College of Engineering

Ateneo de Naga University

Activity 7
Bipolar Junction Transistor Fundamentals
Name: Kaia Gail Mirushka C. Oares

Date Performed: September 7, 2015

Section: GE31

Date Submitted: September 19, 2015

Name of Laboratory Partner: Harvey Troy P. Quides

Laboratory Instructor: Engr. Gilbert Detera
Table 1

Transistor Specification

Parameters

Value

Product Code

2N5551

2N6517

HFE(min, typ,max)

20-200

80-250

ICmax

600mA

500mA

VCEO

160V

350V

VCEsat

IC=10mA; IB=1mA -- 0.15V;

IC=50mA; IB=5mA -- 0.20V

IC=10mA; IB=1mA -- 0.3V

IC=20mA IB=2mA 0.35V
IC=30mA IB=3mA 0.5V
IC=50mA IB=5mA 1V

VBEsat

1V

0.75V, 0.85V, 0.9V

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Table 2

Transistor Current Gain

Q1

Q2

IB

IC

IE

HFE

IB

IC

IE

HFE

0.64mA

11.56mA

11.65mA

289

0.04mA

5.89mA

5.86mA

147

0.12mA

27.61mA

28.34mA

230

0.09mA

12.25mA

12.36mA

136

0.22mA

42.2mA

42.1mA

192

0.2mA

26.87mA

26.72mA

134

0.29mA

50.2mA

50.1mA

173

0.29mA

33.66mA

33.72mA

116

0.40mA

52.4mA

53.5mA

131

0.39mA

38.24mA

38.41mA

98

0.48mA

56.6ma

56.5mA

118

0.49mA

42mA

41.2mA

86

OBSERVATION AND ANALYSIS:

Based on the experiment results, the values of the beta did conform to the values given in the
data sheet on the both transistors. It can be observed that as the value of the IB and IC
increases, the value of beta decreases. Moreover, if the value of the base current is increased,
the value of the collector current also increases as well as the emitter current since the
collector and emitter current are approximately equal to each other.
Table 3

Value of beta with constants VCE

VCE= 2V

VCE = 4V

IB(mA)

IC(mA)

HFE

IB(mA)

IC(mA)

HFE

0.12

18.92

158

0.12

21.72

181

0.16

24.95

156

0.17

28.41

167

0.21

29.36

140

0.22

33.355

153

0.27

32.63

121

0.28

37.61

134

0.31

36.05

116

0.31

40.9

132

0.37

39.36

106

0.36

43.7

121

0.43

41.2

96

0.41

46.3

113

0.5

44.5

89

0.46

48.3

105

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IB Vs IC @ VCE=2V
50
45
40
35

IC mA

30
25
20
15
10
5
0
0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

IB mA

IB Vs IC @ VCE=4V
60
50

IC mA

40
30
20
10
0
0

0.05

0.1

0.15

0.2

0.25

0.3

0.35

0.4

0.45

0.5

IB mA

OBSERVATION AND ANALYSIS:

With the values of the VCE constant, it can be observed based on the experiment results that
the values of the base current for both transistors are almost equal. Since the VCE of the second
transistor is higher, the collector current of this is a little bit higher than the first transistor.
Nevertheless, as one current increases, the other current also increases. However, as the
currents increases, beta decreases.

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GENERALIZATION:
The bipolar junction transistor is a three-terminal semiconductor device consisting of a base, a
collector, and an emitter, often used as a voltage regulator and in amplifiers. The current
flowing in a junction of the BJT affects the current flowing in the other junctions. The
relationship of the base current, emitter current, and collector current to each other are all
directly proportional. However, as one current increases, the beta decreases. The emitter and
collector currents are approximately equal with each other. In this experiment, we tested a
transistor with two different constant VCE and we found out that the base current will not
change. However, the collector current increases and the beta decreases.
Follow-Up Activity:
When the transistor is in the active region, the base-to-emitter junction is forward-biased and
the base-to-collector junction is reverse-biased. Therefore, to test the transistor if it is defective
or not using an ohmmeter, the forward-biased junction should register a relatively low
resistance, whereas the reverse-biased junction shows a much higher resistance. This same
method can determine if the transistor is NPN or PNP. If the positive lead is connected to the
base of the transistor and the negative lead to the emitter, a low resistance reading would
indicate an NPN transistor. A high resistance reading would indicate a PNP transistor.

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