TRANSISTOR

The name is transistor derived from transfer resistors indicating a solid

state Semiconductor device. In addition to conductor and insulators, there is a third
class of material that exhibits proportion of both. Under some conditions, it acts as
an insulator, and under other conditions its a conductor. This phenomenon is
called Semi-conducting and allows a variable control over electron flow. So, the
transistor is semi conductor device used in electronics for amplitude. Transistor has
three terminals, one is the collector, one is the base and other is the emitter, (each
lead must be connected in the circuit correctly and only then the transistor will
function). Electrons are emitted via one terminal and collected on another terminal,
while the third terminal acts as a control element. Each transistor has a number
marked on its body. Every number has its own specifications.

There are mainly two types of transistor (i) NPN & (ii) PNP

NPN Transistors:

When a positive voltage is applied to the base, the transistor begins to

conduct by allowing current to flow through the collector to emitter circuit. The
relatively small current flowing through the base circuit causes a much greater
current to pass through the emitter / collector circuit. The phenomenon is called
current gain and it is measure in beta.

PNP Transistor:

It also does exactly same thing as above except that it has a negative voltage
on its collector and a positive voltage on its emitter.
 Transistor is a combination of semi-conductor elements allowing a
controlled current flow. Germanium and Silicon is the two semi-conductor
elements used for making it. There are two types of transistors such as POINT
CONTACT and JUNCTION TRANSISTORS. Point contact construction is
defective so is now out of use. Junction triode transistors are in many respects
analogous to triode electron tube.

A junction transistor can function as an amplifier or oscillator as can a triode

tube, but has the additional advantage of long life, small size, ruggedness and
absence of cathode heating power.

Junction transistors are of two types which can be obtained while

manufacturing.

The two types are: -

1) PNP TYPE: This is formed by joining a layer of P type of germanium

to an N-P Junction
 P N P

2) NPN TYPE:This is formed by joining a

layer of N type germanium to a P-N Junction.

N P N

Both types are shown in figure, with their

symbols for representation. The centre section is
called the base, one of the outside sections-the emitter and the other outside
section-the collector. The direction of the arrowhead gives the direction of the
conventional current with the forward bias on the emitter. The conventional flow is
opposite in direction to the electron flow.

We all know that a transistor has 4 regions of operation, in which Active, Cutoff
and Saturation are commonly used. A transistor works in active region when
worked as an Amplifier. When a transistor works as a Switch it works in Cutoff
and Saturation Regions. In the Cutoff State both Emitter Base Junction and
Collector Base junctions are reverse biased. But in saturation region both junctions
are forward biased. Switch is a very useful and important application of transistors.
In most digital ICs transistors will work as a switch to make
power consumption very low. It is also a very useful circuit for an
electronics hobbyist as it can be used as a driver, inverter etc..

Circuit Diagram Transistor as a Switch

From the above circuit we can see that the control input Vin is given to base

through a current limiting resistor Rb and Rc is the collector resistor which limits

the current through the transistor. In most cases output is taken from collector but

in some cases load is connected in the place of Rc.

 ON = Saturation

OFF = Cutoff

Transistor as a Switch ON

Transistor will become ON ( saturation ) when a sufficient voltage V is given to

input. During this condition the Collector Emitter voltage Vce will
be approximately equal to zero, ie the transistor acts as a short circuit. For a silicon

transistor it is equal to 0.3v. Thus collector current Ic = Vcc/Rc will flows.

Transistor as a Switch OFF

Transistor will be in OFF ( cutoff ) when the input Vin equal to zero. During this
state transistor acts as an open circuit and thus the entire voltage Vcc will be
available at collector.
Design

Collector Current, Ic = Ib + Iceo

where is the gain in common emitter configuration and lceo is the leckage

current.

Leackage current, Iceo can be neglected, so

Ib = Ic/

When the transistor is ON ( saturation region ), the collector emitter voltage Vce is

approximately equal to zero. For a silicon transistor it usually 0.3v. So collector

current Ic can be written as,

Ic = (Vcc Vce)/Rc, which is the maximum Ic that can flow through the circuit.

Ic = Vcc/Rc, since Vce is less than 0.3V.

To keep transistor in saturation enough base current Ib must flow. The minimum

base current can be find out from the equation Ib = Ic/

To ensure that the transistor is in saturation we will take Ib = 10Ib

So Rb = (Vin Vbe)/Ib

Note : In the case of a PNP transistor just replace GND with Vcc , Vcc with

GND and the transistor will be ON when the input voltage Vin is LOW.

Different Ways of Connecting Loads

Load can be connected to transistor in different ways, some of them are shown

below.
In the case of inductive loads such as Relay a freewheeling diode should be
connected in parallel to it.