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operational amplifier
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high-gain voltage amplifier with a differential input
An operational amplifier is an electronic component that takes the difference between two input signals and amplifies it to produce a much stronger output signal. It's a basic building block used in countless electronic devices—from audio equipment to medical instruments—because it can be configured in flexible ways to perform useful functions like amplification, filtering, and mathematical operations.
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An operational amplifier (often op amp, op-amp, or opamp) is a DC-coupled electronic amplifier with a differential input, a (usually) single-ended output voltage, and an extremely high gain. Its name comes from its original use of performing mathematical operations in analog computers. The voltage-feedback opamp (VFOA or VFA, the focus of this article) amplifies the voltage difference between its two inputs, while the less common current-feedback op amp (CFOA) amplifies the current between its two inputs.
By using negative feedback, the characteristics of an op amp application circuit (e.g., its gain, input and output impedance, bandwidth, and functionality) can be determined by external components and have little dependence on temperature coefficients or engineering tolerance in the op amp itself. This flexibility has made the op amp a popular building block in analog circuits.