Methods of Transistor Biasing

The biasing in t ransist or circuit s is done by using t wo DC sources VBB and VCC. It is economical
t o minimize t he DC source t o one supply inst ead of t wo which also makes t he circuit simple.

The commonly used met hods of t ransist or biasing are

Base Resist or met hod

Collect or t o Base bias

Biasing wit h Collect or feedback resist or

Volt age-divider bias

All of t hese met hods have t he same basic principle of obt aining t he required value of I B and I C
from VCC in t he zero signal condit ions.

Base Resistor Method

In t his met hod, a resist or RB of high resist ance is connect ed in base, as t he name implies. The
required zero signal base current is provided by VCC which flows t hrough RB. The base emit t er
junct ion is forward biased, as base is posit ive wit h respect t o emit t er.

The required value of zero signal base current and hence t he collect or current (as I C = βI B) can
be made t o flow by select ing t he proper value of base resist or RB. Hence t he value of RB is t o be
known. The figure below shows how a base resist or met hod of biasing circuit looks like.
Let I C be t he required zero signal collect or current . Therefore,

IC
IB =
β

Considering t he closed circuit from VCC, base, emit t er and ground, while applying t he Kirchhoff’s
volt age law, we get ,

VCC = IB RB + VBE

Or

IB RB = VCC − VBE

Therefore

VCC − VBE
RB =
IB

Since VBE is generally quit e small as compared t o VCC, t he former can be neglect ed wit h lit t le
error. Then,

VCC
RB =
IB

We know t hat VCC is a fixed known quant it y and I B is chosen at some suit able value. As RB can be
found direct ly, t his met hod is called as fixed bias method.
St abilit y fact or

β + 1
S =
dIB
1 − β( )
dIC

In fixed-bias met hod of biasing, I B is independent of I C so t hat ,

dIB
= 0
dIC

Subst it ut ing t he above value in t he previous equat ion,

St abilit y fact or, S = β + 1

Thus t he st abilit y fact or in a fixed bias is (β+1) which means t hat I C changes (β+1) t imes as much
as any change in I CO.

Advantages

The circuit is simple.

Only one resist or RE is required.

Biasing condit ions are set easily.

No loading effect as no resist or is present at base-emit t er junct ion.

Disadvantages

The st abilizat ion is poor as heat development can’t be st opped.

The st abilit y fact or is very high. So, t here are st rong chances of t hermal run away.

Hence, t his met hod is rarely employed.

Collector to Base Bias

The collect or t o base bias circuit is same as base bias circuit except t hat t he base resist or RB is
ret urned t o collect or, rat her t han t o VCC supply as shown in t he figure below.
This circuit helps in improving t he st abilit y considerably. If t he value of I C increases, t he volt age
across RL increases and hence t he VCE also increases. This in t urn reduces t he base current I B.
This act ion somewhat compensat es t he original increase.

The required value of RB needed t o give t he zero signal collect or current I C can be calculat ed as
follows.

Volt age drop across RL will be

RL = ( IC + IB ) RL ≅ IC RL

From t he figure,

IC RL + IB RB + VBE = VCC

Or

IB RB = VCC − VBE − IC RL

Therefore
 VCC − VBE − IC RL
RB =
IB

Or

( VCC − VBE − IC RL )β
RB =
IC

Applying KVL we have

( IB + IC ) RL + IB RB + VBE = VCC

Or

IB ( RL + RB ) + IC RL + VBE = VCC

Therefore

VCC − VBE − IC RL
IB =
RL + RB

Since VBE is almost independent of collect or current , we get

dIB RL
= −
dIC RL + RB

We know t hat

1 + β
S =
1 − β(dIB /dIC )

Therefore

1 + β
S =
RL
1 + β( )
RL + RB

This value is smaller t han (1+β) which is obt ained for fixed bias circuit . Thus t here is an
improvement in t he st abilit y.

This circuit provides a negat ive feedback which reduces t he gain of t he amplifier. So t he
increased st abilit y of t he collect or t o base bias circuit is obt ained at t he cost of AC volt age gain.

Biasing with Collector Feedback resistor

In t his met hod, t he base resist or RB has it s one end connect ed t o base and t he ot her t o t he
collect or as it s name implies. In t his circuit , t he zero signal base current is det ermined by VCB but
not by VCC.
It is clear t hat VCB forward biases t he base-emit t er junct ion and hence base current I B flows
t hrough RB. This causes t he zero signal collect or current t o flow in t he circuit . The below figure
shows t he biasing wit h collect or feedback resist or circuit .

The required value of RB needed t o give t he zero signal current I C can be det ermined as follows.

VCC = IC RC + IB RB + VBE

Or

VCC − VBE − IC RC
RB =
IB

VCC − VBE − βIB RC

=
IB

Since IC = βIB

Alt ernat ively,

VCE = VBE + VCB

Or

VCB = VCE − VBE

Since
 VCB VCE − VBE
RB = =
IB IB

Where

IC
IB =
β

Mat hemat ically,

St abilit y fact or, S < (β + 1)

Therefore, t his met hod provides bet t er t hermal st abilit y t han t he fixed bias.

The Q-point values for t he circuit are shown as

VCC − VBE
IC =
RB /β + RC

VCE = VCC − IC RC

Advantages

The circuit is simple as it needs only one resist or.

This circuit provides some st abilizat ion, for lesser changes.

Disadvantages

The circuit doesn’t provide good st abilizat ion.

The circuit provides negat ive feedback.

Voltage Divider Bias Method

Among all t he met hods of providing biasing and st abilizat ion, t he voltage divider bias method is
t he most prominent one. Here, t wo resist ors R1 and R2 are employed, which are connect ed t o
VCC and provide biasing. The resist or RE employed in t he emit t er provides st abilizat ion.

The name volt age divider comes from t he volt age divider formed by R1 and R2. The volt age drop
across R2 forward biases t he base-emit t er junct ion. This causes t he base current and hence
collect or current flow in t he zero signal condit ions. The figure below shows t he circuit of volt age
divider bias met hod.
Suppose t hat t he current flowing t hrough resist ance R1 is I 1. As base current I B is very small,
t herefore, it can be assumed wit h reasonable accuracy t hat current flowing t hrough R2 is also I 1.

Now let us t ry t o derive t he expressions for collect or current and collect or volt age.

Collector Current, IC

From t he circuit , it is evident t hat ,

VCC
I1 =
R1 + R2

Therefore, t he volt age across resist ance R2 is

 VCC
V2 = ( ) R2
R1 + R2

Applying Kirchhoff’s volt age law t o t he base circuit ,

V2 = VBE + VE

V2 = VBE + IE RE

V2 − VBE
IE =
RE

Since I E ≈ I C,

V2 − VBE
IC =
RE

From t he above expression, it is evident t hat I C doesn’t depend upon β. VBE is very small t hat I C
doesn’t get affect ed by VBE at all. Thus I C in t his circuit is almost independent of t ransist or
paramet ers and hence good st abilizat ion is achieved.

Collector-Emitter Voltage, VCE

Applying Kirchhoff’s volt age law t o t he collect or side,

VCC = IC RC + VCE + IE RE

Since I E ≅ I C

= IC RC + VCE + IC RE

= IC ( RC + RE ) + VCE

Therefore,

VCE = VCC − IC ( RC + RE )

RE provides excellent st abilizat ion in t his circuit .

V2 = VBE + IC RE

Suppose t here is a rise in t emperat ure, t hen t he collect or current I C decreases, which causes t he
volt age drop across RE t o increase. As t he volt age drop across R2 is V2, which is independent of
I C, t he value of VBE decreases. The reduced value of I B t ends t o rest ore I C t o t he original value.

Stability Factor
The equat ion for Stability factor of t his circuit is obt ained as

(β+1)(R0 + R3 )
St abilit y Fact or = S =
R0 + RE +β RE

R0
1 +
RE
= (β + 1) ×
R0
β + 1 +
RE

Where

R1 R2
R0 =
R1 + R2

If t he rat io R0/RE is very small, t hen R0/RE can be neglect ed as compared t o 1 and t he st abilit y
fact or becomes

St abilit y Fact or = S = (β + 1) ×
1

β+1
= 1

This is t he smallest possible value of S and leads t o t he maximum possible t hermal st abilit y.