Electronics > Beginners
What's the use of OpAmps?
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IDEngineer:
Class D amps are great for audio applications. The Apex products are actual opamps, just with power finals. If all you're doing is audio, Class D (TDA style) is a good choice and will save a ton of money. But since the OP asked:


--- Quote ---can they drive loads? Are they suitable for "the power stage" of a project? It doesn't seem so. I would be interested, if someone could point me to a part what I would then call an "OpAmp Driver", that can handle bigger loads.
--- End quote ---

...something like an actual linear opamp with power capability seems like a better fit.

Basically, figure out your application and choose the proper component.
rstofer:
Somebody must be buying/using op amps because the annual sales of analog ICs is expected to hit $69 billion by 2022.  Considering the 'jelly bean' price of these devices in volume, there's a lot of analog going on somewhere.

I just left op amps lumped in 'analog ICs' because I didn't see a stand-alone figure.

https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2018/04/03/1458822/0/en/Global-Analog-Integrated-Circuits-ICs-Market-Will-Reach-USD-68-97-Billion-by-2022-Zion-Market-Research.html
james_s:
Perhaps a good way to learn the use of op-amps is to try building some circuits commonly using them without one and see what problems you run into. Try low pass, mid pass and high pass filters, try making a sine wave oscillator, an integrator, or circuits to do simple analog addition or multiplication. Convert a signal between single ended and differential and vice versa, then once you've done all this the hard and painful way, try doing the same stuff with some jellybean op amps and the advantages should become obvious.
dmills:
Lots of the Apex stuff ends up in sonar applications, you don't really care about 40 bucks for a transmit gain block when the transducer array is costing £10k or so.

I would bet their stuff ended up in some old design that Thales wound up the design authority for by purchasing the original manufacturer, at which point ANY change becomes a sufficient paperwork dance to make it not worth it.

Regards, Dan.
Old Printer:

--- Quote from: Darkwing on May 01, 2019, 08:23:03 pm ---Apart from the hijackers: thank you very much guys!  :)  ;D

The linked PDF book is a very good read, I like  that! Must read more.  8)

I understand for now, that such an OpAmp is a very flexible signal amplifier and in terms of "manufacturing tolerance" and reliability and signal quality to prefer, instead of simple BJTs.

But what I don't understand is: can they drive loads? Are they suitable for "the power stage" of a project? It doesn't seem so. I would be interested, if someone could point me to a part what I would then call an "OpAmp Driver", that can handle bigger loads.

(Maybe that's why I never saw a use for them in any of my projects so far, because I understand 'amplification' as being able to 'amplify voltage AND current'. [A MOSFET with 1.4mΩ Rdson is not even slightly impressed, when there's a current of 5A or so ... would an OpAmp be?])


However, you guys helped me a lot! Thanks!  :-+

--- End quote ---

I was glad to see you ask this question as I don't really see the day to day use for them either, but I think that is because my projects have not progressed that far. I was hoping for some sort of revelation here, and I agree, you did get a lot of op amp information that did not answer your question. I think it is a question that will get clearer once we get more involved in the proper type of circuits. I did download a copy of the Op Amp book by Walt Jung, but at 800 pages it is going to take a while to digest :)  Tempted to buy a used copy as I find a printed book easier to work with, guess that's the printer in me :)
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