THE UNIVERSITY OF DODOMA

COLLEGE OF NATURAL AND MATHEMATICAL SCIENCES

DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICS
COURSE NAME: PHYSICS PRACTICAL III
COURSE CODE: PH 216
COURSE INSTRUCTOR: MR. KAMAZE
NATURE OF WORK: INDIVIDUAL LAB REPORT
DATE ISSUED : 9th January, 2020
SUBMISSION DATE: 10 th February, 2020

EXPERIMENT NO; 08
TITLE OF AN EXPERIMENT: CLASS A POWER AMPLIFIER
NAME REG NUMBER DEG PROGR SIGN
CHILEWA, FRANK T/UDOM/2017 BSC EDUCATION
P /16297

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Table of Contents
ABSTRACT................................................................................................................................................3
INTRODUCTION.......................................................................................................................................4
THEORY.....................................................................................................................................................5
EXPERIMENTAL PART AND PROCEDURES.......................................................................................7
RESULTS ANALYSIS...............................................................................................................................9
RESULTS DISCUSSION.........................................................................................................................11
CONCLUSSION.......................................................................................................................................12
REFERENCES..........................................................................................................................................13

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 ABSTRACT
The aim of the experiment was to determine the characteristics of the class 'A' Power amplifier.
The experiment wa carried ou, aiming at calculating the efficiency of the amplifier. The he
experimental results shown that the efficiency of the amplifier was found to be 0.008% which
was below 30% as expected with the theory of the amplifier which means that the amplifier was
good and delivers small power outputs for a large drain on the DC power supply.The AC power
was calculated to be 0.0195W while the DC power was 278W from which their ratio gave the
efficiency (n) of 0.008%.

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 INTRODUCTION

Amplifiers are the circuits that used to increase the magnitude of its input signals. They are
categorized in different ways such as Common emitter Amplifier, Common collector and
Common base Amplifiers. The Common emitter Amplifier is the most commonly used type of
amplifier as it has a very large voltage gain. Common emitter amplifier s are designed to produce
a large output voltage swing from a relatively small input voltage signal of only few millivolts
and are used mainly as Small signal amplifiers. Sometimes an Amplifier is required to drive a
high resistive loads such as loudspeakers or to drive a motor in robot. In these types Power
amplifiers are required. [ CITATION Mil \l 1033 ]
The main function of the power amplifier is to deliver power, which is the product of the voltage
and current to the load. Basically the power amplifier is also voltage amplifier the only
difference is that the load resistance connected to the output is very low which makes a high
amount of current to flow through the collector of the transistor. There are several classes of
power amplifiers some are Class A, Class B, Class C and Class AB power Amplifiers.
Class A power amplifier is the type of power amplifier where by the output transistor is ON all
the time (fully time) and the output current flows through the entire cycle of the input waveform.
Class A power amplifier is the simplest of all power amplifier configurations. They have high
fidelity and totally immune to crossover distortion. This means that Class A power amplifier
configuration is the ideal operating mode, because there can be no crossover or switch off
distortion to the output voltage even during the negative half cycle of the input signal.
Class A power amplifier have got both advantages and disadvantages some of the advantages
are, Simple in designing, have high fidelity because input signal will be exactly reproduced at the
output, Since the active device is on fully time no time is required to turn it on and this improves
the frequency response, there is no crossover distortion since the active device conduct for the
entire cycles of its input signal, Single ended configuration( Single transistor) can be practically
realized in Class A. Its disadvantages are; poor efficiency, powerful Class A power amplifiers
are costly and bulky due to the large power supply and heat sink. [CITATION Rob01 \l 1033 ]

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 THEORY
Class A Amplifier configuration is the ideal operating mode, because there can be no crossover
or switch-off distortion to the output waveform even during the negative half of the cycle. Class
A power amplifier output stages may use a single power transistor or pairs of transistors
connected together to share the high load current. Consider the Class A amplifier circuit below.

[ CITATION Boy \l 1033 ]

The efficiency of this type of circuit is very low (less than 30%) and delivers small power
outputs for a large drain on the DC power supply. A Class A amplifier stage passes the same
load current even when no input signal is applied so large heat sinks are needed for the output
transistors. [CITATION Rob01 \l 1033 ]
The experiment have got the following theoretical formulae which are helpful in evaluating some
parameters for the class AB power amplifier,

For the output circuit

VCC= ICRC + VCE ………………………………………………………………..(i)
For the input circuit
VCC= IBRB + VBE …………………………………………………………………………………………………..(ii)

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 Vp2
Ac power (Pac) = …………………………………………………………(iii)
8 RC

Dc power (Pdc)= VCC × IE …………………………………………………...(iv)

Pac
Efficiency (η ¿= ×100 % ……………………………………………(v)
Pdc

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 EXPERIMENTAL PART AND PROCEDURES
APARATTUS USED:
I. Oscilloscope : this device was used to give the reading of the output signal
II. AC voltage supply: this was used to supply the signal to the amplifier
III. Capacitors: they are used to ensure that the input voltage or signal is of Ac
and to block any Dc component of the amplified signal to appear to the
output
IV. Resistors: they help to complete the amplifier circuit
V. Two transistors: this were used to make set up of the experiment and to
perform the experiment
VI. Ammeter: was used to give the reading of the collector current
PROCEDURES:
The procedures for this experiment were divided into two parts that is for software and
hardware part;
For software part; the experimental set us was made as below shown and the dc condition
for the amplifier was checked and noted and then the sinusoidal signal from the supply was
applied to the input terminal of the amplifier and the amplified output waveforms were seen and
the output voltage was recorded. Then finally the efficiency for the amplifier at this part were
calculated.

Figure 1

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 For hardware part; the experimental set us was made similar to that of above as below
shown and the dc condition for the amplifier was checked and noted and then the sinusoidal
signal from the supply was applied to the input terminal of the amplifier at the fixed amplitude
then the specification for the amplifier was also noted and the efficiency was calculated..

Figure 2

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 RESULTS ANALYSIS
The following were recorded while performing the experiment
Vce= 9.384V
Then by equation (i)
VCC= ICRC + VCE it follows that
V CC −V CE
IC =
RC
Then;
12−0.120
IC = = 11.87mA
1000

Again by using equation (ii) which was;

VCC= IBRB + VBE .then VBE = 0,7V
V CC −V BE
IB =
RB
12−0.7
So, IB = = 11.3mA
1000
Then the embitter current were calculated as

IE = I B + IC = 11.3 + 11.87 = 23.17mA

Now the ac power were obtained by using equation (iii)

Vp2
Ac power (Pac) =
8 RC
But VP = 12.5V

12.52
Then Ac power (Pac) = = 0.0195W
8000
Also Dc power (Pdc)= VCC × IE as by equation (iv)
Dc power (Pdc)= VCC × IECC ×IE

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Dc power (Pdc)= 12 ×23.17 = 278.04W

Then by using equation (v)

Pac
Efficiency (η ¿= ×100 % it follows that;
Pdc
0.0195
Efficiency (η ¿=
278.04
×100 % = 0.008%

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 DISCUSSION
The experiment was conducted by systematically and carefully follows all of the procedures that
are required to be followed in performing the experiment. The data collected and analyzed were
well support the experiment and agrees with the theory of the amplifier.
The experimental results try to determine the efficiency of the amplifier by first measuring the
collector current after the amplifier being at active region that means after biasing the amplifier
with the direct power source and then by using ammeter the value of the current at the collector
region was recorded and also the base current was calculated together with the output voltage of
the amplifier and the power for both direct current and alternating current of the amplifier was
calculated which helps in finding the efficiency of the amplifier and from the experimental
results shows that the efficiency of the amplifier was found to be 0.007% which was less than
30% as theoretical part. Hence the experiment was well achieved as it was expected.

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 CONCLUSSION
The experiment was carefully performed which was aimed to calculate the efficiency of the
amplifier. The experimental results for this experiment shows that the efficiency of the amplifier
was calculated and recorded which was found to be 0.007% which was agreed with the one
expected by the theory of the class A amplifier so the efficiency of 0.007% means that the
amplifier was good and delivers small power outputs for a large drain on the DC power supply.
And amplifier stage passes the same load current even when no input signal was applied so large
heat sinks are needed for the output transistors.
..

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 REFERENCES

P.C. Sen, Power Electronics (Tata McGraw-Hill, 1988).

N. Mohan, T.M. Undeland and W.P. Robbins, Power Electronics (Wiley, New York, 1989).
R.S. Ramshaw, Power Electronics Semiconductor Switches (Chapman & Hall, London, 1993).
College of Natural and Mathematicl Sciences, CNMS; Department of Physics, Electronics
Practicals Laboratory Manual( 2019 /2020)

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