EXPERIMENT NO.

AIM :To obtain frequency response of single stage transistor amplifier.

OBJECTIVES: At the end of the module, the student would be able to:

 Explain RC Voltage Dividers

 Explain RC Circuit as a Low Pass Filter
 Explain RC Circuit as a High Pass Filter

APPARATUS: Single-stage transistor amplifier circuit, Signal generator, Oscilloscope,

Multimeter, Power supply

THEORY:

RC Circuit as Filters

A filter is a circuit that allows to pass a specified range of frequency components, while
blocking or “attenuating” the rest according to the frequency range of signals. The most
commonly used filter designs are as follows:

1. The Low Pass Filter- Filter passes low frequencies and blocks high frequencies.It only
allows low frequency signals from 0Hz to its cut-off frequency, ((f_{C})) point to pass
while blocking those any higher.
2. The High Pass Filter-Filter passes high frequencies and blocks low frequencies. It only
allows high frequency signals from its cut-off frequency, ((f_{C})) point and higher to
infinity to pass through while blocking those any lower.
3. The Band Pass Filter- Filter passes only a relatively narrow range of frequencies. It
allows signals falling within a certain frequency band setup between two points to pass
through while blocking both the lower and higher frequencies either side of this
frequency band.

Filters can also be classified according to the types of components that are used to implement
the circuit. Passive filters are made up of passive components such as resistors, capacitors and
inductors and have no amplifying elements (transistors, op-amps, etc) so have no signal gain,
therefore their output level is always less than the input.

TRC Voltage Dividers

 Figure 1 Figure 2
Let us consider RC circuits as voltage dividers to understand how they would perform as
‘filters’. Note that Vout = ( Z2/ Z1 + Z2 )*Vin. In this case – Since Z1 or Z2 is dependent
upon frequency, the output is dependent upon the frequency of the input waveform.

Figure 3
RC as Low Pass filter

A simple passive RC Low Pass Filter or LPF, can be easily made by connecting together in
series a single Resistor with a single Capacitor as shown below .

Figure 4
 In this type of filter arrangement the input signal (Vin) is applied to the series combination
(both the Resistor and Capacitor together) but the output signal (V out) is taken across the
capacitor only. The reactance of a capacitor varies inversely with frequency, while the value
of the resistor remains constant as the frequency changes. At low frequencies the capacitive
reactance, (XC) of the capacitor will be very large compared to the resistive value of the
resistor,R. Voltage across the capacitor will be much larger than the voltage drop developed
across the resistor. At high frequencies the reverse is true with (V C) being small and (VR)
being large due to the change in the capacitive reactance value. Thus, low frequencies are
passed and high frequencies are blocked.

Cut-off Frequency

The cutoff frequency of an RC low-pass filter is the frequency at which the amplitude of the
input signal is reduced by 3 dB (this value was chosen because a 3 dB reduction in amplitude
corresponds to a 50% reduction in power). Thus, the cutoff frequency is also called the –3 dB
frequency. The term bandwidth refers to the width of a filter’s passband, and in the case of a
low-pass filter, the bandwidth is equal to the –3 dB frequency The cutoff frequency (fc) of an
RC low-pass filter is calculated as follows:

1
2𝜋𝑅𝐿 𝐶𝐿

Capacitive Reactance The reactance of a capacitor indicates the amount of opposition to current
flow, but unlike resistance, the amount of opposition depends on the frequency of the signal
passing through the capacitor. Thus, to calculate reactance at a specific frequency, following
equation is used:

1
𝑋𝐶 =
2𝜋𝑓𝐶𝐿

𝑍 = √𝑅𝐿2 + 𝑋𝐶2

𝑋𝐶
𝑀𝑎𝑔𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑢𝑑𝑒 = 20𝑙𝑜𝑔( )
𝑍
𝑋𝐶
𝑉𝑜𝑢𝑡 = 𝑉𝑖𝑛 ( )
𝑍
Low-Pass Filter Phase Shift
Each reactive element in a circuit introduces 90° of phase shift, but this phase shift does not
happen all at once. The phase of the output signal, just like the magnitude of the output signal,
changes gradually as the input frequency increases. In an RC low-pass filter, we have one
reactive element i.e. the capacitor, and consequently the circuit will eventually introduce 90°
of phase shift.

𝜙 = −𝑎𝑟𝑐𝑡𝑎𝑛(23.14𝑓𝐶𝐿 𝑅𝐿 )

High pass filter

A simple passive RC High Pass Filter or HPF, can be easily made by connecting together in
series a single Resistor with a single Capacitor as shown below. In this type of filter
arrangement the input signal (Vin) is applied to the series combination (both the Resistor and
Capacitor together) but the output signal (Vout) is taken across the resistor only.

Figure 5

In this circuit, the reactance of the capacitor is very high at low frequencies so the capacitor
acts like an open circuit and blocks any input signals at (V in) until the cut-off frequency point
(fC) is reached. Above this cut-off frequency point the reactance of the capacitor has reduced
sufficiently as to now act more like a short circuit allowing all of the input signal to pass directly
to the output as shown below in the filters response curve.

𝑅
𝑀𝑎𝑔𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑢𝑑𝑒 = 20log( )
𝑍
𝑅
𝑉𝑜𝑢𝑡 = 𝑉𝑖𝑛 ( )
𝑍
Procedure

I .Frequency Response of RC Low Pass Filter

1. Set Load Resistance(RL)=10 KΩ.

2. Set Load Capacitor(CL)=0.01nF.
3. The source voltage (Vin) is set to 10V.
4. Keeping source voltage constant, vary the frequency from 50 Hz in regular steps.
5. Click on "Add to Table" button to add the readings to the table.
6. Vary the Frequency by keeping the load resistances and load capacitance constant.
7. Select "Plot" button to plot the frequency graph or the phase graph of the RC frequency,
Frequency(Hz) along X-axis and Magnitude(dB) along Y-axis.
8. Click on "Clear" button to take another set of readings.
II.Frequency Response of RC High Pass Filter

1. Set Load Resistance(RL)=10 KΩ.

2. Set Load Capacitor(CL)=1.91nF.
3. The source voltage (Vin) is set to 10V.
4. Keeping source voltage constant, vary the frequency from 50 Hz in regular steps.
5. Click on "Add to Table" button to add the readings to the table.
6. Vary the Frequency by keeping the load resistances and load capacitance constant.
7. Select "Plot" button to plot the frequency graph or the phase graph of the RC frequency,
Frequency(Hz) along X-axis and Magnitude(dB) along Y-axis.
8. Click on "Clear" button to take another set of readings.
Observation Table

I.Frequency Response of RC Low Pass Filter

Serial
Frequency(Hz) Magnitude(dB) Phase(theta) Output Voltage(V)
No.

II.Frequency Response of RC High Pass Filter

Serial
Frequency(Hz) Magnitude(dB) Phase(theta) Output Voltage(V)
No.

PRECAUTIONS:

1. Check Connections: Ensure all components are connected correctly.

2. Control Input Signal: Set frequency and amplitude within limits to avoid distortion.

3. Calibrate Instruments: Ensure measurement tools are configured accurately.

RESULT: