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4931_Grace College of Engineering, Thoothukudi

DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRONICS AND COMMUNICATION

ENGINEERING

B.E. Electronics and Communication Engineering

Anna University Regulation: 2021

EC3451 – Linear Integrated Circuits

II Year / IV Semester

Question Bank

Unit – I
BASICS OF OPERATIONAL AMPLIFIERS

Prepared by,
Mrs. S. Pricilla Mary, AP/ECE

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 EC3451
4931_Grace LinearofIntegrated
College Circuits
Engineering, Thoothukudi Department of ECE 2022-2023

QUESTION BANK
BATCH: 2021 – 2025
BRANCH: ECE YEAR/SEM: II/IV
SUB CODE/NAME: EC3451 LINEAR INTEGRATED CIRCUITS
UNIT I: BASICS OF OPERATIONAL AMPLIFIERS
PART A
1. What is a Voltage Reference? (D) Nov/Dec 2021
A voltage reference is an electronic component or circuit that produces a constant DC (direct-current) output
voltage regardless of variations in external conditions such as temperature, barometric pressure, humidity,
current demand, or the passage of time.
2. Why is the slew rate infinite an ideal op-amp? (D) Nov/Dec 2021
For an ideal op-amp response time or time delay should be zero that is output voltage should respond
instantaneously to any change in the input.
3. Define slew rate. What causes slew rate? (D) Nov/Dec 2020 & Apr/May 2021 (May2014, 2015)
Slew rate is defined as the maximum rate of change of output voltage caused by a step input voltage
and is usually specified is V/s.
Slew rate = dV0/dt V/s.
Causes:
Normally a capacitor used internally and externally in an op-amp to prevent oscillations. This
Capacitor, Prevents the output voltage from responding immediately to fast changing input.
For 741 op-amp Imax = 15 A and internal compensation capacitor C= 30 pF
S.R = Imax/30pF = 15 A/30pF = 0.5 V/S.
4. What are the assumptions made from ideal Op-amp characteristics? (or) List the ideal characteristics
of an op-amp (or) List the characteristics of ideal Op-amp and draw its equivalent circuits? (D) (Nov
2014, May 2017, Nov 2018, Nov 2019, Nov 2020, May 2021)
The ideal characteristics of an op-amp are as follows:
Open loop voltage gain, AOL =
Infinite Input impedance, Ri = 
Zero Output impedance, RO =0
Infinite Bandwidth, BW =
Zero offset voltage, i.e. VO = 0 when V1 = V2 =0;
5. Why is collector resistance replaced by a constant current source in differential amplifier? (ID)
(Nov/Dec 2019)
Large drop across Rc quiescent to maintain this high voltage need. The best idea to increase the open
circuit voltage to use in differential amplifier.

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6. State the significance of current mirror circuit (D) (May2019)
The advantages of a current mirror are:
1. Low input impedance makes the input current insensitive to the output impedance of the input
source 2.High output impedance makes the output current insensitive to the impedance of the
output load 3.Inversion of sources to sinks or sinks to sources 4.Accurate gain 5.Shifts between
different power rails.
7. Mention the application of LF155. (ID) (May2019)
Precision High Speed Integrators, Fast D/A Converters, High Impedance Buffers Wideband, Low
Noise, Low Drift Amplifiers, Logarithmic Amplifiers, Photocell Amplifiers, Sample And Hold
Circuits.
8. Define Differential Mode gain.(D)(Nov2018)
Differential-Mode voltage gain is the gain given to a voltage that appears between the two input
terminals. It represents two different voltages on the inputs.
9. Enumerate any two blocks associated with Op-Amp block schematic? (D) (May2018)
The blocks of an OP-AMP can be given as the differential amplifier, Voltage amplifier and the Output
Amplifier.
10. What are the two methods can be used to produce voltage sources? (D) (May 2018)
A voltage source is a circuit that produces an output voltage V0, which is independent of the load
driven by the voltage source, or the output current supplied to the load. The two methods that can be
used to produce a voltage source can be given as Voltage circuit using Impedance transformation and
Common Collector type voltage source.
11. Enumerate any four advantages of ICs over discrete component circuits. (D) (Nov2017)
Advantages of ICs over discrete components can be given as
Reduction in Size
Reliability is improved
Reduction of Power Consumption
Reduction of effects due to Noise.
12. Find the maximum frequency for a sine wave output voltage of 12v peak with an OP-AMP
whose slew rate is 0.5V/ µs. (ID) (Nov 2017)
Slew Rate = 2πfV
f = slew rate/(2πV) = 0.5*106/(2π*12) = 6.6KHz
13. Find the maximum frequency for sine wave output voltage 10Vpp with an op-amp whose slew
rate is 1V/µs. (May2016) (ID)
Vpp=10V (given); Slew Rate = 2πfmaxVm = 1V/µs =>fmax = (1 x 106)/ (2π x 5) = 31.83 kHz.
14. Differentiate the Ideal and Practical characteristics of an op-amp. (D) (May2016)
S.No Ideal Characteristics Practical Characteristics
1. Open loop gain = ∞. Open loop voltage gain is several thousands.
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2. Input impedance = ∞. Input impedance is greater than 1MΩ.
3. Output impedance = 0. Output impedance is few hundred ohms.
4. Bandwidth = ∞. Bandwidth is very small.
5. Zero Offset Vo = 0 when V1=V2=0. Offset voltage is some non zero value.
15. A differential amplifier has a differential voltage gain of 2000 and a common mode gain of
0.2. Determine the CMRR in dB. (ID) (May 2015)
CMRR = 20 log |Ad/Ac|
Ad = 2000, Ac=0.2.
(Given) CMRR = 2000 /
0.2 = 10000
CMRR in dB = 20 log |Ad/Ac| = 20 log 10000 = 20* 4 = 80dB.
16. Define input bias current and input offset current of an operational amplifier. (D) (Nov 2015)
Input Bias current: The average of currents entering into the (-) input terminal & (+) input terminal
of an op-amp is called input bias current. Its value is 500nA for741C.
Input Offset Current: The algebraic difference between the currents into the (-) input and (+)input is
referred to as input offset current .It is 200Na maximum for 741C.
17. Mention two advantages of active load over passive load in an operational amplifier. (D)(N‟15)
The difference mode gain and CMRR is directly proportional to the RC in differential amplifier. The
resistance value of RC is need to increase, to achieve high CMRR. But the use of large resistance value
RC occupies large chip area and it needs large power supply. So the passive load RC is replaced by
the current mirror as active load.
18. An operational amplifier has a slew rate of 4V/µs. Determine the maximum frequency of
operation to produce a distortion less output swing of 12V. (ID) (Nov2014)
Slew rate (SR) =2πfVp / 106 V/µs, Vp - Maximum amplitude of the output.
Given: SR = 4 V/µs, Vp= 12V
f = SR×106 / (2π×12) = 53.078kHz
19. List the advantages of IC over discrete component circuit. (D) (Nov 2013)
Low cost, Small size, High reliability, Improved performance.
20. Define input offset current and input offset voltage. (D) (Nov2013)
INPUT OFFSET CURRENT: The algebraic difference between the currents into the (-) input and
(+)input is referred to as input offset current .It is 200Na maximum for 741C.
INPUT OFFSET VOLTAGE: Ideally, for an Op-amp when no input is applied output voltage must
be zero. However, some output voltage is present though input is not applied. Thus, offset voltage is
the voltage that must be applied between the input terminals of an op-amp to nullify the output.
Since this voltage could be positive or negative its absolute value is listed on the data sheet. For 741C,
maximum value is 6mV.
21. Define CMRR AND PSRR. Mention their ideal values. (ID) (May2013)

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PSRR: The change in an op-amp’s input offset voltage due to variations in supply voltage is called
supply voltage rejection ratio. It is also termed as power supply rejection ratio or power supply sensitivity
and gives the figure of merit  for the differential amplifier.
 = |Ad/Ac|
where Ad = Differential mode gain, Ac = common mode gain, CMRR is typically infinite
For 741C, SVRR=150V/V.
For 741C, SVRR=150V/V.
22. What is the maximum undistorted amplitude, that a sine wave input of 10 kHz can produce at
the output of an op-amp whose slew rate is 0.5 V/µs? (ID) (Nov2012)
Slew rate (SR)= 2πfVp / 106 V/µs, Vp- Maximum amplitude of the
output Given: SR= 0.5 V/µs, f= 10kHz
Vp=SR×106 / (2π×10k)=1.99 V
23. State the limitations of discrete circuits. (D) (May2013)
High cost, Large size, Low reliability, Reduced performance.
24. What is the purpose of a current source in integrated circuits? (ID) (Nov2012)
By improving the CMRR of differential amplifier, its performance can be improved. To improve
CMRR, common mode gain Ac must be reduced as much as possible. When this happens RE will be
tending to infinity. But there are practical limitations in selecting the magnitude of an enormousvalue
of resistance. Use of a constant current bias instead of RE is the practical solution for this problem.
Without physically increasing the value of RE, the transistor operated at a constant current gives the
effect of very high value of resistance. This is the importance of a current source in an IC.
25. What is an op-amp? List its functions. (D)
The op-amp is a multi terminal device, which internally is quite complex. It is a direct-coupled high
gain amplifier consisting of one or more differential amplifiers, followed by a level translator and an
output stage. Function: Op-amp amplifies the difference between two input signals.
26. List the essential terminals of an op-amp. (D)
Op-amp has five basic terminals, that is, two input terminals, one output terminal and two power
supply terminals. Inverting input terminal : Pin 2,Non- inverting input terminal : Pin 3,Output terminal
Pin 6 and Power supply terminals : Pin 4& 7
27. Explain the virtual ground concept with a suitable example. (D)
We know that Vd = Va - Vb = 0; Node B is grounded. Therefore Vb = 0; But Vd = 0;Va = Vb;
Node A is at virtual ground. ie since node B is at ground node A is also at ground imaginarily.

28. Design a circuit using op-amp whose gain is–3. (ID)

The op-amp inverting amplifier is shown.

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Gain = Vo/Vi = -Rf/R1 = -3

Let R1 = 1k
Rf=3R1 =3k
29. What are the factors that affect the stability of an op-amp? (D)
The factors that affect the stability of an op-amp are closed loop gain and phase shift.
30. What are the various methods available for frequency compensation? (D)
There are two types of compensating techniques used for frequency compensation. They are namely External
compensation and Internal compensation. External frequency has two methods for compensation namely
Dominant pole compensation and Pole-zero compensation.
31. Mention some applications of op-amp in open loop mode. (D)
Some of the applications of op-amp in open loop mode are as follows: Comparator, Zero crossing detector,
Window detector, Time marker generator, Phase meter
32. Why are FET op-amps better than BJT op-amps? Op-amps using FETs in the input stageoffer
some very significant advantages over bipolar op-amps, especially in areas as input impedance, input
bias and offset currents and slewing rate as shown in table. (ID)
Op-amps using FETs in the input stage offer significant advantages over bipolar op-amps especially in areas
as input impedance, input bias and offset currents and slew rate as shown in table:
Parameter BJT JFET MOSFET
Input resistance K 109 1012
Input gate current A 1 nA 1 pA
Input offset current 20 nA 2 pA 0.5 pA
Slewing rate 1 V/s 3 V/s 10 V/s
33. Explain thermal drift related to an op-amp. (D)
Bias current, offset current and offset voltage change with temperature. A circuit carefully nulled at 250C
may not remain so when the temperature rises to 350C.This is called thermal drift. Often current drift is
expressed in nA/0C and offset voltage drift in mV/0C.
34. Why is current mirror circuit used in differential amplifier circuit? (D)
A constant current source makes use of the fact that for a transistor in the active mode of operation. Thus in
active region the collector current equal to output current which is approximately equal to Iref.

Part B [FIRST HALF]

Current mirror and current sources
1. With neat sketches, explain in detail the working of Widlar and Wilson current sources. (13) (D) (Nov 2020)

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 EC3451
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Engineering, Thoothukudi Department of ECE 2022-2023
2. With a neat circuit diagram and with necessary equations, explain the concept of Widlar current sourceused in
op-amp circuit.(8) (D)
3. Analyze the operations of basic BJT current mirror and thus explain its volt-ampere characteristics. (13)
(D)(Nov 2019)
BJT Differential amplifier with active loads
4. Analyze the small signal model of BJT differential amplifier using h parameter and deduce the expression for
differential and common mode gains for differential output. (13) (D) (Nov 2019)
5. Explain the working of BJT differential amplifier with active load.(12)(D)(Nov 2013)
6. Explain, with a circuit diagram, the working of BJT-emitter coupled differential amplifier. Also explainthe
concept of active load and sketch the relevant circuit diagram.(10)(N/D‟13,N/D‟18) (D)
7. Compare different configurations of differential amplifier.(8) (May2013) (D)
8. With the schematic diagram explain the effect of Re on CMRR in differential amplifier.(4)(May 2016) (D)
9. Discuss about the methods to improve CMRR. (12) (May 2016) (D)
10. For a dual input, balanced output differential amplifier, Rc=2.2kΩ, RE=4.7 kΩ, Rs1=Rs2=50Ω. The supply
voltages are ± 10V. The hfe for the transistor is 50. Assume silicon transistors and hie= 1.4kΩ. Determine the
operating point values, differential gain, common mode gain and CMRR. (8) (ID)
11. With simple schematic of differential amplifier, explain the function of operational amplifier. (7) (D)
12. Discuss about the principle of operation differential amplifier using BJT.(May 2018) (D)
Basic information about op-amps – Ideal Operational Amplifier
13. Write down the characteristics and their respective values of an ideal operational amplifier.(4)(D)(Nov 2013)
14. Explain about Ideal Op-Amp in detail with suitable diagrams.(8) (May2018) (D)
15. For the non-inverting op-amp shown in the figure below, find the output voltage Vo. (8) (ID)

16. A non-inverting amplifier with the gain of 300 having an input offset voltage of ±3mV. Find the outputvoltage
when the input is 0.01 sin t Volt. (4) (May 2016) (ID)
[SECOND HALF]
General operational amplifier stages
17. Draw and explain the block diagram of an Op-amp. Discuss the functions of each stage in detail. (13) (N/D 2021)
18. With a neat block diagram, explain the general stages of an OP-AMP IC.(6) (N/D 17) (or) List andexplain the
all basic building blocks of op-amp(D)(13) (A/M 2019)
Internal circuit diagrams of IC 741
19. With a neat diagram, explain the input side of the internal circuit diagram of IC 741. (D)(7) (Nov2015)

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DC and AC performance characteristics,

20. List and explain the non-ideal DC characteristics of op-amp.(8)(D)
21. Explain AC characteristics of op-amp. (D) (13) (Nov 2013, Nov 2014,Nov 2017,May
2019,Nov/Dec 2021)
22. Draw the transfer characteristics of an operational amplifier and explain the linear and
non-linearoperation. (D)(8) (Nov 2017, Nov2018)
23. What is input and output voltage and current offset? How are they compensated? (D)(7)
(May„17)
24. Briefly explain the techniques used for frequency compensation. (D) (7)
25. Write a note on stability criteria and frequency compensation techniques applied in op-
amp. (D)(12)
26. What is a need for frequency compensation in an op-amp? With the suitable
illustration, explain the pole-zerofrequency compensation technique.(D)(8)(Nov2015)
Slew Rate
27. Define Slew rate. In What way does it possess impact on performance of an op-amp
circuit.(D)(4)(Nov2018)
Open and closed loop configurations
28. For the circuit shown in figure find out v0 as function of v1 and v2. (13) ID (Nov 2020,
April/May 2021)

29. Draw the inverting and non-inverting amplifier circuits of an op-amp in closed-
loop configuration.Obtain the expressions for the closed-loop gain in these
circuits(D)(13)(Nov 2017, Nov2018)

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Anna University ECE - Reg 2021

1st Semester 2nd Semester 3rd Semester
Random Process & Linear
Professionsal English I Professional English II
Algebra
Statistics and Numerical C Programming & Data
Matrices and Calculas Methods Structures
Engineering Graphics Signals and Systems
Engineering Physics
Physics for Electronics
Electronic Devices and Circuits
Engineering
Engineering Chemistry
Electrical and Instrumentation Control Systems
Engineering
Problem Solving & Python
Programming Circuit Analysis Digital Systems Designs

4th Semester 5th Semester 6th Semester

Electromagnetic Fields Embedded System & IOT

Wireless Communication Design

Networks & Security Artificial Intelligence &

VLSI and Chip Design
Machine Learning
Linear Integrated Circuits Transmission Lines & RF Open Elective I
Systems
Digital Signal Processing Professional Elective I Professional Course III

Communication Systems Professional Elective II Professional Course IV

Environmental Sciences &

Sustainability Mandatory Course I Mandatory Course II

7th Semester 8th Semester

Human Values & Ethics Project Work

Elective Management

EEE ECE
Open Elective II CSE
Open Elective III Click on clouds to navigate
other departments
Open Elective IV

MECH CIVIL
http://www.poriyaan.in