Power amplifiers
1. Class A Power Amplifier
Operation: Characteristics:
● T
ransistor conducts for360°of the input ● ✅ Excellent linearity
❌ Low efficiency (~25-30%)
signal (full cycle).
●
🔌
● Alwayson, even without input signal.
● High power loss
● 🎧
Used in: Hi-Fi audio amplifiers
2. Class B Power Amplifier
Operation: Characteristics:
● T
ransistor conducts for180°of the signal ● ✅ Higher efficiency (~70%)
❌ Crossover distortion at 0V transition
(half cycle).
●
🔊
● R
equirestwo transistorsinpush-pull
configuration to amplify both halves. ● Used in: Radio frequency transmitters,
basic audio
3. Class AB Power Amplifier
Operation: Characteristics:
● Transistors conduct for>180° but <360° ● ⚖️ Balanced between efficiency and linearity
● S
light overlap between the two transistors to ● ✅ Reduced crossover distortion
⚡
reduce distortion
● Efficiency (~50–70%)
● 🎶
Used in: Professional audio systems,
speakers
4. Class C Power Amplifier
Operation: Characteristics:
● Transistor conducts for<180° ● ✅ Very high efficiency (>70%)
● Highly nonlinear but efficient ● ❌ High distortion (not suitable for audio)
● N
eedstuned circuit (resonant LC tank)to ● 📡
Used in: RF (radio frequency) transmitters
reconstruct signal
5. Class D Power Amplifier (Digital Amplifier)
Operation: Characteristics:
● U
sesPulse-Width Modulation (PWM)or ● ✅ Ultra-high efficiency (>90%)
❌ More complex, potential EMI issues
Pulse Density Modulation
●
🎧
● T
ransistors switchfully on or off(like digital
logic) ● Used in: Audio systems, battery-powered
devices, subwoofers
● O
utput filtered bylow-pass filterto recover
analog signal
Comparison Table:
Class Conduction Angle Efficiency Linearity Use Case
A 360° Low (25-30%) Excellent High-fidelity audio
B 180° Moderate (~70%) oor (crossover
P RF, audio
distortion)
AB 180°–360° oderate
M Good Audio amplifiers
(~50–70%)
C <180° High (>70%) Very Poor RF transmitters
D Digital (PWM) Very High (>90%) Good (with filter) Audio, portable devices
SERIES-FED CLASS A AMPLIFIER
DC Bias Operation
AC Operation
OUTPUT POWER
TRANSFORMER-COUPLED CLASS A AMPLIFIER
Load lines for class A transformer-coupled amplifier.
he transformer used in the collector circuit is for impedance matching. RL is the load connected in thesecondary of
T
a transformer. RL is the reflected load in the primaryof the transformer.
he number of turns in the primary are n1 and thesecondary are n2. Let V1 and V2 be the primary andsecondary
T
voltages and I1 and I2 be the primary and secondarycurrents respectively. The below figure shows the transformer
clearly.
Circuit Operation
I f the peak value of the collector current due to signal is equal to zero signal collector current, then the
maximum a.c. power output is obtained. So, in order to achieve complete amplification, the operating point
should lie at the center of the load line.
heoperatingpointobviouslyvarieswhenthesignalisapplied.Thecollectorvoltagevariesinoppositephase
T
to the collector current. The variation of collector voltage appears across the primary of the transformer.
Circuit Analysis
hepowerlossintheprimaryisassumedtobenegligible,asitsresistanceisverysmall.Theinputpowerunder
T
dc condition will be
The advantages of transformer coupled class A power amplifier are as follows.
● o loss of signal power in the base or collector resistors.
N
● Excellent impedance matching is achieved.
● Gain is high.
● DC isolation is provided.
Transformer- Coupled Push-Pull Class B Amplifier
he circuit uses a center-tapped input transformer to produce opposite polarity signals to the two
T
transistor inputs and an output transformer to drive the load in a push-pull mode of operation.
Class B Amplifier Push Pull Operation
•During the first half-cycle of operation, transistor Q1 isdrivenintoconductionwhereastransistorQ2is
off.
•The currentI1 through the transformer results inthe first half-cycle of signal to the load.
• Duringthesecondhalf-cycleoftheinputsignal,Q2conductswhereasQ1staysoff,thecurrentI2 throughthe
transformer resulting in the second half-cycle to the load.
•The overall signal developed across the load then varies over the full cycle of signal operation.
Complementary Symmetry Circuit
● Using complementary transistors (npn and pnp) it ispossibletoobtainafullcycleoutputacrossa
load using half-cycles of operation from each transistor.
● While a single input signal is applied tothebaseofbothtransistors,thetransistors,beingofopposite
type, will conduct on opposite half-cycles of the input.
● The npn transistor will be biased into conductionbythepositivehalf-cycleofsignal,witharesulting
half-cycle of signal across the load.
● Duringthenegativehalf-cycleofthesignal,thepnptransistorisbiasedintoconductionwhentheinput
goes negative.
● Duringacompletecycleoftheinput,acompletecycleofoutputsignalisdevelopedacrossthe
load.
● One disadvantage of the circuit is the need for two separate voltage supplies.
● Anotherdisadvantagewiththecomplementarycircuitisthatitresultsincrossoverdistortionin
the output signal.
Crossover Distortion
● C rossoverdistortionreferstothefactthatduringthesignalcrossoverfrompositivetonegative
(or vice versa) there is some nonlinearity in the output signal.
● T hisresultsfromthefactthatthecircuitdoesnotprovideexactswitchingofonetransistoroff
and the other on at the zero-voltage condition.
● B othtransistorsmaybepartiallyoffsothattheoutputvoltagedoesnotfollowtheinputaround
the zero-voltage condition.
Amplifier Distortion
● A pure sinusoidal signal has a single frequency at which the voltage varies positive and
negative by equal amounts.
● Any signal varying over less than the full 360° cycle is considered to have distortion.
● Whendistortionoccurs,theoutputwillnotbeanexactduplicate(exceptformagnitude)ofthe
input signal.
● Distortioncanoccurbecausethedevicecharacteristicisnotlinear,inwhichcasenonlinearor
amplitude distortion occurs. This can occur with all classes of amplifier operation.
● Distortioncanalsooccurbecausethecircuitelementsanddevicesrespondtotheinputsignal
differently at various frequencies, this being frequency distortion.
Harmonics
• One technique for describing distorted but period waveforms uses Fourieranalysis,amethodthat
describes any periodic waveform in terms of its fundamental frequency component and frequency
components at integer multiples—these components are calledharmonic componentsorharmonics.
• Forexample,asignalthatisoriginally1000Hz(1KHz) couldresult,afterdistortion,inafrequency
component at
•Fundamental frequency at: 1KHz,
● 1st Harmonic: 2 KHz (2 × 1 KHz),
● 2n d Harmonic: 3 KHz (3× 1 KHz),
● 3rd Harmonic: 4 KHz (4 × 1 kHz),
• Asignalisconsideredtohaveharmonicdistortionwhenthereareharmonicfrequencycomponents
( notjustthefundamentalcomponent).Ifthefundamentalfrequencyhasanamplitude,A1 , andthenth
frequency component has an amplitude,An, a harmonicdistortion can be defined as
The fundamental component is typically larger than any harmonic component.
Total Harmonic Distortion
● W henanoutputsignalhasanumberofindividualharmonicdistortioncomponents,thesignal
canbeseentohaveatotalharmonicdistortionbasedontheindividualelementsascombined
by the relationship of the following equation:
● where THD is total harmonic distortion.
Graphical representation of a distorted signal through the use of harmonic components.
Class C Amplifier
classCamplifier,asthatshowninFig.,isbiasedtooperateforlessthan180°oftheinputsignalcycle.
A
The tuned circuit intheoutput,however,willprovideafullcycleofoutputsignalforthefundamentalor
resonant frequency of the tuned circuit (L and C tank circuit) of the output. This type of operation is
therefore limited to use at one fixed frequency, as occurs in a communications circuit.
Class D Amplifier
● Digital Operation: Class D amplifiers operate withdigital or pulse-type signals.
● High Efficiency: They achieve over 90% efficiency,making them ideal for power amplification.
● S
ignal Conversion Required: Input signals must beconverted into pulse-type waveforms before
amplification and then back to sinusoidal signals using a low-pass filter for output.
● C
omparator Use: A comparator circuit, often with a sawtooth or chopping waveform, is used to
convert sinusoidal input to pulse-type output.
● Transistor Switching: Output transistors are either fully on or off, minimizing power loss.
● Power Transfer: Most of the power is efficiently transferred to the load.
● Popular Components: Power MOSFETs are commonly usedas output driver devices.
● Name Origin: The "D" in Class D can refer to its digital signal nature.