UNIT-III

MULTISTAGE AMPLIFIERS
CO3: Analyze and examine common two stage amplifiers
 Classification of amplifiers
 Methods of coupling
 Cascaded transistor amplifier and its analysis
 Analysis of two stage RC coupled amplifier
 High input resistance transistor amplifier
circuits and their analysis
 Darlington pair amplifier
 Cascode amplifier
 Boot-strap emitter follower
 Analysis of multi stage amplifiers using FET
 Differential amplifier using BJT
INTRODUCTION:
An amplifier amplifies a weak signal received from a microphone into a
suitable form for the operation of another device such as loud speaker.

This is achieved by using multi stage amplifier. Multi stage amplifier is

the cascading of number of amplifier stages.
NEED FOR CASCADING:
An amplifier should have a desired voltage gain and current gain and its
input impedance should match with the source and output impedance with
load, then only faithful amplification is achieved.

This is not achieved with single stage amplifier.

In multi stage amplifiers, input and output stages provides impedance
matching and the middle stages provides sufficient amplification.
 CLASSIFICATION OF AMPLIFIERS:
Amplifiers are classified according to

Operating frequency range

Method of operation
Method of inter stage coupling
Type of load connected
Application
1. According to their frequency range amplifiers
are classified as
DC amplifiers (amplification from zero frequency)
Audio amplifier (20 Hz to 20KHz)
Video or pulse amplifier (amplification up to few MHz)
Radio frequency amplifier
(a few KHz to hundreds of MHz)
Ultra high frequency amplifiers
(hundreds or thousands of MHz)
2. Method of operation
This depends up on the position of operating point
and are classified as
 Class A: If the Q-point and the input signal are selected such that
the output signal is obtained for full input cycle. To achieve this
Q-point must be selected in the middle of the load line.
 Class B: If the Q-point and the input signal are selected such that
the output signal is obtained for one half cycle of full input
cycle.
 Class C: If the Q-point and the input signal are selected such that
the output signal is obtained for less than a half cycle of full
input cycle.
 Class AB: If the Q-point and the input signal are selected such
that the output signal is obtained for more than 1800 but less than
3600 of full input cycle.
3. According to the method of coupling the
amplifiers are classified as

RC coupled: Resistors and Capacitors are used as coupling

components. They block dc and gives flat response at mid
frequencies.
Transformer coupled: Transformer is used as a coupling
component. It blocks dc and gives impedance matching.
Direct Coupled: Output of first stage directly connected to the
input of next stage. It does not block dc signal.
4. According to the type of load the amplifiers are
classified as
Amplifiers with resistive load
Amplifiers with inductive load

5.According to applications amplifiers are

classified
as
Voltage amplifier: amplifies voltage
Current amplifier: amplifies current
Power amplifier: amplifies both voltage and current
Tuned amplifier: Used for impedance matching
 CLASSIFICATION OF AMPLIFIERS

Frequency range Method of Method of Type of load Type of application

C operation coupling •Resistive •Voltage
udio •Class A •RC •Inductive •Current
deo or pulse •Class B •Transformer •Power
dio frequency •Class C •Direct •Tuned
tra high frequency •Class AB
METHODS OF COUPLING:
RC coupled
Transformer coupled
Direct Coupled

RC COUPLING:
FREQUENCY RESPONSE OF RC COUPLED
AMPLIFIER:

The frequency response drops at low frequencies due to coupling

capacitors and high frequencies due to shunt & stray capacitors.
RC coupling provides good frequency response over a wide frequency
range.
RC coupling is used in Audio frequency amplifiers.
TRANSFORMER COUPLED:

• Transformer allows a.c signal to flow into second stage amplifer

 The frequency response of transformer coupled amplifier is poor when
compared with RC.
 By connecting a capacitance in shunt across each winding of the transformer,
we can get the desired RF resonance frequency. Such amplifiers are called
Tuned Voltage Amplifiers.
Frequency Response of Transformer Coupled amplifier:

 Power losses are less because of its low transformer resistance,

DIRECT COUPLED :

 Due to the absence of RC components low frequency response is good but, at

high frequencies shunting (stray) capacitors reduces the gain of the amplifier.
 Because of direct coupling, when transistor parameters V BE and β changes
with temperature, as a result there is a change in the output. This is a major
limitation in direct coupled amplifier.
Frequency Response of Directed Coupled amplifier:
Comparison between various coupling methods:
Parameter RC Coupled Transformer Coupled Direct Coupled
Coupling components Impedance matching
Resistor & Capacitor ---
transformer
DC block Yes Yes No
Frequency Response
Not uniform Flat at middle frequencies
Flat in the middle frequency High at resonant freq. and and improvement in the low
low at other frequencies frequency response

Impedance matching No Yes No

DC amplification No No Yes
Weight Light Heavy Very light weight
Drift No No Yes
Humming noise Not present Present Not Present
Applications 1. Used in all audio small signal 1. Used in amplifier where 1. Used in amplification of
amplifiers. impedance matching is an slow varying parameters and
2. Used in record players, tape important criteria. where DC amplification is
recorders, public address 2. Used in the output stage of required.
systems, radio receivers, and the public address system to
television receivers. match the impedance of the
loud speaker.
3. Used in the RF amplifier
stage of the receiver as a
tuned voltage amplifier.
Analysis of Cascaded RC coupled BJT Amplifier:

Two Stage cascaded amplifier:

The overall gain of two stage amplifier is given by

AV = Vo2 / Vi1

Since, Vi2 = Vo1

Analysis:
Let us consider a two stage amplifier(CE+CC) as shown below

The ac equivalent circuit for the above circuit is shown below. It is drawn by short
circuiting the dc supply.
The approximate hybrid model of the above circuit is shown below.
It is always better to start the analysis from the second stage.

Analysis of second stage (CC amplifier):

(a) Current gain (Ai2):

(b) Input Resistance (Ri2):

(c) Voltage gain (Av2):

(d) Output Resistance (Ro2):

Analysis of first stage (CE amplifier):

(a) Current gain (Ai1):

(b) Input Resistance (Ri1):

(c) Voltage gain (Av1):

(d) Output Resistance (Ro1):

Over all voltage gain (AV):

Over all voltage gain (AVS):

Over all Current gain (Ai):
n – Stage Cascaded Amplifier:

•The gain of the amplifier is increased by connecting more number of stages in

cascade.

Voltage gain:
Gain in Decibels:
In many applications two powers are compared by using logarithmic scale rather than
linear scale. The unit of the logarithmic scale is called “decibel (dB)”. The power ratio in dB is
given by

The negative values of the power gain in dB represents P 2 is less than P1 and vice-versa. For an
amplifier P1 is input power and P2 is output power.

Ri and Ro are the input and output impedances of the amplifier.

If the input and output impedances of an amplifier are same, R i = Ro then

Gain in multi stage amplifier:
Analysis of Two stage RC coupled amplifier:
 Advantages and limitations
Two-Stage RC Coupled Amplifier offers several
advantages and limitations
Advantages
• Excellent Frequency Response
• Cost-Effective
• Compact and Lightweight
Limitations
• Low Voltage and Power Gain
• Poor Impedance Matching
Analysis of second stage:
(a) Current Gain (Ai2):

(b) Input Resistance (Ri2):

(c) Voltage Gain (AV2):

Analysis of first stage:

(b) Current Gain (Ai1):

(b) Input Resistance (Ri1):

(c) Voltage Gain (AV1):

Overall voltage gain without RS (AV):

Overall voltage gain with RS (AVS) :

Output Resistance (Ro):

Differential Amplifier using BJT:

(i) Differential Gain (Ad):

Ad is called as proportionality constant, which is the gain of the amplifier. Differential

amplifier amplifies the difference between the two signal, hence it is called
differential gain of the differential amplifier.
V1 – V2 is called difference voltage and is denoted with Vd.
The differential gain can be expressed in dB as,

(ii) Common Mode Gain (AC):

The total output of any differential amplifier can be expressed as

(iii) Common Mode Rejection Ratio (CMMR):

•The common-mode rejection ratio (CMRR) of a differential amplifier (or other device)
measures the ability of the device to reject common-mode signals, those that appear
simultaneously and in-phase on both amplifier inputs.

• An ideal differential amplifier would have infinite CMRR; this is not achievable in
practice.

•The ability of the differential amplifier to reject a common mode signal can be
expressed as a ratio called Common Mode Rejection Ratio (CMRR).

•It is defined as the ratio of the differential voltage gain Ad to the common mode
voltage gain AC.

•Ideal value of common mode voltage gain is zero, hence the ideal value of CMRR is
infinite.
.
CHOICE OF TRANSISTOR CONFIGURATION IN
CASCADE AMPLIFIER:
 A Multi stage amplifier has input stage, middle stage and output
stage.
 Input stage is selected to match with the input impedance.
 Outputs stage is selected to match with the output impedance.
 Middle stage is selected where proper amplification is done.
 Normally source impedance is very small, so its better select the
common base because of its low input impedance.
 Whereas the impedance of loud speaker is low, means that common
collector is preferred in output stage.
 In the middle stage, proper amplification is done by common
emitter. Common emitter provides better voltage gain and current
gain when compared with other configurations.
CASCODE AMPLIFIER:
AC equivalent circuit
Simplified h-parameter equivalent circuit for Cascode amplifier
Analysis of second stage:
Current Gain ()

Apply KCL across the node :

(ii) Input Resistance
(iii) Voltage gain

(iv) Output Resistance

Analysis of First stage
(i) Current gain
since

(ii) Input Resistance

Since
(iii) Voltage gain
(iv) Output Resistance
Overall voltage gain (AV­):

Overall voltage gain (AVS):

Overall input Resistance (Ri):

Overall current gain (AiS):

Where,

Output Resistance (Ro):

HIGH INPUT RESISTANCE TRANSISTOR AMPLIFIER
CIRCUITS AND THEIR ANALYSIS:
The input impedance can be increased by using two techniques
(i) Using direct coupling (Darlington connection)
(ii) Using Bootstrap technique Or Bootstrap Emitter Follower
DARLINGTON PAIR AMPLIFIER:
h-parameter equivalent for CE h-parameter equivalent for CC
Analysis of second stage:
(a) Current gain (Ai):

(b) Input resistance (Ri2):

Applying KVL to outer loop we get,

Analysis of first stage:
The load resistance of first stage is the input resistance of second stage (R i2).
As Ri2 is high, it does not meet the requirement hoe Ri2 <0.1, then we have to use exact
analysis for the first stage.
(a) Current gain (Ai):
substituting IC1 in Ie1, we get

We know that
(b) Input Resistance (Ri1):
Applying KVL across the circuit

The terms is neglected ;

Substituting Ai1, we get

Overall Current gain (Ai):

Overall Voltage gain:

In approximate analysis of common collector configuration, the voltage gain is given

by
Output Impedance (Ro2):

Since, hoc=hoe, hfc= - (1+hfe), and hic=hie

From the figure, Ro1 of the first stage is the source resistance of second stage, i.e.
Rs2=Ro1.
BOOTSTRAP EMITTER FOLLOWER:
• The Shunt effect of bias resistors R1 and R2 across the input will reduce the input
resistance of emitter follower circuit.

• To overcome this drawback , two additional components R3 and C are used to

modify emitter follower circuit and the modified circuit is known as Bootstrap
emitter follower
.
From the circuit Ri’ is given by

The effective load resistance is given by

Since RM2 is very large, it can be neglected

Differential Amplifier using BJT:
Differential amplifier is an amplifier which amplifies the difference between two input
signals and produces an output signal
Differential amplifier produces an output voltage which is proportional to the
difference between two input voltages

(i) Differential Gain (Ad):

Ad is called as proportionality constant, which is the gain of the

amplifier. Differential amplifier amplifies the difference between the two signal,
hence it is called differential gain of the differential amplifier.
The differential gain can be expressed in dB as,

(ii) Common Mode Gain (AC):

The total output of any differential amplifier can be expressed as

(iii) Common Mode Rejection Ratio (CMMR):
The common-mode rejection ratio (CMRR) of a differential amplifier (or other
device) measures the ability of the device to reject common-mode signals, those that
appear simultaneously and in-phase on both amplifier inputs.

 An ideal differential amplifier would have infinite CMRR; this is not achievable in
practice.

The ability of the differential amplifier to reject a common mode signal can be
expressed as a ratio called Common Mode Rejection Ratio (CMRR).

It is defined as the ratio of the differential voltage gain A d to the common mode
voltage gain AC.

Ideal value of common mode voltage gain is zero, hence the ideal value of CMRR is
infinite.
.
 Features of Differential Amplifier
• High differential gain
• Low common mode gain
• High CMRR
• High input impedance
• Low output impedance
• Large Bandwidth
• Low offset voltages and currents.
Emitter Coupled Differential Amplifier
Emitter coupled differential amplifier can be
operated in two modes

1. Differential mode of operation

2. Common mode of operation
Differential mode of Operation
Output of differential amplifier under differential
mode of operation will be twice the input of any
transistor
Common mode of operation
Output of differential amplifier under common
mode of operation will be ZERO
Analysis of multi stage Amplifiers using FET(CS-CS Cascade Amplifier):
h-Parameter model
(i) Input impedance
(ii) Output impedance()

(iii) Voltage Gain of first stage

input voltage
Output voltage
Voltage gain of second stage
The equivalent circuit for the above circuit is shown below

Voltage Gain at Mid frequency:

At mid frequency CC acts a short circuit and Csh is small and it acts as a open
circuit. Then the equivalent circuit is given by
The output voltage Vo is given by

Voltage Gain at low frequency:

At low frequency, CC has reasonable amount of reactance, but shunt
capacitor Csh is open circuited. The equivalent circuit for these
conditions is given by
The current source is converted into voltage source, then the equivalent
circuit is modified as

The output voltage is given by

Voltage gain AV low = Vo / Vi

Since Vi = Vgs
Dividing numerator and denominator by Ro’+Rg, we get

Here,
 let

At fL=f;
Voltage gain at high frequency:
At high frequencies, Cc­ acts as a short circuit and neglected. But Csh cannot be
neglected. Then the equivalent circuit is shown in the following figure.

The output voltage can be given by

From the above equation Voltage gain is given by

Dividing numerator and denominator by

But since,
.

Let
Analysis of Two Stage RC coupled:
(a) At Medium Frequency
(b) At Low Frequency
(c) At High Frequency
 Multistage Amplifiers

Topic: Transformer coupled amplifier Analysis in

Low, Mid & High Frequency Ranges

-GVSB
Transformer Coupled Amplifier:
Mid-Frequency Analysis