• State
  • Locked Locked
  • Replies 2 replies
  • Subscribers 47 subscribers
  • Views 21629 views
  • Users 0 members are here
Support feedback
Options
Options
Related

This thread has been locked.

If you have a related question, please click the "Ask a related question" button in the top right corner. The newly created question will be automatically linked to this question.

Symptoms of a fried OP-AMP for beginners.

SteveRob
Prodigy 70 points

What are the various (and most common) ways to destroy an op amp and what are the symptoms? Is it normal for a burned out  OP-AMP to simply overheat when you once again suppy power or could this just be a symptom of a wrong circuit? Sorry for the simplicity of the question but i'm fairly new to op amp design and would certainly like to minimise wastage.

Thank you.

Steve.

  • 0
    Guru 21975 points

    Steve,

    There are, of course, many ways to damage an op amp and many possible symptoms for a damaged device. Modern op amps are far more robust than the touchy, twitchy devices I first used. Still, they can be damaged and here are some ways

    • Reversed or excessive power supply voltage.
    • Driving inputs beyond the supply voltages (often called "beyond the rails").
    • Electrostatic Discharge (ESD static zaps).
    • Short-circuits to ground or to supply voltages (especially with devices that operate on higher than +5V)
    • Electrical Over-Stress (EOS)--a general term for pulses or surges of voltage or current that might be applied from some external source

    Possible symtoms of a damaged device can include:

    • Excessive current drawn from the power supplies.
    • No current drawn from the power supplies.
    • Failure to respond to any input signal in any way.
    • Failure to meet published specifications, especially excessive offset voltage and excessive input bias current.

    Among the best ways to avoid damage is to use current-limited power supplies. One of the best investments for time savings is a supply of spare parts for comparison. Many engineers waste time troubleshooting circuits with damaged devices.

    Regards and hope this helps... Bruce.

  • 0 in reply to Bruce Trump
    Genius 5430 points

    This reminds me of the title of a book that I had when I was a kid-- "How To Ruin Your Bike".

    "#1: Tighten everything as far as possible with a large Crescent wrench...."

     

    Op amps do not like to be placed into a circuit backwards, etc, etc.