You are often suggested to buy RF amplifier when you are out there planning to buy a radio. Know why? Because amplifiers are simple devices which enhance the sound quality you receive from audio devices. RF (radio frequency) amplifiers are especially designed to go with radios. They receive varied input signals in the form of current, voltage or others and transform them into output signals with larger amplitude based on the input signal.
Though both the input and the output devices use different circuits, signals received and sent by them are generally of the same type. Uninterrupted signal is generated as the power supply created output circuit receives resistance in varying levels from the input circuit to stable the current. Based on the amount of signals received from the input circuit by the output circuit one or more pre-amplifiers may work together to enhance the signal to create powerful output and send it to the RF power amplifier (PA).
Different types of RF amplifiers are pulse, multi-carrier, low noise, buffer, bi-directional and limiting amplifiers. Various types of them make it little difficult to select the right type of RF amplifier, however the choice can be made easier if you focus on their disparate performance specifications like operating frequency, design gain, output power and gain flatness.
- Different RF amplifiers have different frequency range for which their specifications are guaranteed, this is called operating frequency
- Design gain refers to the ratio of output to the input and is usually denoted in decibel
- Conditions like load, temperature, supply voltage and VSWR (Voltage Standing Wave Ratio) affect output. Output power refers to how the output will be affected under any such condition
- Gain flatness refers to the gain variation depending on the operating wavelengths
Output VSWR, noise figure (NF), monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) technology and input VSWR are some secondary specifications you should check when you are thinking of buying RF amplifier.
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