Bipolar junction transistors

The bipolar transistor (BJT) was named because its operation involves conduction by two carriers: electrons and holes in the same crystal. The first bipolar transistor was invented at Bell Labs by William Shockley, Walter Brattain, and John Bardeen so late in 1947 that it was not published until 1948. Thus, many texts differ as to the date of invention. Brattain fabricated a germanium point contact transistor, bearing some resemblance to a point contact diode. Within a month, Shockley had a more practical junction transistor, which we describe in following paragraphs. They were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1956 for the transistor.
The bipolar junction transistor shown in Figure below(a) is an NPN three layer semiconductor sandwich with an emitter and collector at the ends, and a base in between. It is as if a third layer were added to a two layer diode. If this were the only requirement, we would have no more than a pair of back-to-back diodes. In fact, it is far easier to build a pair of back-to-back diodes. The key to the fabrication of a bipolar junction transistor is to make the middle layer, the base, as thin as possible without shorting the outside layers, the emitter and collector. We cannot over emphasize the importance of the thin base region.
The device in Figure below(a) has a pair of junctions, emitter to base and base to collector, and two depletion regions.

(a) NPN junction bipolar transistor. (b) Apply reverse bias to collector base junction.
It is customary to reverse bias the base-collector junction of a bipolar junction transistor as shown in (Figure above(b). Note that this increases the width of the depletion region. The reverse bias voltage could be a few volts to tens of volts for most transistors. There is no current flow, except leakage current, in the collector circuit.
In Figure below(a), a voltage source has been added to the emitter base circuit. Normally we forward bias the emitter-base junction, overcoming the 0.6 V potential barrier. This is similar to forward biasing a junction diode. This voltage source needs to exceed 0.6 V for majority carriers (electrons for NPN) to flow from the emitter into the base becoming minority carriers in the P-type semiconductor.
If the base region were thick, as in a pair of back-to-back diodes, all the current entering the base would flow out the base lead. In our NPN transistor example, electrons leaving the emitter for the base would combine with holes in the base, making room for more holes to be created at the (+) battery terminal on the base as electrons exit.
However, the base is manufactured thin. A few majority carriers in the emitter, injected as minority carriers into the base, actually recombine. See Figure below(b). Few electrons injected by the emitter into the base of an NPN transistor fall into holes. Also, few electrons entering the base flow directly through the base to the positive battery terminal. Most of the emitter current of electrons diffuses through the thin base into the collector. Moreover, modulating the small base current produces a larger change in collector current. If the base voltage falls below approximately 0.6 V for a silicon transistor, the large emitter-collector current ceases to flow.

NPN junction bipolar transistor with reverse biased collector-base: (a) Adding forward bias to base-emitter junction, results in (b) a small base current and large emitter and collector currents.
In Figure below we take a closer look at the current amplification mechanism. We have an enlarged view of an NPN junction transistor with emphasis on the thin base region. Though not shown, we assume that external voltage sources 1) forward bias the emitter-base junction, 2) reverse bias the base-collector junction. Electrons, majority carriers, enter the emitter from the (-) battery terminal. The base current flow corresponds to electrons leaving the base terminal for the (+) battery terminal. This is but a small current compared to the emitter current.

Disposition of electrons entering base: (a) Lost due to recombination with base holes. (b) Flows out base lead. (c) Most diffuse from emitter through thin base into base-collector depletion region, and (d) are rapidly swept by the strong depletion region electric field into the collector.
Majority carriers within the N-type emitter are electrons, becoming minority carriers when entering the P-type base. These electrons face four possible fates entering the thin P-type base. A few at Figure above(a) fall into holes in the base that contributes to base current flow to the (+) battery terminal. Not shown, holes in the base may diffuse into the emitter and combine with electrons, contributing to base terminal current. Few at (b) flow on through the base to the (+) battery terminal as if the base were a resistor. Both (a) and (b) contribute to the very small base current flow. Base current is typically 1% of emitter or collector current for small signal transistors. Most of the emitter electrons diffuse right through the thin base (c) into the base-collector depletion region. Note the polarity of the depletion region surrounding the electron at (d). The strong electric field sweeps the electron rapidly into the collector. The strength of the field is proportional to the collector battery voltage. Thus 99% of the emitter current flows into the collector. It is controlled by the base current, which is 1% of the emitter current. This is a potential current gain of 99, the ratio of I_C/I_B , also known as beta, β.
This magic, the diffusion of 99% of the emitter carriers through the base, is only possible if the base is very thin. What would be the fate of the base minority carriers in a base 100 times thicker? One would expect the recombination rate, electrons falling into holes, to be much higher. Perhaps 99%, instead of 1%, would fall into holes, never getting to the collector. The second point to make is that the base current may control 99% of the emitter current, only if 99% of the emitter current diffuses into the collector. If it all flows out the base, no control is possible.
Another feature accounting for passing 99% of the electrons from emitter to collector is that real bipolar junction transistors use a small heavily doped emitter. The high concentration of emitter electrons forces many electrons to diffuse into the base. The lower doping concentration in the base means fewer holes diffuse into the emitter, which would increase the base current. Diffusion of carriers from emitter to base is strongly favored.
The thin base and the heavily doped emitter help keep the emitter efficiency high, 99% for example. This corresponds to 100% emitter current splitting between the base as 1% and the collector as 99%. The emitter efficiency is known as α = I_C/I_E.
Bipolar junction transistors are available as PNP as well as NPN devices. We present a comparison of these two in Figure below. The difference is the polarity of the base emitter diode junctions, as signified by the direction of the schematic symbol emitter arrow. It points in the same direction as the anode arrow for a junction diode, against electron current flow. See diode junction, Figure previous. The point of the arrow and bar correspond to P-type and N-type semiconductors, respectively. For NPN and PNP emitters, the arrow points away and toward the base respectively. There is no schematic arrow on the collector. However, the base-collector junction is the same polarity as the base-emitter junction compared to a diode. Note, we speak of diode, not power supply, polarity.

Compare NPN transistor at (a) with the PNP transistor at (b). Note direction of emitter arrow and supply polarity.
The voltage sources for PNP transistors are reversed compared with an NPN transistors as shown in Figure above. The base-emitter junction must be forward biased in both cases. The base on a PNP transistor is biased negative (b) compared with positive (a) for an NPN. In both cases the base-collector junction is reverse biased. The PNP collector power supply is negative compared with positive for an NPN transistor.

Bipolar junction transistor: (a) discrete device cross-section, (b) schematic symbol, (c) integrated circuit cross-section.
Note that the BJT in Figure above(a) has heavy doping in the emitter as indicated by the N⁺ notation. The base has a normal P-dopant level. The base is much thinner than the not-to-scale cross-section shows. The collector is lightly doped as indicated by the N^- notation. The collector needs to be lightly doped so that the collector-base junction will have a high breakdown voltage. This translates into a high allowable collector power supply voltage. Small signal silicon transistors have a 60-80 V breakdown voltage. Though, it may run to hundreds of volts for high voltage transistors. The collector also needs to be heavily doped to minimize ohmic losses if the transistor must handle high current. These contradicting requirements are met by doping the collector more heavily at the metallic contact area. The collector near the base is lightly doped as compared with the emitter. The heavy doping in the emitter gives the emitter-base a low approximate 7 V breakdown voltage in small signal transistors. The heavily doped emitter makes the emitter-base junction have zener diode like characteristics in reverse bias.
The BJT die, a piece of a sliced and diced semiconductor wafer, is mounted collector down to a metal case for power transistors. That is, the metal case is electrically connected to the collector. A small signal die may be encapsulated in epoxy. In power transistors, aluminum bonding wires connect the base and emitter to package leads. Small signal transistor dies may be mounted directly to the lead wires. Multiple transistors may be fabricated on a single die called an integrated circuit. Even the collector may be bonded out to a lead instead of the case. The integrated circuit may contain internal wiring of the transistors and other integrated components. The integrated BJT shown in (Figure (c) above) is much thinner than the “not to scale” drawing. The P⁺ region isolates multiple transistors in a single die. An aluminum metalization layer (not shown) interconnects multiple transistors and other components. The emitter region is heavily doped, N⁺ compared to the base and collector to improve emitter efficiency.
Discrete PNP transistors are almost as high quality as the NPN counterpart. However, integrated PNP transistors are not nearly a good as the NPN variety within the same integrated circuit die. Thus, integrated circuits use the NPN variety as much as possible.

• REVIEW:
• Bipolar transistors conduct current using both electrons and holes in the same device.
• Operation of a bipolar transistor as a current amplifier requires that the collector-base junction be reverse biased and the emitter-base junction be forward biased.
• A transistor differs from a pair of back to back diodes in that the base, the center layer, is very thin. This allows majority carriers from the emitter to diffuse as minority carriers through the base into the depletion region of the base-collector junction, where the strong electric field collects them.
• Emitter efficiency is improved by heavier doping compared with the collector. Emitter efficiency: α = I_C/I_E, 0.99 for small signal devices
• Current gain is β=I_C/I_B, 100 to 300 for small signal transistors.

Junction field-effect transistors

source: allaboutcircuits.com

We need your help! This page requires proofreading - If you notice any errors, please post on our forums

The field effect transistor was proposed by Julius Lilienfeld in US patents in 1926 and 1933 (1,900,018). Moreover, Shockley, Brattain, and Bardeen were investigating the field effect transistor in 1947. Though, the extreme difficulties sidetracked them into inventing the bipolar transistor instead. Shockley's field effect transistor theory was published in 1952. However, the materials processing technology was not mature enough until 1960 when John Atalla produced a working device.
A field effect transistor (FET) is a unipolar device, conducting a current using only one kind of charge carrier. If based on an N-type slab of semiconductor, the carriers are electrons. Conversely, a P-type based device uses only holes.
At the circuit level, field effect transistor operation is simple. A voltage applied to the gate, input element, controls the resistance of the channel, the unipolar region between the gate regions. (Figure below) In an N-channel device, this is a lightly doped N-type slab of silicon with terminals at the ends. The source and drain terminals are analogous to the emitter and collector, respectively, of a BJT. In an N-channel device, a heavy P-type region on both sides of the center of the slab serves as a control electrode, the gate. The gate is analogous to the base of a BJT.
“Cleanliness is next to godliness” applies to the manufacture of field effect transistors. Though it is possible to make bipolar transistors outside of a clean room, it is a necessity for field effect transistors. Even in such an environment, manufacture is tricky because of contamination control issues. The unipolar field effect transistor is conceptually simple, but difficult to manufacture. Most transistors today are a metal oxide semiconductor variety (later section) of the field effect transistor contained within integrated circuits. However, discrete JFET devices are available.

Junction field effect transistor cross-section.
A properly biased N-channel junction field effect transistor (JFET) is shown in Figure above. The gate constitutes a diode junction to the source to drain semiconductor slab. The gate is reverse biased. If a voltage (or an ohmmeter) were applied between the source and drain, the N-type bar would conduct in either direction because of the doping. Neither gate nor gate bias is required for conduction. If a gate junction is formed as shown, conduction can be controlled by the degree of reverse bias.
Figure below(a) shows the depletion region at the gate junction. This is due to diffusion of holes from the P-type gate region into the N-type channel, giving the charge separation about the junction, with a non-conductive depletion region at the junction. The depletion region extends more deeply into the channel side due to the heavy gate doping and light channel doping.

N-channel JFET: (a) Depletion at gate diode. (b) Reverse biased gate diode increases depletion region. (c) Increasing reverse bias enlarges depletion region. (d) Increasing reverse bias pinches-off the S-D channel.
The thickness of the depletion region can be increased Figure above(b) by applying moderate reverse bias. This increases the resistance of the source to drain channel by narrowing the channel. Increasing the reverse bias at (c) increases the depletion region, decreases the channel width, and increases the channel resistance. Increasing the reverse bias V_GS at (d) will pinch-off the channel current. The channel resistance will be very high. This V_GS at which pinch-off occurs is V_P, the pinch-off voltage. It is typically a few volts. In summation, the channel resistance can be controlled by the degree of reverse biasing on the gate.
The source and drain are interchangeable, and the source to drain current may flow in either direction for low level drain battery voltage (< 0.6 V). That is, the drain battery may be replaced by a low voltage AC source. For a high drain power supply voltage, to 10's of volts for small signal devices, the polarity must be as indicated in Figure below(a). This drain power supply, not shown in previous figures, distorts the depletion region, enlarging it on the drain side of the gate. This is a more correct representation for common DC drain supply voltages, from a few to tens of volts. As drain voltage V_DS is increased,the gate depletion region expands toward the drain. This increases the length of the narrow channel, increasing its resistance a little. We say "a little" because large resistance changes are due to changing gate bias. Figure below(b) shows the schematic symbol for an N-channel field effect transistor compared to the silicon cross-section at (a). The gate arrow points in the same direction as a junction diode. The “pointing” arrow and “non-pointing” bar correspond to P and N-type semiconductors, respectively.

N-channel JFET electron current flow from source to drain in (a) cross-section, (b) schematic symbol.
Figure above shows a large electron current flow from (-) battery terminal, to FET source, out the drain, returning to the (+) battery terminal. This current flow may be controlled by varying the gate voltage. A load in series with the battery sees an amplified version of the changing gate voltage.
P-channel field effect transistors are also available. The channel is made of P-type material. The gate is a heavily dopped N-type region. All the voltage sources are reversed in the P-channel circuit (Figure below) as compared with the more popular N-channel device. Also note, the arrow points out of the gate of the schematic symbol (b) of the P-channel field effect transistor.

P-channel JFET: (a) N-type gate, P-type channel, reversed voltage sources compared with N-channel device. (b) Note reversed gate arrow and voltage sources on schematic.
As the positive gate bias voltage is increased, the resistance of the P-channel increases, decreasing the current flow in the drain circuit.
Discrete devices are manufactured with the cross-section shown in Figure below. The cross-section, oriented so that it corresponds to the schematic symbol, is upside down with respect to a semiconductor wafer. That is, the gate connections are on the top of the wafer. The gate is heavily doped, P⁺, to diffuse holes well into the channel for a large depletion region. The source and drain connections in this N-channel device are heavily doped, N⁺ to lower connection resistance. However, the channel surrounding the gate is lightly doped to allow holes from the gate to diffuse deeply into the channel. That is the N^- region.

Junction field effect transistor: (a) Discrete device cross-section, (b) schematic symbol, (c) integrated circuit device cross-section.
All three FET terminals are available on the top of the die for the integrated circuit version so that a metalization layer (not shown) can interconnect multiple components. (Figure above(c) ) Integrated circuit FET's are used in analog circuits for the high gate input resistance.. The N-channel region under the gate must be very thin so that the intrinsic region about the gate can control and pinch-off the channel. Thus, gate regions on both sides of the channel are not necessary.

Junction field effect transistor (static induction type): (a) Cross-section, (b) schematic symbol.
The static induction field effect transistor (SIT) is a short channel device with a buried gate. (Figure above) It is a power device, as opposed to a small signal device. The low gate resistance and low gate to source capacitance make for a fast switching device. The SIT is capable of hundreds of amps and thousands of volts. And, is said to be capable of an incredible frequency of 10 gHz.[YYT]

Metal semiconductor field effect transistor (MESFET): (a) schematic symbol, (b) cross-section.
The Metal semiconductor field effect transistor (MESFET) is similar to a JFET except the gate is a schottky diode instead of a junction diode. A schottky diode is a metal rectifying contact to a semiconductor compared with a more common ohmic contact. In Figure above the the source and drain are heavily doped (N⁺). The channel is lightly doped (N^-). MESFET's are higher speed than JFET's. The MESET is a depletion mode device, normally on, like a JFET. They are used as microwave power amplifiers to 30 gHz. MESFET's can be fabricated from silicon, gallium arsenide, indium phosphide, silicon carbide, and the diamond allotrope of carbon.

• REVIEW:
• The unipolar junction field effect transistor (FET or JFET) is so called because conduction in the channel is due to one type of carrier
• The JFET source, gate, and drain correspond to the BJT's emitter, base, and collector, respectively.
• Application of reverse bias to the gate varies the channel resistance by expanding the gate diode depletion region.

Bipolar Transistor Basics

 source: electronics-tutorials.ws/transistor

In the Diode tutorials we saw that simple diodes are made up from two pieces of semiconductor material, either Silicon or Germanium to form a simple PN-junction and we also learnt about their properties and characteristics. If we now join together two individual diodes end to end giving two PN-junctions connected together in series, we now have a three layer, two junction, three terminal device forming the basis of a Bipolar Junction Transistor, or BJT for short. This type of transistor is generally known as a Bipolar Transistor, because its basic construction consists of two PN-junctions with each terminal or connection being given a name to identify it and these are known as the Emitter, Base and Collector respectively.

The word Transistor is an acronym, and is a combination of the words Transfer Varistor used to describe their mode of operation way back in their early days of development. There are two basic types of bipolar transistor construction, NPN and PNP, which basically describes the physical arrangement of the P-type and N-type semiconductor materials from which they are made. Bipolar Transistors are "CURRENT" Amplifying or current regulating devices that control the amount of current flowing through them in proportion to the amount of biasing current applied to their base terminal. The principle of operation of the two transistor types NPN and PNP, is exactly the same the only difference being in the biasing (base current) and the polarity of the power supply for each type.

Bipolar Transistor Construction

The construction and circuit symbols for both the NPN and PNP bipolar transistor are shown above with the arrow in the circuit symbol always showing the direction of conventional current flow between the base terminal and its emitter terminal, with the direction of the arrow pointing from the positive P-type region to the negative N-type region, exactly the same as for the standard diode symbol.

There are basically three possible ways to connect a Bipolar Transistor within an electronic circuit with each method of connection responding differently to its input signal as the static characteristics of the transistor vary with each circuit arrangement.

• 1. Common Base Configuration   -   has Voltage Gain but no Current Gain.
•  
• 2. Common Emitter Configuration   -   has both Current and Voltage Gain.
•  
• 3. Common Collector Configuration   -   has Current Gain but no Voltage Gain.

The Common Base 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 with the input signal being applied between the base and the emitter terminals. The corresponding output signal is taken from between the base and the collector terminals as shown with the base terminal grounded or connected to a fixed reference voltage point. The input current flowing into the emitter is quite large as its the sum of both the base current and collector current respectively therefore, the collector current output is less than the emitter current input resulting in a Current Gain for this type of circuit of less than "1", or in other words it "Attenuates" the signal.

The Common Base Amplifier Circuit

This type of amplifier configuration is a non-inverting voltage amplifier circuit, in that the signal voltages Vin and Vout are In-Phase. This type of arrangement is not very common due to its unusually high voltage gain characteristics. Its Output characteristics represent that of a forward biased diode while the Input characteristics represent that of an illuminated photo-diode. Also this type of configuration has a high ratio of Output to Input resistance or more importantly "Load" resistance (RL) to "Input" resistance (Rin) giving it a value of "Resistance Gain". Then the Voltage Gain for a common base can therefore be given as:

Common Base Voltage Gain

The Common Base circuit is generally only used in single stage amplifier circuits such as microphone pre-amplifier or RF radio amplifiers due to its very good high frequency response.

The Common Emitter Configuration.

In the Common Emitter or Grounded Emitter configuration, the input signal is applied between the base, while the output is taken from between the collector and the emitter as shown. This type of configuration is the most commonly used circuit for transistor based amplifiers and which represents the "normal" method of connection. The common emitter amplifier configuration produces the highest current and power gain of all the three bipolar transistor configurations. This is mainly because the input impedance is LOW as it is connected to a forward-biased junction, while the output impedance is HIGH as it is taken from a reverse-biased junction.

The Common Emitter Amplifier Circuit

In this type of configuration, the current flowing out of the transistor must be equal to the currents flowing into the transistor as the emitter current is given as Ie = Ic + Ib. Also, as the load resistance (RL) is connected in series with the collector, the Current gain of the Common Emitter Transistor Amplifier is quite large as it is the ratio of Ic/Ib and is given the symbol of Beta, (β). Since the relationship between these three currents is determined by the transistor itself, any small change in the base current will result in a large change in the collector current. Then, small changes in base current will thus control the current in the Emitter/Collector circuit.

By combining the expressions for both Alpha, α and Beta, β the mathematical relationship between these parameters and therefore the current gain of the amplifier can be given as:

Where: "Ic" is the current flowing into the collector terminal, "Ib" is the current flowing into the base terminal and "Ie" is the current flowing out of the emitter terminal.

Then to summarise, this type of bipolar transistor configuration has a greater input impedance, Current and Power gain than that of the common Base configuration but its Voltage gain is much lower. The common emitter is an inverting amplifier circuit resulting in the output signal being 180^o out of phase with the input voltage signal.

The Common Collector Configuration.

In the Common Collector or Grounded Collector configuration, the collector is now common and the input signal is connected to the Base, while the output is taken from the Emitter load as shown. This type of configuration is commonly known as a Voltage Follower or Emitter Follower circuit. The Emitter follower configuration is very useful for impedance matching applications because of the very high input impedance, in the region of hundreds of thousands of Ohms, and it has relatively low output impedance.

The Common Collector Amplifier Circuit

The Common Emitter configuration has a current gain equal to the β value of the transistor itself. In the common collector configuration the load resistance is situated in series with the emitter so its current is equal to that of the emitter current. As the emitter current is the combination of the collector AND base currents combined, the load resistance in this type of amplifier configuration also has both the collector current and the input current of the base flowing through it. Then the current gain of the circuit is given as:

This type of bipolar transistor configuration is a non-inverting amplifier circuit in that the signal voltages of Vin and Vout are "In-Phase". It has a voltage gain that is always less than "1" (unity). The load resistance of the common collector amplifier configuration receives both the base and collector currents giving a large current gain (as with the Common Emitter configuration) therefore, providing good current amplification with very little voltage gain.

Bipolar Transistor Summary.

The behaviour of the bipolar transistor in each one of the above circuit configurations is very different and produces different circuit characteristics with regards to Input impedance, Output impedance and Gain and this is summarised in the table below.

Transistor Characteristics

The static characteristics for Bipolar Transistor amplifiers can be divided into the following main groups.

Input Characteristics:-	Common Base  -	IE ÷ VEB
	Common Emitter  -	IB ÷ VBE
Output Characteristics:-	Common Base  -	IC ÷ VC
	Common Emitter  -	IC ÷ VC
Transfer Characteristics:-	Common Base  -	IE ÷ IC
	Common Emitter  -	IB ÷ IC

with the characteristics of the different transistor configurations given in the following table:

Characteristic	Common Base	Common Emitter	Common Collector
Input impedance	Low	Medium	High
Output impedance	Very High	High	Low
Phase Angle	0o	180o	0o
Voltage Gain	High	Medium	Low
Current Gain	Low	Medium	High
Power Gain	Low	Very High	Medium

The NPN Transistor

In the previous tutorial we saw that the standard Bipolar Transistor or BJT, comes in two basic forms. An NPN (Negative-Positive-Negative) type and a PNP (Positive-Negative-Positive) type, with the most commonly used transistor type being the NPN Transistor. We also learnt that the transistor junctions can be biased in one of three different ways - Common Base, Common Emitter and Common Collector. In this tutorial we will look more closely at the "Common Emitter" configuration using NPN Transistors and an example of its current flow characteristics is given below.

An NPN Transistor Configuration

Note: Conventional current flow.

We know that the transistor is a "CURRENT" operated device and that a large current (Ic) flows freely through the device between the collector and the emitter terminals. However, this only happens when a small biasing current (Ib) is flowing into the base terminal of the transistor thus allowing the base to act as a sort of current control input. The ratio of these two currents (Ic/Ib) is called the DC Current Gain of the device and is given the symbol of hfe or nowadays Beta, (β). Beta has no units as it is a ratio. Also, the current gain from the emitter to the collector terminal, Ic/Ie, is called Alpha, (α), and is a function of the transistor itself. As the emitter current Ie is the product of a very small base current to a very large collector current the value of this parameter α is very close to unity, and for a typical low-power signal transistor this value ranges from about 0.950 to 0.999.

α and β Relationships

By combining the two parameters α and β we can produce two mathematical expressions that gives the relationship between the different currents flowing in the transistor.

The values of Beta vary from about 20 for high current power transistors to well over 1000 for high frequency low power type bipolar transistors. The equation for Beta can also be re-arranged to make Ic as the subject, and with zero base current (Ib = 0) the resultant collector current Ic will also be zero, (β x 0). Also when the base current is high the corresponding collector current will also be high resulting in the base current controlling the collector current. One of the most important properties of the Bipolar Junction Transistor is that a small base current can control a much larger collector current. Consider the following example.

Example No1.

An NPN Transistor has a DC current gain, (Beta) value of 200. Calculate the base current Ib required to switch a resistive load of 4mA.

Therefore, β = 200, Ic = 4mA and Ib = 20µA.

One other point to remember about NPN Transistors. The collector voltage, (Vc) must be greater than the emitter voltage, (Ve) to allow current to flow through the device between the collector-emitter junction. Also, there is a voltage drop between the base and the emitter terminal of about 0.7v for silicon devices as the input characteristics of an NPN Transistor are of a forward biased diode. Then the base voltage, (Vbe) of an NPN Transistor must be greater than this 0.7 V otherwise the transistor will not conduct with the base current given as.

Where:   Ib is the base current, Vb is the base bias voltage, Vbe is the base-emitter volt drop (0.7v) and Rb is the base input resistor.

Example No2.

An NPN Transistor has a DC base bias voltage, Vb of 10v and an input base resistor, Rb of 100kΩ. What will be the value of the base current into the transistor.

Therefore, Ib = 93µA.

The Common Emitter Configuration.

As well as being used as a switch to turn load currents "ON" or "OFF" by controlling the Base signal to the transistor, NPN Transistors can also be used to produce a circuit which will also amplify any small AC signal applied to its Base terminal. If a suitable DC "biasing" voltage is firstly applied to the transistors Base terminal thus allowing it to always operate within its linear active region, an inverting amplifier circuit called a Common Emitter Amplifier is produced.

One such Common Emitter Amplifier configuration is called a Class A Amplifier. A Class A Amplifier operation is one where the transistors Base terminal is biased in such a way that the transistor is always operating halfway between its cut-off and saturation points, thereby allowing the transistor amplifier to accurately reproduce the positive and negative halves of the AC input signal superimposed upon the DC Biasing voltage. Without this "Bias Voltage" only the positive half of the input waveform would be amplified. This type of amplifier has many applications but is commonly used in audio circuits such as pre-amplifier and power amplifier stages.

With reference to the common emitter configuration shown below, a family of curves known commonly as the Output Characteristics Curves, relates the output collector current, (Ic) to the collector voltage, (Vce) when different values of base current, (Ib) are applied to the transistor for transistors with the same β value. A DC "Load Line" can also be drawn onto the output characteristics curves to show all the possible operating points when different values of base current are applied. It is necessary to set the initial value of Vce correctly to allow the output voltage to vary both up and down when amplifying AC input signals and this is called setting the operating point or Quiescent Point, Q-point for short and this is shown below.

The Common Emitter Amplifier Circuit

Output Characteristics Curves for a Typical Bipolar Transistor

The most important factor to notice is the effect of Vce upon the collector current Ic when Vce is greater than about 1.0 volts. You can see that Ic is largely unaffected by changes in Vce above this value and instead it is almost entirely controlled by the base current, Ib. When this happens we can say then that the output circuit represents that of a "Constant Current Source". It can also be seen from the common emitter circuit above that the emitter current Ie is the sum of the collector current, Ic and the base current, Ib, added together so we can also say that " Ie = Ic + Ib " for the common emitter configuration.

By using the output characteristics curves in our example above and also Ohm´s Law, the current flowing through the load resistor, (RL), is equal to the collector current, Ic entering the transistor which inturn corresponds to the supply voltage, (Vcc) minus the voltage drop between the collector and the emitter terminals, (Vce) and is given as:

Also, a Load Line can be drawn directly onto the graph of curves above from the point of "Saturation" when Vce = 0 to the point of "Cut-off" when Ic = 0 giving us the "Operating" or Q-point of the transistor. These two points are calculated as:

Then, the collector or output characteristics curves for Common Emitter NPN Transistors can be used to predict the Collector current, Ic, when given Vce and the Base current, Ib. A Load Line can also be constructed onto the curves to determine a suitable Operating or Q-point which can be set by adjustment of the base current.

The PNP Transistor

The PNP Transistor is the exact opposite to the NPN Transistor device we looked at in the previous tutorial. Basically, in this type of transistor construction the two diodes are reversed with respect to the NPN type, with the arrow, which also defines the Emitter terminal this time pointing inwards in the transistor symbol. Also, all the polarities are reversed which means that PNP Transistors "sink" current as opposed to the NPN transistor which "sources" current. Then, PNP Transistors use a small output base current and a negative base voltage to control a much larger emitter-collector current. The construction of a PNP transistor consists of two P-type semiconductor materials either side of the N-type material as shown below.

A PNP Transistor Configuration

Note: Conventional current flow.

The PNP Transistor has very similar characteristics to their NPN bipolar cousins, except that the polarities (or biasing) of the current and voltage directions are reversed for any one of the possible three configurations looked at in the first tutorial, Common Base, Common Emitter and Common Collector. Generally, PNP Transistors require a negative (-ve) voltage at their Collector terminal with the flow of current through the emitter-collector terminals being Holes as opposed to Electrons for the NPN types. Because the movement of holes across the depletion layer tends to be slower than for electrons, PNP transistors are generally more slower than their equivalent NPN counterparts when operating.

To cause the Base current to flow in a PNP transistor the Base needs to be more negative than the Emitter (current must leave the base) by approx 0.7 volts for a silicon device or 0.3 volts for a germanium device with the formulas used to calculate the Base resistor, Base current or Collector current are the same as those used for an equivalent NPN transistor and is given as.

Generally, the PNP transistor can replace NPN transistors in electronic circuits, the only difference is the polarities of the voltages, and the directions of the current flow. PNP Transistors can also be used as switching devices and an example of a PNP transistor switch is shown below.

A PNP Transistor Circuit

The Output Characteristics Curves for a PNP transistor look very similar to those for an equivalent NPN transistor except that they are rotated by 180^o to take account of the reverse polarity voltages and currents, (the currents flowing out of the Base and Collector in a PNP transistor are negative).

Transistor Matching

You may think what is the point of having a PNP Transistor, when there are plenty of NPN Transistors available?. Well, having two different types of transistors PNP & NPN, can be an advantage when designing amplifier circuits such as Class B Amplifiers that use "Complementary" or "Matched Pair" transistors or for reversible H-Bridge motor control circuits. A pair of corresponding NPN and PNP transistors with near identical characteristics to each other are called Complementary Transistors for example, a TIP3055 (NPN), TIP2955 (PNP) are good examples of complementary or matched pair silicon power transistors. They have a DC current gain, Beta, (Ic / Ib) matched to within 10% and high Collector current of about 15A making them suitable for general motor control or robotic applications.

Identifying the PNP Transistor

We saw in the first tutorial of this Transistors section, that transistors are basically made up of two Diodes connected together back-to-back. We can use this analogy to determine whether a transistor is of the type PNP or NPN by testing its Resistance between the three different leads, Emitter, Base and Collector. By testing each pair of transistor leads in both directions will result in six tests in total with the expected resistance values in Ohm's given below.

• 1. Emitter-Base Terminals - The Emitter to Base should act like a normal diode and conduct one way only.
•  
• 2. Collector-Base Terminals - The Collector-Base junction should act like a normal diode and conduct one way only.
•  
• 3. Emitter-Collector Terminals - The Emitter-Collector should not conduct in either direction.

Transistor Resistance Values for the PNP transistor and NPN transistor types

Between Transistor Terminals		PNP	NPN
Collector	Emitter	RHIGH	RHIGH
Collector	Base	RLOW	RHIGH
Emitter	Collector	RHIGH	RHIGH
Emitter	Base	RLOW	RHIGH
Base	Collector	RHIGH	RLOW
Base	Emitter	RHIGH	RLOW

The Transistor as a Switch

When used as an AC signal amplifier, the transistors Base biasing voltage is applied so that it operates within its "Active" region and the linear part of the output characteristics curves are used. However, both the NPN & PNP type bipolar transistors can be made to operate as an "ON/OFF" type solid state switch for controlling high power devices such as motors, solenoids or lamps. If the circuit uses the Transistor as a Switch, then the biasing is arranged to operate in the output characteristics curves seen previously in the areas known as the "Saturation" and "Cut-off" regions as shown below.

Transistor Curves

The pink shaded area at the bottom represents the "Cut-off" region. Here the operating conditions of the transistor are zero input base current (Ib), zero output collector current (Ic) and maximum collector voltage (Vce) which results in a large depletion layer and no current flows through the device. The transistor is switched "Fully-OFF". The lighter blue area to the left represents the "Saturation" region. Here the transistor will be biased so that the maximum amount of base current is applied, resulting in maximum collector current flow and minimum collector emitter voltage which results in the depletion layer being as small as possible and maximum current flows through the device. The transistor is switched "Fully-ON". Then we can summarize this as:

• 1. Cut-off Region - Both junctions are Reverse-biased, Base current is zero or very small resulting in zero Collector current flowing, the device is switched fully "OFF".
•  
• 2. Saturation Region - Both junctions are Forward-biased, Base current is high enough to give a Collector-Emitter voltage of 0v resulting in maximum Collector current flowing, the device is switched fully "ON".

An example of an NPN Transistor as a switch being used to operate a relay is given below. With inductive loads such as relays or solenoids a flywheel diode is placed across the load to dissipate the back EMF generated by the inductive load when the transistor switches "OFF" and so protect the transistor from damage. If the load is of a very high current or voltage nature, such as motors, heaters etc, then the load current can be controlled via a suitable relay as shown.

Transistor Switching Circuit

The circuit resembles that of the Common Emitter circuit we looked at in the previous tutorials. The difference this time is that to operate the transistor as a switch the transistor needs to be turned either fully "OFF" (Cut-off) or fully "ON" (Saturated). An ideal transistor switch would have an infinite resistance when turned "OFF" resulting in zero current flow and zero resistance when turned "ON", resulting in maximum current flow. In practice when turned "OFF", small leakage currents flow through the transistor and when fully "ON" the device has a low resistance value causing a small saturation voltage (Vce) across it. In both the Cut-off and Saturation regions the power dissipated by the transistor is at its minimum.

To make the Base current flow, the Base input terminal must be made more positive than the Emitter by increasing it above the 0.7 volts needed for a silicon device. By varying the Base-Emitter voltage Vbe, the Base current is altered and which in turn controls the amount of Collector current flowing through the transistor as previously discussed. When maximum Collector current flows the transistor is said to be Saturated. The value of the Base resistor determines how much input voltage is required and corresponding Base current to switch the transistor fully "ON".

Example No1.

For example, using the transistor values from the previous tutorials of:   β = 200, Ic = 4mA and Ib = 20uA, find the value of the Base resistor (Rb) required to switch the load "ON" when the input terminal voltage exceeds 2.5v.

Example No2.

Again using the same values, find the minimum Base current required to turn the transistor fully "ON" (Saturated) for a load that requires 200mA of current.

Transistor switches are used for a wide variety of applications such as interfacing large current or high voltage devices like motors, relays or lamps to low voltage digital logic IC's or gates like AND Gates or OR Gates. Here, the output from a digital logic gate is only +5v but the device to be controlled may require a 12 or even 24 volts supply. Or the load such as a DC Motor may need to have its speed controlled using a series of pulses (Pulse Width Modulation) and transistor switches will allow us to do this faster and more easily than with conventional mechanical switches.

Digital Logic Transistor Switch

The base resistor, Rb is required to limit the output current of the logic gate.

Darlington Transistors

Sometimes the DC current gain of the bipolar transistor is too low to directly switch the load current or voltage, so multiple switching transistors are used. Here, one small input transistor is used to switch "ON" or "OFF" a much larger current handling output transistor. To maximise the signal gain the two transistors are connected in a "Complementary Gain Compounding Configuration" or what is generally called a "Darlington Configuration" where the amplification factor is the product of the two individual transistors.

Darlington Transistors simply contain two individual bipolar NPN or PNP type transistors connected together so that the current gain of the first transistor is multiplied with that of the current gain of the second transistor to produce a device which acts like a single transistor with a very high current gain. The overall current gain Beta (β) or Hfe value of a Darlington device is the product of the two individual gains of the transistors and is given as:

So Darlington Transistors with very high β values and high Collector currents are possible compared to a single transistor. An example of the two basic types of Darlington transistor are given below.

Darlington Transistor Configurations

The above NPN Darlington transistor configuration shows the Collectors of the two transistors connected together with the Emitter of the first transistor connected to the Base of the second transistor therefore, the Emitter current of the first transistor becomes the Base current of the second transistor. The first or "input" transistor receives an input signal, amplifies it and uses it to drive the second or "output" transistors which amplifies it again resulting in a very high current gain. As well as its high increased current and voltage switching capabilities, another advantage of a Darlington transistor is in its high switching speeds making them ideal for use in Inverter circuits and DC motor or stepper motor control applications.

One difference to consider when using Darlington transistors over the conventional single bipolar transistor type is that the Base-Emitter input voltage Vbe needs to be higher at approx 1.4v for silicon devices, due to the series connection of the two PN junctions.

Then to summarise when using a Transistor as a Switch.

• Transistor switches can be used to switch and control lamps, relays or even motors.
• When using bipolar transistors as switches they must be fully "OFF" or fully "ON".
• Transistors that are fully "ON" are said to be in their Saturation region.
• Transistors that are fully "OFF" are said to be in their Cut-off region.
• In a transistor switch a small Base current controls a much larger Collector current.
• When using transistors to switch inductive relay loads a "Flywheel Diode" is required.
• When large currents or voltages need to be controlled, Darlington Transistors are used.

The Field Effect Transistor

In the Bipolar Junction Transistor  tutorials, we saw that the output Collector current is determined by the amount of current flowing into the Base terminal of the device and thereby making the Bipolar Transistor a CURRENT operated device. The Field Effect Transistor, or simply FET however, use the voltage that is applied to their input terminal to control the output current, since their operation relies on the electric field (hence the name field effect) generated by the input voltage. This then makes the Field Effect Transistor a VOLTAGE operated device.

The Field Effect Transistor is a unipolar device that has very similar properties to those of the Bipolar Transistor ie, high efficiency, instant operation, robust and cheap, and they can be used in most circuit applications that use the equivalent Bipolar Junction Transistors, (BJT). They can be made much smaller than an equivalent BJT transistor and along with their low power consumption and dissipation make them ideal for use in integrated circuits such as the CMOS range of chips.

We remember from the previous tutorials that there are two basic types of Bipolar Transistor construction, NPN and PNP, which basically describes the physical arrangement of the P-type and N-type semiconductor materials from which they are made. There are also two basic types of Field Effect Transistor, N-channel and P-channel. As their name implies, Bipolar Transistors are "Bipolar" devices because they operate with both types of charge carriers, Holes and Electrons. The Field Effect Transistor on the other hand is a "Unipolar" device that depends only on the conduction of Electrons (N-channel) or Holes (P-channel).

The Field Effect Transistor has one major advantage over its standard bipolar transistor cousins, in that their input impedance is very high, (Thousands of Ohms) making them very sensitive to input signals, but this high sensitivity also means that they can be easily damaged by static electricity. There are two main types of field effect transistor, the Junction Field Effect Transistor or JFET and the Insulated-gate Field Effect Transistor or IGFET), which is more commonly known as the standard Metal Oxide Semiconductor Field Effect Transistor or MOSFET for short.

The Junction Field Effect Transistor

We saw previously that a bipolar junction transistor is constructed using two PN junctions in the main current path between the Emitter and the Collector terminals. The Field Effect Transistor has no junctions but instead has a narrow "Channel" of N-type or P-type silicon with electrical connections at either end commonly called the DRAIN and the SOURCE respectively. Both P-channel and N-channel FET's are available. Within this channel there is a third connection which is called the GATE and this can also be a P or N-type material forming a PN junction and these connections are compared below.

Bipolar Transistor	Field Effect Transistor
Emitter - (E)	Source - (S)
Base - (B)	Gate - (G)
Collector - (C)	Drain - (D)

The semiconductor "Channel" of the Junction Field Effect Transistor is a resistive path through which a voltage V_ds causes a current I_d to flow. A voltage gradient is thus formed down the length of the channel with this voltage becoming less positive as we go from the drain terminal to the source terminal. The PN junction therefore has a high reverse bias at the drain terminal and a lower reverse bias at the source terminal. This bias causes a "depletion layer" to be formed within the channel and whose width increases with the bias. FET's control the current flow through them between the drain and source terminals by controlling the voltage applied to the gate terminal. In an N-channel JFET this gate voltage is negative while for a P-channel JFET the gate voltage is positive.

Bias arrangement for an N-channel JFET and corresponding circuit symbols.

The cross sectional diagram above shows an N-type semiconductor channel with a P-type region called the gate diffused into the N-type channel forming a reverse biased PN junction and its this junction which forms the depletion layer around the gate area. This depletion layer restricts the current flow through the channel by reducing its effective width and thus increasing the overall resistance of the channel.

When the gate voltage V_g is equal to 0V and a small external voltage (V_ds) is applied between the drain and the source maximum current (I_d) will flow through the channel slightly restricted by the small depletion layer. If a negative voltage (V_gs) is now applied to the gate the size of the depletion layer begins to increase reducing the overall effective area of the channel and thus reducing the current flowing through it, a sort of "squeezing" effect. As the gate voltage (V_gs) is made more negative, the width of the channel decreases until no more current flows between the drain and the source and the FET is said to be "pinched-off". In this pinch-off region the gate voltage, V_gs controls the channel current and V_ds has little or no effect. The result is that the FET acts more like a voltage controlled resistor which has zero resistance when V_gs = 0 and maximum "ON" resistance (R_ds) when the gate voltage is very negative.

Output characteristic voltage-current curves of a typical junction FET.

The voltage V_gs applied to the gate controls the current flowing between the drain and the source terminals. V_gs refers to the voltage applied between the gate and the source while V_ds refers to the voltage applied between the drain and the source. Because a Field Effect Transistor is a VOLTAGE controlled device, "NO current flows into the gate!" then the source current (I_s) flowing out of the device equals the drain current flowing into it and therefore (I_d = I_s).

The characteristics curves example shown above, shows the four different regions of operation for a JFET and these are given as:

• Ohmic Region - The depletion layer of the channel is very small and the JFET acts like a variable resistor.
•  
• Cut-off Region - The gate voltage is sufficient to cause the JFET to act as an open circuit as the channel resistance is at maximum.
•  
• Saturation or Active Region - The JFET becomes a good conductor and is controlled by the gate-source voltage, (V_gs) while the drain-source voltage, (V_ds) has little or no effect.
•  
• Breakdown Region - The voltage between the drain and source, (V_ds) is high enough to causes the JFET's resistive channel to break down and pass current.

The control of the drain current by a negative gate potential makes the Junction Field Effect Transistor useful as a switch and it is essential that the gate voltage is never positive for an N-channel JFET as the channel current will flow to the gate and not the drain resulting in damage to the JFET. The principals of operation for a P-channel JFET are the same as for the N-channel JFET, except that the polarity of the voltages need to be reversed.