PSG COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY

DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

COURSE CODE: 12M410

COURSE TITLE: ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONICS

ENGINEERING LABORATORY

RC COUPLED TRANSISTOR AMPLIFIER

Submitted by,
14m136 MEGALA A
14m122 HARIRAM P
SUMMARY
Amplifier is a circuit that is used for amplifying a signal. The input signal to an
amplifier will be current or voltage and the output will be an amplified version
of the input signal. An amplifier circuit which is purely based on a transistor is
called a transistor amplifier. Transistor amplifiers are commonly used in
applications like RF (radio frequency), audio, OFC (optic fibre communication)
etc. A good transistor amplifier must have high input impedance, high band
width, high gain, high linearity, high efficiency, high stability etc. An
experiment was conducted in the laboratory using RC coupled transistor
amplifier, and the graph was plotted. The lower and upper cut-off frequencies
were determined and the bandwidth of the amplifier was found.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
SUMMARY ............................................................................................................................................ ii
INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................................. 1
BASIC PARAMETERS OF A TRANSISTOR AMPLIFIER ................................................................ 1
BANDWIDTH ..................................................................................................................................... 1
GAIN ................................................................................................................................................... 1
EFFICIENCY ...................................................................................................................................... 2
STABLITY ........................................................................................................................................... 2
LINEARITY ......................................................................................................................................... 2
NOISE ................................................................................................................................................. 2
OUTPUT VOLTAGE SWING ............................................................................................................. 2
INPUT IMPEDANCE ......................................................................................................................... 3
SLEW RATE ........................................................................................................................................ 3
FREQUENCY RESPONSE CURVE ..................................................................................................... 3
AIM OF THE EXPERIMENT CODUCTED IN THE LABORATORY ............................................... 4
APPARATUS USED .............................................................................................................................. 4
FORMULA ............................................................................................................................................. 5
CIRCUIT DIAGRAM ............................................................................................................................ 5
CIRCUIT DESCRIPTION...................................................................................................................... 5
PROCEDURE ......................................................................................................................................... 6
TABULATION ....................................................................................................................................... 7
FREQUENCY vs GAIN GRAPH .......................................................................................................... 8
OBSERVATIONS AND CALCULATIONS ......................................................................................... 8
POST LAB QUESTIONS....................................................................................................................... 8
RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS ....................................................................................................... 10

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INTRODUCTION
Amplification is a process of increasing the signal strength by increasing the
amplitude of a given signal without changing its characteristics. An RC coupled
amplifier is a part of a multistage amplifier wherein different stages of
amplifiers are connected using a combination of resistor and capacitor. An
amplifier circuit is one of the basic circuits in electronics. An amplifier which is
completely based on transistor is known as transistor amplifier. The input signal
may be a current signal, voltage signal or a power signal. An amplifier will
amplify the signal without changing its characteristics and the output will be a
modified version of the input signal.

BASIC PARAMETERS OF A TRANSISTOR AMPLIFIER

BANDWIDTH
The range of frequency that an amplifier can amplify properly is known as the
bandwidth of that concerned amplifier. Bandwidth is the difference between
lower and upper cut off frequencies. The bandwidth of a good audio amplifier
must be from 20 Hz to 20 kHz, because, that is the frequency range that is
audible to human ear.

GAIN
Gain of an amplifier is defined as the ratio of output power to input power. Gain
can be expressed either in decibel (dB) or in numbers. Gain represents how
much an amplifier is capable of amplifying a signal given to it.

Gain in numbers is expressed by the equation, G = Pout / Pin. In decibel, the gain
is expressed by the equation, Gain in dB = 10 log (Pout / Pin). Here, Pout is the
power output and Pin is the power input.

Gain can also be expressed in terms of output voltage / input voltage or output
current / input current.

Voltage gain in decibel can be expressed using the equation, Av in dB = 20 log

(Vout/Vin).

Current gain in dB can be expressed using the equation, Ai in dB = 20 log

(Iout/Iin).

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EFFICIENCY
Efficiency of an amplifier represents how efficiently the amplifier utilizes the
power supply. It is a measure of how much power from the power supply is
usefully converted to output. Efficiency is usually expressed in percentage and
the equation is = (Pout/ Ps) x 100. Where is the efficiency, Pout is the power
output and Ps is the power drawn from the power supply.

Class A transistor amplifiers have up to 25% efficiency, Class AB has up to

55% can class C has up to 90% efficiency. Class A provides excellent signal
reproduction but the efficiency is very low while Class C has high efficiency
but the signal reproduction is bad. Class AB stands in between them and so it is
used commonly in audio amplifier applications.

STABLITY
Stability is the capacity of an amplifier to resist oscillations. These oscillations
may be high amplitude ones masking the useful signal or very low amplitude,
high frequency oscillations in the spectrum. Usually stability problems occur
during high frequency operations, close to 20 KHz in case of audio amplifiers.

LINEARITY
An amplifier is said to be linear if there is a linear relationship between the
input power and the output power. It represents the flatness of the gain. 100%
linearity is not possible practically as the amplifiers using active devices like
BJTs , JFETs or MOSFETs tend to lose gain at high frequencies due to internal
parasitic capacitance. In addition to this, the input DC decoupling capacitors
(seen in almost all practical audio amplifier circuits) sets a lower cut off
frequency.

NOISE
Noise refers to unwanted and random disturbances in a signal. In simple words,
it can be said to be unwanted fluctuation or frequencies present in a signal. It
may be due to design flaws, component failures, external interference, due to
the interaction of two or more signals present in a system, or by virtue of certain
components used in the circuit.

OUTPUT VOLTAGE SWING

Output voltage swing is the maximum range up to which the output of an
amplifier could swing. It is measured between the positive peak and negative
peak and in single supply amplifiers it is measured from positive peak to the
ground. It usually depends on the factors like supply voltage, biasing, and
component rating.

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INPUT IMPEDANCE
Input impedance is the impedance which is offered by an amplifier circuit when
it is connected to the voltage source. The transistor amplifier must have high
input impedance in order to prevent it from loading the input voltage source.

SLEW RATE
Slew rate of an amplifier is the maximum rate of change of output per unit time.
It represents how rapidly the output of an amplifier can be changed in response
to change in the input.

FREQUENCY RESPONSE CURVE

The frequency response curve plotted between frequency and output voltage is
shown in Fig.1

Fig: 1

Frequency response curve

The frequency response graph plotted between frequency and gain is shown in
Fig.2

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 Fig: 2

Frequency response curve

Both the graphs are similar as the output voltage and gain are directly
proportional to each other.

AIM OF THE EXPERIMENT CODUCTED IN THE

LABORATORY
To obtain the frequency response of an RC coupled transistor amplifier
and plot the graph.
To determine lower and upper cut off frequencies and, hence find the
bandwidth of the amplifier.

APPARATUS USED
AC generated signal supply
Transistor: BC 107 1 No.
Resistors: 33 k, 1.5 k, 2.2 k - 1 No. ; 15 k - 2 No.
Capacitors: 4.7F, 100 F, 1 F 1 No.
Cathode Ray Oscilloscope (CRO)
Breadboard
Function generator
DC power supply 9V

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 FORMULA
a) Voltage gain in dB = Av = 20 log (Vout/Vin).
b) Bandwidth = ( F U FL ) Hz.

Where,

Vout output voltage in volts

Vin input voltage in volts

F U upper cut off frequency

FL lower cut off frequency

CIRCUIT DIAGRAM
The circuit diagram is shown in Fig.3

Vcc

+9V
R1 = 33 k Rc = 1.5 k

Cin = 4.7 F BC - 107

Cout = 1F
AC Signal
generator R3=15k
CE = CRO
20mV RE= 2.2k
R2 =15k
100F

Fig: 3

Circuit diagram for RC Coupled transistor amplifier

CIRCUIT DESCRIPTION
A single stage common emitter RC coupled amplifier is a simple and
elementary amplifier circuit. The main purpose of this circuit is pre-
amplification that is to make weak signals to be stronger enough for further

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amplification. If designed properly, this RC coupled amplifier can provide
excellent signal characteristics.

The capacitor Cin at the input acts as a filter which is used to block the DC
voltage and allow only AC voltage to the transistor. If any external DC voltage
reaches the base of the transistor, it will alter the biasing conditions and affects
the performance of the amplifier.

R1 and R2 resistors are used for providing proper biasing to the bipolar
transistor. R1 and R2 form a biasing network which provides necessary base
voltage to drive the transistor in active region.

The region between cut off and saturation region is known as active region. The
region where the bipolar transistor operation is completely switched off is
known as cut off region and the region where the transistor is completely
switched on is known as saturation region.

Resistors Rc and Re are used to drop the voltage of Vcc. Resistor Rc is collector
resistor and Re is emitter resistor. Both are selected in such a way that both
should drop Vcc voltage by 50% in the circuit shown. The emitter capacitor Ce
and emitter resistor Re make a negative feedback for making the circuit
operation more stable.

PROCEDURE
1. The connections are made as given in the circuit diagram.
2. The DC supply is turned on and the voltage to be supplied is set to 9
volts.
3. Then the function generator is switched on to generate sine waves and
this is viewed through the screen of the CRO and the input voltage is 20
mV.
4. The position of the waves on the screen of the CRO is then adjusted for
noting down the output voltage readings.
5. Now the frequencies are varied from 30 Hz to about 3 MHz and the
different output voltages are noted down from the screen.
6. Using the output voltage value for a particular frequency and the input
voltage the gain is calculated using the above formula and table is made.
7. At low frequencies as the frequency increases the output voltage also
increases and as a result gain increases. This is called low frequency
response.
8. At mid frequencies there is no change in the output voltage and so the
gain remains constant.

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 9. At high value of frequencies the voltage decreases as the frequency
increases and thus the gain decreases.
10.So the amplification is good in low and the mid frequency range. This
principle is used to drive the audio amplification circuit in telecom
receiver.
11.The signals with the frequency lying between the bandwidth of the
amplifier are amplified.

TABULATION
The obtained readings are tabulated using the software, MS Excel 2007 and the
tabulation is shown in Fig. 4

The input voltage is Vin = 20 mV

Fig: 4

Tabulation

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FREQUENCY vs GAIN GRAPH
The values of gain are calculated for every input frequency and the
corresponding output voltage. The values are plotted as a line graph
using the software MS Excel 2007, and the obtained graph is shown
in Fig. 5

Fig: 5

Frequency response curve

OBSERVATIONS AND CALCULATIONS

Maximum voltage, Vout = 0.8 V

Lower cut off frequency, FU= 115.5 Hz

Upper cut off frequency, FL= 700 kHz

Bandwidth, BW= FU - FL = 699.884 kHz

POST LAB QUESTIONS

1) Why is a transistor used as an amplifier?
The common emitter amplifier is designed so that a small change in
voltage (Vin) changes the small current through the base of the transistor. The

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transistors current amplification combined with the properties of the circuit
means that small change in Vin produces large changes in Vout. Hence, transistors
can be used to amplify the signals, and are used in various audio amplification
applications.

2) Why CE configuration is preferred over CB configuration for operating

transistor as an amplifier?

The transistor in CE (Common Emitter) configuration has high input

impedance, low output impedance and high current gain when compared with
the transistor in common base configuration. These characteristics of CE
configuration are necessary for a transistor to constitute good design of an
amplifier circuit.

3) State the advantages and disadvantages of RC coupled amplifier.

ADVANTAGES

It amplifies any signal in audio frequency range.

It provides good amplification of input signal.
The circuit diagram is simple.
By using the transistor, BC 107, it provides an amplification factor of
nearly 50.

DISADVANTAGES

BJT amplifier will oscillate on high frequency range.

Narrow bandwidth compared to JFET amplifier.

4) Define input impedance, output impedance and current gain of a

transistor.

INPUT IMPEDANCE

The input impedance of a transistor is defined as the ratio of small change in

base-emitter voltage to the corresponding change in base current at a given VCE.

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OUTPUT IMPEDANCE

The output impedance is defined as the ratio of variation in collector emitter

voltage to the corresponding variation in the collector current at a constant base
current in the active region of the transistor characteristic curves.

CURRENT GAIN

The current gain is defined as the ratio of a small change in collector current to
the corresponding change in base current at a constant VCE.

5) Why transformer coupled amplifier is more efficient than RC coupled

amplifier?

An RC coupled amplifier is basically used for voltage amplification,

where the circuit currents are quite low. Higher currents & voltages would mean
more dissipation in the load resistors, which is essentially a loss. The coupling
amplitude to the next stage is ideally the same as the previous stage signal
excursion. However if a transformer is used for coupling, both large voltages &
current can be handled without incurring the dissipation of a resistive load.
Moreover a coupling gain of the transformer primary to secondary ratio is also a
bonus. Also because of the possibility of correct impedance matching on the
primary & secondary side maximum power coupling is obtained. Hence
transformer coupling is more efficient in such applications. In high frequency
applications transformer coupling, along with tuned circuits as applicable is the
choice circuit.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS

The bandwidth of a RC coupled transistor amplifier was obtained from the
found lower and upper cut off frequencies. It was found that the amplification is
good in the low and the mid frequency ranges, and hence, this deduction can be
used in various audio amplification applications.

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