5 Bipolar Junction Transistors

5.1. Introduction
The bipolar junction transisior (BlT), or simpl), transistot is a 3-terminal device that can be used as an amplifier or as a switch. The internal operation of thc device is moderately complex, but r{'e only nced to consider the extcmal "terminal charactedstics" o{ the device. Our aim is to develop a mathcmatical

and model-based description of the transistor so that we can describe its behaviour in a circuil and design circuits that use the transistor.

5.1.1. Symbols
Crtr"rro,

r,,*,5
Base A

i^pJ u,* r

'-'t

{E

-'t
E

"NPN" transistor

"PNP" transistor

The terms NpN and pNI'refer to the intemal construction o{ the hansistor. The differences between NtN and PNP devices are largely superficial so wc will concentrate on developing an understanding of the NPN device. It will then be an easy matter to apply that knowledge to PNP devices.

5.2. Terminal Characteristics

The terminal characteristics of a device describe the electrical behaviour at its terminals without reference to the intemal mechanisms driving that behaviour. We treat the device as a "black box" and develop an understanding of its operation based solely on how it interacts with other comPonents, and ho$ it reacts to external electrical stimuli.

"':1i,, "\1,
Voltage & Current Conventions Fundamental Equation Since the transistor has 3 terminals. there are several combinations of currents and voltages that we could rneasure. For our purposes there are two significant charactcdstics: one involving the base terminal (the input characteristic) and the

other involving the collcctor terminal (the output characteristjc).

49

50

BiPolar luncuon Transistors

5.2.1. Input Characteristic

To investigate the input characteristic we set uP the test circuit shown bclow The voltage source VBB is varied and the basc current is and base-emitter voltage .rrr are mcasured. The input charactedstic shows the dePendence of i, on our, and is shown below.

10a
6

a.2

uo,. V

0.4

0.6

lnput Characteristic Test Circuit

Input Characteristic (Typical)

From the graph we see that for ?sr < 0.5 V no curent flows. For osE i 0.7 V an appreciable current flows and we say that the base-emitter junction is/oru'ald
biased1').

5.2,2. Output Characteristic

We can explore the output charactedstic using the test circuit shown below. For a ycc arrd given base-circuit voltage Vss we vary the collector-circuit voltage record both the collector current i. and the collector-emitter voltage o.E. This measurement procedure is then repeated for another setting of yBr

Output Characteristic Test Circuit

IThevoltages quoted here and elscshere in this doament arc for transistors constructed using Siljcon s the scmiconductor-by far ihe most common matenal tsed for thc manufacture of elcctronic devices.
Eleclrica and Digital Systems 2008

B polar Junction

Transistors

The output characterishc is shown below. From the graph we see that for r,..- "large enough," i. is independent of .i.r and is instead compietely

ir

and

determined by the value of iF.

0.8
-!

--

0.6 ". a1

i.
:

"'I

16

l:yi*:,

P,{a.
l0

lttf** L\

,.bt

Output Charaderistic (Typicat)

5.2.3. Regions of Operation

Carefui examination of the input and output characteristics show that there are 3 distinct regions in which the transistor can operate. These regions are called the active regiorl the safuration region and the cutoffregion. The regions are showtr in the diagram betow.

Region

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Bipolar lunction Transistors

5.2.3.1. Cutoff Region \\rhen o,. drops below 0 5 V, is and

cutoff region'1.

i.

droP to zero The transistor is then in the

conditions when Cutoff

u,.
io

<

0.5V

=0

5.2,3.2. Saturation Region If ?,sF (or ii ) increases to the Point where r)!.
saturation regionr{.

>

0 then the transistor enters the

Conditions when Saturated

lBF

=07\J

0r=05V
ocr = 0.2V = ocr:o.rrr

5.2,3.3. Active Region lf ?uE > 0.5 and we maintain urc

<

0 then the transistor is in the activc region

Conditions when Active

i,=

i, p
is in the range 50 to

/t

is called the .r,'/eni 84i, of the transistor' Typically,

300.

rrThefolowinserpressionsareusedsynonymously:,,theiransistorisincutof',,,,rhetransistoris
cutoff" and "ihe transisior h off " slnonlmosly: "the iransistor is in saturation"' "thc " The following expressions are used tr sistoris on " transistoris satated" and "lhe
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Bipolar Junction Transisto

5.3. Transistor Models

To do calculations involving thc transistor, or design circuits that use ttansistors, we need simple models that desc be the operation of the transistor.

5.3.1. Cutoff Model

C

I
B-o

i+

=0
|Rr < 0.5 V

t=0

'r

li-

i.=0
=0

5.3.2. Saturation Model

l ,"lF -.

tl
E

osc = 0.5

o..=0.2V=r..,r,r,

5.3.3. Active Model

Bc- ;-I

ia

uat T

. I
J

\t)p

-'\D:

<C
tB

?rc<0V

-r.( 44 lbt

J,J.'--"

Y-yl8v (q.) f t" rflr ru 6 ,,7<I

'ny
lBt = o.T
Vt

pa-'l-"I t'u--=shu-

t, 4t ^+"* "f I z2 \'

e .l.t

a,r-.|

C,.t,,o-^,

.l,r'-- s,t4t-

/ ?t k) --{t 39v \2 ev
\tr'

!. --Z V z
?.+'/ -) 'J", =

is

.a

. -63e <o.(t/ :o

xdr'hos

v--: o2v

*ffiFut

f=

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Eipolar lunction Transistors

5,4. The Transistor as an Amplifier

When used as an amplifier, the transistor must be operated in the active region. In the previous section we saw that the bansistor biasing resistors determine, in palt, the region in which the transistor operates. ln fact, the biasing resistors perform the dual role of maintaining operation in the active region and determining thc gain of the circuit.

5.4, 1. Common-Emitter

Amplifier

Consider the transistor circuit shown in the figure below. There are a Iew changes compared to the previous circuits we've looked at. In particular, we now have an input voltaBe o,,, connected in series with the base biasing voltage %s, and an emitter resistor Rr.

y.c =10v v.. = 1v

vcc
uin

R! = 10

ko R.=25kO R. = 1ko

/3 = 100

"l'
Notes

'oBE=07V
1
= 0.1sin

2dof V

AL

1. 2.

provide thermal stability through negatjve fccdback's.

V otherwise the transistor will be cutoff. yB is to ensurc that VBB +.,i" keeps the transistor active, The purpose of even when . ir al il\ mo\l negdtive. The purpose of RF is to stabilise thelliagainst va ations in / and to
Recall that wc must have irlL > 0.5

Ntave fccdback and dlemal stabilily are curentll' beyond the scope of this course bur an approximate nal) sis is as follows. There is an erha, bur very smatt, anent ;cs, rhat flows fron the collector ;,rto the base when r,. < 0. This cuent is unavoidablc becuse of ihe physics describing the device's intenl opcration. i.jo is amplificd by l, justlike ta, and is highjy
temperatre dependenl.lf

rr

i,

in.reases be.ause ofa tcmperat!.e increasc (via

t.!.)then ?l

inoea*s, causing ?$ to
is callcd

r{diire./,t

d}r.k

decrcase, therebv

d is

redu.ing td and hence opposinS ihe increa* in t. _ This exlrcmely important md powrtut concepi in etectrical

engineering, nd in enginecring systems in general Do vou need ro know this for the cxam? No. Electrical and Diqital systems 2008

Eipolar lunction Transistors

57

5.4,1.1. Analysis 12 ,- *-/ For the input loop (containing the base terminal) we ha.ve-l %i + -!r,,, t! RB asF-i. Rt=0 and since iE=(B+1) i, we find V"P t 'a '

P"-a.&* L

'"

R,.

{/-

rr &

Summing the voltages around the output loop we must have V.. - i. R. - r,. = 0, a1d since i. = / . i, we get zJc = V.t I . iBR. We can now calculate the ouqut voltaSe examples are shown below.

r.

for any input voltae

?," . Some =

sv

ir = 2.703 pA 'L)c = 3.243 V

t',,, =

-0.1V

pA r,. = 5.495 V
iB =1.802

F."l

,,

V,vr

2 2-5,2 vs*(fr)su= rv ^J . 0.1 22.52 . The gain is negalive ^.r because as the input voltage /ed ccs, the output voltage ir?c,'eases (and vice versa;.

From these values we can see that for an input va ation of Atr,,, =0 ( 0.1)=+0.1V the output varies by La( =3.243-5.495= 2.252V.This represent. a voltage gain of C = "

t*r

c)

see the figures below to see

how the output changes for a sinusoidal input.

o.l

= B"ttBr=#, - 4.L k
. _ vB
'E

!0
I

'-3J;et
r
A

o.1

: 1-a7 n ' ,fi" pi.-,"y,a

;s- 49.6

6V

5.

;. ' i8.2]s"l\ \1. = 1..' l.fa=q \/E "\h: t<\ pE - o.tl I \;. : ,t.: v:. a .1Bw

"3
2

Electrical and Digital Systems 200a Dr. Mark Andrews

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Bipolar lunction Transistors

5.4.1.2. Expression for cain We can find an explicit expression for the gain of the circuit by substituting the expression for is into the equation for r,c.

i,
=

R.

v,,

/J'

Rs +
RB +

(/+

1) Rr

Rc

(l + 1).RF '

+(/+1)

B.R,

RF

= ?'a + G'o"'

Note that ?co = IJ. when

G is lhe

u,,, = 0 .

cir

it ooltage Sdi, and is given by

c=

R,

+(/ +1) R.

-pP.

5.4.1,3. Effect of Emitter Resistor From the expression for G r"'e can see that it depends on the resistor values (Rc, R, and Rr ) and the transistor cunent gain ( / ). This is undesirable since the transistor manufacfurers will or y ensure that the current gain is within a fairly broad rangc; Ior example 50 to 150. If we need to design a circuit with tightly contlolled gain, it cannot depend too strongly on the transistor parameters.
Fortunately the emitter resistor helps us out here.

If we choose

RB

and R, so that (/+l).RF>>RF then G=

p .R, RF +(/t + 1).Rr
(P +1) Rr

.-:9 :
Furthermore,

/t

R"

if

>>

(which is nearly always the case) then

-4:1 P +'l

and

_& RI

(,, + 1) F

which is independent of I ! Thus, provided p is large enough we can make the circuit voltaBe gain immune to vafiations in the transistor current gain.

Elect.ical and Digltal Systems 2008

Bipolar lunction Transisto

59

5,5, The Transistor as a Switch

When used as a switch, the transistor is operated in thc saturation and cutoff regions- A pdmary concem is choosin8 thc bias resistors so that thc transistor is driven into saturation for any value of f . For example, consider the circuit below, wherelassume that u,,, can be either 0

or V.. . If the transistor f varies between so that Q safurates when .r,,, = Y.. ?

50 and 150,

how do we best choose

Rs

Rc

?r t-

R'

=10v Rc = 1ko 50</<150

Vcr

io\". l

\ y'hen Q is saturated zolr = z7.rr(ir), so

orrLr ' 1..,_Vc, n. rt

and hence

p
We do not have a precise value {or

-t

s1, "'J r"ol' ' ( "-.-2f,, u "./. ^^ P"7 ca*-r f

,1

/-" < / < p-,

in {act all we know is that . Nevertheless, we need to ensure that i.(./r) is achieved even for

ty.a---"t-^"1a

"

re)

the "worst case" situationof /l =

B-"

so we choose

_i ,.

*t''raa4

In addition, we normally include an oaerdria,s/acfo,' (t),pically between 2 and 10) so that the base cu ent is even higher than this. Retuming to thc example, we calcu]ate

R.
and
p,,,

10-0.2v = =9.8m4 1ko

=
"

F?623 'u, azr\^'ap

43Xk

8tA

=tgr,,n

Using a conservative overdrive factor of 5 we settle on ia1s"r) = 5x 19614 = 9801,4 .

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60

Bipolar lunction Transistors

To find Rr, note that when r';,, = Vcc, p" =

"

4.

i,

-uar - 1o-ozv =9.490ka.

0.980

mA

Examplei Nor qte implementation

. Vcc

s is chosen so that when uJi" is Hlctt Q is saturated and when a,,, is Low, Q is in cutoff.

V,,

ExamDle:

oR

qte imDlementation

0. l1

Rg

v,,

00 0

Vcc

I
Example: $r fl ip-flop implementation

0i H*-"1-

l-rL p test ", A( *

.:,7

Assume that Qj , Q, and

a.

are oFr and Q,is oN.

II

S goes HIGH

then

Qr tums oI!, so Q goes HlcH Q. tums oN, so Q goes Low

QL tums ON

Electrical nd Digital Systems 2008

Bipolar luncUon Trnsistors

When

refums to a LOW voltage, Qr turns OFI, but

is kept LOW because Qr

stays QN.

Similarly, if R goes higb then

Q, tums oN Qr turns orF, so Q gn". trcrl Q. turns oN, so Q goes Low

5,6. Power Dissiption

Power dissipation in a transistor is an important consideration: attempting to pass too much current tfuough a device results in overheating and possible destruction. Thcrefore it is important to understand the power rating oI a transjstor and how power is consumed in a device. For the transistor sho'n at right it is clear that the instantancous power consumed by thc device must be p . isuit t i rr., . However, i . i. solhdt rs.rB, it-,

and n e insLad u>e the

dppro\imdtio@

5.6.1. Maximum Power Rating

Any given transistor has
maximm power rating PM", above which the device must not be operated. That is, we must ensure that icz,.r < PM," or ic < P],k, I ocL. This inequality defines the maximum por.Ller c ,"?p that fu her constrains the region of operation of the transistor.
a

5.5.2. Static Switch Loss

\ u-fla*s "l tl4

tLr

e"<le"J

"-A"<

dT^

1,X" 51

Whcn the transistor is used as a switch the power loss is rather simp)e since the device is either oN (saturated) or oFI (cutoff). Devi.P is oN-

r.N

. (\

rr)-( rl5rr

V,,

u4
Device is oFF. pnr, =0.nr, =0

ft.- 2t4
V"641'6
2Y

T*/
r"lk! 4? B.,.nl ,

?::'*
p

""<, co->^-4

{d v..'r,,. = 1gv'"lt
vJ

tht"-"t
l+

[t j i.. {.- +t.t,: P,\\ = a.z"+.1-l - alt*U

. r,

t-,4

r\ P.rt ( t

Electrical and Digital Systems 2008 D- varr Andrews

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BiPolar lunciion Trnsistors

by the device When Note that when the transistor is oIF no Power is consumed low since ocr('it) is srnall the transistor is oN, power consumPtion is relatively

5.5.3. Dynamic Switch Loss

very little power in It appears that when used as a switch the transistor consumes while either state. Howcver, a significant amount of Power is dissiPated switching from one state to the other'

.'c.(sar):0 ) the d).namic Note that even if the transistor is ideal (in the sense that
loss is shll present.

the clock sPeed Each pulse This is rvhy the CPU in your PC gets hotter the faster speed ,"pr"."nt.'u qtnr]tu- ;f heat that must be dissiPated and as the clock increases so the temperature must rise

Elecrrical and Digital Svstems 2008