Bipolar Junction Transistors
Bipolar Junction Transistors
Bipolar Junction Transistors
• Invented by a team of
• Three men at Bell Laboratories in 1947.
• Although it was not a BJT but it was the beginning of a
technological revolution that is still continuing.
• Almost all the electronic devices and systems today are an
outgrowth of early developments in semiconductor transistors.
Two Basic Types
• Applications of BJTs
• Used in two broad areas
• As a linear amplifier to boost or amplify an electrical signal
• As an electronic switch
Transistor Structure
A wire lead connects to each of the 3 regions. These leads labeled as;
E: emitter
B: base
C: collector
BASE REGION: lightly doped, & very thin
Figure: shows a bias arrangement for npn BJTs for operation as an amplifier.
•The proper bias arrangement for both npn and pnp transistors for active
operation as an amplifier is shown above.
•In both cases the base-emitter (BE) junction is forward-biased and the base-
collector (BC) junction is reverse-biased.
Transistor operation
Working …
• The base region is lightly doped and very thin so that it has a 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. These relatively few recombined electrons flow out of
the base lead as valence electrons causing small base electron
current as shown above.
Transistor Currents
Transistor Currents
The directions of the currents in both npn and pnp transistors and their schematic
symbol are shown in Figure (a) and (b). Arrow on the emitter of the transistor symbols
points in the direction of conventional current. These diagrams show that the emitter
current (IE) is the sum of the collector current (IC) and the base current (IB), expressed
as follows:
IE = I C + I B
Contd…
Ex 4-1 Determine βDC and IE for a transistor where IB = 50 μA and IC = 3.65 mA.
I C 3.65mA
DC 73
IB 50 A
IE = IC + IB = 3.65 mA + 50 μA
= 3.70 mA
I C 3.65mA
DC 0.986
I E 3.70mA
BJT Circuit Analysis
There are three key dc voltages and three key dc currents to be considered. Note
that these measurements are important for troubleshooting.
IC = βDC IB
IB IC
5 μA 0.5 mA
10 μA 1.0 mA
15 μA 1.5 mA
20 μA 2.0 mA
25 μA 2.5 mA
Cutoff
With no IB , the transistor is in the cutoff region and just as the name implies
there is practically no current flow in the collector part of the circuit. With the
transistor in a cutoff state, the full VCC can be measured across the collector
and emitter(VCE).
Active region
of the
transistor’s
operation.