Recent developments in bipolar operational amplifiers

Since the emergence of the first monolithic opamps in the mid 1960's, the op-amp has steadily evolved. Though CMOS op-amps have become very prevalent, bipolar op-amps have also greatly improved in recent times. New architectures (such as rail-to-rail performance and current-feedback) have been applied, while newer processes (such as high-speed complementary bipolar and BiCMOS) have been used to create the latest generations of op-amps. This paper discusses some of the innovative techniques in current use.