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Electronics I
Electronics-I EE 231
EE-231

Ch
Chapter#3
#3

Bipolar Junction Transistors

Course Instructor:
Muhammad Sohail

Faculty of Electronic Engineering

Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Engineering Sciences and Technology, Topi,
Pakistan
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Outline
 Introduction
 Transistor Construction
 Transistor Operation
 Common Base Configuration
Common-Base
 Transistor Amplifying Action
 C
Common-Emitter
E itt Configuration
C fi ti
 Common-Collector Configuration
 Li i off Operation
Limits O i
 Transistor Specification Sheet
 Transistor Testing
 Transistor Casing and Terminal Identification
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:RCA_%E2%80%99808%E2%80%99_
Power%E3%80%80Vacuum_Tube.jpg
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Bipolar
ipolar Junction Transistor ((BJT)
JT)

 Transistor was invented in 1947 at the Bell

Telephone Laboratories by John Bardeen and
Walter Brattain under the direction of William
Shockley

The junction version, invented by Shockley in

1951,, enjoyed
j y three decades as the device off
choice in the design of discrete and integrated
circuits
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Introduction

The first transistor. (Courtesy Bell Telephone Laboratories)

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Transistors v/s Vacuum Tubes

Transistor Vacuum Tube
Inexpensive Expensive

Excellent Reliability Very Unreliable

Very Small Large and Bulky

Stable Temperatures Get Hot Quickly

Very Fast Slow

Found in Large Numbers Found in small numbers

Can carry high voltage

Cannot carry very high voltage (Main factor responsible for the survival
of vacuum tubes in some appliances)
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Transistor Construction

 A bipolar junction transistor (BJT) is a

three - terminal device constructed of
doped semiconductor material

 BJT is used in amplifying or switching

applications in discrete circuits and in IC
applications,
design, both in analog and digital domain

 Bipolar Junction Transistors are so named

because their operation involves injection
of both electrons and holes into oppositely
polarized materials.
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Transistor Construction

There are two types of transistors: pnp

• pnp
• npn

The terminals are labeled:

• E - Emitter
• B - Base
• C - Collector npn

Types of transistors: (a) pnp; (b) npn.

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Cross section of an npn bipolar junction transistor

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Transistor Operation

 Forward-biased junction of a pnp transistor.

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Transistor Operation

Reverse-biased junction of a pnp transistor.

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pnp Transistor Operation

Majority and minority carrier flow of a pnp transistor.

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npn Transistor Operation

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Transistor Operation

Emitter current is the sum of the

collector and base currents:
Ι  Ι Ι
Ε B C

The collector current is comprised of

two currents:

IC  IC  I CO
majority minority
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Reverse saturation current

.
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Common-Base Configuration

 The base is common to both input (emitter–base) and output

(collector–base) of the transistor.

Notation and symbols used with the common-base configuration:

(a) pnp transistor; (b) npn transistor.
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Common-Base Configuration

 Input Characteristics
 This
Thi curve shows
h th
the
relationship between of input
current (IE) to input voltage
(VBE) for various levels of
output voltage (VCB).

Input or driving point characteristics for a common-base silicon transistor amplifier.

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Common-Base Configuration
 Output Characteristics
 This graph demonstrates the output current (IC) to an output
voltage (VCB) for various levels of input current (IE).
)

Output or collector characteristics for a common-base transistor amplifier.

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Transistor Operation
p
Depending upon the bias condition (forward or reverse) of each
of the two junctions (emitter-base
(emitter base and collector
collector-base),
base) different
modes of operation of the BJT are obtained

M d
Mode Emitter-Base
E itt B Collector-Base
C ll t B
Junction Junction
Active Forward Reverse
Saturation Forward Forward
Cutoff Reverse Reverse

Active mode – transistor operating as an amplifier

Cutoff and Saturation mode – switching applications,
e.g. in logic circuits