Modern operational amplifiers (op amps) and instrumentation amplifiers (in-amps) provide great benefits to the designer, compared with assemblies of discrete semiconductors. A great many clever, useful, and tempting circuit applications have been published. But all too often, in one’s haste to assemble a circuit, some very basic issue is overlooked that leads to the circuit not functioning as expected—or perhaps at all. This article will discuss a few of the most common application problems and suggest practical solutions.

Reproduced with the permission of Analog Devices, Inc.