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Transistor As An Amplifier: S BB CC

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45 views3 pages

Transistor As An Amplifier: S BB CC

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sreelakshmi.ece ece
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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TRANSISTOR AS AN AMPLIFIER

➢ Amplification is the process of linearly increasing the amplitude of an electrical signal and
is one of the major properties of a transistor.
➢ A transistor amplifies current because the collector current is equal to the base current
multiplied by the current gain, β.
➢ The base current in a transistor is very small compared to the collector and emitter currents.
Because of this, the collector current is approximately equal to the emitter current.
➢ Consider the circuit shown in Figure below. An ac voltage, Vs, is superimposed on the dc
bias voltage VBB as shown in below figure. The dc bias voltage VCC is connected to the
collector through the collector resistor,

FIGURE: Basic transistor amplifier circuit with ac source voltage Vs and dc bias voltage
VBB superimposed.
➢ The ac input voltage produces an ac base current, which results in a much larger ac collector
current. This ac collector current produces an ac voltage across RC, thus producing an
amplified, but inverted, reproduction of the ac input voltage in the active region of
operation, as illustrated in Figure above.
➢ The forward-biased base-emitter junction presents a very low resistance to the ac signal.
This internal ac emitter resistance is designated 𝑟𝑒′ . in Figure above and appears in series
with RB. The ac base voltage is
Vb = Ie 𝑟𝑒′ .
➢ The ac collector voltage, Vc, equals the ac voltage drop across RC.
Vc = IcRC,
Since Ic ≅ Ie, the ac collector voltage is Vc ≅ IeRC
➢ Vb can be considered the transistor ac input voltage. Vc can be considered the transistor ac
output voltage. Since voltage gain is defined as the ratio of the output voltage to the input
voltage, the ratio of Vc to Vb is the ac voltage gain, Av, of the transistor.
𝑉𝑐
𝐴𝑣 =
𝑉𝑏
➢ Substituting IeRC for Vc and Ie re’ for Vb yields

𝐼𝑒 𝑅𝐶
𝐴𝑣 =
𝐼𝑒 𝑟𝑒′
The Ie terms cancel; therefore,
𝑅𝐶
𝐴𝑣 = 𝑟𝑒′

Equation above shows that the transistor in above figure provides amplification in the
form of voltage gain, which is dependent on the values of RC and 𝑟𝑒′ . Since RC is always
considerably larger in value than 𝑟𝑒′ , the output voltage for this configuration is greater than the
input voltage. Since RC is always considerably larger in value than 𝑟𝑒′ . , the output voltage for this
configuration is greater than the input voltage.
Transistor as a switch
The second major application area of transistor is switching applications. When used as an
electronic switch, a BJT is normally operated alternately in cutoff and saturation. Many digital
circuits use the BJT as a switch.
Figure below illustrates the basic operation of a BJT as a switching device. In part (a), the transistor
is in the cutoff region because the base-emitter junction is not forward-biased. In this condition,
there is, ideally, an open between collector and emitter, as indicated by the switch equivalent. In
part (b), the transistor is in the saturation region because the base-emitter junction and the base-
collector junction are forward-biased and the base current is made large enough to cause the
collector current to reach its saturation value. In this condition, there is, ideally, a short between
collector and emitter, as indicated by the switch equivalent. Actually, a small voltage drop across
the transistor of up to a few tenths of a volt normally occurs, which is the saturation voltage, VCE(sat).

FIGURE: Switching action of an ideal transistor.


Conditions in Cutoff : A transistor is in the cutoff region when the base-emitter junction is not
forward-biased. Neglecting leakage current, all of the currents are zero, and VCE is equal to VCC.
VCE(cutoff) = VCC
Conditions in Saturation: when the base-emitter junction is forward-biased and there is enough
base current to produce a maximum collector current, the transistor is saturated. The formula for
collector saturation current is given by
𝑉𝑐𝑐 − 𝑉𝑐𝑒(𝑠𝑎𝑡)
𝐼𝐶(𝑠𝑎𝑡) =
𝑅𝐶
Since VCE(sat) is very small compared to VCC, it can usually be neglected. The minimum value of
base current needed to produce saturation is given by
𝐼𝑐(𝑠𝑎𝑡)
𝐼𝐵(𝑚𝑖𝑛) =
ꞵ
Normally, IB should be significantly greater than IB(min) to ensure that the transistor is saturated.

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