Amplifiers

Types of amplifiers
There are different types of amplifier are found in electronic circuits, below are the main types of amplifier.
• DC Amplifiers: DC amplifiers are used to amplify DC (0Hz) voltages or very low frequency signals where the
DC level of the signal is important. They are common in many electrical control systems and measuring
instruments.
• Wideband Amplifiers: Wideband amplifiers must have a constant gain from DC to several tens of MHz. They
are used in measuring equipment such as oscilloscopes etc. where there is a need to accurately measure
signals over a wide range of frequencies. Because of their extremely wide bandwidth, gain is low.
• Audio frequency amplifiers: Audio frequency amplifiers operate in the band of frequencies that is normally
associated with audio signals (e.g. 20 Hz to 20 kHz).
• Ultrasonic Amplifiers: Ultrasonic amplifiers are a type of audio amplifier handling frequencies from around
20kHz up to about 100kHz; they are usually designed for specific purposes such as ultrasonic cleaning,
metal fatigue detection, ultrasound scanning, remote control systems etc. Each type will operate over a
fairly narrow band of frequencies within the ultrasonic range.
• Large-signal amplifiers: Large-signal amplifiers are designed to cater for appreciable voltage and/or current
levels (typically from 1V to 100 V or more).
• Small-signal amplifiers: Small-signal amplifiers are designed to cater for low-level signals (normally less than
1V and often much smaller). Small-signal amplifiers have to be specially designed to combat the effects of
noise.

• Radio frequency amplifiers: Radio frequency amplifiers operate in the band of frequencies that is normally
associated with radio signals.
• I.F. Amplifiers: Intermediate Frequency amplifiers are tuned amplifiers used in radio, TV and radar. Their
purpose is to provide the majority of the voltage amplification of a radio, TV or radar signal, before the
audio or video information carried by the signal is separated (demodulated) from the radio signal.
 R.F. Amplifiers
• Radio Frequency amplifiers are tuned amplifiers in which the frequency of operation is governed by a
tuned circuit.
• This circuit may or may not, be adjustable depending on the purpose of the amplifier. Bandwidth also
depends on use and may be relatively wide, or narrow.
• Input resistance is generally low, as is gain. (Some RF amplifiers have little or no gain at all but are
primarily a buffer between a receiving antenna and later circuitry to prevent any high level unwanted
signals from the receiver circuits reaching the antenna, where it could be re-transmitted as interference).
• A special feature of RF amplifiers where they are used in the earliest stages of a receiver is low noise
performance. It is important that background noise generally produced by any electronic device, is kept to
a minimum because the amplifier will be handling very low amplitude signals from the antenna (μV or
smaller). For this reason it is common to see low noise FET transistors used in these stages.

FM Radio using AF, IF and RF amplifiers.

Analogue TV receiver block diagram, showing
amplifiers used in many stages
 Classification of amplifiers
An amplifier is used to increase the amplitude of a signal waveform, without
changing other parameters of the waveform such as frequency or wave shape.

5. According to frequency range

The amplifiers are may be classified :
1. According to input signal
– Small signal amplifier.
– Large signal amplifier.
2. According to coupling methods
– Inductance coupled (LC) amplifier.
– Resistance capacitance (RC) coupled amplifier.
– Transformer coupled (LC) coupled amplifier.
– Direct couple (DC) amplifier
3. According to number of stages
– Single stage amplifier.
– Multi stage amplifier.
– Microwave frequency amplifier.
– Ultra high frequency (UHF) amplifier.
– Radio frequency (RF) amplifier.
– Directly coupled (D.C.) amplifier.
– Audio frequency (AF) amplifier.
6. According to transistor configuration
– Common emitter (CE) amplifier.
– Common base (CB) amplifier.
– Common collector (CC) amplifier
7. According to operating point
According to operating point
– Class A amplifier.
– Class B amplifier.
– Class C amplifier.
– Class AB amplifier.

4. 4. According to output
– Power amplifier.
– Voltage amplifier.
 Methods of coupling
• Resistance-capacitance (RC) coupling: It is also known as capacitive coupling amplifier using this coupling
are known as RC coupled amplifier the function RC coupling network is two-fold:
– To pass a signal from one to next
– To block the passage of dc voltage from one stage to next

• Impedance coupling or inductive coupling: It is also known as choke-capacitance coupling amplifiers using
this coupling amplifier using this amplifier are known as impedance coupled amplifier, the impedance of
the coupling coil depends on, Its inductance and Signal frequency.

• Transformer coupling: The secondary winding also provides a base return path; hence there is no need for
a base resistance. Amplifiers using this coupling are called transformer-coupled amplifier.

• Direct coupling: this coupling is used where it is desirable to connect the load directly in series with the
output terminal of the active circuit element. Direct coupling is permissible only when:

– Dc component of the output does not disturb the normal operation of the load device.
– Device resistance is very low.
 Two stage RC coupled CE amplifier
• The RC coupling is the easy and most commonly used method of cascading of wideband amplifier or audio amplifier
stages. The AC voltage signal developed across the collector load of each stage is coupled through the capacitor to the
base of the next stage. The amplifier using the resistance capacitance (RC) coupling method are called as RC amplifiers.

The resistor R1, R2, RE and capacitor CE form biasing and stablization network. The emitter bypass capacitor CE connected
at the emitters of transistor Q1 and offer low reactance path to input AC signal. The voltage gain of each stage will be lost
without this capacitor. The resistor RC and the coupling capacitor CC form the coupling network.

The coupling capacitor CC is used to couple the output of first stage to the base of the second stage. The purpose of the
coupling capacitor is to appear as an open circuit to DC voltage but as short circuit to AC voltage. As a result of this, there
is no DC interaction between stages i.e. the DC voltage of the first stage does not disturb the operating point of the second
stage.
Introduction to amplifiers
 Gain
• One of the most important parameters of an amplifier is the amount of
amplification or gain that it provides.
• Gain is simply the ratio of output voltage to input voltage, output current
to input current, or output power to input power
• These three ratios give, respectively, the voltage gain, current gain and
power gain. Thus:

Block diagram for an amplifier

showing input and output
voltages and currents
 Calculation of the gain example
• An amplifier produces an
output voltage of 2 V for
an input of 50 mV. If the
input and output
currents in this condition
are, respectively, 4 mA
and 200 mA, determine:
(a) the voltage gain;
(b) the current gain;
(c) the power gain.
 Ideal Op Amp
VSS < v0 < +VDD

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

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.

 Characteristics of an Ideal Op-Amp

• Infinite input impedance

• Zero output impedance
• Zero common-mode gain, or, infinite common-
mode rejection
• Infinite open-loop gain
• Infinite bandwidth.
Non-ideal Op Amp characteristics
• 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)