Most of today’s computer professionals who have even heard of the operational amplifier probably link its use to analog computers of the past. While it is certainly true that the heyday of analog computing was made possible by operational amplifier technology, modern descendants of these vacuum tube and patch panel dinosaurs are ubiquitous throughout many of the current generation and highest technology electronic systems. Modern operational amplifiers are implemented as single-chip integrated circuits, with an overall sales volume of many millions of circuit components per month.

Operational amplifiers are linear electronic circuit devices that amplify voltage and/or current in order to implement a mathematical operation such as addition, multiplication, differentiation, or integration. Most currently common integrated circuit applications involve basic amplification, often of unity gain, for instance, to isolate a load from a signal source. The use of operational amplifiers is essential to computer circuitry ranging from power supplies to peripheral controllers and control servomechanisms of associated mechanical devices.

This text, one of a series entitled “Intuitive Integrated Circuit Electronics,” is written for the practicing engineer concerned with the design and application of commonly encountered operational amplifiers. It is neither a good introductory text nor of particular value toward a disciplined understanding of operational amplifier design theory. Instead, it fills in that broad middle ground suitable for continuing education of design engineers who seek to improve their circuit design and application skills. The text is based on lecture notes by the author from his seminar of the same name. Its seven chapters are well written and full of practical perspectives gained from long years at the design bench. They focus nearly entirely on proven circuit design approaches, error sources, key application circuits, and typical problems encountered. For this it is valuable and highly recommended, but only to that class of reader seeking shortcuts to successful design and application of proven methodology using off-the-shelf operational amplifier components. This text would not be especially appropriate in the college classroom, but would seem a useful supplement to circuit laboratory assignments utilizing operational amplifiers.