The book goes over several more examples that you should go over pp. 123 – 130.

3.3 BASIC TRANSISTOR APPLICATIONS

Transistors can be used to switch currents, voltages, and power; perform digital logic functions; and amplify
time-varying signals. In this section, we consider the switching properties of the bipolar transistor, analyze a
simple transistor digital logic circuit, and then show how the bipolar transistor is used to amplify time-varying
signals.

3.3.1 Switch

Figure 3.42 shows a bipolar circuit called an inverter, in which the transistor in the circuit is switched between
cutoff and saturation.

The load, for example, could be a motor, a light-emitting diode, or some other electrical device. If

vI < VBE(on), then iB = iC = 0 and the transistor is cut off. Since iC = 0, the voltage drop across RC is zero, so the
output voltage is vO = VCC. Also, since the currents in the transistor are zero, the power dissipation in the
transistor is also zero. If the load were a motor, the motor would be off with zero current. Likewise, if the load
were a light-emitting diode, the light output would be zero with zero current.

If we let vI = VCC , and if the ratio of RB to RC, where RC is the effective resistance of the load, is less than β,
then the transistor is usually driven into saturation, which means that

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In this case, a collector current is induced that would turn on the motor or the LED, depending on the type of
load.

Equation (3.30) assumes that the BE voltage can be approximated by the turn-on voltage. This approximation
will be modified slightly when we discuss bipolar digital logic circuits.

Design Pointer: Motors tend to be inductive, so that during start-up and shutdown a relatively large di/dt
voltage could be induced in the circuit. This voltage, especially during shutdown, could cause the transistor to
go into breakdown and be damaged.

When a transistor is biased in saturation, the relationship between the collector and base currents is no longer
linear. Consequently, this mode of operation cannot he used for linear amplifiers. On the other hand,
switching a transistor between cutoff and saturation produces the greatest change in output voltage, which is
especially useful in digital logic circuits, as we will see in the next section.

3.3.2 Digital Logic

In the simple transistor inverter circuit shown in Figure 3.43(a), if the input is approximately zero volts, the
transistor is in cutoff and the output is high and equal to VCC. If. on the other hand, the input is high and equal
to VCC, the transistor is driven into saturation, and the output is low and equal to VCE(sat).

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Now consider the case when a second transistor is connected in parallel, as shown in Figure 3.43(b) above.
When the two inputs are zero, both transistors are cutoff and VO = 5 V. When V1 = 5 V and V2 = 0, Q1 can be
driven into saturation, while Q2 remains in cutoff. With Q1 in saturation, the output voltage is
VO = VCE(sat) = 0.2 V. If we reverse the input voltages, we get the same output voltage. If both inputs are high,
then both transistors can be driven into saturation, and the output is again the same as the previous two cases.
In a positive logic system (i.e. the larger voltage represents a logical 1), this circuit is a NOR gate.

3.3.3 Amplifier

The bipolar inverter circuit shown in Figure 3.43(a) can also be used as an amplifier. We will initially develop
the voltage-transfer characteristics of a specific inverter circuit and then superimpose a time-varying signal on
a dc input voltage.
Example 3.12 Objective: Determine the de voltage transfer characteristics and then the
amplification factor of the circuit shown in Figure 3.44(a) below. Assume the transistor parameters are:
βF = 100, VA = , VBE.(on) = 0.7 V, and VCE(sat) = 0.2V.

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Comment: As the input voltage changes, we move along the voltage transfer characteristics as shown in Figure
3.35(b). The negative sign occurs because of the inverting property of the circuit.

Discussion: In this example, we have biased the transistor in the center of the active region. If the input signal
ΔvI is a sinusoidal function as shown in Figure 3.45(b), then the output signal ΔvO is also a sinusoidal signal,
which is the desired response for an analog circuit. This assumes of course that the magnitude of the sinusoidal
input signal is not too large. If the Q-point, or dc biasing of the transistor were at vI = 1.9 V and vO = 0.2 V, as
in Figure 3.45(c), the output response changes. Shown in the figure is a symmetrical sinusoidal input signal.
When the input sinusoidal signal is on its positive cycle, the transistor remains biased in saturation and the
output voltage does not change. During the negative half of the input signal, the transistor becomes biased in
the active region, so a half-sinusoidal output response is produced. Here the output signal is obviously not a
replication of the input signal.

This discussion emphasizes the importance of properly biasing the transistor for analog or amplifier
applications. The primary objective of this chapter, as stated previously, is to help readers become familiar
with transistor circuits, but it is also to enable them to design the dc biasing of transistor circuits that are to be
used in analog applications.

3.4 BIPOLAR TRANSISTOR BIASING

As mentioned in the previous section, in order to create a linear amplifier, we must keep the transistor in the
forward-active mode, establish a Q-point near the center of the load line, and couple the time-varying input
signal to the base. The circuit in Figure 3.45(a) is impractical for two reasons:

1. the signal source is not connected to ground, and

2. the dc base current flows through the signal source.

3.4.1 Single Base Resistor Biasing

The circuit shown in Figure 3.50(a) is one of the simplest transistor circuits.

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There is a single dc power supply, and the quiescent base current is established through the resistor RB. The
coupling capacitor CC acts as an open circuit to DC, isolating the input signal source from the dc base current.
If the frequency of the input signal is large enough and CC is large enough, the signal can be coupled through Cc
to the base with little attenuation. Figure 3.50(b) is the dc equivalent circuit; the Q-point values are indicated by
the additional subscript Q.

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Figure 3.51(a) shows the transistor characteristics and load line for the previous circuit. Although we assumed
a current gain of 100, a given transistor type may exhibit a range of values for this parameter as a result of
slight variations in the manufacturing process. For example, a second circuit with the same configuration as
Figure 3.50(a) could be fabricated using a transistor with a current gain of 50. The transistor characteristics of
this new circuit are shown in Figure 3.51(b).

We can see here that the Q-point has shifted substantially due to the difference in the current gain. In this
circuit, then, the Q-point is not stabilized against variations in β, and this a real design problem.

The Q-point is also influenced by variations in resistance values. Tolerances in discrete resistance and
integrated circuit resistance values result from process variations and material property variations.

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3.4.2 Voltage Divider Biasing and Bias Stability

The circuit in Figure 3.53(a) is a classic example of discrete transistor biasing.

The single bias resistor RB in the previous circuit is replaced by a pair of resistors R1 and R2 and an emitter
resistor RE is also added. The ac signal is still coupled to the base of the transistor through the coupling
capacitor.

This circuit is most easily analyzed by forming a Thevenin equivalent circuit for the base circuit. The coupling
capacitor acts as an open circuit to dc. The equivalent Thevenin voltage is

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Another advantage of including an emitter resistor is that it stabilizes the Q-point with respect to temperature.
Remember we noted in Ch. 1 that the current in a pn junction increases with increasing temperature, for a con-
stant junction voltage. We then expect the transistor current to increase as the temperature increases. If the
current in a junction increases, the junction temperature increases (because of I2R heating), which in turn
causes the current to increase, thereby further increasing the junction temperature. This phenomenon can lead
to thermal runaway and device destruction. However, from Figure 3.53(b), we see that as the current increases,
the voltage drop across RE increases. The Thevenin equivalent voltage and resistance are assumed to be
essentially independent of temperature, and the temperatuire-induced change in the voltage drop across RTH
will be small. The net result is that the increased voltage drop across RE reduces the BE junction voltage,
which then tends to stabilize the transistor current against increases in temperature.

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3.4.3 Integrated Circuit Biasing

The resistor biasing of transistor circuits considered up to this point is primarily applied to discrete circuits. For
integrated circuits, we would like to eliminate as many resistors as possible since they generally require a
larger surface area than transistors.

A bipolar transistor can be biased by using a constant-current source IQ. as shown in Figure 3.56.

The advantages of this circuit are that the emitter current is independent of β and RB, and the collector current
and CE voltage are essentially independent of transistor current gain, for reasonable values of β. The value of
RB can be increased, thus increasing the input resistance at the base, without jeopardizing the bias stability.

The constant-current source can be implemented by using transistors, as shown in Figure 3.57.

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We will study this circuit in more detail next semester in EE 429.

3.5 MULTISTAGE CIRCUITS

Most transistor circuits contain more than one transistor. We can analyze and design these multistage circuits
in much the same way as we studied single-transistor circuits. As an example Figure 3.59 contains an npn and
a pnp in the same circuit.

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3.6 SUMMARY

1. In this chapter, we considered the basic characteristics and properties of the bipolar transistor, which is
a three-terminal device that has three separately doped semiconductor regions and two pn junctions.
The three terminals are called the base (B), emitter (E), and collector (C). Both npn and pnp
complementary bipolar transistors can be formed. The defining transistor action is that the voltage
across two terminals (base and emitter) controls the current in the third terminal (collector).

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 2. The modes of operation of a bipolar transistor are determined by the biases applied to the two
junctions. The four modes are: forward active, cutoff, saturation, and inverse active. In the forward-
active mode, the B-E junction is forward biased and the B-C junction is reverse biased, and the
collector and base currents are related by the common-emitter current gain β. The relationship is the
same for both npn and pnp transistors, as long as the conventional current directions are maintained.
When a transistor is cut off, all currents are zero. In the saturation mode, the collector current is no
longer a function of the base current.
3. The dc analysis and the design of dc biasing of bipolar transistor circuits were emphasized in this
chapter. We continued to use the piece-wise linear model of the pn junction in these analyses and
designs. Techniques to design a transistor circuit with a stable Q-point were developed.
4. Basic applications of the transistor were discussed. These include switching currents and voltages,
digital logic functions, and amplifying time-varying signals. The amplifying characteristics will be
considered in detail in the next chapter.

END Ch. 3

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