AN-483B Application Note 15 T0 60 WATT AUDIO AMPLIFIERS USING COMPLEMENTARY DARLINGTON OUTPUT TRANSISTORS MOTOROLA Semiconductor Products Inc. 5/197415 TO 60 WATT AUDIO AMPLIFIERS USING COMPLEMENTARY DARLINGTON OUTPUT TRANSISTORS INTRODUCTION Recently developed silicon monolithic darlington power ‘uansistors permit significant simplification of audio power Pate amplifier circuitry. The amplifiers described in this note aul uuse complementary power darlington output transistors, ae eliminating the two driver transistors used in previous av a0v ‘methods. A significant cost savings should be realized since, 43k 56k 2k 120% |t00% 190% pak 47k in addition to the driver devices, the driver heat sinks and output biasing resistors are also eliminated. Also, the printed circuit board for the amplifier could become very compact. ‘Three circuits will be discussed: a 15 to 20 watt, medi- tum performance amplifier, a 15 to 60 watt high perform- ance amplifier with ac-coupled output, aid a 15 to 60 watt high performance amplifier with de-coupled output. 15-20 WATT AMPLIFIER, ‘The circuit ofthe 15-20 watt amplifier is shown in Figure 1, To ensure maximum signal swing, the de “center” volt- age (the point between RB and R9) must be one-half of form a voltage divider which provides de bias to the base ‘Vcc. This is accomplished by de feedback from this point of QI. Loading of this divider by the base current of Ql to the base of QI, through R3. Resistors R3 and R2 also could cause the center voltage to vary with changes in FIGURE 1 — Four Transistor Audio Amplifier for 15 to 20 W Output ‘ircult diagrams external to Motorola product are included a8 a means of Hrtrating typeal eomiconauctor applications; conseauendy, ‘Someta information sutficient for construction purpose Te not necemarily alan, The Information ints Application Nate hes beon care {fall checked andletaleved to be encely raat, Howover,no responsiblity ir assumed for inaccuracies, Furthermore, such infermetion ‘Sour sot convey tothe purchaser of the semlcanduetor devices Sesribed any learse under the patent ght of Motorola Ine, oF other,Ihre of QI. To prevent this change, the direct curent in the R2, R3 divider is made at least fen times greater than the maximum base cureent of Ql. Transistor Q2 is used to forward bias the output daring- ton devices. Resistors R4, Ry and RI form a resistive divider which sets the collector to emitter voltage of Q2 at approximately 2.4 V for biasing of the output. Ry is ‘made variable so that the Ic of Q2 ean be adjusted and consequently the de “idle current” in the output tran- sistorscan be set to minimize eross-ove distortion. Twenty milliamps of idle current is sufficient to eliminate this ortion. The VCE voltage of 2 tracks the VBE(on) temperature characteristies of Q3 and Q4 adequately. Therefore, if O2 were mounted on the heatsink withthe output transistors, the de idle current would remain within practical limits over the temperature range To ensure maximum swing during peak negative signal ‘excursions, R6 is connected to the speaker side of the out- put coupling capacitor. This makes use of the de charge ‘on the output coupling capacitor to provide drive current to the base of Q¢ thru R6 (bootstrapping). Parts values and typical performance characteristics for the 15 to 20 watt circuit are shown in Table L ‘THE 15-60 WATT AC COUPLED CIRCUIT ‘The 15 to 60 watt ac-coupled circuit is shown in Figure 2. As in the previous circuit, the center voltage must be one half Voc for maximum output swing. Resistors RI, RR2 and R3 form a voltage divider which sets the de voltage on the base of QI at approximately 1.5 vos above 1/2 Vcc. This will maintain the center voltage at 1/2 Voc since there isa constant 1.$ volt drop from the base of QL to the output center point. This drop is caused by the base-emitter diode voltage of QI and the voltage drop across R6 due to the emitter current of QL. The de voltage across R4 is set by the VBE(on) voltage of Q2. The collector current of QI and the curren thn R6 is thus Voe(on) Q2 06 Re 1BKR 33 mA The ac closed-loop gain of the circuit is _R6 AEBS The input impedance is set by the parallel equivalent resistance of R2 and R3. Transistor Q2 has approximately 60 dB of voltage and determines the dominant pole in the amplifier. A 50 pF capacitor is used in this stage to compensate the amplifier to prevent high frequency oscillations. Transistor Q3 is used, as inthe previous circuit, to for wardbias the output devicesto preventeross-over distortion. ‘A constant current source, QM, s used to eliminate the need for bootstrapping the base of Q6. This eliminates the effects of the bootstrap capacitor on frequency, providing FIGURE 2 ~ 15 to 60 Watt Power Ampl With AC Coupled Output‘TABLE Il — Parts List of 15 to 60 Watt Circuit of Figure 2 wats MS) ce as 2 ° es Toad Impedance | 4 | & | 4 ie a es Vee eu ev (ohm) oe tonne) eee fara | es a ‘oa_| 08 2 Ass ‘es | ws | wes fe 2 m3 | mis | ats | Avs a ‘wea | wes [wes] wes” [wee | wre [es Aes. | A096 _| AOS | ses | a08 | aoe = Me pa ss Hao | sooo | sam | soco_| 200 | soo. | ao. eS wwe psf oma] ws | owe oss 1090, | 2500 _| 500 | 2801 _| z001_| 2601 ore aia ov | av | cov | sev | oxy | ow | ev ‘tue mr lay os fay bay | ae fer Voltage ona sev | sv | ov | wv | wv | ev | cov sorcw — |sctem sstcm| 0% aorciw ‘TABLE IN — Typical Performance of Circuit in Figure 2 Tale Currant (Aahuwted with Ry) 20ma Taput impedence SOKA Power up to Full Rated Output (See Figure 3) 0.2% Frequency Response (1 65 Points) BO He wna Rated Power 20 Wate Amplifor sone 0 wate Ampito: Sone lower distortion at low frequencies. The collector-emitter voltage of Q3 is a function of its collector current. There- fore, to eliminate cross-over distortion when a poorly regu- lated supply is used for Vcc, it is necessary to make the current source, Q4, independent of supply voltage varia- tions. Diode D1 is used for this purpose since its forward voltage and, consequently, the voltage across RB are rela tively constant with respect to current changes in D1. Hum and noise from the power supply ate filtered out by RI and Cl ‘Table Il lists the parts used for the 15 to 60 watt circuits, ‘Table IIL and Figure 3 show typical performance of the amplifier. 020 1 T - tt 17 4 ot { Fal ata Sumuitovr i} of || | DN i ~| Urput Power | 20 50, 100 ve oe v0 FIGURE 3 ~ Typical T.H.O. vorsus Froquoney for Amplifier of Figure 2= "iow tT row Soa/awnestor ‘THE 15 TO 60 WATT DC-COUPLED CIRCUIT ‘The 15 to 60 watt de-coupled circuit is shown in Figure 4. The output center voltage must be maintained at zero volts de not only to ensure maximum signal swing but also FIGURE 4 — 15 to 60 Watt Power Amplifier with OG Coupled Output to prevent de from appearing at the speaker. The ze10 center voltage is obtained by using a split power supply and a differential amplifier on the input of the circuit. The signal input base of the difamp (Q1) is referenced to 0 TABLE IV ~ Part Lint or 11060 Wot Cut of Fis & Tove Watts (AMS) " = = a 50 eo Se erhrlLULhvrrr—CsCrtc_e Lh ae Eeyaew | Sev aBy py] oHv [aay [owe [enw] Sev | Sew) ev ny | tex [aan | aoe'| ase | 220 | aan | aon | ase | ase | ase | aoe | oan ey [rae fom | wwe | von | cox | om | mao | ooo | ooo | aro | oxo | aso ae a 1,02 Dus cry MO wo | MD O uD ‘™D wo ‘Mo ™D go ‘Soar | poor | eeer | coor | voor | soo: | om | oor | 001 | soee Sata eters sf este a 3 ABB ASS AS ABB ABS. 56. ASS ASE ASG ASG fis eee are [are pares es fs fore | as head AMZ ANZ ANS AI | AI AIS, Ala ANZ ANS AND. x Seas ee] eae | wees fre | ure | rs | z Mos |e |S | ses | Sts | es | os | Roe] eo ss = ae ee eae ne eee Moo {sae | truw_| 2900. | soo: | soso | soo:_| soon | zoos a ee ee ee | Yeo | tomo | tore | tovo | ato | sor | aeoo- | 290, | eos cuouwe see one gore lawrc sister] arco aero‘TABLE V ~ Typical Performance of Clreuit in Figure 4 fate Current Taajutea with Ry) 20mm from 100 mW to Full Rates Output eee Figure 8) | 0.18% [resrmogutetion tortion 6OWe with 2kHe and 7 eH volis de tha RI. Oneshundred per ent de feedback is decomplised thru R6 to the bate of Q2, Since the am- plier i de coupled throughout, any offet voltage that, Appears atthe output wil be corrected bythe diferential action of QI and 2. Iti essential that QI and Q2 be matched very closely since any difference in base current and VBE(on) will be reflected as an error voltage on the output. Transistors QI and Q2 are biased at I mA of, collector current each. A 10 V zener diode in conjunction with R3 is used to set this current. The zener diode also provides filtering to prevent hum and noise on the -Voc line fom getting into the input stage. Te value of R4is chosen for4 mA;2 mA of current forthe zener diode and the diff amps 2 ma foe The closed-loop ac gain of the amplifier is determined by: R6 VRS ‘The remainder of the circuit operation is identical to the previously described ac coupled approach of Figure 2. ‘The choke used on the output is to prevent high: frequency oscillations that might occur with capacitive loading. ‘Table IV lists the parts used for the de-coupled ampli- fiers, Table V and Figure 5 show the typical performance of these amplifiers. OUTPUT STAGE BIASING ‘The output stage biasing for the circuits in Figures 2 and 4 is controlled by Q3 in Figure 2 and Q4 in Figure 4 QB or Q4 should have an hpE greater than 100 so that the current through RI and R2 can be made less one-tenth of the collector current. If this condition is satisfied the base- emitter drop of Q3 or Q4 can be considered a reference voltage and the values of RI and R2 can be caleulated from vi (Gee Figure 6) For Example: An MPS-A13 Darlington transistor 1s suggested for Q3 or Q4. The typical base-emitter voltage is 1.15 volts which is set equal to VR. V1 is the total turn: (on voltage for the output transistors and is typically 2.4 V. The total resistance, RI + R2, should be chosen so that the current through them is less than one-tenth of the collector current, which is approximately 20 mA. If R2 is selected as 2.2 k this condition will definitely be satisfied. R2 should not be selected much higher than this or the ‘minimum hpE requirement for the bias transistor will be higher. By using the known conditions, VR =1.15,V1=2.4 and R2 = 2.2 k,RI is caleulated to be 2.2 k ohms using the previously mentioned equation. To allow for variation in VBE and hpE in the bias and output transistor, RL is usually divided and potentiometer is added. In this ex: ample a potentiometer of 1 k ohm and a resistor of 2.2k ohms is used to provide this adjustment. vap—[Georas To collector f 0407 08 FIGURE 6 ~ Bins Circuit for Output Stage OVERLOAD PROTECTION AA circuit for overload protection applying to all the arlington amplifiers discussed in this note, is shown in Figure 7. This circuit holds the daslington output devices within their de safe-operating area in the event the output is accidentally shorted. Resistors RI and R2 form a voltage divider which senses the peak current flowing through the output tran- sistor and Rg. This divider is set to turn QI and Q2 “ON” ‘when the output current goes above the maximum normal ‘operating level. When QI and Q2 conduct, they limit the amount of drive to the base of the output and, conse quently, limit the amount of output current. Transistor QI and its associated circuitry function for the positive half of the waveform; Q2 and its associated circuitry, for the negative half of the waveform. Diode D1 prevents the collector-base junction of QI and Q2 from being forward biased during normal signal conditions and creating dis- tortion in the output waveform During shorted output, the average power dissipation in the output devices increases about four times aver the normal operating dissipation. The length of time a shorted YY yon | T TT 018 : — | a | nen hyd) 8 one 7 raven omer ee EI : ot ; J 10 nt Guat Pow 0.05 t - ! i ! 7 wo 300 1" yor fOr ax Favre | FIGURES ~ Type... vrs Fraqene for Ample fF vaste vt condition canbe flerated i striety a function ofthe ize ae = and capability of the output heat sinks When the min wate st |_impeinn tha) | of Rohe) imum Heatsinks specified in Tables 1, Tand IV are used, 7 Te ‘and the circuit is operated in a 25°C ambient, the output ae = 180 devices can drive a shorted load for afew minutes without oo ‘ fa any damage, “Load line” protection circuits can also be 3 ro used with the darlington amplifiers for long term overload = a ee protection - za Table VI gives the values of RI in Figure 7 which, in i 3 390) the event of an overload, provide adequate safe operating a 4 310. area protetion onthe output devices forall ofthe ampli = ae fers described in thi note 5 a cE CONCLUSION ‘This note has described 15 watt to 60 watt audio power amplifiers using silicon monolithic darlington power out put transistors ‘The circuit illustrate the simplification resulting from the use of these darlington devices. The achievable per formance of these amplifiers is equal to that previously ‘obtained using the best silicon discrete devices. FIGURE ? — Ow