Transistors

Thando Magenuka

April 01, 2021

Outline
• Introduction
• Transistors Types
• Bipolar Junction Transistors
• Field Effect Transistors
• Power Transistors
• Example
Transistors

BJT (PNP) Electrical

Different types and sizes Diagram

FET and BJT Transistor

Modern Electronics
First Transistor
• Purpose
▫ To amplify and switch electronic signals on or off
(high or low)

• Modern Electronics

Microprocessor
Motor Controllers

Cell Phones
Vacuum tubes
• Purpose
▫ Used as signal amplifiers and switches
▫ Advantages
 High power and frequency operation
 Operation at higher voltages
 Less vulnerable to electromagnetic pulses
▫ Disadvantages
 Very large and fragile
 Energy inefficient
 Expensive
Invention
• Evolution of electronics
▫ In need of a device that was small, robust, reliable,
energy efficient and cheap to manufacture
• 1947
▫ John Bardeen, Walter Brattain and William Schockly
invented transistor
• Transistor Effect
▫ “when electrical contacts
were applied to a crystal
of germanium, the output
power was larger than
the input.”
General Applications
Doping
• Process of introducing impure elements
(dopants) into semiconductor wafers to form
regions of differing electrical conductivity

Negatively charged Semiconductor Positively charged semiconductor

Doping Effects
• P-type semiconductors
▫ Created positive charges, where electrons have
been removed, in lattice structure
• N-type semiconductors
▫ Added unbound electrons create negative charge
in lattice structure
• Resulting material
▫ P-N junction
P-N junction
Forward Biasing
Reverse Biasing
• P-N junction
▫ Controls current flow via external voltage
• Two P-N junctions (bipolar junction transistor,
BJT)
▫ Controls current flow and amplifies the current
flow
Types of Transistors
• Bipolar Junction Transistor (BJT)

• Field Effect Transistors (FET)

• Power Transistors
BJT Introduction
• Bipolar transistors are one of the main
‘building-blocks’ in electronic systems
• They are used in both analogue and digital
circuits
• They incorporate two pn junctions and are
sometimes known as bipolar junction
transistors or BJTs
• Here will refer to them simply as bipolar
transistors
BJT Introduction
• Bipolar Junction Transistors (BJT)
consists of three “sandwiched”
semiconductor layers
• The three layers are connected to collector
(C), emitter (E), and base (B) pins
• Current supplied to the base controls the
amount of current that flows through the
collector and emitter
BJT Schematic
NPN
• NPN
▫ BE forward bias
▫ BC reverse bias

• PNP
▫ BE reverse bias
PNP
▫ BC forward bias
 Notation
– bipolar transistors are 3
terminal devices
 collector (c)
 base (b)
 emitter (e)
– the base is the control
input
– diagram illustrates the
notation used for labelling
voltages and currents
• Construction
▫ two polarities:
npn and pnp
• We will consider npn transistors
▫ pnp devices are similar but with different
polarities of voltage and currents
▫ when using npn transistors
 collector is normally more positive than the emitter
 VCE might be a few volts
 device resembles two back-to-back diodes – but has
very different characteristics
 with the base open-circuit negligible current flows
from the collector to the emitter
• Now consider what happens when a positive voltage
is applied to the base (with respect to the emitter)
▫ this forward biases the base-emitter junction
▫ the base region is light doped and very thin
▫ because it is lightly doped, the current produced is
mainly electrons flowing from the emitter to the base
▫ because the base region is thin, most of the electrons
entering the base get swept across the base-collector
junction into the collector
▫ this produces a collector current that is much larger
than the base current – this gives current
amplification
• Transistor action
Transistor action
Transistor configurations or Connections

• Transistor can be used in

a number of configurations
▫ common-base
configuration
▫ common-emitter
configuration
▫ common-collector
configuration
 Common-base
• Current amplification is α: It is defined as
the ratio of change in output current to the input
current.
• In common base connection, the input current is
the emitter current and the output current is the
collector current.
Common-base
Total collector current
 Common-Emitter
• Current amplification is (β): It is defined as the
ratio of change in output current to the input
current.
• In common base connection, the input current is
the base current and the output current is the
collector current.
Common-Emitter
Relation between (β) and (α)
 STOP
• Do calculations and derive equations.
BJT Characteristic Curves
Transfer Characteristic
• Characteristic curves can be drawn to show other useful parameters
of the transistor
• The slope of ICE / IBE is called the Transfer Characteristic (β)
BJT Characteristic Curves
Input Characteristic
• The Input Characteristic is the base emitter current IBE against
base emitter voltage VBE
• IBE/VBE shows the input Conductance of the transistor.
• The increase in slope of when the VBE is above 1 volt shows that the
input conductance is rising
• There is a large increase in current for a very small increase in VBE.
BJT Characteristic Curves
Output Characteristic
• collector current (IC) is nearly independent of the collector-emitter
voltage (VCE), and instead depends on the base current (IB)

IB4

IB3

IB2

IB1
BJT Operating Regions
Operating Parameters Mode
Region
VBE < Vcut-in
Cut Off VCE > Vsupply Switch OFF
IB = IC = 0
VBE = Vcut-in
Linear Vsat < VCE < Vsupply Amplification
IC = β*IB
VBE = Vcut-in,
VCE < Vsat
Saturated Switch ON
IB > IC,max, IC,max
>0
BJT Applications
BJT Switch
• Offer lower cost and substantial reliability over conventional
mechanical relays.
• Transistor operates purely in a saturated or cutoff state (on/off)
• This can prove very useful for digital applications (small current
controls a larger current)
BJT Applications
BJT Amplifier
BJT Applications
BJT Amplifier
Field Effect Transistors (FET)

Chase Thompson
FET Basics
• Electric Field

• Voltage Controlled

• FET includes three distinct pieces

▫ Drain
▫ Source
▫ Gate
FET versus BJT?
Same: Difference:
• Applications: amplifier, • Voltage vs Current Input
switch, etc. • Unipolar vs Bipolar
• Relies on PNP or NPN • Noise
junctions to allow current • Higher input impedance
flow • Fragile and low gain bandwidth
 Types of Field-Effect
Transistors

Type Function

Junction Field-Effect Transistor (JFET) Uses reversed biased p-n junction to separate gate from body

Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor FET (MOSFET) Uses insulator (usu. SiO2) between gate and body

Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor (IGBT) Similar to MOSFET, but different main channel

Organic Field-Effect Transistor (OFET) Uses organic semiconductor in its channel

Nanoparticle Organic Memory FET (NOMFET) Combines the organic transistor and gold nanoparticles
 Characteristics and Applications of FETs
JFETs
• Simplest type of FET – easy to make
• High input impedance and resistance
• Low Capacitance
• Slower speed in switching
• Uses?
– Displacement sensor
– High input impedance amplifier
– Low-noise amplifier
– Analog switch
– Voltage controlled resistor
 Power Transistors
 Concerned with delivering high power
 Used in high voltage and high current application

In general
Fabrication process different in order to:
 Dissipate more heat
 Avoid breakdown

Different types: Power BJTs, power MOSFETS, etc.

Comparison
Property BJT MOSFET JFET
Gm Best Worst Medium
Speed High Medium Low
Noise Moderate Worst Best
Good No Yes Yes
Switch
High-Z Gate No Yes Yes
ESD Less More Less
Sensitivity
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Questions?