Valve & Digital Electronics 1

Do You Know.
(1) Electronics can be devided in two categories
(i) Valve electronics (ii) Semiconductor electronics
(2) Free electron in metal experiences a barrier on surface due to attractive Coulombian force.
(3) When kinetic energy of electron becomes greater than barrier potential energy (or binding energy E b )
then electron can come out of the surface of metal.
(4) Fermi energy (Ef)
Is the maximum possible energy possessed by free electron in metal at 0K temperature
(i) In this energy level, probability of finding electron is 50%.
(ii) This is a reference level and it is different for different metals.
(5) Threshold energy (or work function W0)
Is the minimum energy required to take out an electron from the surface of metal. Also W0 = Eb – Ef
Work function for different materials Ionised energy level

(W0)Pure tungsten = 4.5 eV W0

Eb
Fermi energy level W0
(W0)Throated tungsten = 2.6 eV Ef
(W0)Oxide coated tungsten = 1 eV Ground energy
W0 = Eb – Ef level
Temp

(6) Electron emission

Four process of electron emission from a metal are
(i) Thermionic emission (ii) Photoelectric emission (iii) Field emission (iv) Secondary emission
Thermionic Emission and Emitters.
(1) Thermionic emission
(i) The phenomenon of ejection of electrons from a metal surface by the application of heat is called
thermionic emission and emitted electrons are called thermions and current flowing is called thermion current.
(ii) Thermions have different velocities.
(iii) This was discovered by Edison
2 Valve & Digital Electronics

(iv) Richardson – Dushman equation for current density (i.e. electric current emitted per unit area of
qV 11600 V
 
2  W0 / kT 2 2
metal surface) is given as J  AT e  AT e kT  AT e T

4
where A = emission constant = 12  10 amp/ m2-K2 , k = Boltzmann’s constant, T = Absolute temp and
W0 = work function.
(v) The number of thermions emitted per second per unit area (J) depends upon following :
(a) J  T 2 (b) J  e W0

W1
J J/T2 loge (J / T 2)
W2

(W1<W2)

T T T

(2) Thermionic emitters

The electron emitters are of two types
Directly heated emitter Indirectly heated emitter
Plate
Plate

e– e–

Filament
Filament Cathode
Cathode
F F

(i) Cathode is directly heated by passing current. (i) Cathode is indirectly heated.
(ii) Thermionic current is less. (ii) Thermionic current is more.
(iii) Energy consumption and life is small. (iii) Energy consumption and life is more.

Note :  A good emitter should have low work function, high melting point, high working temperature,
high electrical and mechanical strength.
Vacuum Tubes and Thermionic Valves.
(1) Those tubes in which electrons flows in vacuum are called vacuum tubes.
(2) These are also called valves because current flow in them is unidirectional.
(3) Vacuum in vacuum tubes prevents the emission of secondary electrons.
(4) Every vacuum tube necessarily contains two electrodes out of which one is always electron emitter
(cathode) and another one is electron collector (anode or plate).
(5) Depending upon the number of electrodes used the vacuum tubes are named as diode, triode, tetrode,
pentode…. respectively, if the number of electrodes used are 2, 3, 4, 5….. respectively.
 Valve & Digital Electronics 3

Diode Valve.
iP
P (Anode)
mA
P
+ e–
C
VPP
VP Rh –
Filament
C
F F
F F
Symbol

Inventor : Fleming
Principle : Thermionic emission
Number of electrodes : Two
Working : When plate potential ( V p ) is positive, plate current ( ip ) flows in the circuit (because some
emitted electrons reaches to plate). If + V p increases ip also increases and finally becomes maximum
(saturation).
Note :  If Vp  Negative; No current will flow

 If V p  Zero; current flows due to very less number of highly energised electrons
(1) Space charge
If V p is zero or negative, then electrons collect around the plate as a cloud which is called space charge.
space charge decreases the emission of electrons from the cathode.
(2) Characteristic curve of a diode
A graph represents the variation of ip with V p at a given filament current ( i f ) is known as characteristic
curve.
E
T2
ip C
(mA) D T1 The curve is not linear hence diode valve is known as non-
Stopping
B ohmic device.
potential A LR TLR or SR

O SCLR VP (volt)

(i) Space charge limited region (SCLR) : In this region current is space charge limited current. Also
i p  V p3 / 2  i p  kV p3 / 2 ; where k is a constant depending on metal as well as on the shape and area of the
cathode. This is called child’s law.
(ii) Linear region (LR) : i p  V p
(iii) Saturated region or temperature limited region : In this part, the current is independent of
potential difference applied between the cathode and anode.
i p  f (V p ) i p  f (temperature)

The saturation current follows Richardson Dushman equation i.e. i  AT 2 e  / kT

Note :  The small increase in ip after saturation stage due to field emission is known as Shottkey effect.
(iv) Diode resistance
4 Valve & Digital Electronics
Vp
(a) Static plate resistance or dc plate resistance : R p  .
ip
(b) Dynamic or ac plate resistance : If at constant filament current, a small change ∆VP in the plate
potential produces a small change i p in the plateVcurrent, then the ratio V p / i p is called the dynamic
p
resistance, or the ‘plate resistance’ of the diode rp  .
i p
Note :  In SCLR rp  R p , In TLR R p  rp and rp   .
(3) Uses of diode valve
(i) As a rectifier (ii) As a detector (iii) As a transmitter (iv) As a modulator
(4) Diode valve as a rectifier
Rectifier is a device which is used to convert ac into dc

S. No. Half wave rectifier Full wave rectifier

(i) F
D1
F F
F
Output voltage
D1 ~
~ RL RL

D2 F
F
(ii) Output voltage Output voltage

VOut + V0
D1 D2 D1 D2

O
t t

(iii) I0 V 2I 0 2V0
I av  I dc  and E av  E dc  0 I av  and E av 
   
(iv) 2 r = 0.48
i 
Ripple factor r   rms   1  1 . 21
 idc 
(v) i0 i0
irms  irms 
2 2
(vi) V0 V0
Value of peak load current 
rp  R L rp  R L
(vii) dc component in output voltage as compared to More
input ac voltage – less
(viii) 0 .406 0 .812
Efficiency   
rp rp
1 1
RL RL
(ix) Form factor = 1.57 1.11
(x) Ripple frequency – equal to the frequency of input Double the frequency of input ac
ac

(5) Filter circuit

 Valve & Digital Electronics 5

Filter circuits smooth out the fluctuations in amplitude of ac ripple of the output voltage obtained from a
rectifier.
(i) Filter circuit consists of capacitors or/ and choke coils.
(ii) A capacitor offers a high resistance to low frequency ac ripple (infinite resistance to dc) and a low
resistance to high frequency ac ripple. Therefore, it is always used as a shunt to the load.
(iii) A choke coil offers high resistance to high frequency ac, and almost zero resistance to dc. It is used in
series.

(iv)  – Filter is best for ripple control.

(v) For voltage regulation choke input filter (L-filter) is best.
Triode Valve.
iP

P mA RL P
G

G
K VP
– VPP
F F
P
+ K G C
Symbol

Inventor : Dr. Lee De Forest

Principle : Thermionic emission
Number of electrodes : Three
Grid : Is a third electrode, also known as control grid, which controls the electrons going from cathode to
plate. It is kept near the cathode with low negative potential.
Working : Plate of triode valve is always kept at positive potential w.r.t. cathode. The potential of plate is
3/2
 Vp 
more than that of grid. The variation of plate potential affects the plate current as follows i p  k  VG   ;
  
where  = Amplification factor of triode valve, k = Constant of triode valve.
When grid is given positive potential then plate current increases but in this case triode cannot be used for
amplifier and therefore grid is normally not given positive potential.
When grid is given negative potential then plate current decreases but in this case grid controls plate
current most effectively.
(1) Cut off grid voltage : The valve of VG for which the plate current becomes zero is known as the cut
Vp
off voltage. For a given V p , it is given by VG   .

6 Valve & Digital Electronics

(2) Characteristic of triode : These are of two types

Static characteristic Dynamic characteristic

Graphical representation of Vp or Vg and ip without any Graphical representation of Vp or Vg and ip with load
load

Note :  Both static and dynamic characteristics are again of two types-plate characteristics and mutual
characteristic

Static plate (or anode) characteristic Static mutual (or trans) characteristics
Graphical representation of ip and VP at constant Vg . Graphical representation of iP and VG when VP is kept
constant
ip ip VP=120V
Vg = 0 – 2V – 4V
VP=100V
VP=80V

VP +Vg
O  Vg  Vg  Vg O
3 2 1

Load line
(a) It is a straight line joining the points ( V pp , 0) on plate voltage axis and (0, V pp / R L ) on plate current
axis of plate characteristics of triode.
ip
(b) In graph, AB is a load line and the equation of load line is : Vg=0 – 2V – 4V
 VPP  B
 0 , 
1 V  RL 
V pp  i p R L  V p or iP   VP  PP
RL RL

di p 1 A
(c) The slope of load line AB   O VP
dV p RL (VPP, 0)

(d) In graph, OA  V pp  intercept of load line on VP axis and OB  V pp / R L  intercept of load line on i p
axis.
(3) Constant of triode valve
(i) Plate or dynamic resistance (rP) : The slope of plate Vg=0 – 2V
1  BC 
characteristic curve is equal to or It is the ratio of small rp   
plate resistance A  AB 
iP
change in plate voltage to the change in plate current produced by it, the
B
C
Vp
grid voltage remaining constant. That is, rp  , VG  constant . O
VP
i p VP
 Valve & Digital Electronics 7

It is expressed in kilo ohms (K). Typically, it ranges from about 8 K to 40 K. The rp can be
determined from plate characteristics. It represents the reciprocal of the slope of the plate characteristic curve.
If the distance between plate and cathode is increased the rp increases. The value of rp is infinity in the
state of cut off bias or saturation state.
(ii) Mutual conductance (or trans conductance) (gm)
(a) It is defined as the ratio of small change in plate current (i p ) to the corresponding small change in grid
potential (Vg ) when plate potential Vp is kept constant i.e.
AC ip
gm 
BC A
 i p  VP =100 V
gm  
 Vg 
  Vp is constant ip
B
(b) The value of g m is equal to the slope of mutual characteristics of C
triode. O
VG
iG
(c) The value of g m depends upon the separation between grid and
cathode. The smaller is this separation, the larger is the value of g m and vice versa.

(d) In the saturation state, the value of i p  0 , g m  0

(iii) Amplification factor () : It is defined as the ratio of change in plate potential (V p ) to produce
certain change in plate current (i p ) to the change in grid potential (Vg ) for the same change in plate current

 V p 
(i p ) i.e.      ; negative sign indicates that V p and Vg are in opposite phase.
 V 
 g  I p  a constant

(a) Amplification factor depends upon the distance between :

 Plate and cathode (d pk )  Plate and grid (d pg )  Grid and cathode (d gk )

1
Also   d pg  d pk 
d gk

(b) The value of  is greater than one.

(c) Amplification factor is unitless and dimensionless.

Note :  The triode constants are not independent of each other. They are related by the relation.
  rp  g m 
tube parameter

The rp and g m depends on ip in the following manner. gm

rp
rp  i p 1 / 3 , g m  i p 1 / 3
ip
 does not depend on ip. The variation of triode parameters with ip are shown in figure.
 Above three constant may be determined from any one set of characteristic curves.
8 Valve & Digital Electronics

VP 1  VP 2
rp  , ip
VP1
I PA  I PB
A VP2
ipA
I PA  I PB
gm  ,
VG1  VG 2 C ipB
B
VP 1  VP 2 VG1 VG2 O VG

VG 2  VG1
(4) Triode as an Amplifiers
Amplifier is a device by which the amplitude of variation of ac signal voltage / current/ power can be
increased
(i) Principle and circuit diagram : The amplifying action of the triode is based on the fact that small
change in grid voltage produces the same change in the grid voltage as due to a large change in the plate
voltage. A circuit for triode as an amplifier

Outpu
RL t
VL
Input
ac
signal
Eb

– +
 Vg b

(ii) Working : First of all the mutual characteristic curves of a triode to be used as an amplifier are
plotted and the grid potential – Vg b corresponding to the mid-point of straight portion of characteristic curve is
noted.
This negative grid potential is applied on grid and is known as grid bias. The AC signal to be amplified is
connected in series with this grid bias ( Vg b ) . Let the input signal be represented as e g  e 0 sin  t .

The net input grid voltage   Vg b  e 0 sin  t , varies between  Vg b  e 0 and  Vg b  e 0 . The
corresponding amplified output current shown in fig. The output voltage is taken across load resistance R L . If
e g (or Vg ) is the input signal voltage and VL  R L ip ( R L ip ) is the consequent voltage change across load
R L , then

IP

output voltage VL V p R L

Voltage gain    
input voltage Vg Vg Rp  RL b g
Output
a h current
 c i
or A  f d e
1  Rp / RL O +
– Vgb– e0 – Vgb+e0
The maximum voltage gain is obviously equal to  for R L   .
Input
current
 Valve & Digital Electronics 9

Example
s
Example: 1 The peak voltage in the output of a half-wave diode rectifier fed with a sinusoidal signal without filter is
10V. The d.c. component of the output voltage is
(a) 20/V (b) 10 / 2 V (c) 10/V (d) 10V
V0 10
Solution : (c) In half wave rectifier Vdc   volt
 
Example: 2 When plate voltage of diode increased from 100 V to 150 V then plate current increases from 7.5mA to
12mA the AC plate resistance will be
(a) 10 k (b) 11 k (c) 15 k (d) 11.1k
V P 150  100
Solution : (d) ac plate resistance rP    11 . 1k 
iP (12  7 . 5 )  10  3
Example: 3 In the grid circuit of the triode a signal E  2 2 cos  t is applied if   14 , rp  10 K then the current
(a) 1.27 mA (b) 10 mA (c) 1.5 mA (d) 12.4 mA
  Vg
Solution : (a) iP  ; From voltage applied across grid, peak voltage V0  V g  2 2 volt
rP  R L

14  2 2
iP   1 . 27 mA .
(10  12 )  10 3
Example: 4 A triode having   18 and rp  8000 ohm is used as an amplifier with a load resistance of 10 kilo ohm in
the plate circuit. The voltage amplification is, then
(a) 1 (b) 10 (c) 20 (d) 30
3
 RL 18  10  10
Solution : (b) From A V    10
rP  R L 18  10 3
Example: 5 Keeping the grid voltage constant, a change in the plate potential of 50 V, changes the plate current by 10
mA. And keeping the plate potential constant, a change in the grid potential of 2 V, changes the plate
current by 10 mA again. The amplification factor of the triode will be
(a) 100 (b) 25 (c) 5 (d) 20
 V   i p  3
Solution : (b) rP   P  
50
 5  10 3  and g m     10  10  5  10  3  1
3  V g  2
 iP  Vg 10  10   VP

   rP  g m  5  10 3  5  10 3  25
Example: 6 A diode valve works in the region of space charge limited current. If the voltage is increased four times,
how many times the space charge limited current will increase
(a) Will remain unchanged (b)2 (c) 8 (d) 4
3/2 3/2
i2  V2  4
Solution : (c) From i  V 3 / 2      8
i1  V1  1
Example: 7 A triode whose mutual conductance is 2.5 m A/volt and anode resistance is 20 kilo ohm, is used as an
amplifier whose amplification is 10. The resistance connected in plate circuit will be
(a) 1 k (b) 5 k (c) 10 k (d) 20 k
 RL  RL 50 R L
Solution : (b) A  rP  R L    5RL
rP  R L A 10
10 Valve & Digital Electronics

  rP  g m  20  22 . 5  50
 RL  RL 50 R L
From A   rP  R L    5RL
rP  R L A 10
rP 20
 4RL    5k
4 5
 Valve & Digital Electronics 11

Digital Electronics

Voltage Signal and Binary System.

(1) Voltage signal
Analogue voltage signal Digital voltage signal
The signal which represents the continuous variation The signal which has only two values. i.e. either a
of voltage with time is known as analogue voltage constant high value of voltage or zero value is called
signal digital voltage signal

+ V0 +V

Time O
– V0 Time

(2) Binary system

(i) A number system which has only two digits i.e. 0 (Low value) and 1 (High value) is known as binary
system
(ii) The electrical circuit which operates only in these two state i.e. 1 (On or High) and 0 (i.e. Off or Low)
are known as digital circuits.
(iii) Different names for the two states of digital signals:

State Code Name for the State

1 On Up Closed Excited True Pulse High Yes
0 Off Down Open Unexcited False No pulse Low No

Boolean Algebra.
(1) In Boolean algebra only two states of variables (0 and 1) are allowed.
(2) The variables (A, B, C ….) of Boolean Algebra are subjected to three operations.

OR Operation AND Operation NOT Operation

(i) Represented by (+) sign Represented by (·) sign Represented by bar over the
variables
(ii) Boolean expression Boolean expression Boolean expression
Y=A+B Y=A·B Y A

A A
+ T
A B

B
A OFF  Lamp ON
A ON  Contact at T is broken
 Lamp OFF
12 Valve & Digital Electronics

(3) Basic Boolean postulates and laws

(i) Boolean Postulates: 0 + A = A, 1 · A = A, 1 + A = 1, 0 · A = 0, A A 1
(ii) Identity law : A + A = A, A·A=A

(iii) Negation law : AA

(iv) Commutative law : A + B = B + A, A·B=B·A
(v) Associative law : (A+B) + C = A + (B+C), (A · B) · C = A · (B · C)
(vi) Distributive law : A · (B+C) = A · B + A · C
(vii) De Morgan’s laws : A  B  A  B and A  B  A  B also A  A B  A  B and A ( A  B)  AB
Logic Gates and Truth Table.
(1) Logic gate : The digital circuit that can be analysed with the help of Boolean algebra is called logic
gate or logic circuit. A logic gate has two or more inputs but only one output.
There are primarily three logic gates namely the OR gate, the AND gate and the NOT gate.
(2) Truth table : The operation of a logic gate or circuit can be represented in a table which contains all
possible inputs and their corresponding outputs is called the truth table. To write the truth table we use binary digits
1 and 0.
Different Logic Gates.
(1) The ‘OR’ gate
(i) It has two inputs (A and B) and only one output (Y)
(ii) Boolean expression is Y = A + B
(iii) Truth table and logic symbol

A B Y=A+B
0 0 0
A
0 1 1 Y
B
1 0 1
1 1 1

(2) The ‘AND’ gate

(i) It has two inputs and one output.
(ii) Boolean expression is Y = A · B
(iii) Truth table and logic symbol :

A B Y=A·B
0 0 0
A
0 1 0 Y
B
1 0 0
1 1 1

(3) The ‘NOT’ gate

 Valve & Digital Electronics 13

(i) It has only one input and only one output

(ii) Boolean expression is Y  A
(iii) Truth table and logic symbol :
A Y A
A Y
0 1
1 0

Combination of Logic Gates.

(1) The ‘NAND’ gate : From ‘AND’ and ‘NOT’ gate

A Y = A ·B A
AND NOT  Y
B B

Boolean expression and truth table : Y  A  B

A B Y = A  B Y
0 0 0 1
0 1 0 1
1 0 0 1
1 1 1 0

(2) The ‘NOR’ gate : From ‘OR’ and ‘NOT’ gate

A Y = A + B A
OR NOT  Y
B B

Boolean expression and truth table : Y  A  B

A B Y = A + B Y
0 0 0 1
0 1 1 0
1 0 1 0
1 1 1 0

(3) The ‘XOR’ gate : From ‘NOT’, ‘AND’ and ‘OR’ gate. Known as exclusive OR gate.
or
The logic gate which gives high output (i.e., 1) if either input A or input B but not both are high (i.e. 1) is
called exclusive OR gate or the XOR gate.
It may be noted that if both the inputs of the XOR gate are high, then the output is low (i.e., 0).
14 Valve & Digital Electronics

A Y '  A. B
A

B
A
Y  Y
B
A

B
B Y ' '  A. B

Boolean expression and truth table : Y = A  B = A B  AB

A B Y
0 0 0
0 1 1
1 0 1
1 1 0

(4) The exclusive nor (XNOR) gate : XOR + NOT XNOR

A A
Y Y

B B

Boolean expression : Y = A  B = A B  AB
Logic Gates Using ‘NAND’ Gate.
The NAND gate is the building block of the digital electronics. All the logic gates like the OR, the AND and
the NOT can be constructed from the NAND gates.
(1) Construction of the ‘ NOT’ gate from the ‘ NAND’ gate
(i) When both the inputs (A and B) of the NAND gate are joined together then it works as the NOT gate.
(ii) Truth table and logic symbol

Input Output
A=B Y A Y

0 1 B

1 0

(2) Construction of the ‘AND’ gate from the ‘ NAND’ gate.

(i) When the output of the NAND gate is given to the input of the NOT gate (made from the NAND gate),
then the resultant logic gate works as the AND gate
(ii) Truth table and logic symbol
 Valve & Digital Electronics 15

A B Y Y
0 0 1 0 Y Y
A
0 1 1 0
B
1 0 1 0
1 1 0 1

(3) Construction of the ‘ OR’ gate by the ‘NAND’ gate

(i) When the outputs of two NOT gates (obtained from the NAND gate) is given to the inputs of the NAND
gate, the resultant logic gate works as the OR gate
(ii) Truth table and logic symbol

A B Y A
A B A

0 0 1 1 0
0 1 1 0 1 Y

1 0 0 1 1
B
1 1 0 0 1
B
16 Valve & Digital Electronics
P

Assignment

Vacuum tubes (Diode and Triode)

1. Thermionic emission from a heated filament varies with its temperature T as

(a) T 1 (b) T (c) T 2 (d) T 3 / 2

2. Number of secondary electrons emitted per number of primary electrons depends on
(a) Material of target (b) Frequency of primary electrons
(c) Intensity (d) None of the above
3. Due to S.C.R in vacuum tube
(a) I p  Decrease (b) I p  Increase (c) Vp  Increase (d) Vg  Increase

4. In diode, when there is saturation current, the plate resistance (rp ) is

(a) Zero (b) Infinite (c) Some finite quantity (d) Data is insufficient

5. The grid voltage of any triode valve is changed from –1 volt to – 3 volt and the mutual conductance is 3  10 4 mho. The change
in plate circuit current will be
(a) 0.8 mA (b) 0.6 mA (c) 0.4 mA (d) 1 mA
3 1
6. In a triode, gm  2  10 ohm ;   42 , resistance load, R  50 kilo ohm. The voltage amplification obtained from this triode
will be
(a) 30.42 (b) 29.57 (c) 28.18 (d) 27.15
7. In an amplifier the load resistance R L is equal to the plate resistance (rp ) . The voltage amplification is equal to

(a)  (b) 2  (c) /2 (d)  / 4

8. For a given plate-voltage, the plate current in a triode is maximum when the potential of
(a) The grid is positive and plate is negative (b) The grid is positive and plate is positive
(c) The grid is zero and plate is positive (d) The grid is negative and plate is positive
9. If R p  7 K, gm  2 . 5 millimho, then on increasing plate voltage by 50 V , how much the grid voltage is changed so that plate
current remains the same
(a) – 2.86 V (b) – 4 V (c) + 4 V (d) + 2 V

10. The amplification factor of a triode is 20 and trans-conductance is 3 milli mho and load resistance 3  10 4  , then the voltage
gain is

(a) 16.36 (b) 28 (c) 78 (d) 108

11. In a triode amplifier,   25 , rp  40 kilo ohm and load resistance R L  10 kilo ohm. If the input signal voltage is 0.5 volt, then
output signal voltage will be
(a) 1.25 volt (b) 5 volt (c) 2.5 volt (d) 10 volt
 Valve & Digital Electronics 17
12. The amplification factor of a triode is 20. If the grid potential is reduced by 0.2 volt then to keep the plate current constant its
plate voltage is to be increased by
(a) 10 volt (b) 4 volt (c) 40 volt (d) 100 volt
13. For a triode rp  10 kilo ohm and gm  3 milli mho. If the load resistance is double of plate resistance, then the value of voltage
gain will be
(a) 10 (b) 20 (c) 15 (d) 30
14. The amplification produced by a triode is due to the action of
(a) Filament (b) Cathode (c) Grid (d) Plate
15. In an experiment, the saturation in the plate current in a diode is observed at 240V. But a student still wants to increase the plate
current. It can be done, if
(a) The plate voltage is increased further (b) The plate voltage is decreased
(c) The filament current is decreased (d) The filament current is increased
16. In a triode amplifier, the value of maximum gain is equal to
(a) Half the amplification factor (b) Amplification factor
(c) Twice the amplification factor (d) Infinity
17. For a given triode   20 . The load resistance is 1.5 times the anode resistance. The maximum gain will be
(a) 16 (b) 12 (c) 10 (d) None of the above
18. The amplification factor of a triode is 20. Its plate resistance is 10 kilo ohms. Mutual conductance is
(a) 2  10 5 mhos (b) 2  10 4 mhos (c) 500 mhos (d) 2  10 3 mhos
19. The voltage gain of a triode depends upon
(a) Filament voltage (b) Plate voltage (c) Plate resistance (d) Plate current
20. In a triode valve
(a) If the grid voltage is zero then plate current will be zero
(b) If the temperature of filament is doubled, then the thermionic current will also be doubled
(c) If the temperature of filament is doubled, then the thermionic current will nearly be four times
(d) At a definite grid voltage the plate current varies with plate voltage according to Ohm’s law

21. The plate current ip in a triode valve is given i p  K (V p   V g ) 3 / 2 where ip is in milliampere and Vp and Vg are in volt. If rp =
104 ohm, and g m  5  10 3 mho , then for ip  8 mA and V p  300 volt , what is the value of K and grid cut off voltage

(a) – 6V, (30)3/2 (b)  6V , (1 / 30 ) 3 / 2 (c) + 6V, (30)3/2 (d) + 6V, (1/30)3/2
22. The amplification factor of a triode valve is 15. If the grid voltage is changed by 0.3 volt the change in plate voltage in order to
keep the plate current constant (in volt) is
(a) 0.02 (b) 0.002 (c) 4.5 (d) 5.0
23. The slopes of anode and mutual characteristics of a triode are 0.02 mA V–1 and 1 mA V–1 respectively. What is the amplification
factor of the valve
(a) 5 (b) 50 (c) 500 (d) 0.5
mA
24. The slope of plate characteristic of a vacuum tube diode for certain operating point on the curve is 10  3 . The plate resistance
V
of the diode and its nature respectively
(a) 100 kilo-ohms static (b) 1000 kilo-ohms static (c) 1000 kilo-ohms dynamic (d) 100 kilo-ohms dynamic
25. A triode has a mutual conductance of 2  10 3 mho and an amplification factor of 50. The anode is connected through a
resistance of 25  10 3 ohms to a 250 volts supply. The voltage gain of this amplifier is
(a) 50 (b) 25 (c) 100 (d) 12.5
26. 14  10 15 electrons reach the anode per second. If the power consumed is 448 milliwatts, then the plate (anode) voltage is
18 Valve & Digital Electronics
(a) 150 V (b) 200V (c) 14  448 V (d) 448/14V
27. A valve oscillator is
(a) Simple diode (b) Double diode (c) Triode (d) L-C circuit
28. Amplification factor of a triode is 20. If the grid voltage is reduced by one volt, how much should the plate voltage be increased so
that plate current remains constant
(a) 10 V (b) 1/10 V (c) 1/20 V (d) 20 V
29. If the amplification factor of a triode valve is 100, then at plate potential of 250 volt the cutoff voltage of its grid will be

(a) 0 V (b) – 0.4 V (c) – 2.5 V (d) – 150 V

30. In the circuit of a triode valve, there is no change in the plate current, when the plate potential is increased from 200 volt to 220
volt and the grid potential is decreased from – 0.5 volt to –1.3 volt. The amplification factor of this valve is
(a) 15 (b) 20 (c) 25 (d) 35
31. If the amplification factor of a triode () is 22 and its plate resistance is 6600 ohm, then the mutual conductance of this valve is
mho is

1
(a) (b) 25  10 2 (c) 2 . 5  10 2 (d) 0 . 25  10 2
300
32. For a triode, at Vg  1 volt, the following observations were taken Vp  75 V , I p  2mA , Vp  100 V , I p  4 mA . The value of plate
resistance will be
(a) 25 K (b) 20.8 K (c) 12.5 K (d) 100 K
33. The triode constant is out of the following
(a) Plate resistance (b) Amplification factor (c) Mutual conductance (d) All the above
34. The unit of mutual conductance of a triode valve is
(a) Siemen (b) Ohm (c) Ohm metre (d) Joule Coulomb–1
35. With a change of load resistance of a triode, used as an amplifier, from 50 kilo ohms to 100 kilo ohms, its voltage amplification
changes from 25 to 30. Plate resistance of the triode is
(a) 25 Kilo ohms (b) 75 Kilo ohms (c) 7.5 Kilo ohms (d) 2.5 Kilo ohms
36. The linear portions of the characteristic curves of a triode valve give the following readings
Vg (volt) 0 –2 –4 –6

I p (mA ) for Vp  150 volts 15 12.5 10 7.5

I p (mA ) for Vp  120 volts 10 7.5 5 2.5

The plate resistance is

(a) 2000 ohms (b) 4000 ohms (c) 8000 ohms (d) 6000 ohms
37. The amplification factors of a triode is 10. If the grid potential is reduced by 0.4 volt then what should be the increase in plate
potential, so that the current remains constant
(a) 0.4 V (b) 40 V (c) 4 V (d) 14 V
38. Select the correct statements from the following
(a) A diode can be used as a rectifier
(b) A triode cannot be used as a rectifier
(c) The current in a diode is always proportional to the applied voltage
(d) The linear portion of the I–V characteristic of a triode is used for amplification without distortion
39. The output current versus time curve of a rectifier is shown in the figure. The average value of the output current in this case is

(a) 0
 Valve & Digital Electronics 19

i0
(b)

2i0
(c)

Current

(d) i0 Is
40. The introduction of a grid in a triode valve affects plate current by Time

(a) Making the thermionic emission easier at low temperature (b) Releasing
more electrons from the plate
(c) By increasing plate voltage (d) By neutralising space charge
41. Before the saturation state of a diode at the plate voltages of 400 V and 200 V respectively the currents are i1 and i2 respectively.
The ratio i1/i2 will be

(a) 2 /4 (b) 2 2 (c) 2 (d) 1/2

42. The value of constant A in Richardson-Dushman equation in A/m2/k2 is
4 me 4me 2 4 me 2k 4 mk 2 e
(a) (b) (c) (d)
h3 h3 h3 h3
43. The value of plate current in the given circuit diagram will be
P IP
RL
(a) 3 mA +
(b) 8 mA 1.125 A
1.112 A
(c) 13 mA + –
2V
(d) 18 mA
44. The plate resistance of a diode valve is 5000 . If the value of plate current is 4.5 mA at a plate potential of 70 V, then what will
be the plate potential at plate current of 6.5 mA
(a) 60 V (b) 70 V (c) 80 V (d) 90 V
45. A certain triode shows the following readings
Vp Vg Ip
150 V –2V 5 mA
150 V – 3.5 V 3.2 mA
195 V – 3.5 V 5 mA
The amplification factor of the triode is
(a) 22.5 (b) 45 (c) 30 (d) 60
46. The relation between dynamic plate resistance (rp) of a vacuum diode and plate current in the space charge limited region, is
1 1
(a) rp  I p (b) rp  I p3 / 2 (c) rp  (d) rp 
Ip (I p )1 / 3
47. The voltage gain of a triode amplifier is 50. An input signal of Vg  20 sin  t mV is applied in the grid circuit. The output voltage
will be
(a) – 1000 sin  t V (b) – 50 sin  t V (c) – 20 sin  t V (d) – sin  t V
48. The mutual characteristic curves of a triode are shown in the following figure. The ac mutual conductance of triode will be

Ip(mA)
220V
150V
20 100V
(a) 2.5 m mho
15
(b) 5.0 m mho

(c) 7.5 m mho –6V– 4V– 2V 0 +2V Vg(volt)

(d) 10.0 m mho

20 Valve & Digital Electronics
49. An a.c. signal of IV (r.m.s.) and frequency 1 KHz is applied to the grid of a triode. If, for the triode  = 24, rp = 10 k and RL = 10
K, then the voltage gain of the amplifier will be
(a) 4 (b) 8 (c) 12 (d) 16
50. Mutual characteristic curves in working field of triode are parallel lines.

When Vp = 200 V value of plate current ip = (3Vg + 10)mA and when Vp = 150, V value of plate current ip = (3Vg + 6)mA

Application factor of triode value is

(a) 12.5 (b) 4.33 (c) 15.5 (d) 37.5

Logic gates

51. How many NAND gates are used to form an AND gate
(a) 1 (b) 2 (c) 3 (d) 4
52. A gate has the following truth table
P 1 1 0 0
Q 1 0 1 0
R 1 0 0 0
The gate is
(a) NOR (b) OR (c) NAND (d) AND
53. A logic gate is an electronic circuit which
(a) Makes logic decisions (b) Allows electrons flow only in one direction
(c) Works binary algebra (d) Alternates between 0 and 1 values
54. The logic behind ‘NOR’ gate is that it gives
(a) High output when both the inputs are low (b) Low output when both the inputs are low
(c) High output when both the inputs are high (d) None of these
55. Boolean algebra is essentially based on
(a) Truth (b) Logic (c) Symbol (d) Numbers
56. The following configuration of gate is equivalent to

(a) NAND OR
A
(b) XOR B AND
G1 Y
(c) OR NAND
Gs
(d) None of these
G2
57. The truth-table given below is for which gate [CBSE PMT 1998]

A 0 0 1 1

B 0 1 0 1

C 1 1 1 0

(a) XOR (b) OR (c) AND (d) NAND

58. For the given combination of gates, if the logic states of inputs A, B, C are as follows A = B = C = 0 and A = B = 1, C = 0 then the
logic states of output D are
 Valve & Digital Electronics 21

(a) 0, 0
(b) 0, 1 A
B G2
G1
(c) 1, 0 D
C
(d) 1, 1
59. The truth table shown in figure is for
A 0 0 1 1
B 0 1 0 1
Y 1 0 0 1
(a) XOR (b) AND (c) XNOR (d) OR
60. Which one of the following gates can be served as a building block for any digital circuit
(a) OR (b) AND (c) NOT (d) NAND
61. A truth table is given below. Which of the following has this type of truth table
A 0 1 0 1
B 0 0 1 1
y 1 0 0 0
(a) XOR gate (b) NOR gate (c) AND gate (d) OR gate
62. The combination of ‘NAND’ gates shown here under (figure) are equivalent to

A
C A C
B
B

(a) An OR gate and an AND gate respectively (b) An AND gate and a NOT gate respectively
(c) An AND gate and an OR gate respectively (d) An OR gate and a NOT gate respectively.
63. The following truth table corresponds to the logic gate
A 0 0 1 1
B 0 1 0 1
X 0 1 1 1
(a) NAND (b) OR (c) AND (d) XOR
22 Valve & Digital Electronics

64. Given below are four logic gate symbol (figure). Those for OR, NOR and NAND are respectively

(a) 1, 4, 3
A y A y A y A y
(b) 4, 1, 2 B B B B
(c) 1, 3, 4

(d) 4, 2, 1
65. Given below are symbols for some logic gates

(i) (ii) (iii) (iv)

The XOR gate and NOR gate respectively are

(a) 1 and 2 (b) 2 and 3 (c) 3 and 4 (d) 1 and 4
66. What is the name of the gate obtained by the combination shown in figure
(a) NAND
(b) NOR A
y
B
(c) NOT
(d) XOR
67. Which of the following represent correctly the truth table in of the configuration
– –
A AB
A

– – –
B – – Y=AB+AB
B AB

A B Y A B Y A B Y A B Y
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1
(a) 0 1 0 (b) 0 1 1 (c) 0 1 0 (d) 0 1 0
1 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 0
1 1 1 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 0
68. The combination of the gates shown in the fig. produces

(a) OR gate A

(b) AND gate C

(c) NOR gate B

(d) XOR gate A y1
69. The expression y in the following circuit is B
y2
C y
(a) ABCD
D
(b) B + ACD
(c) AB + CD
(d) A + B + C + D
 Valve & Digital Electronics 23
70. What is the output of the combination of the gates shown in the fig.

(a) A  A. B
A y
(b) ( A. B)  ( A . B )

(c) ( A  B).( A. B)
B
(d) ( A  B) ( A  B )

71. In circuit in following fig. the value of Y is

0 G1

(a) 0
A
G2 y
(b) 1 B

(c) Fluctuates between 0 and 1

1 G3
(d) Indeterminate as the circuit can’t be realised
72. In a given circuit as shown the two input waveform A and B are applied simultaneously. The resultant waveform Y is

Y
B

(a) (b) (c) (d)

73. What is the output of the combination of the gates shown in the fig. below
(a) A + A.B
A y
(b) ( A  B) A  B

(c) ( A. B)  ( A . B )
B
(d) ( A  B).( A. B)
74. The combination of gates shown below produces
A G1
(a) AND gate
G3 G4 Y
(b) XOR gate
(c) NOR gate B G2

(d) NAND gate

75. The circuit shown in figure is used to realise a logic gate. The gate is
A

(a) OR X
(b) NOT R
(c) AND B

(d) None of these

24 Valve & Digital Electronics

76. The circuit shown in fig. is used to realise a logic gate. The gate is
5V

(a) OR
y
(b) NOT X
(c) AND
(d) None of the above
77. The shows two NAND gates followed by a NOR gate. The system is equivalent to the following logic gate
A X
(a) OR
Z
(b) AND B

(c) NAND
(d) None of these C Y

78. The Boolean expression for the output f of the combination of logic gates shown in fig. is
A
B
(a) A. B  A . B
f
(b) A.. B  A . B

(c) A  B.. A  B
(d) None of these
79. Figure gives a system of logic gates. From the study of truth table it can be found that to produce a high output (1) at R, we must
have

x
(a) X = 0, Y = 1 P
y R
(b) X = 1, Y = 1

(c) X = 1, Y = 0
O
(d) X = 0, Y = 0
194 Valve & Digital Electronics

Answer Sheet
Assignments

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

c c a b b b c b a a c b b c d b b d c c
21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40

b c b b b b d d c c a c d a a d c a, d c d
41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60

c d c c c d d a c d b d a a b b d d c d
61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79

b a b c b a b a d a a a a d a b b c c