Bipolar-Junction (BJT) transistors

A bipolar junction transistor is formed by joining three sections of semiconductors with alternatively different doping. The middle section (base) is narrow and one of the other two regions (emitter) is heavily doped. Two variants of BJT are possible:

At the first glance, a BJT looks like 2 diodes placed back to back. Indeed this is the case if we apply voltage to only two of the three terminals, letting the third terminal oat. This is also the way that we check if a transistor is working: use an ohm-meter to ensure both diodes are in working conditions. (One should also check the resistance between CE terminals and read a very high resistance as one may have a burn through the base connecting collector and emitter.

The behavior of the BJT is different, however, when voltage sources are attached to both BE and CE terminals. The BE junction acts like a diode. When this junction is forward biased, electrons flow from emitter to the base (and a small current of holes from base to emitter). The base region is narrow and when a voltage is applied between collector and emitter, most of the electrons that were flowing from emitter to base, cross the narrow base region and are collected at the collector

region. So while the BC junction is reversed biased, a large current can flow through that region and BC junction does not act as a diode.

The amount of the current that crosses from emitter to collector region depends strongly on the voltage applied to the BE junction, vbe. (It also depends weakly on voltage applied between collector and emitter, vce.) As such, small changes in vbe or ib controls a much larger collector current ic. Note that the transistor does not generate ic. It acts as a valve controlling the current that can flow through it. The source of current (and power) is the power supply that feeds the CE terminals. A BJT has three terminals. Six parameters; iC, iB, iE, vCE, vBE, and vCB; define the state of the transistor. However, because BJT has three terminals, KVL and KCL should hold for these terminals.

Thus, only four of these 6 parameters are independent parameters. The relationship among these four parameters represents the iv characteristics of the BJT, usually shown as iB vs vBE and ic vs vce graphs.

The above graphs show several characteristics of BJT. First, the BE junction acts likes a diode. Secondly, BJT has three main states: cut-off, active-linear, and saturation. A description of these regions is given below. Lastly, the transistor can be damaged if: i. ii. iii. A large positive voltage is applied across the CE junction (breakdown region) Product of icvce exceed power handling of the transistor A large reverse voltage is applied between any two terminals.

Several models available for a BJT. These are typically divided into two general categories, large-signal models that apply to the entire range of values of current and voltages, and smallsignal models that apply to AC signals with small amplitudes. Low-frequency and high-frequency models also exist (high-frequency models account for capacitance of each junction). Obviously, the simpler the model, the easier the circuit calculations are. More complex models describe the behavior of a BJT more accurately but analytical calculations become difficult. PSpice program uses a high-frequency, Eber-Mos large-signal model which is a quite accurate representation of BJT. For analytical calculations here, we will discuss a simple lowfrequency, large-signal model (below) and a low-frequency, small-signal model in the context of BJT amplifiers later. A simple, low-frequency, large signal model for BJT. As the BE junction acts like a diode, a simple piece-wise linear model can be used.

where v is the forward bias voltage (v 0:7 V for Si semiconductors). When the BE junction is reversed-biased, transistor is OFF as no charge carriers enter the base and move to the collector. The voltage applied between collector and emitter has not effect. This region is called the cut-off region:

Since the collector and emitter currents are very small for any vce, the effective resistance between collector and emitter is very large (100's of M) making the transistor behave as an open circuit in the cut-off region. When the BE junction is forward-biased, transistor is ON. The behavior of the transistor, however, depends on how much voltage is applied between collector and emitter. If vce > v , the BE junction is forward biased while BC junction is reversed-biased and transistor is in active-linear region. In this region, ic scales linearly with ib and transistor acts as an amplifier.

If vce < v, both BE and BC junctions are forward biased. This region is called the saturation region. As vce is small while ic can be substantial, the effective resistance between collector and emitter in saturation region is small and the BJT acts as a closed circuit.

Our model specifies vce vsat, the saturation voltage. In reality in the saturation region 0 < vce < v . As we are mainly interested in the value of the collector current in this region, vce is set to a value in the middle of its range in our simple model: vce vsat ~0:5 v Typically a value of vsat 0:2 - 0:3 V is used for Si semiconductors. The above simple, largesignal model is shown below. A comparison of this simple model with the real BJT characteristics demonstrates the degree of approximation used.