Introduction to Transistors

Balaji
 Overview

 Introduction & History

 Semiconductors
 Operation of
Transistors
 Transistor Types
 Applications
 Examples
 Questions
 Conclusion
 Background

 Invented at Bell Laboratories in 1947.

 John Bardeen, Walter Brattain, and William Schockly
received Nobel Prize in Physics in 1956 for Inventing
Transistors.
 First application: telephone signal amplification
 Replaced cumbersome and inefficient vacuum tubes

 Transistors can now be found on a single silicon wafer in

most common electronic devices
 Background

Model of First Transistor

 What are Transistors?

 Versatile three lead semiconductor devices whose applications

include electronic switching and modulation (amplification)
 Transistors are miniature electronic switches.
 Configuration of circuit determines whether the transistor will serve
a switch and amplifier
 Building blocks of the microprocessor, which is the brain of the
computer.
 Have two operating positions- on and off.
 Binary functionality of transistors enables the processing of
information in a computer.
 Semiconductors

 Silicon
 Basic building material of most integrated circuits
 Has four valence electrons, which allow it to form
four covalent bonds.
 Silicon crystal is an insulator-- no free electrons.
 Semiconductors

 Resistance to current flow in the silicon crystal is

reduced by adding small amounts of foreign impurities,
which is referred to as doping.
 Doping transforms a silicon crystal from a good insulator
into a viable conductor; hence, the name
semiconductor.
Semiconductors

 Two Dopant Types


N-type (Negative) –Free flowing electrons are
added to the silicon crystal structure.
 Examples include Group V elements including
Phosphorous, Arsenic, and Antimony.

P-type(Positive)- Lack electrons and serve as
potential slots for migrating electrons.
 Examples include Group III elements such as Boron,
Aluminum, and Gallium
 Comparison of Energy Bands

 Semiconductor resembles an insulator, but with a

smaller energy band.
 Small energy band makes it a marginal conductor
 Simple Semiconductors: Diodes

 Diode is the simplest semiconductor.

 Allows current to flow in one direction only.
Diode Sign Conventions

 Power dissipated by a load = (+)

quantity
 Current flows from (+)  (-)
 Forward Biased
 Supplied Current flows with natural (hole)
diffusion current
 Reversed Biased
 Supplied Current fights against natural
diffusion (hole) current and diode
orientation
 Forward-Bias Example

 Charge Diffusion aided by Supply Current

 Current is allowed through easily
P-N Junction
(Depletion Region / Offset voltage = 0.7V)
-
+
--
“p” ++ “n”
-
+
--
(positive charges +++ (negative charges
-
Dominate) ++ dominate)
--
+++

Diode Electric Field

Supplied Current
Diffusion (hole) Current
Reverse-Bias Example

 Charges cannot diffuse unless supplied

current flows towards “n”

(Depletion Region)
-
+
--
“p” ++ “n”
-
+
--
(positive charges +++ (negative charges
-
Dominate) ++ dominate)
--
+++

Diode Electric Field

Supplied Current
Diffusion (hole) Cuurent
 Diodes States

 Forward biased (on)-

Current flows
 Real: Need about 0.7 V
to initiate electron-hole
combination process.
 Reversed biased (off)-
Diode blocks current
 Ideal- Current flow = 0
 Real : Iflow = 10-6 Amps
 Bipolar Junction Transistors (BJT)
collector collector

 Three Layers in a BJT p n

 Collector
 Base (very thin) base n p
 has fewer doping atoms
 Emitter i P+ i n+

 Two Types of BJT’s

 PNP (figure on left)
emitter emitter

operates with outgoing base current
 NPN (figure on right)

operates with incoming base current
BJT Schematic Representation
collector

iB
p

base n Corresponds to:

i P+

emitter

collector

p Corresponds to:
i n+

emitter
 BJT Operation Characteristics

 IC vs. VCE graph allows

us to determine
operating region.
 Works for any IB or VCE
 VBE tops out around
~0.7V
 BJT Operation Regions

Operation IB or VCE BC and BE Mode

Region Char. Junctions
Cutoff IB = Very Reverse & Open Switch
small Reverse
Saturation VCE = Small Forward & Closed
Forward Switch
Active VCE = Reverse & Linear
Linear Moderate Forward Amplifier

Break-downVCE = Large Beyond Overload

Limits
 Cutoff NPN BJT
Collector current
C

V2 n

Base current
B Reverse Biased
p

+++ Reverse biased

n
V1

Emitter current
E
 Saturated NPN BJT
Collector current
C

V2 n

----
Base current Forward biased
B
p
- Forward biased
++ -
n
V1

Emitter current
E
 Active Linear NPN BJT
Collector current
C

V2 n

---
Base current
B Reverse Biased
---
p

---
Forward biased
++
n
V1

Emitter current
E
Possible Uses for BJT’s

 Can act as Signal Current Switch (Cutoff

Mode)
 Can act as Current Amplifier (Active
Region)
I c = βI B
 Where:
 Beta = intrinsic amp property (20 - 200)
 FIELD-EFFECT TRANSISTORS
( BACKGROUND )
 In 1925, the fundamental principle of FET
transistors was establish by Lilienfield.
 In 1955, the first successful FET was made.
 Types of Transistors

MOSFET (metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect
transistors)
 JEFT (Junction Field-effect transistors)
MOSFET (Types)

 Four types:
 n-channel enhancement mode
 Most common since it is cheapest to manufacture
 p-channel enhancement mode
 n-channel depletion mode
 p-channel depletion mode

n-channel p-channel n-channel p-channel

Depletion type Enhancement type
 MOSFET (n-channel Enhancement-Mode)

 Device Structure
 Three terminals

Gate, Drain, and Source
 Analogous respectively to the base, collector, and
emitter.
 Substrate electrically connected to the source.
 MOSFET(n-channel Enhancement-Mode)

 Device Structure
 Substrate, source connected to ground
 The drain-body n+p junction is reverse-biased.
 The body-source pn+ junction is reverse-biased.
 Enhancement MOSFET acts as an open circuit with no
gate voltage.
 n-channel Enhancement Mode
(Regions of operation)
 Cutoff region
 VGS < VT. IDS

Cutoff region

VGS
VT
Characteristic Curve
 n-channel Enhancement Mode
(Regions of operation)
 Ohmic region
 VDS < 0.25 (VGS-VT),
VGS>VT
 Voltage controlled
resistor.
IDS

VGS
VT
Characteristic Curve
 n-channel Enhancement Mode
(Regions of operation)
 Saturation region
 VDS ≥ VGS-VT, VGS > VT
IDS
 Constant-current Ohmic Saturation
source. IDSS

VGS

VGS ≤VTH
VDS

Characteristic curves
n-channel Enhancement Mode
(Regions of operation)
 Breakdown region
 VDS > VB
 Comparison(n-channel and p-channel)

 p-type charge carrier.

 Direction of drain current is
opposite.
 VDS and VGS are negative.
 n-channel, p-channel behave the
same way.
 Depletion MOSFET

 Addition of an n-type region

between the oxide layer and p-
type substrate.
 Thus, depletion MOSFETs are
normally on.
 VT, threshold voltage, is
negative.
 Unlike enhancement MOSFET,
depletion MOSFET :
 Allows positive and negative gate
voltages.
 Can be in the saturation region for
VGS = 0
JFET

 JFET
 n-channel
 p-channel

D D

G G

S S
n-channel p-channel
JFET (Physical and circuit representations)
JFET (Regions of Operations)

 Cutoff region
 VGS < -VP, -VP is the threshold voltage.
 VDS = 0
JEFT (Regions of Operations)

 Ohmic region
 VDS < 0.25(VGS + VP), VGS > -VP. IDS
 Resistance controlled by VGS

IDSS

VDS
VP
Transfer characteristic
in saturation region
(| VDS |>|VP|)
 JFET (Regions of Operations)

 Saturation
region
 VDS ≥ VGS +VP, VGS > IDS VGS = 0V
-VP.
IDSS
 Constant-
current source.
Ohmic Saturation
region region VGS

VGS = VP
VDS
-VP

Idealized output characteristic

JFET (Regions of Operations)

 Breakdown regions.
 VDS > VB.
 JFET (Physical representation of the regions)

 Illustration of depletion layer growth and pinch-off

voltage
 Transistors as Amplifiers and
Switches

 Use the I-V characteristic curves of BJT and

MOSFET
 Use the regions of operation of these
transistors Switch operation
 BJT
Amplifier operation

Cutoff Region

Active Linear Region

Saturation Region Switch operation
 MOSFET
 Cutoff Region
Amplifier operation

Ohmic or Triode Region

Saturation (Active Region)
I-V Characteristic Curves

Operating Point for BJT

•For each, IB there is a corresponding
I-V curve.
•Selecting IB and VCE, we can find the
operating point, or Q point.

•Applying KVL around the base-emitter

and collector circuits, we obtain :
IB = IBB
VCE = Vcc – ICRC

Vcc VCE
IC =
RC RC
I-V Characteristic Curves

Vcc VCE
IC =
RC RC

Load-line curve
Q
Transistors as Amplifiers

•BJT – common emitter

mode
•In Linear Active Region
•Significant current Gain
Example
let Gain, β = 80
VB = 2V
VE = 1.3V

Find IC and VC
Transistors as Amplifiers

VBE = VB – VE = 0.7V
IB = VBB – VB 4-2
RB = 40,000
= 50 µ A
IC = β x IB = 80 x 50 µ A
= 4mA

VC = Vcc – IC x RC
= 12 – (4x10-3 )(1x103)
=8V

VCE = VC – VE = 8 – 1.3
= 6.7 V
 Transistors as Switches

 Basis of digital logic circuits

 Used in microprocessors
 Input to transistor gate can be analog or digital
 Common names are
 TTL – Transistor Transitor Logic
 CMOS – Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor
Transistors as Switches – BJT
Inverter

Use of the cutoff and saturation regions in the I-V curves.

VCE = Vcc - (IC)(RC)
Vout = VCE
Transistors as Switches – BJT
Inverter

•Vin Low •Vin High

•Cutoff region •Saturation region
•No current flows •VCE small
•Vout = VCE = Vcc •Vout = small
•Vout = High •Vout = Low
 Transistors as Switches- MOSFET

•Advantages over BJT logic gates

•Normally Off. Does not require much current from
input signal
•Easy Fabrication – Economical for large scale
production
•CMOS – consumes very little power. Used in pocket
calculators and wrist watches

•Disadvantages over BJT logic gates

•Cannot provide as much current as BJT
•Switching speed is not as fast
Transistors as Switches- MOSFET
Inverter

•Vin Low •Vin High

•Cutoff region •Ohmic region
•No Voltage drop across •VDS small
RD •Vout = small
•Vout = VDD •Vout = Low
•Vout = High
Transistors as Switches- CMOS
Inverter

•Employs a p-channel, Qp, and an n-channel, Qn MOSFET

•Vin = Low •Vin = High
•Qn = off •Qn = on
•Qp = on •Qp = off
•Vout = High •Vout = Low
References

•Rizzoni  -  Principles and Applications of

Electrical
Engineering, 2nd Edition
•www.HowStuffWorks.com
•www.williamson-labs.com