ELECTRONICS

AMPLIFIERS
 ANALOG CIRCUITS

• Analog circuits perform operations on continuous signals

• The most common functional blocks:
• Amplifier (AC or DC) – increases magnitude
• Operational amplifier – performs various operations on
signals
• Oscillator – generates signal of certain parameters
• Filter – modifies frequency characteristics
• Modulation and demodulation – data transmission
• A/D and D/A converters – gateway to digital electronics
AMPLIFIERS
 AMPLIFIER

• Active devices may be employed to govern a large amount of

power (controlled) by the application of a small amount of
power(controlling). This behavior is known as amplification
• Amplifier – electronic device, that increases
the power, voltage or current
• Amplifiers take power from external power supply

Amplifier symbol
 EFFICIENCY

• Efficiency - the percentage of the power drawn from the dc

power supply that the amplifier actually delivers to its load

Pout
   100
Pdc
 GAIN

• Gain - a multiplier that exists between

the input and output of a circiut
Vo
Voltage Gain ( Av ) 
Vi
Io
Current Gain ( A i ) 
Ii
Po
Power Gain ( A p ) 
Pi v out
Av 
v in
 INPUT IMPEDANCE
• Input impedancein (Zin) - load that an amplifier
places on its source
• Ideally voltage source has zero impedance
and amplifier has infinite input impedance
• In reality voltage source has some small impedance
and amplifier has some high input impedance
• Real amplifier draws some current from the source, causing voltage
drop across source impedance – Vi is reduced with respect to V

Thévenin source
equivalent circuit

R in
Vi  V
R  R in
 OUTPUT IMPEDANCE

• Output impedance (Zout) - the „source impedance’ that an

amplifier presents to its load
• Ideally amplifier has zero output impedance
and output voltage V0 is independent of load impedance RL
• Real amplifier has some small output impedance R0
and output voltage depends on current drawn by load RL
• Loading effect – reduction of gain (and increase of losses)
caused by output impedance

RL
Amplifier Vo  V
output as a Ro  R L
Thévenin
equivalent R0
 AMPLIFIER MODEL

• The ideal voltage amplifier, if it could be constructed, would

have the following characteristics (among others):
• Infinite gain (if needed)
• Infinite input impedance
• Zero output impedance

• Real amplifier model

accounts for
input and output
impedances

• Source and load

impedances are
also considered
 IMPEDANCES INFLUENCE ON GAIN

• Example: input voltage Vi=2V, voltage gain Av=10

• Expectations: Vo=AvVi=20V (true for ideal case Ri=∞, R0=0)
• Reality: RL
V o  A vV i
Ro  R L
Vi 
Ri
Vs Voltage gain ( AV ) 
Rs  Ri 50 
 10 V i Vo 15 . 2
1 k 10   50    8 . 35
 2 V  1 . 82 V
100   1 k  50  Vi 1 . 82
 10  1 . 82  15 . 2 V
10   50 
 CURRENT AMPLIFIER MODEL

• If amplifier is to perform current gain, source and amplifier

output are represented by Norton’s equivalent circuit
(a current source paralleled by an output impedance)
• The ideal current amplifier woul have characteristics opposite to
voltage amplifier (zero input impedance infinite output impedance)
• This model resembles BJT transistor model!
 POWER VS VOLTAGE GAIN

• The output power Po is that dissipated in the load resistor RL

2
Vo
Po 
RL

• Power transfer is at a maximum when load resistence is equal to

output resistance of an amplifier RL = Ro (maximum power transfer
theorem)
• Choosing a load to maximize power transfer is called matching

• Power gain is the ratio of the power supplied to the load to that
absorbed at the input2 2
Vi Vo
Pi  Po 
Ri RL

• Gain often given in decibels

 LINEARITY

• A linear amplifier produces an replica

of the input signal at the output
• Linear operation is possible in limited region
• Cutoff or saturation cause limitation (clipping) of output signal
 DISTORTION

• Distortion - any udesired change in the shape wave

• Nonlinear behawior of transistor can cause distortion of output
waveform with respect to input waveform
• Amplifier distortion is measured by Total Harmonic Distortion
(THD) factor (THD below 1% is not audible)

k – harmonic order
 NOISE
• All real electronic circuit add noise to signals
• The noise associated with a voltage source can be modelled using
an equivalent circuit
• The noise produced within an amplifier is represented by an
equivalent circuit (noise at the input is multiplied by the gain of
the amplifier)

• Noise performance is quantified by measuring the

signal-to-noise ratio (denoted S/N or SNR)

V  P 
S/N ratio = 20 log 10  0  dB
 S/N ratio = 10 log 10  0  dB
 Vn   Pn 
 AMPLIFIER APPLICATIONS

• Amplifiers may be designed as a:

• Signal amplifier
• Designed to produce stable gain and low distortion
• Applied i.e. in measurement circuits

• Power amplifier
• Designed to provide high power to the load with high efficiency
• Applied i.e. in audio systems
 AMPLIFIER TYPES

• The most popular amplifiers types are

• BJT amplifiers
• MOSFET amplifiers
• Operational amplifiers
(complex internal structure)

• Amplifiers depending on signal type

• DC amplifiers (for DC
and low frequencies)
• AC wideband
• AC selective
POWER AMPLIFIER CLASSES
 CLASS A AMPLIFIER

• A midpoint-biased CE amplifier
is called class A amplifier
• Single transistor that conducts
(is in active mode)
during the entire input cycle
Biasing the BJT amplifier above
or below midpoint would result
in one of the two situations:
1. A reduction in the maximum
possible amplifier output.
2. Distortion.

• Output that contains little or no distortion

• A maximum theoretical efficiency is 25%
 CLASS B AMPLIFIER

• Two complementary (npn and pnp) transistors biased at cutoff

• Each half of the input waveform reproduced by a single transistor

• This configuration is also called single-ended push-pull

amplifier
• Such amplifiers has high efficiency (up to 78.5%)
• Produces high distortion
 CROSSOVER DISTORTION

• Occurs in push-pull class B amplifiers

• It happens during the time that one side of the output stage shuts
off, and the other turns on. Depending upon the bias point, there
is a small amount of time where both tubes are in very non-linear
portions of their operating curves, or even cut off entirely, and this
"kink" in the transfer curves results in a distortion, or notch, at the
zero crossing point of the reconstructed waveform
 CLASS AB AMPLIFIER

• IIt is referred to as a class AB amplifier, indicating that each

transistor conducts for slightly more than 180° (and less than
360°) of the input cycle
• Diodes set initial bias for transistors - amplifier is biased at a
point somewhere between class A and class B (just above cutoff)
• Crossover distortion is minimized
 CLASS AB WAVEFORMS

• Since each transistor in a diode bias circuit has a value of ICQ> 0

A, each conducts for slightly more than 180° of the input signal
cycle
• One (or both) of the transistors is always conducting, so that
crossover distortion is prevented
 CLASS C AMPLIFIER

• Collector resistor is replaced by parallel LC resonant tank

• Selective amplifier - an amplifier design to have a specific gain
over a specific range of frequencies
• One transistor conducts for less than 1800 of the input cycle,
only keeping LC circuit in resonance
• Output that may contain a significant amount of distortion
• A maximum theoretical efficiency is approximately 99%
 AMP CLASSES WORKING

• The lower the position of the Q-point, the higher the maximum
theoretical efficiency

Class A Class B Class AB Class C

AMP CLASSES COMPARISON

Higher efficiency

Lower distortion
 CLASS D AMPLIFIER
• Class D operation functions on the principle of representing
instantaneous input signal amplitude by the duty cycle of a
high-frequency squarewave (PWM operation)
• The output transistor(s) never operate in active mode, only cutoff
and saturation (on/off) - an ideal switch would dissipate no power,
since either the current or the voltage is zero
• Amplifiers of this type are called switching amplifiers or switch-
mode amplifiers
• Efficiency is very high, up to 99%
 AMPLIFIERS - SUMMARY
• Amplification forms part of most electronic systems
• BJT amplifiers were shown in this lecture, similar configurations
are built with MOSFET transistors
• The most popular configuration is Common Emitter (CE) or
Common Source in case of MOSFET realization
• Equivalent circuits are useful when investigating the interaction
between circuits
• Amplifier gains are often measured in decibels (dBs)
• The gain of all amplifiers falls at high frequencies
• The gain of some amplifiers falls at low frequencies
• Some amplifiers are very simple in construction
• Classes of amplifiers provide different efficiency and distortion
OPERATIONAL AMPLIFIERS
 DIFFERENTIAL AMPLIFIER

• A differential amplifier (diff-amp) has two inputs v1 v2 and

outputs v3 v4
• It amplifies the difference in the two input voltages (differentia-
mode signal)
• This type of operation is also referred to as double-ended

• This circuit does not amplify common-mode signal

Common-mode - a condition where
two signals applied to differential
inputs are of the same phase,
frequency and amplitude

• This circuit is widely used as

input stage to operational amplifiers
 COMMON MODE NOISE

• Differential-mode/double-ended
operation is very important in
measurement techniques
• If measured voltage signal is
transferred by one wire with
respect to the ground it can be
distorded by common-mode
noise, which will be amplified
• Signal transfer in differential
mode (as a voltage difference
between two wires)
is much less susceptible to noise
 IDEAL AMPLIFIER

• Properties of ideal amplifier

• Infinite voltage gain Av=Vout/VDIFF
• Infinite input impedance Zin (zero input current)
• Zero output impedance Zout (stability against loading)
• Infinite bandwidth
• Linearity
 OPERATIONAL AMPLIFIER

• Operational amplifier OP-AMP is an differential amplifiers

with parameters possibly close to ideal:
• Very high voltage gain (around 105 V/V)
• Very high input impedance, RIN around MΩ÷GΩ
• Very low output impedance, limited output current
ROUT around 100Ω, IOUT around dozens of mA
• Limited output voltage slope (maximum dVout/dt, that op-amp
can attain) – parameter called SR (slew rate) around dozen V/µs
• Limited bandwidth –
parameter called
GBW (gain bandwidth product)
– frequency, where
gain falls to unity
 REAL OP-AMP PROPERTIES

• Other non-idela properties

• Offset – non-zero value of output for zero input
• Drift – change in offset value with temperature or time
• Noise and distortion
• Influence of common mode signal - Common Mode Rejection Ratio
(CMRR) given in dB
• Influence of supply voltage noise- Power Supply Rejection Ratio
(PSRR) given in dB

• Op-amps ara evailable as IC’s

• Many OP-AMP families are available optimized for different
applications
 OP-AMP STRUCTURE

• Op-amp has few

cascaded stages
• Input stage –
high impedance
differentia amplifier
• Voltage gain stages
• Low impedance
output power stage

• Op-amps are
manufactured as
integrated circuits (IC’s)
 OP-AMP TERMINALS

• Inputs:
• (-) inverting
• (+) non-inverting

• Input voltage Vin=(Vin+-Vin-)

is called differential mode voltage
• Output voltage Vout=A0(Vin+-Vin-)=A0 Vin
• Supply voltage is usually omitted in cicruit schematics
 OP-AMP SATURATION

• Output voltage range is limited by supply voltage

• Typically op-amps are used with dual supply ±15V
• Single supply i.e 5V is also possible
• Output voltage range is typically ~1,5V less, than supply
• Because of very high gain, op-amp saturateas at very low input
voltages
 OP-AMP AS A COMPARATOR

• Op-amp without feedback loop (open loop) has very large gain
• Output saturates with very low difference of input voltages (range
of µV)

• This circuit can act as a comparator

• Exemplary application:
comparison of triangular
and constant voltages
(op-amp with single supply)
FEEDBACK
 FEEDBACK

• Feedback describes influence of output signal

on the input signal

amplifier

Systems with a
feedback loop are
feedback called closed-loop

• Negative feedback is when output decreases input

(feedback signal is substracted from the input)
• Positive feedback is when output increases input
(feedback signal is added to the input)
 EFFECT OF FEEDBACK

• Effective gain of closed-loop system

KUW=Uwy/Uwe = KU(Uwe±βUwy)/Uwe=KU±KUβUwy/Uwe
• Thus (substituting ± with respective sign)
• For negative feedback
gain decreases –
self-control
• For positive feedback
gain increases–
self-excitation

• Equations are expressed as complex numbers!

• Gains could be expressed as a transfer function G(jω) or G(s)
 OP-AMP WITH FEEDBACK

• Huge gain qualifies OP-AMPS to operate in various types of

negative feedback loops
• Tkanks to infinite gain output affects feedback loop, so that input
differential voltage approaches zero
• Details of feedback loop decide about amplifier operation,
thus the name operational amplifier

• Typical closed-loop
operational amplifier
with negative feedback
 OP-AMP FEEDBACK ANALYSIS

• OP-AMP gain is so high, that some microvolts at the input cause

output saturation. Output circuit (if not saturated) will do
everything to bring input to zero ε2-ε1=0 (if gain KU→∞ ε2-
ε1=U/KU=0)
• Thus in analysis input differential voltage is assumed zero

• Amplifier input impedance is so high, that input currents are

negligible and assumed to be zera
• With no current at amplifier input we can assume I1=IS
 GENERAL OP-AMP EQUATION
𝑼𝟏 − 𝜺𝟏 𝜺𝟏 − 𝑼
• Currents: 𝑰𝟏 = 𝒁𝟏
𝑰𝑺 =
𝒁𝒔
• Assuming I1=Is 𝒁𝒔 𝒁𝒔
𝑼=− 𝑼𝟏 + (𝟏 + )𝜺𝟏
𝒁𝟏 𝒁𝟏

• Because I2=0 → ε2=U2, and because ε2- ε1=0 → ε1=U2

𝒁𝒔 𝒁𝒔 General equation
𝑼 = − 𝑼𝟏 + (𝟏 + )𝑼𝟐 of ideal closed
𝒁𝟏 𝒁𝟏 loop OP-AMP

• Closed-loop gain does not depend on op-amp, but on external

impedances
 INVERTING AMPLIFIER

• In inverting amplifier signal is provided to inverting input, non-

inverting input is grounded (U2=0)
𝒁𝒔
• General equation yields: 𝑼 = − 𝑼𝟏
𝒁𝟏
• Voltage gain: 𝑼 𝒁𝒔
(controlled by impedance ratio) 𝒌𝒖 = =−
𝑼𝟏 𝒁𝟏
• Output is negative - amplifier is inverting
• Operation can be interpreter as sided lever
 NON-INVERTING AMPLIFIER

• In non-inverting amplifier signal is provided to non-inverting

input, inverting input is grounded (U1=0)
𝒁𝒔
• General equation yields: 𝑼 = 𝟏 + 𝑼𝟐
𝒁𝟏
• Voltage gain: 𝑼 𝒁𝒔
𝒌𝒖 = =𝟏+
• Amplification without inversion 𝑼𝟐 𝒁𝟏
• Operation can be interpreter as lever
 DIFFERENTIAL AMPLIFIER

• Differantial amplifier input is adifference between U1 and U2

• Current balance yields

• Therefore
• For R1=R3 and R2=R4
output voltage:
• Differential voltage amplification
 SUMMING AMPLIFIER

• Summing amplifier

• By changin R, weights can

be associated to inputs

• Summing amplifier as a D/A converter

• By adjusting resistor weights
to consecutive powers of 2
digital to analog
converter can be built
 FEEDBACK VS INPUT IMPEDANCE

• As seen in general equations of op-amp with feedback,

a current is drawn from the source
• Property of very high input impedance of op-amp is lost,
now RIN depends on a resistor across particular input
• Output resistance of this circuit is a paralel of op-amp
resistance and feedback resistor resistance
 FEEDBACK VS GAIN

• Open-loop op-amp gain falls along with frequency

• Cutoff-frequency (value, where gain falls by 3dB) is very low

• Closed loop op-amps tend to have much lower initial gain

• Cutoff frequency moves to the right – bandwith of closed-loop op-
amp increases

• Gain Bandwidth (cutoff frequency) Product – GBW – remains

constant
 VOLTAGE FOLLOWER
• Input impedance of inverting and non-inverting amplifiers is
defined by
input resistor creating feedback loop
• These circuits draw current from the source
• This current can interact with some circuits i.e. sensors, voltage
dividers
• In these cases specal solutions have to be chosen in form of
instrumentation amplifiers (for differentia measurements)
or voltage follower (for common-mode measurements)
• Voltage follower
• vout=vin
• Very high Rin (equal to op-amp)
very low Rout
• Single (common mode) input
 INSTRUMENTATION AMPLIFIER

• Instrumentation amplifier is a differentia amplifier

• Input stage has form of voltage followers, that assure very high
input resistance
• Output stage is a differentia amplifier
 CURRENT CONVETER AND SOURCE

• Current-voltage converter
• Uwe=0
• Uwy=-iR
• Output is proportional
to input current

• Current source
• Iobc=Uwe/R
• Output current is proportional
to input voltage
• Load is not grounded
 INTEGRATORS

• Integrating circuit

• Capacitor as an
integrating circuit
in feedback loop

• Differentiating circuit

• Capacitor at the input

 OP-AMP - SUMMARY

• OP-AMP is an amplifier with nearly ideal parameters

• OP-AMPS are multistage amps made as Integrated Circuits,
there are many versions for different applications
• OP-AMPS work with negative feedback, which decides about
type of amps operation
• OP-AMP is universal device – it can realize amplification,
summing, filtering, mathematical operations, differentia
operations, comparison and more
• Op-amps are widely used in measurements
• It amplifies signal and may also filter it
• Differential measurement minimizes distortions
• Signal from sensor is adjusted to the A/D converter levels
OSCILLATORS
(GENERATORS)
 OSCILLATOR

• Oscillator is a circuit, that generates periodic signal (sine,

square) with desired paremeters (amplitude, frequency)
• Their application include not only reference signal generation,
but also time measurements (i.e. quartz clocks in digital
systems)
• Oscillatos are found in digital multimeters, oscilloscopes, digital
measurement equipment, audio-video equipment, computers
and peripherals and others
• The most common oscillator type found in electronic devices
is amplifier with positive feedback
 OSCILLATOR TYPES

• Sinusoidal oscillators
• Feedback oscillators
• RC oscillators (LF)
• RC phase-shift oscillator
• Wien bridge oscillator
• LC oscillators (HF) Frequency ranges:
- High/radio (HF/RF) -
• Colpitts oscillator
100 kHz to 100 GHz
• Hartley oscillator - Low/audio (LF/AF) –
• Quartz crystal oscillators (HF) up to ~30 kHz

• Negative resistance oscillators

• Use device with negative resistance i.e. tunel diode

• Relaxation oscillators (square-wave)

• Multivibrators
FEEDBACK OSCILLATORS
 FEEDBACK OSCILLATOR
• Structure
• Amplifier (CE or op-amp) with KU gain
• Feedback loop with β gain

amplifier

feedback

• Basic reqirements for circuit to oscillate:

• Positive feedback
• Trigger signal to start oscillations
• Conditions to sustain oscillations (Barkhausen criterion)
 OSCILLATION CONDITIONS

• The fundamental requirement to maintain oscillations is, that

complex product of amplifier gain KU and feedback gain β is
unity 𝜷𝑲𝒖 = 1 → 𝛽 𝑒 𝑗𝜑 𝐾𝑈 𝑒 𝑗𝜓 = 1
• Two particular conditions result:
• Magnitude criterion:
Re 𝜷𝑲𝒖 = 1 → 𝛽 𝐾𝑈 = 1
Gain in amplifier circuits must
compensate for attenuation
in feedback loop
• Phase criterion:
Im 𝜷𝑲𝒖 = 1 → 𝜑𝜓 = 𝑛2𝜋
Sum of amplifier and feedback
phase shifts must be multiple of 2π
 CRITRRION FULLFILLMENT

• Too small gain –

attenuation

• Too high gain –

excitation up to
amplifier saturation

• Criterion fullfillment –
stable oscillations
 RC OSCILLATOR

• Inverting amplifier (op-amp or CE) - 180° phase shift

• To fullfill phase condition, feedback loop must produce 180°
phase shift at oscillation frequency
• Phase shift is implemented as three series RC circuits

• Generator is simple, but provides low stabiliy

of frequency and magnitude

N is the number of RC stages. (N = 3)

 WIEN BRIDGE OSCILLATOR

• Wien bridge is paralel connection of two voltage dividers,

realizing positive and negative feedback
• Oscillation frequency results form center frequency of a
bandpass filter
• The most common low and audio frequency oscillator
 LC OSCILLATORS

• Resonant circuit in positive feedback loop defines output

frequency
• Common emiter (inverting) amplifier
• Resonant tank with split capacitors

• Used for high frequencies

Colpitts oscillator Hartley oscillator
 ARMSTRONG OSCILLATOR

• Also called Meissner oscillator

• Positive feedback is implemented
with transformer
• Oscillator with resonance
in collector circuit

• So-called Joule thief circuit

is based on boosting
Armstrong oscillator
• It allows depletion of energy
from discharget batteries
 QUARTZ CRYSTALS

• Piezoelectricity is a change of shape of certain crystals,

that are exposed to electric field, they present
resonance at certain frequency
• Properly shaped Quartz crystal is characterized with very high
frequency stability – typically instability is in range
of 10-7, in special applications it could be better than 10-11
• In comparison LC oscillators instability is in 10-4 range
 QUARTZ OSCILLATORS

• Simplest quartz oscillators

• Pierce oscillator
• Quartz crystals in feedback loop
• Few components

• Colpitts
• Better stability
• Often applied in digital clocks
 VOLTAGE CONTROLLED OSCILLATOR
(VCO)
• XR-2206 Integrated Circuit
• Output frequency depends on input voltage
 SWEEP GENERATOR

• Generator of constant magnitude, time-varying (usually linearly

growing with time)frequency
signal
• Used to measure frequency response of filters and other devices
• Block scheme of simple measurement circuit with scope
RELAXATION OSCILLATORS
 RELAXATION OSCILLATOR

• Square-wave generators
• Can be used to generate PWM waveforms

• RC timing circuit in feedback loop – after reaching threshold

voltage on capacitor, circuit state is changed

• Can be built with:

• Transistors
• On the right
• Operational amplifiers
• Described below
 OP-AMP WITH POSITIVE FEEDBACK
 V2
• Open-loop op-amp has very narrow  U cc

linear region and practically is used

as a comparator
V1
U cc

 U cc

• Negative feedback decreases gain V1

0
and increases linear region U cc

• Positive feedback allows to build  U cc

circuits with hysteresis

U cc 0
 COMPARATOR WITH HYSTERESIS

• Called Schmitt trigger

• With positive feedback, voltage at the inverting input depends
on the state of output voltage
• Feedback is a voltage divider with gain
• This ratio results in appearance of hysteresis with levels

• Schmitt trigger can be used in on-off (bang-bang/hysteresis)

controllers
 ASTABLE MULTIVIBRATOR

• Schmitt trigger with RC circuit in the feedback loop

• With positiveVOUT capacitor is being charged, after
reachingVREF=βVOUT output toggles to opposite saturation
• Action is repeated with oppostite polarity
• Circuit has no stable state (astable)
• Output square-wave frequency depends on RC and feedback β
 MONOSTABLE (TIMER)

• Generates single pulses with certain timing period

• Diode across capacitor prevents from loading in positive
direction
• Circuit is triggered by negative Edge applied to non-inverting input
through differentiator (ztypically capacitor is enough)

• Circuit has one stable state (monostable)

• Period equals to
 555 TIMER

• Popular IC used to build timers and generators

• It’s structure contains:
• Voltage divider, that generates reference at 1/3 and 2/3 VCC
• Comparators and flip flop (bistable circuit)
• „Trigger” input to start timer
• „Threshold” input for reference voltage
• „Reset” input

• Example –
555 as
astable
(oscillator)
 555 AS PWM GENERATOR

• Astable with RC time constants varied by potentiometer

• Diodes D1 or D2 work alternately for different polarities
• Potentiometer slider decides about fraction of resistance related to
each diode – pace of chargé and discharge is different

• Operation results in variable duty cycle D=t1/T

THANK YOU
FOR ATTENTION