PURVA PATEL

BATCH 15
CLASS B
BDA21

Practical-6
Amplifier and Oscillator

What is transistor ?
A transistor is a type of semiconductor device that can be used to conduct and insulate electric
current or voltage. A transistor basically acts as a switch and an amplifier. In simple words, we can
say that a transistor is a miniature device that is used to control or regulate the flow of electronic
signals.
Transistors are one of the key components in most of the electronic devices that are present today.
Developed in the year 1947 by three American physicists, John Bardeen, Walter Brattain and William
Shockley, the transistor is considered one of the most important inventions in the history of science.
A typical transistor is composed of three layers of semiconductor materials or, more specifically,
terminals which help to make a connection to an external circuit and carry the current. A voltage or
current that is applied to any one pair of the terminals of a transistor controls the current through
the other pair of terminals. There are three terminals for a transistor. They are listed below:

• Base: This is used to activate the transistor.

• Collector: It is the positive lead of the transistor.
• Emitter: It is the negative lead of the transistor.
Types of transistors
There are many types of transistors in use. Each transistor is specialized in its application. The main
classification is as follows.

The primary transistor is the BJT and FET is the modern version of transistor.

1. Bipolar Junction Transistor :-

A Bipolar junction transistor, shortly termed as BJT is called so as it has two PN junctions for
its function. This BJT is nothing but a normal transistor. It has got two types of
configurations NPN and PNP. Usually NPN transistor is preferred for the sake of convenience.
The following image shows how a practical BJT looks like.
The types of BJT are NPN and PNP transistors. The NPN transistor is made by placing a ptype material
between two n-type materials. The PNP transistor is made by placing an ntype material between two
p-type materials.

BJT is a current controlled device. A normal transistor which we had discussed in the previous chapters
come under this category. The functionality, configurations and applications are all the same.

2. Field Effect Transistor :-

An FET is a three-terminal unipolar semiconductor device. It is a voltage controlled device unlike a

bipolar junction transistor. The main advantage of FET is that it has a very high input impedance, which
is in the order of Mega Ohms. It has many advantages like low power consumption, low heat
dissipation and FETs are highly efficient devices. The following image shows how a practical FET looks
like.
The FET is a unipolar device, which means that it is made using either p-type or n-type
material as main substrate. Hence the current conduction of a FET is done by either electrons
or holes.

➢ Advantages of FET
To prefer a FET over BJT, there should be few advantages of using FETs, rather
than BJTs. Let us try to summarize the advantages of FET over BJT.

FET BJT

It is an unipolar device It is a bipolar device

Voltage driven device Current driven device

High input impedance Low input impedance

Low noise level High noise level

Better thermal stability Less thermal stability

Gain is characterized by
Gain is characterized by voltage gain
transconductance
 Application of transistors

• Advantages of using Transistors

Transistor has been proven as a very important invention in science. It has many uses and
advantages:

• It is small in size and is very cost-efficient.

• It needs very low voltage to function.

• It has a long life and requires no power to operate.

• A single integrated circuit can be developed using the transistor.

• Current switches fast in the terminals.

• Uses of Transistor :-

1) As Amplifier Circuit: A transistor can be used to amplify current. V biasing voltage

produced in the base-emitter junction. Due to the forward biasing of the base-
emitter junction, the electrons start flowing from emitter to recombine with holes
in the base, the base becomes negatively charged. If the base current Ib is increased
by a small amount, hole-electron recombination will get neutralised, the collector
current Ic will be increased. Therefore, a small change in current Ib in the base.

2) Microphone: The microphone is a transducer that converts our voice or sound wave
to an electronic signal. As the sound wave doesn't have a constant value, the
magnitude of the sound wave varies with time according to our voice.

The electrical output of the microphone varies according to the sound waves as the base
current Ib is varying because of the small alternating voltage produced by the microphone
which means a small change in Ib can cause a large change in Ic.

When this output of the microphone is given to the transistor as an input. The varying
collector current Ic flows into the loudspeaker, and we know that if there are changes in
the input of the transistor there will be a large change in the output of the transistor. Thus,
the transistor amplifies the electronic signal of the microphone.

The frequency remains constant but the amplitude of the sound wave from the loudspeaker
is higher than sound waves fed into the microphone.

3) Oscillator Circuit: An electronic oscillator is a device that generates continuous

electrical oscillations. In a simple oscillator circuit, a parallel LC circuit is used as a
resonant circuit and an amplifier is used to feed energy to the resonant circuit. The
 frequency gets resonantly amplified, and the output acts as a source of an
alternating voltage of that frequency.

4) Transistor Used as a Switch: BJT Transistors can be used as a switching device to

control DC power to a load. The switched (controlled) current goes between
emitter and collector, and the controlling current goes between emitter and base.

Transistor as an Amplifier

A transistor acts as an amplifier by raising the strength of a weak signal. The DC bias voltage
applied to the emitter base junction, makes it remain in forward biased condition. This
forward bias is maintained regardless of the polarity of the signal. The below figure shows
how a transistor looks like when connected as an amplifier.

The low resistance in input circuit, lets any small change in input signal to result in an
appreciable change in the output. The emitter current caused by the input signal
contributes the collector current, which when flows through the load resistor R L, results in
a large voltage drop across it. Thus a small input voltage results in a large output voltage,
which shows that the transistor works as an amplifier.
Amplifier Circuit - single circuit
 What is Oscillator ?

An oscillator is a circuit which produces a continuous, repeated, alternating waveform

without any input. Oscillators basically convert unidirectional current flow from a DC source
into an alternating waveform which is of the desired frequency, as decided by its circuit
components.

The basic principle behind the working of oscillators can be understood by analysing the
behaviour of an LC tank circuit shown in Figure below, which employs an inductor L and a
completely pre-charged capacitor C as its components. Here, at first, the capacitor starts to
discharge via the inductor, which results in the conversion of its electrical energy into the
electromagnetic field, which can be stored in the inductor. Once the capacitor discharges
completely, there will be no current flow in the circuit.

However, the oscillations which arise due to the inter-conversion between the two energy-
forms cannot continue forever as they would be subjected to the effect of energy loss due
to the resistance of the circuit. As a result, the amplitude of these oscillations decreases
steadily to become zero, which makes them damped in nature.

Type of Oscillator

There are many types of oscillators, but can broadly be classified into two main categories
– Harmonic Oscillators (also known as Linear Oscillators) and Relaxation Oscillators.

In a harmonic oscillator, the energy flow is always from the active components to the
passive components and the frequency of oscillations is decided by the feedback path.

Whereas in a relaxation oscillator, the energy is exchanged between the active and the
passive components and the frequency of oscillations is determined by the charging and
discharging time-constants involved in the process. Further, harmonic oscillators produce
low-distorted sine-wave outputs while the relaxation oscillators generate non-sinusoidal
(saw-tooth, triangular or square) wave-forms.
The main types of Oscillators include:

• Wien Bridge Oscillator

• RC Phase Shift Oscillator
• Voltage Controlled Oscillator
• Colpitts Oscillator
• Clapp Oscillators
• Crystal Oscillators
• Tuned Collector Oscillator
• Gunn Oscillator
• Cross-Coupled Oscillators
• Ring Oscillators
• Meissner Oscillators
• Pierce Oscillators
• Robinson Oscillators
• Delay-Line Oscillators
• Multi-Wave Oscillators
Oscillator Applications

Oscillators are a cheap and easy way to generate specific Frequency of a signal. For
example, an RC oscillator is used to generate a Low Frequency signal, an LC oscillator is
used to generate a High Frequency signal, and an Op-Amp based oscillator is used to
generate a stable frequency.

The frequency of oscillation can be varied by varying the component value with
potentiometer arrangements.

Some common applications of oscillators include:

• Quartz watches (which uses a crystal oscillator)

• Used in various audio systems and video systems
• Used in various radio, TV, and other communication devices
• Used in computers, metal detectors, stun guns, inverters, ultrasonic and
radio frequency applications.
• Used to generate clock pulses for microprocessors and micro-controllers
• Used in alarms and buzzes
• Used in metal detectors, stun guns, inverters, and ultrasonic
• Used to operate decorative lights (e.g. dancing lights)
Colpit Oscillator- single circuit
Difference between Amplifier and Oscillator.

Basis of Amplifier Oscillator

Difference

An electronic circuit that generates an

An electronic circuit that increases
AC signal of definite frequency having
Definition the magnitude of a weak signal is
either sinusoidal or nonsinusoidal
called an amplifier.
waveform is called an oscillator.

The main function of an amplifier

The main function of an amplifier is to
is to increase the intensity of a
Primary increase the intensity of a signal.
signal. Therefore, the amplifiers
function & Therefore, the amplifiers are
are repetitively used in a circuit
location in repetitively used in a circuit because
because the signal losses its
circuit the signal losses its energy while
energy while travelling over long
travelling over long distances.
distances.

Acts as Amplifier acts as a multiplier. Oscillator acts as a source.

The output of an amplifier is just

an amplified signal of same nature Oscillator always generates an
Output signal
as the input. It may be period or oscillatory, i.e. periodic signal.
aperiodic.

Presence of An amplifier necessarily has both

An oscillator has only an output.
input & output input and output.

An amplifier can never perform We may use an oscillator itself in place

Substituting
the function of an oscillator. of amplifier to produce a strong signal.

In amplifiers, the negative

Feedback Oscillators use positive feedback.
feedback is used.

For the operation, an amplifier

necessarily requires an input Oscillator does not require input signal
Need of input
signal to generate an amplified to generate an oscillatory output
signal
output signal. Without input signal signal.
it does nothing.

Oscillators are extensively used in

Amplifiers are widely used in computers, laptops, and many other
Applications audio systems to increase the electronic devices and systems to
intensity of audio signals. generate the clock pulses for
synchronization.