S.Y.B.Sc.

The Basic Amplifier System

N.Kapoor

Before processing, most signals require amplification. Amplification is simply increasing the magnitude of a signal (either voltage, current or both) and is one of the most important operations in electronics. In this section, we look at the basic concept of a linear amplifier system. A linear amplifier produces a magnified replica (amplification) of the input signal in order to produce a useful outcome, for example driving a loudspeaker. The purpose of an amplifier is to produce gain. Normally we would expect the waveform of the input signal voltage or current to be maintained to a fairly high degree of accuracy in the output signal. The concept of an ideal amplifier means that the amplifier introduces no noise or distortion to the signal, i.e. the output varies in time and replicates the input exactly.

Iin

Io t u

Vin I pt nu S nl ig a

A PI I R MLFE

Vo t u

O tp t u u S nl ig a

1.1.1 The Voltage Amplifier Equivalent Circuit The amplifier input and output circuits are characterised using Thevenins Theorem to produce the model for a voltage amplifier.

G inE mn a le e t
RO T U

+
VIN RIN

AV V IN

VO T U

V lta eA p rE u a n C c it Md l o g m lifie q iv le t ir u o e

As amplifiers are designed to operate from input to output only, VOUT does not influence VIN. The amplifiers input terminals present an input resistance to the voltage source. Therefore, the input circuit is modelled as an input resistance RIN. RIN is the Thevenin resistance seen at the input terminals and is called the input resistance of the amplifier. The output circuit of the amplifier can be modelled as Thevenin source, as shown above: ROUT is the Thevenin resistance seen at the output terminals and is called the output resistance of the amplifier AVVIN is the Thevenin voltage seen at the output of the amplifier where AV is the voltage gain of the amplifier. Because the magnitude of the Thevenin source is dependent on the unloaded gain AV and the input voltage VIN., the amplifiers output circuit is said to contain a dependent source. An amplifier does not exist in isolation and in practice the input will be driven by a non-ideal source and the output will be connected to a load. The load is assumed to be a resistance connected across the output terminals as shown below:

S.Y.B.Sc.

The Basic Amplifier System

N.Kapoor

Source
RS

Gain Elem

1.1.2

Source/Amplifier/Load Equivalent Circuits + Analysing the input circuit:

Source

VS
IIN

-V

Gain Element

VIN

RIN

RS

=IIN RS

RS

-Voltage Source

VS

VIN

RIN

Equivalent Circuit
Input Circuit

Volta Equivalen

Figure 1: Amplifier Input Circuit The input resistance RIN affects the input voltage VIN to the amplifier because it forms a voltage divider with the source resistance RS. R V The voltage division rule => V = R +R equation 1
I N S I N I N S

So for example, if the source voltage is 3 V, the source resistance is 500 and the input resistance is 1 k , then the input voltage would be: VIN = 3 ( 1000 / 1500 ) = 2 V Analysing the output circuit:

Gain Element
VROUT = IOUT ROUT IOUT

Load

+ AV VIN

VOUT

RL

Output Circuit

The presence of RL modifies the behaviour of the amplifier.

S.Y.B.Sc.

The Basic Amplifier System

VO T U AV = VIN
RL =

N.Kapoor

The unloaded voltage gain of the amplifier is called AV equation 2 Note AV is independent of the circuit into which the amplifier is connected Applying the voltage division rule =>
I N S

VO T U

RL =AVVIN U R RO T + L

equation 3

V But, the input voltage is V = R +R . Therefore substituting VIN into the VOUT equation gives =>:
I N S

RIN

VO T U

=AVVs

RIN RL RIN +RS RO T +RL U

The loaded voltage gain of the amplifier is called AVL and is defined as:
AVL = VOUT VS
S

equation 4

Therefore dividing the VOUT equation above by VS gives an expression for the loaded voltage gain: R R A =A equation 5 R +R R +R
V L V IN L IN OT U L

Looking at this equation, it can be seen the loaded gain AVL must be less than or equal to the open circuit gain AV:

AV L AV
In practice the loaded voltage gain is less than the unloaded voltage gain. The loaded voltage gain will be at its maximum if the amplifier is designed such that: RIN -> and ROUT -> 0 Thus,
AVL = AV
RIN RL RIN +RS RO T +RL U

=> AVL --> AV

1.1.3

Ideal voltage amplifier:

RIN = , ROUT = 0 AVL = AV => independent of source and load

1.1.4 Real voltage amplifier In reality we require: RIN VIN ROUT VOUT >> << RS VS RL AvVS

1.2 Voltage gain Amplifiers are designed primarily to amplify either voltage or power. For a voltage amplifier, the output signal, Vout(t), is proportional to the input signal Vin(t) and the ratio of the output voltage to the input voltage is the voltage gain.
Voltage Gain (AV) = Output Signal Voltage Input Signal Voltage = Vout Vin

Where Av = Voltage Gain , Vout = output signal voltage ,Vin = input signal voltage 1.3 Current Gain For a current amplifier, the output signal, Iout(t), is proportional to the input signal Iin(t) and the ratio of the output current to the input current is the current gain.
Current Gain (AI) = Output Signal Current Input Signal Current = Iout Iin

Where AI = Current Gain , Iout = output signal current , Iin = input signal current

S.Y.B.Sc.

The Basic Amplifier System

N.Kapoor

1.4 Power Gain Measurement The Power Gain (AP) is defined as the ratio of output power to input power: Power is computed using rms values of voltage or current, however, because power gain is a ratio, you can use any consistent units. Power Gain (AP)= Where Ap = Power Gain , Pout = output signal power ,Pin = input signal power For instance, if the input power to an amplifier is 0.5 W and the output power to an amplifier is 15W, then the Power Gain is:
Power Gain (AP) = 15 0.5 = 30

i.e. the output power is 30 times greater than the input power.

1.5 Applying Logarithmic units to Amplifiers

The decibel is a measurement of a power ratio - not of the absolute value of power. A decibel is 1/10 of a Bel, called after Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor of the telephone who was looking for some way to define how much louder one sound or voice seemed than another. The decibel scale is non-linear, because it was originally developed from comparing how loud sounds seemed to different people, and the ear is non-linear. The scale is logarithmic.1 decibel - 1 dB - was found to be the smallest sound increase a person could easily detect. It is found convenient to express the ratio of two powers P1 and P2 in logarithmic units known as bels (B) as follows:
Power Gain in bels(A) = log Pout Pin = log AP

If a circuit has a Power Gain (AP) of 100, then its Power Gain in bels is:
Power Gain in bels(A) = log100 = 2B

In practice the bel is rather a large unit and as a result the decibel (one tenth of a bel) is usually used. The decibel is written as dB Therefore:
Power Gain in decibels(AdB) = 10 Log AP

Example:
Power Gain in decibels(AdB) Power Gain (AP) = = = 10 log 100 = 20 dB

Output Power Input Power V 2 I2 V 1 I1

The input power is V1 I1 or V12 /Ri or I12 Ri Where Ri is the input resistance to the block or system Similarly, the output power is V2 I2 or V22 /RL or I22 RL Where RL is the Load resistance Now: Power Gain (AP) =

If Ri = RL then : Power Gain (AP)=

S.Y.B.Sc.

The Basic Amplifier System

=

N.Kapoor

In decibels: Power Gain (APdB)= But V2 /V1 is the voltage gain of the block, AV. Therefore: APdB = 20 Log AV

Similarly, for Ri = RL, it can be proven that : APdB = 20 Log AI Where AI = Current Gain Although these last two equations for are only accurate (in the strictest sense) in impedance-matched systems (Ri = RL), they are often used in the mismatched case. Through the years it has been found that Voltage Gain is a more useful measurement than Power Gain (it is more easily measured) and the decibel Voltage Gain has emerged: dB Voltage Gain AVdB = 20 Log AV

1.6 Voltage Gain: Cascaded Systems

The diagram below shows two amplifiers connected in cascade

I1

I2

I3

V1

A PI I R M F L E 1

V2

A PI I R M F L E 2

V3

The overall voltage gain is given by: AV = AV1 x AV2 = Expressing this in decibels Voltage Gain in dB AV dB = 20 Log AV = = = = 20 Log AV2 + 20 Log AV1 Thus the overall voltage gain in decibels is equal to the sum of the voltage gains in decibels of the individual amplifiers. This useful result can be extended to any number of amplifiers in cascade. This result is also applicable to current and power gain. The overall gain of two amplifiers in cascade is given by:
AP = AP1 x AP2 The overall gain in decibels of two amplifiers in cascade is given by: APdB = AP1dB + AP2dB

Advantage of using Logarithmic Units

1. We no longer deal with large gain and attenuation figures, as taking the logs compresses the range of the number we are dealing with 2. Gains of cascade systems can be obtained by addition of dB figures rather than multiplication of normal gain values When we are given the power gain of a system in dB then we can get the actual power gain by getting the antilog of the gain in dB In the previous example: antilog (0/10)dB = 1 3. Signal strength often falls off logarithmically, so loss is easily expressed in logarithmic units 1.7 Frequency response Gain of an amplifier shows that it does not remain constant with the frequency of the input signal. Some amplifiers exhibit a reduction in gain at both high and low frequencies while others have a deduction at high

S.Y.B.Sc.

The Basic Amplifier System

N.Kapoor

frequencies only. In both cases there is a considerable frequency range over which the gain remains essentially constant. It is within this frequency range that the amplifier is designed to operate. Frequency response example

A perfect amplifier with an amplification of for eg. 10, as shown above, would give an output 10 times greater than the input, NO MATTER WHAT THE INPUT FREQUENCY. If the input was 10 mV then the output would be 100 mV, no matter the frequency of the input signal. In a practical amplifier it is not possible to obtain a perfectly flat response curve. This is due to limitations of electronic components and circuitry. Usually there is a fall of response at low and high frequencies.

The two points in red on the response curve mark where the output of the amplifier has fallen to 70.7 % of the maximum output. This means that that the 100mV output has fallen to 70.7 mV at these frequencies. These are called cut off points or the -3 dB points. f1 is called lower cut-off point & f2 upper cut-off point. BANDWIDTH of the amplifier = f2 - f1. Example Problems Attempt the following example problems. The solutions will be covered during lectures. Exercise 1:A non-ideal voltage amplifier has an input resistance of RIN = 2 k and output resistance of ROUT = 0 . The gain AV = 20 and the input current is 1 mA. What is VOUT? Exercise 2:A voltage amplifier has the following characteristics: Gain AV = 10, RIN = and ROUT =0. Calculate VOUT and IOUT if RL = 100 , RS = 1 k , VS = 10 mV. 1.4.1 Exercise 3 Repeat example No. 2 for the two cases: (a) RS = 500 and RIN = 1.5 k . (b) RS = 200 and RIN = 800 . (c) RS = 200 and RIN = 800 . and ROUT = 100 . (d) RS = 200 and RIN = 800 . and ROUT = 1000 . Comment on the results obtained 1.4.2 Exercise 4 Calculate the power gain AP and the output power in dBW of a voltage amplifier having RIN = 2 k , AV = 20, VS = 8 V, RS = 200 and RL = 200 . Assume ROUT of the amplifier to be ideal.