EE 105 Fall 2000 Page 1 Week 10

npn BJT Amplifier Stages: Common-Emitter (CE)

1. Bias amplifier in high-gain region
Note that the source resistor R
S
and the load resistor R
L
are removed for
determining the bias point; the small-signal source is ignored, as well.
Use the load-line technique to find V
BIAS
= V
BE
and I
C
= I
SUP
.
2. Determine two-port model parameters
EE 105 Fall 2000 Page 2 Week 10
Small-Signal Model of CE Amplifier
n The small-signal model is evaluated at the bias point; we assume that the current
gain is
o
= 100 and the Early voltage is V
An
= 25 V:
g
m
= I
C
/ V
th
(at room temperature)
r

=
o
/ g
m
= 10 k
r
o
= V
An
/ I
C
= 100 k
n Substitute small-signal model for BJT; V
CC
and V
BIAS
are short-circuited for
small-signals
EE 105 Fall 2000 Page 3 Week 10
Two-Port Model: CE Amplifier
n Use transconductance amplifier form for model (not mandatory)
n R
in
= r

, R
out
= r
o
|| r
oc
, G
m
= g
m
by inspection
n Compare with CS amplifier
inferior input resistance
superior transconductance
about the same output resistance (assuming r
o
dominates)
EE 105 Fall 2000 Page 4 Week 10
Common-Base Amplifier
Input current is applied to the emitter (with a bias current source) and the output
current is taken from the collector
EE 105 Fall 2000 Page 5 Week 10
Common Base Two-Port Model
n See text for details of nodal analysis
, ,
n CB stage is an excellent current buffer
Comparison with the CG stage:
note the effect of the source resistance on the output resistance
if R
S
is much greater than r

, then the output resistance is approximately:

R
in
1 g
m
R
out
r
oc
r
o
1 g
m
r

R
S
( ) + ( ) [ ] A
i

o
1
o
+ ( ) 1 =
R
out
r
oc
r
o
[ ]
EE 105 Fall 2000 Page 6 Week 10
Common-Collector Amplifier
n Circuit configuration
n Biasing: if transistor is on (i.e., not cutoff), then
V
BIAS
- V
OUT
= 0.7 V. Plot --
Alternative name ... emitter follower
EE 105 Fall 2000 Page 7 Week 10
Common Collector Two-Port Model
n Two-port model:
presence of r

makes the analysis more involved than for a common drain

Note 1: both the input and the output resistances depend on the load and source
resistances, respectively (note typo in Fig. 8.47 in text)
Note 2: this model is approximate and can give erroneous results for extremely
low values of R
L
. However, it is very convenient for hand analysis.
Comparison with CD stage:
CCs input resistance: high but not infinity
CCs output resistance: generally lower (but watch out for large R
S
)
EE 105 Fall 2000 Page 8 Week 10
Summary of BJT Single-Stage Amplifiers
Why no pnps?
EE 105 Fall 2000 Page 9 Week 10
Single-Stage MOS and BJT Amplifier
EE 105 Fall 2000 Page 10 Week 10
DC Voltage and Current Sources
n Output characteristics of a BJT or MOSFET look like a family of current sources
... how do we pick one?
specify the gate-source voltage V
GS
in order to select the desired current level
for a MOSFET ( specify V
BE
exactly for a BJT)
how do we generate a precise voltage? ... we use a current source to set the
current in a diode-connected MOSFET
(wait a minute ... where do we find I
REF
? Assume that one is available!)
i
D
I
REF
i
OUT
+
W
2L
------

n
C
ox
v
OUT
V
Tn
( )
2
=
EE 105 Fall 2000 Page 11 Week 10
DC Voltage Sources
n Solving for the output voltage
If I
D
= 100 A,
n
= 50 AV
-2
, (W / L) = 20, V
Tn
= 1 V, then
V
OUT
= 1.45 V for I
OUT
= 0 A.
n Stack up two diode-connected MOSFETs
v
OUT
V
Tn
I
REF
i
OUT
+
W
2L
------

n
C
ox
------------------------------- + =
EE 105 Fall 2000 Page 12 Week 10
Totem Pole Voltage Sources
n Define a series of bias voltages between the positive and the negative supply
voltages.
n In practice, output currents are small (or zero), so that the DC bias voltages are
set by I
REF

EE 105 Fall 2000 Page 13 Week 10
MOSFET Current Sources
n Bias the n-channel MOSFET with a MOSFET DC voltage source!
n Intuitively, V
REF
is set by I
REF
and determines the output current of M
2
Substituting into the drain current of M
2
(and neglecting (1 +
n
V
DS2
) term)
V
REF
V
Tn
I
REF
W
2L
------


1

n
C
ox
------------------------------- + V
GS1
V
GS2
= = =
i
OUT
i
D2
W
2L
------


2

n
C
ox
V
GS2
V
Tn
( )
2
= =
EE 105 Fall 2000 Page 14 Week 10
MOSFET Current Sources (cont.)
n Output current is scaled from I
REF
by a geometrical ratio:
i
OUT
i
D2
W
2L
------


2

n
C
ox
V
Tn
I
REF
W
2L
------


1

n
C
ox
------------------------------- + V
Tn

2
= =
I
OUT
W L ( )
2
W L ( )
1
--------------------



I
REF
=
EE 105 Fall 2000 Page 15 Week 10
MOSFET Current Source Equivalent Circuit
n Small-signal model: source resistance is r
o2
by inspection
n Combine output resistance with DC output current for approximate equivalent
circuit ... actual i
OUT
vs. v
OUT
characteristics are those of M
2
with V
GS2
= V
REF

The model is only valid for v
DS
= v
OUT
> v
DS(SAT)
= V
GS
- V
Tn
EE 105 Fall 2000 Page 16 Week 10
The Cascode Current Source
n In order to boost the source resistance, we can study our single-stage building
blocks and recognize that a common-gate is attractive, due to its high output
resistance
n Adapting the output resistance for a common gate amplifier, the cascode current
source has a source resistance of
n Penalty for cascode:
needs larger V
OUT
to function
r
oc
1 g +
m4
r
o2
( )r
o4
g
m4
r
o4
r
o2
=
EE 105 Fall 2000 Page 17 Week 10
MOSFET Current Mirrors
n n-channel current source sinks current to ground ... how do we source current
from the positive supply? Answer: p-channel current sources...?
n By mixing n-channel and p-channel diode-connected devices, we can produce
current sinks and sources from a reference current connected to V
DD
or ground.
EE 105 Fall 2000 Page 18 Week 10
Two-Port Parameters for
Single-Stage Amplifiers
Note: appropriate two-port model is used, depending on controlled source
Amplifier Type Controlled Source
Input Resistance
R
in
Output Resistance
R
out
Common
Emitter
G
m
= g
m
r

r
o
|| r
oc

Common
Source
G
m
= g
m
infinity r
o
|| r
oc
Common
Base
A
i
= -1 1 / g
m
r
oc
|| [(1 + g
m
(r

||R
S
)) r
o
],
for g
m
r
o
>> 1
Common
Gate A
i
= -1
1 / g
m
, (v
sb
= 0)
-otherwise-
1 / (g
m
+ g
mb
)
r
oc
||[(1 + g
m
R
S
)r
o
], (v
sb
=0)
-otherwise-
r
oc
|| [(1+ (g
m
+ g
mb
)R
S
) r
o
]
both for r
o
>> R
S
Common
Collector
A
v
= 1 r

(r
o
|| r
oc
|| R
L
) (1 / g
m
) + R
S
/

Common
Drain
A
v
= 1 if v
sb
= 0,
-otherwise-
g
m
/ (g
m
+ g
mb
)
infinity 1 / g
m
if v
sb
= 0,
-otherwise-
1 / (g
m
+ g
mb
)
EE 105 Fall 2000 Page 19 Week 10
Sinusoidal Function Review
Sinusoidal functions are important is analog signal processing
1. EECS 20/120: periodic functions can be represented as sums of sinusoids
functions at different frequencies.
2. The response of a circuit to a sinusoidal input signal, as a function of the
frequency, leads to insights into the behavior of the circuit.
v t ( ) v t + ( ) cos =
amplitude
frequency
phase (degrees
(radian) ... = 2 f = 2 (1/T)
(half of
peak-to-peak)
or radians)
v
1
t ( ) v t ( ) cos =
v
2
t ( ) v t 45 ( ) cos =

2
T
------ = T
EE 105 Fall 2000 Page 20 Week 10
Frequency Response
Key concept: small-signal models for amplifiers are linear and therefore,
cosines and sines are solutions of the linear differential equations which arise
from R, C, and controlled source (e.g., G
m
) networks.
n The problem: finding the solutions to the differential equations is TEDIOUS
and provides little insight into the behavior of the circuit!
v
s
(t)
v
out
(t)
C
R
EE 105 Fall 2000 Page 21 Week 10
Phasors
It is much more efficient to work with imaginary exponentials as representing the
sinusoidal voltages and currents ... since these functions are solutions of linear
differential equations and
How to connect the exponential to the measured function v(t)? Conventionally, v(t)
is the real part of the of the imaginary exponential
where v is the amplitude and is the phase of the sinusoidal signal v(t).
The phasor V is defined as the complex number
Therefore, the measured function is related to the phasor by
d
dt
----- e
jt
( ) j e
jt
( ) =
v t ( ) v t + ( ) cos Re ve
jt + ( )
( ) Re ve
j
e
jt
( ) = =
V ve
j
=
v t ( ) Re Ve
jt
( ) =
EE 105 Fall 2000 Page 22 Week 10
Circuit Analysis with Phasors
n The current through a capacitor is proportional to the derivative of the voltage:
We assume that all signals in the circuit are represented by sinusoids.
Substitution of the phasor expression for voltage leads to:
which implies that the ratio of the phasor voltage to the phasor current through a
capacitor (the impedance) is
n Implication: the phasor current is linearly proportional to the phasor voltage,
making it possible to solve circuits involving capacitors and inductors as rapidly
as resistive networks ... as long as all signals are sinusoidal.
i t ( ) C
t d
d
v t ( ) =
v t ( ) Ve
jt
Ie
jt
C
t d
d
Ve
jt
( ) jCVe
jt
= =
Z j ( )
V
I
---
1
jC
---------- = =
EE 105 Fall 2000 Page 23 Week 10
Phasor Analysis of the Low-Pass Filter
n Voltage divider with impedances --
Replacing the capacitor by its impedance, 1 / (jC), we can solve for the
ratio of the phasors V
out
/ V
in
multiplying by jC/jC leads to
V
out
V
in
-----------
1/jC
R 1/jC +
------------------------- =
V
out
V
in
-----------
1
1 jRC +
----------------------- =
EE 105 Fall 2000 Page 24 Week 10
Frequency Response of LPF Circuits
The phasor ratio V
out
/ V
in
is called the transfer function for the circuit
How to describe V
out
/ V
in
?
complex number ... could plot Re(V
out
/ V
in
) and Im(V
out
/ V
in
) versus frequency
polar form translates better into what we measure on the oscilloscope ... the
magnitude (determines the amplitude) and the phase
n Bodeplots:
magnitude and phase of the phasor ratio: V
out
/ V
in
range of frequencies is very wide (DC to 10
10
Hz, for some amplifiers)
therefore, plot frequency axis on log scale
range of magnitudes is also very wide:
therefore, plot magnitude on log scale
Convention: express the magnitude in decibels dB by

phase is usually expressed in degrees (rather than radians):
V
out
V
in
-----------
dB
20
V
out
V
in
----------- log =
V
out
V
in
-----------
Im V
out
V
in
( )
Re V
out
V
in
( )
----------------------------------- atan =
EE 105 Fall 2000 Page 25 Week 10
Complex Algebra Review
* Magnitudes:
, where
* Phases:
* Examples:
Z
1
Z
2
------
Z
1
Z
2
---------
X
1
2
Y
1
2
+
X
2
2
Y
2
2
+
----------------------- = =
Z
1
X
1
jY
1
+ = Z
2
X
2
Y
2
+ =
Z
1
Z
2
------ Z
1
Z
2

Y
1
X
1
------ atan
Y
2
X
2
------ atan = =