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Power Amplifiers Objectives At the completion of this lesson, you should be able to: Show how the dc load line, ac load line, and Q point are determined for a CE amplifier.

Calculate the maximum peak-to-peak (MPP) unclipped ac voltage that is possible with a given CER amplifier. Describe the characteristics of amplifiers, including classes of operation, types of coupling, and frequency ranges. Discuss the factors that limit the power rating of a transistor and what can be done to improve the power rating. Introduction In a stereo, radio, or television, the input signal is small. After several stages of voltage gain, however, the signal becomes large and uses the entire load line. In these later stages of a system, the collector currents are much larger because the load impedances are much smaller. Stereo amplifier speakers, for example, may have an impedance of only 8. As indicated in Chapter 6, small-signal transistors have a power rating of less than 1 W, whereas power transistors have a power rating of more than 1 W. Small-signal transistors are typically used at the front end of systems, where the signal power is low, and power transistors are used near the end of systems because the signal power and current are high. Amplifier Terms The classes of operation are A, B, and C. The types of coupling are capacitive, transformer, and direct. Frequency terms include audio, RF, narrowband, and wideband. Some types of audio amplifiers are preamps and power amplifiers.

Two Load Lines Every amplifier has a dc load line and an ac load line. To get maximum peak-to-peak output, the Q point should be in the center of the ac load line. Class A Operation The power gain equals the ac output power divided by the ac input power. The power rating of a transistor must be greater than the quiescent power dissipation. The efficiency of an amplifier stage equals the ac output power divided by the dc input power, times 100 percent. The maximum efficiency of class A with a collector and load resistor is 25%. If the load resistor is the collector resistor, the maximum efficiency increases to 50%.

Class B Operation

Most class B amplifiers use a push-pull connection of two transistors. While one transistor conducts, the other is cut off, and vice versa. Each transistor amplifies one-half of the ac cycle. The maximum efficiency of class B is 78.5%.

Class C Operation Most class C amplifiers are tuned RF amplifiers. The input signal is negatively clamped, which produces narrow pulses of collector current. The tank circuit is tuned to the fundamental frequency, so that all higher harmonics are filtered out.

Class C Formulas

The bandwidth of a class C amplifier is inversely proportional to the Q of the circuit. The ac collector resistance includes the parallel equivalent resistance of the inductor and the load resistance.

Transistor Power Rating The power rating of a transistor decreases as the temperature increases. The data sheet of a transistor either lists a derating factor or shows a graph of the power rating versus temperature. Heat sinks can remove the heat more rapidly, producing a higher power rating.

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