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BIPOLAR JUNCTION
TRANSISTORS
J.C. PHIRI
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2 OUTLINE

• Introduction
• Transistor Specification sheet
• Transistor Testing
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3 INTRODUCTION

• Transistors are mainly used for two purposes. As a switch and as amplifiers.
• They can also be categorized as Small signal transistors or Power transistors.
• Power transistors handle large voltages, currents and Power. (rated between 10W-
300W). They are used in high power amplifiers and power supplies.
• Small signal transistors usually have a rating of less than 1W, and are used in small signal
amplifiers and low power switching applications.
• Each transistor has an identification number, which can be used to find its specification
sheet and some details about the Transistor.
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4 SPECIFICATION SHEET

• The specification sheet is the communication link between the manufacturer and user.
(they are also known as Datasheets)
• It provides all the important parameters a user needs to understand the construction
and operation of the transistor.
• It can be accessed from the internet by using the transistor identification number or
from the manufacturer.
• The transistor 2N4123 has the following datasheet
https://www.onsemi.com/pdf/datasheet/2n4123-d.pdf
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5 SPECIFICATION SHEET

• Most specification sheets are broken down into maximum ratings , thermal characteristics ,
and electrical characteristics.
• The electrical characteristics are further broken down into “on,” “off,” and small-signal
characteristics.
• The “on” and “off” characteristics refer to dc limits, whereas the small signal
characteristics include the parameters of importance to ac operation.
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6 TRANSISTOR TESTING

There are three routes one can take to check a transistor: use of
• a curve tracer ,
• a Transistor testor, and
• an ohmmeter.
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7 TRANSISTOR TESTING

a curve tracer
• also known as a semiconductor parameter
analyzer, is a specialised piece of electronic test
equipment used to analyze the characteristics of
discrete semiconductor devices such as diodes,
transistors, and thyristors.
• it contains voltage and current sources that can
be used to stimulate the device under test
• It is based on an oscilloscope,
(Wikipedia)
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8 TRANSISTOR TESTING

Transistor tester.
• These are designed specifically for testing transistors and diodes.
• They may be part of a digital multimeter or they may be dedicated to only measure
limited number of transistor elements.
• Dedicated transistor testers can be classified into two categories.
• In-circuit tester and
• Out-of-circuit tester
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9 TRANSISTOR TESTING

In-circuit Transistor tester

• These will be able to test a transistor while it is still embedded within its circuit.
• The power to the circuit must always be turned off whenever the in circuit test is being
carried out to ensure that the battery of the tester is not damaged, and to provide a
correct reading.
• Testing procedures will differ according to the make and model of the transistor tester
being used.
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10 TRANSISTOR TESTING

Out-of circuit Transistor tester

• This requires that the transistor under test should be taken out of the circuit before
testing.
• Out-of-circuit transistor tester can not only determine whether the transistor is good or
defective, but also determine the leakage current.
• Leakage tests cannot be made in-circuit
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11 TRANSISTOR TESTING

Transistor tester.
• Any meter with a diode-checking capability can also be used to check the status of a transistor.
• With the collector open the base-to-emitter junction should result in a low voltage of about 0.7 V with
the red (positive) lead connected to the base and the black (negative) lead connected to the emitter.
• A reversal of the leads should result in an OL indication to represent the reverse-biased junction.
• Similarly, with the emitter open, the forward- and reverse-bias states of the base-to-collector junction
can be checked.
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12 TRANSISTOR TESTING

An ohmmeter.
• An ohmmeter or the resistance scales of a digital multimeter (DMM) can be used to
check the state of a transistor.
• Recall that for a transistor in the active region the base-to-emitter junction is forward-
biased and the base-to-collector junction is reverse-biased.
• Essentially, therefore, the forward-biased junction should register a relatively low
resistance, whereas the reverse-biased junction shows a much higher resistance.
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13 TRANSISTOR TESTING

An ohmmeter.
• For an npn transistor, the forward-biased
junction (biased by the DMM internal
supply in the resistance mode) from base
to emitter should be checked as shown:
• The result in a reading will typically fall in
the range of 100 to a few kilohms.
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14 TRANSISTOR TESTING

An ohmmeter.
• The reverse-biased base-to-collector junction
(again reverse-biased by the internal supply)
should be checked as shown:
• The reading will typically exceed 100 kiloohms.
For a pnp transistor the leads are reversed for
each junction.
• A large or small resistance in both directions
(reversing the leads) for either junction of an
npn or pnp transistor indicates a faulty device.
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15 TRANSISTOR CASING AND TERMINAL

IDENTIFICATION
• The transistor casing will depend on the application which the transistor has been
designed for.
• For example a) low power, b) medium power, c) high power
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16 TRANSISTOR CASING AND TERMINAL

IDENTIFICATION
• Whenever possible, the transistor casing will have some marking to indicate which leads
are connected to the emitter, collector, or base of a transistor.
• The datasheet can also be used to identify the terminals of a transistor.
• Below are some common transistor casings and how their terminals are set
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17 TRANSISTOR IC CHIPS

• Some IC chips are built to house a

couple of transistors within the same
chip.
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18 TRANSISTOR IC CHIPS

• An example is the Q2T2905 Texas

Instruments quad pnp silicon transistor
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19

ANY QUESTIONS?