Air University, Islamabad

Department of Electrical Engineering

Electric Circuit Design Lab

Name: Saqib Ali 180535

Syed Ahmad Hassan 180561 BEEP -4-A
Muhammad Uzair Ali 180511

LAB #8
BJT AS A DIFFERENTIAL AMPLIFIER
OBJECTIVES
i. To scrutinize the functionality of BJT Differential Amplifier.
ii. Study the circuit simulations on proteus.

EQUIPMENT
I. Function Generator
II. Power Supply
III. Digital Multimeter
IV. Oscilloscope
V. Transistors
VI. Resistors
ABOUT THE EXPERIMENT
An electronic circuit that is designed to amplify the difference between two voltages measured with respect to a
common reference, usually designated as ground. By convention, the net difference of two voltages measured with
respect to a common reference is called the differential-mode voltage, while the sum of the voltages, usually divided
by two to give an average value, is called the common-mode voltage. An ideal differential amplifier thus has exactly
the same gain from each input to its output, and the amplifier produces an output that is directly proportional to its
differential-mode voltage. The amplifier delivers zero output in response to common-mode voltages. If these gains
are not exactly equal, then equal (common-mode) voltages applied at each input terminal will not be equal at the
amplifier output and their difference will not cancel completely. The common mode gain, the ratio of the output
response of a real differential amplifier to the input signal applied equally to each input terminal, is a measure of
this gain mismatch. For a physical differential amplifier to work properly, the electrical paths of each input signal
through the amplifier must be nearly identical. Thus, the most important requirement for a differential amplifier is
that it be constructed with transistors with closely matched electrical
Differential-amplifier circuits that are suitable for integrated-circuit fabrication can use either metal oxide
semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) or bipolar junction transistors (BJTs). The input transistor pair
must be matched closely. For best performance, the two load transistors also should be matched. Figure 1 shows the
basic BJT differential characteristics.

WORKING
Consider first the case where the two bases are joined together and connected to a voltage vCM called a common
mode voltage. This is shown in figure 1(a) vB1 = vB2 = vCM. Since Q1 and Q2 are matched, it follows from
symmetry that the current I will divide equally between the two devices. Thus iE1 = iE2 = I/2, and the voltage at the
emitters will be vCM - VBE, where VBE is the emitter base voltage correspondingly to an emitter current of I/2.
The voltage at each collector will be VCC – (1/2)αIRC. And the difference between the two collectors will be zero.

Now let voltage VB2 be set to a constant value say zero and let VB1= +1V. With a bit of reasoning it can be seen
that Q1 will be on and conducting all of current I and Q2 will be off. For Q1 to be on, the emitter has to be at +0.3V,
which keeps the EBJ of Q2 reverse biased. The collector voltages will be:

Let us now change VB1 = -1V. Again with some reasoning it can be seen that Q1 will turn off and Q2 will carry
all the current I. the common emitter will be at -0.7 V, which means that EBJ of Q1 will be reversed biased 0.3
V. The collector voltages will be:

Now apply the sinusoidal signal to one of the base terminals and ground the other terminal. Sinusoidal signal is of
80 mVP-P and 1 kHz. And find out the output at the collector end. You will see that the side at which you applied
the ac signal, at that end you have got the out of phase output with respect to input and other terminal has got the
output which is in phase to the input. And both the outputs are out of phase with each other.

Voltage Gain:
The output voltage signal of a differential amplifier can be taken either differentially (that is, between the two
collectors) or single-ended (that is, between one collector and ground). If the output is taken differentially, then the
differential gain (as opposed to the common-mode gain) of the differential amplifier will be:

On the other hand, if we take the single-ended output (say, between the collector of Q1 and ground), then the
common mode gain will be given by:

CIRCUIT DIAGRAM

PROCEURE
(i) Connect the circuit as shown in figure below.
(ii) Apply Vin = 80mVP-P (f = 1kHz)
(iii) Now with the help of DMM, measure the output current and output voltage.
 (iv)Fill in the required values.
Where output values are,

I = 1.61 mA IE1 = 0.88 mA

IE2 = 0.88 mA

PROTEUS SIMULATIONS BY 180535(Saqib Ali)

PROTEUS SIMULATIONS BY 180561(Syed Ahmad Hassan)

 PROTEUS SIMULATIONS BY 180535(Mohammad Uzair Ali)

CONCLUSION:
This lab provided the following conclusions to us:
 We understood the circuit diagrams and working of BJT Differential Amplifier.
 We learnt that a differential amplifier has two inputs, and amplifies the difference in voltage between
them.
 We saw its mathematical form in detail.
 We learnt how to simulate this circuit on proteus.