Basic of Amplifiers

• An amplifier is a device for increasing the power of a signal. This is accomplished

by taking energy from a power supply and controlling the output to duplicate the
shape of the input signal but with a larger (voltage or current) amplitude. In this
sense, an amplifier may be thought of as modulating the voltage or current of the
power supply to produce its output .

The basic amplifier has two ports and is characterized by its gain, input impedance
and output impedance. An ideal amplifier has infinite input impedance (Rin = ∞),
zero output impedance (Rout = 0) and infinite gain (Avo = ∞) and infinite bandwidth
if desired.
Transistors as amplifiers:
• The transistor is a three-terminal device.
• Representing the basic amplifier as a two port network, there would need to be two
input and two output terminals . This means one of the transistor terminals must be
common to both the input and output circuits.
• This leads to the names common emitter, etc. for the three basic types of amplifiers.
• The easiest way to determine if a device is connected as common emitter/source,
common collector/drain, or common base/gate is to examine where the input signal
enters and the output signal leaves.
• The remaining terminal is what is thus common to both input and output.
 Transistor as amplifier
• Due to the small changes in
base current the collector
current will mimic the input
with greater amplitude
 Building-block amplifier stages:
• Inverting voltage amplifier (also called Common emitter or
Common source amplifier)

• Current Follower (also called Common base or Common

gate or cascode)

• Voltage Follower (also called Common collector or Common

drain amplifier)

• Series feedback (more commonly: emitter/source

degeneration)

• Shunt feedback
 BJT as an Amplifier

• Amplification of a small ac
voltage by placing the ac
signal source in the base
circuit
• Vin is super imposed on the
DC bias voltage VBB by
connecting them in series
with base resistor RB:
I C   DC I B
• Small changes in the base
current circuit causes large
changes in collector current
circuit
Classes

Collector current waveforms for

transistors operating in (a) class A, (b)
class B, (c) class AB, and (d) class C
amplifier stages.
 The Sine wave Cycle

• Class-A: Output device(s) conduct through 360 degrees of input cycle (never switch
off). The device conducts for the entire waveform.

• Class-B: Output devices conduct for 180 degrees (1/2 of input cycle) - for audio,
two output devices in "push-pull" must be used (see Class-AB)

• Class-AB: Halfway (or partway) between the above two examples (181 to 200
degrees typical) - also requires push-pull operation for audio.

• Class-C: Output device(s) conduct for less than 180 degrees (100 to 150 degrees
typical) - Radio Frequencies only - cannot be used for audio! This is the sound
heard when one of the output devices goes open circuit in an audio amp.
Maximum class A output occurs when the Q-
Q-point closer to saturation.
point is centered on the ac load line.

Class A amplifiers have very low distortion

Q-point closer to cutoff. (lowest distortion occurs when the volume is
low)

They are very inefficient and are rarely used

for high power designs.

The distortion is low because the transistors in

the amp are biased such that they are half
"on" when the amp is idling
Often used for "signal" level circuits (where power requirements are small) because they
maintain low distortion.
Common-collector class B amplifier
Class B push-pull ac operation.
Illustration of crossover distortion in a class B push-pull amplifier. The transistors
conduct only during the portions of the input indicated by the shaded areas.
Transformer coupled push-pull amplifiers. Q1 conducts during the positive half-cycle; Q2 conducts during the negative half-cycle.
The two halves are combined by the output transformer.
 Operational Amplifiers (Op Amps)
• Ideal Op Amp
• Non-inverting Amplifier
• Unity-Gain Buffer
• Inverting Amplifier
• Differential Amplifier
• Current-to-Voltage Converter
• Non-ideal Op Amp
 Ideal Op Amp
VDD
i v VSS  v0  VDD
+
- vo
i v
VSS

1) v0  Av  v  v 
The open-loop gain, Av, is very large, approaching infinity.

2) i  i  0
The current into the inputs are zero.
Ideal Op Amp with Negative Feedback
v +
vo
v -

Network

Golden Rules of Op Amps:

1. The output attempts to do whatever is necessary to

make the voltage difference between the inputs zero.

2. The inputs draw no current.

 Non-inverting Amplifier
vi v Closed-loop voltage gain
+ vo
v vo
- AF 
vi
R2
R1 R1
vi  v  v  vo
R1  R2

vo R2
AF   1 
vi R1
 Unity-Gain Buffer
v Closed-loop voltage gain
vi +
v vo vo
- AF 
vi

vi  v  v  vo

vo
AF  1
vi

Used as a "line driver" that transforms a high input impedance (resistance) to a low
output impedance. Can provide substantial current gain.
Operational Amplifiers (Op Amps)
• Ideal Op Amp
• Non-inverting Amplifier
• Unity-Gain Buffer
• Inverting Amplifier
• Differential Amplifier
• Current-to-Voltage Converter
• Non-ideal Op Amp
 Inverting Amplifier
Current into op amp is zero R2
ii
ii
v  v  0 vi v
- vo
R1 v
v  0 vi +
ii  i 
R1 R1

0  v0 v0
ii   vi v0
R2 R2 
R1 R2

vo R
AF   2
vi R1
 Differential Amplifier
R2 i1
Current into op amp is zero
i1 R1 v
v1 -
v  v v2
v vo
+
R1
v1  v
i1  R2
R1
v  v0
i1 
R2 v1  v v  v0

R2 R1 R2
v  v2
R1  R2 R2 R2
v1  v2 v2  v0
R1  R2 R1  R2

R1 R2
 Differential Amplifier
R2 i1
R2 R2
v1  v2 v2  v0
R1  R2 R  R2
 1 v1
i1 R1 v
R1 R2 - vo
v
v2 +
2
R1
R2 R2 R R2
v0   v1  v2  2
v2
R1 R1  R2 R1  R1  R2 

R2 R2  R2 
v0   v1  1   v2
R1 R1  R2  R1 
R2
v0   v2  v1 
R1
Current-to-Voltage Converter
v
+
vo
v - ii  i f
ii
v  v  0
RF if
0  v0  i f RF
v0  ii RF

Transresistance  v0 ii   RF

 Photodiode Circuit
ii  25 A per milliwatt of incident radiation
v
+
v vo
-
ii At 50 mW
h

if ii  50  25 106  1.25mA
RF
Assume RF  3.2k

v0  ii RF  1.25  103  3.2  103  4V

 Non-ideal Op Amp
• Output voltage is limited by supply voltage(s)
• Finite gain (~105)
• Limited frequency response
• Finite input resistance (not infinite)
• Finite output resistance (not zero)
• Finite slew rate slew rate  dv0 (t ) dtMAX
• Input bias currents
• Input bias current offset
• Input offset voltage
• Finite common mode rejection ratio (CMRR)