Operational Amplifiers And Their Basic Circuits

 

Report on one of the topics from the list below and explain in your OWN words its basic operation, and uses. Identify which basic operational amplifier configuration is being used in the application (inverting, non-inverting or voltage divider) and which gain equation is needed for the application.

Comparators
Summing Amplifiers
Integrators
Differentiators

Sample Solution

A comparator is an electronic circuit that compares two input voltages and outputs a high or low voltage depending on whether the first voltage is greater than, equal to, or less than the second. Comparators are most commonly used in analog-to-digital converters, where they compare an analog signal with predetermined reference voltages to determine which binary number corresponds to it. They are also used in digital circuits for triggering events based on certain thresholds being exceeded.

The basic operational amplifiers configuration that is typically used with comparators is the inverting amplifier configuration as it offers very high gain; much higher than can be achieved using a non-inverting amplifier configuration. Because of this, even small differences between the input signals can be amplified enough so that the output has reliable logic levels regardless of noise and temperature variations. The gain equation for inverting amplifiers is Vout = -(Rf/Ri) * Vin, where Ri and Rf are resistors connected to the inverting and non-inverting inputs respectively, while Vin represents the voltage difference between these two inputs (Gauche & Darabiha 2018).

Comparators are widely used due their ability to quickly detect changes in an input signal – within nanoseconds – by comparing it against a reference value and then performing some action once that comparison has been made (Gauche & Darabiha 2018). This makes them useful in applications such as proximity detectors which need to react quickly when detecting nearby objects or sound level meters which respond almost instantaneously when measuring loudness levels. Additionally, they can also be used as hysteresis controllers which will prevent rapid switching between states by introducing a “dead zone” around each threshold point (Gauche & Darabiha 2018).

As discussed by Bottazzo (2005), a company’s employees are one of its main groups of potential stakeholders. As a result, the satisfaction of employees is considered equal to the satisfaction of customers and shareholders, becoming an important element of an organisation’s strategic mission. This has created a paradigm shift of internal communication from one-way informing of employees, to a two-way communication with the inclusion of training, education and motivation.

The goal of internal communication is to achieve employee-company advocacy, with workers buying into the missions and values of the organisation and reflect those to other potential stakeholders. Therefore it’s necessary for Recticel to maintain the use of different platforms for everyday communication, including email, telephone, webinars and Skype – which allows a range of users to ‘dial in’ to a meeting and share computer screens. For a multi-national company, well-rounded communication from management is crucial – to offer information, support and a sense of community for plants that cannot be supported through emails or phone calls alone (Pinsky, 2015).

 

 

Recticel address this through an internal intranet system, RICK (Recticel Intranet Centre of Knowledge). RICK contains all of the documents, training and support required by individual plants to help run their business successfully. In a manufacturing environment, changes can take place rapidly – this method of instantaneous communication will assist individual plants to sync their business activities.

RICK boosts the company’s efforts of ‘on boarding’ – the introduction of new employees to the company. In a company of this size, the automation of an on boarding programme streamlines talent management initiatives and improves productivity long term. A personalised level of access to the intranet system facilitates a steady flow of well-timed information to new employees (Friedmann, 2012). There are instances where automation in the ‘on boarding’ and communication processes have their disadvantages. In large manufacturing companies like Recticel, where most employees work the assembly line rather than at a desk, not all employees have the same access to information and training.

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