CHAPTER 4 BIPOLAR JUNCTION TRANSISTORS (BJTs)

Chapter Outline
4.1 Device Structure and Physical Operation
4.2 Current-Voltage Characteristics
4.3 BJ T Circuits at DC
4.4 Applying the BJ T in Amplifier Design
4.5 Small-Signal Operation and Models
4.6 Basic BJ T Amplifier Configurations
4.7 Biasing in BJ T Amplifier Circuits
48 DiscreteCircuit BJ T Amplifiers
NTUEE Electronics L. H. Lu 4-1
4.8 Discrete-Circuit BJ T Amplifiers
4.1 Device Structure and Physical Operation
Physical structure of bipolar junction transistor (BJT)
Both electrons and holes participate in the conduction process for bipolar devices.
BJ T consists of two pn junctions constructed in a special way and connected in series, back to back.
The transistor is a three-terminal device with emitter, base and collector terminals.
From the physical structure, BJ Ts can be divided into two groups: npn and pnp transistors.
Modes of operation
The two junctions of BJ T can be either forward or reverse-biased.
The BJ T can operate in different modes depending on the junction bias.
The BJ T operates in active mode for amplifier circuits.
Switching applications utilize both the cutoff and saturation modes.
NTUEE Electronics L. H. Lu 4-2
Mode EBJ CBJ
Cutoff Reverse Reverse
Active Forward Reverse
Saturation Forward Forward
Operation of the npn transistor in the active mode
Electrons in emitter regions are injected into base due to the forward bias at EBJ .
Most of the injected electrons reach the edge of CBJ before being recombined if the base is narrow.
Electrons at the edge of CBJ will be swept into collector due to the reverse bias at CBJ .
Emitter injection efficiency ( ) =i
En
/ ( i
En
+i
Ep
)
Base transport factor (o
T
) =i
Cn
/ i
En
Common-base current gain (o) =i
Cn
/ i
E
= o
T
<1
Terminal currents of BJ T in active mode:
i
E
(emitter current) =i
En
(electron injection from E to B) +i
Ep
(hole injection from B to E)
i
C
(collector current) =i
Cn
(electron drift) +i
CBO
(CBJ reverse saturation current with emitter open)
i
B
(base current) =i
B1
(hole injection from B to E) +i
B2
(recombination in base region)
NTUEE Electronics L. H. Lu 4-3
Terminal currents:
Collector current:
Base current:
Hole injection into emitter due to forward bias:
Eelectron-hole recombination in base:
Total base current:
Emitter current:
T BE T BE
V v
S
V v
B
i nB E
B nB E B nB E Cn C
e I e
W N
n qD A
W n qD A dx x dn qD A i i
/ /
2
/ ) 0 ( / ) ( = = = = ~
T BE
V v
pE E
i pE E
E pE E B
e
L N
n qD A
dx x dp qD A i
/
2
1
/ ) ( = =
T BE
V v S C
C B C E
e
I i
i i i i
/
1
o o |
|
= =
+
= + =
T BE
V v
n B
i E
n B E n n B
e
N
qWn A
W n q A Q i
/
2
2
2
/ ) 0 (
2
1
/
t
t t =
|
.
|

\
|
= =
| t
C V v
n nB pE E
B
nB
pE
S B B B
i
e
D
W
L
W
N
N
D
D
I i i i
T BE
+ = + =
/
2
2 1
)
2
1
(
NTUEE Electronics L. H. Lu 4-4
o o |
Large-signal model and current gain for BJT in active region
Common-emitter current gain: ) 1 /( )
2
1
(
1
2
o o
t
| = + =

n nB pE E
B
nB
pE
B
C
D
W
L
W
N
N
D
D
i
i
Common-base current gain
i
B
i
C
i
E
1
| (|+1)
1
Common-emitter current gain
i
B
i
E
i
C
o
(1o)
Common-base current gain:
The structure of actual transistors
In modern process technologies, the BJ T utilizes a vertical structure.
Typically, o is smaller and close to unity while | is large.
NTUEE Electronics L. H. Lu 4-5
) 1 /( + = | | o
Operation of the npn transistor in the saturation mode
Saturation mode: both EBJ and CBJ are forward biased
Carrier injection from both emitter and collector into base
Base minority carrier concentraiton change accordingly leading to reduced slope as v
BC
increases
Collector current drops from the value in active mode for negative v
CB
For a given v
BE
, i
C
drops sharply to zero at v
CB
around 0.5 V and v
CE
around 0.2 V.
BJ T in saturation: V
CEsat
=0.2 V
Current gain reduces from | to |
forced
: | | s =
saturation
B
C
forced
i
i
NTUEE Electronics L. H. Lu 4-6
n
p0
n
p0
exp(v
BE
/V
T
)
n
p0
exp(v
BC
/V
T
)
v
BC
increases
Ebers-Moll model
In EM model, the EBJ and CBJ are represented by two back to back diodes i
DE
and i
DC
.
The current transported from one junction to the other is presented by o
F
(forward) and o
R
(reverse).
EM model can be used to describe the BJ T in any of its possible modes of operation.
EM model is used for more detailed dc analysis which can not be performed by the simplified models.
The diode currents:
The terminal currents:
Application of the EM model
The forward active mode:
i i
C E B
i i i =
S SC R SE F
I I I = =o o
|
|

|
1
1
/V v
I I
) 1 (
/
=
T BE
V v
SE DE
e I i ) 1 (
/
=
T BC
V v
SC DC
e I i
DE F DC C
i i i o + =
DC R DE E
i i i o =
The saturation mode:
NTUEE Electronics L. H. Lu 4-7
i
DE
i
DC
o
F
i
DE
o
R
i
DC
i
C
i
E
i
B
|
|
.
|

\
|
+ ~
F
S
V v
F
S
E
I e
I
i
T BE
o o
1
1
/
|
|
.
|

\
|
+ ~ 1
1
/
R
S
V v
S C
I e I i
T BE
o
|
|
.
|

\
|
+ ~
R F
S
V v
F
S
B
I e
I
i
T BE
| | |
1 1
/
T BC T BE
V v
S
V v
SE E
e I e I i
/ /
=
T BC T BE
V v
SC
V v
S C
e I e I i
/ /
=
T BC T BE
V v
R SC
V v
F SE B
e I e I i
/ /
) 1 ( ) 1 ( o o + =
The cutoff mode
I
CBO
(CBJ reverse current with emitter open-circuited)
I
CBO
=(1o
R
o
F
)I
SC
Both EBJ and CBJ are reverse-biased.
In real case, reverse current depends on v
CB
.
I
CEO
(CBJ reverse current with base open-circuited)
I
CEO
=I
CBO
/(1o
F
)
o
F
is always smaller than unity such that I
CEO
>I
CBO
.
CBJ current flows from (C to B) soCBJ is reverse-biased.
EBJ currentflowsfrom(E toB) soEBJ isslightlyforward-biased. EBJ current flows from (E to B) soEBJ is slightly forward biased.
NTUEE Electronics L. H. Lu 4-8
+
E C
B
(2) o
R
I
SC
I
SC
(1)
i
C
i
E
=0
i
B
(3) o
R
I
SC
o
R
o
F
I
SC
(4)
i
C
=I
CBO
=(1o
R
o
F
)I
SC
(5)
i
B
=(o
R
1)I
SC
+(1 o
F
)i
DE
=0 i
DE
=I
SC
(1 o
R
) / (1 o
F
) (5)
E C
B
(2) o
R
I
SC
I
SC
(1)
i
C
i
B
=0
i
E
+
(3) i
DE
o
F
i
DE
(4)
i
C
=I
SC
+o
F
i
DE
=I
SC
(1o
R
o
F
)/ (1o
F
) I
CEO
=I
CBO
/ (1 o
F
) (6)
The pnp transistor
Transistor structure:
emitter and collector are p-type
base is n-type
Operation of pnp is similar to that of npn
Operation of pnp in the active mode
Collector current:
Base current:
Emitter current:
L i l d l d t i f BJT i ti i
T EB
V v
S C
e I i
/
=
| /
C B
i i =
B C E
i i i + =
Large-signal model and current gain for BJT in active region
NTUEE Electronics L. H. Lu 4-9
Common-base current gain
i
B
i
C
i
E
1
| (|+1)
1
Common-emitter current gain
i
B
i
E
i
C
o
(1o)
4.2 Current-Voltage Characteristics
Circuit symbols, voltage polarities and current flow
Terminal currents are defined in the direction as current flow in active mode.
Negative values of current or voltage mean in opposite polarity (direction).
Summary of the BJT current-voltage relationships in the active mode
The values of the terminal currents for a BJ T in active mode solely depend on the junction voltage of EBJ .
The ratios of the terminal currents for a BJ T in active mode are constant.
The current directions for npn and pnp transistors are opposite.
NTUEE Electronics L. H. Lu 4-10
T BE
V v
S C
e I i
/
=
T BE
V v S C
B
e
I i
i
/
| |
= =
T BE
V v S C
E
e
I i
i
/
o o
= =
T EB
V v
S C
e I i
/
=
T EB
V v S C
B
e
I i
i
/
| |
= =
T EB
V v S C
E
e
I i
i
/
o o
= =
B C E
i i i + =
1 +
=
|
|
o
o
o
|

=
1
pnp transistor npn transistor
Current-voltage characteristics of BJT
The i
C
-v
CB
characteristics The i
C
-v
CE
characteristics
The Early effect
As CBJ reverse bias increases, the effective base width W
eff
reduces due to the increasing CBJ depletion.
For a constant junction voltage v
BE
:
The slope of n
B
(x) increases i
C
increases
Charge storage Q
n
reduces i
B
decreases
Current gain o and | increases
Early voltage (V
A
) is used for the linear approximation of Early Effect.
Linear dependence of i
C
on v
CE
:
Exhibit finite output resistance:
NTUEE Electronics L. H. Lu 4-11
n
B
(0)
n
B0
0 W
X
W
Y
W
Z
V
Y
V
Z
V
X
) / 1 (
/
A CE
V v
S C
V v e I i
T BE
+ =
C
A
constant v
CE
C
o
I
V
v
i
r
BE
~
(

c
c

=
1
Common-base output characteristics breakdown Early effect
i
C
versus v
CB
plot with various i
E
as parameter is known as common-base output characteristics
The slope indicates that i
C
depends to a small extent on v
CB
Early effect
i
C
increases rapidly at high v
CB
breakdown
BCJ is slightly forward-biased for 0.4V <v
CB
<0
No significant change is observed in i
C
The BJ T still exhibits I-V characteristics as in the active mode
BCJ turns on strongly and the i
C
starts to decrease for v
BC
<0.4V
I-V characteristics in the saturation mode and v
CEsat
is considered a constant (~ 0.2V)
Current gain (o): large-signal o i
C
/i
E
and small-signal (incremental) o Ai
C
/Ai
E
NTUEE Electronics L. H. Lu 4-12
Common-emitter output characteristics (I)
i
C
versus v
CE
plot with various v
BE
as parameter.
Common-emitter current gain is defined as | =i
C
/ i
B
The BCJ turns on with a positive v
BC
at low v
CE
BJ T operates in saturation mode
The i
C
curve has a finite slope due to Early effect
The characteristics lines meet at v
CE
=V
A
V
A
is called the Early Voltage (~50 to 100 V)
Common-emitter output characteristics (II)
Plot of i
C
versus v
CE
with various i
B
as parameter
BJ T in active region acts as a current source
with high (but finite) output resistance
The cutoff mode in common-emitter configuration
is defined as i
B
=0
Current gain: large-signal |
dc
i
C
/i
B
and |
ac
Ai
C
/Ai
B
NTUEE Electronics L. H. Lu 4-13
breakdown Early effect
Saturation of common-emitter configuration
In saturation region, it behaves as a closed switch with a small resistance R
CEsat
The saturation IV curve can be approximated by a straight line intersecting the v
CE
axis at V
CEoff
The saturation voltage V
CEsat
~ V
CEoff
+I
Csat
R
CEsat
V
CEsat
is normally treated as a constant of 0.2 V for simplicity regardless the value of i
C
Incremental | in saturation is lower than that in active region: |
forced
I
Csat
/ I
B
<|
Overdrive factor | / |
forced
NTUEE Electronics L. H. Lu 4-14
Transistor breakdown
Transistor breakdown mechanism:
Avalanche breakdown: avalanche multiplication mechanism takes place at CBJ or EBJ
Base punch-through effect: the base width reduces to zero at high CBJ reverse bias
In CB configuration, BV
CBO
is defined at i
E
=0.
The breakdown voltage is smaller than BV
CBO
for i
E
>0.
In CE configuration, BV
CEO
is defined at i
B
=0.
The breakdown voltage is smaller than BV
CEO
for i
B
>0.
Typically, BV
CEO
is about half of BV
CBO
.
Breakdownof theBCJ isnot destructiveaslongasthepower dissipationiskeptwithinsafelimits Breakdown of the BCJ is not destructive as long as the power dissipation is kept within safe limits.
Breakdown of the EBJ is destructive because it will cause permanent degradation of | .
NTUEE Electronics L. H. Lu 4-15
4.3 BJT Circuits at DC
BJT operation modes
The BJ T operation mode depends on the voltages at EBJ and BCJ
The I-V characteristics are strongly nonlinear
Simplified models and classifications are needed to speed up the hand-calculation analysis
Mode EBJ CBJ
Active Forward Reverse
Cutoff Reverse Reverse
Saturation Forward Forward
Inverse Reverse Forward
v
BE
v
BC
Active Mode
v
BE
> 0, v
BC
< 0
Saturation Mode
v
BE
> 0, v
BC
> 0
Inverse Mode
v
BE
> 0, v
BC
> 0
Cutoff Mode
v
BE
> 0, v
BC
> 0
npn transistor
v
EB
v
CB
Active Mode
v
EB
> 0, v
CB
< 0
Saturation Mode
v
EB
> 0, v
CB
> 0
Inverse Mode
v
EB
> 0, v
CB
> 0
Cutoff Mode
v
EB
> 0, v
CB
> 0
pnp transistor
Simplified models and classifications for the operation of the npn BJT
Cut-off mode:
i
E
=i
C
=i
B
=0
v
BE
<0.5 V and v
BC
<0.4 V
Active mode:
v
BE
=0.7 V and i
B
: i
C
: i
E
=1: | : (1+|)
v
CE
>0.3 V
Saturation mode:
v
BE
=0.7 V and v
CE
=0.2 V
i
C
/i
B
=|
forced
<|
NTUEE Electronics L. H. Lu 4-16
Equivalent circuit models
NTUEE Electronics L. H. Lu 4-17
DC analysis of BJT circuits
Step 1: assume the operation mode
Step 2: use the conditions or model for circuit analysis
Step 3: verify the solution
Step 4: repeat the above steps with another assumption if necessary
Example 4.4
Example 4.5
NTUEE Electronics L. H. Lu 4-18
Example 4.9
Example 4 11 Example 4.11
NTUEE Electronics L. H. Lu 4-19
4.4 Applying the BJT in Amplifier Design
BJT voltage amplifier
A BJ T circuit with a collector resistor R
C
can be used as a simple voltage amplifier
Base terminal is used the amplifier input and the collector is considered the amplifier output
The voltage transfer characteristic (VTC) is obtained by solving the circuit from low to high v
BE
Cutoff mode:
0 V s v
BE
<0.5 V and i
C
=0
v
O
=v
CE
=V
CC
Active mode:
v
BE
>0.5 V and i
C
=I
S
exp(v
BE
/V
T
)
v
O
=V
CC
i
C
R
C
=V
CC
R
C
I
S
exp(v
BE
/V
T
) v
O
V
CC
i
C
R
C
V
CC
R
C
I
S
exp(v
BE
/V
T
)
Saturation:
v
BE
further increases
v
CE
=v
CEsat
=0.2 V
v
O
=0.2 V
NTUEE Electronics L. H. Lu 4-20
Biasing the circuit to obtain linear amplification
The slope in the VTC indicates voltage gain
BJ T in active mode can be used as voltage amplification
Point Q is known as bias point or dc operating point
I
C
=I
S
exp(V
BE
/V
T
)
The signal to be amplified is superimposed on V
BE
v
BE
(t) =V
BE
+v
be
(t)
The time-varying part in v
CE
(t) is the amplified signal
The circuit can be used as a linear amplifier if:
A proper biaspointischosenfor gain A proper bias point is chosen for gain
The input signal is small in amplitude
The small-signal voltage gain
The amplifier gain is the slope at Q:
Voltage gain depends on I
C
and R
C
Maximum voltage gain of the amplifier
NTUEE Electronics L. H. Lu 4-21
C
T
C
V v
BE
CE
v
R
V
I
dv
dv
A
BE BE
=
=
| |
max v
T
CC
T
CE CC
C
T
C
v
A
V
V
V
V V
R
V
I
A = s

= =
Determining the VTC by graphical analysis
Provides more insight into the circuit operation
Load line: the straight line represents in effect the load
i
C
=(V
CC
V
CE
)/R
C
The operating point is the intersection point
Locating the bias point Q
The bias point (intersection) is determined by properly choosing the load line
The output voltage is bounded by V
CC
(upper bound) and V
CEsat
(lower bound)
The load line determines the voltage gain
Thebiaspointdeterminestheheadroomor maximumupper/lower voltageswingof theamplifier The bias point determines the headroom or maximum upper/lower voltage swing of the amplifier
NTUEE Electronics L. H. Lu 4-22
4.5 Small-Signal Operation and Models
The collector current and the transconductance
The total quantities (ac +dc) of the collector current:
Small-signal approximation: v
be
<<V
T
The transconductanceindicates the incremental change of i
C
versus change of v
BE
Th t d t i d t i db it d ll t tI
T be T be T BE T BE
V v
C
V v V V
S
V v
S C
be BE BE
e I e e I e I i
v V v
/ / / /
) ( = = =
+ =
be
T
C
C
T
be
C c C C
v
V
I
I
V
v
I i I i + =
|
|
.
|

\
|
+ ~ + = 1
T
C
I i
BE
C
m
V
I
v
i
g
C C
=
c
c
=
=
The transconductanceg
m
is determined by its dc collector current I
C
General, BJ Ts have relatively high transconductancecompared with FETs at the same current level.
The base current and the input resistance at the base
The total quantities (ac +dc) of the base current:
Small-signal approximation:
Resistance r
t
is the small-signal input resistance between base and emitter (looking into the base)
NTUEE Electronics L. H. Lu 4-23
T be T be T BE T BE
V v
B
V v V V S V v S C
B
e I e e
I
e
I I
i
/ / / /
= = = =
| | |
be
T
B
B
T
be
B b B B
v
V
I
I
V
v
I i I i + =
|
|
.
|

\
|
+ ~ + = 1
B
T
m b
be
I
V
g i
v
r = =
|
t
The emitter current and the input resistance at the emitter
The total quantities (ac +dc) of the emitter current:
Small-signal approximation:
Relation between r
t
and r
e
:
o o o
c C C
e E E
i I I
i I i + = = + =
m m E
T
e
be
e
g g I
V
i
v
r
1
~ = =
o
be
T
E
be
T
C
be
m c
e
v
V
I
v
V
I
v
g i
i = = = =
o o o
e
r
o
=
Output resistance accounting for Early effect
Use the collector current equation with linear v
CE
dependence:
The output resistance r
o
is included to represent Early Effect of the BJ T
The resulting r
o
is typically a large resistance and can be neglected to simplify the analysis
NTUEE Electronics L. H. Lu 4-24
e
r r ) 1 ( |
t
+ =
m
m
e
g
r
g
|
t
=
|
|
.
|

\
|
+ =
A
CE V v
S C
V
v
e I i
T BE
1
/
C
A
constant v
CE
C
o
I
V
v
i
r
BE
~
(

c
c

=
1
BJT small-signal models
Two models are exchangeable and does not affect the analysis result
The hybrid-t model
Typically used as the emitter is grounded
Neglect r
o
The T model
Typically used as the emitter is not grounded
NTUEE Electronics L. H. Lu 4-25
Neglect r
o
4.6 Basic BJT Amplifier Configuration
Three basic configurations
Characterizing amplifiers
The BJ T circuits can be characterized by a voltage amplifier model (unilateral model)
Common-Emitter (CE) Common-Base (CB) Common-Collector (CC)
The electrical properties of the amplifier is represented by R
in
, R
o
and A
vo
The analysis is based on the small-signal or linear equivalent circuit where dc components are not included
Voltage gain:
Overall voltage gain:
NTUEE Electronics L. H. Lu 4-26
vo
o L
L
i
o
v
A
R R
R
v
v
A
+
=
vo
so L
L
sig in
in
v
sig in
in
sig
o
v
A
R R
R
R R
R
A
R R
R
v
v
G
+ +
=
+
=
The common-emitter (CE) amplifier
Characteristic parameters of the CE amplifier
Input resistance:
Output resistance:
Open-circuit voltage gain:
Voltage gain:
Overall voltage gain:
CE amplifier can provide high voltage gain.
Input and output are out of phase due to negative gain.
t
r R
in
=
C o C o
R r R R ~ = ||
C m o C m vo
R g r R g A ~ = ) || (
) || ( ) || || (
L C m o L C m v
R R g r R R g A ~ =
) || ( ) || || (
L C
sig
m o L C m
sig
v
R R
R r
r
g r R R g
R r
r
G
+
~
+
=
t
t
t
t
p p p g g
Lower I
C
increases R
in
at the cost of voltage gain.
Output resistance is moderate to high.
Small R
C
reduces R
o
at the cost of voltage gain.
NTUEE Electronics L. H. Lu 4-27
The common-emitter (CE) with an emitter resistance
Characteristic parameters (by neglecting r
o
)
Input resistance:
Output resistance:
Open-circuit voltage gain:
Voltage gain:
e e e in
R r R r R ) 1 ( ) )( 1 ( | |
t
+ + = + + =
C o
R R =
e m
C m
e e
C m
vo
R g
R g
r R
R g
A
+
~
+
=
1 / 1
L C m L C m
R R g R R g
A = ~
) || (
Overall voltage gain:
Emitter degeneration resistance R
e
is adopted.
Input resistance is increased by adding (1+|)R
e
.
Gain is reduced by the factor (1+g
m
R
e
).
The overall gain is less dependent on |.
It is considered a negative feedback of the amplifier.
NTUEE Electronics L. H. Lu 4-28
e m C L e m
v
R g R R R g
A
+
=
+ +
~
1 1
e m
L C m
sig C L
L
e m
C m
sig
v
R g
R R g
R r
r
R R
R
R g
R g
R r
r
G
+ +
=
+ + +
~
1
) || (
1
t
t
t
t
The common-base (CB) amplifier
Characteristic parameters of the CE amplifier (by neglecting r
o
)
Input resistance:
Output resistance:
Open-circuit voltage gain:
Voltage gain:
Overall voltage gain:
CE amplifier can provide high voltage gain.
Input and output are in-phase due to positive gain.
e in
r R =
C o
R R =
C m vo
R g A =
) || (
L C m v
R R g A =
) || (
L C m
sig e
e
v
R R g
R r
r
G
+
=
p p p p g
Input resistance is very low.
A single CB stage is not suitable for voltage amplification.
Output resistance is moderate to high.
Small R
C
reduces R
o
at the cost of voltage gain.
The amplifier is no longer unilateral if r
o
is included.
NTUEE Electronics L. H. Lu 4-29
The common-collector (CC) amplifier
Characteristic parameters of the CC amplifier (by neglecting r
o
)
Input resistance:
Output resistance:
Open-circuit voltage gain:
Overall voltage gain:
CC amplifier is also called emitter follower.
Input resistance is very high.
) )( 1 (
L e in
R r R + + = |
| /
sig e o
R r R + =
1 ) /( ~ + =
e L L vo
r R R A
1
) )( 1 (
) 1 (
~
+ + +
+
~
+ +
=
sig e L
L
e L
L
sig in
in
v
R r R
R
r R
R
R R
R
G
|
|
Output resistance is very low.
The voltage gain is less than but can be close to 1.
CC amplifier can be used as voltage buffer.
It is noted that, in the analysis, the amplifier is not unilateral.
NTUEE Electronics L. H. Lu 4-30
4.7 Biasing in BJT Amplifier Circuits
DC bias for BJT amplifier
The amplifiers are operating at a proper dc bias point.
Linear signal amplification is provided based on small-signal circuit operation.
The DC bias circuit is to ensure the BJ T in active mode with a proper collector current I
C
.
The classical discrete-circuit bias arrangement
A single power supply and resistors are needed
Theveninequivalent circuit:
V
BB
=V
CC
R
2
/(R
1
+R
2
)
R
B
=R
1
||R
2
BJ T operatingpoint:

BE BB
V V
I BJ T operating point:
R
C
is chosen to ensure the BJ T in active (V
CE
>V
CEsat
).
A two-power-supply version of the classical bias arrangement
Two power supplies are needed
Similar dc analysis
BJ T operating point:
NTUEE Electronics L. H. Lu 4-31
) / 1 1 ( / | | + +
=
E B
BE BB
C
R R
I
) / 1 1 ( / | | + +

=
E B
BE EE
C
R R
V V
I
Biasing using a collector-to-base feedback resistor
A single power supply is needed.
R
B
ensures the BJ T in active (V
CE
>V
BE
~ 0.7 V)
BJ T operating point:
The value of the feedback resistor R
B
affects the small-signal gain.
Biasing using a constant-current source
The BJ T can be biased with a constant current source I.
The resistor R
C
is chosen to operate the BJ T in active mode.
ThecurrentsourceistypicallyimplementedbyaBJ T currentmirror
) / 1 1 ( / | | + +

=
C B
BE CC
C
R R
V V
I
The current source is typically implemented by a BJ T current mirror.
Current mirror circuit:
Both BJ T transistors Q
1
and Q
2
are in active mode.
Assume current gain | is very high:
When applying to the amplifier circuit, the voltage
V has to be high enough to ensure Q
2
in active.
NTUEE Electronics L. H. Lu 4-32
R
V V V
I I
BE EE CC
REF
+
= =
4.8 Discrete-Circuit BJT Amplifiers
Circuit analysis:
DC analysis:
Remove all ac sources (short for voltage source and open for current source)
All capacitors are considered open-circuit
DC analysis of BJ T circuits for all nodal voltages and branch currents
Find the dc current I
C
and make sure the BJ T is in active mode
AC analysis:
Remove all dc sources (short for voltage source and open for current source)
All large capacitors are considered short-circuit
ReplacetheBJ T withitssmall-signal model for acanalysis Replace the BJ T with its small signal model for ac analysis
The circuit parameters in the small-signal model are obtained based on the value of I
C
NTUEE Electronics L. H. Lu 4-33
Complete amplifier circuit DC equivalent circuit
AC equivalent circuit
The common-emitter (CE) amplifier
The common-emitter amplifier with an emitter resistance
NTUEE Electronics L. H. Lu 4-34
The common-base (CB) amplifier
The common-collector (CC) amplifier
NTUEE Electronics L. H. Lu 4-35
The amplifier frequency response
The gain falls off at low frequency band due to the effects of the coupling and by-pass capacitors
The gain falls off at high frequency band due to the internal capacitive effects in the BJ Ts
Midband:
All coupling and by-pass capacitors (large capacitance) are considered short-circuit
All internal capacitive effects (small capacitance) are considered open-circuit
Midbandgain is nearly constant and is evaluated by small-signal analysis
The bandwidth is defined as BW=f
H
f
L
A figure-of-merit for the amplifier is its gain-bandwidth product defined as GB =|A
M
|BW
NTUEE Electronics L. H. Lu 4-36