Large Signal Amplifiers
Course Outline
•What is Large Signal Amplifiers
•Difference between Small signal amplifiers vs large signal amplifiers
in terms of DC parameters, input, output signal, etc.
•Performance Parameters of a large signal Amplifier
considerations for a good large signal Amplifier
•Classification of large signal amplifiers
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Large Signal Amplifiers
• capable of providing large amount of power to the load.
• also known as power amplifiers
• They are used as last stage in electronic systems.
• uses power transistors
• A power amplifier takes the DC power supply connected to the output
circuit and converts it into AC signal power.
• generates more heat than small signal amplifiers
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Multi-stage Amplifier
pre-Ampli Voltage Power
fier Amplifier Amplifier
Small Signal Large Signal Amplifier
Amplifiers
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Differences:
Small vs Large signal Amplifiers
Small Signal Amplifiers Large Signal Amplifiers
• the variation of base current from its DC value is • the variation of base current from its DC value is
small Large
• Variation of collector current will be within the active • Variation of collector current may go into cutoff or
region. So, output is exact replica of input signal saturation or both. So, output might get distorted.
(Linear Amplification)
• Distortion is present
• Distortion is not present
• Ex: Power Amplifiers
• Ex: Voltage Amplifiers
• Applications: last stage of amplifier is power
• Applications: All stages in a multistage amplifiers, amplifier
except last stage
• Low output impedance to obtain maximum output
• High Output Impedance for more amount of voltage power and handle large current
drop across output
• Large input signal, typ. (V)
• few mV or uV input signal
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Differences:
Small vs Large signal Amplifiers
Voltage Amplifier Power Amplifier
High Low
Current gain (beta)
>100 5 to 20
input voltage Low High
Few mV or uV Volts range
Collector current Low High
~1mA >100mA
Power output Low High
output impedance High Low
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Performance Parameters of a Power Amplifier
• Circuit efficiency – ratio of output AC power to DC input power
• Distortion - difference between the output & input of an amplifier
determined by the waveform or frequencies.
• Power dissipation capability – ability to dissipate the generated heat
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Efficiency
• An ideal amplifier have an efficiency of 100% but since heat will always be
generated, it is theoretically impossible.
• The efficiency can be calculated as the ratio of AC output power with the
DC input power.
• Efficiency is most important in power amplifiers.
• Poor efficiency means that much of the input power is converted to heat.
• High efficiency means less heat.
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High efficiency means less heat. HEAT = PIN - POUT
Input signal Output signal
Power
POUT
Amplifier
POUT
Efficiency = x 100%
PIN
PIN = VCC x IDC
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Distortion
•difference between the output & input of an amplifier determined
by the waveform
•Distortion can either be:
• Amplitude distortion – Due to non-linearity of transistor.
• Frequency distortion – When different frequency components of the
input signal are amplified differently frequency amplification takes
place. This is mainly due to the internal capacitance effect of the
transistors.
• Phase shift distortion – If the phase shift introduced by amplifier is not
proportional to the frequency, then phase distortion takes place
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Dissipation
•ability to dissipate the generated heat
•During amplification process, large current passes through power
transistor. It is hard to attain 100% efficiency thus, some power
were converted to heat.
•by connecting a heat sink power dissipation capability can be
increased.
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Heat Sinks
• A heat-sink is designed to remove heat from a
transistor and dissipate it into the surrounding air
as efficiently as possible.
• Good physical contact between the transistor and
heatsink is essential, and a heat transmitting
grease (heat-sink compound) is smeared on the
contact area before clamping the transistor to the
heat-sink.
• Where it is necessary to maintain electrical
insulation between transistor and heat-sink a
mica layer is used between the heat-sink and
transistor.
• a Mica sheet has excellent insulation and very
good heat conducting properties.
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Thermal Stability
• When the output current is high, heat dissipation is greater. The increase in
temperature produces more charge carrier in the Base-Emitter junction of
transistor. that is why it is important to reduce the production of heat by
using a heat sink.
• heat sinks prevent the transistors from going to Thermal Run Away.
• Thermal runaway occurs in situations where an increase in temperature
changes the conditions in a way that causes a further increase in
temperature, often leading to a destructive result. It is a kind of
uncontrolled positive feedback.
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Classification of large signal amplifiers
Amplifiers can be classified according to the duration that the transistor is on.
• Class A amplifier conducts for the entire signal cycle. 360°
• Class B amplifier conducts for only half of the signal cycle. 180 °
• Class AB Amplifier in between 180-360 °
• Class C amplifier conducts for less than half of the signal cycle. <180 °
• Class D amplifier switches between cutoff and saturation.
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Class A Amplifier
• conducts for the entire signal cycle (360 degrees
conduction angle)
• the transistor remains in the active region for the full
input signal. it is not operated in cut off or saturation
region
• The Q point is chosen at the middle of load line. This
will give equal swing on either direction
• The base current changes sinusoidally, above and below
to the quiescent base current. The collector output current
also changes sinusoidally above and below the quiescent
current value.
• Due to this IC change, VCE will also change sinusoidally,
but 180 degrees out of phase.
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Class A
amplifier
Operating Curve
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Class A Amplifier
Advantages Disadvantages
• Simple Construction • Low efficiency (25% to 50%)
• Distortion less output • Large power dissipation in the
transistors. High power loss.
• Output impedance is very large
• It can handle only small signals
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Class A Amplifier Efficiency
•
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Class B Amplifier
• conducts for half signal cycle (180 degrees)
• The transistor conducts one half cycle only for the
positive half cycle of the input and in Negative
cycle of input the transistor goes into Off state.
• collector current flows only for one half cycle.
• the power dissipation of these class B amplifiers
are less than class A. Hence efficiency gets
increased.
• the Q-point is adjusted so that it is in cutoff region
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Class B Amplifier
Push-pull Amplifier Complementary Symmetry Amplifier
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Class B Amplifier
Push-pull Amplifier • both the transistors are of same
type (NPN or PNP)
• For positive half cycle Q1(Active
region) gives output and Q2 is
OFF(cut off region).
• In negative cycle Q2 is ON & Q1
is OFF.
• Thus, at the output we get a full
cycle for a full input signal.
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Class B Amplifier
• one of the transistors is NPN & the other Complementary Symmetry Amplifier
one PNP or vice versa.
• For better impedance matching the two
transistors Q1 & Q2 are connected as
emitter follower configuration.
• Positive half cycle Q1 is in Active region
so ON & Q2 in cut off So OFF.
• In negative half cycle Q2 is ON & Q1 is
OFF.
• Thus, for a complete input cycle output
is developed
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Class B
amplifier
Operating Curve
Q point is at x-axis
because it only
conducts on one cycle
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Class B Amplifier
Advantages Disadvantages
• its efficiency is higher than class A • Output has crossover distortion
• Only one half of the input comes at the
output
• it can handle large signals
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Class B Amplifier Parameters
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Class B Amplifier
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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
• The resulting distortion in the output
waveform is called crossover
distortion
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Class AB
• This circuit uses 2 diodes whose characteristics matches with that
of the BE junction of the output transistors
• The advantage of this small bias voltage, provided by series
diodes or resistors, is that the crossover distortion created by the
class B amplifier characteristics is overcome, without the
inefficiencies of the class A amplifier design
• The class AB amplifier is a variation of a class B amplifier,
except that both devices are allowed to conduct at the same time
around the waveform's crossover point eliminating the crossover
distortion problems of the class B amplifier
• The class AB amplifier is a good compromise between class A
and class B in terms of efficiency and linearity, with conversion
efficiencies reaching about between class A and class B
• The AB classification of amplifier is currently one of the most
common used types of audio power amplifier design
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Class AB
amplifier
Operating Curve
Q point is ~0.7V above
x-axis
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Class C
• Class C power amplifier is a type of amplifier where the active element
(transistor) conduct for less than one half cycle of the input signal.
• the conduction angle is less than 180° and its typical value is 80° to 120°
• Less than 180° (half cycle) means less than 50% and would operate only
with a tuned or resonant circuit, which provides a full cycle of operation for
the tuned or resonant frequency.
• The reduced conduction angle improves the efficiency to a great extend but
causes a lot of distortion.
• Theoretical maximum efficiency of a Class C amplifier is around 90%.
• has the most non-linear response. poorest fidelity among analog amplifiers.
• Due to the huge amounts of distortion, the Class C configurations are not
used in audio applications. The most common application of the Class C
amplifier is the RF (radio frequency) circuits like RF oscillator, RF amplifier
etc.,
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Class C Operation
• the input of the device has no bias voltage to the base of
transistor. any voltage needed to turn on the transistor needs to
come from the input.
• Biasing resistor Rb pulls the base of Q1 further downwards and
the Q-point will be set some way below the cut-off point in the
DC load line.
• the transistor will start conducting only after the input signal
amplitude has risen above the base emitter voltage (Vbe~0.7V.
That is the reason why the major portion of the input signal is
absent in the output signal.
• A series of current pulses is produced by the transistor (active
element) according to the input which flow through the resonant
circuit.
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Input vs Output
• more than half of the input signal is
missing in the output and the
output is in the form of some sort
of a pulse.
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Class C
amplifier
Operating Curve
Q point is beyond x-axis.
very little part of the input is
replicated in the output.
so, there is a lot distortion.
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Class C Operation - Output
•
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Class C Amplifier
Advantages Disadvantages
• High efficiency. • Lowest linearity.
• Excellent in RF applications. • Not suitable in audio applications.
• Lowest physical size for a given power • Creates a lot of RF interference.
output.
• It is difficult to obtain ideal inductors
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Class D Amplifier
• Class D type is designed to work with pulse or digital input signals. It is basically a
non-linear switching amplifier or Pulse-width modulation (PWM) amplifier.
• Class-D amplifiers theoretically can reach 100% efficiency, as there is no period during
a cycle were the voltage and current waveforms overlap as current is drawn only
through the transistor that is on.
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Class D Operation
• Class-D amplifiers work by generating a train of rectangular pulses of fixed amplitude but varying width
and separation, or varying number per unit time, representing the amplitude variations of the analog audio
input signal.
• The modulator clock can synchronize with an incoming digital audio signal, thus removing the necessity
to convert the signal to analog.
• The output of the modulator is then used to gate the output transistors on and off alternately.
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Class D Operation
• Since the transistors are either fully "on" or fully "off", they spend very little time in the linear region, and
dissipate very little power. This is the main reason for their high efficiency.
• A simple low-pass filter consisting of an inductor and a capacitor provides a path for the low frequencies
of the audio signal, leaving the high-frequency pulses behind. It also converts Modulated PWM signals
back to its sinusoidal form.
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Summary
Amplifier Class Description Conduction Angle
Full cycle 360° of
Class-A θ = 2π
Conduction
Half cycle 180° of
Class-B θ=π
Conduction
Slightly more than
Class-AB π < θ < 2π
180° of conduction
Slightly less than
Class-C θ<π
180°of conduction
Class-D to ON-OFF non-linear
θ=0
T switching
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Summary
Class A B C AB
In between the
Position of Centre Point of Exactly on the Below the
X-axis and the
the Q-point the Load Line X-axis X-axis
Centre Load Line
Better than A
Overall Poor Better Higher
but less than B
Efficiency 25 to 50% 70 to 80% than 80%
50 to 70%
Signal At the X-axis
Little to none Large Amounts Small Amounts
Distortion Crossover Point
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Summary
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End of Presentation
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