Electronic Devices and Circuit Theory

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Bipolar Junction Transistors

Chapter 3
 • A diode is a two-terminal
electronic component that
conducts electricity primarily in
one direction. It has high
resistance on one end and low
resistance on the other end.

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 • A bipolar junction transistor is a
three-terminal semiconductor
device that consists of two p-n
junctions which are able to
amplify or magnify a signal. It is a
current controlled device.

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 Ch.3 Summary

Transistor Construction
There are two types of pnp
transistors:

pnp and npn

The terminals are labeled:

E - Emitter npn
B - Base
C - Collector

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Electronic Devices and Circuit Theory © 2013 by Pearson Higher Education, Inc
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 • PNP BJT
• In PNP BJT, the n-type semiconductor is
sandwiched between the two p-type
semiconductors. The two p-type semiconductors act
as emitter and collector respectively while the n-type
semiconductor acts as a base. This is shown in the
figure below.
• The current enters the transistor through the emitter
such that the emitter-base junction is forward biased
and the collector-base junction is reverse biased.

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 • NPN BJT
• In NPN BJT, p-type semiconductor is sandwiched
between the two n-type semiconductors. The two n-
type semiconductors act as emitter and collector
respectively while the p-type semiconductor acts as
a base. This is shown in the figure below.
• Current entering the emitter, base, and collector has
the sign convention of positive while the current that
leaves the transistor has the sign convention of
negative.

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Electronic Devices and Circuit Theory © 2013 by Pearson Higher Education, Inc
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 Ch.3 Summary

Transistor Operation
With the external sources, VEE and VCC, connected as
shown:

The emitter-base
junction is forward
biased

The base-collector
junction is reverse
biased

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 Ch.3 Summary

Currents in a Transistor
Emitter current is the sum of the
collector and base currents:

I =I +I
E C B

The collector current is comprised of

two currents:
I =I +I
C C (majority) CO (minority)

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 Ch.3 Summary

Common-Base Configuration

The base is common to both input (emitter–base) junction

and output (collector–base) junction of the transistor.
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 Ch.3 Summary

Common-Base Amplifier

Input Characteristics

This curve shows the

relationship between
of input current (IE) to
input voltage (VBE) for
three output voltage
(VCB) levels.

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 Ch.3 Summary

Common-Base Amplifier
Output Characteristics

This graph
demonstrates
the output
current (IC) to
an output
voltage (VCB)
for various
levels of input
current (IE).

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 Ch.3 Summary

Operating Regions
Active
Operating range of the amplifier.

Cutoff
The amplifier is basically off. There is
voltage, but little current.
Saturation
The amplifier is fully on. There is current,
but little voltage.

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 Ch.3 Summary

Approximations

Emitter and collector currents:

IC  IE

Base-emitter voltage:

VBE = 0.7 V (for Silicon)

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 Ch.3 Summary

Alpha ()
Alpha () is the ratio of IC to IE :

IC
α dc =
IE
Ideally: =1
In reality:  falls somewhere between
0.9 and 0.998

Alpha () in the AC mode:

ΔIC
αac =
ΔIE

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 Ch.3 Summary

Transistor Amplifier

V 200 mV
IE = I i = i = = 10 mA
Ri 20Ω
Currents and I I Voltage Gain:
C E
Voltages: I  I = 10 mA
L i VL 50 V
Av = = = 250
V = I R = (10 mA)(5 kΩ ) = 50 V Vi 200 mV
L L

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 Ch.3 Summary

Common-Emitter
Configuration
The emitter is common to
both input (base-emitter)
and output (collector-
emitter) circuits.

The input is applied to the

base and the output is
taken from the collector.

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 Ch.3 Summary

Common-Emitter Characteristics

Collector Characteristics Base Characteristics

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 Ch.3 Summary

Common-Emitter Amplifier Currents

Ideal Currents IE = IC + IB I C =  IE

Actual Currents IC =  IE + ICBO where ICBO = minority

collector current

ICBO is usually so small that it can be ignored, except in high

power transistors and in high temperature environments.

When IB = 0 A the transistor is in ICBO

cutoff, but there is some minority ICEO = IB =0 μA
current flowing called ICEO. 1− α

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 Ch.3 Summary

Beta ()
 represents the amplification factor of a transistor.

IC
In DC mode: βdc =
IB

IC
In AC mode: ac = VCE =constant
IB

ac is sometimes referred to as hfe, a term used in transistor

modeling calculations
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 Ch.3 Summary

Beta ()
Determining  from a Graph

( 3.2 mA − 2.2 mA)

βAC =
( 30 A − 20 A)
1 mA
= V =7.5 V
10 A CE
= 100

2.7 mA
βDC = VCE =7.5 V
25 A
= 108

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 Ch.3 Summary

Beta ()
Relationship between amplification factors  and  :
β α
α= β=
β +1 α −1

Relationship Between Currents:

IC = βIB IE = (β + 1)IB

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 Ch.3 Summary

Common-Collector Configuration

The input is on the

base and the
output is on the
emitter.

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 Ch.3 Summary

Common-Collector Configuration

The characteristics
are similar to those
of the common-
emitter amplifier,
except the vertical
axis is IE.

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 Ch.3 Summary

Operating Limits
VCE is maximum and IC is
minimum in the cutoff
region.
IC(max) = ICEO

IC is maximum and VCE is

minimum in the saturation
region.

VCE(max) = VCE(sat ) = VCEO

The transistor operates in the active region between saturation and cutoff.
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 Ch.3 Summary

Power Dissipation
Common-base:
PCmax = VCBIC

Common-emitter:
PCmax = VCEIC

Common-collector:
PCmax = VCEIE

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 Ch.3 Summary

Transistor Specification Sheet

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 Ch.3 Summary

Transistor Specification Sheet

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 Ch.3 Summary

Transistor Specification Sheet

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 Ch.3 Summary

Transistor Testing

Curve Tracer Provides a graph of the characteristic curves.

DMM Some DMMs measure DC or hFE.

Ohmmeter:

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 Ch.3 Summary

Transistor Terminal Identification

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 SUMMARY OF BIPOLAR JUNCTION TRANSISTOR

A bipolar junction transistor is a three-

terminal semiconductor device that consists
of two p-n junctions which are able to
amplify or magnify a signal. It is a current
controlled device. The three terminals of the
BJT are the base, the collector, and the
emitter.

Electronic Devices and Circuit Theory © 2013 by Pearson Higher Education, Inc
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Electronic Devices and Circuit Theory © 2013 by Pearson Higher Education, Inc
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 Construction of Bipolar Junction Transistor
BJT is a semiconductor device that is
constructed with 3 doped
semiconductor Regions i.e. Base,
Collector & Emitter separated by 2 p-n
Junctions.
Bipolar transistors are manufactured in
two types, PNP and NPN.
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 Types of Bipolar Junction Transistor
• There are two types of bipolar junction
transistors:

PNP bipolar junction transistor

NPN bipolar junction transistor

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 Configuration of Bipolar Junction Transistors
• Common Emitter Configuration – has both
voltage and current gain
• The common Collector Configuration – has no
voltage gain but has a current gain
• The common base configuration – has no
current gain but has a voltage gain

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Electronic Devices and Circuit Theory © 2013 by Pearson Higher Education, Inc
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 Characteristics of different transistor
configurations are given in the following table:
Characteristics Common Base Common Emitter Common Collector

Power Gain low Very high medium

Current gain low medium high

Voltage gain High Medium low

Phase angle 0 180 0

Output impedance Very high high low

Input Impedance Low medium high

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 Operating regions of BJT are:
• Forward active or active region
• Reverse active or inverted region
• Saturation
• Cut-off

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 • Active Region – the transistor operates as an
amplifier and Ic = β*Ib
• Saturation – the transistor is “Fully-ON”
operating as a switch and Ic = I(saturation)
• Cut-off – the transistor is “Fully-OFF”
operating as a switch and Ic = 0

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 Following are the applications of
Bipolar Junction Transistor:
• It is used as an amplifier
• It is used as an oscillator
• It is used as a demodulator

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 • The Common Base (CB) Configuration
• As its name suggests, in the Common Base or
grounded base configuration,
the BASE connection is common to both the
input signal AND the output signal. The input
signal is applied between the transistors base
and the emitter terminals, while the
corresponding output signal is taken from
between the base and the collector terminals

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 • The Common Emitter (CE) Configuration
• In the Common Emitter or grounded emitter
configuration, the input signal is applied between
the base and the emitter, while the output is
taken from between the collector and the emitter
• This type of configuration is the most commonly
used circuit for transistor based amplifiers and
which represents the “normal” method of bipolar
transistor connection.

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 • The Common Collector (CC) Configuration
• In the Common Collector or grounded collector
configuration, the collector is connected to
ground through the supply, thus the collector
terminal is common to both the input and the
output. The input signal is connected directly to
the base terminal, while the output signal is
taken from across the emitter load resistor

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