In electronics, a common emitter amplifier is one of three basic single-stage bipolar-junctiontransistor (BJT) amplifier topologies, typically used as a voltage

amplifier.
In this circuit the base terminal of the transistor serves as the input, the collector is the output, and
the emitter is common to both (for example, it may be tied to ground reference or a power supply
rail), hence its name.
Common emitter amplifiers give the amplifier an inverted output and can have a very high gain that
may vary widely from one transistor to the next. The gain is a strong function of both temperature
and bias current, and so the actual gain is somewhat unpredictable. Stability is another problem
associated with such high gain circuits due to any unintentional positive feedback that may be
present.
Other problems associated with the circuit are the low input dynamic range imposed by the smallsignal limit; there is high distortion if this limit is exceeded and the transistor ceases to behave like its
small-signal model. One common way of alleviating these issues is with emitter degeneration. This
refers to the addition of a small resistor (or any impedance)[dubious discuss]between the emitter and the
common signal source (e.g., the ground reference or a power supply rail). This impedance reduces
the overall transconductance of the circuit by a factor of , which makes the voltage gain:
The voltage gain depends almost exclusively on the ratio of the resistors rather than the
transistor's intrinsic and unpredictable characteristics. The distortion and stability characteristics
of the circuit are thus improved at the expense of a reduction in gain.
(While this is often described as "negative feedback", as it reduces gain, raises input impedance,
and reduces distortion, it predates the invention of negative feedback and does not reduce
output impedance or increase bandwidth, as true negative feedback would do.) [1]
The common emitter transistor amplifier is possibly the most widely used transistor configuration.
The common emitter transistor amplifier circuit is often seen as the standard format for a transistor
circuit where voltage gain is required.
It is often used in small class A linear amplifier stages as well as logic outputs and many other areas.
Here, its characteristics lend themselves to this form of application.

Common emitter transistor amplifier basics

The common emitter transistor amplifier characteristics are what could be termed a good all round
level of performance.

Common emitter transistor amplifier circuit configuration

For both NPN and PNP circuits, it can be seen that for the common emitter amplifier circuit, the input
is applied to the base, and the output is taken from the collector. The common terminal for both
circuits is the emitter.

Common emitter transistor amplifier gain

Another important factor is the gain level that can be achieved. There are two forms of gain that can
be determined: current gain and voltage gain.
The current gain for the common emitter amplifier circuit is denoted by the Greek symbol . This is
the ratio of collector current to base current. This may be thought of as the ratio of output current to
input current. To gain an accurate figure of the gain for a signal, the current gain for small input
changes in current is often used. Using this the current gain, , and the changes in input and output
current are related in the following way: