Oa yeeros “Negistor” T IS known that some transistors, when connected into a circuit in reverse, have a negative resistance similar to that of the tunnel diode. That is, the current through and the voltage across the transistor both increase until the voltage reaches a certain point. Then the transistor breaks down and any further increase in cur- rent results in a decrease in voltage. To simplify our discussion, we will call such devices “nagistors.” In circuit diagrams, we representit as a conven- tional transistor with the letter °N added Chances are you can't buy a negis- tor as such at your local electronics store. (They probably wouldn't know what you were talking about anyway.) However, if you have a few npn silicon transistors, you probably already have a supply on hand without knowing it (But don't expect to find a negistor among the germanium or the pnp sili- con units) There are a number of types of npn transistors among which negistors can be found: Motorola's MPS-5172, the 2N2218, 2N2222, 2N697, for exam ple. Transistors which may be useless for anything else may be excellent Nogistors. We have used negistors to build both crystal-controlled and tun- able sine-wave oscillators, variable- width pulse generators, oscilloscope sweeps, and many other circuits. Other suggested applications include timing circuits for SCR power contrat, latching circuils for power-supply Feguiator protection, timers, etc. What Makes It Work. The behavior of the negistor is caused by avalanche multiplication as a result of impact ionization produced by mobile charge carriers, This characteristic is also used to enhance switching speed in some logic circuits DECEMBER 1975, The negative-resistance charac: teristic shown in Fig. 1 results when @ 2N2218 is connected as shown. In this case the breakdown voltage is about 7.2V. Using this characteristic, the negistor can be used to perform some of the functions of a tunnel diode or a UsT—often with simpler additional clreuitry, When used in tunnel diode applica- tions, the output of a negistor is much greater than that of the diode. As a a ea GD) rea eed OCIA oe Rane age Pr Rea UST, the reverse transistor dissipates power only during breakdown and therefore its use is limited only by the Peak current, Applications. A useful circuit employ- ing the negistor is the sawtooth and BulsegeneratorshowninFig.2. Output frequency is determined primarily by RI, R2 and Cf. The current through the negistor is limited by R2, which also sets the maximum fre. Fig. 1. IV characteristics of « typical negistor Many npn transistors exhibit negative-resistanee behavior 6Fig. 2. Swretooth ad pulse generator SCR cirewit increases output quency of oscillation. Resistor RG, typ- ically 10 to 20 ohms, also affects the frequency somewhat, and decreasing A wil lower the rise-time of the pulse andits amplitude. As C7 increases, the magnitude of the sawtooth will de- crease since the resistance of the negistor will rapidly increase once the voltage minimum (also called the valley point” inusteircles)is reached, The valley point varies from one neg istor to the next, and if they will oscil lateatall, peak-to-peak output will gen- erally be greater than 1 volt g. 3. Reverse-polarity SCR. Transistors simulate SCR In some applications, larger output is needed. If this is the case, the SCR- resistor network shown in dashed lines may be added to discharge capacitor C1. When the negistor breaks down, the pulse appearing a- cross R3 will rigger the SCR, discharg- ing C7 down to the saturation voltage of the SCR. Since Rg is very small, the ‘SCR will require more holding current than At and R2 can supply. When C1 is discharged, the SCR will turn off and C1 will Deginto recharge. The value of AG is selected to limit the current through the SCR, A sync input is pro- vided for control purposes. Output will 1 be about 8 volts peak-to-peak with the SCR installed An inverse sawtooth may be ob- tained by reversing the leads of the negistor and polarities of the power supply. However, a conventional SCR cannot be used in this circuit, so the transistor analog of a reverse-polarity SCR (Fig. 3) must be used. This con- figuration may be used in place of a conventional SCR in any power- control circuit by interchanging the pnp and npn types. Fig. 4 freque fegistor wsed in standard A second negistor application is @ series-tuned crystal oscillator, shown in Fig. 4. In this circuit, the negistor is biased into the negative resistance re- gion by AY. Capacitor C1 tunes the oscillator to the operating frequency, and C2 isolates the crystal from the de voltage. Nogistor Selection. Three test circuits are shown in Fig. to aid in identifying egistors in your supply of npn trans- istors. If you have access to an oscil- loscope, use the circuits shown in Fig 5A and 5B. A standard transistor sock- et can be used. Be sure to insert de- vices with the emitters and collectors reversed. Figure 5A will give the I-V Fig. 5 Test ci using a seope, VIVM., oF characteristics of a negistor, asin Fig 1, Set the vertical sensitivity of your scope to Ye V/cm, Each vertical divi- sion will represent 1 mA of negistor current, Is, when the vertical amplifier Input is across the 2000-ohm resistor. Connect the horizontal inputs as shown, setting the sensitivity to 2 Vier. Vary the 1000-ohm potentiome- ter through its range, and thereby the voltage applied to the test circuit from 0 10 20 V. Note the movement of the race. Since resistance is the recip- rocal of the slope of the V-I curve shown, a downward (negative) slope means the transistor is displaying a negative resistance The circuit in Fig. 58 can be used with a scope, or with a peak-reading VTVM. When inserting or removing a device from socket $01, always be sure that switch $1 is closed. After in serting the transistor and opening $1 a linear sawtooth waveform will be seen if the device can function as a negistor. We have found that about half of the npn transistors we test turn out to be negisters. Ha scope or peak-reading VTVM is not available, try the circuit shown in Fig. SC. This test rig wil not give any indication of the quality of the device, but it will indicate whether or not it displays a negative resistance. Con- nect a de milliammeter and voltmeter as shown. Slowly advance the poten- tiometer and observe whether or not current increases while voltage at any point starts to decrease. If this hap- pens, the device is a negistor. Conclusion. This article has not delved deeply into theory, but rather i intended to be a “hands-on” guide to negistors. Look in your junk box—you'll be surprised how many negistors you have, and what you can do with them! ° units identify negistors POPULAR ELECTRONICS