Training: Basic Training.
Course Code: NCES
Course: National certificate in Electrical Installation systems Module Code: TCES 204
and maintenance (2nd year)
Module: Electrical Machines and basic electronics. Prepared by: Kagudde George.
Sub Module: BASIC ELECTRONICS. Date of Execution:
Sub-Topic: Electronic Components.
Title (Detail): Transistors
TRANSISTORS
It’s a semiconductor device that acts as either electrically controlled switches or
amplifier controls.
Transistors are applied in most electric circuit you can imagine. Such as
Switching circuits, Amplifier circuits, Oscillator circuits
Current source circuits, Voltage- regulator circuits , Power- supply circuits
Digital logic ICs, and mostly in circuits that uses small control signals to control
larger currents.
Note; A transistor is like a combination of two diodes.
Categories of transistors
There are two major families of transistors namely;
Bipolar transistors
Field- effect transistors (FETs).
Difference between Bipolar and field- effect transistors
Bipolar Transistor Field effect transistor
They require a biasing input (or output) They require only a voltage practically
current at their control leads no current.
They require both positive (holes) and Require one charge carrier because
negative (electrons) carriers to operate they draw little or no current
They have low in put impedance. They have high input impedance
Difficult to manufacture Easy to manufacture
Expensive to make since they require They are cheap to make since they
more silicon. require less silicon.
They are made in small size which limit Can be made extremely small size
them in some tinny applications making them useful elements in
integrated circuits
Fair trans-conductance in amplifier In amplifier, their trans-conductance is
circuits much low which is not good in gain
ratio.
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Summery
Transistor Types: BJT, JFET, and MOSFET
Bipolar Junction Transistor (BJT)
– NPN and PNP
Junction Field Effect Transistor (JFET)
– N-channel and P-channel
Metal Oxide Semiconductor FET (MOSFET)
– Depletion type (n- and p-channel) and enhancement type (n- and p-channel)
BJT Types
• NPN and PNP.
– NPN: a small input current and a positive voltage applied at its base (with VB>VE)
allows a large current to flow from collector to emitter.
– PNP: a small output current and a negative voltage at its base (with VB<VE)
allows a much larger current to flow from emitter to collector.
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Operation
When no voltage is applied at transistor’s base, electrons in the emitter are
prevented from passing to the collector side because of the p-n junction.
If a negative voltage is applied to the base, things get even worse as the p-n
junction between the base and emitter becomes reverse biased resulting in
the formation of a depletion region that prevents current flow.
If a positive voltage (>0.6V) is applied to the base of an n-p-n transistor, the
p-n junction between the base and emitter becomes forward-biased. During
forward bias, escaping electrons are drawn to the positive base.
Some electrons exit through the base, but because the p-type base is so thin,
the onslaught of electrons that leave the emitter get close enough to the
collector side that they begin jumping into the collector. Increasing the base
voltage increases the emitter-to collector electron flow.
Recall, positive current flow is in the direction opposite to the electron flow, current
flows from collector to emitter.
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NPN
Transistor in a Complete Circuit
NPN: VB > VE -ON
• When VB > VE we have an operating circuit.
• Current passes from collector to emitter when base is activated.
The Formulas
The fundamental formula used to describe the behavior of a bipolar transistor is
IC = hFEIB = βIB
Where, IE = IB + IC
IC is the collector current.
hFE is the current gain also represented by β
IB is the base current.
If you combine this equation with the current- gain equation, you can come up with
an equation relating the emitter and base currents:
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IE = (hFE + 1)IB
This equation is almost identical to the current- gain equation (IC =hFEIB), with the
exception of the +1 term. In practice, the +1 is insignificant as long as
hFE is large. Then
IE ≈ IC
Finally, the second equation below is simply expressed in mathematical form:
VBE = VB - VE = + 0.6 V (npn)
VBE = VB - VE = − 0.6 V (pnp)
EXAMPLE
Given VCC = +20 V, VB = 5.6 V, R1 = 4.7 kΩ, R2 = 3.3 kΩ, and hFE = 100, find VE, IE ,
IB , IC and VC .
Solution
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EXAMPLE 2
Given VCC = + 10 V, VB = 8.2 V, R1 = 560 Ω, R2 = 2.8 kΩ, and β= 100, find VE, IE , IB,
IC, and VC.
Solution.
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