Class A, B, AB, C and D

Amplifiers
 Definitions
In small-signal amplifiers the main factors are:

Amplification
Linearity
Gain

Since large-signal, or power, amplifiers handle relatively large

voltage signals and current levels, the main factors are:

Efficiency
Maximum power capability
Impedance matching to the output device

2
 Amplifier Types
Class A
The amplifier conducts through the full 360 of the input. The Q-point is
set near the middle of the load line.

A amplifier as long as the output signal is not clipped. With

this kind of amplifier, collector current flows throughout the
cycle. Stated another way, no clipping of the output signal
occurs at any time during the cycle. Now, we discuss a few
equations that are useful in the analysis of class A amplifiers.

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 Power Gain
Besides voltage gain, any amplifier has a power
gain, defined as:

In words, the power gain equals the ac output

power divided by the ac input power.
Output Power
Usually, we measure the output voltage in peak-to-peak volts with an
oscilloscope.
In this case, a more convenient equation to use for output power is:
Transistor Power Dissipation

When no signal drives the amplifier of the

quiescent power dissipation is:
 Efficiency
The dc power supplied to an amplifier by the
dc source is:

To compare the design of power amplifiers,

we can use the efficiency, defined by:
ac output power Po (ac)
100% 100%
dc input power Pi (dc)
 DC Input Power +VCC

The total dc power, Pi(dc) , that an amplifier I CC

draws from the power supply :
I CQ RC
I1
R1

Pi (dc) VCC I CC RL

I CC I CQ I 1
v in R2
I CC I CQ ( I CQ I 1 ) RE

Pi ( dc ) VCC I CQ
Note that this equation is valid for most amplifier power analyses. We can rewrite for the
above equation for the ideal amplifier as

Pi (dc) 2VCEQ I CQ
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 Amplifier Efficiency
A figure of merit for the power amplifier is its efficiency, .
Efficiency ( ) of an amplifier is defined as the ratio of ac
output power (power delivered to load) to dc input power .
By formula :
ac output power Po (ac)
100% 100%
dc input power Pi (dc)
As we will see, certain amplifier configurations have much
higher efficiency ratings than others.
This is primary consideration when deciding which type of
power amplifier to use for a specific application.

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 AC Output Power
AC output (or load) power, Po(ac) ic

2 vo
vo ( rms)
Po (ac) ic ( rms) vo ( rms)
RL vin vce
rC RC//RL

Above equations can be used to R1//R2

calculate the maximum possible
value of ac load power. HOW??

Disadvantage of using class-A amplifiers is the fact that their efficiency

ratings are so low, max 25% .

Ref:080327HKN EE3110 Power Amplifier (Class A) 11

Class B
The amplifier conducts through 180 of the input. The Q-
point is set at the cutoff point.
 An npn transistor that provides the negative half of the AC
cycle
A pnp transistor that provides the positive half.
 Since one part of the circuit pushes the signal
high during one half-cycle and the other part
pulls the signal low during the other half cycle,
the circuit is referred to as a push-pull circuit
Class AB
This is a compromise between the class A and B
amplifiers. The amplifier conducts somewhere between
180 and 360 . The Q-point is located between the mid-
point and cutoff.
Crossover distortion is eliminated
by applying some forward bias
to the transistors (class AB).
+VCC

C
NPN
B
E
1.4 V

E
B
PNP
C
 Amplifier Types

Class C
The amplifier conducts less than 180 of the input. The Q-point is located
below the cutoff level.

Class D
This is an amplifier that is biased especially for digital signals.

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 Class C amplifier
VCC
Tank circuit

C
B The transistor is
CC E off for most of
RB the input cycle
and the conduction
VBB angle is small.

VBB reverse biases the base-emitter junction.

 A switch-mode amplifier uses a
rectangular input signal to drive the
transistor rapidly between cutoff and
saturation. The efficiency is very high.

They are also

called Class D
amplifiers. C
B
E
RB
If the switching frequency is a good deal higher
than the signal frequency, a Class D amplifier is
capable of linear amplification. Pulse-width
modulation and a low-pass filter are often used.

PWM Signal

Input Signal
PWM LPF

The low-pass filter rejects

the switching frequency.
 A
1.4
1.2
1.0 AB
0.8 B
0.6
0.4
0.2 C
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18
The class of an amplifier
is determined by the bias
which establishes the Q-point.

Class C is established by reverse

biasing the base-emitter junction.