BASIC ELECTRONICS

LECTURE 03: BIPOLAR JUNCTION TRANSISTOR

Solomon Nunoo
Dept. of Electrical and Electronic Eng.
University of Mines and Technology, Tarkwa
Content
◦ The BJT Structure
◦ Basic BJT Operation
◦ BJT Characteristics
◦ BJT Parameters
◦ BJT Applications
The first transistor

In 1947, John Bardeen

and Walter Brattain
devised - the first "point
contact" transistor.
 Moore’s Law
It’s an observation made by Gordon
E. Moore, in which he predicted
that the number of transistors, inside
an Integrated Circuit, could be
doubled every 24 months.

At the density that also minimized

the cost of a transistor.
 Types of transistor
◦BJT - Bipolar Junction Transistor

◦UJT- Unipolar Junction Transistor

◦FET - Field Effect Transistor

 Transistor Definition
◦Transistor is an electronic device made
of three layers of semiconductor
material that can act as an insulator
and a conductor.

◦The three layered transistor is also

known as the bipolar junction transistor.
• A transistor allows you to control the current, not just
block it in one direction.
• A good analogy for a transistor is a pipe with an
adjustable gate.

• A transistor has three terminals.

• The main path for current is between the collector and emitter.
• The base controls how much current flows, just like the gate
controls the flow of water in the pipe.
Bipolar Junction Transistors (BJTs)
◦The term bipolar refers to the use of
both holes and electrons as charge
carriers in the transistor structure

◦ There are two types of BJTs, the NPN

and PNP
Transistor Terminal Identification
BJT Structure
Regions of a transistor
◦ A transistor has three regions namely,

◦ Emitter: heavily doped

◦ Base: lightly doped

◦ Collector: moderately doped

Transistor symbols
Transistor Construction
• Made up of three separate semiconductor materials joined
together so that they form two pn junctions.

the base – emitter junction.

the collector – base junction.
13
Transistor Operation

◦ The basic operation will be described using the pnp transistor. The
operation of the pnp transistor is exactly the same if the roles played by
the electron and hole are interchanged.
◦ One p-n junction of a transistor is reverse-biased, whereas the other is
forward-biased.

Forward-biased junction
Reverse-biased junction
of a pnp transistor
of a pnp transistor
◦ Both biasing potentials have been applied to a pnp transistor and resulting
majority and minority carrier flows indicated.
◦ Majority carriers (+) will diffuse across the forward-biased p-n junction into
the n-type material.
◦ A very small number of carriers (+) will through n-type material to the base
terminal. Resulting IB is typically in order of microamperes.
◦ The large number of majority carriers will diffuse across the reverse-biased
junction into the p-type material connected to the collector terminal.
◦ Majority carriers can cross the reverse-biased
junction because the injected majority carriers will
appear as minority carriers in the n-type material.
◦ Applying KCL to the transistor:
IE = IC + IB
◦ IC comprises of two components – the majority and
minority carriers
IC = ICmajority + ICOminority
◦ ICO – IC current with emitter terminal open and is
called leakage current.
 Transistor Operation

Base-emitter Collector-base Operating BJT

junction junction region Characteristics

IB = IC = IE = 0,
Reverse biased Reverse biased Cutoff
VCE = VCC

Forward
Reverse biased Active IC = DCIB
biased

Forward Forward VCC

Saturation IC = IC(sat) =
biased biased RC

*Breakdown 17
 Zero Bias
• no biasing potential applied.

• depletion layers due to recombination of

free carriers produced by thermal energy.

• both junctions are in reverse biased at

room temperature.
Note: depletion layers extend farther into
the base region due to its lower doping
level.

18
 Cutoff
• both transistor junctions are
reverse biased.

• the depletion layers extend well

into the emitter, base and collector
regions.

• only an extremely small amount of

reverse current passes from the
emitter to the collector.

• the transistor is said to be in cutoff.

19
 Saturation
• the opposite of cutoff.

• further increases in IB do not result

in further increases in IC – it has
reached its maximum possible
value.

• In an ideal situation (VCE = 0 V), IC

will depend completely on the
values of VCC, RC, and RE

20
 Saturation

• As IB increases from 0 A, IC increases according to

IC =  IB
until it reaches its maximum value.

• At this point, IC cannot increase any further – additional

increases in IB do not increase the value of IC. The relationship
IC = IB
no longer holds true.

• Both of the transistor junctions become forward biased.

21
 Saturation

VCE for the transistor is shown to be

approximately 0.3 V (typical for a
saturated transistor).

With the 0.7 V value of VBE, the

collector-base junction is biased to
the difference between the two,
which is 0.4 V.

Note that this voltage indicates that

the collector-base junction of the
transistor is forward biased (even
though it is not fully).
22
 Active Operation
• Current is generated in the emitter
and base region when VBE > B.

• Base region is very lightly doped, its

resistance is greater than the
resistance of the reverse-biased
collector-base junction.

• A vast majority of the emitter current

continues through the reverse-biased
collector-base junction to the
collector circuit. Recall Zener diode.
• The collector-base junction is
designed to allow a reverse current
without damaging the junction.

23
 Transistor Currents and Voltages
• The transistor is a current-controlled device.
• In many applications, the base current is varied to produce
variations in IC and IE
i.e. a small change in IB results in a large change in the other
terminal currents.

24
 Transistor Currents and Voltages
The Relationship Among IE, IC and IB

• Kirchhoff’s current law: the current leaving a component must

be equal to the current entering the component.

IE = IB + IC

• IB is normally much less that IC,

IC  IE

• The current relationships shown

above hold true for both the npn
and pnp transistors.

25
 Transistor Currents and Voltages

• IB = 20 A, IC = 6 mA
 IE = 6mA + 20 A
= 6.02 mA
 IC

• IB = 50 A, IC = 15 mA
IE = 15.05 mA

26
 Transistor Currents & Voltages
• The BE junction is forward biased,
VBE ≈ 0.7 V.
• Emitter is at ground. The voltage across
RB is
VR(B) = VBB − VBE --(1)
• Also, from Ohm’s Law,
VR(B) = IBRB --(2)
• Let (1) = (2)
IBRB = VBB − VBE
• Solving for IB:
V −V
IB = BB BE

R B 27
 Transistor Currents & Voltages
• The voltage at the collector with respect
to grounded emitter is
VCE = VCC – VR(C)
• As the potential drop across RC is
VR(C) = ICRC
The voltage at the collector
VCE = VCC − ICRC
where IC = DCIB.

• The voltage across the reverse biased

collector-base junction is
VCB = VCE − VBE
28
 Current gain, DC Beta
• The dc beta (DC) rating – ratio of dc collector current to dc
base current. IC
DC =
IB
• It is a ratio of current values, thus it has no unit of measure.

• Typical beta ratings can be as high as 300 i.e. the IC can be up

to 300 times the value of IB.
• It can be used to define other terminal currents:
IC = IB
IE = IC + IB = IB + IB
IE = IB( + 1)

29
 DC Beta

• DC is also designated by an equivalent hybrid (h)

parameter:
hFE = DC

• Transistor data sheets do not provide DC but hFE.

• DC is not truly constant. It varies slightly with IC and

temperature.

• Transistors have both dc beta ratings and ac beta ratings

(which will be discussed later)

30
Example

31
 DC Alpha
• dc alpha () rating – the ratio of collector current to emitter
current.
=
IC
(1)
IE
• Typical values of DC range from 0.95 to 0.99 or greater.
• Like beta, it has no units.

• It can be used to define other terminal currents, as follows:

I C = I E
I
IE = C

IB = IE − IC = IE (1 − )
32
 The Relationship between Alpha and Beta

• The spec. sheet for a given transistor lists the value

of beta for the device, but not the value of alpha as
beta is used far more commonly than alpha.

• Alpha can be determined using the value of beta

with the following equation:

=
 +1

33
 Maximum Current Ratings
• Most transistor spec sheets list maximum collector current
ratings for both saturation and cutoff.

• When the transistor is saturated, the collector current can go as

high as several hundred mA. High-power transistors typically
have current ratings as high as several amperes.

• The maximum allowable base current for a given transistor can

be found by dividing its maximum IC value by its maximum dc 
rating.
IC(max)
IB(max)=
max
34
 Maximum Cutoff Current Ratings
• These ratings are usually in the low nanoampere (nA) range and
are specified for exact values of VCE and reverse VBE.
• The 2N3904 has a maximum cutoff current rating of 50 nA when
the reverse value of VBE is 3 V and the value of VCE is 40 V.

35
36
 Transistor Voltage Ratings
• It indicates the maximum amount of reverse bias that can be
applied to the collector-base junction (reverse biased for active
region operation) without damaging the transistor.

• The value of VCB is equal to the difference between the other two
voltages: 39.25 V. If this voltage exceeds the VCB rating of the
transistor, the component will probable be destroyed. 37
 Transistor Voltage Ratings
• Every transistor has three breakdown voltage ratings.
• These ratings indicate the maximum reverse voltages that
the transistor can withstand.
• For the 2N3904, these voltage ratings are as follows:
Rating Value (Vdc)
VCBO 60
VCEO 40
VEBO 6
38
 Transistor Characteristic Curves
• The three curves are
(i) The collector curves,
(ii) The base curves and
(iii)The beta curves.

• The emitter curve is not part of the discussion as its

current characteristics are the same as those of the
collector.

39
 Collector Curves
• The collector characteristics
curve illustrates the relationship
among IC, IB and VCE.

• Each collector curve is derived

for a specified value of IB.

• Note that the IB = 0 A line

represents the operation of the
transistor when it is in cutoff.

• The collector curve is divided

into three parts – saturation,
active region, and breakdown. 40
 Saturation Region
OV
Let VBB > 0, then IB ≠ 0.
Set VCC = 0V → VCE = 0
O.7 V

• For this condition, both the BE junction and

CB junction are forward biased because the OV
base is approximately 0.7V while the emitter
and the collector are at 0V.
VCE = VCC – ICRC = 0 – 0(RC) = 0

• This represents the origin of the

characteristic curve and is independent of IB.

41
 Saturation Region

VCE < VK, VCE ≠ 0

• As VCC increases, VCE ↑ gradually, thus IC

↑.
• However, VCE remains less than 0.7V as
VCE = VCC – ICRC
• This represents the portion of the graph
where VCE < VK.

42
 Active Region
Let VCC = constant,
• IC increases with IB
• VCE decreases Until it reaches VCE(sat) →
somewhere below VK and it is usually
only a few tenths of a volt for a silicon
diode.
• IC cannot increase further
(IC = DCIB is no longer valid).

• There is little change in the value IC when VCE increases from VK to

VBR.
• IC is not controlled by the value of VCE when a transistor is operated in
its active region. 43
 Active Region
• Consider  value held constant at
100, and IB is increased to 150 A:
IC increases proportionately with
increase in IB,
and it is still relatively independent
of changes in VCE.

• Alternatively, when VCE > 0.7V, the CB junction becomes reverse

biased (transistor in active region)
• IC remains essentially constant for a given value of IB as VCE continues
to increase.
• A slight increase in IC due to the widening of the CB depletion region.
In the active region, the relation IC = DCIB holds. 44
 Breakdown Region
• It happens when the value of VCE
exceeds the breakdown voltage
rating of the transistor.

• IC increases dramatically

• Note how VCE affects the CB

junction.
(1) If VCE < 0.7V, the CB junction is
forward-biased.
(2) If VCE > 0.7V, the CB junction
becomes reverse-biased.

45
 Cutoff
• There is no current flowing in
the BE junction as VB = VE = 0. CB junction
Hence, IB = IE = 0. reverse - biased RC
• The CB junction is reverse
IB = 0
biased and hence, IC = 0.
BE junction VCC
reverse - biased
• The two junctions are reverse-
biased and ideally, no current
should flow through the BE and
CB junctions.

46
 Cutoff
RC

VB<0
VC>0

VCC
RB VE =0

VBB

• Similar cutoff state can also be obtained by introducing a

negative bias to the base.
• The negative bias is provided by VBB.
• The resistor RB is added to prevent the transistor from damage.
47
 Base Curves

• The base curve of a transistor plots IB as a function of VBE.

• This curve closely resembles the forward operating curve of a
typical pn junction diode.
48
Beta Curves

49
 Notations
• Amplifier circuits have both dc and ac quantities for current,
voltage and resistance.

• Italic capital letters are used for both dc and ac currents (I) and
voltages (V). Lowercase i and v for ac current and voltage are
reserved for instantaneous values.

• DC quantities always carry an UPPERCASE Roman, nonitalic

subscript. Example: IC, IB
• AC and all time-varying quantities always carry a lowercase
italic subscript. Example: Ic, Ib
• Internal transistor resistances are designated by lowercase r’
with an appropriate subscript e.g. r’e refers to the internal ac
emitter resistance.
50
Common-Base Configuration

◦ Common-base terminology is derived from the fact that the :

- base is common to both input and output of the configuration.

- base is usually the terminal closest to or at ground potential.

◦ All current directions will refer to conventional (hole) flow and the arrows in
all electronic symbols have a direction defined by this convention.

◦ Note that the applied biasing (voltage sources) are such as to establish
current in the direction indicated for each branch.
◦ The curves (output characteristics) clearly indicate that
a first approximation to the relationship between IE and
IC in the active region is given by
IC ≈IE
◦ Once a transistor is in the ‘on’ state, the base-emitter
voltage will be assumed to be
VBE = 0.7V
◦ In the dc mode the level of IC and IE due to the majority carriers are related
by a quantity called alpha
IC
=
IE
IC = IE + ICBO
◦ It can then be summarize to IC = IE (ignore ICBO due to small value)
◦ For ac situations where the point of operation moves on the characteristics
curve, an ac alpha defined by

 = IC
IE

◦ Alpha a common base current gain factor that shows the efficiency by
calculating the current percent from current flow from emitter to
[Link] value of  is typical from 0.9 ~ 0.998.
Biasing
◦ Proper biasing CB configuration in active region by
approximation IC  IE (IB  0 uA)
Common-Emitter Configuration

◦ It is called common-emitter configuration since :

- emitter is common or reference to both input and output terminals.
- emitter is usually the terminal closest to or at ground
potential.
◦ Almost amplifier design is using connection of CE due to the high gain for
current and voltage.
◦ Two set of characteristics are necessary to describe the behavior for
CE;input (base terminal) and output (collector terminal) parameters.
Proper Biasing common-emitter configuration in active region
 Beta () or amplification factor
◦ The ratio of dc collector current (IC) to the dc base current
(IB) is dc beta (dc ) which is dc current gain where IC and IB
are determined at a particular operating point, Q-point
(quiescent point).
◦ It’s define by the following equation:

30 < dc < 300 → 2N3904

◦ On data sheet, dc=hFE with h is derived from ac hybrid

equivalent cct. FE are derived from forward-current
amplification and common-emitter configuration
respectively.
◦ For ac conditions an ac beta has been defined as the
changes of collector current (IC) compared to the
changes of base current (IB) where IC and IB are
determined at operating point.
◦ On data sheet, ac=hfe
◦ It can defined by the following equation:
Relationship analysis between α and β
Common–Collector Configuration

◦ Also called emitter-follower (EF).

◦ It is called common-emitter configuration since both the
signal source and the load share the collector terminal as a common
connection point.
◦ The output voltage is obtained at emitter terminal.
◦ The input characteristic of common-collector configuration is similar with
common-emitter. configuration.
◦ Common-collector circuit configuration is provided with the load resistor
connected from emitter to ground.
◦ It is used primarily for impedance-matching purpose since it has high input
impedance and low output impedance.
Notation and symbols used with the common-collector configuration:
(a) pnp transistor ; (b) npn transistor.
◦ For the common-collector configuration, the output
characteristics are a plot of IE vs VCE for a range of values of IB.
Limits of Operation
◦ Many BJT transistor used as an amplifier. Thus it is
important to notice the limits of operations.
◦ At least 3 maximum values is mentioned in data sheet.
◦ There are:
a) Maximum power dissipation at collector: PCmax
or PD
b) Maximum collector-emitter voltage: VCEmax
sometimes named as VBR(CEO) or VCEO.
c) Maximum collector current: ICmax
◦ There are few rules that need to be followed for BJT
transistor used as an amplifier. The rules are:
i) transistor need to be operate in active region!
ii) IC < ICmax
ii) PC < PCmax
Note: VCE is at maximum and IC is at minimum (ICmax=ICEO) in the
cutoff region. IC is at maximum and VCE is at minimum
(VCE max = VCEsat = VCEO) in the saturation region. The transistor
operates in the active region between saturation and cutoff.
Derating PDmax

◦ PDmax is usually specified at 25°C.

◦ The higher temperature goes, the less is PDmax

◦ Example;
◦ A derating factor of 2mW/°C indicates the power
dissipation is reduced 2mW each degree centigrade
increase of temperature.
Transistor Specification Sheet
 Transistor as an Amplifier
RB RC
r’e
Vin VCC
Vc
Vb
VBB

• The figure above shows the basic transistor amplifier circuit.

• Vin is superimposed on VBB. They are in series with the base resistor
RB.
• VCC is connected to the collector through the collector resistor, RC.

70
 Transistor as an Amplifier
V
C
Vin

VBB VCC

• The ac input voltage produces an ac base current.

• The collector current is related to the base current by
IC = DCIB
• This results in a much larger ac collector current.
• The ac collector current produces an ac voltage across RC,
producing an amplified, but inverted, reproduction of the ac
input voltage in the active region of operation. 71
 Transistor as an Amplifier
• The forward-biased base-emitter junction presents a
very low resistance to the ac signal. This internal ac
emitter resistance is designated r’e. The ac emitter
current is
Ie  Ic = Vb
re'
• The ac collector voltage, Vc equals the ac voltage drop
across RC.
Vc = IcRC  IeRC
• The ac voltage gain, Av, of the transistor circuit
V
c IRC R
A
v= e
'
 C
'
V I r r
b ee e Vb = Vin −I72bRB
 Transistor as a Switch
• In part (a) the transistor is in the cutoff region because the base-
emitter junction is not forward-biased. There is ideally an open
between the collector and emitter.
• Neglecting leakage current, all of the currents are zero, and VCE is
equal to VCC.

VCE(cutoff) = VCC

73
 Transistor as a Switch
• In part (b), the transistor is in the saturation region (base emitter and
base collector junctions are forward-biased) and the base current is
made large enough to cause the collector current to reach its
saturation value.
• There is a short between collector and emitter. Actually, a voltage
drop of up to a few tenths of a volt normally occurs, which is
saturation voltage, VCE(sat).
• The maximum collector current,
V −
V
=
CC CE(sat
)
IC
(sat
)
RC
• The minimum value of base current
needed to produce saturation is
• IC(sat
=
)
I B(min)
DC 74
 A Simple Application of a
Transistor Switch
• The transistor is used as a switch to VCC
turn the LED on and off.
• A square wave with a period of 2 s is
applied to the input.
RC
ON ON

• When the square wave is at 0 V, the

transistor is in cutoff and, there is no 1 s OFF
collector current, the LED does NOT
emit light.
RB
• Square wave goes to its high level, the
transistor saturates. It forward-biases
the LED. The resulting collector current
through the LED causes it to emit light. Result: A blinking LED that
is on for 1 s and off for 175s.
 Future of Transistors
◦ Molecular electronics
◦ Carbon nanotube transistors
◦ Nano inspiration wire transistors
◦ Quantum computing
◦ CMOS devices will add functionality to CMOS non-volatile
memory, opto-electronics, sensing….
◦ CMOS technology will address new markets macroelectronics,
bio-medical devices, …
◦ Biology may provide for new technologies bottom-up assembly,
human intelligence
What’s new in transistor technology?
3D Transistor made using
Tri-Gate transistors on its 22nm logic
technology.

Advantage of Tri-Gate Transistors

·More than 50% power reduction at
constant performance.
·37% performance increase at low voltage
·Improved performance and efficiency.