Bipolar Junction Transistors

(BJTs)
Course Code: EEE 231
Course Title: Electronics I

Kazi Rizwanul Huq

Assistant Professor
Department of Electrical & Electronic Engineering
Faculty of Engineering & Technology
Eastern University
Chapter Outline
 Describe the basic structure of the bipolar junction
transistor (BJT)
 Explain and analyze basic transistor bias and operation
 Discuss the parameters and characteristics of a transistor
and how they apply to transistor circuits
 INTRODUCING BJT

What is transistor ?
A semiconductor device with three connections, capable of amplification in
addition to rectification.

What is difference between transistor with diode?

Transistor used with other circuit elements, is capable of current gain,
voltage gain and signal power gain.
Transistor is referred as active device, while diode is passive devices.

What is Bipolar Junction Transistor ?

BJT is one of two major types of transistors, used extensively in analog
circuits because of its high current gain.
Use both electron and hole charge carriers in the operation of BJT, unlike
FET that only use one kind of carrier.
Also known as bipolar transistors.
 Three terminal active device which transforms current flow from
low resistance path to high resistance path. This transfer of
current through resistance path, given the name to the device
„transfer resistor‟ as transistor.
 Transistors consists of junctions within it, are called junction
transistors.
 Current carries inside is by two opposite polarities of charge
carriers (electrons and holes), hence the name bipolar junction
transistor.
 Transistor Structure

• BJT is constructed with 3 doped semiconductor regions separated by 2 p-n

junctions (Base-Collector & Base-Emitter).
• 3 regions are called emitter, base and collector.
• Emitter (E) – most heavily doped region.
• Base (B) – thin and lightly doped region.
• Collector (C) – largest and moderately doped region.
 Transistor Structure

 The BJT is constructed with three doped semiconductor regions

separated by two PN junctions.
 The three region are called emitter (E),base (B) and collector (C)
 The BJT have 2 types:
1. Two n region separate by a p region – called NPN
2. Two p region separated by a n region – called PNP
 The PN junction joining the base region and the emitter region is
called the base-emitter junction
 The PN junction joining the base region and the collector region is
call base-collector junction
 The base region is lightly doped and very thin compared to the
heavily doped emitter and the moderately doped collector region
 Type/Symbol

Ideal PNP (a) schematic structure, (b) symbol, NPN (c) structure, (d) symbol
 Carrier Transport Mechanism

DRIFT DIFFUSION

The movement of carrier The flow of carrier due to

due to electric field, E density gradients (dn/dx)
 BASIC OPERATION – Current Flow Analogy
The basic principle of operation is the control of the collector current by the
B-E voltage

Bipolar transistor  name because charge flow in a BJT is due to bidirectional

diffusion of charge carriers across the junction between two regions of different charge
concentrations.

BJT : potential⇒energy profile is Field effect transistors channel

controlled by base-emitter voltage constriction is controlled by gate bias.
How the BJT works
 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

NPN Bipolar Transistor 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.
How the BJT works
 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.

Apply a Collector-Base voltage  In effect we have reverse-

biased the Base-Collector diode
junction.
Charge Flow  What happens when we apply a relatively
small Emitter-Base voltage whose polarity
is designed to forward-bias the Emitter-
Base junction.

 This 'pushes' electrons from the Emitter

into the Base region and sets up a current
flow across the Emitter-Base 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.
Apply an Emitter-Base voltage
 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
Some electron fall into a hole 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.

Some electron fall into a hole

 Hence a Base current, IB, which is
typically around one hundred
times smaller than the Emitter
current, IE.
 BJT Operation

In normal operation, the base-emitter is forward-biased while the

base-collector is reverse-biased.

For npn type, the collector is more For pnp type, the voltages are
positive than the base, which is more reversed to maintain the forward-
positive than the emitter. reverse bias.
 Operation NPN Transistor
• free electrons move
through collector region into
external circuit.
• then return into emitter
• base has low region along with the base
density of holes current.
(majority carriers).
• electrons that have • most free electrons don’t
recombined with recombine with holes as the
holes as valance base is very thin → move
electrons leave the toward BC junction.
crystalline structure of •Swept across into collector
the base, they region by attraction of +ve
become electrons in supply.
the metallic base
lead and produce • heavily doped n-type
the external base emitter region has a very
current. high density of free
electrons.
• free electrons easily diffuse
through BE junction into
lightly doped and thin base
region
 Basic Transistor Operation

NPN transistor operation:

 The forward bias from base to emitter narrow the BE depletion region, and the reverse bias
from base to collector widens the BC depletion region.
 The heavily doped n-type emitter region is teeming with conduction-band (free ) electrons
that easily diffuse through BE junction into the p-type base region where they become
minority carriers.
 The base region is lightly doped and very thin so that it has a very limited number of holes.
 Thus only a small percentage of all the electrons flowing through the BE junction can
combine with the available holes in the base.
 A few recombined electrons flow out of the base lead as valence electrons, forming the
small base electron current.
 Most of electrons from the emitter diffuse into the BC depletion region.
 Once in this region they are pulled through the reverse-biased BC junction by the electric
field set up by the force of attraction between the positive and negative ions.
 The electron now move through the collector region out through the collector lead into the
positive terminal of the collector voltage source.
 The operation of PNP transistor is the same as for the NPN except that the roles of electrons
and holes, the bias voltage polarities and the current directions are all reversed.
 Basic Transistor Operation
Transistor Currents:
 The directions of the currents in NPN transistor and PNP transistor are shown in
the figure.
 The emitter current (IE) is the sum of the collector current (IC) and the base
current (IB)
I E  I B  IC
 IB << IE and IC
 The capital letter – dc value
 Common Base (CB).
 Common Emitter (CE).
 Common Collector (CC).
 In this arrangement input is given between emitter and base, while
output is taken across the collector and base. Here base is common
to both input and output.
Operation in Active Mode: Common Base

Depletion layer width of the E-B junction is

narrower & C-B junction is wider compared
with equilibrium case
•E-B junction (forward biased) – electrons
injected from the n++ E into B (results
excess electrons in B), holes injected
from the p+ B into E
•C-B junction (reverse biased) –if B width is
narrow, electrons injected from the E can
diffuse thru B to reach the B-C depletion
edge and the “float up” into the C
•E (emits/injects carriers) C (collects
carriers from nearby junction) : C electron
current = E electron current : Emit and
collect concept
• The transistor action: carriers injected
from E junction large I flow in C junction
CB Configuration Characteristic & Parameters
Common base means base is common to both input and output circuit
So input current is 𝐼𝐸 and output current, 𝐼𝐶 .
The ratio of change in collector current to the change in emitter
current at constant collector-base voltage 𝑽𝑪𝑩 is known as
current amplification factor.
∆𝐼𝐶
Then amplification factor 𝛼 = (𝐼𝐸 = 𝐼𝐵 + 𝐼𝐶 )
∆𝐼𝐸
So 𝛼 is less than unity. Usually 0.9 to 0.99
Total collector current consists of :
i)Part of emitter current which reaches the collector terminal i.e. ***α𝐼𝐸
ii) The leakage current 𝐼𝑙𝑒𝑘𝑎𝑔𝑒 This current is due to the movement of
minority carriers across base-collector junction on account of it being
reverse biased. This is generally much smaller than α𝐼𝐸
CB Configuration Characteristic & Parameters
So total collector current, 𝐼𝐶 = 𝛼𝐼𝐸 + 𝐼𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑘𝑎𝑔𝑒
if 𝐼𝐸 = 0 (i.e., emitter circuit is open), a small leakage current still
flows in the
collector circuit. This 𝐼𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑘𝑎𝑔𝑒 is abbreviated as 𝐼𝐶𝐵𝑂
, meaning collector-base current with emitter open.
𝐼𝐶 = 𝛼𝐼𝐸 + 𝐼𝐶𝐵𝑂
𝐼𝐸 = 𝐼𝐵 + 𝐼𝐶

𝐼𝐶 = 𝛼(𝐼𝐵 +𝐼𝐶 ) + 𝐼𝐶𝐵𝑂

𝐼𝐶 1 − 𝛼 = 𝛼𝐼𝐵 + 𝐼𝐶𝐵𝑂
𝛼 𝐼𝐶𝐵𝑂
𝐼𝐶 = 𝐼𝐵 +
1−𝛼 1−𝛼
Collector Current Expression for CB
(i) The emitter current IE increases
rapidly with small increase in
emitter-base voltage VBE. It
means that input resistance is very
small.

(ii) The emitter current is almost

independent of collector-base
voltage VCB . This leads to the
conclusion that emitter current
(and hence collector current) is
almost independent of collector
voltage
(i) The collector current IC varies with VCB
only at very low voltages ( < 1V). The
transistor is never operated in this region.

(ii) When the value of VCB is raised above 1

− 2 V, the collector current becomes
constant as indicated by straight
horizontal curves. It means that now IC is
independent of VCB and depends upon
IE only. This is consistent with the theory
that the emitter current flows almost
entirely to the collector terminal. The
transistor is always operated in this
region.

(iii) A very large change in collector-base

voltage produces only a tiny change in
collector current. This means that output
resistance is very high.
Because of reverse bias at collector junction, the depletion layer
is wide and it penetrates both in to the base region and
collector region. But the doping of the base region is much
smaller than that of collector region. Hence the penetration of
the depletion layer into the base region is much greater than
the penetration into the collector region. Therefore the effective
width of the base gets reduced. As the magnitude of the
reverse bias at the junction increases, the effective base width
decreases. This phenomenon is known as Early Effect or Base
Width Modulation.
Common emitter means emitter is common to both input and
output circuit
So input current is 𝐼𝐵 and output current, 𝐼𝐶 .
The ratio of change in collector current (∆𝐼𝐶 ) to the change in base current (∆𝐼𝐵 ) is
known as emitter current amplification factor.

∆𝐼𝐶
𝛼
𝛽= 𝛽=
∆𝐼𝐵 1−𝛼
∆𝐼
Again, α = ∆𝐼𝐶
𝐸
∆𝐼𝐶 ∆𝐼𝐸 If 𝛼 tends to 1 then 𝛽 tends
𝛽= × to infinity.
∆𝐼𝐸 ∆𝐼𝐵
So current amplification
∆𝐼𝐶 +∆𝐼𝐵 factor is very high in common
=𝛼× emitter configuration.
∆𝐼𝐵
+ 1 = 𝛼(𝛽 + 1) That‟s why it is used in about
∆𝐼𝐶
=𝛼 90 to 95 percent of all
∆𝐼𝐵
transistor applications.
𝛽 = 𝛼𝛽 + 𝛼
𝛽 1−𝛼 =𝛼
𝛼
Relation between 𝜷 & 𝜶 𝛽=
1−𝛼
In common emitter circuit, 𝐼𝐵 is the input current and 𝐼𝐶 is the
output current.
We know that, 𝐼𝐸 = 𝐼𝐵 + 𝐼𝐶
And 𝐼𝐶 = 𝛼𝐼𝐸 + 𝐼𝐶𝐵𝑂
𝐼𝐶 = 𝛼(𝐼𝐵 + 𝐼𝐶 ) + 𝐼𝐶𝐵𝑂
𝐼𝐶 = 𝛼𝐼𝐵 + 𝛼𝐼𝐶 + 𝐼𝐶𝐵𝑂
(1 − 𝛼)𝐼𝐶 = 𝛼𝐼𝐵 + 𝐼𝐶𝐵𝑂
𝛼 𝐼𝐶𝐵𝑂
𝐼𝐶 = 𝐼𝐵 +
1−𝛼 1−𝛼
𝐼𝐶𝐵𝑂
𝐼𝐶 = 𝛽𝐼𝐵 +
1−𝛼

𝐼𝐶 = 𝛽𝐼𝐵 + 𝐼𝐶𝐸𝑂 Collector Current Expression for CE

Where, 𝐼𝐶𝐸𝑂 is the collector emitter current when base is open.
 The collector current for a CE configuration is given by : IC = β IB
+ICEO.

 The collector leakage current ICEO is strongly dependent on

temperature. The flow of collector current produces heat within the
transistor. This raises the transistor temperature and therefore the
collector leakage current ICEO also increases. It is clear from the
above equation that if ICEO increases, the collector current IC will
also increases. The increased IC will raise the temperature of the
transistor, which in turn will cause ICEO to again increase. This
effect is cumulative and in a matter of seconds, the collector
current may become very large, causing the transistor to burn out.
The self-destruction of transistor is known as Thermal Run
away.
• The graph of ICE / IBE shown (right) is called the Transfer Characteristic
• The slope of the graph shows the β
• Characteristic curves (graphs) can be drawn to show other parameters of a
transistor, and are used both to detail the performance of a particular
device and as an aid to the design of amplifiers.
 CE Characteristic & Parameters
DC Beta (  DC ) and DC Alpha ( DC ):
 The ratio of the dc collector current (IC) to the dc base current (IB) is
the dc beta
( DC ) = dc current gain of transistor
 Range value : 20<  DC <200
 Usually designed as an equivalent hybrid (h) parameter, hFE on
transistor data sheet – hFE   DC
IC
 DC 
IB
 The ratio of the dc collector current (IC) to the dc emitter current (IE)
is the dc alpha (  DC ) – less used parameter in transistor circuits
 Range value-> 0.95<  DC <0.99 or greater , but << 1 (Ic< IE )
IC
 DC 
IE
 CE Characteristic & Parameters
Current and Voltage Analysis:
 The current and voltage can be identified as following:
 Current: Voltage:
dc base current, I B dc voltage at base with respect to emitter, VBE
dc emitter current, I E dc voltage at collector with respect to base,VCB
dc collector current, I C dc voltage at collector with respect to emitter, VCE

forward-biased the
base-emitter junction reverse-biased the
base-collector junction

Transistor current & voltage

 CE Characteristic & Parameters
Current and Voltage Analysis:
 When the BE junction is forward-biased, like a forward biased
diode and the voltage drop is VBE  0.7V
 Since the emitter is at ground (0V), by Kirchhoff‟s voltage law,
the voltage across RB is: VRB  VBB  VBE …….(1)
 Also, by Ohm‟s law: V R B  I B RB ……..(2)
 From (1) ->(2) : VBB  VBE  I B RB

 Therefore, the dc base current is:

VBB  VBE
IB 
RB
 CE Characteristic & Parameters
Current and Voltage Analysis:
 The voltage at the collector with respect to the grounded
emitter is VCE  VCC  VR
C

 Since the drop across RC is: VRC  I C RC

 The dc voltage at the collector with respect to the emitter is:
VCE  VCC  I C RC
where I C   DC I B
 The dc voltage at the collector with respect to the base is:
VCB  VCE  VBE
 Current & Voltage Analysis

Determine IB, IC, VBE, VCE, and VCB in the circuit of Figure. The transistor has
a βDC = 150.

IC = βDCIB
When the base-emitter junction is forward-biased,
= (150)(430 μA)
VBE ≅ 0.7 V = 64.5 mA
IE = I C + I B
IB = (VBB – VBE) / RB
= 64.5 mA + 430 μA
= (5 V – 0.7 V) / 10 kΩ = 430 μA = 64.9 mA

VCE = VCC – ICRC

= 10 V – (64.5 mA)(100 Ω)
= 3.55 V
VCB = VCE – VBE
= 3.55 V – 0.7 V
= 2.85 V
(i) The characteristic resembles that of
a forward biased diode curve. This
is expected since the base-emitter
section of transistor is a diode and
it is forward biased.

(ii) As compared to CB arrangement,

IB increases less rapidly with VBE.
Therefore, input resistance of a CE
circuit is higher than that of CB
circuit.
 CE Characteristic & Parameters

Collector Characteristic Curve:

 Using a circuit as shown in below, we can generate a set of collector
characteristic curve that show how the collector current, Ic varies with the
VCE voltage for specified values of base current, IB.

variable voltage
 CE Characteristic & Parameters
Collector Characteristic Curve:
 Assume that VBB is set to produce a certain value of IB and VCC is zero.
 At this condition, BE junction and BC junction are forward biased because the
base is approximately 0.7V while the emitter and the collector are zero.
 The IB is through the BE junction because of the low impedance path to
ground, therefore IC is zero.
 When both junctions are forward biased – transistor operate in saturation
region.
 As VCC is increase gradually, IC increase – indicated by point A to B.
 IC increase as VCC is increased because VCE remains less than 0.7V due to the
forward biased BC junction.
 When VCE exceeds 0.7V, the BC becomes reverse biased and the transistor
goes into the active or linear region of its operation.
 In this time, IC levels off and remains constant for given value of IB and VCE
continues to increase.
 CE Characteristic & Parameters

Collector Characteristic Curve:

 Actually, IC increase very slightly as VCE increase due to widening of the BC
depletion region
 This result in fewer holes for recombination in the base region which
effectively caused a slight increase in I C   DC I B
 When VCE reached a sufficiently high voltage, the reverse biased BC junction
goes into breakdown.
 The collector current increase rapidly – as indicated at the right point C
 The transistor cannot operate in the breakdown region.
 When IB=0, the transistor is in the cutoff region although there is a very
small collector leakage current as indicated – exaggerated on the graph for
purpose of illustration.
 CE Characteristic & Parameters
Transistor Operating Regions: leakage current is
neglected
[Link] region:
• Both transistor junctions are reverse biased
• All terminal current are approximately equal
to zero

[Link] region:
• The BE junction is forward biased and the BC junction is reverse biased
• All terminal currents have some measurable value
• The magnitude of IC depends on the values of  and IB
• VCE is approximately 0.7V and VCE falls in ranges VBE<VCE<VCC

[Link]:
• Both transistor junctions are forward biased
• IC reaches its maximum values- determine by
the component in the CE circuit, and independent
of the values of  and IB
• VBE is approximately 0.7V and VCE < VBE
 CE Characteristic & Parameters
DC Load Line:
 Cutoff and saturation can be illustrated in relation to
the collector characteristic curves by the use of a load line.

 DC load line drawn on the connecting

cutoff and saturation point.

 The bottom of load line is ideal

cutoff where IC=0 & VCE=VCC.

 The top of load line is saturation

where IC=IC(sat) & VCE =VCE(sat)

 In between cutoff and saturation

is the active region of transistor‟s
operation.
 The zero signal values of Ic & Vce are known as
operating point. It is also called so because the
variations of Ic and Vce take place about this
point, when the signal is applied.

Suppose in the absence of signal, the base

current is 5 µA. Then IC and VCE conditions in
the circuit must be represented by some point
on IB = 5 µA characteristic. But IC and VCE
conditions in the circuit should also be
represented by some point on the DC load line
AB. The point Q where the load line and the
characteristic intersect is the only point which
satisfies both these conditions. Therefore, the
point Q describes the actual state of affairs in
the circuit in the zero signal conditions and is
called the operating point.

It is also called quiescent (silent) point or Q-

point because it is the point on IC − VCE
characteristic when the transistor is silent i.e. in
the absence of the signal.
The operating point of a transistor is kept fixed
usually at the centre of the active region in
order that the input signal is well amplified. If
the point is fixed in the saturation region or the
cut off region the positive and negative half
cycle gets clipped off respectively.
Transistor is driven
into saturation
because the Q-point
closer to saturation.

Transistor is driven
into cutoff because
the Q-point closer to
cutoff.
 The Transistor as an Amplifier

Amplification of a relatively small

ac voltage can be had by placing
the ac signal source in the base
circuit.
Recall that small changes in the
base current circuit causes large
changes in collector current circuit.

The ac emitter current : Ie ≈ Ic = Vb/r’e

The ac collector voltage : Vc = IcRc
Since Ic ≈ Ie, the ac collector voltage : Vc ≈ IeRc
The ratio of Vc to Vb is the ac voltage gain : Av = Vc/Vb
Substituting IeRc for Vc and Ier‟e for Vb : Av = Vc/Vb ≈ IcRc/Ier’e
The Ie terms cancel : Av ≈ Rc/r’e
 The Transistor as an Amplifier
Determine the voltage gain and the ac output voltage in Figure if r‟e = 50 Ω.

The voltage gain : Av ≈ Rc/r‟e = 1.0 kΩ/50 Ω = 20

The ac output voltage : AvVb = (20)(100 mV) = 2 V
 The Transistor as a Switch
A transistor when used as a switch is simply being biased so that it is in cutoff
(switched off) or saturation (switched on). Remember that the VCE in cutoff is
VCC and 0V in saturation.
 Application of Transistor Switch

When the input voltage (vin)= 0, transistor will be in cut-off, IC = 0, and

vout = VCC (open switch). When the input voltage (vin) is in “high” state,
transistor will be in saturation with vout = vCE = Vsat ≈ 0.2 V and IC = (VCC −
Vsat)/RC (closed switch). When RC is replaced with a load, this circuit can
switch a load ON or OFF.
 Common Collector (CC) Configuration
 It is called common-collector configuration
since both the signal source and the load
share the collector terminal as a common
connection point and the collector terminal is
effectively „grounded‟ or „earthed‟ through
the power supply.
 The output voltage is obtained at emitter
terminal.
 The input characteristic of common-collector
configuration is similar with common-emitter
configuration.
 Common-collector circuit configuration is
provided with the load resistor connected
from emitter to ground.
 It is used primarily for impedance-matching
purpose since it has high input impedance
and low output impedance.
 Emitter Follower

As the amplifiers output signal is taken

from across the emitter load this type of
transistor configuration is known as
an Emitter Follower circuit as the emitter
output “follows” or tracks any voltage
changes to the base input signal, except
that it remains about 0.7 volts (VBE) below
the base voltage.

The common collector or grounded collector configuration is commonly used

where a high impedance input source needs to be connected to a low
impedance output load requiring a high current gain.
 CC Parameters (Current Gain)
The ratio of change in emitter current (∆𝐼𝐸 ) to the change in base current
(∆𝐼𝐵 ) is known as emitter current amplification factor for Common Collector
Configuration.
∆𝐼𝐸
𝛾=
∆𝐼𝐵
∆𝐼 ∆𝐼
Again, α = ∆𝐼𝐶 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝛽 = ∆𝐼𝐶
𝐸 𝐵
∆𝐼𝐸 ∆𝐼𝐶
𝛾= ×
∆𝐼𝐶 ∆𝐼𝐵

1
= ×𝛽
𝛼

𝛼 1
= ×
1−𝛼 𝛼
1
𝛾 = 1−𝛼 Relation between 𝜸&𝜶
Properties Common Common Common
Base Emitter Collector
Input Low Medium High
Impedance
Output Very High High Low
Impedance
Voltage High Medium Low
Gain
Current Low Medium High
Gain
Power Gain Low Very High Medium
 Reference Text

1. Electronic Devices by Thomas L. Floyd

9th Edition, Prentice Hall.

2. Electronic Devices & Circuit Theory by Robert Boylestad & Louis Nashelsky
7th Edition, Prentice Hall

3. Principles of Electronics by V. K. Mehta & Rohit Mehta

11th Edition, S. Chand & Company