Basic Configurations

There are three basic configurations for

connecting a MOSFET as an amplifier.
Each of these configurations is obtained by
connecting one of the device terminals to ground,
thus creating a two-port network with the
grounded terminal being common to the input and
output ports.
1. common-source(CS) or grounded-source amplifier
2. common-gate (CG) or grounded-gate amplifier
3. common drain (CD) or grounded-drain amplifier
MOSFET Basic configurations
 Characterizing Amplifiers
Figure (a) shows an amplifier fed with a signal
source having an open-circuit voltage Vsig and an
internal resistance Rsig. The amplifier is shown
with a load resistance RL connected to the output
terminal. Here, RL can be an actual load resistance
or the input resistance of a succeeding amplifier
stage in a cascade amplifier.
Figure (b) shows the amplifier circuit with the
amplifier block replaced by its equivalent-circuit
model. The input resistance Rin represents the
loading effect of the amplifier input on the signal
source.
Characterizing Amplifiers
 The common Source Amplifiers
Its most widely used. By cascading a number of
gain stages the bulk of voltage gain is obtained by
using one or more common source stages.
Characteristic Parameters of the CS Amplifier:
We wish to analyze this circuit to determine Rin,
Avo , and Ro. For this purpose, we assume that RD
is part of the amplifier; thus if a load resistance RL
is connected to the amplifier output, RL appears in
parallel with RD. In such a case, we wish to
determine Av and Gv as well.
The CS and CE amplifiers are the most useful of
all transistor amplifier configurations. They
exhibit a moderate to high input resistance
(infinite for the CS), a moderate to high output
resistance, and reasonably high voltage gain.
The CS and the CE configurations are the
workhorses of transistor amplifiers, both suffer
from a limitation on their high-frequency
response.
Reducing RD lower the output resistance of the CS
amplifier, is usually not a viable proposition
because the voltage gain is also reduced.
 The Common-Gate (CG) Amplifiers
Because of its low input resistance, the CG
amplifier alone has very limited application. One
such application is to amplify high-frequency
signals that come from sources with relatively low
resistances. These include cables, where it is
usually necessary for the input resistance of the
amplifier to match the characteristic resistance of
the cable.
The Common-Gate (CG) Amplifiers
 The Common-drain (CD) Amplifiers
common-drain amplifier, an important circuit that
finds application in the design of both small-signal
amplifiers and amplifiers that are required to
handle large signals and deliver substantial
amounts of signal power to a load.
Voltage Buffers
The Source follower (CD)
Comparison
 Discrete-Circuit Amplifiers
The circuits presented in this section utilize large
capacitors (in the μF range) to couple the signal
source to the input of the amplifier, and to couple
the amplifier output signal to a load resistance or
to the input of another amplifier stage. The use of
capacitors for these purposes simplifies the design
considerably: Since capacitors block dc, one is
able to first carry out the dc bias design and then
connect the signal source and load to the amplifier
without disturbing the dc design. These amplifiers
are therefore known as capacitively coupled
amplifiers.