Load line (electronics)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Diode load line. The curve shows the diode response (I vs VD) while the straight line shows the
behaviour of the linear part of the circuit: I=(VDD-VD)/R. The point of intersection gives the
actual current and voltage.
In graphical analysis of nonlinear electronic circuits, a load line is a line drawn on the
characteristic curve, a graph of the current vs. the voltage in a nonlinear device like a diode or
transistor. It represents the constraint put on the voltage and current in the nonlinear device by
the external circuit. The load line, usually a straight line, represents the response of the linear
part of the circuit, connected to the nonlinear device in question. The points where the
characteristic curve and the load line intersect are the possible operating point(s) (Q points) of
the circuit; at these points the current and voltage parameters of both parts of the circuit match.[1]
The example at right shows how a load line is used to determine the current and voltage in a
simple diode circuit. The diode, a nonlinear device, is in series with a linear circuit consisting of
a resistor, R and a voltage source, VDD. The characteristic curve (curved line), representing the
current I through the diode for any given voltage across the diode VD, is an exponential curve.
The load line (diagonal line) represents the relationship between current and voltage due to
Kirchhoff's voltage law applied to the resistor and voltage source, is
Since the current going through the three elements in series must be the same, and the voltage at
the terminals of the diode must be the same, the operating point of the circuit will be at the
intersection of the curve with the load line.
In a BJT circuit, the BJT has a different current-voltage (IC-VCE) characteristic depending on the
base current. Placing a series of these curves on the graph shows how the base current will affect
the operating point of the circuit.

Contents
 1 DC and AC load lines
 2 Load lines for common configurations
 o 2.1 Transistor load line
 3 References
DC and AC load lines
Semiconductor circuits typically have both DC and AC currents in them, with a source of DC
current to bias the nonlinear semiconductor to the correct operating point, and the AC signal
superimposed on the DC. Load lines can be used separately for both DC and AC analysis. The
DC load line is the load line of the DC equivalent circuit, defined by reducing the reactive
components to zero (replacing capacitors by open circuits and inductors by short circuits). It is
used to determine the correct DC operating point, often called the Q point.
Once a DC operating point is defined by the DC load line, an AC load line can be drawn through
the Q point. The AC load line is a straight line with a slope equal to the AC impedance facing the
nonlinear device, which is in general different from the DC resistance. The ratio of AC voltage to
current in the device is defined by this line. Because the impedance of the reactive components
will vary with frequency, the slope of the AC load line depends on the frequency of the applied
signal. So there are many AC load lines, that vary from the DC load line (at low frequency) to a
limiting AC load line, all having a common intersection at the DC operating point. This limiting
load line, generally referred to as the AC load line, is the load line of the circuit at "infinite
frequency", and can be found by replacing capacitors with short circuits, and inductors with open
circuits.
Load lines for common configurations
Transistor load line

The load line diagram at right is for a resistive load in a common emitter circuit. The load line
shows how the collector load resistor (RL) constrains the circuit voltage and current. The diagram
also plots the transistor's collector current IC versus collector voltage VCE for different values of
base current Ibase. The intersections of the load line with the transistor characteristic curves
represent the circuit-constrained values of IC and VCE at different base currents. [2]
If the transistor could pass all the current available, with no voltage dropped across it, the
collector current would be the supply voltage V CC over RL. This is the point where the load line
crosses the vertical axis. Even at saturation, however, there will always be some voltage from
collector to emitter.
Where the load line crosses the horizontal axis, the transistor current is minimum (approximately
zero). The transistor is said to be cut off, passing only a very small leakage current, and so very
nearly the entire supply voltage appears as VCE.
The operating point of the circuit in this configuration (labelled Q) is generally designed to be in
the active region, approximately in the middle of the load line for amplifier applications.
Adjusting the base current so that the circuit is at this operating point with no signal applied is
called biasing the transistor. Several techniques are used to stabilize the operating point against
minor changes in temperature or transistor operating characteristics. When a signal is applied,
the base current varies, and the collector-emitter voltage in turn varies, following the load line -
the result is an amplifier stage with gain.
A load line is normally drawn on Ic-Vce characteristics curves for the transistor used in an
amplifier circuit. The same technique is applied to other types of non-linear elements such as
vacuum tubes or field effect transistors.