University of Minnesota

Department of Electrical and Computer

Engineering

EE 3102 Laboratory Manual

A Third Laboratory Course in

Electronics

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Introduction

The general philosophy of the lab is the same as its predecessors (EE2002, 3101). For a more complete
description of this philosophy consult the introductions to those lab manuals. This course is somewhat different
from the aforementioned courses in that it consists of a four-week experiment on feedback amplifiers and a
semester-long design project. The former will be carried out in the same fashion as your previous experience
with these labs. The design project will be an effort of multi-person teams. The design project and the makeup
of the teams will be announced at the beginning of the semester so that preliminary design can begin during the
first four weeks. Grading will be as follows:

Four-week lab on feedback amplifiers:

This lab must be completed by the end of week #7 (See Schedule). The lab is not graded but students’
notebooks and milestones must be up-to-date and complete to pass the course.

Design project:
- Preliminary design proposal due during session #5
- Final Design proposal (due session #8) consisting of 20%
- Concept.
- Implementation.
- Circuit diagram.
- Parts list and prices.
- Analysis of design with respect to meeting design specifications.
- Breakdown of the tasks performed up to this point by each team member.
- Detailed circuit simulation!!!

Project Demonstration
Layout & Construction 30%
-Is it on a printed circuit board?
-Neatness.
Operation
- Meets specs?
- Agrees with proposal or deviations explained?

Final Design Project Report (group) 30%

Logbooks (individual) 10%

TA Evaluation of Individual Participation 10%

(Includes attendance)

Note that only 20% of your grade will be based individual effort. That is the first lab and the project logbooks
(essentially a continuation of your notebook). The remaining 80% of your grade will be the same one for all
people in your design group.

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- The lab notebook should have the following characteristics:
- It should be a bound notebook (spiral bound is ok).
- Lab entries should be dated, and should include:
- Complete circuit diagrams.
- Explanation of circuit, methods, procedures, etc.
- All calculations for designs.
- All measurements (including component values).
- All analysis and comparisons of data with theory.
- Note: this design project is expected to be of professional quality. This implies that all material (except
logbooks) submitted for evaluation should be of professional quality (e.g. typed or CAD).

- Housekeeping Requirements.

No food or drink to is be brought into the lab and most especially is not to be placed on the lab benches. At the
conclusion of each laboratory session, all cables, etc. are to be returned to the proper wire racks and any
borrowed equipment (there should be no borrowed equipment without the approval of the TA) returned to its
proper location. The only items on the lab bench when you leave should be the equipment normally found on
each bench. If for some reason, you find the lab bench does not meet the above standards when you first come
in, inform your TA immediately. You are still responsible for leaving the lab bench neat when you leave.

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 Experiment #1
Feedback Amplifiers
Sessions #1-#5
This laboratory deals with the 4 feedback topologies,
with the frequency response of amplifiers using those
topologies and with the issue of stability. It is the last
group of experiments of the core electronics
sequence. As such it is intended to challenge you.
You will have great difficulty with many of the
segments if you do not first review the relevant
material. Do this before coming to the laboratory.
The 4 topologies.
Series/Shunt
2. Design for a midband no-load voltage gain of
about 15 and measure the midband voltage gain for
various resistive loads. Also determine the low-
frequency small-signal input resistance and the
location of the dominant pole in the sinusoidal steady
state response. Deduce the location of the dominant
pole in the open loop response of the op-amp itself.

Open Loop Voltage Gain

1/ For use in the following sections you will need to

determine and record the DC open loop voltage gain
of each of the op-amps to be used (3 of them).
CAUTION: You need to account for the non-zero
input offset voltage.
The following circuit is suitable:

_____________________________________
MILESTONE #1-1: Your TA will tell you which
one of your amplifiers from items 2 through 5 to
leave connected. When you have completed item 5
demonstrate that amplifier.
___________________________________________

Shunt/Series

3. Design for a mid-band short-circuit current gain of

about 100 and measure the mid-band value for
various resistive loads.
Notice that the input voltage to the opamp itself is
obtained by a voltage division ( you will need
In this case the input current source is to be
accurate values for the resistors of the divider) from
approximated with a voltage source in series with a
V1 which can be measured. Do not attempt to
large resistance (e.g. 1MΩ).
measure the opamp input voltage directly. Your TA
will demonstrate how to correctly make this
measurement.

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 6. Connect 2 identical amplifiers as designed in item
2 in series and provide overall feedback to make the
overall voltage gain about 15 at mid-band.

Series/Series

(Remember that the dc offset voltage of opamp #1

is amplified by #2 and this may cause saturation.
You may have to do something about this.) Measure
the frequency response of this compound amplifier.
Also examine the output for input square waves of
various frequencies. Determine the Q of the circuit.
___________________________________________
MILESTONE #1-2: Demonstrate the response of
this circuit to square waves of various frequencies.
4. Design for a mid-band short-circuit ___________________________________________
transconductance of about 1 ma/v and measure the
mid-band transconductance for various resistive Stability
loads. 7. Connect 3 identical amplifiers as designed in item
2 in series and provide overall feedback so as to give
Shunt/Shunt an overall mid-band voltage gain variable from 10 to
100. Investigate the stability of the circuit as a
function of gain.

Compensation

8. For the 3-stage amplifier of item 8 determine a

dominant pole compensation to give stability with a
phase margin between 45 and 90 degrees.

Find a way to add this pole to your circuit and

5. Design for a mid-band open-circuit trans-
resistance of about 100 kΩ and measure the mid-
band trans-resistance for various resistive loads.
Frequency Response
determine experimentally the bandwidth of the
compensated amplifier. (Suggestion: inserting the
following network between stages is one way to do
it.)

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___________________________________________
MILESTONE #1-3: demonstrate that the phase
margin is in the range specified.
___________________________________________

9. Design and build a 500 Hz sinusoidal oscillator

based on an op amp powered with 15v supplies.
Provide a stabilizing network so as to limit output
amplitude to about 5v.
___________________________________________
MILESTONE #1-4: Demonstrate the operation of
your oscillator.
___________________________________________

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