University of Technology Jamaica

Faculty: Faculty of Education and Liberal Studies

Program: Industrial Technology (Electrical)

Academic Year 2021-2022

Semester: 2

Module: Applied Electronics

Date of Submission April 11, 2022

Student: Rickel Rowe

ID# 1807234

Lecturer: Mr. Nunes

Lab Technologist: Mr. Tulloch

Lab 2
Objective:

The goal of this exercise is to look at how huge signal class B works. The output compliance,

maximum load power, supplied DC power, and efficiency of a voltage follower will be explored.

By contrasting resistor and diode biasing techniques, the impacts of crossover distortion will be

observed.

Theory Overview

The AC load line determines the maximum output signal, or compliance, of a class B amplifier.

The overall DC supply voltage is nearly equal to the peak to peak compliance (s). Unlike a class

A amplifier, the quiescent current can be kept low since two output devices are utilized, each

conducting for half of the cycle. This leads to a possible increase in efficiency of up to 78.5

percent. The transition from one transistor to the next is difficult and can cause notch or

crossover distortion

To counteract this, the transistors are fed a tiny idle current to ensure that each base-emitter

junction is nearly fully on. While resistors can be used to provide this bias, matching a resistor's

linear current-voltage characteristic to a PN junction's logarithmic characteristic is difficult. As a

result, a diode is utilized in place of the PN junction. Because of the diode, the circuit will be

more stable, resulting in less notch distortion.

Components:

 Small signal NPN transistor (2N3904)

 Small signal PNP transistor (2N3906)

 Switching diodes (1N914 or 1N4148)

 100 Ω resistor

 220 Ω resistors
  2.2 k Ω resistors

 10 μF capacitor

 100 μF capacitor

Procedure

Resistor versus Diode Bias and Crossover Distortion

Consider the circuit of Figure 1 using Vcc = 6 volts, R = R = 2.2 kΩ, R = R = 220 Ω, R =100
1 2 3 4 L

Ω, C = C = 10 μF and C = 100 μF. Ideally this circuit will produce a compliance of just under 6
1 2 3

volts peak-peak.

Figure 1

The circuit of Figure 1 was built using Vcc = 6 volts, R = R = 2.2 kΩ, R = R = 220 Ω,
1 2 3 4

R =100Ω, C = C = 10 μF and C = 100 μF. The signal source was disconnected and an ammeter
L 1 2 3

inserted into the collector of Q . Recorded I in Table 1.

Connect the signal source and apply a 1 kHz sine at 2 volts peak. Look at the load voltage and

capture the oscilloscope image. There should be considerable notch or crossover distortion.

Cycle through the remaining supply voltages in Table1, repeating steps 2 and 3. Only images of

the first and last trials need be captured. As the bias current increases, the notch distortion should

decrease.
Wave capture at 6V Vcc

Wave capture at 12V Vcc

Replace R and R with switching diodes, as shown in Figure 2. Repeat steps 2 through 4 using
3 4

this circuit and Table 2. Overall, the superior matching of the diodes to the transistors should

result in decreased notch distortion.

6v 38.6ꭎA

8v 57.8ꭎA

10 v 79ꭎA

12 v 102.5ꭎA

Wave capture at 6V Vcc

Dual Supply and Power Analysis

Add the negative power supply to the circuit. Set the supplies to +/- 6 volts DC. This should

produce similar bias and amplification results to the single 12 volt supply circuit of Figure 2.

Although the output coupling capacitor is no longer needed (one advantage of the dual supply

topology), leave it in for safety sake.

Wave capture with VCC 6V and VEE -6V

Discussion

Multisim was used to build the class B amplifier. Each half of the waveform is amplified by two

complementary bipolar transistors, with the output stage designed in a "push-pull" type

arrangement, such that each transistor device amplifies just half of the output waveform. Because

the class B amplifier's quiescent current is zero, there is no DC base bias current, hence the dc

power is low and the efficiency is substantially higher.

The positive biased transistor conducts when the input signal is positive, whereas the negative

biased transistor is set "OFF." When the input signal becomes negative, the positive transistor

switches "OFF," while the negative biased transistor switches "ON" and conducts the signal's
negative component. As a result, the transistor only conducts half of the time, depending on

whether the input signal is positive or negative.

Review questions

1. Does the maximum load power compare favorably to the supplied DC power and the

transistor’s power dissipation? That is, is the circuit efficient? How does it compare to

class A operation?

2. How is the notch distortion affected by the power supply?

The interesting point to note here is that the device that creates the notch is usually not affected

by the notching it creates. It is other devices that are connected to the same voltage source that

are affected or disrupted due to notching.

3. Compare the resistor bias and diode bias circuits regarding idle current (ICQ) and notch

distortion. Compute the ICQ versus VCC stability (ICQ-MAX / ICQ-MIN) of each

circuit using the first and last entries of Tables 1 and.2.

4. How does the class B circuit distortion compare to class A operation?

Class B amplifiers are much more efficient than Class A amps — 50% or so — but produce

distortion as the two transistors switch on and off. This "crossover distortion" is so bad that very

few if any manufacturers offer or produce an amplifier of pure Class B design.

5. Would increasing the Vcc supply increase the output compliance? Why/why not?

Compliance voltage is the range of output voltage of a constant current power supply, over

which the load regulation is within certain limits. It represents the maximum voltage a current

source will reach as it attempts to produce the desired current. The compliance voltage equals the
supply voltage minus the voltage drop due to the supply’s internal resistance and usually

specified at the full current of the supply.

Conclusion

The exercise was designed to make analyzing and building a class B amplifier easier for pupils.

The various processes given by the Lab allowed me to have a better knowledge of how the

transistors in the circuit work and how efficient it is when compared to a class A amplifier.