Hobby Electronics Basics Minimising current in unused op amp

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Subject Author Date
Minimising current in unused op amp angus.oliver 07-04-08
Posted by on July 4, 2008, 4:20 am
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Hi All,

Having found dual op amp packages around a fifth the price of
comparable single packages from online distributors, I think i'll go
for the double.
(BTW, I'm using supply of +16, and ground).

I don't want the unused channel drawing current unnecessarily though,
or bouncing the output around.. - If I tie the non-inverting input to
+3.3V, and have a high resistance feedback resistor to the inverting
input (with no other input to that pin), would that be as good as
anything? I figure the output won't have to 'try' very hard to modify
the voltage of an input pin with no other voltages on it..

Am I right?

Thanks..

Posted by Bob Eld on July 4, 2008, 11:20 am
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> Hi All,
>
> Having found dual op amp packages around a fifth the price of
> comparable single packages from online distributors, I think i'll go
> for the double.
> (BTW, I'm using supply of +16, and ground).
>
> I don't want the unused channel drawing current unnecessarily though,
> or bouncing the output around.. - If I tie the non-inverting input to
> +3.3V, and have a high resistance feedback resistor to the inverting
> input (with no other input to that pin), would that be as good as
> anything? I figure the output won't have to 'try' very hard to modify
> the voltage of an input pin with no other voltages on it..
>
> Am I right?
>
> Thanks..

Just tie the inverting input to the output, unity gain. Three point three
volts on the noninverting input is OK. You can usually just ground this
point, in this case connecting it to the negative rail. Ideally the common
mode range of the input should include the negative rail but that may not be
necessary depending on the particular amp.



Posted by Chris on July 4, 2008, 11:41 am
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On Jul 4, 3:20=A0am, angus.oli...@gmail.com wrote:
> Hi All,
>
> Having found dual op amp packages around a fifth the price of
> comparable single packages from online distributors, I think i'll go
> for the double.
> (BTW, I'm using supply of +16, and ground).
>
> I don't want the unused channel drawing current unnecessarily though,
> or bouncing the output around.. - If I tie the non-inverting input to
> +3.3V, and have a high resistance feedback resistor to the inverting
> input (with no other input to that pin), would that be as good as
> anything? I figure the output won't have to 'try' very hard to modify
> the voltage of an input pin with no other voltages on it..
>
> Am I right?
>
> Thanks..

As long as you've chosen a single supply op amp (like the LM358) with
input range extending to the negative rail, just grounding the non-
inverting input on the unused op amp/voltage follower should be OK.
But even if you've got an op amp like the LM1458, 3.3V should be
fine. If you've got an LM358, GND will be lower current, because it
doesn't have the noise of another voltage input.

The "high resistance feedback resistor" won't help. At worst (for
high resistance values), it can encourage oscillations, which will
dramaticaly increase quiescent current (charging and discharging the
internal compensation cap). Just connect the inverting input directly
to the output to make a voltage follower, and save the price of the
resistor.

By the way, make sure you change the circuit layout for the new op amp
pinout.

Cheers
Chris

Posted by John Larkin on July 4, 2008, 3:08 pm
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On Fri, 4 Jul 2008 01:20:49 -0700 (PDT), angus.oliver@gmail.com wrote:

>Hi All,
>
>Having found dual op amp packages around a fifth the price of
>comparable single packages from online distributors, I think i'll go
>for the double.
>(BTW, I'm using supply of +16, and ground).
>
>I don't want the unused channel drawing current unnecessarily though,
>or bouncing the output around.. - If I tie the non-inverting input to
>+3.3V, and have a high resistance feedback resistor to the inverting
>input (with no other input to that pin), would that be as good as
>anything? I figure the output won't have to 'try' very hard to modify
>the voltage of an input pin with no other voltages on it..
>
>Am I right?
>
>Thanks..

Yup, keep it closed-loop, away from the rails. You don't need the
resistor, just connect the output to the IN- input. 3.3 volts on the
IN+ input should be fine for any opamp.

Some, maybe most, opamps draw a lot of extra current if railed, so
don't tie the ni input to V+ or V-/ground. Some will even mess up the
other amp sections if one section is run open-loop.

If you don't have a suitable dummy voltage handy, and the signal isn't
really fast, you can use the extra opamp section as a follower of the
section that you do use; that keeps it happy, too.

John



Posted by Phil Allison on July 4, 2008, 8:18 pm
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>
> Having found dual op amp packages around a fifth the price of
> comparable single packages from online distributors, I think i'll go
> for the double.
> (BTW, I'm using supply of +16, and ground).
>
> I don't want the unused channel drawing current unnecessarily though,
> or bouncing the output around.. - If I tie the non-inverting input to
> +3.3V, and have a high resistance feedback resistor to the inverting
> input (with no other input to that pin), would that be as good as
> anything? I figure the output won't have to 'try' very hard to modify
> the voltage of an input pin with no other voltages on it..
>
> Am I right?


** Use the spare op-amp to do something - like buffer the output of other
one.

No extra current draw involved.


..... Phil




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