AIR UNIVERSITY

DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRICAL AND COMPUTER ENGINEERING

EXPERIMENT NO 11

Lab Title: COMMON BASE AMPLIFIER

Student Name: Reg. No:

Objective:

LAB ASSESSMENT:

Excellent Good Average Satisfactory Unsatisfactory

Attributes
(5) (4) (3) (2) (1)
Ability to Conduct
Experiment
Ability to assimilate the
results
Effective use of lab
equipment and follows
the lab safety rules

Total Marks: Obtained Marks:

LAB REPORT ASSESSMENT:

Excellent Good Average Satisfactory Unsatisfactory
Attributes
(5) (4) (3) (2) (1)

Data presentation

Experimental results

Conclusion

Total Marks: Obtained Marks:

Date: Signature:
 LABORATORY
EXPERIMENT
NO. 11

COMMON BASE AMPLIFIER

OBJECTIVE
1. To study and analyze the common base amplifier configuration by finding the voltage gain,
current gain, input impedance, and output impedance.
2. To simulate the circuit on Proteus.
3. To implement the common base amplifier circuit on Hardware.

DISCUSSION
There are three basic configurations for implementing single stage BJT amplifiers.
 Common Emitter
 Common Collector
 Common Base
In each case, one terminal is common to both input and output signal.

Common Base Configuration:

In electronics, a common-base (also known as grounded-base) amplifier is one of three basic single-stage
bipolar junction transistor (BJT) amplifier topologies, typically used as a current buffer or voltage amplifier.

Common Base Configuration

In this circuit, the emitter terminal of the transistor serves as the input, the collector as the output, and the
base is common to both (for example, it may be tied to ground reference or a power supply rail), hence its
name. The analogous field-effect transistor circuit is the common-gate amplifier.
 Basic NPN common-base circuit

To easily understand the common base amplifier, consider the following example.
This is common-base amplifier configuration. This configuration is more complex than the other two, and
is less common due to its strange operating characteristics.

It is called the common-base configuration because (DC power source aside), the signal source and the load
share the base of the transistor as a common connection point:
Perhaps the most striking characteristic of this configuration is that the input signal source must carry the
full emitter current of the transistor, as indicated by the heavy arrows in the first illustration. As we know,
the emitter current is greater than any other current in the transistor, being the sum of base and collector
currents. In the last two amplifier configurations, the signal source was connected to the base lead of the
transistor, thus handling the least current possible.
Because the input current exceeds all other currents in the circuit, including the output current, the current
gain of this amplifier is actually less than 1 .In other words, it attenuates current rather than amplifying it.
With common-emitter and common-collector amplifier configurations, the transistor parameter most
closely associated with gain was β. In the common-base circuit, we follow another basic transistor
parameter: the ratio between collector current and emitter current, which is a fraction always less than 1.
This fractional value for any transistor is called the alpha ratio, or α ratio. It obviously can't boost signal
current, it only seems reasonable to expect it to boost signal voltage.
The input and output waveforms are in phase with each other. This tells us that the common-base amplifier
is non-inverting.
The combination of very low current gain (always less than 1) and somewhat unpredictable voltage gain
conspire against the common-base design, relegating it to the few practical applications.
Common-base transistor amplifiers are so-called because the input and output voltage points share the base
lead of the transistor in common with each other, not considering any power supplies. The current gain of
a common-base amplifier is always less than 1. The voltage gain is a function of input and output
resistances, and also the internal resistance of the emitter-base junction, which is subject to change with
variations in DC bias voltage. Suffice to say that the voltage gain of a common-base amplifier can be very
high. The ratio of a transistor's collector current to emitter current is called α. Its value for any transistor is
always less than unity, or in other words, less than 1.
This configuration is used for high frequency applications because the base separates the input and output,
minimizing oscillations at high frequency. It has a high voltage gain, relatively low input impedance and
high output impedance compared to the common collector.

LAB TASK 1
 Calculate the values of Voltage Gain, Current Gain, Input Impedance, and Output Impedance for
the circuit given for Common Base Amplifier.
Where,
C1 = 1μF
C2 = 1μF
R1 = 82Ω
R2 = 1kΩ
R3 = 1kΩ
R4 = 47kΩ
VCC = 12V
VEE = -5V
Vin = 40 mVp-p (50kHz)
CALCULATIONS
RESULTS:
Voltage Gain=……………………………….... Current Gain=…………………………………..

Input Impedance=……………………………. Output Impedance=…………………………….

LAB TASK 2
 Implement the given circuit on Proteus as well as on Hardware by setting an input of 40mVp-p (f =
50 kHz).
 Observe the output at Oscilloscope.
 Record the readings in the table.
 Draw the input and output waveforms.

RESULTS

Calculated Values Measured Values

Input Output
Voltage Gain Current Gain Voltage Gain Current Gain
Impedance Impedance

Input Waveform
 Output Waveform

CONCLUSION
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