COURSE NAME: INTRODUCTION TO ELECTRICAL

AND ELECTRONICS ENGINEERING

COURSE CODE:GXEST104
SEMESTER: S1
PART II: ELECTRONICS
MODULE-3
SOPHIA SUSANJOHN
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR
DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRONICS & COMMUNICATION ENGINEERING
GEC THRISSUR
 SYLLABUS-MODULE 3

• INTRODUCTION TO ELECTRONIC DEVICES:

• PASSIVE AND ACTIVE COMPONENTS IN ELECTRONICS.
• WORKING OF PN JUNCTION DIODE, V-I CHARACTERISTICS OF PN JUNCTION DIODE, ZENER
DIODE AND AVALANCHE BREAKDOWN. BASICS OF ZENER VOLTAGE REGULATOR.
• BLOCK DIAGRAM OF DC POWER SUPPLY, CIRCUIT AND WORKING OF HALF WAVE, FULL WAVE
AND BRIDGE RECTIFIERS, RIPPLE FACTOR (WITH AND WITHOUT CAPACITOR FILTERS)
• CONSTRUCTION, WORKING AND V-I CHARACTERISTICS OF BJT, INPUT OUTPUT
CHARACTERISTICS OF CE CONFIGURATION, COMPARISON OF CE, CB AND CC
CONFIGURATIONS CONCEPT OF BIASING AND LOAD LINE. TRANSISTOR AS A SWITCH,
TRANSISTOR AS AN AMPLIFIER (CIRCUIT DIAGRAM AND WORKING), RC COUPLED AMPLIFIER -
CIRCUIT DIAGRAM AND FREQUENCY RESPONSE
• INTRODUCTION TO FET, CONSTRUCTION AND WORKING OF N-CHANNEL AND P-CHANNEL
MOSFETS
PASSIVE AND ACTIVE COMPONENTS IN
ELECTRONICS
 PASSIVE AND ACTIVE COMPONENTS
1. PASSIVE COMPONENTS
• Resistors, capacitors and inductors are called passive components. These components
by themselves are not capable of amplifying or processing an electrical signal.
• However, these components are important, in an electronic circuit, as active (such as
transistors) components. Without the aid of these components a transistor cannot be
made to amplify signals.
2. ACTIVE COMPONENTS
• Diode, Transistors, Vacuum tubes etc. are active components.
• These components are capable of amplifying or processing an electrical signal.
SEMICONDUCTOR PHYSICS
METALS, INSULATORS & SEMICONDUCTORS
 SEMICONDUCTORS

• The energy-band diagram for a semiconductor is shown in fig. In this

case, the forbidden energy gap is not wide. It is of the order of 1ev
(for germanium, eg= 0.72 ev and for silicon eg= 1.12ev).
• The energy provided by heat at room temperature is sufficient to lift
electrons from the valence band to the conduction band. Some
electrons do jump the gap and go into the conduction band.
• Therefore, at room temperature, semiconductors are capable of
conducting some electric current.
INTRINSIC SEMICONDUCTORS
CHARGE CARRIERS IN INTRINSIC
SEMICONDUCTORS
RANDOM MOVEMENT OF CARRIERS
 CONDUCTION IN INTRINSIC SEMICONDUCTORS
• When the flow of carriers is due to an
applied voltage, the resultant current is
called a drift current.
• A second type of current may also exist in a
semiconductor. This current is called
diffusion current and it flows as a result of a
gradient of carrier concentration (i.e., the
difference of carrier concentration from one
region to another). A gradient of carrier
concentration arises near the boundary of a
PN-junction.
• The diffusion current is also due to the
motion of both holes and electrons.
 EXTRINSIC SEMICONDUCTORS
• A doped semiconductor is called an Extrinsic semiconductor.

• N-type semiconductor has

electrons (negatively charged)
as majority carriers, and holes
as minority carriers.
 N-TYPE SEMICONDUCTOR
• Since there are five valence electrons
in the impurity atom, a charge of +5
is shown in its core.
• When the fifth electron leaves the
impurity atom, it then has +1 excess
charge.
• It then becomes a positively charged
immobile ion.
• It is immobile because it is held
tightly in the crystal by the four
covalent bonds.
 P-TYPE SEMICONDUCTOR

• A P-type material has holes

(positively charged carriers)
in majority, and free
electrons in minority.
• In addition, there are also
negative immobile ions.
REPRESENTATION OF P-TYPE SEMICONDUCTOR
 P-N JUNCTION DIODE
• A diode is an active 2 terminal semiconductor device which allows current
flow only in one direction. In other direction it offers very high resistance.
• A P-N junction diode is formed by doping P-type impurity to one side and an
N-type impurity to the other side of a silicon/germanium semiconductor.
A DIODE CONDUCTS CURRENT (ON) ONLY WHEN IT IS
FORWARD BIASED AND IT IS OFF WHEN REVERSE
BIASED

UNIDIRECTIONAL FLOW OF CURRENT

 TYPES OF DIODES

PN Junction diodes
 APPLICATIONS OF DIODES

• RECTIFIERS
• INVERTERS https://youtu.be/o-Rya9KZYY4

• CLIPPERS Watch this video for the working of a PN

Junction diode
• CLAMPERS
• LIGHTS & ILLUMINATION (LED)
• REMOTE CONTROL
 BIASING OF A PN JUNCTION

• The process of applying an external voltage to a PN junction is called biasing.

• There are three biasing conditions for p-n junction diode and this is based on the
voltage applied:
1.Zero bias: there is no external voltage applied to the p-n junction diode.
2.Forward bias: the positive terminal of the voltage potential is connected to the p-
type while the negative terminal is connected to the n-type.
3.Reverse bias: the negative terminal of the voltage potential is connected to the p-
type and the positive is connected to the n-type.
 PN-JUNCTION WITH NO EXTERNAL VOLTAGE

1. Holes from the P region diffuse into the N region. They then combine with the free
electrons in the N region.
2. Free electrons from the N region diffuse into the P region. These electrons
combine with the holes.
3. The diffusion of holes (from P region to N region) and electrons (from N region to
P region) takes place because they move haphazardly due to thermal energy and
also because there is a difference in their concentrations in the two regions. The P
region has more holes and the N region has more free electrons.
 PN-JUNCTION WITH NO EXTERNAL VOLTAGE-
FORMATION OF PN JUNCTION
4. after a few recombination of holes and electrons in
the immediate neighbourhood of the junction, a
restraining force is set up automatically. This force is
called a barrier. further diffusion of holes and electrons
from one side to the other is stopped by this barrier.
5. Each recombination eliminates a hole and a free
electron. in this process, the negative acceptor ions in
the P region and positive donor ions in the N region in
the immediate neighbourhood of the junction are left
uncompensated. This is shown in fig.
 PN-JUNCTION WITH NO EXTERNAL VOLTAGE
• Additional holes trying to diffuse into the n region are repelled by the uncompensated positive
charge of the donor ions. the electrons trying diffuse into the p region are repelled by the
uncompensated negative charges on the acceptor ions. as a result, total recombination of holes and
electrons cannot occur.
• The region containing the uncompensated acceptor and donor ions is called depletion region. that
is, there is a depletion of mobile charges (holes and free electrons) in this region. Since this region
has immobile (fixed) ions which are electrically charged it is also referred to as the space-charge
region.
• The electric field between the acceptor and the donor ions is called a barrier.
• The physical distance from one side of the barrier to the other is referred to as the width of the
barrier. The difference of potential from one side of the barrier to the other side is referred to as the
height of the barrier. For a silicon PN-junction, the barrier potential is about 0.7V, whereas for a
germanium PN-junction it is approximately 0.3V
 PN-JUNCTION WITH FORWARD BIAS

• Suppose we connect a battery to the PN-junction diode such that the positive terminal
of the battery is connected to the P-side and the negative terminal to the N-side. In this
condition, the PN-junction is said to be forward biased.
• When the PN-junction is forward biased, the holes are repelled from the positive
terminal of the battery and are compelled to move towards the junction. The electrons
are repelled from the negative terminal of the battery and drift towards the junction.
 PN-JUNCTION WITH FORWARD BIAS
• Because of their acquired energy, some of the holes and the free electrons penetrate
the depletion region. this reduces the potential barrier. The width of the depletion
region reduces and so does the barrier height.
• As a result of this, more majority carriers diffuse across the junction. These carriers
recombine and cause movement of charge carriers in the space-charge region.
• There is a continuous electron current in the external circuit. the current in the p-
type material is due to the movement of holes. the current in the N-type material is
due to the movement of electrons. The current continues as long as the battery is in
the circuit.
• If the battery voltage is increased, the barrier potential is further reduced. More
majority carriers diffuse across the junction. This results in an increased current
through the PN-junction.
 PN-JUNCTION WITH REVERSE BIAS

• Negative terminal of the battery is connected to the P-type material and the
positive terminal of the battery to the N-type material.
• The holes in the P region are attracted towards the negative terminal of the battery.
The electrons in the N region are attracted to the positive terminal of the battery.
• Thus the majority carriers are drawn away from the junction. This action widens
the depletion region and increases the barrier potential.
 PN-JUNCTION WITH REVERSE BIAS
• The increased barrier potential makes it more difficult for the majority carriers to diffuse
across the junction. However, this barrier potential is helpful to the minority carriers in
crossing the junction.
• As soon as a minority carrier is generated, it is swept (or drifted) across the junction
because of the barrier potential. The rate of generation of minority carriers depends upon
temperature.
• If the temperature is fixed, the rate of generation of minority carriers remains constant.
Therefore, the current due to the flow of minority carriers remains the same whether the
battery voltage is low or high. For this reason, this current is called reverse saturation
current.
• This current is very small as the number of minority carriers is small. It is of the order of
nanoamperes in silicon diodes and microamperes in germanium diodes.
 V-I CHARACTERISTICS OF A
PN-JUNCTION DIODE

• It is a graph between the voltage applied across

diode terminals and the current that flows
through it.
• It tells us how much diode current flows for a
particular value of diode voltage.
 V-I CHARACTERISTICS OF A
PN-JUNCTION DIODE

• Here the diode is forward biased. Since, current flows easily through a forward
biased diode, a resistance R is included in the circuit so as to limit the current. The
potentiometer helps in varying the voltage applied to the diode. The milli ammeter
measures the current in the circuit. The voltmeter measures the voltage across the
diode.
 Note that the voltage is plotted along the
horizontal axis, as voltage is the independent
variable. Each value of the diode voltage
produces a particular current. The current,
being the dependent variable, is plotted along
the vertical axis.
 V-I CHARACTERISTICS OF A
PN-JUNCTION DIODE
• From the curve of fig. 4. 7, we find that the diode current is very small for the few tenths
of a volt. The diode does not conduct well until the external voltage overcomes the
barrier potential.
• As we approach 0.7V (silicon diode) larger number of free electrons and holes start
crossing the junction. Above 0.7V, even a small increase in the voltage produces a sharp
increase in the current. The voltage at which the current starts to increase rapidly is
called the cut-in or knee voltage (v0) of the diode. For a silicon diode, it is
approximately 0.7V, whereas for a germanium diode, it is about 0.3V.
• To obtain the reverse-bias characteristics, we use the same circuit as in fig. 4.6a, except
for a few changes. First, we reverse the terminals of the diode. Second, the milli
ammeter is replaced by a micro ammeter. The resulting circuit is as shown in fig. 4.8a.
V-I CHARACTERISTICS OF A
PN-JUNCTION DIODE

• In the reverse bias, the diode current

is very small-only few μA for
germanium diodes and only a few nA
for silicon diodes.
• It remains small and almost constant
for all voltages less than the
breakdown voltage Vz.
• At breakdown, the current
increases rapidly for small increase
in voltage.
 THE IDEAL DIODE

• It would have been ideal if a diode acted

as a perfect conductor (with zero voltage
across it) when forward biased, and as a
perfect insulator (with no current through
it) when reverse biased.
 P-N JUNCTION BREAKDOWN
• If the reverse bias applied to a PN junction diode is increased, a point will reach
when the junction breaks down and reverse current rises sharply to a value. This
specific value of the reverse bias voltage is called breakdown voltage. After
breakdown, a very small further increase in reverse bias voltage causes a
very large increase in the reverse current. The breakdown voltage depends
upon width of depletion layer. This width of depletion layer depends upon the
doping level. The following two processes cause junction breakdown due to the
increase in reverse bias voltage:
Zener Breakdown
Avalanche Breakdown
 ZENER BREAKDOWN

• Zener breakdown occurs in heavily doped junctions (high impurity).

• With high reverse voltage electric field at the junction increases.
• This high electric field is strong enough to break the covalent bonds of
the other atoms
• This results in breaking up of more covalent bonds resulting in higher
number of charge carriers & eventually a large amount of current leading to
breakdown.
 AVALANCHE BREAKDOWN
• When the reverse voltage applied to a diode increases, velocity of the minority
carriers increases which leads to higher kinetic energy of the carriers.
• These carriers moving with high kinetic energy collide with other atoms to break
their covalent bonds thus generating more carriers.
• This cumulative effect therefore results in multiplication of carriers called
avalanche multiplication.
• The process thus creates a large number of carriers & thus a large amount of
current which eventually leads to break down of the diode. This is called
avalanche breakdown .
• It happens at about 6v or more reverse voltage.
Avalanche breakdown
 Impact ionisation

 Multiplication of carriers

 For Lightly/Moderately
doped diodes

 Occurs for Higher

voltages(6V)
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ZENER AND AVALANCHE BREAKDOWN

ZENER BREAKDOWN AVALANCHE BREAKDOWN

 HEAVILY DOPED DIODES  LIGHTLY/MODERATELY DOPED DIODES

 OCCURS AT A VOLTAGE IN THE RANGE OF LESS THAN 4V.  OCCURS AT A HIGH VOLTAGE 6V OR MORE.

 FIELD IONISATION  IMPACT IONISATION

 HIGH ELECTRIC FIELD RESULTS IN BREAKING UP OF  HIGH REVERSE VOLTAGE LEADS TO AVALANCHE
COVALENT BONDS RESULTING IN MANY FREE CARRIERS. MULTIPLICATION RESULTING IN MANY FREE
CARRIERS.

 ZENER DIODES EXHIBIT NEGATIVE TEMPERATURE

COEFFICIENT (BREAKDOWN VOLTAGE DECREASES WITH  AVALANCHE DIODES EXHIBIT POSITIVE
TEMPERATURE) TEMPERATURE COEFFICIENT (BREAKDOWN
VOLTAGE INCREASES WITH TEMPERATURE)
 ZENER DIODE
• Zener diode is a reverse biased heavily doped PN junction diode which
operates in the breakdown region. The reverse breakdown of a PN junction
may occur either due to zener effect or avalanche effect. Zener effect
dominates at reverse voltages less than 6V, whereas avalanche effect
dominates above 6V.
V-I CHARACTERISTICS OF ZENER DIODE
Comparison PN Junction Diode Zener Diode
Definition It is a semiconductor diode which conducts The diode which allows the current to flow
only in one direction, i.e., in forward in both the direction i.e., forward and
direction. reverse, such type of diode is known as the
Zener diode.

Symbol

VI Characteristics
Reverse Current Effect Damage the junction. Do not damage the junction.

Doping Level Low/Moderate doping Heavy doping

Breakdown Occurs in higher voltage. Occur in lower voltage.

Ohms Law Obey Do not obey.

Applications For rectification Voltage stabilizer, motor protection and
wave shaping
BLOCK DIAGRAM OF DC POWER SUPPLY

Filter
 BLOCK DIAGRAM OF DC POWER SUPPLY
• Almost all electronic equipment include a circuit that converts ac supply into DC supply.
• It contains Transformer, Rectifier, Filter & Voltage Regulator.
Transformer − an input transformer for the stepping down of the 230V ac power supply. It can
provide an isolation from ac supply line.
Rectifier − a rectifier circuit to convert the ac components present in the signal to dc components.
Smoothing Filter − The output from rectifier circuit contains unwanted ac components. Filtering
circuit reduces the variations (ripples) present in the rectified output.
Voltage Regulator − a voltage regulator circuit in order to control the voltage to a desired output
level. i.e., to produce a constant output voltage irrespective of the input voltage variations or the load
current variations.
• The output of the dc power supply is used to provide a constant dc voltage across the load.
 RECTIFIERS
• The rectifier circuit is the heart of a power supply.
• The unidirectional conducting property of a diode finds great application in
rectifiers.
• Rectifiers are the circuits which convert an ac voltage into dc voltage.
• Most electronic equipment have a transformer at the input.
• The transformer serves two purposes. First, it allows us to step the voltage up
or down. This way we can get the desired level of dc voltage.
• The second advantage of the transformer is the isolation it provides from the
power line. It reduces the risk of electrical shock.
 HALF-WAVE RECTIFIER

• In fig. 4.12, the diode forms a series circuit with the secondary of the
transformer and the load resistor RL·
 HALF-WAVE RECTIFIER
• The primary of the transformer is connected to the power mains. An ac voltage is
induced across the secondary of the transformer.
• We can represent the voltage across the secondary by equation

• Figure shows how this voltage varies with time. It has alternate positive and
negative half-cycles. Voltage Vm is the peak value of this alternating voltage.
• During the positive half-cycles of the input voltage, the
polarity of the voltage across the secondary is as shown
in Fig. a.
• This polarity makes the diode forward biased, because it
tries to push the current in the direction of the diode
arrow.
• The diode conducts, and a current iL flows through the
load resistor RL.
• This current makes the terminal A positive with respect
to terminal B. Since a forward-biased diode offers a very
low resistance, the voltage drop across it is also very
small (about 0.3 V for Ge diode and about 0. 7 V for Si
diode).
• Therefore, the voltage appearing across the load
terminals AB is practically the same as that the voltage vi
at everyinstant.
• During the negative half-cycle of the input
voltage, the polarity gets reversed.
• The voltage v tries to send current against the
direction of diode arrow. See Fig. b.
• The diode is now reverse biased. It is shown
shaded in the figure to indicate that it is non-
conducting.
• Practically no current flows through the
circuit. Therefore, almost no voltage is
developed across the load resistance.
• All the input voltage appears across the diode
itself.
 HALF-WAVE RECTIFIER-PEAK INVERSE VOLTAGE
• During the negative half-cycle of the input, the diode is reverse biased.
• The whole of the input voltage appears across the diode (as there is no voltage
across the load resistance).
• When the input reaches its peak value Vm in the negative half-cycle, the voltage
across the diode is also maximum.
• This maximum voltage is known as the peak inverse voltage (PIV).
• It represents the maximum voltage the diode must withstand during the
negative half-cycle of the input.
 FULL-WAVE RECTIFIER
• In a full-wave rectifier we utilize both the half-cycles. Alternate half-
cycles are inverted to give a unidirectional load current.
• There are two types of rectifier circuits that are in use.
1. One is called centre-tap rectifier and it uses two diodes.
2. The other is called bridge rectifier and it uses four diodes.
 FULL-WAVE RECTIFIER-
CENTRE-TAP RECTIFIER
• The circuit of a centre-tap rectifier is shown in fig. 4.l6a. It uses two diodes D1
and D2.
• During the positive half-cycles of secondary voltage, the diode D1 is forward
biased and D2 is reverse biased. The current flows through the diode D1, load
resistor RL and the upper half of the winding as shown in fig. 4.16b.
• During negative half-cycles diode D2 becomes forward biased and D1 reverse
biased.
• Now D2 conducts and D1 becomes open. The current flows through diode D2,
load resistor RL and the lower half of the winding, as shown in fig. 4.16c.
• The load current in both figs. 4.l6 b and c is in the same direction. The waveform
of the load voltage V0 is shown in fig. 4.l6d.
 FULL-WAVE RECTIFIER-
BRIDGE RECTIFIER
• It requires four diodes instead of two, but avoids the need for a centre-tapped transformer.
• During the positive half-cycles of the secondary voltage, diodes D2 and D4 are conducting and
diodes D1 and D3 are non-conducting.
• Therefore, current flows through the secondary winding, diode D2, load resistor RL and D4 as
shown in fig. 4.18b.
• During negative half-cycles of the secondary voltage, diodes D1 and D3 conduct and the
diodes D2 and D4 do not conduct.
• The current therefore flows through the secondary winding, diode D1, load resistor RL and
diode D3 as shown in fig. 4.18c.
• In both cases, the current passes through the load resistor in the same direction.
• Therefore, a fluctuating, unidirectional voltage is developed across the load. The load voltage
waveform is shown in fig. 4.18d.
RIPPLE FACTOR ()
RIPPLE FACTOR ()
 HALF WAVE RECTIFIER

Fig: Load current and Load voltage waveforms for half wave rectifier
AVERAGE / DC LOAD CURRENT (IDC)
R.M.S VALUE OF LOAD CURRENT (IRMS)
 HALF WAVE RECTIFIER
RIPPLE FACTOR () WITHOUT FILTER
RIPPLE FACTOR OF A FULL WAVE RECTIFIER –WITHOUT FILTER
 MERITS OF FULL WAVE RECTIFIERS OVER HALF
WAVE RECTIFIERS

• The rectification efficiency of full wave rectifier is double of that of a half

wave rectifier.
• The ripple voltage is low in case of full wave rectifier.
• Higher output voltage, higher output power and higher Transformer
Utilization Factor (TUF) in case of a full wave rectifier.
 MERITS AND DEMERITS OF BRIDGE RECTIFIERS
OVER CENTRE-TAP RECTIFIERS

Merits
• No centre tap is required in the transformer secondary.
• The PIV is one half that of centre-tap rectifier.
• The Transformer Utilization Factor (TUF) is higher than that of a centre-tap
rectifier.
Demerits
• It uses four diodes.
 FILTER CIRCUITS
• The objective of rectification is to provide a
steady DC voltage.
• A full wave rectifier provides a better DC
than a half wave rectifier. But even full
wave rectifier does not provide ripple-free Rectifier Filter

DC voltage. The rectifiers provide “a

Pulsating DC Filtered
pulsating DC”. That is, the output of a Output
rectifier contains ripple components (AC
components) in addition to DC.
• We can filter or smooth out the AC
variations from the rectified voltage. For
this purpose we use a filter or smoothing
circuit.
 SHUNT CAPACITOR FILTER
• This is the simplest and the cheapest filter.
• Connect a large value capacitor in shunt with the load resistor RL.
• The capacitance offers a low-reactance path to the AC components of
current.
• For DC, this is an open circuit.
• All the DC current passes through the load. Only a small part of the
AC component passes through the load, producing a small ripple
voltage.
• The capacitor bypasses AC signals & blocks DC .
• The AC components at the output of rectifier is bypassed by the
capacitor, C1 .
• The DC components thus pass through and is obtained at the load
resistor.
CAPACITOR FILTER

Vm
 CAPACITOR FILTER WORKING
• Initially when the diode conducts and rectifier output
voltage is increasing, the capacitor charges to peak
value, 𝑽𝒎.
Vm
• When the rectifier output goes down, the capacitor
starts to discharge through the load.
• This action prevents the load voltage from falling to
zero. The capacitor continues to discharge until the
rectifier output voltage becomes more than the
capacitor voltage.
• The discharging rate of the capacitor depends on the
value of 𝑅𝐿 & C
 RIPPLE FACTOR WITH CAPACITOR FILTER

• Half wave rectifier- the ripple factor of capacitor filter ,

• Full wave rectifier-the ripple factor of capacitor filter ,

• Where f is frequency of the input AC signal, RL is the load

resistance, and C is the capacitance of the filter.
 ZENER DIODE VOLTAGE REGULATOR
• After the ripples have been smoothed or filtered from the rectifier output, we get a
sufficiently steady dc output. But for many applications, even this sort of power
supply may not serve the purpose. This supply does not have a good enough voltage
regulation.
• That is, the output voltage reduces as the load (current) connected to it is
increased.
• Secondly, the DC output voltage varies with the change in the input voltage.
• To improve the constancy of the DC output voltage as the load and/or the AC input
voltage vary, a voltage-regulator circuit is used.
• The stabilizer circuit is connected between the output of the filter and the load.
ZENER DIODE VOLTAGE REGULATOR
• The simplest regulator circuit consists of a resistor Rs connected in series
with the input voltage, and a zener diode connected in parallel with the load.
• The voltage from an unregulated power supply is used as the input voltage
Vi to the regulator circuit.
• The current from the unregulated power supply splits at the junction of the
zener diode and the load resistor. Therefore,
Is=Iz+ IL

• When the zener diode operates in breakdown region, the voltage Vz across
it remains constant even though the current lz flowing through it may vary.
 LOAD VOLTAGE REGULATION
• If the load current IL increases (because of the reduction in load
resistance), the current IZ through the zener diode falls by the same
percentage in order to maintain constant current IS. This keeps the voltage
across RS constant.
• Hence, the output voltage V0 remains constant.
• If, on the other hand, the load current decreases, the zener diode passes
an extra current lZ such that the current lS is kept constant. The output
voltage of the circuit is thus stabilized.
𝑉NL− 𝑉FL
• Percentage of load regulation can be calculated by 𝑥 100,
𝑉FL

• where 𝑉NL− Voltage at No Load & 𝑉FL− Voltage at Full Load

 LINE VOLTAGE REGULATION
• If the input voltage VI increases, the zener diode passes a larger
current so that extra voltage is dropped across Rs.
• If VI falls, the current lZ also falls, and the voltage drop across RS is
reduced.
• Because of the self-adjusting voltage drop across RS, the output
voltage V0 may not fluctuates.
Δ𝑉0
• Percentage of line regulation can be calculated by 𝑥 100
Δ𝑉𝑖𝑛
 LIMITATIONS OF ZENER REGULATOR

• The output voltage of Zener regulator is equal to VZ. This is a constant

voltage. Therefore, these voltage regulators cannot be made adjustable.
• Large power gets dissipated in the series resistor, Rs.
• Corresponding to large change in the load current, there will be large
change in the Zener current. This will result in large power wastage.
 TRANSISTOR-THE BUILDING BLOCK OF
ELECTRONICS
A transistor is a semiconductor device
used to amplify, switch or control
electronic signals.
Transistors are one of the basic building
blocks of modern electronics.
 It is a semiconductor device with three
terminals.
The word transistor is coined from the
words ‘Transfer and Resistor’.
 MOORE’S LAW

• THE NUMBER OF TRANSISTORS

DOUBLES EVERY 2 YEARS IN A
CHIP.
 INVENTION OF TRANSISTORS

 Transistors were invented

in 1947 at bell laboratories
by John Bardeen, William
Shockley & Walter Brattain
 They were awarded Nobel
prize in the year 1956.
 APPLICATIONS OF TRANSISTOR

 AMPLIFIER

 SWITCH
TRANSISTOR TYPES

BJT- Bipolar Junction

Transistors

FET- Field Effect

Transistors

JFET-Junction FET

MOSFET- Metal Oxide

Semiconductor FET
 BIPOLAR JUNCTION TRANSISTOR- STRUCTURE
• A transistor is basically a silicon or germanium crystal containing three separate
regions. It can either be NPN-type or PNP-type.
• It has three regions.
• The middle region is called the Base and the two outer regions are called the Emitter
and the Collector. Although the two outer regions are of same type (N-type), their
functions-cannot be interchanged. These two regions have different physical and
electrical properties.
• Emitter: Emitter is heavily doped region and its size is larger than Base but smaller
than the Collector. The function of the emitter is to emit or inject electrons (holes in
case of a PNP transistor) into base.
BIPOLAR JUNCTION TRANSISTOR- STRUCTURE
 BIPOLAR JUNCTION TRANSISTOR- STRUCTURE
• Base: It is the middle region that forms two PN junctions in the transistor.
Base is very lightly doped and is very thin. Base passes most of the electrons
(holes in case of PNP) onto the collector. Base region controls the flow of
charge carriers from Emitter to collector.
• Collector: Collector is made physically larger than the emitter region since it is
required to dissipate more heat. The doping of the collector is between the
heavy doping of the emitter and the light doping of the base. The collector has
the job of collecting or gathering the electrons (holes in case of a PNP) from
the base.
BIPOLAR JUNCTION TRANSISTORS-TWO TYPES
 BIPOLAR JUNCTION TRANSISTORS
• The term bipolar refers to the use of both
holes and electrons as carriers in the
transistor. The current conduction in a
transistor is due to these two carriers.
• There are two junctions in a transistor.
One junction is between Emitter and
Base and it is called Emitter-Base
junction. The other junction is between
Collector and Base and it is called
Collector-Base junction.
• Hence this type of transistor is known as
Bipolar Junction Transistors.
 BIPOLAR JUNCTION TRANSISTORS
• The application of suitable DC voltages across the transistor terminals is
called biasing.
• There are two junctions in a transistor. Each junction of a transistor may
be forward or reverse biased. The operation of transistor depends on how
these two junctions get biased. Depending upon the external bias voltage
polarities are used, the transistor works in one of the three regions such
as Active region, Saturation region and Cut off region.
• Emitter-Base junction Emitter junction
• Collector –Base junction Collector junction
 WORKING OF A TRANSISTOR
• Let us consider an NPN transistor biased
for active operation as shown in fig.
• Emitter-Base junction is forward biased by
VEE, and the Collector-Base junction is
reverse biased by VCC . The directions of
various currents that flow in the transistor
are also indicated in fig.
• The direction of current flow has been
taken opposite to the direction of electron
movement.
 WORKING OF A TRANSISTOR
• The emitter junction is forward biased. The barrier potential is reduced. Hence, the space-
charge region at this junction also becomes narrow.
• Majority charge carriers diffuse across the junction. Resulting current consists of electrons
travelling from the emitter to the base and holes passing from the base to the emitter.
• Only the electron current is useful in the action of the transistor. Therefore, the electron
current is made much larger than the hole current. This is done by doping the base region
more lightly than the emitter region.
• In fig. 5.5, electrons 1, 2, 3 and 4 crossing from the emitter to the base, and hole 7 from the
base to the emitter. The total sum of these charge-carrier movements constitutes the emitter
current IE. Major portion of this current is due to the movement of electrons 1, 2, 3 and 4.
These are the electrons injected by the emitter into the base. Only 0.5 % of the emitter
current consists of the holes passing from the base to the emitter.
 WORKING OF A TRANSISTOR
• Once the electrons are injected by the emitter into the base, they become minority carriers
(in the base region).
• The central idea in transistor action is that the base is made very narrow (about 25 μm) and
is very lightly doped. Because of this, most of the minority carriers (electrons) travelling
from the emitter end of the base region to its collector end do not recombine with holes in
this journey. Only a few electrons (like 3) may recombine with holes (like 6).
• Movement of hole 8 from the collector region and electron 5 from the base region
constitutes leakage current, ICBO (collector to base reverse current). Movement of electron
3 and hole 7 constitute a part of emitter current IE.
• Actually, the number of electrons (like 3) and holes (like 7) crossing the emitter-base
junction is much more than the number of electrons (like 5) and holes (like 8) crossing the
collector-base junction. The difference of these two currents in the base region makes the
base current IB.
 Working of an NPN Transistor
 The emitter of the NPN transistor is heavily
doped.
• When the forward bias is applied across the
emitter, the majority charge carriers move towards
the base. This causes the emitter current IE. The
electrons enter into the P-type material (base)

 The base of the NPN transistor is lightly

doped.
• Due to lightly doped base, only a few electrons
are combined and remaining enters into the
collector region. The reversed bias potential of the
collector region applies an attractive force on the
electrons reaching collector junction. Thus attract
or collect the electrons at the collector. Only 5%
𝑰𝑬 = 𝑰𝑩 +𝑰𝑪
of the electrons recombine at the base region.
Remaining 95% reach the collector
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Mvo4JO877U
Conduction in a PNP transistor occurs through holes.
 Working of a PNP transistor
 The emitter of the PNP transistor is heavily
doped.

• When the forward bias is applied across the

emitter, the majority charge carriers(holes)
move towards the base. This causes the
emitter current IE. The holes enter into the N-
type material and combine with the electrons.

 The base of the transistor is lightly doped.

• Due to which only a few holes are combined

and remaining enters into the collector region.
The reversed bias potential of the collector
region applies an attractive force on the holes
reaching collector junction. Thus attract or
collect the holes at the collector. Only 5% of
the holes recombine at the base
region. Remaining 95% reach the 𝑰𝑬 = 𝑰𝑩 +𝑰𝑪
collector
 TRANSISTOR CONFIGURATIONS
• A transistor has 3 terminals: Emitter, Base & Collector and
an amplifier has 4 terminals. An amplifier amplifies
(increase the strength) the weak signals (eg. from a
microphone) and this amplified signal is given to a load (say
loud speaker).
• In order to construct an amplifier circuit, we need 4
terminals, that is, two terminals to connect input signals &
two terminals to connect load. But transistor has only three
terminals.
• So we use one of the terminals as common for both input
and output as shown in figure.
 TRANSISTOR CONFIGURATIONS

• When transistor is connected in a circuit, one terminal is used as input

terminal and another is used as output terminal and the third terminal is
made common to both input and output. Depending on which terminal is
made common to both input and output terminals, we can connect a
transistor in three configurations and they are:
1. Common Base Configuration
2. Common Emitter Configuration
3. Common Collector Configuration
 COMMON BASE CONFIGURATION

Transistors are used as constant current source in Common Base configuration

 COMMON EMITTER CONFIGURATION

• Transistors are used as amplifiers (RC coupled amplifiers) in common emitter

configuration
 COMMON COLLECTOR CONFIGURATION

• Used as a buffer (impedance matching)

FR biasing of an NPN transistor in common emitter (CE) configuration
 TRANSISTOR CHARACTERISTICS
• In order to understand the complete electrical behaviors of a transistor, it is necessary to
study the interrelation of various currents and voltages. The relationship can be plotted
graphically and it is known as characteristics of transistor.
• Most important characteristics of a transistor in any configuration are :
Input characteristic and output characteristic. These are graphs to show the
relationship between transistor voltage and current. These graphs are called transistor
characteristics curves.
• Each curve of the input characteristic relates the input current with the input
voltage, for a given output voltage.
• The output characteristic curve relates the output current with the output voltage,
for a given input current.
 INPUT & OUTPUT CHARACTERISTICS OF CE
CONFIGURATION
• The graphical representation of the relation connecting current and
voltage of a transistor in common emitter configuration is called CE
characteristics.
• In CE configuration, the emitter is made common to the input and
the output. The signal (input) is applied between the base and
emitter and the output is developed between the collector and
emitter.
• For the active region of operation, the emitter-base junction is forward
biased and the collector-base junction is reverse biased. Such biasing
(forward biasing) is achieved in CE configuration by connecting the
batteries VBB and VCC as shown in fig.
 INPUT CHARACTERISTICS OF CE
CONFIGURATION
• It shows the curves between input current IB (base current) and input
voltage VBE ( base-emitter voltage) at constant collector-emitter
voltage VCE. The base current , IB is taken along Y axis and base-emitter
voltage, VBE along X axis.
• Figure(a) shows the circuit arrangement for determining transistor CE
characteristics. The base-emitter junction is always forward biased while
the collector- base junction is always reverse biased. DC voltmeters and
ammeters are used to measure the voltages and currents.
 INPUT CHARACTERISTICS OF CE CONFIGURATION

VCC

VBB

Figure (b): Input Characteristics of

Figure (a): Circuit arrangement for CE CE Configuration
Configuration
 INPUT CHARACTERISTICS OF CE
CONFIGURATION
• Figure(b) shows typical input characteristics in CE configuration. When
VCE =0V, the characteristic is identical to a forward biased PN junction.
With VCE =3V, the base current slightly reduces due to early effect and
characteristics shift outwards.
• The input characteristic is used to find the input resistance of the
transistor. Input resistance is a ratio of change in base-emitter voltage
(ΔVBE) to the resulting change in base current (ΔIB )
Δ𝑉BE
• Input resistance, ri = at VCE = constant
Δ𝐼𝐵
 OUTPUT CHARACTERISTICS OF CE
CONFIGURATION
• It is the curve between collector current IC and collector to emitter voltage
VCE at constant base current, IB. The collector current IC is taken along Y
axis and collector emitter voltage VCE is taken along x axis.
Δ𝑉CE
• Output resistance, ro = at IB = constant
Δ𝐼𝐶

• The output characteristic can be divided into three regions.

1. Cut off region
• In this region IB=0. Both the junctions are reverse biased. In this region
transistor is OFF. There is considerable collector current at IB=0. This is
reverse leakage current ICBO.
 OUTPUT CHARACTERISTICS OF CE
CONFIGURATION
2. Saturation region
• When a transistor operates in this region its collector as well as emitter
junctions are forward biased. It is called saturation region because the
collector current IC does not depend upon the input current IB. In this
region transistor in ON.
3. Active region
• In this region emitter base junction is forward biased and collector base
junction is reverse biased. The output collector current is proportional to
input base current. The collector current is controlled by base current. In
this region transistor is used as an amplifier.
 INPUT & OUTPUT CHARACTERISTICS OF CB
CONFIGURATION
• It shows the curves between input current IE (emitter current) and input
voltage VEB (emitter-base voltage) at constant collector base voltage VCB.
The emitter current , IE is taken along Y axis and emitter-base voltage,
VEB along X axis.
• Figure(a) shows the circuit arrangement for determining transistor CB
characteristics. DC voltmeters and ammeters are used to measure the
voltages and currents.
 INPUT CHARACTERISTICS OF CB CONFIGURATION

Figure (a): Circuit arrangement for CB Figure (b): Input Characteristics of

Configuration CB Configuration
OUTPUT CHARACTERISTICS OF CB
CONFIGURATION
 REVERSE LEAKAGE CURRENT

• The collector current is not zero when IE = 0. It has

a very small value. This is the reverse leakage
current lCO· The conditions that exist when IE= 0 for
CB configuration is shown in Fig. ICBO means that it
is the current between the collector and base when
the third terminal (the emitter) is open. This current
lCBO is like the reverse saturation current for a
diode. This too is temperature sensitive. Reverse leakage current in CB
configuration
CURRENT GAINS OF DIFFERENT TRANSISTOR
CONFIGURATIONS
CURRENT GAINS OF DIFFERENT TRANSISTOR
CONFIGURATIONS
RELATION BETWEEN CURRENT GAINS
RELATION BETWEEN CURRENT GAINS
 Comparison

Very

 Out of the three transistor connections, the Common Emitter Circuit is the most efficient.
 It is used in about 90 to 95 per cent of all transistor applications.
 The main reasons for the widespread use of this circuit arrangement are :
(i) High current gain. (ii) High voltage and power gain. (iii) Moderate output to input
impedance ratio.
CONCEPT OF BIASING & LOAD LINE
 BIASING OF A TRANSISTOR

• In order to operate transistor in the desired region, we have to apply

external DC voltages of correct polarity and magnitude to the junction of
the transistor. This called DC biasing of the transistor.
• When we are biasing a transistor, we establish a certain current and
voltage conditions for the transistor. These conditions are known as
operating conditions. The operating point must be stable for proper
operation of the transistor.
 DC LOAD LINE
 Let us consider the amplifier circuit
as shown in figure, when no signal
is applied to its input.
 This condition (of having no input
signal) is described as a quiescent
condition.

Fig: CE amplifier in quiescent condition

 DC LOAD LINE

• The battery VCC sends current IC through the load resistor RC and the
transistor.
• There is some voltage drop across the load resistor RC due to the flow
of current IC. the polarity of this voltage drop ICRC is shown in the
figure.
• The remaining voltage drops across the transistor. This voltage is
written as VCE. applying Kirchhoff's voltage law to the collector circuit,
we get VCC = ICRC + VCE
IC= (VCC- VCE )/RC
 OPERATING POINT: -
 The zero signal values of IC and VCE are known as the
Operating point.
 It is called operating point because the variations of IC
and VCE take place about this point when signal is applied
 It is also called quiescent (silent) point or Q-Point
because it is the point on IC –VCE characteristic when the
transistor is silent i.e. in the absence of the signal.
 Suppose in the absence of signal, the base current is 5µA.
Then IC and VCE values in the circuit must be represented
by some point on IB = 5 µA characteristic.
 But IC and VCE values in the circuit should also be represented by some point on the d. c. load
line AB.
 The point Q where the load line and the characteristic intersect is the only point which
satisfies both these conditions.
 Therefore, the zero signal values of IC and VCE (i.e. operating point) are determined by the
point where d.c. load line intersects at proper base current curve.
 OPERATING POINT OR Q POINT

• The intersection of IB curve and DC load

line is the operating point. This operating
point is fixed point on the characteristics
and so it is called quiescent point or Q
point.
• For different values of IB we can fix
different intersection points on the DC
load line. Next figures shows the effect in
output waveform in different Q point
selections.
SELECTION OF OPERATING POINT

 Depending upon the base current, the

operating point could be either at point
A, B, or C.
 OPERATING POINT
• Operating point at A is very near to the
saturation region. Even though the base
current is varying sinusoidally, the output
current (and also output voltage) is seen to
be clipped at the positive peaks.
• This results in distortion of the signal at the
positive peaks, the base current varies, but
collector current remains constant at
saturation value. Thus point A is not a
suitable operating point.

Operating point near saturation region gives clipping

at the positive peaks
 OPERATING POINT

• The point b is very near to the cut-off

region.
• The output signal is now clipped at
the negative peaks.
• Hence, this too is not a suitable
operating point.

Operating point near cut-off region gives

clipping at the negative peaks
 OPERATING POINT

• it is clear from figure that the output

signal is not at all distorted if point c
is chosen as the operating point.
• A good amplifier amplifies signals
without introducing distortion, as
much as possible.
• Thus, point c is the most suitable
operating point.

Operating point at the centre of active region is most suitable

 OPERATING POINT

• Once the Q point is designed and fixed, it should remain there

irrespective of internal or external variations. Any variations in Q point
may cause the transistor to deviate from its designed region of operation
and there by distorting the waveform. The main factors for Q point
variations are: variation in temperature, fluctuation in power supply, aging
of components and replacement of active elements such as BJT, FET etc.
Flow of current in the collector circuit produces
heat at the collector junction. This increases the
temperature. More minority carriers are generated
in base-collector region (since more bonds are
broken). The leakage current ICBO increases. Since
and

The increase in ICBO will cause ICEO to increase,

which in turn increases the collector current lC.
This further raises the temperature of the
collector-base junction, and the whole cycle
repeats again. Such a cumulative increase in lC
will ultimately shift the operating point into the
saturation region. This situation may prove to
be very dangerous. Such a situation is
described by the term thermal runaway.
Simplest Biasing Circuit
 CONCEPT OF VOLTAGE DIVIDER BIASING
• Voltage divider biasing is a common method used in electronic circuits to establish
a stable and predictable operating point for a transistor. This biasing technique is
essential to ensure that the transistor remains in the active region, allowing for
amplification of input signals.
• Components: Voltage divider biasing uses a combination of resistors to set the
base bias voltage for the transistor. The essential components include a voltage
source (VCC), the resistors R1 (connected between base and VCC ) and R2
(connected between base and ground), a collector resistor (RC), an emitter
resistor, RE and a voltage source (VCC). The name "voltage divider" comes from
the voltage divider formed by the resistors R1 and R2.
CONCEPT OF VOLTAGE DIVIDER BIASING
 CONCEPT OF VOLTAGE DIVIDER BIASING

RE- emitter resistor ---- provides thermal stabilization.

• If collector current increases, emitter current also
increases. This increases the voltage VRE across RE
(IERE). From Base-Emitter loop of circuit, we get
• VBE = VR2 –VRE where VR2 is the voltage across R2.
Since VR2 is fixed VBE decreases, when VRE increases.
+
This reduces base current and hence collector current,
I C. -
The voltage at collector (measured with respect ground) VC equals the
supply voltage VCC minus the drop across RC, VC=VCC-ICRC

Advantages: the operating point does not depend upon

the value of β of the transistor. Operating point is stable
against variation in temperature and replacement of
transistor .
TRANSISTOR AS SWITCH
 TRANSISTOR AS SWITCH
SWITCH OFF (CUT-OFF REGION)
• In this mode, transistor is in the cut-off region. In cut-
off region, both junctions of transistor are reverse
biased and reverse current flows. This current is
very small and practically neglected. The base-
emitter voltage VBE is less than the threshold (0.7V
for silicon BJTs). The transistor does not conduct
current between the collector and emitter, meaning
IC = 0 (no collector current). The transistor behaves
like an open switch, and the output at the collector is
nearly equal to the supply voltage.
 TRANSISTOR AS SWITCH
SWITCH ON (SATURATION REGION)
• In this mode, transistor is in the saturation region. In
this region, both junctions are forward biased. The
base-emitter voltage VBE is sufficient to forward bias
the transistor (greater than 0.7V for silicon BJTs).
The transistor conducts maximum current from
collector to emitter. The transistor behaves like a
closed switch, and the output at the collector is close
to 0V.
 TRANSISTOR AS AMPLIFIER
• Figure shows a basic transistor amplifier. Here,
the transistor (NPN) is connected in common-
base configuration. The emitter is the input
terminal and the collector is the output terminal.
• The transistor is biased to operate in the active
region. That is, the battery VEE forward biases the
emitter-base junction, and the battery VCC reverse
biases the collector-base junction.
• A signal source VS is connected in the input
Fig: A basic transistor amplifier in
circuit. A load resistance RL of 5 k is connected common-base configuration
in the output circuit. An output signal voltage VO is
developed across this resistor.
TRANSISTOR AS AMPLIFIER
 TRANSISTOR AS AMPLIFIER
• Since the collector current is almost the same as the emitter current
• The output resistance of the transistor is very high (say, 500 k) and the load
resistance is comparatively low (5 k ). Almost all the current Ie passes through the
load resistance RL.

• The ratio of the output voltage VO to the input voltage VS is known as the voltage
amplification or voltage gain AV of the amplifier.

• The transistor's amplifying action is basically due to its capability of transferring its
signal current from a low resistance circuit to high resistance circuit. Contracting the
two terms transfer and resistor results in the name transistor; that is,
• transfer + resistor transistor
RC COUPLED AMPLIFIER
 Common Emitter Transistor Amplifier
• The Amplifier is an electronic circuit that is used to increase the strength of a
weak input signal in terms of voltage, current, or power. The process of
increasing the strength of a weak signal is known as Amplification.
• One most important constraint during the amplification is that only the
magnitude of the signal should increase and there should be no changes in the
original signal shape.
• The transistor (BJT, FET) is a major component in an amplifier system.
• The input of common emitter amplifier is given at the base terminal, the output
is collected from the collector terminal and the emitter terminal is common for
both the terminals.
• The configuration of a common emitter transistor is widely used in most
electronic circuit designs.
• This configuration is evenly appropriate to both the transistors like PNP and NPN
transistors but NPN transistors are most frequently used due to the widespread
use of these transistors.
COMMON EMITTER TRANSISTOR AMPLIFIER
 Common Emitter Transistor Amplifier contd..
• The circuit diagram of a common emitter
amplifier circuit with a voltage divider biasing is
shown.
• 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.
• The resistors R1& R2 are used for the development of forward 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 also known as the coupling capacitor
• The coupling capacitor C2 couples one stage of amplification to the next stage
Common Emitter Transistor Amplifier contd..
Biasing Circuit/ Voltage Divider
The resistances R1, R2, and RE used to form
the voltage bias 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.
Input Capacitor, Coupling Capacitor (C1) Fig. 3.1 common emitter amplifier circuit
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
Coupling Capacitor (C2)
The coupling capacitor C2 couples one stage of amplification to the next stage.
This technique used to isolate the DC bias settings of the two coupled circuits.
Common Emitter Transistor Amplifier contd..

Emitter Bypass Capacitor (CE)

• The emitter resistor RE is required to obtain the DC quiescent point stability.
However the inclusion of RE in the circuit causes a decrease in amplification.
• In order to avoid such a condition, an Emitter bypass capacitor CE is used
parallel with RE to provide a low reactance path to the amplified AC signal.
RE is bypassed by a capacitor so that it acts as a short circuit for AC.
• If it is not used, then the amplified AC signal flowing through RE will cause
a voltage drop across it, thereby dropping the output voltage.

• A transistor’s Beta value, defines the transistor’s forward current gain in the
common emitter configuration.
 Common Emitter Transistor Amplifier contd..
• Consider the positive half cycle of input signal in
which base terminal is positive w.r.t ground.
• The two voltages, ac and dc will be adding each
other, increasing forward bias on base emitter
junction.
• This increases base current. The collector
current is β times the base current, hence the
collector current will also increase. This
increases the voltage drop across Rc
• Since, VC = VCC - IC RC VC = Vout

• Therefore, increase in IC results in a drop in collector voltage VC . Thus as input

voltage increases in a positive direction, the output voltage goes in a negative
direction.
• Hence the input signal is amplified (as IC RC) with a phase shift of 180° between
input and output voltages for a common emitter amplifier.
TWO STAGE RC COUPLED AMPLIFIER
FREQUENCY?
 IMPORTANT TERMS - TRANSISTOR AMPLIFIER :-

• Gain: -
• The ratio of the output electrical quantity to the input one of the amplifier is called
its gain.
• The gain of a multistage amplifier is equal to the product of gains of individual
stages.
• The gain G is expressed in Bel (B) or decibel (dB). G = log10 PO/PI (B)
• It was found, that the unit Bel (B) was too large of measurement for practical
purposes, so the decibel (dB) was defined such that 1B =10 dB;
• So G (dB) = 10 log10 (PO/PI )
• G (dB) = 20 log10 (VO/VI)
Where (PO,VO – output power, voltage; PI,V1 – input power, voltage respectively)
• Frequency response: - The curve between voltage gain and signal frequency of an
amplifier is known as frequency response. It shows the variation of gain of an amplifier
with frequency of input signal.
 MULTI STAGE TRANSISTOR AMPLIFIER contd:-
Bandwidth: - The range of frequency
over which the gain is equal to or greater
than 70.7% of the maximum gain is known
as bandwidth. It is the frequency range
over which the amplifier can be effectively
used.
 From the Fig, it is clear that for any
frequency lying between f1 (fL) and f2 (fH),
the gain is equal to or greater than 70.7%
of the maximum gain.
 Therefore, f2 - f1 is the bandwidth. It
may be seen that f1 and f2 are the limiting
frequencies. The f1 is called lower cut-off
frequency and f2 is known as upper cut-
off frequency.
 MULTI STAGE TRANSISTOR AMPLIFIER:-
• The output from a single stage amplifier is usually insufficient to drive an output
device. Practically the gain of a single amplifier is inadequate for real applications.
• Consequently, additional amplification over two or three stages is necessary. To
achieve this, the output of each amplifier stage is coupled in some way to the input of
the next stage. The resulting system is referred to as multistage amplifier.
• A transistor circuit containing more than one stage of amplification is known as
multistage transistor amplifier.
• In a multistage amplifier, a number of single amplifiers are connected in cascade
arrangement i.e. output of first stage is connected to the input of the second stage
through a suitable coupling device and so on.
• The purpose of coupling device (e.g. a capacitor, transformer etc.) is
(i) to transfer A.C. output of one stage to the input of the next stage and
(ii) to isolate the D.C. conditions of one stage from the next stage.

Fig.3.5 multistage amplifier

 1. R-C COUPLED TRANSISTOR AMPLIFIER:-:-
Fig shows two stages of an RC coupled amplifier. A coupling capacitor CC is used to
connect the output of first stage to the base (i.e. input) of the second stage and so on.

Fig.3.6 Circuit
Diagram of RC
Coupled CE
Transistor
Amplifier
 R-C COUPLED TRANSISTOR AMPLIFIER contd..
• This is the most popular type of
coupling because it is cheap and
provides excellent audio fidelity over
a wide range of frequency. It is
usually employed for voltage
amplification. Fig.3.6 RC Coupled CE Amplifier Circuit
• As the coupling from one stage to next is achieved by a coupling capacitor
followed by a connection to a shunt resistor, therefore, such amplifiers are
called Resistance - Capacitance coupled amplifiers.

• The resistances R1, R2 and RE form the biasing and stabilization network. The
emitter bypass capacitor offers low reactance path to the signal. Without it, the
voltage gain of each stage would be lost
 R-C COUPLED TRANSISTOR AMPLIFIER contd..
• OPERATION: When A.C. signal is applied to the
base of the first transistor, it appears in the
amplified form across its collector load RC.
• The amplified signal developed across
RC. is given to base of next stage through
coupling capacitor CC. The second stage
does further amplification of the signal Fig.3.6 RC Coupled CE Amplifier Circuit

• In this way, the cascaded (one after another) stages amplify the signal and
the over all gain is considerably increased.

• Capacitive reactance is inversely proportional to the frequency of an alternating

current (AC) signal passing through a capacitor.
• capacitive reactance, XC=1/(2fC)
20 log IAVI (dB)
R-C COUPLED TRANSISTOR AMPLIFIER contd..
Frequency Response
Fig shows the frequency response of a typical
RC coupled amplifier.
• The voltage gain drops off at low (< 50 Hz)
and high (> 20 kHz) frequencies whereas it is
uniform over mid-frequency range (50 Hz to
20 kHz).
• At low frequencies (< 50 Hz), the reactance
Fig.3.7 Frequency response curve
of coupling capacitor CC is quite high and for RC Coupled CE Amplifier Circuit
hence very small part of signal will pass from
one stage to the next stage.

• Also CE cannot shunt the emitter resistance RE effectively because of its large
reactance at low frequencies. These two factors cause a falling of voltage gain
at low frequencies
 R-C COUPLED TRANSISTOR AMPLIFIER contd..

Frequency Response
• At high frequencies (> 20 kHz) the reactance of CC is
very small and it behaves as a short circuit. These
increases the loading effect of next stage and serves
to reduce the voltage gain.
• Due to these two reason, the voltage gain drops off at
high frequency.

• At mid-frequencies (50 Hz to 20 kHz), the voltage gain of the amplifier is constant. The
effect of coupling capacitor in this frequency range is such so as to maintain a uniform
voltage gain.
• As the frequency increases in this range, reactance of CC decreases which tends to
increase the gain. However, at the same time, lower reactance means higher loading of
first stage and hence lower gain. These two factors almost cancel each other, resulting in a
uniform gain at mid-frequency.
R-C COUPLED TRANSISTOR AMPLIFIER contd..
ADVANTAGES:-
1. It has excellent frequency response. The
gain is constant over the audio frequency
range which is the region of most
importance for speech, music etc.
2. It has lower cost since it employs resistors
and capacitors which are cheap.
3. The circuit is very compact as the modern resistors and capacitors are small
and extremely light
R-C COUPLED TRANSISTOR AMPLIFIER contd..

DISADVANTAGES:-
1. The RC coupled amplifiers have low voltage and power gain. It is because
the low resistance presented by the input of each stage to the preceding
stage decreases the effective load resistance (RAC) and hence the gain.
2. They have the tendency to become noisy with age, particularly in moist
climates.
2. Impedance matching is poor. It is because the output impedance of RC
coupled amplifier is several hundred ohms whereas the input impedance
of a speaker is only a few ohms. Hence, little power will be transferred to
the speaker. Because of poor impedance matching, RC coupling is rarely used
in the final stages
R-C COUPLED TRANSISTOR AMPLIFIER contd..

Applications:-
1. The RC coupled amplifiers have excellent audio fidelity over a wide
range of frequency. Therefore, they are widely used as voltage
amplifiers e.g. in the initial stages of public address system.
2. If other type of coupling (e.g. transformer coupling) is employed in the
initial stages, this results in frequency distortion which may be amplified
in next stages.
INTRODUCTION TO FET
 Field Effect Transistor
Introduction:
 Both holes and electrons play part in the conduction process in Bipolar
Transistor (BJT).
 A good amplifier stage is one which has high input resistance and low output
resistance.
 The ordinary BJT has two principal disadvantages.
 (a) it has low input impedance because of forward biased emitter junction.
 (b) it has considerable noise level.
 Although low input impedance problem may be improved by careful design and
use of more than one transistor, yet it is difficult to achieve input impedance
more than a few mega ohms.
 The Field Effect Transistor (FET) has, by virtue of its construction and biasing,
large input impedance which may be more than 100 mega ohms.
 The FET is generally less noisy than the ordinary or bipolar transistor.
 It has integrated-circuit applications.
CLASSIFICATION OF FIELD EFFECT TRANSISTORS (Fig. 2.1)

Fig. 2.1 Classification of FET

 Difference between FET and BJT:
FET BJT
It means Field Effect Transistor It means Bipolar Junction Transistor
Its three terminals are Source, Gate & Drain Its terminals are Emitter, Base & Collector
It is Unipolar devices i.e. Current in the It is Bipolar devices i.e. Current in the device
device is carried either by electrons or holes. is carried by both electrons and holes
It is Voltage controlled device. i.e. Voltage at It is Current controlled device. i.e. Base
the gate or drain terminal controls the amount Current controls the amount of collector
of current flowing through the devices current flowing through the devices
It has very High Input Resistance and Low It has very Low Input Resistance and High
Output Resistance Output Resistance
Low noisy operation High noisy operation
It is Longer Life & High Efficiency. It is Shorter Life & Low Efficiency.
It is much simpler to fabricate as IC and It is comparatively difficult to fabricate as IC
occupies less space on IC. and occupies more space on IC than FET
It has Small gain bandwidth product. It has Large gain bandwidth product.
It has higher switching speed. It has lesser switching speed than FET
 MOSFET
• A Metal Oxide Semiconductor Field-effect Transistor
(MOSFET, MOS-FET, or MOS FET) is a field-effect transistor
(FET with an insulated gate) where the voltage determines
the conductivity of the device.
• MOSFETs are now even more common than BJTs in digital and Fig. 2.13 n – channel
analog circuits. MOSFET structure
• MOSFETs are particularly useful in amplifiers due to their input impedance being nearly
infinite which allows the amplifier to capture almost all the incoming signal. The main
advantage is that it requires almost no input current to control the load current and that’s
why choose MOSFET over BJT.
• It is a four-terminal device with Source (S), Drain (D), Gate (G), and body (B) terminals. The
body (B) is frequently connected to the source terminal, reducing the terminals to three. It
works by varying the width of a channel along which charge carriers flow (electrons or
holes).
 MOSFET contd..
• The charge carriers enter the channel at the source and
exit via the drain.
• The width of the channel is controlled by the voltage on an
electrode called Gate which is located between the source
and the drain. It is insulated from the channel near an
Fig. 2.13 n – channel
extremely thin layer of metal oxide. MOSFET structure
Different Types of MOSFET
1. Depletion type MOSFET (D-MOSFET) : The transistor requires the Gate-Source voltage
(VGS) to switch the device “OFF”. The depletion-mode MOSFET is equivalent to a “Normally
Closed” switch.
2. Enhancement Mode (E-MOSFET): The transistor requires a Gate-Source voltage(VGS) to
switch the device “ON”. The enhancement mode MOSFET is equivalent to a “Normally Open”
switch.
With respect to the working principle, MOSFET is classified as follows:
• P-Channel Depletion MOSFET ; P-Channel Enhancement MOSFET
• N-Channel Depletion MOSFET ; N-Channel Enhancement MOSFET
 MOSFET -Construction
• N-Channel MOSFET: The drain and source are
heavily doped n+ region and the substrate is in p
type. The current flows due to the flow of
negatively charged electrons and that’s why known
as n-channel MOSFET.
• When the positive gate voltage is applied, the
holes present beneath the oxide layer
experience repulsive force and are pushed
downward into the substrate, the depletion
region is populated by the bound negative
charges which are associated with the acceptor
atoms.
• The positive gate voltage also attracts
electrons from the N+ source and drain and
thus an electron-rich channel is formed. Fig. 2.15 N– channel MOSFET structure
 MOSFET - Construction
• P-Channel MOSFET: The drain and source are
heavily doped P+ region and the substrate is in N-
type. The current flows due to the flow of positively
charged holes, and that’s why known as p-channel
MOSFET.
• When the negative gate voltage is applied, the
electrons present beneath the oxide layer
experience repulsive force and are pushed
downward into the substrate, the depletion
region is populated by the bound positive
charges which are associated with the donor
atoms.
• The negative gate voltage also attracts holes Fig. 2.14 p– channel MOSFET structure
from the P+ source and drain region into the
channel region.
 Construction of N-Channel Enhancement MOSFET (E-MOSFET)
• The body (substrate) of any N-channel Enhancement MOSFET (E-MOSFET) is
made up of lightly doped P-type material. Two N-type materials are diffused at
the top.
• A metal contact is made at the top of both the N-type materials, and two
terminals are taken out as Drain and source.
• A Silicon dioxide layer is grown over the surface of the structure. A metal contact
is made at the top of it and a terminal is taken out called a Gate terminal. So it is
a 3-terminal device, and the substrate (body - B) terminal is connected to source
and is grounded.
• In this structure a parallel plate capacitor is formed with the metal area of gate
and semiconductor channel acting as the electrodes of the capacitor and oxide
layer acts as the dielectric between the electrodes. Since the gate has been
insulated by means of SiO2 layer, this type of FET is also called Insulated Gate
FET.
• The E-MOSFET does not have any channel present.
Ref: https://www.electronicsforu.com/technology-trends/learn-electronics/mosfet-basics-working-applications
• N-Channel Enhancement • P-Channel Enhancement
MOSFET MOSFET
 E-MOSFET Working contd.
• A voltage applied at the gate and the source terminal
keeping the Gate at a higher potential. This voltage
is called VGS.
• The free electrons will move toward the gate
terminal. Hence these free electrons will accumulate
near the Gate region and will not escape. The silicon
dioxide layer also acts as a dielectric. It will allow Fig. 2.16 Constructional diagram of
more free electrons to accumulate near the gate N – channel E-MOSFET
terminal in less applied voltage at the gate terminal.
• Now on increasing VGS further, a high electric field is developed forcing atoms
inside the P substrate to break. Thus, holes are pushed away from the gate
terminal increasing N-type behavior near the gate terminal.
• A time will come when an N-channel is created between the two N wells. The
VGS voltage at which the channel is created is called the threshold voltage or
VT. So when VGS > VT an N channel is induced near the gate terminal as shown in
the Fig. 2.16.
 E-MOSFET Working contd.
• A channel is created still are not getting any current.
• Apply a voltage source between the drain and the source
keeping the drain at a higher potential. This voltage is
called VDS. On applying this voltage, current will start
flowing from drain to source. This current is called drain
current ID.
• So, when VGS > VT and VDS > 0, the current ID flows from Fig. 2.16 Constructional diagram of
drain to source as shown in the Fig. 2.16. N– channel E-MOSFET
• On increasing the positive voltage at the drain terminal a reverse bias is formed at the PN
junction near the drain terminal. This will result in a thick depletion region near the PN
junction. Hence on increasing VDS further, the channel near the drain terminal is becoming
narrow. The drain current will face more resistance near the drain terminal.
• A situation will reach when the drain current becomes constant and will not increase further.
And situation is called the pinch-off situation and the drain current is called the saturation
current. The voltage at which saturation current occurs is called saturation voltage.
• So pinch-off is reached when VGS > 0 (constant) and VDS = VDS(SAT), ID = ID(SAT)
 E-MOSFET Working contd.
• But ID can further increased by increasing the value of VGS. This will increase the
width of the complete N-channel. Hence VGS is controlling voltage. Drain current is
enhanced by positive voltage on the gate and hence the name Enhancement
MOSFET.

Fig. 2.16 Constructional diagram of n

– channel E-MOSFET Fig. 2.17 symbol of n-channel D- and E MOSFETs
https://youtu.be/rkbjHNEKcRw
P-CHANNEL E-MOSFET
 E-MOSFET – Output characteristics. (I-V)
• The Circuit diagram to plot the
output characteristics of an E-
MOSFET is shown in Fig, 2.18.
(Note: Numeric values can be
used for plotting the curves
practically).
• The plot of ID vs VDS at constant
VGS provide the output
characteristics of the CS
configuration..

Fig. 2.18 E-MOSFET CS configuration circuit and output characteristics

 E-MOSFET – Output characteristics. (I-V)
• Fix the value of VGS = 6V (say).
• Vary VDS and note down the values of ID.
• Plot the curve ID vs VDS
• Continue the process for different values VGS = 7V,
8V and so on and plot number of curves.
• From the graph, it is clear that the current ID will
become constant at a specific value of VDS.
• The current ID increases only when the value of
VGS is increased
• The cut-off, Saturation and active regions are Fig. 2.19 E-MOSFET output characteristics
specified in the curve (Fig. 2.19)
 DEPLETION TYPE MOSFET (D-MOSFET)
Construction of D-MOSFET
• Figure shows the structure of an N-channel depletion-type
MOSFET. A block of high-resistance, P-type silicon forms
the substrate or the body (B). It provides physical support to
the device.
N+
• Two heavily doped N-type wells are created on the surface
of the block. These are labelled as N+ in the figure.
• In between these two wells, there is a lightly doped N region
which makes the channel. N+

• A thin layer of an insulating material-silicon oxide (SiO2) is

deposited along the surface. Two metal contacts penetrate
the silicon oxide layer to reach the two N+ wells. These
make the source (S) and the drain (D) terminals of the
device.
 DEPLETION TYPE MOSFET (D MOSFET)
Construction of D MOSFET
• There is no PN-junction formed between the gate and the
channel.
• Here, the silicon oxide layer insulates the gate from the
channel. Also note that while going form gate to channel, we
come across Metal, Oxide and Semiconductor, in that
sequence. Hence the name MOSFET. N
• It is obvious that a P-channel D-MOSFET is made from a
lightly doped N substrate.
• The drain and source are heavily doped p+ wells. In
between these well, there is a lightly doped P region which
makes the channel.
 Working Principle of D MOSFET
• As shown in Fig. a voltage source VDS is connected between
the drain and source, making the drain (D) positive with
respect to the source (S). The body (B) is usually connected
to the source (S), as shown in the figure.
• Make the gate negative with respect to the source by
connecting a battery VGS· The gate being at negative voltage
with respect to the body, an electric field(having direction
from channel to the gate) is created in the channel. This field
repels the electrons away from the portion of the channel near
the SiO2 layer.
• This portion is therefore depleted of the carriers. The channel
width is effectively reduced. The narrower the channel, the
greater is its resistance, and the smaller is the current from
drain to source. It means that by varying the gate voltage VGS,
the drain current ID can be controlled. In a MOSFET the
channel width is controlled by the action of the electric field.
 Working Principle of D-MOSFET
• When VGS is made positive, the field thus produced
attracts more electrons into the channel from N' region.
This increases or enhances the conductivity of the
channel.
• As a result, the drain current increases. Thus, in a D-
MOSFET the gate voltage can be varied through both
negative and positive values to control the drain current.
• In other words, a D-MOSFET is capable of working in both
the depletion and the enhancement mode.
Symbol
E MOSFET D MOSFET