Transistors

Lesson #8
Chapter 4

BME 372 Electronics I – 225

J.Schesser
 Configurations of the BJT

• Common Emitter and Emitter Follower

Collector
C
o
iC
iB
B
+
o vCE
+ -
Base
vBE - iE
o
E
Emitter
npn

BME 372 Electronics I – 226

J.Schesser
 Configurations of the BJT

• Common Collector
Emitter
E
o
iE
iB vBE -
-
B +
vCE
o
Base +
ic
o
C
Collector
npn
• Common Base
BME 372 Electronics I – 227
J.Schesser
 Characteristics of the BJT
npn
Common Emitter Configuration
iC
iB 100μA
25 10mA iB
20
5mA 50μA
15

vBE

.6 .8 1 20V vCE

Collector-emitter is a family of
Base-emitter junction looks
curves which are a function of
like a forward biased diode
base current
BME 372 Electronics I – 228
J.Schesser
 BJT Equations
iE  iC  iB Collector
C
iC o
Ic=β iB =α iE
 iB
+
iE B o
+
vCE
-
Base
iB  (1   )iE vBE - iE
o

 E

iC  iB   iB Emitter

1 Since α is less than unity then β

 will be greater than unity and
 there is current gain from base
1 to collector.
BME 372 Electronics I – 229
J.Schesser
 Example

• Calculate the values of β and α from the

transistor shown in the previous graphs.
iC
100μA
β = ic / ib 10mA iB

= 5m/50µ = 100 5mA 50μA

α = β /(β+1) = 100/101
=.99 20V vCE

BME 372 Electronics I – 230

J.Schesser
 BJT Analysis

RC 2k

RB +

10V VCC
50k
Vin +
-
-

1.6V

+ -
VBB

Here is a common emitter BJT amplifier:

What are the steps?

BME 372 Electronics I – 231

J.Schesser
 BJT Analysis – Inputs and Outputs

RC 2k
iC

RB + +
VCE 10V VCC
50k ib +
Vin +
VBE - -
-

1.6V
-

+ -
VBB
We would want to know the collector current (ic), collector-emitter voltage
(VCE), and the voltage across RC.
To get this we need to fine the base current (ib) and the base-emitter voltage
(VBE).
BME 372 Electronics I – 232
J.Schesser
 BJT Analysis – Input Equation

RC 2k
iC

RB + +
VCE 10V VCC
50k iB +
Vin +
VBE - -
-

1.6V
-

+ -
VBB
To start, let’s write KVL around the base circuit.
Vin(t) + VBB = iB(t)RB + VBE(t)

BME 372 Electronics I – 233

J.Schesser
 BJT Analysis – Output Equations

RC 2k
iC

RB + +
VCE 10V VCC
50k iB +
Vin +
VBE - -
-

1.6V
-

+ -
VBB
Likewise, we can write KVL around the collector circuit.
VCC= iC(t)RC + VCE(t)

BME 372 Electronics I – 234

J.Schesser
 BJT Analysis
Use Superposition: DC & AC sources
• Note that both equations are written so as to calculate the
transistor parameters (i.e., base current, base-emitter
voltage, collector current, and the collector-emitter voltage)
for both the DC signal and the AC signal sources.
• Let’s use superposition, calculate the parameters for each
separately, and add up the results
– First, the DC analysis to calculate the DC Q-point
• Short Circuit any AC voltage sources
• Open Circuit any AC current sources
– Next, the AC analysis to calculate gains of the amplifier.
• Depends on how we perform AC analysis
– Graphical Method
– Equivalent circuit method for small AC signals
BME 372 Electronics I – 235
J.Schesser
 BJT DC Analysis

• Using KVL for the input and output circuits and the
transistor characteristics, the following steps apply:
1. Draw the load lines on the transistor characteristics
2. For the input characteristics determine the Q point for the
input circuit from the intersection of the load line and the
characteristic curve (Note that some transistor do not need
an input characteristic curve.)
3. From the output characteristics, find the intersection of
the load line and characteristic curve determined from the
Q point found in step 2, determine the Q point for the
output circuit.

BME 372 Electronics I – 236

J.Schesser
 BJT DC Analysis
Base-Emitter Circuit Q point
39 iB
34  amps
VBE = 0; 29

iB = VBB / RB 24
Q POINT
= 1.6 /50k = 32A 19
IBQ =
14
20A iB = 0; VBE = VBB = 1.6 V
9

4 VBEQ = 0.6 V
-1
-0. -0. -0. 0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8
3 2 1

v BE volts
First let’s set Vin(t) =0 to get the Q-point for the BJT.
We start with the base circuit.
VBB = iBRB + VBE
And the intercepts occur at iB = 0; VBE = VBB = 1.6 V
and at VBE = 0; iB = VBB / RB = 1.6 /50k = 32A
The Load Line intersects the Base-emitter characteristics at VBEQ = 0.6 V and IBQ = 20A
BME 372 Electronics I – 237
J.Schesser
 BJT DC Analysis
Collector-Emitter Circuit Q point
7.E-03
i C amps VCC  5 ma
6.E-03 RC iB=50 μa

5.E-03 40 μa

4.E-03 30 μa

3.E-03
Q POINT 20 μa
I CQ  2.5 ma
2.E-03
10 μa
1.E-03
VCEQ = 5.9 V
0.E+00
0 μa
0 2 4 6 8 10

v CE volts VCC  10 v
Now that we have the Q-point for the base circuit, let’s proceed to the collector circuit.
VCC= iCRC + VCE
The intercepts occur at iC = 0; VCE = VCC = 10 V; and at VCE = 0; iC = VCC / RC = 10 /2k = 5mA
The Load Line intersects the Collector-emitter characteristic, iB=20mA at VCEQ = 5.9 V and ICQ = 2.5mA
β = 2.5m/20m = 125
BME 372 Electronics I – 238
J.Schesser
 BJT DC Analysis
Summary
• Calculating the Q-point for BJT is the first step in
analyzing the circuit
• To summarize:
– We ignored the AC (variable) source
• Short circuit the voltage sources
• Open Circuit the current sources
– We applied KVL to the base-emitter circuit and using load line
analysis on the base-emitter characteristics, we obtained the base
current Q-point
– We then applied KVL to the collector-emitter circuit and using
load line analysis on the collector-emitter characteristics, we
obtained the collector current and voltage Q-point
• This process is also called DC Analysis
• We now proceed to perform AC Analysis
BME 372 Electronics I – 239
J.Schesser
 BJT AC Analysis

• How do we handle the variable source Vin(t) ?

• When the variations of Vin(t) are large we will use
the base-emitter and collector-emitter characteristics
using a similar graphical technique as we did for
obtaining the Q-point
• When the variations of Vin(t) are small we will
shortly use a linear approach using the BJT small
signal equivalent circuit.

BME 372 Electronics I – 240

J.Schesser
 BJT AC Analysis

• Let’s assume that Vin(t) = 0.2 sin(ωt).

• Then the voltage sources at the base vary from a
maximum of 1.6 + .2 = 1.8 V to a minimum of
1.6 -.2 = 1.4 V
• We can then draw two “load lines” corresponding
the maximum and minimum values of the input
sources
• The current intercepts then become for the:
– Maximum value: 1.8 / 50k = 36 µa
– Minimum value: 1.4 / 50k = 28 µa
BME 372 Electronics I – 241
J.Schesser
 BJT AC Analysis Base-Emitter Circuit
39 iB
“load line” for minimum input voltage
34  amps
29

24
“load line” for maximum input voltage
19
IBQ =
14
20μA
9

4 VBEQ = 0.6 V
-1
-0. -0. -0. 0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8
3 2 1

v BE volts
From this graph, we find:
At Maximum Input Voltage: VBE = 0.63 V, iB = 24μa
At Minimum Input Voltage: VBE = 0.59 V, iB = 15μa
Recall: At Q-point: VBE = 0.6 V, iB = 20μa
Note the asymmetry around the Q-point of the Max and Min Values for the base current and
voltage which is due to the non-linearity of the base-emitter characteristics
ΔiBmax=24-20=4μa; ΔiBmin=20-15=5μa
BME 372 Electronics I – 242
J.Schesser
 BJT AC Analysis Base-Emitter Circuit
39 iB
“load line” for minimum input voltage
34  amps
29

24
“load line” for maximum input voltage
19
IBQ =
20A
14

4 VBEQ = 0.6 V
-1
-0. -0. -0. 0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8
3 2 1

v BE volts
2 0.00004
1.8 0.000035
1.6
0.00003
1.4
1.2 0.000025
vin
1 0.00002
0.8 ib
0.000015
0.6
0.00001
0.4
0.2 0.000005
0 0
0 10 20 30

BME 372 Electronics I – 243

J.Schesser
 BJT Characteristics-Collector Circuit
7.E-03
i C amps
6.E-03
iB=50 μa

5.E-03 40 μa

4.E-03 30 μa

3.E-03 24 μa
I CQ  2.5 ma Q POINT 20 μa
2.E-03 15 μa
10 μa
1.E-03
VCEQ = 5.9 V
0 μa
0.E+00
0 2 4 6 8 10

v CE volts
Using these maximum and minimum values for the base current on the collect circuit load line, we find:
At Maximum Input Voltage: VCE = 5 V, iC = 2.7ma
At Minimum Input Voltage: VCE = 7 V, iC = 1.9ma
Recall: At Q-point: VCE = 5.9 V, iC = 2.5ma
Note that in addition to the asymmetry around the Q-point there is an inversion between the input voltage and
the collector to emitter voltage
BME 372 Electronics I – 244
J.Schesser
 BJT Characteristics-Collector Circuit
7.E-03
i C amps
6.E-03
iB=50 μa

5.E-03 40 μa

4.E-03 30 μa

3.E-03 24 μa
I CQ  2.5 ma Q POINT 20 μa
2.E-03 15 μa
10 μa
1.E-03
VCEQ = 5.9 V
0 μa
0.E+00
0 2 4 6 8 10

v CE volts
0.025 0.00004
4 8
0.000035
0.02 3.5 7
0.00003
3 6
0.015 0.000025
ic 2.5 5
0.00002 vin
ib 2 4
0.01 0.000015 vce
1.5 3
0.00001
0.005 1 2
0.000005
0.5 1
0 0
0 0
0 10 20 30
0 10 20 30

BME 372 Electronics I – 245

J.Schesser
 BJT AC Analysis
Amplifier Gains
• From the values calculated from the base and collector
circuits we can calculate the amplifier gains:
– β = 125
– Current gain = Δic / Δib = (2.7 – 1.9) m / (24 -15) μ
= 0.8/9 ✕ 103 = 88.9
– Voltage gain = Vo / Vi = ΔVCE / ΔVBE
= (5 – 7) / (.63 - .59) = -2/0.04 = - 50
– Voltage gain = Vo / Vs = ΔVCE / ΔVin
= (5 – 7) / .4 = -2 / .4 = - 5

BME 372 Electronics I – 246

J.Schesser
 BJT AC Analysis Summary

• Once we complete DC analysis, we analyze the

circuit from an AC point of view.
• AC analysis can be performed via a graphical
processes
– Find the maximum and minimum values of the input
parameters (e.g., base current for a BJT)
– Use the transistor characteristics to calculate the output
parameters (e.g., collector current for a BJT).
• Calculate the gains for the amplifier

BME 372 Electronics I – 247

J.Schesser
 BJT Characteristics - Distortion
7.E-03
i C amps
iB=50 μa
6.E-03

5.E-03 40 μa

4.E-03 30 μa
24 μa
I CQ  2.5 ma
3.E-03 Q POINT
20 μa
2.E-03
15 μa
10 μa
1.E-03
VCEQ = 5.9 V
0 μa
0.E+00
0 2 4 6 8 10

v CE volts

Note that even though the input This is due to the non-
(base current) is symmetrical linear spacing of the
about its Q-point, the output characteristic curves
voltage is uneven. and leads to signal
BME 372 Electronics I –
distortion
248
J.Schesser
 The pnp Transistor

• Basically, the pnp transistor is similar to the npn

except the parameters have the opposite sign.
– The collector and base currents flows out of the
transistor; while the emitter current flows into the
transistor
– The base-emitter and collector-emitter voltages are
negative
• Otherwise the analysis is identical to the npn

BME 372 Electronics I – 249

J.Schesser
 PNP Bipolar Junction Transistors
• Two junctions
– Collector-Base and Emitter-Base
• Biasing
– vBE Forward Biased
Collector
– vCB Reverse Biased
Collector
C
o
iC
iB - RC 2k
p-type RB
B o vCE -
- + 10V VCC
n-type Base Vin + 50k
+
vBE +
-

Base iE 1.6V
o - +
p-type E
Emitter
pnp
Emitter BME 372 Electronics I – 250
J.Schesser
 Homework

• Probs. 4.4, 4.5, 4.8, 4.10, 4.14, 4.15, 4.19,

4.20, 4.21, 4.22,

BME 372 Electronics I – 251

J.Schesser