Operational Amplifier is one of the active electronic component commonly used in analog circuits. At first, operational amplifiers were mainly used to perform mathematical calculations such as addition, subtraction, multiplication and division of signals, and calculus. Nowadays, it is mainly used in automatic control systems and various measuring devices.
Amplifiers are essentially integrated circuits consisting of many transistors, commonly packaged as DIP and SOP.
How Operational Amplifier Work?
An operational amplifier can basically be thought of as a voltage amplifier. Generally, its function is to amplify the input voltage by a certain multiple and then send it out. The ratio of Vout to Vin is called the voltage amplification factor, or voltage gain. A most basic op amp basically has five pins, a positive supply, a negative supply, two inputs and one output.
When the input signal is input to the amplifier from the "-" port, the output signal at the output end is inverse to the input signal; on the contrary, when the input signal is input to the amplifier from the "+" port, the output signal at the output end is in phase with the input signal. When the two input ports input signals at the same time, the operational amplifier performs calculations, and the output signal is in phase with the larger input voltage.
Operational Amplifiers
A typical circuit application of an operational amplifier is a sensor + operational amplifier + ADC + processor. An op amp is a DC differential amplifier with very high gain. Because its voltage gain is very large, when using an operational amplifier, in order to ensure the stable operation of the circuit, its output terminal is usually connected to its inverting input terminal to form a negative feedback state. However, in some systems that need to generate an oscillating signal, it is usually connected to a positive feedback state.
Operational amplifiers can be divided into general-purpose and special-purpose. The general-purpose operational amplifier has good DC characteristics, and its performance can meet the needs of applications in many fields. Dedicated op amps include low power consumption and high input impedance, high speed, high precision and high voltage. Although there are many types of integrated operational amplifiers and different internal circuits, they are actually directly coupled multi-stage amplifiers with extremely high voltage amplification.
Operational Amplifiers Applications
Op amps are used in a wide variety of applications and, when connected to the appropriate feedback network, can be used as precision AC and DC amplifiers, active filters, oscillators, and voltage comparators.
In daily life, such as the sound transmission of smartphones. The weak signal is processed by an operational amplifier to amplify the sound to the range of human hearing.
With the development of industrial automation and semiconductor technology, high-performance operational amplifiers are increasingly required for signal conditioning and system feedback. Leading op amp manufacturers, including STMicroelectronics, Texas Instruments, and more, offer a broad portfolio of products for a variety of unique designs and specific applications. Application fields cover automotive, industrial, medical, consumer electronics, new energy, etc.