Bias sets the steady-state operating conditions of an active device like a transistor or vacuum tube before any AC signal is applied. By applying a specific DC voltage or current, the designer forces the component into a linear operating region, ensuring that incoming signals are amplified symmetrically without clipping. Incorrect bias leads to distortion, excessive power dissipation, or thermal runaway.
Heard on the job
The audio output sounds terribly distorted because the quiescent bias on the output stage is drifting too low.
Also heard as
- quiescent point
- Q-point
- Biased