Module 3

Feedback and power amplifiers

Feedback amplifier

 Feedback is a process of injecting some

energy from the output and then return it
back to the input.
 A feedback amplifier consists of two parts-
amplifier circuit and feedback circuit
 There are two basic types of feedback:
 Positive feedback:
 Negative feedback
 Positive feedback
 If the feedback signal is applied in such a way that it is in phase with the
input signal and thus increases it , then it is called positive feedback
 It increases gain of amplifier but produces excessive distortion hence it is
not suitable for amplifiers.
 It is used in oscillators
 Negative feedback
 If the feedback signal is applied in such a way that it is out of phase with
the input signal and thus decreases it , then it is called negative feedback
 It reduces gain of amplifier but improves the amplifier performance in
many other aspects
 It is used in amplifiers
Principle of feedback amplifiers

 the voltage of an amplifier (without feedback) is given by ratio of

output voltage to the input voltage

The voltage gain is called open loop gain

The addition of feedback changes values of amplifier gain, input as well
as its output voltages
 Let ’= output voltage of feedback amplifier, β = fraction of output
voltage fed to the input (feedback ratio) and ’ = voltage gain of
feedback amplifier
 The feedback injects a fraction of output voltage and return to input ,
whose value changes to β’.
 This input voltage is amplified by the circuit and its value at the
output is given by
’

 ’
 For positive feedback, feedback ratio is positive and for negative
feedback , it is negative.
 Closed loop gain, ’ = for positive feedback
= for negative feedback

 is called loop gain

 (1- ) is called return difference
 In the voltage gain expression of neg. feedback , ’ = , (1 + ) >1,
hence ’ < Thus neg. feedback reduces gain of an
amplifier(degenerative)
 Also >>1 hence 1+ ≈ . Thus ’ = = ’ = . This implies that ’ depends
only on and hence voltage gain is very stable and not affected by
any change in device parameters, supply voltage and form aging of
circuit components etc.
 For positive feedback, (1 -) <1, therefore ’ > Thus positive feedback
increases gain of an amplifier(regenerative)
Gain stability

 ’ = . This implies that ’ depends only on and hence voltage gain is

very stable and not affected by any change in device parameters,
supply voltage and form aging of circuit components etc.
 ’=
 Taking natural logarithms on both sides

 Differentiating both sides

The derivative of is zero because feedback network usually consists of
resistors capacitors and inductors

=
= x
 The term represents fractional change in amplifier voltage gain with
feedback
 represents the fractional change in voltage gain without feedback.
 The term is called sensitivity. It is the ratio of percentage change in
voltage gain with feedback to the percentage change in voltage gain
without feedback
 Or sensitivity ==
 Desensitivity is the reciprocal of sensitivity. It indicates the factor by
which the voltage gain has been reduced due to feedback
 Increased bandwidth

 Negative feedback increases bandwidth of

amplifier by a factor equal to
 BW’ = BW = -
 upper 3dB cut off frequency =
 lower 3dB cut off frequency =
Advantages and disadvantages of negative
feedback

 Increased stability
 Increased bandwidth
 Less amplitude and harmonic distortion
 Decreased noise
 Less frequency distortion
 Less phase distortion
 Input and output resistances can be modified as desired
Types of feedback connections

 There are four basic types of connecting feedback signal from an

amplifier output to its input
1. Voltage series feedback connection
2. Voltage shunt feedback connection
3. Current series feedback connection
4. Current shunt feedback connection

 It means that both voltage and current can be fed back to the input
either in series or parallel
 Series feedback connections tends to increase input resistance , while
the shunt feedback connections tend to decrease it.
 Voltage feedback connections will tend to decrease output resistance
and current feedback tends to increase it
 Voltage series feedback connection
 Also known as shunt derived series fed feedback
connection
 A fraction of output voltage is applied in series with the
input voltage through the feedback network.
 Input resistance of amplifier with voltage series feedback ,
 ,
 where is the feedback ratio, is the open loop voltage gain , is
the input resistance of amplifier without feedback
 output resistance of amplifier with voltage series feedback
,

 Voltage series feedback increases input

resistance and decreases output
resistance by a factor
Voltage shunt feedback connection
 Also known as shunt derived shunt fed feedback
connection
 A fraction of output voltage is applied in parallel
with the input voltage through the feedback
network.
 Input resistance of amplifier with voltage shunt
feedback ,
 ,
 output resistance of amplifier with voltage shunt
feedback ,

 Voltage shunt feedback decreases

both input resistance and output
resistance by a factor
Current series feedback connection
 Also known as series derived series fed
feedback connection
 A fraction of output current is converted into a
proportional voltage by the feedback network
and then applied in series with the input.
 Input resistance of amplifier with current series
feedback ,
 ,
 output resistance of amplifier with current series
feedback ,

 Current series feedback

increases both input resistance
and output resistance by a factor
Current shunt feedback connection
 Also known as series derived shunt fed feedback
connection
 A fraction of output current is converted into a
proportional voltage by the feedback network and
then applied in parallel with the input.
 Input resistance of amplifier with current shunt
feedback
 ,
 output resistance of amplifier with current shunt
feedback ,

 Current shunt feedback decreases

input resistance and increases
output resistance by a factor
Comparison of feedback
connections
Series feedback connections tends to increase input resistance , while
the shunt feedback connections tend to decrease it.
 Voltage feedback connections will tend to decrease output resistance
and current feedback tends to increase it

S.N Types of feedback Input Output

o connection resistance resistance
1 Voltage Series increases decreases

2 Voltage Shunt decreases decreases

3 Current Series increases increases

4 Current Shunt decreases increases

Power amplifiers
Power amplifiers

 Amplifiers
which are capable of producing
large amount of power to the load
 Itdoes not amplify power. It just takes power
from dc power supply connected to the
output circuit and converts it into useful ac
power
 Also known as large signal amplifiers
because they use a large part of their ac
load line for operation
Differences between voltage and
power amplifiers
 The transistor used in voltage amplifiers has a larger value
of current gain β (typically 100) than that in power
amplifiers(where β is usually 20 to 50)
 In voltage amplifiers, input resistance of a transistor is
required to be quite low as compared to its output
resistance . On the other hand, in power amplifiers, the
input resistance of a transistor is very large as compared
to its output resistance
 Thephysical size of the transistor is usually
small and is known as low or medium power
transistor. But power amplifiers employ
larger sized transistors( power transistors).
Such transistors are needed because of a
considerable amount of heat is dissipated
within the transistor and hence a large
surface area is required for heat dissipation
 Voltageamplifiers employ RC coupling for
interstage connection whereas power
amplifiers employ transformer coupling
Performance parameters

1. Circuit efficiency(Overall efficiency/convertion

efficiency):
The ability of a power amplifier to convert dc power
supply from the source into ac power is called circuit
efficiency. It is defined as the maximum ac output
power to the dc power input.
2. Distortion:
The amplifier output is expected to be enlarged but
faithful reproduction of input. The difference between
output and input of an amplifier is called distortion.
There are two types of distortion :
 Amplitude (harmonic)distortion results from
nonlinearities of the transistor. It occurs when
transistor output may not increase equally for all
the portions of the input signal
 Crossover distortion occurs when transistors do
not operate in the correct phase with each other
 3.Power dissipation capability:
 The ability of transistor to dissipate the heat
generated when excessive current flows through it
during amplification
 Ifheat generated within the transistor is greater
than its power dissipation capability it is likely to
burn out
 The power dissipation capability is increased by
connecting a mass of metal(heat sink) to the
transistor case
 Classification of power amplifiers
 The classification is based on transistor biasing conditions and amplitude of the
input signal. It also takes into account the portion of the cycle for which the
transistor conducts.

1. Class A amplifier:
It is an amplifier which the transistor bias and amplitude of input signal is such
that the output current flows for the complete cycle(360⁰) of the input signal.

2. Class B amplifier:
It is an amplifier which the transistor bias and amplitude of input signal is such
that the output current flows for only one half cycle(180⁰) of the input signal.

3.Class C amplifier:
It is an amplifier which the transistor bias and amplitude of input signal is such
that the output current flows for less than half cycle(180⁰) of the input signal.
 Class A power amplifier
 It is basically a common emitter
amplifier that handles signals
that are in the range of volts and
the transistor used is capable of
operating in the range of few
watts.
 the transistor bias and amplitude
of input signal is such that the
output current flows for the
complete cycle(360⁰) of the input
signal.
 This condition is achieved by
locating Q-point at the centre of
the load line .
Characteristics of class A amplifier
1. The output current flows during the entire cycle of
the ac input signal
2. The operation of amplifier is restricted to the
smaller central region of the load line. The large
signals may shift the Q-point into non-linear regions
and hence produce amplitude distortion
3. Since transistor operates over the linear region of
the load line, therefore the output waveform is
almost similar to the input waveform.
4. The ac power output per device is smaller than that
of class B or class C amplifier
1. The maximum possible overall efficiency of class A
amplifier with series fed resistive load is 25%

2. The maximum possible overall efficiency increases to

50% when transformer coupled load is used.

3. The maximum collector circuit efficiency for a series

fed resistive load is 50%
 Transformer coupled(or single ended) class A amplifier

 The main reason for lower efficiency of a direct

coupled class A amplifier is that load resistance is
directly connected in the output circuit of the
amplifier.
 Due to this, quiescent current passes through
resistance and considerable amount of power (= RL)is
wasted
 This problem is solved by using a suitable transformer
for coupling the load.
 Since primary winding of a transformer has a low
resistance, negligible power is absorbed in the
winding
 The function of transformer is to match the low
impedance load to that of output impedance
Class B amplifier
 It is an amplifier which the transistor bias and
amplitude of input signal is such that the output
current flows for only one half cycle(180⁰) of the input
signal.
 This condition is achieved by setting Q-point at cut off
(or lower end) of the load line .
 With no input signal , the transistor is biased at cut
off. At this point there is no current flow through the
transistor and hence now power is dissipated.
 When signal is applied the transistor handles an
average current, which increases for large input
signals.
Characteristics of class B amplifier

 the output current flows for only one half cycle(180⁰)

of the input signal.
 The transistor dissipates no power with zero input
signal. It increases with increase in amplitude of input
signal. It is contrary to class A operation where power
dissipation is maximum with no input signal and
minimum with largest input signal
 The average current drawn by the circuit is smaller
than in class A operation
 Hence amount of power dissipated by the transistor is
less and overall efficiency is higher
 The maximum overall efficiency in class B operation is
Class B Push -Pull (double ended)amplifier

 Since transistor conducts only during one half cycle

and remains off during the other half cycle, signal
gives output gives large distortion
 In order to avoid this, we use two transistors
connected in push pull arrangement. One of the
transistors conducts during one half cycle and other
conducts during the second half cycle
Class B Push -Pull (double
ended)amplifier
 The circuit consists of two centre tapped
transformers T1 and T2 and two transistors Q1 and
Q2
 The transformer T1 is an input transformer and is
called phase splitter. It splits the signal into two
signal voltages which are 180⁰ out of phase with
each other
 The transformer T2 is an output transformer and is
required to couple the ac output signal from the
collector to the load
 The transistors are biased at cut off region
 Working
 When there is no input signal both the transistors
are cut off and hence no current is drawn and no
power wastage
 During positive half cycle of input signal , the base
of transistor Q1 is positive and that of Q2 is
negative. So Q1 conducts and Q2 does not
 During negative half cycle of input signal, Q1 turns
off and Q2 conducts.
 Thus at any instant , only one transistor conducts
and each transistor handles one half input signal
 The output transformer joins these two halves and
produce a full sine wave in the load resistor
 But joining of the two halves is not perfect and
Cross over distortion
 In class B push pull amplifiers, transistors are biased at cut
off. The input signal must exceed the barrier voltage before
a transistor conducts.
 A transistor does not conduct until the input signal exceeds
0.7 V for Silicon and 0.3 V for Germanium transistors
 Due to this there is a time interval between positive and
negative alternations of the input signal when neither
transistor is conducting
 The resulting distortion in the output signal is called cross
over distortion
 This is avoided by applying a slight forward bias to the BE
junction of both transistors.
 This causes transistors to conduct immediately when the ac
input signal is applied
 This shifts the Q point slightly above the cut off and
resulting operation is called class AB operation
Transformerless Class B Push -Pull
amplifier
 Input centre tapped transformer is removed by an
connecting an NPN transistor (phase splitter)
 The emitter output of phase splitter produces an
inphase signal and collector output produces an out
of phase signal. Therefore the output signals are
equal in amplitude but opposite in phase
 The split supply gives advantage that the dc
component of output power can be made zero
Transformerless Class B Push -Pull
amplifier
Complementary symmetry Class B push pull
amplifier

 Eliminates need of bulky transformers

 It uses two transistors- one pnp and other npn
 With zero input signal none of the transistors
conducts and output voltage is zero
 During +ve half cycle ,Q1 conducts and Q2 is off.
 During -ve half cycle ,Q2 conducts and Q1 is off.
 There is no phase inversion of the output signal
 The split supply(positive and negative VCC) gives
advantage that the dc component of output power
can be made zero
Complementary symmetry Class B
push pull amplifier
 Class C amplifier
 Most efficient power amplifier and
produces more load power than that
of class A and class B
 To amplify a sinusoidal signal , a class
C amplifier has to be tuned to the
sinusoidal frequency ---tuned amplifier
or narrow band circuit
 Radio frequency(RF) amplifier –
amplifies signals at radio frequencies
 The circuit consists of a transistor
amplifier with a tuned circuit.
 The input voltage of the amplifier must have
sufficiently large amplitude so that the base emitter
junction is forward biased for less than 180⁰ of the
input cycle. The transistor conducts during this
portion of the input signal cycle
 The collector current consists of a series of
pulses.one pulse for each cycle of the input signal.
 The peaks of these pulses resemble the peak of
input sine wave and their duration of each is less
than half the period of the input signal.
 A class C tuned amplifier operates at the resonant
frequency fo of the tank circuit

 The bandwidth is given by

 Where is the effective Q of the tank circuit
 A class C tuned amplifier is used as a frequency
multiplier if the resonant circuit is tuned to a
harmonic of the input signal.
Characteristics of class C amplifier

 The output current flows only during a part of the

positive half cycle of the input signal. This condition
is achieved by biasing the transistor below cut off.
 The output signal does not resemble the input
signal because it consists of narrow pulses.
 The class C amplifier is the most efficient power
amplifier and its overall efficiency, under certain
conditions, may approach even 100 %