From the different modes of operational amplifier series, this article will cover up the concept of Voltage follower using operational amplifier.
The voltage follower concept of operational amplifier can be termed as a limited case of non-inverting amplifier where the output voltage received from the output of the operational amplifier is given back to the (-) inverting input by direct connection as shown in the figure
VOLTAGE FOLLOWER USING OPERATIONAL AMPLIFIER
From the circuit it is very clear that direct connection of the output of operational amplifier to the (-) inverting input of operational amplifier, gives us the voltage gain of 1, which obviously means that there is no gain.
As this is a non-inverting amplifier, for a non-inverting amplifier the closed loop voltage gain is 1/B. Since B =1 for a voltage follower, the closed loop voltage gain of the voltage-follower is 1.
The significance of this simple voltage follower configuration is
- Very high input impedance
- Very low output impedance
This kind of circuit may be used in places where you require a buffer amplifier for interfacing low-impedance load with high-impedance sources
This voltage follower using op-amp will serve you as an ideal buffer amplifier for interfacing the above condition, I suppose by now you might have understood what I mean by Ideal.