ELECTRONICS LABORATORY

EXPERIMENT 5
BJT AMPLIFIERS

PURPOSE
In this experiment, amplifiers with a BJT will be studied and an amplifier circuit
will be designed and tested.

THEORY

A BJT in active mode is considered as a two-port circuit for small signals. In the
BJT model given in Figure 1, the base and the emitter leads of the transistor form
the input port and the collector and the emitter leads form the output port. Since the
emitter lead is used both at the input and at the output, this model is called common
emitter model. Yet another commonly used model is the common base model. In
the common base model, emitter and the base leads form the input port while the
collector and the the base leads form the output port. In fact these two models are
equivalent. In this experiment, the common emitter hybrit- model of the BJT will
be used for small signals.

Figure 1 Common-emitter low-frequency small signal hybrit- model of the BJT

The resistor r in the hybrit- model is obtained from the input characteristics of the
BJT. The slope of the input characteristics curve at the operating point determines
the value of r. The other resistor ro in the model is related to the slope of the output
curve at the operating point. The current of the dependent current source in the
model can be expressed in terms of the transconductance or the small signal current
gain. The analytical expressions for the small signal model parameters are as
follows:
 dic Ic
gm = Q= (1)
dvBE VT

dvBE o
r = Q= (2)
diB gm

dvCE VA
ro = Q= (3)
dic Ic

For the analysis of the amplifier circuits, one starts with the DC model of the
transistor and determines the operating point. Then, the small signal model
parameters are determined. Next, the small signal model of the transistor is
substituted in the circuit, and a small signal equivalent of the entire circuit is
obtained. The equivalent circuit is then analyzed and the gain, the input resistance
and the output resistance of the amplifier are found. A two-port Thevenin model of
an amplifier circuit is given in Figure 2.

Figure 2 A two-port Thevenin model of an amplifier

One of the leads of the BJT is used both at the input and at the output loop of the
amplifier. The amplifier configuration is named adter this common lead: common
emitter, common base, and common collector. These three configurations are also
named as inverter, tracking, and follower, respectively.

A common emitter amplifier is given in Figure 3. In this circuit, the capacitors CC1
and CC2 are called coupling capacitors; they are used to separate the biasing circuit
from the source and the load. The capacitor CE is called bypass capacitor which
shorts the resistor RE for signals. These capacitors have large capacitances; they
determine the low cutoff frequency of the amplifier.

Figure 3 A common-emitter amplifier circuit

When the load is not connected, the input resistance, the output resistance and the
voltage gain of the amplifier is from the equivalent circuit:

rin = r || R1 || R 2 (4)

rout = Rc || ro Rc (5)

vo
Avio = = gmrout (6)
vi

Note: Equation (4) assumes that RE is shorted by CE at the operating frequency.

For a given input voltage, the output voltage is reduced when the resistance RL is
connected as a load. According to the model in Figure 2, rout and RL form a voltage
divider. As a result of this loading eggect, the gain of the amplifier is reduced. The
voltage gain from the base to the collector with the load may be expressed as the
following:
 vo
Avi = = gm rout || RL (7)
vi
Similar to the loading effect at the output, the amplifier circuit loads the signal
source. The output resistance of the source and the input resistance of the amplifier
form a voltage divider. Hence, the voltage at the base of the BJT becomes

rin
vi = vs (8)
rs + rin
and the voltage gain from the source to the load is now

vo rin
Avs = = gm rout || RL (9)
vs rs + rin
A common base amplifier is given in Figure 4. In this circuit, the capacitors CC1 and
CC2 sparates the biasing circuit from the signal source and the laod. The capacitor
CB shorts the base of the transistor to the ground for signals. All of the capacitors
have large values so that aat the signal frequency, they have negligibly small
reactances. Without the load, the input resistance, the output resistance and the
voltage gain of the amplifier are found as follows:

r 1
rin = RE || (10)
o + 1 gm

rout RC (11)

vo
Avio = = gmrout (12)
vi
The voltage gain of the amplifierfrom the emitter to the load with load becomes

vo
Avi = = gm rout || RL (13)
vi
With the inclusion of the loading effect at the input, the gain from the source to
the load is now

vo rin
Avs = = gm rout || RL (14)
vs rs + rin

Figure 4 A common-base amplifier circuit

Yet another BJT amplifier configuration is given in Figure 5. In this common-

collector circuit, CC1 and CC2 are coupling capacitors. In this circuit the output
resistance of the signal source affects the output resistance of the amplifier.
Similarly, the load resistance affects the input resistance of the amplifier. When the
load and the source is connected, the input resistance, the output resistance and the
voltage gain of the amplifier can be expressed as follows:

rin = [r + (o + 1)(RE|| ro || RL )] || R1 || R2 (15)

r + rs || R1 || R 2
rout = RE || ro || (16)
o + 1

Avs =
vo
=
(o + 1)(RE || ro || RL ) rin
vs r + (o + 1)(RE || ro || RL ) rs + rin
(17)
 Figure 5 A common-collector (emitter-follower) amplifier circuit

Some properties of the BJT amplifier are given in Table 1 for comparison.

Common emitter Common base Common collector

Input resistance Medium valued small large
Output resistance Medium-high Medium-high small
Voltage gain High High Less than 1
Table 1 Some properties of the BJT amplifiers

In general, there is no unique approach in amplifier design. Some of the

specifications of the amplifier may not be given; the designer has to choose them.
A common power supply may have to be used. In such cases, the selection range
for the unspecified properties is narrower. Starting with the given specifications for
the amplifier, small signal model parameters of the transistor are determined. Then
the operating point that would yield the calculated parameters is decided. This is
followed by the design of the bias circuit. The designer must check often to make
sure that the selected component values provide an amplifier circuit that meets the
specifications.

PRE-LAB

a) Using the general purpose BJT that you have used in the previous experiments,
design an amplifier circuit with the specifications given below as Design 1. Check
the availability of the voltage sources in the laboratory. Use 1F or larger values
for the capacitors. Here are the specification of the amplifier:
 the remainder Design 1 Design 2 Design 3
Load 10 k 10 k 150
Input resistance > 1 k 75-100 > 20 k
Output resistance < 10 k < 10 k 100-150
Voltage gain > 40 > 50 Close to 1

b) Analyze the circuit with PSPICE or WORKBENCH simulation programs. You

can give an AC signal source with a magnitude of 1 mV. Analyze how the gain
changes with frequency. Obtain the voltage gain with and without the load. Are
they different? Determine the output resistance.

PROCEDURE

1) Set up the circuit designed in the preliminary work and measure its gain with a 1
kHz sine signal.

2) Connect a resistor with a value close to the input of the amplifier between the
signal source and the input of the amplifier in series. Measure the signal voltage at
both ends of this resistor, and calcultate the input current and the input resistance of
the amplifier.

3) Determine the output resistance of the amplifier by measuring the output voltage
with and without the load.

4) Compare your design values, PSPICE analysis results and the experimental
results. Explain possible sources of disagreements if there are any.