12.10 : Small-Signal Analysis of BJT Amplifiers

Small signal analysis is a fundamental approach used in electronics to understand how a Bipolar Junction Transistor (BJT) amplifier processes signals. In the active region, the BJT is designed for linear amplification. The transistor's behavior under these conditions is governed by its instantaneous base-emitter voltage V_BE, a sum of the DC bias V_BE, and a small AC signal V_BE, resulting in the collector current i_C. Here, the collector current has a DC component and an AC component.

Here, V_T is the thermal voltage.

When the AC input signal V_BE is significantly smaller than V_T, a small signal approximation can be used to get the expression for the AC component of the collector current. The AC component of the collector current is the ratio of the product of the DC component of the collector with time-varying input voltage to the thermal voltage.

The ratio of the AC component of the collector current to the input signal is known as transconductance. The voltage gain of the BJT is a function of the transconductance of the BJT and the load resistance.

Here, the negative sign signifies a 180-degree phase shift between input and output signals.

At the base of the BJT, the small-signal base-emitter resistance r_π is crucial for input impedance considerations and is determined by:

This resistance impacts the transistor's response to input signals and is inversely proportional to the DC bias current.

Through small signal analysis, the detailed performance of BJT amplifiers with small input variations can be precisely characterized and utilized in electronic circuit design.