ELECTRONICS LABORATORY

SIMULATION OF BJT AMPLIFIER

Simulation of BJT Amplifier

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 ELECTRONICS LABORATORY
SIMULATION OF BJT AMPLIFIER

Simulation of BJT Amplifier

An amplifier is an electronic circuit that increases the amplitude of voltage, current, or power.
The main component of amplifier circuit is the transistor. The name transistor comes from
transfer and resistor. In order for the transistor to amplify voltage, this semiconductor device
must have a low input resistance and a high output resistance. So that when the electronic
current flows through the transistor device, the small input voltage becomes a bigger output
voltage.

To illustrate the amplifying action of the transistor, Figure 1 presents an NPN bipolar junction
transistor (BJT) with a forward-biased base-emitter PN junction and with a reverse-biased base-

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collector PN junction. The PN junction has a voltage-controlled resistance. When the BE junction
is applied with forward bias, it results to having a lower resistance. On the other hand, when the

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BC junction is applied with reverse bias, it produces a wider depletion region causing a higher
resistance. So when the transistor current flows in through a small-resistance FB input BE

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junction, it results to a lower input voltage. As the transistor current flows out through a high-
resistance RB output BC junction, it yields a higher output voltage. This is the condition that a BJT
can amplify the voltage signal. This condition is called the active operation.
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Figure 1. BJT as an Amplifier.

Table 1. Operating Conditions of BJT.

Bias of PN Junction
Operating Condition Transistor Application
BE Junction BC Junction
Active FB RB Amplifier
Saturation FB FB Close Switch
Cutoff RB RB Open Switch
Reverse Active RB FB Attenuator

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SIMULATION OF BJT AMPLIFIER

Table 1 provides the different operating conditions of BJT, namely: active, saturation, cutoff, and
reverse active. The required condition of transistor in amplifier circuit is the active condition. For
an NPN transistor, the BE junction, with P-type base and N-type emitter, is considered forward
biased if its base voltage is higher than its emitter voltage, by at least the amount of barrier
potential which is around 0.7V. The BC junction, with P-type base and N-type collector, is reverse
biased if its collector voltage is higher than its base voltage. The transistor terminal voltages,
namely: the collector voltage VC, the base voltage VB, and the emitter voltage VE; are measured
from the transistor terminal to the ground of the amplifier circuit. The voltage requirement of
transistor device is provided by using a biasing circuit, like the voltage divider bias.

Now, let us use the LTSPICE to run simulations and determine the characteristics of bipolar

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junction transistor (BJT) amplifier, such as the Common-Emitter Amplifier. Here is a link about
‘Getting Started with LTSPICE’: https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/getting-started-with-ltspice/all

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1. Connect the circuit diagram of Common-Emitter Amplifier. Refer to Figure 2. The input

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signal Vin is connected to the base terminal of transistor Q1, through the input coupling
capacitor C1. The output voltage is taken from the collector terminal of Q1, through the
output coupling capacitor C2, and is across the load resistor R5. The bias circuit of Q1 is the
voltage divider bias, comprised of the voltage dividers R1 and R2. The voltage across resistor
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R2 provides the base voltage of Q1. The voltage across resistor R4 provides the emitter
voltage of Q1. The collector voltage of Q1 is the power supply VCC less the voltage across
the resistor R3. The base voltage must be greater than the emitter voltage by at least 0.7V,
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to forward bias the base-emitter junction. The collector voltage must be lower than the base
voltage, to reverse bias the base-collector junction.
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Note: The student or group may opt to change the part number or the values of the
components for improved performance of the amplifier.
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2. Take a snapshot of your schematic diagram in LTSPICE and place it as Figure 3.

3. Fill-up the Table 2 with the components used in your Common Emitter Amplifier. You may
use the Bill of Materials feature in LTSPICE to provide you with the list of components.

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SIMULATION OF BJT AMPLIFIER

Figure 2. Example of BJT Amplifier.

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Figure 3. BJT Amplifier connected as Common-Emitter Amplifier in LTSPICE.

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Table 2. List of Components of BJT Amplifier.

Component Part No. Value Description
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Q1
R1
R2
R3
R4
R5
C1
C2
C3

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 ELECTRONICS LABORATORY
SIMULATION OF BJT AMPLIFIER

The amplifier circuit in Figure 2 has two voltage sources, the dc power supply VCC and the ac
input signal Vin. By applying the superposition theorem, the analysis of amplifier circuit can be
by three steps.

First is the large-signal analysis or the dc analysis of the amplifier circuit. The effect of the dc
power supply VCC to the amplifier circuit is established. In dc analysis, the ac input Vin is shorted
and the capacitors are treated as open circuits. The frequency is 0 Hz under the dc condition.
That is why the capacitive reactance of the capacitors become very high, hence the capacitors
are effectively open circuits. With open-circuit capacitors, the equivalent dc circuit of amplifier
in Figure 2 is shown in Figure 3. Using this equivalent circuit, the bias condition of transistor is
determined by computing the operating terminal voltages and the operating transistor currents.

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Figure 3. Equivalent DC Circuit of BJT Amplifier.
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Second is the small-signal analysis or the ac analysis of the amplifier circuit. The effect of ac input
signal Vin to the amplifier circuit is established. In ac analysis, the dc power supply VCC is shorted
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and the capacitors are treated as short circuits. When the VCC is shorted, the nodes of resistors
R1 and R3 become connected to circuit ground. In ac analysis, the transistor is replaced with its
current-controlled current source model. The equivalent ac circuit of amplifier in Figure 2 is
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provided in Figure 4. Using this equivalent circuit, the ac parameters of amplifier is determined.
These amplifier parameters include the input resistance, output resistance, voltage gain, current
gain, and power gain. Third step is to combine the results of dc and ac analyses.

Figure 4. Equivalent AC Circuit of BJT Amplifier.

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 ELECTRONICS LABORATORY
SIMULATION OF BJT AMPLIFIER

4. Run a DC simulation in LTSPICE. Measure the following operating voltages:

Collector DC voltage source (VCC) = _____________
Collector voltage (VC) = _____________
Base voltage (VB) = _____________
Emitter voltage (VE) = _____________

5. Based on the measured DC voltages, answer the following questions. Briefly explain your
every answer.

5.1. How much is the voltage across the base-emitter junction (VBE) of the transistor? How

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is the base-emitter junction of the transistor biased?

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5.2. How much is the voltage across the base-collector junction (VBC) of the transistor?
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How is the base-collector junction of the transistor biased?
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5.3. Based on the conditions of BE and BC junctions, what is the operating condition of the
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transistor? What is the impact of this condition to the amplifying action of the
transistor?
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Note: Make sure that the transistor is operating in the Active condition. Adjust the
values of bias resistors if necessary.

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SIMULATION OF BJT AMPLIFIER

6. Run the transient simulations in LTSPICE, and display the waveforms of input voltage at node
IN and of output voltage at node OUT. Adjust the magnitude of sine-wave input voltage Vin
until the waveform of output voltage shows no distortion or clipping. Take a snapshot of the
simulation waveforms and place it in Figure 5.

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Figure 5. LTSPICE Simulation Waveforms of Common-Emitter Amplifier.
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7. Measure the parameters of input voltage at node IN and of output voltage at node OUT.
Input voltage (Vin) = _____________
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Input frequency (fin) = _____________

Output voltage (Vout) = _____________
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Output frequency (fout) = _____________

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SIMULATION OF BJT AMPLIFIER

8. Remove the bypass capacitor C3 in the circuit in Figure 2. Run the transient simulations in
LTSPICE, and display the waveforms of input voltage at node IN and of output voltage at node
OUT. Adjust the magnitude of sine-wave input voltage Vin until the waveform of output
voltage shows no distortion or clipping. Take a snapshot of the simulation waveforms and
place it in Figure 6.

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Figure 6. LTSPICE Waveforms of Common-Emitter Amplifier without Bypass Capacitor.
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9. Measure the parameters of input voltage at node IN and of output voltage at node OUT.
Input voltage (Vin, unbypassed) = _____________
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Input frequency (fin, unbypassed) = _____________

Output voltage (Vout, unbypassed) = _____________
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Output frequency (fout, unbypassed) = _____________

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 ELECTRONICS LABORATORY
SIMULATION OF BJT AMPLIFIER

10. Reconnect the bypass capacitor C3 in the circuit, but remove the load resistor R5 in Figure 2.
Run the transient simulations in LTSPICE, and display the waveforms of input voltage at node
IN and of output voltage at node OUT. Adjust the magnitude of sine-wave input voltage Vin
until the waveform of output voltage shows no distortion or clipping. Take a snapshot of the
simulation waveforms and place it in Figure 7.

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Figure 7. LTSPICE Waveforms of Common-Emitter Amplifier without Load Resistor.
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11. Measure the parameters of input voltage at node IN and of output voltage at node OUT.
Input voltage (Vin, unloaded) = _____________
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Input frequency (fin, unloaded) = _____________

Output voltage (Vout, unloaded) = _____________
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Output frequency (fout, unloaded) = _____________

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 ELECTRONICS LABORATORY
SIMULATION OF BJT AMPLIFIER

12. Calculate the voltage gain of BJT Common-Emitter Amplifier with load resistor and with
bypass capacitor. Use the measurements in number 7.
Voltage Gain with Load Resistor and Bypass Capacitor (A V, loaded, bypassed) = _______________

13. Find the voltage gain of BJT Common-Emitter Amplifier with load resistor but without bypass
capacitor. Use the measurements in number 9.
Voltage Gain with Load Resistor, Without Bypass Capacitor (A V, loaded, unbypassed) = ___________

14. What is the voltage gain of BJT Common-Emitter Amplifier without load resistor but with

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bypass capacitor. Use the measurements in number 11.

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Voltage Gain without Load Resistor, With Bypass Capacitor (A V, unloaded, passed) = _____________

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15. Briefly discuss how to determine the voltage gain of a BJT amplifier.
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16. Explain the effect of bypass capacitance to the voltage gain of a BJT amplifier.
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17. What is the effect of load resistance to the voltage amplification of a BJT amplifier?
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