Unit II

Linear Applications of OP-AMP

 Contents :
• Concept of Virtual ground and virtual short,
• Inverting and Non- inverting amplifier,
• Summing amplifier,
• Averaging circuit,
• Difference amplifier,
• Voltage follower,
• Ideal and practical Integrator,
• Ideal and practical Differentiator,
• Instrumentation amplifier.
 TEXT BOOK/ REFERENCE BOOK

• 1. Ramakant A. Gayakwad, ―Op Amps and Linear Integrated Circuits‖,

Prentice Hall of India Pvt Ltd., 3rd edition,2008.
• 2. Salivahanan and Kanchana Bhaskaran, ―Linear Integrated Circuits‖,
Tata McGraw Hill, India 2008.
Concept of Virtual ground and virtual short

Vout = AOL (V+ - V-)= AOL Vid

V+ and V- are virtually short & not physically.

 • A virtual ground is a ground which acts
like a ground. It may not have physical
Virtual ground connection to ground.
• This property of an ideal op-amp indicates
that the inverting and non-inverting
terminals of the op-amp are at the same
potential.
• The non-inverting input is grounded for
the inverting amplifier circuit. This means
that the inverting input of the op-amp is
also at ground potential.
• Therefore, a virtual ground is a point that
is at the fixed ground potential (0 V),
though it is not practically connected to the
actual ground or common terminal of the
circuit.
• The open-loop gain of an op-amp is extremely high, typically 200,000 for a 741.
For example, when the output voltage is 10 V, the input differential voltage Vid
is given by

• Furthermore, the open-loop input impedance of a 741 is around 2 MW.

Therefore, for an input differential voltage of 0.05 mV, the input current is only
• Since the input current is so small compared to all other signal currents, it
can be approximated as zero.
• For any input voltage applied at the inverting input, the input differential
voltage Vid is negligibly small and the input current is ideally zero.
• Hence, the inverting input of Fig. acts as a virtual ground.
• The term virtual ground signifies a point whose voltage with respect to
ground is zero, and yet no current can flow into it.
 Open Loop Configurations of OpAmp
• The term open-loop indicates that no feedback in any form is fed to the input from
the output.
• When connected in open-loop, the op-amp functions as a very high gain amplifier.
There are three open-loop configurations of op-amp, namely,
• (i) Differential amplifier
• (ii) Inverting amplifier and
• (iii) Non-inverting amplifier
• The above classification is made based on the number of inputs used and the
terminal to which the input is applied. The op-amp amplifies both ac and dc input
signals. Thus, the input signals can be either ac or dc voltages.
 Open-loop differential amplifier
In this configuration, the inputs are applied to both
the inverting and the non-inverting input terminals
of the op-amp and it amplifies the difference
between the two input voltages
The input voltages are represented by Vi 1 and Vi2.
The source resistances Ri1 and Ri 2 are negligibly
small in comparison with the very high input
resistance offered by the op-amp, and thus the
voltage drop across these source resistances is
Thus, the output voltage is equal to the assumed to be zero. The output voltage Vo is given
voltage gain A times the difference between
the two input voltages. This is the reason
by
why this configuration is called a differential
amplifier.
Open-loop inverting amplifier
In this configuration, the input signal is applied to the
inverting input terminal of the op-amp and the non-
inverting input terminal is connected to the ground.
The output voltage is 180° out-of-phase with
respect to the input and hence, the output voltage
Vo is given by
Open-loop non-inverting amplifier
The input signal is applied to the non-inverting
input terminal of the op-amp and the inverting
input terminal is connected to the ground.

The input signal is amplified by the open-loop

gain A and the output is in-phase with the
input signal.
• In all the above open-loop configurations, only very small values of input voltages
can be applied. Even for voltage levels slightly greater than zero, the output is driven
into saturation.
• Thus, when operated in the open-loop configuration, the output of the op-amp is
either in negative or positive saturation, or switches between positive and negative
saturation levels.
• This prevents the use of open loop configurations of op-amps in linear applications.
 Draw backs of Open loop configurations
• Firstly, in the open-loop configurations, clipping of the output waveform can
occur when the output voltage exceeds the saturation level of op-amp. This is due to
the very high open-loop gain of the op-amp. This feature actually makes it possible to
amplify very low frequency signal of the order of microvolts or even less, and the
amplification can be achieved accurately without any distortion. However, signals of
such magnitudes are susceptible to noise and the amplification for those applications is
almost impossible to obtain in the laboratory.
• Secondly, the open-loop gain of the op-amp is not a constant and it varies with
changing temperature and variations in power supply. Also, the bandwidth of most of
the open-loop op-amps is negligibly small. This makes the open-loop configuration
of op-amp unsuitable for ac applications. The open loop bandwidth of the widely
used IC 741 is approximately 5 Hz. But in almost all ac applications, the bandwidth
requirement is much larger than this.
 Closed Loop Configurations of Op-Amp
• The op-amp can be effectively utilized in linear applications by providing a feedback from
the output to the input, either directly or through another network.
• If the signal fed back is out-of-phase by 180°with respect to the input, then the feedback is
referred to as negative feedback or degenerative feedback.
• Conversely, if the feedback signal is in-phase with that at the input, then the feedback is
referred to as positive feedback or regenerative feedback.
• An op-amp that uses feedback is called a closed-loop amplifier. The most commonly used
closed loop amplifier configurations are
• (i) Inverting amplifier (voltage-shunt feedback) and
• (ii) Non-inverting amplifier (voltage-series feedback).
(i) Inverting amplifier (voltage-shunt feedback)
• The inverting amplifier is shown in Fig.
• The input signal drives the inverting input of
the op-amp through resistor R1.
• The op-amp has an open-loop gain of A, so
that the output signal is much larger than the
error voltage.
• Because of the phase inversion, the output
signal is 180° out-of-phase with the input
signal.
• This means that the feedback signal opposes
the input signal and the feedback is negative or
degenerative.
• Since the inverting input is at virtual ground, the input impedance is the resistance
between the inverting input terminal and the ground. That is, Zi = R1.
• Therefore, all of the input voltage appears across R1 and it sets up a current through
R1 that equals

• This current must flow through Rf, because the virtual ground accepts negligible
current. The left end of Rf is ideally grounded, and hence the output voltage appears
wholly across it. Therefore,

• The closed-loop voltage gain Av is given by

• The input impedance can be set by selecting the input resistor R1.
Moreover, the above equation shows that the gain of the inverting
amplifier is set by selecting a ratio of feedback resistor Rf to the input
resistor R1.
• The ratio Rf /R1 can be set to any value less than or greater than
unity.
• This feature of the gain equation makes the inverting amplifier with
feedback very popular and it lends this configuration to a majority of
applications.
Exa. 1. For the inverting amplifier of Fig., Rf = 10 k and
R1 = 1 k. Determine the closed-loop voltage gain Av .

The gain is 10 and the negative sign indicates the inverting mode or 180o phase-shift
obtained at the output with respect to the input.
 Practical considerations

(i) Setting the input impedance R1 to be too high will pose problems for the bias
current, and it is usually restricted to 10 kohm.
(ii) The gain cannot be set very high due to the upper limit set by the gain-bandwidth
(GBW = Av * f ) product. The Av is normally below 100.
(iii) The peak output of the op-amp is limited by the power supply voltages, and it is
about 2 V less than supply, beyond which, the op-amp enters into saturation.
(iv) The output current may not be short-circuit limited, and heavy loads may damage
the op-amp. When short-circuit protection is provided, a heavy load may drastically
distort the output voltage.
Non-inverting amplifier
• Input signal applied to the non-inverting input and the output
voltage fed back to the inverting input.
• The op-amp provides an internal gain A.
• The external resistors R1 and Rf form the feedback voltage
divider circuit with an attenuation factor of b.
• Since the feedback voltage is at the inverting input, it opposes
the input voltage at the non-inverting input terminal, and hence,
the feedback is negative or degenerative.
• The differential voltage Vid at the input of the op-amp is zero,
because node a is at the same voltage as that of the non-inverting
input terminal
• From the above equation, it can be observed that the closed-loop
gain is always greater than one and it depends on the ratio of the
feedback resistors.
• If precision resistors are used in the feedback network, a precise
value of closed-loop gain can be achieved.
• The closed-loop gain does not drift with temperature changes or
op-amp replacements.
Exa. 2. The variable resistance varies from zero to 100 k. Find
out the maximum and the minimum closed-loop voltage gain.
Summing amplifier
• The adder, also called summing amplifier, is shown
in Fig..
• The output of this arrangement is the linear
addition of a number of input signals.
• Since a virtual ground exists at the inverting input
of op-amp at the node a,
 Applications
1. in the broadcast and recording
applications
2. as a level shifter for any ac signal

Therefore, the output is proportional to the sum of the individual inputs.

From above Eq., it is clear that the output signal is the sum of all the inputs multiplied
by their associated gains. It can then be expressed as

where Av1, Av2, …..Avn are the individual gains of the inputs.
The summing amplifier may have equal gain for each of the inputs, and then it is referred
to as an equal-weighted configuration.
The summing amplifier shown in Fig. has the following inputs, V1 = +2 V, V2 = +3 V,
V3 = +4 V and Rf = R1 = R2 = R3 = R = 1 k, and the supply voltages are ±15V.
Determine the output voltage.Assume that the op-amp is initially nulled.
Determine the V0 for the circuit shown in Fig.
Calculate the output voltage of an op-amp summing amplifier for the
following sets of input voltages V1, V2 and V3 and input resistors R1, R2
and R3. Use Rf = 1 Mohm in all cases.
Scaling Amplifier
Averaging circuit
Difference amplifier/Subtractor
• The basic op-amp can be used as a subtractor as shown in Fig.
• To analyze the operation of the circuit, assume that all resistors
are of equal value R, i.e. R1 = R2 = R3 = Rf = R.
• The output voltage can be determined by using the
superposition principle.
• If V1 = 0, i.e. V1 is grounded, then the output voltage Vo2 will
be due to the input voltage V2 alone.
• Hence the circuit shown in Fig. 4.18 becomes a non-inverting
amplifier of unity gain with input voltage V2/2 at the non-
inverting input terminal and the output voltage is given by
• Similarly, if V2 = 0, then the output voltage Vo1 will be due to V1 alone. Hence, the
circuit becomes an inverting amplifier of unity gain and the output voltage is given
by
• Now, considering that both the inputs are applied, the output voltage Vo is

• Thus, the output voltage is proportional to the difference between the two input
voltages.
• Hence, it acts as a difference amplifier with unity gain.
 Voltage follower
• If R1 =∞ and Rf = 0 in the non-inverting amplifier configuration, then the
amplifier acts as a unity-gain amplifier or voltage follower as shown in Fig.
• The circuit consists of an op-amp and a wire connecting the output voltage to the input, i.e.
the output voltage is equal to the input voltage, both in magnitude and phase.
• In other words, Vo = Vi.
• Since the output voltage of this circuit follows the input voltage, the circuit is called voltage
follower.
• It is also referred to as a source follower, buffer amplifier, isolation amplifier or unity gain
amplifier in practice.
• It offers very high input impedance of the order of MW and very low output impedance.
• Therefore, this circuit draws negligible current from the source. Thus, the voltage follower
can be used as a buffer between a high impedance source and a low impedance load for
impedance matching applications.
 Ideal and practical Integrator
• A circuit in which the output voltage waveform is the time integral of the
input voltage waveform is called integrator or integrating amplifier.
• Integrator produces a summing action over a required time interval and the
circuit is based on the general parallel-inverting voltage feedback model.
Ideal Integrator
• In order to achieve integration, the basic inverting
amplifier configuration can be used with the
feedback element Zf replaced by a capacitor Cf as
shown in Fig.
• The expression for the output voltage vo(t) can be
obtained by writing Kirchhoff ’s current equation at
node a as given by

• Since iB is negligibly small,

• ii = if
where vo(0) is the integration constant and is proportional to the value of the output
voltage vo(t) at t = 0. Equation indicates that the output voltage is directly proportional
to the negative integral of the input voltage and inversely proportional to the time
constant R1Cf
• At ω = 0, the gain of the integrator is infinite.
• Also the capacitor acts as an open circuit and hence there is no negative
feedback.
• Thus, the op-amp operates in open loop and hence the gain becomes infinite
(or the op-amp saturates).
• In practice, the output will never become infinite. As the frequency increases,
the gain of the integrator decreases.
The input sinusoidal and square waveforms and the corresponding
output waveforms of integrator circuit using op-amp are shown in
Fig.
 Limitations of Ideal Integrator
• Even in the absence of input signal, the two components, namely, the offset voltage and the
bias current contribute for an error voltage at the output. Thus, it is not possible to get a
true integration of the input signal at the output. The output waveform is distorted due to
this error voltage.
• Further, the bandwidth of an ideal integrator is very small. Hence, an ideal integrator can be
used for very small ranges of input frequency only.
• In the ideal integrator circuit, a small dc offset at the input can force the output into
saturation.
• To avoid this, a resistor is placed in parallel with the integrator capacitor to limit the low
frequency gain. However, this has an undesirable side effect of limiting the useful
integration range at higher frequencies
• Due to the above limitations, an ideal integrator is not used in practice.
• A few additional components are used along with the ideal integrator circuit to minimise the
effect of the error voltage. Such an integrator is called practical integrator.
 Practical Integrator
• The practical integrator circuit (lossy integrator) is
shown in Fig.
• Here, the feedback capacitor is shunted by a resistor Rf
so that the gain of the integrator at low frequency is
limited to avoid any saturation problem.
• Since the parallel combination of resistor Rf and
capacitor Cf dissipates power, this circuit is called a
lossy integrator.
• The resistor Rf provides the dc stabilisation, by
limiting the low frequency gain to –Rf /R1.
• The resistor Rcomp is given by Rcomp = R1ll Rf and
when Rf >> R1, Rcomp = R1.
• When Rf is very large, the lossy integrator will approximately become an ideal
integrator.
• At low frequencies, assuming the low level frequency to be fa, the gain is approximately
equal to Rf/R1. At 3 dB level the gain is 0.707(Rf /R1).
• The frequency responses of the ideal integrator and the lossy integrator are
shown in Fig. The ideal integrator of Fig. exhibits a –6 dB/octave (–20
dB/decade) slope through the useful integration range.
• The frequency fb is the frequency at which the transfer function or gain of the
integrator is 1 or 0 dB i.e.

• When the input frequency is less than fa, the circuit will not act as an integrator
and it will only act as a simple inverting amplifier.
• When the input frequency is equal to fa, there will be 50 percent accuracy.
• As a thumb rule, if the input frequency is 10 times fa, then it results in 99% of
accuracy.
 Applications of Integrator
• Integrators may be used in combination with summers and amplifiers to
form analog computers which are used to model a variety of physical
systems in real time.
• The integrator circuits are used as waveshaping circuits and used to convert
square-waves into triangular waves.
• Further they are used for solving differential equations in analog to digital
converters, and ramp generators.
Assuming R1 = 10 kW, Rf = 100 kW and Cf =10 nF in a practical integrator circuit of
Fig. , determine the lower frequency limit of integration and the output response for the
inputs (a) sine-wave (b) square-wave and (c) step input
 Ideal and practical Differentiator
• The differentiator can perform the mathematical operation of differentiation, i.e.
the output voltage is the differentiation of the input voltage.
• This operation is very useful to find the rate at which a signal varies with time
• The ideal differentiator is obtained by interchanging the position of the resistor
and capacitor in the ideal integrator circuit, or it may be constructed from a basic
inverting amplifier shown in Fig., if the input resistor R1 is replaced by a capacitor
C1.
• The ideal differentiator circuit is shown in Fig..
 Kirchhoff ’s Current Law written at
node a as follows:

Thus, the output vo is equal to the Rf C1

times the negative instantaneous rate of
change of the input voltage vi with time.
A differentiator performs the reverse of
the integrator’s function.
The upper cut-off frequency is given by
The input sinusoidal and square waveforms and the corresponding
output waveforms of differentiator circuit using op-amp are shown
in Figs
Design a differentiator to differentiate an input signal that
varies in frequency from 10 Hz to about 1 kHz.
 Limitations of Differentiator
• When compared to integrator circuits, the differentiator circuits are more susceptible to
noise. The input noise fluctuations of small amplitudes will have large derivatives. When
differentiated, these noise fluctuations will generate large noise signals at the output, which will
introduce a poor signal-to-noise ratio.
• This problem may be minimized by placing a resistor in series with the input capacitor.
This modified circuit differentiates only low frequency signals with a constant high frequency
gain.
• In a differentiator circuit, the limitations due to noise, stability and input impedance can pose
problems.
• In order to minimize noise and aid in stability, a small capacitor may be placed in
parallel with Rf , which will reduce the high frequency gain.
• In order to place a lower limit on the input impedance, a resistor may be connected in series
with the differentiating capacitor. The addition of either component will limit the upper range
of differentiation.
• As the frequency increases, the gain of the differentiator increases due to the
reduction of input impedance.

• Therefore, at high frequencies, the differentiator will become unstable due to very
high gain and it may enter into saturation. This makes the circuit very sensitive to
noise and the stability is affected. The noise component may override the signal
also.
• These limitations are overcome using a practical differentiator circuit with
additional components connected as discussed
 Practical Differentiator

Where Z1 = R1 in series with C1.

A practical differentiator circuit is shown

in Fig.. This eliminates the limitations of
noise and stability.
The effective current at the node a is
zero.
Equation shows that the gain increases at +20 dB/decade for frequency ranges of f < fb
and decreases at the rate of –20 dB/decade for f > fb. It is shown as the gain
characteristics in Fig. by dotted lines
• This 40 dB/decade variation in gain is due to the R1C1 and RfCf factors.
• For the ideal differentiator, the frequency response would have steadily increased at
20dB / decade even beyond fb, which could cause stability problems at high frequencies.
• The gain for the practical differentiator circuit is reduced significantly and this avoids the
high frequency noise, and results in better stability.
• The value fb is normally selected such that fa<fb<fc where fc denotes the unity gain-
bandwidth of the op-amp in open loop configuration mode.
• For effective differentiation, the time period T of the input signal is given by T ≥ RfC1
as indicated in Eq.
• When R1C1 and RfCf are much less than RfC1, then Eq. becomes

• A compensation resistor Rcomp is normally connected at the non-inverting terminal of

the op-amp to provide compensation for input bias current.
 Applications of Differentiators
• The differentiators can be used as waveshaping circuits.
• They can be used to convert triangular waves into square-waves.
• In fact, since differentiators tend to seek rapid changes in the input signal, they
are quite useful as edge detectors in the FM demodulators.
• The integrators and differentiators may be used in combination with adders and
amplifiers to form analog computers
(a) Design a differentiator using op-amp to differentiate an input signal with fmax = 200 Hz
(b) Also draw the output waveforms for a sine-wave and a square-wave input of 1 V peak at
200 Hz.
(ii) For the square-wave input with 1 V peak
at 200 Hz, the output waveform will have
positive and negative spikes of magnitude
Vsat which is approximately ±13 V for ±15
V op-amp power supply. When the input is
constant at ±1 V, the differentiated output
will be zero. When the input transits between
±1 V level, the differentiated output will be
infinite and gets clipped to about ±13V for a
±15 V op-amp power supply as shown in
Fig.
 Comparison between Integrator and Differ
• Since the process of integration involves the accumulation of signal over
time, sudden changes in the signal are suppressed. Therefore, an effective
smoothing of the signal is achieved and integration can be viewed as low-
pass filtering.
• Since the process of differentiation involves the identification of sudden
changes in the input signal, constant and slowly changing signals are
suppressed. Therefore, the differentiator can be viewed as a form of
high-pass filtering.
 Instrumentation amplifier
• Instrumentation amplifiers are used in monitoring and controlling of the physical
quantities in the industrial processes for measurement and control of temperature,
humidity, and light intensity.
• Normally, a transducer which can convert one form of energy into another is used to
sense and deliver the required information in the form of an electrical quantity such as
voltage, current or resistance. The signal is sent to the preamplifier stage for initial
amplification and, after further amplification and processing, may be passed to the output
stages such as meters, oscilloscopes, charts, memories and magnetic recorders.
• The major function of an instrumentation amplifier is precise amplification of low
level output signal of the transducer, and the instrumentation amplifier is widely used in
applications where low noise, low thermal and time drifts, high input impedance and
accurate closed-loop gains are required.
• There are many commercially available instrumentation amplifier ICs, such as AD521,
AD524 and AD624 manufactured by Analog Devices, and mA725, TCL7605 and
LH0036.
 REQUIREMENTS OF TYPICAL
INSTRUMENTATION AMPLIFIER
The important features required for an instrumentation amplifier are
• (i) high gain accuracy
• (ii) high CMRR
• (iii) high gain stability with low temperature coefficient
• (iv) low dc offset
• (v) low output impedance
• (vi) Differential input arrangement.
• (vii) Single ended output.
• (viii) Adjustable gain.
• (ix) High Slew rate
• The differential amplifier discussed above has its input impedance value
limited by the value of resistor R1. The gain of the differential amplifier
is decided by the factor R2/R1, which restricts the high gain values. This
limitation is overcome by the use of a voltage follower between each
signal input terminal and the difference amplifier.
• This has the disadvantage that the gain of the amplifier cannot easily be
changed. Hence, a circuit with the possibility of gain adjustment by the
use of a single resistor is preferable for instrumentation applications
involving very low voltages of the order of microvolts and common-
mode signals existing between the two input terminals.
• The instrumentation amplifier shown in Fig. has this feasibility of
offering high input impedance and a high gain
• The op-amps A1 and A2 as shown in Fig. are voltage follower or buffer circuits acting as
the input stage for each of the inputs V1 and V2. They have zero differential input voltage,
i.e. Vid = 0.
• Under such conditions with common mode signal = 0, and V1 = V2, the voltage across the
resistor R is zero. The voltages at the inverting terminals of the buffers are equal to the
input voltages.
• Since no current flows through the resistors R and R’, the output voltages are V2’ = V2 and
• V1’ = V1 respectively. However, if V1 > V2, then a current flows through the resistors R
and R’ and (V2’-V1’) > ( V2-V1)
• Therefore, this circuit will have more differential gain and CMRR compared to the single
op-amp circuit shown in Fig..
• The current flowing in the resistor R is I and the same current I will flow through the
resistors R¢ in the direction shown. The voltage at the non-inverting terminal of op-amp
A3 is
• By using a variable resistor R, the gain of this instrumentation amplifier can be varied.
• When V1= V2=Vcm, V1’ =V2 ‘=Vcm , where Vcm is the common mode signal. The
input stage thus passes the common mode signals with unity gain.
• On the other hand, when the input stage uses individually connected voltage follower
circuits, they would allow both the common mode and the differential mode signals with
the same gain.
• Therefore, the advantage of the coupled differential input stage is that it amplifies only
the differential input signals with some voltage gain.
• The circuit, thus theoretically possesses an infinite CMRR, with the possibility of gain
setting by the resistor R and the circuit is not affected by resistor tolerance value of R.
• However, in practice, CMRR is not infinite due to the fact that the two op-amps incur
differences in internal common-mode errors.
• Use of dual op-amps in those cases is an ideal way to alleviate such errors.
A Differential Instrumentation amplifier using
transducer bridge
 I) When bridge is balanced:

Vab = Va − Vb

VDC VDC
R R Va = ×R & Vb = ×R
R+R R+R
+
b
+ Vab _ a
VDC ∴ Vab = 0
_

R R

o Thus in balanced condition the output of the transducer bridge is zero.

40

V. B. Raskar June 25, 2020

 II) When bridge is Unbalanced:

Vab = Va −Vb

VDC VDC
R R+Δ Vab = ×R − ×R
R 2R
2R + ∆R
+ R 1
b
+ Va _ a
∴ Vab = VDC −
VDC
_ b 2R + ∆R 2
VDC −∆R
Vab =
R R 2 2R + ∆R

VDC + ∆R
∴ Vba =
2 2R + ∆R

o Thus in the unbalanced condition, the output of the bridge is proportional to the
change in resistance ‘∆R’. This output is amplified by the instrumentation
amplifier to get the final output. Thus the output is proportional to change in
resistance ‘∆R’ which is proportional to change in the physical quantity. 41
 PRACTICAL SET UP OF INST. AMPLIFIER

R+Δ
R R _
Va R
A1
a f
+
VD R
C 1 _
+
R R Vab A
+ 3 V
o
R
1

b + R
A f
_ 2 Vb
R
Vo = Vba
fR1 R +∆ R VDC
∴ Vo =
fR1 2R + ∆R 2
VDC + ∆R
Vba =
2 2R + ∆R ∴ V α ∆R
o
Thus the output voltage is proportional to change in resistance ‘∆R’
42
which in turn proportional to change in the physical quantity.
 APPLICATIONS OF INSTRUMENTATION AMPLIFIER

• Analog Weighing Machine/Scale

• Temperature Indicator:
• Light Intensity meter
 The instrumentation amplifier is used to amplify the output of a balanced microphone. The
output of the microphone is 6 mV peak (12 Mv differential), and a common-mode hum signal
is induced into the lines at 10 mV peak (0 mV differential). If the system has a CMRR of 100
dB, what is the output signal?

First, let's check the outputs of the

first section to make sure that no
clipping is occurring.
We will use superposition and consider
the desired signal and hum signal
separately.
 Performing the same calculation on the hum signal
produces a contribution of

For worst case, these two components'

magnitudes add, yielding 616 mV, which
is far below clipping.
The same results are produced for Vb,
except that the desired signal is positive.
Note that the total gain is 505. Because this amplifier is not perfect, some common-
mode signal gets through. It is suppressed by 100 dB over a desired signal. 100 dB
translates to a factor of 105 in voltage gain. To find the hum signal at the output,
multiply the hum by the ordinary signal gain, and then divide it by the CMRR
Notice how the hum signal started out just as large as the desired
signal, but is now many times smaller. The very high CMRR of the
instrumentation amplifier is what makes this possible.