Amplifier
Encyclopedia
Generally, an amplifier or simply amp, is a device for increasing the power
of a signal.
In popular use, the term usually describes an electronic amplifier
, in which the input "signal" is usually a voltage or a current. In audio
applications, amplifiers drive the loudspeaker
s used in PA systems to make the human voice louder or play recorded music. Amplifiers may be classified according to the input (source) they are designed to amplify (such as a guitar amplifier
, to perform with an electric guitar
), the device they are intended to drive (such as a headphone amplifier
), the frequency range of the signals (Audio
, IF
, RF
, and VHF amplifiers, for example), whether they invert the signal (inverting amplifiers and non-inverting amplifiers
), or the type of device used in the amplification (valve or tube amplifiers
, FET
amplifiers, etc.).
A related device that emphasizes conversion of signals of one type to another (for example, a light
signal in photon
s to a DC
signal in ampere
s) is a transducer
, a transformer
, or a sensor
. However, none of these amplify power
.
of an amplifier is the ratio
of output to input power or amplitude, and is usually measured in decibel
s.
(When measured in decibels it is logarithm
ically related to the power ratio: G(dB)=10 log(Pout /(Pin)). RF
amplifiers are often specified in terms of the maximum power gain obtainable, while the voltage
gain of audio amplifiers and instrumentation amplifier
s will be more often specified (since the amplifier's input impedance
will often be much higher than the source impedance, and the load impedance higher than the amplifier's output impedance).
If two equivalent amplifiers are being compared, the amplifier with higher gain settings would be more sensitive as it would take less input signal to produce a given amount of power.
s (i.e. frequency where the power goes down by half its peak value) on the output vs. frequency curve. Therefore bandwidth can be defined as the difference between the lower and upper half power points. This is therefore also known as the bandwidth. Bandwidths (otherwise called "frequency responses") for other response tolerances are sometimes quoted or "plus or minus 1dB" (roughly the sound level difference people usually can detect).
The gain of a good quality full-range audio amplifier will be essentially flat between 20 Hz to about 20 kHz (the range of normal human hearing). In ultra high fidelity amplifier design, the amp's frequency response should extend considerably beyond this (one or more octaves either side) and might have points < 10 Hz and > . Professional touring amplifiers often have input and/or output filtering to sharply limit frequency response beyond ; too much of the amplifier's potential output power would otherwise be wasted on infrasonic and ultrasonic
frequencies, and the danger of AM radio interference would increase. Modern switching amplifier
s need steep low pass filtering at the output to get rid of high frequency switching noise and harmonics.
of the output. Inductive coupling
of the output can raise their efficiency to a maximum of 50%.
Drain efficiency is the ratio of output RF power to input DC power when primary input DC power has been fed to the drain of an FET. Based on this definition, the drain efficiency cannot exceed 25% for a class A amplifier that is supplied drain bias current through resistors (because RF signal has its zero level at about 50% of the input DC). Manufacturers specify much higher drain efficiencies, and designers are able to obtain higher efficiencies by providing current to the drain of the transistor through an inductor or a transformer winding. In this case the RF zero level is near the DC rail and will swing both above and below the rail during operation. While the voltage level is above the DC rail current is supplied by the inductor.
Class B amplifiers have a very high efficiency but are impractical for audio work because of high levels of distortion (See: Crossover distortion
). In practical design, the result of a tradeoff is the class AB design. Modern Class AB amplifiers commonly have peak efficiencies between 30–55% in audio systems and 50-70% in radio frequency systems with a theoretical maximum of 78.5%.
Commercially available Class D switching amplifier
s have reported efficiencies as high as 90%. Amplifiers of Class C-F are usually known to be very high efficiency amplifiers. RCA manufactured an AM broadcast transmitter employing a single class-C low mu triode with an RF efficiency in the 90% range.
More efficient amplifiers run cooler, and often do not need any cooling fans even in multi-kilowatt designs. The reason for this is that the loss of efficiency produces heat as a by-product of the energy lost during the conversion of power. In more efficient amplifiers there is less loss of energy so in turn less heat.
In RF linear Power Amplifiers, such as cellular base stations and broadcast transmitters, special design techniques can be used to improve efficiency. Doherty designs, which use a second output stage as a "peak" amplifier, can lift efficiency from the typical 15% up to 30-35% in a narrow bandwidth. Envelope Tracking designs are able to achieve efficiencies of up to 60%, by modulating the supply voltage to the amplifier in line with the envelope of the signal.
When the signal drive to the amplifier is increased, the output also increases until a point is reached where some part of the amplifier becomes saturated and cannot produce any more output; this is called clipping, and results in distortion
.
In most amplifiers a reduction in gain takes place before hard clipping occurs; the result is a compression effect, which (if the amplifier is an audio amplifier) sounds much less unpleasant to the ear. For these amplifiers, the compression point is defined as the input power (or output power) where the gain is less than the small signal gain. Sometimes this nonlinearity is deliberately designed in to reduce the audible unpleasantness of hard clipping under overload.
Ill effects of nonlinearity can be reduced with negative feedback.
Linearization
is an emergent field, and there are many techniques, such as feedforward, predistortion
, postdistortion, in order to avoid the undesired effects of the non-linearities.
is introduced in the amplification process. Noise is an undesirable but inevitable product of the electronic devices and components; also, much noise results from intentional economies of manufacture and design time. The metric for noise performance of a circuit is noise figure
or noise factor. Noise figure is a comparison between the output signal to noise ratio and the thermal noise of the input signal.
is the range, usually given in dB, between the smallest and largest useful output levels. The lowest useful level is limited by output noise
, while the largest is limited most often by distortion. The ratio of these two is quoted as the amplifier dynamic range. More precisely, if S = maximal allowed signal power and N = noise power, the dynamic range DR is DR = (S + N ) /N.
In many switched mode amplifiers, dynamic range is limited by the minimum output step size.
is the maximum rate of change of the output, usually quoted in volts per second (or microsecond). Many amplifiers are ultimately slew rate
limited (typically by the impedance of a drive current having to overcome capacitive effects at some point in the circuit), which sometimes limits the full power bandwidth
to frequencies well below the amplifier's small-signal frequency response.
, tr, of an amplifier is the time taken for the output to change from 10% to 90% of its final level when driven by a step input
.
For a Gaussian
response system (or a simple RC roll off
), the rise time is approximated by:
tr * BW = 0.35, where tr is rise time in second
s and BW is bandwidth in Hz
.
, and is usually specified for oscilloscope vertical amplifiers and high accuracy measurement systems. Ringing
refers to an output variation that cycles above and below an amplifier's final value and leads to a delay in reaching a stable output. Ringing is the result of overshoot caused by an underdamped circuit.
is the amount the output exceeds its final, steady-state value.
Stability
is a major concern in RF
and microwave
amplifiers. The degree of an amplifier's stability can be quantified by a so-called stability factor. There are several different stability factors, such as the Stern stability factor and the Linvil stability factor, which specify a condition that must be met for the absolute stability of an amplifier in terms of its two-port parameters.
and television
transmitter
s and receivers
, high-fidelity ("hi-fi") stereo equipment, microcomputers and other electronic digital equipment, and guitar
and other instrument amplifier
s. Critical components include active devices, such as vacuum tube
s or transistor
s.
(effectively a sound-controlled variable resistor). By channeling a large electric current through the compressed carbon
granules in the microphone, a small sound signal could produce a much larger electric signal. The carbon microphone was extremely important in early telecommunications; analog telephones
in fact work without the use of any other amplifier. Before the invention of electronic amplifiers, mechanically coupled carbon microphones were also used as amplifiers in telephone repeaters
for long distance service.
-like device that makes use of the saturation of magnetic materials to produce amplification. It is a non-electronic electrical amplifier with no moving parts. The bandwidth of magnetic amplifiers extends to the hundreds of kilohertz.
is a rotating machine like an electrical generator
that provides amplification of electrical signals by the conversion of mechanical energy to electrical energy. Changes in generator field current result in larger changes in the output current of the generator, providing gain. This class of device was used for smooth control of large motors, primarily for elevators and naval guns.
Field modulation of a very high speed AC generator was also used for some early AM
radio transmissions. See Alexanderson alternator
.
's "electromotograph" loud-speaking telephone, which used a wetted rotating chalk cylinder in contact with a stationary contact. The friction between cylinder and contact varied with the current, providing gain. Edison discovered this effect in 1874, but the theory behind the Johnsen-Rahbek effect
was not understood until the semiconductor era.
Early autopilot
units designed by Elmer Ambrose Sperry
incorporated a mechanical amplifier using belts wrapped around rotating drums; a slight increase in the tension of the belt caused the drum to move the belt. A paired, opposing set of such drives made up a single amplifier.
This amplified small gyro errors into signals large enough to move aircraft control surfaces.
A similar mechanism was used in the Vannevar Bush
differential analyzer.
The electrostatic drum amplifier used a band wrapped partway around a rotating drum, and fixed at its anchored end to a spring. The other end connected to a speaker cone. The input signal was transformed up to high voltage, and added to a high voltage dc supply line. This voltage was connected between drum and belt. Thus the input signal varied the electric field between belt and drum, and thus the friction between them, and thus the amount of lateral movement of the belt and thus speaker cone.
Other variations on the theme also existed at one time.
through the process of stimulated emission
. See Laser
and Maser
.
Power (physics)
In physics, power is the rate at which energy is transferred, used, or transformed. For example, the rate at which a light bulb transforms electrical energy into heat and light is measured in watts—the more wattage, the more power, or equivalently the more electrical energy is used per unit...
of a signal.
In popular use, the term usually describes an electronic amplifier
Electronic amplifier
An electronic amplifier is a device for increasing the power of a signal.It does this by taking energy from a power supply and controlling the output to match the input signal shape but with a larger amplitude...
, in which the input "signal" is usually a voltage or a current. In audio
Sound recording and reproduction
Sound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...
applications, amplifiers drive the loudspeaker
Loudspeaker
A loudspeaker is an electroacoustic transducer that produces sound in response to an electrical audio signal input. Non-electrical loudspeakers were developed as accessories to telephone systems, but electronic amplification by vacuum tube made loudspeakers more generally useful...
s used in PA systems to make the human voice louder or play recorded music. Amplifiers may be classified according to the input (source) they are designed to amplify (such as a guitar amplifier
Guitar amplifier
A guitar amplifier is an electronic amplifier designed to make the signal of an electric or acoustic guitar louder so that it will produce sound through a loudspeaker...
, to perform with an electric guitar
Electric guitar
An electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
), the device they are intended to drive (such as a headphone amplifier
Headphone amplifier
A headphone amplifier is an audio amplifier designed particularly to drive headphones instead of loudspeakers. Most commonly they are found embedded in electronic devices such as integrated amplifiers, portable music players and televisions, but standalone units are not uncommon.-Consumer headphone...
), the frequency range of the signals (Audio
Sound recording and reproduction
Sound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...
, IF
Intermediate frequency
In communications and electronic engineering, an intermediate frequency is a frequency to which a carrier frequency is shifted as an intermediate step in transmission or reception. The intermediate frequency is created by mixing the carrier signal with a local oscillator signal in a process called...
, RF
Radio frequency
Radio frequency is a rate of oscillation in the range of about 3 kHz to 300 GHz, which corresponds to the frequency of radio waves, and the alternating currents which carry radio signals...
, and VHF amplifiers, for example), whether they invert the signal (inverting amplifiers and non-inverting amplifiers
Operational amplifier applications
This article illustrates some typical applications of operational amplifiers. A simplified schematic notation is used, and the reader is reminded that many details such as device selection and power supply connections are not shown....
), or the type of device used in the amplification (valve or tube amplifiers
Valve amplifier
A valve amplifier or tube amplifier is a type of electronic amplifier that makes use of vacuum tubes to increase the power and/or amplitude of a signal. Low to medium power valve amplifiers for frequencies below the microwaves were largely replaced by solid state amplifiers during the 1960s and...
, FET
Fet
Fet is a municipality in Akershus county, Norway. It is part of the Romerike traditional region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Fetsund.Fet was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838...
amplifiers, etc.).
A related device that emphasizes conversion of signals of one type to another (for example, a light
Light
Light or visible light is electromagnetic radiation that is visible to the human eye, and is responsible for the sense of sight. Visible light has wavelength in a range from about 380 nanometres to about 740 nm, with a frequency range of about 405 THz to 790 THz...
signal in photon
Photon
In physics, a photon is an elementary particle, the quantum of the electromagnetic interaction and the basic unit of light and all other forms of electromagnetic radiation. It is also the force carrier for the electromagnetic force...
s to a DC
Direct current
Direct current is the unidirectional flow of electric charge. Direct current is produced by such sources as batteries, thermocouples, solar cells, and commutator-type electric machines of the dynamo type. Direct current may flow in a conductor such as a wire, but can also flow through...
signal in ampere
Ampere
The ampere , often shortened to amp, is the SI unit of electric current and is one of the seven SI base units. It is named after André-Marie Ampère , French mathematician and physicist, considered the father of electrodynamics...
s) is a transducer
Transducer
A transducer is a device that converts one type of energy to another. Energy types include electrical, mechanical, electromagnetic , chemical, acoustic or thermal energy. While the term transducer commonly implies the use of a sensor/detector, any device which converts energy can be considered a...
, a transformer
Transformer
A transformer is a device that transfers electrical energy from one circuit to another through inductively coupled conductors—the transformer's coils. A varying current in the first or primary winding creates a varying magnetic flux in the transformer's core and thus a varying magnetic field...
, or a sensor
Sensor
A sensor is a device that measures a physical quantity and converts it into a signal which can be read by an observer or by an instrument. For example, a mercury-in-glass thermometer converts the measured temperature into expansion and contraction of a liquid which can be read on a calibrated...
. However, none of these amplify power
Power (physics)
In physics, power is the rate at which energy is transferred, used, or transformed. For example, the rate at which a light bulb transforms electrical energy into heat and light is measured in watts—the more wattage, the more power, or equivalently the more electrical energy is used per unit...
.
Figures of merit
The quality of an amplifier can be characterized by a number of specifications, listed below.Gain
The gainGain
In electronics, gain is a measure of the ability of a circuit to increase the power or amplitude of a signal from the input to the output. It is usually defined as the mean ratio of the signal output of a system to the signal input of the same system. It may also be defined on a logarithmic scale,...
of an amplifier is the ratio
Ratio
In mathematics, a ratio is a relationship between two numbers of the same kind , usually expressed as "a to b" or a:b, sometimes expressed arithmetically as a dimensionless quotient of the two which explicitly indicates how many times the first number contains the second In mathematics, a ratio is...
of output to input power or amplitude, and is usually measured in decibel
Decibel
The decibel is a logarithmic unit that indicates the ratio of a physical quantity relative to a specified or implied reference level. A ratio in decibels is ten times the logarithm to base 10 of the ratio of two power quantities...
s.
(When measured in decibels it is logarithm
Logarithm
The logarithm of a number is the exponent by which another fixed value, the base, has to be raised to produce that number. For example, the logarithm of 1000 to base 10 is 3, because 1000 is 10 to the power 3: More generally, if x = by, then y is the logarithm of x to base b, and is written...
ically related to the power ratio: G(dB)=10 log(Pout /(Pin)). RF
Radio frequency
Radio frequency is a rate of oscillation in the range of about 3 kHz to 300 GHz, which corresponds to the frequency of radio waves, and the alternating currents which carry radio signals...
amplifiers are often specified in terms of the maximum power gain obtainable, while the voltage
Voltage
Voltage, otherwise known as electrical potential difference or electric tension is the difference in electric potential between two points — or the difference in electric potential energy per unit charge between two points...
gain of audio amplifiers and instrumentation amplifier
Instrumentation amplifier
An instrumentation amplifier is a type of differential amplifier that has been outfitted with input buffers, which eliminate the need for input impedance matching and thus make the amplifier particularly suitable for use in measurement and test equipment...
s will be more often specified (since the amplifier's input impedance
Input impedance
The input impedance of an electrical network is the equivalent impedance "seen" by a power source connected to that network. If the source provides known voltage and current, such impedance can be calculated using Ohm's Law...
will often be much higher than the source impedance, and the load impedance higher than the amplifier's output impedance).
- Example: an audio amplifier with a gain given as 20 dB will have a voltage gain of ten (but a power gain of 100 would only occur in the unlikely event the input and output impedances were identical).
If two equivalent amplifiers are being compared, the amplifier with higher gain settings would be more sensitive as it would take less input signal to produce a given amount of power.
Bandwidth
The bandwidth of an amplifier is the range of frequencies for which the amplifier gives "satisfactory performance". The definition of "satisfactory performance" may be different for different applications. However, a common and well-accepted metric is the half power pointHalf power point
The half power point of an electronic amplifier stage is that frequency at which the output power has dropped to half of its mid-band level. Other names include the cutoff frequency....
s (i.e. frequency where the power goes down by half its peak value) on the output vs. frequency curve. Therefore bandwidth can be defined as the difference between the lower and upper half power points. This is therefore also known as the bandwidth. Bandwidths (otherwise called "frequency responses") for other response tolerances are sometimes quoted or "plus or minus 1dB" (roughly the sound level difference people usually can detect).
The gain of a good quality full-range audio amplifier will be essentially flat between 20 Hz to about 20 kHz (the range of normal human hearing). In ultra high fidelity amplifier design, the amp's frequency response should extend considerably beyond this (one or more octaves either side) and might have points < 10 Hz and > . Professional touring amplifiers often have input and/or output filtering to sharply limit frequency response beyond ; too much of the amplifier's potential output power would otherwise be wasted on infrasonic and ultrasonic
Ultrasound
Ultrasound is cyclic sound pressure with a frequency greater than the upper limit of human hearing. Ultrasound is thus not separated from "normal" sound based on differences in physical properties, only the fact that humans cannot hear it. Although this limit varies from person to person, it is...
frequencies, and the danger of AM radio interference would increase. Modern switching amplifier
Switching amplifier
A class-D amplifier or switching amplifier is an electronic amplifier where all power devices are operated as binary switches. They are either fully on or fully off. Ideally, zero time is spent transitioning between those two states....
s need steep low pass filtering at the output to get rid of high frequency switching noise and harmonics.
Efficiency
Efficiency is a measure of how much of the power source is usefully applied to the amplifier's output. Class A amplifiers are very inefficient, in the range of 10–20% with a max efficiency of 25% for direct couplingDirect coupling
In electronics, direct coupling is a way of interconnecting two circuits such that, in addition to transferring the AC signal , the first stage also provides DC bias to the next...
of the output. Inductive coupling
Inductive coupling
In electrical engineering, two conductors are referred to as mutual-inductively coupled or magnetically coupled when they are configured such that change in current flow through one wire induces a voltage across the ends of the other wire through electromagnetic induction...
of the output can raise their efficiency to a maximum of 50%.
Drain efficiency is the ratio of output RF power to input DC power when primary input DC power has been fed to the drain of an FET. Based on this definition, the drain efficiency cannot exceed 25% for a class A amplifier that is supplied drain bias current through resistors (because RF signal has its zero level at about 50% of the input DC). Manufacturers specify much higher drain efficiencies, and designers are able to obtain higher efficiencies by providing current to the drain of the transistor through an inductor or a transformer winding. In this case the RF zero level is near the DC rail and will swing both above and below the rail during operation. While the voltage level is above the DC rail current is supplied by the inductor.
Class B amplifiers have a very high efficiency but are impractical for audio work because of high levels of distortion (See: Crossover distortion
Crossover distortion
Crossover distortion is a type of distortion which is caused by switching between devices driving a load, most often when the devices are matched...
). In practical design, the result of a tradeoff is the class AB design. Modern Class AB amplifiers commonly have peak efficiencies between 30–55% in audio systems and 50-70% in radio frequency systems with a theoretical maximum of 78.5%.
Commercially available Class D switching amplifier
Switching amplifier
A class-D amplifier or switching amplifier is an electronic amplifier where all power devices are operated as binary switches. They are either fully on or fully off. Ideally, zero time is spent transitioning between those two states....
s have reported efficiencies as high as 90%. Amplifiers of Class C-F are usually known to be very high efficiency amplifiers. RCA manufactured an AM broadcast transmitter employing a single class-C low mu triode with an RF efficiency in the 90% range.
More efficient amplifiers run cooler, and often do not need any cooling fans even in multi-kilowatt designs. The reason for this is that the loss of efficiency produces heat as a by-product of the energy lost during the conversion of power. In more efficient amplifiers there is less loss of energy so in turn less heat.
In RF linear Power Amplifiers, such as cellular base stations and broadcast transmitters, special design techniques can be used to improve efficiency. Doherty designs, which use a second output stage as a "peak" amplifier, can lift efficiency from the typical 15% up to 30-35% in a narrow bandwidth. Envelope Tracking designs are able to achieve efficiencies of up to 60%, by modulating the supply voltage to the amplifier in line with the envelope of the signal.
Linearity
An ideal amplifier would be a totally linear device, but real amplifiers are only linear within limits.When the signal drive to the amplifier is increased, the output also increases until a point is reached where some part of the amplifier becomes saturated and cannot produce any more output; this is called clipping, and results in distortion
Distortion
A distortion is the alteration of the original shape of an object, image, sound, waveform or other form of information or representation. Distortion is usually unwanted, and often many methods are employed to minimize it in practice...
.
In most amplifiers a reduction in gain takes place before hard clipping occurs; the result is a compression effect, which (if the amplifier is an audio amplifier) sounds much less unpleasant to the ear. For these amplifiers, the compression point is defined as the input power (or output power) where the gain is less than the small signal gain. Sometimes this nonlinearity is deliberately designed in to reduce the audible unpleasantness of hard clipping under overload.
Ill effects of nonlinearity can be reduced with negative feedback.
Linearization
Linearization
In mathematics and its applications, linearization refers to finding the linear approximation to a function at a given point. In the study of dynamical systems, linearization is a method for assessing the local stability of an equilibrium point of a system of nonlinear differential equations or...
is an emergent field, and there are many techniques, such as feedforward, predistortion
Predistortion
Predistortion is a technique used to improve the linearity of radio transmitter amplifiers.Radio transmitter amplifiers in most telecommunications systems are required to be "linear", in that they must accurately reproduce the signal present at their input...
, postdistortion, in order to avoid the undesired effects of the non-linearities.
Noise
This is a measure of how much noiseNoise
In common use, the word noise means any unwanted sound. In both analog and digital electronics, noise is random unwanted perturbation to a wanted signal; it is called noise as a generalisation of the acoustic noise heard when listening to a weak radio transmission with significant electrical noise...
is introduced in the amplification process. Noise is an undesirable but inevitable product of the electronic devices and components; also, much noise results from intentional economies of manufacture and design time. The metric for noise performance of a circuit is noise figure
Noise figure
Noise figure is a measure of degradation of the signal-to-noise ratio , caused by components in a radio frequency signal chain. The noise figure is defined as the ratio of the output noise power of a device to the portion thereof attributable to thermal noise in the input termination at standard...
or noise factor. Noise figure is a comparison between the output signal to noise ratio and the thermal noise of the input signal.
Output dynamic range
Output dynamic rangeDynamic range
Dynamic range, abbreviated DR or DNR, is the ratio between the largest and smallest possible values of a changeable quantity, such as in sound and light. It is measured as a ratio, or as a base-10 or base-2 logarithmic value.-Dynamic range and human perception:The human senses of sight and...
is the range, usually given in dB, between the smallest and largest useful output levels. The lowest useful level is limited by output noise
Noise
In common use, the word noise means any unwanted sound. In both analog and digital electronics, noise is random unwanted perturbation to a wanted signal; it is called noise as a generalisation of the acoustic noise heard when listening to a weak radio transmission with significant electrical noise...
, while the largest is limited most often by distortion. The ratio of these two is quoted as the amplifier dynamic range. More precisely, if S = maximal allowed signal power and N = noise power, the dynamic range DR is DR = (S + N ) /N.
In many switched mode amplifiers, dynamic range is limited by the minimum output step size.
Slew rate
Slew rateSlew rate
In electronics, the slew rate represents the maximum rate of change of a signal at any point in a circuit.Limitations in slew rate capability can give rise to non linear effects in electronic amplifiers...
is the maximum rate of change of the output, usually quoted in volts per second (or microsecond). Many amplifiers are ultimately slew rate
Slew rate
In electronics, the slew rate represents the maximum rate of change of a signal at any point in a circuit.Limitations in slew rate capability can give rise to non linear effects in electronic amplifiers...
limited (typically by the impedance of a drive current having to overcome capacitive effects at some point in the circuit), which sometimes limits the full power bandwidth
Power bandwidth
The power bandwidth of an amplifier is sometimes taken as the frequency range for which the rated power output of an amplifier can be maintained to at least half of the full rated power...
to frequencies well below the amplifier's small-signal frequency response.
Rise time
The rise timeRise time
In electronics, when describing a voltage or current step function, rise time refers to the time required for a signal to change from a specified low value to a specified high value...
, tr, of an amplifier is the time taken for the output to change from 10% to 90% of its final level when driven by a step input
Step response
The step response of a system in a given initial state consists of the time evolution of its outputs when its control inputs are Heaviside step functions. In electronic engineering and control theory, step response is the time behaviour of the outputs of a general system when its inputs change from...
.
For a Gaussian
GAUSSIAN
Gaussian is a computational chemistry software program initially released in 1970 by John Pople and his research group at Carnegie-Mellon University as Gaussian 70. It has been continuously updated since then...
response system (or a simple RC roll off
Roll-off
Roll-off is a term commonly used to describe the steepness of a transmission function with frequency, particularly in electrical network analysis, and most especially in connection with filter circuits in the transition between a passband and a stopband...
), the rise time is approximated by:
tr * BW = 0.35, where tr is rise time in second
Second
The second is a unit of measurement of time, and is the International System of Units base unit of time. It may be measured using a clock....
s and BW is bandwidth in Hz
Hertz
The hertz is the SI unit of frequency defined as the number of cycles per second of a periodic phenomenon. One of its most common uses is the description of the sine wave, particularly those used in radio and audio applications....
.
Settling time and ringing
The time taken for the output to settle to within a certain percentage of the final value (for instance 0.1%) is called the settling timeSettling time
The settling time of an amplifier or other output device is the time elapsed from the application of an ideal instantaneous step input to the time at which the amplifier output has entered and remained within a specified error band, usually symmetrical about the final value.Settling time includes a...
, and is usually specified for oscilloscope vertical amplifiers and high accuracy measurement systems. Ringing
Ringing (signal)
In electronics, signal processing, and video, ringing is unwanted oscillation of a signal, particularly in the step response...
refers to an output variation that cycles above and below an amplifier's final value and leads to a delay in reaching a stable output. Ringing is the result of overshoot caused by an underdamped circuit.
Overshoot
In response to a step input, the overshootOvershoot (signal)
In signal processing, control theory, electronics, and mathematics, overshoot is when a signal or function exceeds its target. It arises especially in the step response of bandlimited systems such as low-pass filters...
is the amount the output exceeds its final, steady-state value.
Stability
Stability is an issue in all amplifiers with feedback, whether that feedback is added intentionally or results unintentionally. It is especially an issue when applied over multiple amplifying stages.Stability
BIBO stability
In electrical engineering, specifically signal processing and control theory, BIBO stability is a form of stability for linear signals and systems that take inputs. BIBO stands for Bounded-Input Bounded-Output...
is a major concern in RF
Radio frequency
Radio frequency is a rate of oscillation in the range of about 3 kHz to 300 GHz, which corresponds to the frequency of radio waves, and the alternating currents which carry radio signals...
and microwave
Microwave
Microwaves, a subset of radio waves, have wavelengths ranging from as long as one meter to as short as one millimeter, or equivalently, with frequencies between 300 MHz and 300 GHz. This broad definition includes both UHF and EHF , and various sources use different boundaries...
amplifiers. The degree of an amplifier's stability can be quantified by a so-called stability factor. There are several different stability factors, such as the Stern stability factor and the Linvil stability factor, which specify a condition that must be met for the absolute stability of an amplifier in terms of its two-port parameters.
Electronic amplifiers
There are many types of electronic amplifiers, commonly used in radioRadio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
and television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
transmitter
Transmitter
In electronics and telecommunications a transmitter or radio transmitter is an electronic device which, with the aid of an antenna, produces radio waves. The transmitter itself generates a radio frequency alternating current, which is applied to the antenna. When excited by this alternating...
s and receivers
Receiver (radio)
A radio receiver converts signals from a radio antenna to a usable form. It uses electronic filters to separate a wanted radio frequency signal from all other signals, the electronic amplifier increases the level suitable for further processing, and finally recovers the desired information through...
, high-fidelity ("hi-fi") stereo equipment, microcomputers and other electronic digital equipment, and guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
and other instrument amplifier
Instrument amplifier
An instrument amplifier is an electronic amplifier that converts the often barely audible or purely electronic signal from musical instruments such as an electric guitar, an electric bass, or an electric keyboard into an electronic signal capable of driving a loudspeaker that can be heard by the...
s. Critical components include active devices, such as vacuum tube
Vacuum tube
In electronics, a vacuum tube, electron tube , or thermionic valve , reduced to simply "tube" or "valve" in everyday parlance, is a device that relies on the flow of electric current through a vacuum...
s or transistor
Transistor
A transistor is a semiconductor device used to amplify and switch electronic signals and power. It is composed of a semiconductor material with at least three terminals for connection to an external circuit. A voltage or current applied to one pair of the transistor's terminals changes the current...
s.
Carbon microphone
One of the first devices used to amplify signals was the carbon microphoneCarbon microphone
The carbon microphone, also known as a carbon button microphone or a carbon transmitter, is a sound-to-electrical signal transducer consisting of two metal plates separated by granules of carbon. One plate faces outward and acts as a diaphragm...
(effectively a sound-controlled variable resistor). By channeling a large electric current through the compressed carbon
Carbon
Carbon is the chemical element with symbol C and atomic number 6. As a member of group 14 on the periodic table, it is nonmetallic and tetravalent—making four electrons available to form covalent chemical bonds...
granules in the microphone, a small sound signal could produce a much larger electric signal. The carbon microphone was extremely important in early telecommunications; analog telephones
Plain old telephone service
Plain old telephone service is the voice-grade telephone service that remains the basic form of residential and small business service connection to the telephone network in many parts of the world....
in fact work without the use of any other amplifier. Before the invention of electronic amplifiers, mechanically coupled carbon microphones were also used as amplifiers in telephone repeaters
Repeater
A repeater is an electronic device that receives asignal and retransmits it at a higher level and/or higher power, or onto the other side of an obstruction, so that the signal can cover longer distances.-Description:...
for long distance service.
Magnetic amplifier
A magnetic amplifier is a transformerTransformer
A transformer is a device that transfers electrical energy from one circuit to another through inductively coupled conductors—the transformer's coils. A varying current in the first or primary winding creates a varying magnetic flux in the transformer's core and thus a varying magnetic field...
-like device that makes use of the saturation of magnetic materials to produce amplification. It is a non-electronic electrical amplifier with no moving parts. The bandwidth of magnetic amplifiers extends to the hundreds of kilohertz.
Rotating electrical machinery amplifier
A Ward Leonard controlWard Leonard control
Ward Leonard Control, also known as the Ward Leonard Drive System, was a widely used DC motor speed control system introduced by Harry Ward Leonard in 1891. In early 1900s, the control system of Ward Leonard was adopted by the U.S. Navy and also used in passenger lift of large mines...
is a rotating machine like an electrical generator
Electrical generator
In electricity generation, an electric generator is a device that converts mechanical energy to electrical energy. A generator forces electric charge to flow through an external electrical circuit. It is analogous to a water pump, which causes water to flow...
that provides amplification of electrical signals by the conversion of mechanical energy to electrical energy. Changes in generator field current result in larger changes in the output current of the generator, providing gain. This class of device was used for smooth control of large motors, primarily for elevators and naval guns.
Field modulation of a very high speed AC generator was also used for some early AM
AM broadcasting
AM broadcasting is the process of radio broadcasting using amplitude modulation. AM was the first method of impressing sound on a radio signal and is still widely used today. Commercial and public AM broadcasting is carried out in the medium wave band world wide, and on long wave and short wave...
radio transmissions. See Alexanderson alternator
Alexanderson alternator
An Alexanderson alternator is a rotating machine invented by Ernst Alexanderson in 1904 for the generation of high frequency alternating current up to 100 kHz, for use as a radio transmitter...
.
Johnsen-Rahbek effect amplifier
The earliest form of audio power amplifier was EdisonThomas Edison
Thomas Alva Edison was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices that greatly influenced life around the world, including the phonograph, the motion picture camera, and a long-lasting, practical electric light bulb. In addition, he created the world’s first industrial...
's "electromotograph" loud-speaking telephone, which used a wetted rotating chalk cylinder in contact with a stationary contact. The friction between cylinder and contact varied with the current, providing gain. Edison discovered this effect in 1874, but the theory behind the Johnsen-Rahbek effect
Johnsen-Rahbek effect
The Johnsen–Rahbek effect occurs when an electric potential is applied across the boundary between a metallic surface and the surface of a semiconducting material. Under these conditions an attractive force appears, whose magnitude depends on the voltage and the specific materials involved.The...
was not understood until the semiconductor era.
Mechanical amplifiers
Mechanical amplifiers were used in the pre-electronic era in specialized applications.Early autopilot
Autopilot
An autopilot is a mechanical, electrical, or hydraulic system used to guide a vehicle without assistance from a human being. An autopilot can refer specifically to aircraft, self-steering gear for boats, or auto guidance of space craft and missiles...
units designed by Elmer Ambrose Sperry
Elmer Ambrose Sperry
Elmer Ambrose Sperry was a prolific inventor and entrepreneur, most famous as co-inventor, with Herman Anschütz-Kaempfe of the gyrocompass.Sperry was born at Cincinnatus, New York, United States of America...
incorporated a mechanical amplifier using belts wrapped around rotating drums; a slight increase in the tension of the belt caused the drum to move the belt. A paired, opposing set of such drives made up a single amplifier.
This amplified small gyro errors into signals large enough to move aircraft control surfaces.
A similar mechanism was used in the Vannevar Bush
Vannevar Bush
Vannevar Bush was an American engineer and science administrator known for his work on analog computing, his political role in the development of the atomic bomb as a primary organizer of the Manhattan Project, the founding of Raytheon, and the idea of the memex, an adjustable microfilm viewer...
differential analyzer.
The electrostatic drum amplifier used a band wrapped partway around a rotating drum, and fixed at its anchored end to a spring. The other end connected to a speaker cone. The input signal was transformed up to high voltage, and added to a high voltage dc supply line. This voltage was connected between drum and belt. Thus the input signal varied the electric field between belt and drum, and thus the friction between them, and thus the amount of lateral movement of the belt and thus speaker cone.
Other variations on the theme also existed at one time.
Optical amplifiers
Optical amplifiers amplify lightLight
Light or visible light is electromagnetic radiation that is visible to the human eye, and is responsible for the sense of sight. Visible light has wavelength in a range from about 380 nanometres to about 740 nm, with a frequency range of about 405 THz to 790 THz...
through the process of stimulated emission
Stimulated emission
In optics, stimulated emission is the process by which an atomic electron interacting with an electromagnetic wave of a certain frequency may drop to a lower energy level, transferring its energy to that field. A photon created in this manner has the same phase, frequency, polarization, and...
. See Laser
Laser
A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of photons. The term "laser" originated as an acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation...
and Maser
Maser
A maser is a device that produces coherent electromagnetic waves through amplification by stimulated emission. Historically, “maser” derives from the original, upper-case acronym MASER, which stands for "Microwave Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation"...
.
Miscellaneous types
- There are also mechanical amplifiers, such as the automotive servoServomechanismthumb|right|200px|Industrial servomotorThe grey/green cylinder is the [[Brush |brush-type]] [[DC motor]]. The black section at the bottom contains the [[Epicyclic gearing|planetary]] [[Reduction drive|reduction gear]], and the black object on top of the motor is the optical [[rotary encoder]] for...
used in brakingBrakeA brake is a mechanical device which inhibits motion. Its opposite component is a clutch. The rest of this article is dedicated to various types of vehicular brakes....
. - Relays can be included under the above definition of amplifiers, although their transfer function is not linearLinearIn mathematics, a linear map or function f is a function which satisfies the following two properties:* Additivity : f = f + f...
(that is, they are either open or closed). - Also purely mechanical manifestations of such digital amplifiers can be built (for theoretical, instructional purposes, or for entertainment), see e.g. domino computerDomino computerA domino computer is a mechanical computer built using dominoes to represent mechanical amplification or logic gating of digital signals. Because of the existence of multiple schemes, domino computer will be used in this article as a collective noun, denoting any particular scheme that uses the...
. - Another type of amplifier is the fluidic amplifier, based on the fluidic triode.
See also
- Attenuator (electronics)Attenuator (electronics)An attenuator is an electronic device that reduces the amplitude or power of a signal without appreciably distorting its waveform.An attenuator is effectively the opposite of an amplifier, though the two work by different methods...
- Low noise amplifier
- Negative feedback amplifier
- PreamplifierPreamplifierA preamplifier is an electronic amplifier that prepares a small electrical signal for further amplification or processing. A preamplifier is often placed close to the sensor to reduce the effects of noise and interference. It is used to boost the signal strength to drive the cable to the main...