Charging of capacitors with double switch. The principle of operation of auto-zero and chopper-stabilized DC amplifiers

TL;DR

This paper discusses the principle of operation of auto-zero and chopper-stabilized DC amplifiers, illustrating their implementation through a physics Olympiad experiment based on a historical patent, highlighting their relevance in modern amplifiers.

Contribution

It presents an educational experimental setup demonstrating the operation of chopper-stabilized DC amplifiers, connecting historical patents to contemporary electronic devices.

Findings

Participants successfully solved the experimental problem.

The setup illustrates the principle used in modern operational amplifiers.

The experiment links historical patents to current technology.

Abstract

The problem given to the 10 Experimental Physics Olympiad (EPO10) 7 December 2023, Skopje, 11:00-15:00. The Olympiad is organized by Society of Physicists Macedonia and the Sofia Branch of the Union of Physicists in Bulgaria. The experimental set-up illustrates the principle of chopper stabilized DC amplifiers described in the patent by Edwin Goldberg and Jules Lehmann, Stabilized direct current amplifier, U.S. Patent 2,684,999 (1949). Now this principle is implemented in many contemporary operational amplifiers. In such a way this student problem is related to the operation of widely used technical device and many participants successfully solved the problem.