MULTISTAGE AMPLIFIER

ENGR. ALBERT ANTHONY M. DELGADO, MECE

 OBJECTIVES:
• Discuss the characteristics of a multistage amplifier including
gain, input and output resistances, and small signal limitations
• Understand the effects of source and load resistances
• Understand the operation and characteristics of a cascaded
amplifier
• Understand the operation and characteristics of a cascoded
amplifier
 MULTISTAGE AMPLIFIER

From the term itself, the multistage amplifier

is an electronic circuit where the output of the
first stage is fed to the input of the next stage
thereby increasing the overall gain of the
circuit.
 SINGLE STAGE AMPLIFIER

Av
+ +
Vi Vo
− −

Zin Zo
Vo
𝐴𝑣 =
Vi
 EFFECT OF SOURCE RESISTANCE
Rs

Av
+ +
Vs Vin Vo
− −

Rs 𝑍𝑖𝑛
𝑉𝑖= x Vs
+ 𝑍𝑖𝑛+ 𝑅𝑠
Vs Vin Zin
− 𝑉𝑖 𝑍𝑖𝑛
=
𝑉𝑠 𝑍𝑖𝑛+ 𝑅𝑠
 EFFECT OF SOURCE RESISTANCE

Rs 𝑉𝑜 𝑉𝑜 𝑉𝑖
= 𝑥
+ 𝑉𝑠 𝑉𝑖 𝑉𝑠
+
Vs Vin
−
Aveff =Vo/Vs Vo
− 𝑉𝑜 𝑍𝑖𝑛
= 𝐴𝑣 𝑥
𝑉𝑠 𝑍𝑖𝑛+ 𝑅𝑠
 EXAMPLE 1
𝑉𝑜 𝑉𝑜 𝑉𝑖
= 𝑥
𝑉𝑠 𝑉𝑖 𝑉𝑠
Rs = 10Ω

+ Av = 90 + 𝑉𝑜
= 𝐴𝑣 𝑥
𝑍𝑖𝑛
Vs Vin Vo 𝑉𝑠 𝑍𝑖𝑛+ 𝑅𝑠
− Zin = 1 kΩ −
𝑉𝑜 1𝑘 Ω
=90 𝑥
𝑉𝑠 1 𝑘 Ω+10

Aveff
 EXAMPLE 2
𝑉𝑜 𝑉𝑜 𝑉𝑖
= 𝑥
𝑉𝑠 𝑉𝑖 𝑉𝑠
Rs = 1kΩ

+ Av = 90 + 𝑉𝑜
= 𝐴𝑣 𝑥
𝑍𝑖𝑛
Vs Vin Vo 𝑉𝑠 𝑍𝑖𝑛+ 𝑅𝑠
− Zin = 1 kΩ −
𝑉𝑜 1𝑘Ω
=90 𝑥
𝑉𝑠 1 𝑘 Ω+1 𝑘 Ω

AvAv
eff eff
EFFECT OF LOAD RESISTANCE

+
Av
+
Vs Vin RL Vo
− −
EFFECT OF LOAD RESISTANCE

𝐴𝑣 𝑁𝐿=−𝑔𝑚𝑅𝑐

𝐴 𝑣=− 𝑔𝑚( 𝑅𝐶 ∥ 𝑅𝐿)

𝑅𝐶 𝑥 𝑅𝐿
𝐴𝑣 =− 𝑔𝑚
𝑅𝐶+ 𝑅𝐿
𝑅𝐿
𝐴𝑣 = 𝐴𝑣 𝑁𝐿
𝑅𝐶 + 𝑅𝐿
EFFECT OF LOAD RESISTANCE
𝑅𝐿
𝐴𝑣 = 𝐴𝑣 𝑁𝐿
𝑅𝐶 + 𝑅𝐿
𝑖𝑛𝐶𝐸 , 𝑍𝑜=𝑅𝐶

𝑅𝐿
𝐴𝑣 = 𝐴𝑣 𝑁𝐿
𝑍𝑜+ 𝑅𝐿
EFFECT OF LOAD RESISTANCE

Case 1

then Av = AvNL

Case 2

then Av < AvNL

 EXAMPLE 1

+ 𝑍𝑜 =2 𝑘 Ω
Av
+
Vs Vin RL Vo
− − 𝑅𝐿= 4 𝑘 Ω
 EXAMPLE 2

+ 𝑍𝑜 =20 Ω
Av
+
Vs Vin RL Vo
− − 𝑅𝐿= 4 𝑘 Ω
EFFECT OF SOURCE AND LOAD RESISTANCE
Rs

Av
+ +
Vs Vin RL Vo
− −

𝑉𝑜 𝑉𝑜 𝑉𝑖
= 𝑥
𝑉𝑠 𝑉𝑖 𝑉𝑠
𝑉𝑖 𝑍𝑖𝑛 𝑉𝑜 𝑅𝐿
= = 𝐴𝑣= 𝐴𝑣 𝑁𝐿
𝑉𝑠 𝑍𝑖𝑛+ 𝑅𝑠 𝑉𝑖 𝑅𝐶 + 𝑅𝐿
EFFECT OF SOURCE AND LOAD RESISTANCE
Rs

Av
+ +
Vs Vin RL Vo
− −

𝑉𝑜 𝑍𝑖𝑛 𝑅𝐿
= 𝑥 𝐴𝑣 𝑁𝐿 𝑥
𝑉𝑠 𝑍𝑖𝑛+ 𝑅𝐿 𝑅𝐿+ 𝑍𝑜
 MULTISTAGE AMPLIFIER

+
Av1 Av2 Av3
+
Vin Vo
− −

𝐴𝑣 ≈ 𝐴𝑣 1 𝑥 𝐴𝑣 2 𝑥 𝐴𝑣 3
 MULTISTAGE AMPLIFIER

+ +
Vin
−
Av1 = 20 Av2 = 30 Av3 = 40 Vo
−

𝐴𝑣 ≈ 𝐴𝑣 1 𝑥 𝐴𝑣 2 𝑥 𝐴𝑣 3
𝐴𝑣 ≈ 20 𝑥 30 𝑥 40
𝐴𝑣 ≈ 2400
 DIRECT-COUPLED AMPLIFIER:
CASCADE CIRCUIT
• Coupling capacitors in series
with signal path- C1, C3, C5, and
C6 are eliminated as they prevent
the amplifier from providing gain
at dc or very low frequencies.
• Additional bias resistors in
individual stages are also
removed, making design less
expensive.
 DIRECT-COUPLED AMPLIFIER:
CASCADE CIRCUIT
• Bypass capacitors- C2 and C4 affect gain at low
frequencies but don’t inherently prevent the
amplifier from operating at dc.
• Symmetrical power supplies are used to set Q-
point voltages at input and output to about zero.
 DIRECT-COUPLED AMPLIFIER:
CASCADE CIRCUIT

• Alternating PNP or p-channel and NPN or

n-channel transistors are used from stage to
stage to take maximum advantage of
available power supply voltage
(CASCADED CONNECTION)
EXAMPLE 1
EXAMPLE 2
EXAMPLES OF A MULTISTAGE CASCADED
AMPLIFIER
 EXAMPLE OF A MULTISTAGE AMPLIFIER

AC
Equivalent
Circuit

Small Signal
Equivalent
Circuit
 EXAMPLE OF A MULTISTAGE AMPLIFIER

DC
Equivalent
Circuit
 DIRECT-COUPLED AMPLIFIER:
CASCODE CIRCUIT

• Cascode circuit is cascade

connection of C-E and C-B
amplifiers, used in high
gain amplifiers and high
output resistance current
sources.