Transistors

Introduction
Transistors make our electronics world go ‘round. They’re critical as a control source in just about
every modern circuit. Sometimes you see them, but more-often-than-not they’re hidden deep within
the die of an integrated circuit. In this tutorial we’ll introduce you to the basics of the most common
transistor around: the bi-polar junction transistor (BJT).

In small, discrete quantities, transistors can be used to create simple electronic switches, digital
logic, and signal amplifying circuits. In quantities of thousands, millions, and even billions, transistors
are interconnected and embedded into tiny chips to create computer memories, microprocessors,
and other complex ICs.

Covered In This Tutorial

After reading through this tutorial, we want you to have a broad understanding of how transistors
work. We won’t dig too deeply into semiconductor physics or equivalent models, but we’ll get deep
enough into the subject that you’ll understand how a transistor can be used as either a switch or
amplifier.
This tutorial is split into a series of sections, covering:

 Symbols, Pins, and Construction – Explaining the differences between the transistor’s three
pins.
  Extending the Water Analogy – Going back to the water analogy to explain how a transistor
acts like a valve.
 Operation Modes – An overview of the four possible operating modes of a transistor.
 Applications I: Switches – Application circuits showing how transistors are used as
electronically controlled switches.
 Applications II: Amplifiers – More application circuits, this time showing how transistors are
used to amplify voltage or current.

There are two types of basic transistor out there: bi-polar junction (BJT) and metal-oxide field-effect
(MOSFET). In this tutorial we’ll focus on the BJT, because it’s slightly easier to understand. Digging
even deeper into transistor types, there are actually two versions of the BJT: NPN and PNP. We’ll
turn our focus even sharper by limiting our early discussion to the NPN. By narrowing our focus
down – getting a solid understanding of the NPN – it’ll be easier to understand the PNP (or
MOSFETS, even) by comparing how it differs from the NPN.

Suggested Reading
Before digging into this tutorial, we’d highly recommend giving these tutorials a look-through:

 Voltage, Current, Resistance, and Ohm’s Law – An introduction to the fundamentals of

electronics.
 Electricity Basics – We’ll talk a bit about electricity as the flow of electrons. Find out how
those electrons flow in this tutorial.
 Electric Power – One of the transistors main applications is amplifying – increasing the
power of a signal. Increasing power means we can increase either current or voltage, find
out why in this tutorial.
 Diodes – A transistor is a semiconductor device, just like a diode. In a way, it’s what you’d
get if you stacked two diodes together, and tied their anodes together. Understanding how a
diode works will go a long way towards uncovering the operation of a transistor.

Symbols, Pins, and Construction

Transistors are fundamentally three-terminal devices. On a bi-polar junction transistor (BJT), those
pins are labeled collector (C), base (B), and emitter (E). The circuit symbols for both the NPN and
PNP BJT are below:
The only difference between an NPN and PNP is the direction of the arrow on the emitter. The arrow
on an NPN points out, and on the PNP it points in. A useful mnemonic for remembering which is
which is:

NPN: Not Pointing iN

Backwards logic, but it works!

Transistor Construction
Transistors rely on semiconductors to work their magic. A semiconductor is a material that’s not
quite a pure conductor (like copper wire) but also not an insulator (like air). The conductivity of a
semiconductor – how easily it allows electrons to flow – depends on variables like temperature or the
presence of more or less electrons. Let’s look briefly under the hood of a transistor. Don’t worry, we
won’t dig too deeply into quantum physics.
A Transistor as Two Diodes
Transistors are kind of like an extension of another semiconductor component: diodes. In a way
transistors are just two diodes with their cathodes (or anodes) tied together:
The diode connecting base to emitter is the important one here; it matches the direction of the arrow
on the schematic symbol, and shows you which way current is intended to flow through the
transistor.
The diode representation is a good place to start, but it’s far from accurate. Don’t base your
understanding of a transistor’s operation on that model (and definitely don’t try to replicate it on a
breadboard, it won’t work). There’s a whole lot of weird quantum physics level stuff controlling the
interactions between the three terminals.
(This model is useful if you need to test a transistor. Using the diode (or resistance) test function on
a multimeter, you can measure across the BE and BC terminals to check for the presence of those
“diodes”.)
Transistor Structure and Operation
Transistors are built by stacking three different layers of semiconductor material together. Some of
those layers have extra electrons added to them (a process called “doping”), and others have
electrons removed (doped with “holes” – the absence of electrons). A semiconductor material
with extra electrons is called an n-type (n for negative because electrons have a negative charge)
and a material with electrons removed is called a p-type (for positive). Transistors are created by
either stacking an n on top of a p on top of an n, or p over n over p.
 Simplified diagram of the structure of an NPN. Notice the origin of any acronyms?
With some hand waving, we can say electrons can easily flow from n regions to p regions, as
long as they have a little force (voltage) to push them. But flowing from a p region to an n region is
really hard (requires a lot of voltage). But the special thing about a transistor – the part that makes
our two-diode model obsolete – is the fact that electrons caneasily flow from the p-type base to
the n-type collector as long as the base-emitter junction is forward biased(meaning the base is
at a higher voltage than the emitter).
The NPN transistor is designed to pass electrons from the emitter to the collector (so conventional
current flows from collector to emitter). The emitter “emits” electrons into the base, which controls
the number of electrons the emitter emits. Most of the electrons emitted are “collected” by the
collector, which sends them along to the next part of the circuit.
A PNP works in a same but opposite fashion. The base still controls current flow, but that current
flows in the opposite direction – from emitter to collector. Instead of electrons, the emitter emits
“holes” (a conceptual absence of electrons) which are collected by the collector.
The transistor is kind of like an electron valve. The base pin is like a handle you might adjust to
allow more or less electrons to flow from emitter to collector. Let’s investigate this analogy further…
Extending the Water Analogy
If you’ve been reading a lot of electricity concept tutorials lately, you’re probably used
to water analogies. We say that current is analogous to the flow rate of water, voltage is the pressure
pushing that water through a pipe, and resistance is the width of the pipe.

Unsurprisingly, the water analogy can be extended to transistors as well: a transistor is like a
water valve – a mechanism we can use to control the flow rate.
There are three states we can use a valve in, each of which has a different effect on the flow rate in
a system.

1) On – Short Circuit
A valve can be completely opened, allowing water to flow freely – passing through as if the valve
wasn’t even present.

Likewise, under the right circumstances, a transistor can look like a short circuit between the
collector and emitter pins. Current is free to flow through the collector, and out the emitter.

2) Off – Open Circuit

When it’s closed, a valve can completely stop the flow of water.
In the same way, a transistor can be used to create an open circuit between the collector and
emitter pins.

3) Linear Flow Control

With some precise tuning, a valve can be adjusted to finely control the flow rate to some point
between fully open and closed.

A transistor can do the same thing – linearly controlling the current through a circuit at some point
between fully off (an open circuit) and fully on (a short circuit).
From our water analogy, the width of a pipe is similar to the resistance in a circuit. If a valve can
finely adjust the width of a pipe, then a transistor can finely adjust the resistance between collector
and emitter. So, in a way, a transistor is like a variable, adjustable resistor.

Amplifying Power
There’s another analogy we can wrench into this. Imagine if, with the slight turn of a valve, you could
control the flow rate of the Hoover Dam’s flow gates. The measly amount of force you might put into
twisting that knob has the potential to create a force thousands of times stronger. We’re stretching
the analogy to its limits, but this idea carries over to transistors too. Transistors are special because
they can amplify electrical signals, turning a low-power signal into a similar signal of much higher
power.

Kind of. There’s a lot more to it, but that’s a good place to start! Check out the next section for a
more detailed explanation of the operation of a transistor.
Operation Modes
Unlike resistors, which enforce a linear relationship between voltage and current, transistors are
non-linear devices. They have four distinct modes of operation, which describe the current flowing
through them. (When we talk about current flow through a transistor, we usually mean current
flowing from collector to emitter of an NPN.)
The four transistor operation modes are:

 Saturation – The transistor acts like a short circuit. Current freely flows from collector to
emitter.
 Cut-off – The transistor acts like an open circuit. No current flows from collector to emitter.
 Active – The current from collector to emitter is proportional to the current flowing into the
base.
 Reverse-Active – Like active mode, the current is proportional to the base current, but it
flows in reverse. Current flows from emitter to collector (not, exactly, the purpose transistors
were designed for).

To determine which mode a transistor is in, we need to look at the voltages on each of the three
pins, and how they relate to each other. The voltages from base to emitter (VBE), and the from base
to collector (VBC) set the transistor’s mode:
The simplified quadrant graph above shows how positive and negative voltages at those terminals
affect the mode. In reality it’s a bit more complicated than that.
Let’s look at all four transistor modes individually; we’ll investigate how to put the device into that
mode, and what effect it has on current flow.
Note: The majority of this page focuses on NPN transistors. To understand how a PNP transistor
works, simply flip the polarity or > and < signs.
Saturation Mode
Saturation is the on mode of a transistor. A transistor in saturation mode acts like a short circuit
between collector and emitter.
In saturation mode both of the “diodes” in the transistor are forward biased. That means VBE must be
greater than 0, andso must VBC. In other words, VB must be higher than both VE and VC.

Because the junction from base to emitter looks just like a diode, in reality, VBE must be greater than
a threshold voltage to enter saturation. There are many abbreviations for this voltage drop – Vth, Vγ,
and Vd are a few – and the actual value varies between transistors (and even further by
temperature). For a lot of transistors (at room temperature) we can estimate this drop to be about
0.6V.
Another reality bummer: there won’t be perfect conduction between emitter and collector. A small
voltage drop will form between those nodes. Transistor datasheets will define this voltage as CE
saturation voltage VCE(sat) – a voltage from collector to emitter required for saturation. This value is
usually around 0.05-0.2V. This value means that VC must be slightly greater than VE (but both still
less than VB) to get the transistor in saturation mode.
Cutoff Mode
Cutoff mode is the opposite of saturation. A transistor in cutoff mode is off – there is no collector
current, and therefore no emitter current. It almost looks like an open circuit.
To get a transistor into cutoff mode, the base voltage must be less than both the emitter and
collector voltages. VBC and VBE must both be negative.

In reality, VBE can be anywhere between 0V and Vth (~0.6V) to achieve cutoff mode.
Active Mode
To operate in active mode, a transistor’s VBE must be greater than zero and VBC must be negative.
Thus, the base voltage must be less than the collector, but greater than the emitter. That also means
the collector must be greater than the emitter.

In reality, we need a non-zero forward voltage drop (abbreviated either Vth, Vγ, or Vd) from base to
emitter (VBE) to “turn on” the transistor. Usually this voltage is usually around 0.6V.
Amplifying in Active Mode

Active mode is the most powerful mode of the transistor because it turns the device into
an amplifier. Current going into the base pin amplifies current going into the collector and out the
emitter.
Our shorthand notation for the gain (amplification factor) of a transistor is β (you may also see it
as βF, or hFE). β linearly relates the collector current (IC) to the base current (IB):

The actual value of β varies by transistor. It’s usually around 100, but can range from 50 to
200…even 2000, depending on which transistor you’re using and how much current is running
through it. If your transistor had a β of 100, for example, that’d mean an input current of 1mA into the
base could produce 100mA current through the collector.

Active mode model. VBE = Vth, and IC = βIB.

What about the emitter current, IE? In active mode, the collector and base currents go into the
device, and the IE comes out. To relate the emitter current to collector current, we have another
constant value: α. α is the common-base current gain, it relates those currents as such:

α is usually very close to, but less than, 1. That means IC is very close to, but less than IE in active
mode.
You can use β to calculate α, or vice-versa:

If β is 100, for example, that means α is 0.99. So, if IC is 100mA, for example, then IE is 101mA.
Reverse Active
Just as saturation is the opposite of cutoff, reverse active mode is the opposite of active mode. A
transistor in reverse active mode conducts, even amplifies, but current flows in the opposite
direction, from emitter to collector. The downside to reverse active mode is the β (βR in this case)
is much smaller.
To put a transistor in reverse active mode, the emitter voltage must be greater than the base, which
must be greater than the collector (VBE<0 and VBC>0).

Reverse active mode isn’t usually a state in which you want to drive a transistor. It’s good to know
it’s there, but it’s rarely designed into an application.

Relating to the PNP

After everything we’ve talked about on this page, we’ve still only covered half of the BJT spectrum.
What about PNP transistors? PNP’s work a lot like the NPN’s – they have the same four modes –
but everything is turned around. To find out which mode a PNP transistor is in, reverse all of the <
and > signs.
For example, to put a PNP into saturation VC and VE must be higher than VB. You pull the base low to
turn the PNP on, and make it higher than the collector and emitter to turn it off. And, to put a PNP
into active mode, VE must be at a higher voltage than VB, which must be higher than VC.
In summary:

Voltage relations NPN Mode PNP Mode

VE < VB < VC Active Reverse

VE < VB > VC Saturation Cutoff

VE > VB < VC Cutoff Saturation

VE > VB > VC Reverse Active

Another opposing characteristic of the NPNs and PNPs is the direction of current flow. In active and
saturation modes, current in a PNP flows from emitter to collector. This means the emitter must
generally be at a higher voltage than the collector.

If you’re burnt out on conceptual stuff, take a trip to the next section. The best way to learn how a
transistor works is to examine it in real-life circuits. Let’s look at some applications!

Applications I: Switches
One of the most fundamental applications of a transistor is using it to control the flow of power to
another part of the circuit – using it as an electric switch. Driving it in either cutoff or saturation mode,
the transistor can create the binary on/off effect of a switch.
Transistor switches are critical circuit-building blocks; they’re used to make logic gates, which go on
to create microcontrollers, microprocessors, and other integrated circuits. Below are a few example
circuits.

Transistor Switch
Let’s look at the most fundamental transistor-switch circuit: an NPN switch. Here we use an NPN to
control a high-power LED:
Our control input flows into the base, the output is tied to the collector, and the emitter is kept at a
fixed voltage.
While a normal switch would require an actuator to be physically flipped, this switch is controlled by
the voltage at the base pin. A microcontroller I/O pin, like those on an Arduino, can be programmed
to go high or low to turn the LED on or off.
When the voltage at the base is greater than 0.6V (or whatever your transistor’s Vth might be), the
transistor starts saturating and looks like a short circuit between collector and emitter. When the
voltage at the base is less than 0.6V the transistor is in cutoff mode – no current flows because it
looks like an open circuit between C and E.
The circuit above is called a low-side switch, because the switch – our transistor – is on the low
(ground) side of the circuit. Alternatively, we can use a PNP transistor to create a high-side switch:
Similar to the NPN circuit, the base is our input, and the emitter is tied to a constant voltage. This
time however, the emitter is tied high, and the load is connected to the transistor on the ground side.
This circuit works just as well as the NPN-based switch, but there’s one huge difference: to turn the
load “on” the base must be low. This can cause complications, especially if the load’s high voltage
(VCC in this picture) is higher than our control input’s high voltage. For example, this circuit wouldn’t
work if you were trying to use a 5V-operating Arduino to switch on a 12V motor. In that case it’d be
impossible to turn the switch off because VB would always be less than VE.
Base Resistors!
You’ll notice that each of those circuits uses a series resistor between the control input and the base
of the transistor. Don’t forget to add this resistor! A transistor without a resistor on the base is like an
LED with no current-limiting resistor.
Recall that, in a way, a transistor is just a pair of interconnected diodes. We’re forward-biasing the
base-emitter diode to turn the load on. The diode only needs 0.6V to turn on, more voltage than that
means more current. Some transistors may only be rated for a maximum of 10-100mA of current to
flow through them. If you supply a current over the maximum rating, the transistor might blow up.
The series resistor between our control source and the base limits current into the base. The
base-emitter node can get its happy voltage drop of 0.6V, and the resistor can drop the remaining
voltage. The value of the resistor, and voltage across it, will set the current.
The resistor needs to be large enough to effectively limit the current, but small enough to feed the
base enough current. 1mA to 10mA will usually be enough, but check your transistor’s datasheet to
make sure.

Digital Logic
Transistors can be combined to create all our fundamental logic gates: AND, OR, and NOT.
(Note: These days MOSFETS are more likely to be used to create logic gates than BJTs. MOSFETs
are more power-efficient, which makes them the better choice.)
Inverter
Here’s a transistor circuit that implements an inverter, or NOT gate:
 An inverter built out of transistors.
Here a high voltage into the base will turn the transistor on, which will effectively connect the
collector to the emitter. Since the emitter is connected directly to ground, the collector will be as well
(though it will be slightly higher, somewhere around VCE(sat) ~ 0.05-0.2V). If the input is low, on the
other hand, the transistor looks like an open circuit, and the output is pulled up to VCC
(This is actually a fundamental transistor configuration called common emitter. More on that later.)
AND Gate
Here are a pair of transistors used to create a 2-input AND gate:
 2-input AND gate built out of transistors.
If either transistor is turned off, then the output at the second transistor’s collector will be pulled low.
If both transistors are “on” (bases both high), then the output of the circuit is also high.
OR Gate
And, finally, here’s a 2-input OR gate:
 2-input OR gate built out of transistors.
In this circuit, if either (or both) A or B are high, that respective transistor will turn on, and pull the
output high. If both transistors are off, then the output is pulled low through the resistor.

H-Bridge
An H-bridge is a transistor-based circuit capable of driving motors both clockwise and counter-
clockwise. It’s an incredibly popular circuit – the driving force behind countless robots that must be
able to move both forward andbackward.
Fundamentally, an H-bridge is a combination of four transistors with two inputs lines and two
outputs:
 Can you guess why it’s called an H bridge?
(Note: there’s usually quite a bit more to a well-designed H-bridge including flyback diodes, base
resistors and Schmidt triggers.)
If both inputs are the same voltage, the outputs to the motor will be the same voltage, and the motor
won’t be able to spin. But if the two inputs are opposite, the motor will spin in one direction or the
other.
The H-bridge has a truth table that looks a little like this:
Input A Input B Output A Output B Motor Direction

0 0 1 1 Stopped (braking)

0 1 1 0 Clockwise

1 0 0 1 Counter-clockwise

1 1 0 0 Stopped (braking)
Oscillators
An oscillator is a circuit that produces a periodic signal that swings between a high and low voltage.
Oscillators are used in all sorts of circuits: from simply blinking an LED to the producing a clock
signal to drive a microcontroller. There are lots of ways to create an oscillator circuit including quartz
crystals, op amps, and, of course, transistors.
Here’s an example oscillating circuit, which we call an astable multivibrator. By using feedback we
can use a pair of transistors to create two complementing, oscillating signals.

Aside from the two transistors, the capacitors are the real key to this circuit. The caps alternatively
charge and discharge, which causes the two transistors to alternatively turn on and off.
Analyzing this circuit’s operation is an excellent study in the operation of both caps and transistors.
To begin, assume C1 is fully charged (storing a voltage of about VCC), C2 is discharged, Q1 is on,
and Q2 is off. Here’s what happens after that:
  If Q1 is on, then C1’s left plate (on the schematic) is connected to about 0V. This will allow
C1 to discharge through Q1’s collector.
 While C1 is discharging, C2 quickly charges through the lower value resistor – R4.
 Once C1 fully discharges, its right plate will be pulled up to about 0.6V, which will turn on Q2.
 At this point we’ve swapped states: C1 is discharged, C2 is charged, Q1 is off, and Q2 is on.
Now we do the same dance the other way.
 Q2 being on allows C2 to discharge through Q2’s collector.
 While Q1 is off, C1 can charge, relatively quickly through R1.
 Once C2 fully discharges, Q1 will be turn back on and we’re back in the state we started in.

It can be hard to wrap your head around. You can find another excellent demo of this circuit here.
By picking specific values for C1, C2, R2, and R3 (and keeping R1 and R4 relatively low), we can
set the speed of our multivibrator circuit:

So, with the values for caps and resistors set to 10µF and 47kΩ respectively, our oscillator frequency
is about 1.5 Hz. That means each LED will blink about 1.5 times per second.

As you can probably already see, there are tons of circuits out there that make use of transistors.
But we’ve barely scratched the surface. These examples mostly show how the transistor can be
used in saturation and cut-off modes as a switch, but what about amplification? Time for more
examples!

Applications II: Amplifiers

Some of the most powerful transistor applications involve amplification: turning a low power signal
into one of higher power. Amplifiers can increase the voltage of a signal, taking something from the
µV range and converting it to a more useful mV or V level. Or they can amplify current, useful for
turning the µA of current produced by a photodiode into a current of much higher magnitude. There
are even amplifiers that take a current in, and produce a higher voltage, or vice-versa (called
transresistance and transconductance respectively).
Transistors are a key component to many amplifying circuits. There are a seemingly infinite variety
of transistor amplifiers out there, but fortunately a lot of them are based on some of these more
primitive circuits. Remember these circuits, and, hopefully, with a bit of pattern-matching, you can
make sense of more complex amplifiers.

Common Configurations
Three of the most fundamental transistor amplifiers are: common emitter, common collector and
common base. In each of the three configurations one of the three nodes is permanently tied to a
common voltage (usually ground), and the other two nodes are either an input or output of the
amplifier.
Common Emitter
Common emitter is one of the more popular transistor arrangements. In this circuit the emitter is tied
to a voltage common to both the base and collector (usually ground). The base becomes the signal
input, and the collector becomes the output.

The common emitter circuit is popular because it’s well-suited for voltage amplification, especially
at low frequencies. They’re great for amplifying audio signals, for example. If you have a small 1.5V
peak-to-peak input signal, you could amplify that to a much higher voltage using a slightly more
complicated circuit, like:
One quirk of the common emitter, though, is that it inverts the input signal (compare it to the inverter
from the last page!).
Common Collector (Emitter Follower)
If we tie the collector pin to a common voltage, use the base as an input, and the emitter as an
output, we have a common collector. This configuration is also known as an emitter follower.

The common collector doesn’t do any voltage amplification (in fact, the voltage out will be 0.6V lower
than the voltage in). For that reason, this circuit is sometimes called a voltage follower.
This circuit does have great potential as a current amplifier. In addition to that, the high current gain
combined with near unity voltage gain makes this circuit a great voltage buffer. A voltage buffer
prevents a load circuit from undesirably interfering with the circuit driving it.
For example, if you wanted to deliver 1V to a load, you could go the easy way and use a voltage
divider, or you could use an emitter follower.

As the load gets larger (which, conversely, means the resistance is lower) the output of the voltage
divider circuit drops. But the voltage output of the emitter follower remains steady, regardless of what
the load is. Bigger loads can’t “load down” an emitter follower, like they can circuits with larger output
impedances.
Common Base
We’ll talk about common base to provide some closure to this section, but this is the least popular of
the three fundamental configurations. In a common base amplifier, the emitter is an input and the
collector an output. The base is common to both.
Common base is like the anti-emitter-follower. It’s a decent voltage amplifier, and current in is about
equal to current out (actually current in is slightly greater than current out).
The common base circuit works best as a current buffer. It can take an input current at a low input
impedance, and deliver nearly that same current to a higher impedance output.
In Summary
These three amplifier configurations are at the heart of many more complicated transistor amplifiers.
They each have applications where they shine, whether they’re amplifying current, voltage, or
buffering.

Common Emitter Common Collector Common Base

Voltage Gain Medium Low High

Current Gain Medium High Low

Input Impedance Medium High Low

Output Impedance Medium Low High

Multistage Amplifiers
We could go on and on about the great variety of transistor amplifiers out there. Here are a few quick
examples to show off what happens when you combine the single-stage amplifiers above:
Darlington
The Darlington amplifier runs one common collector into another to create a high current
gain amplifier.
Voltage out is about the same as voltage in (minus about 1.2V-1.4V), but the current gain is the
product of two transistor gains. That’s β2 – upwards of 10,000!
The Darlington pair is a great tool if you need to drive a large load with a very small input current.
Differential Amplifier
A differential amplifier subtracts two input signals and amplifies that difference. It’s a critical part of
feedback circuits, where the input is compared against the output, to produce a future output.
Here’s the foundation of the differential amp:
This circuit is also called a long tailed pair. It’s a pair of common-emitter circuits that are compared
against each other to produce a differential output. Two inputs are applied to the bases of the
transistors; the output is a differential voltage across the two collectors.
Push-Pull Amplifier
A push-pull amplifier is a useful “final stage” in many multi-stage amplifiers. It’s an energy efficient
power amplifier, often used to drive loudspeakers.
The fundamental push-pull amp uses an NPN and PNP transistor, both configured as common
collectors:
The push-pull amp doesn’t really amplify voltage (voltage out will be slightly less than that in), but it
does amplify current. It’s especially useful in bi-polar circuits (those with positive and negative
supplies), because it can both “push” current into the load from the positive supply, and “pull” current
out and sink it into the negative supply.
If you have a bi-polar supply (or even if you don’t), the push-pull is a great final stage to an amplifier,
acting as a buffer for the load.
Putting Them Together (An Operational Amplifier)
Let’s look at a classic example of a multi-stage transistor circuit: an Op Amp. Being able to recognize
common transistor circuits, and understanding their purpose can get you a long way! Here is the
circuit inside an LM3558, a really simple op amp:

The internals of an LM358 operational amplifier. Recognize some amplifiers?

There’s certainly more complexity here than you may be prepared to digest, however you might see
some familiar topologies:

 Q1, Q2, Q3, and Q4 form the input stage. Looks a lot like an common collector (Q1 and
Q4) into a differential amplifier, right? It just looks upside down, because it’s using PNP’s.
These transistors help to form the input differential stage of the amplifier.
 Q11 and Q12 are part of the second stage. Q11 is a common collector and Q12 is
a common emitter. This pair of transistors will buffer the signal from Q3’s collector, and
provide a high gain as the signal goes to the final stage.
 Q6 and Q13 are part of the final stage, and they should look familiar as well (especially if you
ignore RSC) – it’s a push-pull! This stage buffers the output, allowing it to drive larger loads.
 There are a variety of other common configurations in there that we haven’t talked about. Q8
and Q9 are configured as a current mirror, which simply copies the amount of current
through one transistor into the other.

After this crash course in transistors, we wouldn’t expect you to understand what’s going on in this
circuit, but if you can begin to identify common transistor circuits you’re on the right track!
Home / Transistors / The MOSFET

The MOSFET
MOSFET’s operate the same as JFET’s but have a gate terminal that is electrically isolated from the
conductive channel.

As well as the Junction Field Effect Transistor (JFET), there is another type of
Field Effect Transistor available whose Gate input is electrically insulated from
the main current carrying channel and is therefore called an Insulated Gate
Field Effect Transistor.
The most common type of insulated gate FET which is used in many different
types of electronic circuits is called the Metal Oxide Semiconductor Field
Effect Transistor or MOSFET for short.
The IGFET or MOSFET is a voltage controlled field effect transistor that
differs from a JFET in that it has a “Metal Oxide” Gate electrode which is
electrically insulated from the main semiconductor n-channel or p-channel by
a very thin layer of insulating material usually silicon dioxide, commonly
known as glass.
This ultra thin insulated metal gate electrode can be thought of as one plate of
a capacitor. The isolation of the controlling Gate makes the input resistance of
the MOSFETextremely high way up in the Mega-ohms ( MΩ ) region thereby
making it almost infinite.
As the Gate terminal is isolated from the main current carrying channel “NO
current flows into the gate” and just like the JFET, the MOSFET also acts like
a voltage controlled resistor were the current flowing through the main
channel between the Drain and Source is proportional to the input voltage.
Also like the JFET, the MOSFETs very high input resistance can easily
accumulate large amounts of static charge resulting in the MOSFET becoming
easily damaged unless carefully handled or protected.
Like the previous JFET tutorial, MOSFETs are three terminal devices with
a Gate, Drain and Source and both P-channel (PMOS) and N-channel (NMOS)
MOSFETs are available. The main difference this time is that MOSFETs are
available in two basic forms:
 Depletion Type – the transistor requires the Gate-Source voltage, ( VGS ) to switch
the device “OFF”. The depletion mode MOSFET is equivalent to a “Normally Closed”
switch.
 Enhancement Type – the transistor requires a Gate-Source voltage, ( VGS ) to
switch the device “ON”. The enhancement mode MOSFET is equivalent to a “Normally
Open” switch.
The symbols and basic construction for both configurations of MOSFETs are
shown below.
The four MOSFET symbols above show an additional terminal called
the Substrate and is not normally used as either an input or an output
connection but instead it is used for grounding the substrate. It connects to the
main semiconductive channel through a diode junction to the body or metal
tab of the MOSFET.
Usually in discrete type MOSFETs, this substrate lead is connected internally
to the source terminal. When this is the case, as in enhancement types it is
omitted from the symbol for clarification.
The line between the drain and source connections represents the
semiconductive channel. If this is a solid unbroken line then this represents a
“Depletion” (normally-ON) type MOSFET as drain current can flow with zero
gate potential.
If the channel line is shown dotted or broken, then it is an “Enhancement”
(normally-OFF) type MOSFET as zero drain current flows with zero gate
potential. The direction of the arrow indicates whether the conductive channel
is a P-type or an N-type semiconductor device.

Basic MOSFET Structure and Symbol

The construction of the Metal Oxide Semiconductor FET is very different to

that of the Junction FET. Both the Depletion and Enhancement type
MOSFETs use an electrical field produced by a gate voltage to alter the flow
of charge carriers, electrons for n-channel or holes for P-channel, through the
semiconductive drain-source channel. The gate electrode is placed on top of a
very thin insulating layer and there are a pair of small n-type regions just
under the drain and source electrodes.
We saw in the previous tutorial, that the gate of a junction field effect
transistor, JFET must be biased in such a way as to reverse-bias the pn-
junction. With a insulated gate MOSFET device no such limitations apply so it
is possible to bias the gate of a MOSFET in either polarity, positive (+ve) or
negative (-ve).
This makes the MOSFET device especially valuable as electronic switches or
to make logic gates because with no bias they are normally non-conducting
and this high gate input resistance means that very little or no control current
is needed as MOSFETs are voltage controlled devices. Both the p-channel
and the n-channel MOSFETs are available in two basic forms,
the Enhancement type and the Depletion type.
Depletion-mode MOSFET
The Depletion-mode MOSFET, which is less common than the enhancement
mode types is normally switched “ON” (conducting) without the application of
a gate bias voltage. That is the channel conducts when VGS = 0 making it a
“normally-closed” device. The circuit symbol shown above for a depletion
MOS transistor uses a solid channel line to signify a normally closed
conductive channel.
For the n-channel depletion MOS transistor, a negative gate-source voltage, -
VGS will deplete (hence its name) the conductive channel of its free electrons
switching the transistor “OFF”. Likewise for a p-channel depletion MOS
transistor a positive gate-source voltage, +VGS will deplete the channel of its
free holes turning it “OFF”.
In other words, for an n-channel depletion mode MOSFET: +VGS means more
electrons and more current. While a -VGS means less electrons and less
current. The opposite is also true for the p-channel types. Then the depletion
mode MOSFET is equivalent to a “normally-closed” switch.

Depletion-mode N-Channel MOSFET and circuit Symbols

The depletion-mode MOSFET is constructed in a similar way to their JFET
transistor counterparts were the drain-source channel is inherently conductive
with the electrons and holes already present within the n-type or p-type
channel. This doping of the channel produces a conducting path of low
resistance between the Drain and Source with zero Gatebias.

Enhancement-mode MOSFET
The more common Enhancement-mode MOSFET or eMOSFET, is the
reverse of the depletion-mode type. Here the conducting channel is lightly
doped or even undoped making it non-conductive. This results in the device
being normally “OFF” (non-conducting) when the gate bias voltage, VGS is
equal to zero. The circuit symbol shown above for an enhancement MOS
transistor uses a broken channel line to signify a normally open non-
conducting channel.
For the n-channel enhancement MOS transistor a drain current will only flow
when a gate voltage ( VGS ) is applied to the gate terminal greater than the
threshold voltage ( VTH ) level in which conductance takes place making it a
transconductance device.
The application of a positive (+ve) gate voltage to a n-type eMOSFET attracts
more electrons towards the oxide layer around the gate thereby increasing or
enhancing (hence its name) the thickness of the channel allowing more
current to flow. This is why this kind of transistor is called an enhancement
mode device as the application of a gate voltage enhances the channel.
Increasing this positive gate voltage will cause the channel resistance to
decrease further causing an increase in the drain current, ID through the
channel. In other words, for an n-channel enhancement mode
MOSFET: +VGS turns the transistor “ON”, while a zero or -VGSturns the transistor
“OFF”. Thus the enhancement-mode MOSFET is equivalent to a “normally-
open” switch.
The reverse is true for the p-channel enhancement MOS transistor.
When VGS = 0 the device is “OFF” and the channel is open. The application of a
negative (-ve) gate voltage to the p-type eMOSFET enhances the channels
conductivity turning it “ON”. Then for an p-channel enhancement mode
MOSFET: +VGS turns the transistor “OFF”, while -VGS turns the transistor “ON”.

Enhancement-mode N-Channel MOSFET and Circuit Symbols

Enhancement-mode MOSFETs make excellent electronics switches due to

their low “ON” resistance and extremely high “OFF” resistance as well as their
infinitely high input resistance due to their isolated gate. Enhancement-mode
MOSFETs are used in integrated circuits to produce CMOS type Logic
Gates and power switching circuits in the form of as PMOS (P-channel) and
NMOS (N-channel) gates. CMOS actually stands for Complementary
MOS meaning that the logic device has both PMOS and NMOS within its
design.
The MOSFET Amplifier
Just like the previous Junction Field Effect transistor, MOSFETs can be used
to make single stage class “A” amplifier circuits with the enhancement mode
n-channel MOSFET common source amplifier being the most popular circuit.
Depletion mode MOSFET amplifiers are very similar to the JFET amplifiers,
except that the MOSFET has a much higher input impedance.
This high input impedance is controlled by the gate biasing resistive network
formed by R1 and R2. Also, the output signal for the enhancement mode
common source MOSFET amplifier is inverted because when VG is low the
transistor is switched “OFF” and VD(Vout) is high. When VG is high the
transistor is switched “ON” and VD (Vout) is low as shown.

Enhancement-mode N-Channel MOSFET Amplifier

The DC biasing of this common source (CS) MOSFET amplifier circuit is

virtually identical to the JFET amplifier. The MOSFET circuit is biased in class
A mode by the voltage divider network formed by resistors R1 and R2. The AC
input resistance is given as RIN = RG = 1MΩ.
Metal Oxide Semiconductor Field Effect Transistors are three terminal active
devices made from different semiconductor materials that can act as either an
insulator or a conductor by the application of a small signal voltage.
The MOSFETs ability to change between these two states enables it to have
two basic functions: “switching” (digital electronics) or “amplification”
(analogue electronics). Then MOSFETs have the ability to operate within
three different regions:
 1. Cut-off Region – with VGS < Vthreshold the gate-source voltage is much lower than
the transistors threshold voltage so the MOSFET transistor is switched “fully-OFF”
thus, ID = 0, with the transistor acting like an open switch.
 2. Linear (Ohmic) Region – with VGS > Vthreshold and VDS < VGS the transistor is in its
constant resistance region behaving as a voltage-controlled resistance whose resistive
value is determined by the gate voltage, VGS level.
 3. Saturation Region – with VGS > Vthreshold the transistor is in its constant current
region and is therefore “fully-ON”. The Drain current ID = Maximum with the transistor
acting as a closed switch.

MOSFET Tutorial Summary

The Metal Oxide Semiconductor Field Effect Transistor, or MOSFET for short,
has an extremely high input gate resistance with the current flowing through
the channel between the source and drain being controlled by the gate
voltage. Because of this high input impedance and gain, MOSFETs can be
easily damaged by static electricity if not carefully protected or handled.
MOSFET’s are ideal for use as electronic switches or as common-source
amplifiers as their power consumption is very small. Typical applications for
metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistors are in Microprocessors,
Memories, Calculators and Logic CMOS Gates etc.
Also, notice that a dotted or broken line within the symbol indicates a normally
“OFF” enhancement type showing that “NO” current can flow through the
channel when zero gate-source voltage VGS is applied.
A continuous unbroken line within the symbol indicates a normally “ON”
Depletion type showing that current “CAN” flow through the channel with zero
gate voltage. For p-channel types the symbols are exactly the same for both
types except that the arrow points outwards. This can be summarised in the
following switching table.

MOSFET type VGS = +ve VGS = 0 VGS = -ve

N-Channel Depletion ON ON OFF

 N-Channel Enhancement ON OFF OFF

P-Channel Depletion OFF ON ON

P-Channel Enhancement OFF OFF ON

So for n-type enhancement type MOSFETs, a positive gate voltage turns “ON”
the transistor and with zero gate voltage, the transistor will be “OFF”. For a p-
channel enhancement type MOSFET, a negative gate voltage will turn “ON”
the transistor and with zero gate voltage, the transistor will be “OFF”. The
voltage point at which the MOSFET starts to pass current through the channel
is determined by the threshold voltage VTH of the device.
In the next tutorial about Field Effect Transistors instead of using the
transistor as an amplifying device, we will look at the operation of the
transistor in its saturation and cut-off regions when used as a solid-state
switch. Field effect transistor switches are used in many applications to switch
a DC current “ON” or “OFF” such as LED’s which require only a few milliamps
at low DC voltages, or motors which require higher currents at higher
voltages.