2013

BJT BIASING
CONFIGURATION
Fixed bias and emitter bias configuration

Maryam Nawaz
[Type the company name]
10/6/2013
Bipolar transistor biasing

Bipolar transistor amplifiers must be properly biased to operate correctly. In

circuits made with individual devices (discrete circuits), biasing networks
consisting of resistors are commonly employed. Much more elaborate biasing
arrangements are used in integrated circuits.

What do you understand by biasing?

Biasing in electronics is the method of establishing

predetermined voltages or currents at various points of an electronic circuit for the
purpose of establishing proper operating conditions in electronic components.
Many electronic devices whose function is signal processing time-varying
(AC) signals also require a steady (DC) current or voltage to operate correctly. The
AC signal applied to them is superposed on this DC bias current or voltage. Other
types of devices, for example magnetic recording heads, require a time-varying
(AC) signal as bias. The operating point of a device, also known as bias point,
quiescent point, or Q-point, is the steady-state voltage or current at a specified
terminal of an active device (a transistor or vacuum tube) with no input signal
applied.

What is the operating/quiescent point?

The operating point is a specific point within the operation characteristic of a

technical device. This point will be engaged because of the properties of the
system and the outside influences and parameters. In Electronic
Engineering establishing an operating point is called Biasing.

(Must read article 4.2 from Textbook Electric Devices and Circuits Theory by
Robert L. Nashelsky)

Bias circuit requirements

1. For analog operation of a transistor , the Q-point is placed so the transistor
stays in active mode (does not shift to operation in the saturation region or
cut-off region) when input is applied. For digital operation, the Q-point is
placed so the transistor does the contrary - switches from "on" to "off" state.
 Often, Q-point is established near the center of active region of transistor
characteristic to allow similar signal swings in positive and negative
directions. Q-point should be stable. In particular, it should be insensitive to
variations in transistor parameters (for example, should not shift if transistor
is replaced by another of the same type), variations in temperature,
variations in power supply voltage and so forth. The circuit must be
practical: easily implemented and cost-effective.
2. At constant current, the voltage across the emitter–base junction VBE of a
bipolar transistor decreases 2 mV (silicon) and 1.8mV (germanium) for each
1 °C rise in temperature (reference being 25 °C). If the base–emitter
voltage VBE is held constant and the temperature rises, the current through
the base–emitter diode IB will increase, and thus the collector current IC will
also increase. Depending on the bias point, the power dissipated in the
transistor may also increase, which will further increase its temperature and
exacerbate the problem. There are several approaches to overcome bipolar
transistor thermal problems. For example,

 Negative feedback can be built into the biasing circuit so that increased
collector current leads to decreased base current. Hence, the increasing
collector current throttles its source.
 Heat sinks can be used that carry away extra heat and prevent the base–emitter
temperature from rising.

Types of bias circuit

The following discussion treats four common biasing circuits used with bipolar
transistor s:

1. Fixed bias transistor

2. Emitter bias transistor
3. Voltage divider bias
4. Collector feedback bias
Fixed bias Transistors
The fixed-bias circuit of Fig. 1 provides a relatively straightforward and simple
introduction to transistor dc bias analysis. Even though the network employs an
npn transistor, the equations and calculations apply equally well to a pnp transistor
configuration merely by changing all current directions and voltage polarities. The
current directions of Fig. 1 are the actual current directions, and the voltages are
defined by the standard double-subscript notation. For the dc analysis the network
can be isolated from the indicated ac levels by replacing the capacitors with an
open circuit equivalent ( as capacitor blocks d.c and for d.c reactance X becomes
infinite). In addition, the dc supply VCC can be separated into two supplies (for
analysis purposes only) as shown in Fig. 2 to permit a separation of input and
output circuits. It also reduces the linkage between the two to the base current IB.
The separation is certainly valid, as we note in Fig. 2 that VCC is connected directly
to RB and RC just as in Fig. 1.
Figure 1. Fixed bias circuit
To solve this circuit we may first consider the emitter base loop(which is forward
biased) then the collector emitter loop(reverse biased).

Figure 2. dc equivalent of figure 1

Forward Bias of Base–Emitter

Consider first the base–emitter circuit loop of Fig. 3. Writing Kirchhoff’s voltage
equation in the clockwise direction for the loop, we obtain
VCC -IBRB -VBE = 0
Note the polarity of the voltage drop across RB as established by the indicated
direction of IB. Solving the equation for the current IB will result in the following
eq.

……..(1)
since the supply voltage VCC and the base–emitter voltage VBE are constants,
the selection of a base resistor, RB, sets the level of base current for the operating
point.
Figure 3. Emitter base loop

Collector emitter loop

The collector–emitter section of the network appears in Fig. 4 with the indicated
direction of current IC and the resulting polarity across RC. The magnitude of the
collector current is related directly to IB through
IC= ßIB ………..(2)
It is interesting to note that since the base current is controlled by the level of RB
and IC is related to IB by a constant ß , the magnitude of IC is not a function of the
resistance RC. Change RC to any level and it will not affect the level of IB or IC as
long as we remain in the active region of the device. However, as we shall see, the
level of RC will determine the magnitude of VCE, which is an important parameter.

Applying Kirchhoff’s voltage law in the clockwise direction around the indicated
closed loop of Fig. 4 will result in the following:
VCE -ICRC -VCC = 0

VCE =VCC -ICRC ……(3)

which states in words that the voltage across the collector–emitter region of a
transistorin the fixed-bias configuration is the supply voltage less the drop across
RC.
As a brief review of single and double-subscript notation recall that
VCE =VC - VE ……(4)
where VCE is the voltage from collector to emitter and VC and VE are the voltages
from collector and emitter to ground respectively. But in this case, since VE = 0 V,
we have
VCE =VC …..(5)

we have
VCE =VC ………(6)
In addition, since
VBE =VB -VE ……(7)
and VE =0 V, then
VBE =VB
Merits:

 It is simple to shift the operating point anywhere in the active region by merely changing the base resistor (RB).
 A very small number of components are required.

Demerits:

The collector current does not remain constant with variation in temperature or power supply voltage. Therefore the operating
point is unstable.

Usage:

Due to the above inherent drawbacks, fixed bias is rarely used in linear circuits (i.e., those circuits which use the transistor as a
current source). Instead, it is often used in circuits where transistor is used as a switch.

Figure 4. Collector emitter loop

EMITTER-STABILIZED BIAS CIRCUIT
The dc bias network of Fig. 5 contains an emitter resistor to improve the stability
level over that of the fixed-bias configuration.

Figure 5. BJT bias circuit with a emitter resistor

Base–Emitter Loop
The base–emitter loop of the network of Fig. 5 can be redrawn as shown in Fig.
6. Writing Kirchhoff’s voltage law around the indicated loop in the clockwise
direction will result in the following equation:
VCC - IBRB -VBE - IERE = 0 ………(1)
Recall
IE = ( +1)IB …….. (2)
Substituting for IE in Eq. (1) will result in
VCC -IBRB -VBE -( +1)IB RE = 0
Grouping terms will then provide the following:
-IB(RB +( +1)RE) +VCC -VBE = 0
and solving for IB gives

Note that the only difference between this equation for IB and that obtained for the
fixed-bias configuration is the term ( +1)RE.
Figure 6. Emitter base loop

Collector–Emitter Loop
The collector–emitter loop is redrawn in Fig. 7. Writing Kirchhoff’s voltage law
for the indicated loop in the clockwise direction will result in

Substituting IE ≈IC and grouping terms , we have

The single-subscript voltage VE is the voltage

from emitter to ground and is determined
by

while the voltage from collector to ground can be determined from

The voltage at the base with respect to ground can be determined from

Figure 7. collector emitter loop

Merits:

The circuit has the tendency to stabilize operating point against changes in
temperature and β-value

Demerits:
  In this circuit, to keep IC independent of β the following condition must be
met:

which is approximately the case if

( β + 1 )RE >> RB.

 As β-value is fixed for a given transistor, this relation can be satisfied either
by keeping RE very large, or making RB very low.

 If RE is of large value, high VCC is necessary. This increases cost as

well as precautions necessary while handling.
 If RB is low, a separate low voltage supply should be used in the base
circuit. Using two supplies of different voltages is impractical