ELECTRON DEVICES

Bipolar Junction Transistor

(BJT)
by K.N. Bharadwaj.

CONTENTS

Introduction
Nomenclature
Working
Bias points and operating regions
Investigation of results
Reason for anomaly

Pin diagram.
Available configurations.

Common Base

Common Base Current Gain

Early effect
Input Characteristics
Output Characteristics
Uses

CONTENTS CONTINUED.

Common Emitter
Common Collector

Introduction to h-parameters.

INTRODUCTION

Bipolar Junction Transistor (B.J.T) is a two junction

device.

It is closely related to diode except for the fact

that unlike diode, it consists of two p-n junctions
rather than one.

Depending upon the type of material used for the

sections B.J.Ts are classified as:
p-n-p Transistor.
n-p-n Transistor.

INTRODUCTION CONTINUED..

A BJT consists of three sections which are labelled

as shown in Fig.1

The left hand part is called emitter and we shall

expect that its function is to emit something. It is
heavily doped

The right hand part is called collector and we

shall expect that its function is to collect
something. It is moderately doped

The intermediate area is common to both ends

and so we say that it is the base. It is lightly
doped

NOMENCLATURE
N
Emitter
lead
wire

Emitte
r

E-B Junction

Bas
e

Collecto
r

Base
lead
wire

Collector
lead
wire

C-B
Junction
6

WORKING

Now, let us connect externally generated

voltages to the transistor and determine how
each part works by measuring the resultant
currents.
By observing these currents, we can discover
how the transistor is capable of performing
all the various jobs that it does.
Since we have two junctions, by applying
basic math, we obtain four combinations of
applying externally generated voltages to the
transistor.
7

COMBINATIONS FOR AN N-P-N

TRANSISTOR

Emitter positive with respect to base

Collector positive with respect to base

Collector negative with respect to base

Emitter negative with respect to base

Collector positive with respect to base

Collector negative with respect to base

BIAS POINTS AND CORRESPONDING

OPERATING REGIONS

Emitter Collect Operati

-Base
ng
orJunctio
Region
Base
n
Juncti
on
Revers
e Bias

Revers
e Bias

Cut-Off

Revers
e Bias

Forwar
d Bias

Revers
eActive

Forwar
d Bias

Revers
e Bias

Active
Region

Forwar

Forwar

Saturat

WORKING CONTINUED

Of these four combinations the one that

interests us at this moment is:

Emitter being negative with respect to base and

collector being positive with respect to base, i.e.,
Emitter-Base junction Forward Bias and Collector
Base Junction Reverse Bias.

Now let us try operating one junction at a

time in our desirable region and observe the
results.
10

IE
IB

Battery
B2
+
-

+
-

Battery
B1

IC

S
1

S2

Transistor
Biases

11

EMITTER-BASE JUNCTION FORWARD

BIAS
N

IE
+
-

Observed
Results:
IE = Large
IB = Large

IB
S
1

Battery
B2

S2

+
-

Battery
B1

12

COLLECTOR-BASE JUNCTION REVERSE

BIAS
N

Battery
B1
Battery
B2

+
-

Observed Results:
IC = 0
(Approximately)

S2

+
-

13

OBSERVED RESULTS

By individually biasing the results we

observed that

When E-B Junction is forward biased, IE and IB are

large.
When C-B Junction is reverse biased we observed
that IC current is approximately zero.

Each of the above circuit conditions is

perfectly straight forward and exactly what
we should expect.
Now let us try applying bias voltages to both
junctions at a time and try to predict the
results.

14

IE
IB
S

+
-

Expected
Results:
IE = Large
IB = Large
IC = 0

Battery
B2

S2

+
-

Battery
B1

15

IE
IB
S

+
-

Actual Results:
IE = Large
IB = Low
IC = Large (w.r.t.
base)

Battery
B2

S2

+
-

Battery
B1

IC

16

INVESTIGATION OF RESULTS

When both junctions are simultaneously

biased The base current becomes very small
and the collector current becomes very large.

Let us try to investigate the cause for this

anomaly.

17

N
Eo +ECC

IE

IC
VCC

+
-

S2

+
-

IB

VEE

Transistor Amplifier
Biases

18

REASON FOR ANOMALY

When the junctions are simultaneously

biased, electrons diffuse into the base as the
E-B junction is forward biased.
Some of them recombine with the holes in
the base while other find their way to the
collector junction.
Normally the depletion layer is free of mobile
charges. But when electrons reach the C-B
junctions, the collector supply voltage can be
felt by the electrons and they are swept
across the junction into collector region.
19

REASON FOR ANOMALY CONTINUED

The reason why the electrons move across

the base without finding a hole with which to
recombine is that the base region is
deliberately made very thin and also the
base region is lightly doped.
Because of these reasons only few
recombinations occur in the base region.
Once they get to the C-B junction, they
diffuse through the depletion layer and reach
the collector.
20

PIN DIAGRAM
C

BJT Circuit Symbol

B
E
NPN

Notc
h

E
PNP

Emitt
er
Practical BJT bottom
Bas
view
e
Collect
or

21

CURRENT EQUATION

Emitter current is the sum of Base current

and Collector current.
IE = IB+IC

Electrons emitted by Emitter are distributed

between Base and Collector.

As Base is lightly doped and very thin,

Collector gets the Lions share of the
electrons.
22

CURRENT EQUATION CONTINUED

Collector current has two components. One being

the current due to thermally generated carriers in
the base trying to flow into the collector while the
other being the current due to injected minority
charge carriers.
IC = ICBo+ IE

Where is the proportionality constant and its

importance will be discussed later.

23

TRANSISTOR TERMINAL VOLTAGES

For a Silicon, N-P-N
transistor:
Regio V
VCE
BE VCB
n

C
VCB
B
VBE

VCE

Active 0.7

Posi
tive
and
depe
nds
on
supp
ly
volta
ge

Positi
ve
and
at
quies
cent
point

Satur
ation

Neg
ative
and
very
low

Positi
ve
and
very
low

0.7

24

TRANSISTOR TERMINAL VOLTAGES

CONTINUED

When transistor is in active region, bias

points are set in such a way that maximum
swing is obtained at the output terminals.
Hence VCE is set at (VCC/2) where VCC is the
supply voltage. Hence it is a large positive
value.
But during saturation, VCE falls to a very low
value as both the junctions are forward
biased.
25

TRANSISTOR TERMINAL VOLTAGES

CONTINUED

Practical values for VCE,SAT

Transist
or
Model

IC

IB

(m

A)

VCE,SAT
(Volts
)

A)
BC107

10 0.5

0.25

10
0

0.6

15
0

15

0.3

PN2222
A
References:
50 50
1.0
1. https://www.centralsemi.com/get_document.php?cmp=1&mergetype=pd&mergepath=pd&pdf_id=b
0
c107.PDF
2. https://www.fairchildsemi.com/datasheets/PN/PN2222A.pdf
3. http://www.onsemi.com/pub_link/Collateral/2N3055-D.PDF

4,
00
0

40
0

1.1

26

CIRCUIT CONFIGURATIONS

As we have three sections, we can connect

BJT in three different configurations
maintaining one section common to the
other two.
Different configurations that can be obtained
are:

Common Base Configuration

Common Emitter Configuration
Common Collector Configuration

27

COMMON BASE CONFIGURATION

Objectives:
Common Base Current Gain
Early effect
Input Characteristics
Output Characteristics
Uses

28

COMMON BASE CONFIGURATION

IC

IE

VBE

VCB
IB

Power
Supply

Power
Supply

29

COMMON BASE CONFIGURATION

Common Base Current Gain:

Let us recall the collector current equation which

we discussed before.
IC = ICBo+ IE

The constant is called as the Common base

current gain. It is defined as the ratio of Collector
current to Emitter Current.

30

COMMON BASE CONFIGURATION

Early effect:

In Active region Collector-Base junction is reverse

biased which leads to the formation of spacecharge region at Collector-Base Junction.
Since Base is lightly doped, the depletion layer
penetrates deeper into Base region reducing its
effective length.
This phenomenon is known as Early effect.
Since, the Space-charge region is a function of
the voltage applied (its width can be modulated
by changing the applied voltage) this
phenomenon is also known as Base-Width
Modulation.

31

COMMON BASE CONFIGURATION

Early effect continued

Due to the reduction in base width, the resistance

offered to the charge carriers decreases, as a
result, the common base current gain ,
increases.
For extremely large voltages the effective width
of Base can be made approximately zero. This
phenomenon is called Punch-Through.
Due to Early effect, Collector current becomes a
function of the DC bias potential applied to the
collector instead of Emitter current. This is
undesirable.

32

COMMON BASE CONFIGURATION

Input Characteristics:

As we have discussed earlier, the two junctions of

the transistor can be visualized as two diodes
placed in series back-to-back.
In active region Emitter-Base junction is forward
biased. Input characteristics are plotted between
Emitter-Base junction voltage and Emitter
current.
These characteristics are similar to the V-I
characteristics of a p-n diode.
33

COMMON BASE CONFIGURATION

Steps to plot Input Characteristics:

Maintain the output voltage, VCB at a constant

level.

Vary the input voltage and note the

corresponding input current or Emitter current IE.

Repeat the above steps for different values of VCB

and plot them taking voltage on x-axis and
current on y-axis.

The obtained characteristics are those of a

forward biased p-n junction.

34

COMMON BASE CONFIGURATION

IE3

VCB3
VCB2

VCB1

IE
VCB3>VCB2>VCB1
Early effect playing its
part

IE2
IE1
VTH

VBE

35

OBJECTIVES FOR TODAYS CLASS

Available configurations.

Common Base

Common Emitter

Common Emitter Current Gain

Input Characteristics
Output Characteristics
Uses

Common Collector

Output Characteristics
Uses

Common Collector Current Gain

Input Characteristics
Output Characteristics
Uses

Introduction to Hybrid-parameters.

36

COMMON BASE CONFIGURATION

Steps to plot Output Characteristics:

Output characteristics is plotted between output

voltage VCB and Collector current IC.

Maintain Emitter current IE at a constant value.

Vary the output voltage VCB and note down

corresponding Collector current, IC.

Repeat the above steps for different values of IE.

From the plot we can observe that, for each fixed

level of IE, IC is approximately equal to IE.

37

COMMON BASE CONFIGURATION

38

COMMON BASE CONFIGURATION

IC
VCB
fixed
Almost
linear

IE
Forward Transfer Characteristics

39

COMMON BASE CONFIGURATION

Uses:

Since IE is approximately equal to IC it acts as a

Current Buffer.
For small variation at Emitter-Base junction we
have a large change in the Emitter current, which
is approximately equal to Collector current. As a
result we have a large voltage swing across the
load resistor if biased properly. Hence, it acts as a
Voltage amplifier .

40

COMMON EMITTER CONFIGURATION

Objectives:

Common Emitter Current Gain

Input Characteristics
Output characteristics
Uses

41

COMMON EMITTER CONFIGURATION

IC

IB

VCE

VBE
IE

Power
Supply

Power
Supply

42

COMMON EMITTER CONFIGURATION

Common Emitter Current Gain:

From the biasing circuit, we can observe that the

input signal is given at Base now and the input
current is Base current where as output current is
collector current.
Common emitter current gain is defined as the
ratio of Collector current to Base current.

43

COMMON EMITTER CONFIGURATION

Input Characteristics:

Input characteristics are drawn between the input

current and the voltage across the forward-biased
p-n junction (B-E junction)

Steps to plot Input Characteristics:

The steps followed to plot the input

characteristics are same as that of Common-Base
configuration.
We vary the input voltage VBE and note the
corresponding values of input current, IB for
different voltage levels of VCB
The plot looks similar to that of C-B configuration.

44

COMMON EMITTER CONFIGURATION

IB
(A)

VCB3
VCB2

VCB1

VCB3>VCB2>VCB1

VTH

VBE
(Volts)

45

COMMON EMITTER CONFIGURATION

Output Characteristics:
Output characteristics are drawn between
the output current, (IC) and the voltage
across the Collector-Emitter junction, (VCE).
Steps to plot Output Characteristics:
We vary the output voltage VCE and note the
corresponding values of output current, IC for
different voltage levels of input current, IB

We use current as a control parameter to

control the BJT hence it is called as aCURRENT CONTROLLED CURRENT SOURCE

46

COMMON EMITTER CONFIGURATION

47

COMMON EMITTER CONFIGURATION

Let us observe the output characteristics for a

moment.
For VCE=VCE,SAT we can observe that irrespective of
the level of base current, output current is
constant. It indicates the loss of amplification
property of a transistor.
For larger values of VCE we can observe that IC is
increases and also as base current IB level
increases, IC increases.
When base current IB is zero, we have a very
small current flowing through the transistor, is
the reverse saturation current ICBo

48

COMMON EMITTER CONFIGURATION

Uses:

Common emitter is used for both voltage as well

as current amplification.

Used when a phase shift of 180o is required at the

output. (also called as an INVERTER)

49

COMMON COLLECTOR
CONFIGURATION
Objectives:

Common Collector Current Gain

Input Characteristics
Output characteristics
Uses

50

COMMON COLLECTOR
CONFIGURATION

IC

IB

+
-

VCE

VBE
IE

+
Power
Supply
51

COMMON COLLECTOR
CONFIGURATION
Common Collector Current Gain:

The biasing circuits for common emitter and

common collector might look same but, in C-C
configuration, load resistor is connected in
between Emitter and Common Ground point

In C-E configuration load resistor is connected in

between collector and Biasing source.
52

COMMON COLLECTOR
CONFIGURATION

53

COMMON COLLECTOR
CONFIGURATION

Input is applied at Base and output is taken

across Emitter Resistor.
We know that IE = IB+IC.
= IB+IB

Common Collector current gain is defined as the

ratio of Emitter current, IE to Base current, IB.

where, = +1

54

COMMON COLLECTOR
CONFIGURATION

Input and output characteristics of CommonEmitter and Common-Collector configurations are

similar.

Uses:

C-C amplifier is used for current amplification.

Its output voltage is nearly equal to its input
voltage. Hence, it is used as a voltage buffer
It is also called as a Voltage Follower.
55

INTRODUCTION TO HYBRIDPARAMETERS

Unlike R, L and C, Transistor is a non-linear

element.

We represent the transistor with the help of linear

elements for the sake of circuit analysis.

We use resistors and a dependent current source

to form an equivalent circuit of the transistor.
56

INTRODUCTION TO HYBRIDPARAMETERS

Earlier, while discussing input and output

characteristics of different configurations we
have seen the dependence of output current on
input current and output voltage and also
dependence of input voltage drop across the
forward biased junction on input current and
output voltage.
Therefore we can represent input voltage as a
function of input current and output voltage and
output current as a function of input current and
output voltage.
57

INTRODUCTION TO HYBRIDPARAMETERS

Let us consider common emitter

configuration for our analysis.
We can write:
VBE = (VCE, IB) and IC = (VCE, IB).
Transistor is a two port network. The relation
between its input and output parameters can
be represented using h- parameters in the
following way.
vBE = hie iB + hre vCE
iC = hfe iB + hoe vCE
58

INTRODUCTION TO HYBRIDPARAMETERS

59

INTRODUCTION TO HYBRIDPARAMETERS

60