Course Name: Electronics

Course Code: PHY-505

Department Physics
Faculty of Physical and Numerical Sciences
Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan. 1
 Chapter-06
Transistor Circuits

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 Transistor
• Introduction

• Transistors Types

• Bipolar Junction Transistors

• Field Effect Transistors

• Examples

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 Transistor
The name transistor comes from the phrase “transferring an electrical signal across a
resistor.” It is a semiconductor device that amplifies, oscillates, or switches the flow of
current between two terminals by varying the current or voltage between one of the
terminals and a third.

BJT (PNP) Electrical Diagram

Different types and
sizes

FET and BJT Transistor

Modern Electronics First Transistor 4

• Purpose
– To amplify and switch electronic signals on or off (high or low)

• Modern Electronics

Microprocessor
Motor Controllers

Cell Phones

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Applications

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 Transistor Categories

• Semiconductor material

• Structure

• Polarity

• Maximum power rating

• Maximum operating frequency

• Application

• Physical packaging

• Amplification factor

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 Semiconductors

• Process of introducing impure elements (dopants) into semiconductor

wafers to form regions of differing electrical conductivity

Negatively charged Semiconductor Positively charged semiconductor

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 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

Forward Biasing Reverse Biasing

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• 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

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 Types of Transistors
• Bipolar Junction Transistor (BJT): It is an active device. In simple terms,
it is a current controlled valve. The base current (IB) controls the collector
current (IC).

• Field Effect Transistors (FET):

It is an active device. In simple terms, it is a voltage controlled valve. The gate-
source voltage (VGS) controls the drain current (ID).

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 Bipolar Junction Transistor (BJT)
Regions of BJT operation:
Cut-off region: The transistor is off. There is no conduction between the collector
and the emitter. (IB = 0 therefore IC = 0)
Active region: The transistor is on. The collector current is proportional to base
current and controlled by the base current (IC = βIB) and relatively insensitive to
VCE. In this region the transistor can be an amplifier.
Saturation region: The transistor is on. The collector current varies very little with
a change in the base current in the saturation region. The VCE is small, a few tenths
of volt. The collector current is strongly dependent on VCE unlike in the active
region. It is desirable to operate transistor switches will be in or near the saturation
region when in their on state.

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Bipolar Junction Transistor (BJT)

region

Active region

region

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 Bipolar Junction Transistors (BJT)
• A Bipolar Junction Transistor (BJT) has three terminals
connected to three doped semiconductor regions.
• In an NPN transistor, a thin and lightly doped P-type
base is sandwiched between a heavily doped N-type
emitter and another N-type collector.

• In a PNP transistor, a thin and lightly doped N-type base is sandwiched between a
heavily doped P-type emitter and another P-type collector

• A bipolar junction transistor is a type of transistor that uses both electron and hole
charge carriers.

• 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

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 Schematic diagram of Bipolar Junction Transistors (BJT)

NPN
• NPN
– BE forward bias
– BC reverse bias

• PNP PNP
– BE reverse bias
– BC forward bias

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 Transistor rules
• In order to take advantage of the nice behavior we want in the transistor, we must

keep in mind the following rules:

1. VC must be greater than VE

2. Base-collector and base-emitter act like diodes

• Base-emitter is forward-biased,

• Base-collector is reverse biased

3. IC = βIB

4. There are maximum values of IB, IC, and VCE that can’t be exceeded without

destroying the transistor

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 Characteristic Curves of BJT

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)

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 Characteristic Curves of BJT
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.

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 Characteristic Curves of BJT
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

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Operating Regions of BJT

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

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 Applications of BJT

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)

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 Applications of BJT
BJT Amplifier

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 Applications of BJT
BJT Amplifier

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 Field Effect Transistors (FET)

FET Basics

• Electric Field

• Voltage Controlled

• FET includes three distinct pieces

– Drain
– Source
– Gate

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 FET versus BJT?

Same: Difference:
 Applications: amplifier, switch, • Voltage vs Current Input
etc. • Unipolar vs Bipolar
 Relies on PNP or NPN junctions • Noise
to allow current flow • Higher input impedance
• Fragile and low gain bandwidth

Less noise sensitive- tuners and low noise amplifiers for satellite receivers
Higher input Impedance- 100Mega ohms or more.

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 Types of Field-Effect Transistors

Type Function
Junction Field-Effect Transistor Uses reversed biased p-n junction to separate
(JFET) gate from body
Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor FET Uses insulator (usually SiO2) between gate and
(MOSFET) body
Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor Similar to MOSFET, but different main
(IGBT) channel
Organic Field-Effect Transistor
(OFET) Uses organic semiconductor in its channel

Nanoparticle Organic Memory FET Combines the organic transistor and gold
(NOMFET) nanoparticles

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 Junction Field-Effect Transistor (JFET)

• Reverse Biased PN-junction

• Depletion mode devices

– Creates a potential gradient to

restrict current flow. (Increases
overall resistance)

http://www-g.eng.cam.ac.uk/mmg/teaching/linearcircuits/jfet.html

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 Junction Field-Effect Transistor (JFET)

• N-channel JFET

• P-channel JFET uses same principles but

– Channel current is positive due to holes instead of electron donors

– Polarity of biasing voltage must be reversed

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 N-Type Characteristics
As voltage (+) increases, region pinches until channel turns off. Thus no current
flows. Lower voltage or =0 = the channel is open and allows current to saturate
the region.

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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

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 Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor FET
(MOSFET)
• Similar to JFET p-channel

– A single channel of single doped SC

material with terminals at end

– Gate surrounds channel with doping

n-channel
that is opposite of the channel,
making the PNP or NPN type

– BUT, the MOSFET uses an insulator MOSFET

enhanced mode
MOSFET
depleted mode

to separate gate from body, while

JFET uses a reverse-bias p-n
junction

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 How does a MOSFET work?

No Voltage to Gate Voltage to Gate

Source Drain Source Drain

n n

Simplified Notation

No current flow
“Short” allows current flow

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 MOSFET
Triode Mode/Linear Region Saturation/Active Mode

VGS > Vth and VDS < ( VGS - Vth ) VGS > Vth and VDS > ( VGS - Vth )

VGS : Voltage at the gate

Vth : Threshold voltage
VDS : Voltage from drain to source
μn: charge-carrier effective mobility
W: gate width
L: gate length
Cox : gate oxide capacitance per unit area
λ : channel-length modulation parameter
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 Characteristics and Applications of FETs
MOSFETs
• Oxide layer prevents DC current from
flowing through gate
• Reduces power consumption
• High input impedance
• Rapid switching
• More noise than JFET
• Uses?
• Again, switches and amplifiers in
general
• The MOSFET is used in digital
CMOS logic, which uses p- and n-
channel MOSFETs as building
blocks Use of MOSFET in battery
• To aid in negating effects that cause protection circuit
discharge of batteries
Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor(CMOS):CMOS technology is34one
of the most popular technology in the computer chip design
 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.

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 Comparison
Property BJT MOSFET JFET

Gm Best Worst Medium

Speed High Medium Low

Noise Moderate Worst Best

Good Switch No Yes Yes

High-Z Gate No Yes Yes

Electrostatic (ESD ) Less More Less

Sensitivity
Gm represent the gain of the AC current signal of the transistor. The gain is the
change in drain current divided by the change in gate voltage is called mutual
conductance (transconductance) gain(Gm)
ESD Sensitive device is any component which can be damaged by
common static charges which buildup on insulators or semiconductors
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