op-amp
Science & Engineering abbreviation · Electronics & Electrical
| Stands for | Operational amplifier |
|---|---|
| Categories | Science & Engineering |
op-amp stands for Operational amplifier, an electronics & electrical abbreviation.
High-gain integrated amplifier with two inputs and one output, used with feedback components to build amplifiers, filters, comparators, buffers and signal conditioning circuits. Op-amps are among the most widely used analog chips.
Example: A non-inverting op-amp stage with a 10:1 resistor ratio gives a gain of 11.
Usage notes
John Ragazzini and colleagues coined the term in 1947 for vacuum-tube amplifiers that performed mathematical operations in analog computers. Bob Widlar designed early integrated op-amps at Fairchild, and the uA741, introduced in 1968, became an industry classic. Students learn "golden rules": with negative feedback, the inputs draw no current and are driven to equal voltages.
Related abbreviations
More electronics & electrical abbreviations
- MOSFET – Metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor
- NC – Normally closed
- NEC – National Electrical Code
- NO – Normally open
- NTC – Negative temperature coefficient (thermistor)
- OLED – Organic light-emitting diode
- PCB – Printed circuit board
- PCBA – Printed circuit board assembly
- PLL – Phase-locked loop
- PTC – Positive temperature coefficient (thermistor)
- PWM – Pulse-width modulation
- RCD – Residual-current device