The Electron's Path: Fundamental of EEE (ECE1001-Lab.

)
Experiment 3 Voltage amplifiers using Op-Amp Monsoon 2025

An ideal voltage amplifier is a VCVS, generating an output voltage with a waveform which is a
magnified replica of the input voltage waveform, irrespective of the current that the amplifier has to
supply to any load connected to its output. All amplifiers are necessarily linear and time-invariant and
are studied in terms of their sinusoidal steady state behavior using phasor equivalents. Let the input
and output voltages of an amplifier be denoted by
V1 = V1m sin(ωt) and V2 = V2m sin(ωt + θ). Then the phasors are given by V1 = V1m and V2 = V2m ‫ے‬θ
and the voltage gain is given by Av = V2 / V1 = Avm ‫ے‬θ, where Avm = V2m / V1m denotes the magnitude
of the voltage gain.
The most important property that characterizes a voltage amplifier is its frequency response, given
by the graph of Gv vs frequency on a logarithmic scale, where Gv = 20 log10 Avm.
Any practical voltage amplifier will behave like an ideal one only as long as the voltage and current at the
output and the frequency are within prescribed limits. We will
examine these limits for two amplifier circuits using an
Operational amplifier (OPAMP): The Inverting Amplifier for
the limits on the output voltage and current, and the Non-
inverting Amplifier for the limit on frequency.
An OPAMP is an integrated circuit (IC) consisting of number
of transistors and resistors inside the chip. The opamp we will
use in this course is the extremely popular 741, which has the
pin connection given in Fig. 1. (– In) and (+In) are two input
terminals, (Out) is the output terminal and (+VCC) and ( –
VCC) indicate two power supply terminals where equal and
opposite d-c voltages have to be connected to the opamp
for its normal operation. The exact values of these voltages
Fig. 1 Pin Connection of OPAMP are flexible, but they must be equal in magnitude (range 6-
741 15V) and opposite in sign.

A. Inverting Amplifier

The circuit of an Inverting Amplifier is shown in Fig. 2. If the opamp

can be considered to be ideal, i.e. it has no limitations with regard to
voltage, current or frequency, the voltage gain of this amplifier is given
by
Av = – R2 / R1.
We will study in this experiment the limitations imposed on the output
voltage by the d-c power supply voltages used by the opamp as well as
the limitations imposed on the output current by virtue of the protection
feature incorporated in the opamp by design.
Fig. 2 Inverting Amplifier
1. Build the circuit of Fig. 2 on bread board. Use general purpose
OPAMP IC-741.
2. Set up the Inverting Amplifier with R1 = 1.00kΩ, R2 = 10.0kΩ and RL = 1.80 kΩ. Apply the input
voltage v1 from the voltage source and set it at 1kHz sinusoidal voltage with peak-to-peak value
0.2V. Display the input and output voltage waveforms on the DSO and measure the peak-to-peak
voltages. Measure the output voltage v2 for R2. Note that v2 is opposite in phase with respect to
input v1
3. Repeat step 2 for R2 = 82.0kΩ. Justify the use of direct measurement based on your observations.
Tabulate the magnitude of the voltage gain against the theoretically expected value of Av for the
given values of R2. This establishes that the Inverting Amplifier behaves like a VCVS with a
constant voltage gain for a fairly wide range of load resistances.
Observation Table 1
R2 v1 (V) v2 Av Gv=20log10 Av Theoretical Av = Theoretical
= V2 / V1 – R2 / R1. Gv=20 log10 Avm
10.0kΩ 0.2
82.0kΩ 0.2

B. Non-inverting Amplifier
In this experiment, we will study the OpAmp-based circuits of the Non-inverting Amplifier, another
popular voltage amplifier using OpAmp.
1. Set up the Non-inverting Amplifier shown in Fig. 3(a), with R1 = 1.00kΩ, R2 = 10.0kΩ, RL = 1.80
kΩ and set the voltage source at 1KHz sinusoidal voltage with peak-to-peak value 0.2V. Display
the input and output voltage waveforms on the waveform viewer and measure the peak-to-peak
voltages.
2. Measure the output voltage v2 for R2.
Observation Table 2
R2 v1 v2 Avm = Gv=20log10 Theoretical Theoretical
(V) V2 / V1 Avm Avm = 1 + R2 / R1. Gv=20 log10
Avm
10.0kΩ 0.2
82.0kΩ 0.2

(a) Circuit Diagram (b) Frequency Response (for information only)

 Fig.3 Non-inverting Amplifier

C. Integrator Circuit
The ideal circuit of an integrator is shown in figure 4.1, assuming the opamp to be ideal.
i = v1/R1, v2 = - (∫ 𝐢𝒅𝒕)/C= - (∫ 𝐯𝟏 𝒅𝒕) /(CR1)
Thus, the output voltage v2 is proportional to the integral of the input voltage v1 with a constant of proportionality
given by the input voltage v1 with a constant of proportionality given by the values of circuit elements.
If v1=V1m sin 𝝎𝒕, v2=V2m sin 𝝎𝒕, where V2m = V1m / (𝝎CR1)
implying that a sinusoidal input gives a sinusoidal output with a voltage Gain= 1/ (ωCR1), and a phase shift of 90
degree.
A more interesting way of checking the operation of an integrator is to use a symmetrical square wave input, which
results in an output voltage having a triangular waveform, as shown in figure 4.2. This is easy to show by taking
the areas under the different segments of the square wave that
V2p = V1p T/ (𝟒CR1)
Unfortunately, this circuit will never work in practice, because any non-zero average (DC) value of v1, as well as
the very small but nonzero current flowing into the OpAmp input terminals will lead to a continuous change in the
output voltage, eventually forcing the OpAmp to go into voltage saturation. So practical integrators include a
second resistor R2 in parallel with the capacitor as shown in figure 4.3.

Procedure:
1. Set up the practical integrator shown in figure 4.3 with R1=10 KΩ, R2=200KΩ and C = 0.01 microfarad. Follow
the standard opamp pin connection for assembling the circuit including the connections to the DC power supply.
2. Apply to 2KHz square wave input voltage v1 with peak-to-peak value of 0.8 Volt from the wave Gen. Observe
the waveforms of v1 and v2 on the DSO, triggering the DSO by Wavegen output. Adjust the vertical scale of
CH-1 and CH-2 so that peak to peak swing of V1 and V2 as seen on DSO are exactly equal. Find the value of
v2P/v1P by taking the ratio of scales of CH- 2 and CH-1.
3. Compare the measured value of v2P / v1P with its theoretical expected value T/ (4CR1).
4. Change v1 to a sine wave with all other settings of Wavegen as before. Note the phase difference between the
two waveforms and measure the ratio v2m/v1m off their peak-to-peak values as done in step A.1 above. Compare
the measured value with the theoretically expected value v2m/v1m =1/ (ωCR1) as given above for sinusoidal
voltages.
Observation Table 3
i/p Wave v1p Or v1m O/p wave shape v2p Or v2m v2p/ v1p Or v2m/ v1m Theoretical T/ (𝟒CR1) or 1/ (𝝎CR1)
shape
Square
Sine

D. Differentiator Circuit
The ideal circuit of an differentiator is shown in figure 5.1, assuming the opamp to be ideal.
i = C 𝒅𝐯𝟏/𝒅𝒕 , v2 = -𝐢 R2 = - CR2 (𝒅𝐯𝟏/𝒅𝒕)
Thus, the output voltage v2 is proportional to the differential of the input voltage v1 with a constant of
proportionality given by the input voltage v1 the values of circuit elements.
If v1=V1m sin 𝝎𝒕, v2=V2m sin 𝝎𝒕, where V2m = V1m (𝝎CR2)
implying that a sinusoidal input gives a sinusoidal output with a voltage Gain= (ωCR2), and a phase shift of 90
degree.
A more interesting way of checking the operation of an differentiator is to use a symmetrical triangular wave input,
which results in an output voltage having a square waveform. This is easy to show by taking the areas under the
different segments of the square wave that
V2p = V1p (𝟒CR2) /T
For accurate differentiation, the input signal's frequency must be lower than the cutoff frequency, which is
determined by both the input and feedback components. Practical differentiator includes a second resistor R1 in
series with the capacitor (ensures a minimum input impedance at high frequencies) and a feedback capacitor C2 in
parallel with the feedback resistor R2 (to limit the circuit's high-frequency gain) as shown in figure 5.2(b).

a
b

Fig. 5.1 Ideal Differentiator Fig. 5.2 Practical Differentiator

 Procedure:
1. Set up the practical differentiator shown in figure 5.1 with R1=10 KΩ, R2=200KΩ and C = 1000 pF (1nF)
Follow the standard opamp pin connection for assembling the circuit including the connections to the DC power
supply.
2. Apply to 2KHz triangular/ ramp wave input voltage v1 with peak-to-peak value of 0.8 Volt from the wave Gen.
Observe the waveforms of v1 and v2 on the DSO, triggering the DSO by Wavegen output. Adjust the vertical scale
of CH-1 and CH-2 so that peak to peak swing of V1 and V2 as seen on DSO are exactly equal. Find the value of
v2P/v1P by taking the ratio of scales of CH- 2 and CH-1.
3. Compare the measured value of v2P / v1P with its theoretical expected value (4R2C)/T.
4. Change v1 to a sine wave with all other settings of Wavegen as before. Note the phase difference between the
two waveforms and measure the ratio v2m/v1m off their peak-to-peak values as done in step A.1 above. Compare
the measured value with the theoretically expected value v2m/v1m =1/ (ωCR1) as given above for sinusoidal
voltages.
Observation Table 4
i/p Wave v1p Or v1m O/p wave shape v2p Or v2m v2p/ v1p Or v2m/ v1m Theoretical (𝟒CR2)/T or (𝝎CR2)
shape
Triangluar/
Ramp
Sine

Results:
Conclusion: It must be in your words and be based on your understanding/ learning in the experiment.