•RANJIT SINGH

•MANDEEP KUMAR
•MANPREET SINGH
•JASWINDER SINGH
1. Definition
2. General characteristics of
amplifiers
2.1 Gain
2.2 Output dynamic range
2.3 Bandwidth and rise time
2.4 Settling time and
aberrations
2.5 Slew rate
2.6 Sine wave distortion
2.7 Noise
2.8 Efficiency
Generally, an amplifier is any
device that uses a small amount of
energy to control a larger amount
of energy. In popular use, the term
today usually refers to an
electronic amplifier, often as
applied to audio applications.
 1 Gain
2 Output dynamic range
3 Bandwidth and rise time
4 Settling time and aberrations
5 Slew rate
6 Sine wave distortion
7 Noise
8 Efficiency
9 Linearity
Th e inreas es in th e signal
level is call ed t he gain . Th is
is us ually m eas ured in
decibels (dB ). Mat hem at ically
speakin g, t he g ain is e qual
to the out put level divi ded
by t he in put level.
Output dynamic range is the range,
usually given in dB, between the
smallest and largest useful output
levels. Since the lowest useful level
is limited by output noise, this is
quoted as the amplifier dynamic
range.
The bandwidth (BW) of an
amplifier is usually defined as the
difference between the lower and
upper half power points. This is
therefore also known as the −3 dB
BW. Bandwidths for other
response tolerances are
sometimes quoted (−1 dB, −6 dB
etc.).
Time taken for output to settle
to within a certain percentage of
the final value (say 0.1%). This is
usually specified for oscilloscope
vertical amplifiers and high
accuracy measurement systems.
Slew rate is the maximum rate of
change of output variable, usually
quoted in volts per second (or
microsecond).
The properties of amplifier circuits
distort the signal This distortion
comes in several forms including
harmonic distortion and
intermodulation distortionThis is a
useful way of characterizing an
amplifier because any signal can
be broken down into a series of
sine and cosine waves via the
fourier transform Thus the
response of an amplifier to an
arbitrary signal can be analyzed
provided one knows the response
This is a measure of how
much noise is introduced in
the amplification process.
Noise is an undesirable but
inevitable product of the
electronic devices and
components. It is measured
in either decibels or the peak
output voltage produced by
Efficiency is a measure of how much of the
input power is usefully applied to the
amplifier's output. Class A amplifiers are very
inefficient, in the range of 10–20% with a
max efficiency of 25%. Modern Class AB
amps are commonly between 35–55%
efficient with a theoretical maximum of
78.5%. Commercially available class D
amplifiers have reported efficiencies as high
as 97%. The efficiency of the amplifier limits
the amount of total power output that is
usefully available. Note that more efficient
amps run much cooler, and often do not
An ideal amplifier would be a totally linear device, but real amplifiers

are only linear within certain practical limits. When the signal drive to

the amplifier is increased, the output also increases until a point is

reached where some part of the amplifier becomes saturated and

cannot produce any more output; this is called clipping, and results in

distortion. Some amplifiers are designed to handle this in a controlled

way which causes a reduction in gain to take place instead of

excessive distortion; the result is a compression effect, which (if the

amplifier is an audio amplifier) will sound much less unpleasant to the

ear. For these amplifiers, the 1dB compression point is defined as the

input power (or output power) where the gain is 1dB less than the