Amplifiers 3 Classes

Classification Of Amplifiers
1. According to frequency capabilities.

Amplifiers are classified as audio amplifiers , radio frequency amplifiers
• AF Amplifier are used to amplify the signals lying in the audio range ( i.e. 20
Hz to 20 kHz )
• RF amplifiers are used to amplify signals having very high frequency.
2. According to coupling methods.

• R-C coupled amplifiers,
• Transformer coupled amplifiers
• Direct Coupled
1
3. According to use.
a. Voltage amplifiers
• Amplify the input voltage, if possible with minimal current at the output.
• The power gain of the voltage amplifier is low.
• The main application is to strengthen the signal to make it less affected by noise
and attenuation.
• Ideal voltage amp. have infinite input impedance & zero output impedance.
a. Power amplifiers
• Amplify the input power, if possible with minimal change in the output voltage
• Power amp. are used in devices which require a large power across the loads.
• In multi stage amplifiers, power amplification is made in the final stages
 Audio amplifiers and RF amplifiers use it to deliver sufficient power the load.
 Servo motor controllers use power it to drive the motors.
2
Voltage amplifiers Power amplifiers
current gain low high
Voltage gain high low
Heat dissipation low high
cooling mechanism not required required
Transistor Size Small Large to dissipate heat
Base Width small Wide to handle higher

current
Beta Usually high >100 Low usually < 20
3
(Mode of operation)
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
 The class B amplifier is biased at the cutoff point so that
 It is brought out of cutoff and operates in its linear region when the input
signal drives the transistor into conduction.
 The Circuit only conducts for the

positive half of the cycle.
 Can not amplify the entire cycle
emitter-follower circuit
11
 To amplify the entire cycle, it is necessary to add a second class B amplifier
that operates on the negative half of the cycle.
 The combination of two class B amplifiers working together is called push-pull
operation
 There are two common approaches for using push-pull amplifiers to
reproduce the entire waveform.
1. Transformer Coupling
 The input transformer thus

converts the input signal to two
out-of-phase signals for the two
npn transistors.
 The output transformer combines the signals by permitting current in both

directions, even though one transistor is always cut off.
12
2. Complementary Symmetry Transistors
 The figure shows one of the most popular types of push-pull class B amplifiers
using two emitter-followers and both positive and negative power supplies.
 This is a complementary amplifier because one emitter-follower uses an npn
transistor and the other a pnp, which conduct on opposite alternations of the
input cycle.
13
Crossover Distortion
 When the dc base voltage is zero, both transistors are off and the input signal
voltage must exceed VBE before a transistor conducts.
 Because of this, there is a time interval between the positive and negative
alternations of the input when neither transistor is conducting, as shown in
Figure.
 The resulting distortion in the output waveform is called crossover distortion.
14
15
16
Biasing the Push-Pull Amplifier for Class AB Operation
 To overcome crossover distortion, the biasing is adjusted to just overcome the
VBE of the transistors
 In class AB operation, the push-pull stages are biased into slight conduction,
even when no input signal is present.
 This can be done with a voltage-divider and diode arrangement, as shown
 Using equal values of R1 and R2 the positive and

negative supply voltages forces the voltage at point
A to equal 0 V and eliminates the need for an
input coupling capacitor.
 When the diode characteristics of D1 and D2 are
closely matched to the characteristics of the
transistor BE junctions, the current in the diodes
and the current in the transistors are the same;
((current mirror.))
The diode current will be the same as ICQ
17
Biasing the Push-Pull Amplifier for Class AB Operation 18
 AC Operation
 The Q-point is slightly above cutoff.
(In a true class B amplifier, the Q-
point is at cutoff.)
 The ac cutoff voltage is at VCC
 The ac saturation current is:
 In class A , the Q-point is near the middle and there is significant current in the
transistors even with no signal.
 In class B , when there is no signal, the transistors have only a very small current
and therefore dissipate very little power.
 Thus, the efficiency of a class B amplifier can be much higher than a class A
amplifier.
 The circuit operation is the same as
that described previously, except the
bias is set to force the output emitter
voltage to be
19
Maximum Output Power
DC Input Power
Efficiency
20
 Class B amplifier: When an amplifier is biased at cutoff so that it operates in the
linear region for 180o of the input cycle and is in cutoff for 180o
 Class AB amplifiers: are biased to conduct for slightly more than 180o
 Both are more efficient than a class A amplifier;
 A disadvantage of class B or class AB is that it is more difficult to implement the

circuit in order to get a linear reproduction of the input waveform.
 The term push-pull refers to a common type of class B or class AB amplifier
circuit in which two transistors are used on alternating half-cycles to reproduce
the input waveform at the output.
21
22
23
Class C amplifiers
 Class C amplifiers are biased so that conduction occurs for much less than 180o
 Class C amplifiers are more efficient than either class A , B, or AB
 The output amplitude is a nonlinear function of the input, so class C amplifiers

are not used for linear amplification.
 They are generally used in radio frequency (RF) applications, including resonance
circuits
Basic Class C Operation
 A class C amplifier is normally operated with a

resonant circuit load, so the resistive load is used
only for the purpose of illustrating the concept.
 The ac source voltage has a peak value that exceeds
the barrier potential of the base-emitter junction for
a short time near the positive peak of each cycle,
24
Class C amplifiers
Basic Class C Operation
 During this short interval, the transistor is
turned on.
 The power dissipation of the transistor in a class
C amplifier is low because it is on for only a small
percentage of the input cycle
 The power dissipation during the on time is
 The power dissipation averaged over the entire cycle is
Check EXAMPLE 7–7 (Floyde)

25
Tuned Class C Operation
 Because the collector voltage (output) is not a replica of the input, the resistively
loaded class C amplifier alone is of no value in linear applications.
 It is therefore necessary to use a class C amplifier with a parallel resonant circuit
(tank), as shown
 The short pulse of collector current on each cycle of the input initiates and
sustains the oscillation of the tank circuit so that an output sinusoidal voltage is
produced
26

Amplifiers 3 Classes

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Amplifiers 3 Classes

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Amplifiers 3 Classes

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Classification Of Amplifiers

1. According to frequency capabilities.

2. According to coupling methods.

Voltage amplifiers Power amplifiers

current gain low high

Voltage gain high low

Heat dissipation low high

cooling mechanism not required required

Transistor Size Small Large to dissipate heat

Base Width small Wide to handle higher

 The Circuit only conducts for the

 The input transformer thus

 The output transformer combines the signals by permitting current in both

 Using equal values of R1 and R2 the positive and

 A disadvantage of class B or class AB is that it is more difficult to implement the

 The output amplitude is a nonlinear function of the input, so class C amplifiers

Basic Class C Operation

 A class C amplifier is normally operated with a

 The power dissipation averaged over the entire cycle is

Check EXAMPLE 7–7 (Floyde)

You might also like