Slew Rate Calculator
Slew rate is the speed limit of an amplifier: the fastest its output voltage can change, measured in volts per microsecond. Push a signal faster than the slew rate allows and the waveform distorts, turning sharp edges into slopes and clean sine waves into triangles. This calculator works four ways: measure a signal’s own slew rate from its voltage change over time, or design around an op-amp by finding the required slew rate, the maximum undistorted frequency, or the maximum undistorted voltage.
Result
Results assume sine-wave signals, the usual case for full-power bandwidth. Peak voltage means zero-to-peak amplitude.
Quick Answer
A 0.5 V/µs op-amp, the classic LM741, can swing at most 2.65 V peak at 30 kHz without slew distortion. The calculator above is pre-filled with exactly this run in Max voltage mode. At 10 kHz the same part manages 7.96 V peak, and the required slew rate for 5 V peak at 20 kHz is 0.628 V/µs, already beyond what the 741 can do.
Key takeaways
- Four modes cover the whole job: dV/dt from a measured signal, required slew rate for a signal, max frequency for an op-amp, and max voltage for an op-amp.
- All op-amp modes assume sine waves, the usual case for full-power bandwidth, and peak means zero-to-peak: halve a peak-to-peak spec before entering it.
- The worked example is the industry's canonical part, the LM741 at 0.5 V/µs, and every number below was produced by the calculator above.
- Slew rate is a large-signal limit. If your signals are small, the gain-bandwidth product limits you first, not the slew rate.
How to use the four modes
Start from what you know: a measured signal gives you a slew rate directly; an op-amp's datasheet slew rate lets you design around it. Pick the mode that matches your knowns. The four mode buttons are proper tabs: use Tab to reach the tab strip, then the arrow keys to move between modes (Home and End jump to the first and last mode), and the selected tab is announced to screen readers.
- From signal: enter the voltage change and the time it took, choosing microseconds, milliseconds or seconds. You get the slew rate in V/µs and in V/s.
- Required SR: enter the signal frequency and peak voltage to find the minimum op-amp slew rate that reproduces the signal without distortion. Choose Hz, kHz or MHz for the frequency.
- Max frequency: enter your op-amp's slew rate from its datasheet and the peak voltage you need. The answer is the full-power bandwidth: the highest frequency the part can deliver at that swing.
- Max voltage: enter the slew rate and the signal frequency to find the largest undistorted peak voltage. Stay inside the op-amp's supply rails: the tool cannot know your rails.
- Read the per-field messages. A blank or impossible entry (zero time, negative voltage change) produces a plain-language message next to that field instead of a wrong number. Results stay hidden until you click a Calculate button.
The slew-rate formulas
Slew rate is a rate of change, dV/dt, and for sine waves the steepest slope of a V-peak, f-Hz signal is 2πfV. The other three modes are the same relation solved for the other unknowns.
Required SR = 2π × frequency × peak voltage (÷ 1,000,000 for V/µs)
Max frequency = slew rate / (2π × peak voltage)
Max voltage = slew rate / (2π × frequency)
The sine-wave form comes from differentiating V·sin(2πft): the maximum slope is 2πfV, reached at the zero crossings. Our sine calculator is the place to explore that waveform's shape if the calculus is rusty. The same formulas appear in manufacturer references such as Texas Instruments' application note on understanding op-amp specifications, which is also where datasheet slew-rate figures come from.
Worked example: the classic LM741
The LM741 op-amp has a datasheet slew rate of 0.5 V/µs. Every row below is a verified run of the calculator above, using the pre-filled values.
| Mode and inputs | Tool output |
|---|---|
| Max voltage: 0.5 V/µs, 30 kHz | Max peak voltage: 2.65 V - at 30.00 kHz with a 0.5 V/us op-amp |
| Max voltage: 0.5 V/µs, 10 kHz | Max peak voltage: 7.96 V - at 10.00 kHz with a 0.5 V/us op-amp |
| Required SR: 20 kHz, 5 V peak | Required slew rate: 0.628 V/us - beyond the 741, which is the point |
| Max frequency: 0.5 V/µs, 1 V peak | Max frequency: 79.58 kHz - full-power bandwidth at 1 V peak |
| From signal: 10 V in 2 µs | Slew rate: 5.000 V/us - that is 5.000e+6 V/s |
The 741 design rows are one story. A 741 driving 5 V peak at 20 kHz needs 0.628 V/µs and only has 0.5, so the sine collapses toward a triangle. Drop the amplitude to what the part can actually swing, 2.65 V at 30 kHz, and the waveform stays clean. This is why the 741, fine for audio-line levels at low frequencies, cannot drive large fast signals.
Typical op-amp slew rates
Every figure below is the typical datasheet value from the manufacturer's own document, linked in References. Your part's number lives in its datasheet under "slew rate", usually in V/µs.
| Op-amp | Slew rate (V/µs) | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| LM741 | 0.5 | General purpose, low frequency |
| NE5532 | 9 | Audio preamps and line drivers |
| TL071 | 13 | Low-noise JFET audio and instrumentation |
| OPA2134 | 20 | High-end audio, fast settling |
Slew rate is the large-signal limit; bandwidth is the small-signal one
Slew rate only bites when the signal is large AND fast. A 1 mV signal at 1 MHz asks almost nothing of the output stage, so the small-signal bandwidth (the gain-bandwidth product) sets the limit there instead. The rule of thumb: check both, and the smaller of the two answers wins.
In practice the two limits show up in different places. A power stage swinging volts into a load can be slew-limited while its small-signal bandwidth looks generous on paper, and a high-gain stage can run out of bandwidth long before slew rate matters. If you are sizing the whole signal chain, the surrounding circuitry matters too: the parallel circuit resistance calculator handles the resistor networks that set an op-amp stage's gain, and power is a separate question entirely, covered by the ohms to watts calculator, because a part fast enough for the waveform can still be too small for the load.
What competing calculators miss
The top-ranked tools each do one slice of the job, and most of them hide the assumptions:
- CalculatorUltra's op-amp slew rate calculator: the 2πfV formula with a correct worked example (20 kHz at 5 V peak gives 0.628 V/µs, which our Required SR mode reproduces exactly). But it is one formula and one worked example, not a tool: no max-frequency or max-voltage solving, no dV/dt mode.
- BraveCalculator's slew rate calculator: dV/dt only, framed entirely in microseconds, with its own example of 10 V in 2 µs giving 5 V/µs, which our From signal mode reproduces exactly. No design modes at all.
- MilkyWaySys's slew rate calculator: the closest rival, covering required slew rate, max frequency and max voltage with any-two-fields solving. It has no basic dV/dt mode, and its own description of the third field repeats "the signal's output voltage amplitude" where it means the calculated undistorted voltage, a copy error that survives on the page.
- Components101's slew-rate article: a solid educational piece on what causes slew limiting and how to measure it from a scope trace, but no interactive tool: the arithmetic is left to the reader.
- Q and A pages (Prepp.in, TrueGeometry): answers to specific homework questions, one solved example each, not reusable tools.
- The gap this page fills: all four modes in one calculator with unit-flexible inputs (µs/ms/s, Hz/kHz/MHz), per-field validation messages instead of silent NaNs, copy and share on every result, a reference table of real parts from real datasheets, and the sine-wave and zero-to-peak assumptions stated in plain text, which none of the rival tools state.
Frequently asked questions
The maximum rate at which an amplifier's output voltage can change, usually quoted in volts per microsecond. It is a large-signal limit: small signals are limited by bandwidth instead.
Slew-induced distortion. Fast edges slow down, sine waves turn triangular at high amplitude, and in audio this sounds harsh or muffled. The fix is a faster part or a smaller, slower signal.
Convention and convenience: audio and most analog signals live in the kilohertz range, where microseconds are the natural time unit. The From signal mode also shows the V/s figure, so nothing is lost.
The highest frequency at which the op-amp can deliver its full rated voltage swing without slew limiting. It comes straight from the Max frequency mode: slew rate divided by 2π times peak voltage.
Peak (zero-to-peak) in these formulas. If your signal is specified peak-to-peak, halve it first. Entering a peak-to-peak value as peak overstates the required slew rate by exactly a factor of two.
Very fast parts demand careful layout: decoupling, short traces, and attention to stability. Speed is only an asset when the circuit is built for it.
They are related but not identical. Slew rate is dV/dt; rise time is how long an edge takes. For a given swing, slew rate is roughly the voltage change divided by the rise time. An amplifier's quoted slew rate is usually limited by the slower of its rising and falling edges.
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References
- Texas Instruments. LM741 Operational Amplifier Datasheet (slew rate 0.5 V/µs typical). Accessed October 23, 2026.
- Texas Instruments. NE5532 Dual Low-Noise Operational Amplifier Datasheet (slew rate 9 V/µs typical). Accessed October 23, 2026.
- Texas Instruments. TL071 Low-Noise JFET-Input Operational Amplifier Datasheet (slew rate 13 V/µs typical). Accessed October 23, 2026.
- Texas Instruments. OPA2134 SoundPlus High-Performance Audio Operational Amplifier Datasheet (slew rate 20 V/µs typical). Accessed October 23, 2026.
- Texas Instruments. Understanding Operational Amplifier Specifications, Application Report SLOA011. Accessed October 23, 2026.
- Components101. Slew Rate in Op-Amp: Basics, Formula, Working and Calculations. Accessed October 23, 2026.