Bipolar Transistors-

Basic Properties
It is clear that current lE flows into the
emitter of a properly biased p-n-p
transistor and that lc flows out at the
collector, since the direction of hole flow is
from emitter to collector.


However, the base current IB requires a
bit more thought. In a good transistor the
base current will be very small since IE is
essentially hole current, and the collected
hole current Ic is almost equal to IE.

There must be some base current,
however, due to requirements of electron
flow into the n-type base region .
We can account for lB physically by three
dominant mechanisms.

(a) There must be some recombination of
injected holes with electrons in the base,
even with Wb << Lp. The electrons lost to
recombination must be resupplied through
the base contact
(b) Some electrons will be injected from n
to p in the forward-biased emitter junction,
even if the emitter is heavily doped
compared to the base. These electrons
must also be supplied by IB.

(c) Some electrons are swept into the
base at the reverse-biased collector
junction due to thermal generation in the
collector. This small current reduces IB by
supplying electrons to the base
BJT FABRICATION
The first transistor invented by Bardeen
and Brattain in 1947 was the point contact
transistor. In this device two sharp metal
wires, or "cat's whiskers," formed an
"emitter" of carriers and a "collector" of
carriers.
These wires were simply pressed onto a
slab of Ge which provided a "base" or
mechanical support, through which the
injected carriers flowed
Let us review a simplified version of how
to make a double polysilicon, self-aligned
n-p-n Si BJT. This is the most commonly
used, state-of-the-art technique for making
BJTs for use in an IC
MINORITY CARRIER DISTRIBUTIONS AND
TERMINALCURRENTS
we examine the operation of a BJT in
more detail. We begin our analysis by
applying the techniques of previous
chapters to the problem of hole injection
into a narrow n-type base region.

The mathematics is very similar to that
used in the problem of the narrow base
diode.
We shall at first simplify the calculations by
making several assumptions:
1. Holes diffuse from emitter to collector;
drift is negligible in the base region.

2. The emitter current is made up entirely
of holes; the emitter injection efficiency is
= 1.
3. The collector saturation current is
negligible.
4. The active part of the base and the two
junctions are of uniform cross sectional
area A; current flow in the base is
essentially one-dimensional from emitter
to collector.
5. All currents and voltages are steady
state.

Solution of the Diffusion Equation in the Base
Region
Since the injected holes are assumed to
flow from emitter to collector by diffusion,
we can evaluate the currents crossing the
two junctions.
Neglecting recombination in the two
depletion regions, the hole current
entering the base at the emitter junction is
the current IE, and the hole current leaving
the base at the collector is Ic.
We shall consider the simplified geometry
of Fig. a, in which the base width is Wb
between the two depletion regions, and
the uniform cross-sectional area is A.


In equilibrium, the Fermi level is flat, and
the band diagram corresponds to that for
two back-to-back p-n junctions.

But, for a forward-biased emitter and a
reverse-biased collector (normal active
mode), the Fermi level splits up into quasi-
Fermi levels, as shown in fig b

The barrier at the emitter-base junction is
reduced by the forward bias, and that at
the collector-base junction is increased by
the reverse bias.

The excess hole concentration at the edge
of the emitter depletion region pE and the
corresponding concentration on the
collector side of the base pc are
If the emitter junction is strongly forward
biased (VEB >> kTlq) and the collector
junction is strongly reverse biased (VCB
<< 0), these excess concentrations
simplify to

We can solve for the excess hole
concentration as a function of distance in
the base p(xn) by using the proper
boundary conditions in the diffusion
equation
The solution is very similar to that of the
narrow base diode problem.


The excess hole distribution is given by
Evaluation of the Terminal
Currents
Having solved for the excess hole
distribution in the base region, we can
evaluate the emitter and collector currents
from the gradient of the hole concentration
at each depletion region edge
Similarly, if we neglect the electrons
crossing from collector to base in the
collector reverse saturation current, Ic is
made up entirely of holes entering the
collector depletion region from the base.

Evaluating Eq , xn= Wb we have the
collector current

When the parameters C1 and C2 are substituted from the emitter
and collector currents take a form that is most easily written in terms of
Now we can obtain the value of IB by a
current summation, noting that the sum of
the base and collector currents leaving the
device must equal the emitter current
entering. If IE = IEp for =1,


Current Transfer Ratio
The value of lE calculated thus far in this
section is more properly designated IEp,
since we have assumed that = 1 (the
emitter current due entirely to hole
injection).
Actually, there is always some electron
injection across the forward-biased emitter
junction in a real transistor, and this effect
is important in calculating the current
transfer ratio.

The emitter injection efficiency of a p-n-p
transistor can be written in terms of the
emitter and base properties:
In this equation we use superscripts to
indicate which side of the emitter-base
junction is referred to.
The base transport factor B is
GENERALIZED BIASING
The terminal currents of the transistor, if
the device geometry and other factors are
consistent with the assumptions.

Real transistors may deviate from these
approximations.
The collector and emitter junctions may
differ in area, saturation current, and other
parameters, so that the proper description
of the terminal currents may be more
complicated.
if the roles of emitter and collector are
reversed, these equations predict that the
behavior of the transistor is symmetrical.

Real transistors, on the other hand, are
generally not symmetrical between emitter
and collector.
This is a particularly important
consideration when the transistor is not
biased in the usual way.

Normal biasing (sometimes called the
normal active mode), in which the emitter
junction is forward biased and the collector
is reverse biased.

In some applications, particularly in
switching, this normal biasing rule is
violated.
We shall develop a generalized approach
which accounts for transistor operation in
terms of a coupled-diode model, valid for
all combinations of emitter and collector
bias.

This model involves four measurable
parameters that can be related to the
geometry and material properties of the
device.
The Coupled-Diode Model
If the collector junction of a transistor is
forward biased, we cannot neglect pc;
instead, we must use a more general hole
distribution in the base region.
Figure illustrates a situation in which the emitter and
collector junctions are both forward biased, so that pE
and pc are positive numbers.
One component Fig. accounts for the holes injected by
the emitter and collected by the collector
The component of the hole distribution illustrated by Fig.
results in currents IEI and ICI which describe injection in
the inverted mode of injection from collector to emitter
For symmetrical transistor
These relations were derived by J. J.
Ebers and J. L. Moll and are referred to as
the Ebers-Moll equations.

Although we shall not prove it here, it is
possible to show by reciprocity arguments
that NIES = IICS
even for nonsymmetrical transistors.
An interesting feature of the Ebers-Moll
equations is that IE and Ic are described by
terms resembling diode relations (IEN and
ICI), plus terms which provide coupling
between the properties of the emitter and
collector.
The Ebers-Moll equations in terms of emitter and collector current
ECE 663
BJT Fabrication
ECE 663
PNP BJT Electrostatics
ECE 663
PNP BJT Electrostatics
ECE 663
NPN Transistor Band
Diagram: Equilibrium
ECE 663
PNP Transistor Active Bias
Mode
Most holes
diffuse to
collector
Large injection
of Holes
Collector Fields drive holes
far away where they cant
return thermionically

Few recombine
in the base
V
EB
> 0
V
CB
> 0
ECE 663
PNP Transistor Active Bias
Mode
Most holes
diffuse to
collector
Large injection
of Holes
Collector Fields drive holes
far away where they cant
return thermionically

Few recombine
in the base
V
EB
> 0
V
CB
> 0
ECE 663
P+
N
P
n
E
(x)
n
E0
p
B0
p
B
(x)
n
C0
n
C
(x)
Forward Active minority carrier distribution
ECE 663
PNP Physical Currents