ES330 Laboratory Experiment No. 2
NMOS Common-Source Amplifier
[Reference: Section 7.5.1 of Sedra/Smith (pages 467-469)]
Objectives:
1. Design the amplifier for voltage gain AV to be at a minimum of -4 (V/V) and choose
resistor values of RD and RS by calculation.
2. Measure the voltage gain of the amplifier to see how it compares with calculated
voltage gain. Display waveforms on an oscilloscope.
3. Measure the output resistance RO of the amplifier looking into the output port.
Materials:
1. Breadboard
2. One NMOS transistor – ALD1106PBL
3. Three large 47 microfarad capacitors
4. Several resistors of various values (two resistors are 10 k in value)
5. Jumper wires for use on breadboard
6. Function generator, digital multimeter and oscilloscope
Circuit Schematic:
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Circuit Parameters:
The parameters of the circuit are listed in the table below.
Component
Value
CC1, CC2 and CE
47 F each
NMOS
ALD1106PBL
V+ = (-V_)
 8 volts (nominal)
Resistors RG and RL
10 k each
Not specified in the table are values for the source resistor RS and drain resistor RD.
These you will determine using design goals, namely, the drain current and the voltage gain of
the amplifier.
The minimum voltage gain AV of the amplifier is to be at least -4 (V/V) – the minus sign
indicates that a common-source MOSFET amplifier is inverting (i.e., introduces a 180 degree
phase shift). Furthermore, we want the DC drain current ID to equal 2 milliampere (1 mA). The
design goals are
AV  -4 (V/V) and ID = 2 mA
Transistor Parameters:
Caution: MOSFET devices are ESD sensitive (electrostatic sensitive) and can easily be
destroyed by handling – be sure to discharge or ground yourself before handling these
sensitive devices. The gate electrode is the most sensitive. Note also that the maximum
voltage that can be applied to VDS and VGS is +10.6 volts – exceeding this voltage can burn out
the NMOS transistor. Our designated voltage supply voltages settings are  8 volts.
Nominal parameters for the ALD1106PBL NMOS transistor can either be measured
(using the transistor you select with the method suggested in appendix II), or roughly estimated
from the ALD1106 Data Sheet. The Data Sheet is reproduced in the Appendix I. The threshold
voltage Vt of the ALD1106 is listed as being typically 0.7 volt in the Data Sheet (Note: This is a
coincidence with the VBE assumption used with a silicon bipolar transistor). In general, data
from a Data Sheet should generally use nominal values rather than the minimum or maximum
values. For output resistance ro to be used in a small-signal model assume that it is about 40
k (we have no better value to work with).
Determining RS and RD:
The value of ID is set by choosing RS at ID = 2 mA. NMOS transconductance gm is
gm 
2I D
.
VGS  Vt 
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The gate node is essentially at ground potential (i.e., 0 volts) because gate current IG is for all
practical purposes is zero.
The AC voltage gain AV is then given by

AV   gm RD ro RL

The value of resistor RD gives you control the voltage gain because it is in parallel with ro and RL.
The other constraint on resistor RD is that the drain-source voltage must be large enough to
keep the transistor in the saturated region of operation and also allow for an adequate voltage
swing along the load line. In other words, be sure to watch the Q-point location in setting the
bias point (ID, VDS) the transistor.
Note: There are two load lines in this amplifier because of the coupling capacitor CC2 –
the DC load line which excludes RL and the AC load line where the effective load resistance is
RD, ro and RL all in parallel.
DC Operating Point Analysis:
First, sketch a DC schematic circuit. The three large capacitors are all open circuits for
DC analysis purposes. Also, the signal generator assumes no role in the DC analysis. Begin by
determining the values of IG, IS and ID using the IS = ID = 2 mA. Supply V_ = - 8 volts.
A. What is the gate current? IG = _____ mA
B. Determine the value of the overvoltage VOV and RS which establish ID = 2 mA (approximately).
Remember that VGS = VOV + Vt by definition. Some assumptions may be necessary.
Gate-source voltage VGS = ______ volts;
C. Estimate the transconductance gm.
Overvoltage VOV = ______ volts;
gm = ______ mmhos (or milli-siemens or mA/V)
D. Now we can estimate the value of the source resistor RS.
RS = ______ ohms
AC Analysis:
Next we want to determine VDS and RD. Sketch the AC small-signal circuit. The largevalued capacitors now become short circuits (i.e., the capacitors will have negligible impedance
at higher frequencies). Also, the power supply connections are assumed to be AC grounds.
A. What happens to the source resistor RS in the AC analysis?
B. Let vi be the small-signal voltage at the gate node of the transistor and vsig is the small-signal
voltage of the signal generator. You should recognize that the signal generator is shown in its
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Thévenin equivalent circuit. Be sure to check to see what the resistance Rsig is for the signal
generator (or function generator).
Estimate of vi/vsig = ______ (Is it unity? If yes, why is it unity?)
C. Derive an expression for voltage gain AV = vo/vi, where vo is the output voltage as defined in
the schematic circuit on page 1. Find a value for resistor RD giving a voltage gain greater than
AV = -4 (V/V). Be sure that this value of RD also gives an acceptable value for VDS allowing for a
reasonable AC voltage swing range at the output.
What value of VDS do you calculate? VDS = _______ volts
D. Now that you have a value of resistor RD, calculate the output resistance Ro at the output
node as defined in the schematic circuit on page 1.
Ro = _______ ohms
Prototyping:
You have reached the point where you will prototype the circuit with the resistor values
you determined. It will look something like the photograph below. Be sure to ground pin 4 of
the DIP package is grounded to avoid back-gate bias issues (remember we don’t want a floating
substrate when using MOSFET devices).
Be sure to keep lead lengths short to prevent oscillations.
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Measurements:
Make the following measurements:
A. Using a digital multimeter, measure the DC voltages at the gate (VG), source (VS) and drain
(VD) nodes of the transistor.
B. Using a function generator set its sinusoidal “peak-to-peak” amplitude at 10 mVpk-pk with a
frequency of 1,000 Hz (i.e., 1 kHz). This is the small-signal voltage vi. Now measure the
amplifier’s output peak-to-peak voltage vO and this determines its midband voltage gain AV.
C. Using an oscilloscope display the vO and vi waveforms versus time t. Are they sinusoidal in
form?
D. Measure the output resistance Ro. You can do this by replacing the 10 k RL load resistor
with say a 1 Meg resistor and again measuring the voltage gain. This gives a maximum
voltage gain value. By adjusting (i.e., lowering) the value of RL we can find a value of RL such
that the voltage gain is one-half the value you found with the 1 Meg resistor. That particular
value of RL is equal to the output resistance Ro.
E. Increase the sinusoidal “peak-to-peak” amplitude of the function generator to a level where
the output sinusoidal waveform shows a large amount of waveform distortion. Describe what
you see with respect to the distorted waveform’s shape.
Post-Measurement Exercise:
A. Take your calculated values of VGS and VDS from your the DC bias and compare these values
to those you measured. How do they compare with the calculated values?
B. Compare the measured and the calculated voltage gain values. Explain the difference.
C. Compare your measured and calculated output resistance values.
APPENDIX I – ALD1106 Data Sheet
5
6
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APPENDIX II – Measuring threshold voltage Vt of NMOS Transistor
The configuration shown below is a simple circuit that can be used to measure the
threshold voltage Vt and the value of VOV at ID = 2 mA.
It requires a “current meter” (i.e., digital multimeter) in the drain branch and a variable voltage
source to vary the applied gate-to-source voltage. The source node is grounded and serves as
our voltage reference. Resistor RD is present for current limiting to protect the circuit (it could
be a 1 k resistor, for example). Just be sure RD is not too large (Why?). Starting from VGS = 0,
slowly increase VGS until a current ID just begins to flow (say, 10 microamperes). That yields Vt.
Further slowly increase VGS until current ID equals 2 mA. This gives VOV at ID = 2 mA. Now you
have two parameters useful for setting the NMOS transistor’s operating point.
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