10.2.2.2 Efficiency: LC Filter Required with the Traditional Class-D Modulation Scheme

The main reason that the traditional class-D amplifier requires an output filter is that the switching waveform results in maximum current flow. This causes more loss in the load, which causes lower efficiency. The ripple current is large for the traditional modulation scheme, because the ripple current is proportional to voltage multiplied by the time at that voltage. The differential voltage swing is 2 × V_CC, and the time at each voltage is half the period for the traditional modulation scheme. An ideal LC filter is required to store the ripple current from each half cycle for the next half cycle, while any resistance causes power dissipation. The speaker is both resistive and reactive, whereas an LC filter is almost purely reactive.

The TPA3138D2 modulation scheme has little loss in the load without a filter because the pulses are short and the change in voltage is V_CC instead of 2 × V_CC. As the output power increases, the pulses widen, making the ripple current larger. Ripple current could be filtered with an LC filter for increased efficiency, but for most applications the filter is not required.

An LC filter with a cutoff frequency less than the class-D switching frequency allows the switching current to flow through the filter instead of the load. The filter has less resistance but higher impedance at the switching frequency than the speaker, which results in less power dissipation, therefore increasing efficiency.