EE/CE 3111 Electronic Circuits Laboratory Spring 2015

Lab 8: Operational Amplifiers – Part II

Objectives
This is the second part of the op‐amp lab. We will be simulating and building some other op‐amp
circuits, including the Wien‐bridge oscillator, Schmitt trigger, differentiator, and integrator.

Introduction

Figure 8‐1: Wien‐bridge oscillator

1. Wien‐bridge oscillator
A Wien‐bridge oscillator is an autonomous circuit that can derive a sinusoidal output waveform without
any input. An example Wien‐bridge oscillator is shown in Fig. 8‐1, which consists of a feedback amplifier
with an RC band‐pass filter connected in the positive feedback path and a resistive divider connected in
the negative feedback path. The RC network applies an attenuated, phase‐shifted version of Vout to the
positive input terminal, while the negative input terminal receives an also attenuated but not phase‐
shifted version of Vout. The dynamics of the feedback loop in an attempt to equalize the potentials of the
positive and negative terminals produces the final oscillatory waveform of the output.

The best way to understand the Wien‐bridge oscillator is to invoke the “virtual ground” property of
feedback amplifier. Assuming that the open‐loop gain of the op amp is large, the voltage difference
between the positive and negative terminals must be very small, i.e., V+ and V‐ are essentially
equipotential. Therefore we have

 sRC   R4 
V  VOUT  2 2 2 
and V  VOUT    V (8‐1)
 1  3sRC  s R C   R3  R4 

where R1 = R2 = R and C1 = C2 = C are assumed. Note that the transfer function of the band‐pass filter is
real only when ω = 1/RC, which yields V+ = Vout/3. In turn, this leads to the following constraint for R3

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EE/CE 3111 Electronic Circuits Laboratory Spring 2015

and R4 to yield oscillation

R4 sRC 1 R
   R4  3 (8‐2)
R3  R4 1  3sRC  s 2 R 2C 2 
1 3 2
RC

A small‐signal loop‐gain analysis reveals that R4 ≤ R3/2 should be satisfied in order to have RHP (right half
plane) poles for sustained oscillation of the Wien‐bridge oscillator.

Figure 8‐2: Schmitt trigger

2. Schmitt trigger
The Schmitt trigger is essentially a comparator in which the reference voltage is derived from a divided‐
down version of the output voltage. As in a comparator, the output is forced to either a positive or
negative saturation limit (e.g., VPOS or VNEG in Fig. 8‐2) whenever the magnitude of Vin passes the
reference voltage. Unlike the comparator, the Schmitt trigger ”remembers” its most recent positive or
negative output and holds its output voltage even when the input voltage returns to zero. We can see in
Fig. 8‐2 the Schmitt trigger configuration using feedback op amp as well as its transfer characteristic.

The reference voltages are determined using the following equation

 R1 
VR  VOUT   (8‐3)
 R1  R2 

3. Differentiator
The differentiator configuration is obtained by replacing the input resistor with a capacitor in an
inverting feedback amplifier configuration (Fig. 7‐1 of Lab 7). This circuit produces an output voltage
proportional to the time derivative of the input voltage. Its voltage transfer function is given by

VOUT
  sRC (8‐4)
VIN

A differentiator is often intended to shape the input waveform, not to amplify or attenuate it. So we
should be looking at the frequency point where the circuit gain is close to unity, i.e., ω ≈ 1/RC.

4. Integrator
The integrator configuration is obtained by replacing the feedback resistor with a capacitor in an

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EE/CE 3111 Electronic Circuits Laboratory Spring 2015

inverting feedback amplifier configuration (Fig. 7‐1 of Lab 7). This circuit produces an output voltage
proportional to the running integral of the input voltage. Its voltage transfer function is given by

VOUT 1
 (8‐5)
VIN sRC

Similar to the differentiator, the frequency of operation should be close to ω = 1/RC to avoid a too large
or too small output of the circuit.

Both differentiator and integrator are fundamental building blocks for active frequency‐selective filters.

Preparation
Note: The supply voltages for all circuits are ±10V.

1. Oscillator: Enter the schematics of the Wien‐bridge oscillator into PSpice, simulate it for the case
where C1 = C2 = C and R1 = R2 = R. Set C = 10nF, R = 3k, R4 = 1k and R3 = 2k. Run a transient simulation
with the following parameters
 Run to time: 101ms
 Start saving data after: 100ms
 Maximum Step Size: 10us
 Skip the initial transient bias point calculation: Checked
This should give you an output with a frequency of about 5kHz. If you would like to vary the
frequency then you need to change the R value. Repeat the same simulation with R = 1k and then R
= 10k.

2. Schmitt trigger: Enter the schematics of the Schmitt trigger into PSpice, simulate it for R1 = 1k and R2
= 4.7k. Do the following
 Use the part called VPWL_RE_FOREVER to generate a triangular wave and use it as the input to
the Schmitt trigger. Plot the output and input.
o TSF: 1
o VSF: 1
o FIRST NPAIRS: 0, 0, 50u, 5, 150u, ‐5, 200u, 0
 Use the part called Vsin to generate a sine wave and use it as the input to the Schmitt trigger.
Plot the output and input.
o VOFF: 0V
o VAMPL: 5V
o FREQ: 5kHz

3. Differentiator: Enter the schematics of the differentiator into PSpice, simulate it for R = 3k and C =
1nF. Do the following
 Use the part called Vpulse to generate a square wave and use it as the input to the
differentiator. Plot the output and the input.

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EE/CE 3111 Electronic Circuits Laboratory Spring 2015

o V1: ‐5V
o V2: 5V
o TD: 0
o TR: 1u
o TF: 1u
o PW: 100u
o PER: 200u
 Use the part called VPWL_RE_FOREVER to generate a triangle wave and use it as the input to
the differentiator. Plot the output and input.
o TSF: 1
o VSF: 1
o FIRST NPAIRS: 0, 0, 50u, 5, 150u, ‐5, 200u, 0
 Use the part called Vsin to generate a sine wave and use it as the input to the differentiator.
Plot the output and input.
o VOFF: 0V
o VAMPL: 5V
o FREQ: 5kHz
 Use the part called Vac to perform an AC sweep. Plot the output/input ratio in dB.
o VDC=0V
o VAC=1V
o Set the sweep type to Logarithmic and select decades
o Start frequency: 100
o Stop frequency: 100K
o Points/decade: 10

4. Integrator: Enter the schematics of the integrator into PSpice, simulate it for R = 3k and C = 10nF.
Note that you should use a resistor in parallel to the feedback capacitor to provide DC path for the
feedback network. Use a 6.2k resistor for this purpose. Do the following

 Use the part called Vpulse to generate a square wave and use it as the input to the integrator.
Plot the output and the input.
o V1: ‐5V
o V2: 5V
o TD: 0
o TR: 1u
o TF: 1u
o PW: 100u
o PER: 200u
 Use the part called VPWL_RE_FOREVER to generate a triangle wave and use it as the input to
the integrator. Plot the output and input.
o TSF: 1
o VSF: 1

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EE/CE 3111 Electronic Circuits Laboratory Spring 2015

o FIRST NPAIRS: 0, 0, 50u, 5, 150u, ‐5, 200u, 0

 Use the part called Vsin to generate a sine wave and use it as the input to the integrator. Plot
the output and input.
o VOFF: 0V
o VAMPL: 5V
o FREQ: 5kHz
 Use the part called Vac to perform an AC sweep. Plot the output/input ratio in dB.
o VDC=0V
o VAC=1V
o Set the sweep type to Logarithmic and select decades
o Start frequency: 100
o Stop frequency: 100K
o Points/decade: 10

Procedure
You need to perform the same experiments in lab as you did in the Preparation section.

Use the program freqlog.vi to obtain the frequency response (Bode plot) in magnitude for the integrator
and differentiator circuits. The plots should be similar to the ones you measured from the AC sweep.

Analysis
1. Re‐derive the equations of (8‐1) to (8.5) of the circuits studied in this lab by hand.
2. What is the constraint for R3 and R4 to yield oscillation when the assumption of R1 = R2 and C1 = C2 in
(8‐1) do not hold in general?

Thoughtful Questions
1. What output do you expect from a differentiator with a DC input?
2. What output do you expect from an integrator with a DC input?

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EE/CE 3111 Electronic Circuits Laboratory Spring 2015

Lab 8 Report Instructions

Prelab: you need to have a total of 13 plots to turn in as your Prelab:

 the output for the oscillator for each of the three different values of R,
 two plots for the Schmitt trigger,
 four plots for the differentiator,
 and four plots for the integrator.

Lab report: besides the general guidelines, report the following for this lab:

 The lab report should be segmented into 4 parts:

o Wien-bridge oscillator
o Schmitt trigger
o Differentiator
o Integrator

 Each part should be comprised of

o the same 13 plots from your measurement,
o and your analysis/explanation of the results.

 In addition
o Plot frequency in kHz (y-axis) vs. resistance in kΩ (x-axis) with your measurement results
from part 1 for the Wien-bridge oscillator.
o Compare the AC sweep results from part 3 and part 4 with the Bode plots obtained with
freqlog.vi for the differentiator and integrator, respectively.

 Answer the questions in the Analysis and Thoughtful Questions.

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