RF Amplifiers & Mixer Circuits

For the subject of Electronics Communication (EC512) offered in B.Tech. Sem.-V (EC)
Prepared and Presented By:
Prof. Smith Thavalapill
Department of Electronics & Communication
D h a r m s i n h D e s a i U n i v e r s i t y, N a d i a d , G u j a r a t
Email id: smith.ec@ddu.ac.in, smith@alumni.iitd.ac.in
Contact No: 9825336543

This video is released under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License. You are free to use, distribute and modify it,
including for commercial purpose, provided you acknowledge the source.
 Learning Objectives
❑ Learner should be able to carry out analysis of RF amplifier circuits (CE as
well as CB configuration)

❑ Learner should be able to understand the significance of neutralization circuits

for RF amplifiers.

❑ Learner should be able to compare the performance of CE ,CB and Cascode

amplifiers.

❑Learner should be able to appreciate the need and working of mixer circuits in
RF communication.

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 TUNED RF AMPLIFIERS
❑ Commonly used to provide front-end selectivity and amplification in radio
receivers.

❑ To provide the precise bandpass filtering required in IF amplifiers of receivers.

❑ To achieve stability at higher frequencies, CB amplifier and cascode amplifier

are preferred.

❑ Sometimes we still need some sort of compensation or neutralization to

maintain stability.

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 REVISION – HYBRID  MODEL
𝐼𝐶 𝑘𝑇
𝑔𝑚 = , where 𝑉𝑇 = = 26 𝑚𝑉 @ room
𝑉𝑇 𝑞
temp.

1 ℎ𝑓𝑒
𝑔𝑚 = , 𝑟𝑏𝑏′ = 100 Ω, 𝑟𝑏′ 𝑒 =
𝑟𝑒′ 𝑔𝑚

𝑔𝑚
𝐶𝑏′ 𝑒 = 𝐶𝑒 = , where 𝑓𝑇 is frequency at
2𝜋𝑓𝑇
which short-circuit CE current gain attains
unit magnitude

𝑓𝑇 𝑓𝑇
∴ 𝑓𝛽 = and 𝑓𝛼 =
ℎ𝑓𝑒 2

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 Parallel Tuned with HFT
❑ Higher voltage amplification needed at resonant frequency and parallel tuned
circuit offers higher impedance at resonant frequency.

❑ Proper impedance matching needed to maintain the desired tuned

characteristics.

❑ Q factor of tuned circuit should not be too much lowered due to load
resistance.

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 Single Tuned Class-A CE Amplifier
(1)
❑ Tuned circuit is the primary of the
transformer.

❑ RF transformers usually have very low

coefficients of coupling.

❑ Complex output admittance of the

amplifier can cause detuning and loading
of the primary (due to CE)

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 Equivalent Diagram of Single Tuned
Amplifier

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 Problem -1
❑ The Single tuned Class – A amplifier uses a transistor CE amplifier which has
a transconductance of 30 mS at the resonant frequency and an output
conductance comprised of 100 k in parallel with 5 pF of capacity/capacitor.
The transformer has a primary inductance of 75 H, secondary inductance of
100 H, coefficient of coupling of 0.01, primary resistance of 10  and
secondary resistance of 10 . The primary is tuned with a 50-pF capacitor and
the secondary is loaded by a 4 k resistance. Find:
(a) the resonant frequency
(b) the effective Q of the tuned circuit
(c) the -3 dB bandwidth
(d) the small signal voltage gain at resonance
(e) the dB rejection of a signal 150 kHz above the resonant frequency.

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 Solution using Pen-Tablet (1)

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 Solution using Pen-Tablet (2)

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 Solution using Pen-Tablet (3)

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 Neutralization Circuits
❑ Amplifier when operated at frequencies near it’s upper cut off frequency,
parasitic capacitor between input and output provides a path for feedback.
❑ If both input and output circuits are tuned, then it will make the circuit unstable
and it will oscillate.

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 Basic idea of Neutralization

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 Neutralization Circuits
❑ Need to have some neutralizing scheme (as specified below) to neutralize the
feedback path.

❑Hazeltine circuit (used for VHF & UHF amplifiers)

❑Rice circuit (used for VHF & UHF amplifiers)

❑ Neutralizing an amplifier with common circuit feedback (used for UHF & microwave
freq. range)

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 Hazeltine neutralization scheme (1)
❑ The output coil is centre-tapped and tap
is used as the power supply feed-point of
the amplifier.
❑ The other end of coil, point N, is
connected through a small capacitor back
to the input.
❑ The portion of the circuit formed by the
amplifier output voltage, the two halves of
the coil, the feedback capacitance and the
neutralizing capacitance form a bridge to
the input

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 Hazeltine neutralization scheme (2)

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 Hazeltine neutralization scheme (3)
❑ For the bridge to null (i.e. producing zero
voltage across the amplifier input), cross
products of the impedance must be equal
such that,
𝑋𝐶𝑓 𝑋𝐿2𝑎 = 𝑋𝐶𝑛 𝑋𝐿2𝑏

𝐿2𝑏
∴ 𝐶𝑛 = 𝐶𝑓
𝐿2𝑎

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 Rice neutralization scheme (1)
❑ The input coil is centre tapped so that L1a
=L1b .

❑ The voltage appearing at the output

drives a phase-shifted current through Cf
and L1a , producing voltage at the amplifier
input.

❑The same output drives an identical-

valued current in the opposite direction
through Cn and L1b.

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 Rice neutralization scheme (2)
❑ The currents in L1 will be equal and
opposing, so that feedback voltage
appearing at the input will be zero.

❑ Null will occur when

𝑋𝐶𝑓 = 𝑋𝐶𝑛
∴ 𝐶𝑛 = 𝐶𝑓

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 Practically how neutralization
achieved in above 2 schemes
1. Turn off the amplifier power supply, but maintain input drive signal (ac)

2. Adjust Cn

3. Vary the output tank tuning capacitor C2 and observe any change in input
bias current

4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 until no change occurs in the bias current when the
output tank tuning is varied, indicating correct neutralization

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 Common Circuit feedback
neutralization (1)
❑ Common circuit reactance Ln, may cause
feedback which may be positive.
❑ This occurs at UHF and microwave
frequency
❑ The parasitic capacitances form a delta
configuration around the three terminals
❑ Replace these delta configured
capacitance by their equivalent Y
configured capacitances.

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 Common Circuit feedback
neutralization (2)
❑ Transformation is given by

𝐶𝑖∆ 𝐶𝑜∆ + 𝐶𝑜∆ 𝐶𝑓∆ + 𝐶𝑓∆ 𝐶𝑖∆

𝐶𝑥𝑦 =
𝐶𝑥∆
where 𝑥 = 𝑖, 𝑜 𝑜𝑟 𝑓
❑ Make the network, formed by Cfy, Cn and
Ln , to series resonant@ operating freq.
❑ Hence it provides virtual short to ground
from the point N’.
❑ Resonance will be established when
𝑋𝐶𝑓𝑦 = 𝑋𝐶𝑛 || 𝑋𝐿𝑛

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 Special RF Amplifiers: Common-
Base Amplifier (1)
❑ Common-base amplifier is used frequently in RF amplifiers for following two reasons:
❑ It provides usable voltage gain to a much higher upper cut-off frequency than CE stage ( i.e. f
>> f )
❑ Second feedback capacitor between the output and input is very much lower than that for the
CE stage.

❑ Same arguments are true for the FET operating in common gate mode.
❑ Two things limit the frequency response of an amplifier gain:
❑ The cut-off frequency at which the amplifying device gain begins to fall.
❑ Shunting effect, which occurs because of the parasitic capacitances between input and output
terminals of the amplifier

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 Special RF Amplifiers: Common-
Base Amplifier (2)

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 Special RF Amplifiers: Common-
Base Amplifier (3)
❑ Upper cut-off frequency is inversely proportional to input time constant for an amplifier.

❑ For CE : Rine= /gm and Cine = Ce + Cob (1+gmRL) and hence ine = RineCine
❑ For CB: Rinb =1/gm and Cinb = Ce and hence inb = RinbCinb << ine

❑ Hence upper cut-off frequency of CB is greater than CE.

❑ While using CB amplifier, ensure to drive this amplifier using very low source
resistance to ensure input time constant is still reduced so that overall response is
limited by the gain cut-off frequency (i.e. f )

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 Example (2)
❑ A transistor has the following characteristics:
Cob = 10 pF , IE = 0.26 mA ,VT = 26 mV,  = 89, fT=300 MHz = 2f ,RL = 2k and
Rs = 100.
Calculate and compare the input circuit cut-off frequency and gain cut-off
frequency for CB and CE modes of operation of the transistor. Also calculate and
compare the current gains, voltage gains and input resistances for the two
modes.

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 Special RF Amplifiers:
Cascode Amplifier (1)
❑ It is composite amplifier pair used for RF amplification
❑ CE stage followed by CB stage, directly coupled to each other.
❑ Hence it combines some features of both CE ad CB amplifier.

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 Special RF Amplifiers:
Cascode Amplifier (2)
❑ Rin =Rie1 = 1/gm1 , Ai =Ai1 Ai2 = 12  1
❑ Av =Av1 Av2 = (-gm1RL1)(gm2RL2) , where RL1 =
1/gm2 and RL2 = RL
❑  Av = - gm1RL ( since IC1 = IE2  gm1 = gm2)
❑ Effective voltage gain of first stage is
approximately unity.
❑ Hence net input capacitor is much smaller than
that usually associated with CE amplifier.
❑ Little or no neutralization needed to maintain
stability

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 Acknowledgement
❖ Schematic Diagram
Source: Schematic diagram drawn in student evaluation version of Multisim-14.1 software

❖ Power Point Presentation

Source: Presentation made in Microsoft office licensed version

❖ Books

[1] Electronic Communications by Dennis Roddy & John Coolen, 3rd Edition,PHI, ISBN: 0-
87692-396-1

[2] Electronic Communications by Dennis Roddy & John Coolen, 4th Edition,PHI, ISBN: 81-
203-0984-7

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 Thank You

Email id: smith.ec@ddu.ac.in , smith@alumni.iitd.ac.in

Contact No: 9825336543

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