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1-dB Compression

1. The 1-dB compression point is the input power that causes an amplifier's gain to decrease by 1 dB from its normal linear gain, indicating the onset of compression and nonlinearity. Operating below this point keeps the amplifier in its linear region. 2. When an amplifier becomes nonlinear due to saturation, it produces not only the input signals f1 and f2 but also intermodulation distortion products, including third-order products like 2f1-f2 and 2f2-f1 that cannot be filtered out. 3. The third-order intercept point is a theoretical point where the amplitudes of the third-order distortion products equal the amplitudes of the input signals, though this point is never actually reached as

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30 views

1-dB Compression

1. The 1-dB compression point is the input power that causes an amplifier's gain to decrease by 1 dB from its normal linear gain, indicating the onset of compression and nonlinearity. Operating below this point keeps the amplifier in its linear region. 2. When an amplifier becomes nonlinear due to saturation, it produces not only the input signals f1 and f2 but also intermodulation distortion products, including third-order products like 2f1-f2 and 2f2-f1 that cannot be filtered out. 3. The third-order intercept point is a theoretical point where the amplitudes of the third-order distortion products equal the amplitudes of the input signals, though this point is never actually reached as

Uploaded by

minh_thanh
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© © All Rights Reserved
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1-dB Compression

Most linear amplifiers have a fixed gain for a specific frequency range. If you plot
output power versus input power, you will see a linear relationship (Fig. 1). The
slope of the line is the gain. As the input power continues to increase, at some point
the gain begins to decrease. The amplifier goes into compression where no further
output increases occur for an input increase. The gain flattens, meaning that at high
signal levels, the amplifier becomes saturated. Its response becomes non-linear and
produces signal distortion, harmonics, and potentially intermediation products.

Theoretical response: đáp ứng lý thuyết.


Actual response: đáp ứng thực tế.
Compression region: vùng nén
Linear region:vùng tuyến tính
1. The P1dB point is the input power that causes the gain to decrease 1 dB
from the normal expected linear gain plot. It is the point where the amplifier
goes into compression and becomes non-linear. Operation should occur below
this point in the linear region.
It is important to know at what point compression begins to occur so input levels
can be restricted to prevent distortion. That point is usually the input power that
causes the gain to decrease 1 dB from the normal linear gain specification. The 1-
dB decrease may be specified as the input level that produces it or the output power
where the 1-dB drop occurs.

The 1-dB compression point is more commonly used in power amplifier


specifications. However, the specification is sometimes used in small signal
amplifiers that must handle a wide range of input voltages without distortion.

The 1-dB point is measured by driving the amplifier with a sine wave at the desired
signal frequency. The input level is increased while the output power is plotted.
The output is usually measured with a vector signal analyzer (VSA) or similar
instrument. An attenuator may be needed at the input to control the input level, and
an attenuator is usually needed at the output to minimize any potential damage to
the VSA input.

Third-Order Intercept

When an amplifier or other circuit becomes non-linear, it will begin to produce


harmonics of the amplified inputs. The second, third, and higher harmonics are
usually outside of the amplifier bandwidth, so they are usually easy to filter out if
they are a problem. However, non-linearity will also produce a mixing effect of two
or more signals.

If the signals are close together in frequency, some of the sum and difference
frequencies called intermodulation products produced can occur within the
bandwidth of the amplifier. These cannot be filtered out, so they will ultimately
become interfering signals to the main signals to be amplified. That’s why every
effort must be made to control the biasing, signal levels, and other factors to ensure
maximum possible linearity, greatly reducing the intermodulation distortion (IMD)
products (see “Understanding Intermodulation Distortion Measurements”
at www.electronicdesign.com).

Figure 2 shows two signals f1 and f2 occurring within the amplifier bandwidth.
With distortion, new signals f1 – f2 and f1 + f2 are produced. They can usually be
filtered out. However, these signals will also mix with the second, third, and higher
harmonics to produce a wide range of potentially interfering signals with the
amplifier pass band. The most troublesome are the third-order products, which are
2f1 ± f2 and 2f2 ± f1. Those possibly occurring in the amplifier frequency range are
2f1 – f2 and 2f2 – f1.

2. An amplifier produces this spectrum of signals with two input signals f1 and
f2 if it becomes non-linear due to saturation. The most troubling signals are
the third-order products 2f1 – f2 and 2f2 – f1 that are near the original inputs
and cannot be filtered out.

If you plot the output power versus input power, you will get a curve similar to the
one used for the 1-dB compression discussion (Fig. 3). This is the first-order signal
plot. Note the flattening of the gain curve showing compression. Also plotted on
this same graph are the third-order product signal levels. These products increase at
a rate three times that of the first-order products on a logarithmic scale because the
mathematics of mixing indicates a 3:1 gain rate for the third-order products.
3. The third-order intercept is a theoretical point at which the third-order
distortion signal amplitudes equal the input signals.

Now if you extend the linear portions of the two gain curves as shown in Figure 3,
they will meet at a point where the third-order signals equal the first-order or input
signals in amplitude. This is the third-order intercept point. It is a theoretical point
that is never achieved in practice. However, it is useful in determining the linearity
condition of an amplifier.

The IP3 value can be read with reference to the input or the output. If you read the
value from the output axis, it is called OIP3. Reading the value from the input axis,
the value is IIP3.

The higher the output at the intercept, the better the linearity and the lower the
IMD. The IP3 value essentially indicates how large a signal the amplifier can
process before IMD occurs. For example, an IP3 rating of 25 dBm is better than
one of 18 dBm. The IP3 point is typically about 10 dB above the 1-dB compression
point.

Summary
The 1-dB compression point is important since it shows you the input power point
where compression begins and distortion will occur. Amplifiers should be operated
below the compression point.

Third-order products are the most troublesome of the intermodulation effects


caused by non-linear operation. The IP3 value is an imaginary point that indicates
when the amplitude of the third-order products equals the input signals. This point
is never reached, as the amplifier will saturate before this condition can occur.
Nevertheless, it is a good indicator of amplifier linearity.

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