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Common Emitter Audio Amplifier

Technical Report · December 2016

DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.23309.95203

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 1

Common Emitter Audio Amplifier

Berik Argimbayev, Amanzhol Daribay, Ileskhan Kalysh and Botazhan Satuyeva

Abstract—By functioning as a switch and amplifier, the bipolar

junction transistors opened the doors for the manufacturing
and design of inexpensive and lightweight electronic devices that
humanity use now every day. One of them is a common emitter
amplifier. This report attempts to characterize the common
emitter amplifier circuit by explaining the theoretical basis and
simulating the circuit in the LTSpice Simulator, which is followed
by the manufacturing of the circuit on the printed circuit board
and comparing the expectations with the measurements. As a
result, the circuit with amplification gain of -144 and bandwidth
covering almost all-audible range without the presence of outside
noise has been constructed.
Index Terms—Audio Amplifier, BJT, Common Emitter Ampli-
fier.

I. I NTRODUCTION
Figure 1. The common emitter amplifier schematics.
T HE bipolar junction transistor was firstly invented in
1948 and revolutionized the world of electronics. A tiny,
mechanically durable, economically beneficial BJT was able
The calculations for gain, lower cut-off frequency and
higher cut-off frequency are as follows:
to achieve technical features that previously were impossible
without large, mechanically fragile, economically costly vac- V 2 ∗ R2
VB = = 5V
uum tubes. Having an ability to act as a switch and amplifier, R1 ∗ R2
the bipolar junction transistors has revolutionized the design
VE = VB − VBE
of todays electronics. One example of it is a common emitter
amplifier, which is considered to be as a very useful and VBE is the base-emitter voltage drop which is 0.6 V for very
simple type of transistor circuit. The paramount purpose of small collector currents as in this BJT. This can be seen in
the device is to enhance the input signal several times and chart from ZTX450 datasheet [2] shown below:
produce amplified output. The concept is applicable in almost
all spheres where it is necessary to get reinforced signal from
the weak. This report aims to characterize the common emitter
amplifier circuit by, firstly, explaining the theoretical basis
of working principle of the device, secondly, by constructing
and simulating the circuit in the LTSpice Simulator; thirdly,
by manufacturing the circuit on the printed circuit board and
taking measurements; and, finally, by comparing these three
perspectives to draw the conclusion.

II. T HEORETICAL BACKGROUND

A common emitter amplifier employs a NPN transistor to
produce a magnified version of an input signal. Figure 1
represents circuit schematics where there are resistors (R1,
R2, R3, R4 and R5), capacitors (C1 and C2), BJT (Q1), input
signal source (V1) and DC voltage supply (V2). Resistors
R1 and R2 perform voltage divider biasing. This reduces the Figure 2. Collector current vs. Base-emitter voltage for
effects of varying common-emitter current gain (hf e ) ,[1] ZTX450.
so that amplifier will perform equally well with different Hence:
transistors. Capacitor C1 ensures that only AC signal is passed. VE = 5 − 0.6 = 4.4V
Capacitor C2 bypasses resistor R4 at high frequencies and C3
in pair with R3 work as a low-pass filter. Resistors R3 and The emitter current is the sum of collector and base currents.
R4 influence the collector current which in turn determines The base current equals to the collector current divided by
the internal resistance of the transistor. The internal resistance forward current gain hf e , which is 175 for this transistor
(re ) has a crucial effect on the voltage gain at high frequencies. according to the SPICE model. Therefore, the base current
 2

can be neglected and the collector current is assumed to be so 34.3 kHz 24.4 Hz = 34.3 kHz. The Figure 6 shows Bode
equal to the emitter current which is given by: plot from 20 Hz to 20 kHz range. The mentioned range was
VE not chosen occasionally. It is audible human range, and this
IC = IE = = 4.4 ∗ 10−4 A proves that proposed audio amplifier is capable of amplifying
R4
all frequency range that a human can hear.
The internal resistance re is thermal voltage divided by the
collector current:
VT 26 ∗ 10−3 V
re = = = 59.1Ω
IC 4.4 ∗ 10−4 A
The voltage gain, when C2 bypasses R4, is determined by
the ratio of the resistances R3 and sum of re and R5:
−10000 Figure 4. Lower cutoff frequency
AV = = −144.74
59.1 + 10
Negative sign shows that the output is inverted.
The lower cut-off frequency is determined by C2 and the
sum of re and R5:
1 1
fcl = = = 23Hz
2π(re + R5)C2 2π ∗ 69.1 ∗ 100 ∗ 10−6
The higher cut-off frequency is determined by C3 and R3: Figure 5. Higher cutoff frequency
1 1
fch = = = 33.9kHz
2πR3C2 2π ∗ 10000 ∗ 470 ∗ 10−12
Consequently, the bandwidth of this amplifier is:
fch − fcl = 33.9kHz − 23Hz = 33.9kHz

III. LTS PICE S IMULATION

Initial construction of the proposed circuit is built on
simulation software LTSpice. Usually, after becoming familiar
with theory, the circuit is tested on software, as it allows to
compare it with theory outcomes. Amplifier circuit with a NPN
transistor and all other necessary components were constructed
on a software (Figure 1). Then, by compiling it is possible
to get the transient-current-voltage analysis anywhere in the
circuit. In Figure 3 the AC values of input and output voltages
are shown simultaneously. Note that, output, where amplified
version is obtained, is located between R3 and collector side
of the transistor. As expected in the theory, it has a big gain.
Exact gain value is calculated in following way:
Voutpeak−to−peak 6.3 − 4.92 1.38
Av = − =− =− = −138
Vinpeak−to−peak 0.01 0.01
Figure 3. Input and output AC voltages
The Figures 4 and 5 indicate lower and higher cut-off
frequencies. For all frequency ranges, the highest decibel
magnitude obtained is -3.2‘dB, cut-off frequency has -3 dB
attenuation from the highest [5]. Thus frequency values cor-
responding to -6.2 dB are taken as cut-off. There are two of
them: lower is 24.4 Hz and higher is 34.3 kHz. The difference
between higher and lower cut-off frequencies is bandwidth,
Figure 6. Bode plot for human audible range
IV. PCB M ANUFACTURING
PCB stands for printed circuit board, which mechanically
supports and electrically connects electronic components [3].
At one side there is a thin layer of copper which provides
electrical connection, this copper layer is laminated onto non-
conductive substrate. Usually insulating substrate is FR-4 glass
epoxy [4]. For this project PCB is prepared and necessary com-
ponents are soldered on the board. The following paragraph
describes steps of manufacturing.
Initially, the future design is drawn in a software program, in
order to approximate the size of the board and effectively order
the components. Size of the board is estimated to be 5*6cm.
The PCB is scrubbed with metal sponge until shiny surface
obtained. After this, the conductive path, which enables current
to pass, is covered with a permanent marker. Then ferric
chloride solution is prepared. This step is to erase space
apart from conductive path and make it non-conductive. Ferric
chloride is dissolved in warm water and used for etching the
copper surface. The board is immersed copper side down to
the ferric solution, and left there for 12 hours. It should be
noted that the chemical is highly acidic, thus it is strictly
recommended to not to touch it with bare hands. After taking
the board from the solution, it is washed under cold water.
Finally, acetyl is used to erase marker marks and below the
mark the conductive copper layer is left.
When the PCB is ready, it is time to solder the components.
Soldering process needs accurateness as well as circumspec-
tion, as small scale dimensions are to be dealt. While soldering

it is necessary to wear safety goggles and follow all lab
room safety regulations. After all components are soldered,
the completed version is ready for experimental observations
(Figure 7).
Figure 7. The completed PCB
V. M EASUREMENT RESULTS
After the PCB is ready, its performance is tested in a lab.
It is necessary to obtain amplified signal in oscilloscope and
then further compare it with previous ones. Signal generator
is connected as an input, whereas output is connected to
oscilloscope. The peak output voltage for 10mVp−p input
signal is determined to be 1.44Vp−p . Therefore, the gain is
1.44
− 0.01 = −144.
Figure 8. Oscilloscope readings.
Graph 1 represents frequency versus voltage plot. In a lab
room, for different frequency magnitudes, output peak-to-peak
voltage magnitudes were reported. Then by collected data the
graph is plotted. By using the following graph bandwidth will
be calculated. Max. voltage is 1.44V , cut-off comprises 70.7
percent of it, which is 1.44 ∗ 0.707 = 1.018V . This voltage
value intersects with two frequency magnitudes. One of them
is lower and other is higher cut-off frequency. To calculate
required frequencies, linear interpolation method will be used:
30Hz − 1.12V
3
20Hz − 0.88V
30 − 20 x − 20
=
1.12 − 0.88 1.018 − 0.88
x = 25.75Hz
So bandwidth the is:
34.4kHz − 25.75Hz = 34.4kHz
Figure 9. Experimental measurement: Voltage vs. Frequency
VI. D ISCUSSION
During the project, gain of amplifier was calculated by three
methods: theoretically, by software and experimentally. All
of them were approximately near to -144. However, there
were some deviations, and the reason for this may be that
components are not ideal and parameters of transistor in
theory, in software and in lab may quite differ. Moreover, some
rounding errors could also have impact to final values.
Regarding the bandwidth, it covers almost all audio sig-
nals. Calculated bandwidths were similar and had value near
34 kHz. Created prototype can amplify all human hearable
range, and this proves that its performance is quite good.
Furthermore, prototype eliminates any outside noise. This
was achieved by adding capacitor C3. Blue sine wave in
Figure 8 represents output, and it can be observed that there
are no distortions. Therefore, quality of signal will not be
deteriorated.
VII. C ONCLUSION
To sum, it can be said that the project is quite successful
based on several factors. Firstly, this project achieved the pur-
pose of construction of amplifier circuit with NPN transistor
and analyzed its performance. Secondly, circuit amplified to
very high output with gain magnitude of -144. Thirdly, despite
the existence of small deviations due to some errors, band-
width of the device covers almost all-audible range without the
presence of outside noise. Finally, the experimental, theoretical
and simulator measurements of the proposed circuit meet each
other, which confirms the correctness and serviceability of the
manufactured PCB.
 4

R EFERENCES
[1] Basic Electronics Tutorials, Common Emitter Amplifier and Transis-
tor Amplifiers, [Online] Available at: http : //www.electronics −
tutorials.ws/amplif ier/amp2.html
[2] Zetex Semiconductors, NPN silicon planar
medium power transistors, [Online] Available at:
http : //www.diodes.com/f iles/datasheets/ZT X450.pdf
[3] Wikipedia Contributors, Printed Circuit Board, [Online] Available at:
https : //en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P rintedcircuitboard
[4] Norplex micarta, Epoxy Resin - Glass Fabric Substrates,
[Online] Available at: http : //www.norplex −
micarta.com/P roducts/SheetP roducts/EpoxyResin −
GlassF abricSubstrates/P roductDetails.aspx
[5] Innovateus, What is a definition of cutoff frequency? , [Online] Available
at: http : //www.innovateus.net/science/what − def inition −
cutof f − f requency

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