ABSTRACT
The operational amplifier, colloquially known as OpAmp (or op‐amp), was originally developed to be used in analog computers. The name of the circuit itself stems from the fact that it could be connected so to procure a large variety of mathematical operations, among these are inversion, addition, subtraction, differentiation, and integration. Understanding the ideal OpAmp model, as well as, the real OpAmp necessarily involves the study of the differential configuration. This chapter provides an analysis of the differential amplifier in static condition and in dynamic operation. The calculations for the circuit configurations employing OpAmps as active elements are relatively simple, as long as the simplified model for the amplifier in question is used. It is convenient to start the study considering the OpAmp as ideal, indicating its characteristics and analyzing some of its applications, and gradually, as users progress in its comprehension, certain elements will be introduced in order to explain its real operation.
