriusa, Ohconfucius, John,
Kaldosh, Dispenser, Alexander Bell, The Original Wildbear, Inductiveload, Spinningspark, Yuanxuetao, SilvonenBot, Addbot, Mortense,
Glane23, Orion11M87, Maitchy, A.amitkumar, HJ Mitchell, Domesticenginerd, KrisBlueNZ, ClueBot NG, GreenC bot and Anonymous:
23
13.6. TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES 53

Log amplier Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Log_amplifier?oldid=774867641 Contributors: Pengo, Michael Devore, Zetawoof,

Hooperbloob, Ethilien, Eaolson, SmackBot, Kvng, Circuit dreamer, Harej bot, Mbell, Jddriessen, Spinningspark, Ankush.khanna.007,
Wdwd, Addbot, Obersachsebot, Erik9bot, Per Ardua, BG19bot, Bender the Bot and Anonymous: 8
Voltage regulator Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voltage_regulator?oldid=780906095 Contributors: BlckKnght, Heron, Bdonlan,
Glenn, GRAHAMUK, Zoicon5, Maximus Rex, Omegatron, Hankwang, Henrygb, DavidCary, Scott MacLean, Sonett72, Rich Farmbrough,
Jcmaco, Rubicon, Jaberwocky6669, Plugwash, RoyBoy, Nigelj, Timl, Hooperbloob, Jakew, Mareino, 1-1111, Tpikonen, Atlant, Wtshy-
manski, Pol098, Mandarax, BD2412, Tizio, Brighterorange, Yamamoto Ichiro, Margosbot~enwiki, Alfred Centauri, Srleer, Jidan, Visor,
DMahalko, Tole, Gaius Cornelius, Rohitbd, Ethan, Spike Wilbury, Mikeblas, LeoNerd, PanchoS, Hirak 99, Ninly, KNHaw, Smack-
Bot, Unyoyega, Yamaguchi , Gilliam, Lindosland, Chris the speller, Oli Filth, Spacemeng, Audriusa, Bsilverthorn, Frap, Lagrangian,
KLLvr283, CyrilB, Slakr, Kvng, TW2, Yves-Laurent, Nathanbriggs, Chetvorno, Circuit dreamer, TheTito, Fairsing, Cydebot, Ebrahim,
Al Lemos, JAnDbot, PhilKnight, Bongwarrior, VoABot II, J.P.Lon, Chris G, Manavbhardwaj, Nono64, Silverxxx, Atropos235, ICE77,
Almazi, Philip Trueman, Dsigno, Paverider, Biscuittin, Keilana, Sriramk750, Allmightyduck, Harry the Dirty Dog, Shooke, Hamilton-
daniel, Dolphin51, Floodamanny, OldenGray, ClueBot, SuperHamster, No such user, Diagramma Della Verita, DeltaQuad, Pardo bsso,
SoxBot III, XLinkBot, Mifter, Oboylej, Badgernet, MystBot, Addbot, MrOllie, Download, Glass Sword, Zaphodikus, Semiwiki, Gail,
Arsenalboi20, Yobot, AnomieBOT, Gtz, Jim1138, Materialscientist, RibotBOT, Amaury, Maitchy, Chongkian, Shadowjams, MZIrish,
FrescoBot, jlfr, Jaymie94, Pinethicket, Kl2217, Boobarkee, Rxgvhqkrywq6cxdjoar, Tucvbif, Di gama, Try harder later, Lee A. Hart,
Eirik1231, DexDor, AndyHe829, Wyatte Gillette, EmausBot, Orphan Wiki, Dcirovic, ZroBot, Mkratz, EnticingCanine, Pgarg78, Sb-
meirow, Mohsen.1987, Donner60, ClueBot NG, Akashacharyak, Mg2011, Ulrich67, Rezabot, MerlIwBot, Helpful Pixie Bot, Aholyokeb,
Wbm1058, Mataresephotos, BG19bot, Mpalframan, Tiscando, Vydeoatpict, Jschnabs, Letsbeends, Jamietwells, Nilay.pant, Tentinator,
Buntybhai, Monkbot, GinAndChronically, TerryAlex, RoyPijnenburg, Mario Casteln Castro, ChamithN, Watfordcontrols, Fedepupo,
Mattywhite98, KasparBot, Dinnypaul, Abbishnoi and Anonymous: 233
Operational transconductance amplier Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operational_transconductance_amplifier?oldid=
771374876 Contributors: Omegatron, Longhair, Ecacy, Gaius Cornelius, BOT-Superzerocool, Pb30, SmackBot, Anoneditor,
Dawnseeker2000, Nodekeeper, Mlewis000, Arsharpe~enwiki, Wdwd, Addbot, AnomieBOT, Vaxquis, DexDor, East of Borschov,
Ramjar, BG19bot, InternetArchiveBot, GreenC bot and Anonymous: 19
Transimpedance amplier Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transimpedance_amplifier?oldid=773921391 Contributors: Deadstar,
Andrewman327, Omegatron, BenFrantzDale, Vadmium, Bri, Odalcet, Stesmo, Hooperbloob, RJFJR, Fantumphool, DSatz, IIBewegung,
JamesBurns, Arnero, Ecacy, Srleer, Bgwhite, Light current, Pb30, SmackBot, The Photon, Bluebot, Vina-iwbot~enwiki, FlyHigh, Cat-
apult, Simon G Best, Beetstra, Rogerbrent, CapitalR, The Missing Piece, Circuit dreamer, Ibadibam, Myasuda, Barticus88, MichaelMaggs,
DOSGuy, Arch dude, Jahoe, Gumby600, Nyttend, Zen-in, Mlewis000, Sergivs-en, Constant314, Thundermaker, Maxim, Spinningspark,
RprattWiki, ClueBot, PixelBot, Brews ohare, Addbot, Fizyxnrd, EK!, PhysicsR, ToLam, OgreBot, Breezeboy, John of Reading, Josve05a,
RaptureBot, Mentibot, Intellec7, Mikhail Ryazanov, Vacation9, Mogism, Jodosma and Anonymous: 51

13.6.2 Images
File:7812_voltage_regulator.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ce/7812_voltage_regulator.jpg License:
CC BY 3.0 Contributors: http://fotosbsb.com.br Original artist: Mataresephotos
File:BJT_NPN_symbol_(case).svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cb/BJT_NPN_symbol_%28case%29.
svg License: Public domain Contributors: Own work Original artist: Zedh
File:Commons-logo.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg License: PD Contributors: ? Origi-
nal artist: ?
File:Diffential_amplifier_transimission_charackteristic.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/06/
Diffential_amplifier_transimission_charackteristic.svg License: CC0 Contributors: Own work Original artist: Menner
File:Differential_amplifier_long-tailed_pair.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3a/Differential_
amplifier_long-tailed_pair.svg License: CC BY-SA 3.0 Contributors: This le was derived from: Dierence amplier.png
Original artist: Dierence amplier.png: Rohitbd
File:Distribution_Voltage_regulators.JPG Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b2/Distribution_Voltage_
regulators.JPG License: CC BY-SA 4.0 Contributors: Own work Original artist: Wtshymanski
File:Dynamic_Comparator.png Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c1/Dynamic_Comparator.png License:
CC BY-SA 3.0 Contributors: Transferred from en.wikipedia to Commons. Original artist: Guerberj at English Wikipedia
File:EMRI_LXCOS_Voltage_Regulator.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/53/EMRI_LXCOS_
Voltage_Regulator.jpg License: CC BY-SA 3.0 Contributors: Own work Original artist: RoyPijnenburg
File:Edit-clear.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f2/Edit-clear.svg License: Public domain Contributors: The
Tango! Desktop Project. Original artist:
The people from the Tango! project. And according to the meta-data in the le, specically: Andreas Nilsson, and Jakub Steiner (although
minimally).
File:Frequency_response_of_ideal_and_practical_integrator.png Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d1/
Frequency_response_of_ideal_and_practical_integrator.png License: CC BY-SA 3.0 Contributors: Own work Original artist:
Rutujadeshpande
File:General_negative_impedance_circuit.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/92/General_negative_
impedance_circuit.svg License: CC-BY-SA-3.0 Contributors:
Self created using Inkscape
Original artist:
<a href='//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Spinningspark' title='User:Spinningspark'>SpinningSpark</a> real life identity: SHA-1 commit-
ment ba62ca25da3fee2f8f36c101994f571c151abee7
File:Gyrator-single-line-symbol-ANSI-IEC.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cf/
Gyrator-single-line-symbol-ANSI-IEC.svg License: CC0 Contributors: Own work Original artist: Catslash
54 CHAPTER 13. TRANSIMPEDANCE AMPLIFIER

File:Gyrator-single-line-symbol.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b0/Gyrator-single-line-symbol.svg

License: CC0 Contributors: Own work Original artist: Catslash
File:Integrator_circuit.png Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/22/Integrator_circuit.png License: CC BY-SA
3.0 Contributors: Own work Original artist: Rutujadeshpande
File:JFET_N-dep_symbol.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6d/JFET_N-dep_symbol.svg License:
GFDL Contributors: Own work Original artist: Zedh
File:Konstanze.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f0/Konstanze.jpg License: Public domain Contributors:
Own work Original artist: Ulfbastel
File:LM2676.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/34/LM2676.jpg License: CC BY-SA 4.0 Contributors:
Own work Original artist: Shooke
File:Logamp.JPG Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/51/Logamp.JPG License: PD Contributors: ? Original artist: ?
File:Long_tailed_pair.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/06/Long_tailed_pair.svg License: CC BY-SA
4.0 Contributors: Own work Original artist: wdwd
File:Mergefrom.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0f/Mergefrom.svg License: Public domain Contribu-
tors: ? Original artist: ?
File:Moving_Coil_Voltage_Regulator.png Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/79/Moving_Coil_Voltage_Regulator.
png License: Cc-by-sa-3.0 Contributors: ? Original artist: ?
File:Negative_capacitance_circuit.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/86/Negative_capacitance_circuit.svg Li-
cense: CC-BY-SA-3.0 Contributors:
Self created using Inkscape
Original artist:
<a href='//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Spinningspark' title='User:Spinningspark'>SpinningSpark</a> real life identity: SHA-1 commit-
ment ba62ca25da3fee2f8f36c101994f571c151abee7
File:Negative_inductance_circuit.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/e3/Negative_inductance_circuit.svg Li-
cense: CC-BY-SA-3.0 Contributors:
Self created using Inkscape
Original artist:
<a href='//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Spinningspark' title='User:Spinningspark'>SpinningSpark</a> real life identity: SHA-1 commit-
ment ba62ca25da3fee2f8f36c101994f571c151abee7
File:Nuvola_apps_ksim.png Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8d/Nuvola_apps_ksim.png License: LGPL
Contributors: http://icon-king.com Original artist: David Vignoni / ICON KING
File:Op-Amp_Comparator.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0d/Op-Amp_Comparator.svg License:
Public domain Contributors: Own work Original artist: Inductiveload
File:Op-Amp_Differential_Amplifier.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a2/Op-Amp_Differential_
Amplifier.svg License: Public domain Contributors: Own work Original artist: Inductiveload
File:Op-Amp_Differential_Amplifier_input_impedence_and_common_bias.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/
commons/d/d6/Op-Amp_Differential_Amplifier_input_impedence_and_common_bias.svg License: CC BY-SA 1.0 Contributors: Arthur
Ogawa Original artist: Arthur Ogawa
File:Op-Amp_Differentiating_Amplifier.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5f/Op-Amp_
Differentiating_Amplifier.svg License: Public domain Contributors: Own work Original artist: Inductiveload
File:Op-Amp_Exponential_Amplifier.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/98/Op-Amp_Exponential_
Amplifier.svg License: Public domain Contributors: Own work Original artist: Inductiveload
File:Op-Amp_Gyrator.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/16/Op-Amp_Gyrator.svg License: Public do-
main Contributors: Own work Original artist: Inductiveload
File:Op-Amp_Instrumentation_Amplifier.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ed/Op-Amp_
Instrumentation_Amplifier.svg License: Public domain Contributors: Own work Original artist: Inductiveload
File:Op-Amp_Integrating_Amplifier.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bd/Op-Amp_Integrating_
Amplifier.svg License: Public domain Contributors: Own work Original artist: Inductiveload
File:Op-Amp_Integrating_Amplifier_balanced.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/59/Op-Amp_
Integrating_Amplifier_balanced.svg License: CC BY-SA 3.0 Contributors: Own work Original artist: ArthurOgawa
File:Op-Amp_Inverting_Amplifier.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/41/Op-Amp_Inverting_
Amplifier.svg License: Public domain Contributors: Own work Original artist: Inductiveload
File:Op-Amp_Inverting_Schmitt_Trigger.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/26/Op-Amp_Inverting_
Schmitt_Trigger.svg License: Public domain Contributors: Own work Original artist: Inductiveload
File:Op-Amp_Logarithmic_Amplifier.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0e/Op-Amp_Logarithmic_
Amplifier.svg License: Public domain Contributors: Own work Original artist: Inductiveload
File:Op-Amp_Negative_Impedance_Converter.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ec/Op-Amp_
Negative_Impedance_Converter.svg License: Public domain Contributors: Own work Original artist: Inductiveload
File:Op-Amp_Non-Inverting_Amplifier.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/44/Op-Amp_
Non-Inverting_Amplifier.svg License: Public domain Contributors: Own work Original artist: Inductiveload
File:Op-Amp_Precision_Rectifier.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/60/Op-Amp_Precision_Rectifier.
svg License: Public domain Contributors: Own work Original artist: Inductiveload
13.6. TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES 55

File:Op-Amp_Precision_Rectifier_(Improved).svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ca/Op-Amp_

Precision_Rectifier_%28Improved%29.svg License: Public domain Contributors: Own work Original artist: Inductiveload
File:Op-Amp_Relaxation_Oscillator.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ac/Op-Amp_Relaxation_
Oscillator.svg License: Public domain Contributors: Own work Original artist: Inductiveload
File:Op-Amp_Schmitt_Trigger.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/64/Op-Amp_Schmitt_Trigger.svg Li-
cense: Public domain Contributors: Own work Original artist: Inductiveload
File:Op-Amp_Summing_Amplifier.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3e/Op-Amp_Summing_
Amplifier.svg License: Public domain Contributors: Own work Original artist: Inductiveload
File:Op-Amp_Unity-Gain_Buffer.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f7/Op-Amp_Unity-Gain_Buffer.
svg License: Public domain Contributors: Own work Original artist: Inductiveload
File:Op-amp_symbol.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/97/Op-amp_symbol.svg License: CC BY-SA 3.0
Contributors: Own work Original artist: User:Omegatron
File:Operational_transconductance_amplifier_symbol.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/27/
Operational_transconductance_amplifier_symbol.svg License: CC BY-SA 3.0 Contributors: Own work Original artist: user:Omegatron
File:PeakDet.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3d/PeakDet.svg License: CC-BY-SA-3.0 Contributors:
own work, using Xcircuit and Inkscape Original artist: Alessio Damato
File:Practical_integrator.png Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a3/Practical_integrator.png License: CC BY-
SA 3.0 Contributors: Own work Original artist: Rutujadeshpande
File:Practical_negative_resistance_op_amp.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/1a/Practical_negative_
resistance_op_amp.svg License: CC-BY-SA-3.0 Contributors:
Self created using Inkscape
Original artist:
<a href='//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Spinningspark' title='User:Spinningspark'>SpinningSpark</a> 11:48, 20 February 2009 (UTC)
real life identity: SHA-1 commitment ba62ca25da3fee2f8f36c101994f571c151abee7
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Contributors:
Created from scratch in Adobe Illustrator. Based on Image:Question book.png created by User:Equazcion Original artist:
Tkgd2007
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regulation.PNG License: CC-BY-SA-2.5 Contributors: ? Original artist: ?
File:Simple_electromechanical_voltage_regulator.PNG Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/38/Simple_
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