E0007E Electronics Lab 1

The non-ideal operational amplifier and a

differential amplifier
Jonny Johansson, Joakim Nilsson, Jaime Garcia
Institutionen for system- och rymdteknik
Luleå Tekniska Universitet

January 31, 2023

1 Purpose
• To get practice in electronic design.
• To get practice in electronic measurements.
• To get practical experience of Bode plots.

• To learn to perform plots in time and frequency domain.

• To see limitations of operational amplifiers.
• To learn the differential amplifier and its properties
• To get practice reading data sheets.

2 About the preparation

Draw and simulate all the circuits before the lab session. Bring the printed
simulation results to the lab, and draw your measured curves in the same graphs.
Please see the lab tutor before the lab. Your simulation results will be checked
before you are allowed to start. Besides the specially mentioned components
and instruments you may assume that standard components are available. Use
+10 V and -10 V supply voltages in this lab. When choosing resistances use
the E6 series (https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-serie_(elektronik)), as
those are the ones available in the lab. Before you show your simulation and/or
measurement results, please verify that you have completed all parts of this lab,
as summarized at the end of this document.

3 Required components
• µa741: C:\Cadence\SPB_17.2\tools\capture\library\pspice\eval.
olb

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4 Task 1. Non-inverting amplifier in the time
and frequency domains
For this task you shall design a non-inverting amplifier with a low-frequency
closed loop gain G equal to approximately 50 (G0 = 50). You shall use the
operational amplifier µA741. To keep the effects of op amp non-idealities such
as input bias current, input offset current and finite input impedance to a mini-
mum, the largest resistor may be no larger than 50 kΩ. Please refer to Canvas or
the Internet for data sheets. Use ±10 V supply voltage. You shall perform sim-
ulations both in time and frequency domain, and plot your measurements
in the graphs with your simulation results, as further discussed below.
Note that the measurements required for tasks 1a and 1b are to some extent
the same. Task 1a does however require measurements at more frequencies than
task 1b.

4.1 Task 1a. Frequency domain

Before the lab First, find the unity gain frequency (ft or GBW ) from the
datasheet, and note in the table below. From this, calculate and note the
expected bandwidth (f3dB ) of your non-inverting amplifier. Also note the cal-
culated G0 .
Use an AC sweep to simulate the amplitude and phase of G in the frequency
domain. The AC sweep should cover a frequency span from 1 Hz up to a bit
more than ft for the µA741. The result from the simulation should be a Bode
plot with both amplitude and phase. Note simulated values for ft , f3dB , and
G0 in the table below.
Remember to make the frequency axis logarithmic. Use the DB() function
for the y-axis for the amplitude plot. To plot the phase use the P() function
(the P() and DB() functions can only be used for simulations in the frequency
domain).
In the PSpice plot window, export your measurement data by pressing File
–> Export –> Comma Seperated File (.csv). Choose the traces you wish
to export (amplitude and phase). Remember to have the file accessible during
the lab session.

In the lab Measure and plot the amplitude and phase for the G of the µA741
by using MATLAB. You can use the MATLAB script ’lab1_bode.m’ found on
Canvas for the plotting. Use an input signal amplitude of 50 mV. The oscil-
loscope’s signal generator only lets you configure the peak-to-peak amplitude,
thus you need to set it to 100 mV to achieve a 50 mV zero-to-peak amplitude.
Make sure that you take enough measurements to produce a rea-
sonable plot, especially around f3dB . Note measured values for ft , f3dB ,
and G0 in the table below. Make sure to include your simulation data in the
MATLAB plot.

Note: The signal can be very noisy, and hard to take measurements on. This
can be solved by using the Acquire function on the oscilloscope.
Press Acquire –> Acq mode –> Averaging.

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Averaging mode takes multiple waveform captures and averages them together.
The main benefit of this is that it averages out the random noise and allows
you to see the underlying signal. For the averaging to work, it is important to
properly set the trigger level. It will be easier to trigger on the output than the
input because the signal appears less noisy there. It may be easier to first set
the trigger level and then turn on averaging. If the signal suddenly disappears,
it may be because the oscilloscope fails to trigger properly.

To ponder In this exercise, note that calculated and measured values for G0
match very well; why? Is this true for the cutoff-frequencies?

Parameter Simulated Measured Datasheet / Comments

Calculated
ft
f3dB
G0

4.2 Task 1b. Time domain

Before the lab Perform time domain simulations of the non-inverting am-
plifier with the µA741 at three frequencies: 0.1f3dB , f3dB , and 10 f3dB . Use
an input signal amplitude of 50 mV. See to that you have about 3-4 periods in
each plot, and plot both the input signal and the output. Add an extra plot
to the plot window so that all signals are clearly distinguishable in your plots.
Note the absolute value and phase of G at the different frequencies in the table
below.
Calculate expected values for the absolute value and phase of G at the dif-
ferent frequencies. Note the values in the table below.

In the lab Perform measurements at the same operating conditions as used

above. Again, please observe that the amplitude for the signal generator in the
oscilloscope is adjusted by peak-to-peak. Thus, this needs to be set as the double
intended amplitude. Note the values for simulated and measured amplitude and
phase shift for G at each frequency in the table below.

Parameter Simulated Measured Calculated

abs(G) phase abs(G) phase abs(G) phase
0.1f3dB
f3dB
10f3dB

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5 Task 2. Large signal limitations
5.1 Task 2a. Clipping
Before the lab Keep the non-inverting amplifier circuit from task 1 for this
part. Apply an input signal with a frequency of 1 kHz and an amplitude of
300 mV. Simulate the circuit in the time domain. Note that the signal is now
clipped. Note in the table below the maximum and minimum simulated output
voltage. Note also the expected values based on the data sheet of the device.
Observe that the values given in the data sheet are for a certain supply voltage.
You need to take into account the supply that you are actually using, to get a
correct estimate from the data sheet.

In the lab Perform measurements at the same operating conditions as pre-

sented above for the simulations. Note in the table below the measured maxi-
mum and minimum output voltage.

Op-amp Simulated Measured Datasheet Comments

Max Min Max Min Max Min
µA741

5.2 Task 2b. Slew rate

Note that for this task you need to rebuild your circuit to be a voltage follower
circuit.

Before the lab Perform a time-domain simulation of slew rate for the op-
amp µA741 using a voltage follower circuit, i.e. a circuit where the voltage gain
is equal to one. Use a sinusoidal input signal with the frequency 500 kHz and
an amplitude of 0.1, 1.0 and 2.5 V. Suitable simulation time is 5 µs. Plot both
the input and the output signals in the same diagram. You will get in total 3
diagrams. For the simulations, you can use the D() (derivative) function to find
the slew rate of the output signal. Fill out the table below, also with data sheet
values.

In the lab Perform measurements at the same operating conditions as given

above. Fill out appropriate values in the table below. The slew rate limitation
is the lowest derivative (up or down).

To ponder You will note that the measured graph is shifted in DC level. Why
is this happening?

Op-amp Parameter Simulated Measured Datasheet Comments

µA741 SR

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6 Task 3. Pressure measurement with a differ-
ential amplifier
In this task you will use an NXP MPX2010 pressure sensor (datasheet in Canvas)
together with a differential amplifier to measure the depth of water in a glass
of water. You will also make measurements of differential gain, common mode
gain, and CMRR on the differential amplifier.
You shall use three µA741 opamps to build an instrumentation amplifier
as shown below, and also in figures 2.20 b and c in the textbook. Note that
the resistance 2R1 is achieved by using a single resistor. Use 2R1=2.2 kΩ (i.e.
R1=1.1 kΩ), R2=R4=15 kΩ, and R3=1 kΩ.

Figure 1: An instrumentation amplifier with improved performance. From Se-

dra/Smith ”Microelectronic Circuits”, 7th ed.

Before the lab Look through the datasheet of the MPX2010. Pay special
attention to the sensor output. What output would you expect from the sensor
if you immerse a pressure sensor into 1 dm depth of water? Note this value
in the table below. What differential gain Ad do you expect from your circuit.
Write the calculated value in the table below. What is the expected output after
amplification for a depth of 1 dm? Note this in the table below. Also estimate
an expected offset for your circuit based on the datasheet for the µA741; note
also this in the table.
Now, perform the following time domain simulations and calculations for
your circuit:

• Connect one of the inputs to ground. Place a sinusoidal source with an

amplitude of 10 mV, frequency 1 kHz, between the inputs. Simulate a few
periods and measure the differential gain Ad for the circuit. We do add
a slight common mode signal also by this setup, but as the differential
mode gain is substantially higher than the common mode gain, this can
be ignored.

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 • Connect both inputs together, and move the source so that it is connected
from the common inputs to ground. Use an input signal amplitude of
2.5 V at 1 kHz and measure the common mode gain Acm for the circuit.
Again, note the value in the table.
• Calculate the simulated CMRR (dB), and note in the table.
• Finally, connect both inputs to ground, and note the DC level offset
Vo,of f set output amplitude in the table below.

In the lab Perform the same measurements as done with simulations in the
preceding paragraph. Note all measured values in the table.
Thereafter, connect the pressure sensor to 10 V supply and Gnd, and connect
the differential output from the sensor to the inputs of your amplifier. Use the
cursors on the oscilloscope to mark your DC output level when no pressure is
applied to the sensor. Connect the tube to the pressure amplifier. Try to blow
gently in the tube, and make sure that your output reacts. Thereafter, submerge
the end of the tube to the bottom of a glass of water. Note the difference between
the output at this time, and the output recorded for no differential pressure.
Calculate the corresponding sensor output and which depth that this would
correspond to. Note the depth value in the table.

To ponder You will note that the offsets and CMRR have very large differ-
ences between simulations and measurements. Why? Also note that we do not
try to calculate a CMRR. Why so, and what would we need to try to do a
calculation of the CMRR?

Parameter Simulated Measured Datasheet / Comments

Calculated
1
VSensor@1dm n/a n/a
2
Vod@1dm n/a n/a
Ad
Acm n/a
CMRR (dB) n/a
Vo,offset
Water depth n/a n/a

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7 Summary of plots required
To pass the lab you shall show the lab tutor the following plots, in addition to
values filled out in tables:
• Task 1a:

– Saved image of the Bode plot (simulated), with both amplitude (in
dB) and phase. The axes for amplitude plots shall be logarithmic,
but the vertical axis of the phase plots shall be linear. Also present
the results from the MATLAB-generated Bode plot.
• Task 1b:

– Saved images of the simulation results for each frequency for the
µA741 (3 plots). Plot both the input and the output signal.
• Task 2b:
– Saved images of the simulation results for the µA741 at three ampli-
tudes each. In total 3 diagrams.

1 The
expected output voltage from the sensor when immersed in a water depth of 1 dm.
2 The
expected output voltage from the differential amplifier when the sensor is immersed
in a water depth of 1 dm.