= Electronic amplifier
An <electronic amplifier> uses an electrical power supply to increase a <signal>'s amplitude or available output <power>. The input controls the transfer of supply <energy> to the load; it does not supply all the amplified output <energy> itself.
A voltage amplifier, a <transimpedance amplifier> and a <charge amplifier> relate different input and output quantities. To characterize one, vary the input around its <operating point> and measure gain, <frequency response>, <noise> and the range before saturation. A large gain does not by itself improve <signal-to-noise ratio>, since input noise and amplifier noise can both be amplified.
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