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LECTURE 6
Transistors
Transistor is a 3 terminals semiconductor device that controls current between two terminals based on the current (BJT) or voltage (FET) at the third terminal Is used for the amplification or switching of electrical signals Two main categories of transistors: Bipolar Junction Transistors (BJTs) and Field Effect Transistors (FETs) The physics of "transistor action" is quite different for the BJT and FET In analog circuits, transistors are used in amplifiers and linear regulated power supplies In digital circuits, they function as electrical switches, including logic gates, Random Access Memory (RAM), and microprocessors.
A bipolar transistor essentially consists of a pair of PN Junction diodes that are joined back-to-back. There are therefore two kinds of BJT, the NPN and PNP varieties. The three layers of the sandwich are conventionally called the Collector, Base, and Emitter.
Modern Transistors
Figure shows the energy levels in an NPN transistor under no externally applying voltages
In each of the N-type layers conduction can take place by the free movement of electrons in the conduction band
In the P-type (filling) layer conduction can take place by the movement of the free holes in the valence band However, in the absence of any externally applied electric field, we find that depletion zones form at both PN-Junctions, so no charge wants to move from one layer to another.
What happens when we apply a moderate voltage between the collector and base parts The polarity of the applied voltage is chosen to increase the force pulling the N-type electrons and P-type holes apart This widens the depletion zone between the collector and base and so no current will flow In effect we have reversebiased the Base-Collector diode junction.
Charge Flow
What happens when we apply a relatively small Emitter-Base voltage whose polarity is designed to forwardbias the Emitter-Base junction. This 'pushes' electrons from the Emitter into the Base region and sets up a current flow across the EmitterBase boundary. Once the electrons have managed to get into the Base region they can respond to the attractive force from the positively-biased Collector region. As a result the electrons which get into the Base move swiftly towards the Collector and cross into the Collector region. Hence a Emitter-Collector current magnitude is set by the chosen Emitter-Base voltage applied. Hence an external current flowing in the circuit.
Charge Flow
Some of free electrons crossing the Base encounter a hole and 'drop into it'. As a result, the Base region loses one of its positive charges (holes). The Base potential would become more negative (because of the removal of the holes) until it was negative enough to repel any more electrons from crossing the Emitter-Base junction. The current flow would then stop.
Charge Flow
To prevent this happening we use the applied E-B voltage to remove the captured electrons from the base and maintain the number of holes. The effect, some of the electrons which enter the transistor via the Emitter emerging again from the Base rather than the Collector. For most practical BJT, only about 1% of the free electrons which try to cross Base region get caught in this way. Hence a Base current, IB, which is typically around one hundred times smaller than the Emitter current, IE.
Characteristics
Maximum collector current (IC) the maximum continuous current that can flow in the collector leg of the transistor without damage to the transistor (50 mA to 50 A) Maximum power dissipation (PD) the maximum power the transistor can dissipate without being damaged (0.2 W to 250 W) Small signal beta () or (hfe) the signal current gain of the transistor in the common-emitter configuration ( = ic/ib) DC beta () or (hFE) the DC current gain of the transistor in the common-emitter configuration (10 to 1000). = IC/IB Maximum base current (IB) the maximum current that can flow in the base leg of the transistor without damage to the transistor Collector to base breakdown voltage (VCBO) the maximum reverse-biased voltage that can be applied across the collector to base junction (20 V to 1500 V)
Characteristics
Collector to emitter breakdown voltage (VCEO) the maximum voltage that can be applied across the transistor from collector to emitter (20 V to 800 V) Emitter to base breakdown voltage (VEBO) the maximum reverse-biased voltage that can be applied across the emitter to base junction (4 V to 20 V) Gain-bandwidth product (fT) the frequency at which the gain of the transistor drops to unity (1 MHz to 5000 MHz)
15 uA
10uA
5 uA
0.7 V
VBE
Three terminals:
Base (B): very thin and lightly doped central region (little recombination). Emitter (E) and collector (C) are two outer regions sandwiching B.
B-E junction forward biased; B-C junction reverse biased. The emitter emits (injects) majority charge into base region and because the base very thin, most will ultimately reach the collector. The emitter is highly doped while the collector is lightly doped. The collector is usually at higher voltage than the emitter.
Operation
Forward bias of EBJ injects electrons from emitter into base (small number of holes injected from base into emitter) Most electrons shoot through the base into the collector across the reverse bias junction (think about band diagram) Some electrons recombine with majority carrier in (P-type) base region
Operation Mode
Operation Mode
Active:
Most importance mode, e.g. for amplifier operation. The region where current curves are practically flat.
Saturation:
Barrier potential of the junctions cancel each other out causing a virtual short. Ideal transistor behaves like a closed switch.
Current reduced to zero Ideal transistor behaves like an open switch.
Cutoff:
Operation Mode
Circuit Symbols
For a transistor to function properly as an amplifier, an external dc supply voltage (or voltages) must be applied to produce the desired collector current, Ic. Several biasing techniques exist that include: Base Biasing Voltage Divider Emitter Biasing
The simplest way to bias a transistor VBB is the base supply voltage used to forward bias the base-emitter junction RB is used to provide the desired value of base current VCC is the collector supply voltage which provides the reverse-bias voltage required for the collector-base junction of the transistor RC provides the desired voltage in the collector circuit
+vBB +vcc
Dual supply
Single supply
VCE(off) = VCC
Active region IC = x IB
IC(sat) = VCC / RC
ICQ
Q point
VCE
VCEQ VCE(off) = VCC
+vBB +vcc
Q point
VCE
VCEQ = 7.32 V VCE(off) = 15 V
Vcc = IBRB + Vbe IB = (Vcc - Vbe)/ RB = (12 V 0.7 V)/ 56 k = 28.97 A IC = x IB = 150 x 28.97 A = 4.35 mA
Q point
VCE
VCEQ = 5..48 V
VCE(off) = 12 V
The most popular way to bias a transistor The advantage lies in its stability As shown in the figure, two resistor R1 and R2 set up a voltage divider on the base
voltage across provided
VCE(off) = VCC
Active region IC = x IB
ICQ
Q point
VCE
VCEQ VCE(off) = VCC
This type can only be used when dual (split) power supply is available The advantage lies in its stability similar to voltage divider VEE forward-biases the emitter-base junction through the emitter resistor, RE
VB - VE = VBE
If RB is small enough, base voltage will be approximately zero. Therefore emitter current is,
IE = (VEE - VBE)/RE
BJT as a Switch
Operation
In the circuits, transistor works as a switch, the biasing of the transistor, either NPN or PNP is arranged to operate it at the both sides of the I-V characteristics curves. The areas of operation for a transistor switch are: Cut-off region Saturation region Cut-off Region 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 current flowing through the device
BJT as a Switch
Cut-off Region
In the circuits, transistor works as a switch, the biasing of the transistor, either NPN or PNP is arranged to operate it at the both sides of the I-V characteristics curves. The input and Base are grounded (0v) Base-Emitter voltage V < 0.7v Base-Emitter junction is reverse biased Base-Collector junction is reverse biased Transistor is "fully-OFF" (Cut-off region) No Collector current flows ( I = 0 )
BE C
BJT as a Switch
Saturation Region
The transistor is biased so that the maximum amount of base current is applied, resulting in maximum collector current resulting in the minimum collector emitter voltage drop which results in the depletion layer being as small as possible and maximum current flowing through the transistor. Therefore the transistor is switched "Fully-ON.
BJT as a Switch
Saturation Region
The input and Base are connected to V Base-Emitter voltage V > 0.7v Base-Emitter junction is forward biased Base-Collector junction is forward biased Transistor is "fully-ON" (saturation region) Max Collector current flows (I = Vcc/R )
CC BE C L
BJT as a Switch
Schematic symbols
Dramatic symbol
The common base circuit is mainly used in single stage amplifier circuits such as microphone or radio frequency (RF) amplifiers due to its very good high frequency response
Schematic symbols
Dramatic symbol
The Common Emitter Amplifier Circuit The input is applied to the base The output is from the collector High voltage and current gain, Vout > Vin High input impedance Low output impedance Phase shift between input and output is 180
Very High
0o High
High
180o Medium
Low
0o Low
Current Gain
Power Gain
Low
Low
Medium
Very High
High
Medium