Why Do You Need To Know About Inverting Amplifiers?

Analysis Of The Inverting Amplifier

Connecting The Inverting Amplifier

Testing The Circuit

What If Questions

Other Possibilities

Problems

Labs

        Operational amplifiers can be used to perform mathematical operations on voltage signals such as inversion, addition, subtraction, integration, differentiation, and multiplication by a constant.  You need to understand how to figure out what an operational amplifier circuit does.  We will start with a simple circuit so that we can examine a method that will permit you to figure out how these circuits work and then you will have a more general method you can use for more complex circuits.  So, you have two goals in this section.

   Given an inverting amplifier op-amp circuit with resistor values,

    Be able to compute the gain of the circuit.

   Given an operational amplifier op-amp circuit similar to the inverting amplifier,

Be able to compute the output voltage of the circuit in terms of the signals and electrical elements in the circuit.

        The circuit we will examine is shown below.  This circuit amplifies a voltage by a factor (- R_o / R₁).  What is important in this circuit is that it amplifies by almost  exactly (-R_o /R₁) so that the gain of the circuit can be controlled precisely by controlling the resistor values precisely.  The gain of the circuit will not depend upon paramters of the "Op-Amp".  We'll analyze this circuit to get a mathematical prediction of how it works.

Note:  The power supply connections are not shown.  For the operational amplifier to function properly you will need to supply power to it.  Click here for some more information on power supplies for operational amplifiers.

        Also, note that the input labelled "+" is referred to as the non-inverting input, and the input labelled "-" is referred to as the inverting input.  The operational amplifier amplifies the difference between the non-inverting input and the inverting input.  In other words, the output of the operational amplifier is:

• Op-amp output voltage = A (V₊ - V_-) where
• A is the gain - usually a pretty large number, often greater than 100,000 or 200,000.
• V₊  is the voltage at the non-inverting input (measured to ground).
• V_- is the voltage at the inverting input (measured to ground).

        The operational amplifier has a long history.  It first appeared in vacuum tube manifestations in the 1950s.  These amplifiers were heavy, expensive and prone to failure.  They usually required a power supply that most normal people could not lift.  The amplifiers cost about a hundred dollars, and the supplies several hundred in an era when a hundred dollars was worth much more than today's value.  In the 1960s transistorized versions of operational amplifiers came on the market, and in the middle to late 1960s the first integrated circuit operational amplifiers came on the market.  (Although different technologies were used at different times, the amplifiers had characteristics in common that marked them as operational amplifiers even though built in widely different forms!)

        In this era of team engineering it is interesting to note that one individual, Robert Widlar, was responsible for the development of the integrated circuit operational amplifier in a form that led to wide acceptance.  Today, thanks to Widlar and many others operational amplifiers are available for less than 25 cents and the operational amplifier is probably the most widely used analog integrated circuit.

        Widlar is known not just for his creativity, but also for his zany antics.  Of course, those two characteristics might just go together.  When National Semiconductor went into a period of austerity, and stopped mowing the grass, Bob Widlar brought a sheep and turned it loose to graze.

        To analyze the inverting amplifier, we start by making an assumption that the output voltage, V_out, is some "reasonable" value - a value somewhere between the values of the positive and negative power supply voltages.  (Click here for more information on output voltage limits.)  That may well seem like an odd place to start, but we can begin to look at the consequences of making that assumption.

        For example, we might have an output voltage of ten (10) volts. We can figure out what input voltage caused that output voltage of ten volts.  If the gain of the operational amplifier is 100,000, then the input difference, (V+ - V-), must be 10/100,000 or .00001 volts.  That's 100 microvolts, and it's pretty darn small.

        Notice what happens here.  This assumption that the difference between the inverting and noninverting input voltages is just a consequence of the very high gain of the operational amplifier.  It's not special to this circuit.  It's a general idea that we can make use of in other amplifier circuits.

        For all practical purposes that voltage is close enough to zero that we will call it zero when we calculate how the circuit behaves.  We know it isn't zero, but it has such a small value that it will not affect any of our calculations.  You'll need to remember the logic here.

• If the output of the operational amplifier is some reasonable value (usually ten volts or less, either positive or negative, as long as the amplifier isn't saturated.  Then all bets are off.),
• And, if the operational amplifier has a really high gain (and remember 100,000 is probably a low value of the gain for typical amplifiers),
• Then, the voltage at the input of the amplifier is zero for all practical purposes.

• For the voltage to be zero the gain of the amplifier would have to be infinite.  When people discuss this assumption, they often refer to it as the infinite gain assumption.
• What the infinite gain assumption reduces to is that we can consider the voltage difference between the two inputs to be zero.

        Since the difference between the operational amplifier input voltages are practially zero and the internal input resistance is very large, we can  make the assumption that the current flowing into the amplifier through either of the input terminals is so small as to be negligible.  Most of the time that's a good assumption because:

• The input voltage is small (See above.).
• The input resistance of the op-amp is large.

        Let's take a minute to summarize the few assumptions we have made so far.

• The output voltage, V_out, is within the value between the positive and negative voltage supply.  It's a "reasonable" value.
• The input difference, (V₊ - V_- ) is small enough that we can consider the value to be approximately zero.  This is due to large gain of the amplifier - the infinite gain assumption.  We will assume that the input voltage difference is zero.
• Since we will treat the input difference as zero, and assume input resistance (the resistance between the non-inverting and inverting inputs) is infinte, then the current flowing through both of the inputs of the amplifier will also be so small that it is negligible.  We will assume that no current enters the input terminals of the op-amp.

        Here's the KCL equation using the assumption that the voltage at the amplifier input - at the input node - is zero.

Technically, we can write KCL in terms of all the voltages involved (taking V₊ and V_- as the voltages - with respect to ground - at the "+" and "-" terminals respectively).  Doing that we obtain:

        However, since we assume that there is no voltage difference between V₊ and V_- , we can replace V_- with V₊ and we have the inverting input terminal connected to ground, so V_- = 0.  That means we get:

• Note that the situation where V₊ ~= 0 happens so often that it has a common name.  The non-inverting terminal in a connection like this - where the inverting input terminal is connected to ground - is called a virtual ground.

There are two things to note about this expression for the output voltage.

• The input voltage is multiplied by a constant that depends only upon the two resistors, R₀ and R₁.
• No property of the amplifier shows up in the final expression.
• Properties of the amplifier that are used in the argument for this expression are:
• Very large gain (approaching infinity)
• Very large input resistance between the two input terminals.
• Finally, note that pesky minus sign.

• The Input Voltage Difference, (V₊ - V_-), is very small because the gain is large and the output is not overly large.
• The current flowing into the input terminals is negligible because the input resistance is small.

Q1.   In this circuit, what is the expression for the ratio of output voltage to input voltage (V_out/V₁)?

P1.   In this circuit, you want a gain of ten.  Actually, you are going to have to settle for a gain of -10 because you can't get rid of the minus sign.  Still, if R₁ is 5 kW, what is the value you need to use for R₀?  Give your answer in ohms.

P2.   In this circuit, you have it set up for a gain of -10.  The input voltage is .24v.  What is the output voltage?

P3.   For the same conditions as in Problem 2, the input is changed to -.35 volts.  What is the output voltage now?

P4.   Assuming that you have an inverting amplifier with  R₁ = 10,000W, determine a value for R_o that will produce an amplifier with a gain of 3.3.

P5.   Assuming that you have an inverting amplifier with R_o = 4,700W, determine a value for R₁ that will produce an amplifer with a gain of -5.

• We assumed that the circuit operated in such a way that the output was not at the exact limits set by the power supply.  If we have a +12 and -12 volt set of supplies, this would probably mean that the output was llimited to somewhere betwwen -10 or -11 volts and +10 or +11 volts.  In other words, we assumed that the amplifier was operating somewhere within its linear range and was not saturated.  That's what we really mean when we say that the output is some reasonable voltage.  If you try to push the output voltage too high or too low, it may be possible to do that, and what is possible is set by the power supply you use.
• You can't make the output be bigger than around 11 volts if you use a power supply voltage of +12 and -12 volts.  Larger power supply voltages allow larger output ranges up to the point where the chip gets fried.  (Fried is a technical description of what happens when an electrical element is operated at voltages and/or currents above rated limits.)

        When the op-amp is operating in the linear range, then there is an expression for the output voltage in terms of the gain.

• V₊ = voltage at the non-inverting input,
• V_- is the voltage at the inverting input,
• Gain = gain of the operational amplifier.

P6.   An operational amplifier has a gain of 250,000.  The output voltage is 3.75 v.  Calculate the difference between the input voltages and the inverting and non-inverting pins on the op-amp.

• Assuming:
• Infinite gain
• No current into the input terminals (infinite input resistance)
• Then,
• The inverting input is a virtual ground, and the voltage there is assumed to be zero when the non-inverting input is connected to ground.
• Write KCL at the inverting input.
• Solve for the output voltage.

       Next, we are going to show you how an inverter circuit is connected.  Please read through the steps carefully and we will show you how the components look as you insert them into a circuit board.  Before we do that, you need to understand how the chip is wired internally.  Here is the pin-out for a typical 741 op-amp in a DIP (Dual In-line Package).

• Insert the op-amp into the circuit board.  Put the chip on a circuit board.  Insert the chip so that it "straddles" the groove down the middle between two sets of pin connector holes.  It should look like the picture below.  Note that if you didn't straddle the groove, you'd connect two pins together.  Here's the amplifier in the circuit board.  Notice that the notch is toward the "top".

• Connect the feedback resistor, R₀.  Connect R₀ between pin 2, the inverting input, and pin 6, the output pin.  Often, you can "bridge" the operational amplifier, that is you can just place the resistor above the operational amplifier between pins 2 and 6 as shown on the right below.
• 
• Connect the output signal lead.  Connect a lead to the output of the operational amplifier.  This lead is where you can see the output of the circuit, with an oscilloscope, for example.
• 
• Connect the input resistor, R₁.
• 
• Connect power supply and ground leads.
• 
• Remember that you have to ground the non-inverting input.  That's the next connection.
• 
• Connect the input signal lead.
• 

        Here's the circuit again.  We'll step through what you need to do to check that you have the circuit wired correctly.

• Step 1:  At this point you have your circuit connected and you believe that it is ready to be used.  You need to test your circuit to be sure that it is working.  Let's look at some things you can do.
• Check the wiring!  Draw the circuit, and line out each component as you check it, and make sure each component is connected to the correct terminal on the OpAmp.
• Step 2:
• Apply the power and see if it smokes!  Actually, you should apply the power and make sure that the voltages at the pins are correct.  Pin 7 should be +V_c, Pin 4 should be -V_c, and Pin 3 should be zero, all when measured with respect to ground.  (V_c is the power supply voltage!)
• Step 3:
• After you're sure that the connections are correct and that the voltages are power supply pins are OK, then you can check how the circuit behaves by using a test signal input.  You'll need a signal generator/function generator to generate a test signal, and an oscilloscope or a voltmeter to measure the input and output signals.  It's better if you have an oscilloscope so that you can see the input and output signal waveforms.  Connect them as shown below.
• Step 4
• Set the function generator so that the input has a magnitude that will produce an output less than 10 volts.  In the circuit below, R₁ = R_f = 2700W, so the gain is -1.  Consequently, an input sine wave with an amplitude of five (5) volts should produce an output of five (5) volts with a 180^o phase shift.  Measure input and output to be sure that your circuit has the right gain.  If you have different resistor values, compute the gain and check that your gain is right.
• Step 5
• You need to measure both the input and the output.  The connection to the oscilloscope below shows it connected to the output.  The dotted connection shows where you would need to shift the oscilloscope lead to measure the input.

        Whenever you use an operational amplifier, the power supply voltages limit the output voltage.  Let's go back to the inverter circuit we considered in this section.  Let's assume that we have an inverter with a gain of -2.  (That is, R_o/R₁ = 2.)  If V₁ = 5.0 volts, we would expect the output voltage to be -10. volts.  That's probably OK.  However. if V₁ = 10.0 volts, then we might expect the output voltage to be -20. volts.  But, the output voltage can't be -20 volts.  If you have power supply voltages of  +/-12, it can only go as low as -10.5 or so, so that's what the output will be, -10.5 volts.

        We have to conclude that the output voltage is always limited by the supply voltages, and try as we might, we can't make the output voltage go outside the limits set by the supply voltages.  If we were to build an inverter circuit, with a gain of -1, then a plot of output versus input has to look like the one below.  Without power supply limitations we would expect a straight line with a slope of -1, and we would not expect the saturation characteristic found below for the plot of output against input.

        The net result is that whenever the input voltage is such that it would drive the output voltage beyond the rails, the output voltage gets clipped (does not reach a value higher than the saturation value!), and never reaches the desired value.  This produces distortion in the output voltage when you try to amplify voice or music signals, for example distortion that can be heard.  You'll have to have earphones or speakers connected to your sound card to hear this.

        The operational amplifier is a versatile circuit element, and is used in many different ways.  There are many ways that the op-amp is used, and many of them involve variations on the basic inverter circuit.  Now that you've examined the inverter circuit pretty exhaustively, we can start to look at other possibilities.  First, let's consider what some of those possibilities might be.  Here's the circuit again.  Think about what could be changed.

• You can change either of the resistors - the input resistor and/or the feedback resistor.  See below.  You could - for example - substitute other electrical elements where the two resistors appear in the basic inverter circuit.

Q2.   Which devices can be used in place of the input and feedback resistors?

        This is actually a version of a widely used circuit, and it's important enought that you should understand how it works.  This circuit is interesting because it has two (!) inputs and the output is going to depend upon both of those inputs now.  We're going to ask you to try to analyze this circuit and determine exactly how the output depends upon those two inputs.

        You will need to plan how you will analyze this circuit.  How can you analyze the circuit?  Where do you start?  It will be helpful to check what you did when you analyzed the inverter circuit.  There were some important assumptions you made.  They're shown again below.  Will they help you this time?  Are they true in this circuit?

The output voltage, V_out, is within the value between the positive and negative voltage supply.  It's a "reasonable" value.

The input difference, (V₊ - V_- ) is small enough that we can consider the value to be approximately zero.  This is due to large gain of the amplifier - the infinite gain assumption.  We will assume that the input voltage difference is zero.

Since we will treat the input difference as zero, and assume input resistance (the resistance between the non-inverting and inverting inputs) is infinte, then the current flowing through both of the inputs of the amplifier will also be so small that it is negligible.  We will assume that no current enters the input terminals of the op-amp.

        At this point it is up to you to finish the analysis of this circuit.  You should plan what you're going to do.  Here's an approach we recommend.

• Write KCL at the non-inverting input node to the OpAmp (the red dot in the figure).
• Solve for the output voltage in terms of the two input voltages and the various resistors.

        Finally, there is one other "What if?" question that many people raise.  Here's the question:

• What if you reversed the two inputs?  Does that matter, and will if affect how the circuit works.  Doing that for an inverter, you would have the situation shown below.

        If you examine this circuit carefully, it is still possible to miss the fact that the two inputs have been reversed.  The inverting input is grounded, and the feedback, through R_o, is to the non-inverting input.  That's a change from what we have been doing.

        Does this make a difference?  Yes, it makes a major difference.  This circuit has positive feedback, and that may mean the circuit is unstable.  It could oscillate or it could hang up at a saturation limit.  There's even an outside chance that it will work, but it probably won't.  That's a much more advanced topic, and you can click here if you want to examine why the circuit is unstable, but you may need to work through material on circuits, Laplace transforms, linear systems, and more, to understand the argument.

        One last point is that even our original circuit - with the input polarities correct - might not work.  It all depends on the frequency response of the operational amplifier, and there are some special-purpose operational amplifiers that don't work in some simple circuits.  The author has had that experience, and it's tough to figure out what is going wrong.  So, if you connect an op-amp circuit and it doesn't work as you predicted, you probably didn't connect it correctly, but there's a small, non-zero, chance that you did everything right and it's just not going to work.  However, for the circuits we discuss, using a 741 style op-amp will almost always result in a circuit that works - if you connect it correctly.

        At this point you've looked at one operational amplifier circuit and done a little thinking about how you could make it into something else.  That's a good start on operational amplifiers.  You've learned a little about how to analyze operational amplifier circuits and the kinds of assumptions you often, but not always, make when you work with those circuits.  You have the basic knowledge you need to go on.  Here's hoping that you continue to have fun in this area.  Build the circuits.  If you overheat a 741 or two it's no big deal.  Learn and have fun.

Q3.   What kind of an amplifier is an operational amplifier?

Q5.   Who was the individual most responsible for the development of the integrated circuit operational amplifier?

Q6.   What are typical power supply voltages for a 741?

Q7.   What are typical limits for the output voltage of a 741 when operated with +12 and -12 volt supplies?

P7.   You have an inverting amplifer with R₁ =   R_o = 2,700W, determine the output voltage when the input voltage is +5 volts.

P8.   You have an inverting amplifer with R₁ =   R_o = 2,700W, determine the output voltage when the input voltage is -5 volts. 

Here are some links to lab problems on Operational Amplifiers.
• The Op-Amp Inverter
• The Op-Amp Isolation Amplifier
• The Non-Inverting Amplifier
• The Summing Amplifier
• The Op-Amp Integrator