American International University- Bangladesh (AIUB)

Faculty of Engineering (FE)

Course Name: ELECTRONIC DEVICES LAB Course Code: EEE 2104

Semester: FALL 2024-2025 Sec: GG
Lab Instructor: DR. EFFAT JAHAN Group: 05

Experiment No: 08
Bipolar Junction Transistor (BJT): Study of Single Stage Transistor Common Emitter
Experiment Name:
Amplifier.

Submitted by MD. MUSFIQUR RAHMAN Student ID: 23-53062-3

Group Members ID Name

1. 23-53062-3 MD. MUSFIQUR RAHMAN
2. 23-53041-3 SHANJIDA KAMAL
3. 23-53044-3 ZIDAN
4. 23-53090-3 MADHURIMA GHOSH DIYA
5. 23-53083-3 ANNAFI ANIS
6. 23-55552-3 MD. TASLIMUL MAHBUB JITU

Performance Date: 02/01/2025 Due Date: 09/01/2025

Marking Rubrics (to be filled by Lab Instructor)
Proficient Good Acceptable Secured
Category Unacceptable [1]
[6] [4] [2] Marks
Theoretical
All information, All Information Most information is
Background, Much information is
measures and variables provided is sufficient, correct, but some
Methods missing and/or
are provided and but more explanation is information may be
& procedures inaccurate.
explained. needed. missing or inaccurate.
sections
Most criteria are met, Experimental results don’t
All the criteria are met; Experimental results
but there may be some match exactly with
Results results are described are missing or
lack of clarity and/or theoretical values and/or
clearly and accurately; incorrect;
incorrect information. analysis is unclear.
Hypotheses are clearly
Demonstrates thorough Conclusions don’t
stated, but some Some hypotheses are
and sophisticated match hypotheses, not
concluding statements missing or misstated;
Discussion understanding. supported by data; no
are not supported by conclusions not supported
Conclusions drawn are integration of data
data or data not well by data.
appropriate for analyses; from different sources.
integrated.
Title page, placement of
figures and figure
Minor errors in Major errors and/or Not proper style in
General formatting captions, and other
formatting. missing information. text.
formatting issues all
correct.
Writing is strong and Writing is clear and
easy to understand; ideas easy to understand; Most of the required
are fully elaborated and ideas are connected; criteria are met, but some
Writing & connected; effective effective transitions lack of clarity, Very unclear, many
organization transitions between between sentences; typographic, spelling, or errors.
sentences; no minor typographic, grammatical errors are
typographic, spelling, or spelling, or present.
grammatical errors. grammatical errors.
Total Marks
Comments:
(Out of ):
1. Problem Statement: Bipolar Junction Transistor (BJT): Study of Single Stage Transistor
Common Emitter Amplifier.

2. Objectives:
The main objectives of this experiment are to-
 Trace the circuit diagram of a single stage transistor Amplifier;
 Measure Beta (β) of the transistor with multimeter.
 Measure the Q – Point.
 Measure the maximum signal that can be amplified with the amplifier without
any distortion.
 Measure the voltage gain of the amplifier at 1KHz.
 Measure the voltage gain of the amplifier at different values of load resistance.

3. Introduction:
The aim of the ac analysis is to determine the Q point of a common emitter configuration
which will ensure an undistorted amplification of a signal. In this regard a Dc analysis will be
performed to adjust Q at a suitable location on the characteristic curve. After performing the
dc analysis, the small signal parameters will be calculated depending on the model being used.
Gain dependency on the load resistors will also be observed.

4. Theory:
The most common circuit configuration for an NPN transistor is that of the Common Emitter
Amplifier and that a family of curves known commonly as the Output Characteristics Curves,
relates the Collector current (IC), to the output or Collector voltage (VCE), for different values
of Base current (IB). All types of transistor amplifiers operate using AC signal inputs which
alternate between a positive value and a negative value. Presetting the amplifier circuit to
operate between these two maximum or peak values is achieved using a process known as
Biasing. Biasing is very important in amplifier design as it establishes the correct operating
point of the transistor amplifier ready to receive signals, thereby reducing any distortion to the
output signal.
The single stage common emitter amplifier circuit shown below uses what is commonly called
"Voltage Divider Biasing". The Base voltage (VB) can be easily calculated using the simple
voltage divider formula below:

V CC R 2
V B=
R 1+ R 2

Thus, the base voltage is fixed by biasing and independent of base current provided the current
in the divider circuit is large compared to the base current. Thus, assuming IB ≈0, one can do
the approximate analysis of the voltage divider network without using the transistor gain, β, in
the calculation. Note that the approximate approach can be applied with a high degree of
accuracy when the following condition is satisfied: βRE ≥ 10R2.
 Fig. 1: Single Stage Transistor Common Emitter Amplifier

Load line and Q-point:

A static or DC load line can be drawn onto the output characteristics curves of the transistor to
show all the possible operating points of the transistor from fully “ON”
V CC
I C=
R C + RE
to fully "OFF" (IC = 0). The quiescent operating point or Q-point is a point on this load line which
represents the values of IC and VCE that exist in the circuit when no input signal is applied.
Knowing VB, IC and VCE can be calculated to locate the operating point of the circuit as follows:

VE = VB −VBE

So, the emitter current,

VE
I E =I C = and VCC – IC (RC + RE)
RE
It can be noted here that the sequence of calculation does not need the knowledge of β and IB is
not calculated. So, the Q-point is stable against any replacement of the transistor. Since the aim of
any small signal amplifier is to generate an amplified input signal at the output with minimum
distortion possible, the best position for this Q-point is as close to the center position of the load
line as reasonably possible, thereby producing a Class A type amplifier operation, i.e.

VCE = ½ VCC

Coupling and Bypass Capacitors:

In CE amplifier circuits, capacitors C1 and C2 are used as Coupling Capacitors to separate the AC
signals from the DC biasing voltage. The capacitors will only pass AC signals and block any DC
component. Thus, they allow coupling of the AC signal into an amplifier stage without disturbing
its Q point. The output AC signal is then superimposed on the biasing of the following stages.
Also, a bypass capacitor, CE is included in the Emitter leg circuit. This capacitor is an open circuit
component for DC bias, meaning that the biasing currents and voltages are not affected by the
addition of the capacitor maintaining a good Q-point stability.
However, this bypass capacitor acts as a short circuit path across the emitter resistor at high
frequency signals increasing the voltage gain to its maximum. Generally, the value of the bypass
capacitor, CE is chosen to provide a reactance of at most, 1/10th the value of RE at the lowest
operating signal frequency.
Amplifier Operation:

Once the Q-point is fixed through DC bias, an AC signal is applied at the input using
coupling capacitor C1. During the positive half cycle of the signal VBE increases leading to
increased IB. Therefore, IC increases by β times leading to decrease in the output voltage,
VCE. Thus, the CE amplifier produces an amplified output with a phase reversal. The voltage
Gain of the common emitter amplifier is equal to the ratio of the change in the output voltage
to the change in the input voltage. Thus,
AV = Vout / Vin = ∆VCE/ ∆𝑉𝐵𝐸
The input (Zi) and output (Zo) impedances of the circuit can be computed for the case when
the emitter resistor RE is completely bypassed by the capacitor, CE:

Zi = R1 || R2 || 𝛽𝑟𝑒 and Z0 = RC || r0

Where, re (26mV/IE) and ro are the emitter diode resistance and output dynamic resistance
(can be determined from output characteristics of transistor). Usually ro≥10 RC, thus the gain
can be approximated as

The negative sign accounts for the phase reversal at the output. In the circuit diagram
provided below, the emitter resistor is split into two to reduce the gain to avoid distortion. So
the expression for gain is modified as,

5. Pre-lab homework:
Read about single stage transistor amplifier and their equivalent models from
“Microelectronic Circuits” by A.S. Sedra, K.C. Smith and use Pspice to generate the output
of the circuits provided in this lab sheet. Compare the graphs given in the textbook with your
results. Save the simulation results and bring it to the lab.
In order to analyze the single stage CE amplifier, consider the circuit described in the above
figure 3. Hence do the following:

 Use “PSpice” to implement the above circuit using 2N2222 transistor.

 Determine the DC operation point values for VB, VC, VCE, VE, IC, and IB
 Perform a transient analysis of a sinusoidal input signal. The input signal V S exhibits
a frequency of 1 KHz and an amplitude 10 mV peak. Display the input voltage and
the voltage across load resistance RL together to see the transistor amplification
characteristics. Also display the base voltage VB.
6. Apparatus:

No. Apparatus Quantity

1 Transistor (C828) 1
2 33k, 10k, 4.7k, 1k, 3.3k, 1.5k, 330Ω Resistance 1 for each
3 Project Board 1
4 Cathode Ray Oscilloscope (CRO) 1
5 Multimeter 1
6 Signal Generator 1
7 100μF Capacitor 1
8 Probes 2
9 Power Supply Cable 2
7. Precaution:
Transistors are sensitive to be damaged by electrical overloads, heat, humidity, and
radiation. Damage of this nature often occurs by applying the incorrect polarity voltage
to the collector circuit or excessive voltage to the input circuit. One of the most
frequent causes of damage to a transistor is the electrostatic discharge from the human
body when the device is handled.

8. Circuit Diagram:

Fig. 2: Single Stage CE Amplifier

9. Experimental Procedure:
 Measure β of the transistor with multimeter.
 Calculate DC operating point of the transistor circuit.
 Implement the circuit as shown in the figure.
 Measure the operating point with the help of table: 1 and compare with your calculated
value.
 Feed ac Signal of 1 kHz at the input and observe the input and output on the CRO.
 Increase the input signal till the output wave shape starts getting distorted. Measure this
input signal. This is the maximum input signal that the amplifier can amplify without
any distortion.
 Now feed an ac signal that is less than the maximum signal handling capacity of the
amplifier. Fix the input signal frequency at 1 KHz, Draw the input and output voltage
wave shape and calculate gain.
 Connect different load resistors and find the voltage gain of the amplifier for each.
Hardware Implementation:
 Simulation

Fig 3: for BJT DC analysis (VDR) find Vc, Ic,VCE

Fig 4: input-output waveshapes and amplitude when load is RL=1kohms.

Fig 5: input-output waveshapes and amplitude when load is RL=4.7kohms.

Fig 6: input-output waveshapes and amplitude when load is RL=10kohms.

Fig 7: input-output waveshapes and amplitude when load is RL=85kohms.

10. Results and Observations:

a. Q – Point of the amplifier. (experimental)

VCC VC VCC - VC IC = (VCC-VC) / RC VCE
15V 11.49V 3.51V 7.47mA 7.31V

(Simulated) from fig : 3

VCC VC VCC - VC IC = (VCC-VC) / RC VCE

15V 11.538V 3.462V 7.37mA 7.392V

b. Voltage Gain of the amplifier:

(Experimental)
Load Resistor Input voltage Output Voltage Gain
1K 70mV = 0.07V 3.9 55.7

4.7K 0.07V 5.2 74.3

10K 0.07V 5.72 81.7

85K 0.07V 5.76 84.85

(simulated)
Load Resistor Input voltage Output Voltage Gain
1K 70mV = 0.07V 4.76 68

4.7K 0.07V 5.852 83.6

10K 0.07V 6.082 86.89

85K 0.07V 6.247 89.24

Gain Calculations:

We know, Gain = Output voltage / input voltage

Experimental Values, Simulated Values,

At 1Kohms, Gain = 3.9/0.07=55.71 ; Gain = 4.760/0.07=68

At 4.7Kohms, Gain = 5.2/0.07= 74.3 ; Gain = 5.852/0.07=83.6

At 10Kohms, Gain = 5.72/0.07=81.7 ; Gain = 6.082/0.07=86.89

At 85Kohms, Gain = 5.76/0.07=84.85 ; Gain = 6.247/0.07=89.24

11. Question & answer:

Why do we need all of the capacitors and resistors shown in the circuit?
Ans: In a common emitter amplifier circuit, capacitors and resistors play critical roles in
achieving proper biasing, stability, coupling, and amplification. Let's delve into the functions
of each component and the equations governing their behavior:

DC Biasing Resistors (R1 and R2): Biasing resistors R1 and R2 form a voltage divider
network to establish a stable bias voltage at the base of the transistor. The bias voltage

voltage 𝑉BBVBB is given by: VBB=𝑉CC×𝑅2𝑅1+𝑅2VBB=VCC×R1+R2R2. This voltage

ensures that the transistor operates in its active region for linear amplification. The base bias

biases the base-emitter junction appropriately for amplification.

Emitter Resistor (Re): The emitter resistor Re provides stability to the DC biasing and
controls the DC emitter current (Ie). It also helps to provide negative feedback, which

approximated as: 𝐼E≈𝑉BB−𝑉BE𝑅EIE≈REVBB−VBE. Where 𝑉BEVBE is the base-

improves the stability and linearity of the amplifier. The DC emitter current can be

emitter voltage drop.

Coupling Capacitors (C1 and C2): Coupling capacitors C1 and C2 block DC components
while allowing AC signals to pass through, ensuring proper biasing and preventing signal

reactance of a capacitor at a given frequency is 𝑋C=12𝜋𝑓𝐶XC=2πfC1, ensuring that they

distortion.C1 blocks DC voltage at the input, while C2 blocks DC at the output. The

act as short circuits for AC signals while blocking DC.

Collector Resistor (Rc):The load resistor Rc is connected to the collector and forms the
output stage of the amplifier.It converts the collector current variations into voltage variations

𝐴𝑣≈−𝑅c𝑅EAv≈−RERc.This equation shows that the voltage gain is inversely proportional

at the output.The voltage gain (𝐴𝑣Av) of the amplifier is approximately:

to the emitter resistor.

Load resistor(Rl): The load resistor (RLR_LRL) in this experiment is used to observe the
dependence of the voltage gain of the amplifier on the load resistance. Specifically, the load
resistor affects the output voltage and, consequently, the amplifier's overall gain. By varying
RLR_LRL, the experiment helps to determine how the amplifier's performance changes with
different load conditions, which is crucial for designing circuits tailored to specific
applications.

12. Discussion:
The purpose of this experiment was fulfilled which was study of single stage transistor
common emitter amplifier. All the values were taken precisely. Although there can be little
errors due to weaken connections. Transistor C828 was used to amplify signals but 2N2222
was used for simulations. Both transistor is NPN and almost equivalent. Due to weaken
signal in experimental process the gain was not that perfect compared to the simulations
result. But finally, the signals were amplified.
13. References:
a) American International University–Bangladesh (AIUB) Electronic Devices Lab
Manual.
b) A.S. Sedra, K.C. Smith, “Microelectronic Circuits,” Oxford University Press (1998).
c) J. Keown, ORCAD PSpice and Circuit Analysis, Prentice Hall Press (2001)
d) P. Horowitz, W. Hill, “The Art of Electronics,” Cambridge University Press (1989).