EC 402 2023

ANALOG CIRCUITS

CA2 REPORT ON

DC BIASING SCHEMES FOR BJT:

FIXED BIAS & SELF BIAS

University Roll No.: 12000321071

Submitted to: Dr. Keka Hajra

Submitted by: Soham Saha

TRANSISTOR BIASING:
Transistor bidding is the process of correctly calibrating a transistor's DC
operating voltage or current conditions such that the transistor may
amplify any AC input signal.

A bipolar transistor's steady state performance heavily depends on the

parameters of its base current, collector voltage, and collector current.
Because poor transistor biassing will lead to distorted output, the transistor
must be properly biassed around its operating point in order to function as
a linear amplifier.

The choice of bias resistors and load resistors to give the proper input
current and collector voltage conditions is necessary to establish the
correct operating point.

A bipolar transistor's proper biassing point, whether NPN or PNP, often

falls between the two states of operation where it is either "fully-ON" or
"fully-OFF" along its DC load line. The "Quiescent Operating Point," or
Q-point for short, is this core operating point.

A bipolar transistor is said to be working as a Class-A amplifier when the

bias is set so that the Q-point is about in the centre of its operational range,
or halfway between cut-off and saturation. With this mode of operation,
the input signal swings through one full cycle while the output voltage
fluctuates about the amplifier's Q-point without introducing distortion. To
put it another way, the output is accessible for the entire 360 o of the input
cycle.

BASE CURRENT BIAS (FIXED BIAS):

The fundamental transistor amplifier employed the first biassing

technique, often known as base current bias or fixed bias. It simply just
had a resistor (RB) linked between the collector supply voltage and the
base, as you may recall. However, this straightforward configuration is
rather thermally unstable. The collector current will increase if the
transistor's temperature rises for whatever reason, including an increase in
ambient temperature or current flow through it. The DC operating point,
also known as the quiescent or static point, moves away from the target
position as a result of this rise in current (level). This temperature response
is not ideal because it affects amplifier gain (the number of times of
amplification) and could result in distortion, as you will see later in this
discussion.

1.FIXED BIAS (BASE BIAS):

The single power source (for example, a battery) is used for both collector
and base of a transistor, although separate batteries can also be used.
In the given circuit,
Vcc = IbRb + Vbe
Therefore,
IB = (Vcc − Vbe)/Rb
For a given transistor, Vbe does not vary significantly during use. As
Vcc is of fixed value, on selection of RB, the base current IB is fixed.
Therefore, this type is called fixed bias type of circuit.
Also for given circuit,
Vcc = IcRc + Vce
Therefore,
Vce = Vcc − ICRC
The common-emitter current gain of a transistor is an important
parameter in circuit design,and is specified on the data sheet for a
particular transistor. It is denoted as β on this page.
Because, IC = βIB we can obtain IC as well. In this manner, operating
point given as (Vce,IC) can be set for given transistor.

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.
However, one application of fixed bias is to achieve crude automatic
gain control in the transistor by feeding the base resistor from a DC signal
derived from the AC output of a later stage.

2.FIXED BIAS WITH EMITTER RESISTOR:

The fixed bias circuit is modified by attaching an external resistor to the

emitter. This resistor introduces negative feedback that stabilizes the Q-
point. From Kirchhoff's voltage law, the voltage across the base resistor
is
VRb=Vcc-IeRb*Vbe
From Ohm's law, the base current is
Ib=Vbe/Rb
The way feedback controls the bias point is as follows. If Vbe is held
constant and temperature increases, emitter current increases. However, a
larger Ie increases the emitter voltage Ve = IeRe, which in turn reduces the
voltage VRb across the base resistor. A lower base-resistor voltage drop
reduces the base current, which results in less collector current because
Ic = β IB. Collector current and emitter current are related by Ic = α
Ie with α ≈ 1, so the increase in emitter current with temperature is
opposed, and the operating point is kept stable. Similarly, if the transistor
is replaced by another, there may be a change in IC (corresponding to
change in β-value, for example). By similar process as above, the change
is negated and operating point kept stable.
For the given circuit,
Ib=Vcc∗Vbe/Rb+(β+1)Re

Usage:
The feedback also increases the input impedance of the amplifier when
seen from the base, which can be advantageous. Due to the above
disadvantages, this type of biasing circuit is used only with careful
consideration of the trade-offs involved.

SELF BIAS:

By placing the bias resistor directly between the base and

collector, as indicated in the diagram below, a superior way of biassing is
obtained. This method of connecting the collector and base allows
feedback voltage to be sent from the collector to the base to create forward
bias. Self-bias is the term for this setup. Now, if the temperature rises and
the collector current rises, the voltage across the load resistor will rise and
cause the collector voltage (VC) to decrease (RL). The base current will
become less as a result of the fall in VC, which will be fed back to the
base. The initial rise in collector current will be resisted by the fall in base
current, which will help stabilise it. The decrease in base current will
oppose the original increase in collector current and tend to stabilize it.
The exact opposite effect is produced when the collector current decreases.
 Fig: A basic transistor amplifier with self-bias

Self-bias has two small drawbacks: (1) It is only partially effective and,
therefore, is only used where moderate changes in ambient temperature are
expected; (2) it reduces amplification since the signal on the collector also
affects the base voltage. This is because the collector and base signals for
this particular amplifier configuration are 180 degrees out of phase
(opposite in polarity) and the part of the collector signal that is fed back to
the base cancels some of the input signal. This process of returning a part
of the output back to its input is known as degeneration or negative
feedback. Sometimes degeneration is desired to prevent amplitude
distortion (an output signal that fails to follow the input exactly) and self-
bias may be used for this purpose.

CONCLUSION:
Establishing a known quiescent operating point, or Q-point, for the bipolar
transistor to function effectively and generate an undistorted output signal
is the aim of transistor biassing. With realistic biassing circuits that use
either a two or four-resistor bias network, proper DC biassing of the
transistor also sets its first AC operating area.

The Q-point is denoted in bipolar transistor circuits by (VCE, IC) for NPN
transistors or (VEC, IC) for PNP transistors. The collector current as a
function of temperature and Beta () is commonly used to evaluate the
stability of the base bias network and therefore the Q-point.