Amplifier Frequency response

Electronic Devices, 9th edition

Thomas L. Floyd

2012 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458.

All rights reserved.

Effect of Coupling Capacitors

Coupling capacitors are in series with the signal and are
part of a high-pass filter network. They affect the lowfrequency response of the amplifier.
The equivalent circuit for C1 is a

+VCC

high-pass filter:
C1

R1

RC

C3

C1

Vin

RL

Rin
Vin

C3 and (RC + RL) form another highpass filter.

R2

RE

C2

Effect of Bypass Capacitors

A bypass capacitor causes reduced gain at low-frequencies
and has a high-pass filter response. The resistors seen by
the bypass capacitor include RE, re, and the bias resistors.
The equivalent high-pass filter for C2

+VCC

C2

is:

R1

RC

C3

C1

Vin

'

RE || re +

(R1 || R 2 || R S )

How would an emitter swamping

resistor affect the response?
fc would be lower due to increased R.

RL
Vin

R2

RE

C2

Internal Capacitances
The high-frequency response of an amplifier is determined
by internal junction capacitances. These capacitances form
low-pass filters with the external resistors.
Sometimes a designer
will add an external
parallel capacitor to
deliberately reduce the
high frequency response.

Cbc

Cgd

Cbe

Cgs

Millers Theorem
Millers theorem states that, for inverting amplifiers, the
capacitance between the input and output is equivalent to
separate input and output capacitances to ground.
C
Av

In

Av

Out

C(Av + 1)

(A A+ 1 )
v

Av is the absolute value of the gain. For the input capacitance, the
gain has a large effect on the equivalent capacitance, which is an
important consideration when using inverting amplifiers.

Millers Theorem
Notice that the effect of Millers theorem is an equivalent
capacitance to ground, which shunts high frequencies to
ground and reduces the gain as frequency is increased.
What is the input capacitance for a
2N3904 inverting amplifier with a
gain of 25? Assume the values of
Cbc = 4 pF and Cbe = 6 pF.

Rs
Vin

Cbc(Av + 1)

Cin = Cbc(Av + 1) + Cbe

Cin = 4 pF(25 + 1) + 6 pF = 110 pF

Rc

Cbe

Cbc

(A A+ 1 )
v

The Decibel
The decibel is a logarithmic ratio of two power levels and is
used in electronics work in gain or attenuation measurements.
Decibels can be expressed as a voltage ratio when the
voltages are measured in the same impedance.
To express power gain in decibels, the formula is
Ap(dB) = 10 log Ap
To express voltage gain in decibels, the formula is
Av(dB) = 20 log Av

The Decibel
Sometimes, 0 dB is assigned as a convenient reference level
for comparison. Then, other power or voltage levels are
shown with respect to 0 dB.
Some useful decibel ratios to remember are:
Ratio

Power gain, Ap

Voltage gain, Av

0.1

10 dB

20 dB

0.5

3 dB

6 dB

0 dB

0 dB

3 dB

6 dB

10

10 dB

20 dB

The 3 dB power gain

corresponds to a power
reduction of one-half.
The frequency at which
this occurs is referred to
as the critical frequency.

Low-Frequency Response
In capacitively coupled amplifiers, the coupling and bypass
capacitors affect the low frequency cutoff. These capacitors
form a high-pass filter with circuit resistances. A typical BJT
amplifier has three high-pass filters.
For example, the input coupling
capacitor forms a high-pass filter with
the input resistance of the amplifier:
C1
Vin

+VCC

R1

Transistor base

RC C3

Vout

C1
Vin
RL

Vbase

Rin = R1 || R2 || Rin(base)

R2

RE

C2

Low-Frequency Response
The output RC circuit is composed of the series combination
of the collector and load resistors with the output capacitor.
The cutoff frequency due to the output circuit is
fc

1
2 RC RL C3

+VCC

R1

R C C3

Vout

C1
Vin
RL
R2

RE

C2

Low-Frequency Response
What is the lower cutoff frequency due to C1?
Assume re = 3.5 and = 200.
+V
CC

+12 V

RE1 is not bypassed, so it is added to

re. Then:
Rin R1 R2 ( RE1 r )
'
e

10 k 4.7 k 200(100 + 3.5 )

= 2.77 k
fc

1
1

57 Hz
2RC 2 2.77 k 1.0 F

C1

R1
10 k

Vin

RC
C3
1.0 k

Vout

10 F
2N3904

1.0 F
R2
4.7 k

RE1
100
RE2
330

C2
47 F

Low-Frequency Response
The bypass RC circuit response can be found by observing
the charge/discharge paths.
For this circuit, there is one path
through RE2.
A second path goes through RE1, re,
and the parallel combination of bias
and source resistances (source
resistance not shown).
The total resistance of the paths
can be found by:
R R R

Requiv RE2 1 2 s re' RE1

+VCC
+12 V

C1

R1
10 k

Vin

RC
C3
1.0 k

Vout

10 F
2N3904

1.0 F
R2
4.7 k

RE1
100
RE2
330

C2
47 F

Low-Frequency Response
What is the critical frequency due to the bypass RC circuit?
(Assume Rs = 600 and = 200
and re = 2.6 ).
R1 R2 Rs

re' RE1

Requiv RE2

330 2.5 + 2.6 + 100

= 79.7
fc

1
1

42.5 Hz
2 RC 2 79.7 47 F

+VCC
+12 V

C1

R1
10 k

Vin

RC
C3
1.0 k

Vout

10 F
2N3904

1.0 F
R2
4.7 k

RE1
100
RE2
330

C2
47 F

The Bode Plot

The Bode plot is a plot of decibel voltage gain verses
frequency. The frequency axis is logarithmic; the decibel
gain is plotted on a linear scale. The 3dB point is the
critical frequency.
0.01 f
0.1f
f
10f
100f
0
3

Midrange
20

40

Av (dB)

The Bode Plot

Connect the IN of the plotter

on a constant level to the left
of the Thevenin source.

Multisim has a fictitious

instrument called the
Bode plotter. This is the
previous BJT amplifier.
The Bode plotter allows you
to see the Bode plot directly.
By selecting the proper
scales, you can magnify the
response. Move the cursor
to the point where the total
response is 3dB from
midband and read fc.

Set the cursor 3dB below the

midband gain and read fc.

High-Frequency Response
The high frequency response of inverting amplifiers is
primarily determined by the transistors internal capacitance
and the Miller effect. The equivalent high-frequency ac
circuit is shown for a voltage-divider biased CE amplifier
with a fully bypassed emitter resistor.
Rs
Cout(Miller )
Vin

R1 || R2

Cin(Miller)

Cbe

Rc = RC || RL

High-Frequency Response
If there is an unbypassed emitter resistor, such as RE1 in the
earlier example, it is shown in the emitter circuit and acts to
increase re and thus reduce fc.

Rs
Cout(Miller )
R1 || R2

Cin(Miller)

Cbe

RE1

Rc = RC || RL

High-Frequency Response
For the fully bypassed case, such as the one shown in the text
in Example 10-11, the ac emitter resistance (re) is multiplied
by ac to obtain the equivalent input resistance at the
transistors base.
Rs

Vin

Base

R1 || R2

Cbe

Cin(Miller)

acre

High-Frequency Response
Combining the capacitors in parallel and Thevenizing forms
an equivalent basic RC low-pass filter:

Rth = Rs || R1 || R2 || acre
Base
Vth

Cbe + Cin(Miller )

High-Frequency Response
If there is an unbypassed emitter resistor (RE1 in this case),
the Thevenin resistance is modified to

Rth = Rs || R1 || R2 || ac( r e + RE1)

Base
Vth

Cbe + Cin(Miller )

High-Frequency Response
What is the upper cutoff frequency due to the input circuit?
Assume RS = 600 , re = 3.5 , = 200,
Cbe = 6 pF, Cbc = 3.5 pF, and Av = 9.7
Rth RS R1 R2 ( RE1 r )
'
e

600 10 k 4.7 k 200(100 + 3.5 V)

in
= 493
Cin (tot ) Cbe CMiller Cbe Cbc ( Av ( mid ) 1)
6 pF + 3.5 pF(9.7 +1) = 43 pF
1
1
fc

7.4 MHz
2 RC 2 493 43 pF

+VCC
+12 V

C1

R1
10 k

RC
C3
1.0 k

Vout

10 F
2N3904

1.0 F
R2
4.7 k

RE1
100
RE2
330

C2
47 F

Total Amplifier-Frequency Response

In general, the overall frequency response is the combination of
three lower critical frequencies due to coupling and bypass
capacitors and two upper critical frequencies due to internal
capacitances.
The ideal Bode plot for a typical amplifier is:
Av (dB)

The bandwidth is measured between

the dominant critical frequencies.

Av(mid)

BW
0

fc1 fc2

fc3
fcl

fc4
fcu

fc5

Total Amplifier-Frequency Response

The overall response can be viewed on the Bode plotter by choosing
the appropriate scales. The overall response for the BJT example
+VCC
given previously is shown.
+12 V

C1

R1
10 k

Vin

RC
C3
1.0 k

Vout

10 F
2N3904

1.0 F
R2
4.7 k

RE1
100
RE2
330

C2
47 F

Total Amplifier-Frequency Response

For multistage amplifiers, the individual stages have an effect on the
overall response.
In general, with different cutoff frequencies, the dominant lower cutoff
frequency is equal to the highest fcl; the dominant upper critical
frequency is equal to lowest fcu.
When the critical frequencies for multistage amplifiers are equal, the
lower critical frequency is higher than any one as given by
f cl'

f cl
1

2 n 1

and the upper critical frequency is given by

1

f f cu 2 n 1
'
cu