Lecture 1

Introduction
Course Objectives
Decibels and Intro to Amplifiers
ENGE 311 Electronic Devices and Circuits
Objectives (Lectures 1 & 2)
ENGE 311 Electronic Circuits and Devices
Students should be able to:
Explain basic amplifier terms including:
Gain, Linear, Distortion, Decibel, Saturation, Biasing, Models, Cascade,
Coupling Capacitor, Transconductance, Open- and Closed-Circuit Models.
Calculate gains for amplifier configurations.
Understand tradeoffs inherent in amplifier designs.
Identify the four amplifier types.
Understand how frequency response relates to amplifiers.
Amplifiers
ENGE 311 Electronic Devices and Circuits
o i
v A v
Amplifiers are 2-port networks:
input port
output port
A is called the amplifier gain.
If the gain is constant, we call this a linear amplifier.
i
v
o
v
A
i
v
o
v
Amplifier Gain in Decibels
ENGE 311 Electronic Devices and Circuits
Amplifier gain is expressed in decibels (dB)
Originally it was expressed as Bels (named after Alexander Graham
Bell), but these proved to be of insufficient size so we multiply Bels
by 10 decibels.
Decibels are a log-based ratio and are therefore dimensionless.
Purpose: We want to measure the ratio of some value relative to
another (e.g. sound power in a stereo amplifier).
Derivation of dB
Derivation of Decibels
ENGE 311 Electronic Devices and Circuits
Ratio of power of interest (call it p
1
) to some other reference
power (say, p
2
):
However, these values are generally quite huge and tend to be
logarithmically related; thus, creation of the Bel:
1
2
p
p
1
2
log
p
Bel
p
Derivation of Decibels (Contd.)
ENGE 311 Electronic Devices and Circuits
However, as mentioned, the Bel is a bit too small, so lets
multiply it by 10 and call it a decibel (10 x Bel = 1 dB).
Which gives us the decibel expression for power:
1
2
10log
power
p
decibel
p
In-Class Exercise: dB for Voltage
ENGE 311 Electronic Devices and Circuits
Given the following equation for expressing power in
decibels, write a similar equation expressing voltage in
decibels:
1
2
10log
power
p
decibel
p
In-Class Exercise: dB for Voltage
ENGE 311 Electronic Devices and Circuits
First, lets relate voltage to power:
2
/
p vi
i v r
p v r
In-Class Exercise: dB for Voltage
ENGE 311 Electronic Devices and Circuits
Upon substitution:
Which gives us the decibel expression for voltage:
2
2 2
1 1 1
2 2
2 2 2
10log 10log 10log
v r v v
v r v v
1
2
20log
voltage
v
decibel
v
Lets Draw some Physical Conclusions
ENGE 311 Electronic Devices and Circuits
if dB is positive, then v
1
> v
2
, the signal is amplified.
if dB is negative, then v
1
< v
2
, the signal is attenuated.
if dB is 0, then v
1
= v
2
.
Signal Amplification
ENGE 311 Electronic Circuits and Devices
A is the amplifier gain.
The premise is that this is a linear amplifier.
Amplifiers that are not linear exhibit nonlinear distortion.
) ( ) ( t Av t v
i o
ENGE 311 Electronic
Circuits and Devices
Gain (in Decibels)
Power Gain, A
p
Voltage Gain, A
v
Current Gain, A
i