ELECTRONICS

FUNDAMENTALS-I

PRESENTED BY
[Link] SHINDE
SYLLABUS
 (a)Transistor symbols; Component
description and orientation; Transistor
characteristics and properties.
 (b)Construction and operation of PNP & NPN

transistors; Base, collector and emitter

configurations· Testing of transistors. Basic
appreciation of other transistor types and
their uses. Application of transistors: classes
of amplifier (A, B, C);·Simple circuits
including: bias, decoupling, feedback and
stabilization;· Multistage circuit principles:
cascades
TRANSISTOR

 A transistor consists of two PN junctions

formed by sandwiching either p-type or n-
type semiconductor between a pair of
opposite types. Accordingly ; there are two
types of transistors, namely;

(i) n-p-n transistor

(ii) p-n-p transistor
 A transistor has two PN junctions. one junction
is forward biased and the other is reverse
biased.
 The forward biased junction has a low

resistance path whereas a reverse biased

junction has a high resistance path.
 The weak signal is introduced in the low

resistance circuit and output is taken from the

high resistance circuit.
 Therefore, a transistor transfers a signal from

a low resistance to high resistance.

 The prefix ‘trans’ means the signal

transfer property of the device while

‘istor’ classifies it as a solid element in
the same general family with resistors.
 Transfer + Resistor ⎯→ Transistor
NAMING THE TRANSISTOR
TERMINALS
1. Emitter:-
 The section on one side that supplies charge

carriers (electrons or holes) is called the

emitter.
 The emitter is always forward biased w.r.t.

base so that it can supply a large number of

majority carriers.
 In Fig. (i), the emitter (p-type) of PNP

transistor is forward biased and supplies hole

charges to its junction with the base.
 Similarly, in Fig.(ii), the emitter (n-type) of

NPN transistor has a forward bias and

supplies free electrons to its junction with the
base.
2. Collector :-

 The section on the other side that collects

the charges is called the collector.
 The collector is always reverse biased.

 Its function is to remove charges from its

junction with the base.

 In Fig. (i), the collector (p-type) of PNP

transistor has a reverse bias and receives

hole charges that flow in the output circuit.
 Similarly, in Fig. (ii), the collector (n-type) of

NPN transistor has reverse bias and receives

electrons.
3. Base.

 The middle section which forms two pn-

junctions between the emitter and collector
is called the base.

 The base-emitter junction is forward biased,

allowing low resistance for the emitter circuit.

 The base-collector junction is reverse biased

and provides high resistance in the collector
circuit.
TRANSISTOR SYMBOLS
TRANSISTOR ACTION

(i) Working of npn transistor

(ii) Working of pnp transistor
1. WORKING OF NPN TRANSISTOR
 The npn transistor with forward bias to
emitter base junction and reverse bias to
collector-base junction.
 The forward bias causes the electrons in the

n-type emitter to flow towards the base. This

constitutes the emitter current IE.
 As these electron flow through the p-type
base, they tend to combine with holes. As the
base is lightly doped and very thin, therefore,
only a few electrons (less than 5%) combine
with holes to constitute base current IB.
 The remainder (more than 95%) cross over

into the collector region to constitute collector

current IC.
 In this way, almost the entire emitter current

flows in the collector circuit. It is clear that

emitter current is the sum of collector and
base currents i.e.
IE = IB + IC
2. WORKING OF PNP
TRANSISTOR.
 The forward bias causes the holes in the p-
type emitter to flow towards the base. This
constitutes the emitter current IE.
 As these holes cross into n-type base, they

tend to combine with the electrons. As the

base is lightly doped and very thin, therefore,
only a few holes (less than 5%) combine with
the electrons. The remainder (more than
95%) cross into the collector region to
constitute collector current IC.
In this way, almost the entire emitter current
flows in the collector circuit.
 It may be noted that current conduction

within pnp transistor is by holes. However, in

the external connecting wires, the current is
still by electrons.
TRANSISTOR CONNECTIONS
 There are three leads in a transistor emitter,
base and collector terminals.
 However, when a transistor is to be

connected in a circuit, we require four

terminals; two for the input and two for the
output. This difficulty is overcome by making
one terminal of the transistor common to
both input and output terminals.
(i) common base connection

(ii) common emitter connection

(iii) common collector connection

COMMON BASE CONNECTION
Ic = Ie+Ico
…..Where Ico=Reverse saturation
current
=current amplification
factor

Ic = Ie+Icbo

... …..Where Icbo=common base reverse

saturation current

Ib=(1- ) Ie
Current amplification factor (α):-
 It is the ratio of output current to input

current. In a common base connection, the

input current is the emitter current IE and
output current is the collector 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
 The input resistance (ri) of CB circuit is low
because IE is high.

 The output resistance (ro) is high because of

reverse voltage at the collector.

 It has no current gain (α < 1) but voltage

gain can be high. The only advantage of CB
circuit is that it provides good stability
against increase in temperature.
CHARACTERISTICS OF COMMON BASE
CONNECTION
INPUT CHARACTERISTICS
(i) The emitter current IE increases rapidly
with small increase in emitter-base voltage
VEB.
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.
INPUT RESISTANCE.
 It is the ratio of change in emitter-base
voltage (ΔVEB) to the resulting change in
emitter current (ΔIE) at constant collector-
base voltage (VCB)
OUTPUT CHARACTERISTIC
(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
[Link] 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.
OUTPUT RESISTANCE.
 It is the ratio of change in collector-base
voltage (ΔVCB) to the resulting change in
collector current (ΔIC) at constant emitter
current.
COMMON EMITTER CONNECTION
Base current amplification factor ( β ):-
 In common emitter connection, input current

is IB and output current is IC.

 The ratio of change in collector current (ΔIC)

to the change in base current (ΔIB) is known

as base current amplification factor.
INPUT CHARACTERISTIC OF CE
(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.
Input resistance. It is the ratio of change
in
base-emitter voltage (ΔVBE) to the change in
base
current (ΔIB) at constant VCE .
OUTPUT CHARACTERISTICS
(i) The collector current IC varies with VCE for
VCE between 0 and 1V only. After this,
collector current becomes almost constant
and independent of VCE. This value of VCE
upto which collector the region above knee
voltage.
(ii) Above knee voltage, IC is almost constant.
However, a small increase in IC with
increasing VCE is caused by the collector
depletion layer getting wider and capturing a
few more majority carriers before electron-
hole combinations occur in the base area.
(iii) For any value of VCE above knee voltage,
the collector current IC is approximately
equal to β × IB.
OUTPUT RESISTANCE
 It is the ratio of change in collector-
emitter voltage (ΔVCE) to the change in
collector current (ΔIC) at constant IB.
COMMON COLLECTOR
CONNECTION
Current amplification factor (γ )
 In common collector circuit, input

current is the base current IB and output

current is the emitter current IE.
 Therefore, current amplification in this circuit

arrangement can be defined as under :

 The ratio of change in emitter current (ΔIE) to

the change in base current (ΔIB) is known as

current amplification factor in common
collector (CC) arrangement
OPERATING REGIONS
 Active Region – the transistor operates as
an amplifier and Ic = β* Ib

 Saturation – the transistor is “Fully-ON”

operating as a switch and Ic = I(saturation)

 Cut-off – the transistor is “Fully-OFF”

operating as a switch and Ic = 0
 CUT-OFF : Emitter diode and collector
diode are OFF.
 ACTIVE : Emitter diode is ON and

collector diode is OFF.

 SATURATED : Emitter diode and

collector diode are ON.

SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES
NUMBERING SYSTEM
 Every semiconductor device is numbered by
five alpha-numeric symbols, comprising
either two letters and three numbers (e.g.
BF194) or three letters and two numbers
(e.g. BFX63).
 When two numbers are included in the

symbol (e.g. BFX63), the device is intended

for industrial and professional equipment.
When the symbol contains three numbers
(e.g. BF194) , the device is intended for
entertainment or consumer equipment.
 The first letter indicates the nature of
semiconductor material. For example : A =
germanium, B = silicon, C = gallium arsenide,
R = compound material (e.g. cadmium
sulphide)
 Thus AC125 is a germanium transistor whereas

BC149 is a silicon transistor.

 The second letter indicates the device

and circuit function.

 A = diode

 B = Variable capacitance diode

 C = A.F. low powered transistor

 D = A.F. power transistor

 E = Tunnel diode

 F = H.F. low power transistor

 G = Multiple device
 H = Magnetic sensitive diode
 K = Hall-effect device
 L = H.F. power transistor
 M = Hall-effect modulator
 P = Radiation sensitive diode
 Q = Radiation generating diode
 R = Thyristor (SCR or triac)
 S = Low power switching transistor
 T = Thyristor (power)
 U = Power switching transistor
 X = diode, multiplier
 Y = Power device
 Z = Zener diode
TRANSISTOR LEAD
IDENTIFICATION
TRANSISTOR TESTING
 forward biased base-emitter junction should
have low resistance and reverse biased
collector-base junction should register a
much higher resistance.
(i) The forward biased base-emitter
junction (biased by internal supply)
should read a low resistance, typically
100 Ω to 1 kΩ as shown in Fig. (i). If that is
so, the transistor is good. However, if it fails
this check, the transistor is faulty and it
must be replaced.

(ii) The reverse biased collector-base

junction (again reverse biased by
internal supply) should be checked as
shown in Fig. (ii). If the reading of the
ohmmeter is 100 kΩ or higher, the transistor
is good. If the ohmmeter registers a small
resistance, the transistor is faulty and
requires replacement.
TRANSISTOR CIRCUIT AS AN
AMPLIFIER
 The weak signal is applied between emitter-
base junction and output is taken across the
load RC connected in the collector circuit.
 In order to achieve faithful amplification, the

input circuit should always remain forward

biased.
 To do so, a d.c. voltage VEE is applied in the

input circuit in addition to the signal as

shown. This d.c. voltage is known as bias
voltage and its magnitude is such that it
always keeps the input circuit forward biased
regardless of the polarity of the signal.
 As the input circuit has low resistance,
therefore, a small change in signal voltage
causes an appreciable change in emitter
current.
 This causes almost the same change in

collector current due to transistor action. The

collector current flowing through a high load
resistance RC produces a large voltage
across it.
 Thus, a weak signal applied in the input

circuit appears in the amplified form in the

collector circuit. It is in this way that a
transistor acts as an amplifier.
HOW AMPLIFIERS WORK
 The action of a transistor as an amplifier can
be made more illustrative if we consider
typical circuit values.
 Suppose collector load resistance RC = 5 kΩ.

Let us further assume that a change of 0.1V

in signal voltage produces a change of 1 mA
in emitter current.
 Obviously, the change in collector current
would also be approximately 1 mA. This
collector current flowing through collector
load RC would produce a voltage =
5 kΩ × 1 mA = 5 V. Thus, a change of 0.1 V
in the signal has caused a change of 5 V in
the output circuit.
o In other words, the transistor has been able
to raise the voltage level of the signal from
0.1 V to 5 V i.e. voltage amplification is 50.
STABILISATION
 The collector current in a transistor changes
rapidly when
(i) the temperature changes,
(ii) the transistor is replaced by another of
the same type.
 When the temperature changes or the

transistor is replaced, the operating point (i.e.

zero signal IC and VCE) also changes.
However, for faithful amplification, it is
essential that operating point remains fixed.
This necessitates to make the operating point
independent of these variations. This is known
as stabilisation.
 The process of making operating point
independent of temperature changes or
variations in transistor parameters is known as
stabilisation.
 Once stabilisation is done, the zero signal IC

and VCE become independent of temperature

variations or replacement of transistor i.e. the
operating point is fixed. A good biasing circuit
always ensures the stabilisation of operating
point.
 Need for stabilisation:- Stabilisation of

the operating point is necessary due to

the following reasons :
(i) Temperature dependence of IC
(ii) Individual variations
(iii) Thermal runaway
(I) TEMPERATURE DEPENDENCE
OF IC
 The collector leakage current ICBO is greatly
influenced (especially in germanium
transistor) by temperature changes.
 A rise of 10°C doubles the collector leakage

current which may be as high as 0.2 mA for

low powered germanium transistors.
 As biasing conditions in such transistors are

generally so set that zero signal IC = 1mA,

therefore, the change in IC due to
temperature variations cannot be tolerated.
 This necessitates to stabilise the operating

point
(II) INDIVIDUAL VARIATIONS
 The value of β and VBE are not exactly the
same for any two transistors even of the
same type. Further, VBE itself decreases
when temperature increases.
 When a transistor is replaced by another of

the same type, these variations change the

operating point.
 This necessitates to stabilise the operating

point i.e. to hold IC constant irrespective of

individual variations in transistor parameters.
(III) THERMAL RUNAWAY.
ESSENTIALS OF A TRANSISTOR
BIASING CIRCUIT
 The transistor biasing is required for faithful
amplification. the biasing network associated
with the transistor should meet the following
requirements :
(i) It should ensure proper zero signal
collector current.
(ii) It should ensure that VCE does not fall
below 0.5 V for Ge transistors and 1 V
for silicon transistors at any instant.
(iii) It should ensure the stabilisation of
operating point.
METHODS OF TRANSISTOR
BIASING
(i) Base resistor method
(ii) Emitter bias method
(iii) Biasing with collector-feedback
resistor
(iv) Voltage-divider bias
VOLTAGE DIVIDER BIAS METHOD

 This is the most widely used method of providing

biasing and stabilisation to a transistor.
 In this method, two resistances R1 and R2 are

connected across the supply voltage VCC and

provide biasing.
 The emitter resistance RE provides stabilisation.

The name ‘‘voltage divider’’ comes from the

voltage divider formed by R1 and R2. The
voltage drop across R2 forward biases the base-
emitter junction.
 This causes the base current and hence collector

current flow in the zero signal conditions.

PRACTICAL CIRCUIT OF SINGLE
STAGE TRANSISTOR AMPLIFIER
(I) BIASING CIRCUIT

 The resistances R1, R2 and RE form the

biasing and stabilization circuit.
 The biasing circuit must establish a proper

operating point otherwise a part of the

negative half-cycle of the signal may be cut
off in the output.
2) INPUT CAPACITOR CIN
An electrolytic capacitor Cin (j 10 μF ) is used
to couple the signal to the base of the
transistor.
 If it is not used, the signal source resistance

will come across R2 and thus change the

bias. The capacitor Cin allows only a.c. signal
to flow but isolates the signal source from
R2.
(III) EMITTER BYPASS CAPACITOR
CE

 An emitter bypass capacitor CE (=

100μF ) is used in parallel with RE to
provide a low reactance path to the amplified
a.c. signal.

 If it is not used, then amplified a.c. signal

flowing through RE will cause a voltage drop
across it, thereby reducing the output
voltage.
4)COUPLING CAPACITOR CC

 The coupling capacitor CC (j 10μF) couples

one stage of ampli-fication to the next stage.
 If it is not used, the bias conditions of the next

stage will be drastically changed due to the

shunting effect of RC. This is because RC will
come in parallel with the upper resistance R1 of
the biasing network of the next stage, thereby
altering the biasing conditions of the latter.
 In short, the coupling capacitor CC

isolates the d.c. of one stage from the

next stage, but allows the passage of a.c.
signal
TRANSISTOR AS A SWITCH:-
 Case I: When Vin =0 then base current of
transistor will be zero hence collector current
is zero which indicates that the switch is OFF.

 Case II: When Vin is applied then base and

collector current flows through the circuit
which indicates that the Switch is ON
****CLASSES OF AMPLIFIER
1. Class A Amplifier
2. Class B Amplifier
3. Class AB Amplifier
4. Class C Amplifier
1) CLASS A AMPLIFIER
 To achieve high linearity and gain, the output
stage of a class A amplifier is biased “ON”
(conducting) all the time. Then for an
amplifier to be classified as “Class A” the zero
signal idle current in the output stage must
be equal to or greater than the maximum
load current (usually a loudspeaker) required
to produce the largest output signal.
 As a class A amplifier operates in the linear

portion of its characteristic curves, the single

output device conducts through a full 360
degrees of the output waveform.
 Therefore, due to the low efficiency and over

heating problems of Class A amplifiers, more

efficient amplifier classes have been
developed.
2) CLASS B AMPLIFIER
 When the input signal goes positive, the
positive biased transistor conducts while the
negative transistor is switched “OFF”.
Likewise, when the input signal goes
negative, the positive transistor switches
“OFF” while the negative biased transistor
turns “ON” and conducts the negative
portion of the signal. Thus the transistor
conducts only half of the time, either on
positive or negative half cycle of the input
signal.
 Then we can see that each transistor device

of the class B amplifier only conducts

through one half or 180 degrees of the
output waveform.
 We remember from the Transistor tutorial
that it takes a base-emitter voltage of about
0.7 volts to get a bipolar transistor to start
conducting. Then in a class B amplifier, the
output transistor is not “biased” to an “ON”
state of operation until this voltage is
exceeded.
 This means that the the part of the waveform

which falls within this 0.7 volt window will not

be reproduced accurately making the class B
amplifier unsuitable for precision audio
amplifier applications.
 To overcome this zero-crossing distortion

(also known as Crossover Distortion) class AB

amplifiers were developed.
CLASS AB AMPLIFIER
 The advantage of this small bias voltage,
provided by series diodes or resistors, is that
the crossover distortion created by the class
B amplifier characteristics is overcome,
without the inefficiencies of the class A
amplifier design.
 So the class AB amplifier is a good

compromise between class A and class B in

terms of efficiency and linearity, with
conversion efficiencies reaching about 50%
to 60%.
CLASS C AMPLIFIER
 The Class C Amplifier design has the greatest
efficiency but the poorest linearity of the
classes of amplifiers mentioned here.
 The previous classes, A, B and AB are

considered linear amplifiers, as the output

signals amplitude and phase are linearly related
to the input signals amplitude and phase.
 However, the class C amplifier is heavily biased

so that the output current is zero for more than

one half of an input sinusoidal signal cycle with
the transistor idling at its cut-off point.
 In other words, the conduction angle for the

transistor is significantly less than 180 degrees,

and is generally around the 90 degrees area.
AMPLIFIER CLASSES AND EFFICIENCY
MULTISTAGE TRANSISTOR AMPLIFIER
 A transistor circuit containing more than one
stage of amplification is known as
multistage transistor amplifier.
 In a multistage amplifier, a number of single

amplifiers are connected in *cascade

arrangement i.e. output of first stage is
connected to the input of the second stage
through a suitable coupling device and so on.
 The purpose of coupling device (e.g. a

capacitor transformer etc.) is

(i) to transfer a.c. output of one stage to the
input of the next stage and
(ii) to isolate the d.c. conditions of one stage
from the next stage.
(i) In RC coupling, a capacitor is used as
the coupling device. The capacitor
connects the output of one stage to the
input of the next stage in order to pass the
a.c. signal on while blocking the d.c. bias
voltages.
(ii) In transformer coupling, transformer is
used as the coupling device. The
transformer coupling provides the same
two functions (viz. to pass the signal on and
blocking d.c.) but permits in addition
impedance matching.
(iii) In direct coupling or d.c. coupling, the
individual amplifier stage bias conditions
are so designed that the two stages may be
directly connected without the necessity for
d.c. isolation.
ROLE OF CAPACITORS IN
TRANSISTOR AMPLIFIERS
1. As coupling capacitors
2. As bypass capacitors
1. AS COUPLING CAPACITORS
 As coupling capacitors. In most
applications, you will not see a single
transistor amplifier.
 Rather we use a multistage amplifier i.e. a

number of transistor amplifiers are connected

in series or cascaded.
 The capacitors are commonly used to connect

one amplifier stage to another. When a

capacitor is used for this purpose, it is called a
coupling capacitor. Fig. shows the coupling
capacitors (CC1; CC2 ; CC3 and CC4) in a
multistage amplifier.
 A coupling capacitor performs the following

two functions
(i) It blocks d.c. i.e. it provides d.c.
isolation between the two stages of a
multistage amplifier.

(ii) It passes the a.c. signal from one

stage to the next with little or no
distortion.
2. AS BYPASS CAPACITORS

 A bypass capacitor also blocks d.c. and

behaves as a short or wire (due to proper
selection of capacitor size) to an a.c. signal.
But it is used for a different purpose.
 A bypass capacitor is connected in parallel

with a circuit component (e.g. resistor) to

bypass the a.c. signal and hence the name.
Fig. shows a bypass capacitor CE connected
across the emitter resistance RE.
 Since CE behaves as a short to the a.c. signal,

the whole of a.c. signal (ie) passes through it.

Note that CE keeps the emitter at a.c. ground.
Thus for a.c. purposes, RE does not exist.