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Performance Characteristics of FET Based Amplifiers

An amplifier is a device which enhances the characteristics of a signal (voltage, current, power).
When a signal travels in any medium (e.g. wired, air etc.), it gets attenuated over the distance. To
get the signal back to the point where information can be retrieved from it, an amplifier is used.
Also, amplifier can be used to get a desired amplitude of a signal.

Now, we will see different terminologies and how they impact an ideal amplifier. The input
impedance is one the most basic parameters while describing the performance of an amplifier. The
input impedance of an amplifier is seen at the terminal where input signal is fed to the device. The
input impedance for an amplifier should be infinite. The reason behind this, is to have zero current
flow at the input terminal of the amplifier.

The output impedance of an amplifier can be seen at the output terminal of the amplifier. The
output impedance can be seen at the output terminal of the device. For the best results, the output
impedance should ideally be equivalent to zero. The reason behind is that, we have to achieve
maximum power transfer at the output terminal.

The most important characteristic of an amplifier is the factor by which it amplifies the input
signal, this is commonly known as the gain of an amplifier. In case of voltage amplifiers
(commonly FET Amplifiers and OP-Amps) it is called voltage gain. In case of current amplifiers,
it is called current gain (commonly BJT based amplifiers). In both cases the amplifier changes the
power of the signal. The main difference between an amplifier and transformer is that in
transformer, the input and output power remain same, while in amplifiers the output power
increases.

In real amplifiers, we cannot achieve the ideality but we can have the closest possible
characteristics/parameters with certain tradeoffs. The tradeoffs include change in linearity, change
in voltage swings (input and output), power dissipation, and gain.

There are different types of amplifiers based on their construction and biasing. There are amplifiers
based on BJT (Bipolar Junction Transistor) and are named according to their biasing schemes. For
example, Common Emitter, Common Base and Common Collector, etc. The BJT based amplifiers
are employed where high power operation is happening. The other most common type of
amplifiers is based on FET (Field Effect Transistors). These are also named according to their
biasing schemes. For example, Common source, Source follower etc. The parameters of different
FET based amplifiers along with their applications are shown in Table No.1.

Biasing Input Output Impedance Gain Application


scheme, Impedance
Parameters
Common R in = ∞ R out = R D Av = −g m (R d ||𝑟0 ) RF- Low
Source High Medium High noise
Amplifier amplification
Common R in = ∞ 1 g m1 Sensor Signal
R out = Av =
gm g m2
Source High Amplificatio
Low High
Amplifier n
(Diode
Connected load)
Common R in = ∞ R out = r01 ||r02 Av = −𝑔𝑚 (𝑟01 ||𝑟02 ) RF- Low
Source High Low High noise
Amplifier amplification
(Current Source and digital
Load) circuits
Common R in = ∞ R out = [1 + (g mb + g m )R s ]r0 Rd RF- Low
Av = −
Low 1
gm + Rs
Source High noise
Amplifier (With amplification
High
Source and digital
Degeneration) circuits
Source Follower R in = ∞ 1 gmRs Used in
R out = Av =
High g m + g mb 1 + (g m + g mb )R s digital
Moderate Less than 1 transmission
Common Gate 1 R out Av = g m (1 + η)R d Least used.
R in =
Amplifier 𝑔𝑚(1 + 𝜂) = [1 + (g m2 + g mb2 )r02 ]r01
High Used in
Low + r02
moving coil
High
microphones.

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