MODULE 4

BIPOLAR
JUNCTION
TRANSISTOR

Prepared by:
Engr. Cindy D. Dullas

ACM02
 INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOMES:
 Become familiar with the basic construction
and operation of the Bipolar Junction
Transistor.
 Be able to apply the proper biasing to insure
operation in the active region.
 Recognize and be able to explain the
characteristics of an npn or pnp transistor.
 Become familiar with the important
parameters that define the response of a
transistor.
 Be able to identify the three terminals of
transistor.
INTRODUCTION
 TheTransistor was invented by a
team of three men at Bell
Laboratories in 1947;
 Dr. William Shockley (seated)
 Dr. John Bardeen (left)
 Dr. Walter H. Brattain (right)
 Point-contact transistor – first
transistor ever constructed
(December 1947), a bipolar
transistor, limited commercial use
due to high cost and noise
1st Transistor
TRANSISTOR DEVELOPMENT
TRANSISTOR DEVELOPMENT
TRANSISTOR DEVELOPMENT
TRANSISTOR CASING AND TERMINAL
IDENTIFICATION
Various types of general purpose or switching transistor

Low power Transistor Medium power Transistor Medium to High power

Transistor

Transistor terminal identification

TRANSISTOR CASING AND TERMINAL
IDENTIFICATION
Example 1: Fairchild Transistor in a TO-92 Package

Example 2: Type Q2T2905 Texas Instrument Quad npn Silicon Transistor

TRANSISTOR CONSTRUCTION
 Transistor is a three-layered semiconductor
classified into two types
 npn transistor
 pnp transistor
A junction transistor consist of a silicon (Ge or
GaAs) crystal in which a layer of n-type Si is
sandwiched between two layers of p-type Si, is
called a p-n-p Transistor.
 Alternatively, a transistor may consist of layer of
p-type between two layers of n-type material,
called an n-p-n Transistor.
 The three layers of transistors are Emitter(E),
Base (B) and Collector (C).
TRANSISTOR OPERATION
p-n-p Transistor
 One p-n junction of
a transistor is
reverse biased,
while the other is
forward biased.

Forward Reverse
biased biased
TRANSISTOR OPERATION
n-p-n Transistor
 One p-n junction of
a transistor is
reverse biased,
while the other is
forward biased.

Reverse
biased
Forward
biased
 TRANSISTOR OPERATION
Majority and Minority Carrier flow of a pnp transistor

Applying Kirchhoff’s Current Law:

IE = IC + IB

The Collector Current

comprises of two component:
▪ Minority Current Component
or Leakage Current (ICOMinority)
▪ Majority Current Component
(ICMajority)

IC = ICMajority + ICOMinority
BJT CONSTRUCTION
 COMMON BASE CONFIGURATION
 The configuration in which base is common between the emitter and
collector
 The arrow in the graphic symbols defines the direction of emitter
current(conventional flow) through the device.

Symbol for Symbol for

Common Base Common Base
(p-n-p (n-p-n
transistor) transistor)
 COMMON BASE CONFIGURATION
 In Active Region, the base-emitter junction is forward-biased, whereas
the collector base junction is reverse-biased.
 In Cut-off Region, the base-emitter junction and collector–base junction
of a transistor are both reverse-biased.
 In the Saturation Region, the base-emitter and collector-base junction
are forward-biased.

Input or driving point Output or Collector

characteristics for common-base characteristics for a common-
silicon transistor amplifier base transistor amplifier
EXAMPLE
a. Using the characteristics on figure below, determine the
resulting collector current if IE=3mA and VCB=10V.

IE  IC

IE  IC
IE = IC = 3mA

Output or Collector characteristics for

a common-base transistor amplifier
EXAMPLE
b. Using the characteristics below, determine VBE if IC=4mA
and VCB=20V

Input or driving point characteristics for Output or Collector characteristics for

common-base silicon transistor amplifier a common-base transistor amplifier
COMMON-EMITTER CONFIGURATION
 The configuration in which emitter is common
between the base and collector

Symbol for Symbol for

Common-Emitter Common-Emitter
(n-p-n transistor) (p-n-p transistor)
 COMMON-EMITTER CONFIGURATION
 In the active region of a common-emitter amplifier, the base-emitter
junction is forward-biased, whereas the collector-base junction is
reverse-biased.
 For linear (least distortion) amplification purposes, cut off for the
common-emitter configuration will be defined by IC = ICEO.
Characteristic of a silicon transistor in the common-emitter configuration
Collector Characteristics Base Characteristics
 EXAMPLE 2
a. Using the characteristic below, determine
the IC at IB=30μA and VCE=10V.

Characteristic of a silicon transistor in the common-emitter configuration

Collector Characteristics

IB = 30 A;VCE = 10V

IC = 3.4mA(based on graph)
 EXAMPLE 2
b. Using the characteristic below, determine
the IC at VBE=0.7V and VCE=15V.

Characteristic of a silicon transistor in the common-emitter configuration

Base Characteristics

VBE = 0.7V ;VCE = 10V

IB = 20 A(based on graph)
 EXAMPLE 2
b. Using the characteristic below, determine
the IC at VBE=0.7V and VCE=15V.

Characteristic of a silicon transistor in the common-emitter configuration

Collector Characteristics
VBE = 0.7V ;VCE = 10V
IB = 20 A(based on graph)
Therefore:
VCE = 10V ; IB = 20 A
Ic = 2.5mA(based on graph)
 COMMON-COLLECTOR CONFIGURATION
 The configuration in which collector is
common between the base and emitter.

Symbol for Symbol for

Common-Collector Common-Collector
(p-n-p transistor) (n-p-n transistor)
ALPHA (α)
 Alpha(α) a transistor is the ratio of the collector
current to the emitter current.
DC MODE(αdc)
IC
adc = αdc : Typically
IE extends from 0.90 to
0.998
IC =  IE + ICBO

AC MODE(αac)
IC αac : formally called the
aac = VCB = constant common-base, short-circuit,
IE amplification factor
BETA (β)
 Beta(β) a transistor is the gain or
amplification factor of a transistor
DC MODE(βdc)
IC βdc : Typically ranges from 50 to 400
 dc =
IB
βdc
dc : h from AC
 dc = hFE AC hybrid
hybrid equivalent
equivalent and
and FE from
forward current amplification and common
emitter configuration.

AC MODE(βac)
IC βac : formally called the
 ac = VCE = constant common-emitter, forward
IB current, amplification factor

 ac = hfe
EXAMPLE 3
a. Determining βac and βdc from the collector characteristics

IC 2.7mA
 dc = = = 108
IB 25 A

IC
 ac = VCE = constant
IB
IC 2 − IC 1 3.2mA − 2.2mA
 ac = =
IB 2 − IB1 30 A − 20 A
 ac = 100
EXAMPLE 3
b. Determine the characteristic which βac is the same everywhere
and βac = βdc

IC 8mA
 dc = = = 200
IB 40 A

IC
 ac = VCE = constant
IB
IC 2 − IC 1 9mA − 7mA
 ac = =
IB 2 − IB1 45 A − 35 A
 ac = 200
RELATIONSHIP OF ALPHA AND BETA
Using KCL: IC IC
a= =
IC + IB − IE = 0 IE IB
Using substitution method:
𝐼𝐸 = 𝐼𝐶 + 𝐼𝐵
𝐼𝑐 𝐼𝑐
= 𝐼𝐶 +
𝛼 𝛽
1 1
= 1 + ȁdivideboth sides by IC
𝛼 𝛽
𝑜𝑟: 𝛽 = 𝛼𝛽 + 𝛼 = (𝛽 + 1)𝛼

So that:
 
a=  =
 +1 1−
For current levels:
IC =  IB
IE = IC + IB
IE =  IB + IB IE = (  + 1) IB
 BIASING
Determining the proper biasing arrangement for
a common-emitter npn transistor configuration

1. Determine the direction of IE

2. Determine the direction of IC and IB using IE=IC+IB.
3. Determine the Voltage Supplies with the proper polarities
that will support the resulting direction of IC and IB.
BIASING
 Transistor Biasing is the process of setting a
transistor DC operating voltage of current condition
to the correct level so that any AC input signal can
be amplified correctly by the transistor

Establishing the proper biasing management for a

common-base pnp transistor in the active region
BREAKDOWN REGION
 TheBreakdown Region of Transistor is the
region where the collector voltage, Vcc, is so
large that the collector-base diode breaks
down causing large, undesirable collector
current flow.
BREAKDOWN REGION
Examining the breakdown region of a transistor
in the common-emitter configuration
LIMITS OF OPERATION
Defining the linear (undistorted) region of operation for a
transistor.
Maximum Dissipated Level

PC max = VCEIC

ICEO  IC  IC max
VCEsat  VCE  VCE max
VCEIC  PC max
Maximum Dissipated Level
(For common base)

PC max = VCBIC
 -END-

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DC BIASING