Design of Low-Voltage Bipolar Operational Amplifiers

This text discusses the subcircuits necessary to build a low-voltage operational amplifier. These include rail-to-rail input stages, rail-to-rail output stages, intermediate stages, protection circuitry, and frequency compensation techniques. Of each of these, various implementations are examined. Furthermore, the book discusses realizations in silicon of the resulting amplifiers. The design and implementation of low-voltage bipolar Operational Amplifiers (OpAmps) is fully presented. A low supply voltage is necessary because the tendency towards chip components of smaller dimensions lowers the breakdown voltage of these components. Further, a low supply voltage is favourable because it enables operation of the OpAmp from just one single battery cell. The bipolar technology is chosen, because it is more suited for operation at low-voltages than the MOS technology. This text is intended to be a a reference for professional designers of amplifiers and may be used as a text for advanced courses on the subject.