BJT Amplifiers Frequency Response

A. Objectives: The Objective of this lab was to educate us in how to obtain

frequency response of a BJT amplifier, find out mid-band gain, lower cut-off
frequency, upper cut-off frequency an plotting the results on Semi-log paper.

Materials Required
1. Breadboard.
2. Oscilloscope.
3. Wires.
4. Resistors and Capacitors.
5. Function Generator.
6. Function generator cables.
7. Crocodile Clip Cables.
8. BJT NPN Transistor BC109.

Experiment Set-up
We connect the circuit as shown in the figure 1.

Figure 1 setup the circuit: oscilloscope’s Channel 1 is connected to amplifier’s input

and the function generator’s 50 output. Oscilloscope’s Channel 2 connected to
amplifier’s output.
Procedure
1. Connect the provided BJT transistor BC109 in common emitter configuration.
2. Connect the oscilloscope and function generator to the circuit as shown in the
figure
3. Apply a sinusoidal 0.5 Vp-p at 5 Hz to the amplifier’s input and observe the
output.
4. Keep the input voltage constant and change your input frequency according
to the values provided in the table and note down the output.
5. Note the output signal’s peak to peak voltage and write in the provided table.
6. Calculate the gain of the amplifier for each tested case.
7. Use the values in the table and plot a semi-log plot of the frequency response
of the amplifier.

Results and Discussions

Tabulate the results in Table 1 below
Input Frequency Gain Gain in dB

5
8
12.
20
32
50
80
125
200
315
500
792
1.3K
2K
3.1K
5K
8K
13K
20K
32K
50K
79K
125K
199K
315K
500K
 792K
1.2M
2M
3.1M
5M

B. Objectives: To study the frequency response and bandwidth of the common

emitter CE-BJT, the common collector CC-BJT, and the common base CB-BJT
amplifiers.

Experiment Set-up
We connect the circuit as shown in the figure 2.

Figure 2 Common Emitter Amplifier Circuit

Procedure
1. Connect the circuit in figure 2.
2. Adjust the DC power supply at 20Vdc.
3. Adjust the function generator to sinusoidal of Vp = 1Vac at a frequency 1kH𝑧.
4. Measure the output voltage Vo RMS value (AC mode in Multi-meter device).
5. Calculate Avmid & 0.707 Avmid which be equal 0.707Vo because the input
voltage equal 1Vac.
 6. Now decrease the frequency of input signal to get V’o = 0.707Vo on Multi-meter
screen to find f𝐿.
7. Then increase the frequency of input signal to get V’o = 0.707Vo on Multi-meter
screen to find f𝐻.
8. Now calculate the Bandwidth BW = f𝐻 − f𝐿.
9. Now varying the frequency of function generator according to table 1 shown
below and measure the variable on each level.
10. Plot the voltage gain Av relative to frequency.

Results and Discussions

Tabulate the results in Table 2 below
Frequency (H z) Vin (RMS) Vo (RMS) Av = Vo/Vin
1
10
100
1k
10k
50k
100k
1M
2M
5M

The relationship between the voltage gain and varying frequency and defined the
regions on this curve as shown in figure 3

Figure 3 Regions on the curve

 Multi-Stage Amplifier
C. Objectives: To study the frequency response and bandwidth of a multi-stage
BJT amplifier.

Experiment Set-up
We connect the circuit as shown in the figure 4.

Figure 4 Two-stage amplifier.

Procedure
1. The circuit in Figure 4 is a cascade of two common-emitter stages, one with an
NPN device and the second using a PNP device. Cascading gain stages has
the advantage of increased gain, but comes at the expense of a decreased
bandwidth, as you will see firsthand as you carry out the following steps.
2. Construct the circuit in circuit Figure 4.
3. Increase the supply voltage to 15 V. Measure and record the mid-band AC
voltage gain Avo = Vout/Vin with a generator signal of 0.1V sinusoid at 10 kHz.
It may be difficult to see Vin on your oscilloscope because of the large step-
down ratio of the voltage divider at the input (nominally a divide-by-1000). If so,
increase the input signal briefly to establish the actual voltage division ratio,
then use this information to calculate the Vin for a 0.1V generator input.
4. Decrease the frequency to find the low-frequency cutoff, fL. Record this and
then reduce the frequency to fL/10 and measure the gain again. Repeat for
fL/100.
 5. Now increase the frequency to find the high-frequency cutoff, fH. Record this
and then increase the frequency to 10f and measure the gain again. Repeat
for 100fH (if the function generator permits). Can you explain your results?
6. In your lab report, use your measured data to sketch a Bode plot for the gain-
frequency response of this amplifier. Compare your results with the expected
gain and cutoff frequencies.

Observation of The V-I Characteristic of A Diode

Objective: Determining the Voltage-Current relation in Diodes by applying a voltage

across it and measuring the corresponding current flowing through it

Equipments Required
1. A diode
2. A DC voltage supplier
3. Bread board
4. 100 ohm resistor
5. 2 multimeter for measuring current and voltage
6. Connecting wires

Figure 5 Circuit Diagram

Procedure
1. Complete the circuit as shown in figure 5 with a 100Ω resistor and a variable
DC input voltage source.
 2. Increase the voltage until the ammeter starts deflecting. Note this point and
gradually increase the input voltage and take the corresponding current
readings.
3. Take many readings till the input voltage is about 30V.
4. Plot the V vs I curve, to get a clear picture of the diode characteristic.
5. Change the direction of voltage that is being applied. Then get the readings in
reverse bias. Plot the readings on a V vs I curve.

Results and Discussions

Readings for forward bias
S/No Voltage(V) Current(mA)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
 32
33
34

Measurement in reverse bias

S/No Voltage(V) Current(μA)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20

Note: 1. If we just reverse the diode to measure the I-V characteristics, the sudden
change might destroy the diode.
2. The diode should not be short-circuited. That will allow a flow of huge current
which might destroy the diode.
3. Current must not pass through it for a very long time. It will then increase
the depletion region and develop a fluctuating resistance.

Silicon Controlled Rectifier (SCR) Operation

Objective: The Objective of this lab was to educate us in how the SCR works.
Materials Required
SCR
LED
Pieces of wire
Resistors: R1: 330 (Orange, Orange, Brown, Gold)
R2: 1K ohm (brown, black, red)

Experiment Set-up
This circuit requires an SCR as shown in figure 6

Figure 6 The Circuit Diagram

Procedures:
1. Breadboard the schematic diagram in figure 6.
2. Make sure your wires are flat. Use one end of a piece of wire to attach to R2.
3. Set the Power Supply to 9 volts.
4. Connect the circuit to power and the LED should be off. Using the wire attached
to R2, touch the G (gate) of the SCR and then remove it. What happens?
Disconnect the power to the circuit for a moment, what happens?
5. Answer the following questions.
a. An SCR has 3 legs, they are the ___________, __________,
__________
b. The LED ONLY turns on when a positive voltage is applied to the
____________.
c. An SCR is like a diode in that it allows current to flow through it in
_____________ direction only.
d. Once the positive voltage (wire) is removed from the ____________, the
 LED will ___________________ until you disconnect the power to the
circuit.

Testing SCRs with an Ohmmeter

Objective: The objective of this experiment is to learn how to test an SCR or TRIAC
using an ohmmeter in a similar fashion.

Materials Required
VOM (ohmmeter) Best results when using either a Simpson 260 or RSR 7050 analog
meters.
Low-power SCRs – SK3954

Experimental Setup
This experimental setup is as shown in figure 6.
 Figure 7 The Circuit Diagram

Procedure
1. Measuring resistance of a PNPN "sandwich
An SCR is a PNPN "sandwich," as shown in figure 7b. If you connect an
ohmmeter from anode to cathode as shown, you will read a high resistance.
Even if you reverse the leads of the meter, you will still read a high resistance.
Likewise, if you connect an ohmmeter from gate to anode, as shown in figure
7c, you will read a high resistance in both directions. However, if you connect
an ohmmeter between gate and cathode, as in figure 7d of the figure, you will
read a high resistance in one direction and a low resistance in the other
direction. This gives you a simple way of identifying the gate lead and cathode
lead. The anode lead is usually mounted to the stud or heat sink of the SCR
and is easy to recognize.
2. Obtain a low-power SCR and with your ohmmeter identify the anode, cathode,
and gate leads. Draw and label them.
3. Simple test to see whether the SCR is in working condition. With your
ohmmeter set to the R x 1 scale, connect the meter from anode to cathode, as
shown in figure 6e. Be sure to have the positive lead of the meter connected to
the anode. Do you read a very high resistance? Give the reason.
4. Now connect a jumper lead from anode to gate. The resistance of the SCR
should drop to a low value because the SCR fires when the gate is made
positive with respect to the cathode (use the 2K ohm scale on the Fluke meter).
The battery in the meter makes the gate positive. Do you read a low resistance?
Give the reason.
5. Now remove the clip lead from anode to gate, but keep the meter attached from
anode to cathode. Does the SCR remain on?
Note: Touching the clip lead from the gate to the positive terminal triggered the SCR.
Once the SCR was triggered, the signal at the gate was no longer needed. The current
from the meter keeps the SCR conducting. However, there is a minimum amount of
current (called holding current) which must flow through the SCR to hold it in
conduction. The amount of holding current is usually small, on the order of milliamps,
but to supply this current the meter must be set on the low resistance scale (use the
2K ohm scale on the Fluke meter).
This test only works for low- to moderate-power SCRs (up to 20A or so), because the
gate drive and holding currents for a high-power SCR are more than the meter can
supply. This test works for TRIACs as well as for SCRs.

The Thyristor Performance

Objective: The objective of this experiment is to study the Performance of a Thyristor.

Equipments Required
Trainer kit
Patch cards
Multimeters.

Experimental Setup
This experimental setup is as shown in figure 7.

Figure 8 Circuit diagram for V-I characteristics of thyristor

Procedures:
1. Make the connections as shown in figure 8 including meters for the SCR.
2. Now switch ON the mains supply to the unit and initially keep VA &VG
at Minimum.
 3. Set load potentiometer R1 in the minimum position. Adjust IG to the value
found in procedure 1.
4. Slowly VA and note down Vak and 1A readings for every 5 Volts and enter the
readings in the tabular column. Further vary VA until the SCR conducts, this
can be noticed by sudden drop of Vak and rise of 1A readings, note down this
read1ngs and tabulate them. Keep multimeter in milli-volts range and connect
across VA terminals. Note down the variation of IA for small variations in VA.
5. Draw the graph of Vak v/s IA. Repeat the same for IG = IG2/IG3 and draw the
graph.

Observation Table
V-I characteristics readings

IG = mA

The Diac

Objective: Study the performance of the DIAC.

Equipments Required
Diac
Bread board
Pieces of wires
Multimeters.

Experiment setup
The circuit diagram set up for this experiment is shown in figure 9.
 Figure 9 Experimental setup

Procedure
1 Connect the milliammeter, DIAC, Voltmeter to the circuit
2. Switch ON the power supply.
3 increase supply voltage Jn steps, note the corresponding currents and voltages for
each step.
4. Plot graph of VI characteristics.
5. Reverse the Terminal of Diac. Increase supply voltage in steps, note the
corresponding currents and voltages for each step.
6. Plot graph of V-I characteristics

Observation Table
The static characteristics of DIAC are determined using the tables below.

Questions
2. What are the breakover voltages for the diac? Is it the same value for both
forward and reverse breakover?
 3. What is the maximum value of current in the circuit when the source voltage
is: (a) 50V? (b) 75V?
4. How do the conduction times of the diac compare for the 50V and 75V
sources? Explain any differences.

Triac Characteristics
Objective: The objective of this experiment is to study and plot the V‐I characteristics
of TRIAC
Apparatus:
D C Power Supply (0‐128 V), (0‐32V),
Voltmeter (0‐100V),
TRIAC BT136,
Digital multimeter,
Ammeters (0‐100mA, 0-25mA, 0-1mA),
Resistors 1K, 10W & 1K, 1W.

Experimental Setup

Figure 9 Setup

Procedure:
Forward Blocking State / OFF state
1) Connect the circuit as shown in the figure.
2) Keep TRIAC gate open.
3) Vary the voltage between MT2 & MT1 by changing supply V2.
4) To find the leakage current, keep gate open and increase voltage V2 to firing value.
A small magnitude of current will flow through the device which is called leakage
current. (IL).
5) Note down the voltage & current and find out the drop across TRIAC V(MT2-MT1).

Forward Conducting State / ON State

6) Connect the gate of the TRIAC to supply V1.
7) Adjust gate current by changing V1 and find out the firing voltage of TRIAC.
8) Switch off the V1 supply. Increase V2 slowly, note down I. Now reduce the voltage
between MT2 & MT1 by changing V2.
9) In order to operate the TRIAC in third quadrant, reverse the polarity of V2 power
supply with gate –ve bias. (Make two more observation tables for TRIAC operating in
3rd Quadrant)
10) Plot the graph.

Observation Table
(a) Forward Blocking State / OFF state (b) Forward Conducting State / ON State

Gate Triggering Voltage = ___ volts

Gate Triggering current = ___ mA
Latching Current = ____ mA

Hybrid parameters (h – parameters) of a Transistor

Objective: To measure small signal parameters / hybrid parameters of a BC 107B, a

NPN Bipolar Junction transistor at a single frequency (10 KHz).

Apparatus:
Transistor (BC107B Vbe = 0.65V)
Resistors (150K, 75K, 3K, 1K, 10ohms, 100 ohms)
Capacitors (3 each of 1uF)
Signal Generator
CRO
Multimeter

Experiment Setup

(a) Common Emitter DC Biasing Configuration

(b) Configuration for measuring h11

 (c) Configuration for measuring h21

(d) Configuration for measuring h12

(e) Configuration for measuring h22

Figure 10 h – parameters circuit setup

Procedure
1. Biasing the BJT in active region (Figure 10a)
a. For measuring the hybrid parameters the BJT is biased in the active
mode and biasing configuration used is Common Emitter with Emitter
resistance.
b. For a BC 107B NPN transistor in the dc biasing configuration shown in
figure 10, the measured voltages are Vb = 2.74V, Ve = 2.11V and Vc =
3.63V. Hence Vbe = 0.63 V, Vcb = 0.89 V, a collector current of 2.123
mA flows through the collector resistance resulting in a drop of 6.36V at
the collector. Thus the transistor is biased in active mode for DC
configuration.
c. When a signal of 10 KHz is applied, the bypass capacitor at the emitter
and the blocking capacitors at the base and collector are shorted
resulting in common emitter configuration with emitter shorted.

2. Measurement of hie / h11 (Figure 10b)

The Output side is shorted with a 10uF capacitor in series with a 10 ohm
resistor. And a 10 KHz signal is applied at the input. Vin and Iin at the input are
measured as 50mv and 13uA respectively. Thus hie can be calculated as
hie = Vin /Iin
 3. Measurement of hfe / h21 (Figure 10c)
a. The Output side is shorted with a 10uF capacitor in series with a 10 ohm
resistor. And a 10 KHz signal is applied at the input.
b. Measure Iin and Iout at the input and output and use the values in
calculating hfe. Thus hfe can be calculated as
hfe = Iout / Iin

4. Measurement of hre / h12 (Figure 10d)

a. For measuring the reverse voltage gain a 200 mV, 10 KHz signal is
applied at the collector and the base is open circuited for AC as shown
in figure 4.
b. The Open circuit voltage at the base is measured and recorded.
Thus hre can be calculated as
hre = Vin / Vout

5. Measurement of hoe / h22 (Figure 10e)

a. For measuring the output admittance a 200 mV, 10 KHz signal is applied
at the collector and the base is open circuited for AC as shown in figure
5.
b. Measure the current into the collector and recorded. Thus hoe can be
calculated as
hoe = Iout / Vout

Observation Table
The measured h-parameters are

And a relative comparison with datasheet parameters is tabulated below:

S/No Parameter From Experiment From Experiment

1 DC Gain 200-450 @ 2mA, 5V
2 hfe 300 @ 100Mhz, 2 mA, 5V
 3 hie 4.8KΩ @ 1Khz, 2 mA, 5V
4 hre 2.7*10-4 @ 1Khz, 2 mA, 5V
5 hoe 26µS @ 1Khz, 2mA, 5V

Differential Amplifier

Objectives: a. To understand the DC and AC operation of a differential amplifier.

b. To measure DC voltages and currents in differential amplifier.
c. To obtain measured values of differential-mode gain 𝐴𝑣𝑑𝑚, common-
mode gain 𝐴𝑣𝑐𝑚 and common-mode rejection ratio 𝐶𝑀𝑅𝑅.

Figure 11 The differential amplifier complete circuit

1. Construct the circuit shown in figure 11, then make the circuit quiescent (no
signal applied) by connecting both bases to ground.

2. Now measure the DC values of (𝑉𝑐1,𝑉𝑐2,𝑉𝐸,𝐼𝐵1,𝐼𝐵2,𝐼𝐸1,𝐼𝐸2,𝐼𝐸)

 3. Applied all differential amplifier modes.
a. Single-input mode:

b. Double input mode:

c. Common input mode:

4. Show the output voltage signal and its 𝑉𝑝 and RMS value and write your
comment on every one.

5. Using the measured data in the previous tables to calculate:

a. 𝐴𝑣𝑑𝑚
b. 𝐴𝑣𝑐𝑚
c. 𝐶𝑀𝑅𝑅 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐶𝑀𝑅𝑅 in 𝑑𝐵

Differential Amplifiers

Objective: Differential amplifiers are designed to amplify the difference between two
signals. Differential amplifiers are thereby able to reduce noise that is common to both
inputs, only amplifying the differential signal that we’re interested in. We can quantify
the differential-mode versus common-mode gain in a quantity called the common-
mode rejection ratio (CMRR). Differential amplifiers also lend themselves to use in
feedback, though we will not explore that usage in this lab. A typical differential
amplifier with a single-ended output that you are familiar with is the op-amp.

Apparatus
Component Quantity
LM741 op-amp 1
2N3904 NPN BJT 4
2N3906 PNP BJT 2
1 kΩ resistor 2
5.1 kΩ resistor 2
10 kΩ resistor 2
0.1 µF capacitor 1

Procedure
Generating a differential signal
This requires inverting an analog signal. One way we can do this is by using an op-
amp in negative feedback, as shown in Figure 1.

Figure 12 Inverting amplifier

1. Construct the circuit in Figure 12. Use the LM741 op-amp. The pin layout for
the LM741 op-amp is in Figure 13. Note: If the LM741 does not have a notch
as shown in the figure, check for a small dot.
 Figure 13 LM741 pin layout. This dot labels pin 1.

2. Apply a 30 mV amplitude, 1 kHz sine wave to the input. Display the input and
output on the oscilloscope. The output should be the inverse of the input.

Differential pair with resistive load

3. Construct the circuit in Figure 14 using 2N3904 transistors for the NPN BJTs.
Use R1 = 10 k, R2 = R3 = 5.1 k, and VCC = 9 V.

Figure 14 Differential pair with resistive load

4. Ground the inputs and measure IC1, IC2, IC3, and Vout, DC (the output DC
bias). How do these values compare to what you’d expect from hand
calculations?
5. Apply a 30 mV amplitude, 1 kHz sine wave to vin+ and ground vin−. Use the
oscilloscope to display the input waveform at vin+ and the output waveform at
 vout+ and sketch the result. If the input signal is noisy, use the averaging
feature of the oscilloscope to get a more accurate result.
6. Use the oscilloscope to measure the peak-to-peak voltages of vin+ and vout+.
7. Use the oscilloscope to display vout+ and vout−. Do they appear as you’d
expect?
8. Use the oscilloscope to display vout+ − vout−. Measure the peak-to-peak
voltage of the signal and calculate the differential gain of the circuit.
9. Apply a 30 mV amplitude, 1 kHz sine wave to both vin+ and vin−. Use the
oscilloscope to display the output waveform at vout+ and vout−.
10. Use the inverting amplifier you built to apply a 20 mV amplitude, 1 kHz
differential sine wave to the inputs (that means a 10 mV amplitude sine wave
to vin+ and the inverted sine wave to vin−). Measure the peak-to-peak voltage
of the differential input and output with the oscilloscope.

Differential pair with active load

11. Apply a 30 mV amplitude, 1 kHz sine wave to vin+ and ground vin−. Use the
oscilloscope to display the output waveform at vout and sketch the result. Why
the output not sinusoidal

Figure 15 Differential pair with active load

12. . Attach a load to the amplifier as shown in Figure 16. Use CL = 0.1 µF and RL
= 5 kΩ.
 Figure 16 Differential pair with reduced output resistance

13. Calculate the differential gain for the amplifier with the new load resistance.
14. Apply a 20 mV amplitude, 1 kHz sine wave to vin+ and ground vin−. Use the
oscilloscope to display vin+ and vout. Sketch vout. What is the measured
differential gain of the circuit?

Op-Amp (Inverting and Non-Inverting)

Objective: 1. To demonstrate an inverting operational amplifier circuit

2. To demonstrate a non-inverting operational amplifier circuit
3. To investigate the operational amplifier voltage follower

Apparatus
1. Resistors: 1 MΩ, 100 kΩ, 10 kΩ, 4.7 kΩ, 2.2 kΩ, 1 kΩ (2), 470 Ω
2. LM 741 OP-AMP
3. DC Power Supply
4. Function Generator
5. Oscilloscope
6. Breadboard
7. Pieces of wires

Experiment Setup
(a) Power supply configuration (b) Inverting Amplifier circuit

(c) Non-Inverting Amplifier Circuit (d) Unity Gain Amplifier

Figure 17 Experiment Circuit setup

Procedure
1. Prepare the power supplies. The op-amp requires two 15 volt supplies as
shown in Figure 17a.
2. To investigate an op-amp used as an inverting amplifier, connect the circuit in
Figure 17b. The small numbers in the diagram correspond to the integrated
circuits (chip’s) pin numbers.
a. Connect a dual-trace oscilloscope to observe both the input Vin and the
output Vout. With VS = 0.2Vpp sine wave at 1 KHz, measure and record
in TABLE 1 the output voltage Vout for each value of RF listed in TABLE
1. Also, note the phase angle of the output Vout with respect to the input
Vin.
b. Now replace RF with a 1 MΩ resistor and sketch the resulting waveform
Vout as well as the input waveform, draw the waveform to scale in
agraph.
3. To investigate an operational amplifier used as a non-inverting amplifier,
connect the following circuit as in Figure 17c.
 a. Connect a dual-trace oscilloscope to observe both the input and the
output. Repeat procedure step 4.2.1 for the non-inverting amplifier using
the values of RF in TABLE 2.
b. Replace RF with 1 MΩ resistor and sketch the resulting output waveform
as well as the input waveform, draw the waveform to scale in a graph.
4. To investigate the operational-amplifier voltage follower, connect the circuit in
Figure 17d.
a. With VS = 2 Vpp sine wave at I kHz, measure the output voltage Vout.
Record the result in TABLE 3. Note the phase angle of the output with
respect to the input. Draw the waveform to scale in agraph.

Results and Discussions

Table1

Table 2
Table 3

Questions
1. What does inverting mean if a sine wave is connected to the op-amp (-)
terminal?
2. What does non-inverting mean if a sine wave is connected to the op-amp (+)
terminal?
3. What discrete circuit is the unity gain follower the op-amp equivalent?
4. State the unity gain follower’s application.