Class B Power Amplifier

When t he collect or current flows only during t he posit ive half cycle of t he input signal, t he power
amplifier is known as class B power amplifier .

Class B Operation
The biasing of t he t ransist or in class B operat ion is in such a way t hat at zero signal condit ion, t here
will be no collect or current . The operating point is select ed t o be at collect or cut off volt age. So,
when t he signal is applied, only the positive half cycle is amplified at t he out put .

The figure below shows t he input and out put waveforms during class B operat ion.

When t he signal is applied, t he circuit is forward biased for t he posit ive half cycle of t he input and
hence t he collect or current flows. But during t he negat ive half cycle of t he input , t he circuit is
reverse biased and t he collect or current will be absent . Hence only the positive half cycle is
amplified at t he out put .
As t he negat ive half cycle is complet ely absent , t he signal dist ort ion will be high. Also, when t he
applied signal increases, t he power dissipat ion will be more. But when compared t o class A power
amplifier, t he out put efficiency is increased.

Well, in order t o minimize t he disadvant ages and achieve low dist ort ion, high efficiency and high
out put power, t he push-pull configurat ion is used in t his class B amplifier.

Class B Push-Pull Amplifier

Though t he efficiency of class B power amplifier is higher t han class A, as only one half cycle of t he
input is used, t he dist ort ion is high. Also, t he input power is not complet ely ut ilized. In order t o
compensat e t hese problems, t he push-pull configurat ion is int roduced in class B amplifier.

Construction

The circuit of a push-pull class B power amplifier consist s of t wo ident ical t ransist ors T 1 and T 2
whose bases are connect ed t o t he secondary of t he cent er-t apped input t ransformer T r1. The
emit t ers are short ed and t he collect ors are given t he VCC supply t hrough t he primary of t he out put
t ransformer T r2.

The circuit arrangement of class B push-pull amplifier, is same as t hat of class A push-pull amplifier
except t hat t he t ransist ors are biased at cut off, inst ead of using t he biasing resist ors. The figure
below gives t he det ailing of t he const ruct ion of a push-pull class B power amplifier.

The circuit operat ion of class B push pull amplifier is det ailed below.

Operation
The circuit of class B push-pull amplifier shown in t he above figure clears t hat bot h t he t ransformers
are cent er-t apped. When no signal is applied at t he input , t he t ransist ors T 1 and T 2 are in cut off
condit ion and hence no collect or current s flow. As no current is drawn from VCC, no power is wast ed.

When input signal is given, it is applied t o t he input t ransformer T r1 which split s t he signal int o t wo

signals t hat are 180o out of phase wit h each ot her. These t wo signals are given t o t he t wo ident ical
t ransist ors T 1 and T 2. For t he posit ive half cycle, t he base of t he t ransist or T 1 becomes posit ive
and collect or current flows. At t he same t ime, t he t ransist or T 2 has negat ive half cycle, which
t hrows t he t ransist or T 2 int o cut off condit ion and hence no collect or current flows. The waveform is
produced as shown in t he following figure.

For t he next half cycle, t he t ransist or T 1 get s int o cut off condit ion and t he t ransist or T 2 get s int o
conduct ion, t o cont ribut e t he out put . Hence for bot h t he cycles, each t ransist or conduct s
alt ernat ely. The out put t ransformer T r3 serves t o join t he t wo current s producing an almost
undist ort ed out put waveform.

Power Efficiency of Class B Push-Pull Amplifier

The current in each t ransist or is t he average value of half sine loop.

For half sine loop, I dc is given by

(IC )max
Idc =
π
Therefore,

(IC )max
( pin )dc = 2 × [ × VCC ]
π

Here fact or 2 is int roduced as t here are t wo t ransist ors in push-pull amplifier.
–
R.M.S. value of collect or current = (IC )max /√2
–
R.M.S. value of out put volt age = VCC /√2

Under ideal condit ions of maximum power

Therefore,

(IC )max VCC ( IC )max × VCC

( PO )ac = × =
– –
√2 √2 2

Now overall maximum efficiency

(PO )ac
ηoverall =
(Pin )dc

( IC )max × VCC π
= ×
2 2( IC )max × VCC

π
= = 0.785 = 78.5%
4

The collect or efficiency would be t he same.

Hence t he class B push-pull amplifier improves t he efficiency t han t he class A push-pull amplifier.

Complementary Symmetry Push-Pull Class B Amplifier

The push pull amplifier which was just discussed improves efficiency but t he usage of cent er-t apped
t ransformers makes t he circuit bulky, heavy and cost ly. To make t he circuit simple and t o improve
t he efficiency, t he t ransist ors used can be complement ed, as shown in t he following circuit diagram.
The above circuit employs a NPN t ransist or and a PNP t ransist or connect ed in push pull
configurat ion. When t he input signal is applied, during t he posit ive half cycle of t he input signal, t he
NPN t ransist or conduct s and t he PNP t ransist or cut s off. During t he negat ive half cycle, t he NPN
t ransist or cut s off and t he PNP t ransist or conduct s.

In t his way, t he NPN t ransist or amplifies during posit ive half cycle of t he input , while PNP t ransist or
amplifies during negat ive half cycle of t he input . As t he t ransist ors are bot h complement t o each
ot her, yet act symmet rically while being connect ed in push pull configurat ion of class B, t his circuit is
t ermed as Complementary symmetry push pull class B amplifier .

Advantages

The advant ages of Complement ary symmet ry push pull class B amplifier are as follows.

As t here is no need of cent er t apped t ransformers, t he weight and cost are reduced.
Equal and opposit e input signal volt ages are not required.

Disadvantages

The disadvant ages of Complement ary symmet ry push pull class B amplifier are as follows.

It is difficult t o get a pair of t ransist ors (NPN and PNP) t hat have similar charact erist ics.
We require bot h posit ive and negat ive supply volt ages.