★ Transistor characteristics:

○ The junction transistor,

★ transistor as an amplifier,
○ CB, CE, CC configurations,
○ comparison of transistor configurations,
★ the operating point,
○ self-bias or Emitter bias,
○ bias compensation,
○ thermal runaway and stability,
★ transistor at low frequencies,
★ CE amplifier response,
★ gain bandwidth product,
★ Emitter follower,
★ RC coupled amplifier,
★ two cascaded CE and multi stage CE amplifiers.

Introduction:
A Bipolar Junction Transistor (also known as a BJT or BJT Transistor) is a
three-terminal semiconductor device consisting of two p-n junctions which are able to
amplify or magnify a signal. It is a current controlled device. The three terminals of the
BJT are the base, the collector and the emitter. A BJT is a type of transistor that uses
both electrons and holes as charge carriers.

A signal of small amplitude if applied to the base is available in the amplified form at the
collector of the transistor. This is the amplification provided by the BJT.

Transistor characteristics:

The junction transistor:

BJT is a semiconductor device that is constructed with 3 doped semiconductor Regions
i.e. Base, Collector & Emitter separated by 2 p-n Junctions.
Bipolar transistors are manufactured in two types, PNP and NPN, and are available as
separate components, usually in large quantities. The prime use or function of this type
of transistor is to amplify current. This makes them useful as switches or amplifiers.

Types of Bipolar Junction Transistor

There are two types of bipolar junction transistors:
● PNP bipolar junction transistor
 ● NPN bipolar junction transistor

PNP BJT
In PNP BJT, the n-type semiconductor is sandwiched between the two p-type
semiconductors. The two p-type semiconductors act as emitter and collector
respectively while the n-type semiconductor acts as a base. This is shown in the figure
below.

The current enters the transistor through the emitter such that the emitter-base junction
is forward biased and the collector-base junction is reverse biased.

NPN BJT
In NPN BJT, p-type semiconductor is sandwiched between the two n-type
semiconductors. The two n-type semiconductors act as emitter and collector
respectively while the p-type semiconductor acts as a base. This is shown in the figure
below.

Current entering the emitter, base, and collector has the sign convention of positive
while the current that leaves the transistor has the sign convention of negative.
Function of Bipolar Junction Transistor
BJTs are of two types namely NPN and PNP based on doping types of the three main
terminals. An NPN transistor consists of two semiconductor junctions that have a thin
p-doped anode region and PNP transistor also consists of two semiconductor junctions
that have a thin n- doped cathode region.

The flow of charge in a Bipolar transistor is due to the diffusion of charge carriers
between the two regions belonging to different charge concentrations. Regions of BJT
are known as the base, collector, and emitter.
The emitter region is highly doped when compared to other layers. Both collector and
base layers have the same charge carrier concentrations. Among these junctions, the
base-emitter junction is forward biased, and the base-collector junction is reverse
biased. Forward biased means p-doped region has more potential than the n-doped
side.

Transistor as an amplifier:
The supply of suitable external dc voltage is called biasing. Either forward or reverse
biasing is done to the emitter and collector junctions of the transistor. These biasing
methods make the transistor circuit work in four kinds of regions such as Active region,
Saturation region, Cutoff region and Inverse active region seldom used. This is
understood by having a look at the following table.

EMITTER JUNCTION COLLECTOR JUNCTION REGION OF OPERATION

Forward biased Forward biased Saturation region

 Forward biased Reverse biased Active region

Reverse biased Reverse biased Cutoff region

Among these regions, Inverse active region, which is just the inverse of active region,
is not suitable for any applications and hence not used.

Active region
This is the region in which transistors have many applications. This is also called a
linear region. A transistor while in this region, acts better as an Amplifier.

This region lies between saturation and cutoff. The transistor operates in the active
region when the emitter junction is forward biased and collector junction is reverse
biased. In the active state, collector current is β times the base current, i.e.,

Saturation region
This is the region in which the transistor tends to behave as a closed switch. The
transistor has the effect of its collector and Emitter being shorted. The collector and
Emitter currents are maximum in this mode of operation.
The figure below shows a transistor working in the saturation region.
The transistor operates in the saturation region when both the emitter and collector
junctions are forward biased. As it is understood that, in the saturation region the
transistor tends to behave as a closed switch, we can say that,

Cutoff region
This is the region in which the transistor tends to behave as an open switch. The
transistor has the effect of its collector and base being opened. The collector, emitter
and base currents are all zero in this mode of operation.
The following figure shows a transistor working in the cutoff region.
The transistor operates in the cutoff region when both the emitter and collector
junctions are reverse biased. As in cutoff region, the collector current, emitter current
and base currents are nil, we can write as

CB, CE, CCC configurations:

As the Bipolar Transistor is a three terminal device, there are basically three possible
ways to connect it within an electronic circuit with one terminal being common to both
the input and output signals. Each method of connection responds differently to its input
signal within a circuit as the static characteristics of the transistor vary with each circuit
arrangement.
1) Common Base Configuration
2) Common Emitter Configuration
3) Common Collector Configuration
Common Base Configuration

In this configuration we use base as common terminal for both input and output signals.
The configuration name itself indicates the common terminal. Here the input is applied
between the base and emitter terminals and the corresponding output signal is taken
between the base and collector terminals with the base terminal grounded. Here the
input parameters are VEB and IE and the output parameters are VCB and IC. The input
current flowing into the emitter terminal must be higher than the base current and
collector current to operate the transistor, therefore the output collector current is less
than the input emitter current.

The current gain is generally equal or less than to unity for this type of configuration.
The input and output signals are in-phase in this configuration. The amplifier circuit
configuration of this type is called as non-inverting amplifier circuit. The construction of
this configuration circuit is difficult because this type has high voltage gain values.

The input characteristics of this configuration are looks like characteristics of illuminated
photo diode while the output characteristics represents a forward biased diode. This
transistor configuration has high output impedance and low input impedance. This type
of configuration has high resistance gain i.e. ratio of output resistance to input
resistance is high. The voltage gain for this configuration of circuit is given below.

AV = Vout/Vin = (IC*RL) / (IE*Rin)

Current gain in common base configuration is given as

α = Output current/Input current

α = IC/IE

The common base circuit is mainly used in single stage amplifier circuits, such as
microphone pre amplifier or radio frequency amplifiers because of their high frequency
response. The common base transistor circuit is given below.
Input Characteristics

Input characteristics are obtained between input current and input voltage with constant
output voltage. First keep the output voltage VCB constant and vary the input voltage
VEB for different points then at each point record the input current IE value. Repeat the
same process at different output voltage levels. Now with these values we need to plot
the graph between IE and VEB parameters. The below figure show the input
characteristics of common base configuration. The equation to calculate the input
resistance Rin value is given below.

Rin = VEB / IE (when VCB is constant)

Early effect or base width modulation: The early effect is the variation in the width of the
base in a bipolar transistor due to a variation in the applied base-to-collector voltage.
For example a greater reverse bias across the collector- base junction increases the
collector-base depletion width. If VCE increases VCB increases too.
VBE < VCE1 << VCE2
The emitter-base junction is unchanged because the voltage Vbe is the same.
Base narrowing has two consequences that affect the current:
- There is a lesser chance for recombination within the “smaller” base region.
- The charge gradient is increased across the base, and consequently, the current of
minority carriers injected across the emitter junction increases.
To countervail the Early- effect is a lightly doping of the collector region and a heavy
doping of the emitter region.

Output Characteristics

The output characteristics of common base configuration are obtained between output
current and output voltage with constant input current. First keep the emitter current
constant and vary the VCB value for different points, now record the IC values at each
point. Repeat the same process at different IE values. Finally we need to draw the plot
between VCB and IC at constant IE. The below figure show the output characteristics of
common base configuration. The equation to calculate the output resistance value is
given below.
Rout = VCB / IC (when IE is constant)

Common Emitter Configuration

In common emitter configuration, base is the input terminal, collector is the output
terminal and emitter is the common terminal for both input and output. That means the
base terminal and common emitter terminal are known as input terminals whereas
collector terminal and common emitter terminal are known as output terminals.
In common emitter configuration, the emitter terminal is grounded so the common
emitter configuration is also known as grounded emitter configuration. Sometimes
common emitter configuration is also referred to as CE configuration, common emitter
amplifier, or CE amplifier. The common emitter (CE) configuration is the most widely
used transistor configuration.
The common emitter (CE) amplifiers are used when large current gain is needed.
The input signal is applied between the base and emitter terminals while the output
signal is taken between the collector and emitter terminals. Thus, the emitter terminal of
a transistor is common for both input and output and hence it is named as common
emitter configuration.
The supply voltage between base and emitter is denoted by VBE while the supply
voltage between collector and emitter is denoted by VCE.
In common emitter (CE) configuration, input current or base current is denoted by IB
and output current or collector current is denoted by IC.
The common emitter amplifier has medium input and output impedance levels. So the
current gain and voltage gain of the common emitter amplifier is medium. However, the
power gain is high.
To fully describe the behavior of a transistor with CE configuration, we need two set of
characteristics – input characteristics and output characteristics.
Input characteristics
The input characteristics describe the relationship between input current or base current
(IB) and input voltage or base-emitter voltage (VBE).
First, draw a vertical line and a horizontal line. The vertical line represents y-axis and
horizontal line represents x-axis. The input current or base current (IB) is taken along
y-axis (vertical line) and the input voltage (VBE) is taken along x-axis (horizontal line).
To determine the input characteristics, the output voltage VCE is kept constant at zero
volts and the input voltage VBE is increased from zero volts to different voltage levels.
For each voltage level of input voltage (VBE), the corresponding input current (IB) is
recorded.

A curve is then drawn between input current IB and input voltage VBE at constant
output voltage VCE (0 volts).
Next, the output voltage (VCE) is increased from zero volts to certain voltage level (10
volts) and the output voltage (VCE) is kept constant at 10 volts. While increasing the
output voltage (VCE), the input voltage (VBE) is kept constant at zero volts. After we
kept the output voltage (VCE) constant at 10 volts, the input voltage VBE is increased
from zero volts to different voltage levels. For each voltage level of input voltage (VBE),
the corresponding input current (IB) is recorded.
A curve is then drawn between input current IB and input voltage VBE at constant
output voltage VCE (10 volts).
This process is repeated for higher fixed values of output voltage (VCE).
When output voltage (VCE) is at zero volts and emitter-base junction is forward biased
by input voltage (VBE), the emitter-base junction acts like a normal p-n junction diode.
So the input characteristics of the CE configuration is same as the characteristics of a
normal pn junction diode.
The cut in voltage of a silicon transistor is 0.7 volts and germanium transistor is 0.3
volts. In our case, it is a silicon transistor. So from the above graph, we can see that
after 0.7 volts, a small increase in input voltage (VBE) will rapidly increases the input
current (IB).
In common emitter (CE) configuration, the input current (IB) is very small as compared
to the input current (IE) in common base (CB) configuration. The input current in CE
configuration is measured in microamperes (μA) whereas the input current in CB
configuration is measured in milliamperes (mA).
In common emitter (CE) configuration, the input current (IB) is produced in the base
region which is lightly doped and has small width. So the base region produces only a
small input current (IB). On the other hand, in common base (CB) configuration, the
input current (IE) is produced in the emitter region which is heavily doped and has large
width. So the emitter region produces a large input current (IE). Therefore, the input
current (IB) produced in the common emitter (CE) configuration is small as compared to
the common base (CB) configuration.
Due to forward bias, the emitter-base junction acts as a forward biased diode and due
to reverse bias, the collector-base junction acts as a reverse biased diode.
Therefore, the width of the depletion region at the emitter-base junction is very small
whereas the width of the depletion region at the collector-base junction is very large.
If the output voltage VCE applied to the collector-base junction is further increased, the
depletion region width further increases. The base region is lightly doped as compared
to the collector region. So the depletion region penetrates more into the base region and
less into the collector region. As a result, the width of the base region decreases which
in turn reduces the input current (IB) produced in the base region.
From the above characteristics, we can see that for higher fixed values of output voltage
VCE, the curve shifts to the right side. This is because for higher fixed values of output
voltage, the cut in voltage is increased above 0.7 volts. Therefore, to overcome this cut
in voltage, more input voltage VBE is needed than previous case.
Output characteristics
The output characteristics describe the relationship between output current (IC) and
output voltage (VCE).
First, draw a vertical line and a horizontal line. The vertical line represents y-axis and
horizontal line represents x-axis. The output current or collector current (IC) is taken
along y-axis (vertical line) and the output voltage (VCE) is taken along x-axis (horizontal
line).
To determine the output characteristics, the input current or base current IB is kept
constant at 0 μA and the output voltage VCE is increased from zero volts to different
voltage levels. For each level of output voltage, the corresponding output current (IC) is
recorded.
A curve is then drawn between output current IC and output voltage VCE at constant
input current IB (0 μA).
When the base current or input current IB = 0 μA, the transistor operates in the cut-off
region. In this region, both junctions are reverse biased.
Next, the input current (IB) is increased from 0 μA to 20 μA by adjusting the input
voltage (VBE). The input current (IB) is kept constant at 20 μA.
While increasing the input current (IB), the output voltage (VCE) is kept constant at 0
volts.
After we kept the input current (IB) constant at 20 μA, the output voltage (VCE) is
increased from zero volts to different voltage levels. For each voltage level of output
voltage (VCE), the corresponding output current (IC) is recorded.
A curve is then drawn between output current IC and output voltage VCE at constant
input current IB (20 μA). This region is known as the active region of a transistor. In this
region, emitter-base junction is forward biased and the collector-base junction is reverse
biased.
This steps are repeated for higher fixed values of input current IB (I.e. 40 μA, 60 μA, 80
μA and so on).
When output voltage VCE is reduced to a small value (0.2 V), the collector-base
junction becomes forward biased. This is because the output voltage VCE has less
effect on collector-base junction than input voltage VBE.
As we know that the emitter-base junction is already forward biased. Therefore, when
both the junctions are forward biased, the transistor operates in the saturation region. In
this region, a small increase in output voltage VCE will rapidly increases the output
current IC.
Transistor parameters
Dynamic input resistance (ri)
Dynamic input resistance is defined as the ratio of change in input voltage or base
voltage (VBE) to the corresponding change in input current or base current (IB), with the
output voltage or collector voltage (VCE) kept at constant.

In CE configuration, the input resistance is very low.

Dynamic output resistance (ro)
Dynamic output resistance is defined as the ratio of change in output voltage or
collector voltage (VCE) to the corresponding change in output current or collector
current (IC), with the input current or base current (IB) kept at constant.

In CE configuration, the output resistance is high.

Current gain (𝜷)
The current gain of a transistor in CE configuration is defined as the ratio of output
current or collector current (IC) to the input current or base current (IB).

The current gain of a transistor in CE configuration is high. Therefore, the transistor in

CE configuration is used for amplifying the current.

Common Collector Configuration

The configuration in which the collector is common between emitter and base is known
as CC configuration. In CC configuration, the input circuit is connected between emitter
and base and the output is taken from the collector and emitter. The collector is
common to both the input and output circuit and hence the name common collector
connection or common collector configuration.
Current Amplifier Factor (Y)
The current amplification factor is defined as the ratio of the output current to the input
current. In common emitter configuration, the output current is emitter current IE,
whereas the input current is base current IB.
Thus, the ratio of change in emitter current to the change in base current is known as
the current amplification factor. It is expressed by the Y.

Input Characteristic Curve

The input characteristic of the common collector configuration is drawn between
collector base voltage VCE and base current IB at constant emitter current voltage
VCE. The value of the output voltage VCE changes with respect to the input voltage
VBC and IB With the help of these values, input characteristic curve is drawn. The input
characteristic curve is shown below.
Output Characteristic Curve
The output characteristic of the common emitter circuit is drawn between the
emitter-collector voltage VEC and output current IE at constant input current IB. If the
input current IB is zero, then the collector current also becomes zero, and no current
flows through the transistor.

The transistor operates in active region when the base current increases and reaches to
saturation region. The graph is plotted by keeping the base current IB constant and
varying the emitter-collector voltage VCE, the values of output current IE are noticed
with respect to VCE. By using the VCE and IE at constant IB the output characteristic
curve is drawn.

comparison of transistor configurations:

Relationship between DC Currents and Gains

Transistor Biasing:

the operating point:

When a line is drawn joining the saturation and cut off points, such a line can be called
as Load line. This line, when drawn over the output characteristic curve, makes contact
at a point called as Operating point.
This operating point is also called as quiescent point or simply Q-point. There can be
many such intersecting points, but the Q-point is selected in such a way that
irrespective of AC signal swing, the transistor remains in the active region.
The following graph shows how to represent the operating point.

The operating point should not get disturbed as it should remain stable to achieve
faithful amplification. Hence the quiescent point or Q-point is the value where the
Faithful Amplification is achieved.
According to the load line condition, the OA = VCE = VCC and OB = IC = VCC/RC is
shown on the output characteristic curve above. The point Q is the operating point
where the DC load line intersects the base current IB at the output characteristic curves
in the absence of input signal.

Where IC= OD mA

VCE = OC volts.

The position of the Q-point depends on the applications of the transistor. If the transistor
is used as a switch then for open switch the Q-point is in the cutoff region, and for the
close switch, the Q-point is in the saturation region. The Q-point lies in the middle of the
line for the transistor which operates as an amplifier.

The basic function of transistor is amplification. The process of raising the strength of
weak signal without any change in its general shape is referred as faithful amplification.
For faithful amplification it is essential that :
● Emitter-Base junction is forward biased
● Collector- Base junction is reversed biased
● Proper zero signal collector current
The proper flow of zero signal collector current and the maintenance of proper collector
emitter voltage during the passage of signal is called transistor biasing
or
To operate the transistor in the desired region, we have to apply external dc voltages of
correct polarity and magnitude to the two junctions of the transistor. This is known as
biasing of the transistor. Since DC voltages are used to bias the transistor, it is called as
DC biasing.

For a transistor to be operated as a faithful amplifier, the operating point should be

stabilized. Let us have a look at the factors that affect the stabilization of operating
point.

Factors affecting the operating point

The main factor that affect the operating point is the temperature. The operating point
shifts due to change in temperature.
As temperature increases, the values of ICE, β, VBE gets affected.
● ICBO gets doubled (for every 10 degree rise)
● VBE decreases by 2.5mv (for every 1 dgree rise)
So the main problem which affects the operating point is temperature. Hence operating
point should be made independent of the temperature so as to achieve stability. To
achieve this, biasing circuits are introduced.

Stabilization
The process of making the operating point independent of temperature changes or
variations in transistor parameters is known as Stabilization.
Once the stabilization is achieved, the values of IC and VCE become independent of
temperature variations or replacement of transistor. A good biasing circuit helps in the
stabilization of operating point.

Need for Stabilization

Stabilization of the operating point has to be achieved due to the following reasons.
● Temperature dependence of IC
● Individual variations
● Thermal runaway
Let us understand these concepts in detail.

Temperature Dependence of IC
As the expression for collector current IC is

IC=βIB+ICEO=βIB+(β+1)ICBO
The collector leakage current ICBO is greatly influenced by temperature variations. To
come out of this, the biasing conditions are set so that zero signal collector current IC =
1 mA. Therefore, the operating point needs to be stabilized i.e. it is necessary to keep
IC constant.

Individual Variations
As the value of β and the value of VBE are not same for every transistor, whenever a
transistor is replaced, the operating point tends to change. Hence it is necessary to
stabilize the operating point.

Thermal Runaway
As the expression for collector current IC is

IC=βIB+ICEO=βIB+(β+1)ICBO

The flow of collector current and also the collector leakage current causes heat
dissipation. If the operating point is not stabilized, there occurs a cumulative effect
which increases this heat dissipation.
The self-destruction of such an unstabilized transistor is known as Thermal run away.
In order to avoid thermal runaway and the destruction of transistor, it is necessary to
stabilize the operating point, i.e., to keep IC constant.

Stability Factor
Biasing Methods:
self-bias or Emitter bias:
Among all the methods of providing biasing and stabilization, the voltage divider bias
method is the most prominent one. Here, two resistors R1 and R2 are employed, which
are connected to VCC and provide biasing. The resistor RE employed in the emitter
provides stabilization.
The name voltage divider comes from the voltage divider formed by R1 and R2. The
voltage drop across R2 forward biases the base-emitter junction. This causes the base
current and hence collector current flow in the zero signal conditions. The figure below
shows the circuit of voltage divider bias method.
Suppose that the current flowing through resistance R1 is I1. As base current IB is very
small, therefore, it can be assumed with reasonable accuracy that current flowing
through R2 is also I1.
Now let us try to derive the expressions for collector current and collector voltage.

Collector Current, IC
From the circuit, it is evident that,

I1=VCC/(R1+R2)

Therefore, the voltage across resistance R2 is

V2=(VCC/(R1+R2))/R2

Applying Kirchhoff’s voltage law to the base circuit,

V2=VBE+VE
V2=VBE+IERE

IE=(V2−VBE)/RE

Since IE ≈ IC,

IC=(V2−VBE)/RE

From the above expression, it is evident that IC doesn’t depend upon β. VBE is very
small that IC doesn’t get affected by VBE at all. Thus IC in this circuit is almost
independent of transistor parameters and hence good stabilization is achieved.

Collector-Emitter Voltage, VCE

Applying Kirchhoff’s voltage law to the collector side,

VCC=ICRC+VCE+IERE

Since IE ≅ IC

VCC=ICRC+VCE+ICRE=IC(RC+RE)+VCE

Therefore,

VCE=VCC−IC(RC+RE)

RE provides excellent stabilization in this circuit.

V2=VBE+ICRE

Suppose there is a rise in temperature, then the collector current IC decreases, which
causes the voltage drop across RE to increase. As the voltage drop across R2 is V2,
which is independent of IC, the value of VBE decreases. The reduced value of IB tends
to restore IC to the original value.
Stability Factor

bias compensation:
As the gain of the amplifier is a very important consideration, some compensation
techniques are used to maintain excellent bias and thermal stabilization. Let us now go
through such bias compensation techniques.

Diode Compensation for Instability

These are the circuits that implement compensation techniques using diodes to deal
with biasing instability. The stabilization techniques refer to the use of resistive biasing
circuits which permit IB to vary so as to keep IC relatively constant.

Diode Compensation for Instability due to VBE Variation

In a Silicon transistor, the changes in the value of VBE results in the changes in IC. A
diode can be employed in the emitter circuit in order to compensate the variations in
VBE or ICO. As the diode and transistor used are of same material, the voltage VD
across the diode has same temperature coefficient as VBE of the transistor.
The following figure shows self-bias with stabilization and compensation.
The diode D is forward biased by the source VDD and the resistor RD. The variation in
VBE with temperature is same as the variation in VD with temperature, hence the
quantity (VBE – VD) remains constant. So the current IC remains constant in spite of the
variation in VBE.

Thermistor Compensation
Thermistor is a temperature sensitive device. It has negative temperature coefficient.
The resistance of a thermistor increases when the temperature decreases and it
decreases when the temperature increases. The below figure shows a self-bias
amplifier with thermistor compensation.
In an amplifier circuit, the changes that occur in ICO, VBE and β with temperature,
increases the collector current. Thermistor is employed to minimize the increase in
collector current. As the temperature increases, the resistance RT of thermistor
decreases, which increases the current through it and the resistor RE. Now, the voltage
developed across RE increases, which reverse biases the emitter junction. This reverse
bias is so high that the effect of resistors R1 and R2 providing forward bias also gets
reduced. This action reduces the rise in collector current.
Thus the temperature sensitivity of thermistor compensates the increase in collector
current, occurred due to temperature.

Sensistor Compensation
A Sensistor is a heavily doped semiconductor that has positive temperature coefficient.
The resistance of a Sensistor increases with the increase in temperature and
decreases with the decrease in temperature. The figure below shows a self-bias
amplifier with Sensistor compensation.
In the above figure, the Sensistor may be placed in parallel with R1 or in parallel with
RE. As the temperature increases, the resistance of the parallel combination, thermistor
and R1 increases and their voltage drop also increases. This decreases the voltage
drop across R2. Due to the decrease of this voltage, the net forward emitter bias
decreases. As a result of this, IC decreases.
Hence by employing the Sensistor, the rise in the collector current which is caused by
the increase of ICO, VBE and β due to temperature, gets controlled.

transistor at low frequencies: IN PDF

CE amplifier response,

A simple stage CE amplifier has different circuit elements and functions. Let us discuss
about that,
The resistance R1,R2,RE shown in the diagram forms the biasing circuit.
The circuit used to couple the signal to the base of the transistor is known as the input
capacitance,C1 circuit. The signal source resistance will come across R2 if this circuit is
not used, and thus change the bias. The capacitor C1 allows only a.c. signal to flow
through it
The capacitor connected in parallel with RE to provide a low reactance path to the
amplified AC signal is known as the Emitter bypass capacitor C2. If this capacitor is not
used, then the amplified AC signal flowing through RE will cause a voltage drop across
it, thereby shifting the output voltage.
The capacitor used to couple the amplified signal to the output device is known as
coupling capacitor C. This capacitor C allows only a.c. signal to flow through it

The common emitter amplifier is INVERTING. The inversion is equivalent to 180 degree
phase shift. The inversion can be easily seen intuitively without any complex circuit
analysis. If you pull up on the base of the NPN device (increase the voltage), the
collector current will increase. As the collector current increases, the voltage across the
load resistor will increase and this results in the output voltage dropping. The output
voltage decreases in response to an increasing input voltage… thus the inversion… and
this can be represented as a 180 degree phase shift.

gain bandwidth product,

The gain-bandwidth product is the region, after the half-power point or full-power
bandwidth, where you see a steady, constant decline in the gain of the op amp as the
frequency increases.
You can calculate the gain-bandwidth product by the formula:

Gain-bandwidth Product= Gain x Frequency

Beyond the half-power point frequency, the gain falls at a rate such that the product of
the gain and the frequency is constant. This constant is the gain-bandwidth product.
An example of gain-bandwidth product calculation: If an op amp has an open-loop gain
of 20 at 100KHz, it has a gain of 10 at 200KHz, a gain of 5 at 400KHz, and a gain of 1
at 2MHz. In each calculation, the gain-bandwidth product is equal to the gain x
frequency= 2MHz.

Emitter follower,
Emitter follower circuit has a prominent place in feedback amplifiers. Emitter follower is
a case of negative current feedback circuit. This is mostly used as a last stage amplifier
in signal generator circuits.
The important features of Emitter Follower are −
● It has high input impedance
● It has low output impedance
● It is ideal circuit for impedance matching
All these ideal features allow many applications for the emitter follower circuit. This is a
current amplifier circuit that has no voltage gain.

Construction
The constructional details of an emitter follower circuit are nearly similar to a normal
amplifier. The main difference is that the load RL is absent at the collector terminal, but
present at the emitter terminal of the circuit. Thus the output is taken from the emitter
terminal instead of collector terminal.
The biasing is provided either by base resistor method or by potential divider method.
The following figure shows the circuit diagram of an Emitter Follower.
Operation
The input signal voltage applied between base and emitter, develops an output voltage
Vo across RE, which is in the emitter section. Therefore,

Vo=IERE

The whole of this output current is applied to the input through feedback. Hence,

Vf=Vo

As the output voltage developed across RL is proportional to the emitter current, this
emitter follower circuit is a current feedback circuit. Hence,

β=VfVo=1

It is also noted that the input signal voltage to the transistor (= Vi) is equal to the
difference of Vs and Vo i.e.,
 Vi=Vs−Vo

Hence the feedback is negative.

RC coupled amplifier,
The constructional details of a two-stage RC coupled transistor amplifier circuit are as
follows. The two stage amplifier circuit has two transistors, connected in CE
configuration and a common power supply VCC is used. The potential divider network
R1 and R2 and the resistor Re form the biasing and stabilization network. The emitter
by-pass capacitor Ce offers a low reactance path to the signal.
The resistor RL is used as a load impedance. The input capacitor Cin present at the
initial stage of the amplifier couples AC signal to the base of the transistor. The
capacitor CC is the coupling capacitor that connects two stages and prevents DC
interference between the stages and controls the shift of operating point. The figure
below shows the circuit diagram of RC coupled amplifier.

Operation of RC Coupled Amplifier

When an AC input signal is applied to the base of first transistor, it gets amplified and
appears at the collector load RL which is then passed through the coupling capacitor
CC to the next stage. This becomes the input of the next stage, whose amplified output
again appears across its collector load. Thus the signal is amplified in stage by stage
action.
The important point that has to be noted here is that the total gain is less than the
product of the gains of individual stages. This is because when a second stage is made
to follow the first stage, the effective load resistance of the first stage is reduced due to
the shunting effect of the input resistance of the second stage. Hence, in a multistage
amplifier, only the gain of the last stage remains unchanged.
As we consider a two stage amplifier here, the output phase is same as input. Because
the phase reversal is done two times by the two stage CE configured amplifier circuit.

two cascaded CE and multi stage CE amplifiers.

In practical applications, the output of a single state amplifier is usually insufficient,
though it is a voltage or power amplifier. Hence they are replaced by Multi-stage
transistor amplifiers.
In Multi-stage amplifiers, the output of first stage is coupled to the input of next stage
using a coupling device. These coupling devices can usually be a capacitor or a
transformer. This process of joining two amplifier stages using a coupling device can
be called as Cascading.
The following figure shows a two-stage amplifier connected in cascade.

The overall gain is the product of voltage gain of individual stages.

AV=AV1×AV2=V2/V1×V0/V2=V0/V1

Where AV = Overall gain, AV1 = Voltage gain of 1st stage, and AV2 = Voltage gain of 2nd
stage.
If there are n number of stages, the product of voltage gains of those n stages will be
the overall gain of that multistage amplifier circuit.