Electronics- I

Lab 10: BJT as a Switch (Logic gates)

Names Masood Jalal

Registration
FA21-BEE-082
Number

Class BEE-3B

Instructor’s Name Sir Ali Arshad

Lab Assessment
Post Lab Total
Pre-Lab In-Lab
Data Presentation Data Analysis Writing Style

Date: 21st December 2022

Objectives:
1: Be able to determine whether a BJT is operating correctly as a switch.
2: Have experimentally verified the switching speed limitations of a transistor switch.
3: Know how to improve the switching speeds of a BJT switch using speed-up capacitors.
4: Be able to relate measured circuit parameters to failed components.
5: Have experimentally verified OR, AND Logic through BJT.

Equipment:
Breadboard
Function Generator
Oscilloscope
Digital Multimeter
DC Voltage Source: VDC: -15V - +15V
Resistor: 1x1.5KΩ, 1x4.7kΩ, 1x47KΩ, 1x1MΩ
Capacitor: 1x47nF, 1x4700µF
Transistor: 2N2222

Parameters:
Frequency Wave Type VPP Offset VDC Range V
1 KHz Square 5 2.5 0-5

In-Lab I: Behavior of BJT at different Conditions

Condition VB VE VCE
Cut-Off 0 0 10V
Saturation 0.685V 0 56mV
Saturation voltage is obtained by Applying +5V at the Base of 2N2222

Finding the On Time and Off Time of the signal

To find it zoom in at the transition point of the square wave and compare the waveform
of input and output wave. There is always some skew on the output wave which is the
time delay. Observed it with and without Speed-up Capacitor.

Capacitor C T On T Off
0 4.8µs 1.12µs
48nF 600ns 200ns
4700µF 600ns 100ns
T ON: No Speed-Up Capacitor

T OFF: No Speed-Up Capacitor

T ON: With Speed Up Capacitor

T Off: With Speed Up Capacitor

In-Lab II: Logic Gates using BJTs
The basic logic gates are made up of BJTs and are very simple to construct. As such in this lab we
created simple OR, AND and NOT Logic Gates.

OR Gate
OR gate is ON when either one of its inputs is ON and it is OFF when both the inputs are OFF. For
the construction of this gate 2 BJTs are required.

Observed Behavior of OR Gate

A B Output
0 0 0
0 6V = 1 5.4V = 1
6V = 1 0 5.43V = 1
6V = 1 6V = 1 5.46V = 1

AND Gate
AND gate is ON when both of its inputs are ON and it is OFF when either of the input is OFF. For
the construction of this gate 2 BJTs are required.
Observed Behavior of AND Gate
A B Output
0 0 0
0 6V = 1 0.447V = 0
6V = 1 0 0=0
6V = 1 6V = 1 5.09V = 1

NOT Gate
The NOT gate is also known as the complement as it inverts the state of the input. It is ON when
input is OFF and it is OFF when input is ON.
Observed Behavior of NOT Gate
A Output
0 6.09V
6V = 1 5.8mV = 0

Design Problems
Implement NOR, NAND, XOR Logic through BJT.

NOR Gate
NOR gate is ON when both of its inputs are OFF and it is OFF when either of the input is ON. NOR
Gate is an OR Gate followed by NOT gate which inverts its result.

Observed Behavior of NOR Gate

A B Output
0 0 1
0 1 0
1 0 0
1 1 0

NAND Gate
NAND gate is ON when either of its inputs is OFF and it is OFF when both of the inputs are ON.
NAND Gate is an AND Gate followed by NOT gate which inverts its result.
Observed Behavior of NAND Gate
A B Output
0 0 1
0 1 1
1 0 1
1 1 0

XOR Gate
XOR gate a combination of 2 NOT Gates, 2 AND Gates and a single OR Gate. It is ON when both
inputs are different, it is OFF when both inputs are same, ie either both are ON or both are OFF.
Observed Behavior of XOR Gate
A B Output
0 0 0
0 1 1
1 0 1
1 1 0

Q2: Describe the benefits obtained by using a speed-up capacitor in the transistor switch
circuit. Consider and discuss switch timing and output wave-form
As can be observed from the collected data and waveforms attached in this report, the Speed-
up capacitor had a drastic impact on the ON and OFF delay of the circuit. As without the capacitor
we observed T_ON of 4.8µs while with a 47nF Capacitor the time was reduced to 600ns. This
resulted in 8 times (or 87.5%) faster switching time while turning ON. For T_OFF, the time
reduced from 1.12µs to 200ns which is 5.6 times (or 82%) faster than without Capacitor.
Following the trend, we can deduce that Speed-up capacitors are essential for working with
higher frequencies because the capacitor reduce the switching delay and provide sharp output
waveform.
Q3: The transistor has a maximum lc rating of 200 mA. With this limitation, what are some
applications you can suggest for a BJT' switch?
The main application of BJTs is in audio amplifiers class D audio amplifiers use only 1 BJT, while
class C amplifiers use 1 BJT in Common Emitter Fixed Bias configuration for amplification which
is followed by another BJT in Emitter Follower configuration for current amplification. As such
they are mostly used in small sound systems, phones and laptops and other electronic equipment
which contains audio modules. It is also used for sound modulation where the information stored
in the amplitude of the AC audio signal is superimposed over square wave by changing its duty
cycle proportional to the AC frequency of the sound.
Moreover, such small Power Single LED can also be used as an oscillator to produce different
form of waves like Sine Waves and Square Waves.
They are also used as simple ON or OFF switches and filters to block unwanted signals.

Critical Analysis:
1: In this lab we observed the characteristics of BJT at the time of switching such as T_ON
and T_OFF and noted that there is always some delay between the clock signal and the
transistor action.
2: We resolved the issue by placing a Speed-Up capacitor which reduced the T_ON time
and T_OFF time by more than 80%.
3: Moreover, we build simple logic Gates such as AND, OR, NOT, NOR, NAND and XOR
gates using transistors and verified their truth tables both in lab experimentally and with
the help of simulation.