Common Emitter Characteristics

Transistor Amplifier Basics
It is critical to understand the notation used

for voltages and currents in the following
discussion of transistor amplifiers.
This is therefore dealt with explicitly up
front.
As with dynamic resistance in diodes we
will be dealing with a.c. signals
superimposed on d.c. bias levels.
We will use a capital (upper case) letter for
a d.c. quantity (e.g. I, V).
We will use a lower case letter for a time
varying (a.c.) quantity (e.g. i, v)
These primary quantities will also need a subscript
identifier (e.g. is it the base current or the collector
current?).
For d.c. levels this subscript will be in upper case.
We will use a lower case subscript for the a.c.
signal bit (e.g. i
b
).
And an upper case subscript for the total time
varying signal (i.e. the a.c. signal bit plus the d.c.
bias) (e.g. i
B
).This will be less common.

0
i
b

+
I
B

=
i
B

It is convention to refer all transistor
voltages to the common terminal.
Thus in the CE configuration we would
write V
CE
for a d.c. collector emitter voltage
and V
BE
for a d.c. base emitter voltage.
Common Emitter Characteristics
For the present we consider DC behaviour
and assume that we are working in the
normal linear amplifier regime with the
BE junction forward biased and the CB
junction reverse biased

Treating the transistor as a current node:

Also:

co E C I I I + =
B C E I I I + =
Hence:

which after some rearrangement gives

CO B C C I ) I I + + ( =
|
.
|
\
|
+
|
.
|
\
|
1
=
- 1
ICO
C B I I
o
o
Define a common emitter current-transfer
ratio |

Such that:

|
.
|
\
|
=
1
|
.
|
\
|
+ =
- 1
I
I I
CO
B C
Since reverse saturation current is negligible
the second term on the right hand side of
this equation can usually be neglected (even
though (1- ) is small)
Thus

B C I I ~
We note, in passing that, if can be regarded as a
constant for a given transistor then

For a practical (non-ideal) transistor this is only
true at a particular bias (operating) point.

b c i i ~
A small change in causes a much bigger
change in which means that can vary
significantly, even from transistor to
transistor of the same type.
We must try and allow for these variations
in circuit design.


For example;
= 0.98, = 49
= 0.99, = 99
= 0.995, =199


| is also known as h
FE
and may appear on
data sheets and in some textbooks as such.

For a given transistor type data sheets may
specify a range of | values
The behaviour of the transistor can be
represented by current-voltage (I-V) curves
(called the characteristic curves of the
device).
As noted previously in the common emitter
(CE) configuration the input is between the
base and the emitter and the output is
between the collector and the emitter.
We can therefore draw an input
characteristic (plotting base current I
B
against base-emitter voltage V
BE
) and
an output characteristic (plotting collector
current I
c
against collector-emitter voltage
V
CE
)

We will be using these characteristic curves
extensively to understand:
How the transistor operates as a linear
amplifier for a.c. signals.
The need to superimpose the a.c. signals on
d.c. bias levels.
The relationship between the transistor and
the circuit in which it is placed.
Once these basics are understood we will
understand:
Why we can replace the transistor by a
small signal (a.c.) equivalent circuit.
How to derive a simple a.c. equivalent
circuit from the characteristic curves.
Some of the limitations of our simple
equivalent circuit.

IDEAL CE INPUT (Base)
Characteristics
IDEAL CE INPUT
Characteristics
The plot is essentially that of a forward biased
diode.
We can thus assume V
BE
~ 0.6 V when designing
our d.c. bias circuits.
We can also assume everything we know about
incremental diode resistance when deriving our
a.c. equivalent circuit.
In the non-ideal case I
B
will vary slightly with
V
CE
. This need not concern us.
IDEAL CE OUTPUT
(Collector) Characteristics
IDEAL CE OUTPUT
Avoid this
saturation
region
where we
try to
forward
bias both
junctions
IDEAL CE OUTPUT
Avoid this cut-off region where we try to reverse
bias both junctions (I
C
approximately 0)
IDEAL CE OUTPUT
The plots are all parallel to the V
CE
axis (i.e.
I
C
does not depend on V
CE
)
The curves strictly obey I
C
= I
B
In particular I
C
= 0 when I
B
= 0.
We shall work with the ideal characteristic
and later on base our a.c. equivalent circuit
model upon it.

ACTUAL CE OUTPUT
Characteristics

I
B
=
ACTUAL CE OUPUT
Characteristics
Salient features are:
The finite slope of the plots (I
C
depends on
V
CE
)

A limit on the power that can be dissipated.
The curves are not equally spaced (i.e
varies with base current, I
B
).
ACTUAL CE OUPUT
Characteristics
You will get to measure these curves in the
lab.
There is also a PSPICE sheet DC sweep
analysis and transistor characteristics to
help aid you understanding.

Common Emitter Characteristics

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Transistor Amplifier Basics

It is critical to understand the notation used

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