Transistors Function Transistors amplify current, for example they can be used to amplify the small output current

from a logic IC so that it can operate a lamp, relay or other high current device. In many circuits a resistor is used to convert the changing current to a changing voltage, so the transistor is being used to amplify voltage. A transistor may be used as a switch (either fully on with maximum current, or fully off with no current) and as an amplifier (always partly on). The amount of current amplification is called the current gain, symbol hFE. For further information please see the Transistor Circuits page.

Types of transistor

Transistor circuit symbols There are two types of standard transistors, NPN and PNP, with different circuit symbols. The letters refer to the layers of semiconductor material used to make the transistor. Most transistors used today are NPN because this is the easiest type to make from silicon. If you are new to electronics it is best to start by learning how to use NPN transistors. The leads are labelled base (B), collector (C) and emitter (E). These terms refer to the internal operation of a transistor but they are not much help in understanding how a transistor is used, so just treat them as labels! A Darlington pair is two transistors connected together to give a very high current gain. In addition to standard (bipolar junction) transistors, there are field-effect transistors which are usually referred to as FETs. They have different circuit symbols and properties and they are not (yet) covered by this page.

Transistor leads for some common case styles.

Connecting Transistors have three leads which must be connected the correct way round. Please take care with this because a wrongly connected transistor may be damaged instantly when you switch on. If you are lucky the orientation of the transistor will be clear from the PCB or stripboard layout diagram, otherwise you will need to refer to a supplier's catalogue to identify the leads. The drawings on the right show the leads for some of the most common case styles. Please note that transistor lead diagrams show the view from below with the leads towards you. This is the opposite of IC (chip) pin diagrams which show the view from above. Please see below for a table showing the case styles of some common transistors.

Soldering Transistors can be damaged by heat when soldering so if you are not an expert it is wise to use a heat sink clipped to the lead between the joint and the transistor body. A standard crocodile clip can be used as a heat sink. Do not confuse this temporary heat sink with the permanent heat sink (described below) which may be required for a power transistor to prevent it overheating during operation.

Heat sinks Waste heat is produced in transistors due to the current flowing through them. Heat sinks are needed for power transistors because they pass large currents. If you find that a transistor is becoming too hot to touch it certainly needs a heat sink! The heat sink helps to dissipate (remove) the heat by transferring it to the surrounding air. For further information please see the Heat sinks page.

Testing a transistor Transistors can be damaged by heat when soldering or by misuse in a circuit. If you suspect that a transistor may be damaged there are two easy ways to test it: 1. Testing with a multimeter Use a multimeter or a simple tester (battery, resistor and LED) to check each pair of leads for conduction. Set a digital multimeter to diode test and an analogue multimeter to a low resistance range. Test each pair of leads both ways (six tests in total): Testing an NPN transistor

The base-emitter (BE) junction should behave like a diode and conduct one way only. The base-collector (BC) junction should behave like a diode and conduct one way only. The collector-emitter (CE) should not conduct either way.

The diagram shows how the junctions behave in an NPN transistor. The diodes are reversed in a PNP transistor but the same test procedure can be used.

2. Testing in a simple switching circuit Connect the transistor into the circuit shown on the right which uses the transistor as a switch. The supply voltage is not critical, anything between 5 and 12V is suitable. This circuit can be quickly built on breadboard for example. Take care to include the 10k resistor in the base connection or you will destroy the transistor as you test it! If the transistor is OK the LED should light when the switch is pressed and not light when the switch is released. To test a PNP transistor use the same circuit but reverse the LED and the supply voltage. Some multimeters have a 'transistor test' function which provides a known base current and measures the collector current so as to display the transistor's DC current gain hFE. A simple switching circuit to test an NPN transistor

Transistor codes There are three main series of transistor codes used in the UK:

Codes beginning with B (or A), for example BC108, BC478 The first letter B is for silicon, A is for germanium (rarely used now). The second letter indicates the type; for example C means low power audio frequency; D means high power audio frequency; F means low power high frequency. The rest of the code identifies the particular transistor. There is no obvious logic to the numbering system. Sometimes a letter is added to the end (eg BC108C) to identify a special version of the main type, for

example a higher current gain or a different case style. If a project specifies a higher gain version (BC108C) it must be used, but if the general code is given (BC108) any transistor with that code is suitable.

Codes beginning with TIP, for example TIP31A TIP refers to the manufacturer: Texas Instruments Power transistor. The letter at the end identifies versions with different voltage ratings. Codes beginning with 2N, for example 2N3053 The initial '2N' identifies the part as a transistor and the rest of the code identifies the particular transistor. There is no obvious logic to the numbering system.

Choosing a transistor Most projects will specify a particular transistor, but if necessary you can usually substitute an equivalent transistor from the wide range available. The most important properties to look for are the maximum collector current IC and the current gain hFE. To make selection easier most suppliers group their transistors in categories determined either by their typical use or maximum powerrating. To make a final choice you will need to consult the tables of technical data which are normally provided in catalogues. They contain a great deal of useful information but they can be difficult to understand if you are not familiar with the abbreviations used. The table below shows the most important technical data for some popular transistors, tables in catalogues and reference books will usually show additional information but this is unlikely to be useful unless you are experienced. The quantities shown in the table are explained below. NPN transistors Category Possible (typical use) substitutes BC107 NPN Audio, low power BC182 BC547 BC108 NPN General purpose, low power BC108C BC183 BC548 BC108C NPN General purpose, low power Audio (low noise), low BC109 NPN TO18 200mA 20V 200 300mW BC184 BC549 power BC182 NPN TO92C 100mA 50V 100 350mW General purpose, low power BC107 BC182L BC182L NPN TO92A 100mA 50V 100 350mW General purpose, low power BC107 BC182 BC547B NPN TO92C 100mA 45V 200 500mW Audio, low power BC107B BC548B NPN TO92C 100mA 30V 220 500mW General purpose, low power BC108B Audio (low noise), low BC549B NPN TO92C 100mA 30V 240 625mW BC109 power 2N3053 NPN TO39 700mA 40V 50 500mW General purpose, low power BFY51 General purpose, medium BFY51 NPN TO39 1A 30V 40 800mW BC639 power General purpose, medium BC639 NPN TO92A 1A 80V 40 800mW BFY51 power General purpose, high TIP29A NPN TO220 1A 60V 40 30W power General purpose, high TIP31A NPN TO220 3A 60V 10 40W TIP31C TIP41A power General purpose, high TIP31C NPN TO220 3A 100V 10 40W TIP31A TIP41A power General purpose, high TIP41A NPN TO220 6A 60V 15 65W power General purpose, high 2N3055 NPN TO3 15A 60V 20 117W power Please note: the data in this table was compiled from several sources which are not entirely consistent! Most of the discrepancies are minor, but please consult information from your supplier if you require precise data. PNP transistors Case IC VCE hFE Ptot Category Possible Code Structure style max. max. min. max. (typical use) substitutes BC177 PNP TO18 100mA 45V 125 300mW Audio, low power BC477 BC178 PNP TO18 200mA 25V 120 600mW General purpose, low power BC478 Audio (low noise), low BC179 PNP TO18 200mA 20V 180 600mW power BC477 PNP TO18 150mA 80V 125 360mW Audio, low power BC177 BC478 PNP TO18 150mA 40V 125 360mW General purpose, low power BC178 Code Structure Case style TO18 TO18 TO18 IC max. 100mA 100mA 100mA VCE max. 45V 20V 20V hFE min. 110 110 420 Ptot max. 300mW 300mW 600mW

General purpose, high TIP32C power General purpose, high TIP32C PNP TO220 3A 100V 10 40W TIP32A power Please note: the data in this table was compiled from several sources which are not entirely consistent! Most of the discrepancies are minor, but please consult information from your supplier if you require precise data. TIP32A PNP TO220 3A 60V 25 40W Structure Case style IC max. VCE max. hFE This shows the type of transistor, NPN or PNP. The polarities of the two types are different, so if you are looking for a substitute it must be the same type. There is a diagram showing the leads for some of the most common case styles in the Connecting section above. This information is also available in suppliers' catalogues. Maximum collector current. Maximum voltage across the collector-emitter junction. You can ignore this rating in low voltage circuits. This is the current gain (strictly the DC current gain). The guaranteed minimum value is given because the actual value varies from transistor to transistor - even for those of the same type! Note that current gain is just a number so it has no units. The gain is often quoted at a particular collector current IC which is usually in the middle of the transistor's range, for example '100@20mA' means the gain is at least 100 at 20mA. Sometimes minimum and maximum values are given. Since the gain is roughly constant for various currents but it varies from transistor to transistor this detail is only really of interest to experts. Why hFE? It is one of a whole series of parameters for transistors, each with their own symbol. There are too many to explain here. Maximum total power which can be developed in the transistor, note that a heat sink will be required to achieve the maximum rating. This rating is important for transistors operating as amplifiers, the power is roughly IC VCE. For transistors operating as switches the maximum collector current (IC max.) is more important. This shows the typical use for the transistor, it is a good starting point when looking for a substitute. Catalogues may have separate tables for different categories. These are transistors with similar electrical properties which will be suitable substitutes in most circuits. However, they may have a different case style so you will need to take care when placing them on the circuit board.

Ptot max.

Category Possible substit utes

http://www.kpsec.freeuk.com/components/tran.htm Testing Transistors Fig 4.1. Two Junction Transistor Model.

A bipolar transistor has two junctions, which can be considered simply as two diodes for our testing purposes. The "diodes" are connected back to back with their centre point being the base connection. To test a transistor you just need to check the forward and reverse resistance of both junctions, which should measure about 500 to 1K ohms in the forward direction and infinity when they are reverse biased. To do this it is neccesary to first find out which pin is which.

Fig. 4.2. Finding the Pin Functions by Measurement.

If the transistor you are testing has a metal case, such as in the TO18, TO3, TO126, TO202, TO72 etc., that is helpful. A metal case or heat sink area is almost always connected to the collector so that the heat is dissipated easier. This means that if you measure the resistance from the case to each pin in turn, the one pin that measures zero ohms is the collector. The first pin to find however must be the base. In transistor packages such as the TO18 or TO39, which

both have metal cans with a small tab on the side, thats easy. The emitter (or the source in FETs) is nearly always the connection next to the metal tab and the collector is connected to the can. Notice that often this makes the base the centre of the three connections, but this is not always the case, as can be seen in the TO92, TO237 and SOT23 packages, don't rely on the base being at the centre. Study the common package types illustrated in Fig. 4.2. There are variations even within the same type of package. The best source for transistor pinouts is normally a suppliers catalogue or manufacturers data sheet. If no pinout data is available, it is still possible to identify the pins by measuring the resistance between the various pins as the next page shows. To begin with, presume that an unknown transistor may be a NPN type, as these are far more common than PNP in modern circuits. Home Previous Top of Page Next http://learnabout-electronics.org/transistor_faults_04.php transistor Transistor, in electronics, common name for a group of electronic devices used as amplifiers or oscillators in communications, control, and computer systems . Until the advent of the transistor in 1948, developments in the field of electronics were dependent on the use of thermionic vacuum tubes, magnetic amplifiers, specialized rotating machinery, and special capacitors as amplifiers. Capable of performing many functions of the vacuum tube in electronic circuits, the transistor is a solid-state device consisting of a tiny piece of semiconducting material, usually germanium or silicon, to which three or more electrical connections are made. The basic components of the transistor are comparable to those of a triode vacuum tube and include the emitter, which corresponds to the heated cathode of the triode tube as the source of electrons. The transistor was developed at Bell Telephone Laboratories by the American physicists Walter Houser Brattain, John Bardeen, and William Bradford Shockley. For this achievement, the three shared the 1956 Nobel Prize in physics. Shockley is noted as the initiator and director of the research program in semiconducting materials that led to the discovery of this group of devices; his associates, Brattain and Bardeen, are credited with the invention of an important type of transistor. What can a transistor do ? Transistors are used as amplifiers, oscillators, or switches in communication, control, and computer systems. Commercial applications include very small hearing aids and compact portable radio and television receivers. Transistors have completely replaced vacuum tubes in electronic computers, which require a great many amplifiers. Transistors are also used in miniaturized diagnostic instruments, such as those used to transmit electrocardiograph, respiratory, and other data from the bodies of astronauts on space flights . Nearly all transmitting equipment used in space-exploration probes employs transistorized circuitry. Transistors also aid in diagnosing diseases. Miniature radio transmitters using transistors can also be implanted in the bodies of animals for ecological studies of feeding habits, patterns of travel, and other factors. A recent commercial application is the transistorized ignition system in automobiles. Transistor types.Bipolar Transistor The bipolar junction transistor consists of three layers of highly purified silicon (or germanium) to which small amounts of boron (p-type) or phosphorus (n-type) have been added. The boundary between each layer forms a junction, which only allows current to flow from p to n. Connections to each layer are made by evaporating aluminum on the surface; the silicon dioxide coating protects the nonmetalized areas. A small current through the basefig.2 - Biploar transistor emitter junction causes a current 10 to 1000 times larger to flow between the collector and emitter. The many uses of the junction transistor, from sensitive electronic detectors to powerful hi-fi amplifiers, all depend on this current amplification.

fig.3 - Symbol

fig.4 Internal view of the bipolar transistor Transistor Operation In the transistor, a combination of two junctions may be used to achieve amplification. The first type, called the n-p-n junction transistor, consists of a very thin layer of p-type material between two sections of n-type material. The n-type material is the emitter element of the transistor, constituting the electron source. To permit the forward flow of current across the n-p junction, the emitter has a small negative voltage with respect to the p-type layer, or base component, that controls the electron flow. The n-type material in the output circuit serves as the collector element, which has a large positive voltage with respect to the base to prevent reverse current flow. Electrons moving from the emitter enter the base, are attracted to the positively charged collector, and flow through the output circuit. The input impedance, or resistance to current flow, between the emitter and the base is low, whereas the output impedance between collector and base is high. Therefore, small changes in the voltage of the base cause large changes in the voltage drop across the collector resistance, making this type of transistor an effective amplifier. The voltage from a source is applied to the base of the transistor (labeled P). Small changes in this applied voltage across R1 (input) result in large changes in the voltage across the resistor labeled R2 (output). One possible application of this circuit would be to amplify sounds. In this case the input would be a microphone and the resistor R2 would be a speaker. "Hi-fi" amplifiers have many fig.5 - Amplifier more transistors, both to increase the power output and to reduce the distortion that occurs in simple circuits like this. Similar in operation to the n-p-n type is the p-n-p junction transistor, which also has two junctions and is equivalent to a triode vacuum tube. Other types with three junctions, such as the n-p-n-p junction transistor, provide greater amplification than the two-junction transistor.

Future developments Quiteron Quiteron, electronic device being studied as a potential replacement for the transistor in integrated circuits and computers. Developed at IBM in the early 1980s, the quiteron is made of superconducting materials separated by insulators. Its action depends on a quantum physics phenomenon called the tunnel effect, due to which changes in resistance (produced by changes in applied voltage) can take place in a billionth of a second or less. These resistance changes can serve the same switching function that a transistor does, but at much higher speeds. http://library.thinkquest.org/C006657/electronics/transistor.htm A transistor is a semiconductor device used to amplify and switch electronic signals. It is made of a solid piece of semiconductor material, with at least three terminals for connection to an external circuit. A voltage or current applied to one pair of the transistor's terminals changes the current flowing through another pair of terminals. Because the controlled (output) power can be much more than the controlling (input) power, the transistor provides amplification of a signal. Today, some transistors are packaged individually, but many more are found embedded in integrated circuits. The transistor is the fundamental building block of modern electronic devices, and is ubiquitous in modern electronic systems. Following its release in the early 1950s the transistor revolutionized the field of electronics, and paved the way for smaller and cheaper radios, calculators, and computers, among other things. History

Physicist Julius Edgar Lilienfeld filed the first patent for a transistor in Canada in 1925, describing a device similar to a field-effect transistor or "FET". However, Lilienfeld did not publish any research articles about his devices, nor did his patent cite any examples of devices actually constructed. In 1934, German inventor Oskar Heil patented a similar device. From 1942 Herbert Matar experimented with so-calledduodiodes while working on a detector for a DopplerRADAR system. The duodiodes he built had two separate but very close metal contacts on the semiconductor substrate. He discovered effects that could not be explained by two independently operating diodes and thus formed the basic idea for the later point contact transistor. In 1947, John Bardeen and Walter Brattain at AT&T's Bell Labs in the United States observed that when electrical contacts were applied to a crystal of germanium, the output power was larger than the input. Solid State Physics Group leader William Shockley saw the potential in this, and over the next few months worked to greatly expand the knowledge of semiconductors. The term transistor was coined by John R. Pierce as a portmanteau of the term "transfer resistor". According to physicist/historian Robert Arns, legal papers from the Bell Labs patent show that William Shockley and Gerald Pearson had built operational versions from Lilienfeld's patents, yet they never referenced this work in any of their later research papers or historical articles. The first silicon transistor was produced by Texas Instruments in 1954. This was the work of Gordon Teal, an expert in growing crystals of high purity, who had previously worked at Bell Labs. The first MOS transistor actually built was by Kahng and Atalla at Bell Labs in 1960. Importance The transistor is the key active component in practically all modern electronics, and is considered by many to be one of the greatest inventions of the 20th century. Its importance in today's society rests on its ability to be mass produced using a highly automated process (semiconductor device fabrication) that achieves astonishingly low pertransistor costs. Although several companies each produce over a billion individually packaged (known as discrete) transistors every year, the vast majority of transistors now produced are in integrated circuits (often shortened to IC, microchips or simply chips), along with diodes, resistors, capacitors and other electronic components, to produce complete electronic circuits. A logic gate consists of up to about twenty transistors whereas an advanced microprocessor, as of 2011, can use as many as 3 billion transistors (MOSFETs). "About 60 million transistors were built this year [2002] ... for [each] man, woman, and child on Earth."

The transistor's low cost, flexibility, and reliability have made it a ubiquitous device. Transistorized mechatronic circuits have replaced electromechanical devices in controlling appliances and machinery. It is often easier and cheaper to use a standardmicrocontroller and write a computer program to carry out a control function than to design an equivalent mechanical control function. Usage The bipolar junction transistor, or BJT, was the most commonly used transistor in the 1960s and 70s. Even after MOSFETs became widely available, the BJT remained the transistor of choice for many analog circuits such as simple amplifiers because of their greater linearity and ease of manufacture. Desirable properties of MOSFETs, such as their utility in low-power devices, usually in the CMOS configuration, allowed them to capture nearly all market share for digital circuits; more recently MOSFETs have captured most analog and power applications as well, including modern clocked analog circuits, voltage regulators, amplifiers, power transmitters, motor drivers, etc. Simplified operation

The essential usefulness of a transistor comes from its ability to use a small signal applied between one pair of its terminals to control a much larger signal at another pair of terminals. This property is called gain. A transistor can control its output in proportion to the input signal; that is, it can act as an amplifier. Alternatively, the transistor can be used to turn current on or off in a circuit as an electrically controlledswitch, where the amount of current is determined by other circuit elements. The two types of transistors have slight differences in how they are used in a circuit. Abipolar transistor has terminals labeled base, collector, and emitter. A small current at the base terminal (that is, flowing from the base to the emitter) can control or switch a much larger current between the collector and emitter terminals. For a field-effect transistor, the terminals are labeled gate, source, and drain, and a voltage at the gate can control a current between source and drain. The image to the right represents a typical bipolar transistor in a circuit. Charge will flow between emitter and collector terminals depending on the current in the base. Since internally the base and emitter connections behave like a semiconductor diode, a voltage drop develops between base and emitter while the base current exists. The amount of this voltage depends on the material the transistor is made from, and is referred to as VBE. Transistor as a switch

Transistors are commonly used as electronic switches, both for high-power applications such as switched-mode power supplies and for low-power applications such as logic gates. In a grounded-emitter transistor circuit, such as the light-switch circuit shown, as the base voltage rises the base and collector current rise exponentially, and the collector voltage drops because of the collector load resistor. The relevant equations: VRC = ICE RC, the voltage across the load (the lamp with resistance RC) VRC + VCE = VCC, the supply voltage shown as 6V

If VCE could fall to 0 (perfect closed switch) then Ic could go no higher than VCC / RC, even with higher base voltage and current. The transistor is then said to be saturated. Hence, values of input voltage can be chosen such that the output is either completely off, or completely on. The transistor is acting as a switch, and this type of operation is common in digital circuits where only "on" and "off" values are relevant. Transistor as an amplifier The common-emitter amplifier is designed so that a small change in voltage in (Vin) changes the small current through the base of the transistor and the transistor's current amplification combined with the properties of the circuit mean that small swings in Vin produce large changes in Vout. Various configurations of single transistor amplifier are possible, with some providing current gain, some voltage gain, and some both. From mobile phones to televisions, vast numbers of products include amplifiers for sound reproduction, radio transmission, and signal processing. The first discrete transistor audio amplifiers barely supplied a few hundred milliwatts, but power and audio fidelity gradually increased as better transistors became available and amplifier architecture evolved. Modern transistor audio amplifiers of up to a few hundred watts are common and relatively inexpensive. Comparison with vacuum tubes Prior to the development of transistors, vacuum (electron) tubes (or in the UK "thermionic valves" or just "valves") were the main active components in electronic equipment. Advantages The key advantages that have allowed transistors to replace their vacuum tube predecessors in most applications are Small size and minimal weight, allowing the development of miniaturized electronic devices. Highly automated manufacturing processes, resulting in low per-unit cost. Lower possible operating voltages, making transistors suitable for small, battery-powered applications. No warm-up period for cathode heaters required after power application. Lower power dissipation and generally greater energy efficiency. Higher reliability and greater physical ruggedness. Extremely long life. Some transistorized devices have been in service for more than 50 years. Complementary devices available, facilitating the design of complementary-symmetry circuits, something not possible with vacuum tubes. Insensitivity to mechanical shock and vibration, thus avoiding the problem of microphonics in audio applications.

Limitations

Silicon transistors do not operate at voltages higher than about 1,000 volts (SiC devices can be operated as high as 3,000 volts). In contrast, vacuum tubes have been developed that can be operated at tens of thousands of volts. High-power, high-frequency operation, such as that used in over-the-air television broadcasting, is better achieved in vacuum tubes due to improved electron mobility in a vacuum. Silicon transistors are much more vulnerable than vacuum tubes to an electromagnetic pulse generated by a high-altitude nuclear explosion.

Types

|- style="text-align:center;"

| ||PNP|| |- style="text-align:center;"

||P-channel

| ||NPN|| |- style="text-align:center;" |BJT||||JFET|| |- style="text-align:center;"

||N-channel

| || || |- style="text-align:center;"

||

||P-channel

| || || || |- style="text-align:center;" |JFET||colspan="2"|MOSFET enh||MOSFET dep Transistors are categorized by

||N-channel

Semiconductor material: germanium, silicon, gallium arsenide, silicon carbide, etc. Structure: BJT, JFET, IGFET (MOSFET), IGBT, "other types" Polarity: NPN, PNP (BJTs); N-channel, P-channel (FETs) Maximum power rating: low, medium, high Maximum operating frequency: low, medium, high, radio frequency (RF), microwave (The maximum effective frequency of a transistor is denoted by the term , an abbreviation for "frequency of transition". The frequency of transition is the frequency at which the transistor yields unity gain).

Application: switch, general purpose, audio, high voltage, super-beta, matched pair Physical packaging: through hole metal, through hole plastic, surface mount, ball grid array, power modules Amplification factor hfe (transistor beta)

Thus, a particular transistor may be described as silicon, surface mount, BJT, NPN, low power, high frequency switch. Bipolar junction transistor

Bipolar transistors are so named because they conduct by using both majority and minority carriers. The bipolar junction transistor (BJT), the first type of transistor to be mass-produced, is a combination of two junction diodes, and is formed of either a thin layer of p-type semiconductor sandwiched between two n-type semiconductors (an n-p-n transistor), or a thin layer of n-type semiconductor sandwiched between two p-type semiconductors (a p-n-p transistor). This construction produces two p-n junctions: a baseemitter junction and a basecollector junction,

separated by a thin region of semiconductor known as the base region (two junction diodes wired together without sharing an intervening semiconducting region will not make a transistor). The BJT has three terminals, corresponding to the three layers of semiconductor an emitter, a base, and a collector. It is useful in amplifiers because the currents at the emitter and collector are controllable by a relatively small base current." In an NPN transistor operating in the active region, the emitter-base junction is forward biased (electrons and holes recombine at the junction), and electrons are injected into the base region. Because the base is narrow, most of these electrons will diffuse into the reverse-biased (electrons and holes are formed at, and move away from the junction) base-collector junction and be swept into the collector; perhaps one-hundredth of the electrons will recombine in the base, which is the dominant mechanism in the base current. By controlling the number of electrons that can leave the base, the number of electrons entering the collector can be controlled. Collector current is approximately (common-emitter current gain) times the base current. It is typically greater than 100 for small-signal transistors but can be smaller in transistors designed for high-power applications. Unlike the FET, the BJT is a lowinput-impedance device. Also, as the baseemitter voltage (Vbe) is increased the base emitter current and hence the collectoremitter current (Ice) increase exponentially according to the Shockley diode model and the Ebers-Moll model. Because of this exponential relationship, the BJT has a higher transconductance than the FET. Bipolar transistors can be made to conduct by exposure to light, since absorption of photons in the base region generates a photocurrent that acts as a base current; the collector current is approximately times the photocurrent. Devices designed for this purpose have a transparent window in the package and are called phototransistors. Field-effect transistor The field-effect transistor (FET), sometimes called a unipolar transistor, uses either electrons (in N-channel FET) or holes (inP-channel FET) for conduction. The four terminals of the FET are named source, gate, drain, and body (substrate). On most FETs, the body is connected to the source inside the package, and this will be assumed for the following description. In FETs, the drain-to-source current flows via a conducting channel that connects the source region to the drain region. The conductivity is varied by the electric field that is produced when a voltage is applied between the gate and source terminals; hence the current flowing between the drain and source is controlled by the voltage applied between the gate and source. As the gatesource voltage (Vgs) is increased, the drainsource current (Ids) increases exponentially for Vgs below threshold, and then at a roughly quadratic rate ( ) (where VT is the threshold voltage at which drain current begins) in the "space-charge-limited" region above threshold. A quadratic behavior is not observed in modern devices, for example, at the 65 nm technology node. For low noise at narrow bandwidth the higher input resistance of the FET is advantageous. FETs are divided into two families: junction FET (JFET) and insulated gate FET (IGFET). The IGFET is more commonly known as a metaloxidesemiconductor FET (MOSFET), reflecting its original construction from layers of metal (the gate), oxide (the insulation), and semiconductor. Unlike IGFETs, the JFET gate forms a PN diode with the channel which lies between the source and drain. Functionally, this makes the N-channel JFET the solid state equivalent of the vacuum tube triode which, similarly, forms a diode between its grid and cathode. Also, both devices operate in the depletion mode, they both have a high input impedance, and they both conduct current under the control of an input voltage. Metalsemiconductor FETs (MESFETs) are JFETs in which the reverse biased PN junction is replaced by a metal semiconductor Schottky-junction. These, and the HEMTs (high electron mobility transistors, or HFETs), in which a twodimensional electron gas with very high carrier mobility is used for charge transport, are especially suitable for use at very high frequencies (microwave frequencies; several GHz). Unlike bipolar transistors, FETs do not inherently amplify a photocurrent. Nevertheless, there are ways to use them, especially JFETs, as light-sensitive devices, by exploiting the photocurrents in channelgate or channelbody junctions. FETs are further divided into depletion-mode and enhancement-mode types, depending on whether the channel is turned on or off with zero gate-to-source voltage. For enhancement mode, the channel is off at zero bias, and a gate

potential can "enhance" the conduction. For depletion mode, the channel is on at zero bias, and a gate potential (of the opposite polarity) can "deplete" the channel, reducing conduction. For either mode, a more positive gate voltage corresponds to a higher current for N-channel devices and a lower current for P-channel devices. Nearly all JFETs are depletion-mode as the diode junctions would forward bias and conduct if they were enhancement mode devices; most IGFETs are enhancement-mode types. Other transistor types

Point-contact transistor, first kind of transistor ever constructed Bipolar junction transistor (BJT)

Heterojunction bipolar transistor, up to several hundred GHz, common in modern ultrafast and RF circuits Grown-junction transistor, first kind of BJT Alloy-junction transistor, improvement of grown-junction transistor Micro-alloy transistor (MAT), speedier than alloy-junction transistor Micro-alloy diffused transistor (MADT), speedier than MAT, a diffused-base transistor Post-alloy diffused transistor (PADT), speedier than MAT, a diffused-base transistor Schottky transistor Surface barrier transistor

Drift-field transistor Avalanche transistor Darlington transistors are two BJTs connected together to provide a high current gain equal to the product of the current gains of the two transistors. Insulated gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs) use a medium power IGFET, similarly connected to a power BJT, to give a high input impedance. Power diodes are often connected between certain terminals depending on specific use. IGBTs are particularly suitable for heavy-duty industrial applications. The Asea Brown Boveri (ABB) 5SNA2400E170100 illustrates just how far power semiconductor technology has advanced. Intended for three-phase power supplies, this device houses three NPN IGBTs in a case measuring 38 by 140 by 190 mm and weighing 1.5 kg. Each IGBT is rated at 1,700 volts and can handle 2,400 amperes. Photo transistor Carbon nanotube field-effect transistor (CNFET) JFET, where the gate is insulated by a reverse-biased PN junction MESFET, similar to JFET with a Schottky junction instead of PN one High Electron Mobility Transistor (HEMT, HFET, MODFET) MOSFET, where the gate is insulated by a shallow layer of insulator Inverted-T field effect transistor (ITFET) FinFET, source/drain region shapes fins on the silicon surface. FREDFET, fast-reverse epitaxial diode field-effect transistor Thin film transistor, in LCDs. OFET Organic Field-Effect Transistor, in which the semiconductor is an organic compound Ballistic transistor Floating-gate transistor, for non-volatile storage. FETs used to sense environment Ion-sensitive field effect transistor, to measure ion concentrations in solution. EOSFET, electrolyte-oxide-semiconductor field effect transistor (Neurochip) DNAFET, deoxyribonucleic acid field-effect transistor

Field-effect transistor

Spacistor Diffusion transistor, formed by diffusing dopants into semiconductor substrate; can be both BJT and FET Unijunction transistors can be used as simple pulse generators. They comprise a main body of either P-type or N-type semiconductor with ohmic contacts at each end (terminals Base1 and Base2). A junction with the opposite semiconductor type is formed at a point along the length of the body for the third terminal (Emitter). Single-electron transistors (SET) consist of a gate island between two tunnelling junctions. The tunnelling current is controlled by a voltage applied to the gate through a capacitor. Nanofluidic transistor, controls the movement of ions through sub-microscopic, water-filled channels. Nanofluidic transistor, the basis of future chemical processors Multigate devices

Tetrode transistor Pentode transistor Multigate device Trigate transistors (Prototype by Intel) Dual gate FETs have a single channel with two gates in cascode; a configuration optimized for high frequency amplifiers, mixers, and oscillators.

Junctionless Nanowire Transistor (JNT), developed at Tyndall National Institute in Ireland, was the first transistor successfully fabricated without junctions. (Even MOSFETs have junctions, although its gate is electrically insulated from the region the gate controls.) Junctions are difficult and expensive to fabricate, and, because they are a significant source of current leakage, they waste significant power and generate significant waste heat. Eliminating them held the promise of cheaper and denser microchips. The JNT uses a simple nanowire of silicon surrounded by an electrically isolated "wedding ring" that acts to gate the flow of electrons through the wire. This method has been described as akin to squeezing a garden hose to gate the flow of water through the hose. The nanowire is heavily n-doped, making it an excellent conductor. Crucially the gate, comprising silicon, is heavily p-doped; and its presence depletes the underlying silicon nanowire thereby preventing carrier flow past the gate.