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Modern energy transmission and signal reproduction techniques rely upon power amplifier (PA) architectures that must operate with high efficiency. Current-source PAs are linear but inherently inefficient; switch-mode PAs are efficient-yet-nonlinear systems, often lacking an efficient means of amplitude modulation (AM) for power transmission. A promising technique for addressing these problems involves replacing the fixed PA supply voltage V_dd with a controlled, variable voltage provided by a dynamic power supply. High-efficiency envelope tracking and amplitude modulation can thereby be provided to both current-source and switch-mode PAs, respectively. This work presents a pulse-width modulated (PWM) dc-dc buck converter for use as the core power stage of a dynamic supply. Although buck converters typically function as fixed-output supplies, this work provides new theoretical dc analysis for operation wherein the output voltage is controlled and variable over a wide, continuous range. A new design procedure for the variable-output PWM dc-dc buck converter is derived. The new dc analysis and design procedure are verified experimentally. Open-loop ac characteristics, such as transient response, frequency response, and dynamic modulation efficiency are assessed via simulation and experimental measurements. The variable-output buck converter is found to operate as designed, with bandwidth dependent upon a sufficiently high PWM switching frequency f_s. Within this bandwidth, minimal modulation distortion is observed, measured efficiency is greater than 90%, and supplied power-on-demand is verified.

Analog magnetic tape remains a medium of choice for high-fidelity sound recording and reproduction. Some of this fidelity is sacrificed during the tape playback process; an optimized playback preamplifier is therefore critical to the performance of the medium. Existing playback methods integrate the voltage generated across the reproduce head to obtain a signal directly proportional to the remanent magnetic flux of the tape. An alternate playback method proposes the use of a transresistance amplifier to convert flux-proportional reproduce head current directly to voltage. This eliminates the need for voltage integration and minimizes the amount of equalization performed upon playback. Circuit size and complexity are likewise reduced. A practical transresistance playback preamplifier is designed and its performance is evaluated against selected integrating playback preamplifiers. SPICE simulation verifies that the proposed design offers a significant reduction in harmonic distortion, as well as improved transient response, magnitude response, and phase margin.