Current-feedback operational amplifier

[technoguy]

The current feedback operational amplifier or CFB op-amp is a type of electronic amplifier whose inverting input is sensitive to current, rather than to voltage as in a conventional voltage-feedback (VFB) operational amplifier. The CFB op-amp was invented by David Nelson at Comlinear Corporation, and first sold in 1982 as a hybrid amplifier, the CLC103. The first patent covering a CFB op-amp is US 4,502,020, David Nelson and Kenneth Saller (filed in 1983). The first integrated circuit CFB op-amps were introduced in 1987 by both Comlinear and Elantec (designer Bill Gross). They are usually produced with the same pin arrangements as VFB op-amps, allowing the two types to be interchanged without rewiring when the circuit design allows.