Choosing an op-amp for your project - lcamtuf’s thing
This article assumes some familiarity with the operating principles of op-amps; if you need to jog your memory, start with an earlier write-up on signal amplification.
The most common design paradigm for analog circuits is copy-and-paste. I’m not judging: simple analogies don’t adequately explain the behavior of transistors and op-amps, while most academic textbooks are inaccessible.
That said, for op-amp circuits, the consequences of this habit have gotten comical. The internet is brimming with obsolete designs that rely on LM741 — a Cold War relic developed in 1968. The chip’s 1970s siblings — TL071 and LM324 — are not far behind. To make things worse, this peculiar status quo is now being propped up by AI slop in the mold of “top 10 op-amps (updated for 2024)”.
In reality, the amplifier technology has progressed dramatically in the past fifty years; modern-day chips behave more predictably and are easier to use. For example, they’re free of the phase reversal and crossover distortion issues of LM324, or the input voltage constraints of LM741.
