INTRODUCTION TO ANALOG CIRCUITS

Electronic circuit design falls generally into two broad categories: analog and digital (a third
category, interface circuitry, includes hardware to join these two major circuit realms). Digital
circuitry, as you probably already know, uses electronic components and systems to represent
and store numerical data and to perform algebraic and logical operations on the data. Incredibly
complicated digital structures are created by combining a few simple circuit building blocks
(such as registers, gates, and clocks) into vast networks of components.
Analog circuitry, in contrast, is used to respond to continuously-variable electrical signals from
sensors (such as microphones, thermistors, antennas, and accelerometers) or to provide
continuously-variable control signals to actuators (such as loudspeakers, heaters, antennas, or
motors). Analog circuitry is used, for example, to connect digital computers and circuits to many
of the physical devices they use for data I/O and storage. Our focus in this course will be mainly
on analog designs.
Probably the most important application of analog electronic circuitry (especially in the sciences)
is to amplify and filter the power of a minute signal so that it can be accurately measured or used
to control something interesting. In this experiment, youll jump right in and start designing and
building simple, useful amplifier circuits using that truly marvelous, tiny building-block of
modern analog electronics: the operational amplifier.
Before you can begin to understand how to construct such amplifiers, you must understand some
pretty basic concepts concerning what sorts of elements make up electronic circuits and how they
work together in a design. The first several pages that follow cover these basic ideas; the
information may be dry and dense, but it is important that you read it! Hopefully much of the
following section is a review of what you already know, but, if not, familiarize yourself with the
content so you can quickly refer back to it when the time comes.

CIRCUIT BASICS
Current, voltage, power
Current is the flow of electric charge from place to place. Electronic circuitry employs networks
of narrow, highly conductive elements (copper wiring or traces on printed circuit boards) to
effectively confine the flow of charge to well-defined paths. Current is defined as the measure of
the rate of charge flow through a surface (typically the cross section of a wire) and is measured
in the SI unit ampere (amp, or A). The SI unit of charge is the coulomb, which is defined such
that 1 A = 1Coulomb/second. An amp is a very large current for small, table-top circuit designs;
our electronic circuits will have currents of about 7 10 amp to 2 10 amp, so well most often
be dealing with currents of micro amps (uA or A) to milliamps (mA).
Currents are generated by the motions of charge carriers in the circuit in response to
electromotive forces induced by electromagnetic fields. As a charge carrier moves about, its
potential energy due to the fields varies. The work done on the charge by the fields is equal to the
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reduction in potential energy of the charge as it changes position. The potential energy per unit
charge due to an electric field is called the electrostatic potential (or just potential) and is
measured in the SI unit volt (= 1 Joule/Coulomb). We have various ways of establishing either
steady or time-varying potentials in our circuits: power supplies, signal generators, and batteries.
These devices also serve as sources and receivers of charge carriers, so that the circuit to which
they are connected remains electrically neutral (no net charge). In our circuits, maximum
voltages are no more than ~12V, and signals have amplitudes of a fraction of a millivolt (mV) to
a few volts.
Assume a circuit has charge carriers flowing steadily from a point A to a point B at potentials A
v and. B v If the current flowing is, AB I then the power being expended by the source of the
potential difference must be (). P v vi = A B AB If the potentials and the currents are time
varying, but the instantaneous current out of A remains equal to that arriving at B, then the
current between the points remains a well-defined function of time, and we have the
instantaneous power: Pt v t v t I t () () () (). = (A B AB) Our circuits will have power flows on
the order of a few tenths to about a hundred mill watts (mW).
A component which can continually add power to a circuit is called an active element. Other
components (most of which dissipate power or otherwise remove it from the circuit) are called
passive elements.

Frequency, wavelength, lumped circuit elements

Electromagnetic fields propagate at the speed of light, 30 cm/nanosecond (or about a
foot/nanosecond). One nanosecond is the period of a signal oscillating at a gigahertz (GHz, 9 10
hertz). The maximum frequencies well be using in our circuits are no more than a few
megahertz (MHz) or kilohertz (kHz), so the wavelengths of these fields will usually exceed
hundreds of meters, hundreds to thousands of times bigger than the physical sizes of our circuits.
Consequently, but maybe not so obviously, each individual element in a circuit will have, to a
high degree of accuracy, no change in its total net charge as the fields oscillate. Thus, we may
safely assume that there is zero net total current flow into or out of all of an elements
connections to the circuit at any instant. Such a component is called a lumped element. Examples
of lumped elements are the resistors, capacitors, LEDs, and integrated circuits (ICs) well be
using.
In the high-frequency case, where wavelengths become comparable to the size of a component,
the fields and currents may vary across it, making it a distributed element, and our assumption
above is no longer valid. Examples of distributed elements include antennas, microwave
waveguides, the motherboard in your computer or tablet, and the national electrical power grid.
Most of the elements we use in our circuits resistors, capacitors, inductors, diodes, batteries,
etc. have two terminals for connections to circuit conductors, making them lumped, two-
terminal elements (note that any lumped element will have at least two terminals, since the total
current flow into the elements connections must vanish, as described above). The selection of
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symbols for typical two-terminal elements as used in an electrical circuit drawing, called a circuit
schematic. Because the currents at the two terminals must be equal and opposite (flowing in at
one terminal and out at the other, so the total net current into the element is zero) we can simply
refer to the current flowing through the element and the potential difference (voltage) across it

Figure 1.0
Sources and signals
In most cases the independent variables in the set of equations we will write out to describe the
behavior of a circuit are a few voltages or currents we control as inputs to the circuit; the
equations then allow us to determine the circuits outputs in response to the inputs. The
independent inputs are termed sources or signals, and may be generated by batteries, power
supplies, signal generators, microphones, antennas, thermocouples, or whatever else we can
think of which produces a potential (voltage source) or injects a current (current source) into our
circuit. Sources are usually described as two-terminal devices in our circuits and are active
elements since they inject power into the circuit. If a source produces a constant output (such as a
battery or power supply), then it is called a DC source (for direct current). If its output is
sinusoidal, then it is an AC source or signal (for alternating current).

Figure 2.0
The sources are considered to be ideal, in the sense that each can maintain its specified output
voltage or current regardless of what they may be connected to in the circuit and how much
power they must supply. Of course, real sources are not quite so capable! The polarity or current
direction included with the schematic symbol shows the relative potential or current flow when
the source output has a positive value.

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Grounds and power supply terminals
The fields in our circuits produce potential differences and corresponding current flows. Because
only potential differences are significant, we will pick one convenient point in a circuit and
define it as having zero potential (0 Volts); all other voltages in the circuit will be measured or
specified with respect to this point. The symbol used in this text for the 0-Volt reference point is
a triangle: We refer to this point as the circuit ground, and a terminal connected to this point is
said to be at ground potential or to be grounded.
We will use a couple of conventions when drawing our circuit schematics which will
considerably reduce the clutter in them. The amplifiers you will build will require DC power
from a power supply or batteries in order to operate properly, so these constant-voltage power
sources must be indicated in our circuit drawings. Additionally, often several components in the
circuit (including the power supply) will have terminals connected together and to the 0-Volt
reference point (ground). A power supply schematic drawing simplification is shown in Figure
3.0; instead of explicitly showing the power supply source symbols, well put little arrow
symbols with their associated voltages at whatever points need to be connected to the power
supply. Wherever these symbols appear, you must remember that physical wiring connects all
symbols with the same voltage to the appropriate terminal of the power supply source. Similarly:

Figure 3.0

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 DEFINITION OF COMPONENTS

Resistance
Resistance is an electrical quantity that measures how the device or material reduces
the electric current flow through it.
The resistance is measured in units of ohms ().
If we make an analogy to water flow in pipes, the resistance is bigger when the pipe is
thinner, so the water flow is decreased.
Resistance calculation
The resistance of a conductor is resistivity of the conductor's material times the conductor's
length divided by the conductor's cross sectional area.

R is the resistance in ohms ().

is the resistivity in ohms-meter (m)
l is the length of the conductor in meter (m)
A is the cross sectional area of the conductor in square meters (m2)

It is easy to understand this formula with water pipes analogy:

When the pipe is longer, the length is bigger and the resistance will increase.
When the pipe is wider, the cross sectional area is bigger and the resistance will decrease.

Resistance calculation with ohm's law

R is the resistance of the resistor in ohms ().

V is the voltage drop on the resistor in volts (V).
I is the current of the resistor in amperes (A).

Temperature effects of resistance

The resistance of a resistor increases when temperature of the resistor increases.
R2 = R1 (1 + (T2 - T1) )
R2 is the resistance at temperature T2 in ohms ().
R1 is the resistance at temperature T1 in ohms ().
is the temperature coefficient.

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Resistance of resistors in series

The total equivalent resistance of resistors in series is the sum of the resistance values:
RTotal = R1+ R2+ R3+...

Resistance of resistors in parallel

The total equivalent resistance of resistors in parallel is given by:

Measuring electrical resistance

Electrical resistance is measured with ohmmeter instrument.
In order to measure the resistance of a resistor or a circuit, the circuit should have the power
supply turned off.
The ohmmeter should be connected to the two ends of the circuit so the resistance can be
read.
Superconductivity
Superconductivity is the drop of resistance to zero at very low temperatures near 0K.

Kirchhoff laws

Kirchhoff laws are essential for resistor network theory. They were formulated by the
German scientist Gustav Kirchhoff in 1845. The laws describe the conservation of energy
and charge in electrical networks. They are also called Kirchhoffs circuit laws. Kirchhoff
contributed also to other fields of science, therefore the generic term Kirchhoff law can have
different meanings. Both circuit laws, the Kirchhoff Current Law (KCL) and the Kirchhoff
Voltage Law (KVL), will be explained in detail.
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Kirchhoff Current Law (KCL)
The Kirchhoff Current Law (KCL) states that the sum of all currents leaving a node in any
electrical network is always equal to zero. It is based on the principle of conservation of
electric charge. The law is also referred to as Kirchhoffs first law. In formula form this is
given by:

The KCL is easier to understand with an example. Look at an arbitrary node A from a
resistor network. Three branches are connected to this node. Two of the currents are known:
I1 is 2 amperes and I2 is 4 amperes. The current law states that the sum of I1, I2 and I3 must
be zero:

Kirchhoff Voltage Law (KVL)

The second law is also called Kirchhoffs voltage law (KVL). It states that the sum of the
voltage rises and voltage drops over all elements in a closed loop is equal to zero. In formula
form:

Lets take an example to explain the second law. Consider a part of a resistor network with
an internal closed loop, as shown in the picture below. We want to know the voltage drop
between node B and C (VBC). The sum of voltage drops in the loop ABCD must be zero, so
we can write:

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Capacitor (capacitance)

A capacitor is a passive electronic component that stores energy in the form of an electrostatic field.
In its simplest form, a capacitor consists of two conducting plates separated by an insulating
material called the dielectric. The capacitance is directly proportional to the surface areas of the
plates, and is inversely proportional to the separation between the plates. Capacitance also depends
on the dielectric constant of the substance separating the plates.

The standard unit of capacitance is the farad, abbreviated. This is a large unit; more common units
are the microfarad, abbreviated F (1 F =10-6F) and the picofarad, abbreviated pF (1 pF = 10-12 F).

Capacitors can be fabricated onto integrated circuit (IC) chips. They are commonly used in
conjunction with transistors in dynamic random access memory (DRAM). The capacitors help
maintain the contents of memory. Because of their tiny physical size, these components have low
capacitance. They must be recharged thousands of times per second or the DRAM will lose its data.

Large capacitors are used in the power supplies of electronic equipment of all types, including
computers and their peripherals. In these systems, the capacitors smooth out the rectified utility AC,
providing pure, battery-like DC.

Capacitance
The capacitance (C) of the capacitor is equal to the electric charge (Q) divided by the voltage (V):

C is the capacitance in farad (F)

Q is the electric charge in coulombs (C) that is stored on the capacitor
V is the voltage between the capacitor's plates in volts (V)

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Capacitance of plates capacitor
The capacitance (C) of the plates capacitor is equal to the permittivity () times the plate area (A)
divided by the gap or distance between the plates (d):

C is the capacitance of the capacitor, in farad (F).

is the permittivity of the capacitor's dialectic material, in farad per meter (F/m).
A is the area of the capacitor's plate in square meters (m2].
d is the distance between the capacitor's plates, in meters (m).
Capacitors in series

The total capacitance of capacitors in series, C1,C2,C3,.. :

Capacitors in parallel

The total capacitance of capacitors in parallel, C1, C2, C3

CTotal = C1+C2+C3+...

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Capacitor's current
The capacitor's momentary current ic(t) is equal to the capacitance of the capacitor,
times the derivative of the momentary capacitor's voltage vc(t):

Capacitor's voltage
The capacitor's momentary voltage vc(t) is equal to the initial voltage of the capacitor,
plus 1/C times the integral of the momentary capacitor's current ic(t) over time t:

Energy of capacitor
The capacitor's stored energy EC in joules (J) is equal to the capacitance C in farad (F)
times the square capacitor's voltage VC in volts (V) divided by 2:
EC = C VC 2 / 2

AC circuits
Angular frequency
= 2 f
- angular velocity measured in radians per second (rad/s)
f - frequency measured in hertz (Hz).
Capacitor's reactance

Capacitor's impedance
Cartesian form:

Polar form:
ZC = XC-90

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Diode

A diode is a semiconductor device that essentially acts as a one-way switch for current. It allows
current to flow easily in one direction, but severely restricts current from flowing in the opposite
direction.

Diodes are also known as rectifiers because they change alternating current (ac) into pulsating
direct current (dc). Diodes are rated according to their type, voltage, and current capacity.

Diodes have polarity, determined by an anode (positive lead) and cathode (negative lead). Most
diodes allow current to flow only when positive voltage is applied to the anode. A variety of diode
configurations are displayed in this graphic:

Figure 4.0
Diodes are available in various configurations. From left: metal case, stud mount, plastic case with
band, plastic case with chamfer, glass case.

When a diode allows current flow, it is forward-biased. When a diode is reverse-biased, it acts as
an insulator and does not permit current to flow.

Strange but true: The diode symbol's arrow points against the direction of electron flow. Reason:
Engineers conceived the symbol, and their schematics show current flowing from the positive (+)
side of the voltage source to the negative (-). It's the same convention used for semiconductor
symbols that include arrowsthe arrow points in the permitted direction of "conventional" flow,
and against the permitted direction of electron flow.

Figure 5.0

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 A digital mustimeters Diode Test mode produces a small voltage between the test leads sufficient
to forward-bias a diode junction. Normal voltage drop is 0.5 V to 0.8 V. The forward-biased
resistance of a good diode should range from 1000 ohms to 10 ohms. When reverse-biased, a
DMM's display will read OL (which indicates very high resistance).

Diodes are assigned current ratings. If the rating is exceeded and the diode fails, it may short and either

a) allow current to flow in both directions or b) halt current from flowing in either direction.

Transistor

A transistor is a device that regulates current or voltage flow and acts as a switch or gate for
electronic signals. Transistors consist of three layers of a semiconductor material, each capable of
carrying a current.

The semiconductor material is given special properties by a chemical process called doping. The
doping results in a material that either adds extra electrons to the material (which is then called N-
type for the extra negative charge carriers) or creates "holes" in the material's crystal structure
(which is then called P-type because it results in more positive charge carriers). The transistor's
three-layer structure contains an N-type semiconductor layer sandwiched between P-type layers (a
PNP configuration) or a P-type layer between N-type layers (an NPN configuration).

A small change in the current or voltage at the inner semiconductor layer (which acts as the control
electrode) produces a large, rapid change in the current passing through the entire component. The
component can thus act as a switch, opening and closing an electronic gate many times per second.
Today's computers use circuitry made with complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS)
technology. CMOS uses two complementary transistors per gate (one with N-type material; the
other with P-type material). When one transistor is maintaining a logic state, it requires almost no
power.

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 Transistors are the basic elements in integrated circuits (IC), which consist of very large numbers of
transistors interconnected with circuitry and baked into a single silicon microchip.

Figure 6.0

The Common-Emitter fixed-bias configuration

Figure 7.0 shows a common-emitter amplifier fixed-bias configuration and coupling capacitors,
C1 and C2 on the input and output.V cc is DC voltage source. Vin is AC voltage source.

Figure 7.0
Common-emitter fixed-bias configuration.

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 The RE Transistor model

Figure 8.0

The General Amplifier Model

The ideal amplifier:

1. Infinite gain
2. Infinite input impedance (Zi)
3. Zero output impedance (Zo)

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Amplifier Properties:
Gain(A) : The gain of an amplifier is the ratio of the circuits output to input.
There are 3 types of gain :
Voltage gain(Av) = Vo/Vi
Current gain(Ai) = Io/Ii
Power gain(Ap) = Po/Pi = AvAi

Analysis of Circuit
DC Analysis :
To analyze the amplifier, the dc bias values must first be determined. To do this, a dc equivalent
circuit is developed by replacing the coupling and bypass capacitors with opens ( a capacitor
appears open to dc).

The AC Equivalent Circuit:

To analyze the ac signal operation of an amplifier, an ac equivalent circuit is developed as
follows:
1. The capacitors C1, C2, and C3 are replaced by short circuit.
2. The dc source is replaced by a ground and is called ac ground.
Both RC and R1 have connected to ac ground because in the actual circuit, they are connected to
VCC which is ac ground. In ac analysis, the ac ground and the actual ground are treated as the
same point electrically. Ground is the common point in the circuit.

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 Figure 9.0
we can use the simplified-re transistor model (1) to analyze this common-emitter amplifier with
voltage-divider bias, and then the equivalent circuit

Figure 10.0

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BUILDING THE CIRCUIT

Figure 11.0
To build this circuit, you will need the materials listed below. Names of specific instruments
used in this particular circuit are included in parentheses.

- function generator
- breadboard (Global Specialties Proto-Board PB-503)
- DC power supply (5Vdc, included in our breadboard)
- transistor (Q2N3904)
- capacitor 10, 10
- resistors 1054kOhm, 2.2kOhm, 2.2kOhm

Figure 12.0
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CE amplifier circuit elements and their functions

(i) Biasing circuit: The resistances R1, R2 and RE form the biasing and stabilization circuit. The
biasing circuit must establish a proper operating point, otherwise a part of the negative halfcycle
of the signal may be cut-off in the output.

(ii) Input capacitor, C1: An electrolyte capacitor C1 is used to couple the signal to the base of
the transistor. If it is not used, the signal source resistance, rs will come across R2 and thus
change the bias. C1 allows only ac signal to flow but isolates the signal source from R2

(iii) Emitter bypass capacitor, CE: An Emitter bypass capacitor, CE is used parallel with RE to
provide low reactance path to the amplified ac signal. If it is not used, then ac amplified ac signal
following through RE will cause a voltage drop across it, thereby reducing the output voltage.

(iv) Coupling capacitor, C2: The coupling capacitor, C2 couples one stage of amplification to
the next stage. If it is not used, the bias conditions of the next stage will be drastically changed
due to the shunting effect of RC. This is because RC will come in parallel with the upper
resistance R1 of the biasing network of the next stage, thereby altering the biasing conditions
of the latter. In short, the coupling capacitor C2 isolates the dc of one stage from the next
stage, but allows the passage of ac signal.

SIMULATED RESULTS
Output Voltage from Oscilloscope

Figure 13.0
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The use of oscilloscope is to determine the voltage gain of the amplifier. This is shown in the
picture above by ratio of the transistor's collector voltage (Vout) to its base voltage (Vin).

Voltage Gain

Figure 14.0
From the voltage waveforms for the CE circuit shown in Figure 14.0 it is seen that there is a 180o
phase shift between the input and output waveforms. This can be understood by considering the
effect of a positive going input signal. When Vs increases in a positive direction, it increases the
transistor VBE. The increase in VBE raises the level of IC, thereby increasing the drop across
RC, and thus reducing the level of the Vc. The changing level of Vc is capacitor-coupled to the
circuit output to produce the AC output voltage, Vo. As Vs increases in a positive direction, Vo
goes in a negative direction. Similarly, When Vs changes in a negative direction, the resultant
decrease in VBE reduces the IC level, thereby reducing Vrc, and producing a positive going
output.

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Graphical determination (Transconductance)

Figure 15.0
From the above, once the DC VBE reaches 0.7v, there is exponential increase in best current
which implies the transistor has been turned on.

BJT Impedance

Figure 16.0
The diagram above shows the movement of the signals from the operating active region to the
saturation region with difference best current input.

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PROBLEMS
One of the most common problems surrounding transistors is the occurrence of clipping. In this
specific case, clipping will occur when the voltage at the base is higher than that at the collector;
this will cause some of the current to flow from the base to the collector as opposed to the
desired base to ground. In the high frequencies, the common emitter amplifier does not respond,
the voltage gain of this amplifier is unstable.
Other problems are usually caused by unfortunate mistakes in wiring. Wiring must be very
accurate to produce the desired output.

CONCLUSION
The voltage gain of an amplifier varies with signal frequency. It is because reactance of the
capacitors in the circuit changes with signal frequency and hence affects the output voltage. The
curve between voltage gain and signal frequency of an amplifier is known a frequency response.
Figure 17.0 shows the frequency response of a typical CE amplifier.

Figure 17.0
It is clear that the voltage gain drops off at low (< fL) and high (> fH) frequencies whereas it is
uniform over mid-frequency range (fL to fH).

(i) At low frequencies (< fL), the reactance of coupling capacitor is quite high and hence very
small part of signal will pass from amplifier stage to the load. Moreover, CE cannot shunt the
RE effectively because of its large reactance at low frequencies. These two factors cause a
falling of voltage gain at low frequencies.

(ii) At high frequencies (> fH), the reactance of C2 is very small and it behaves as a short circuit.
This increases the loading effect of amplifier stage and serves to reduce the voltage gain.
Moreover, at high frequency, capacitive reactance of base-emitters junction is low which
increases the base current. These reduce the current amplification factor. Due to these two
reasons, the voltage gain drops off at high frequency.

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(iii) At mid frequencies (fL to fH), the voltage gain of the amplifier is constant. The effect of
coupling capacitor C2 in this frequency range is such as to maintain a uniform voltage gain.
Thus, as the frequency increases in this range, reactance of CC decreases which tend to increase
the gain. However, at the same time, lower reactance means higher almost cancel each other,
resulting in a uniform fain at mid-frequency.
The common emitter amplifier can be a very useful circuit not only because it inverts and
amplifies a voltage signal but also because the capacitor at its input allows it to ignore the
constant component of an input signal (the DC offset) and pick up faint, low-frequency signals
(the AC component of the input). The common emitter amplifiers are used in the low-frequency
voltage amplifiers. These amplifiers are used typically in the RF circuits. The common emitter
amplifier has highest power gain when combined with medium voltage and current gain.
Its applications include use in speakers to amplify audio signals and in radios to amplify faint
radio signals picked up by an antenna.

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