CHAPTER 4

Op-amp Configuration and Frequency Response

 Inverting Amplifier
• Definition of Inverting Amplifier
• A type of op-amp that is designed to generate a signal at the output which is 180° out of phase with the applied input is
known as an inverting amplifier. This implies that if the phase of the applied input signal is positive then the
amplified signal will be in a negative phase. In a similar way for a signal with a negative phase, the phase of the output
will be positive.
• It is regarded as one of the simplest and widely used configurations of the op-amp. The figure below represents the
circuit of inverting amplifier:

• Here we apply the input signal to the inverting terminal of the op-amp via the resistor Rin. We connect the non-
inverting terminal to ground. Further, we provide the feedback necessary to stabilize the circuit, and hence to control
the output, through a feedback resistor Rf.
• Mathematically the voltage gain offered by the circuit is given as
• A = V0/Vi
• Where, Vi – V2 = Iin Rin
• V2 – V0 = If Rf
• However, we know that an ideal op amp has infinite input impedance due to which the currents flowing into its input
terminals are zero i.e. I1 = I2 = 0. Thus, Ii = If
• Thus by applying kirchoff’s current law, we get,
• I1 = If
• i.e Vin – V2/ Rin = V2 – V0 / Rf
• We also know that in an ideal op amp the voltage at inverting and non-inverting inputs are always equal.
• As we have grounded the non-inverting terminal, zero voltage appears at the non – inverting terminal. That means V1 = 0.
Hence, V2 = 0. So, we can write
• Vin –0/ Rin = 0 – V0 / Rf
• i.e Vin / Rin = – V0 / Rf
• V0 / Vin = – Rf / Rin
• But we know that, A = V0/Vin, so gain of closed loop inverting amplifier depends upon feedback resistance R f and input
resistance Rin. Gain increases if feedback resistance increases and decreases if value of R f decreases .
• Open loop inverting amplifier
• Open loop inverting amplifiers are the amplifiers in which there is no feedback from output back to the input.
• In inverting amplifier, the input is given to inverting terminal and non-inverting terminal is grounded.
• The output of inverting amplifier is 180 degree out of phase with respect to input signal.
• Now if we applied the input signal to the Inverting terminal and the Non-Inverting is grounded then the
output signal will be
Vout = A(V1-V2) = A(-V2) = A*-V2 = -AV2
• From this equation, we can say the amplified output signal having a 180-degree phase with respect to the
input signal.
• As when we applied the input signal to that terminal the output signal is inverted that is why it is called
Inverting terminal.
 Non-Inverting Amplifier
• Definition of Non-Inverting Amplifier
• An amplifier that produces an amplified signal at the output, having a similar phase as that of the applied
input is known as the non-inverting amplifier. This simply means that for an input signal with a positive
phase, the output will also be positive. Also, the same goes for input with the negative phase.
• The figure below represents the circuit of the non-inverting amplifier:

• In this case, to have an output of the same phase as input, the input signal is applied at the non-inverting
terminal of the amplifier. But here also negative feedback is to be provided, thus, the fed-back signal is
provided to the inverting terminal of the op-amp.
• Gain of Non-inverting Amplifier

• Here, in the above circuit, we connect an external resistance R1 and feedback resistance Rf at inverting input. Now,
by applying Kirchhoff Current Law, we get,
• I1 = I f
• V1 / R1 = V0 – V1 / Rf (i)
• Let us assume the input voltage applied to the non-inverting terminal is Vi
• Now, if we assume that the op-amp in the circuit is ideal op-amp, then,
Vi = V1
• Therefore, equation (i) can be rewritten as,
• Vi / R1 = V0 – Vi / Rf
• i.e Vi Rf / R1 = V0 – Vi
• Vi Rf / R1 + Vi = V0 i.e Vi (Rf / R1 + 1) = V0
• Therefore V0 / Vi = 1 + Rf / R1
• The closed-loop gain of the circuit is,
• A = 1 + R f / R1
• This term does not contain any negative parts. Hence, it proves that the input signal to the circuit gets
amplified without changing its polarity at the output.
• From the expression of the voltage gain of a non-inverting op-amp, it is clear that the gain will be unity
when Rf = 0 or R1 → ∝.
• When Rf = 0, A = 1 + Rf / R1
• Therefore A = 1 + 0 / R1 = 1
• Similarly when R1 → ∝ , A = 1 + Rf / ∝ = 1
• So, if we short circuit the feedback path and/or open the external resistance of the inverting pin, the gain of
the circuit becomes 1.
• This circuit is called a voltage follower or unity gain amplifier. This is used to isolate two cascaded circuits,
because of its infinitely large impedance, at op-amp inputs.
• Open–loop Differential Amplifier:
• In this configuration, the inputs are applied to both the inverting and the non-inverting input terminals of the
op-amp and it amplifies the difference between the two input voltages. Figure shows the open-loop
differential amplifier configuration.
• The input voltages are represented by Vi1 and Vi2. The source resistance Ri1 and Ri2 are negligibly small in
comparison with the very high input resistance offered by the op-amp, and thus the voltage drop across these
source resistances is assumed to be zero. The output voltage V 0 is given by
• V0 = A(Vi1 – Vi2 )
• where A is the large signal voltage gain. Thus the output voltage is equal to the voltage gain A times the
difference between the two input voltages. This is the reason why this configuration is called a differential
amplifier.
 Frequency Response of Op-amp
• The frequency response is the plot of gain in dB on Y-axis and frequency on X-axis.
• Open-loop Frequency Response Curve

• From this frequency response curve we can see that the product of the gain against frequency is constant at any
point along the curve. Also that the unity gain (0dB) frequency also determines the gain of the amplifier at any
point along the curve. This constant is generally known as the Gain Bandwidth Product or GBP. Therefore:
• GBP = Gain x Bandwidth = A x BW
• At very low frequencies, the op-amp applies the maximum open-loop gain, As frequency increases, gain
decreases, with the prominent transition from stable gain to decreasing gain occurring at the corner
frequency, which in this case is 10 Hz. Eventually the slope stabilizes, and the gain decreases by 20 dB for
every factor-of-10 increase in input frequency.
• For example, from the graph above the gain of the amplifier at 100kHz is given as 20dB or 10, then the gain
bandwidth product is calculated as:
• GBP = A x BW = 10 x 100,000Hz = 1,000,000.
• Similarly, the operational amplifiers gain at 1kHz = 60dB or 1000, therefore the GBP is given as:
• GBP = A x BW = 1,000 x 1,000Hz = 1,000,000. The same!.
• The Voltage Gain (AV) of the operational amplifier can be found using the following formula:

• and in Decibels or (dB) is given as:

• Calculating Open-Loop Gain
• Because the op-amp’s gain is now a value that varies according to frequency (denoted by f), we can write it
as A(jf) instead of simply A. This indicates that the gain is no longer a constant value, such as 10^6. Instead,
the gain is a function that has different values for different frequencies.
• The frequency at which the op-amp’s gain reaches 0 dB is called the unity-gain frequency (denoted by ft)
• This value tells us the frequency at which the op-amp stops functioning as an amplifier, and it also gives us a
convenient way to calculate the op-amp’s open-loop gain at a given frequency. As shown in the following
equation—which is an approximation that is valid for frequencies significantly higher than the corner
frequency—the gain is equal to the unity-gain frequency divided by the input frequency erest:
A = ft/f
• Op-Amp Closed-Loop Frequency Response
• An op-amp starts to lose gain at a low frequency, but because its initial gain is so high, it can still function as
an effective amplifier at higher frequencies.
• The cut off frequency of the closed-loop gain will be much higher than the cut off frequency of the op-
amp’s open-loop gain. As shown in the plot below, the curve representing closed-loop gain stays
approximately flat until it approaches the curve representing open-loop gain:
• If we design the circuit for higher amplification, the curve representing closed-loop gain will approach the
curve representing open-loop gain at a lower frequency—in other words, the closed-loop bandwidth will be
narrower.