Bipolar transistors

What is the advantage of an active load, which uses a transistor acting as a current source instead of a load resistor in an amplifier?

  1. AThe gain always decreases
  2. BIt gives the same effect as a very large resistor in a small area, allowing high gain
  3. CThe circuit starts to emit light
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Answer: B. It gives the same effect as a very large resistor in a small area, allowing high gain

A current source acts as a very large resistance for small signals, so an active load gives high voltage gain without actually placing a large resistor. Large resistors take up a lot of area on an IC, so active loads are widely used in analog ICs.

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More Bipolar transistors questions

  1. When a switching transistor is turned off from deep saturation, what is the main reason it takes time to turn off?
  2. Which is a typical family of logic ICs built with bipolar transistors?
  3. Which pairing of a technology that integrates bipolar transistors and CMOS on the same chip with its purpose is correct?
  4. Which set correctly names the three terminals of a bipolar transistor?
  5. In the circuit symbol of an NPN transistor, which way does the arrow on the emitter point?