ELECTRONIC

CIRCUITS II
UNIT 3
 TUNED AMPLIFIERS
• Amplifiers which amplify a specific frequency or narrow band of frequencies are
called tuned amplifiers.
• Tuned amplifiers are mostly used for the amplification of high or radio
frequencies.
•It offers a very high impedance at resonant frequency and very small impedance at
all other frequencies.
Advantages of Tuned Amplifiers
1. Small power loss.
2. High selectivity
3. Smaller collector supply voltage
4. Used in RF amplifiers, Communication receivers, Radar , Television ,IF
amplifiers
5. Harmonic distortion is very small
Why not Tuned Circuits for Low Frequency Amplification?
• Low frequencies are never single
• High values of L and C.
 Classification

Single Tuned Amplifier

•Uses one parallel tuned circuit as the load IZI in each stage and all these tuned circuits in
different stages are tuned to the same frequency. To get large Av or Ap, multistage amplifiers
are used. But each stage is tuned to the same frequency, one tuned circuit in one stage.
Single Tuned Capacitive Coupled
Amplifier
Single tuned capacitive coupled amplifier:

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 This quality factor is also called unloaded Q. but in practice, transistor output resistance and input
resistance of next stage act as a load for the tuned circuit. The quality factor including load is called as loaded Q
and it can be given as follows:
The Q of the coil is usually large so that ωL >> R in the frequency range of operation.

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DOUBLE TUNED AMPLIFIER:
The below figure shows double tuned RF amplifier in CE configuration. Here, voltage developed across
tuned circuit is coupled inductively to another tuned circuit. Both tuned circuits are tuned to the same frequency.

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 The double tuned circuit can provide a bandwidth of several percent of the resonant frequency and gives
steep sides to the response curve.
Analysis of double tuned circuits:

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STAGGER TUNED AMPLIFIER:
The double tuned amplifier gives greater 3dB bandwidth having steeper sides and flat top. But
alignment of double tuned amplifier is difficult. To overcome this problem two single tuned cascaded
amplifiers having certain bandwidth are taken and their resonant frequencies are so adjusted that they are
separated by an amount equal to the bandwidth of each stage. Since resonant frequencies are displaced or
staggered, they are known as stagger tuned amplifiers. The advantage of stagger tuned amplifier is to have a
better flat, wideband characteristics in contrast with a very sharp, rejective, narrow band characteristics of
synchronously tuned circuits (tuned to same resonant frequencies). Fig.
3.23 shows the relationship of amplification characteristics of individual stages in a staggered pair to
the overall amplification of the two stages.

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Analysis of stagger tuned amplifier:

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3. Large signal tuned amplifiers:
The output efficiency of an amplifier increases as the operation shifts from class A to class C through class
AB and class B. as the output power of a radio transmitter is high and efficiency is prime concern, class B and
class C amplifiers are used at the output stages in transmitter.
The operation of class B and class C amplifiers are non-linear since the amplifying
elements remain cut-off during a part of the input signal cycle. The non-linearity generates harmonics of the
single frequency at the output of the amplifier. In the push-pull arrangement where the bandwidth requirement is
no limited, these harmonics can be eliminated or reduced. When an narrow bandwidth is desired, a resonant
circuit is employed in class B and class C tuned RF power amplifiers to eliminate the harmonics.

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Class B tuned amplifier:

It works with a single transistor by sending half sinusoidal current pulses to the load. The transistor is biased
at the edge of the conduction. Eventhough the input is half half sinusoidal, the load voltage is sinusoidal because
a high Q RLC tank shunts harmonics to ground. The negative half is delivered by the RLC tank. The Q factor of
the tank needs to be large enough to do this. This is analogous to pushing someone on a swing. We only need to
push in one direction, and the reactive energy stored will swing the person back in the reverse direction.

Class C tuned amplifier:

The amplifier is said to be class C amplifier, if the Q point and the input signal are selected such that the
output signal is obtained for less than a half cycle, for a full input cycle.
Due to such a selection of the Q point, transistor remains active, for less than a half cycle.
Hence only that much part is reproduced at the output. For remaining cycle of the input cycle, the transistor
remains cut-off and no signal is produced at the output.

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 From the figure, it is apparent that the total angle during which current flows is less than 180o. this angle is
called the conduction angle, θc.

The above shows the class C tuned amplifier. Here a parallel resonant circuit acts as a load impedance. As
collector current flows for less than half a cycle, the collector current consists of a series of pulses with the harmonics of
the input signal. A parallel tuned circuit acting as a load
impedance is tuned to the input frequency. Therefore, it filters the harmonic frequencies and produce a sine wave output
voltage consisting of fundamental component of the input signal.

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Frequency response of tuned amplifier:

To amplify the selective range of frequencies, the resistive load, Rc is replaced by a tuned circuit. The tuned circuit is
capable of amplifying a signal over a narrow band of frequencies centered at fr. the amplifiers with such. a tuned circuit as
a load are known as tined amplifier.
The above figure shows the tuned parallel LC circuit which resonates at a particular frequency. The
resonant frequency and the impedance of tuned circuit is given as,
The response of tuned amplifiers is maximum at resonant frequency and it falls sharply for frequencies below and
above the resonant frequency.

In the figure 3 dB bandwidth is denoted as B nad 30 dB bandwidth is denoted as S. the ratio of 30 dB

bandwidth (S) to the 3 dB bandwidth (B) is known as skirt selectivity.
At resonance, inductive and capacitive effects of tuned circuit cancel each other. As a result, circuit is like
resistive and cos φ = 1 i.e. voltage and current are in phase. For frequencies above resonance circuit is like
capacitive and for frequencies below resonance it
is like inductive. Since tuned circuit is purely resistive at resonance it can be used as a load for amplifier. 20
5. Coil losses in tuned amplifiers:
The tuned circuit consists of a coil. Practically, coil is not purely inductive. It consists of few losses and
they are represented in the form of leakage resistance in series with the inductor. The total loss of the coil is
comprised of copper loss, eddy current loss and hysteresis loss. The copper loss at low frequencies is equivalent
to the d.c. resistance of the coil. Copper loss is inversely proportional to the frequency. Therefore, as frequency
increase, the copper loss decreases. Eddy current loss in iron and copper coil are due to currents flowing within
the copper or core cased by induction. The result of eddy currents is a loss due to heating within the inductors
copper or core. Eddy current losses are directly proportional to the frequency. Hysteresis loss is proportional to
the area enclosed by the hysteresis loop and to the rate at which this loop is transversed. It is function of signal
level and increases with frequency. Hysteresis loss is however independent of frequency.
The total losses in the coil or inductor is represented by inductance in series with leakage resistance of the
coil.

QUALITY FACTOR

Quality factor for a parallel resonant circuit with loaded and unloaded
Q:

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Loaded and unloaded Q:

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 Thus in tuned amplifier Q is kept as high as possible to get the better selectivity. Such tuned amplifiers
are used in communication or broadcast receivers where it is necessary to amplify only selected band of
frequencies.

Requirements of tuned amplifiers:

The basic requirements of tuned amplifiers are;

 The amplifier should provide selectivity of resonant frequency over a very narrow band.
 The signal should be amplified equally well at all frequencies in the selected narrow band.
 The tuned circuit should be so mounted that it can be easily tuned. If there are more than one circuit
to be tuned, there should be an arrangement to tune all circuit simultaneously.
 The amplifier must provide the simplicity in tuning of the amplifier components to the desired
frequency over a considerable range or band of frequencies.

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2
3
Effect of cascading single tuned amplifier on bandwidth:

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Effect of cascading Double tuned amplifier on bandwidth:
When a number of identical double tuned amplifier stages are cascaded in cascade, the overall
bandwidth of the system is thereby narrowed and the steepness of the sides of the response is increased,
just as when single tuned stages are cascaded. The quantitative relation between the 3 dB bandwidth of n
identical double tuned critically coupled stages compared with the bandwidth Δ2 of such a system can be
shown to be 3 dB bandwidth for

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• Thermal Effects
Stability Considerations
• Bias Considerations: Distortion in Audio amplifiers and other types of circuits depends on :
(i)Input signal level (in mv)
(ii) Source Resistance
(iii) Bias Conditions
(iv)Type of output load and its impedance