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(A)BJT
FIG. 1 – Class C Transfer Curves for (A) NPN bipolar transistor(self-biased) and (B) IRF510 mosfet at 3v gate bias
Vin
        I      c
Vb
Saturation 
   L   ie  a  n  r   R  ei  o  g   n
Ic(max)
WastedInputPower2v 4v 6v
0.7v
(B)Mosfet
VinWastedInputPower
        I        d
Vg
Saturation 
   L    i   n  e  a   r  e  g     i  o   n   R
Id(max)
0v 2v 4v 6v 8v
Meet the MOSFETThe IRF series
current and heating of the mosfet – andoften failure. If you haven't blown up anMOSFET's have been used for years inIRF510 yet – you just haven't workedQRP transmitters, but with an apparentvery hard at it !level of mysticism as to how they reallywork. There are two main types of of switching mosfetsmosfet's: the linear RF mosfets, such as were developed by InternationalMotorola's "RF Line," and the more Rectifier. They make the "dies" for thesecommon switching mosfets. The
RF
mosfet's, marketing them under their
mosfets
are excellent, reliable devices own name (logo "I-R"), or selling thefor up to 30MHz, and some VHF dies to other manufacturer's, such asversions. However, they cost $25–35 Motorola and Harris, who merely addseach or more, and beyond the budgets the TO-220 packaging. Thus, no matterof most amateurs.
Switching mosfets
where you get your IRF510, you areare far more common, such as the getting the same device and can beIRF510, available at hobby vendors and assured of consistent operation.Radio Shack for about $1. These cheapThe exception to this are some IRF510sswitching mosfet's are the ones used insold by Radio Shack. Some aremost home brew QRP transmitters, andmanufactured in Haiti that may or maythe ones upon which this articlenot meet specs for maximum drainfocuses.current, or at what gate voltage theAs the name implies, this family of device turns on and reaches saturation.mosfet's are designed to be
switches 
-- To avoid legal problems with I-R, Radiothat is, to primarily turn current on or off, Shack packages these mosfet "clones" just like a switch or relay. They are not under the part number IFR510 (notperfect. Between the OFF and ON IRF510). An unrecognizable logostates, there is a linear region. indicates a device manufactured off-Compared to standard bipolar shore.transistors, mosfets have a narrowerMost power mosfets are made bylinear region. IRF510s, used for QRPstacking several dies in parallel toClass C PA's, attempt to bias for thishandle higher currents. Themore restrictive linear region. However,disadvantage is the capacitances add inif the device is accidentally driven intoparallel, which is why power mosfetssaturation, it causes excessive drainhave large input and output current), it produces an increase incapacitances over single die devices. collector current. This is the
linear 
Mosfets made by vertically stacking the
region 
– converting a small change ondies are called VMOS, TMOS, HexFets the base to a much larger change on theand other such names.collector. This defines amplification. Asyou continue to increase the baseAccording to the I-R applicationsvoltage further, a point will be reachedengineer, the IRF510 is their mostwhere no further increase in collectorwidely sold mosfet. This is because itcurrent will occur. This is the point ofwas developed by I-R in the 1970's for
saturation 
, and the point of maximumthe automotive industry as turn-signalcollector current. The base voltageblinkers and headlight dimmers torequired to saturate the transistor variesreplace the expensive electro-from device to device, but typically fallsmechanical switches and relays. Thein the 8v range for most powergood news is, this implies they will nottransistors used for QRP PA's. This is,be going away any time soon. In talkingactually, a fairly large dynamic range. Ato International Rectifier, they weregraph showing these regions is calledfloored to find out QRPers were usingthe "transfer characteristics" of athem at 7MHz or higher. I faxed themdevice, as illustrated in
Fig. 1A
,some QRP circuits to prove it. Quite ashowing a sample Class C input anddifference compared to the 1Hz blink ofoutput signal. Self-biasing is assumed,a turn signal, or the 50kHz rate of athat is, the input signal is capacitivelyswitching power supply!coupled to the base with no external(0v) bias.
)
are work in a very similarforward biased with a base voltage manner, except the gate voltages thatabout 0.7v (0.6v on most power defines cut-off, the linear region, andtransistors). Below 0.7v, the transistor is saturation are different than BJT's.in
cut-off 
: no collector current is flowing. While it takes about 0.7v to turn on aAbove 0.7v, collector current begins to BJT, it takes about 4v to turn on anflow. As you increase the base voltage IRF510 mosfet. The voltage required to(which is actually increasing base cause drain current to start flowing is
BJT's vs. MOSFET'sBipolar junction transistors (BJTMOSFETs
 
MOSFET "Switched Mode" AmplifiersMOSFET "Switched Mode" Amplifiers
The Handiman's Guide to The Handiman's Guide to 
 Part 1 is a tutorial for using switching MOSFET's for QRP power amplifiers. Beginning with the standard Class C power amplifier, special emphasis is given to the Class D, E and F high efficiency modes.
by Paul Harden, NA5N
Part 1 Introduction to Class C,D,E and F
 First Published in the journal "QRPp"
 
R210Q1IRF510C1.01
RFINRFOUT
~8Vpp
~45Vpp(5W)
 –1v+7v+4v –4vVcc0v
0v
Drain Voltage(Resistive Load)
Vg(th) = 4v
T1 10T bifilarT50-43
FIG 3 – Schematic of a typical MOSFET Class C PA
2Vcc
Drain VoltageR12.2KRV11KT1+12v
Set RV1 for ~3v Gate V.no signal 
CcLow PassFilter
called the
gate threshold voltage 
, orVgs(th). From the IRF510 data sheet,the Vgs(th) is specified at 3.0v minimumto over 4.0v maximum. This large rangeis typical of mosfets, whose parameterstend to be quite sloppy compared toBJT's – something to always keep inmind. My experience shows the Vgs(th)of the IRF510 is more in the 3.7-4.0vrange and goes into full saturation withabout 8v on the gate. This defines asmaller dynamic range (4v–8v) for thelinear region than a BJT (0.7v–8v).The transfer characteristics of a typicalIRF510 is shown in
Fig. 1B
. The gate isThe circuit of a typical mosfet
Class C
 externally biased at 3v (no-signal) andPA is shown in
Figure 3
. It appears verythe input signal is limited to no moresimilar to the BJT circuit in
Fig. 2
in mostthan 7v on the peaks to avoid theregards. The RF input signal from thesaturation region. Note that the scalingdriver stage can be capacitivelybetween the BJT and mosfet transfercoupled, as shown, or transformercurves are different.coupled. Capacitive coupling is easierfor applying the external biasing. Sincethe Vgs(th) of an IRF510 is about3.5–4.0v, setting of the gate bias, via
Figure 2
is a schematic of a typical lowRV1, should initially be set to about 3v topower QRP transmitter PA using anensure there is
no drain current with no 
NPN power transistor. RF input from the
input signal 
. R1 is chosen to simply limitdriver stage is stepped-down throughRV1 from accidently exceeding 8v onT1 to match the very low inputthe gate, which would cause maximumimpedance of Q1, typically 10
W
or less.drain current to flow and certainThe low output impedance (12–14destruction after 10–15 seconds. Theinput RF applied to the gate (duringtransmit) should likewise never be
Class C PA with a MOSFET (IRF510)Class C PA with a BJT
WW
is the common
self-biasing 
circuit --there is no external dc biasing applied tothe base, such that the signal voltagealone forward biases the transistor.Referring back to
Fig. 1A
, the shadedarea of the input signal shows the powerthat is wasted in a typical Class C PAusing self-biasing. This is power fromthe driver that
is not being used to produce output power 
. This is aninherent short coming of the Class Band C amplifiers.at5W) is converted to about 50 by the1:4 step-up transformer T2. This circuitallowed to exceed about 7–7.5v, just swing will be 2Vcc (24v) as expected.shy of the saturation region. As This is due to the current stored in theillustrated, the input signal is 8Vpp, or inductance of T1 being dumped into the –4v to +4v after C1, and after the +3v load (low pass filter) when drain currentbiasing, from –1v to +7v.
This ensures 
from the IRF510 stops, and is stepped
the IRF510 is operating within it's safe 
up further, by a factor of two, to about
operating area 
for a Class C amplifier. 48Vpp, by the bifilar windings on T1.Like the BJT Class C PA, the input Some loss through the low pass filtersignal from +4v to –1v is wasted power, yields about 45Vpp for 5W output.not being converted to output power.Once the circuit is working properly,For a typical Class C PA operating at RV1 can be carefully adjusted toaround 50% efficiency, about 850mA of produce more power, again carefullydrain current will be required to produce monitoring for <1A of current flow. This5W output. It is wise to monitor the drain is much easier to do with ancurrent to ensure excessive current is oscilloscope, to ensure that the gatenot being drawn, indicating the RF input voltage never approaches the 7.5–8vpeaks are not approaching the saturation region on the RF peaks, andsaturation region of the device, or the for a fairly clean sinewave entering thestatic gate voltage from RV1 is set too low pass filter.high. This is extremely important topreserve your IRF510 longer than a fewmoments!A well biased IRF510 PA can be a bitDrain current will only flow when themore efficient than a BJT circuit,gate voltage exceeds the Vgs(th) of theprimarily because it takes less peak-device. With a resistive drain load, thispeak input signal to produce 5W, andtranslates into +12v of drain voltagethus less driver power is needed. Sincewhen no current is flowing, thenthe slope of the linear region is steeperdropping towards 0v as drain currentthan a BJT, the IRF510 actually hasflows, as shown in
Fig. 3
. However, withmore potential gain.the inductive load of T1, the voltage
Evaluating Class C MOSFETEfficiency
FIG. 2 - Typical BJT QRP Power Amplifier (PA) Stage
RFCC1T1Z=4:1 to 12:1T2Z=1:4R1CcVcc(+12v)RF INQ1PARF OUTto Filter
Po =
2
ErmsRLRL' =
2
Vcc2PoX
RFC
 
= 5-10RL'R1 = 30-300
W 
(50 typ.)
 
FIG. 4 – IRF510 Transfer Curves for (A) Class C Sine Wave Driveand (B) Class D/E/F Square Wave Drive
(B)Class D/E/FMosfet(A)Class CMosfet
        I        d        I        d
VgVg
Saturation Saturation 
   L    i   n  e  a   r  g     i  o   n   R  e   n  a   L    ie   r   R  e  g     i  o   n
VinVin
Id(max)Id(max)
WastedInputPowerWastedInputPower0v 2v 4v 6v 8v0v 2v 4v 6v 8v
The largest contributors to powerlosses, and hence poor efficiency withswitching mosfets, are the very largevalues of input and output capacitancescompared to a BJT.Remember how you've always heardthe input impedance of a mosfet is veryhigh, in the megohms? Well, forget youever heard that! That is the
DC input resistance 
of the gate with
no drain current flowing 
. The AC inputimpedance is the Xc of Cin (about120–180pF) or 130at 40M (7 MHz).This means your driver stage must beable to provide an 8Vpp signal into a130 load, or about
a half watt of drive 
.On the output side, the large outputcapacitance,
Cout 
, is like having a120pF capacitor from the drain toground. This absorbs a fair amount ofpower being generated by the mosfet.But there is nothing you can do aboutthat (at least in Class C).The other large contributor to reducingefficiency is the power lost across thedrain-source junction. This is true aswell across the collector-emitter junction in a BJT. Power is E times I. Thepower being dissipated across thedrain-source junction is the drainvoltage (Vd) times the drain current (Id).When no drain current is flowing, thereis no power being dissipated across thedevice, since +12v Vd times zero iszero. But for the rest of the sinewave,you have instantaneous products of Vdtimes Id. Looking at the mosfet again asa switch, this is known as the
transition loss,
as drain current is transitioningfrom it's OFF state (Id=0), through thelinear region, to the ON state (Vd=0). Ofcourse with Class C, you are in thetransition loss region at all times whiledrain current is flowing.
WW
From the above, it appears there arethree major sources of power loss,leading to poor amplifier efficiency:1) Transition (switching) losses(Vd x Id products)2) Large internal gate inputcapacitance (~120-180pF forthe IRF510)3) Large internal drain-sourcecapacitance (~ 120pF for theIRF510)If these losses could be largelyovercome, then the amplifier'sefficiency could be greatly improved.This drives themosfet from OFF (Id=0), to fully ON(Vd=0) as quick as possible. Thesquare wave input will have to go to>+8v to ensure saturation.This purposely avoids the linear region,operating the device only as a switch.For this reason, Class D, E and Famplifiers are often called
switched mode amplifiers 
, not linear amplifiers,as in Class A, B or C.The transfer curves of a Class C vs.Class D/E/F PA with a square wavedrive is shown in
Fig. 4
. The gate isbiased at 3v in both cases, and Vgs(th)is 4v. The amount of wasted input poweris greatly reduced with the square wavedrive. The output will have a slope onthe rising and falling edges, due to theshort time drain current must travelthrough the linear region. Still, theON–OFF switching action of thesemodes is evident.A square wave is an infinite combinationof odd harmonics. The square waveAgain, there isoutput must be converted back into alittle you can do about this loss in Classsine wave by removing the harmonicC amplifiers.energy before being sent to the antenna
Improving Efficiency(Introduction to Class D/E/F)
In class D/E/F, the mosfet is intentionally driven into saturation using a square wave.
for FCC compliance.
The method by 
<50% for Class C. However, the amount
which the fundamental frequency is 
of time drain current flows in a
switched 
recovered from the square wave 
mode amplifier 
has nothing to do with
output determines whether it is 
it's class of operation. It is based entirely
Class D, E or F.
In all cases, it is based on how the output power is transfered toon driving the mosfet with a square the load and how harmonic power iswave input.removed.Legally, you can drive a mosfet intosaturation with a huge sine wave aswell, as many Class D/E circuits on theinternet or ham radio publications areOne implementation of a
Class D
QRPbased. However, you are in thetransmitter is shown in
Figure 5
. Notesaturation region for a relatively shortthat there is little difference between theperiod of time (only during the positiveClass D PA, and the Class C mosfet PAinput peaks), the rest of the time in theshown in
Fig. 3
, other than being drivenlinear region. It is this authors opinionwith a square wave and into saturation.that the first step to increasing efficiencyOne advantage of a square wave driveis avoiding the lossy linear region. Thisis it can be generated or buffered withis defeated with a sine wave drive.TTL or CMOS logic components,making a 0v to 5v TTL signal, as shown.Therefore, the remaining discussion onRV1 is again set for about 3v, which nowClass D, E and F amplifiers are basedcorresponds to the 0v portion of thestrictly on a square wave drive.square wave, elevating the ON or HIportion of the square wave to +8v (+5VIt is worth mentioning an importantTTL + 3v bias), the minimum gatedistinction between the classes ofvoltage to slam the mosfet intoamplifier operation. With
linear 
saturation. This is verified with an
amplifiers 
, the class of operation isoscilloscope by monitoring the drainbased on the amount of time thatvoltage, and noting that it falls nearly tocollector or drain current flows: 100%0v. A good IRF510 in saturation shouldfor Class A, >50% for Class B, anddrop to <0.4v.
CLASS D QRP PA
of 00

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