The most commonly used power amplifiers are the ones used in audio amplifier circuits and they come under classes A, B, AB or C. Power amplifiers designed to amplify Pulse Width Modulated (PWM) digital signals come under D, E, F etc. Power amplifiers designed to amplify analog signals come under A, B, AB or C category. They are broadly classified into two categories. To differentiate the characteristics and behavior of different power amplifier circuits, Power Amplifier Classes are used in which, letter symbols are assigned to identify the method of operation. The operation and output characteristics of each of the circuit configurations differs from one another. There are multiple ways of designing a power amplifier circuit. They take input from microcontroller systems, increase its power and feed the amplified signal to DC motors or Actuators. They are used in electronic control systems which need high power signals to drive motors or actuators. DC Power AmplifiersĭC power amplifiers are used to amplify the power of a PWM (Pulse Width Modulated) signals. Here, Radio Frequency Power amplifiers are employed to increase the magnitude of power of modulated waves to a level high enough for reaching the required transmission distance. The signals are transmitted using antennas and the range of transmission depends on the magnitude of power of signals fed to the antenna.įor wireless transmissions like FM broadcasting, antennas require input signals at thousands of kilowatts of power. Wireless transmissions require modulated waves to be sent over long distances through air. The output of an audio power amplifier ranges from a few milliwatts (like in headphone amplifiers) to thousands of watts (like power amplifiers in Hi-Fi/Home theatre systems). The amplifiers used in speaker driving circuitries of televisions, mobile phones etc. This type of power amplifiers are used for increasing the magnitude of power of a weaker audio Signal. Types of Power Amplifiersĭepending on the type of output device that is connected, power amplifiers are divided into the following three types: Finally, the signal is passed through a power amplifier and the output from power amp is fed to a speaker. Then the signal is passed through a tone and volume control circuit, which makes aesthetic adjustments to the audio waveform. So, first it is pre-amplified, where its voltage and current are increased slightly. The magnitude of signal from the microphone is not enough for the power amplifier. In this case, a microphone is used as an input source. You can observe the block diagram of an audio amplifier and the usage of power amplifier below. So, instead of directly passing the raw audio/RF signal to the power amplifier, it is first pre-amplified using current/voltage amplifiers and is sent as input to the power amp after making necessary modifications. The input signal to a power amplifier needs to be above a certain threshold. Unlike voltage/current amplifiers, a power amplifier is designed to drive loads directly and is used as a final block in an amplifier chain. The power of the input signal is increased to a level high enough to drive loads of output devices like speakers, headphones, RF transmitters etc. For more information on different types of amplifiers: Different Types and Applications of Amplifiers What is a Power Amplifier?Ī power amplifier is an electronic amplifier designed to increase the magnitude of power of a given input signal. In this article we will learn about power amplifiers in detail. It takes in a weak electrical signal/waveform and reproduces a similar stronger waveform at the output by using an external power source.ĭepending on the changes it makes to the input signal, amplifiers are broadly classified into Current, Voltage and Power amplifiers. An amplifier is an electronic device used to increase the magnitude of voltage/current/power of an input signal.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |