Op Amp Circuits with Finite-Gain

Chris Winstead

February 25, 2013

General Setup
Let:
 
? R2
G = The desired or ideal or nominal closed-loop gain 1+
R1
⇒ G?i = for an inverting configuration
⇒ G?ni = for a non-inverting configuration
G = The actual achieved closed-loop gain.
A = The op amp’s finite open-loop gain, in volts per volt.
 = The error coefficient
⇒ G = G? 

We will solve for G as a function of A and G? .

Inverting amplifier
R2

i2
R1
vIN v−
−
vOUT
i1 +
v+

The inverting configuration is described by these equations:

vout = A v + − v −

⇒ vout = A 0 − v −


vout
⇒ v− = −
A
vout − v −
i2 = i1 =
R2
−
v − vin
=
R1
Then we have

1
   
1  v
out

R1 vout 1 + = R2 − − vin
A A
 
1 R2 R2
⇒ vout 1 + + = − vin
A R1 A R1
  
vout R2 A
⇒ Gi = = −
vin R1 A + 1 + R2 /R1

Notice that, in this form, we can express the circuit’s actual gain as the product of two terms:

Gi = G?i × 
R2
G?i = −
R1
A
=
A + 1 + R2 /R1

The first term, G? , is the gain expected if we used an ideal op amp. The second term, , is an error
coefficient that quantifies the effect of using an op amp with finite open-loop gain A.

Non-inverting amplifier
R2

i2
R1
v−
−
vOUT
i1 +
v+
+
− vIN

The non-inverting configuration is described by these equations:

vout = A vin − v −


vout
⇒ v − = vin −
A
vout − v −
i2 = i1 =
R2
v −
=
R1
Rearranging we get:

2
 R1 vout − v − = R2 v −


 vout   vout 
⇒ R1 vout − vin + = R2 vin −
 A  A
1 R2
⇒ vout 1 + (1 + R2 /R1 ) = vin 1 +
A R1
?
 
G
⇒ vout 1 + ni = vin G?ni
A
A + G?ni
 
⇒ vout = vin G?ni
A
 
vout ? A
⇒G= = Gni
vin A + G?ni
 
? A
⇒ G = Gni
A + 1 + R2 /R1
Once again we may express the result in two parts, G? and :
R2
G?ni = 1 +
R1
A
=
A + 1 + R2 /R1
Gni = G?ni × 
Notice that the error coefficient, , is the same for both configurations.

Combined Result
Since the error coefficient is the same in both configurations, the closed-loop gain can be generally ex-
pressed as

G = G? × 
 
? A
=G
A + 1 + R2 /R1

Voltage Follower
The voltage follower represents a slightly different case, since there are no resistors.

−
vOUT
vIN +

In this configuration, we have the following device equations:

vOUT = A v + − v −

= A (vIN − vOUT )
vOUT A
⇒G= =
vIN A+1

3
In this case, the gain can be expressed as

G?vf = 1
A
vf =
A+1
Gvf = G?vf × vf