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co

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ELECTRONIC DEVICES

3 BIPOLAR JUNCTION TRANSISTOR

1. BASIC STRUCTURE OF BJT

The bipolar transistor has three separately doped regions and two p-n junctions. Figure 1 shows
the basic structure of an n-p-n bipolar transistor and p-n-p bipolar transistor, along with the
circuit symbols. The three terminal connections are called the emitter base and collector. The
width of the base region is small compared to the minority carrier diffusion length. Generally,
the sequence of length of the three regions are WB < WE < WC.

Figure- 1: Simplified block diagram of (a) n-p-n (b) p-n-p and circuit symbol of (c) n-p-
n and (d) p-n-p bipolar transistors
There are few specific features that differentiate one region from the other region. These are:
(a) Emitter Region
• A region which supplies or emits majority carriers, for example in p-n-p transistor emitter
will supply holes and in n-p-n transistor it supplies electrons.
• Emitter is heavily doped, so that it can emit large number of carriers.
• Impurities are added in the ratio 1:103.

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(b) Collector Region

• A region which receives or collects majority carriers coming from emitter
• It is moderately doped and largest in size.
• Large collector will help in rapid transfer of heat to the surroundings.
• In a transistor, collector junction develops large amount of heat because it operates at higher
current and higher voltage
• If collector is lightly doped its conductivity will decrease, which is undesired,
• If collector is heavily doped, breakdown voltage of collector junction will decrease which is
undesired. Therefore, collector is moderately doped so that it has better conductivity and
collector junction has higher breakdown voltage.
(c) Base Region
• A region through which majority carriers travel from emitter to collector.
• Base is lightly doped and small in size, i.e. it has narrow width.
• The number of electron-hole recombination inside base will be reduced by keeping it narrow
and by doping it lightly.
• Impurities are added in ratio 1:108.
The three terminal connections are called the emitter (E), base (B), and collector (C). The width
of the base region is small compared to the minority carrier diffusion length. The (++) and (+)
notation indicates the relative magnitudes of the impurity doping concentrations normally used
in the moderately doped. The emitter region has the largest doping concentration; the collector
region has the smallest.
1.1. Typical Doping Concentrations for BJT
Figure 2 shows an idealized impurity doping profile in an n-p-n bipolar transistor for the
case when each region is uniformly doped. Typical impurity doping concentrations in the
emitter, base, and collector may be in the order of 1019, 1017 and 1015 cm-3, respectively.

Figure 2: Idealized doping profile of a uniformly doped n-p-n Bipolar Transistor

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1.2. Depletion Region

A transistor with its three terminals emitter, base and collector left open is called an
unbiased transistor, or an open-circuited transistor. The diffusion of the majority carries
takes place across the junction due to the concentration gradient of charge carries. Due
to the diffusion of the majority carries across the two junctions, depletion layer are formed
at both emitter and collector junction as shown in figure 3.

(a)

(b)
Figure 3: An unbiased transistor
Following are some important points about depletion region.
• The depletion layer around the emitter junction penetrates more into the base region
and less into the emitter region. This is because the emitter is heavily doped as
compared to the base.
• The depletion layer around the collector junction penetrates more into the base region
and less into the collector region. This is because the collector is heavily doped,
whereas the base is lightly doped.
• The depletion layer penetrates more into the collector region and less into the emitter
region. Therefore, the depletion layer formed at collector junction is larger that
depletion layer formed at emitter junction.
NOTE: An unbiased transistor is not useful for any practical purpose because the
conduction of current across its junction is very small.

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2. TRANSISTOR BIASING

2.1. Modes of Operation

The transistor consists of two p-n junctions, the emitter-base junction (EBJ) and the
collector-base junction (CBJ). Depending on the bias condition (forward or reverse) of
each of these junctions, different modes of operation of BJT are obtained, as shown in
Table 1.

S.
Mode EBJ CBJ Properties Applications
No.

Reverse Reverse Very high internal

1. Cut-off OFF switch
bias bias resistance

Forward Reverse Excellent transistor

2. Active Amplifier
bias bias action

Forward Forward Very low internal

3. Saturation ON switch
bias bias resistance

Reverse Reverse Forward Very poor transistor Attenuator (Practically

4.
active bias bias action not used)
Table-1: BJT modes of operation
2.1.1. Emitter Efficiency (γ)
The emitter or injection, efficiency γ is defined as
Currentof injected carriers at JE due to carriers of emitter
=
Total emitter current
In case of p-n-p transistor, we have
IpE IpE
= =
IpE + InE IE

where IpE is injected hole diffusion current at emitter junction and InE is injected electron
diffusion current at emitter Junction.
2.1.2 Transport Factor (β*)
Injected carrier current reaching JC
Transport factor β* is defined as, * =
Injected carrier current at JE

In case of p-n-p transistor, we have

IpC
* =
IpE

2.1.3 Large Signal Current Gain (α)

Large signal current gain of a common base transistor is defined as ratio of the negative
of the collector-current increment to the emitter-current change from zero (cut-off) to IE.
IC − ICO
=−
IE

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Since IC and IE have opposite signs, then α as defined, is always positive.

• Typical numerical value of a lies in the range of 0.90 to 0.995.
• From above equations,
IpC IpC IpE
= =
IE IpE IE

⇒ α = β*γ
• In below figure arrow indicates direction of current flow through emitter junction when
it is forward bias.

Figure 4
• ICBO: It is the current flowing from collector to base when emitter is open circuited
ICBO = ICO
• ICEO: It is the current flowing from collector to emitter when base is open circuited.

ICO ICBO
ICEO = (1 +  ) ICO = ICEO = (1 +  ) ICBO =
1− 1−

• A BJT will behave as a diode if collector is shorted to the base (i.e. V CB = 0). Such a BJT
s called diode connected transistor.

Figure 5
• When collector and base are shorted together BJT behaves like a single junction device
because current passing through BJT will be decided by the voltage V BE across JE. In this
case current through diode connected transistor will be equal to the current passing
through JE i.e.
VBE / V T
I = I EO e

where IEO = Reverse saturation current of JE.

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Example 1:
A transistor has IB = 25 μA. ICBO = 100 nA and β = 100, calculate a, IC, IE and ICBO.
Solution:
β = 100
 100
= = = 0.99
1 +  101

IC = IB + (1 +  ) ICO

= 100 × 25 × 10–6 + 101 × 10–9 = 2.51 mA

IE = – (IB + IC)
IE = – (0.025 + 2.51) = – 2.535 mA

ICEO = ICBO + (1 +  ) = 101  100  10−9 = 10.1 A

Example 2:
For an n-p-n transistor connected as shown in the figure, VBE = 0.7 volts. Given the
reverse saturation current of the junction at room temperature (300°K) is
10–13 A, the emitter current is?

A. 30 mA
B. 39 mA
C. 49 mA
D. 20 mA
Solution:
When two terminals of a transistor are shorted, it acts as a diode.
 VO −1   0.7 −1 
I = I0  e VT  = 1013  e 26103  = 49 mA
   
   

2.1.4. Active region

When the emitter-base junction of the transistor is forward biased and the collector-base
junction is reverse biased, the transistor operates in active region. This mode is used
when the transistor has to be used as an amplifier. This bias configuration is shown in
Figure 4 for n-p-n and p-n-p transistors.

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Figure 6: Transistors Biased in forward Active mode (a) n-p-n (b) p-n-p
2.1.5. Saturation Region
As shown in Figure 5, when both the emitter-base junction and collector-base junction
are forward biased, the transistor operates in saturation region. Transistor has a large
current in saturation mode. The transistor is operated in this mode when it is to be used
as a closed switch.

Figure 7: Transistor Biased in saturation mode (a) n-p-n (b) p-n-p

2.1.6. Cut-off region
When both the emitter-base and collector-base junctions are reverse biased, transistor
operates in cut-off region. In this case, the current in the transistor is ideally zero. The
transistor is operated in this mode, when it is to be used as an open switch. Both n-p-n
and p-n-p transistor are biased in cut-off mode as shown in Figure 8.

Figure 8: Transistor Biased in cut off mode (a) n-p-n (b) p-n-p
2.1.7. Reverse Active Region or Inverse Region
When the emitter-base junction of the transistor is reverse biased and the collector-base
junction is forward biased, the transistor is said to be in reverse active mode. This mode
of operation is not often used. In Figure 9, transistors are biased in reverse active mode.

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Figure 9: Transistor Biased in Reverse Active Mode

(a) n-p-n (b) p-n-p

3. OPERATION OF BJT IN ACTIVE MODE

Consider the BJT with base-emitter (B–E) p-n junction forward-biased, and the base-collector
(B–C) p-n junction reverse-biased, as shown in Figure 8.

Figure 10: Biasing of n-p-n Bipolar Transistor in the forward Active mode
3.1. Carrier Concentration
The B-E junction is forward-biased, so electrons from the emitter are injected across
the B-E junction into the base. These injected electrons create an excess concentration
of minority carriers in the base. The B-C junction is reverse biased, so the minority carrier
electron concentration at the edge of the B-C junction is ideally zero.

Figure 11: Minority Carrier Distribution in an n-p-n Bipolar Transistor

Operating in the Forward-Active Mode

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3.2. ENERGY BAND DIAGRAM

Figure 12 shows the energy band diagram for a BJT operating under zero bias and forward
bias.

Figure 12: Energy Band Diagram of the n-p-n Bipolar Transistor under Zero and
under a Forward-Active Mode Bias

4. TRANSISTOR CURRENT RELATION

Figure 13 shows a cross section of an n-p-n transistor with the injection of electrons from the
n-type emitter (hence the name emitter) and the collection of the electrons in the collector
(hence the name collector).

Figure 13: Illustration of Current Flow in n-p-n Transistor

From the figure, we have the current relation
IE = IB + IC
Where, IE = Emitter current
IB = Base current
IC = Collector current
Let us obtain the generalized expression for these currents.
4.1. Collector Current:
Assuming the ideal linear electron distribution in the base, the collector current can be
written as a diffusion current given by

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dn ( x )  n ( 0 ) -0 
iC =eDn A BE =eDn A BE  B 
dx  0-x B 
-eDn A BE υ 
= n B0exp  BE  ………(i)
xB  Vt 
Where, ABE is the cross-sectional area of the B-E junction,
nB0 is the thermal equilibrium electron concentration in the base,
Vt is the thermal voltage
Considering magnitudes only, equation (i) can be written as

υ 
i C =Is exp  BE  ………(ii)
 Vt 
NOTE: The collector current is controlled by the base-emitter voltage; that is, the current
at one terminal of the device is controlled by the voltage applied to the other two
terminals of the device. Hence, the bipolar transistor is a voltage-
controlled current source.
4.2. Emitter Current:
One component of emitter current, iE1, shown in Figure 13 is due to the flow of electrons
injected from the emitter into the base. This current, then, is equal to the collector current
given by equation (i), i.e.

 
iE1 = iC1 = I S1  BE 
 Vt 
Again, iE2 is forward-biased p-n junction current, so we can write (considering magnitude
only)

 
iE 2 = I S 2  BE 
 Vt 
Where IS2 involves the minority carrier hole parameters in the emitter. Thus, the total
emitter current is the sum of the two components, i.e.

 
iE = iE1 + iE 2 = I S exp  BE  ………………………(iii)
 Vt 
From equations (ii) and (iii), we conclude that the ratio of collector current to emitter
current is a constant, i.e.

iC

iE
Where α is called the common-base current gain. Since, we have
i C < iE
So, α < 1

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4.3. Base Current

As shown in above figure, the component of emitter current i E2 is a B-E junction current
so that this current is also a component of base current shown as i B1, i.e. this component
off base current is proportional to exp(vBE/Vt). Hence, we define the ratio of collector
current to base current as
iC
=
iB
Where β is called the common-emitter current gain. Since, we have
i C > > iB
So, β > > 1
i.e. the common-emitter current gain is much larger than unity (on the order of 100 or
larger).
NOTE: The n-p-n and p-n-p transistor are complimentary devices. Here, we have
developed the bipolar transistor theory using the n-p-n transistor, but the same basic
principles and equations also apply to the p-n-p devices.

5. MINORITY CARRIER DISTRIBUTION

In this section, we will obtain the currents in the bipolar transistor which, as in the simple p-n
junction, are determined by minority carrier diffusion. Figure 12 shows the geometry of the n-
p-n bipolar transistor used to calculate the minority carrier distribution.

Figure 14: geometry of the n-p-n Bipolar Transistor Used to Calculate the Minority
Carrier Distribution
The notations, used for BJT, are given in table below. In the following sections, we will obtain
minority carrier distribution in all the three regions for the different operating modes of the
transistor.

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Notation Definition
For both the n-p-n and p-n-p transistors
NE, NB, NC Doping concentrations in the emitter, base, and collector
xE, xB, xC Widths of neutral emitter, base, and collector regions
DE, DB, DC Minority carrier diffusion coefficients in emitter, base, and collector regions

LE, LB, LC Minority carrier diffusion lengths in emitter, base, and collector regions

τE0, τB0, τC0 Minority carrier lifetimes in emitter, base, and collector regions
For the n-p-n transistors

Thermal equilibrium minority carrier hole, electron, and hole concentrations

pE0, nE0, pC0
in the emitter, base, and collector

pE(x’), nB(x), Total minority carrier hole, electron and hole concentration in the emitter
pc(x’’) base, and collector

δpE(x’), δnB(x), Excess minority carrier hole, electron and hole concentrations in the emitter,
δpc (x’’) base, and collector

For the p-n-p transistors

nE0, pB0, nC0 Thermal equilibrium minority carrier electron, hole, and electron
concentrations in the emitter, base, and collector

nE(x’), pB(x), Total minority carrier electron, hole, and electron concentrations in the
nC(x’’) emitter, base, and collector

Excess minority carrier electron, hole, and electron concentrations in the

δnE (x’), δpB(x),
emitter, base, and collector
δnc (x’’)

Table 2: Notation used in the Analysis of the Bipolar Junction Transistor

5.1. Minority Carrier Distribution in Forward Active mode
Figure 15 shows the minority carrier distribution of an uniformly doped n-p-n bipolar
transistor.

Figure 15: Minority Carrier Distribution in an n-p-n Bipolar Transistor

Operating in the Forward-Active Mode
We may express the carrier concentrations in the base, emitter, and collector regions as

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Base region:
The steady-state excess minority carrier electron concentration is found from the
ambipolar transport equation, the excess electron concentration in the base is given by

nB 0   eVBE   
 nB ( x )   exp   − 1 ( xB − x ) − x 
xB   kT   
Emitter Region:
The excess concentration in emitter region varies approximately linearly with distance, if
xE is small. Hence, we express the excess hole concentration in emitter as

pE 0   eVBE  
 pE ( x ' )  exp  kT  − 1 ( xE − x ')
xE    
Collector region:
The excess minority carrier hole concentration in the collector is given as

 − xn 
 pc ( x '') = − pc 0 exp  
 Lc 

Figure 16: Minority Carrier Distribution in an n-p-n Bipolar Transistor

Operating in the Cut off mode
5.2. Minority Carrier distribution in Cut-off Mode
Figure 16 shows the minority carrier distribution in an n-p-n bipolar transistor in cut off.
In cut off, both the B-E and B-C junctions are reverse biased.
Thus, the minority carrier concentrations are zero at each space charge edge. The emitter
and collector regions are assumed to be long in this case, while the base is narrow
compared with the minority carrier diffusion length. Since xB < LB, essentially all minority
carriers are swept out of the base region.
5.3. Minority Carrier Distribution in Saturation Mode
Figure 17 shows the minority carrier distribution in the n-p-n bipolar transistor operating
in saturation. Both the B-E and B-C junctions are forward biased; thus, excess minority
carries exist at the edge of each space charge region. However, since a collector current
still exists when the transistor is in saturation, a gradient will still exist in the minority
carrier electron concentration in the base.

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Figure 17: Minority Carrier Distribution in an n-p-n Bipolar Transistor

Operating Saturation.
5.4. Minority Carrier distribution in Reverse Active mode
Figure 18 shows the minority carrier distribution in the n-p-n bipolar transistor operating
in reverse active mode. In this case, B-E is reverse biased. And B-C is forward biased.
Electrons from the collector are now injected into the base. The gradient in the minority
carrier electron concentration in the base is in the opposite direction compared with the
forward-active mode.

Emitter Base Collector

n p n

pC (x'')
nB(x)
pE0 pC0
n B0
pE(x')
(a)

C B E

p n

n Electron Injection

(b)
Figure 18: Minority carrier Distribution in the n-p-n BJT

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7. EARLY VOLTAGE

7.1. Base Width Modulation

When BJT is biased in active region the Emitter Junction (J E) is forward-biased but the
collector junction is reverse-biased, then in Fig (19) the barrier width at J E is negligible
as compared to space-charge width W at JC
The transition region at junction is a region of uncovered charges on both sides of junction
at positions occupied by impurity atoms. As the voltage applied across the junction
increases, transition region penetrates deeper into collector and base. As neutrality of
charges must be maintained, so the number of uncovered charges on each, side remains
equal. Since the doping in base is substantially smaller than that of collector, the
penetration of the transition region into the base is much larger than that in collector.
Hence the collector depletion region is neglected in below figure and all immobile charges
are indicated in base region.

Flgure-19: The potential variation through p-n-p transistor

If metallurgical base width is WB, then the effective electrical base width is W’B = WB –
W. This modulation of effective base width by collector voltage is known as the Early
effect or Base width modulation.
7.2. Consequences of Early Effect
The decrease in W’B with increase in reverse collector voltage has three consequences:
• When |VCB| is increased the effective base width of transistor decreases so there are
less chances of recombination of charge carriers within the base region. As a result a
increases with increasing |VCB|.
• With decrease in base width the concentration gradient of minority carriers is increased
within the base. As we have,
IE ~ IpE

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where IpE is diffusion current and is given by

dp p
IpE 
dx WB

where W’B is effective base-width

p
With increase in VCB , increases due to decrease in base-width. As a result, IpE
WB

increases and consequently IE also increases. Hence, we see that IE increases due to
increase in gradient of concentration of holes.
Also in BJT, voltage applied across one junction has effect current Passing through other
junction therefore junctions JE and JC are called interactive junctions.
• At large value of |VCB| depletion region can fully occupy the base region or in other
words for extremely large voltages, W’B may be reduced to zero. This Phenomenon is
known as punch-through or reach through.
When punch-through occurs, effective base width becomes zero arid collector region gets
electrically shorted to emitter. Due to this shorting, the negative voltage applied at
collector reaches emitter also. This results in heavy current flow which can damage the
transistor.

8. BREAKDOWN VOLTAGE

Following are the two-breakdown mechanism that occur in a bipolar transistor:

(i) Punch-through breakdown
(ii) Avalanche breakdown
8.1. Punch-Through Breakdown
As the reverse-bias B-C voltage increases, the B-C space charge region widens and
extends farther into the neutral base. It is possible for the B-C depletion region to
penetrate completely through the base and reach the B-E space charge region, the effect
called punch-through. Figure 20 shows the geometry for calculating the punch-through
voltage.

Figure 20: Geometry of a bipolar transistor to calculate the punch-through

voltage

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Assume that NB and NC are the uniform impurity doping concentrations in the base and
collector, respectively. Let WB be the metallurgy width of the base and let X dB be the
space charge width extending into the base from the B-C junction. If we neglect the
narrow space charge width of a zero-biased or forward-biased B-E junction, then punch-
through, assuming the abrupt junction approximation, occurs when
XdB=WB
Hence, we can write that
1/2
 2  (V + Vpt ) NC 1 
XdB = WB =  s bi . . 
 e NB NC + NB 

where Vpt is the reverse-biased B-C voltage at punch-through. Neglecting Vbi compared
to Vpt, we may express the Vpt as

eW2B NB (NC + NB )
Vpt = .
2 NC
8.2. Avalanche Breakdown
The condition for avalanche breakdown is given as
M = 2
Where M is the multiplication factor, usually written as

1
M= n
 V 
1 −  CB 
 BVCBO 
Where n is an empirical constant, usually between 3 and 6, and BV CBO is the B-C
breakdown voltage with the emitter left open. Now, if we assume

VCB  VCE
Applying it to above equation, we get the required condition for avalanche breakdown as


n
=1
 BV 
1 −  CEO 
 BVCBO 
Where BVCEO is the C-E voltage at breakdown in the open base configuration. Solving for
BVCEO, we get

BVCEO = BVCBOn 1 − 
Where  is the common-base current gain. Since the common-emitter and common-

base current gains are related by =
1− 

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Normally   1, so we have
1
1−  

Hence, above equation can also be written as

BVCBO
BVCEO = n

n
i.e. the breakdown voltage in the open-base configuration is smaller, by the factor ,
than the actual avalanche junction breakdown voltage.

9. IMPORTANT PROPERTIES AND STANDARD CONSTANTS

Following are some standard notations used in the exercise of the chapter.

Notation Definition
NE, NB, NC Doping concentrations in the emitter, base and collector
xE, xB, xC Widths of neutral emitter, base and collector regions
D E , DB , DC Minority carrier diffusion coefficients in emitter, base and collector regions
LE, LB, LC Minority carrier diffusion lengths in emitter, base and collector regions
τE0, τB0,
Minority carrier lifetimes in emitter, base and collector
τC0

Pe0, nE0, Thermal equilibrium minority carrier hole, electron and hole concentrations in the
pc0 emitter, base and collector for n-p-n transistor

nE0, pE0, Thermal equilibrium minority carrier electron, hole and electron concentrations in the
nC0 emitter, base and collector for p-n-p transistor

Α Common base current gain

Β Common emitter current gain
 Emitter injection efficiency factor
ατ Base transport factor
Δ Recombination factor
Cμ B-C junction capacitance
Cs Collector to substance capacitance
Cje B-E junction capacitance
xac B-C space charge width
αF Common base current gain in forward active mode
αR Common base current gain in reverse active mode

JnE Current density due to the diffusion of minority carrier electrons in base at x = 0

JnC Current density due to the diffusion of minority carrier electrons in base at x = x B

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The difference between JnE and JnC, which is due to the recombination of excess minority
JRB carrier electrons with majority carrier holes in the base. The J RB current is the flow of
holes into the base to replace the holes lost by recombination

JpE Current density due to the diffusion of minority carrier holes in emitter at x’ = 0

JR Current density due to the recombination of carries in forward biased B-E junctions.

Jpc0 Current density due to the diffusion of minority carrier holes in collector at x’’ = 0

JG Due to the generation of carries in the reverse-biased B-C junctions.

τec Emitter-to-collector time delay
τe Emitter-base junction capacitance charging time
τb Base transit time
τd Collector depletion region transit time
τc Collector capacitance charging time
Table 3

10. SUMMARY OF DIFFERENT CONFIGURATIONS IN BJT

10.1. The Common Base Configuration

In Figure 21 (b) a p-n-p transistor is shown in a grounded-base configuration. This
circuit is also referred as Common Base (CB) configuration, since the base is common
to the input and output circuits For a p-n-p transistor the largest current components
ore duo to holes. Since holes flow from emitter to collector and down towards ground
out of the base terminal, then referring to the polarity conventions of Fig (21). We have
seen that
IE is positive, IC is negative and IB is negative for a forward-based emitter junction. VEB
is positive and for a reverse-based collector junction. VCB is negative. For an n-p-n
transistor all current and voltage polarities are negative of those for a p-n-p transistor.

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Figure- 21: BJT in common base configuration

10.1.1. Properties of CB configuration
• Lowest input resistance (Ri < 100 Ω)
• Highest output resistance (R0 > 1 Ω)
• Lowest current gain (α < 1)
• Highest voltage gain
• Medium power gain (Typical value 68)
• Output and input voltages are in phase i.e. phase shift is 0°.
• In CB amplifier current gain is less and therefore bandwidth is large and hence CB
amplifier is widely used as high frequency amplifier.
10.1.2 Applications
• As a non-inverting voltage amplifier
• As a high frequency amplifier
• As an impedance matching device between low resistance to high resistances.
10.1.3 Alpha (α)
• In the dc mode the levels of IC and IE due to the majority carries are related by a
quantity called alpha and defined by the following equation:

IC
oc =
IE

• For practical devices alpha typically extends from 0.90 to 0.998, with most values
approaching the high end of the range.
• For ac situations where the point of operation moves on the characteristics curve, an
ac alpha is defined by

 IC
ac =
 IE VCB = constant

• The alpha is formally called common base amplification factor or current gain of
common base transistor.

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NOTE: The transistor’s amplifying action is basically due to its capability of transferring
its signal current from a low resistance circuit to high resistance circuit or vice-versa.
Contracting the two terms transfer and resistor results in the name transistor; that is,
transfer + resistor → transistor
10.2. The Common-Emitter Configuration
Most transistor circuits have the emitter terminal common to both input and output.
Such a common-Emitter (CE) or grounded-emitter, configuration is indicated in Fig.
(22).
In common-emitter configuration, the input current and output voltage are taken as
independent variables, whereas the input voltage and output current are the dependent
variables. We write
VBE = f1(VCE, IB)
IC = f2(VCE, IB)

Figure-22: Common-Emitter Configuration.

10.2.1 Properties
• Moderate input resistance (around 1 kΩ).
• Moderate output resistance (50 kΩ to 500 kΩ).
• Moderate current gain (Typical value 49).
• Moderate voltage gain.
• Highest power gain (Typical value 4226).
• Output and input volta9es are out of phase i.e. phase shift = 180°.
10.2.2 Application
It is the most common and frequently used amplifier circuit.
10.2.3 Beta (β)
• In the dc mode the levels of IC and IB are related by a quantity called beta and defined
by the following equation
IC
dc =
IB

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ac beta is defined as follows:

 IC
ac =
 IB VCE = constant

• Range of β is to 300.
• β in terms of a is

=
1−

or  =
 +1
• β is called the current gain of transistor in CE mode. It is the most important
specification of the transistor.
• β is also denoted by hFE and always
βdc > βac or hFE > hfe
• Beta is a particularly important parameter because it provides a direct link between
current levels of the input and output circuits for a common-emitter configuration. That
is,
IC = βIB
and since IE = IC + IB = βIB + IB
we have IE = (β + 1)IB
10.2.4. Effect of Temperature on ‘β’
IC

IB

The average time, a carrier takes to travel from emitter junction to collector i.e. to travel
through base region is called transits time ‘τt’, which is given as

WB2
t =
2DB

where, τt = Transit time

WB = Base width and
DB = Diffusion constant
In average time one hole moves from emitter junction to collector junction in ‘τ t’ sec,
therefore in one sec 1/τt holes can move from emitter to collector junction.
Holes that reach collector junction will form ‘I C’, therefore,
1
IC 
t

The average time, a hole or electron will exist before recombination is called lifetime.
τp = Lifetime of holes
τn = Lifetime of electrons

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In average time, one hole-electron recombination occurs in τp sec, therefore in one sec
1/τp recombination can happen. Hence base should be supplied with 1/τ p electrons in
one sec to keep it neutral and these electrons will form base current, so
1
IB 
p

By using above equations, we get

p

t

• To achieve large ‘β’ transit time should be reduced by decreasing base width.
• When temperature increases carrier life-time increases and hence β increases.
• In indirect semiconductor such as Silicon and Germanium, recombination occurs
through an intermediate energy level present in forbidden band
• During recombination free electronics moves into intermediate level and then into hole
or vacancy present in valance band.
• But when temperature increases, the electrons which are moved into intermediate
level will come back to conduction band this process is called thermal re-excitation.
• Thermal re-excitation will prevent recombination and thereby life-time increases and
as a result β also increases.

Figure 23
10.3. Common-Collector Configuration
Another transistor configuration, shown in Figure (24), is known as the Common-
Collector (CC) configuration. In this circuit, the load resistor is in emitter circuit rather
than in collector circuit, if we continue to specify the operation of circuit in terms of the
currents which flow the operation for common-collector is much same as for common-
emitter configuration. When base current is ICO, the emitter current will be zero, and no
current will flow in load. As the transistor is brought out of this back-biased condition
by increasing the magnitude of the base current, the transistor will pass through the
active region and eventually reach saturation. In this condition whole supply voltages,
except for a very Small drop across the transistor will appear across the load.

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Figure–24: Common Collector Configuration

10.3.1. Properties
• Highest input resistance (50 kΩ to 500 kΩ).
• Lowest output resistance (< 100 Ω).
• Highest current gain.
• Lowest voltage gain.
• Voltage gain is less than 1 or very close to 1.
• Lowest power gain (Typical value 48).
• Output and input voltages are in phase i.e. phase shift is 0°.
• Common collector configuration is also known as emitter follower.
• Emitter follower is basically a Current Controlled Voltage Source (CCVS).
10.3.2 Applications
• As an audio frequency power amplifier.
• As a butter (impedance matching device between high resistance to low resistance).
• In designing of voltage sweep circuits.
• As a high input resistance device.
• As a “Boot strap emitter follower”.
10.3.3 Gamma (γ)
• ‘γ’ is called the current gain of common collector configuration and is given by

IE I + IB
= = C =1+
IB IB

• Relationship between α, β and γ of the transistor

1
 = 1+ =
1− 
NOTE: In a transistor if various current gains are arranged in the ascending order then
the correct sequence is α < β < γ

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CONVENTIONAL QUESTIONS (DO IT YOURSELF)

KT
1. A BJT is CB configuration is used to amplify a signal received by a 50Ω anteena. Assume =
q

25mV, the value of collector bias current required to match the input impedance of the amplifier
to the impedance of the amplifier to the impedance of the antenna is ____(in mA).
[Ans. 0.5]
2. Calculate V0, if |VBE| = 0.7 for the BJT and β = 100.

[Ans. 0V]
3. Obtain Eber-Moll equations for p-n-p bipolar junction transistors. Show that these equations are
true for any arbitrary geometry of the device.
4. Consider silicon n-p-n transistors for the following circuit.

If Vin is +1V, what is the value of Vout? If Vin is changed to +3V, what is the value of Vout? What
is the output voltage compliance (maximum voltage range that the output can swing when the
input is varied) of the circuit?
[Ans. 5.3 V, 1.7 V, 11.3 V]

****

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