Air University, Islamabad

Department of Electrical Engineering

Electric Circuit Design Lab

Name: Saqib Ali 180535

Syed Ahmad Hassan 180561 BEEP -4-A
Muhammad Uzair Ali 180511
Minahil Nazir 180475

LAB #12
CLASS AB OUTPUT STAGE
OBJECTIVES
i. To investigate the functionality of Class B Amplifier.
ii. Study the circuit simulations on proteus.

EQUIPMENT
I. Power Supply
II. Digital Multimeter
III. Transistors (NPN 2N3904, PNP 2N3906)
IV. Oscilloscope
V. Transistors
VI. Resistors
VII. Function Generator

ABOUT THE EXPERIMENT

The term amplifier means either a circuit (or stage) using a single active device or a
complete system such as a packaged audio hi-fi amplifier.

An electronic amplifier is a device for increasing the power and/or amplitude of a signal.
It does this by taking energy from a power supply and controlling the output to match the input
signal shape but with larger amplitude. In this sense, an amplifier may be considered as
modulating the output of the power supply.

An important function of the output stage is to provide the amplifier with a low output
stage resistance so that it can deliver the output signal to the load without loss of gain. Since the
output stage is the final stage of the amplifier, it usually deals with the relatively large signals.
Thus the small signal approximations and models are not applicable or must be used with care.
Measure of goodness of design of the output stage is the total harmonic distortion it introduces.
This is the RMS value of the harmonic components of the output signal.
Power amplifier is simply an amplifier with a high power output stage. The most
challenging requirement in the design of the output stage is that it delivers the required amount
of power to the load in an efficient manner. This implies that the power dissipated in the output
stage transistors must be as low as possible.
  Classification of Output Stages:
Power amplifier circuits (output stages) are classified as A, B, AB and C for analog
designs, and class D and E for switching designs based upon the conduction angle or 'angle of
flow' θ of the input signal through the amplifying device, that is, the portion of the input signal
cycle during which the amplifying device conducts. The image of the conduction angle is
derived from amplifying a sinusoidal signal. (If the device is always on, θ = 360°.) The angle of
flow is closely related to the amplifier power efficiency.

Output stages for transistors are classified according to the collector current waveform
that results when input is applied.
(i) Class A Output Stage
(ii) Class B Output Stage
(iii) Class AB Output Stage
Class B output stage is shown in the figure. It consists of a complementary pair of
transistors (that is, and npn and pnp) connected in such a way that both cannot conduct
simultaneously.
 Circuit operation:
When the input voltage VI is zero, both transistors are in cut off and the output voltage
VO is zero. As VI goes positive and exceeds about 0.5V, QN conducts and operates as emitter
follower. In this case VO follows VI (that is VO = VI – VBEN) and QN supplies the load current.
The emitter base junction of QP will be reversed biased by the VBE of QN, which is app 0.7V.
Thus QP will be off. If the input goes negative by more than about 0.5V, QP turns on and acts as
emitter follower. Again VO follows VI (that is VO = VI + VEBP) but in this case QP supplies the
load current and QN will be off.
We conclude that the transistors in the class B stage of figure are biased at zero current
and conduct only when the input signal is present. The circuit operates in a pushed – pull
fashion: QN pushes sources current into the load when VI is positive and QP pulls (sinks) current
from the load when VI is negative.
 Transfer characteristics:
A sketch of transfer characteristic of the class B is shown in the figure. Note that there
exists a range of VI where both transistors are cutoff and VO is zero. This band results in the
crossover distortion for the case of an input sine wave. The effect of cross over distortion will be
pronounced when the amplitude of the input signal is small. Cross over distortion in audio
amplifiers gives rise to unpleasant sounds.
Transfer Characteristics of Class B Output Stage
The efficiency will be given by:
ή = π/4 (Vo/VCC)
It follows that the maximum efficiency is obtained when Vo is at its maximum. This
maximum is limited by the saturation of QN and QP to VCC - VCESAT = VCC. At this value of peak
output voltage, the power conversion efficiency is 78.5%. This value is much larger than the
class A stage (25%).

The formula for calculating efficiency is:

ή = 1⁄4 (Vo/IRL) (Vo/VCC)
The maximum efficiency attainable is 25%. Because this is a rather low figure, the class
A output stage is rarely used in large power applications. Thus the efficiency achieved is usually
in the 10% to 20% range.
 CIRCUIT DIAGRAM

PROCEURE
 Connect the circuit as given in the manual.
 Apply Vin = 5VP (f = 1kHz).
 Now with the help of DMM, measure the output current and Vo.
 Observe the output on oscilloscope.
 Draw the input and output waveforms.

Where,

Results are,
Vout = 5 Vp (3.54 Vrms) Iin = 37.2 uA
Io = 3.54 mA
PROTEUS SIMULATIONS BY 180535(Saqib Ali)

OUTPUT
 CONCLUSION:
 In this experiment we come to know that in class AB stage operates in much the same manner as the class B
circuit, with one important exception: For small VI, both transistors conduct, and as VI is increased or
decreased, one of the two transistors takes over the operation, since the transition is a smooth one, crossover
distortion will be almost totally eliminated.