WO1994011946A1

WO1994011946A1 - Two-port wideband bipolar transistor amplifiers

Info

Publication number: WO1994011946A1
Application number: PCT/CA1992/000490
Authority: WO
Inventors: Güner TARALP
Original assignee: Taralp Guener
Priority date: 1991-07-24
Filing date: 1992-11-16
Publication date: 1994-05-26
Also published as: US5164682A; EP0671074A1

Abstract

A wideband amplifier comprises a dual-emitter bipolar transistor arrangement (14; 70, 72; 70, 74, 76) with coaxial transformers (40, 42; 44, 46), each having a high turns ratio and tight coupling between a first toroidal winding (40; 44) on an annular ferrite core and a second, single-turn, winding (42; 46) constituted by a metal container of the transformer. The second windings are coupled between respective emitters and signal ground, and the first windings are connected between the transistor base and collector, respectively, and signal ground. An input signal is supplied to the base, and an output signal is derived from the collector. The dual-emitter bipolar transistor, which has four terminals, is thereby transformed into a two-port (input port and output port) device which facilitates impedance matching, provides a linear and constant gain over a large bandwidth, provides high isolation of the input from the output, and provides low noise at the input and a high level at the output.

Description

TWO-PORT WIDEBAND BIPOLAR TRANSISTOR AMPLIFIERS

DESCRIPTION TECHNICAL FIELD:

This invention relates to amplifiers, and is particularly concerned with wideband bipolar transistor amplifiers in which transformers are used for signal coupling so that a bipolar transistor, which is a three-terminal device, becomes a two-port device, with one input port and one output port. The term wideband is used in this specification to refer to radio frequency signals, for example in a range from about 1 MHz to about 1 GHz.

BACKGROUND ART:

In Taralp United States Patent No. 4,156,173 issued May 22, 1979 and entitled "Input Impedance Matching Of A Bipolar Transistor Amplifier Employing A Coaxial Transformer", there is described a common emitter bipolar transistor amplifier for signals in the VHF (30 to 300 MHz) range in which a coaxial transformer is used for impedance matching between the amplifier and the signal source. The signal source typically has an impedance of 50 Ω, whereas the base-emitter circuit of the bipolar transistor of the amplifier typically has an impedance which is much higher than this. Accordingly, the coaxial transformer has a relatively high turns ratio, for example 5:1, to provide a desired high (25:1) impedance transformation ratio.

As described in United States Patent No. 4,156,173, the coaxial transformer comprises a first winding on a ferrite toroidal core which is substantially surrounded by a metal enclosure which constitutes a single turn second winding of the transformer. A transformer of this general type is also described in Silverstein United States Patent No. 3,353,130 issued November 14, 1967 and entitled "High Ratio Vacuum Tube Input Transformer". The coaxial transformer provides both the high turns ratio which is necessary for impedance matching of the input of the amplifier, and tight coupling between the transformer windings which is necessary for the required bandwidth of the amplifier. United States Patent No. 4,156,173 is concerned only with impedance matching of the input of the amplifier, which contributes to low noise. It does not discuss other characteristics of the amplifier such as amplifier efficiency, linearity, and isolation between the input and output of the amplifier. In addition, the patent illustrates a load in the collector circuit of the transistor, but does not describe the nature or impedance of this and does not address impedance matching between the amplifier and the load. US patent No. 4,590,439 (Wagner) issued May 1986 discloses an amplifier having a bipolar transistor with a signal supplied to the base, and a transformer with one winding coupled between the collector and ground and another winding coupled between the emitter and ground, with a turns ratio of 4:1. A second transformer provides feedback from the collector to the base of the transistor so that a combination of current and voltage feedback is provided. Wagner's arrangment, however, would not give particularly good isolation between the input and the output. Isolation between the output and the input of a wideband amplifier is particularly important in view of the situations in which such an amplifier may be used. For example, such an amplifier may be used to drive a transmission line or with a following mixer circuit, either of which may reflect signals back to the amplifier output. Unless the amplifier has very good isolation between its output and input circuits, such undesired reflected signals will be communicated at least in part to the input circuitry of the amplifier and cause seriously degraded performance (e.g. magnitude and phase characteristics, and to a lesser extent noise figure) of the amplifier.

An object of this invention, therefore, is to provide an improved wideband bipolar transistor amplifier.

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION:

According to one aspect of this invention there is provided a wideband amplifier comprising: a bipolar transistor arrangement including a base, a collector, and first and second emitters; a first transformer for coupling a signal to be amplified between the base and the first emitter, the first transformer including a first winding coupled between the base and signal ground, and a second winding coupled between the first emitter and signal ground; and a second transformer for deriving an amplified signal from the collector and the second emitter, the second transformer including a first winding coupled between the collector and signal ground, and a second winding coupled between the second emitter and signal ground.

The term "signal ground" is used herein to refer to points which are grounded for signal or a.c. purposes, but which for d.c. may not be at ground potential but may be at some other potential for example for appropriately biasing the bipolar transistor arrangement.

Preferably, the turns ratio of the transformers is sufficiently high, for example at least 6:1, that the output current is split into suitable proportions to nullify the differences in feedback due to differences in the emitter/base and collector/base impedances, respectively.

The first and second transformers have the effect of transforming the bipolar transistor arrangement, which is essentially a three-terminal or three-port device, into a two-port device, namely an input port and an output port. The bipolar transistor arrangement can comprise a dual-emitter bipolar transistor, or it can comprise a first bipolar transistor having a base, collector, and emitter constituting respectively the base, collector, and first emitter of the bipolar transistor arrangement, and a second bipolar transistor having a base connected to the base of the first bipolar transistor, a collector connected to the collector of the first bipolar transistor, and an emitter constituting the second emitter of the bipolar transistor arrangement. In the latter case the second bipolar transistor can be a Darlington transistor, or two transistors interconnected in Darlington configuration, to provide the amplifier with an enhanced bandwidth and reverse isolation. Such an amplifier facilitates the provision of independently matched impedances at the input and the output, linear and constant gain over a large bandwidth, and excellent isolation of the input from the output. The amplifier characteristics can be further enhanced by a capacitor connected between the base and the second emitter of the bipolar transistor arrangement, and/or a capacitor connected between the collector and the first emitter of the bipolar transistor arrangement, in either case for compensating for collector-base capacitance of the bipolar transistor arrangement.

In order to provide a relatively high turns ratio and tight coupling, each transformer preferably comprises a coaxial structure in which the first winding comprises a toroidal winding on an annular ferrite core, and the second winding comprises a single turn constituted by a metal container surrounding and extending through the ferrite core and the first winding. The first winding of each transformer can have at least about 10 turns whereby a turns ratio of the first winding to the second winding of the transformer is at least about 6:1.

According to another aspect this invention provides an amplifier comprising: a bipolar transistor arrangement including a base, a collector, and first and second emitters; a first transformer including a first winding coupled between the base and signal ground and a second winding coupled between the first emitter and signal ground; a second transformer including a first winding coupled between the collector and signal ground and a second winding coupled between the second emitter and signal ground; means for supplying a signal to be amplified to the base; and means for deriving an amplified signal from the collector; wherein at least one of the first and second transformers is a coaxial transformer whose first winding comprises a toroidal winding on an annular ferrite core and whose second winding comprises a single turn constituted by a metal container surrounding and extending through the ferrite core and the first winding. Preferably both of the first and second transformers are coaxial transformers.

According to a further aspect this invention provides a wideband amplifier comprising: a bipolar transistor including a base, a collector, and an emitter; means for supplying a signal to the transistor to be amplified thereby; and a transformer for deriving an amplified signal from the transistor, the transformer including a first winding coupled between the collector and signal ground and a second winding coupled between the emitter and signal ground, wherein the first winding comprises a toroidal winding on an annular ferrite core and the second winding comprises a single turn constituted by a metal container surrounding and extending through the ferrite core and the first winding. In this case the bipolar transistor preferably includes a further emitter and the means for supplying a signal to the transistor comprises a transformer including a first winding coupled between the base and signal ground and a second winding coupled between the further emitter and signal ground, wherein the first winding comprises a toroidal winding on an annular ferrite core and the second winding comprises a single turn constituted by a metal container surrounding and extending through the ferrite core and the first winding.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS:

The invention will be further understood from the following description with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which the same references are used in different figures to denote similar elements and in which: Figure 1 is a schematic circuit diagram of a wideband amplifier in accordance with an embodiment of this invention; Figure 2 is a cross-sectional illustration of a coaxial transformer which is used in the amplifier of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a simplified schematic circuit diagram of the wideband amplifier of Figure 1, illustrating only the a.c. signal circuits;

Figure 4 shows the circuit diagram of Figure 3 in an alternative form; Figure 5 is a simplified schematic diagram similar to Figure 4 of a wideband amplifier in accordance with another embodiment of the invention;

Figures 6 and 7 are simplified schematic circuit diagrams similar to Figure 3 of wideband amplifiers in accordance with alternative embodiments of this invention;

Figure 8 illustrates a modification of the embodiment shown in Figure 5;

Figure 9 illustrates a modification of the embodiment shown in Figure 6;

Figure 10 illustrates an alternative modification of the embodiment of Figure 6;

Figure 11 illustrates an alternative modification of the embodiment of Figure 5; and Figure 12 illustrates an alternative modification of the embodiment of Figure 4.

MODE(S) FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION:

Referring to Figure 1, there is illustrated a wideband bipolar transistor amplifier in accordance with an embodiment of this invention, for amplifying signals at radio frequencies in a range from about 1 MHz up to hundreds of MHz or about 1 GHz. The amplifier comprises an input 10 to which a signal to be amplified is supplied, a first transformer 12, a dual-emitter bipolar transistor 14, a second transformer 16, and an output 18 at which an amplified signal is produced. The remainder of the components of the amplifier of Figure 1 serve for d.c. biasing and d.c. isolation of the transistor 14, and are described further below. These remaining components comprise capacitors 24, 26, 28, 30, 32, and 34, resistors 36 and 38, and supply voltages Vb and Vc which may for example be about +1 volt and +3 to +5 volts, respectively, relative to d.c. ground. The voltage Vc may be increased for higher power amplifiers. Each of the transformers 12 and 16 provides a high turns ratio and a tight coupling between a first winding and a second winding. In order to provide such a high turns ratio, for example in a range from 10:1 (or less, e.g. 6:1 or 8:1, especially for low bias currents) to about 20:1 or 30:1, and maintain a tight coupling which is necessary to achieve wideband operation of the amplifier, each of these transformers is in the form of a coaxial transformer as described below with reference to Figure 2. The first and second windings of the first transformer 12 are referenced 40 and 42 respectively, and the first and second windings of the second transformer 16 are referenced 44 and 46 respectively. The base of the transistor 14 is coupled to the input 10 via the capacitor 24, and to signal ground via the first winding 40 of the first transformer 12 which is connected to d.c. ground via the decoupling capacitor 26. The supply voltage Vb is applied to the junction between the capacitor 26 and the first winding 40, to provide a desired base d.c. bias for the transistor 14. A first emitter 41 of the transistor 14 is coupled to signal ground via the second winding 42 of the first transformer 12 which is connected to d.c. ground via the decoupling capacitor 28. The resistor 36 is connected in parallel with the capacitor 28 to determine a desired emitter current for this first emitter.

Correspondingly, the collector of the transistor 14 is coupled to the output 18 via the capacitor 34, and to signal ground via the first winding 44 of the second transformer 16 which is connected to d.c. ground via the decoupling capacitor 32. The supply voltage Vc is applied to the junction between the capacitor 32 and the first winding 44, to provide a desired collector d.c. bias for the transistor 14. A second emitter 43 of the transistor 14 is coupled to signal ground via the second winding 46 of the second transformer 16 which is connected to d.c. ground via the decoupling capacitor 30. The resistor 38 is connected in parallel with the capacitor 30 to determine a desired emitter current for this second emitter.

For simplicity, Figure 3 illustrates the amplifier of Figure 1 but shows only the a.c. signal components without illustrating any of the d.c. biasing and d.c. isolation components. Thus all of the ground points shown in Figure 3 are signal or a.c. ground points. From Figure 3 it can be clearly seen that the amplifier comprises essentially only three components, namely the first transformer 12, the dual-emitter transistor 14, and the second transformer 16. As is clearly shown in Figure 3, the first and second windings 40 and 42 of the first transformer 12 are coupled between the base and signal ground and between the first emitter and signal ground respectively, and the first and second windings 44 and 46 of the second transformer 16 are coupled between the collector and signal ground and between the second emitter and signal ground respectively.

Figure 4 illustrates the amplifier in a similar manner to Figure 3 but with a different arrangement to illustrate the transformation of the bipolar transistor 14, which is essentially a three-terminal or three-port device, into a two-port amplifier in which the input 10 constitutes an input port and the output 18 constitutes an output port of the amplifier.

Figure 2 illustrates, in a much enlarged and cross-sectional view, a coaxial transformer which is desirably used for each of the transformers 12 and 16. As has already been indicated above, a coaxial transformer is used to provide the combined features of a high turns ratio and tight coupling between the windings.

Referring to Figure 2, the coaxial transformer consists of a metal cylindrical container or shell 50, within the round body of which there is a toroidal winding 52 on an annular ferrite core 54. An inner axial post 56 of the shell 50 extends through the centre of the winding 52 and core 54, and projects to form a connection pin 58, and an outer flange 60 of the shell 50 provides for convenient surface mounting of the transformer. The shell 50 thereby constitutes a single-turn winding of the transformer. The outside of the shell 50, and the flange 60, can be of arbitrary shape and can conveniently be square or round. The ends of the winding 52 extend through a slot 62 at one point around the periphery of the shell 50, as shown for one end 64 of this winding, and can be terminated in any convenient manner, for example with surface-mount solder pads (not shown) . By way of example, the shell 50 can have a height of 2 mm and inner and outer diameters of 2.9 mm and 3.2 mm respectively, with the flange 60 being square with a side of 3.7 mm or being round with a diameter of 5 mm, in either case to facilitate providing a low impedance connection. The ferrite core 54 can be Indiana General type BBR7404, and the toroidal winding 52 can comprise a desired number of (e.g. 10 to 20 or 30) turns of 41 or 42 gauge enamelled wire, extending around the entire periphery of the core 54. The toroidal winding 52 constitutes the first winding 40 or 44 of the transformer 12 or 16 respectively, and the shell 50 constitutes the second winding 42 or 46 of the transformer 12 or 16 respectively.

As can be appreciated from the small size of the coaxial transformer and the few components which are required for the amplifier, the amplifier of Figure 1 can be constructed in a very small space using surface-mount technology. Such an amplifier has been found to achieve wideband operation in a highly linear manner, i.e. with a gain which is substantially constant for various signal levels and for any frequency over the bandwidth, and with relatively high efficiency because, as can be seen from Figures 3 and 4, the only resistive losses to which the signal is subject are those inherent in the transformers 12 and 16 and the transistor 14. At the same time, the amplifier provides high isolation of the input from the output, for example an isolation of the order of 50 dB at

200 MHz for an amplifier with a bandwidth of 300 MHz or more.

The high isolation of the input from the output provided by the amplifier can be appreciated from the fact that, as illustrated in Figure 1 and more simply in Figures 3 and 4, the output and input circuitry are completely separate, linked only through the dual emitters of the transistor 14. This isolation also facilitates independent matching of impedances at both the input and output, by appropriate selection of the transformer turns ratios and/or adjustment of the bias voltages Vb and Vc.

To further facilitate impedance matching without requiring changes to these bias voltages, each transformer can optionally include a third winding used in the same manner as described with reference to Figure 5 of United States Patent No. 4,156,173. In this case the input 10 would be coupled to ground, via a third winding of the transformer 12, instead of being coupled directly to the base of the transistor 14. Similarly the output 18 would be coupled to ground, via a third winding of the transformer 16, instead of being coupled directly to the collector of the transistor 14.

Figure 5 illustrates an alternative form of wideband amplifier which is similar to the amplifier as illustrated in Figure 4 except that the transformer matching at the input is dispensed with. Thus the amplifier of Figure 5 consists of only the bipolar transistor 14, which in this case does not have a dual emitter and simply has its base connected to the input 10, and the transformer 16 connected in the emitter and collector circuits of the transistor 14 and providing output matching in the same manner as described above.

Although as described above with reference to Figures 1 and 3 the transistor 14 has a dual-emitter structure, an equivalent transistor arrangement can be provided using two separate bipolar transistors. Such an alternative arrangement is illustrated in Figure 6, in a similar manner to Figure 3 for simplicity. D.c. biasing and d.c. isolation would be provided for the amplifier of Figure 6 in a similar manner to that shown in Figure 1.

The amplifier of Figure 6 differs from that of Figures 1, 3, and 4 as described above only in that, instead of the dual-emitter transistor 14, two separate transistors 70 and 72 are used, with their bases connected together and coupled to the input 10, their collectors connected together and coupled to the output 18, and their emitters connected to the second windings 42 and 46, respectively, of the transformers 12 and 16 respectively. The transistors 70 and 72 can be the same type or different types; for example, they may both be Siemens type BFP81 transistors.

Figure 7 illustrates an alternative embodiment of the invention which is similar to that of Figure 6 except in that, in order to provide a greater bandwidth and greater reverse isolation, the transistor 72 is replaced by two transistors 74 and 76 which are interconnected in Darlington configuration.

The transistor 14 of the embodiment of Figure 5 can be likewise be replaced by two transistors 74 and 76 connected as before in Darlington configuration.

In either embodiment, the two transistors 74 and 76, instead of being separate devices, could be constituted by a Darlington transistor. The impedance matching can be further enhanced, especially at high frequencies, by fine tuning at the input and output using series inductors and/or shunt capacitors in known manner.

Isolation between the input and output ports can be further enhanced, though possibly at the expense of linearity, by controlling the self inductance of, and/or mutual coupling between, certain interconnections of the amplifier. Thus, Figure 8 shows the embodiment of Figure 5 modified by the addition of an inductor 80 in series between the input 10 and the base of transistor 14, and two inductors 82 and 84 in series between the collector of transistor 14 and the output 18. The junction between inductors 82 and 84 is connected to transformer winding 44. Inductors 80 and 82 are coupled by mutual inductance M and inductors 82 and 84 by mutual inductance M_2/3. This modification applies whether transistor 14 is a single transistor or a Darlington arrangement.

The embodiments of Figures 4 and 7 may be modified in a similar manner, i.e. by providing additional inductances as illustrated in broken lines in those Figures. In Figure 7, however, two inductors 80A and 80B are connected in series with the base of the first transistor 70.

Figure 9 illustrates a modification of the embodiment of Figure 6, in which inductors 80A and 80B are provided in series between the input 10 and the base of transistor 70 and coupled by mutual inductance M,. An inductor 80C is provided in series between the base of transistor 72 and the junction between inductors 80A and 80B. In addition, the collectors of transistors 70 and 72 are connected by inductors 82A and 82B, respectively, in common to the winding 44 of transformer 16 and an inductor 84 in series with the output 18. Inductors 8OB and 82A are coupled by mutual inductance M₂; inductors 80C and 82B are coupled by mutual inductance M₄; and inductors 82B and 84 are coupled by mutual inductance M₃.

The polarities of the couplings are not shown and will be determined in individual cases, depending upon the parameters of individual devices. Also, the values of self inductance of the various inductors and the mutual inductance values between them will differ according to the individual devices. Typically, the inductance values involved need only be quite small, for example self inductances between 10 and 30 nH and mutual inductances between 3 and 30 nH. In some cases, they may even be substantially zero. Suitable self inductance values may be achieved by increasing the length of, and coiling, the strip conductors forming the interconnections. The required mutual coupling may then be achieved by close positioning of respective interconnections, perhaps even interleaving the coils of inductors which are to be coupled.

These additional inductances have the effect of counteracting stray inductance of the transformers and stray capacitance of the devices and the circuit layout, which improves isolation between input and output and allows greater bandwidth. For example, whereas the embodiment of Figure 7, with its Darlington configuration, might extend the bandwidth by, say, 10 per cent, fine tuning by means of the inductors may increase the bandwidth by several hundred per cent, perhaps to about 400 MHz. It should be appreciated that the use of mutually coupled inductors in the strip conductors is not limited to amplifiers which use toroidal transformers as described in the preferred embodiments. They could also be used in amplifiers with other kinds of transformers and possibly transformers with turns ratios which are not at least 6:1.

Figures 10, 11 and 12 illustrate other modifications which may be made to improve the performance of the embodiments of the invention depicted in Figures 1 to 7 in addition to, or without, controlling the self or mutual inductance between interconnections. Figure 10 illustrates how the circuit of Figure 6 can be modified to give a balanced configuration by providing an additional secondary winding 40A on the transformer 12 and an additional secondary winding 44A on the transformer 44, each of the additional secondary windings being connected in antiphase with the respective one of the secondary windings 40 and 44 and grounded at one end. Also, whereas in the circuit of Figure 6 the base and collector of transistor 72 are connected to the base and collector of transistor 70, in the modified circuit of Figure 10 the base of transistor 72 is connected instead to the additional secondary winding 40A and its collector is connected to the additional secondary winding 44A. Each pair of secondary windings 40,40A or 44,44A may conveniently comprise bifilar windings and hence have the same number of turns. While it is preferable for the additional secondary windings to have the same number of turns as the first secondary windings, it is not necessary. The effect of the additional secondary windings 40A and 44A is that the two transistors 70 and 72 have signals fed to them in antiphase and also collected from them in antiphase, with the result that a performance enhancement can be obtained similar to the advantages of balanced amplifier circuits. Any of the embodiments of the invention which have their inputs or outputs impedance matched may yield better efficiency and lowered susceptibility to transistor parameters if they are modified by inserting a balun transformer in series with the input or output, or both, as the case may be, with or without the self- and mutual- inductance modification.

Figure 11 illustrates, using the circuit of Figure 5 as an example, how those circuits with a single emitter transistor would be modified by inserting a balun transformer

86 with its primary winding 88 connected between the collector of transistor 14 and the output terminal 18 and its secondary winding 90 connected between the second emitter of transistor 14 and ground. Figure 12 illustrates, using the circuit of Figure 4 as an example, how those circuits with a two emitter transistors would be modified by means of two balun transformers. The first balun transformer 86 is connected in a similar manner to that of Figure 11 with its primary winding 88 connected in series between the output terminal 18 and the collector of the transistor 14. The secondary winding 90 of the balun transformer 86 is connected between one emitter of transistor 14 and ground. A second balun transformer 92 has its primary winding 94 connected in series between the base of transistor 14 and the input terminal 10 and its secondary winding 96 connected between the other emitter of transistor 14 and ground.

The balun transformer at the input feeds the signal between base and emitter terminals of the transistor rather than the base only. Likewise, the balun transformer at the output derives the signal from collector and emitter terminals rather than the collector only. The result, especially when used with the balanced circuit of Figure 10) less susceptibility to bias conditions and transistor parameters, and improved performance, such as linearity. Although it is preferable to ground the secondary winding of each balun transformer, it could be left floating.

Numerous other modifications, variations, and adaptations may be made to the particular embodiments of the invention described above without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the claims.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

Wideband amplifiers embodying the invention find application where linearity is important and it is desirable for a wideband amplifier to have a substantially constant gain for all input signal levels over the wide range of operating frequencies, or bandwidth, of the amplifier; and where a relatively high amplifier efficiency (for a Class A amplifier) is desirable in order to reduce power consumption and dissipation, especially when such amplifiers are used in densely packed circuitry such as is increasingly common using surface-mount technology. Also, these amplifiers provide matching at the output port reactively (using substantially lossless components) and so achieve low noise at the input. Hence, they provide high dynamic range and high reverse isolation in addition to high reliability and simplicity because they use relatively few components. As amplifiers embodying the invention facilitate impedance matching independently at the input and the output, they can also be conveniently be used as an impedance matching amplifier, for example to match a 50 Ω source to a 75 Ω load.

Claims

CLAIMS :

1. A wideband amplifier characterized by: a bipolar transistor (14) including a base, a collector, and an emitter; means (10) for supplying a signal to the base of the transistor to be amplified thereby, the base of the transistor being isolated from the collector; and a transformer (44, 46) for deriving an amplified signal from the transistor, the transformer including a first winding (44) coupled between the collector and signal ground and a second winding (46) coupled between the emitter and signal ground, the first winding comprising a toroidal winding on an annular ferrite core and the second winding comprising a single turn constituted by a metal container surrounding and extending through the ferrite core and the first winding, a turns ratio of the first winding to the second winding being at least 6:1.

2. An amplifier as claimed in claim 1, further characterized by a balun transformer (86) having a first winding (88) connected in series between the collector and an output terminal and a second winding (90) connected between the emitter and signal ground.

3. An amplifier as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the bipolar transistor includes a further emitter and the means for supplying a signal to the base of the transistor comprises a transformer (12) including a first winding (40) coupled between the base and signal ground and a second winding (42) coupled between the further emitter and signal ground, the first winding comprising a toroidal winding on an annular ferrite core and the second winding comprising a single turn constituted by a metal container surrounding and extending through the ferrite core and the first winding.

4. An amplifier as claimed in claim 1, 2 or 3, further characterized by a first inductor (80) in series between the means for supplying and the base, a second inductor (84) in series between the first winding (44) and an output, and a third inductor (82) in series between the collector and the second inductor, the third inductor being positioned for mutual coupling with the first and second inductors, respectively.

5. A wideband amplifier characterized by: a bipolar transistor arrangement (14; 70, 72; 70, 74, 76;) including a base, a collector, and first and second emitters; a first transformer (40, 42) for coupling a signal to be amplified between the base and the first emitter, the first transformer including a first winding (40) coupled between the base and signal ground, and a second winding (42) coupled between the first emitter and signal ground; and a second transformer (44, 46) for deriving an amplified signal from the collector and the second emitter, the second transformer including a first winding (44) coupled between the collector and signal ground, and a second winding (46) coupled between the second emitter and signal ground.

6. An amplifier as claimed in claim 5, characterized in that the bipolar transistor arrangement comprises a dual-emitter bipolar transistor (14) .

7. An amplifier as claimed in claim 5, characterized in that the bipolar transistor arrangement comprises a first bipolar transistor (70) having a base, collector, and emitter constituting respectively the base, collector, and first emitter of the bipolar transistor arrangement, and a second bipolar transistor (72) having a base connected to the base of the first bipolar transistor, a collector connected to the collector of the first bipolar transistor, and an emitter constituting the second emitter of the bipolar transistor arrangement.

8. An amplifier as claimed in claim 5, characterized in that a turns ratio of the first winding (40) to the second winding (42) of the first transformer is at least about 6:1.

9. An amplifier as claimed in claim 5, characterized in that the second winding of the first transformer has a single turn.

10. An amplifier as claimed in claim 5, characterized in that the first winding of the first transformer comprises a toroidal winding on an annular ferrite core, and the second winding of the first transformer comprises a single turn constituted by a metal container surrounding and extending through the ferrite core and the first winding.

11. An amplifier as claimed in claim 10, characterized in that the first winding of the first transformer has at least about six turns whereby a turns ratio of the first winding to the second winding of the first transformer is at least about 6:1.

12. An amplifier as claimed in claim 5, characterized in that a turns ratio of the first winding to the second winding of the second transformer is at least about 6:1.

13. An amplifier as claimed in claim 5, characterized in that the second winding of the second transformer has a single turn.

14. An amplifier as claimed in claim 5, characterized in that the first winding of the second transformer comprises a toroidal winding on an annular ferrite core, and the second winding of the second transformer comprises a single turn constituted by a metal container surrounding and extending through the ferrite core and the first winding.

15. An amplifier as claimed in claim 14, characterized in that the first winding of the second transformer has at least about six turns whereby a turns ratio of the first winding to the second winding of the second transformer is at least about 6:1.

16. An amplifier characterized bv: a bipolar transistor arrangement (14; 70, 72; 70, 74, 76;) including a base, a collector, and first and second emitters; a first transformer (40, 42) including a first winding (40) coupled between the base and signal ground and a second winding (42) coupled between the first emitter and signal ground; a second transformer (44, 46) including a first winding (44) coupled between the collector and signal ground and a second winding (46) coupled between the second emitter and signal ground; means (10) for supplying a signal to be amplified to the base; and means (18) for deriving an amplified signal from the collector; characterized in that at least one of the first and second transformers is a coaxial transformer whose first winding comprises a toroidal winding on an annular ferrite core and whose second winding comprises a single turn constituted by a metal container surrounding and extending through the ferrite core, and the first winding.

17. An amplifier as claimed in claim 16, characterized in that both of the first and second transformers are coaxial transformers.

18. An amplifier as claimed in any one of claims 5 to 17, further characterized bv a first balun transformer (86) having a first winding (88) connected in series between the collector and an output terminal and a second winding (90) connected between one of the emitters and signal ground, and a second balun transformer (92) having a first winding (94) connected in series between the base and the means for supplying and a second winding (96) connected between the other of the emitters and signal ground.

19. A wideband amplifier characterized by: a first bipolar transistor (70) and a second bipolar transistor (72) , each transistor having a base, a collector, and an emitter, a first transformer (40, 40A, 42) for coupling a signal to be amplified between the bases of the transistors and the emitter of the first transistor, the first transformer including a first winding (40) coupled between the base of the first transistor and signal ground, a second winding (42) coupled between the emitter of the first transistor and signal ground, and a third winding (40A) connected between the base of the second transistor and signal ground; and a second transformer (44, 44A, 46) for deriving an amplified signal from the collectors of the transistors and the emitter of the second transistor, the second transformer including a first winding (44) coupled between the collector of the first transistor and signal ground, a second winding (46) coupled between the emitter of the second transistor and signal ground, and a third winding (44A) connected between the collector of the second transistor and signal ground.

20. An amplifier as claimed in claim 19, wherein the first winding and third winding of each transformer are bifilar windings having the same number of turns.

21. An amplifier as claimed in claim 19 or 20, further characterized bv a first balun transformer (86) having a first winding (88) connected in series between the collector of the first transistor and an output terminal and a second winding (90) connected between the emitter of the second transistor and signal ground, and a second balun transformer (92) having a first winding (94) connected in series between the base of the first transistor and the means for supplying and a second winding (96) connected between the emitter of the first transistor and signal ground.

22. A wideband amplifier characterized bv: a bipolar transistor (14) including a base, a collector, and an emitter; means (10) for supplying a signal to the base of the transistor to be amplified thereby, the base of the transistor being isolated from the collector; a transformer (44, 46) for deriving an amplified signal from the transistor, the transformer including a first winding (44) coupled between the collector and signal ground and a second winding (46) coupled between the emitter and signal ground; and a first inductor (80) in series between the means for supplying and the base, a second inductor (84) in series between the first winding (44) and an output, and a third inductor (82) in series between the collector and the second inductor, the third inductor being positioned for mutual coupling with the first and second inductors, respectively.

23. An amplifier as claimed in any one of claims 5 to 17, further characterized bv a pair of inductors (80A,80B) in series with the base and an input, the first winding (40) of the first transformer being connected to the junction between the pair of inductors (80A,80B), a third inductor (84) in series between the first winding (44) of the second transformer and an output, and a fourth inductor (82) in series between the collector and the second inductor, the fourth inductor being positioned for a predetermined mutual coupling with the pair of inductors and the third inductor, respectively.