LECTURE 04

BJT Bias Circuits

Dr. Salman Durrani
Research School of Engineering,
The Australian National University.
http://users.cecs.anu.edu.au/~Salman.Durrani/

ENGN2218 Electronic Systems and Design

Overview
Summary of Last Lecture(s)
Introduction to BJT

Lecture Outline
Fixed Base Bias Circuit
Voltage Divider Bias Circuit
Stability of Bias Circuits

Textbook
Covers Sections 13.4-13.6

ENGN2218 Electronic Systems and Design

Summary of BJT Active Mode

The voltage relationship is

The current relationship is

In addition, in active mode

ENGN2218 Electronic Systems and Design

Summary of BJT Modes of Operation

Cut-off:

BE junction = OFF, BC = OFF.

Saturation: BE junction = ON, BC = ON.

Active:

BE junction = ON, BC = OFF.

ENGN2218 Electronic Systems and Design

Review: Basic DC Power Supply Circuit

Basic Summary

ENGN2218 Electronic Systems and Design

Common Emitter (CE) Amplifier

Components:

ENGN2218 Electronic Systems and Design

DC Bias for BJT CE Amplifier

A transistor must be properly biased with a dc voltage
in order to operate as an amplifier.
Bias establishes the dc operating point for proper
linear operation. If an amplifier is not biased with correct
dc voltages on the input and output, it can go into
saturation or cut-off when an input signal is applied.

ENGN2218 Electronic Systems and Design

Basic DC Bias Circuit

Basic DC Bias circuit requires two power supplies and
two resistors.

To simplify the schematics, the battery symbol can be

omitted and replaced by a line termination circle (bubble)
with a voltage indicator.

ENGN2218 Electronic Systems and Design

Fixed Base Bias Circuit

Fixed DC Bias circuit requires only one power supply
and two resistors.

ENGN2218 Electronic Systems and Design

Q-Point
The DC operating point for a BJT is often referred to as
Q-point (quiescent point).

The Q-point is given by the IC and VCE values.

The Q-point is often represented graphically using a DC
load line.
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ENGN2218 Electronic Systems and Design

Example 1: Fixed Base Bias

Question: For the given circuit: Determine the Q-point
Sketch the DC load line and locate the Q-point on it.
Examine stability of Q-point if beta increases to 150.

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ENGN2218 Electronic Systems and Design

Example 1: Fixed Base Bias

Step1: Write KVL for Base-emitter loop and find IB and
IC

Step2: Write KVL for Collector-emitter loop and find VCE.

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ENGN2218 Electronic Systems and Design

Example 1: Fixed Base Bias

Step3: Check the requirements for active region
operation.

Step4: Find the Q-point.

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ENGN2218 Electronic Systems and Design

Example 1: Fixed Base Bias

Step5: Find the DC load line end-points.

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ENGN2218 Electronic Systems and Design

Example 1: Fixed Base Bias

Step6: Sketch the DC load line and locate the Q-point.

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ENGN2218 Electronic Systems and Design

Example 1: Fixed Base Bias

Step7: If beta increases to 150, find new Q-point.

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ENGN2218 Electronic Systems and Design

Example 1: Fixed Base Bias

Step7: If beta increases to 150, find new Q-point.

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ENGN2218 Electronic Systems and Design

Fixed Base Bias Circuit

Advantage: requires only one power supply and two
resistors (cost effective).
Disadvantage: Q-point is beta dependent.

Verdict: Fixed base bias circuit is not suitable for

amplifier circuits because variations in beta can cause
some of the circuits to operate in saturation or close to
cut-off.
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ENGN2218 Electronic Systems and Design

Voltage Divider Bias Circuit

Voltage DC Bias circuit requires one power supply and
four resistors.

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ENGN2218 Electronic Systems and Design

Announcements
Revise Thevenin Equivalent Circuit Technique by
studying: Week02_Thevenin Eq Circuit Revision.pdf
Lab Sign Up closes ( Friday 27 March at 2pm).
Course entry survey closes ( Friday 27 March at 2pm).

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ENGN2218 Electronic Systems and Design