THE UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH PACIFIC

EE212

ANALOGUE ELECTRONICS 1

LAB 5

DC Biasing and Operation of a BJT Amplifier

YEAR: 2024

Session:
Wednesday 10-1pm.

Group member:
Dilan Raj, S11219691
Vivek Naidu, S11219369

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AIM
The main objective of this experiment is to measure and calculating DC voltage and current at
the base, collector, and emitter. The input and output voltages and current will be measured,
along with analyzing the phase-shift between them, and also be able to calculate the voltage,
current, and power gain of the amplifier. In addition, it is to also understand the BJT’s
functionality under various condition.

INTRODUCTION
DC biasing in a BJT is a process in which a BJT is activated by applying a smaller measure of
DC across its base/emitter terminal so that is able to conduct a comparatively larger magnitude
of DC across its collector emitter terminals. Common DC biasing method include fixed bias,
collector feedback bias, and emitter bias. These methods help stabilize the transistor’s operating
point against variation in temperature and transistor parameters [1].

(Source: [2])
A BJT amplifier is a type of electronic amplifier that used in applications. BJT’s can operate
mainly in three primary regions; saturation, active and cut-off regions. Based on the requirement
[3].
Figure1 BJT Amplifier circuit

(Source: [3])

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EQUIPMENTS
All equipment’s mounted on a typical electronics workbench
 power supply
 oscilloscope
 signal generator
 multimeter.
 1 x 68kΩ resistor.
 1 x 8KΩ resistors.
 1 x 3.9KΩ resistor.
 1 x 1KΩ resistor.
 2 x 10µF capacitor.
 1 x 0.001µF capacitor.
 1 x Red LED.
 1 x BC548 NPN or equivalent.

METHODOLOGY
Part I – Voltage Divider Bias of a Common Emitter Amplifier
To investigate the voltage divider bias characteristics of a BJT common emitter amplifier, a
circuit was constructed
Figure 2

(Source: Lab handout)

To measure and record the DC voltage and current: 𝑉 , 𝑉 , 𝑉 , 𝐼 , 𝐼 , 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐼 ,a digital multimeter
was used. Then the DC current at the base, collector, and emitter of the transistor together with
all the terminal voltages were calculated. The measured and calculated values were compared
and analyzed.

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Part II – Small Signal Operation of a BJT Common-Emitter Amplifier
A “circuit was constructed in hardware to investigate the operation of a BJT common emitter
amplifier”. The “signal generator” was set to 50Vpp at 10 kHz on one trace, and the second
trace's CRO was utilized to ensure that the output waveform was stable. The peak-to-peak
voltage was measured and recorded, which reflected the input voltage to the amplifier, 𝑉 . The
“corresponding peak to peak output voltage 𝑉 was also measured and recorded, voltage gain
of amplifier 𝐴 was calculated”. Using both traces of the CRO, the phase shift φ between “input
and output signal” was measured and calculated. The “input current” 𝐼 and the “output
current”, 𝐼 , current gain 𝐴 and power gain were also determined. Using circuit analysis on
the figure below, the gain was calculated.
Figure 3

(Source: Lab handout)

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Part III – Application of a BJT as a Switch
Figure 4 shows the circuit that was constructed and analyzed.
Figure 4

(Source: Lab handout)

The circuit in figure 4 was created to investigate the application of the BJT as a switch. The
resistor values were found in the very first calculation with the help of the lab technician. A
10Vp-p square wave ac source was linked into the “input terminal”. The frequency was reduced
until the LED started blinking, it’s data was recorded.

RESULTS
PART 1:
Measured Values from Hardware Circuit Analysis

(Measured value of 𝑉𝐵 )

(Measured value of 𝑉𝐶 )

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(Measured value of 𝑉𝐸 )

(Measured value of 𝐼𝐸 )

(Measured value of 𝐼𝐶 )

(Measured value of 𝐼𝐵 )

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(Hardware Circuit for figure 2)

(Circuit for figure 2 in Circuit maker software)

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This circuit was built in the software to verify the results for the values from hardware analysis.

PART 2:

(Waveform output for figure 3 circuit)

(Hardware Circuit from figure 3)

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PART 3:

(Hardware Circuit for figure 4)

Table 1:

Quantities Measured Circuit Maker Calculated

𝑉 1.754 V 1.788 V 1.88 V
𝑉 4.429 V 4.623 V 4.925 V
𝑉 1.31 V 1.129 V 1.18V
𝐼 7.348 𝜇𝐴 6.753 𝜇𝐴 9.50 𝜇𝐴
𝐼 1.145 mA 1.122 mA 1.045 mA
𝐼 1.152 mA 1.129 mA 1.045 mA

Calculation:
Part 1:
𝑉 𝑖𝑠 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑝𝑢𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑖𝑛 𝐷𝐶 𝑎𝑛𝑎𝑙𝑦𝑠𝑖𝑠 :
𝑉 =𝑉
𝑅
= 𝑉
𝑅 +𝑅
18
= 9
68 + 18
𝑽𝑩 = 𝟏. 𝟖𝟖 𝑽

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𝑉 𝑖𝑠 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑝𝑢𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑖𝑛 𝐷𝐶 𝑎𝑛𝑎𝑙𝑦𝑠𝑖𝑠:
𝑉 = 𝑉 −𝑉
= 1.88 − 0.7
𝑽𝑬 = 𝟏. 𝟏𝟖 𝑽
𝐼 𝑖𝑠 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑝𝑢𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑖𝑛 𝐷𝐶 𝑎𝑛𝑎𝑙𝑦𝑠𝑖𝑠:
𝑅 𝑅
𝑅 =
𝑅 +𝑅
(68 × 10 ) × (18 × 10 )
=
(68 × 10 ) + (18 × 10 )

𝑅 = 14.23 𝑘Ω

𝑉
𝐼 =
𝑅
𝑅 +
𝛽
1.18
=
14.23 × 10
1 × 10 +
110
𝑰𝑬 = 𝟏. 𝟎𝟒𝟓 𝐦𝐀
𝐼 𝑖𝑠 𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑥𝑖𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑙𝑦 𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑎𝑙 𝑡𝑜 𝐼 ∶
𝐼 =𝐼
𝑰𝑪 = 𝟏. 𝟎𝟒𝟓 𝐦𝐀
𝐼 𝑖𝑠 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑝𝑢𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑖𝑛 𝐷𝐶 𝑎𝑛𝑎𝑙𝑦𝑠𝑖𝑠:
𝛽 = 110
𝐼
𝐼 =
𝛽
1.045 × 10
=
110
𝑰𝑩 = 𝟗. 𝟓𝟎 𝝁𝑨

𝑉 𝑖𝑠 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑝𝑢𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑖𝑛 𝐷𝐶 𝑎𝑛𝑎𝑙𝑦𝑠𝑖𝑠:

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 𝑉 =𝑉 −𝐼 𝑅
= 9 − (1.045 × 10 ) × (3.9 × 10 )
= 9 − 4.0755
𝑽𝑪 = 𝟒. 𝟗𝟐𝟓 𝑽
 The results differed slightly which can be result of systematic error or computational
uncertainties.

Part 3:
𝛽 = 75
𝑉 (𝑠𝑎𝑡) = 10 𝑉
𝐼 = 10 mA
𝑉 = 2.2 𝑉
𝑉 (𝐴𝐶) = 10 𝑉
Calculation of 𝐼 :
𝐼
𝐼 =
𝛽
10 mA
=
75
𝑰𝑩 = 𝟎. 𝟏𝟑 𝒎𝑨

Calculation of 𝑅 :
𝑉 (𝐴𝐶) − 𝑉
𝑅 =
𝐼
10 𝑉 − 0.7𝑉
=
0.13 𝑚𝐴
𝑹𝑪 = 𝟕𝟏. 𝟓𝟒 𝒌𝛀
Calculation of 𝑅 :
𝑉 (𝐷𝐶) − 𝑉 − 𝑉 (𝑠𝑎𝑡)
𝑅 =
𝐼
9𝑉 − 2.2𝑉 − 10𝑉
=
10𝑚𝐴
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 𝑹𝑩 = 𝟑𝟐𝟎 𝛀

DISCUSSION
PART 1
The voltage divider biasing circuit for the common-emitter amplifier was constructed and the
measurements were obtained for main DC voltages and currents at the three pins of the BJT. The
base voltage (VB) was found to be 1.754 V below the emitter voltage (VE). The collector
voltage (VC) was 4.429 V that was close to the supply voltage (VCC), indicating proper biasing
conditions. The emitter voltage (VE) was 1.31V. The base current (IB) was 7.345 𝝁𝑨 ,ensuring
proper control of the transistor. The collector current (IC) of 1.145 mA was consistent with the
expected values based on the biasing conditions and transistor characteristics. The emitter
current (IE) was equal to the sum of the base and collector currents, in accordance with
Kirchhoff's current law giving 1.152 mA of current. The results compared well with the
software values and the computed values with minor uncertainties as shown in table 1. This can
be a result of improper equipment calibration or systematic error. All in all, the experiment
demonstrated the voltage divider biasing characteristics of a BJT amplifier and its impact on
transistor operation.
PART 2
The small signal operation of a BJT common-emitter amplifier was investigated, results were
noted for key areas. The input voltage (Vin) was set to 50mVp-p at 10kHz, and the output
waveform was illustrated in the oscilloscope ensuring an undistorted output waveform to be
obtained. The waveform was produced as shown in figure in the results above with minor
distortion that could be due to interference in the frequency in the circuit itself. The peak-peak
input voltage (Vin) and corresponding peak-peak output voltage (V out) were observed. The
phase shift (φ) between the input and output signals was calculated to understand signal delay in
the amplifier. Results were then compared with the theoretical analysis and achieved the
expected values based on the circuit analysis. Some differences were noticed between the
measured and theoretical values that were noted which could be due to factors such as
measurement uncertainties or equipment faults or human error.

PART 3
The circuit was studied to determine the values of RC and RB for the BJT for it to be operated as
a switch. The values of βDC and VCE (sat) were utilized and resistor values were calculated for
proper biasing and saturation of the transistor. The circuit was then built with the calculated
resistors from part 1, and a 10Vp-p square wave AC source was supplied to the input terminal.
As the frequency of the square wave was reduced, LED connected with the output of the circuit
was observed to turn on and off which indicated the switching behavior of the BJT. The
frequency at which this switching occurred was noted. The RC value was found to be 𝟕𝟏. 𝟓𝟒 𝒌𝛀

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and the RB value was 𝟑𝟐𝟎 𝛀 through calculation. This experiment displayed the practical
relevance of a BJT as a switch, showing the ability that could control the flow of current through
an external load based on the input signal frequency.

CONCLUSION
In conclusion, this experiment practically demonstrated the behavior of Bipolar Junction
Transistor (BJT) under different conditions. Using the calculated, software and hardware
analysis measurements completed on the DC voltage and current at crucial areas of the base,
collector, and emitter, the range of the BJT’s functioning was understood. In addition, difference
was determined between input voltage and current by reference to the output voltage and current
of BJT amplifier, which gave more insight into the characteristics of the BJT amplifier. In
solving the equations which yielded voltage, current and power, the results revealed the higher
efficiency of the BJT. In general, the handling of real-life electronic circuits was improved
through the lab hands-on activities and results obtained compared well with theory and software
analysis with few uncertainties.

References

[1] quora, "www.quora.com," www.quora.com, 29 11 2023. [Online]. Available:

https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-DC-biasing-of-transistors. [Accessed 13 04 2024].

[2] electronics.stackexchange, "electronics.stackexchange.com," electronics.stackexchange.com,

[Online]. Available: https://electronics.stackexchange.com/questions/210078/a-question-on-
voltage-divider-resistances-used-in-bjt-biasing. [Accessed 13 04 2024].

[3] byjus, "byjusexamprep.com," byjusexamprep.com, [Online]. Available:

https://byjusexamprep.com/gate-ece/bjt-amplifier#toc-1. [Accessed 13 04 2024].

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