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Amplifiers

This document discusses electronic amplifiers. It begins by defining an amplifier as an electronic device that increases the power of a signal by taking power from a power supply and controlling the output to match the input signal shape but with a larger amplitude. The first practical electronic amplifier was the vacuum tube, invented in 1906, which led to the development of amplifiers around 1912 and their widespread use in electronics. Transistors later replaced vacuum tubes in most amplifiers starting in the 1960s-1970s.

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Jon West
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478 views2 pages

Amplifiers

This document discusses electronic amplifiers. It begins by defining an amplifier as an electronic device that increases the power of a signal by taking power from a power supply and controlling the output to match the input signal shape but with a larger amplitude. The first practical electronic amplifier was the vacuum tube, invented in 1906, which led to the development of amplifiers around 1912 and their widespread use in electronics. Transistors later replaced vacuum tubes in most amplifiers starting in the 1960s-1970s.

Uploaded by

Jon West
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as TXT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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This article is about electronic amplifiers.

For other uses, see Amplifier (disa


mbiguation).
A 100 watt stereo audio amplifier used in home component audio systems in the 19
70s.
Graph of the input {\displaystyle v_{i}(t)\,} {\displaystyle v_{i}(t)\,} (blue)
and output voltage {\displaystyle v_{o}(t)\,} {\displaystyle v_{o}(t)\,} (red) o
f an ideal linear amplifier with an arbitrary signal applied as input. Amplifica
tion means increasing the amplitude (voltage or current) of a time-varying signa
l by a given factor, as shown here. In this example the amplifier has a voltage
gain of 3; that is at any instant {\displaystyle v_{o}=3v_{i}\,} {\displaystyle
v_{o}=3v_{i}\,}
An amplifier, electronic amplifier or (informally) amp is an electronic device t
hat can increase the power of a signal (a time-varying voltage or current). An a
mplifier functions by taking power from a power supply and controlling the outpu
t to match the input signal shape but with a larger amplitude. In this sense, an
amplifier modulates the output of the power supply based upon the properties of
the input signal. An amplifier is effectively the opposite of an attenuator: wh
ile an amplifier provides gain, an attenuator provides loss.
An amplifier can either be a separate piece of equipment or an electrical circui
t contained within another device. Amplification is fundamental to modern electr
onics, and amplifiers are widely used in almost all electronic equipment. Amplif
iers can be categorized in different ways. One is by the frequency of the electr
onic signal being amplified; audio amplifiers amplify signals in the audio (soun
d) range of less than 20 kHz, RF amplifiers amplify frequencies in the radio fre
quency range between 20 kHz and 300 GHz. Another is which quantity, voltage or c
urrent is being amplified; amplifiers can be divided into voltage amplifiers, cu
rrent amplifiers, transconductance amplifiers, and transresistance amplifiers. A
further distinction is whether the output is a linear or nonlinear representati
on of the input. Amplifiers can also be categorized by their physical placement
in the signal chain.[1]
The first practical electronic device that could amplify was the triode vacuum t
ube, invented in 1906 by Lee De Forest, which led to the first amplifiers around
1912. Vacuum tubes were used in almost all amplifiers until the 1960s 1970s when
the transistor, invented in 1947, replaced them. Today most amplifiers use trans
istors, but vacuum tubes continue to be used in some applications.
Contents [hide]
1 History
2 Figures of merit
3 Amplifier categorisation
3.1 Active devices
3.1.1 Transistor amplifiers
3.1.2 Vacuum-tube amplifiers
3.1.3 Magnetic amplifiers
3.1.4 Negative resistance devices
3.2 Amplifier architectures
3.2.1 Power amplifier
3.2.1.1 Power amplifiers by application
3.2.1.2 Power amplifier circuits
3.2.2 Operational amplifiers (op-amps)
3.2.3 Differential amplifiers
3.2.4 Distributed amplifiers
3.2.5 Switched mode amplifiers
3.3 Applications
3.3.1 Video amplifiers
3.3.2 Oscilloscope vertical amplifiers
3.3.3 Microwave amplifiers
3.3.3.1 Travelling wave tube amplifiers
3.3.3.2 Klystrons
3.3.4 Musical instrument amplifiers
4 Classification of amplifier stages and systems
4.1 Input and output variables
4.2 Common terminal
4.3 Unilateral or bilateral
4.4 Inverting or non-inverting
4.5 Function
4.6 Interstage coupling method
4.7 Frequency range
5 Power amplifier classes
5.1 Conduction angle classes
5.2 Class A
5.2.1 Advantages of class-A amplifiers
5.2.2 Disadvantage of class-A amplifiers
5.2.3 Single-ended and triode class-A amplifiers
5.3 Class B
5.4 Class AB
5.5 Class C
5.6 Class D
5.7 Additional classes
5.7.1 Class E
5.7.2 Class F
5.7.3 Classes G and H
5.7.4 Doherty amplifiers
6 Implementation
6.1 Amplifier circuit
6.2 Notes on implementation
7 See also
8 References
9 External links
History[edit]
De Forest's prototype audio amplifier, 1914. His Audion (triode) vacuum tube had
a voltage gain of about 5, so this 3 stage amplifier had a gain of about 125
The development of audio communication technology; the telephone and intercom ar
ound 1880 and the first AM radio transmitters and receivers around 1905 created
a need to somehow make an electrical audio signal "louder". Before the invention
of electronic amplifiers, mechanically coupled carbon microphones were used as
crude amplifiers in telephone repeaters. After the turn of the century it was fo
und that negative resistance mercury lamps could amplify, and were also tried in
repeaters.[2] The first practical electronic device that could amplify was the
Audion (triode) vacuum tube, invented in 1906 by Lee De Forest, which led to the
first amplifiers around 1912. The terms "amplifier" and "amplification" (from t
he Latin amplificare, 'to enlarge or expand'[3]) were first used for this new ca

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