Chapter 4

#Checkup
4-1
1. Name the two types of BJTs according to their structure
The two types of BJTs are npn and pnp

2. The BJT is a three-terminal device. Name the three terminals

The terminals of a BJT are base, collector, and emitter

3. What separates the three regions in a BJT?

The three regions of a BJT are separated by two pn junctions

4-2
1. What are the bias conditions of the base-emitter and base-collector junctions
for a transistor to operate as an amplifier?
To operate as an amplifier, the base-emitter is forward-biased and the base-
collector is reverse biased

2. Which is the largest of the three transistor currents?

The emitter current is the largest

3. Is the base current smaller or larger than the emitter current?

The base current is much smaller than the emitter current because The base is
narrow and lightly doped

4. Is the base region much thinner or much wider than the collector and emitter
regions?
The base region is very narrow compared to the other two regions

5. If the collector current is 1 mA and the base current is 10 A, what is the

emitter current?
𝑰𝑬 = 𝟏 𝒎𝑨 + 𝟏𝟎 𝝁𝑨 = 𝟏. 𝟎𝟏 𝒎𝑨
 4-3
1. Define 𝜷𝑫𝑪 and 𝜶𝑫𝑪 , What is 𝒉𝑭𝑬 ?
𝑰𝑪 𝑰𝑪
𝜷𝑫𝑪 = ; 𝜶𝑫𝑪 = ; 𝒉𝑭𝑬 𝒊𝒔 𝜷𝑫𝑪
𝑰𝑩 𝑰𝑬

2. If the dc current gain of a transistor is 100, determine 𝜷𝑫𝑪 and 𝜶𝑫𝑪

𝜷𝑫𝑪 𝟏𝟎𝟎
𝜷𝑫𝑪 = 𝟏𝟎𝟎; 𝜶𝑫𝑪 = = = 𝟎. 𝟗𝟗
𝜷𝑫𝑪 + 𝟏 𝟏𝟎𝟎 + 𝟏

3. What two variables are plotted on a collector characteristic curve?

𝑰𝑪 is plotted versus 𝑽𝑪𝑬

4. What bias conditions must exist for a transistor to operate as an amplifier?

Forward-reverse bias is required for amplifier operation

5. Does 𝜷𝑫𝑪 increase or decrease with temperature?

𝜷𝑫𝑪 increases with temperature

6. For a given type of transistor, can 𝜷𝑫𝑪 be considered to be a constant?

No. 𝜷𝑫𝑪 generally varies some from one device to the next for a given type

4-4
1. What is amplification?
Amplification is the process where a smaller signal is used to produce a larger
identical signal

2. How is voltage gain defined?

Voltage gain is the ratio of output voltage to input voltage

3. Name two factors that determine the voltage gain of an amplifier

𝑹𝑪 and 𝒓′𝒆 determine the voltage gain
4. What is the voltage gain of a transistor amplifier that has an output of 5 V rms
and an input of 250 mV rms?
𝟓𝑽
𝑨𝒗 = = 𝟐𝟎
𝟐𝟓𝟎 𝒎𝑽
5. A transistor has an 𝒓′𝒆 = 𝟐𝟎𝛀 , If 𝑹𝑪 = 𝟏𝟐𝟎𝟎𝛀 , what is the voltage gain?
𝑹𝑪 𝟏𝟐𝟎𝟎
𝑨𝒗 = ′ = = 𝟔𝟎
𝒓𝒆 𝟐𝟎

4-5
1. When a transistor is used as a switch, in what two states is it operated?
A transistor switch operates in cutoff and saturation

2. When is the collector current maximum and approximately zero?

The collector current is maximum in saturation
The collector current is approximately zero in cutoff

3. Under what condition is 𝑽𝑪𝑬 = 𝑽𝑪𝑪 ?

𝑽𝑪𝑬 = 𝑽𝑪𝑪 in cutoff
4. When is 𝑽𝑪𝑬 minimum?
𝑽𝑪𝑬 is minimum in saturation

4-6
1. How does a phototransistor differ from a conventional BJT?
The base current of a phototransistor is light induced

2. A three-lead phototransistor has an external (emitter, base, collector) lead

Base

3. The collector current in phototransistor circuit depends on what two factors?

The collector current depends on 𝜷𝑫𝑪 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑰𝝀

4. What is the optocoupler parameter, OTR?

Current transfer ratio
 Notes
1) The BJT is constructed with three doped semiconductor regions separated by
two pn junctions. The three regions are called emitter, base, and collector
2) The term bipolar refers to the use of both holes and electrons as current carriers
in the transistor structure
1) Area of Collector > Area of Emitter
2) resistance of Collector < resistance of Emitter
3) We Can Know the Terminals with ohm meter

3) The base region is lightly doped and very thin compared to the heavily doped
emitter and the moderately doped collector regions
4) both npn and pnp BJTs for operation as an
amplifier --> the base-emitter (BE) junction
is forward-biased and the base-collector
(BC) junction is reverse-biased --> This
condition is called forward-reverse bias.

5) Operation Explain the purpose of a thin, lightly doped base region ?

The heavily doped n-type emitter region has a very high
density of conduction-band (free) electrons, These free
electrons easily diffuse through the forward_based BE
junction into the lightly doped and very thin p-type base
region, The base has a low density of holes, which are the
majority carriers, A small percentage of the total number
of free electrons injected into the base region recombine
with holes and move as valence electrons through the
base region and into the emitter region as hole current
𝑰𝑬 = 𝑰𝑪 + 𝑰𝑩
For PNP For NPN
The base must be negative with emitter The base must be positive with emitter and
and positive with collector negative with collector
the direction of conventional current

6) DC Beta (current gain) (𝜷𝑫𝑪 ) and DC Alpha (𝜶𝑫𝑪 ) two different transistor parameters
Beta : The dc current gain of a transistor is the ratio of the dc collector current (𝑰𝑪 ) to the
dc base current (𝑰𝑩 )
Alpha : The ratio of the dc collector current (𝑰𝑪 ) to the dc emitter current (𝑰𝑬 ) , is a less-
used parameter than beta in transistor circuits
𝑰𝑪
𝜷𝑫𝑪 = 𝒉𝑭𝑬 = , 𝒉 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐬
𝑰𝑩 𝑭𝑬
𝑰𝑪
𝜶𝑫𝑪 = , 𝑽𝒂𝒍𝒖𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒚𝒑𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝟎. 𝟗𝟓 𝒕𝒐 𝟎. 𝟗𝟗
𝑰𝑬
𝜶 𝜷
𝜷= ,𝜶 =
𝜷 ↑ → 𝑰𝑪 , 𝐼𝐸 ↑↑, 𝐼𝐵 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒 𝜶−𝟏 𝜷+𝟏

7) Transistor DC Model
The input circuit is a forward-biased diode
through which there is base current
The output circuit is dependent current
source with value is dependent on the base
current
8) BJT Circuit Analysis
𝑽𝑩𝑬 = 𝟎. 𝟕 𝑽
−𝑽𝑩𝑩 + 𝑰𝑩 𝑹𝑩 + 𝑽𝑩𝑬 = 𝟎
𝑰𝑩 𝑹𝑩 = 𝑽𝑩𝑩 − 𝑽𝑩𝑬
𝑰𝑩 𝑹𝑩 = 𝑽𝑩𝑩 − 𝟎. 𝟕𝑽
𝑽𝑩𝑩 − 𝟎. 𝟕
𝑰𝑩 =
𝑹𝑩
−𝑽𝑪𝑪 + 𝑰𝑪 𝑹𝑪 + 𝑽𝑪𝑬 = 𝟎 → 𝑽𝑪𝑬 = 𝑽𝑪𝑪 − 𝑰𝑪 𝑹𝑪
𝑽𝑪𝑩 = 𝑽𝑪𝑬 − 𝑽𝑩𝑬
 9) Collector Characteristic Curves

Assume that 𝑽𝑩𝑩 is set to produce a certain value of IB and 𝑽𝑪𝑪 = 𝒁𝒆𝒓𝒐 . For this condition, both the
base-emitter junction and the base-collector junction are forward-biased because the base is at
approximately 0.7 V while the emitter and the collector are at 0 V. The base current is through the
base-emitter junction because of the low impedance path to ground and, 𝑰𝑪 = 𝒁𝒆𝒓𝒐. When both
junctions are forward-biased, the transistor is in the saturation region of its operation.

Saturation : is the state of a BJT in which the collector current has reached a maximum and is
independent of the base current
between points A and B between points B and C exceeds point C
(Saturation region) (Active or linear region) (Breakdown region)
when 𝑽𝑪𝑬 exceeds 0.7 V, the base- When 𝑽𝑪𝑬 reaches a sufficiently
collector junction becomes reverse- high voltage, the reverse-biased
𝑽𝑪𝑬 remains less than 0.7 V biased and the base-emitter base-collector junction goes into
junction becomes forward-biased breakdown and the collector
due to the forward-biased
the transistor goes into the active, current increases rapidly
base-collector junction or linear, region of its operation, 𝑰𝑪
levels off and remains essentially transistor should never be
𝑽𝑪𝑪 increase  constant for a given value of 𝑰𝑩 as operated in breakdown region
𝑽𝑪𝑬 increase (𝑽𝑪𝑬 < 𝟎. 𝟕𝑽) 𝑽𝑪𝑬 continues to increase
Actually, 𝑰𝑪 increases very slightly NOTEEEE :
 collector current (𝑰𝑪 ) as 𝑽𝑪𝑬 increases due to widening of IF collector leakage current
increase the base-collector depletion region.
This results in fewer holes for is neglecting --> the curve
recombination in the base region for 𝑰𝑩 = 𝟎 appear Along
𝑽𝑪𝑪 − 𝑽𝑪𝑬(𝒔𝒂𝒕) which effectively causes a slight the horizontal axis on the
𝑰𝑪(𝒔𝒂𝒕) = increase in 𝜷𝑫𝑪 graph
𝑹𝑪 𝑰𝑪 = 𝜷𝑫𝑪 𝑰𝑩
When 𝑰𝑩 = 𝟎, the transistor is in the cutoff region although there is a very small collector
leakage current ‫تيار مرسب‬, The amount of collector leakage current is exaggerated ‫مبالغ فيه‬
Cutoff : is the nonconducting state of a transistor
𝑰𝑭 𝑰𝑪 > 𝑰𝑪(𝒔𝒂𝒕) → 𝑻𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓 𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅
10) DC Load Line
Cutoff and saturation can be illustrated in relation to
the collector characteristic curves by the use of a load
line shows a dc load line drawn on a family of curves
connecting the cutoff point and the saturation point

The bottom of the load line is at ideal cutoff where

𝑰𝑪 = 𝟎 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑽𝑪𝑬 = 𝑽𝑪𝑪
The top of the load line is at saturation where
𝑰𝑪 = 𝑰𝑪(𝒔𝒂𝒕) 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑽𝑪𝑬 = 𝑽𝑪𝑬(𝒔𝒂𝒕)
In between cutoff and saturation along the load line is the active region of the
transistor’s operation

11) More About 𝜷𝑫𝑪

𝜷𝑫𝑪 is not truly constant but varies with both collector current and with temperature
temperature constant , increasing 𝑰𝑪 
𝜷𝑫𝑪 increase to a maximum
A 𝒇𝒖𝒓𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒆 in 𝑰𝑪 beyond this
maximum point causes 𝜷𝑫𝑪 to decrease
If 𝑰𝑪 is held constant and the temperature is
varied, 𝜷𝑫𝑪 changes directly with the
temperature
12) Maximum Transistor Ratings
𝑷𝑫(𝒎𝒂𝒙)
𝑰𝑪 =
𝑽𝑪𝑬
Both 𝑽𝑪𝑬 and 𝑰𝑪 cannot be maximum at the same time
13) Derating 𝑷𝑫(𝒎𝒂𝒙)
𝒎𝑾
𝑷𝑫(𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅) = 𝑷𝑫(𝒎𝒂𝒙) − (𝒎𝑾/℃)∆𝑻 → ( ) 𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒐𝒓
℃
The change (reduction) in 𝑷𝑫(𝒎𝒂𝒙) (∆𝑷𝑫(𝒎𝒂𝒙) = (𝒎𝑾/℃)∆𝑻)
14) BJT AS AN AMPLIFIER
Amplification : is the process of linearly increasing the amplitude of an electrical signal
and is one of the major properties of a transistor
When a BJT is biased in the active (or linear) region, the BE junction has a low resistance
due to forward bias and the BC junction has a high resistance due to reverse bias
 Voltage Amplification
a transistor amplifies current because the collector current is equal to the base current
multiplied by the current gain. The base current in a transistor is very small compared to
the collector
 The ac input voltage produces an ac base current
 The ac collector current produces an ac voltage across RC
 voltage gain (𝑨𝒗 ) : is defined as the ratio of the output
voltage to the input voltage
𝑽𝒃 = 𝑰𝒆 𝒓′𝒆
𝑽𝒄 = 𝑰𝑪 𝑹𝑪 = 𝑰𝒆 𝑹𝑪
𝑽𝒄 𝑰𝒆 𝑹𝑪 𝑹𝑪
𝑨𝒗 = = = ′
𝑽𝒃 𝑰𝒆 𝒓′𝒆 𝒓𝒆

15) BJT AS A SWITCH

 The second major application area is switching applications. When used as an electronic
switch, a BJT is normally operated alternately in cutoff and saturation. Many digital
circuits use the BJT as a switch
 Switching Operation
1. Conditions in Cutoff
a transistor is in the cutoff region
when the base-emitter junction is not
forward-biased. Neglecting leakage
current, all of the currents are zero
𝑽𝑪𝑬(𝒄𝒖𝒕𝒐𝒇𝒇) = 𝑽𝑪𝑪 𝑉𝑅𝐶 𝑑𝑒𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒 , 𝑉𝐶 𝑖𝑛𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒
2. Conditions in Saturation
when the base-emitter junction is forward-biased and there is enough base current
to produce a maximum collector current,the transistor is saturated
𝑽𝑪𝑪 − 𝑽𝑪𝑬(𝒔𝒂𝒕)
𝑰𝑪(𝒔𝒂𝒕) =
𝑹𝑪
Since 𝑽𝑪𝑬(𝒔𝒂𝒕) is very small (minimum) compared to 𝑽𝑪𝑪 , it can usually be neglected
𝑰𝑪(𝒔𝒂𝒕)
𝑰𝑩(𝒎𝒊𝒏) =
𝜷𝑫𝑪

 A Simple Application of a Transistor Switch

When the square wave is at 0 V, the transistor is in cutoff;
and since there is no collector current, the LED does not
emit light.

When the square wave goes to its high level, the transistor
saturates. This forward-biases the LED, and the resulting
collector current through the LED causes it to emit light.

Thus, the LED is on for 1 second and off for 1 second

16) The Phototransistor
1. A phototransistor is similar to a regular BJT except that the base current is produced and
controlled by light instead of a voltage source
2. The phototransistor converts light energy to an electrical signal
3. The base current is produced when light strikes the photosensitive semiconductor base
region
4. When there is no incident light, there is only a small thermally generated collector to
emitter leakage current ICEO (called dark current)
5. When light strikes the collector-base pn junction, a base current (𝑰𝝀 ), is directly
proportional to the light intensity
𝑰𝑪 = 𝜷𝑫𝑪 𝑰𝝀
6. A phototransistor can be either a two-lead or a three-lead device.
7. In the three-lead configuration, the base lead is brought out so that the device can be
used as a conventional BJT with or without the additional light-
sensitivity feature.
8. In the two-lead configuration, the base is not electrically
available, and the device can be used only with light as the
input. In many applications, the phototransistor is used in the
two-lead
9. the collector current increases with light intensity
10. Phototransistors are not sensitive to all light but only to
light within a certain range of wavelengths. They are most
sensitive to particular wavelengths in the red and infrared
part of the spectrum

17) TRANSISTOR CATEGORIES AND PACKAGING

Transistor Categories
 General-Purpose/Small-Signal Transistors : are generally used for low- or medium-
power amplifiers or switching circuits.
 Power Transistors : are used to handle large currents (typically more than 1 A) and/or
large voltages. For example, the final audio stage in a stereo system uses a power
transistor amplifier to drive the speakers.
 ‫ن‬
‫قواني حل المسائل‬
1. Transistor Currents
𝑰𝑬 = 𝑰𝑪 + 𝑰𝑩
2. DC Beta (current gain) (𝜷𝑫𝑪 ) and DC Alpha (𝜶𝑫𝑪 )
𝑰𝑪
𝜷𝑫𝑪 = 𝒉𝑭𝑬 =
𝑰𝑩
𝑰𝑪
𝜶𝑫𝑪 = 𝜷 ↑ → 𝑰𝑪 , 𝐼𝐸 ↑↑, 𝐼𝐵 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒
𝑰𝑬
𝜶 𝜷
𝜷= ,𝜶 =
𝜶−𝟏 𝜷+𝟏
3. BJT Circuit Analysis
𝑽𝑩𝑬 = 𝟎. 𝟕 𝑽
𝑽𝑩𝑩 − 𝑽𝑩𝑬
𝑰𝑩 =
𝑹𝑩
𝑽𝑪𝑬 = 𝑽𝑪𝑪 − 𝑰𝑪 𝑹𝑪
𝑽𝑪𝑩 = 𝑽𝑪𝑬 − 𝑽𝑩𝑬
4. Maximum Transistor Ratings
𝑷𝑫(𝒎𝒂𝒙)
𝑰𝑪 =
𝑽𝑪𝑬
5. Derating 𝑷𝑫(𝒎𝒂𝒙)
𝒎𝑾
𝑷𝑫(𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅) = 𝑷𝑫(𝒎𝒂𝒙) − (𝒎𝑾/℃)∆𝑻 → ( ) 𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒐𝒓
℃
The change (reduction) in 𝑷𝑫(𝒎𝒂𝒙) (∆𝑷𝑫(𝒎𝒂𝒙) = (𝒎𝑾/℃)∆𝑻)
6. voltage gain (𝑨𝒗 )
𝑽𝒄 𝑹𝑪
𝑨𝒗 = =
𝑽𝒃 𝒓′𝒆
7. Conditions in Cutoff
𝑽𝑪𝑬(𝒄𝒖𝒕𝒐𝒇𝒇) = 𝑽𝑪𝑪 𝑉𝑅𝐶 𝑑𝑒𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒 , 𝑉𝐶 𝑖𝑛𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒
8. Conditions in Saturation
𝑽𝑪𝑪 − 𝑽𝑪𝑬(𝒔𝒂𝒕)
𝑰𝑪(𝒔𝒂𝒕) =
𝑹𝑪
𝑰𝑪(𝒔𝒂𝒕)
𝑰𝑩(𝒎𝒊𝒏) =
𝜷𝑫𝑪