Fully Understanding CMRR in

DAs, IAs, and OAs

Pete Semig

Analog Applications Engineer-Precision Linear

1
Outline
• Definitions
– Differential-input amplifier
– Common-mode voltage
– Common-mode rejection ratio (CMRR)
– Common-mode rejection (CMR)

• CMRR in Operational Amplifiers

• CMRR in Difference Amplifiers

• CMRR in Instrumentation Amplifiers

• CMRR in ‘Hybrid’ Amplifiers

2
Differential Input Amplifier
• Differential input amplifiers are devices/circuits that can input and
amplify differential signals while suppressing common-mode signals
– This includes operational amplifiers, instrumentation amplifiers, and
difference amplifiers
Instrumentation
Operational Amplifiers

Amplifier

Difference
Amplifier
3
Common-Mode Voltage
• For a differential input amplifier, common-mode voltage is defined as the
average of the two input voltages. [2]

V p+V n
V cm=
2
-

+ +
Vo
+

-
Vn Vp

4
Common-Mode Voltage (Alternate defn.)
• For a differential amplifier, common-mode voltage is defined as the average of
the two input voltages. [2]

- IOP1
-
Vid + +
+ Vout
-
V p+V n
Vid/2 Vid/2 V cm=
2
Vout  Adm Vid   Acm Vcm 
w here where
V id
Vcm V p=V cm+ Adm  Differential - mode gain
2
V id Acm  Common - mode gain
V n=V cm-
2

5
Common-Mode Voltage
• Ideally a differential input amplifier only responds to a differential input voltage,
V+
not a common-mode voltage.
V-

OP1

4
2
Vs+ 5 V- -
6
-
2 4 OP1 Vid 1000uV 3
+
+
+
-
+

7
6
Vs- 5 - Vo 3.826745V
Vid 0V 3
+
+
+ -
+
V+
7

Vo 0V
V- - Va 1m
V+ Vb 0

Vb 0 Va 0
V-

OP1 Vcm 1

4
2
-
Vcm 0 6
-
Vid 0V 3 +
+ +
+
7

Vo 0V
-
V+

Vb 0 Va 0

Vcm 1

6
CMRR and CMR
• Common-Mode Rejection Ratio is defined as the ratio of the differential gain to
the common-mode gain

Adm
CMRR 
Acm
• CMR is defined as follows [2]:

CMR dB   20 log10  CMRR 

• CMR and CMRR are often used interchangeably

7
Ideal Differential Amplifier CMRR
• What is the CMRR of an ideal differential input amplifier (e.g. op-amp)?

• Recall that the ideal common-mode gain of a differential input amplifier is 0.

• Voltage Amplifier Model [1]

Source Amplifier Load

Rs Ro
VCVS
+ + + +
Vs Vi Ri Vi Vo Rload
- - - -

A dm->Infinity

• Also recall the differential gain of an ideal op-amp is infinity.

• So Adm Adm  
CMRRideal OA   
Acm Acm  
8
Real Op-Amp CMRR
• In an operational amplifier, the differential gain is known as the open-
loop gain.
• The open-loop gain of an operational amplifier is fixed and determined
by its design

9
Real Op-Amp CMRR
• However, there will be a common-mode gain due to the following
– Asymmetry in the circuit
• Mismatched source and drain resistors
• Signal source resistances
• Gate-drain capacitances
• Forward transconductances
• Gate leakage currents
– Output impedance of the tail current source
– Changes with frequency due to tail current source’s shunt capacitance

• These issues will manifest themselves through converting common-

mode variations to differential components at the output and variation
of the output common-mode level. [4]

10
Resistor Mismatch
• Let’s look at the case of a slight
mismatch in drain resistances [4] in the
input stage (diff-in, diff-out) of an op-amp
• What happens to Vx and Vy as Vin,cm
changes?
• Assuming M1 and M2 are identical, Vx
and Vy will change by different amounts:

• This imbalance will introduce a

differential component at the output
• So changes in the input common-mode
can corrupt the output signal

11
Transistor Mismatch
• What about mismatches with respect to M1
and M2?
– Threshold mismatches
– Dimension mismatches

• These mismatches will cause the transistors

to conduct slightly different currents and
have unequal transconductances.
• We find the conversion of input common
mode variations to a differential error by the
following factor [4]

g m RD
ACM  DM 
 g m1  g m 2  RSS  1
12
Tail Current Source Capacitance
• As the frequency of the CM disturbance increases the capacitance shunting
the tail current source will introduce larger current variations. [4]

OPA333

13
Modeling CMRR
• Now that we understand what CMRR is and what affects it in operational
amplifiers, let’s see how it can affect a circuit.
• First, however, we need to understand the model

• To be useful, CMRR needs to be referred-to-input (RTI)

• We can therefore represent it as a voltage source (aka offset voltage) in series

with an input. The magnitude (RTI) is Vcm/CMRR [2]

Vcm/CMRR

+ +
Vo
-
+

Vn Vp

14
 VO  AVp  Vn 
OA CMRR Error Vcm
Vn  VO 
CMRR
• Example: non-inverting buffer Note that Vcm  VO
 Vp 
VO  AV p  VO  
 CMRR 
AV p
Vn
VO  AV p  AVO 
CMRR
-
 1 
Vcm/CMRR A VO 1  A  AV p 1  
+ +  CMRR 
Vo
-  1 
A1  
+

VO CMRR
Vp   
Vp 1 A
As A  
VO 1
 1
Vp CMRR
15
Real CMRR Example
• To understand the effects CMRR can have at the output of a device,
let’s look at an example.
• OPA376 PDS
– Notice the Vcm is specified at the top of the page
– Deviation from this value will induce an offset error
– Remember CMRR is RTI

16
Real CMRR Example
• Remember CMR (dB)  20 log10 (CMRR )
• In reality, CMRR is measured by changing the input common-mode voltage
and observing the output change.
– For an operational amplifier, this is usually done with a composite amplifier

• It is then referred-to-input by dividing by the gain and can be though of as an

offset voltage
• From reference [3], in TI datasheets CMRR is defined as follows so that the
value is positive

Vcm
CMRR 
Vos

17
Real CMRR Example
• For the OPA376, CMRR(min)=76dB. Note this is really CMR!

CMR (dB)  20 log10 (CMRR )

 Vcm 
76dB  20 log10  
 Vos 
76
Vcm
10 20
 6309.5 
Vos
For a 1V change in common mode
1V
Vos   158.5uV
6309.5

18
CMRR of Difference Amplifiers
• A difference amplifier is made up of a differential amplifier (operational
amplifier) and a resistor network as shown below.
• The circuit meets our definition of a differential amplifier

• The output is proportional to the difference between the input signals

Ri1
R1 R2
+

Ro
V1 -

+ +
Ri2
Vo
-
R3 R4
+

V2

19
DA CMRR
• Let’s replace V1 and V2 with our alternate definition of the inputs (in terms of
differential-mode and common-mode signals)
Vdm
V1  Vcm 
2
V
+
Vdm/2 R1 R2 V2  Vcm  dm
2
-
R
+ + Vo  2 V2  V1 
Vcm -
Vo R1
+
Vdm/2
R1 R2
R2   V   V 
Vo   Vcm  dm   Vcm  dm  
R1   2   2 
R2
Vo  Vdm 
R1

• It is readily observed that an ideal difference amplifier’s output should only

amplify the differential-mode signal…not the common-mode signal.

20
DA CMRR
• This assumes that the operational amplifier is ideal and that the resistors are
balanced.
• Keeping the assumption that the operational amplifier is ideal, let’s see what
happens when an imbalance factor (ε) is introduced.

Vdm/2 R1 R2(1-)
+

+ +
Vo
Vcm -
+ R1 R2
Vdm/2

21
DA CMRR
• Using superposition we find that

 V  R 1      V  R2  R2 1    
Vo  Vcm  dm   2   Vcm  dm  1  
 2  R1   2  R1  R2  R1  R2 1    
• After some algebra we find that [1]
Vo  AdmVdm  AcmVcm
where
R2  R1  2 R2  
Adm  1   
R1  R1  R2 2 
R2
Acm  
R1  R2
• As expected, an imbalance affects the differential and common-mode gains, which will
affect CMRR!
• As the error->0, Adm->R2/R1 and Acm->0.

22
DA CMRR
• Since we have equations for Acm and Adm, let’s look at CMR

 R2  R1  2 R2   
 1    
 Adm   R1  R1  R2 2  
CMR(dB)  20 log10    20 log10  
A
 cm  R
 2
 
 R1  R2 
 
• If the imbalance is sufficiently small we can neglect its effect on Adm

• With that and some algebra we find [1]

 R2 
 1  
R1
CMR(dB)  20 log10  
  
 
 
23
DA CMRR
• This equation shows two very important relationships

 R 
1 2 
R1
CMR(dB)  20 log10  
  
 
 

– As the gain of a difference amplifier increases (R2/R1), CMR increases

– As the mismatch (ε) increases, CMR decreases

• Please remember that this just shows the effects of the resistor network and
assumes an ideal amplifier

24
DA CMRR
• Another possible source for CMRR degradation is the impedance at the
reference pin.
• So far we have connected this pin to low-impedance ground.

Vdm/2 R1 R2
+

+ +
Vo
Vcm -
+ R1 R2
Vdm/2

• Placing and impedance here will disturb the voltage divider we come across
during superposition analysis.
• This will negatively affect CMR

25
Real DA CMRR Example (INA149 PDS)

26
Why not make our own DA?
• If a DA is simply an operational amplifier and 4 resistors, I can save money
by making my own, right?
T -319.09

R1 25k R2 25k

0% 0%

Gain (dB)
-
-319.09
+
+
R3 25k R4 25k Vout
-
0% 0%
+

Vcm
-319.09
10.00 1.00k 100.00k
Frequency (Hz)

• Should be well-matched

• Should have low temperature drift

27
Why not make our own DA?
• Let’s assume an ideal amplifier and
just look at resistor mismatches
using TINA (only changing R2) R1 25k R2 25k

• Monte Carlo analysis 0% 0.1%

-
• Gaussian distribution (6σ), 100
+
cases +
R3 25k R4 25k Vout
-
• Values are negative due to TINA 0% 0%

+
T -60.00
Vcm

-80.00
Gain (dB)

-100.00

Assuming 0% tolerance for R1, R3,

-120.00 and R4 and only 0.1% tolerance for
R2 this network can degrade CMRR
-140.00
10.00 1.00k 100.00k
to 66dB (calculated), 69.16dB
Frequency (Hz) (simulated). 28
Why not make our own DA?
• What if all resistors are 0.01% or 0.1%?
R1 25k R2 25k R1 150k R2 150k

0.01% 0.01% 0.1% 0.1%

Worse performance
- than all of our DAs -

+ +
+ +
Vout R3 150k R4 150k Vout
R3 25k R4 25k - -

0.01% 0.01% 0.1% 0.1%

+
+

Vcm Vcm

T -81.93 T -60.84

Gain (dB)
Gain (dB)

-100.84 -93.35

-119.74 -125.86
10.00 1.00k 100.00k 10.00 1.00k 100.00k
Frequency (Hz) Frequency (Hz)

29
Why not make our own DA?
0.5%: 52dB (calc), 53.64dB (sim) 1.0%: 46dB (calc), 46.85dB (sim)
T -40.00 T -40.00

-60.00
-60.00
Gain (dB)

Gain (dB)
-80.00

-80.00
-100.00

-120.00 -100.00
10.00 1.00k 100.00k 10.00 1.00k 100.00k
Frequency (Hz) Frequency (Hz)

5.0%: 32dB (calc), 33.34dB (sim)

T -20.00

-40.00
Gain (dB)

-60.00

-80.00

-100.00
10.00 1.00k 100.00k
Frequency (Hz) 30
Why not make our own DA?
• 80dB: Lowest cost of one 0.01%, 10ppm/C resistor (1k pricing)
– 1206 package: $0.45 ($1.80 total cost)
– 0805 package: $0.53 ($2.12 total cost)
– 0603 package: $0.53 ($2.12 total cost)
– 0402 package: $0.50 ($2.00 total cost, 10k pricing!)

• 60dB: Lowest cost 4-pack 0.1%, 25ppm/C resistor (1k pricing)

– SO-8 package: $0.98 ($0.98 total cost)

• Footprint size comparison: SO-8

1206

0805
0603
0402
1 required
(need op amp)

4 required 31
Why not make our own DA?
• Now that we understand how the resistor matching can affect CMRR and
the related cost, what about an integrated solution?
• TI can trim resistors to within 0.01% relative accuracy
• INA152
– CMR(min)=80dB
– GE=10ppm/˚C (max)
– On-chip resistors will drift together
– MSOP-8
– 1k price on www.ti.com: $1.20
– Includes amplifier!

• Some DA’s can give CMR(min)=74dB @ $1.05!

• Customer will require 2 suppliers (1 for OA, 1 for precision resistors)
SO-8
MSOP-8

Op amp included! 32
DA Gain
• We learned that the gain of a difference amplifier is set by R2 and R1.

• What if we wanted variable gain?

• We would have to adjust 2 resistors due to the topology.

– To retain good CMR they would have to be tightly matched, too.
– This is difficult and expensive

• Alternately, you could use an external operational amplifier (with very low
output impedance so as not to degrade CMR) to drive the reference pin as
shown below [4]

R2 RG
vo   v2  v1 
R1 R3

33
DA Gain
• But, R3 should be a precision resistor. Its error will be seen as a gain error.

• You also need to purchase an external operational amplifier and potentiometer.

• If you need variable gain, there are better options

– Instrumentation amplifiers (IAs) usually have an external resistor that can be used to
set the gain
– Programmable Gain Amplifiers (PGAs) can be programmed (either with pin settings
or digitally) with a particular gain

• In summary, difference amplifiers are typically manufactured with a set gain so

as to preserve CMR and since there are alternate (better) solutions for variable
gain
• Since difference amplifiers come with a fixed gain, you will only see 1 CMR
curve in the datasheet

34
Difference Amplifiers-Summary
• Pros:
– Difference amplifiers amplify differential signals and reject common-mode signals
– The common-mode rejection is based mainly resistor matching
– Making your own difference amplifier will not yield the same performance
– Difference amplifiers can be used to protect against ground disturbances

• Cons:
– Externally changing the gain of a difference amplifier is not worthwhile
– The input impedance is finite
• This means that a difference amplifier will load the input signals
• If the input signal source’s impedances are not balanced, CMR could be degraded

• Is there a way we can amplify differential signals, change the gain, retain high
CMR, and not load our source?
• Yes! Buffer the inputs…this creates an Instrumentation Amplifier (IA).

35
Instrumentation Amplifier
• There are 2 common types of
instrumentation amplifiers
– 2 op-amp (e.g. INA122)
– 3 op-amp (e.g. INA333)

36
Instrumentation Amplifier
• Notice both have gain equations so you can vary the gain

• Notice the input impedance is that of the non-inverting terminal of a

non-inverting amplifier
High-Z Nodes

Difference Amp

High-Z Nodes
Variable Gain 37
IA CMRR
• So, what is the CMRR of an instrumentation amplifier?

• Instrumentation amplifiers reject common-mode signals (Acm->0)

• Recall Adm
CMRR 
Acm
• CMRR is directly related to differential gain. Since we can change the
differential gain of an IA, we also change the CMRR.

38
INA826 CMRR Model Verification

V1 15

-
Rg

Rg 1k
Ref
U1 INA826
T

Rg +
160
+
+
Vout G1000
+

140
- G100

Vcm 120
G10

100 G1

+V 15

Gain (dB)
80

60

40

20

10 215 5k 100k
Frequency (Hz)

39
INA826-Effects of Rg Tolerance on CMRR
• Now that we see our INA826 model is accurate, let’s look at the effects
of Rg’s tolerance on CMRR
• Set G=100, 6σ resistors, 100 cases.
– Note that due to the number of cases, no post-processing was performed
– Normally this would be Gain/Waveform. Therefore we have to mentally
subtract 20dB from this cluster of waveforms.
T -74.19
T -74.19

1% Resistor
5% Resistor
-88.04dB<CMR<-88.07dB
-87.97dB<CMR<-88.13dB

Gain (dB)
Adjusted for gain:
Gain (dB)

Adjusted for gain: -81.13 -108.04dB<CMR<-108.07dB

-81.16 -107.97dB<CMR<-108.13dB

T -74.19 -88.08
-88.13
10.00 1.00k 100.00k
10.00 1.00k 100.00k Frequency (Hz)
Frequency (Hz)
0.1% Resistor
-88.065531dB<CMR<-88.06869dB

Notice the gain setting

Gain (dB)

Adjusted for gain:

-81.13 -108.065531dB<CMR<-108.06869dB

resistor tolerance does

-88.07
not significantly affect the
10.00 1.00k
Frequency (Hz)
100.00k
CMR. 40
2-OA Instrumentation Amplifiers
• What are the properties of 2-OA
Instrumentation Amplifiers?
• Pros
– Lower cost (only 2 op-amps), less trimming
– High impedance input
– Can be placed in a smaller package

• Cons
– Compare signal path to Vo for Vin+ and Vin-
– Vin+ has a shorter path than V-
– This delay does not allow the common-mode
components to cancel each other as well as
frequency increases
– Therefore CMR degradation occurs earlier in
frequency than the 3-OA designs
Since we can change the
differential gain, the CMR also
changes. 41
 ‘Hybrid’ Difference Amplifiers
• Some devices have unique topologies (e.g. INA321).

• How do we determine whether CMRR will change with the ‘gain’ of this
device?

Op-amp (has
fixed differential
gain)

2OA
Instrumentation
Amp
42
‘Hybrid’ Difference Amplifiers
• Depends on what ‘gain’ you’re talking about.

• With respect to CMRR, it’s all about the differential gain since the
common-mode gain of all differential amplifiers is ideally 0.
• When you place resistors for R1 and R2, are you changing the
differential gain?

43
‘Hybrid’ Differential Amplifiers
• No. The differential gain of the device is set internally!

• If you can’t change the differential gain of the device, the CMRR will not change
with gain.
• Remember the differential gain of an op-amp (A3) is fixed (it’s the open-loop
gain)

44
Real IA CMR Competitive Analysis

45
Summary
• A ‘differential amplifier’ amplifies differential signals, not common-mode
signals
– Examples include operational amplifiers, difference amplifiers, and
instrumentation amplifiers

• CMRR is defined as the ratio of differential gain to common-mode gain

• All differential amplifiers have an ideal common-mode gain of 0

• To determine if a circuit’s CMRR is going to change with gain, you must

look at the differential gain. Remember an op-amp’s differential gain is
fixed.
• If you can change the differential gain of the device/circuit, the CMRR
will also change

46
References
• [1] Franco, “Design with Operational Amplifiers and Analog Integrated
Circuits”, 3rd Edition, McGraw-Hill, 2002.
• [2] Tobey, Graeme, Huelsman, “Operational Amplifiers: Design and
Applications”, McGraw-Hill, 1971.
• [3] Karki, “Understanding Operational Amplifier Specifications”, White Paper:
SLOA011, Texas Instruments, 1998.
• [4] Razavi, “Design of Analog CMOS Integrated Circuits”, McGraw-Hill, 2001.

47
Questions?

48