Microelectronic Circuits

Lecture 30
Amplifiers
Common Collector/Drain
Common Base/Gate

Stephen E. Ralph

Fall 2022

Georgia Institute of Technology L30 ECE3040 S. E. Ralph 1

 Single Transistor Amplifiers

 Single-Transistor amplifier analysis includes

– DC analysis: Q-point
– AC analysis: small signal analysis
 Single-transistor amplifier configurations include

BJT MOSFET aka

Common Emitter Common Source Inverting Amp
Common Collector Common Drain Follower
Common Base Common Gate Non-inverting Amp

 Circuit examples
– Use four-resistor bias circuits to establish the Q-point
– Use coupling and bypass capacitors for ac signal coupling and
small signal ac equivalent circuit analysis

Georgia Institute of Technology L30 ECE3040 S. E. Ralph 2

 Transistor Amplifier Configurations

 Common Emitter/source
−Very Large Voltage Gain
−Inverting Voltage Gain (due to –gmro)
−High Input Impedance
−High Output Impedance
 Common Base/Gate
−High Voltage Gain
−Non-Inverting Voltage Gain
−Very Low Input Impedance
−Very High Output Impedance
 Common Collector/Drain
−Unity voltage gain
−High input resistance
−Low output impedance
−Large Current gain

Georgia Institute of Technology L31 ECE3040 S. E. Ralph 3

 Single-Stage Amplifiers
Simplified Characteristics of BJT Amplifiers

Georgia Institute of Technology L31 ECE3040 S. E. Ralph 4

Terminal Gain and I/O Resistances of BJT Amplifiers

To determine the gain, Ri, Ro of the complete amplifier, you need to

include voltage/current dividers at input and output stages
Georgia Institute of Technology L31 ECE3040 S. E. Ralph 5
Terminal Gain and I/O Resistances of MOS Amplifiers

To determine the gain, Ri, Ro of the complete amplifier, you need

to include voltage/current dividers at input and output stages
Georgia Institute of Technology L31 ECE3040 S. E. Ralph 6
 MOSFET Amplification Factor

1  go is internal to the transistor and cannot

+ VDS
Av , Max =− g m ro = DS
I λ = −
(1 λ + VDS ) be avoided
VGS − VTN I DS (VGS − VT ) / 2  Any additional resistor due to external
2 circuitry will lower the gain
rewriting in terms of drain current directly
 For this reason current sources are often
(1 λ + VDS )
= 2 Kn
I DS (1+ λVDS ) used as the “load” instead of bias
resistors in amplifier circuits
≈1 λ 2 Kn
I DS when λ VDS <<1

Also known as µF

 Voltage gain decreases with increasing drain current

Georgia Institute of Technology L30 ECE3040 S. E. Ralph 7

 Recap: MOSFET Small Signal Model

Transconductance:

2I D
g=
m
y=
21
= 2K n I D (1+ λVDS )
VGS −VTN

Output resistance:

1 1+ λVDS 1
ro = = ≅
 The gate terminal is insulated from channel by y22 λI D λI D
gate-oxide
− The resistance looking into the transistor (from the gate) is Amplification factor for λVDS<<1:
infinite (within the simple model )
Small-signal parameters are controlled by the Q-point 1+ λVDS 2K n
≅1

µ f = gmro =
− Small-signal parameters to be found from Q-point: λI D λ ID
gm, ro, and µf
Chap 13 - 8

Georgia Institute of Technology L30 ECE3040 S. E. Ralph 8

 BJT Amplification Factor

ib ic
B C

+ +
 Hybrid π small signal model
v g v rο v
be
rπ m be ce  ro is internal to the transistor and can not be
- - avoided
E
 Any additional resistor due to external circuitry
will lower the gain
I V +V V +V
Av , Max =
− g m ro =
− C A CE =
− A CE
VT IC VT
rewriting in terms of drain current directly
V
≈ A ≈ 40VA when VCE <<VA
VT

 Voltage gain is independent of operating point

– Significant difference compared to FET

Georgia Institute of Technology L30 ECE3040 S. E. Ralph 9

Small Signal Comparison

Georgia Institute of Technology L30 ECE3040 S. E. Ralph 10

Amplifier Comparison

 Voltage Gain
– Expressions similar
– gm for BJT is significantly larger than gm of FET
– BJT: gm = IC/VT
– FET: gm = IDS/[(VGS-VTN)/2]
 Input Resistance
– Common Source FET limited typically by external bias
resistances RG = Rin
– Common Emitter limited by rπ and the external bias
resistances
 Output Resistance
– Common Source: limited by ro and drain resistance
(neglecting source resistance)
– Common Emitter: limited by ro and collector resistance
(neglecting RE)

Georgia Institute of Technology L30 ECE3040 S. E. Ralph 11

 Comparison of BJT and FET typical parameters

Table 13.6 - Comparison of Three Amplifier Voltage Gains

Amplifier Q-Point Av µF Rule-of-Thumb

Estimates

BJT (241 µA, 3.67 V) -84.1 2150 -100

M OSFET (250 µA, 5.00 V) -7.94 135 -10

JFET (250 µA, 4.75 V) -20.4 230 -24

Table 13.7 - Comparison of Input and Output Resistances

Amplifier RIN RB or R G rπ ROUT RC or R D ro

BJT 6.23 k Ω 100 k Ω 6.64 k Ω 9.57 k Ω 10 k Ω 223 k Ω

M OSFET 1.00 M Ω 1.00 M Ω  18.2 k Ω 20 k Ω 260 k Ω

JFET 1.00 M Ω 1.00 M Ω  24.0 k Ω 27 k Ω 219 k Ω

Georgia Institute of Technology L30 ECE3040 S. E. Ralph 12

 Common Emitter and Common Source

− Large/Moderate Voltage Gain These properties make

− Inverting Voltage Gain (due to –gmro) the CE/CS configuration
very good for high gain
− High/Very High Input Impedance
stages of amplifiers
− High Output Impedance

Georgia Institute of Technology L30 ECE3040 S. E. Ralph 13

Common Collector and Common Drain:
Follower Circuits

Georgia Institute of Technology L30 ECE3040 S. E. Ralph 14

Common Collector and Common Drain: Follower Circuits

C D
B G

E S

Collector (or Drain) is neither an input or output

Input is Base (or Gate)
Output is Emitter (or Source)

Georgia Institute of Technology L30 ECE3040 S. E. Ralph 15

Follower Circuits: Common-Collector & Common-Drain Amplifiers
No Collector or Source resistor

AC equivalent for C-C Amplifier AC equivalent for C-D Amplifier

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Common-Collector & Common-Drain: Follower Circuits Avt

For FET C-D Amp., and rπ →∞

βo = gmrπ

vo
CD =
g m vGS RL g m RL
=
Avt += +
vb vGS + g m vGS RL 1+ g m RL
For BJT C-C Amp., neglect ro,
In most C-C and C-D amplifiers, gm RL >>1
AvtCC
=
ve vo
= =
( i + β oi ) RL
vb vb irπ + ( i + β oi ) RL

=
( βo + 1) RL Output voltage follows input voltage.
Theses circuits are called followers
rπ + ( β o + 1) RL
“Emitter follower” for e.g.
g m RL
For β o >> 1, AvtCC ≅ +
1 + g m RL Avt ≤1
Note: However, ro is easily included since it appears directly in
parallel with RL.

Georgia Institute of Technology L30 ECE3040 S. E. Ralph 17

 Follower Circuits: Input Signal Range

 For small-signal operation, magnitude of vbe developed across rπ in small-signal model must
be less than 5 mV

From expression for Vb

 If g m RL >> 1, vb can be increased beyond 5 mV limit

– Since only small portion of input signal appears across base-emitter or gate-source terminals, followers can be
used with relatively large input signals without violating small-signal limits

 For the FET, the magnitude of vgs must be less than 0.2(VGS - VTN)

Georgia Institute of Technology L30 ECE3040 S. E. Ralph 18

 Follower Circuits: Input Resistance and Overall Voltage Gain

Common-Collector Amplifier
Common-Drain Amplifier
 Input resistance looking into the
base terminal is  For the CD Amplifier rπ → ∞

v RiGCD = ∞
RiBCC = b =rπ + ( β o + 1) RL
ib

 Overall voltage gain is  For C-D Amplifier,

vo  vo   vb  CC  vb 
AvCC
= =   =  A vt    RG 
vi  vb   vi  v
 i AvCD = AvtCD  
R
 I + RG 
 RB R CC
iB

AvCC CC
= Avt  CC 
R
 I + RB R iB 

Georgia Institute of Technology L30 ECE3040 S. E. Ralph 19

Follower Circuits: Voltage Gain Calculations (Example)

For C-C Amplifier

 Problem: Find overall voltage gain

 Given data:
– Q-point (0.245 mA, 3.64 V)
– VT = 25 mV, βo = 100
 Assumptions: Small-signal operating
conditions;

Georgia Institute of Technology L30 ECE3040 S. E. Ralph 20

Follower Circuits: Voltage Gain Calculations (Example)
For C-C Amplifier

 Problem: Find overall voltage gain

 Given data:
– Q-point (0.245 mA, 3.64 V)
– VT = 25 mV, βo = 100
 Assumptions: Small-signal operating conditions;

β
RB = 104 k Ω
R1 R2 = 40 I C =
gm = 9.80 mS rπ =o =10.2 k Ω
gm
RL = R6 R3 ro ≅ R6 R3 =11.5 k Ω
RiBCC= rπ (1 + g m RL )= 10.2k Ω 1 + 9.8mS (11.5k Ω ) = 1.16 M Ω
g m RL RB RiB
ACC
= +0.991 Av =
= CC CC
Avt = = +0.971
RI + ( RB RiB )
vt
1 + g m RL

Georgia Institute of Technology L30 ECE3040 S. E. Ralph 21

 Follower Circuits: Voltage Gain (Example )

For C-D Amplifier:

– Q-point (0.241 mA, 3.81 V), gm = 0.491 mS

RG =R1 R2 =892 k Ω RL =R6 R3 ro ≅ R6 R3 =10.7 k Ω

g m RL RG
AvtCD = +0.840 AvCD =
= AvtCD +0.838
=
1 + g m RL RI + RG

 These results are typical of BJT & FET followers;

The BJT has a higher transconductance for the same IC and ID
this leads to a follower gain that is much closer to 1 for the BJT

Georgia Institute of Technology L30 ECE3040 S. E. Ralph 22

 Follower Circuits: Rout

In FET follower

For the FET with rπ → ∞,

1
RiECD =
gm

1
vx R =
CD
out
ix =−i − β oi =−i (1 + β o ) =− (1 + βo ) gm
rπ + Rth
CC Rth + rπ 1 Rth
RiE= ≅ +
βo + 1 gm βo  The equivalent resistance looking into
emitter or source of a transistor in followers
βo is approximately 1/ gm
rπ =
gm

Georgia Institute of Technology L30 ECE3040 S. E. Ralph 23

 Follower Circuits: Output Resistance (Example)

 Problem: Find output resistance.

 Given data: Q-point values and values for RI, R1, R2, R3, R6 ,for both BJT and FET
 Assumptions: Small-signal operating conditions. Small - signal values are known
 Analysis: For C-C Amplifier,

For C-D Amplifier,

Georgia Institute of Technology L30 ECE3040 S. E. Ralph 24

 Follower Circuits: Current Gain

 Terminal current gain is the ratio of the current delivered to the load resistor to the
current being supplied from the Thevenin source

Georgia Institute of Technology L30 ECE3040 S. E. Ralph 25

 Common Collector: Total Net Gain
Convert DC Circuit to AC Equivalent (reduced)

DC Circuit

Note the extra

ground due to C2
ib B C
AC Circuit
rπ βib ro

E (β+1)ib

Georgia Institute of Technology L30 ECE3040 S. E. Ralph 26

 Common Collector
DC Circuit converted to AC Equivalent (reduced)
ib B C
AC Circuit
rπ βib ro

E (Β+1)ib

ib B C

AC Circuit (reduced) rπ βib

E (β+1)ib
vo

( β o + 1) ib ( R 4 || ro || R 7 ) =
vo = ( β o + 1) ib RL
v=
th ib ( Rth + rπ + ( β o + 1)( R 4 || ro || R 7=
)) ib ( Rth + rπ + ( β o + 1) RL )

Georgia Institute of Technology L30 ECE3040 S. E. Ralph 27

 Common Collector
AC Voltage Gain

ib B C
vo
= ( β o + 1) ib RL
v=
th ib ( Rth + rπ + ( β o + 1) RL ) rπ βib
R 2 || R1
vth = vs E (β+1)ib
R 2 || R1 + Rs
vo
=
vo vth  R 2 || R1  
Av = 
( β o + 1) RL 
 
vth vs  R 2 || R1 + Rs   ( Rth + rπ + ( β o + 1) RL ) 
gm
multiply numerator and denominator by
( β o + 1)
 R 2 || R1  g m RL For β>>1
Av =  
 R 2 || R1 + Rs    Rth  g r 
 g m  + RL  + m π 
  ( β o + 1)  ( β o + 1) 

 R 2 || R1  g m RL
AvCC ≅   ≅ 1 V 
 R 2 || R1  g m RL  R 2 || R1 + Rs  1 + g m RL  V
Av =  
 R 2 || R1 + Rs    Rth  
 g m  + RL  + α o 
  ( β o + 1) 

 Gain is positive and ~1

Georgia Institute of Technology L30 ECE3040 S. E. Ralph 28

 Follower Circuits: Rin and Av

 Input signal range:

– Only small portion of the input signal appears across the base-emitter or gate-source terminals
 followers can be used with relatively large input signals without violating small-signal limits
 Rin & Av
Input Resistance Overall voltage gain

    
vo v
 v
  v 
A =
CC
v =  o  b  =A CC  b 
vt
vi v
 v
 
 b  i 
v 
 i 
vb
BJT R =
CC
in = rπ +(βo +1)RL 
 RB R CC


in
i =A CC 
vt 


 RI +  RB R 
CC  
in  

 
FET rπ → ∞ R =∞
CD  RG 
v =A
in
ACD CD
vt 

 RI + R 
G 

Georgia Institute of Technology L30 ECE3040 S. E. Ralph 29

 Follower Circuits: Summary

 Both C-C and C-D amplifiers have unity voltage gain

 C-D & C-C amplifiers provide high input resistance
– FET: due to infinite resistance looking into gate terminal of FET
– BJT: small current flowing into the base
– Rin (C-D FET amp.) >> Rin (C-C BJT amp.)
 C-D & C-C amp. provide low output impedance
– Output resistance of C-C amplifier is typically lower than the C-D amplifier due to higher
transconductance of BJT than a FET for given operating current
 Both C-C and C-D amp. can handle relatively large input signal levels
 Current gain of the FET is inherently infinite, whereas that of the BJT is limited by
the finite βo

Georgia Institute of Technology L30 ECE3040 S. E. Ralph 30

Follower Circuits: Summary

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 Common-Collector Common-Drain

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Common Base and Common Gate:
Non-inverting Amplifier

Georgia Institute of Technology L30 ECE3040 S. E. Ralph 33

Common-Base and Common-Gate Circuits
Non-inverting Amplifiers: Beware: Past editions of
Jaeger use different names
for resistors

ac equivalent for C-B Amplifier ac equivalent for C-G Amplifier

Georgia Institute of Technology L30 ECE3040 S. E. Ralph 34

 Non-inverting Amplifiers: Rin and Avt

ro is neglected

E C

Polarities of vbe and voltage- dependent For C-S Amplifier, take limit of
current source gmvbe are both reversed voltage gain of C-E amplifier as rπ → ∞

Note: The input signal source must carry the full emitter current (plus the base current)
Load carries a (large) fraction of the emitter current
Expect: low input impedance and current gain less than one
Georgia Institute of Technology L30 ECE3040 S. E. Ralph 35
 Common Base Input Resistance (detail)
iC
i ro
gmvπ RL vo
rπ
-ix=iE
iB
vπ=−vx

Input Resistance: With the load resistance attached apply a test input voltage and
measure the input current, Rin=vx/i
Note: if ro is assumed large then
 1 
 g m +  v  g 
 vx − vo   vx  ro g m vx +  x  and , vo =
ix = vx  m  RL
ix =
g m vx +  +
   and , v v
=   RL  rπ   1 
 1 + RL
o x
 ro   rπ  
 ro 
  vx 1 rπ 1
R=
in = = ≈
ix  1  g m rπ + 1 g m
gm +  
 rπ 

Georgia Institute of Technology L30 ECE3040 S. E. Ralph 36

 Common Base Input Resistance (detail)

  1  
g +
1   m r   v 
Letting ro → ∞
ix =g m vx + vx − vx  o
 RL  +  x 
ro   1 + RL    rπ 
  ro   vx 1
    R=
in =
ix 1
gm +  
 rπ 
vx 1 rπ
Rin , BJT= = Rin =
ix    1   
 g + g m rπ + 1
  m   1 
 g m + 1 1 −  ro
 RL  +  
 ro   1 + RL    rπ
1
 ≈
   ro    gm
     

Input Resistance is very small

Georgia Institute of Technology L30 ECE3040 S. E. Ralph 37

 Non-inverting Amplifiers: Av

For BJT C-B Amp, overall voltage gain is

If gm RI <<1 ,
vt ≅ +gm RL
ACB
vo  vo   ve  R6 RiE
AvCB
= =   =  ACB
vt ≅ +gm RL
ACG
RI + ( R6 RiE )
vt
vi  ve   vi 
This is the upper bound on gain
g m RL  R6 
AvCB =  
1 + g m Rth  RI + R6 

If gm Rth >>1 where  Rth = R6 RI ,

For FET C-G Amp,  

g m RL  R6  RL
AvCG =   A = A ≅+
CB CG
1 + g m Rth  RI + R6  vt vt
RI
For RI >> R6 ,
g R ro can be neglected
CB ,CG
A v ≅ m L
1 + g m RI

Georgia Institute of Technology L30 ECE3040 S. E. Ralph 38

 Non-inverting Amplifiers: Rout
 The equivalent circuit is same as that for C-E
amplifier except
– the resistance in the base is zero
– the resistance in the emitter R6||RI is relabeled as Rth
– Follows slide 14 lecture 29
Input source vI is set to 0. Test source vx is
applied to the output, and the resulting
current ix is found
 βR 
RiCCB ≅ ro 1 + o th 
 Rth + rπ 
RiCCB ≅ ro (1 + g m Rth ) for rπ >> Rth

For BJT, βo = gmrπ ,

out ≅ ro 1+ gm (rπ Rth )  ≅ µ f (rπ Rth )
 
R CB

For the FET

Georgia Institute of Technology L30 ECE3040 S. E. Ralph 39

Common Base Output Resistance (detail)
vπ

rπ gmvπ ro RL Replace RL by voltage source, vx

ix
iB
β o ib
rπ vr ro
vπ vx
ix
iE
ve
Rth

Result follows exactly after discussion in Jaeger, pages 668-670, and 683-684

Georgia Institute of Technology L30 ECE3040 S. E. Ralph 40

 Common Base Output Resistance (detail)
v=
x vr + ve
( ix − β oib ) ro + ve
=
but ,
rπ Rth
= [ rπ || Rth ] ix
ve ix=
rπ + Rth
Rth
ib = −ix thus,
rπ + Rth
 Rth  rπ Rth
vx = ix ro − β o  −ix r +
 o x i
 rπ + Rth  rπ + Rth
v  Rth  rπ Rth  β o Rth 
∴ RiCCB =x =ro + β o  r
 o + ≅ ro 1 + 
ix  rπ + Rth  rπ + Rth  Rth + rπ 
Very
Even Larger
≅ ro (1 + g m Rth ) for rπ >> Rth
Large Small; rπ and Rth
are both <ro

Output Resistance is HUGE!

Georgia Institute of Technology L30 ECE3040 S. E. Ralph 41
 Non-inverting Amplifiers: Current Gain Ai

 Terminal current gain is the ratio of the current delivered to the load
resistor to the current being supplied to the base terminal

ic
A = = αo ≅ +1
CB
it A = +1
CG
it
ie

Georgia Institute of Technology L30 ECE3040 S. E. Ralph 42

 Common Gate Solution

 The Common Gate solution can be found by recognizing that the following
translations can be made in our small signal model:

βo → ∞ ⇒ αo → 1
rπ → ∞
g m RL g m RL
Av , BJT = → Av , MOSFET =
  Rth   g m Rth + 1
 m th 
g R +  + 1
 r
 π  

1 1
Rin , BJT = → Rin , MOSFET =
1  gm
g m +  
 rπ 
 Rth  r R  Rth  r R
Rout , BJT = ro + β o  ro + π th = ro + g m rπ  ro + π th → Rout , MOSFET = ro (1 + g m Rth ) + Rth
 rπ + Rth  rπ + Rth  rπ + Rth  rπ + Rth

Ai , BJT = α o ≈ 1 → Ai , BJT = α o = 1

Georgia Institute of Technology L30 ECE3040 S. E. Ralph 43

 Summary of Common Base and Common Gate

The input and output impedances are the

− High Voltage Gain
opposite of what is typically needed for a
− Non-Inverting Voltage Gain voltage amplifier.
− Very Low Input Impedance Thus, Common Emitter/Source amplifiers are
− Very High Output Impedance normally used instead of Common Base/Gate

 C-B and C-G amplifiers have similar voltage and current gains
 C-B amplifier
− can achieve higher output resistance due to higher amplification factor of BJT
− can reach low levels of input resistance due to higher transconductance of BJT
 The input signal range of the C-G amplifier is inherently larger than that of C-B amplifier because
VGS-VTN is typically much greater than VT

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