Electronic Devices

Ninth Edition

Floyd

Chapter 5

Electronic Devices, 9th edition © 2012 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458.
Thomas L. Floyd All rights reserved.
 Summary

The DC Operating Point

Bias establishes the operating point (Q-point) of a transistor

amplifier; the ac signal I (mA) C

moves above and below

Load line
this point.
Ic Ib
For this example, the dc 40
A 400 µ A

base current is 300 mA.

Q 300 µ A = IBQ
ICQ 30
B
20 200 µ A
When the input causes the
base current to vary between 0 1.2 3.4 5.6
VCE (V)

200 mA and 400 mA, the VCEQ

Vce
collector current varies
between 20 mA and 40 mA.

Electronic Devices, 9th edition © 2012 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458.
Thomas L. Floyd All rights reserved.
 Summary

The DC Operating Point

A signal that swings IC

Q
IB
Input
outside the active signal

region will be clipped.

For example, the bias
has established a low Q- ICQ
Q
point. As a result, the
VCE
signal is will be clipped Cutoff 0 VCC
because it is too close to
cutoff. Cutoff
Vce

VCEQ

Electronic Devices, 9th edition © 2012 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458.
Thomas L. Floyd All rights reserved.
 Summary

Voltage-Divider Bias
A practical way to establish a Q-point is to form a voltage-
divider from VCC.
+VCC
R1 and R2 are selected to establish VB. If the +VCC
+15 V
divider is stiff, IB is small compared to I2. Then,
 R2  R R
VB  
R11 RCC
 VCC 27 kW 1.2 kW
 1
R  R2  IB
βDC = 200
Determine the base voltage for the circuit. I2
 R2 
VB    VCC R
R22
R
REE
 1
R  R 2 
12 kW 680 W

 12 kW 
   15 V   4.62 V
 27 kW  12 kW 
Electronic Devices, 9th edition © 2012 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458.
Thomas L. Floyd All rights reserved.
 Summary

Voltage-Divider Bias

What is the emitter voltage, VE, and current, IE? +VCC

+15 V

R1 RC
VE is one diode drop less than VB: 27 kW 1.2 kW
4.62 V
VE = 4.62 V – 0.7 V = 3.92 V βDC = 200

3.92 V
Applying Ohm’s law: R2 RE
12 kW 680 W
VE 3.92 V
IE    5.76 mA
RE 680 W

Electronic Devices, 9th edition © 2012 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458.
Thomas L. Floyd All rights reserved.
 Summary

Voltage-Divider Bias
The unloaded voltage divider approximation for VB gives
reasonable results. A more exact solution is to Thevenize
the input circuit. + VCC +V
+15 V
CC
+15 V
VTH = VB(no load)
RC R1 RC
= 4.62 V 1.2 kW 27 kW 1.2 kW

RTH = R1||R2 = +V TH R TH
+ – + βDC = 200
4.62 V βDC = 200
IB VBE –
= 8.31 kW 8.31 kW
+ RE R2 RE
The Thevenin input IE 12 kW 680 W
680 W
–
circuit can be drawn

Electronic Devices, 9th edition © 2012 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458.
Thomas L. Floyd All rights reserved.
 Summary

Voltage-Divider Bias
Now write KVL around the base emitter circuit and solve
for IE.
VTH  I B RTH  VBE  I E RE + VCC
+15 V
VTH  VBE
IE  RC
R
RE  TH
β DC 1.2 kW

Substituting and solving, +V TH R TH

+ – +
4.62 V βDC = 200
4.62 V  0.7 V
IE   5.43 mA IB VBE –

680 W + 8.31 kW 8.31 kW

+
200 IE RE
680 W
and VE = IERE = (5.43 mA)(0.68 kW –

= 3.69 V
Electronic Devices, 9th edition © 2012 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458.
Thomas L. Floyd All rights reserved.
 Summary

Voltage-Divider Bias

Multisim allows you to do a

quick check of your result.

Electronic Devices, 9th edition © 2012 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458.
Thomas L. Floyd All rights reserved.
 Summary

Voltage-Divider Bias
A pnp transistor can be biased from either a positive or negative supply.
Notice that (b) and (c) are the same circuit; both with a positive supply.
 VEE
+ VEE

R1 RC R1 RC R2 RE

R2 RE R2 RE
R1 RC

+ VEE
(a) (b) (c)
Electronic Devices, 9th edition © 2012 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458.
Thomas L. Floyd All rights reserved.
 Summary

Voltage-Divider Bias

Determine IE for the pnp circuit. Assume a stiff

voltage divider (no loading effect).
+VEE
 R1  +15 V
VB    VEE
 1
R  R2 
R2 RE
 27 kW 
  15.0 V   10.4 V
680 W
 12 kW
11.1 V
 27 kW  12 kW  10.4 V

VE  VB  VBE  10.4 V  0.7 V = 11.1 V RC

R1
27 kW 1.2 kW
VEE  VE 15.0 V  11.1 V
IE    5.74 mA
RE 680 W
Electronic Devices, 9th edition © 2012 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458.
Thomas L. Floyd All rights reserved.
 Summary

Emitter Bias

Emitter bias has excellent stability but requires both a

positive and a negative source. V CC
For troubleshooting analysis, assume that VE +15 V
for an npn transistor is about 1 V. RC
3.9 kW

Assuming that VE is 1 V, what is IE?

RB 1 V
68 kW RE
VEE  1 V 15 V  (1 V) 7.5 kW
IE    1.87 mA
RE 7.5 kW VEE
15 V

Electronic Devices, 9th edition © 2012 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458.
Thomas L. Floyd All rights reserved.
 Summary

Emitter Bias

A check with Multisim shows that

the assumption for troubleshooting
purposes is reasonable.

For detailed analysis

work, you can include
the effect of bDC. In
this case,
VEE  1 V
IE 
R
RE  B
β DC

Electronic Devices, 9th edition © 2012 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458.
Thomas L. Floyd All rights reserved.
 Summary

Base Bias
Base bias is used in switching circuits because of its
simplicity, but not widely used in linear applications
because the Q-point is b dependent.
Base current is derived from the collector supply +VCC
+V
+15CCV
through a large base resistor.

RC
What is IB? 1.8 kW
RB

560 kW
VCC  0.7 V 15 V  0.7 V
IB    25.5 mA
RB 560 kW

Electronic Devices, 9th edition © 2012 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458.
Thomas L. Floyd All rights reserved.
 Summary

Base Bias

Compare VCE for the case where b = 100 and b = 200.

For b = 100: I C  βI B  100  25.5 μA   2.55 mA +VCC

+15 V
VCE  VCC  I C RC
 15 V   2.55 mA 1.8 kW   10.4 V RC
1.8 kW
For b = 300: I C  βI B   300  25.5 μA   7.65 mA
RB

VCE  VCC  I C RC 560 kW

 15 V   7.65 mA 1.8 kW   1.23 V

Electronic Devices, 9th edition © 2012 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458.
Thomas L. Floyd All rights reserved.
 Summary

Emitter-Feedback Bias
An emitter resistor changes base bias into emitter-feedback
bias, which is more predictable. The emitter resistor is a
form of negative feedback.
+VCC
The equation for emitter current is found
by writing KVL around the base circuit.
The result is: RC
RB
VCC  VBE
IE 
R
RE  E
β DC RE

Electronic Devices, 9th edition © 2012 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458.
Thomas L. Floyd All rights reserved.
 Summary

Collector-Feedback Bias
Collector feedback bias uses another form of negative
feedback to increase stability. Instead of returning the base
resistor to VCC, it is returned to the collector.
The equation for collector current is found +VCC
by writing KVL around the base circuit.
The result is RC
RB
VCC  VBE
IC 
R
RC  B
β DC

Electronic Devices, 9th edition © 2012 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458.
Thomas L. Floyd All rights reserved.
 Summary

Collector-Feedback Bias

Compare IC for the case when b = 100 with the case when b = 300.

+VCC
When b = 100, + 15 V
VCC  VBE 15 V  0.7 V
IC    2.80 mA RC
RB 1.8 kW  330 k W RB
RC  100 1.8 kW
β DC
330 kW
When b = 300,
VCC  VBE 15 V  0.7 V
IC    4.93 mA
RB 1.8 kW  330 k W
RC  300
β DC
Electronic Devices, 9th edition © 2012 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458.
Thomas L. Floyd All rights reserved.
 Key Terms

Q-point The dc operating (bias) point of an amplifier

specified by voltage and current values.

DC load line A straight line plot of IC and VCE for a

transistor circuit.
Linear region The region of operation along the load line
between saturation and cutoff.
Stiff voltage A voltage divider for which loading effects
divider can be ignored.

Feedback The process of returning a portion of a

circuit’s output back to the input in such a way
as to oppose or aid a change in the output.
Electronic Devices, 9th edition © 2012 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458.
Thomas L. Floyd All rights reserved.
 Quiz

1. A signal that swings outside the active area will be

a. clamped
b. clipped
c. unstable
d. all of the above

Electronic Devices, 9th edition © 2012 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458.
Thomas L. Floyd All rights reserved.
 Quiz

2. A stiff voltage divider is one in which

a. there is no load current
b. divider current is small compared to load current
c. the load is connected directly to the source voltage
d. loading effects can be ignored

Electronic Devices, 9th edition © 2012 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458.
Thomas L. Floyd All rights reserved.
 Quiz

3. Assuming a stiff voltage-divider for the circuit shown,

the emitter voltage is
+VCC
+15 V
a. 4.3 V
b. 5.7 V R1
20 kW
RC
1.8 kW

c. 6.8 V βDC = 200

d. 9.3 V R2 RE
10 kW 1.2 kW

Electronic Devices, 9th edition © 2012 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458.
Thomas L. Floyd All rights reserved.
 Quiz

4. For the circuit shown, the dc load line will intersect the
y-axis at
+VCC
+15 V
a. 5.0 mA
b. 10.0 mA R1
20 kW
RC
1.8 kW

c. 15.0 mA βDC = 200

d. none of the above R2 RE

10 kW 1.2 kW

Electronic Devices, 9th edition © 2012 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458.
Thomas L. Floyd All rights reserved.
 Quiz

5. If you Thevenize the input voltage divider, the Thevenin

resistance is
+VCC
+15 V
a. 5.0 kW
b. 6.67 kW R1
20 kW
RC
1.8 kW

c. 10 kW βDC = 200

d. 30 kW R2 RE
10 kW 1.2 kW

Electronic Devices, 9th edition © 2012 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458.
Thomas L. Floyd All rights reserved.
 Quiz

6. For the circuit shown, the emitter voltage is

a. less than the base voltage +VEE
+15 V
b. less than the collector voltage
R2 RE
c. both of the above 12 kW 680 W

d. none of the above

R1 RC
27 kW 1.2 kW

Electronic Devices, 9th edition © 2012 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458.
Thomas L. Floyd All rights reserved.
 Quiz

7. Emitter bias
a. is not good for linear circuits
b. uses a voltage-divider on the input
c. requires dual power supplies
d. all of the above

Electronic Devices, 9th edition © 2012 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458.
Thomas L. Floyd All rights reserved.
 Quiz

8. With the emitter bias shown, a reasonable assumption for

troubleshooting work is that the
VCC
a. base voltage = +1 V +15 V

b. emitter voltage = +5 V RC
3.9 kW
c. emitter voltage = 1 V
d. collector voltage = VCC RB
68 kW RE
7.5 kW

VEE
15 V

Electronic Devices, 9th edition © 2012 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458.
Thomas L. Floyd All rights reserved.
 Quiz

9. The circuit shown is an example of

a. base bias
+VCC
b. collector-feedback bias
c. emitter bias RC

d. voltage-divider bias RB

Electronic Devices, 9th edition © 2012 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458.
Thomas L. Floyd All rights reserved.
 Quiz

10. The circuit shown is an example of

a. base bias
+VCC
b. collector-feedback bias RC
RB
c. emitter bias
d. voltage-divider bias

Electronic Devices, 9th edition © 2012 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458.
Thomas L. Floyd All rights reserved.
 Quiz

Answers:
1. b 6. d
2. d 7. c
3. a 8. c
4. a 9. a
5. b 10. b

Electronic Devices, 9th edition © 2012 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458.
Thomas L. Floyd All rights reserved.