Basic Electronics : Basics of Op-Amp, Virtual Grounding

By Manoj Kumar|Updated : September 1st, 2021

Complete coverage of syllabus is a very important aspect for any competitive examination but before that important subject and their concept must be covered thoroughly. In this article, we are going to discuss Basic Electronics: Basics of Op-Amp, Virtual Groundingwhich is very useful for AE JE Exams

  1. Introduction

An operational amplifier (Op-Amp) is an integrated circuit that amplifies the difference between two input voltages and produces a single output. From signal point of view, the Op-Amp has two input terminals and one output terminal as shown in figure below.

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2. Characteristics of Ideal Op-Amp:

The ideal Op-Amp senses the difference between two input signals and amplifies this difference to produce an output signal. The output terminal voltage is the voltage at the output terminal measured with respect to ground.

The ideal Op Amp equivalent is shown in figure below.

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Here,

AOL = open loop gain

  1. It has infinite input impedance and zero output impedance.
  2. The common mode gain is zero (or) equivalently, common mode rejection ratio is infinite.
  3. The open loop gain of ideal op-amp is infinite
  4. The ideal op-amp has infinite bandwidth and infinite slew-rate.
  5. We stated that if the open loop gain (AOL) is very high, then the two input V1 and V2 must be nearly equal. Since, if V2 is at ground potential, voltage V1 must also be approximately zero volts as shown below.                                                                                                                                                                                  byjusexamprep byjusexamprep

 

                                                                                                             Figure : Voltage Controlled Voltage Source

3. Transfer Characteristics of Op Amp:

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4. Feedback in Op Amp:

4.1. Negative Feedback:

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             Figure: Non-Inverting Amplifier

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So, for any input Vi in the range of “mV” or 0V, output V0 will be very close to 0.

4.2.  Positive Feedback: 

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Figure: Positive Feedback Amplifier

 Note: Multi vibrator works in open or closed loop of positive feedback.

5. Virtual-Ground and Comparator:

  • Virtual ground theory is applicable only in “Negative feedback”. It is not applicable in positive feedback and open loop.
  • Comparator theory is applicable for open loop and positive feedback.

Table: Comparison between Negative feedback and Open-loop

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6. Slew-Rate:

Slew rate is defined as the maximum rate at which amplifier output can change. It is expressed in Volts per microsecond (V/μs) i.e.

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Here, ∆V0 = Small change in output voltage in a small interval ∆t.

In terms of input voltage, slew rate can be expressed as:

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Here, ACL = closed loop gain,

        ∆Vi = Small change in input voltage in a small interval ∆t

7. Differential and Common Mode operation:

7.1. Differential Inputs:

When separate inputs are applied to the op-Amp, the resulting difference signal is the difference between the two inputs

i.e.

Vd = Vi1 – Vi2

Here, Vi1, Vi2 = inputs to the op-Amp.

7.2. Common Inputs:

If there is no difference between the input signals, a common signal element due to the two input signals can be defined as the average of the sum of the two signals.

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Here, Vi1, Vi2 are the inputs to the Op-Amp.

7.3. Output-Voltage:

Since, any signal applied to an Op-Amp is generally have both in phase and out of phase components, the resulting output can be expressed as:

V0 = AdVd + AcVc

Here,

Ad = differential voltage

Vc = Common voltage

Ad = Differential gain of the amplifier

Ac = common mode gain of the amplifier

7.4. Common Mode Rejection Ratio: (CMRR)

CMRR is defined as the ratio of differential voltage gain to the common mode gain.

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8. Applications of Operational amplifiers

  • Inverting Amplifier
  • Non-inverting Amplifier
  • Differentiator
  • Differential Amplifier
  • Voltage follower
  • Selective inversion circuit
  • Current-to-voltage converter
  • Active rectifier
  • Integrator
  • Comparator
  • Filters
  • Voltage comparator
  • Signal Amplifier

8.1.  Inverting-Amplifier:

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8.2.  Non-Inverting Amplifier

The voltage gain for the non-inverting amplifier is given by:

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8.3.  Voltage Adder:

8.3.1. Inverting Adder:

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8.3.2. Non-Inverting Adder:

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8.4.  Voltage Subtractor Circuit

A Voltage Subtractor circuit consist of an inverting amplifier and a summing amplifier. Output of the inverting amplifier is given by:

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8.5.  Difference Amplifier:

Consider the difference amplifier shown below:

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Applying Superposition, we consider only one input at a time as shown in below figures

When only V1 is present,

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8.6.  Differentiator circuit:

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8.7.  Integrator circuit:

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