BJT

Dr. [Link]
papanasam.e@[Link]
AP Senior
School of Electronics
VIT Chennai
 BJT
• Transistor – Transfer and resistance
– a signal applied at the low resistance input circuit will be transferred to
the high resistance output circuit
• Basic transistor principle
– Voltage between two terminals controls the current through the third
terminal
• Formed by sandwiching a layer of P-type or N-type material between two N-
type or P-type
• Bipolar junction transistor (BJT)
– Three separately doped regions, three-terminal device two pn junctions
– Current in the transistor is due to the flow of both electrons and holes
(bipolar)
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 Structure of a Transistor
• Base region is much thinner compared to the
collector and emitter regions
• npn device
– p region between two n regions
• Doping level
– Emitter heavily doped
– Base lightly doped
– Collector intermediate
• The collector is physically the largest
• Transistor is like two back-to-back diodes
– Emitter-base diode (Emitter diode)
– Collector-base diode (collector diode)
– Each diode has a barrier potential of
approximately 0.7 V
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 Transistor Structures
• pnp bipolar transistor contains a thin n-region sandwiched between two
p-regions
• The three regions and their terminal connections are called the emitter,
base, and collector
• Operation of the device depends on the two pn junctions being in close
proximity
• Width of the base must be very narrow

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 Unbiased transistor
• Depletion layers Diode equivalent

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 Biased Transistor
• Emitter
– Emit or inject its free electrons
into the base
• The lightly doped base
– Pass emitter-injected
electrons on to the collector
• The collector
– collects or gathers most of the
electrons from the base
• VBB forward-biases the emitter If V is greater than the emitter-base barrier
BB
diode potential, emitter electrons will enter the base
• VCC reverse-biases the collector region
diode
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 Biased Transistor
• The base is lightly doped and very thin
– Light doping => free electrons have a long lifetime in the base region
– Very thin base => free electrons have only a short distance to go to
reach the collector
– Almost all the emitter-injected electrons pass through the base to the
collector
• Once they are in the collector, they feel the attraction of the VCC
• Free electrons flow through RC until they reach the positive terminal of VCC
• Only a few free electrons will recombine with holes in the lightly doped
base
• Flow through the base resistor to the positive side of the VBB supply
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 Biased Transistor

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 Transistor Currents

Conventional flow Electron flow pnp currents

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 Transistor Currents
• Because the emitter is the source of the electrons, it has the largest
current
• Since most of the emitter electrons flow to the collector, the collector
current is almost as large as the emitter current
• The base current is very small by comparison, often less than 1 percent of
the collector current
• By KCL IE = IC + IB
• IC IE (IB << IC)

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 Mode of Operation
• Two pn junctions has four possible modes of operation, depending
on the bias condition of each pn junction
• Forward-active (active region)
– Base–emitter (B–E) junction is forward biased
– Base–collector (B–C) junction is reverse biased
– Transistor is used as an amplifying device
• Cut off: Both B-E and B-C reverse biased
• Saturation: Both B-E and B-C forward biased
• Reverse active: B-E reverse biased and B-C forward biased

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 npn bipolar transistor biased in the
forward-active mode
• Base–emitter junction forward biased
• Base–collector junction reverse biased
• B–E junction is forward biased, electrons from the emitter are injected
across the B–E junction into the base
• Creating an excess minority carrier concentration in the base

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 Transistor current
• Because of the large gradient in this concentration, electrons that
are injected, from the emitter region diffuse across the base
• And are swept across the B-C SCR by the electric field, and are
collected in the collector region creating the collector current
• If some carrier recombination does occur in the base, the electron
concentration will deviate from the ideal linear curve
• To minimize recombination effects, width of the neutral base region
must be small compared to the minority carrier diffusion length

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 Emitter Current

• Approximation of neglecting the (−1) term is usually valid since vBE >> VT in
most cases
• IEO, contains electrical parameters of the junction
• In addition is directly proportional to the active B–E cross-sectional area
• Typical values of IEO are in the range of 10−12 to 10−16 A
• The conventional emitter current direction is out of the emitter terminal

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 Collector Current
• The number of injected electrons reaching the collector is the major
component of collector current
• The number of electrons reaching the collector per unit time is
proportional to the number of electrons injected into the base
• The number of electrons injected into the base in turn is a function of B–E
voltage
• To a first approximation, collector current is proportional to exp(VBE/VT)
and is independent of the reverse-biased B–C voltage
• The collector current is controlled by the B–E voltage
• The current at one terminal (the collector) is controlled by the voltage
across the other two terminals
• This control is the basic transistor action
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 Common-base current gain
• The collector current is slightly smaller than the emitter
current
• The emitter and collector currents are related by iC = α iE
• Also relate the coefficients by IS = α IEO
• The parameter is called the common-base current gain
• Value is always slightly less than unity

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 Base Current
• B–E junction is forward biased, holes from the base are injected across the
B–E junction into the emitter
• They are not part of the transistor action
– since these holes do not contribute to the collector current
• Instead, the flow of holes forms one component of the base current
• This component is also an exponential function of the B–E voltage,
because of the forward-biased B–E junction

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 Base Current
• A few electrons recombine with majority carrier holes in the base
– The holes that are lost must be replaced through the base terminal
• The flow of such holes is a second component of the base current and is
known as recombination current
• Proportional to the number of electrons being injected from the emitter,
which in turn is an exponential function of the B–E voltage

• Total base current is the sum of the two components

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 Electron and hole currents in an npn bipolar
transistor biased in the forward active mode

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 Common-Emitter Current Gain
• In the transistor, the rate of flow of electrons and the resulting collector
current are an exponential function of the B–E voltage
• The collector current and the base current are linearly related

• β is the common-emitter current gain

• Key parameter of the bipolar transistor
• Constant for any given transistor
• The value of is usually in the range of 50 < β < 300

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 Current Relationships
• BY treating bipolar transistor as a single node by Kirchhoff’s current
law
• If the transistor is biased in the forward-active mode

iC = α iE

• if β = 100, then α = 0.99

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 β and α Relation

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 Summary of Transistor Operation
• First-order model of the operation of the npn bipolar transistor biased in the
forward-active region
• The forward-biased B–E voltage, vBE, causes an exponentially related flow of
electrons from the emitter into the base where they diffuse across the base
region and are collected in the collector region
• The collector current, iC , is independent of the B–C voltage as long as the B–
C junction is reverse biased
• The collector, then, behaves as an ideal current source
• The collector current is a fraction α of the emitter current,
• Base current is a fraction 1/β of the collector current
• If β >> 1, then α = 1 and iC= iE
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 Calculation of collector and emitter
currents
• Assume a common-emitter current gain of β = 150 and a base
current of iB = 15 μA. Also assume that the transistor is biased
in the forward-active mode.

iC = β iB = (150)(15μA) = 2.25mA
iE = (1 + β)iB = (151)(15μA) = 2.27mA
Common-base current gain α = β/(1 + β) = 0.9934

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 pnp Transistor: Forward-Active Mode
Operation
• Electron and hole currents in a pnp bipolar transistor biased in the
forward-active mode

• Emitter, base, and collector currents are proportional to evEB/VT

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 pnp Transistor: Forward-Active Mode
Operation
• B–E junction is forward biased
• p-type emitter is positive with respect to the n-type base
– Holes flow from the emitter into the base
– Holes diffuse across the base
– They are swept into the collector
– The collector current is a result of this flow of holes
• Since the B–E junction is forward biased, the emitter current is an
exponential function of the B–E voltage
• vEB is the voltage between the emitter and base
• Implies that the emitter is positive with respect to the base
• Assumed that −1 term in the ideal diode equation is negligible
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 Summary of the bipolar current–voltage
relationships in the active region

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 Voltage Polarity and Current Flow in
Transistor Biased in Active Mode

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Majority and minority carrier flow of a pnp
transistor

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 Common-Emitter circuits
• (a) with an npn transistor (b) with a pnp transistor

• Common or ground side of each voltage source is connected to the emitter

• The circuit has two loops. The left loop is the base loop, and the right loop is
the collector loop
• VBB forward-biases the emitter diode with RB as a current-limiting resistance
• By changing VBB or RB one can change the base current
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 Common-emitter (CE) circuits
• Changing the base current will change the collector current
• The base current controls the collector current
• Small current (base) controls a large current (collector)
• VBB and VCC base and collector voltage source
• VBE and VCE => the voltage between the two points
• VB => voltage between the base and ground

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 Input Characteristics (Base Curve)
• Looks like the graph of an ordinary diode
• This is a forward-biased emitter diode
• Usual diode graph of current versus voltage

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 Output characteristics (Collector curve)
VCE small
• VCE = VCB + VBE
• VCB = VCE – VBE
• VCB ≈ - VBE => VC < VB (C-B Junction(diode) forward biased)
• Saturation region (IC increases with VCE)

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 Output characteristics (Collector curve)
• VCE is a few tenths of a volt
– The collector current becomes almost constant
– Collector diode becomes reverse biased (Active region)
– Further increases in VCE cannot increase the collector current
– Because the collector can collect only those free electrons that the emitter
injects into the base
– The number of these injected electrons depends only on the base circuit, not
on the collector circuit
• VCE is greater than 40 V (Breakdown region)
– Collector diode breaks down
– Normal transistor action is lost
– Collector-emitter breakdown voltage VCE(max)
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 Regions of Operation
• Active region
– Horizontal part of the curve (region in the middle 1 < VCE 40 V)
– Represents the normal operation of a transistor
– Emitter diode is forward biased and the collector diode is reverse
biased
– Collector is gathering almost all the electrons that the emitter has sent
into the base
– Changes in collector voltage have no effect on the collector current
– Transistors operate in the active region when they are used to amplify
weak signals
– Also called linear region because changes in the input signal produce
proportional changes in the output signal
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 Regions of Operation
• Breakdown region
– The transistor should never operate in this region because it will be
destroyed
• Cut off region
– Collector diode has reverse minority-carrier current and surface-
leakage current
• Saturation region
– VCE is between 0 V and a few tenths of a volt
– Early rising part of the curve
– In this region, the collector diode has insufficient positive voltage to
collect all the free electrons injected into the base
– IB is larger than normal (Current gain βdc is smaller than normal)
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 Collector Curves, Voltage and Power
• Apply KVL around collector loop
– VCC = ICRC + VCE
– VCE = VCC – ICRC
• Power dissipation in transistor
– PD = VCE IC

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 Load Line
• Plot of IC and VCE for every possible IB value
• Visual summary of all possible transistor operating points
• Biasing the transistor
– In order for a transistor to function as an amplifier or a switch, proper
dc circuit conditions must be set
• Base bias circuit (setting up a fixed value of base current)
if RB = 1 MΩ, If βdc = 100; IC ≈ 1.43 mA and
IB = 14.3 μ A VCE = VCC–IC RC = 15-1.43m x 3k = 10.7 V
(second Quiescent (Q point)
approximation) IC ≈ 1.43 mA & VCE = 10.7 V

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 Load Line & Saturation point
• VCE = VCC – IC RC

Saturation point
• Point where the load line intersects the
saturation region of the collector curves
• Saturation point tells you the maximum possible collector current for the circuit
• Transistor goes into saturation when the collector current is approximately 5 mA
• At this current, VCE has decreased to approximately zero
• When a transistor is saturated, further increases in base current produce no further
increases in collector current
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 Load line & Cut off Point

A transistor is cut off when its

collector current is zero.
cutoff point tells you the
maximum possible collector-
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 Saturation current and Cutoff voltage

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 Operating Point

assuming an ideal transistor

QL when β=50
assume β=100 QH when β=150
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 Determining Transistor’s Operating Region
• Assume that the transistor has a breakdown voltage greater than 20 V
– Transistor is not operating in the breakdown region
• Transistor is not operating in the cutoff region because of the biasing
voltages
• Transistor is operating in the active region or the saturation region ?

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 Determining Transistor’s Operating Region
• 1. Assume that the transistor is operating in the active region.
• 2. Carry out the calculations for currents and voltages.
• 3. If an impossible result occurs in any calculation, the assumption is false and
the transistor is operating in saturation region

Saturation-Current Method

• IB = 0.1 mA
• Ic = 50x0.1 m = 5 mA (> IC(Sat) impossible)
• Transistor cannot be operating in the active region; it must be operating in the
saturation region
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 Determining Transistor’s Operating Region
Collector-Voltage Method

– Impossible because VCE cannot be negative in active region

– So the transistor must be operating in the saturation region
Less current gain in saturation region
– Given the current gain, it is usually for the active region
– β=50 => that the collector current will be 50 times the base current,
provided the transistor is operating in the active region
– When a transistor is saturated, the current gain is less than the current
gain in the active region

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 References
• Ch 2.1, Donald A Neamen, Microelectronics: Circuit Analysis
and Design / Edition 4, 2010.
• A. P. Malvino, D. J. Bates, Electronic Principles, 2017, 7/e, Tata
McGraw-Hill

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