ABSTRACT
This chapter begins with some basic considerations on op amps, including the definition and properties of ideal and almost-ideal op amps. It introduces the very important concept of feedback as a prelude to discussing the two basic op amp configurations: inverting and noninverting. The chapter considers these configurations in detail, including some of their variants, such as the unity-gain follower, adder, ideal integrator, and differentiator. An operational amplifier, or op amp in short, is an electronic device that was commonly used in analog computers in the 1950s, before the advent of digital computers. Operational amplifiers are so called because they were at the heart of various building blocks that performed mathematical operations, such as addition, subtraction, differentiation, and integration. These building blocks were used to solve differential equations on analog computers. The chapter ends with the analysis of the difference amplifier.
