Bipolar Junction

Transistors (1)

Dr. Wojciech Jadwisienczak

EE314

Introduction
Your goal is to explain the transistor.
It is assumed that EE314 students to which this
presentation is aimed, have not a clue to how these little
Buggers work and/or how to use them.
A real problem with previous explanations: for the sake
of "fidelity" authors' include confusing details until the
concept, or thread--of how they actually work & how to
use them--is lost.
The following presentation is comprised of several
different explanations. You should read chapter 13 and
this presentation several times, because any insight
gained from one will help in understanding another.

1.History of BJT
2.First BJT
3.Basic symbols and features
4.A little bit of physics
5.Currents in BJT
6.Basic configurations
7.Characteristics
Chapter 13: Bipolar
Junction Transistors
pp. 584-624

First - BJTs
The transistor was
probably the most
important invention of
the 20th Century, and
the story behind the
invention is one of
clashing egos and top
secret research.

Reference:
Bell Labs Museum
B. G. Streetman & S. Banerjee Solid State Electronic Devices, Prentice Hall 1999.

Interesting story
Picture from previous slide shows the workbench of John Bardeen
and Walter Brattain at Bell Laboratories. They were supposed to be
doing fundamental research about crystal surfaces. The experimental
results hadn't been very good, though, and there's a rumor that their
boss, William Shockley, came near to canceling the project. But in
1947, working alone, they switched to using tremendously pure
materials. It dawned on them that they could build the circuit in the
picture. It was a working amplifier! John and Walter submitted a
patent for the first working point contact transistor.
Shockley was furious and took their work and invented the
junction transistor and submitted a patent for it 9 days later.
The three shared a Nobel Prize. Bardeen and Brattain continued in
research (and Bardeen later won another Nobel).
Shockley quit to start a semiconductor company in Palo Alto. It
folded, but its staff went on to invent the integrated circuit (the
"chip") and to found Intel Corporation. By 1960, all important
computers used transistors for logic, and ferrite cores for memory.

Point-Contact Transistor
first transistor ever made

Qualitative basic operation of point-contact

transistor

Problems with first transistor

First Bipolar Junction Transistors

W. Shockley invented the p-n junction transistor
The physically relevant region is moved to the bulk of the material

force voltage/current
water flow current
- amplification

Understanding of BJT

Basic models of BJT

npn transistor
Diode

Diode

pnp transistor
Diode
Diode

Qualitative basic operation of BJTs

Basic models of BJT

BJTs Basic Configurations

Fluid Flow Analogy
Difference between FET (field effect transistor)
and BJT
Technology of BJTs

pnp BJT

npn BJT

BJTs Practical Aspects

Heat sink

BJTs Testing

BJTs Testing

A little bit of physics

A little bit of physics

A little bit of physics

A little bit of physics

A little bit of physics

More accurate physical description

pnp BJT
-iC

iE

-VCE

-iB

1. Injected h+ current from E to B

2. e- injected across the forward-biased EB junction (current from
B to E)
3. e- supplied by the B contact for recombination with h+
(recombination current)
4. h+ reaching the reverse-biased C junction
5,6.Thermally generated e- & h+ making up the reverse saturation
current of the C junction

Now, you can try

npn BJT

BJTs Basic configurations

npn BJTs Operation Modes

Forward & reverse polarized
pn junctions
Different operation modes:

npn BJTs Operation Modes

When there is no IB current almost
no IC flows
When IB current flows, IC can flow
The device is then a current
controlled current device

Operational modes
can be defined
based on
VBE and VBC

BJT-Basic operation

pnp BJT

npn BJT

(n+), (p+) heavy doped regions; Doping in E>B>C

BJTs Current & Voltage Relationships

Operation mode: vBE is forward & vBC is reverse
The Shockley equation

v BE
i E I ES exp
VT

Einstein relation

D kT

IESsaturation I (10-12-10-16A); VT=kT/q -thermal V (26meV)

D diffusion coefficient [cm2/s]
The Kirchhoffs laws
carrier mobility [cm2/Vs]

iE iC iB

VBE VBC VCE 0

It is true regardless of the bias
conditions of the junction
Useful
parameter

iC

iB

iE

the common-emitter current gain

for ideal BJT is infinite

BJTs Current & Voltage Relationships

Useful
parameter

iC

iE

the common-base current gain

for typical BJT is ~0.99

The Shockley equation

once more

vBE
iC I ES exp
VT

If we define the scale current

I S I ES
A little bit of math search for iB

i B 1 i E
Finally

iC

iB 1

vBE
iC I S
VT

vBE
iB 1 I ES exp
VT

iC iB

BJTs Characteristics
Schematic
Common-Emitter

iC iB

Output

Input

<

>

VBC 0 or equivalently VCE VBE

<

If VCE VBE the B-C junction is

forward bias and IC decreases
Remember VBE has to be greater
Example 13.1
than 0.6-07 V

BJTs Load line analysis

Common-Emitter Amplifier

Input loop

smaller
vin(t)

VBB vin (t ) RB iB (t ) vBE (t )

if iB=0

vBE VBB vin

if vBE=0

iE (VBB vin ) / RB

BJTs Load line analysis

Common-Emitter Amplifier

Output loop

VCC RC iC vCE
Example 13.2

Circuit with BJTs

Our approach: Operating point - dc operating point
Analysis of the signals - the signals to be amplified
Circuit is divided into: model for large-signal dc analysis of BJT circuit
bias circuits for BJT amplifier
small-signal models used to analyze circuits for
signals being amplified

Remember !

Large-Signal dc Analysis: Active-Region Model

Important: a current-controlled current source models the
dependence of the collector current on the base current

VCB
reverse bias

VBE
forward bias

The constrains for IB and VCE must be satisfy to keep BJT in the
active-mode

Large-Signal dc Analysis: Saturation-Region Model

VCB
forward bias

VBE
forward bias

Large-Signal dc Analysis: Cutoff-Region Model

VCB
reverse bias

VBE
reverse bias

If small forward-bias voltage of up to about 0.5 V are applied, the

currents are often negligible and we use the cutoff-region model.

Large-Signal dc Analysis: characteristics of an npn BJT

Large-Signal dc Analysis
Procedure: (1) select the operation mode of the BJT
(2) use selected model for the device to solve the circuit
and determine IC, IB, VBE, and VCE
(3) check to see if the solution satisfies the constrains for
the region, if so the analysis is done
(4) if not, assume operation in a different region and
repeat until a valid solution is found
This procedure is very important in the analysis and design
of the bias circuit for BJT amplifier.
The objective of the bias circuit is to place the operating point in
the active region.
Bias point it is important to select IC, IB, VBE, and VCE
independent of the and operation temperature.
Example 13.4, 13.5, 13.6

Large-Signal dc Analysis: Bias Circuit

From Example 13.6

VBB acts as a short

circuit for ac signals

Remember: that the Q point should be independent of the

stabi
lity issue)
VBB & VCC provide this stability, however this impractical solution

Large-Signal dc Analysis: Four-Resistor Bias Circuit

VB RB I B VBE RE I E

Solution of the bias problem:

I E 1 I B

VBE 0.7V

VB VBE
IB
RB 1 RE

Thevenin
equivalent

Equivalent
circuit for
active-region
model

Input
Output

RB R1 R2 VB VCC R2 / R1 R2

VCE VCC RC I C RE I E

BJTs Practical Aspects

npn

V
I
R

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