UniKL MIMET Page 1 out of 21

II. BJT Amplifiers

2.0 Introduction
– BJTs will be used as small-signal amplifiers.
– Small-signal refers to signals that are relatively small, in intensity, with respect to the
amplifier’s operational range.

2.1 Amplifier Operation

– The biasing of the transistor is a purely dc operation.
– It establishes a Q-point about which variations in I and V occur in response to an ac
signal.
– Consider the following circuit:

– All capacitors are shorts for the operating frequency.

– The sinusoidal source voltage causes the base voltage to also change sinusoidally
(above and below the dc bias level).
– The gain βDC produces a linearly amplified reproduction of the IB in the collector.
– As IC increases, the collector voltage decreases.
– The voltage created at the collector (VCE) is 180o of phase with respect to the input
voltage.
– A BJT always produces phase inversion between the base and the collector voltages.

2.2 Transistor AC Equivalent circuits

– We can represent a transistor working as an amplifier (i.e. assuming small signal)
with an equivalent circuit.
– The circuit uses internal transistor parameters to represent the transistor’s operation.
– There are two types of equivalent circuits:
i) Based on resistance (r) parameters.
ii) Based on hybrid (h) parameters.
– We will concentrate on the first case.
– The parameters are:
i) αac: ac α (Ic/Ie)
ii) βac: ac β (Ic/Ib)
iii) r’e ac emitter resistance
iv) r’b ac base resistance
v) r’c ac collector resistance

LED 10503: BJT Amplifiers MEET

Prepared by: AZO, AZJ, ATA, MSH
UniKL MIMET Page 2 out of 21

– All resistances are internal to the transistor.

– This parameters relate to the following equivalent circuits:

– Figure a) is the complete equivalent circuit.

– Figure b) is a simplified r-parameter equivalent circuit.
– To go from a) to b) make the following assumptions:
i) r’b’s effect is small enough. Thus, replace r’b with a short.
ii) r’c is generally very large (hundreds of kiloohms). Replace with open.
– Interpret the equivalent circuit as follows:
i) r’e is the resistance seen looking into the emitter of a forward-biased transistor. It
appears between the base and the emitter terminals.
ii) The collector acts as a current source equal to αacIe. Or equivalently, βacIb.

– The most important parameter in this equivalent circuit is r’e.

– To determine it, use the following formula:
r’e = 25 mV/IE.

– This formula is just an approximation. The derivation is shown next.

Derivation of r’e = 25 mV/IE

– The equation for the current in a pn junction, in this case the base emitter pn junction,
is:
IE = IR(eVQ/kT – 1)
– Where
IE = total forward current across the base-emitter junction
IR = reverse saturation current
V = Voltage across the depletion layer
Q = the charge on an electron

LED 10503: BJT Amplifiers MEET

Prepared by: AZO, AZJ, ATA, MSH
UniKL MIMET Page 3 out of 21

k = Boltzmann’s constant
T = absolute temperature.
– At ambient temperature Q/kT ≈ 40, so
IE = IR(e40V – 1)

– Differentiating the above equation yields

dIE/dV = 40 IRe40V

– But IRe40V = IE + IR (from IE = IR(e40V – 1)), so

dIE/dV = 40 (IE + IR)

– Assume IR << IE, then

dIE/dV ≈ 40 IE

– Note, however, that the ac resistance r’e of the base-emitter junction can be expressed
as the change in emitter current with respect to the voltage across the depletion
region. That is dV/dIE = r’e. Thus
r’e = dV/dIE = 1/(40 IE) = (25 mV)/IE

h-Parameters
– Data sheets do not provide r-parameters. Rather, they provide h-parameters (hybrid
parameters):
– These parameters are listed next. In parenthesis are the conditions required to get
these parameters.
i) hi = Input impedance (Output shorted)
ii) hr = Voltage feedback ratio (Input open)
iii) hf = Forward current gain (Output shorted)
iv) ho = Output admittance (Input open)
– Each of these parameters appears in the three possible configurations for an amplifier:
common-emitter, common-base, and common-collector.
– A second subscript is added to indicate which configuration we are working with. For
example, the h-parameters for the common-emitter (usually the one given in data
sheets) configuration are: hie, hre, hfe, and hoe.
– The conversion equations between r and h parameters are:
αac = hfb
βac = hfe
r’e = hre/hoe
r’c = (hre + 1)/hoe
r’b = hie – hre/hoe(1 + hfe)
– Resistor parameters will be assumed for the rest of the class.

2.3 Common-Emitter (CE) Amplifier

– Common-emitter amplifiers exhibit high voltage and current gains.
– Input is applied to base of transistor.
– Output is taken from collector.
– It is called common-emitter because:
i) Emitter is common to both input and output circuits.

LED 10503: BJT Amplifiers MEET

Prepared by: AZO, AZJ, ATA, MSH
UniKL MIMET Page 4 out of 21

ii) Emitter terminal of the transistor is normally set to 0 Vac and thus is at ac ground
(or ac common). The ac ground is provided by the “bypass capacitor” (C2 in
circuit below) connected to the emitter terminal of the transistor.

DC Analysis
– We need to find the dc bias values (Q-point).
– For this, replace the capacitors with open circuits:

– As seen in the previous chapter, the input resistance is

RIN(base) = βDCRE = (150)(560 Ω) = 84 kΩ

– which is 10 times more than R2 for this particular case. Thus we can ignore it.
– This yields the following base voltage:
VB = R2/(R1 + R2) VCC = (6.8 kΩ)/(28.8 kΩ) 12 V = 2.83 V

– and
VE = VB – VBE = 2.83 V – 0.7 V = 2.13 V
– Therefore,
IE = VE/RE = 2.13 V/560 Ω = 3.80 mA

– Since IC ≈ IE, we get

VC = VCC – ICRC = 12 V – (3.80 mA)(1.0 kΩ)
= 12 V – 3.80 V = 8.20 V

LED 10503: BJT Amplifiers MEET

Prepared by: AZO, AZJ, ATA, MSH
UniKL MIMET Page 5 out of 21

– Finally,
VCE = VC – VE = 8.20 V – 2.13 V = 6.07 V

AC equivalent circuit
– In this case, the capacitors are replaced with shorts.
– This can be done by selecting the capacitor values so that XC ≈ 0 Ω at the signal
frequency.
– DC sources are replaced with ground, since the internal resistance is very small. This
ground is called ac ground. AC and dc grounds are both assumed to be at the same
potential (0 V).
– The equivalent circuit is shown below:

– If the source resistance, Rs, is non-zero, we need to take it into account.

– Thus we would have the source resistance, the bias resistance (R1||R2), and the input
resistance (Rin(base), also called input impedance).
– The simplified circuit is shown next:

– The base ac voltage, Vb, will be:

Vb = Rin(tot)/(Rs + Rin(tot))Vs

– If Rs << Rin(tot), then Vb ≈ Vs.

LED 10503: BJT Amplifiers MEET

Prepared by: AZO, AZJ, ATA, MSH
UniKL MIMET Page 6 out of 21

Input Resistance, Rin(base)

– Consider the r-parameter equivalent circuit:

– It can be seen that

Rin(base) = Vin/Iin = Vb/Ib

Vb = Ier’e

– Since Ie ≈ Ic , Ib ≈ Ic/βac. Substituting for Vb and Ib in equation above we get

Rin(base) = βac r’e

– The total input resistance seen by the source Vb is R1||R2|| Rin(base)

Rin(tot) = R1|| R2|| Rin(base)

Example
Determine the signal voltage at the base of the transistor in the circuit shown below. This
circuit is the ac equivalent of the amplifier (also shown next). Assume a 10 mV, 300 Ω
signal source. IE was already found to be 3.80 mA.

LED 10503: BJT Amplifiers MEET

Prepared by: AZO, AZJ, ATA, MSH
UniKL MIMET Page 7 out of 21

Solution
We need to determine the ac emitter resistance.
r’e = 25mV/IE = 25 mV/3.80 mA = 6.58 Ω
Then,
Rin(base) = βacr’e = 160 (6.58 Ω) = 1.05 kΩ
Next determine the total input resistance viewed from the source:
Rin(tot) = R1||R2||Rin(base)
=(1/22kΩ + 1/6.8 kΩ + 1.05 kΩ)-1
= 873 Ω
The source voltage is divided down by Rs and Rin(tot), so the signal voltage at the base is
the voltage across Rin(tot).
Vb = Rin(tot)/(Rs + Rin(tot))Vs = (873 Ω)(1.173 kΩ) = 7.44 mV

So there is attenuation of the source voltage due to the source resistance and amplifier’s
input resistance acting as a voltage divider. So, instead of getting the full 10 mV at the
base, we get only 7.44 mV.

Voltage gain of the CE amplifier

– Gain (Av) is the ratio between the ac output voltage (Vc) and input voltage (Vb).
– From the figure below we see that:
Av = Vc/Vb = IeRC/Ier’e = RC/r’e

– Note that this gain is NOT the same as the gain of the amplifier’s input voltage to the
output voltage.
– To get this gain, we need to take into account the attenuation.
– That is, the signal reduction due to the internal source resistance.
– The attenuation from source to base, multiplied by the gain from base to collector is
called the overall amplifier gain.

LED 10503: BJT Amplifiers MEET

Prepared by: AZO, AZJ, ATA, MSH
UniKL MIMET Page 8 out of 21

– The attenuation in the example we had before is equal to 7.44 mV/10 mV = 0.744.
– Thus, the overall amplifier gain, A’v, would be A’v = (0.744) Av.
– Remember to always put a bypass capacitor in the emitter.

Example
Calculate the base-to-collector voltage gain of the amplifier shown next with and without
an emitter bypass capacitor, if there is no load resistor.

Solution
From a previous example we know that r’e = 6.58 Ω. Without C2, the gain is
Av = RC/(r’e + RE) = 1 kΩ/566.58 Ω = 1.76

With C2 included, the gain is

Av = RC/r’e = 1 kΩ/6.58 Ω = 152

The bypass capacitor makes a big difference!

LED 10503: BJT Amplifiers MEET

Prepared by: AZO, AZJ, ATA, MSH
UniKL MIMET Page 9 out of 21

– Couple more notes:

i) The effect of the load in the gain of an amplifier is as follows. If the load RL >>
RC, then Rc ≈ RC and there is no change in the gain. When Rc < RC, the voltage
gain is reduced (note Rc = RC||RL).
ii) Bypassing RE produces the maximum voltage gain, but it also produces a stability
problem. Since the ac voltage gain is dependent on r’e (Av = RC/r’e), and r’e
depends on IE and on temperature, the gain will be unstable over temperature
changes.

If we take the bypass off IE, the gain is decreased, but RE overpowers r’e in the
gain calculation and thus makes the circuit much less dependent on it.

To get rid of this problem, swamping is used. That is, we only partially bypass RE
by doing:

In this case the gain ends up being Av ≈ RC/RE1 (if RE1 >> 10 r’e).

Example
For the amplifier shown next, determine the total collector voltage and the total output
voltage, both dc and ac. Draw the waveforms.

LED 10503: BJT Amplifiers MEET

Prepared by: AZO, AZJ, ATA, MSH
UniKL MIMET Page 10 out of 21

Solution
We need to solve this in three steps:
Step 1) DC Analysis
Determine the dc bias values. For this, we need a dc equivalent circuit for the
amplifier above. That is, put open circuits for each capacitor.

RIN(base) = βDC (RE1 + RE2) = 150 (940 Ω) = 141 kΩ

Since RIN(base) > 10 R2, it can be neglected in the dc base voltage calculation.
VB ≈ R2/(R1+R2)VCC =(10kΩ)/(47kΩ + 10kΩ)10V = 1.75 V

VE = VB – 0.7 V = 1.75 V – 0.7 = 1.05 V

IE = VE/(RE1 + RE2) = 1.05 V/940 Ω = 1.12 mA

VC = VCC - ICRC = 10 V – (1.12 mA)(4.7 kΩ) = 4.74 V

Step 2) AC Analysis
The ac analysis is based on the ac equivalent circuit shown next.

The first thing to do in the ac analysis is calculate r’e.

r’e = 25 mV/IE = 25 mV/1.12 mA = 22 Ω

Next determine the attenuation in the base circuit. Looking from the 600 Ω source,
the total Rin is
Rin(tot) = R1||R2||Rin(base)
Rin(base) = βac(r’e + RE1) = 175 (492 Ω) = 86.1 kΩ

LED 10503: BJT Amplifiers MEET

Prepared by: AZO, AZJ, ATA, MSH
UniKL MIMET Page 11 out of 21

Rin(tot) = 47 kΩ||10 kΩ||86.1 kΩ = 7.53 kΩ

The attenuation from source to base is

Attenuation = Vb/Vs = Rin(tot)/(Rs+Rin(tot))
= 7.53 kΩ /(600 Ω + 7.53 kΩ) = 0.93

Before Av can be determined, we need to know the ac collector resistance:

Rc = RCRL/(RL + RC) = (4.7 kΩ)(47 kΩ)/(4.7 kΩ + 47 kΩ)
= 4.27 kΩ
Now we are ready to say that the gain from base to collector is
Av ≈ Rc/RE1 = 4.27 kΩ/470 Ω = 9.09

And the overall voltage gain is the attenuation times the amplifier voltage:
A’v = (Vb/Vs)Av = (0.93)(9.09) = 8.45

Since the source produces 10 mVrms, the rms voltage at the collector will be
Vc = A’vVin = (8.45)(10 mV) = 84.5 mV

Step 3) Plot waveforms

The total collector voltage is the signal voltage of 84.5 mVrms riding on a dc level of
4.74 V. This is shown in the next graph. The peaks are
Max Vc(p) = 4.74 + (84.5 mV)(1.414) = 4.86 V
Max Vc(p) = 4.74 - (84.5 mV)(1.414) = 4.62 V
The coupling capacitor C3 keeps the dc level from getting to the output, so Vout is
equal to the ac portion of the collector voltage (Vout(p) = 119 mV). Source voltage is
shown to emphasize phase inversion.

LED 10503: BJT Amplifiers MEET

Prepared by: AZO, AZJ, ATA, MSH
UniKL MIMET Page 12 out of 21

2.4 Common-Collector (CC) Amplifier

– Also called emitter-follower amplifier (EF).
– Input is applied to base through a coupling capacitor.
– Output is at the emitter.
– Voltage gain is approximately 1 (i.e. the voltage amplitude is roughly the same in
both the input and the output).
– Main advantage is its high input resistance and current gain.
– There is NO phase inversion.

Voltage Gain
– The voltage gain is Av=Vout/Vin.
– From circuit above we see that
Vout = IeRe

Vin = Ie(r’e + Re)

– Thus the gain is
Av=Vout/Vin = IeRe/Ie(r’e + Re)
= Re/(r’e + Re)

– Note in this case Re = RE||RL (Re = RE with no load).

– If Re >> r’e, Av ≈ 1.
– It is worth noting that since the output is taken at the emitter, there is no phase
inversion.

LED 10503: BJT Amplifiers MEET

Prepared by: AZO, AZJ, ATA, MSH
UniKL MIMET Page 13 out of 21

Input Resistance
– The emitter-follower has high input resistance.
– Because of this high input resistance, it can be used to minimize loading effects when
a circuit is driving a low resistance load.
– Note that the emitter resistance is never bypassed (as was the case in the common-
emitter amplifier).
Rin(base) = Vin/Iin = Vb/Ib = Ie(r’e/Re)/Ib
– Since Ie ≈ Ic = βacIb
Rin(base) = βacIb(r’e + Re)/Ib
= βac(r’e + Re)

– If Re >> r’e, the input resistance becomes

Rin(base) = βacRe

– The bias resistors appear in parallel with Rin(base), looking from the input source.
– Thus, the total input resistance becomes:
Rin(tot) = R1||R2||Rin(base)

Output Resistance
– Output resistance is very low.
– It is given by the following expression:
Rout = (Rs/βac)||RE

Derivation:

C C

BacIb BacIb
R1

Rs||R1||R2

B
Rs re
re

Vs
Vs E
E
R2 RE
RE

The output of the transistor is taken at node E, thus, across RE. The emitter current is Ie ≈
βacIb.

With Vs = 0 and with Ib produced by Vout, and neglecting the base-to-emitter voltage drop
(and therefore r’e),
Ib = Ve/(R1||R2||Rs)

Assuming R1 >> R2 >> Rs,

Ib ≈ Ve/Rs
LED 10503: BJT Amplifiers MEET
Prepared by: AZO, AZJ, ATA, MSH
UniKL MIMET Page 14 out of 21

Iout = Ie = βacVe/Rs

Vout/Iout = Ve/Ie = Ve/(βacVe/Rs) = Rs/βac

Looking into the emitter, RE appears in parallel with Rs/βac. Therefore

Rout = (Rs/βac)||RE

Current Gain
– Current gain, Ai, in the EF is Ai = Ie/Iin.
– Input current Iin = Vin/Rin(tot).
– If R1||R2 >> Rin(base), most of current goes into the base.
– Thus, current gain of amplifier is almost equal to gain of the transistor, βac.

Power Gain
– The CC power gain is Ap = AiAv ≈ Ai.

Example
Determine the total input resistance of the emitter follower shown below. Also find the
voltage gain, current gain, and power gain in terms of power delivered to the load, RL.
Assume βac = 175. And that the capacitive reactances are negligible at the frequency of
operation.

Solution
The ac emitter resistance external to the transistor, Re, is:
Re = RE||RL = 1 kΩ || 1kΩ = 500 Ω

The approximate resistance, looking in at the base, is:

Rin(base) ≈ βacRe = (175)(500 Ω) = 87.5 kΩ

The total input resistance is

Rin(tot) = R1|| R2||Rin(base) = 18kΩ||18kΩ||87.56kΩ = 8.16 kΩ

The voltage gain is almost unity (since it is a CC amplifier). By using r’e we can
determine a more precise value for Av:
VE = R2/(R1 + R2)VCC – VBE = (0.5)(10 V) – 0.7 V = 4.3 V

LED 10503: BJT Amplifiers MEET

Prepared by: AZO, AZJ, ATA, MSH
UniKL MIMET Page 15 out of 21

IE = VE/RE = 4.3 V/1.0 kΩ = 4.3 mA

r’e = 25 mV/IE = 25 mV/4.3 mA = 5.8 Ω

So
Av = Re/(r’e + Re) = 500 Ω/505.8 Ω = 0.989

The small difference in Av as a result of considering r’e is insignificant in most cases.

The current gain is Ai = Ie/Iin:

Ie = Ve/Re = AvVb/Re ≈ 1 V/500 Ω = 2 mA
Iin = Vin/Rin(tot) = 1 V/8.16 kΩ = 123 µA

Ai =Ie/Iin = 2 ma/123 µA = 16.3

The overall power gain is

Ap ≈ Ai = 16.3

Since RL = RE, one half of the total power is dissipated in RL. So, in terms of power to the
load, the power gain is one half of the overall power gain.
Ap(load) = Ap/2 = 16.3/2 = 8.15

The Darlington Pair

– βac is a major factor determining the input resistance of an amplifier.
– βac of a transistor limits the maximum achievable input resistance you can get from an
EF circuit.
– One way to boost the input resistance is to use a darlington pair.
– In a darlington pair, the collectors are connected, and the emitter of the first, drives
the base of the second.
– This configuration achieves βac multiplication.

– EF are often used as interface between a circuit with a high output resistance and a
low resistance load.

LED 10503: BJT Amplifiers MEET

Prepared by: AZO, AZJ, ATA, MSH
UniKL MIMET Page 16 out of 21

– In this cases the EF is called a buffer.

– For example, suppose a common-emitter amplifier with a 1.0 kΩ collector resistance
(output resistance) must drive a low-resistance load such as an 8 Ω low-power
speaker.
– If the speaker is capacitively coupled to the output of amplifier, the 8 Ω load (appears
to the ac signal) in parallel with the 1 kΩ collector resistor.
– This results in an ac collector resistance of Rc = RC||RL = 1kΩ||8Ω = 7.94 Ω.
– Obviously this is not acceptable, since most of the voltage gain is lost (Av=Rc/r’e).
– For example, if r’e = 5 Ω, the voltage gain is reduced from
Av = RC/r’e = 1 kΩ/5 Ω = 200
– to
Av = Rc/r’e = 7.94 Ω/5 Ω = 1.59

– We can add a darlington pair to interface the amplifier and the speaker:

Example
The circuit below shows a common-emitter stage driving a darlington pair connected as
an emitter follower. The β values for the silicon transistors are β1 = 200, β2 = 100, and
β3 = 100. Q2 and Q3 are the first and second stage of the darlington pair, respectively.
a) Find gain of the whole circuit, Av = vL/vS.
b) Find the gain Av = vL/vS if the darlington pair is removed and the 100 Ω load is
capacitor coupled to the collector of Q1.

LED 10503: BJT Amplifiers MEET

Prepared by: AZO, AZJ, ATA, MSH
UniKL MIMET Page 17 out of 21

VCC
15V

3.3kOhm
47kOhm

Q1

5kOhm

68Ohm
Vs
10kOhm 47Ohm
100Ohm
RL
910Ohm

Solution
a) The bias voltage at the base of Q1 results from the voltage divider bias:
Vth ≈ 10 kΩ/(47 kΩ + 10 kΩ) (15 V) = 2.6 V

RB = 10 kΩ|| 47 kΩ = 8.25 kΩ

IC1 ≈ IE1 ≈ (2.6 – 0.7)/(68 Ω + 910 Ω + 8.25kΩ/200)

= 1.9 mA

r’e1 ≈ 25 mV/IE1 = 25 mV/1.9 mA = 13.7 Ω

rin = RB || β1(r’e1 + Re) = (8.25 kΩ)||(13.7 Ω + 68 Ω)

= 5.48 kΩ

Notice the collector of Q1 is direct-coupled to the base of Q2 in the darlington pair.

So,
VB2 = VC1 - IC1RC1 = 15 V – (1.9 mA)(3.3 kΩ) = 8.7 V

The dc emitter voltage of Q3 is about 1.4 V less that the base voltage of Q2, since there
are two forward biased base-emitter junctions between those two points:
VE3 = VB2 – 1.4 V = 8.7 V – 1.4 V = 7.3 V

IE3 = VE3/RE3 = 7.3 V/47 Ω = 155 mA

r’e3 = 25 mV/IE3 = 25 mV/155 mA = 0.17 Ω

The internal emitter resistance of the darlington pair is twice that of the r’e3
r’e(dp) = 2 r’e3 = 2 (0.17 Ω) = 0.34 Ω

LED 10503: BJT Amplifiers MEET

Prepared by: AZO, AZJ, ATA, MSH
UniKL MIMET Page 18 out of 21

The gain of the darlington pair is βdp = β1 β2 = 10000. The total internal resistance,
looking into the darlington pair, is:
ri = βdp(r’e(dp) + 47||100)
= 10000(0.34 Ω + 47 Ω|| 100 Ω)
= 323 kΩ

The input resistance is large enough in comparison to the 3.3 kΩ collector resistance
of Q1. No loading will occur. Thus, the gain Av1 becomes
Av1 ≈ Rc1/(r’e1 + 68 Ω) = 3.3 kΩ/81.7 Ω = 40.4

The voltage gain of the emitter-follower stage is

Av(dp) ≈ (RL||RE3)/((RL||RE3) + r’e(dp))
= (47 Ω||100 Ω)/(0.34 Ω + (47 Ω ||100 Ω) = 0.99
= 32 Ω/(0.34 Ω + 32 Ω) = 0.99
Taking into account the gain drop caused by the source resistance, RS = 5 kΩ, the
overall gain is

vL/vS = [rin/(rS + rin)]Av1Av(dp)

= 5.48 kΩ/(5 kΩ + 5.48 kΩ)(40.4)(0.99)
= 20.9
b) With the 100 Ω load connected to the collector of Q1, the ac load on Q1 is
rL1 =(3.3 kΩ)||(100 Ω) ≈ 97 Ω.
Therefore,
Av1 ≈ rL1/(r’e + 68 Ω) = 97/81.7 = 1.2

The overall gain is, then

vL/vS = [rin/(rS + rin)]Av1
= 5.48 kΩ/(5 kΩ + 5.48 kΩ)(1.2)
= 0.63

Note that the output wave will be shifted by 180o with respect to the input wave. This
is because the first stage is a common emitter amplifier. Another way of indicating
this is with a minus sign in the gain. For example, in the second case the overall gain
would be vL/vS = –0.63.

2.5 Common-Base (CB) Amplifier

– Provides high voltage gain with a maximum current gain of 1.
– Low input resistance.
– Most appropriate for applications where sources tend to have very low-resistance
outputs.
– Good for high frequency applications.
– The base is the common terminal and is at ac ground.
– Input signal is capacitively coupled to the emitter.
– Output is capacitively coupled from the collector to a load resistor.

LED 10503: BJT Amplifiers MEET

Prepared by: AZO, AZJ, ATA, MSH
UniKL MIMET Page 19 out of 21

Voltage Gain
– Input voltage is Vin = Ve.
– Output voltage is Vout = Vc.
– Thus, the gain becomes
Av = Vout/Vin = Vc/Ve = IcRc/(Ie(r’e||RE) ≈ IeRc/(Ie(r’e||RE)
– Assuming RE >> r’e, we get
Av ≈ (RC||RL)/r’e

– Define Rc = RC||RL.
– The gain expression is the same as for the common emitter amplifier. However, there
is no phase inversion from emitter to collector.

Input Resistance
– Looking into the emitter, and assuming RE >> r’e, the resistance is
Rin(emitter) = Vin/Iin = Ve/Ie = Ie(r’e||RE)/Ie ≈ r’e

– Typically, RE is much greater than r’e, so the assumption used is usually valid.

Output Resistance
– Looking into the collector, the ac collector resistance, r’c, appears in parallel with RC.
– Just like in the CE amplifier, r’c is much larger than RC. Thus
Rout ≈ RC

Current Gain
– It is defined as Ai = Iout/Iin. Thus we have
Ai = Iout/Iin = Ic/Ie ≈ 1

Power Gain
– Since the current gain is approximately unity, and Ap = AiAv,
A p ≈ Av

Example
Find the input resistance, voltage gain, current gain, and power gain for the amplifier
shown next.

LED 10503: BJT Amplifiers MEET

Prepared by: AZO, AZJ, ATA, MSH
UniKL MIMET Page 20 out of 21

Solution
First find IE so that r’e can be determined. Then Rin ≈ r’e. Since βDCRE >> R2, then
VB = R2/(R1 + R2)VCC = (12 kΩ)(68 kΩ)10 V = 1.76 V

VE = VB – 0.7 V = 1.76 V – 0.7 = 1.06 V

IE = VE/RE = 1.06 V/1.0 kΩ = 1.06 mA

Therefore,
Rin ≈ r’e = 25 mV/IE = 25 mV/1.06 mA = 23.6 Ω

The voltage gain is found as follows.

Rc = RC||RL = 2.2 kΩ||10 kΩ = 1.8 kΩ

Av = Rc/r’e = 1.8 kΩ/23.6 Ω = 76.3

We also know Ai = 1 and Ap ≈ Av = 76.3.

LED 10503: BJT Amplifiers MEET

Prepared by: AZO, AZJ, ATA, MSH
UniKL MIMET Page 21 out of 21

2.6 Amplifier Comparisons

CE CC (or EF) CB
Input Base Base Emitter
Output Collector Emitter Collector
Inversion Yes No No
Voltage gain High Low High
RC/r’e ≈1 RC/r’e
Current gain High High Low
βac βac ≈1
Power gain Very High High High
Ai Av ≈ Ai ≈ Av
Input Resistance Low High Very low
βacr’e βacRE r’e
Output Resistance High Very low High
RC (Rs/βac)||RE RC
Frequency Range Medium Medium High

Chapter Summary
– A small signal amplifier uses only a small portion of its load line under signal conditions.
– r-parameters are easily identifiable and applicable with a transistor’s circuit operation.
– A common emitter amplifier has good voltage, current, and power gains, but a relatively
low input resistance.
– A common emitter amplifier is not very good for high frequency applications.
– A common collector amplifier has high input resistance and good current gain, but its
voltage gain is approximately 1.
– The common base amplifier has a good voltage gain, but it has a very low input resistance
and its current gain is approximately 1.
– A darlington pair provides β multiplication for increased input resistance.

LED 10503: BJT Amplifiers MEET

Prepared by: AZO, AZJ, ATA, MSH