Op Amps

General Concepts & Definitions

Compensation

Modification of an amplifier's amplitude frequency response; an OpAmp that is said to be "internally compensated," such as the 741, will typically have a capacitor(30 pF for the 741) nested in its second stage(high gain stage) for greater stability at the expense of decreased bandwidth. An OpAmp that is said to be "externally compensated," such as the 301, will have extra pins, labeled respectively, to adjust the value of this capacitor for a desired stability/bandwidth ratio.

Slew Rate

The measure of an amplifier's response quickness between its input and its output, in units of Volts/microseconds. For bench-mark purposes, a 741 is rated for a typical slew rate of 0.5 Volts/microseconds with a load-resistance greater than 2K.