EEN1026 Electronics II Chapter 4 Power Amplifier Design

Chapter 4
Power Amplifier Design
4.0 Introduction:
Power (or larger signal) amplifiers are used to amplify the input excitation to a value large
enough to drive the final device.

For example, an input transducer signal is generally small (a few millivolts from a cassette or
CD input, or a few microvolts from an antenna) and needs to be amplified sufficiently to
operate an output device (speaker or other power-handling device), typically a few watts to
tens of watts.

The main features of a power amplifier are:

1. the circuit’s power efficiency
2. the maximum amount of power that the circuit is capable of handling, and
3. the impedance matching to the output device.

(a)Classification of Power Amplifiers

There are three basic types of power amplifiers - Class A, Class B, and Class C power
amplifiers.

Class A – An amplifier containing a transistor that conducts during the entire cycle of the ac
input. The output signal varies for a full 3600 of the cycle.

0 t

Class B – An amplifier containing two transistors that each conduct for 1800 of the ac input
cycle. One transistor conducting during the positive alternation of the ac input and
the other conducting during the negative alternation. The combined half-cycles
provide an output for a full 3600 of the operation.

Transistor
Q1 t

Transistor
Q2 t

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EEN1026 Electronics II Chapter 4 Power Amplifier Design

Class AB – A variation on the basic class B amplifier. The transistor in this amplifier
conducts for more than 180° but less than 360° of the input cycle.

Class C – An amplifier containing a transistor that conducts for less than 1800 of the ac input
cycle.

Class A and Class B amplifiers are primarily used in audio amplifiers (2Hz to 20 kHz). Class
C amplifiers are used as tuned amplifiers.

4.1 Class A Power Amplifier

As the transistor in common-emitter, emitter-follower, and common-base amplifier conducts
during the entire 3600 of the input cycle, they are classified as class A amplifier. The only
difference between the power (large-signal) amplifier and the small-signal version is that the
signals handled by the large-signal circuit are in the range of volts and the transistor used is a
power transistor that is capable of operating in the range of a few to tens of watts.

4.1.1 RC-coupled Class A Amplifier

The simple voltage-divider bias circuit is shown in Figure 4.1.
(a) DC Analysis (capacitors acts as an open circuit)
The voltage divider is made up of R1 and R2, VCC
R2
and the base voltage VB = VCC .
R1 + R2
I1 R1 IC RC
Emitter voltage VE = VB − 0.7V C2 IB
and current I E = VE / RE Q1 C3
Assuming that I CQ = I E ,
VCEQ = VCC − I CQ RC − I E RE I2
R2 IE RE C1 RL
⇒ VCEQ = VCC − I E ( RC + RE )

Figure 4.1

The current gain of Q1 is defined as β = I C / I B . Since I E = I C + I B the value of IB can simply

I
be found as I B = E .
1+ β

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EEN1026 Electronics II Chapter 4 Power Amplifier Design

Saturation and Cutoff

When the transistor Q1 is saturated (short circuit from emitter to collector), VCE is
approximately equal to 0V. Thus, the collector current IC has reached its maximum possible
VCC
value, I C ( sat ) = .
RC + RE
When the transistor is in cutoff (open circuit from emitter to collector), there is no current
flowing in the collector circuit. Thus, all the supply voltage is dropped across the transistor.
VCE ( off ) = VCC
Using these equations, a graph that represents all the possible combinations of IC and VCE for
a given amplifier is plotted as below. This is called the dc load line.
IC (mA) IC (sat)

IB
Q-point
Figure 4.2

VCE(off)=VC
VCE (V)

Q-point indicates the values of VCE and IC for an amplifier at rest (no ac signal). When an ac
signal is applied to the base of the transistor, IC and VCE will both vary around their Q-point
values.
When the Q-point centered on the load line, IC and VCE can both make the maximum possible
transitions above and below their initial dc values.

IC(sat) IC(sat)

Q IC(sat)/2 Q
IC(sat)/2

0 0

Clipped off
0 VCC/2 VCC 0 VCC/2 VCC
Figure 4.3

When the Q-point is above center on the load line, the input may cause the transistor to
saturate. When this happens, a part of the output sine wave will be clipped off.

If the Q-point is below midpoint on the load line, the input may cause the transistor to go into
cutoff. This is also caused a portion of the output sine wave to be clipped. Thus, the midpoint
biasing allows the optimum ac operation of the amplifier.

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EEN1026 Electronics II Chapter 4 Power Amplifier Design

4.1.1(b) AC Analysis
The ac equivalent circuit of Figure 4.1 is easily derived using the following two-step process:
1. All capacitors are replaced with wires - capacitors act as short circuits to the ac signals.
2. Replace all dc sources with a ground symbol - the dc sources have extremely low ac
resistance values.

Q1

VCE
R1 || R2 rC=RC || RL

Figure 4.4

The transistor is in parallel with the ac load resistance, rC and the ac collector current is given
v
by iC = CE
rC
IC iC = I C − I CQ = ∆I C
iC = instantaneous value of varying collector current
ICQ I C = instantaneous total ac collector current
I CQ = the quiescent value of I C .
vCE = VCEQ − VCE = ∆VCE
vCE = instantaneous value of varying collector-emitter
VCEQ voltage
VCE VCE = instantaneous total ac collector-emitter voltage.
VCEQ = the quiescent value of VCE .
VCEQ VCE
Substituting these two equations in place of iC and vCE gives: I C − I CQ = −
rC rC
VCEQ
At saturation, VCE is ideally equal to 0V and I C ( sat ) = I CQ + .
rC
At cutoff, the value of I C is ideally zero and VCE ( off ) = VCEQ + I CQ rC .

Note that the ac load line does not follow ac load

the plot of the dc load line, the two load lines
have different values of I C ( sat ) and VCE ( off ) .
I Q
The reason for this lies on the fact that the dc dc load
load of an amplifier is different from the ac load.
The ac load line represents all possible ac
combination of iC and vCE .
V
Figure 4.5

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EEN1026 Electronics II Chapter 4 Power Amplifier Design

4.1.1(c) Compliance of the Amplifier

The AC load line is used to determine the maximum possible output voltage swing (or peak-
to-peak) from a given amplifier. This maximum VPP is referred to as the ‘compliance’ of the
amplifier.
IC
IC(sat)

∆IC
ICQ Q

∆VC

0 VCEQ VCEQ+ICQr VC
Figure 4.6

The maximum possible transition for VCE is equal to the difference between VCE(off) and VCEQ
and is equal to I CQ rC (the maximum peak output voltage). Thus, the maximum peak-to-peak
transition would be equal to twice this value, as follows: PP = 2 I CQ rC (A)
where PP = the output compliance, in peak-to-peak voltage
ICQ = the quiescent value of IC
rC = the ac resistance

When IC = IC(sat), VCE is ideally equal to 0 V. When IC makes its maximum possible transition
from ICQ to IC(Sat) , the VCE changes from VCEQ to 0 V. Thus, the maximum peak-to-peak
transition would be equal to twice this value, as PP = 2VCEQ (B)
where PP = the output compliance, in peak-to-peak voltage
VCEQ = the quiescent value of VCE

Equation (A) sets the limit in terms of VCE(off). If it exceeds, cutoff clipping occurs.
Equation (B) sets the limit in terms of IC(sat). If it exceeds, saturation clipping occurs.

4.1.1(d) Power Consideration

Amplifier DC Power: The total DC power that an amplifier draws from the power supply is
PS = VCC I CC , where I CC = I CQ + I1 from Figure 4.1
AC Load Power: AC load power can be calculated using the standard V2/R equation,
V pk
2 ( )2
V
specifically, PL = L = 2 where PL = the AC load power
RL RL
VL = the r.m.s. load voltage, and Vpk = the peak output voltage

The peak to peak output voltage V pp = 2V pk , the AC load power can be written as
V pp
( )2
V pp2
PL = 2 2 =
RL 8 RL

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EEN1026 Electronics II Chapter 4 Power Amplifier Design

Since compliance is a maximum peak to peak output value, the maximum possible ac load
PP 2
power can be found as PL (max) = .
8 RL
P
The efficiency of operation is given by η = L × 100% .
PS
The maximum theoretical efficiency of an RC-coupled class A amplifier is 25%.

4.1.2 Transformer-coupled Class A Amplifiers

A transformer-coupled class A amplifier uses a transformer to couple the output signal from
the amplifier to the load.
VCC
N1 : N2

R1 RL
C2
Q1

R2
RE C1

Figure 4.7

A transformer can increase or decrease voltage or current levels according to the turns ratio
and these relationships are summarized as follows:
2
N1 V1 I 2 ⎛ N1 ⎞ Z V /I
= = and ⎜⎜ ⎟⎟ = 1 = 1 1
N 2 V2 I1 ⎝ N2 ⎠ Z 2 V2 / I 2

where N1, N2 = the number of turns in the primary and secondary, respectively
V1, V2 = the primary and secondary voltages
I1, I2 = the primary and secondary currents
Z1, Z2 = the primary and secondary impedances

(a)DC Operating Characteristics

The transformer (dc) winding resistance determines the dc load line for the circuit of Fig.4.7.
Typically, this dc resistance is small (a few ohms).
The collector-emitter voltage at quiescent, VCEQ = VCC − I E ( RC + RE ) , where RC = RW is the
primary winding resistance. In the Figure 4.7, RE = 12Ω and let assume that RW = 2Ω .
If I CQ = 50mA , VCEQ is found as VCEQ = 10 − 50mA(14Ω) = 9.3V
VCEQ at I CQ = 200mA would be found as VCEQ = 10 − 200mA(14Ω) = 7.2V
Thus, the change in VCEQ was only 2.1V over a range of I CQ = 50mA to 200mA. This slight
change in VCEQ would produce the nearly vertical dc load line shown (Figure 4.8).

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EEN1026 Electronics II Chapter 4 Power Amplifier Design

VCC=10V
4:1 IC (mA)

R1=180Ω RL=5Ω
C2 Q-point IB
Q

R2=43Ω RE=
12Ω C1
5 10 15 VCE (V)

Figure 4.8

Note that the value of RL is ignored in the dc analysis, as the transformer provides dc
isolation between primary and secondary.
(b)AC Operating Characteristics
The maximum possible change in VCE is approximately equal to VCEQ , since VCE cannot
change by an amount greater than (VCEQ − 0V ) . The maximum corresponding change in I C is
2
∆V ⎛N ⎞
found as ∆I C = CE , where Z1 = ⎜⎜ 1 ⎟⎟ Z 2 .
Z1 ⎝ N2 ⎠
The maximum collector current, I C (max) = I CQ + ∆I C . The ac load line is drawn from the point
on the y-axis that corresponds to I C (max) through the Q-point to the x-axis.
Locate the two points where the load line passes through the lines representing the minimum
(point A) and maximum (point B) values of I B (Figure 4.9).
Point A is used to determine the values of I C (max) and VCE (min) , while point B is used to
determine the values of I C (min) and VCE (max) . Thus, these two points indicate the operating
limits of VCE and I C .
IC
dc load line
(A)
IC(max) IB(max)

IB
Q-point
ac load line

(B)
IC(min) IB(min)
VCE (V)
VCE(min) VCC VCE(max)

Figure 4.9

VCE (max) is greater than the value of VCC ? The high value of VCE (max) is caused by the counter
“emf (elelectromagnetic field)” produced by the transformer primary.

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EEN1026 Electronics II Chapter 4 Power Amplifier Design

4.1.2 (c) Power consideration

In a typical transformer-coupled class A amplifier, I CQ >> I1 and the value of source power
can be approximated as PS = VCC I CQ .
The value of compliance (PP) is equal to the maximum peak-to-peak output that is found as
PP = VCE ( p − p ) = (VCE max − VCE min )
- the maximum possible peak-to-peak voltage across the primary of the transformer.
Using this value and the turns ratio of the transformer, the maximum possible peak-to-peak
N
load voltage is found as VPP = 2 PP .
N1

2
VPP
The maximum load power, PL (max) = . The maximum theoretical efficiency of a
8 RL
P
transformer-coupled class A amplifier is η = L ×100% = 50%.
PS

4.2 Class B Power Amplifier

The class B amplifier was developed to improve on the low efficiency rating of the class A
amplifier. The maximum ideal efficiency rating of a class B amplifier is approximately
78.5%.
In Class B amplifier, the dc bias leaves the transistor biased just off and the transistor only
turning on when the ac signal is applied. Thus the transistor conducts current for only one-
half of the signal cycle.
To obtain output for the full cycle of signal, it is necessary to use two transistors and have
each conduct on opposite half-cycles, the combined operation providing a full cycle of output
signal.
Since one part of the circuit pushes the signal high during one half-cycle and the other part
pulls the signal low during the other half-cycle, the circuit is referred to as push-pull circuit.

One-half
circuit
Load

One-half
circuit

Figure 4.10

The most commonly used type of class B circuit configuration is called the complementary
symmetry amplifier or push-pull emitter follower (Fig.4.11a). This circuit contains
complementary transistors, that is one of the transistors is npn and the other is a pnp.
The standard push-pull amplifier contains two transistors of the same type with the emitters
tied to together. It also uses a center-tapped transformer. (Fig.4.11b)

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EEN1026 Electronics II Chapter 4 Power Amplifier Design

(a) (b)
VCC
Q1
VCC
C2 R1 R1
Q1 VCC
R2 RL
R2

R3 T2
RL T1 Q2
Q2
R4

Figure 4.11 (a) Class B complementary-symmetry amplifier. (b) Class B push-pull amplifier

Because of the biasing arrangement, class B is subject to a type of distortion called

‘crossover distortion’. During the positive half-cycle of the input, Q1 is biased on and Q2 is
biased off. During the negative half-cycle of the input, Q1 is biased off and Q2 is biased on.
Due to the transition time required for the transistor to come out of cutoff into the active
region of operation, both transistors are off for a short period and the output drops to zero,
shown as the flat lines between the half-cycles of the output signal (Fig.4.12).
VCC

R1 Crossover distortion
Q1
R2

R3
Q2 RL
R4

Figure 4.12

To prevent crossover distortion, both transistors will normally be biased at a level that is
slightly above cutoff.

4.2(a) DC Operating Characteristics

When both transistors are biased at the cutoff point, the Q-point is established at the IB = 0
line on the characteristics curve (Fig. 4.13).

Assume that the both transistors are on, the voltage drops across the transistors (from emitter
to collector) would remain the same because the resistance ratio of the two components
would not change. Because there are no resistors present in the collector and emitter circuits
there would be no limit to the value of IC. Therefore, the class B amplifiers will have a
vertical dc load line.

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EEN1026 Electronics II Chapter 4 Power Amplifier Design

Assuming the two transistors are matched, IC1 ≈ IC2 and VCE1 ≈ VCE2, as the two transistors
are wired in series. Thus VCEQ = VCC/2 .
For ideal transistor, ICQ ≅ 0 when both transistors are biased just inside the cutoff region.
However, it can never reach the ideal value of zero because there will always be some
amount of leakage current through the transistors.
IC
dc load line
VCC/2RL ac load line

IB

Q-point IB= 0mA

ICQ ≈ 0
VCE
VCEQ=VCC/2 V

Figure 4.13

4.2 (b)AC Operating Characteristics

The ac equivalent circuit for the class B amplifiers is obtained by grounding the dc voltage
source (VCC) and shorting the capacitors in the circuit of Fig. 4.12.

Q2 Q1
RL
R1 R4

Figure 4.14

Note that R2 and R3 are shorted in ac equivalent circuit of Fig. 4.12.

Since the transistors in a class B amplifier are normally biased at cutoff, the normal value of
V
VCE ( off ) is found as VCE ( off ) = CC .
2
From the ac equivalent circuit, the voltage across RL is equal to VCE of the transistors, thus
V
the value of I C ( sat ) is given by I C ( sat ) = CC .
2 RL
These two points are used to derive the ac load line of the class B amplifier (Fig. 4.13.).

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EEN1026 Electronics II Chapter 4 Power Amplifier Design

4.2(c) Power Calculations

(i)DC power: The total power that the amplifier draws from the supply is given by

PS = VCC ICC where I CC = I C1( ave) + I1

VCC
I1 is the current flowing through the biasing resistors and is given by I1 = .
R1 + R2 + R3 + R4
Note that at any time only one transistor is on, so it effectively acts as a half-wave rectifier
I
and the average collector current flowing through Q1 is given by I C1( ave ) = P , where IP is the
π
peak current through Q1.
VCC 0.159VCC
Since I P = I C (sat ) , I C1( ave ) can be written as I C ( sat ) = , I C1( ave ) = .
2 RL RL

VCC
I1 IC1(ave) IC(sat)

R1 ac load line
Q1 VCC/2
R2
VCE
R3
RL Q1 = on
Q2 VCC/2
R4 Q2 = on
0V VCEQ VCC
Figure 4.15

(ii)AC power: The class B amplifier has the same output power characteristics as the class A
amplifier. By formula
V2 V2
PL = L = PP
R L 8 RL

where PL = the ac load power and VL = the r.m.s. load voltage

VPP = the peak-to-peak output voltage
In class B amplifier, each transistor is capable of making the full transition from VCEQ to 0 V.
Since there are two transistors that conduct on alternate half-cycles of the input, the total
transition of the output is approximately equal to 2 VCEQ.
The compliance of a class B amplifier is found as PP = 2VCEQ = 2(VCC / 2) = VCC .
The maximum possible value of the ac load power can be obtained by using the compliance
(PP) and it is
2
PP 2 VCC
PL (max) = = .
8 RL 8 RL

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EEN1026 Electronics II Chapter 4 Power Amplifier Design

4.3 Amplifier Distortion (Harmonic)

For an ideal amplifier, the output signal will be an exact duplicate of the input signal except
for its magnitude.
In practice, distortion can occur because the device characteristic is not linear ( ic ≠ Cib , C is a
constant) in which case nonlinear or amplitude distortion occurs. This can occur with all
classes of amplifier operation.
Distortion can also occur because the circuit elements and devices respond to the input signal
differently at various frequencies, this being the frequency distortion.
To investigate the magnitude of this distortion, we assume that the dynamic curve be a power
series rather than a straight line. Then
ic = G1 ib + G2 ib2 + G3 ib3 + . . . . where the G’s are constants.

If the input waveform is sinusoidal and of the form ib = Ibm cos ωt, ic can be written as

ic = G1 Ibm cos ωt + G2 Ibm2 cos2 ωt + G3 Ibm3 cos3 ωt + . . . . .

Rearranging to give
ic = Bo + B1 cos ωt + B2 cos 2ωt + B3 cos 3ωt + . . .

where Bo, B1, . . . . are constants which may be evaluated in terms of the G’s.

The instantaneous total current

IC= ICQ + ic = ICQ + Bo + B1 cos ωt + B2 cos 2ωt + B3 cos 3ωt +..

The harmonic distortion is defined as

B2 B3 B4
D2 ≡ , D3 ≡ , D4 ≡
B1 B1 B1

where Ds ( s = 2,3,4,…. ) represents the distortion of the ‘s’ th harmonic

The total distortion or distortion factor, is defined as D ≡ D22 + D32 + D42 + ....

For example, a signal that is originally 1000Hz could result, after distortion, in a frequency
component at 1000Hz (fundamental frequency), and harmonic components at 2kHz
(2 × 1kHz ), 3kHz (3 ×1kHz ), 4kHz (4 ×1kHz ), and so on.
V1sinwt
V
V2sin2wt

0 wt

V3sin3wt

Figure 4.16

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EEN1026 Electronics II Chapter 4 Power Amplifier Design

4.4 Push-pull Amplifier

A great deal of the distortion introduced by the nonlinearity of the device characteristic may
be eliminated by the circuit shown in Fig.4.17, known as a push-pull configuration. In the
circuit the excitation is introduced through a center-taped transformer. Thus, when the signal
on transistor Q1 is positive, the signal on Q2 is negative by an equal amount (differ in phase
by 180°).
Let the base current for Q1 of the form ib1 = Ibmcos ωt. The output current for Q1 is given by

i1(ωt) = IC + Bo + B1 cos ωt + B2 cos 2ωt + B3cos 3ωt . . . . . .

The corresponding base current for Q2 of the form ib2 = Ibm cos (ωt + π) = - ib1. The output
current for this transistor is i2(ωt) = i1 ( ωt + π) and is given by

i2(ωt) = IC + Bo - B1 cos ωt + B2 cos 2ωt - B3cos 3ωt. . . . .

i1
Q1
R1
Rs
R2 VCC N1
v N2 i RL
N1
Q2 i2 T2
T1

Figure 4.17

As shown in Fig.4 .17, i1 and i2 are in the opposite directions through the output transformer
primary winding. Assume that the transistors are identical, the total output current ‘i’ is given
by
i(ωt) = k [i1(ωt) - i2(ωt)]
= 2k ( B1cos ωt + B3cos 3ωt + B5cos 5ωt + . . . . . )

As a result, a push-pull circuit will balance out all even harmonics in the output and leave the
3rd harmonic term as the principal source of distortion.

The primary advantage of class B as compared with class A operation are the following:
a) greater power output
b) higher efficiency
c) negligible power loss at no signal

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EEN1026 Electronics II Chapter 4 Power Amplifier Design

4.5 Class C Amplifier

Class C amplifiers are circuits containing transistors that conduct for less than 180° of the
input cycle. So, the output voltage from the collector is not a sine wave, although the circuit
has an ac sine wave input.
To produce a sine wave at its output, the class C amplifier requires a LC tank circuit designed
to resonate at a particular frequency (Figure 4.18). Class C operation is usually limited to
radio frequency (RF) amplifiers that have tuned LC circuits in order to keep the physical size
of the inductors and capacitors small (frequency > 20 kHz).
+VCC

LT
CT

C1
C2

RL
RB

-VBB
Figure 4.18

Because the collector current flows for a short time during each input cycle, distortion goes to
a high level. However, the tuned circuit allows the amplifier to provide sufficient energy
needed for resonant action. Class C amplifiers have the greatest efficiency (~99%) and give
high power amplification.

4.5(a)DC Operation
The transistor in a class C amplifier is biased deeply into cutoff. This is done by connecting
the base resistor to a negative supply voltage (npn transistor) as shown in Fig. 4.18.
Since a class C amplifier is biased in cutoff, the value of VCE will be approximately equal to
VCC. As long as there is no input signal to the transistor, VCE = VCC and ICQ = 0. Therefore, it
is more appropriate to have dc load point for this circuit, rather than a dc load line.

4.5(b)AC Operation
In the circuit, the LC resonant tank (Fig. 4.19) works in parallel with the load resistor and
becomes a part of the collector circuit. The resonant frequency (fo) of the tank circuit is given
by
+V
1
f0 = .
2π LC

C L

T0 T1 T2 T3 T4
SW1

Figure 4.19. LC tank Operation

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EEN1026 Electronics II Chapter 4 Power Amplifier Design

The above waveform will be produced by the tank circuit if S1 is closed for an instant and
then open again. While the switch is closed, current flows through the circuit, charging both
the capacitor and inductor (T0 to T1). At T1 the electromagnetic field around the inductor is at
its maximum strength.
At the end of T1, the switch is reopened and the field around the inductor starts to collapse.
This causes a counter emf and the current in the tank is reversed (T1 to T3).
At T3, the capacitor has charged fully and starts to discharge through the inductor.
Since the tank circuit would lose some power with each cycle, the waveform would
eventually die out. This can be prevented by closing SW1 for an instant on each positive
transition from T0 to T1.
In a Class C amplifier, the transistor acts as the switch, where the positive peaks of the input
signal would cause the transistor to saturate, while the transistor would be cutoff the rest of
the time (Figure 4.20). On each positive peak of the input, the transistor switch is closed and
the tank circuit gets the current pulse it requires to continue producing the output waveform.

+1V T1 T2 T3 +VCC ~VCC

0V
-3V LT
CT

C1
Vout T T2 T3
C2 1
Vin = +4Vpk
1800 phase shift
RB

-VBB

Figure 4.20
IC
The saturated collector current is VCC/RL
IC(sat) = VCC / RL.

When the transistor is in cutoff ac load line

(no signal applied), the VCE = VCC.

The AC load line points are

(VCC, 0) and (0, VCC / RL). VCE
VCE=VCC
Figure 4.21

For the class C amplifier to work properly, the tank circuit must be tuned to either the same
frequency as Vin or to some harmonic of that frequency. A harmonic is a whole number
multiple of a given frequency. For example, a 2 kHz signal would have harmonics of 4 kHz,
6 kHz, 8 kHz, 10 kHz,…… . Thus, the class C amplifier can be used as type of ‘frequency
multiplier’.

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EEN1026 Electronics II Chapter 4 Power Amplifier Design

4.5(c)Amplitude Modulation
A class C amplifier can be used to produce amplitude modulation (AM) as shown in Fig.
4.22. The low-frequency signal input is connected to the transformer primary.
The voltage at the collector is then the sum of VCC and a signal proportional to Vs. As Vs
increases and decreases, so does the collector voltage. In fact we are varying the supply
voltage on the collector.
When the carrier signal on the base drives the transistor to saturation, the peak collector
current (IC(sat)) that flows depends directly on the supply voltage: the greater supply voltage,
the greater the peak current.
Since the supply voltage varies with the signal input, so does the peak collector current. As a
consequence, the amplitude of collector current is modulated by Vs, and the tank circuit
produces an AM output voltage, as shown in Fig. 4.22.

Figure 4.22

4.6 Tuned Amplifier

A tuned amplifier is one that is designed to have a specific (usually narrow) bandwidth.
∆AV(dB)
BWS
0 dB f
-3 dB

Standard
response Tuned amplifier
BWT response curve
curve

Figure 4.23

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EEN1026 Electronics II Chapter 4 Power Amplifier Design

The ideal tuned amplifier pass all the frequencies within BWT, while stopping all others. The
quality (Q) of a practical tuned amplifier is equal to the ratio of center frequency ( f 0 ) to
bandwidth;
f
Q= 0 .
BWT

A typical discrete tuned amplifier circuit is shown in Figure 4.24. The circuit is tuned using
LC (inductive-capacitive) tank circuits in place of a collector resistor.
+VCC

CT LT

C1 R1
C2

RE CB
R2

Figure 4.24

The center frequency is equal to the resonant frequency of the LC tank circuit,

1
f0 = .
2π LC

XL ZT
XL = 2πfL

XL = X C Circuit acts
0Ω f Circuit acts
XC = X L as XL as XC

XC = 1/2πfC
f
fc
XC
Figure 4.25.

At resonant frequency ( f 0 ), the impedance of the inductor is equal to the impedance of the
capacitor, XL = XC. The net current through the LC tank circuit is 0 A.
At f < f 0 , XL < XC and thus IL > IC, and the circuit acts as inductive.
At f > f 0 , XL > XC and thus IL < IC, and the circuit acts as capacitive.

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EEN1026 Electronics II Chapter 4 Power Amplifier Design

Since Q of a tuned amplifier is a property of the tank circuit and it also defined as the ratio of
energy stored in the circuit to energy lost in the circuit. Another way of writing this is

Energy stored reactive power

Q = -------------------- = ----------------------
Energy lost resistive power

PAPP I L2 X L X L
Q= = =
PRw I L2 RW RW

where RW = the resistance in the winding

PAPP is the apparent power stored in the electromagnetic field and PRw is the power
dissipated across the small amount of winding resistance in the coil. Thus, Q represents the
quality of the coil, measured at the center frequency.

Loaded-Q
+VCC

CT LT

C1 RB
RL

RE CB
RB

CT LT RP RL
CT RW RL

LT

Figure 4.26

A tuned amplifier circuit with a load resistance and its equivalent ac circuit are shown in
Figure 4.26.
Since RL is in parallel with RW, the load resistance must be included in the calculation of Q.
By replacing RW with an equivalent parallel resistance, RP = Q 2 RW , the total ac resistance of
the collector circuit is found as rC = RP || RL
rC
and the loaded-Q would now be found as QL = .
XL

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EEN1026 Electronics II Chapter 4 Power Amplifier Design

For circuits with QL > 2 , the cutoff frequencies can be approximated as

BW BW
f1 ≅ f 0 − and f2 ≅ f0 +
2 2
When QL < 2 , we need to use the more exact equations:

2 2
⎛ 1 ⎞ BW ⎛ 1 ⎞ BW
f1 = f 0 1 + ⎜⎜ ⎟⎟ − and f2 = f0 1 + ⎜⎜ ⎟⎟ +
⎝ 2QL ⎠ 2 ⎝ 2QL ⎠ 2

4.7 Darlington Amplifier

The Darlington amplifier is a special-case emitter follower that uses two transistors to
increase the overall values of current gain (Ai) and input impedance (Zin). The most common
configuration comprises a small signal transistor (Q1) and a power transistor (Q2), as shown
in Figure 4.27. Because the emitter current of Q1 is the base current for Q2, a small signal
transistor can comfortably drive a fairly large power transistor.

Major characteristics of the Darlington amplifier include:

1. Extremely high base input impedance (M Ω ).
2. Extremely high current gain (thousands).
3. Extremely low output impedance.

The major drawback of a Darlington transistor pair is that the leakage current of the first
transistor is amplified by the second. Hence the overall leakage current may be high and a
Darlington connection of three or more transistors is usually impractical.

R1 VCC

IC1

Q1 IC2
Vin IB1
R2
Q2
IE1=IB2

IE2 Vout

RE

Figure 4.27

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EEN1026 Electronics II Chapter 4 Power Amplifier Design

(a)DC Analysis

VB = 2VBE + I E 2 R E
V − 2VBE
I E2 = B
RE
I E1 = I B 2 ≅ I E 2 / β 2

The total current gain of the Darlington amplifier is denoted by βD (=β1β2).

(b)AC Analysis

The ac equivalent circuit of the Darlington amplifier configuration is obtained by grounding

the dc voltage source (VCC), shorting the capacitors, and ‘combining’ both the transistors in
the circuit of Fig. 4.27, as below.
Ii Ib

Vi

ri βDIb

R1// R2
Zi Vo
Io
RE

Figure 4.28

AC input impedance

Vi − Vo
Ib =
ri
Vo = (I b + β D I b )R E

Æ Vi = I b [ri + (1 + β D )R E ] ≈ I b (ri + β D R E )

Vi
The ac input impedance looking into the transistor base is given by: = ri + β D R E
Ib
While the ac input impedance looking into the circuit is given by: Z in = R 1 ||R 2 || (ri + β D R E )

AC current gain

Io = Ib + βDIb ≈ βDIb *RB = R1//R2 for simplicity

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EEN1026 Electronics II Chapter 4 Power Amplifier Design

RB RB
Ib = Ii ≈ Ii
(ri + β D R E ) + R B βDR E + R B
I I βDR B
Æ Ai = o ⋅ b =
I b Ii R B + βD R E

AC output impedance

The expression for the output impedance can be easily obtained by rearranging the circuit in
Figure 4.28 to that as below.
Vi=0 ri I’b Io Vo

I’
Zo
βDI’b
RE
R1// R2

Vo

Figure 4.29

⎛ 1 1 β ⎞
I o = I'− I' b −β D I b = ⎜⎜ + + D ⎟⎟Vo
⎝ R E ri ri ⎠

Vo r r
Zo = = R E // ri // i ≈ i
Io βD βD

Feedback pair

While the previous analysis has made use of npn-npn darlington pair, it is also applicable to
pnp-type of transistors. However, the lack of good-quality pnp power transistors has
prompted the use of an alternative configuration, known as a feedback pair connection, which
makes use of npn-pnp transistor combination, as shown in Figure 4.30. The feedback pair
acts effectively like one pnp transistor with very high current gain. Darlington pair is
typically used together with feedback pair to provide complementary transistor operation.

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EEN1026 Electronics II Chapter 4 Power Amplifier Design

VCC

RC

IE1 Vout

Q1 IC2
Vin IB1
RB
Q2
IC1=IB2
IE2

Figure 4.30

DC analysis
IC1 = β1IB1 = IB2

IC2 = β2IB2 ≈ IE2

Æ IC = IE1 + IC2 ≈ IC1 + IC2 ≈ IC2

VCC - β1β2IB1RC – VEB1 – IB1RB = 0

VCC − VEB1
Æ I B1 =
R B + β1β 2 R C

VCE2 (dc) = VCC – ICRC

AC analysis

AC input impedance

Defining Io = IC: Ib1 + β1Ib1 - β2Ib2 + Io = 0 (Ib2=IC1=-β1Ib1 & β>>1)

Io ≅ -β1β2Ib1

Vo = -ICRC = -(-β1β2Ib1)RC ≈ β1β2Ib1RC

Vi = Vo + Ibri1 = β1β2Ib1RC + Ib1ri1

Z'i = β1β 2 R C + ri1

Æ Z i = R B // (ri1 + β1β 2 R C )

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EEN1026 Electronics II Chapter 4 Power Amplifier Design

Ii Ib1 Ib2
Vi

ri1 β1Ib1 ri2 β2Ib2

Zi Z’i

Io
RB
Vo

Zo
RC

Ii ri1 Ib1 Io

Vi Vo

β1Ib1 β2Ib2 Zo
Zi Z’i
RB IC RC
Ib2 ri2

AC current gain
Re-using: Io ≅ -β1β2Ib1
Io
= β1β 2
I b1
I I I RB
Æ A i = o = o ⋅ b1 = β1β 2
I i I b1 I i R B + Z' i

AC voltage gain
Re-using: IC = Io ≅ -β1β2Ib1 and Z'i = β1β 2 R C + ri1

Vo − I o R C β1β 2 R C
Æ Av = = =
Vi I b1 Z' i β1β1 R C + ri1

AC output impedance

Setting Vi to zero. Io
Vo
Ib1
β1Ib1 β2Ib2 Z’o Zo
ri1 IC RC
Ib2 ri2

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EEN1026 Electronics II Chapter 4 Power Amplifier Design

Re-using: Io ≅ -β1β2Ib1
Vo
I b1 = −
ri1
V Vo Vo r
Z' o = − o = − = = i1
Io (−β1β 2 I b1 ) β1β 2 (Vo / ri1 ) β1β 2
r
Æ Z o = R C // Z' o = R C // i1
β1β 2

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