FEEDBACK AND OPERATIONAL AMPLIFIERS (Some selected section from CHAPTER 3 of the book "The Art of Electronics", written by Paul Horowitz and Winfield Hill, Cambridge University Press , 1985.)

	BASIC OP-AMP CIRCUITS
	The golden rules for working out op-amp behavior
	Departures from ideal op-amp performance
	Integrators
	COMPARATORS AND SCHMITT TRIGGER
	FEEDBACK WITH AMPLIFIERS
	FEEDBACK AMPLIFIER FREQUENCY COMPENSATION

F - Pricíp činnosti operačného zosilňovača v zapojení komparátora a v zapojení Schmittovho preklápacieho obvodu

COMPARATORS AND SCHMITT TRIGGER

It is quite common to want to know which of two signals is larger, or to know when a given signal exceeds a predetermined value. For instance, the usual method of generating triangle waves is to supply positive or negative currents into a capacitor, reversing the polarity of the current when the amplitude reaches a preset peak value. Another example is a digital voltmeter. In order to convert a voltage to a number, the unknown voltage is applied to one input of a comparator, with a linear ramp (capacitor + current source) applied to the other. A digital counter counts cycles of an oscillator while the ramp is less than the unknown voltage and displays the result when equality of amplitudes is reached. The resultant count is proportional to the input voltage. This is called singleslope integration; in most sophisticated instruments a dual-slope integration is used .
 

Figure 3-51	Figure 3-52

 

3.22 Comparators

The simplest form of comparator is a highgain differential amplifier, made either with transistors or with an op-amp (Fig. 3.51). The op-amp goes into positive or negative saturation according to the difference of the input voltages. Because the voltage gain typically exceeds 100,000, the inputs will have to be equal to a fraction of a millivolt in order for the output not to be saturated. Although an ordinary op-amp can be used as a comparator (and frequently is), there are special integrated circuits intended for use as comparators. Some examples are the LM306, LM311, LM393, and NE529. These chips are designed for very fast response and aren't even in the same league as op-amps. For example, the high speed NE521 slews at several thousand volts per microsecond. With comparators, the term "slew rate" isn't usually used; you talk instead about "propagation delay versus input overdrive."

Comparators generally have more flexible output circuits than op-amps. Whereas an ordinary op-amp uses a push-pull output stage to swing between the supply voltages (± 13V, say, for a 741 running from ± 15V supplies), a comparator chip usually has an "open-collector" output with grounded emitter. By supplying an external "pull-up" resistor (that's accepted terminology, believe it or not) connected to a voltage of your choice, you can have an output swing from + 5 volts to ground, say. You will see later that logic circuits have well-defined voltages they like to operate between; the preceding example would be ideal for driving a TTL circuit, a popular type of digital logic. Figure 3.52 shows the circuit. The output switches from +5 volts to ground when the input signal goes negative. This use of a comparator is really an example of analog-to-digital conversion.

This is the first example we have presented of an open-collector output; this is a common configuration in Iogic circuits. If you like, you can think of the external pull-up resistor as completing the comparator's internal circuit by providing a collector load resistor for an npn output transistor. Since the output transistor operates as a saturated switch, the resistor value is not at all critical, with values typically between a few hundred ohms and a few thousand ohms; smaller values yield improved switching speed and noise immunity at the expense of increased power dissipation. Incidentally, in spite of their superficial resemblance to op-amps, comparators are never used with negative feedback because they would not be stable (see Sections 3.31-3.33). However, some positive feedback is often used, as you will see in the next section.
 

Comments on comparators

Some points to remember:

1. Since there is no negative feedback, golden rule 1 is not obeyed. The inputs are not at the same voltage.
2. The absence of negative feedback means that the (differential) input impedance isn't bootstrapped to the high values characteristic of op-amp circuits. As a result, the input signal sees a changing load and changing (small) input current as the comparator switches; if the driving impedance is too high, strange things may happen.
3. Some comparators permit only limited differential input swings, as little as ±5 volts in some cases.

3.23 Schmitt trigger

The simple comparator circuit in Figure 3.52 has two disadvantages. For a very slowly varying input, the output swing can be rather slow. Worse still, if the input is noisy, the output may make several transitions as the input passes through the trigger point (Fig. 3.53). Both these problems can be remedied by the use of positive feedback (Fig. 3.54). The effect of R₃ is to make the circuit have two thresholds, depending on the output state. In the example shown, the threshold when the output is at ground (input high) is 4.76 volts, whereas the threshold with the output at +5 volts is 5.0 volts. A noisy input is less likely to produce multiple triggering (Fig. 3.55). Furthermore, the positive feedback ensures a rapid output transition, regardless of the speed of the input waveform. (A small "speedup" capacitor of 10 -100pF is often connected across R₃ to enhance switching speed still further.) This configuration is known as a Schmitt trigger. (If an op-amp were used, the pull-up would be omitted.) The output depends both on the input voltage and on its recent history, an effect called hysteresis.This can be illustrated with a diagram of output versus input, as in Figure 3.56.
 

Figure 3-54

Figure 3-53 Figure 3-55 Figure 3-56

 

Discrete-transistor Schmitt trigger

A Schmitt trigger can also be made simply with transistors (Fig. 3.57). Q₁ and Q₂ share an emitter resistor. It is essential that Q₁'s collector resistor be larger than Q₂'s. In that way the threshold to turn on Q₁, which is one diode drop above the emitter voltage, rises when Q₁ is turned off, since the emitter current is higher with Q₂ conducting. This produces hysteresis in the trigger threshold, just as in the preceding integrated-circuit Schmitt trigger.
 

Figure 3-57

 

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