Experimental characterization of operational amplifiers: A system identification approach - Part I: Theory and simulations

Using specially designed broadband periodic random excitation signals, the open loop, the common mode, and the power supply gains of operational amplifiers are measured and modeled. The proposed modeling technique 1) takes into account the measurement uncertainty and the nonlinear distortions, 2) gives information about possible unmodeled dynamics, 3) detects, quantifies, and classifies the nonlinear distortions, and 4) provides opamp parameters (time constants, gain-bandwidth product, etc.) with confidence bounds. The approach is suitable for the experimental characterization of operational amplifiers (see [23]) as well as the fast evaluation of new operational amplifiers designs using network simulators (see Part I). Part I describes the modeling approach and illustrates the theory on simulations.