SAINT LOUIS UNIVERSITY

School of Engineering and Architecture

Department of Electronics Engineering

In Partial Requirements of the Course

ME 2251L: Basic Electronics Laboratory

Laboratory Activity 8
Transistor Testing

Submitted by: Submitted to:

Daga, Kristan O’neal Cervantes Engr. Jeorge C. Antonio
SEA-ECE Faculty

Date Submitted:

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 I. TOPIC LEARNING OUTCOME

TLO 8: Recognize NPN and PNP using an ohmmeter.

II. DISCUSSION OF THEORY

Ask any field or bench technician what their most-used piece of test equipment is
and they will probably say a DMM (Digital MultiMeter). These versitiale devices can
be used to test and diagnose a wide range of circuits and components. In a pinch,
a DMM can even substitute for expensive, specialized test equipment. One
particularly usefull skill is knowing how to test a transistor using a digital multimeter.
Specialized component analyzers exist to do this task, but the expense can be
difficult to justify for the average hobbiest.

Transistor Pinouts

Fortunately, using a DMM to get a basic pass/fail reading from a suspected faulty
NPN or PNP bipoloar transistor is a simple and quick task. Some multimeters have a
built-in transistor testing function, if yours does, you can skip this blog post – simply
insert your transistor into the socket on the multimeter and set the meter to the
correct mode. You will probably get information such as the gain(hFE) that could
be checked against the datasheet as well as a pass/fail reading. If your meter does
not have a transistor testing function, fear not – transistors can easily be checked
with the “Diode” testing setting. (Some meters have the diode test function
coupled with the continuity test – this is OK).

Testing the transistor

Remove the transistor from the circuit for accurate test results.

Step 1: (Base to Emitter)

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 Hook the positive lead from the multimeter to the to the BASE (B) of the transistor.
Hook the negative meter lead to the EMITTER (E) of the transistor. For an good NPN
transistor, the meter should show a voltage drop between 0.45V and 0.9V. If you
are testing PNP transistor, you should see “OL” (Over Limit).

Step 2: (Base to Collector)

Keep the postitive lead on the BASE (B) and place the negative lead to the
COLLECTOR (C).

For an good NPN transistor, the meter should show a voltage drop between 0.45V
and 0.9V. If you are testing PNP transistor, you should see "OL" (Over Limit).

Step 3: (Emitter to Base)

Hook the positive lead from the multimeter to the to the EMITTER (E) of the transistor.
Hook the negative meter lead to the BASE (B) of the transistor.

For an good NPN transistor, you should see “OL” (Over Limit).If you are testing PNP
transistor, the meter should show a voltage drop between 0.45V and 0.9V.

Step 4: (Collector to Base)

Hook the positive lead from the multimeter to the to the COLLECTOR (C) of the
transistor. Hook the negative meter lead to the BASE (B) of the transistor.

For an good NPN transistor, you should see “OL” (Over Limit).If you are testing PNP
transistor, the meter should show a voltage drop between 0.45V and 0.9V.

Step 5: (Collector to Emitter)

Hook the postitive meter lead to the COLLECTOR (C) and the negative meter lead
to the EMITTER (E) – A good NPN or PNP transistor will read "OL"/Over Limit on the
meter. Swap the leads (Positive to Emitter and Negative to Collector) – Once
again, a good NPN or PNP transistor should read “OL”.

If your bipolar transistor measures contrary to these steps, consider it to be bad.

You may also be able to use the voltage drop to determine which lead is the
emitter on an unmarked transistor, as the emitter-base junction typically has a
slightly higher voltage drop than the collector-base junction.

Remember: This test only verifies that the transistor is not shorted or open, it does not
guarantee that the transistor is operating within its designed parameters. It should

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 only be used to help decide if you need "replace" or "move on to the next
component". This test works on bipolar transistors only – you need to use a different
method for testing FETs.

Transistor Testing

There are several different ways of testing transistors. They can be tested while in
the circuit, by the substitution method mentioned, or with a transistor tester or
ohmmeter.

Transistor testers are nothing more than the solid-state equivalent of electron-tube
testers (although they do not operate on the same principle). With most transistor
testers, it is possible to test the transistor in or out of the circuit.
There are four basic tests required for transistors in practical troubleshooting: gain,
leakage, breakdown, and switching time. For maintenance and repair, however, a
check of two or three parameters is usually sufficient to determine whether a
transistor needs to be replaced.

Since it is impractical to cover all the different types of transistor testers and since
each tester comes with its own operator's manual, we will move on to something
you will use more frequently for testing transistors – the ohmmeter.

Testing Transistors with an Ohmmeter

Two tests that can be done with an ohmmeter are gain, and junction resistance.
Tests of a transistor's junction resistance will reveal leakage, shorts, and opens.

TRANSISTOR GAIN TEST.–A basic transistor gain test can be made using an
ohmmeter and a simple test circuit. The test circuit can be made with just a couple
of resistors and a switch, as shown in figure below. The principle behind the test lies
in the fact that little or no current will flow in a transistor between emitter and
collector until the emitter-base junction is forward biased. The only precaution you
should observe is with the ohmmeter. Any internal battery may be used in the
meter provided that it does not exceed the maximum collector-emitter breakdown
voltage.

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 Testing a transistor's gain with an ohmmeter.

With the switch in figure below in the open position as shown, no voltage is applied
to the PNP transistor's base, and the emitter-base junction is not forward biased.
Therefore, the ohmmeter should read a high resistance, as indicated on the meter.
When the switch is closed, the emitter-base circuit is forward biased by the voltage
across R1 and R2. Current now flows in the emitter-collector circuit, which causes a
lower resistance reading on the ohmmeter. A 10-to-1 resistance ratio in this test
between meter readings indicates a normal gain for an audio-frequency transistor.

To test an NPN transistor using this circuit, simply reverse the ohmmeter leads and
carry out the procedure described earlier.

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 TRANSISTOR JUNCTION RESISTANCE TEST.–An ohmmeter can be used to test a
transistor for leakage (an undesirable flow of current) by measuring the base-
emitter, base-collector, and collector-emitter forward and reverse resistances.

For simplicity, consider the transistor under test in each view of figure below as two
diodes connected back to back. Therefore, each diode will have a low-forward
resistance and a high-reverse resistance. By measuring these resistances with an
ohmmeter as shown in the figure, you can determine if the transistor is leaking
current through its junctions. When making these measurements, avoid using the R
1 scale on the meter or a meter with a high internal battery voltage. Either of these
conditions can damage a low-power transistor.

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 Testing a transistor's leakage with an ohmmeter.

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 Now consider the possible transistor problems that could exist if the indicated
readings in figure above are not obtained. A list of these problems is provided in
table below.

RESISTANCE READINGS PROBLEMS

FORWARD REVERSE The transistor is:

LOW (NOT SHORTED) LOW (NOT SHORTED) LEAKING

LOW (SHORTED) LOW (SHORTED) SHORTED

HIGH HIGH OPEN*

*Except collector-to-emitter test.

By now, you should recognize that the transistor used in figure above is a PNP
transistor. If you wish to test an NPN transistor for leakage, the procedure is identical
to that used for testing the PNP except the readings obtained are reversed.

When testing transistors (PNP or NPN), you should remember that the actual
resistance values depend on the ohmmeter scale and the battery voltage. Typical
forward and reverse resistances are insignificant. The best indicator for showing
whether a transistor is good or bad is the ratio of forward-to-reverse resistance. If
the transistor you are testing shows a ratio of at least 30 to 1, it is probably good.
Many transistors show ratios of 100 to 1 or greater.

III. DATA AND RESULTS

LABORATORY ACTIVITY 8
EQUIPMENT/ MATERIALS NEEDED:

Two (2) VOM

Q1 NPN Si Transistor, 2N2219A
Q2 PNP Si Transistor, 2N2905A

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 Q3 NPN ANY Transistor
R1 10kΩ, 1W
R2 150kΩ, 1W
R3 47Ω, 1W
S1 PBNO (use a basic switch if PBNO is not available)
Experiment Board K

PROCEDURES:

Objective A. Determine the type of transistor, NPN or PNP, using an ohmmeter to

measure forward and reverse resistance of the emitter-base junction.

1. a. Set the VOM to the ohmmeter function on R x 10 range.

b. Connect the common lead (negative) to the emitter of Q1, and the positive
lead to the base as shown in Figure 1a.
c. Measure the forward base-emitter resistance of the NPN transistor Q1.

RBE1 (forward) = _____0________ohms

Insert MultiSim Screenshot:

d. Reverse the ohmmeter lead connections to Q1 as shown in Figure 1b.

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 e. Measure the reverse base-to-emitter resistance of the NPN transistor Q1.

RBE1 (reverse) =____∞______ohms

Insert MultiSim Screenshot:

f. Is the reverse base-emitter resistance of Q1 much higher than the forward

resistance? _________________

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 2. a. Repeat the procedure 1 using ANY NPN transistor Q3.
Insert MultiSim Screenshot:

RBE3(forward) = ____0.649.742_______ohms

RBE3(reverse) = ___∞________ohms

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 b. Is the reverse base-emitter resistance of Q3 much higher than the forward
resistance? ______________

3. a. Repeat procedure 1 using Silicon PNP Transistor Q2. To properly forward bias
the base-emitter junction of a PNP transistor, the positive lead must be
connected to the emitter and the negative lead connected to the base.

RBE2(forward) = _______673.425______ohms

RBE2(reverse) = ________∞________ohms

b. Is the reverse base-emitter resistance of Q2 much higher than the forward

resistance? _____________

Objective B: Measure the forward and reverse resistance of the collector-base

junction in the PNP and NPN transistors.

4. a. Connect the negative lead of the ohmmeter to the base of Q1, and the
positive to the collector as shown in figure 2a.

b. Measure the base-collector reverse resistance.

RCB1(reverse) = _____________∞____ohms

Insert MultiSim Screenshot:

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 c. Reverse the ohmmeter lead connections as shown in figure 2b.

d. Measure the forward collector-base resistance of NPN transistor Q1.

RCB1(forward) = _________640.682_________ohms

Insert MultiSim Screenshot:

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 d. Is the reverse collector-base resistance of Q1 much greater than the forward
resistance? ________________
5. a. Repeat Procedure 4 using ANY BJT Q3.

RCB3(reverse) = _______∞___ohms

RCB3(forward) = ____656.097______ohms

Insert MultiSim Screenshot:

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 b. Repeat Procedure 4 using Silicon Transistor Q2. To reverse bias the collector-
base junction of PNP transistor, the positive lead must be connected to the
base and the negative lead connected to the collector.

RCB2(reverse) = _________∞_______ohms

RCB2(forward) = ______643.857________ohms

Insert MultiSim Screenshot:

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 Objective C: Determine the operating condition of a transistor using an ohmmeter.

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 6. a. Examine the test circuit shown in Figure 3. Normally, there will be no current
flow between collector and emitter until the base-to-emitter junction is
forward biased. With PBNO switch S1 open, the base is connected to the
negative lead of the ohmmeter through the 150kΩ resistor R2 and thus Q1 is
not forward biased.

Insert MultiSim Screenshot:

b. Calculate the maximum base current that can flow through R1 with S1
closed. Assume a 1.5 Vdc source from the ohmmeter and subtract the base
emitter voltage drop of approximately 0.5 Vdc. Neglect the current through
R2.

IR1 = ________6660000________𝜇A

c. Connect the circuit as shown in figure 3 and measure the collector current, if
any, and collector-to-emitter resistance. Set the ohmmeter to the lowest
range.

IC1 = _____999.717________𝜇A

RCE1 = _____99.8682__________Mohms

Insert MultiSim Screenshot:

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 d. Set the ammeter to the 1mAdc range. Close S1 and measure collector
current and collector-emitter resistance.

IC1 = _______0.75166________mA

RCE1 = _______38.7451________kohms

Insert MultiSim Screenshot:

e. Remove the ammeter from the circuit and connect the collector directly to
the positive ohmmeter lead. Do not disturb the rest of the circuit.

f. Close and open S1 several times while observing the ohmmeter. Does the
ohmmeter indirectly show that collector current flows when S1 is closed?
__Yes______

g. Repeat (f) with Q2 and Q3.

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 S1(open) RCE2 = _____53.2956______kΩ

S1(closed) RCE2 = _______55.4679________kΩ

S1(open) RCE3 = _______99.9957________mΩ

S1(closed) RCE3 = _____38.7379__________kΩ

Insert MultiSim Screenshot:

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 h. Is there a high resistance ratio for Q2 and Q3? ______Yes_____

IV. DOCUMENTATION OF ACTIVITY

- Picture of yourself doing the Laboratory Activity (placed on one page)

V. OBSERVATIONS

That doping concentrations play a crucial part in the unique abilities of the
transistor is further evidenced by the fact that collector and emitter are not
interchangeable. If the transistor is merely viewed as two back-to-back PN junctions
or simply as a plain N-P-N or P-N-P sandwich of materials, it may seem as though
either end of the transistor could serve as a collector or emitter. This, however, is not
true. If connected “backward” in a circuit, a base-collector current will not control
the current between collector and emitter. Even though both the emitter and
collector layers of a bipolar transistor are of the same doping type (either N or P),
the collector and emitter are not identical!
The base-emitter junction allows current because it is forward biased, while the
base-collector intersection is reverse-biased. The action of base current can be
thought of as “opening a gate” for current through the collector. More specifically,
any base-to-emitter current permits a limited amount of base-to-collector current.

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 In the next section, this current-limiting of the transistor will be investigated in more
detail.
Tested with a multimeter in the “resistance” or “diode check” modes, a transistor
behaves like two back-to-back PN (diode) junctions. The emitter-base PN junction
has a slightly more significant forward voltage drop than the collector-base PN
junction because of the heavier doping of the emitter semiconductor layer. The
reverse-biased base-collector junction blocks any current from going through the
transistor between emitter and collector. However, that junction begins to conduct
if the wind is drawn through the base wire. Base current may be considered
“opening a gate” for a limited amount of current through the collector.

VI. CONCLUSIONS

In conclusion, after experimenting, we can see that circuit design that is done
theoretically can be replicated by experimentation. In the first task, we successfully
designed a circuit and applied bias to the course. Using design principles identified
in the pre-lab activity, the biasing of the circuit was applied. This principle was
found to be helpful in later tasks with amplification bias. The amplification of signals
was then explored. It was discovered that undesirable effects were present without
biasing in specific circuits. This was notable in the first circuit in section one. At the
zero crossings, no signal amplification was current for most of the signal. By adding
DC biasing to a circuit, we solved the problem of zero-crossing and amplified a
signal in an ideal manner. Between the amplification of the courses, it was seen
that the power consumption could be lower and thus the heat dissipation by the
usage of control diodes.
VII. REFERENCES

Test a transistor with multimeter, Vetco (2012)

https://vetco.net/blog/test-a-transistor-with-a-multimeter/2017-05-04-12-25-37-07
Transistor Testing, ECS Studio (2019)
https://ecstudiosystems.com/discover/textbooks/solid-state-
devices/transistors/transistor-testing/

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