Op Amp Applications Handbook Walt Jung, Editor

ix
Preface
Op Amp Applications Handbook is another book on the operational amplifi er, or op amp. As the name
implies, it covers the application of op amps, but does so on a broader scope. Thus it would be incorrect to
assume that this book is simply a large collection of app notes on various devices, as it is far more than that.
Any IC manufacturer in existence since the 1960s has ample application data on which to draw. In this case,
however, Analog Devices, Inc. has had the benefi t of applications material with a history that goes back
beyond early IC developments to the preceding period of solid-state amplifi ers in modular form, with links
to the even earlier era of vacuum tube op amps and analog computers, where the operational amplifi er began.
This book brings some new perspectives to op amp applications. It adds insight into op amp origins and
historical developments not available elsewhere. Within its major chapters it also offers fundamental
discussions of basic op amp operation; the roles of various device types (including both op amps and other
specialty amplifi ers, such as instrumentation amplifi ers); the procedures for optimal interfacing to other
system components such as ADCs and DACs, signal conditioning and fi ltering in data processing systems,
and a wide variety of signal amplifi ers. The book concludes with practical discussions of various hardware
issues, such as passive component selection, printed circuit design, modeling and breadboarding, etc. In
short, while this book does indeed cover op amp applications, it also covers a host of closely related design
topics, making it a formidable toolkit for the analog designer.
The book is divided into 8 major chapters, and occupies nearly 1000 pages, including index. The chapters
are outlined as follows:
Chapter 1, Op Amp Basics, has fi ve sections authored by James Bryant, Walt Jung, and Walt Kester. This
chapter provides fundamental op amp operating information. An introductory section addresses their ideal
and non-ideal characteristics along with basic feedback theory. It then spans op amp device topologies,
including voltage and current feedback models, op amp internal structures such as input and/or output
architectures, the use of bipolar and/or FET devices, single supply/dual supply considerations, and op amp
device specifi cations that apply to all types. The two fi nal sections of this chapter deal with the operating
characteristics of precision and high-speed op amp types. This chapter, itself a book-within-a-book, occupies
about 118 pages.
Chapter 2, Specialty Amplifi ers, has three sections authored by Walt Kester, Walt Jung, and James Bryant.
This chapter provides information on those commonly used amplifi er types that use op amp-like principles,
but aren't op amps themselves—instead they are specialty amplifi ers. The fi rst section covers the design and
application of differential input, single-ended output amplifi ers, known as instrumentation amplifi ers. The
second section is on programmable gain amplifi ers, which are op amp or instrumentation amplifi er stages,
designed to be dynamically addressable for gain. The fi nal section of the chapter is on isolation amplifi ers,
which provide galvanic isolation between sections of a system. This chapter occupies about 52 pages.
Chapter 3, Using Op Amps with Data Converters, has fi ve sections authored by Walt Kester, James Bryant,
and Paul Hendriks. The fi rst section is an introductory one, introducing converter terms and the concept
of minimizing conversion degradation within the design of an op amp interface. The second section covers
ADC and DAC specifi cations, including such critically important concepts as linearity, monotonicity,