From the course: Electronics Foundations: Semiconductor Devices
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Compare signals
From the course: Electronics Foundations: Semiconductor Devices
Compare signals
- [Instructor] When an operational amplifier is used in the open loop configuration without any feedback, it can be used as a comparator, which looks at the voltage at each of its input terminals and determines which is the largest of the two. The comparator outputs the voltage connected to either the positive or the negative supply rail to indicate which of the input voltages is higher. If the voltage at the noninverting input terminal is higher than the inverting input terminal, the comparator will output the voltage from its positive supply rail. And if the voltage at the noninverting input terminal is the lower of the two, then the comparator will output the negative supply rail voltage. The comparator circuit works because in the open loop configuration, the output voltage from the op amp will be equal to its open loop gain, which is abbreviated as AO, times the difference between the noninverting input voltage and…
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