MIT School of Computing

Department of Computer Science & Engineering

First Year Engineering

23CSE1004 – Electrical and Electronics Engineering.

Class - F.Y. PLD

(SEM-I)

Unit – III
DIODES AND DIODE CIRCUITS

AY 2024-2025
SEM-I
Dr. Pallavi Asthana
Dr. Sachin Tiwari
Unit III [CO3]

Main Topic1: PN Junction diode: characteristic and analysis,

Types of diodes – Zener diodes, Photodiodes, Light emitting
diodes (LED’s)

Main Topic-2: Rectifiers: Half wave, Full wave and Bridge

rectifier circuits and their analysis

Main Topic-3: BJT, types, construction, configurations and

characteristics
Prerequisite:
The Students should know Mathematics, Physics, and the fundamentals of
semiconductor physics.

Text Book:
▪ Robert L. Boylestad, Louis Nashelsky “Electronic Devices and Circuit Theory”,
Pearson Publication (11th Edition)
Reference Book
• V.K.Mehta and Rohit Mehta, “Principles of Electronics”, S.Chand Publication
• Kenneth Smith, Adel Sedra, “Microelectronic circuits”(5th edition ), Oxford
University Press, NewYork 2004
 Contents

• Insulators, Conductors and Semi-conductors

• PN Junction diode: characteristic and analysis
• Types of diodes – Zener diodes
• Photodiodes
• Light emitting diodes (LED’s)
• Rectifiers: Half wave and Full wave
• Rectifiers: Bridge rectifier circuits and their analysis
• BJT: Types and Construction
• BJT: Configurations and Characteristics
Insulators, Conductors and Semi-conductors

Insulators: An insulator is a material that does not conduct electrical

current under normal conditions. Most good insulators are compounds
rather than single-element materials and have very high resistivity.
Valence electrons are tightly bound to the atoms; therefore, there are
very few free electrons in an insulator. Examples of insulators are
rubber, plastics, glass, mica, and quartz.

Conductors: A conductor is a material that easily conducts electrical

current. Most metals are good conductors. The best conductors are single-
element materials, such as copper (Cu), silver (Ag), gold (Au), and
aluminum (Al), which are characterized by atoms with only one valence
electron very loosely bound to the atom. These loosely bound valence
electrons become free electrons. Therefore, in a conductive material, the
free electrons are valence electrons.

5
Semiconductors: A semiconductor is a material that is between
conductors and insulators in its ability to conduct electrical current. A
semiconductor in its pure (intrinsic) state is neither a good conductor
nor a good insulator. Single-element semiconductors are silicon (Si) and
germanium (Ge). Compound semiconductors such as gallium arsenide
and indium phosphide are also commonly used. The single-element
semiconductors are characterized by atoms with four valence electrons.
• For insulators, the energy gap is huge and can be crossed only when a breakdown
condition occurs - as when a very high voltage is applied across the material.

• In semiconductors the energy band gap is smaller, allowing an electron in the

valence band to jump into the conduction band if it absorbs energy.

• In conductors, the conduction band and valence band overlap, so there is no gap,
as shown in Figure. This means that electrons in the valence band move freely
into the conduction band, so there are always electrons available as free electrons.
5
Introduction to Semiconductor Physics

PARAMETER CONDUCTOR SEMI CONDUCTOR INSULATOR

No. of valance 3 or less than 3 4 5 or more

electrons than 5
conductivity high medium negligible

Semi Conductor Types

Intrinsic Extrinsic

P type N type
8
 Semi-conductor Type

Intrinsic Extrinsic
Semi- Dopping Semi-
Conductor Conductor

Intrinsic P Type
Semi- Trivalent
Semi-
Conductor Impurity
Conductor

Intrinsic N Type
Pentavalent
Semi-
Conductor Impurity Semi-
Conductor

9
 N-Type Semi-conductor

Pentavalent (Donor) impurity atom in a silicon crystal structure. An

antimony (Sb) impurity atom is shown in the center. The extra electron from
the Sb atom becomes a free electron.

10
• To increase the number of conduction-band electrons in intrinsic silicon,
pentavalent impurity atoms are added.
• These are atoms with five valence electrons such as arsenic (As),
phosphorus (P), bismuth (Bi), and antimony (Sb).
• As illustrated in Figure, each pentavalent atom (antimony (Sb), in this
case) forms covalent bonds with four adjacent silicon atoms.
• Four of the antimony atom’s valence electrons are used to form the
covalent bonds with silicon atoms, leaving one extra electron.
• This extra electron becomes a conduction electron because it is not
involved in bonding.
• Because the pentavalent atom gives up an electron, it is often called a
donor atom.
• The number of conduction electrons can be carefully controlled by
the number of impurity atoms added to the silicon.

11
 P-Type Semi-conductor

Trivalent (Acceptor) impurity atom in a silicon crystal structure. A boron (B)

impurity atom is shown in the center.

12
• To increase the number of holes in intrinsic silicon, trivalent impurity
atoms are added.
• These are atoms with three valence electrons such as boron (B),
indium (In), and gallium (Ga).
• As illustrated in Figure, each trivalent atom (boron, in this case)
forms covalent bonds with four adjacent silicon atoms.
• All three valence electrons of Boron are used in the covalent bonds;
and, since four electrons are required, a hole is created when each
trivalent atom is added.
• Because the trivalent atom can take an electron, it is often
referred to as an acceptor atom.
• The number of holes can be carefully controlled by the number of
trivalent impurity atoms added to the silicon

11
P-N Junction (Diode) and Formation of
Depletion Region

P-N junction Diode:

• The P-N junction diode is created by
simply by joining a p-type and n-type
material together.
• The p region has many holes (majority
carriers) from the impurity atoms and
only a few thermally generated free
electrons (minority carriers).
Fig. 1 The basic silicon structure at the
• The n region has many free electrons instant of junction formation shows the
(majority carriers) from the impurity atoms majority and minority carriers.
and only a few thermally generated holes
(minority carriers).

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P-N Junction (Diode) and Formation of
Depletion Region
Formation of the Depletion Region & Barrier
Potential:
• For every electron that diffuses across the
junction and combines with a hole, a positive
charge is left in the n region and a negative
charge is created in the p region, forming a
barrier potential.
• This action continues until the
voltage of the barrier repels further
diffusion.
Fig. 2 Formation of Depletion Region
• In Fig. 2, positive and negative charges in the
depletion region represent the electric field
(Barrier Potential).
• For Silicon (Si) barrier potential is 0.7V and for
Germanium (Ge) it is 0.3V

15
 Forward biased Diode Working

Fig. 3 A diode connected in forward bias Fig. 4 A forward-biased diode

• Forward bias is the condition that allows current through the p-n junction.
• Current flows through the diode when VBIAS is greater than the barrier
potential.
• Because like charges repel, the negative side of the bias-voltage source “pushes”
the free electrons (majority carriers) in the n region, toward the p-n junction. This
flow of free electrons is called electron current. (Fig. 4)
• Since unlike charges attract, the positive side of the bias-voltage source
attracts the valence electrons toward the left end of the p region.
• The holes in the p region provide the medium or “pathway” for these valence
electrons to move through the p region. 16
V-I Characteristics of Diode

• When a forward-bias voltage is applied across a

diode, there is current. This current is called
the forward current and is designated as 𝐼𝐹 and
the voltage across the diode is forward
voltage 𝑉𝐹

• As forward-bias voltage is increased from 0 V

gradually, the forward current and the voltage
across the diode gradually increase as shown in
Fig.

• When forward-bias voltage equals barrier

potential (0.7V), the forward current begins to
increase rapidly but the voltage across the diode
increases only gradually above 0.7 V as
illustrated in Figure.
17
 Reverse biased Diode Working

Fig. 5 A diode connected in reverse bias Fig. 6 Reverse bias depletion region width

• As the positive side of VBIAS is connected to the n region of the diode and the
negative side is connected to the p region, the diode is reverse-biased.
• In Reverse bias condition ideally no current flows through the diode.
• The positive side of the bias-voltage source “pulls” the free electrons (majority
carriers) in the n region creating additional negative ions. This results in a
widening of the depletion region.
• As the depletion region widens, the availability of majority carriers decreases and
there is no current through the diode except reverse saturation current due to
thermally generated minority carriers 18
V-I Characteristics of Diode in Reverse bias

• When reverse-bias voltage is applied

across a diode, there is only an
extremely small reverse saturation
current (𝐼𝑅 ) through the p-n junction.

• As you gradually increase the reverse-bias

voltage, there is a very small reverse
current and the voltage across the diode
increases as shown in the figure.

• When the applied bias voltage is

increased to a value where the reverse
voltage across the diode (𝑉𝑅) reaches the
breakdown value (𝑉𝐵𝑅), the reverse
current begins to increase rapidly but the
reverse voltage remains constant.
19
Combined Voltage Current (V-I) Characteristic of
diode

20
 Diode as a Switch
(a) Forward biased diode (b) Closed Switch

Figure 1: Diode acts as a closed switch when it is forward biased

(a) Reverse biased diode (b) Open Switch

Figure 1: Diode acts as a open switch when it is reverse biased

 Closed Switch:
• As positive terminal of the source is connected to anode and
terminal is connected to the cathode the diode is forward biased as s
Fig1(a)
• As diode is forward biased forward current 𝐼𝐹 flows through the c
and forward voltage drop is 𝑉𝐹 due to barrier potential.
• As diode conducts current it acts as closed switch in forward bias as
Fig1(b)
Open Switch:
• As negative terminal of the source is connected to anode and p
terminal is connected to the cathode the diode is reverse biased as sh
Fig2(a)
• As diode is reverse biased there is no current except very small
saturation current 𝐼𝑅 through the circuit and whole source voltage
across diode.
• As diode does not conduct current it acts as open switch in reverse
Ideal diode V-I Characteristics
• When the diode is forward-
biased, it ideally acts like a
closed (on) switch.
• Forward current increases
rapidly and ideally voltage drop
across the diode is zero.
• When the diode is reverse-
biased, it
ideally acts like an open (off)
switch.
• Reverse voltage is equal to bias
voltage and reverse saturation
current is neglected ideally,
hence current is zero.
23
 Diode as Rectifier

Rectifier converts AC to pulsating DC

Rectifier

FWR FWR
HWR
Centre- Bridge
Tapped

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24
 Half Wave Rectifier (HWR)

• Half wave rectifier circuit is a rectifier

circuit that delivers power to the load
during only one-half cycle (either
positive or negative) of AC supply
voltage. In the figures, Vm is the
Fig. 7 Half Wave Rectifier Circuit maximum value of input voltage and
Vdc is the output DC Voltage.

Fig. 8 HWR operation in

positive half cycle

Fig. 9 HWR operation in

negative half cycle

25
 Working of HWR :

• During the interval t = 0 to t= T/2 the polarity of the applied

voltage vi is such as to establish “pressure” in the direction
indicated and turn on the diode with the polarity appearing
above the diode.
• Substituting the short-circuit equivalence for the ideal diode
where it is fairly obvious that the output signal is an exact
replica of the applied signal.
• The two terminals defining the output voltage are connected
directly to the applied signal via the short-circuit equivalence Fig. 10 Output waveforms
for HWR
of the diode.
• For the period t=T/2 to T, the polarity of the input vi is opposite
of the previous one, and the resulting in polarity across the
ideal diode producing an “off” state with an open-circuit
26
equivalent.
 Full Wave Bridge Rectifier

Fig. 11 Bridge (Full Wave) Rectifier Circuit

Fig. 12 Input and output waveform

of (Full Wave) Rectifier Circuit

9/23/2019 27
 Working of Bridge Rectifier

Fig. 13 Bridge (FWR) operation

in positive half cycle

Fig. 14: Bridge

(FWR) operation in
a negative half cycle

28
Working of Bridge rectifier
• The DC level obtained from a sinusoidal input can be improved 100% using
a process called full-wave rectification .
• The most familiar network for performing such a function appears with its
four diodes in a bridge configuration.
• During the period t =0 to T/2 the polarity of the input is as shown in Figure.
The resulting polarities across the ideal diodes are also shown to reveal that
D2 and D3 are conducting, whereas D1 and D4 are in the “off” state.
• The net result is the configuration of circuit, with its indicated current and
polarity across R . Since the diodes are ideal, the load voltage is v o = vi.
• For the negative region t = T/2 to T of the input the conducting diodes are D1 and D4,
resulting in the second positive half output.
• Over one full cycle the input and output voltages will appear across the load
29
resistance R.
Center Tapped –Full Wave Rectifier

Fig. 15: Center tapped Full Wave Rectifier

Circuit

Fig. 16 Center tapped FWR operation

in the positive half cycle

Fig. 17 Center tapped FWR operation

in the negative half cycle

30
Working
• A second popular full-wave rectifier appears in Fig. 15 with only two diodes but
requires a center-tapped (CT) transformer to establish the input signal across
each section of the secondary winding of the transformer.
• During the positive portion of vi applied to the primary of the transformer, the
network will appear as shown in Fig. 16 with a positive pulse across each
section of the secondary coil.
• D1 assumes the short-circuit equivalent and D2 the open-circuit equivalent, as
determined by the secondary voltages and the resulting current directions. The
output voltage appears as shown in Fig. 16.
• During the negative portion of the input the network appears as shown in Fig.
17, reversing the roles of the diodes but maintaining the same polarity for the
voltage across the load resistor R.
31
• The net effect is the same output as that appearing with the same dc levels.
• PIV (Peak Inverse Voltage): The maximum reverse-bias potential that can be
applied before entering the breakdown region is called the peak inverse voltage
(referred to simply as the PIV rating) or the peak reverse voltage (denoted the
PRV rating).
For the Half-wave rectifier, PIV= 𝑽𝒎 and the Full-wave rectifier, PIV= 2 𝑽𝒎

• Efficiency of the rectifier: The efficiency of the rectifier is defined as the ratio
of DC output power to input power. Also, it can be given as
𝟐
𝜼= ( 𝑽 𝒅𝒄 / 𝑽 𝒓𝒎𝒔 )

• Ripple factor (RF): It is a measure of the ripple content in the load voltage or
current. RF is defined as the ratio of the effective value of the alternating
components of the rectified voltage (Vac) or current to the average value (Vdc)

32
 Comparison of HWR and FWR

Peak Inverse Voltage 𝑽 𝟐𝑽 𝑽

𝒎 𝒎
𝒎
𝑽𝒎 𝑽𝒎 𝑽𝒎
AC output � � �
� � �
33
 Numericals

Q 1. The applied input a.c. power to a half-wave rectifier is 100 watts. The d.c. output
power obtained is 40 watts. What is the rectification efficiency?
Solution:

Q 2. . In the bridge-type circuit shown in Fig, the diodes are assumed to be ideal. Find : (i)
d.c. output voltage (ii) peak inverse voltage Assume primary to secondary turns to be 4.
Solution:

45
Numericals

Q 3. Figure show the bridge type circuits having the same load resistance and
transformer turn ratio. The primary of each is connected to a 230 V, 50 Hz supply. (i)
Find the d.c. voltage in each case. (ii) PIV for each case for the same d.c. output. Assume
the diodes to be ideal.
Solution:
\

45
 Zener Diode

Zener diode is the heavily doped p-n junction diode. The p-n junction of the
Zener diode is heavily doped to get a narrow depletion region. The narrow
depletion region allows the ions to gain energy from the external source
quickly. In the reverse bias, the junction potential of the Zener diode is
increased. It results in an increased current through the Zener diode.

The symbol of the Zener diode is shown below:

The Zener diode's advantages include voltage protection, low cost, voltage
shift, better performance, and operation at high voltages. Hence, the Zener
diode is preferred for applications, such as waveform clippers, voltage
regulators, etc.

45
 Zener diode symbol, biasing and V-I characteristics

•Forward biased zener diode behaves

identical to a forward biased p-n junction
diode
•Zener diode in reverse biased condition is
used as voltage regulator
It is a reverse-biased heavily doped Si or Ge P-N junction d
is always reverse biased and operates in breakdown region

• Forward characteristics of zener diode is

almost identical to a forward biased p-n
junction diode
• As we increase reverse voltage, initially a
small reverse saturation current 𝐼0 in 𝜇 𝐴 will
flow
• At a certain value of reverse voltage, the
reverse current will increase suddenly and
sharply and breakdown occurs.
• This breakdown voltage is called zener
voltage.
• After breakdown, the voltage across diode
remains constant equal to Vz till Iz is Izmin and
Izmax 35
V-I characteristics of a Zener diode

The above diagram shows the V-I characteristics of a Zener diode.

• When the diode is connected in forward bias, this diode acts as a normal
diode but when the reverse bias voltage is greater than the zener voltage, a
sharp breakdown takes place.
• In the V-I characteristics above is the zener voltage. It is also the knee
voltage because at this point the current increases very rapidly.
• Zener diode in the reverse biased condition is used as a voltage regulator.
45
Light Emitting Diode

LED or Light Emitting Diode is a light source device. It releases light when
current passes through it. The LED concept is based on a semiconductor device
where holes and electrons recombine to produce energy in the form of photons.
The symbol of the LED is shown below:

Working:

When sufficient forward voltage is applied to the p-n junction diode, the
majority carries enough energy to move through the neutral region. These
electrons recombine with other majority carriers holes. The recombination
seems like a particle occupying a high-energy state to a low-energy state. Thus,
it produces electromagnetic radiation.

45
 Construction and Working of Light Emitting
Diode
Figure 1:LED Symbol and Forward biasing of LED
LED is p-n junction diode which emits light
when it is forward biased as shown in figure 1.

Figure 2: Construction of LED

• LEDs are made up of Gallium Arsenide
(GaAS), Gallium Phosphide (GaP) as they
are good at emitting light
• Three semiconductor layers deposited
on substrate.
• Active region exists between p & n
regions and emits light in all directions

Figure 3: Cup like structure of LED

By placing a small reflective cup like structure inside

basic structure the light can be focused in desired
direction.

9/24/201 42
9
 Figure 4: Working Principle of LED
• When LED is forward biased, the
electrons in the n-region will cross the
junction and recombine with the holes
in the p-type material.
• Recombining electrons give away
energy in the form of light when they
cross energy gap
• This process is called
electroluminescence. In this way LED
emits light.
Figure 5: O/P characteristics of LED

• O/P characteristics of an LED is graph

of forward current vs light
• It shows that the light o/p has linear
Relationship with the forward LED
current

9/24/2019 41
Each time an electron recombines with a hole, electrostatic potential energy
converts into electromagnetic energy. The released energy is in the form of
photons, as shown below:

Here, forward bias voltage plays an important role. The electrostatic energy
applied to electrons and holes should be of the energy gap to produce the
desired radiation.
Most of the light-emitting diodes operate at low voltages ranging from 1V
to 4V. It draws a current between 10mA to 40mA.

45
 Photodiodes
• Photo diode is a p-n junction diode that produces current proportional to
the intensity of light incident on it. Photodiode is operated in reverse bias
as reverse bias in the absence of light very small current flows called dark
current.

• The reverse saturation current in the photodiode flows due to the minority
carriers in the reverse bias. The depletion width in the case of reverse bias
is large.

• The circuit of the p-n junction photodiode is shown below:

45
• Photo diode is a p-n junction diode which produces current proportion
the
intensity of light incident on it. Photo diode is operated in reverse bias
reverse bias in absence of light very small current flows called dark curr
• A photo diode is always operated in reverse bias therefore its depleti
region is quite wide. Construction, symbol and working is as shown
Figure1.
• The photons incident on the depletion region will impart their energy t
ions present there and generate electron hole pairs.
• These electrons and holes are attracted towards the positive and
negative terminals of the external source respectively to constitute
photo current.
• If no light is incident on photodiode still a small current due to therm
generated minority carriers flows through it called dark current as show
waveform Figure2 (a) 45
• A photon with energy higher than the bandgap energy is absorbed in the
material. It transfers some of its energy to other electrons present in the
upper part of the valence band. Such electrons that receive energy are
excited to the conduction band.

• Hence, an electron-hole pair is generated in the depletion region. The

applied depletion field separates these electron-hole pairs to execute the
reverse current.

Applications
The applications of p-n junction photodiode are listed below:
• Smoke detectors
• Medical devices

45
 Bipolar Junction Transistor (BJT)
• Transistor has 3 terminals - collector, base, and emitter.

• There are two types of BJTs – NPN and PNP transistors.

• Base is a thin and lightly doped layer whereas collector and

emitter are much wider than base and heavily doped.

• The transistor has two p-n junctions namely BE (base to

emitter) junction and CB (collector to base) junction.

• Construction and symbols are shown in Fig.(a) and Fig.(b)

respectively. The arrow is placed on the emitter terminal
and the arrow direction indicates the direction of
conventional current flow i.e. from p to n.

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Symbolic Representation
BJT Configuration
Operation of NPN transistor
( Active Region)
• The basic operation of the transistor will now be described using the NPN
transistor.
• The operation of the PNP transistor is exactly the same if the roles played
by the electron and Hole are interchanged.
• The emitter-base junction is forward-biased
• Collector base junction is kept reverse biased

Operation Of NPN Transistor

Forward bias
• The forward bias at the BE junction reduces the barrier potential and causes the
electrons to flow from the N-type emitter to the P-type base.
• These electrons recombine with holes and flow out of the base terminal. As the
base region is very thin and lightly doped, very few holes are available in the base
region for recombination.
• The emitter current is equal to the sum of collector and base currents.
𝐼 𝐸 = 𝐼𝐶 + 𝐼𝐵
• As 𝐼𝐵 is very small compared to 𝐼𝐶 we can assume collector current to
be nearly equal to the emitter current.
𝐼𝐸 𝐼 𝐼𝐶
Reverse bias
• The reverse bias at the CE junction increases the barrier potential and apposes
the flow of the majority charge carrier i.e electrons from the N-type collector
to the P-type base and resulting in only a minority-carrier (holes)
flow.
• The minority-current component is called the leakage current
and is given the symbol (Collector current with emitter
terminal open).𝑰The 𝒄𝒐 = 𝑰 𝑪𝒎𝒂𝒋𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒚
collector current, + 𝑰 𝑪𝑶 𝐦𝐢𝐧
therefore, is determined
𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒚
in total by

• For general-purpose transistors is measured in milliamperes

and is measured in microamperes or nanoamperes.
Transistor Biasing and Regions of
Operation
Sr. No. Region of operation Base Emitter Collector Application
junction Base
junction

1 Cut-off Region Reverse Bias Reverse Bias Open Switch

2 Forward Active Forward Reverse Bias Amplifier

Region Bias

3 Saturation Region Forward Forward Closed

Bias Bias Switch
 Transistor as an amplifier
Common Base (CB) amplifier
• The common-base terminology is derived from the fact
that the base is common to both the input and output
sides of the configuration.
• In addition, the base is usually the terminal closest to,
or at, ground potential.
• In the active region the base-emitter junction is
forward-biased, whereas the collector-base junction is
reverse-biased.
Fig. 18 CB amplifier
• In the cutoff region the base-emitter and collector–base Circuit using PNP
junctions of a transistor are both reverse-biased. transistor
 Common Emitter (CE) amplifier
• The most frequently encountered transistor
configuration appears in Fig. 19 for the pnp
transistor.

• It is called the common-emitter configuration because

the emitter is common to both the input and output
terminals (in this case common to both the base and
collector terminals).

• Two sets of characteristics are again necessary to

describe fully the behavior of the common-emitter
configuration: one for the input or base–emitter
circuit and one for the output or collector–emitter
circuit.
Fig. 19 CE amplifier
Circuit using PNP
transistor
 𝛽=
• Current Gain 𝛽of CE configuration is defined as the ratio of output current 𝐼 𝐶 to its

𝐼
input current 𝐼𝐵.
𝐼 𝐶
Input Characteristics (Fig. 20): 𝐵

• Input characteristics is graph of input current 𝐼𝐵 versus input voltage 𝑉𝐵𝐸 at a

constant output voltage 𝑉𝐶𝐸
• Input characteristics is similar to forward characteristics of p-n junction diode as
BE junction is forward biased. At constant 𝑉𝐵𝐸, 𝐼𝐵 decreases as 𝑉𝐶𝐸 increases.

Fig. 20 Input Characteristics

 Output Characteristics

• Output characteristics is the graph of output current 𝐼𝐶 versus output voltage 𝑉𝐶𝐸
for various values of input current 𝐼𝐵.

Fig. 21 Output Characteristics

• There are three regions of operation namely cutoff region, active region and
saturation region
1. Cut-off Region: Both BE and CB junctions are reverse-biased to operate the transistor
in the cut-off region. The base current 𝐼𝐵 = 0 and the collector current is equal to reverse
leakage current 𝐼𝐶𝐸𝑂. The region below 𝐼𝐵 = 0 is a cutoff region.
2. Active Region: BE junction is forward biased and CB junction is reverse-biased to
operate transistor in active region. At a constant value of 𝐼𝐵, 𝐼𝐶 increases slightly with
increase in voltage 𝑉𝐶𝐸. However, 𝐼𝐶 is largely dependent on 𝐼𝐵 since 𝐼𝐶 increases
rapidly with an increase in 𝐼𝐵.
3. Saturation Region: Both BE and CB junctions are forward-biased to operate
transistors in the saturation region. The CB junction can be forward-biased if and only if
𝑉𝐶𝐸 drops down to 0.2 V because then 𝑉𝐵𝐸 = 0.7𝑉 will forward bias the CB
junction. 𝐼𝐶 increases rapidly with an increase in 𝑉𝐶𝐸 anis d independent of 𝐼𝐵.
Therefore in the saturation region transistor is considered to be a resistor of very
Small value (almost closed switch).
4. Breakdown Region: As CB junction is reverse biased if 𝑉𝐶𝐸 exceeds the maximum
limit CB junction will break down due to excessive current flow and the transistor may
be damage.
 Common Collector (CC) amplifier

• The common-collector configuration is used

primarily for impedance-matching purposes since
it has a high input impedance and low output
impedance, opposite to that of the common-base
and common emitter configurations.

• It is called the common-emitter

configuration because the emitter is
common to both the input and output
Fig. 22 CE amplifier Circuit
terminals (in this case common to both the using PNP transistor

base and collector terminals).

 Application of Transistor as a Switch
• The transistor can also be employed as a switch using the same
extremities of the load line.
• At saturation, the current IC is quite high and the voltage VCE
very low.

Fig. 23 Transistor as open Switch in Cutoff Region

Fig. 24 Transistor as closed Switch in Saturation Region

• Open Switch (Cut-off Region):
– Both BE and CB junctions are reverse biased to operate transistor as
open switch in cut-off region.
– The base current 𝐼𝐵 = 0 and the collector current is equal to reverse
leakage current 𝐼𝐶𝐸𝑂. The region below 𝐼𝐵 = 0 is cutoff region.
– The voltage drop across transistor is 𝑉𝐶𝐸 is almost equal to 𝑉𝐶𝐶

• Closed Switch (Saturation Region):

– Both BE and CB junctions are forward biased to operate transistor as
closed switch in saturation region.
– The CB junction can be forward biased if and only if 𝑉𝐶𝐸 drops down to
0.2 V because then 𝑉𝐵𝐸 = 0.7𝑉 will forward bias the CB junction.
– 𝐼𝐶 increases rapidly with increase in 𝑉𝐶𝐸 and independent of 𝐼𝐵. Therefore in
saturation region transistor is considered to be a resistor of very small value
(almost closed switch).
– As transistor acts as closed switch 𝐼𝐶 = 𝐼𝐶(𝑠𝑎𝑡) and 𝑉𝐶𝐸 = 0
Comparative analysis of CB, CE and CC configuration

Characteristics CB CE CC
Common Terminal for Base Terminal Emitter Terminal Collector Terminal
Input and Output
Input voltage applied Emitter and Base Base and Emitter Base and Collector
between terminal Terminal Terminal
Output Voltage taken Collector and Base Collector and Emitter Emitter and Collector
across Terminal Terminal Terminal
Input Impedance Very Low(only 50 to 500 Medium(500 to 5000 Very high(200 to 750
ohm) ohm) kilo ohm)
Output Impedance Very High(1 to 10 Mega Medium(50 to 500 kilo Very Low( up to 50 ohm)
Ohm) ohm)
Characteristics CB CE CC

Input Current Emitter Current or IE Base Current or IB Base Current or IB

Output Current Collector Current or IC Collector Current or IC Emitter Current or IE

Output Signal Phase Same phase with input 180 degree out of phase Same phase with input

Always less than Unity High High

Current Gain α = IC/IE β = IC/IB γ = IE/IB

Voltage Gain Moderate Moderate Low

Application High Frequency Circuits RF Signal Processing Switching Circuits

 References
▪ Robert L. Boylestad, Louis Nashelsky “Electronic Devices
and Circuit Theory”, Pearson Publication (11th Edition).

▪ Floyd, Thomas L. Electronic devices: electron flow

version / Thomas L. Floyd.— 9th edition, ISBN-13: 978-0-
13-254985-1.

▪ NPTEL: Digital Integrated Circuits, IIT Madras by Prof.

Amitava Dasgupta

▪ NPTEL: Basic Electronics, IIT Bombay by Prof. M.B.Patil.

Thank You

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