Verification and Optimization of an Operational Amplifier Utilizing a Designed Experiment
Alan S. Windham, James Z. Zhang, Aaron K. Ball · 2006
Operational Amplifiers (Op-Amp) have been an intricate part of life for more than half a century. Op-Amps are used in virtually all electronic devices. Because an Op-Amp’s operational characteristics are affected by many variables such as bias and input signal frequency, it is imperative to verify and optimize its parameters under various operating conditions. In doing so, it is expected to improve simulation accuracy and hence implementation quality. The main objectives of this research were to broaden basic knowledge of Op-Amp circuits, and in particular, gain in-depth understanding of the impact of frequency and bias on operating characteristics of Op-Amp circuits. Focus was on properly simulating practical Op-Amp reactions to fluctuations of several parameters such as bias voltage, frequency, and current. An experiment using these parameters was designed to determine modeling accuracy of the OpAmps. A two-level factorial design was implemented to discover the actual significant parameters and their interactions. Testing data was compared with those obtained from a Simulation Program with Integrated Circuit Emphasis (SPICE) program, and statistical inference was drawn from data analysis and suggestions are given to optimize simulation parameters. The expected results from this project were to gain extensive knowledge of Op-Amp circuit design and implementation. Simulation tools such as Cadence's PSpice ® circuit simulation