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Activity 5

Cascaded Systems: RC Coupled Circuit


Objectives:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

To
To
To
To
To

observe RC coupled circuit characteristics.


compare circuit effects of 1st staged and 2nd staged RC coupled circuits.
measure voltage inputs and outputs Vi1 , Vi2 , Vo1 and Vo2 .
calculate the voltage gain Av1 and Av2 of each stage.
compare the input and output phases of the circuit.

Introduction:
One popular connection of amplifier stages is the RC -coupled variety. The name is derived
from the capacitive coupling capacitor Cc and the fact that the load on the first stage is an RC
combination. The coupling capacitor isolates the two stages from a dc viewpoint but acts as a
short-circuit equivalent for the ac response. The input impedance of the second stage acts as a load
on the first stage, permitting the same approach to the analysis.

Materials:
Breadboard

Connectors

Resistors

Capacitors

Function Generator

NPN transistor

Multitester

Oscilloscope

DC Power Supply

Procedure:
1.) Construct the circuit below:

2.) Perform a DC analysis individually to get IE1 , IE2 , re1 and re2 . Record the values on the
table below.
3.) Perform an AC analysis and obtain Vi1 , Vi2 , Vo1 , Vo2 , Av1 and Av2 . Record the values on
the table below.

Results:
DC Analysis
Voltage Divider Output at the Emitter
IE
0.545 mA
rE
47.71 ohms
Voltage Divider Output at the Collector
IE
0.423 mA
rE
61.47 ohms
AC Analysis
Mid Frequency
fmid
Vi1
Vo1
Vi2
Vo2
AV1
AV2
AVT

1.88 kHz
142.0 mV
128.0 mV
128.0 mV
480 mV
0.90
3.75
3.375

High Frequency at Vo2 = 240 mV


fhigh
460.8 kHz
Vo1
122.0 mV
Low Frequency at Vo2 = 248.0 mV
flow
2.91 Hz
Vo1
76.0 mV
High Frequency at Vo1 = 80 mV
fhigh
5 MHz
Low Frequency at Vo2 = 66 mV
fhigh
1.96 Hz

Graphs:
Mid Frequency at Vo1 = 128.0 V

Mid Frequency at Vo2 = 480 mV

High Frequency at Vo2 = 240 mV

Low Frequency at Vo2 = 248 mV

Low Frequency at Vo1 = 66 mV

Conclusion:
An RC coupled amplifier is a part of a multistage amplifier wherein different stages of
amplifiers are connected using a combination of resistor and a capacitor. Since the capacitor acts
as open circuit at DC analysis, each stage is can be analyzed independently.
During the AC analysis, some of the values in each stage affects the other. Example in the
circuit used in the experiment, the input voltage at the second stage is the output voltage from the
second stage. Also, the input impedance of the second stage becomes the load of the first stage.
Other than that, the circuits can also be analyzed independently.
Since the first stage circuit is a Common Collector Amplifie r, we expected that the value
of the voltage gain will be approximately equal to 1. From the values in the table, our assumptio n
is proven right since the computed value is 0.90. Comparing the input and output signals, we can
also see that it is in-phase, therefore confirming that the measured value is correct.
The second stage is a Common Emitter Amplifier. From past experiments, we know that
the voltage gain of the amplifier is always greater than 1 and is negative. From the values at the
table, we computed 3.75, which is greater than 1. Looking at the oscilloscope, the input and output
signals are out-of-phase, therefore making the voltage gain negative and confirming that the
observe characteristics is true.
The total voltage gain is solved by multiplying the voltage gains of the first and second
stage. Knowing that the product is negative, it is expected to be out-of-phase, which is also
observed in the oscilloscope.
From the experiment, we conclude that even though the stages is connected with each
other, the characteristics of their voltage gain still remains. The phases of the output and input
signal also depends on what individual amplifiers are used thus affecting the phase of the final
output voltage.

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