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Class A Output Stage - Recap

Class A output stage is a simple linear current


amplifier.
It is also very inefficient, typical maximum
efficiency between 10 and 20 %.
Only suitable for low power applications.
High power requires much better efficiency.
Why is class A so inefficient ?
Single transistor can only conduct in one
direction.
D.C. bias current is needed to cope with
negative going signals.
75 % (or more) of the supplied power is
dissipated by d.c.
Solution : eliminate the bias current.
Class B Output Stage
Q
1
and Q
2
form two unbiased
emitter followers
Q
1
only conducts when the input is
positive
Q
2
only conducts when the input is
negative
Conduction angle is, therefore,
180
When the input is zero, neither
conducts
i.e. the quiescent power
dissipation is zero

Class B Current Waveforms
I
out
I
C1
I
C2
time
time
time
Class B Efficiency
Average power drawn from the
positive supply:
( ) 1 C S ve
I V P =
+
( ) ( )
L L
C
R
A
R
A
I I
t
u u
t
u u
t
t t
= = =
} }
0
2
0
C1 1
d sin
2
1
d
2
1
I
C1
Phase, u
A/R
L

0
t
2t
A sin(u)
( )
L
S
ve
R
A V
P
t
=
+
By symmetry, power drawn from +ve and ve
supplies will be the same. Total power, therefore:
( ) ( ) ( )
L
S
ve ve ve S
R
A V
P P P P
t
2
2 = = + =
+ +
Load power:
( )
L L L
out
L
R
A
R
t A
R
v
P
2
sin
2 2 2 2
= = =
e
Efficiency:
S S
L
L S
L
V
A
A V
R
R
A
P
P
4 2 2
2
t t
q = = =
( ) % 5 . 78 4 / NB. = s s t q
S
V A
Power Dissipation
To select appropriate output transistors, the maximum
power dissipation must be calculated.
L L
S
L S D
R
A
R
A V
P P P
2
2
2
= =
t
Just need to find the maximum value of P
D
to select
transistors/heatsinks
0 5 10 15
0
0.5
1
1.5
Peak Output Amplitude, A [V]
P
o
w
e
r

[
W
]

P
L
P
S
P
D
E.g. V
S
= 15 V, R
L
= 100 O
L
S
S
R
A V
P
t
2
=
L
L
R
A
P
2
2
=
P
D
is a quadratic function of A,
Maximum Power Dissipation
0
d
d
=
A
P
D
maximum when:
L L
S
D
R
A
R
A V
P
2
2
2
=
t
L
S
L
S
L
S
D
R
V
R
V
R
V
P
2
2
2
2
2
2
(max)
2 2 4
t t t
= =
0
2
=
L L
S
R
A
R
V
t t
S
V
A
2
=
Efficiency / Power Dissipation
Peak efficiency of the class B output stage
is 78.5 %, much higher than class A.
Unlike class A, power dissipation varies
with output amplitude.
Remember, there are two output devices
so the power dissipation is shared
between them.

Design Example
Design a class B amplifier which will deliver up to 25 W
into a 4 O load.
V 1 . 14 25
2
25
2
s s s A
R
A
P
L
L
Supply voltages must be larger than A
max
so choose
V
s
= 15V.
( )
W 7 . 5 2 W 4 . 11
2
2
2
max
= = =
L
S
D
R
V
P
t
Each of the two output transistors must be able to safely
dissipate up to 5.7 Watts. Using a TIP120 & TIP 125:
A D JA J D JA A J
T P T P T T + = = u u
But, with u
JC
= 1.92 C/W
C/W 20
92 . 1

<
+ = + =
CA
CA CA JC JA
u
u u u u
i.e. Either two heatsinks rated at less than 20C/W are
required or a single heatsink rated at less than 10C/W.
C/W 22
150 25 7 . 5

<
< +
JA
JA
u
u
max max J A D JA
T T P < + u
Suggested heatsink
Dimensions, 50mm x 50mm x 9.5mm
Accommodates two devices
Rating 6.5C/W
Cost 60p inc VAT
Cross-Over Distortion
A small base-emitter voltage is
needed to turn on a transistor
Q
1
actually only conducts when
v
in
> 0.7 V
Q
2
actually only conducts when
v
in
< -0.7 V
When 0.7 > v
in
> -0.7, nothing
conducts and the output is zero.
i.e. the input-output relationship
is not at all linear.
Actual Input-Output Curve
v
in
v
out
BE in out
V v v + ~
BE in out
V v v ~
+V
BE
-V
BE
Effect of Cross-Over Distortion
Audio Demo
Undistorted original
Class B amplifier output
Class B Summary
A class B output stage can be far more
efficient than a class A stage (78.5 %
maximum efficiency compared with 25 %).
It also requires twice as many output
transistors
and it isnt very linear; cross-over
distortion can be significant.

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