Operational Amplifiers

In Operational Amplifiers, you'll learn ...

• How to look at Voltage and Power gains in both absolute number and in the logarithmic Decibel scale
• From a historical perspective, a look at vacuum tube amplifiers and how they influenced the design of modern Operational Amplifiers
• How a differential amplifier is used as the 2 inputs of an Operational Amplifier
• How the constant source is made to supply the emitter currents to an Operational Amplifier

Overview

Preview a portion of this course before purchasing it.

Credit: 2 CPD

Length: 36 pages

This course was designed and written with the idea of giving all engineers an idea of how Operational Amplifiers are designed, constructed and used. A historical overview is given from the days of vacuum tubes to the present. A short tutorial is given on the relationship of voltage and power gains to Decibels. After the characteristics of Operational Amplifiers are given, several functional circuits using Operational Amplifiers are shown and discussed. An analysis of Resistor Capacitor networks is given to show how a single stabilizing capacitor affects the operation of Operational Amplifier circuits. Specifically, the high frequency cutoff that affects all high gain amplifiers is addressed. Finally, the characteristics of an “Ideal” Operational Amplifier are shown, and the difficulty of obtaining these "Ideal" characteristics is discussed.

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this course, participants will be able to:

• Characterize voltage and power gains in both absolute values and on the logarithmic decibel scale and demonstrate understanding through an assessment question or scenario.
• Solve problems involving the historical development of vacuum tube amplifiers and their influence on the design of modern operational amplifiers using course principles and given data.
• Apply a differential amplifier as the two inputs of an operational amplifier using course principles and given data.
• Estimate how a constant-current source supplies the emitter currents to an operational amplifier using course principles and given data.
• Derive how negative feedback is used to turn a high-gain device, such as an Operational Amplifier, into an amplifier with precisely defined gain characteristics using course principles and given data.
• Quantify how the gain characteristics of Operational Amplifiers with negative feedback are determined using only the passive components (resistors, etc.) of the network using course principles and given data.
• Calculate the frequency response of an Operational Amplifier, and how it changes with negative feedback using course principles and given data.
• Compute what happens when no feedback, or positive feedback, is used in an Operational Amplifier circuit using course principles and given data.

Certificate of Completion

You will be able to immediately print a certificate of completion after passing a multiple-choice quiz consisting of 20 questions. CPD credits are not awarded until the course is completed and quiz is passed.