Chapter 5 – Frequency Response

Learning Outcomes
At the end of this topic, you should be able to
1. Explain how circuit capacitances affect the
frequency response of an amplifier
2. Analyse low-frequency response of an amplifier
3. Analyse high-frequency response of an amplifier
4. Analyse the total response of an amplifier
 Basic Concepts
• In amplifiers, at the midband frequencies, the
coupling and bypass capacitors appear as short-
circuit to ac (like what you have seen in Chapter 3
& 4).
• However, at low frequency, this capacitive
reactance affects the gain and phase shift of the
signals.
to illustrate the change in gain and phase over a
specified range of input signal frequencies, we use
frequency response
* Normally, the amplifier works over certain range of frequencies (for example, audio
signal - 20 Hz to 20 kHz), not just on a single frequency signal.
Frequency Response of an
Amplifier
Frequency Response of an
Amplifier – Bode plot

Bandwidth

The slope depends on the

order of the filter.
e.g.20dB/dec (1st order)
40dB/dec (2nd order)
 Effect of Coupling and Bypass
Capacitors
• Reactance, Xc = 1/wC = 1/2pfC
– The reactance varies as the frequency changes.

• At lower frequencies, the reactance is greater and

becomes significant. Hence, voltage gain is lower at
low frequency due to:
1. the voltage signal is dropped across coupling capacitors.
2. the resistor RE (or RS) is not grounded as the reactance of
bypass capacitor is not near zero. (also cause the voltage
signal to drop)

• At higher frequencies, the reactance is lower and

becomes insignificant  treat these capacitors as
short-circuit.
 Effect of Internal Transistor
Capacitances
• The undesired capacitances associated with electronic
components are called the parasitic or stray capacitance.
• At low frequencies, they are negligibly small (can be ignored
by leaving them open). But higher frequencies, their value is
significantly large and its effect need to be considered.
• The pn junctions within BJT and JFET and the oxide insulating
layer within MOSFET behave like low-value capacitor.
 Where are the high and low value capacitors in BJT amplifier
circuit..???

At low frequency, At high frequency,

the net input capacitance is CB. the net input capacitance is CBE + Cwi + CMi
the net output capacitance is CC. the net output capacitance is CCE + Cwo + Cmo
**Considering only the low value capacitors
**Considering only the high value capacitors

Section 3 & 4 Prepared by Intan Sue Liana Abd Hamid

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 Where are the high and low value capacitors in FET amplifier
circuit..???

At low frequency, At high frequency,

the net input capacitance is CG the net input capacitance is CGS + Cwi + CMi
the net output capacitance is CD the net output capacitance is CDS+ Cwo + Cmo
**Considering only the low value capacitors
**Considering only the high value capacitors

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RC Combination that define a Low-Cutoff Frequency:

LOW FREQUENCY
RESPONSE
BJT AMPLIFIER CIRCUIT
 Amplifier Low Frequency
Response - BJT
• At low frequency, CS, CC and CE have significant effect to the
output voltage (i.e.  voltage gain and  phase shift).
• Consider this amplifier circuit,
 Amplifier Low Frequency
Response – BJT (cont.)
• Draw its AC equivalent circuit (this time
include the capacitors)
 Amplifier Low Frequency
Response – BJT (cont.)
Consider the effect due to Cs (i.e. CC and CE are s.c)
The cutoff frequency due to CS can be calculated by
1
f Ls 
2p(R s  R i )Cs where R i  R 1 || R 2 || βre

At the cut-off frequency, XC = Rth (i.e. Thevenin’s equivalent resistance external

to the capacitor terminals).
Why it behaves as a high pass
filter? zero
𝑣𝑜 𝑠𝐶𝑅𝑖 𝑠𝐶𝑅𝑖
= = 1
𝑣𝑖 1+𝑠𝐶 𝑅𝑠+𝑅𝑖 𝑅𝑠+𝑅𝑖 𝑠+ 𝑅𝑠+𝑅𝑖 𝐶
pole (in s-domain)

𝑣𝑜 𝑗𝜔𝐶𝑅𝑖
= (in 𝜔-domain)
𝑣𝑖 1+𝑗𝜔𝐶 𝑅𝑠+𝑅𝑖

vo wCRi

1  wC Rs  Ri 
2
vi
Break frequency happens at
|vo/vi| = 1/√2 (i.e. -3dB)
 Amplifier Low Frequency
Response – BJT (cont.)
• Consider the effect due to Cc
The cutoff frequency due to CC can be calculated with
1
f LC 
2π( R o  R L )Cc where R o  R C || ro

At the cut-off frequency, XC = Rth

(i.e. Thevenin’s equivalent
resistance external to the
capacitor terminals).
 Amplifier Low Frequency
Response – BJT (cont.)
• Consider the effect due to CE
The cutoff frequency due to CE can be calculated with
1
f LE  R s
2πR e C E where R e  R E || (  re ) and Rs  R s || R1 || R 2
β

At the cut-off frequency, XC =

Rth (i.e. Thevenin’s equivalent
resistance external to the
capacitor terminals).
 Bode Plot of Low-Frequency
Response — BJT Amplifier
Normalised gain
The Bode plot
indicates that
each capacitor
may have a
different cutoff
frequency. Indicate the actual
(fLS, fLC and fLE ) frequency response
of BJT amplifier

It is the device that has the highest lower cutoff

frequency (fL) that dominates the overall frequency
response of the amplifier.
 Example 1: Amplifier Low Frequency
Response – BJT
Figure 1 shows a BJT amplifier circuit. The transistor has an internal output
resistance, ro = 111 k. Draw the low frequency AC equivalent circuit. Given
that CS = 5 μF, CC = 20 μF and CE = 75 μF, determine the cut-off frequency
introduced by each capacitor. Which of the cut-off frequency dominates the low
frequency response?

Answer: IE = 1.533 mA, re = 17 , |Av(mid)|= 100 (i.e. 40 dB); B – 10 Hz, C – 1 Hz, E – 100 Hz
Gain
|Av| (dB) Gain against frequency

40

20
Overall response

0
0.1 1 10 100 1k Frequency (Hz)
fLC fLB fLE
-20

-40

-60
From the overall response, we could see why the one
with the highest cut-off frequency dominates the low-
frequency response of the amplifier circuit.
Normalised Gain
|Av|/|Avmid| (dB) Normalised Magnitude Response

0
0.1 1 10 100 1k Frequency (Hz)
fLC fLB fLE
-20
Overall response

-40

-60

-80

-100
FET AMPLIFIER CIRCUIT
 Low Frequency Response—FET Amplifier
At low frequencies coupling capacitors (CG, CC) and bypass capacitors (CS) will have
capacitive reactances (XC) that affect the circuit impedances.

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 Coupling Capacitor—CG

1
f LC 
The cutoff frequency due to CG can be calculated with 2 π(R sig  R i )C G

where R i  R G

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 Coupling Capacitor—CC

The cutoff frequency due to CC can be calculated with f LC  1

2π(R o  R L )CC
where R o  R D || rd

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 Bypass Capacitor—CS

1
The cutoff frequency due to CS can be calculated with f LS 
2 πR eq C S
1
where R eq  R S || r  Ω
gm d

Section 3 & 4 Prepared by Intan Sue Liana Abd Hamid

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 Bode Plot of Low-Frequency Response—
FET Amplifier

The Bode plot indicates that each

capacitor may have a different
cutoff frequency.
(fLS, fLC and fLE )

The capacitor that has the

highest lower cutoff frequency
(fL) is closest to the actual cutoff
frequency of the amplifier.

Section 3 & 4 Prepared by Intan Sue Liana Abd Hamid

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HIGH FREQUENCY
RESPONSE
 Miller Effect Capacitance

Any p-n junction can develop capacitance.

In a BJT amplifier, this capacitance becomes noticeable between

• The base-collector junction at high frequencies in common-

emitter BJT amplifier configurations

• The gate-drain junction at high frequencies in common-source

FET amplifier configurations.

It is called the Miller Capacitance, and it affects the input and output
circuits.

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 Miller Input Capacitance (CMi)

CMi  (1  A v )Cf

Note that the amount of

Miller capacitance is
dependent on interelectrode
capacitance from input to
output (Cf) and the gain (Av).

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 Miller Output Capacitance (CMo)

If the gain (Av) is

considerably greater than
1, then

CMo Cf

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 High-Frequency Response —BJT Amplifiers

Capacitances that affect the

high-frequency response are

• Junction capacitances
Cbe, Cbc, Cce

• Wiring capacitances
Cwi, Cwo

• Coupling capacitors
CS, CC

• Bypass capacitor
CE

Section 3 & 4 Prepared by Intan Sue Liana Abd Hamid

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 Ci = CWi + Cbe + CMi Co = CWo + Cce + CMo
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 High-Frequency Cutoff—Input Network (fHi)

f Hi 
1 where R Thi  R s || R 1 || R 2 || R i
2πR Thi Ci Ci  C Wi  Cbe  CMi  C Wi  Cbe  (1  A v )Cbc
and

**to identify the input capacitor ** to identify the input resistor

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 High-Frequency Cutoff —Output Network (fHo)

f Ho 
1 where R Tho  R C || R L || ro
2πR Tho Co
and Co  C Wo  Cce  CMo

**to identify the output capacitor ** to identify the output resistor

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 Full Frequency Response of a BJT Amplifier

Note the highest lower cutoff frequency (fL) and the lowest upper cutoff
frequency (fH) are closest to the actual response of the amplifier.

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 Example 2: Amplifier High Frequency
Response – BJT
Figure 1 shows a BJT amplifier circuit with CS = 5 μF, CC = 20 μF and CE = 75 μF. The
internal output resistance, ro = 111 k. Draw the high frequency AC equivalent
circuit. Given that, Cbc = 50 pF and Cbe = 10 pF, determine the cut-off frequency
due to the input network and output network. Which of the cut-off frequency
dominates the high frequency response?
By using semilog graph paper, plot
i) the frequency response
ii) the normalised frequency response
For low frequency response, refer to
answers in Example 1
(slide no. 19)

Answer: From e.g. 1 B – 10 Hz, C – 1 Hz, E – 100 Hz; output – 1.87 MHz, input – 45.9 kHz
Gain
|Av| (dB) Gain against frequency

40

Overall response
20

0
100 1k 10k 100k 1M Frequency (Hz)
fHi fHo

-20

-40

-60
From the overall response, we could justify why the
one with the lowest cut-off frequency dominates the
high-frequency response of the amplifier circuit.
Normalised Gain
|Av|/|Avmid| (dB) Normalised Magnitude Response

0
10 100 1k 10k 100k Frequency (Hz)
fLE fHi
-10
Bandwidth

-20
Overall response

-30

-40

-50
 High-Frequency Response—FET Amplifier

Capacitances that affect the

high-frequency response are

• Junction capacitances
Cgs, Cgd, Cds

• Wiring capacitances
Cwi, Cwo

• Coupling capacitors
CG, CC

• Bypass capacitor
CS

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High frequency ac equivalent circuit:

Ci = CWi + Cgs + CMi Co = CWo + Cds + CMo

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 High-Frequency Cutoff—Input Network (fHi)
1 Ci  CWi  Cgs  CMi CMi  (1  A v )Cgd
f Hi 
2πR Thi Ci R Thi  R sig || R G

**to identify the input capacitor

** to identify the input resistor

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 High-Frequency Cutoff—Output Network (fHo)

Co  C Wo  Cds  CMo C  1 
1  
 1  Cgd
f Ho  Mo
 Av 
2πR Tho Co R Tho  R D || R L || rd

**to identify the output capacitor

** to identify the output resistor

Section 3 & 4 Prepared by Intan Sue Liana Abd Hamid

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EXERCISE
~END of Chapter 5~

Thank You for your attention..~!!