Op-Amp contd.

Voltage Level Detector/ Comparator

• Operational amplifiers are often used in circuits in which the
output is switched between the positive and negative saturation
voltages, +Vo(sat) and -Vo(sat).
• The actual voltage change that occurs is known as the output
voltage swing.
• For many op-amps, the output saturation voltages are typically
the supply voltage levels minus 1 V.
• The Op-amp comparator compares a signal voltage on one input
with a known voltage called the reference voltage, VREF on the
other input and produces an output signal based on this voltage
comparison. The output may be (+) or (-) saturation voltage.
Types of voltage level detector

• Zero-Crossing Detector
• Positive Level Detector
• Negative Level Detector

• Each will have two types of configurations: Inverting

and non-inverting.
For Non-Inverting Op-amp
Inverting Op-amp
Zero-crossing detector
Inverting Non-Inverting
Clippers and Clampers
• Wave-shaping circuits are commonly used in digital computers and
communications such as TV and FM receivers.
• Wave-shaping techniques include limiting, clipping and clamping.
• Wave-shaping circuits modify or filter electrical signals to remove
unwanted components and shape the signal according to specific
requirements.
• In op-amp clipper circuits, a rectifier diode may be used to clip off a
certain portion of the input signal to obtain a desired output.
• In op-amp clamper circuit, a predetermined dc level is deliberately
inserted in the output voltage. For this reason, the clamper is
sometimes called a dc inserter.
Op-amp based Clipper
• A clipper is an electronic circuit that produces an output by
removing a part of the input above or below a reference value.
• That means, the output of a clipper will be same as that of the
input for other than the clipped part. Due to this, the peak to
peak amplitude of the output of a clipper will be always less
than that of the input.
• The main advantage of clippers is that they eliminate the
unwanted noise present in the amplitude of an ac signal.
• Clippers can be classified into the following two types based
on the clipping portion of the input.
• Positive Clipper
• Negative Clipper
 • A positive clipper is a clipper that clips only the positive
portion(s) of the input signal.
• The op-amp is basically used as a voltage follower with a
Positive Clipper diode in feedback path.
• The Vref should be less than the input voltage. It is derived
from the positive supply voltage.
 • A negative clipper is a clipper that clips only the
negative portion(s) of the input signal.
Negative Clipper • You can obtain the circuit of the negative clipper just
by reversing the diode and taking the reverse polarity
of the reference voltage,
More example:
Half wave rectifier
Half wave Rectifier
Op-amp Based Clamper
• A clamper is an electronic circuit that produces an output,
which is similar to the input but with a shift in the DC level.
• In other words, the output of a clamper is an exact replica of
the input. Hence, the peak to peak amplitude of the output of a
clamper will be always equal to that of the input.
• Clampers are used to introduce or restore the DC level of input
signal at the output. There are two types of op-amp based
clampers based on the DC shift of the input.
• Positive Clamper
• Negative Clamper
 • A positive clamper is a clamper circuit
that produces an output in such a way
Positive Clamper that the input signal gets shifted
vertically by a positive DC value.
 • A negative clamper is a clamper circuit
that produces an output in such a way
Negative Clamper that the input signal gets shifted
vertically by a negative DC value.
A/D and D/A Converters
• Most of the real-world physical quantities such as voltage, current,
temperature, pressure and time etc. are available in analog form.
• Even though an analog signal represents a real physical parameter
with accuracy, it is difficult to process, store, or transmit the analog
signal without introducing considerable error because of
superimposition of noise.
• Therefore, for processing, transmission and storage purposes, it is
often convenient to express these variables in digital form. It gives
better accuracy and reduces noise.
• The operation of any digital communication system is based upon
Analog to Digital (A/D) and Digital to Analog (D/A) conversion.
ADC and DAC
• Digital systems such as
microcomputers use a binary
system of ones and zeros, the
data to be put into the
microcomputer must be
converted from analog form
to digital form. The circuit
that performs this conversion
is called an analog-to-digital
(A/D) converter.
• On the other hand, a digital
to analog (D/A) converter is
used when a binary output is
converted to some equivalent
analog voltage or current.
D/A Converter (DAC)
• Digital to analog converter is an electronic circuit that converts
any digital signal (such as binary signal) into an analog signal
(voltage or current).
• The digital signal such as the binary signal exist in the form of
bits & it is the combination of 1’s & 0’s (or High & low voltage
levels). The DAC converts these bits into an analog voltage or
current.
 Binary Weighted DAC
• You’ll need a current source or resistor to convert each digital input
bit in this DAC. The resistors have a connection across the summing
point and inputs. And through a summing amplifier circuit, you’ll
generate the output.
• The output of a DAC can be either a voltage or current.
Binary Weighted Resistor DAC

𝑅𝑓

𝑇𝑎𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑅1 = 𝑅, 𝑅2 = 2𝑅 and 𝑅3 = 4𝑅 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑉1 = 𝑉2 = 𝑉3 = 𝑉𝑅

𝑅𝑓 𝑅𝑓 𝑅𝑓
𝑉0 = −( 𝑉𝑅 𝐵2 + 𝑉 𝐵 + 𝑉 𝐵 )
𝑅 2𝑅 𝑅 1 4𝑅 𝑅 0
Binary Weighted Resistor DAC
4-bit Binary Weighted Resistor DAC
A/D Converter (ADC)
• ADCs are the bridge between the real world and the digital
world. All the information whether it be temperature, audio or
pressure e.t.c is in the form of continuous analog signals. But to
process and manipulate these signals we need to interface
them with microcontrollers and processors and translate them
to their digital representation. This is where Analog to digital
converters come in handy.
• An analog-to-digital (A/D) converter is defined as a device that
receives an analog input and supplies a digital output (usually
binary or decimal number).
How ADC works?
• The precision of an ADC is determined through two key elements i.e, sampling rate
that is based on the Nyquist theorem and Bit resolution that shows how accurate the
output signal is.
• Sampling Rate
• The input signal is sampled at the Nyquist rate which says that the sampling
frequency should be twice the interested signal’s frequency. This avoids the aliasing
or overlapping of the signals to retain all the information and avoid data distortion or
loss.
• Bit Resolution
• The resolution of an ADC is based on the number of bits which tell us about the
number of levels an ADC can produce and quantize the input analog signal. The
general formula is 𝑅𝑒𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 = 2𝑛 ; 𝑛 = 𝑛𝑜. 𝑜𝑓 𝑏𝑖𝑡𝑠
Classification of ADC
• ADCs are classified broadly into two groups according to their
conversion technique
• Direct type ADCs
• Integrating type ADCs
•Direct type ADCs compare a given analog signal with the internally
generated equivalent signal. This group includes
• Flash (comparator) type converter
• Counter type converter
• Tracking or servo converter
• Successive approximation type converter
Successive Approximation ADC
• The Successive Approximation
ADC is the ADC of choice for
low-cost medium to high-
resolution applications, the
resolution for SAR ADCs
ranges from 8 - 18 bits.
• They make a trial digitization,
convert the trial digital number
back into analog form, and
compare the resulting analog
signal with the input signal.
 Successive Approximation ADC
• ADC consists of:
• a comparator,
• a digital to analog
converter, and
• a successive
approximation
register along
with the control
circuit.
Working principle of Successive Approximation ADC
• Whenever a new
conversion starts,
the sample and hold
circuit samples the input
signal. And that signal is
compared with the
specific output signal of
the DAC.
• The output of the
comparator is a serial
data input to SAR. The
SAR then adjusts its
digital output (4 bits) until
it is equivalent to Vin.
Comparing two voltages:
ADC Flash Converter

• An N-bit flash ADC

consists of:
• 2N /2N – 1 resistors
• 2N – 1 comparators
• 2N to N line encoder
 ADC Flash Converter( Comparator)

• The process of taking an analog voltage, VAnalog and

converting it to a digital signal can be accomplished in
several ways. One simple way is by means of parallel
encoding (also known as flash converting). In this
method, several comparators are set up, each at a
different voltage reference level (VA, VB, VC, VD) with
their outputs (C1, C2, C3) as shown in Figure.
• The comparators operate in such a way that, if the
analog input is greater than the reference node voltage,
the comparator output will go “high” ( approximately
+Vcc), represented by a logic “1”. If the analog input is
less than the reference node voltage, the comparator
output will go “low” (approximately –Vcc), represented
by a logic “0”.
ADC Flash Converter (Encoder)
• In the real world, the task of taking ‘high’ or ‘low’ level of voltage
comparators and translating them into a digital stream of binary
numbers is accomplished by a device called an encoder. The encoder
takes a 3-bit comparator output and encodes that into a 2-bit binary
signal for further transmission. This completes the A/D Conversion.