FACULTY OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY

DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONICS

REPORT TITLE:

NAME: THABANG MLAMBO

ID NO: 202001587

DUE DATE: 25/08/2023

1
TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION ...................................... ................................................................................ .3

THEORY .....................................................................................................................................4

PROCEDURE................................................................................................................................ 7

RESULTS AND ANALYSIS............................................................................................................. 8

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION ...............................................................................................10

RECOMMENDATIONS................................................................................................................ 11

REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................. 12

QUESTIONS.................................................................................................................................13

2
AIMS
1. To design a small signal voltage amplifier
2. To plot its frequency response and to obtain bandwith

INTRODUCTION
Bipolar junction transistor is a type of semiconductor device that is used for amplifying and
switching electronic signals. BJTs are made up of three regions: the emitter, the base, and the
collector. The emitter and collector are made of the same type of doped semiconductor
material, and the base is made of different type of doped material, the base is sandwiched
between the emitter and the collector. BJTs are useful because they can control a large
amount of current with a small amount of input current. This makes them useful for
amplifying weak signals, as well as for switching and controlling larger amounts of current.
There are two main types of BJTs: NPN and PNP. NPN BJTs have an N-type emitter, a P-
type base, and an N-type collector. PNP BJTs have a P-type emitter, an N-type base, and a P-
type collector. The doping concentration of the emitter and collector regions is typically much
higher than the doping concentration of the base region. The base region is also typically very
thin compared to the emitter and collector regions. The doping concentrations and thicknesses
of the various regions can be adjusted to achieve different performance characteristics. BJTs
have a high input impedance and a low output impedance, which makes them useful for
driving other circuits [1].
A common emitter amplifier is a type of bipolar junction transistor amplifier that uses a
single transistor in a common-emitter configuration. With the unprecedented advancement of
semiconductors, today a designer has many choices of components [2]. The common emitter
amplifier is one of the most common and basic amplifier configurations. In this
configuration, the base is connected to the input signal, the collector is connected to the
output, and the emitter is connected to ground. The common emitter configuration has several
advantages over the other two configurations. It provides a higher voltage gain, a lower
output impedance, and a better noise figure. BJTs can operate in the linear region, which
makes them useful for amplification [3].

3
THEORY
The below circuit diagram shows the working of the common emitter amplifier circuit, and it
consists of voltage divider biasing, used to supply the base bias voltage as per the necessity.
The voltage divider biasing has a potential divider with two resistors are connected in a way
that the midpoint is used for supplying base bias voltage.

Figure 1; Common Emitter Amplifier Circuit

There are different types of electronic components in the common emitter amplifier which are
R1 resistor is used for the forward bias, the R2 resistor is used for the development of bias,
the RL resistor is used at the output it is called the load resistance. The RE resistor is used for
thermal stability. The C1 capacitor is used to separate the AC signals from the DC biasing
voltage and the capacitor is known as the coupling capacitor.

The figure shows that the bias vs gain common emitter amplifier transistor characteristics if
the R2 resistor increases then there is an increase in the forward bias and R1 & bias are
inversely proportional to each other. The alternating current is applied to the base of the
transistor of the common emitter amplifier circuit then there is a flow of small base current.
Hence there is a large amount of current flow through the collector with the help of the RC
resistance. The voltage near the resistance RC will change because the value is very high and
the values are from 4 to 10kohm. Hence there is a huge amount of current present in the
collector circuit which amplified from the weak signal, therefore common emitter transistors
work as an amplifier circuit.

Voltage Gain of Common Emitter Amplifier

The current gain of the common emitter amplifier is defined as the ratio of change in
collector current to the change in base current. The voltage gain is defined as the product of

4
the current gain and the ratio of the output resistance of the collector to the input resistance of
the base circuits. The following equations show the mathematical expression of the voltage
gain and the current gain.

β = ΔIc/ ΔIb

Av = β Rc/Rb

Circuit Elements and their Functions

The common emitter amplifier circuit elements and their functions are discussed below.

Biasing Circuit/ Voltage Divider

The resistances R1, R2, and RE are used to form the voltage biasing and stabilization circuit.
The biasing circuit needs to establish a proper operating Q-point otherwise, a part of the
negative half cycle of the signal may be cut-off in the output. The capacitor C1 is used to
couple the signal to the base terminal of the BJT. If it is not there, the signal source resistance,
Rs will come across R2, and hence, it will change the bias. C1 allows only the AC signal to
flow but isolates the signal source from R2. An Emitter bypass capacitor CE is used parallel
with RE to provide a low reactance path to the amplified AC signal. If it is not used, then the
amplified AC signal following through RE will cause a voltage drop across it, thereby
dropping the output voltage. The coupling capacitor C2 couples one stage of amplification to
the next stage. This technique is used to isolate the DC bias settings of the two coupled
circuits.

CE Amplifier Circuit Currents

Base current iB = IB +ib where,
IB = DC base current when no signal is applied.
ib = AC base when AC signal is applied and iB = total base current.
Collector current iC = IC+ic where,
iC = total collector current.
IC = zero signal collector current.
ic = AC collector current when the AC signal is applied.
Emitter Current iE = IE + ie where,
IE = Zero signal emitter current.

5
Ie = AC emitter current when AC signal is applied.
iE = total emitter current.

6
APPARATUS
A computer installed with a multism software.
PROCEDURE

F igure 2; the guide used to construct a MULTISM simulation.

The above is the circuit that was the guidance to creating a multism simulation.
The configuration was done by selecting biasing resistors of R 1 and R 2 of 47 kΩ
and 10 kΩ respectively connected all in parallel node to the base and 10 μF. RC, RE
and RL were connected of values 2.2 kΩ, 560 Ω and 820 Ω respectively, and a bypass
capacitor equal to 22 μF. In the simulation the input voltage was varied, and an
oscilloscope was used to measure the output voltage.

Figure 3; the constructed circuit in MULTISM

7
RESULTS
Vin=10V peak
Table1; results of increasing frequency gradually from 50Hz
Frequency, f(Hz) Vo(p-p) (mV) Vo/Vin Gain in db
20log (Vo/Vin)

3.5 0.35 -9.119

50

52 4.684 0.4684 -6.588

54 5.26 0.526 -0.580

56 6.956 0.6956 -3.153

Figure 4; the CRO graph of the results of application

8
9
DISCUSSION
From the table we can deduce that there is an increase in the voltage gain when frequency
gradually increases from the graph we can see that the gain at around a frequency it flat lines
mean there is 0 gain in the amplification.

CONCLUSION
Common emitter amplifiers have a limited bandwidth due to the characteristics
of the transistor and the circuit components. The gain-bandwidth product
determines how the gain of the amplifier decreases as the frequency increases. At
low frequencies, the amplifier may exhibit a relatively constant voltage gain.
However, as the frequency increases and approaches the GBW product, the gain
starts to decrease.

10
RECOMMENDATION
It would be a greater experiment if we interacted with the actual components at
the Laboratory just to be familiar with them instead of using a circuit simulator,
that way the students go into the field much more familiar with the physical
drawbacks of using these amplifiers having seen them first hand.

11
REFERENCE
[1] D. A. Neamen (2002)"Semiconductor Devices: Theory and Application,"
[2] N. Kularatna (2008)” Electronic Circuit Design; From concept to
implementation”
[3] R. L. Boylestad, L. Nashelsky (2009)"Electronic Devices and Circuits,10TH"

12
QUESTIONS
1. Define β.
- β is a measure of the amplification factor
2. Explain in detail procedure for measuring β.
-Dynamic beta test, this method involves applying a small AC signal to the base of the BJT
and measuring the resulting change in collector current. The change in collector current is
then divided by the change in base current to get the β value. This method is often used
because it does not require the BJT to be disconnected from the circuit, which can be difficult
or impossible in some cases.
3. Using the values of β, determine the value of α.
α =β /(1+ hFE)
hFE ≈ β
Therefore,
α =β /(1+ β )
α is typically a very small number, often in the range of 0.01 to 0.1.
4. What are the differences, if any, in determining the current gain of NPN and PNP
transistors?
-There are a few key differences between the current gain measurements for NPN and
PNP transistors. The first is that the polarities of the currents are different. In an NPN
transistor, the base current flows from the base to the emitter, while the collector
current flows from the collector to the emitter. In a PNP transistor, the polarities are
reversed, with the base current flowing from the emitter to the base and the collector
current flowing from the base to the collector.

β = IC / IB

β = IC / IE

5. In the circuit, what should be the effect of reversing the polarity of VBB?
-If the polarity is reversed, the BJT will be reverse biased, meaning that it will be
turned off and will not conduct any current.
6. What is meant by bias stabilization? Why is it used?
-Bias stabilization is a technique used to keep the operating point of a BJT stable over time.
This is important because the operating point of a BJT can drift over time due to factors such
as temperature changes and component aging. If the operating point drifts too much, the
circuit may not operate properly.
7. What is the phase relationship between the input and output signals of CE amplifier?

13
This is due to the fact that the output signal is generated by the collector current,
which is the inverse of the base current.

14