UNIT II

MULTI-STAGE AMPLIFIERS
In practical applications, the output of a single state amplifier is usually insufficient, though
it is a voltage or power amplifier. Hence they are replaced by Multi-stage transistor
amplifiers.

In Multi-stage amplifiers, the output of first stage is coupled to the input of next stage using
a coupling device. These coupling devices can usually be a capacitor or a transformer. This
process of joining two amplifier stages using a coupling device can be called asCascading.

The following figure shows a two-stage amplifier connected in

cascade.

The overall gain is the product of voltage gain of individual stages.

V2 Vo

AV=AV1×AV2
AV1 = Voltage gain of 1st V1
stage, and
V 2AV2= Voltage gain of 2
nd

stage.
Where AV = Overall
gain,
If there is n number of stages, the product of voltage gains of those n stages will be the
overall gain of that multistage amplifier circuit.

Purpose of coupling device

The basic purposes of a coupling device are

To transfer the AC from the output of one stage to the input of next stage.

To block the DC to pass from the output of one stage to the input of next stage, which
means to isolate the DC conditions.
Types of Coupling

Joining one amplifier stage with the other in cascade, using coupling devices form a Multi-
stage amplifier circuit. There are four basic methods of coupling, using these coupling
devices such as resistors, capacitors, transformers etc. Let us have an idea about them.

Resistance-Capacitance Coupling This is the mostly used method of coupling, formed

using simple resistor-capacitor combination. The capacitor which allows AC and blocks
DC is the main coupling element used here.
The coupling capacitor passes the AC from the output of one stage to the input of its
next stage. While blocking the DC components from DC bias voltages to effect the next
stage. Let us get into the details of this method of coupling in the coming chapters
Impedance Coupling

The coupling network that uses inductance and capacitance as coupling elements can be
called as Impedance coupling network.

In this impedance coupling method, the impedance of coupling coil depends on its
inductance and signal frequency which is jwL. This method is not so popular and is seldom
employed.

Transformer Coupling

The coupling method that uses a transformer as the coupling device can be called as
Transformer coupling. There is no capacitor used in this method of coupling because the
transformer itself conveys the AC component directly to the base of second stage.

The secondary winding of the transformer provides a base return path and hence there is no
need of base resistance. This coupling is popular for its efficiency and its impedance
matching and hence it is mostly used.

Direct Coupling
If the previous amplifier stage is connected to the next amplifier stage directly, it is called as
direct coupling. The individual amplifier stage bias conditions are so designed that the
stages can be directly connected without DC isolation.

The direct coupling method is mostly used when the load is connected in series, with the
output terminal of the active circuit element. For example, head-phones, loud speakers etc.

Role of Capacitors in Amplifiers

Other than the coupling purpose, there are other purposes for which few capacitors are
especially employed in amplifiers. To understand this, let us know about the role of
capacitors in Amplifiers.
The Input Capacitor Cin

The input capacitor Cin present at the initial stage of the amplifier, couples AC signal to the
base of the transistor. This capacitor Cin if not present, the signal source will be in parallel
to resistor R2 and the bias voltage of the transistor base will be changed.

Hence Cin allows, the AC signal from source to flow into input circuit, without affecting the
bias conditions.

The Emitter By-pass Capacitor Ce

The emitter by-pass capacitor Ce is connected in parallel to the emitter resistor. It offers a
low reactance path to the amplified AC signal.

In the absence of this capacitor, the voltage developed across RE will feedback to the input
side thereby reducing the output voltage. Thus in the presence of Ce the amplified AC will
pass through this.

Coupling Capacitor CC

The capacitor CC is the coupling capacitor that connects two stages and prevents DC
interference between the stages and controls the operating point from shifting. This is also
called as blocking capacitor because it does not allow the DC voltage to pass through it.

In the absence of this capacitor, RC will come in parallel with the resistance R1 of the
biasing network of the next stage and thereby changing the biasing conditions of the next
stage. Amplifier Consideration

For an amplifier circuit, the overall gain of the amplifier is an important consideration. To
achieve maximum voltage gain, let us find the most suitable transistor configuration for
cascading.

CC Amplifier

Its voltage gain is less than unity.

It is not suitable for intermediate

stages. CB Amplifier

Its voltage gain is less than unity.

Hence not suitable for cascading.
CE Amplifier

Its voltage gain is greater than unity.

Voltage gain is further increased by cascading.

The characteristics of CE amplifier are such that, this configuration is very suitable for
cascading in amplifier circuits. Hence most of the amplifier circuits use CE configuration.

Two Stage CE-CE Cascade Amplifier

h-parameter equivalent circuit

Cascode Amplifier

AC equivalent circuit

h-parameter equivalent circuit

Darlington pair

Darlington pair 1- Two emitter follower stages in cascade with infinite emitter resistance in
the first stage constitute a Darlington circuit.

Second Stage
Let us assume , hoe RL< 0.1
Also hfe>> 1

Ri2 = hie + (1+hfe) RL ~ hie + hfe -----------

RL hfe RL (2)
RL1 = Ri2 =
hfe RL ---------(3)

First Stage

hoeRL1 = hoehfeRL< 0.1 . If this inequality is satisfied, then we can use simplified
equivalent ckt in the first stage.Using exact solution

Ri1 = hie + hrc AI1 RL1

For emitter follower
Ri = hie + (1+hfe) RL
=hie + hfe RL
Overall current gain

Darlington ckt , AV = AV1 AV2

Effect of biasing network on the input resistance of emitter follower or Darlington ckt.
Effective input resistance Ri = R1 | | R2 | | Ri’ where Ri’ is a large input resistance of emitter
follower or Darlington ckt.
Ri = RB | | Ri’
~ RB
Emitter follower with Boot Strap Biasing

The reactance offered by the capacitor is very low for all frequencies.

R3 can be replaced by Miller’s theorem

Effective output resistance

RL = RO | | R3O | | RB
Coupling Schemes

Two-stage RC Coupled Amplifier

The resistance-capacitance coupling is, in short termed as RC coupling. This is the mostly
used coupling technique in amplifiers.

Construction of a Two-stage RC Coupled Amplifier

The constructional details of a two-stage RC coupled transistor amplifier circuit are as

follows. The two stage amplifier circuit has two transistors, connected in CE configuration
and a common power supply VCC is used. The potential divider network R1 and R2and the
resistor Re form the biasing and stabilization network. The emitter by-pass capacitor Ce
offers a low reactance path to the signal.

The resistor RL is used as a load impedance. The input capacitor Cin present at the initial
stage of the amplifier couples AC signal to the base of the transistor. The capacitor CC is the
coupling capacitor that connects two stages and prevents DC interference between the stages
and controls the shift of operating point. The figure below shows the circuit diagram of RC
coupled amplifier.

Operation of RC Coupled Amplifier

When an AC input signal is applied to the base of first transistor, it gets amplified and
appears at the collector load RL which is then passed through the coupling capacitor CC to
the next stage. This becomes the input of the next stage, whose amplified output again
appears across its collector load. Thus the signal is amplified in stage by stage action.

The important point that has to be noted here is that the total gain is less than the product of
the gains of individual stages. This is because when a second stage is made to follow the
first stage, the effective load resistance of the first stage is reduced due to the shunting
effect of the input resistance of the second stage. Hence, in a multistage amplifier, only the
gain of the last stage remains unchanged.

As we consider a two stage amplifier here, the output phase is same as input. Because the
phase reversal is done two times by the two stage CE configured amplifier circuit.

Frequency Response of RC Coupled Amplifier

Frequency response curve is a graph that indicates the relationship between voltage gain and
function of frequency. The frequency response of a RC coupled amplifier is as shown in the
following graph.

From the above graph, it is understood that the frequency rolls off or decreases for the
frequencies below 50Hz and for the frequencies above 20 KHz. whereas the voltage gain for
the range of frequencies between 50Hz and 20 KHz is constant.

We know that,
XC=1/2πfc
It means that the capacitive reactance is inversely proportional to the frequency.
At Low frequencies (i.e. below 50 Hz)

The capacitive reactance is inversely proportional to the frequency. At low frequencies, the
reactance is quite high. The reactance of input capacitor Cin and the coupling capacitor CC
are so high that only small part of the input signal is allowed. The reactance of the emitter
by pass capacitor CE is also very high during low frequencies. Hence it cannot shunt the
emitter resistance effectively. With all these factors, the voltage gain rolls off at low
frequencies.

At High frequencies (i.e. above 20 KHz):Again considering the same point, we know that
the capacitive reactance is low at high frequencies. So, a capacitor behaves as a short
circuit, at high frequencies. As a result of this, the loading effect of the next stage increases,
which reduces the voltage gain. Along with this, as the capacitance of emitter diode
decreases, it increases the base current of the transistor due to which the current gain (β)
reduces. Hence the voltage gain rolls off at high frequencies.

At Mid-frequencies (i.e. 50 Hz to 20 KHz)

The voltage gain of the capacitors is maintained constant in this range of frequencies, as
shown in figure. If the frequency increases, the reactance of the capacitor CC decreases
which tends to increase the gain. But this lower capacitance reactive increases the loading
effect of the next stage by which there is a reduction in gain.

Due to these two factors, the gain is maintained constant.

Advantages of RC Coupled Amplifier

The following are the advantages of RC coupled amplifier.

The frequency response of RC amplifier provides constant gain over a wide frequency
range, hence most suitable for audio applications.

The circuit is simple and has lower cost because it employs resistors and capacitors
which are cheap.

It becomes more compact with the upgrading technology.

Disadvantages of RC Coupled Amplifier

The following are the disadvantages of RC coupled amplifier.

The voltage and power gain are low because of the effective load resistance.

They become noisy with age.

Due to poor impedance matching, power transfer will be low.

Applications of RC Coupled Amplifier

The following are the applications of RC coupled amplifier.

They have excellent audio fidelity over a wide range of frequency.

Widely used as Voltage amplifiers

Due to poor impedance matching, RC coupling is rarely used in the final stages.
We have observed that the main drawback of RC coupled amplifier is that the effective load
resistance gets reduced. This is because, the input impedance of an amplifier is low, while
its output impedance is high.

When they are coupled to make a multistage amplifier, the high output impedance of one
stage comes in parallel with the low input impedance of next stage. Hence, effective load
resistance is decreased. This problem can be overcome by a transformer coupled
amplifier.

In a transformer-coupled amplifier, the stages of amplifier are coupled using a transformer.

Let us go into the constructional and operational details of a transformer coupled amplifier.

Construction of Transformer Coupled Amplifier

The amplifier circuit in which, the previous stage is connected to the next stage using a
coupling transformer, is called as Transformer coupled amplifier.

The coupling transformer T1 is used to feed the output of 1ststage to the input of 2nd stage.
The collector load is replaced by the primary winding of the transformer. The secondary
winding is connected between the potential divider and the base of 2ndstage, which provides
the input to the 2nd stage. Instead of coupling capacitor like in RC coupled amplifier, a
transformer is used for coupling any two stages, in the transformer coupled amplifier circuit.

The figure below shows the circuit diagram of transformer coupled amplifier.

The potential divider network R1 and R2 and the resistor Re together form the biasing and
stabilization network. The emitter by-pass capacitor Ce offers a low reactance path to the
signal. The resistor RL is used as a load impedance. The input capacitor Cin present at the
initial stage of the amplifier couples AC signal to the base of the transistor. The capacitor
CC is the coupling capacitor that connects two stages and prevents DC interference between
the stages and controls the shift of operating point.

Operation of Transformer Coupled Amplifier

When an AC signal is applied to the input of the base of the first transistor then it gets
amplified by the transistor and appears at the collector to which the primary of the
transformer is connected.

The transformer which is used as a coupling device in this circuit has the property of
impedance changing, which means the low resistance of a stage (or load) can be reflected as
a high load resistance to the previous stage. Hence the voltage at the primary is transferred
according to the turns ratio of the secondary winding of the transformer.

This transformer coupling provides good impedance matching between the stages of
amplifier. The transformer coupled amplifier is generally used for power amplification.

Frequency Response of Transformer Coupled Amplifier

The figure below shows the frequency response of a transformer coupled amplifier. The gain
of the amplifier is constant only for a small range of frequencies. The output voltage is equal
to the collector current multiplied by the reactance of primary.

At low frequencies, the reactance of primary begins to fall, resulting in decreased gain. At
high frequencies, the capacitance between turns of windings acts as a bypass condenser to
reduce the output voltage and hence gain.
So, the amplification of audio signals will not be proportionate and some distortion will also
get introduced, which is called as Frequency distortion.

Advantages of Transformer Coupled Amplifier

An excellent impedance matching is provided.

Gain achieved is higher.
There will be no power loss in collector and base resistors.
Efficient in operation.
Disadvantages of Transformer Coupled Amplifier
The following are the disadvantages of a transformer coupled amplifier −

Though the gain is high, it varies considerably with frequency. Hence a poor
frequency response.

Frequency distortion is higher.

Transformers tend to produce hum noise.

Transformers are bulky and costly.

Applications
The following are the applications of a transformer coupled amplifier −

Mostly used for impedance matching purposes.

Used for Power amplification.
Used in applications where maximum power transfer is needed.

The other type of coupling amplifier is the direct coupled amplifier, which is especially used
to amplify lower frequencies, such as amplifying photo-electric current or thermo-couple
current or so.

Direct Coupled Amplifier

As no coupling devices are used, the coupling of the amplifier stages is done directly and
hence called as Direct coupled amplifier.

Construction

The figure below indicates the three stage direct coupled transistor amplifier. The output of
first stage transistor T1 is connected to the input of second stage transistor T2.
The transistor in the first stage will be an NPN transistor, while the transistor in the next
stage will be a PNP transistor and so on. This is because; the variations in one transistor tend
to cancel the variations in the other. The rise in the collector current and the variation in β of
one transistor gets cancelled by the decrease in the other.

Operation

The input signal when applied at the base of transistor T1, it gets amplified due to the
transistor action and the amplified output appears at the collector resistor Rc of transistor T1.
This output is applied to the base of transistor T2 which further amplifies the signal. In this
way, a signal is amplified in a direct coupled amplifier circuit.

Advantages
The advantages of direct coupled amplifier are as follows.

The circuit arrangement is simple because of minimum use of resistors.

The circuit is of low cost because of the absence of expensive coupling devices.

Disadvantages
The disadvantages of direct coupled amplifier are as follows.

It cannot be used for amplifying high frequencies.

The operating point is shifted due to temperature variations.

Applications

Low frequency amplifications.

Low current amplifications.
Comparisons
 TUNED AMPLIFIERS

The types of amplifiers that we have discussed so far cannot work effectively at radio
frequencies, even though they are good at audio frequencies. Also, the gain of these amplifiers
is such that it will not vary according to the frequency of the signal, over a wide range. This
allows the amplification of the signal equally well over a range of frequencies and does not
permit the selection of particular desired frequency while rejecting the other frequencies.

So, there occurs a need for a circuit which can select as well as amplify. So, an amplifier circuit
along with a selection, such as a tuned circuit makes a Tuned amplifier.

What is a Tuned Amplifier?

Tuned amplifiers are the amplifiers that are employed for the purpose of tuning. Tuning means
selecting. Among a set of frequencies available, if there occurs a need to select a particular
frequency, while rejecting all other frequencies, such a process is called Selection. This
selection is done by using a circuit called as Tuned circuit.

When an amplifier circuit has its load replaced by a tuned circuit, such an amplifier can be
called as a Tuned amplifier circuit. The basic tuned amplifier circuit looks as shown below.
The tuner circuit is nothing but a LC circuit which is also called as resonant or tank circuit. It
selects the frequency. A tuned circuit is capable of amplifying a signal over a narrow band of
frequencies that are centered at resonant frequency.

When the reactance of the inductor balances the reactance of the capacitor, in the tuned circuit
at some frequency, such a frequency can be called as resonant frequency. It is denoted by fr.

The formula for resonance is

Types of Tuned Circuits

A tuned circuit can be Series tuned circuit (Series resonant circuit) or Parallel tuned circuit
(parallel resonant circuit) according to the type of its connection to the main circuit.

Series Tuned Circuit

The inductor and capacitor connected in series make a series tuned circuit, as shown in the
following circuit diagram.

At resonant frequency, a series resonant circuit offers low impedance which allows high current
through it. A series resonant circuit offers increasingly high impedance to the frequencies far
from the resonant frequency.

Parallel Tuned Circuit

The inductor and capacitor connected in parallel make a parallel tuned circuit, as shown in the
below figure.
At resonant frequency, a parallel resonant circuit offers high impedance which does not allow
high current through it. A parallel resonant circuit offers increasingly low impedance to the
frequencies far from the resonant frequency.

Characteristics of a Parallel Tuned Circuit

The frequency at which parallel resonance occurs (i.e. reactive component of circuit current
becomes zero) is called the resonant frequency fr. The main characteristics of a tuned circuit are
as follows.

Impedance
The ratio of supply voltage to the line current is the impedance of the tuned circuit. Impedance
offered by LC circuit is given by

At resonance, the line current increases while the impedance decreases.

The below figure represents the impedance curve of a parallel resonance circuit.
Impedance of the circuit decreases for the values above and below the resonant frequency fr.
Hence the selection of a particular frequency and rejection of other frequencies is possible.

Circuit Current
At parallel resonance, the circuit or line current I is given by the applied voltage divided by the
circuit impedance Zr i.e.,

Because Zr is very high, the line current I will be very small.

Quality Factor
For a parallel resonance circuit, the sharpness of the resonance curve determines the selectivity.
The smaller the resistance of the coil, the sharper the resonant curve will be. Hence the
inductive reactance and resistance of the coil determine the quality of the tuned circuit.

The ratio of inductive reactance of the coil at resonance to its resistance is known as Quality
factor. It is denoted by Q.
The higher the value of Q, the sharper the resonance curve and the better the selectivity will be.

Advantages of Tuned Amplifiers

The following are the advantages of tuned amplifiers.

 The usage of reactive components like L and C, minimizes the power loss, which makes
the tuned amplifiers efficient.

 The selectivity and amplification of desired frequency is high, by providing higher

impedance at resonant frequency.

 A smaller collector supply VCC would do, because of its little resistance in parallel
tuned circuit.

It is important to remember that these advantages are not applicable when there is a high
resistive collector load.

Frequency Response of Tuned Amplifier

For an amplifier to be efficient, its gain should be high. This voltage gain depends upon β, input
impedance and collector load. The collector load in a tuned amplifier is a tuned circuit.

The voltage gain of such an amplifier is given by

Where ZC = effective collector load and Zin = input impedance of the amplifier.

The value of ZC depends upon the frequency of the tuned amplifier. As ZC is maximum at
resonant frequency, the gain of the amplifier is maximum at this resonant frequency.

Bandwidth
The range of frequencies at which the voltage gain of the tuned amplifier falls to 70.7% of the
maximum gain is called its Bandwidth.

The range of frequencies between f1 and f2 is called as bandwidth of the tuned amplifier. The
bandwidth of a tuned amplifier depends upon the Q of the LC circuit i.e., upon the sharpness of
the frequency response. The value of Q and the bandwidth are inversely proportional.
The figure below details the bandwidth and frequency response of the tuned amplifier.

Relation between Q and Bandwidth

The quality factor Q of the bandwidth is defined as the ratio of resonant frequency to
bandwidth, i.e.,

Types of Tuned Amplifiers

There are two main types of tuned amplifiers. They are −

 Single tuned amplifier

 Double tuned amplifier
SINGLE TUNED AMPLIFIER
An amplifier circuit with a single tuner section being at the collector of the amplifier circuit is
called as Single tuner amplifier circuit.

Construction
A simple transistor amplifier circuit consisting of a parallel tuned circuit in its collector load,
makes a single tuned amplifier circuit. The values of capacitance and inductance of the tuned
circuit are selected such that its resonant frequency is equal to the frequency to be amplified.

The following circuit diagram shows a single tuned amplifier circuit.

The output can be obtained from the coupling capacitor CC as shown above or from a secondary
winding placed at L.

Operation
The high frequency signal that has to be amplified is applied at the input of the amplifier. The
resonant frequency of the parallel tuned circuit is made equal to the frequency of the signal
applied by altering the capacitance value of the capacitor C, in the tuned circuit.
At this stage, the tuned circuit offers high impedance to the signal frequency, which helps to
offer high output across the tuned circuit. As high impedance is offered only for the tuned
frequency, all the other frequencies which get lower impedance are rejected by the tuned circuit.
Hence the tuned amplifier selects and amplifies the desired frequency signal.

Frequency Response
The parallel resonance occurs at resonant frequency fr when the circuit has a high Q. the
resonant frequency fr is given by

The following graph shows the frequency response of a single tuned amplifier circuit.

At resonant frequency fr the impedance of parallel tuned circuit is very high and is purely
resistive. The voltage across RL is therefore maximum, when the circuit is tuned to resonant
frequency. Hence the voltage gain is maximum at resonant frequency and drops off above and
below it. The higher the Q, the narrower will the curve be.

DOUBLE TUNED AMPLIFIER

An amplifier circuit with a double tuner section being at the collector of the amplifier circuit is
called as Double tuner amplifier circuit.

Construction
The construction of double tuned amplifier is understood by having a look at the following
figure. This circuit consists of two tuned circuits L1C1 and L2C2 in the collector section of the
amplifier. The signal at the output of the tuned circuit L1C1 is coupled to the other tuned circuit
L2C2 through mutual coupling method. The remaining circuit details are same as in the single
tuned amplifier circuit, as shown in the following circuit diagram.

Operation
The high frequency signal which has to be amplified is given to the input of the amplifier. The
tuning circuit L1C1 is tuned to the input signal frequency. At this condition, the tuned circuit
offers high reactance to the signal frequency. Consequently, large output appears at the output
of the tuned circuit L1C1which is then coupled to the other tuned circuit L2C2 through mutual
induction. These double tuned circuits are extensively used for coupling various circuits of
radio and television receivers.

Frequency Response of Double Tuned Amplifier

The double tuned amplifier has the special feature of coupling which is important in
determining the frequency response of the amplifier. The amount of mutual inductance between
the two tuned circuits states the degree of coupling, which determines the frequency response of
the circuit.
In order to have an idea on the mutual inductance property, let us go through the basic principle.

Mutual Inductance
As the current carrying coil produces some magnetic field around it, if another coil is brought
near this coil, such that it is in the magnetic flux region of the primary, then the varying
magnetic flux induces an EMF in the second coil. If this first coil is called as Primary coil, the
second one can be called as a Secondary coil.

When the EMF is induced in the secondary coil due to the varying magnetic field of the primary
coil, then such phenomenon is called as the Mutual Inductance.

The figure below gives an idea about this.

The current is in the figure indicate the source current while iind indicates the induced current.
The flux represents the magnetic flux created around the coil. This spreads to the secondary coil
also.

With the application of voltage, the current is flows and flux gets created. When the current is
varies the flux gets varied, producing iind in the secondary coil, due to the Mutual inductance
property.

Coupling
Under the concept of mutual inductance coupling will be as shown in the figure below.
When the coils are spaced apart, the flux linkages of primary coil L1 will not link the secondary
coil L2. At this condition, the coils are said to have Loose coupling. The resistance reflected
from the secondary coil at this condition is small and the resonance curve will be sharp and the
circuit Q is high as shown in the figure below.

On the contrary, when the primary and secondary coils are brought close together, they
have Tight coupling. Under such conditions, the reflected resistance will be large and the
circuit Q is lower. Two positions of gain maxima, one above and the other below the resonant
frequency are obtained.

Bandwidth of Double Tuned Circuit

The above figure clearly states that the bandwidth increases with the degree of coupling. The
determining factor in a double tuned circuit is not Q but the coupling.

We understood that, for a given frequency, the tighter the coupling the greater the bandwidth
will be.

The equation for bandwidth is given as

Where BWdt = bandwidth for double tuned circuit, K = coefficient of coupling, and fr = resonant
frequency.

We hope that now you have gained sufficient knowledge regarding the functioning of tuned
amplifiers.
STAGGER TUNED AMPLIFIER
Stagger Tuned Amplifiers are used to improve the overall frequency response of tuned
Amplifiers. Stagger tuned Amplifiers are usually designed so that the overall response exhibits
maximal flatness around the center frequency.

It needs a number of tuned circuit operating in union. The overall frequency response of a
Stagger tuned amplifier is obtained by adding the individual response together. Since the
resonant Frequencies of different tuned circuits are displaced or staggered, they are referred as
STAGGER TUNED AMPLIFIER.

The main advantage of stagger tuned amplifier is INCREASED BANDWIDTH. Its Drawback is
Reduced Selectivity and critical tuning of many tank circuits. They are used in RF amplifier

stage in Radio Receivers.

Staggered tuning improves the bandwidth of a multi-stage tuned amplifier at the expense of the
overall gain. Staggered tuning also increases the steepness of passbandskirts and hence
improvess electivity.The value of staggered tuning is best explained by first looking at the
shortcomings of tuning every stage identically. This method is called synchronous tuning.
Each stage of the amplifier will reduce the bandwidth. In an amplifier with multiple identical
stages, the 3 dB points of the response after the first stage will become the 6 dB points of the
second stage. Each successive stage will add a further 3 dB to what was the band edge of the first
stage. Thus the 3 dB bandwidth becomes progressively narrower with each additional stage.

where m is the power ratio of the power at resonance to that at the band edge frequency
(equal to 2 for the 3 dB point and 1.19 for the 0.75 dB point) and Q is the quality factor.

The bandwidth is thus reduced by a factor of . In terms of the

number of stages . Thus, the four stage synchronously tuned amplifier will have a
bandwidth of only 19% of a single stage. Even in a two- stage amplifier the bandwidth is
reduced to 41% of the original. Staggered tuning allows the bandwidth to be widened at the
expense of overall gain. The overall gain is reduced because when any one stage is at resonance
(and thus maximum gain) the others are not, unlike synchronous tuning where all stages are at
maximum gain at the same frequency.
A two-stage stagger-tuned amplifier will have a gain3 dB less than a synchronously tuned
amplifier Even in a design that is intended to be synchronously tuned, some staggered tuning
effect is inevitable because of the practical impossibility of keeping all tuned circuits perfectly in
step and because of feedback effects. This can be a problem in very narrow band applications
where essentially only one spot frequency is of interest, such as a local oscillator feed or a wave
trap.
 Feedback Amplifiers
An amplifier circuit simply increases the signal strength. But while amplifying, it just
increases the strength of its input signal whether it contains information or some noise
along with information. This noise or some disturbance is introduced in the amplifiers
because of their strong tendency to introduce hum due to sudden temperature changes
or stray electric and magnetic fields. Therefore, every high gain amplifier tends to give
noise along with signal in its output, which is very undesirable.

The noise level in the amplifier circuits can be considerably reduced by using negative
feedback done by injecting a fraction of output in phase opposition to the input signal.

Principle of Feedback Amplifier

A feedback amplifier generally consists of two parts. They are the amplifierand
the feedback circuit. The feedback circuit usually consists of resistors. The concept of
feedback amplifier can be understood from the following figure.
From the above figure, the gain of the amplifier is represented as A. the gain of the
amplifier is the ratio of output voltage Vo to the input voltage Vi. the feedback network
extracts a voltage Vf = β Vo from the output Vo of the amplifier.

This voltage is added for positive feedback and subtracted for negative feedback, from the
signal voltage Vs. Now,
Vi=Vs+Vf=Vs+βVoVi=Vs+Vf=Vs+βVo
Vi=Vs−Vf=Vs−βVoVi=Vs−Vf=Vs−βVo
The quantity β = Vf/Vo is called as feedback ratio or feedback fraction.

Let us consider the case of negative feedback. The output Vo must be equal to the input
voltage (Vs - βVo) multiplied by the gain A of the amplifier.

Hence,
(Vs−βVo)A=Vo(Vs−βVo)A=Vo
Or
AVs−AβVo=VoAVs−AβVo=Vo
Or
AVs=Vo(1+Aβ)AVs=Vo(1+Aβ)
Therefore,
VoVs=A1+AβVoVs=A1+Aβ
Let Af be the overall gain (gain with the feedback) of the amplifier. This is defined as the
ratio of output voltage Vo to the applied signal voltage Vs, i.e.,
Af=OutputvoltageInputsignalvoltage=VoVsAf=OutputvoltageInputsignalvoltage=VoVs
So, from the above two equations, we can understand that,

The equation of gain of the feedback amplifier, with negative feedback is given by
Af=A1+AβAf=A1+Aβ
The equation of gain of the feedback amplifier, with positive feedback is given by
Af=A1−AβAf=A1−Aβ
These are the standard equations to calculate the gain of feedback amplifiers.

Types of Feedbacks
The process of injecting a fraction of output energy of some device back to the input is
known as Feedback. It has been found that feedback is very useful in reducing noise and
making the amplifier operation stable.

Depending upon whether the feedback signal aids or opposes the input signal, there are
two types of feedbacks used.

Positive Feedback
The feedback in which the feedback energy i.e., either voltage or current is in phase with
the input signal and thus aids it is called as Positive feedback.

Both the input signal and feedback signal introduces a phase shift of 180o thus making a
360o resultant phase shift around the loop, to be finally in phase with the input signal.

Though the positive feedback increases the gain of the amplifier, it has the
disadvantages such as

 Increasing distortion

 Instability

It is because of these disadvantages the positive feedback is not recommended for the
amplifiers. If the positive feedback is sufficiently large, it leads to oscillations, by which
oscillator circuits are formed. This concept will be discussed in OSCILLATORS tutorial.

Negative Feedback
The feedback in which the feedback energy i.e., either voltage or current is out of phase
with the input and thus opposes it, is called as negative feedback.

In negative feedback, the amplifier introduces a phase shift of 180 o into the circuit while
the feedback network is so designed that it produces no phase shift or zero phase shift.
Thus the resultant feedback voltage Vf is 180o out of phase with the input signal Vin.

Though the gain of negative feedback amplifier is reduced, there are many advantages
of negative feedback such as

 Stability of gain is improved

 Reduction in distortion

 Reduction in noise

 Increase in input impedance

  Decrease in output impedance

 Increase in the range of uniform application

It is because of these advantages negative feedback is frequently employed in amplifiers.

Amplifiers Negative Feedback

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Negative feedback in an amplifier is the method of feeding a portion of the amplified

output to the input but in opposite phase. The phase opposition occurs as the amplifier
provides 180o phase shift whereas the feedback network doesn’t.

While the output energy is being applied to the input, for the voltage energy to be taken
as feedback, the output is taken in shunt connection and for the current energy to be
taken as feedback, the output is taken in series connection.

There are two main types of negative feedback circuits. They are −

 Negative Voltage Feedback

 Negative Current Feedback

Negative Voltage Feedback

In this method, the voltage feedback to the input of amplifier is proportional to the output
voltage. This is further classified into two types −

 Voltage-series feedback

 Voltage-shunt feedback

Negative Current Feedback

In this method, the voltage feedback to the input of amplifier is proportional to the output
current. This is further classified into two types.
  Current-series feedback

 Current-shunt feedback

Let us have a brief idea on all of them.

Voltage-Series Feedback
In the voltage series feedback circuit, a fraction of the output voltage is applied in series
with the input voltage through the feedback circuit. This is also known as shunt-driven
series-fed feedback, i.e., a parallel-series circuit.

The following figure shows the block diagram of voltage series feedback, by which it is
evident that the feedback circuit is placed in shunt with the output but in series with the
input.

As the feedback circuit is connected in shunt with the output, the output impedance is
decreased and due to the series connection with the input, the input impedance is
increased.

Voltage-Shunt Feedback
In the voltage shunt feedback circuit, a fraction of the output voltage is applied in parallel
with the input voltage through the feedback network. This is also known as shunt-driven
shunt-fed feedback i.e., a parallel-parallel proto type.

The below figure shows the block diagram of voltage shunt feedback, by which it is
evident that the feedback circuit is placed in shunt with the output and also with the
input.
As the feedback circuit is connected in shunt with the output and the input as well, both
the output impedance and the input impedance are decreased.

Current-Series Feedback
In the current series feedback circuit, a fraction of the output voltage is applied in series
with the input voltage through the feedback circuit. This is also known as series-driven
series-fed feedback i.e., a series-series circuit.

The following figure shows the block diagram of current series feedback, by which it is
evident that the feedback circuit is placed in series with the output and also with the
input.

As the feedback circuit is connected in series with the output and the input as well, both
the output impedance and the input impedance are increased.

Current-Shunt Feedback
In the current shunt feedback circuit, a fraction of the output voltage is applied in series
with the input voltage through the feedback circuit. This is also known as series-driven
shunt-fed feedback i.e., a series-parallel circuit.

The below figure shows the block diagram of current shunt feedback, by which it is
evident that the feedback circuit is placed in series with the output but in parallel with the
input.
As the feedback circuit is connected in series with the output, the output impedance is
increased and due to the parallel connection with the input, the input impedance is
decreased.

Let us now tabulate the amplifier characteristics that get affected by different types of
negative feedbacks.
Characteristics Types of Feedback

Voltage- Voltage- Current- Current-

Series Shunt Series Shunt

Voltage Gain Decreases Decreases Decreases Decreases

Bandwidth Increases Increases Increases Increases

Input resistance Increases Decreases Increases Decreases

Output resistance Decreases Decreases Increases Increases

Harmonic Decreases Decreases Decreases Decreases

distortion

Noise Decreases Decreases Decreases Decreases

 Feedback Amplifiers
INTRODUCTION
A practical amplifier has a gain of nearly one million i.e. its output is one million times
the input. Consequently, even a casual disturbance at the input will appear in the amplified form
in the output. There is a strong tendency in amplifiers to introduce hum due to sudden
temperature changes or stray electric and magnetic fields. Therefore, every high gain amplifier
tends to give noise along with signal in its output. The noise in the output of an amplifier is
undesirable and must be kept to as small a level as possible. The noise level in amplifiers can be
reduced considerably by the use of negative feedback i.e. by injecting a fraction of output in
phase opposition to the input signal. The object of this chapter is to consider the effects and
methods of providing negative feedback in transistor amplifiers.
Ideally an amplifier should reproduce the input signal, with change in magnitude and
with or without change in phase. But some of the short comings of the amplifier circuit are I.
Change in the value of the gain due to variation in supplying voltage, temperature or due
to components.
2. Distortion in wave-form due to non linearities in the operating characters of
the Amplifying device.
3. The amplifier may introduce noise (undesired signals)

The above drawbacks can be minimizing if we introduce feedback

CLASSIFICATION OF AMPLIFIERS
Amplifiers can be classified broadly as,
I. Voltage amplifiers.
2. Current amplifiers.
3. Transconductance amplifiers.
4. Transresistance amplifiers.
This classification is with respect to the input and output impedances relative to the load
and source impedances.
VOLTAGE AMPLIFIER
This circuit is a 2-port network and it represents an amplifier (see in Fig 7.1). Suppose
R,» Rs, drop across Rs is very small.
CURRENT AMPLIFIER

An ideal current amplifier is one which gives output current proportional to input current
and the proportionality factor is independent ofRs and RL.

TRANSCONDUCTANCE AMPLIFIER

Ideal Transconductance amplifier supplies output current which is proportional to input

voitage independently ofthe magnitude ofRs and RL.

TRANS RESISTANCE AMPLIFIER

It gives output voltage Vo proportional to Is, independent of Rs a. RL. For ideal amplifiers
Rj =0, Ro=O
Concepts of feedback
The process of injecting a fraction of output energy of some device back to
the input is known as feedback. The principle of feedback is probably as
old as the invention of first machine but it is only some 50 years ago that
feedback has come into use in connection with electronic circuits. It has
been found very useful in reducing noise in amplifiers and making
amplifier operation stable. Depending upon whether the feedback energy
aids or opposes the input signal, there are two basic types of feedback in
amplifiers viz positive feedback and negative feedback.

Signal Source
It can be a voltage source V s or a current source Is

FEEDBACK NETWORK
It is a passive two port network. It may contain resistors, capacitors or
inductors. But usually a resistance is used as the feedback element. Here
the output current is sampled and feedback. The feedback network is
connected in series with the output. This is called as Current Sampling or
Loop Sampling.
A voltage feedback is distinguished in this way from current feedback. For voltage
feedback,
the feedback element (resistor) will be in parallel with the output. For current
feedback the
will be in series.
COMPARATOR OR MIXER NETWORK
This is usually a differential amplifier. It has two inputs and gives a
single output which is the difference of the two inputs.

(i) Positive feedback. When the feedback energy (voltage or current) is in

phase with the input signal and thus aids it, it is called positive feedback.
This is illustrated in Fig.. Both amplifier and feedback network introduce a
phase shift of 180°. The result is a 360° phase shift around the loop,
causing the feedback voltage Vf to be in phase with the input signal Vin.

The positive feedback increases the gain of the amplifier. However, it

has the disadvantages of increased distortion and instability. Therefore,
positive feedback is seldom employed in amplifiers. One important use
of positive feedback is in oscillators. As we shall see in the next chapter,
if positive feedback is sufficiently large, it leads to oscillations. As a
matter of fact, an oscillator is a device that converts d.c. power into a.c.
power of any desired frequency.

(ii) Negative feedback. When the feedback energy (voltage or current) is out of
phase with the
input signal and thus opposes it, it is called negative feedback. This is illustrated in
Fig.. As you
can see, the amplifier introduces a phase shift of 180° into the circuit while
the feedback network is so designed that it introduces no phase shift (i.e.,
0° phase shift). The result is that the feedback voltage Vf is 180° out of
phase with the input signal Vin.

General characteristics of negative feedback amplifiers

Negative feedback reduces the gain of the amplifier. However, the
advantages of negative feedback are: reduction in distortion, stability in
gain, increased bandwidth and improved input and output impedances. It
is due to these advantages that negative feedback is frequently employed
in amplifiers.
Advantages of Negative Voltage Feedback
The following are the advantages of negative voltage feedback in amplifiers :
(i) Gain stability. An important advantage of negative voltage feedback
is that the resultant gain of the amplifier can be made independent of
transistor parameters or the supply voltage
variations.

For negative voltage feedback in an amplifier to be effective, the designer

deliberately makes the product Av mv much greater than unity. Therefore,
in the above relation, 1 can be neglected as compared to Av mv and the
expression becomes :

It may be seen that the gain now depends only upon feedback fraction mv
i.e., on the characteristics of feedback circuit. As feedback circuit is usually
a voltage divider (a resistive network), therefore, it is unaffected by
changes in temperature, variations in transistor parameters and frequency.
Hence, the gain of the amplifier is extremely stable.

(ii) Reduces non-linear distortion. A large signal stage has non-linear distortion
because its
voltage gain changes at various points in the cycle. The negative voltage
feedback reduces the nonlinear distortion in large signal amplifiers. It can
be proved mathematically that :
 where D = distortion in amplifier without feedback
Dvf = distortion in amplifier with negative feedback
It is clear that by applying negative voltage feedback to an amplifier,
distortion is reduced by a factor 1 + Av mv.

(iii) Improves frequency response. As feedback is usually obtained

through a resistive network, therefore, voltage gain of the amplifier is
*independent of signal frequency. The result is that voltage gain of the
amplifier will be substantially constant over a wide range of signal
frequency. The negative voltage feedback, therefore, improves the
frequency response of the amplifier.
(iv) Increases circuit stability. The output of an ordinary amplifier is
easily changed due to variations in ambient temperature, frequency and
signal amplitude. This changes the gain of the amplifier, resulting in
distortion. However, by applying negative voltage feedback, voltage gain
of the amplifier is stabilized or accurately fixed in value. This can be easily
explained. Suppose the output of a negative voltage feedback amplifier has
increased because of temperature change or due to some other reason. This
means more negative feedback since feedback is being given from the
output. This tends to oppose the increase in amplification and maintains it
stable. The same is true should the output voltage decrease. Consequently,
the circuit stability is considerably increased.
(v) Increases input impedance and decreases output impedance. The
negative voltage feedback increases the input impedance and decreases the
output impedance of amplifier. Such a change is profitable in practice as
the amplifier can then serve the purpose of impedance matching.
(a) Input impedance. The increase in input impedance with negative
voltage feedback can be explained by referring to Fig.. Suppose the
input impedance of the amplifier is Zin without feedback and Z ′in with
negative feedback. Let us further assume that input current is i1.

(b) Output impedance. Following similar line, we can show that

output impedance with negative voltage feedback is given by :

It is clear that by applying negative feedback, the output impedance of the

amplifier is decreased by a factor 1 + Aν mν. This is an added benefit of
using negative voltage feedback. With lower value of output impedance,
the amplifier is much better suited to drive low impedance loads.

Effect of feedback on amplifier characteristics

CLASSIFACTION OF FEEDBACK AMPLIFIERS
There are four types of feedback,
1. Voltage series feedback.
2. Voltage shunt feedback.
3. Current shunt feedback.
4. Current series feedback.

If the feedback signal is taken across RL, it is a Vo or so it is Voltage feedback.

 If the feedback signal is taken in series with the output terminals, feedback
signal is proportional to I0 , So it is current feedback.
If the feedback signal is in series with the input, it is seriesfeedback.
If the feedback signal is in shunt with the input, it is shuntfeedback.

Series-Shunt Feedback Amplifier

The Ideal Situation of the Series-Shunt Feedback Amplifier
Ideal structure

A circuit: a unilateral open-loop amplifier

Ri : input resistance A : voltage gain Ro : output resistance
β circuit: an ideal voltage-sampling series-mixing feedback network
The source and load resistances are included inside the A circuit.
The β circuit does not load the A circuit. Do not change A ≈ Vo /Vi.

Equivalent circuit

The close-loop gain Af ≡ Vo  A (A and β have reciprocal units)

Vs 1  Aβ
Input resistance
V V V
R ≡ s
 s
R s
R Vi  βVo  R Vi  βAVi  R (1  Aβ )
if I i V /R i iV i V i i V i
 i i i

The series-mixing increases the input resistance by (1 + Aβ).

General form Zif (s) = Zif (s)[1 + A(s)β(s)]

Output resistance (Vs = 0)

V
R t
Output resistance of ≡ I
where I  Vt − AVi and V  − V  − βV  − βV (for V  0)
Ro i f o t s
V  AβV
I t t
R
o
R Vt Ro
of ≡ 
I 1  Aβ
The voltage-sampling feedback reduces the output resistance by (1 + Aβ).
Zo (s)
General form Zof (s) 
1  A(s)β (s)

The Series-Series Feedback Amplifier

The Ideal Situation of the Series-Series Feedback Amplifier
Ideal structure

A circuit: a unilateral open-loop amplifier

Ri : input resistance A : transconductance gain Ro : output resistance
β circuit: an ideal current-sampling series-mixing feedback network
 The β circuit does not load the A circuit. Do not change A ≈ Io /Vi.

The source and load resistances are included inside the A circuit.

Equivalent circuit

The close-loop gain Af ≡ Io  A (A and β have reciprocal units)

V
s 1  Aβ

Input resistance

R ≡ Vs  Vs  R Vs  R Vi  βVo  R Vi  βAVi  R (1  Aβ )
if I V /R iV i V i V i
i i i i i i

The series-mixing increases the input resistance by (1 + Aβ ).

General form Zif (s) = Zi (s)[1 + A(s)β(s)]

Output resistance (Vs = 0)

V
R
Output resistance of ≡ It

In this case, Vi  − Vf  − βIo  − βIt (for Vs  0)

V  (It − AVi )Ro  (It  AβIt )Ro

R V  R (1  Aβ )
of ≡ o
It
The voltage-sampling feedback increases the output resistance by (1 + Aβ ).
General form Zof (s)  Zo (s)[1  A(s)β (s)]
 The Shunt-Shunt Feedback Amplifier
The Ideal Situation of the Shunt-Shunt Feedback Amplifier
Ideal structure

A circuit: a unilateral open-loop amplifier

Ri : input resistance A : transresistance gain Ro : output resistance
β circuit (transconductance): an ideal voltage-sampling shunt-mixing
feedback network
The source and load resistances are included inside the A circuit.
The β circuit does not load the A circuit. Do not change A ≈ Vo /Ii.

Equivalent circuit
 Output resistance (Vs = 0)

R Vt
Output resistance of ≡ I
Vt − AIi 
where I  and I −I  − βV  − βV (for I  0)
Ro i f o t s
V  AβV
I t t
R
o
R Vt Ro
of ≡ 
I 1  Aβ
The voltage-sampling feedback reduces the output resistance by (1 + Aβ).
Zo (s)
General form Zof (s) 
1  A(s)β (s)

The Shunt-Series Feedback Amplifier

The Ideal Situation of the Shunt-Series Feedback Amplifier
Ideal structure
 A circuit: a unilateral open-loop amplifier
Ri : input resistance A : current gain Ro : output resistance
β circuit : an ideal current-sampling shunt- Do not change A ≈ Io /Ii.
mixing feedback network The source and load
resistances are included inside the A circuit.The
β circuit does not load the A circuit.
Equivalent circuit

I
o A
The close-loop gain Af ≡  (A and β have reciprocal units)
I
s 1  Aβ
Input resistance

R ≡ V i  I iR i  R I i  R Ii R Ii R Ii  Ri
I I
if s s Is i i
Ii  I f i
Ii  βIo i
Ii  βAIi 1  Aβ
The series-mixing reduces the input resistance by (1 + Aβ ).
Zi (s)
General form Zif (s) 
1  A(s)β (s)

Output resistance (Vs = 0)

 R V
Output resistance of ≡ It

In this case, Ii  − I f  − βIo  − βIt (for Is  0)

V  (It − AIi )Ro  (It  AβIt )Ro

R V  R (1  Aβ )
of ≡ o
It
The current-sampling feedback increases the output resistance by (1 + Aβ ).
General form Zof (s)  Zo (s)[1  A(s)β (s)]

PRACTICAL ANALYSIS OF AMPLIFIERS CIRCUIT

1.VOLTAGE SERIES /SERIES SHUNT AMPLIFIERS CIRCUIT:

2.SERIES SERIES/CURRENT SERIES FEEDBACK AMPLIFIER:
3. THE VOLTAGE SHUNT/SHUNT-SHUNT FEEDBACK AMPLIFIER
4. THE CURRENT SHUNT / SHUNT-SERIES FEEDBACK AMPLIFIER