Lab 4 - EE 420L 

Authored by Jacob Reed

reedj35@unlv.nevada.edu

Due Date: 2/27/2019

  

Again, this lab will utilize the LM324 op-amp (LM324.pdf).

For the following questions and experiments assume VCC+ = +5V and VCC- = 0V.

 

Experiment 1:

 

 

To estimate the bandwidth of an op-amp knowing its gain, we must first know about the Gain Bandwidth Product (GBP). The GBP is going to be

, where fun is the unity frequency. Looking at the datasheet, I obtain:

 

 

Using this data, I can calculate the bandwidth given a specific gain.

We know that the gain of an op-amp for a non-inverting topology (figure below) is

Non-Inverting Op-Amp Topology

 

Therefore, my theoretical bandwidth calculations are as follows:

 

Gain of 1:

Gain of 5:

Gain of 10:

 

Experiment 2:

 

 

In order to experimentally find what the bandwidth is for each gain, we will be sweeping the frequency of the input signal until the resulting output voltage is .

The frequency at which this is found is the 3dB bandwidth and this experimental frequency should closely resemble the theoretical bandwidth calculated above.

 

The following are the topologies for each circuit and includes the actual resistor values I used when finding experimental results. The input voltage had a DC offset of 2.5V and sinusoidal signal of 100mVpp starting at 1kHz. The frequency is then swept until the desired output voltage of  is attained:

 

Gain of 1:

Gain of 5:

Gain of 10:

Input and output waveforms at a frequency of 1kHz

Input and output waveforms at a frequency of 10kHz

 

Input and output waveforms at a frequency of 1kHz

Experimentally measured bandwidth of 900kHz; (Vout * 0.707)

Experimentally measured bandwidth of 90kHz; (Vout * 0.707)

Experimentally measured bandwidth of 44kHz; (Vout * 0.707)

 

Bandwidth

Gain of 1

Gain of 5

Gain of 10

Theoretical

1.3MHz

260kHz

130kHz

Simulated

1.28MHz

257kHz

129kHz

Experimental

900kHz

90kHz

44kHz

 

These experimental values are far off below the theoretical values. Referring to the datasheet image above of the GBP, the manufacturer tested the device using a VCC of 30V and a Vin of 10mV. We used a VCC of 5V and a Vin of 100mV and this could be a contribution as to why the experimental bandwidth is far off from the theoretical values. Other reasons could be the measuring equipment, the circuit build, or human error.

 

Experiment 3:

 

 

We know that the gain of an op-amp for an inverting topology (figure below) is , however, we only consider the absolute value, or magnitude of calculating the GPB. Referring to page 1047 of Dr. Baker’s textbook, “CMOS: Circuit Design, Layout, and Simulation” we find the GBP of the inverting op-amp is: .

Inverting Op-Amp Topology

 

Gain of -1:

Gain of -5:

Gain of -10:

 

Just like in Experiment 2, in order to experimentally find what the bandwidth is for each gain, we will be sweeping the frequency of the input signal until the resulting output voltage is . The frequency at which this is found is the 3dB bandwidth and this experimental frequency should closely resemble the theoretical bandwidth calculated above.

 

The following are the topologies for each circuit and includes the actual resistor values I used when finding experimental results. The input voltage had a DC offset of 2.5V and sinusoidal signal of 100mVpp starting at 1kHz. Then the frequency is swept until the desired output voltage of  is attained:

 

Gain of -1:

 

Gain of -5:

Gain of -10:

Input and output waveforms at a frequency of 1kHz

 

Input and output waveforms at a frequency of 1kHz

Input and output waveforms at a frequency of 1kHz

Experimentally measured bandwidth of 650kHz; (Vout * 0.707)

Experimentally measured bandwidth of 120kHz; (Vout * 0.707)

Experimentally measured bandwidth of 44kHz; (Vout * 0.707)

 

Bandwidth

Gain of -1

Gain of -5

Gain of -10

Theoretical

650kHz

217kHz

118kHz

Simulated

644kHz

215kHz

117kHz

Experimental

650kHz

120kHz

44kHz

 

Again, the experimental values are far below the theoretical values. As mentioned above, I believe this is due to the manufacturer using a VCC of 30V and a Vin of 10mV.

 

Experiment 4:

 

 

 

As we can see above, the typical slew rate for the LM324 is 0.4 V/µs. In order to experimentally measure this, I will be using a non-inverting op-amp topology with a gain of 1; otherwise known as a voltage follower. The reason for this design is because it will be easy to measure the slew rate since there is no gain. Also, this is how the manufacturer measured it according to the datasheet. The function generator will have an input frequency starting at 1kHz for both the pulse input and sinusoidal input; then I will increase the frequency until I notice that the output takes time to reach what the input is. For the pulse input, I can find the change in Vout by measuring how long it takes to go from 10% of Vout to 90% of Vout. For the sinusoidal input, I will be able to just simply measure the peak-to-peak voltage of the output and find the slope.

 

Pulse Input:

Sinusoidal Input:

 

 

 

 

 

The experimental values for the slew rate with a pulse input and sinusoidal input are below the value given in the datasheet. The slew rate values calculated between the pulse and sinusoidal inputs match well and I can confidently say that this specific op-amp’s slew rate is below 0.4 V/µs. The reason for this can be attributed to the fact that the VCC used by the manufacturer to test was 15V. Since we used 5V, this can be the contributor as to why the slew rate is lower. Other reasons could be the measuring equipment, the circuit build, or human error.

 

 

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