Module III

Frequency Response of an Op-amp (6 Hrs)

Frequency response –Compensating networks – Frequency response of internally
compensated and non compensated op-amps – High frequency opamp equivalent
circuit – Open loop gain as a function of frequency – Closed loop frequency
response – Circuit stability - slew rate
Active Filters and Oscillators (with design) (12 Hrs)
Active filters – First order and second order low pass Butterworth filter – First
order and second
order high pass Butterworth filter- wide and narrow band pass filter - wide and
narrow band reject
filter- All pass filter – Oscillators: Phase shift and Wien-bridgeoscillators – square,
triangular and
sawtooth wave generators- Voltage controlled oscillator.
• Module IV
Comparators and Converters (8 Hrs)
Basic comparator- Zero crossing detector- Schmitt Trigger – Comparator
characteristics Limitations of op-amp as comparators- Voltage to frequency and
frequency to voltage converters -
D/A and A/D converters- Peak detector – Sample and Hold circuit.
Voltage Regulators (3Hrs)
Voltage Regulators-fixed regulators-adjustable voltage regulators -switching
regulators
Analog Communication (7 Hrs)
Review of analog modulation – Radio receivers – AM receivers – superhetrodyne
receiver
– detection and automatic gain control – communication receiver – FM receiver
– phase
discriminators – ratio detector – stereo FM reception.
• Some of the characteristics of the op-amp are frequency dependent.
• One of the important characteristics is the open loop voltage gain A
• The gain A decreases as the operating frequency increases
• This imposes limitations on the performance and its use in ac
applications.
• We will investigate the factors responsible for variations in open loop
gain as a function of frequency,
• Discuss the differences between internally and externally
compensated op –amps
• Effect of negative feedback on variations in open loop gain
• Study another important frequency dependent parameter: slew rate
and its effect on op-amp applications.
• Initially the gain of op-amp is considered to be constant but in reality
it is complex number that is a function of frequency.
• Hence at a frequency it has both magnitude as well as phase angle
• Any variation in frq affects both mag and phase.
• The manner in which the gain of the op –amp responds to different
frequencies is called the frequency response.
response.
• A graph of the magnitude of the gain versus frequency is called
frequency response plot. This plot is included in data sheets of op-
amp.
 • Gain is expressed in decibel(dB) and frequency is plotted as
logarithmic scale(this is to accommodate large frq range).
• The frequency response is determined experimentally by measuring
the input voltage and output voltages at different frequencies.
• Another technique is Blode plots –
❑ gain magnitude versus frequency
❑ Phase angle versus frequency
Blode plots are used for stability determination and network design
Compensating networks
• Generally for an amplifier , as the operating frequency increases
there are two effects
• (1)The gain magnitude of the amplifier decreases
• (2)the phase shift between the output and input signals increases.
• The change in the gain and phase shift as a function of frequency is
attributed to the internally integrated capacitors, stray capacitance
• This capacitances are due to the physical characteristics of
semiconductor devices used (BJT and FET) and also the internal
construction of the op-amp.
• The manner in which the gain of the op-amp changes with variation in
frequency is known as the magnitude plot.
• the manner in which the phase shift changes with frequency is called
phase angle plot.
• Generally manufactures provide the magnitude plot for the op-amps they
produce but phase angle plots are not produced even for later generation
op-amps-741,351and771.
• The phase shift for these op-amps are less than 90degree even at cross
over frequencies.
• Cross over frequencies is also known as the unity gain bandwidth(UGB), is
defined as the maximum usable frequency for a given op-amp
• For 741 ,UGB=1MHz
• The rate of change of gain as well as the phase shift of an op-amp can
be changed by using specific components (resistors and capacitors).
• The network formed by such components used for modifying the
rate of change of gain and phase shift is called compensating
network.
• The phase lag and phase lead are the two compensating networks in
op-amp.
• Phase lag contributes to negative phase angle and vice versa
• The main purpose of compensating network is to improve the
performance by tuning the gain and phase over desired frequency.
• First generation op-amp 709 require external compensating networks
whereas the later generation 741,351 have internal compensating
networks.
• So, there are two types of op-amps
• (a) internally compensated (b) externally compensated
• In internally compensated the compensating network is designed
into the circuit and in externally compensated , compensating
components are connected externally.
• The 741 is internally compensated while 709 is non compensated.
Frequency response from internally
compensated op-amps
• In order to accommodate the entire operating range, the gain has a
linear scale and frequency is assigned the log scale .
• The voltage gain is expressed in decibels
• The UGB of 741 is 1 MHz
• 741 has a single break frequency f0(3dB 0r 0.707 of its value at 0Hz)
before the UGB.
• The gain remains constant from 0Hz to f0 and then rolls off at
constant rate of 20dB per decade.
• Hence the open loop band width of 741 is 5 Hz
• In 741 , 30-pF capacitor is used as internal compensating component.
• Refer text book
[Link]
Frequency response for non compensated
op- amps
• Op amps requiring external compensating components
• Also called as tailored frequency response since the user has to
provide the compensating network.
 50 ohm

709 op-amp
• Objective : general mathematical expression for gain and to confirm that it
is a complex quantity.
• To derive the gain equation we need to consider a high frequency op-amp
model.
• The two major causes for gain decrease are
• The physical characteristics of semiconductor device(due to BJT and FET)
which contain junction capacitance. These capacitance are very small (pico
farad) and act as open circuits at low frequencies but as frequency
increases the reactance of these capacitance decreases.
• The internal construction , due to number of transistors and resistors there
is a capacitance generated on the same material or substrate
• The conducting paths are separated using insulators but in effect it brings
in stray capacitance.
High frequency model of an op-amp with
single break frequency
• Here a capacitor C is added at the output
 Open loop voltage gain as a function of frequency .
•
•
•
Verification of equation (7) by plotting Blode
plot..
•
Magnitude versus
frequency plot

Phase angle versus

frequency plot.
The phase angle
varies from 0 to -90.
this means that the
maximum phase shift
between input and
output voltage is 90
• In the open loop it was observed that the gain was constant over a
small region that was the break frequency f0 but we require a larger
bandwidth which infinite over large range of frequencies.
• Hence we prefer closed loop configuration.
Closed loop frequency response for 709 op
amp

It is possible to achieve
higher stable gain and
larger bandwidth
Circuit stability
• A circuit or a group of circuit connected together as a
system is said to be stable, if its o/p reaches a fixed value in
a finite time. (or)
• A system is said to be unstable, if its o/p increases with
time instead of achieving a fixed value.
• In fact the o/p of an unstable system keeps on increasing
until the system break down. The unstable system are
impractical and need be made stable.
• The criterion for stability is used when the system is to be
tested practically. ex: Bode plots.

• Bode plots are compared of magnitude Vs Frequency and

phase angle Vs frequency.
Any system whose stability is to be determined can represented by the
block diagram.

The block between the output and input is referred to as forward block and the block
between the
output signal and f/b signal is referred to as feedback block.
The content of each block is referred is referred as transfer function.
AOL (f) = V0 /Vin if Vf = 0. -----(1)
where A (f) = open loop volt gain. The closed loop gain A is given
OL f

by
A = V /V
F 0 in

A = A / (1+(A ) (B) ----(2)

F OL OL

B = gain of feedback circuit.

B is a constant if the feedback circuit uses only
resistive components. Once the magnitude Vs
frequency and phase angle Vs frequency plots
are drawn, system stability may be determined
as follows
Method:1:

Determine the phase angle when the magnitude of (AOL ) (B) is 0dB (or) 1. If phase angle is > .-180 0 , the system is stable.
However, the some systems the magnitude may never be 0, in that cases method 2, must be used.

2. Method 2:

Determine the phase angle when the magnitude of (AOL ) (B) is 0dB (or) 1. If phase angle is > .-180 0 ,
If the magnitude is –ve decibels then the system is stable. However, the some systems the phase angle of a system may
reach -1800 ,
under such conditions method 1 must be used to determine the system stability.
• Slew rate is also known as output voltage swing as a function
frequency
• Voltage follower large signal pulse response
• Slew rate improves with higher closed loop gain and dc supply
voltages.
• Slew rate is a function of temperature and generally decreases with
an increase in temperature.
• Ideally we want an infinite slew rate so that the op-amps output
voltage would change simultaneously with input. Practical op-amps
are available with slew rates from 0.1V/µs to 1000V/µs.
• The national semiconductor LH0063 has a slew rate of 6000V/µs.
• Causes of slew rate
• UGB is a small signal (of the order of m or micro Volts)high frequency
limitation
• Slew rate is a large signal phenomenon.
• A large signal (of the order of Volts)means its amplitude is
comparable to the supply voltages
•
• The general-purpose op-amp slew rate value is 10 V/μs. When a large step
i/p signal is given to the input, then the device can generate 10 volts an o/
p within 1 microsecond.
• What are the factors which determine slew rate?
• The factors to determine slew rate are: compensation of frequency, high
gain input stages, and output driver limitations.
• What is slew rate distortion?
• If an operational amplifier is operated beyond the limit of its slew rate then
the signals will turn distorted. This is called slew rate-distortion.

•
•
• Effect of slew rate in application
• Slew rate helps us identify the maximum input frequency and amplitude
applicable to the amplifier such that the output is not significantly
distorted. Thus it becomes imperative to check the datasheet for the
device's slew rate before using it for high-frequency applications.
• The applications of slew rate include the following.
following.
• A slew circuit is used in musical instruments to provide a slide from one
letter to another.
• This circuit is used wherever the voltage control is transitioned slowly to
dissimilar values above a certain period.
• It is used in applications where speed is necessary & the output needs to
adjust in a time period.
• It is used to define an op-amp’s highest rate of output swing.
• It also influences achievable performance within filters, D/A output stages,
data acquisition & video amplification.
Comparison on bandwidth, transient response and slew rate
SUMMARY
• [Link]
• [Link]
• [Link]