Microphone with Voltage Amplification

Laboratory Outline
An electret microphone with proper biasing (the way you apply voltages to power it and make it operate in a predictable
manner) produces a response from ordinary sounds often measured only in the millivolts or tens-of-millivolts range. These
voltages are small enough that typical electronic circuits would fail to capitalize on the sound information for typical sound
applications. Tiny signal + tiny noises = significant noise interference! For this reason, the electret microphone’s output voltage
should be immediately amplified to both preserve the original integrity (lowest noise) version of the signal and allow for
additional electronics operations at voltage levels typical of basic electronic devices like diodes and transistors.

+ -
+

-
(a) (b)

Figure 1: A photo and a model of the inner operation of the electret microphone capsule. Close examination of the
photo shows the negative lead has metallic connections to the case or “can” of the mic capsule. Photo credit:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/57/Electret_condenser_microphone_capsules.jpg
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Prerequisites
• Knowing how to construct a breadboard circuit containing an IC.
• Understanding voltage division.
• Use of an oscilloscope.

Parts Needed
• (1) 1 𝑘𝑘Ω resistor, (2) 10 𝑘𝑘Ω resistor, (1) 100 𝑘𝑘Ω resistor, (1) 10 𝑘𝑘Ω potentiometer,
• (2) 0.1 𝜇𝜇𝐹𝐹 ceramic (yellow, 104) capacitors. You can substitute 1 𝜇𝜇𝐹𝐹 (105) capacitors, but only if they are ceramic.
• (1) 1000 𝜇𝜇𝜇𝜇 electrolytic capacitor (blue, polarized! You must put the negative terminal towards ground.)
• (1) electret microphone capsule,
• (1) LM358 Operational Amplifier
• A battery with nominal voltage 6-9 volts

Learning Objectives
• To gain practical experience in circuit building and use of a microphone.
• To improve oscilloscope skills.
• To recognize the need for voltage gain and to be able to provide that voltage gain using an operational amplifier.

Procedure
Secure the parts needed and have your oscilloscope ready for measurements! Although not strictly needed, an Ohmmeter may
be convenient.

Microphone with Voltage Amplification, Copyright 2022 University of Illinois, last updated 4/1/2022
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(a) (b)

Figure 2: (a) A resistor provides bias to the internal MOSFET of the capsule. (b) An AC-coupling capacitor removes the
DC component of 𝑉𝑉1 before sending the microphone signal to the next component.
“Bias” the Mic: Do not attach a battery yet. Instead, just make the connections for 𝑉𝑉𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶 and ground to the power rails of the
breadboard. Take note that the microphone is NOT symmetric. The MOSFET internal to the microphone “can” is a transistor that
must be biased properly as discussed in lecture and shown in Figure 2. A close observation of the electret microphone capsule
(Figure 1 a) will allow you to determine which of the two leads should be attached to the negative side of the battery (shown in
Figure 2 as ground). Only the wire that has a conducting trace leading to the metal exterior of the microphone device can be
connected to ground for proper operation. Build Figure 2 (b).

Now connect one channel of your oscilloscope to view the node voltage 𝑉𝑉1 at the right of the 0.1 𝜇𝜇𝜇𝜇 ceramic (yellow, labeled
104) capacitor. If you connect the battery and adjust your oscilloscope settings (horizontal and vertical), you should be able to
see a (very-small voltage) sinusoid when you whistle into the mic.

Use a smart phone to search for “online tone generator” and play that tone near your microphone.
Collect a screen shot of the sinusoid that appears on your oscilloscope at 𝑉𝑉1.

Microphone with Voltage Amplification, Copyright 2022 University of Illinois, last updated 4/1/2022
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Figure 3: Powering the LM358 Op Amp.

Disconnect your battery and continue. Obtain the datasheet for the LM358 operational amplifier online
(http://www.ti.com/lit/ds/symlink/lm158-n.pdf). We will use the LM358 op amp to provide voltage gain to the very-small
voltage coming from the microphone. In Figure 3, we see that the op amp is an “active device” that requires battery voltage for
correct operation. You will connect pin 4 of the op amp to ground and pin 8 of the op amp to the positive side of the battery.

Use the datasheet to determine the maximum rated supply voltage of the LM358.

What maximum supply voltage can be safely applied between pins 8 and 4 of the LM358N? Note that
the maximum voltage is a single value even if stated in the one-supply or the two-supply manner.

Microphone with Voltage Amplification, Copyright 2022 University of Illinois, last updated 4/1/2022
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Figure 4: Attach a resistor to the negative input of the LM358.

Amplifying the Voltage: With the battery properly connected to the op amp, we can now add two resistors that will set the
voltage gain of the op amp-based voltage gain amplifier. From the capacitor to the negative (-) input of the LM358 (pin 2), add a
1 𝑘𝑘Ω resistor.

Figure 5: Adding a feedback resistor for gain.

Microphone with Voltage Amplification, Copyright 2022 University of Illinois, last updated 4/1/2022
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Now, add a feedback resistor of value 100 𝑘𝑘Ω from the output (pin 1) of the LM358 op amp to the - input (pin 2). The voltage
gain of the amplifier will be given by
100 𝑘𝑘Ω
𝐺𝐺𝑉𝑉 = = 100
1 𝑘𝑘Ω
This voltage gain is unit-less, but also might be said to have units of volts/volts. That is, for every volt the input varies, the output
will vary by 100 volts, thus leveraging a voltage gain on the time-varying signal. However, the LM358 is not quite ready for
operation yet. We still need to do something with the positive (+) input, pin 3.

Describe what change(s) to the circuit might you make to increase the voltage gain from 100 to 1000?

Figure 6: Adding a potentiometer for “virtual” ground of the LM358.

In Figure 6, we have added a potentiometer of 10 𝑘𝑘Ω used as a voltage divider for the battery voltage. The divided voltage
(appearing at the wiper, the middle pin, of the potentiometer) is fed to the positive (+) input of the LM358. This requires a little
more explanation which you can read about in the next Explore More! box. Connect your battery. Tune the potentiometer until
the voltages that appears at 𝑉𝑉+ and 𝑉𝑉− is near 4.5 𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣, that is half of your battery voltage. This should happen near the center

Microphone with Voltage Amplification, Copyright 2022 University of Illinois, last updated 4/1/2022
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of the potentiometer’s mechanical limits. Use the oscilloscope as you adjust the voltage.Tune the potentiometer gently as it
can be easy to damage when forcing it near its bounds.

Explore More!

Virtual Ground for Single-Battery Operation: The LM358 could use both a positive and a negative voltage provided by two
batteries in series. The ground of the microphone capsule would then be connected to the center of the two batteries as would
the positive (+) input of the LM358. The positive voltage of the microphone circuit would be provided by the “upper” battery.
However, we would rather have the convenience of using only one battery! We can do this by shifting the voltage at the positive
input of the LM358, which according to the interesting properties of the Op Amp, will also raise the voltage of the negative input
𝑉𝑉𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶
of the LM358. Yes, the DC voltage at the negative input will take on the same value! Setting the voltage divider near allows
2
us to artificially raise the time-varying signal coming from the capacitor with a DC voltage that allows it to swing up and down
within the voltage range of a single battery. It is not critical that you understand this. You can finish the exercise even if not clear
on the concept.

Figure 7: Add a large capacitor across the battery.

Microphone with Voltage Amplification, Copyright 2022 University of Illinois, last updated 4/1/2022
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Clean-up…Limiting Voltage Swings and Avoiding Unstable amplifiers: Finally, we will add a capacitor as in the left side of Figure
7. Since capacitors resist large fluctuations in voltage (they require time to charge and discharge, especially for larger values of
𝐶𝐶), placing a 1000 𝜇𝜇𝜇𝜇 (electrolytic) capacitor across the battery will eliminate voltage changes that could develop on the power
rail and allow signals from one part of the circuit to invade nodes elsewhere!

Explore More! Comment: Amplifiers can

accidentally become
The capacitor across the battery can also reject accidental oscillations that can happen due to complex circuit behavior at higher oscillators if not careful to
frequencies. That is to say, any device with gain will have feedback paths not always controlled or even modelled that can cause avoid un-intended circuit
strong output signals to find their way back to the input where they are further amplified. The amplified signal again finds its paths from the output to
way back to the input where the process continues until undesired oscillation occurs. A large capacitor across the battery can the input.
help eliminate one or more of these potential feedback paths.

Analysis
Use an oscilloscope to monitor the battery voltage 𝑉𝑉𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶 to ground. Supply the battery to your breadboard and turn it on while
monitoring the oscilloscope. If the oscilloscope does not show the battery voltage, shut off your battery and look over your
circuit for a short-circuit path from 𝑉𝑉𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶 to ground.

Once you are sure there is no short, move the oscilloscope probe to measure 𝑉𝑉1 to ground. [Your oscilloscope channel should be
“DC coupled” meaning that it does not remove the DC component from your signal. This is probably the default setting. Ask your
TA if unsure.] Play a tone into the microphone as before. Adjust the vertical scale as needed to clearly see the sinusoid.

Connect the second channel of your oscilloscope so that you can simultaneously observe the node voltage 𝑉𝑉2 . Adjust your
vertical scale on Channel 2 to provide a clear view of the sinusoidal waveform. It should be an amplified version of 𝑉𝑉1.

Reduce distortion: You need to reduce signal distortion caused by your amplifier by tuning the potentiometer and adjusting the
value of the feedback resistor to change the voltage gain. Use two channels of the oscilloscope to measure 𝑉𝑉1 and 𝑉𝑉2 . Play the
sinusoid into the microphone. Tune the potentiometer such that the variation of 𝑉𝑉2 is balanced between 0 and 𝑉𝑉𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶 so that
distortion in the signal is minimized. If 𝑉𝑉2 shows that the sinusoid is starting to clip at either the top or bottom (not both), that
indicates that the potentiometer needs adjusted to move 𝑉𝑉2 further away from one of the power rails. If 𝑉𝑉2 shows distortion at
both the top and bottom of the sinusoid, you may want to decrease the gain of your amplifier by changing the value of the
feedback resistor to a smaller value.

Microphone with Voltage Amplification, Copyright 2022 University of Illinois, last updated 4/1/2022
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Figure 8: Remove the DC offset of 𝑉𝑉2.

Remove the DC offset: For acoustic circuits, you will remove the DC component introduced by the circuitry before sending your
signal to a loudspeaker. A properly-selected capacitor is a great way to block DC while allowing time-varying “AC” components
to pass through. Add a capacitor as in Figure 8 to block the DC component of 𝑉𝑉2 . Change your oscilloscope so that the first
channel continues to monitor 𝑉𝑉1 and the second channel monitors 𝑉𝑉3 .

Estimate the voltage gain of the LM358.

Create a short video verifying the operation of your circuit with an oscilloscope that includes 𝑉𝑉1 and 𝑉𝑉3.
Discuss the scale of the two channels and the voltage gain of the amplifier.

Microphone with Voltage Amplification, Copyright 2022 University of Illinois, last updated 4/1/2022