Electronics Design

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Faculty of Engineering, SLIIT

BSc in Electronic & Electrical Engineering

Designing a Two Stage Amplifier

Up to now we have discussed a couple of methods in designing a BJT/MOSFET amplifier. By now you
may have realized that the particular design approach of an amplifier depends on the final
requirement/requirements.
Figure 1 shows a two stage amplifier. Using the instructions given in part 1, 2, 3 and 4 design the
amplifier as per the specifications given to each group. If the 2N7000 is not available you may use any
other suitable small signal MOSFET.

Figure 1: Two stage amplifier

PART 1: BJT Amplifier Design

a. Determine collect resistance R7 and the emitter resistance R8.
VCC VR 7 VCE VR8 I C R7 VCE I E R8
IC I E

IE IE

Selecting the Q - point by the rule of thumb : VR 7 VR8 VCE

Then, R7

VCC
3

VCC / 3
V /3
and R 8 CC
IC
IE

b. Determine the DC biasing voltage, VB, at the base the BJT

The base potential VB is higher than the emitter potential VE by VBE. And VE is equal to the
voltage across the emitter resistance R7.

VB VE 0.7
VE VR8

VCC
3

c. Determine the base bias resistance R4 and R5

The base potential VB is determined by the DC voltage supply VCC and the voltage divider
consisted of R5 and R6.

VB VCC

R6
R5 R6

d. Draw the AC equivalent circuit of the BJT amplifier (use figure 2 as the small signal model of
the transistor). Find the trans-conductance gm, AC input resistor rbe and the AC voltage gain Av
(VT = 26mV at room temperature). Use the IC vs hfe graph in the data sheet to obtain the DC
current gain.

Figure 2: AC equivalent circuit of a BJT

gm
rbe

IC IC q

VT
K T

VT
IC

A v Vout / Vin g m ( R6 // ro // RL )

PART 2: MOSFET Amplifier Design

a. Bias the MOSFET so that the VDS,VR3, VR4 is at VCC/3. A considerable amount of current
should flow in the MOSFET in order to feed the next stage. Chose a VGS value of VTH +
100mV. The threshold voltage (VTH can be found in the data sheet). When choosing gate
resistors make sure that you select resistors in the mega ohm range (>3M).
b. Calculating the transconductance of the MOSFET is done using the following calculation.
=

c. The gain of the MOSFET amplifier can be calculated using the following equation. Zin is the
input impedance of the BJT amplifier.
= (3 )

Questions for Part 1 and 2

1. Using the guidelines provided in part 1, calculate R5, R6, R7, R8 for the BJT amplifier.
2. Calculate the power dissipation of the BJT.
3. Draw the AC equivalent circuit for the BJT amplifier.
4. Calculate gm, rbe, voltage gain, input impedance and output impedance (output impedance
without the load resistor) of the amplifier.
5. Calculate the AC load of the amplifier (output impedance with the load resistor) and explain
why the collector resistor should be low when compared to the load resistor.
6. Using the guidelines provided in part 2, calculate R1, R2 R3, R4 for the MOSFET amplifier.
7. Calculate the power dissipation of the MOSFET.
8. Draw the AC equivalent circuit for the MOSFET amplifier.
9. Calculate gm, voltage gain, input impedance and output impedance (without the input
impedance of BJT) of the MOSFET amplifier.
10. Simulate the MOSFET amplifier design in OrCad and obtain the following. Decide on suitable
input voltage amplitude.
a. DC bias voltages and currents.
b. Voltage gain vs. frequency curve.
c. Bandwidth.
d. Vout vs. time graph at f=10kHz.

PART 3: Combining the Two Amplifiers

Combine the two amplifiers as shown in figure 1 and implement it in hardware. Decide on a suitable
input voltage amplitude and obtain the following results. No marks will be given for computer
simulations in this section.

Questions for Part 3

1. DC bias voltages and currents.
2. Voltage gain vs. frequency curve.
3. Bandwidth.
4. Vout vs. time graph at f=10kHz.

PART 4: Implementing Negative Feedback

Figure 3: Two Stage Amplifier with Feedback

The total voltage gain of the two-stage amplifier, Av-total, found in part 3 is under the open-loop (without
feedback) condition. This gain is determined by the properties of the two transistors and the amplifier
configurations. To be capable of varying the gain in a large range and stabilizing the two-stage amplifier,
negative feedback is always introduced, as the feedback resistor RF in figure 3.
For a system with an open-loop gain of Avo, adding feedback will change the gain of the system to Av,
the closed-loop gain. Av and Avo can be related by
Av

R4
Avo
, where
R4 R f
1 Avo

Questions for Part 4

1. Calculate the feedback resistor for 75% of the original gain (gain without feedback).
2. Plot the voltage gain vs. frequency curve for two stage amplifier with and without feedback in
the same graph. Clearly mark the 3dB cutoff points of the two amplifiers. Compare the two
curves with respect to gain and bandwidth. Show relevant calculations.
3. What is the bandwidth of the amplifier with feedback?
4. Vout vs. time graph at f=10kHz.

Amplifier specifications
Group
No

VCC
(V)

Ic (mA)

Id (mA)

Zin ()

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40

15
16
17
18
19
20
15
16
17
18
19
20
15
16
17
18
19
20
15
16
17
18
19
20
15
16
17
18
19
20
15
16
17
18
19
20
15
16
17
18

10
10
10
10
10
10
11
11
11
11
11
11
12
12
12
12
12
12
13
13
13
13
13
13
14
14
14
14
14
14
15
15
15
15
15
15
16
16
16
16

15
15
15
15
15
15
15
15
15
15
15
15
15
15
15
15
15
15
15
15
15
15
15
15
15
15
15
15
15
15
15
15
15
15
15
15
15
15
15
15

4M
4M
4M
4M
4M
4M
5M
5M
5M
5M
5M
5M
6M
6M
6M
6M
6M
6M
7M
7M
7M
7M
7M
7M
8M
8M
8M
8M
8M
8M
9M
9M
9M
9M
9M
9M
10M
10M
10M
10M

Av/AVO
(for feedback)
0.5
0.75
0.5
0.75
0.5
0.75
0.5
0.75
0.5
0.75
0.5
0.75
0.5
0.75
0.5
0.75
0.5
0.75
0.5
0.75
0.5
0.75
0.5
0.75
0.5
0.75
0.5
0.75
0.5
0.75
0.5
0.75
0.5
0.75
0.5
0.75
0.5
0.75
0.5
0.75