ECD Final Project - Amplifier Build and Design 1

FACULTY OF ENGINEERING AND APPLIED SCIENCE

AMPLIFIER BUILD AND DESIGN

Final Report (Fall 2010)

Dr. Daniel Fischer

ENGR 3230U – Electronic Circuit Design

Group:
Farrukh Zaman
Mustafizur Bhuiyan
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ABSTRACT

This report details the build and design of an amplifier under the following conditions:

Case 1
 At least 0.5W output power when used with a 4Ω load, v i = 200mVpk at 100Hz
 DC power supply of +/- 5V or less
 Minimize distortion

Case 2
 At least 0.5W output power when used with a 4Ω load, v i = 10mVpk at 100Hz
 DC power supply of +/- 5V or less
 Minimize distortion

The design in both cases will be explained and demonstrated including a Multisim simulation, input
output transfer function showing the frequency dependency, bandwidth and gain, and 3dB frequencies.
The report will also include hand written calculations showing the DC current and voltage values
calculated and the relevant impedances, including the input and output resistances. There will also be a
discussion of the roles of the different amplifier blocks including limitations to the design and alternative
design options.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Abstract 2

Table Of Contents 3

Introduction 4

Amplifier Gain

Power Amplifiers

Ideal Amplifiers

Class AB Amplifier

The Common Emitter Amplifier Circuit

The Common Collector Amplifier Circuit

Amplifier Design 10

Stage #1: A Modified Common Emitter Circuit

Stage #2: A Modified Common Collector Circuit

Stage #3: A Modified Class AB Circuit

Final Circuit Design

Results 14

Frequency Response

Transient Analysis

Discussion 17

Common Emitter Design

Common Collector Design

Class AB Design

Conclusion 19

Appendix 20

Parts List

References 21
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INTRODUCTION

In Electronics, signal amplifiers are widely used as they have the ability to amplify a small input, for
example a sensor, into a much larger output to drive a relay, for example a lamp or a loudspeaker .
Amplifiers are seen as simple blocks which contains amplifying device such as Op-amp, transistor which
has two input terminals and two output terminals with the output being greater than the input signals
because it has been “amplified”.

An ideal amplifier has three basic parts R in, Rout, and Gain (A). We can use a general amplifier model to
the show the relationship between the three parts mentioned. Following is a model for the idea
amplifier.

The difference between the input and output signals is known as the gain of the amplifier and is basically
a measure of how much an amplifier "amplifies" the input signal.

Amplifier Gain
The gain of the amplifier is the correlation between the signal measured and the output measured at
the input. There are three types of gain are (A v = voltage gain), (Ai = current gain), and (Ap =power gain).
The following figure shows the amplifier gain of the input signal.
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Power Amplifiers
Small signal amplifiers are known as voltage amplifier, which convert small input voltage into a larger
output voltage. An amplifier needs to drive a motor and for applications like these we use the power
amplifier.

The power amplifier delivers power which is the product of the voltage and current applied to the load
with the output signal being greater than the input signal. It works on the standard of DC power being
converted from the power supply into AC voltage which is delivered to the load. Even though the
amplification might be high, the efficiency when it is converted from DC to AC is usually poor. Perfect
efficiency is 100% or power in equal to power out, but this rarely happens because power is lost in heat
and the amplifier consumes power during the amplification process.

Ideal Amplifiers
The characteristics for an ideal amplifier with regards to its gain, in this case referring to voltage gain (Av), can be
given as:

 The amplifiers gain (A) remains the same for changing values of input signal.
 The frequency does not affect gain. Signals of all frequencies must be enlarged by the same
amount.
 The amplifier gain does not add noise to the output signal. It removes any noise that already
exists in the input signal.
 The amplifier gain should not be affected by changes in temperature giving good temperature
stability.
 The gain of the amplifier needs to be stable over a large period of time.

Class AB Operation
Generally there are three different types of amplifier operation: Class A, Class B and Class AB. The characteristics of
C lass AB amplifier is compromise between class A and class B. AB used two complementary transistors
in the output stage where a biasing voltage is applied to the base of the transistor to bias it close to the
cut-off region where there are no input signals. The input signal causes the transistor to be in active
region where it gets rids of any crossover distortion which is present in class B.

A small collector current flows through where there are no more input signal but it is a lot less than that
of Class A configuration, which basically means the transistor will be “ON” for more than half a cycle of
the waveform. This type of amplifier configuration improves both the linearity of the amplifier circuit and the
efficiency compared to a Class A amplifier configuration. The following figure shows the output waveform of
the Class AB amplifier.
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The class of operation for an amplifier is very important and is based on the amount of transistor bias
required for operation as well as the amplitude required for the input signal. Amplifier classification
takes into account the portion of the input signal in which the transistor conducts as well as determining
both the efficiency and the amount of power that the switching transistor both consumes and dissipates
in the form of wasted heat.

The Common Emitter Amplifier Circuit

All transistors uses AC signal input which alternates between a positive and a negative value so the
amplifier circuit operates between two max or we need to use a peak value. This is known as biasing,
biasing is a key part of the amplifier design because it establishes the correct point of the transistor
which is ready to receive signals. This helps to reduce distortion in the output.

Consider the Common Emitter Amplifier circuit shown below.

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The common emitter amplifier first stage in the circuit shown above uses "Voltage Divider Biasing". This
type of biasing uses two resistors as a voltage divider network and is commonly used in the design of
bipolar transistor amplifier circuits. This transistor greatly reduces the effects of altering Beta (β) by
holding the base bias at a constant steady voltage which allows it to be stable.

The quiescent Base voltage (Vb) can be found by using the voltage divider network formed by the two
resistors, R1 and R2 with the power supply Vcc as shown with the current flowing through both resistors
in the figure below. Then the total resistance R T will be equal to R1 + R2 giving the current as i = Vcc/RT.

The voltage that has been generated by the junction of resistors R 1 and R2 holds the base voltage (Vb) at
a constant below the supply voltage. This bias reference voltage can be easily calculated using the
simple voltage divider formula below:

V CC × R2
V B=
R1 + R2

The same supply voltage (Vcc) also determines the maximum collector current (Ic) when the transistor is
switched to fully "ON" (i.e. when it becomes saturated or Vce = 0). Base current (I b) for the transistor is
found from the Collector current, I C and the DC current gain Beta,

∆ IC
β=
∆ IB

The base/emitter junction is forward-biased, thus the Ve will be one junction voltage drop different to
the base voltage. If we know the value of the emitter resistor we can then calculate emitter current (Ie)
by using ohms law. Ve= Ie/Re and Re= Ie/Ve.
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The Common Collector Amplifier Circuit

Our next transistor configuration to study, the common collector configuration, is a bit simpler for gain
calculations. A schematic diagram is shown in the figure below:

Common collector amplifier has, as the name suggest, a collector common to both input and output.
Therefore, ignoring the power supply battery, both the signal source and the load share the collector
lead as a common connection point as show in the figure below:

It should be apparent that the load resistor in the common collector amplifier circuit receives both the
base and collector currents, being placed in series with the emitter. Since the emitter lead of a transistor
is the one handling the most current it this means that the amplifier will have a very large current gain.

Unlike the common emitter amplifier from the previous section, the common collector produces an
output voltage in direct rather than inverse proportion to the rising input voltage. As the input voltage
increases, so does the output voltage. Moreover, a close examination reveals that the output voltage is
nearly identical to the input voltage, lagging behind by about 0.7V. Examined from the perspective of
output voltage change for a given amount of input voltage change, this amplifier has a voltage gain of
almost exactly unity (1), or 0 dB. This holds true for transistors of any β value, and for load resistors of
any resistance value.

It is simple to understand why the output voltage of a common collector amplifier is always nearly equal
to the input voltage. Referring to the diode current source transistor model in the figure below, we can
see that the base current must go through the base-emitter PN junction, which is equivalent to a normal
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rectifying diode. If this junction is forward-biased (i.e. the transistor conducting current in either its
active or saturated modes), it will have a voltage drop of approximately 0.7V, assuming silicon
construction. This 0.7V drop is largely irrespective of the actual magnitude of base current; thus, we can
regard it as being constant:

Emitter Follower: Emitter voltage follows base voltage (less a 0.7 V V BE drop.)

Given the voltage polarities across the base-emitter PN junction and the load resistor, we see that
these must add together to equal the input voltage, in accordance with Kirchhoff's Voltage Law. In other
words, the load voltage will always be about 0.7V less than the input voltage for all conditions where the
transistor is conducting. Cutoff occurs at input voltages below 0.7V, and saturation at input voltages in
excess of battery (supply) voltage plus 0.7V.

Applying the common collector circuit to the amplification of AC signals requires the same input
“biasing” used in the common emitter circuit. A DC voltage must be added to the AC input signal to keep
the transistor in its active mode during the entire cycle. When this is done, the result is the non-inverting
amplifier.
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AMPLIFIER DESIGN

The design of the amplifier will be broken down into three separate stages, using a common emitter
circuit in stage 1, a common collector circuit in stage 2, and finally a Class AB circuit in stage 3

Stage #1: A Modified Common Emitter Circuit

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Stage #2: A Modified Common Collector Circuit

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Stage #3: A Modified Class AB Circuit

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Final Circuit Design

Then combining the circuits from Stage 1, 2 and 3 gives the final circuit as:
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RESULTS

First we must generate an input signal of 200mV as follows:

The output of the Stage #1 Common Emitter circuit can then be gives as:
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The output of Stage #2 Common Collector circuit can be gives as:

And the Final Stage output as:

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Frequency Response

Transient Analysis
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DISCUSSION

Common Emitter Design

We used 3 amplifier blocks or stages within the circuit, we will talk a bit about all the roles that the 3
amplifier have.

In the first stage, we decided to go with a common emitter amplifier to help amplify the input voltage
which then becomes the input for the 2 nd stage. We determined the use of an output voltage of 2V given
the specifications for output power ≥ 0.5 Watts and load resistance is 4ohm. This is to help us find a
workable value that is used for the 2 nd and 3rd stages. Since we want the output to be 2V and with the
input voltage already being 200mV, therefore Vo/Vi = Voltage gain = 2V/20omV = 10V/V

In the Course Project guidelines, and the given parts, we decided to go with an emitter resistance
because only a DC power supply of ± 5V was given. Therefore we chose VCC = 5 V and VEE = -5 V and we
did not need a load resistor because the V o of the 1st stage is not measured across an RL to ground.

We decided go with the MPS 6521 transistor, and for the common emitter amplifier, an NPN BJT is
needed. Therefore we used the MPS 6521 BJT knowing our sources are only ± 5V and with the resistors
given to us, a rating of 100mA should be enough to hold the DC currents of the circuit.

We used the R1 || R2 = RB setup instead of the basic setup for a common emitter because R B and CC1
does not have any effect on the circuit. When adding a resistor to the emitter, it modifies the BJTs
characteristics which helps fit out design requirements.

The first stage of the circuit plays a key role when designing this multi-stage amplifier. This is because to
the reason that the 1st stage determines how the other stages will be designed afterwards and the
components that will be available for each stage.

Common Collector Design

For the second stage we decided to go with common collector in order to buffer the output voltage of
the 1st stage which is basically the input voltage in the 2 nd stage. The output of the buffer from the
second stage will likely be the input voltage of the 3 rd and final stage of this circuit.

Like the first stage, we will be using the same values for V CC and VEE throughout the circuit. We will also
be doing the R1 || R2 = RB setup liked we did for the above stage as well which used as a voltage divider
at the base control and the base voltage to help the transistor be in active mode. If we assume the β to
be very large number we can say that I E = IC which should be making the selection of the resistor easier.
We went with the MPS 368A transistor because we wanted to use a PNP transistor which handles 3
times more current then the transistor we used in the first stage.

The second stage also deals with the output resistance and impedance action. It allows it has a high
input resistance and a low output resistance which leads a voltage gain to unity. This is because of the
buffer action which has a short circuit gain used for multi stage amplifier where high R is being
connected to a low R (configuration for class AB that will be used in the third and final stage).
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Class AB Design
In the third stage we decided to go with a Class AB transistor because of the fact that it gets rid of any
crossover distortion. Also because the AB configuration has the ability where the input voltage goes
from high to low, 1 of 2 transistors will still remain in the active mode. We went with a current mirror
connected to the Class AB which will help control the current values in the circuit to keep the current
which will keep the output constant regardless of being loaded. We felt that the current mirror would
be sufficient but we also had a few transistors that were not used.

 Because of the fact that there were no more resistors left, we decided to bias the Class AB output with
diodes instead. To balance for thermal runaway we used the heat sinks which were provided to us in the
component kit. We needed to use the potentiometer connected to a current mirror which is made up of
2 transistors while shorting the collector, which controls the biasing current through diodes and
therefore this controls the output voltage at the load. The potentiometer that uses the resistance should
be done gradually and not suddenly to ensure no over-heating of any of the BJTs. We used the MJE 210
and MJE182 BJTs with handling currents of 5A and 3A. This is due to the Class AB being designed to
handle higher currents.

The third stage plays one of the biggest roles in the multi-stage amplifier design because that the final
output which needs to display and outputs the final design that was wanted by the designer. If this last
stage is not working properly it could be dangerous due to the current being handled the power being
amplified.
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CONCLUSION

In conclusion we have accomplished what we were expecting but there was a few complications on the
breadboard our simulation had distortion on it. We tried to use as much of the components in the kit as
possible.

The accessibility of parts is a big factor that needs to be measured when creating an amplifier with
limited parts. For example, in our first design, we were able to get the voltage of 2V. On the other hand,
after later designing the buffer or emitter follower circuit, the resistor values need to be adjusted in the
1st stage to have more suitable resistor values needed for the 2 nd stage.

The limitations with our design were with the parts that we were allowed because as mentioned before
in the discussion we ran out of certain parts, as well as, we were not able to receive optimal results in
the lab. However, overall we were happy and satisfied with the working model of the design and took
upon the project to a successful completion.
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APPENDIX

Parts List
Following is the list of all parts that were provided and made use of during the design and
implementation of this project.

Item
Screws, 3mm x 6 mm
Nuts 3mm
MPS6521 NPN 100mA BJT
MPS3638A PNP 300mA BJT
Silicon Diodes, 300mA
Electrolytic Cap, 100uF, 16V
Bipolar Cap, 47uF, 50V
Cap Tantalum 33uF, 20V
6.2kΩ Resistor, 1/4W
39kΩ Resistor, 1/4W
470Ω Resistor, 1/4W
1kΩ Resistor, 1/4W
2kΩ Resistor, 1/4W
100Ω Resistor, 1/4W
10kΩ Resistor, 1/4W
200kΩ Resistor, 1/4W
2.2kΩ Potentiometer, Screwdriver Adjustable
8Ω Speaker, 1W
19kΩ
4MΩ
8 AA Battery Holder
Alligator Clips Wires (+, -, GND)
0.1uF, 30V
0.01uF, 30V
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REFERENCES

[1] Microelectronic Circuits Microelectronic. Adel S. Sedra and Kenneth C. Smith, Oxford 2010,
Press University University Press.

[2] Paul Horowitz and Winfield Hill (1989). The Art of Electronics (2nd ed.). Cambridge University

Press. pp. 102–104. ISBN 9780521370950.

[3] Rod Elliot: 20-watt class A power amplifier (http://sound.westhost.com/project10.htm)

[4] Robert Boylestad and Louis Nashelsky (1996). Electronic Devices and Circuit Theory, 7th Edition.
Prentice Hall College Division. ISBN 978-0133757347.

[5] Rane audio's guide to amplifier classes (http://www.rane.com/par-a.html#amplifier_classes)

[6] Ian Purdie's Amateur Radio Tutorial Pages(http://my.integritynet.com.au/purdic/rf_amp.htm)