ANALOGUE

ELECTRONICS

Frequency Response of
BJT Amplifiers (Part 1)
The Decibel (dB)
 A logarithmic measurement of the ration of power or voltage
 Power gain is expressed in dB by the formula:

AP  10 log aP
where ap is the actual power gain, Pout/Pin

Voltage gain is expressed by:

AV ( dB)  20 log av
 If av is greater than 1, the dB is +ve, and if av is less than 1, the
dB gain is –ve value & usually called attenuation
Amplifier gain vs frequency

Midband range

Gain falls of due to the effects

of stray capacitance and
transistor capacitance effects

Gain falls of due to the

effects of CC and CE

f BW  f H  f L
Definition
 Frequency response of an amplifier is the graph of its gain versus
the frequency.
 Cutoff frequencies : the frequencies at which the voltage gain
equals 0.707 of its maximum value.
 Midband : the band of frequencies between 10fL and 0.1fH where
the voltage gain is maximum. The region where coupling &
bypass capacitors act as short circuits and the stray capacitance
and transistor capacitance effects act as open circuits.
 Bandwidth : the band between upper and lower cutoff frequencies
 Outside the midband, the voltage gain can be determined by
these equations:
Amid Amid
A A
1   f1 / f 2 1  f / f2 
2

Below midband Above midband

Lower & Upper Critical
frequency
 Critical frequency a.k.a the cutoff frequency
 The frequency at which output power drops by 3
dB. [in real number, 0.5 of it’s midrange value.
 An output voltage drop of 3dB represents about a
0.707 drop from the midrange value in real
number.
 Power is often measured in units of dBm. This is
decibels with reference to 1mW of power. [0 dBm
= 1mW], where;
 1mW 
10 log   0dBm.
 1mW 
Gain & frequencies
 Gain-bandwidth product : constant value
of the product of the voltage gain and
the bandwidth.
 Unity-gain frequency : the frequency at
which the amplifier’s gain is 1

fT  Amid BW
LOW FREQUENCY

 At low frequency range, the gain falloff due to

coupling capacitors and bypass capacitors.
 As signal frequency  , the reactance of the
coupling capacitor, XC  - no longer behave
as short circuits.
Short-circuit time-constant method
(SCTC)

 To determine the lower-cutoff frequency having n

coupling and bypass capacitors:

n
1
L  
i 1 RiS Ci

RiS = resistance at the terminals of the ith capacitor Ci with all

the other capacitors replaced by short circuits.
Common-emitter Amplifier
VCC = 12V

Given :
R1
Q-point values : RC C2
30 k
1.73 mA, 2.32 V 4.3 k vO
RS C1 0.1 F
 = 100, VA = 75 V
RL
1 k 2 F
100 k
vS R2
Therefore, RE C3
10 k 10 F
1.3 k
r = 1.45 k,
ro =44.7 k
Common-emitter Amplifier
- Low-frequency ac equivalent circuit
C2
vo
RS C1

RC RL
vs RB
RE C3

In the above circuit, there are 3 capacitors (coupling plus bypass

capacitors). Hence we need to find 3 resistances at the terminals of the
3 capacitors in order to find the lower cut-off frequency of the amplifier
circuit.
Circuit for finding R1S
RinCE

RS R1S

Replacing C2
RC RL
and C3 by
short circuits
RB

R1S  RS  RB RinCE   RS  RB r   1000  7500 1450  2220 

where RB  R1 R2  7500 

1 1
  225 rad / s
R1S C1 2.22 k2.00F 
Circuit for finding R2S
RoutCE

Replacing C1
and C3 by R2S
short circuits RC
RL
RS RB

R2 S  RL  RC RoutCE   RL  RC ro   100 k  4.3 k 44.7k   104 k

where r0  44.7k

1 1
  96.1 rad / s
R2 S C2 104 k0.100F 
Circuit for finding R3S
RTH

Replacing C1
and C2 by
RC||RL
short circuits
RS RB
RE R3S

RoutCC

r  RTH 1450  882

R3S  RE RoutCC  RE  1300  22.7 
 1 101
RTH  RS RB  882 
1 1
  4410 rad / s
R3S C3 22.710F 
Estimation of L
3
1
L    225  96.1  4410  4730 rad / s
i 1 RiS Ci

L
fL   753 Hz
2
Common-base Amplifier

RS 4.7 F 1 F
vO
100  C1 C2
RE RC RL
vS 43 k 22 k 75 k

-VEE +VCC

Given :
Q-point values : 0.1 Therefore,
mA, 5 V gm = 3.85 mS, ro = 700 k
 = 100, VA = 70 V r = 26 
Common-base Amplifier
- Low-frequency ac equivalent circuit

vo
RS C2
C1
RC RL
RE
vs
Circuit for finding R1S
RS R1S Replacing C2
by short
circuit
RE RC || RL

RinCB

 r 
R1S  RS  RE RinCB   RS   RE   100  4300 0.26  100 
 1   
1 1
  2.13 103 rad / s
R1S C1 100 4.7 F 
Circuit for finding R2S
RoutCB R2S
Replacing C1
by short circuit
RS || RE RC RL

R2 S  RL  RC RoutCB   RL  RC  75 k  22 k  97 k

1 1
  10.309 rad / s
R2 S C2 97 k1F 
Estimation of L

2
1
L    2.13 103  10.309  10.309 rad / s
i 1 RiS Ci

L
fL   1.64 Hz
2
Common-collector Amplifier
+VCC

RS C1

1 k 0.1 F C2
RB vO
vS
100 k 100 F
RL
RE
47 k
3 k

-VEE

Given :
Q-point values : 1 mA, 5 V Therefore,
 = 100, VA = 70 V r = 2.6 k, ro =70 k
Common-collector Amplifier
- Low-frequency ac equivalent circuit

RS C1

C2

vs vo
RB
RE RL
Circuit for finding R1S
RinCC
RS R1S Replacing C2
by short circuit

RB
RE || RL

 
R1S  RS  RB RinCC   RS  RB r    1ro RE RL 

 74.43 k
1 1
  136.18 rad / s
R1S C1 74.43 k0.1F 
Circuit for finding R2S
Replacing C1
by short circuit RoutCC
R2S

RTH = RS || RB
RE RL

 RTH  r 
R2 S  RL  RE RoutCC   RL   RE ro 
  1 
 47.038 k
1 1
  0.213 rad / s
R2 S C2 47.038 k100F 
Estimation of L

2
1
L    136.18  0.213  136.393 rad / s
i 1 RiS Ci

L
fL   21.7 Hz
2
Example
Given :
Q-point values : 1.6 VCC = 10V
mA, 4.86 V
 = 100, VA = 70 V

Therefore, R1 RC
62 k C2
2.2 k vO
r = 1.62 k, ro = 43.75 k, gm
= 61.54 mS
RS C1 0.1 F
RL
600 0.1 F
vS 10 k
R2
RE C3
Determine the total low- 22 k 10 F
1.0 k
frequency response of the
amplifier.
Low frequency due to C1 and
C2 C3
Low frequency due to C1

R1S  RS  RB r   600  16.24k 1.62k   2.07 k

RB  R1 R2  16.24 k
1 1
f C1    768.86 Hz  769 Hz
2R1S C1 2 2.07 k0.1F 

Low frequency due to C2

R2 S  RL  RC ro   10 k  2.2k 43.75k   12.09 k

1 1
f C2    131.64 Hz  132 Hz
2R2 S C2 2 12.09 k0.1F 
Low frequency due to C3

Low frequency due to C3

r  RTH 1.62 k  0.58 k

R3S  RE  1k  21.32 
 1 101

RTH  RS RB  0.58 k
1 1
f C3    746.5 Hz  747 Hz
2R3S C3 2 21.3210F 