UNIT 2 A: The Operational Amplifier One problem with electronic devices corresponding to the generalized amplifiers is that the gains, Au or A~, depend upon internal properties of the two-port system (p, fl, R~, Ro, etc.)?~ This makes design difficult since these parameters usually vary from device to device, as well as with temperature. The operational amplifier, or Op-Amp, is designed to minimize this dependence and to maximize the ease of design. An Op-Amp is an integrated circuit that has many component part such as resistors and transistors built into the device. At this point we will make no attempt to describe these inner workings. A totally general analysis of the Op-Amp is beyond the scope of some texts. We will instead study one example in detail, then present the two Op-Amp laws and show how they can be used for analysis in many practical circuit applications. These two principles allow one to design many circuits without a detailed understanding of the device physics. Hence, Op-Amps are quite useful for researchers in a variety of technical fields who need to build simple amplifiers but do not want to design at the transistor level. In the texts of electrical circuits and electronics they will also show how to build simple filter circuits using Op-Amps. The transistor amplifiers, which are the building blocks from which Op-Amp integrated circuits are constructed, will be discussed. The symbol used for an ideal Op-Amp is shown in Fig. 1-2A-1. Only three connections are shown: the positive and negative inputs, and the output. Not shown are other connections necessary to run the Op-Amp such as its attachments to power supplies and to ground potential. The latter connections are ...
