Whites, EE 320

Lecture 23 Page 1 of 17 Lecture 23: Common Emitter Amplifier Frequency Response. Millers Theorem. Well use the high frequency model for the BJT we developed in the previous lecture and compute the frequency response of a common emitter amplifier, as shown below in Fig. 5.71a. (Fig. 5.71) As we discussed in the previous lecture, there are three distinct region of frequency operation for this and most transistor amplifier circuits. Well examine the operation of this CE 2009 Keith W. Whites

Whites, EE 320 Lecture 23 Page 2 of 17 amplifier more closely when operated in three frequency regimes.

Mid-band Frequency Response of the CE Amplifier At the mid-band frequencies, the DC blocking capacitors are assumed to have very small impedances so they can be replaced by short circuits, while the impedances of C and C are very large so they can be replaced by open circuits. The equivalent small-signal model for the mid-band frequency response is then Well define || R=r R || R (1) L o C L so that at the output V=gRV (2) o m L Using Thvenins theorem followed by voltage division at the input we find

Whites, EE 320 Lecture 23 Page 3 of 17 r r R B V= V = V (3) TH sig r+r+R

r + r + R || R R+R x TH x B sig B sig Substituting (3) into (2) we find the mid-band voltage gain Am to be V gr R o m B A = rR R (4) m ( || || o C L) V r + r + R || R R+R sig x B sig B sig

High Frequency Response of the CE Amplifier For the high frequency response of the CE amplifier of Fig. 5.71a, the impedance of the blocking capacitors is still negligibly small, but now the

internal capacitances of the BJT are no longer effectively open circuits. Using the high frequency small-signal model of the BJT discussed in the previous lecture, the equivalent small-signal circuit of the CE amplifier now becomes: (Fig. 5.72a)

Whites, EE 320 Lecture 23 Page 4 of 17 Well simplify this circuit a little by calculating a Thvenin equivalent circuit at the input and using the definition for R in L (1): (Fig. 5.72b) where it can be easily shown that V is V sig

 given in (3) r R B V= V (5.167),(5) sig sig r + r + R || R R+R x B sig B sig while R = r || r + R || R sig x ( B sig) (5.168),(6) Millers Theorem We can analyze the circuit in Fig. 5.72b through traditional methods, but if we apply Millers theorem we can greatly simplify the effort. Plus, it will be easier to apply an approximation that will arise if we use Millers theorem. You may have seen Millers theorem previously in circuit analysis. It is another equivalent circuit theorem for linear

Whites, EE 320 Lecture 23 Page 5 of 17 circuits akin to Thvenins and Nortons theorems. Millers theorem applies to this circuit topology: (Fig. 1) The equivalent Millers theorem circuit is (Fig. 2) where Z Z x Z= and x

Z= (7),(8) A v B v 1 B 1 A v v A B The equivalence of these two circuits can be easily verified. For example, using KVL in Fig. 1 v=iZ+v A A x B vv or A B i= (9) A Zx while using KVL in the left-hand figure of Fig. 2 gives Whites, EE 320 Lecture 23 Page 6 of 17 v A i= (10) A ZA Now, for the left-hand figure to be equivalent to the circuit in Fig. 1, then iA in (9) and iA

in (10) must be equal. Therefore, v v v A B A = Z Z x A The equivalent impedance ZA can be obtained from this equation as Zv Z x A x Z= = A vv v 1 B A B vA which is the same as (7). A similar result verifies (8). So, for a resistive element Rx, Millers theorem states that R R x R= and x R= (12),(13) A v B v 1

B 1 A v v A B while for a capacitive element Cx, Millers theorem states that v v C=C 1 B and C = C 1 A (14),(15) A x v B x v A B

Whites, EE 320 Lecture 23 Page 7 of 17 High Frequency Response of the CE Amplifier (cont.) Returning now to the CE amplifier equivalent small-signal circuit of Fig. 5.72b, well apply Millers theorem of Figs. 1 and 2 to this circuit and the capacitor C to give (Fig. 3) where, using (14) and (15), V V C = C 1 o and C = C 1 (16),(17) A

 V B V o Actually, this equivalent circuit of Fig. 3 is no simpler to analyze than the one in Fig. 5.72b because of the dependence of CA and CB on the voltages Vo and V. However, this equivalent circuit of Fig. 3 will prove valuable for the following approximation. Note from Fig. 5.72b that I + I = g V I = g V I (18) L m L m Up to frequencies near fH and better, the current I in the small capacitor C will be much smaller than g V m . Consequently, from (18)

Whites, EE 320 Lecture 23 Page 8 of 17 I g V (19) L m and VIR=gRV (5.169),(20) o L L m L

Using this last result in (16) and (17) we find that gRV C C 1 m L + =C + g R (21) A (1 m L ) V V 1 and C C 1 + = C 1+ (22) B gRV gR m L

 m L Most often for this type of amplifier, g R 1 so that in (22) m L C C . But as we initially assumed, the current through C B is much smaller than that through the dependent current source g V m , which ultimately led to equation (19). Consequently, we can ignore CB in parallel with g V m and the final high frequency small-signal equivalent circuit for the CE amplifier in Fig. 5.71a is (Fig. 5.72c) Whites, EE 320 Lecture 23 Page 9 of 17 where C C + C = C + C 1 + g R (5.173),(22) in A ( m L) Based on this small-signal equivalent circuit, well derive the high-frequency response of this CE amplifier. At the input Z C in V= V (23) sig Z +R in C sig

while at the output V=gRV (24) o m L Substituting (23) into (24) gives Z in C V=gR V (25) o m L sig Z +R in C sig 1 Since Z j = C then (25) becomes C ( in ) in 1 j C gR in m L V=gR V= V (26)

o m L sig sig 1 + 1+ j C R R in sig sig j C in If we define 1 = (27) H CR in sig then substitute this into (26) gives V gR gR o m L m L = = (28) f V sig 1+ j 1+ j f H H Whites, EE 320

Lecture 23 Page 10 of 17 1 where H f= = H 2 2 C R (5.176),(29) in sig You should recognize this transfer function (28) as that for a low pass circuit with a cut-off frequency (or 3-dB frequency) of H. This is the response of a single time constant circuit, which is what we have in the circuit of Fig. 5.72c. What were ultimately interested in is the overall transfer function V V from input to output. This can be easily derived o sig from the work weve already done here. Since V VV sig o o = (30) V V sig V sig sig We can use (28) for the first term in the RHS of (30), and use (5) for the second giving V gR r R o

m L B = (31) V f r + r + R || R R+R sig x B sig B sig 1+ j fH We can recognize Am from (4) in this expression giving V A o m = (5.175),(32) V f sig 1+ j fH Once again, this is the frequency response of a low pass circuit, as shown below:

Whites, EE 320 Lecture 23 Page 11 of 17

(Fig. 5.72d)

Comments and the Miller Effect Equation (32) gives the mid-band and high frequency response of the CE amplifier circuit. It is not valid for the low frequency response near fL and lower frequencies, as shown in Fig. 5.71b. It turns out that C in in (22) is usually dominated by C = C + (1 g R . Even though C A m L) is usually much smaller than C its effects at the input are accentuated by the factor 1+ g R . m L

 The reason that CA undergoes this multiplication is because it is connected between two nodes (B and C in Fig. 5.72a) that experience a large voltage gain. This effect is called the Whites, EE 320 Lecture 23 Page 12 of 17 Miller effect and the multiplying factor 1+ g R in (22) is m L called the Miller multiplier. Because of this Miller effect and the Miller multiplier, the input capacitance C in of the CE amplifier is usually quite large. Consequently, from (20) the fH of this amplifier is reduced. In other words, this Miller effect limits the high frequency applications of the CE amplifier because the bandwidth and gain will be limited.

Low Frequency Response of the CE Amplifier On the other end of the spectrum, the low frequency response of the CE amplifier and all other capacitively coupled amplifiers is limited by the DC blocking and bypass capacitors. This type of low frequency response analysis is rather complicated because there is more than a single time constant response involved. In the circuit of Fig. 5.71a there are three capacitors involved, CC 1, CC 2, and CE. All three of these greatly affect the low frequency response of the amplifier and cant be ignored.

Whites, EE 320 Lecture 23 Page 13 of 17 The text presents an approximate solution in which the low frequency response is modeled as the product of three high pass single time constant circuits cascaded together so that V j j j o A (5.183),(33) m V j + j + j + sig 1

p p 2 p3 (Fig. 5.73e) So there isnt a single fL as suggested by Fig. 5.71b but rather a more complicated response at low frequencies as we see in Fig. 5.73e above. Computer simulation is perhaps the best predictor for this complicated frequency response, but an approximate formula for fL is given in the text as 1 1 1 1 ff +f+f= + + L 1 p p 2 p3 2 C R CR CR C1C1 E E C 2 C 2 (5.184),(5.185),(34) where R , R , and R are the resistances seen by C , C , and C 1 E C 2 C1 E C , respectively, with the signal source V = 0 and the other C 2 sig two capacitors replaced by short circuits.

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Example N23.1. Compute the mid-band small-signal voltage gain and the upper 3-dB cutoff frequency of the small-signal voltage gain for the CE amplifier shown in Fig. 5.71a. Use a 2N2222A transistor and the circuit element and DC source values listed in Example 5.18 in the text. Use 10 F blocking and bypass capacitors. The circuit in Agilent Advanced Design System appears as: V_DC SRC2 Vdc=10.0 V AC AC R AC1 R2 Start=100 Hz R=8 kOhm Stop=1.0 MHz Step=100 Hz vo C R C2 R4 vi C=10 uF R=5 kOhm V_AC

R R C SRC1 R3 R1 C1 Vac=polar(1,0) V R=5 kOhm R=100 kOhm C=10 uF ap_npn_2N2222A_19930601 Freq=freq Q1 C I_DC SRC4 C3 Idc=1 mA C=10 uF V_DC SRC3 Vdc=-10.0 V

From the results of the ADS circuit simulation Whites, EE 320 Lecture 23 Page 15 of 17

V = 2.03 V ( 400 mV) = 2.43 V CB V =0 .4 V ( 1 .02 V) = 0.62 V BE From Fig. 9 in the Motorola 2N2222A datasheet (see the previous set of lecture notes) For V = 2.43 V C = C 5.8 pF. CB cb For V = 0.62 V C = C 20 pF.

BE eb I 1 mA C g= = = 0.04 S m V 25 mV T From (5.163), g 0.04 m f = = MHz T 2 ( C + C + ) ( ) 246.8 2 20 pF 5.8 pF This value agrees fairly with the datasheet value of 300 MHz. 265 from the ADS parts list for this 2N2222A transistor. 0 Therefore, 265 0 r= = = 6,625

 g 0.04 m From the 2N2222A datasheet, the nominal output resistance at IC = 1 mA is r 50 k. o What about rx? Its so small in value (~ 50 ) that well easily be able to ignore it for the Am calculations compared to r (which is 6,625 as we just calculated). From (4), Whites, EE 320 Lecture 23 Page 16 of 17 gr R m B A= rR R m ( || || o C L) r + r + R || R R+R

x B sig B sig

2,898.6= L

R 0.02327 0.9524 V Therefore, A = 64.24 m V or in decibels A = 20 log A = 36.2 dB m 10 ( m) From ADS: m3 m1 m2 freq=400.0 Hz freq=6.300kHz freq=84.40kHz dB(vo)=33.632 dB(vo)=36.053 dB(vo)=33.046 40 m1 m3 m2 35 30 o)(v 25 dB 20 15 10 1E2 1E3 1E4 1E5 1E6 freq, Hz

From this plot, ADS computes a mid-band gain of A = 36.05 m dB, which agrees closely with the predicted value above. 1 From (29), f H 2 C R in sig Whites, EE 320 Lecture 23 Page 17 of 17 where from (22) C = C + C 1+ g R = 20 + 5.8 1+ 0.04 2,898.6 pF in ( m L) ( )

= 20 + 678.3 = 698.3 pF while from (6) R = r || r + R || R sig x ( B sig) Because R || R =100 k || 5 k = 4,761.9 is so much larger B sig than rx (on the order of 50 ), we can safely ignore rx. Then, R 6, 625 || 4,762 = 2,771 . sig Therefore,

12 f 2 698.3 10 2,771 = 82.25 kHz H This agrees very closely with the value of 84.40 kHz predicted by the ADS simulation shown above.

Add a short discussion on the gain-bandwidth product A f . m H