Buer amplier

A buer amplier (sometimes simply called a buer)

is one that provides electrical impedance transformation
from one circuit to another. Two main types of buer
exist: the voltage buer and the current buer.

that in Figure 1 (top, with unity gain), the voltage input to

the amplier is VA, and with no voltage division because
the amplier input resistance is innite. At the output the
dependent voltage source delivers voltage Av VA = VA to
the load, again without voltage division because the output resistance of the buer is zero. A Thvenin equivalent
circuit of the combined original Thvenin source and the
buer is an ideal voltage source VA with zero Thvenin
resistance.

+
out
in

in

2 Current buer
Typically a current buer amplier is used to transfer a current from a rst circuit, having a high output
impedance level, to a second circuit with a low input
impedance level. The interposed buer amplier prevents the second circuit from loading the rst circuits current unacceptably and interfering with its desired operation. In the ideal current buer in the diagram, the output impedance is zero and the input impedance is innite.
Again, other properties of the ideal buer are: perfect linearity, regardless of signal amplitudes; and instant output
response, regardless of the speed of the input signal.

out
in

in

Figure 1: Top: Ideal voltage buer Bottom: Ideal current buer

Voltage buer

A voltage buer amplier is used to transfer a voltage

from a rst circuit, having a high output impedance level,
to a second circuit with a low input impedance level. The
interposed buer amplier prevents the second circuit
from loading the rst circuit unacceptably and interfering with its desired operation. In the ideal voltage buer
in the diagram, the input resistance is innite, the output
resistance zero (impedance of an ideal voltage source is
zero). Other properties of the ideal buer are: perfect linearity, regardless of signal amplitudes; and instant output
response, regardless of the speed of the input signal.

For a current buer, if the current is transferred unchanged (the current gain i is 1), the amplier is again a
unity gain buer; this time known as a current follower
because the output current follows or tracks the input current.
As an example, consider a Norton source (current IA, parallel resistance RA) driving a resistor load RL. Because of
current division (also referred to as loading) the current
delivered to the load is only IA RA / ( RL + RA ). However, if the Norton source drives a unity gain buer such
as that in Figure 1 (bottom, with unity gain), the current
input to the amplier is IA, with no current division because the amplier input resistance is zero. At the output the dependent current source delivers current i IA
= IA to the load, again without current division because
the output resistance of the buer is innite. A Norton
equivalent circuit of the combined original Norton source
and the buer is an ideal current source IA with innite
Norton resistance.

If the voltage is transferred unchanged (the voltage gain

Av is 1), the amplier is a unity gain buer; also known
as a voltage follower because the output voltage follows
or tracks the input voltage. Although the voltage gain of a
voltage buer amplier may be (approximately) unity, it
usually provides considerable current gain and thus power
gain. However, it is commonplace to say that it has a gain
of 1 (or the equivalent 0 dB), referring to the voltage gain.
As an example, consider a Thvenin source (voltage VA,
series resistance RA) driving a resistor load RL. Because
of voltage division (also referred to as loading) the voltage across the load is only VA RL / ( RL + RA ). However,
if the Thvenin source drives a unity gain buer such as

3 Voltage buer examples

1

3.1

VOLTAGE BUFFER EXAMPLES

Op-amp implementation

Figure 2: A negative feedback amplier

Vin

Vout

Figure 4: Top: BJT voltage follower Bottom: Small-signal, lowfrequency equivalent circuit using hybrid-pi model

Figure 3. An op-ampbased unity gain buer amplier

A unity gain buer amplier may be constructed by applying a full series negative feedback (Fig. 2) to an opamp simply by connecting its output to its inverting input,
and connecting the signal source to the non-inverting input (Fig. 3). In this conguration, the entire output voltage ( = 1 in Fig. 2) is placed contrary and in series with
the input voltage. Thus the two voltages are subtracted
according to Kirchhos voltage law (KVL) and their difference is applied to the op-amp dierential input. This
connection forces the op-amp to adjust its output voltage
simply equal to the input voltage (V follows V so the
circuit is named op-amp voltage follower).
The importance of this circuit does not come from
any change in voltage, but from the input and output
impedances of the op-amp. The input impedance of the
op-amp is very high (1 M to 10 T), meaning that the
input of the op-amp does not load down the source and
draws only minimal current from it. Because the output
impedance of the op-amp is very low, it drives the load as
if it were a perfect voltage source. Both the connections
to and from the buer are therefore bridging connections,
which reduce power consumption in the source, distortion
from overloading, crosstalk and other electromagnetic interference.

3.2

Single-transistor circuits

Figure 5: Top: MOSFET voltage follower Bottom: Small-signal,

low-frequency equivalent circuit using hybrid-pi model

source follower because the source voltage follows the

gate voltage or, again, a voltage follower because the output voltage follows the input voltage); or similar congurations using vacuum tubes (cathode follower), or other
active devices. All such ampliers actually have a gain of
slightly less than unity, but the dierence is usually small
and unimportant.

Other unity gain buer ampliers include the bipolar

junction transistor in common-collector conguration 3.2.1 Impedance transformation using the bipolar
voltage follower
(called an emitter follower because the emitter voltage
follows the base voltage, or a voltage follower because
the output voltage follows the input voltage); the eld ef- Using the small-signal circuit in Figure 4, the impedance
fect transistor in common-drain conguration (called a seen looking into the circuit is

4 Current buer examples

Rin =

vx
= r + ( + 1)(rO ||RL )
ix

Simple unity gain buer ampliers include the bipolar

junction transistor in common-base conguration, or the
MOSFET in common-gate conguration (called a current
follower because the output current follows the input current). The current gain of a current buer amplier is
(approximately) unity.

(The analysis uses the relation gmr = (IC /VT) (VT /IB) =
, which follows from the evaluation of these parameters
in terms of the bias currents.) Assuming the usual case
where rO >> RL, the impedance looking into the buer
is larger than the load RL without the buer by a factor
of ( + 1), which is substantial because is large. The
impedance is increased even more by the added r, but 4.1
often r << ( + 1) RL, so the addition does not make
much dierence
3.2.2

Single-transistor circuits

Impedance transformation using the MOSFET voltage follower

Using the small-signal circuit in Figure 5, the impedance

seen looking into the circuit is no longer RL but instead is
innite (at low frequencies) because the MOSFET draws
no current.
As frequency is increased, the parasitic capacitances of
the transistors come into play and the transformed input
impedance drops with frequency.
3.2.3

Chart of single-transistor ampliers

All congurations of a single-transistor amplier can be

used as a buer to isolate the driver from the load.
For most digital applications, an NMOS voltage follower
(common drain) is the preferred conguration; or an inverter (common source), if necessary. These ampliers
have high input impedance, which means that the digital
system will not need to supply a large current.

3.3

Integrated buer ampliers

Figure 6: Bipolar current follower biased by current source IE

and with active load IC

Figure 6 shows a bipolar current buer biased with a current source (designated IE for DC emitter current) and
driving another DC current source as active load (designated IC for DC collector current). The AC input signal
current iin is applied to the emitter node of the transistor
by an AC Norton current source with Norton resistance
RS. The AC output current iout is delivered by the buer
via a large coupling capacitor to load RL. This coupling
capacitor is large enough to be a short-circuit at frequencies of interest.

It is common for a single package to contain several discrete buer ampliers. For example, a hex buer is a single package containing 6 discrete buer ampliers, and
an octal buer is a single package containing 8 discrete
buer ampliers.
Because the transistor output resistance connects input
and output sides of the circuit, there is a (very small)
backward voltage feedback from the output to the input
3.4 Speaker array ampliers
so this circuit is not unilateral. In addition, for the same
reason, the input resistance depends (slightly) upon the
The majority of ampliers used to drive large speaker ar- output load resistance, and the output resistance depends
rays, such as those used for rock concerts, are unity-gain, signicantly on the input driver resistance. For more dehigh-current ampliers. Some current ampliers take the tail see the article on common base amplier.
voltage output from Class A/B, B, or tube (valve) ampliers, while others contain built-in voltage ampliers as a
pre-amp stage. The result is a signal nearly identical to
the input signal in terms of voltage, but capable of send- 5 See also
ing high amounts of current into low impedance speaker
Preamplier
arrays where the speakers are wired in parallel.

6
Common base
Common gate
Common collector
Common drain
Negative feedback amplier
Driven shield

External links
Voltage Follower Using OP AMP
Unity Gain Buer Amplier Bucknell

EXTERNAL LINKS

Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

7.1

Text

Buer amplier Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buffer%20amplifier?oldid=652085279 Contributors: Booyabazooka, Omegatron,

Fredrik, Dave Bass, Sam Hocevar, Cmdrjameson, Madhujc, Jshadias, Thunderbird, Nimur, Fresheneesz, Maser228, Light current, Rikimaru, Bggoldie, Gilliam, Bluebot, Simon G Best, Rogerbrent, JoeBot, Vanisaac, Circuit dreamer, Thijs!bot, Trevyn, Rehnn83, Twsx,
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Sean.bailey00, UA31, Jwang3445, SpecMade, MasterTriangle12, Surface wall and Anonymous: 34

7.2

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7.3

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