DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRICAL & ELECTRONIC ENGINEERING

BANGLADESH UNIVERSITY OF ENGINEERING & TECHNOLOGY

COURSE NO.: EEE 210
EXPERIMENT NO. 02

Name of the Experiment: STUDY OF CHARACTERISTICS OF BIPOLAR

JUNCTION TRANSISTOR (BJT).

OBJECTIVE
The objective of this experiment is to simulate
DC characteristics of BJT in Common Emitter (CE) and Common Base (CB)
configuration.
Biasing of BJT.
Small signal Analysis using BJT.

THEORY
Transistor has two p-n junctions (see figure below). One junction is called emitter junction and
other is called collector junction. When transistor is used as an amplifier, it is operated in active
mode. In active mode, emitter junction is forward biased and collector junction is reverse biased.
JnE

JnC
p

JpE
iE

nC

nE

iC
n

n
C
C

iB

B
B

Emitter current is given by

IE = InE + IpE
we can also write
IE = IC + IB = [(1 + )/]IC
Where = IC /IB is called common emitter current gain.
In good transistor IC>>IB i.e. >>1. IC can also be expressed as IC = IE .
where = /(1+) . is called common base current gain. For good transistor, is close to
unity.
Proper dc biasing of a transistor is a prerequisite for proper operation as an amplifier. The
purpose of the biasing is to fix the I C (dc) and VCE (dc) . But IC is a function of temperature, VBE
and . It is always desirable to design a biasing circuit where IC is insensitive to change in .
When E-B junction is forward biased and C-B junction is reverse biased, the transistor operates
in active mode. For saturation mode of operation, both junction are forward-biased. Cut-off
region operation requires that both E-B and C-B junctions be reverse biased. The inverted active
operation occurs when E-b is reverse-biased and C-B is forward biased.

Output Characteristics & Load Line

Static OUTPUT CHARACTERISTICS define steady state conditions
family of curves of IC vs VCE for increasing IB
Graphical design procedure gives
performance under non-linear conditions
start & finish points in analytical procedure

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For Vi = 0, IB = 0

IC
(mA)

Saturation Region
LOAD LINE

50 A

10 mA

40 A
Q-point

30 A

IB

25 A
20 A

5 mA

10 A
0 A
0

no current flows through RL thus IC = 0

10 V

5V

V CE (V)

Cut-off region

so VS = VCE(max)
For Vi >> VBE, (say Vi = Vs), IB is high and IC is at maximum
nearly all volts dropped across RS
VCE = 0 & IC(max) = VS/RL
Transistor is said to be SATURATED
A LOAD LINE drawn from IC(max) to VCE(max)
Slope of load line is -(1/RL)

Biasing of BJT
In order to characterize the operation of a particular transistor, a complete set of characteristic
equations is needed. Typically, these curves look like those in Figure. These curves show that in
the active region of operation, the collector current is constant and depends on the base current.

Figure: Characteristic curves for the BJT transistor.

These curves can be used to calculate the large signal current gain, DC (or hFE) and the small
signal current gain, AC (or hfe). These values are in general calculated for a given bias point ICQ,
VCEQ using the following equations:

From this, one can see that the large signal gain depends only on the Q point and the small signal
gain depends only on small deviations around the Q point. In order to use a transistor in an
amplifying circuit it has to be biased. In other words, a Q point has to be set in order to place the
device in the active region of operation. There are several methods which can be used bias a
transistor. Figures a and b demonstrate two possibilities. The first scheme (Figure a) is called a
fixed bias scheme. In a fixed biasing the base current is set through a base resistor and the
emitter of the transistor is grounded. This scheme is not used in practice since the Q point
depends very strongly on .

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Figure (a): Fixed bias circuit

A second possibility, which is commonly used, is the self biasing scheme. Here the base voltage
is set through a voltage divider and the emitter is tied to ground through a resistor. If designed
correctly, this scheme is relatively independent of .

Figure b: Self bias circuit

Small signal analysis:

Many electronic components Two

can be represented
by a two port black box
Port Systems

Ii

Io

+
Vi

Two-Port
System

+
Vo
-

Within the black box a mathematical representation of the behaviour can be

constructed. Important characteristics of interested to electronic designers are:

Zi
Zo
Av
Ai

=
=
=
=

Gain in dB=20log10(vout/vin)
At cut-off (vout/vin)=1/2
So, at cut-off gain in dB is -3.

Input Impedance
= Vi/Ii
Output Impedance
= Vo/Io
Voltage Gain = Vo/Vi
Current Gain = Io/Ii

PROCEDURE

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DC Characteristics of BJT Q2N2222

Output Characteristics

Q1

Vce
0Vdc

0Adc

Fig.2.

1.1.

Ib

Q2N2222

Circuit for DC analysis of BJT in CE configuration

Draw the circuit shown in Fig. 1 in PSpice schematics.

1.2. Here, for determining the output characteristics a nested DC Sweep of V CE and IB is
required. For achieving this, Select Setup Analysis and then DC Sweep from the pop-up
window. Sweep first VCE from 0 to 10V in 0.1V increments. Then click on the Nested
Sweep button for sweeping IB from 0A to 1 mA in 0.2mA increments. Mark the Enable
Nested Sweep box.
1.3. After placing a current marker in the collector of the BJT (as shown in Fig. 1), run
the simulation.
1.4.

Output characteristic of the BJT will appear in the probe.

1.5. [Home work] Draw a circuit for obtaining output characteristics of Q2N2222 in CB
configuration and simulate it using appropriate sources and nested sweeps.
Plot of DC Current Gain
vs. collector current (IC) and vs. base current (IB)
a) Circuit for this analysis is shown in Fig. 1. Set VCE= 5V.
b) Sweep IB from 10A to 1 mA in DECADES with 20 points per decade.
c) Determine the DC current gain (IC/IB) vs. IB curve.
d) Determine the DC current gain (IC/IB) vs. IC curve (normally given in data sheets of IC
supplied by the manufacturer).
e) Find, from second plot, the maximum DC current gain. Find the corresponding I C.
Determine Common Emitter (CE) current gain () at calculated IC.
DC Current gain vs. Temperature
f) Circuit for this analysis is shown in Fig. 1. Consider VCE = 5V.
g) Sweep for IB from 100A to 1 mA in DECADES with 20 points per decade. Click on
the Nested Sweep button and set values 25, 25, 125 Celsius. Mark in the Enable
Nested Sweep box.
h) Run the simulation. Generate a plot of DC current gain versus collector current.
NOTE: If you find difficulty in identifying the curves, you should run each case separately and
verify the identity of each curve.

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Biasing of BJT

Fig.3.

Biasing of BJT

2.1. Draw the circuit of Fig. 3 (Self Bias Circuit). By choosing Setup analysis, mark
Bias Point Detail and Temperature. Set Temperature to 270 C.
2.2. Run the simulation and click on the Enable Bias Voltage Display and Enable Bias
Current Display icons.
2.3.
VCC

Fill up the following table.

VB

VE

VC

VCE

IB

IE

2.4.

Change R1 to around 57K, so that VCE = 0.5 VCC.

2.5.

Change temperature to 500 C and note the change in VCE.

IC

2.6. Change transistor model (replace Q2N3904 with Q2N2222) and set temperature
back to 270 C. Again, note the change in VCE.
2.7. Now, for circuit in Fig. 3, remove RE and short Emitter to ground (Fixed Bias
Circuit). Repeat steps 2 to 6. R1 will needed to be set around 228K to achieve VCE = 0.5
VCC.
2.8. Comment on the stability of the biasing circuits (fixed and self) with change in
temperature and device model (current gain, etc.).

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Small Signal Analysis of BJT

Fig.4.

3.1.

Circuit for Small signal analysis using BJT

Draw the circuit shown in Fig. 4 in PSpice schematics.

3.2. Here, VIN is variable frequency AC source (Having Part Name of VAC). Set its
amplitude to 1 mV, keeping other parameters (e.g. Vdc) to zero value.
3.3. Select AC Sweep from Setup Analysis. Select sweep from 10 Hz to 10 MHz (or
higher or lower, ensure that you observe both the cut-off frequencies) in Decade mode, with
20 Pts/decade.
3.4.

Run the simulation.

3.5. Observe the voltage gain (AV=vo/vin) and phase shift between vo and vi at different
frequencies. [For obtaining phase difference click on the Add trace icon, obtain the plotting
of P(vo)-P(vin)].
3.6.

Normalize the voltage gain AVN=AV/AVmax

3.7.

Plot the voltage gain (in dB) vs. frequency (f) [AVdB=20log10(AVN)]

3.8. Determine the -3dB (cut-off) frequencies from the plot. Also note the phase
difference between vo and vi at 3dB frequencies.
3.9. [Home work] At mid-band frequency, note the voltage gain (A V), current gain (AI),
input resistance (Ri) and output resistance (Ro) of the configuration. For output resistance
use the knowledge obtained from thevenins equivalence. Preserve these values for further
use in later experiments.
3.10. [Homework] Find the h- parameters of the given CE configuration using the data
taken in step 9. Consult references for proper equations.

Prepared by : Yeasir Arafat, Ahmad Ehteshamul Islam, Shaikh Asif Mahmood

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