Designing a variable gain amplifier

gainoperational-amplifiervariable

I want to build a variable gain amplifier. My first thought was to build two feedback resistors and switch one or the other off with a MOSFET. However, the MOSFETs have shunt diodes which are going to interfere.

There are thousands of MOSFETs on Avnet for example, and randomly selecting I see only models with the built-in shunt diodes. Hoping someone can identify a keyword to pinpoint MOSFETs without diodes, or identify a different design that is better that what I am proposing.

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Best Answer

Don't bother using MOSFETs. Instead, use FET-based devices such as the CD4066.

Furthermore, if you only need 2 gain settings, you only need 1 switch. As an example

schematic

simulate this circuit – Schematic created using CircuitLab

will give a gain of 10 or 100. (Note that your example, if it worked, would give gains of 11 or 101). Also note that, whenever possible, put your switch elements to ground rather than floating, since that way the gate voltages will not vary with signal.