Differential Amplifier Calculator

February 7th, 2010 by Adrian S. Nastase

Unipolar to Bipolar Converter Example

If you need to design a differential amplifier, here is a handy calculator. All you need to define are the input range, the output range and a choice of a voltage reference.

The differential amplifier was explained in different articles on this website. Solving the Differential Amplifier – Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3 shows a numerical example and how to design such an amplifier. Also, the common mode voltage level and the common mode output error were explained in the series of articles The Differential Amplifier Common-Mode Error – Part 1 and Part 2.

Enter the input range, Vin1 to Vin2, the output range, Vout1 to Vout2 and a reference voltage Vref. You need to choose two resistors, R2 and R3. The calculator will compute R1 and R4.

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Categories: Analog Design, Calculators, Differential Amplifier

Design a Bipolar to Unipolar Converter with a 3-input Summing Amplifier

January 31st, 2010 by Adrian S. Nastase

Since the publication of Design a Bipolar to Unipolar Converter to Drive an ADC, several readers contacted me with requests to help in solving their particular converter. The common problem they had was the fact that the components’ calculation resulted in a negative value for at least one resistor.

To provide a solution, first we need to understand the root cause of the problem. Let’s take one of the circuits I received and analyze it.

The reader wrote that he would like to drive an ADC with the input range of 0 to 2.5V from a signal with the range of –5V to +5V, connected at V1 (see Figure 1).

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Categories: Analog Design, Electronic Circuits Examples, Summing amplifier

Summing Amplifier Calculator

January 22nd, 2010 by Adrian S. Nastase

Bipolar to Unipolar Converter Example

The calculator solves the summing amplifier resistors based on the input and output voltage range requirements. It is a great tool to design a bipolar to unipolar converter, as an example and other circuits.

Enter the input range, Vin1 to Vin2, the output range, Vout1 to Vout2 and a reference voltage Vref which helps in adjusting the common-mode level of the amplifier. Since the 2-input summing amplifier has 4 resistors, you need to choose two resistors, R1 and R3, and calculate R2 and R4. For more details about this calculator read How to Design a Summing Amplifier Calculator.

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Categories: Analog Design, Calculators, Summing amplifier

How to Design a Summing Amplifier Calculator

January 11th, 2010 by Adrian S. Nastase

Several articles in this website describe the Summing Amplifier.  In one of these articles, Solving the Summing Amplifier, I showed a numeric method to design a non-inverting summing amplifier based on its input and output voltage range requirements.

This article shows how to design a summing amplifier calculator and the mathematical relations it uses.  You can find the calculator here:

JavaScript Summing Amplifier Calculator

Type the input voltage range, output range, a reference voltage and a choice of two resistors.  The calculator gives you the answer for the remaining two resistors.  The default values are for a bipolar to unipolar converter, which is explained in Design a Bipolar to Unipolar Converter to Drive an ADC.

What are the underlying equations?

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Categories: Analog Design, Summing amplifier

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

January 1st, 2010 by Adrian S. Nastase

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL MY READERS!

2010 IS HERE!

To all my readers, thank you for making this website’s inaugural year truly special. I especially want to say thank you to everyone who left comments and contacted me with suggestions, ideas and advice.

Happy New Year !

Categories: Uncategorized

Bipolar to Unipolar Converters Based on a Summing Amplifier Configuration

December 28th, 2009 by Adrian S. Nastase

In a previous article, Design a Bipolar to Unipolar Converter to Drive an ADC, I presented a method for designing a bipolar to unipolar converter using a summing amplifier. In this article I am going to show more examples of bipolar to unipolar converters which are based on a summing amplifier configuration. You can adapt them to your needs if you use the method I described in the previous article.

Input -1V to +1V, Output 0V to +5V, Reference voltage +5V

bipolar_to_unipolar_-1v_1v_to_0v_5v_1

Figure 1

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Categories: Analog Design, Electronic Circuits Examples, Summing amplifier

The Non-Inverting Amplifier Output Resistance

December 23rd, 2009 by Adrian S. Nastase

It is customary to consider the output resistance of the non-inverting amplifier as being zero, but why is that? An Op Amp’s own output resistance is in the range of tens of ohms. Still, when we connect the Op Amp in a feedback configuration, the output resistance decreases dramatically. Why?

To answer these questions, let’s calculate the output resistance of the non-inverting amplifier.

It is widely accepted that the output resistance of a device can be calculated using a theoretical test voltage source connected at the device output. The input, or inputs, are connected to ground. Nevertheless, instead of using this method, let’s try a different one: The small signal variation method.

Figure 1 shows the non-inverting amplifier, which drives a load, RL. This circuit has an equivalent Thevenin source as in Figure 2.

non_inverting_amplifier

Figure 1

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Categories: Analog Design, Operational Amplifier Formulas
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