Design and assembly of a Class D audio amplifier with high power NPC- DCI topology for PA systems.

Currently, the audio amplifier or switched amplifiers Class – D are the highest efficiency in the world of electronics applied to sound. Over the past decade the amplified audio with switched system applications have increase efficiency and compete with the classical linear stages. Class-D being the cause of the division of the typical applications for audio amplifiers.

For high power acoustic (Shows, PA systems, concerts), where the most important is efficiency and not sound quality, you can work at lower switching frequencies. On the other hand, for high quality (HiFi, Professional Audio) most important is the quality than efficiency. An amplifier that would work in high power, high sound quality, it would mean an important advance in the world of amplification. Multilevel systems for working at high powers and qualities.

In this project we designed a prototype Class – D amplifier with multinivel topology for distributed audio amplification and high power(1000W), intended for PA systems, with the energy performance advantage over other systems.

The document is divided into chapters, exposing, firstly, the motivation to do it with the proposed objectives and how they have managed to be achieved. It also contains all the knowledge gained in research to understand all the content from the first reading, which explains important concepts in audio, comparing different types of amplifiers like  fundamentals of multilevel topologies, three and five levels switched, and the characteristics of the power transistors and fast switching.

The third and fourth chapter contains all the information for the design and prototype development, from the input analog audio signal to its output, detailing all internal processes and how they have come to them. The analysis of results of the prototype will be key to determine the achievement of the objectives, identifying problems have been found and the solutions to achievethe desired specifications.

Final Project in PDF format: (in Catalán)