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Lecture 2a: BJT Structure

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Subject E1

Table of Content
Books
Device Structure and physcial Operation
Simplified Structure and Modes of Operation
Operation of the npn Transistor in the Active Mode
Current Voltage Chracteristics
Circuit Symbols and Conventions
The Early Effect - Dependence of iC on the Collector Voltage
Pi Model

Books

Lecture 2a: BJT Structure 1

 Device Structure and physcial Operation
Simplified Structure and Modes of Operation
BJT consists of 3 semiconductor region

Emitter (E)

Base (B)

Collector (C)

BJT has 2 common transistor

npn Transistor: n-type emiiter, p-type base and n-type collector

pnp Transistor: p-type emiiter, n-type base and p-type collector

The transistor consists of 2 pn junctions

The emitter-base junction (EBJ)

The collector-base juncion (CBJ)

Depending on the bias condition (forward or reverse) of each junctions, different modes of
operation of the BJT are obtained

Active Mode: used if the transistor is operate as amplifier

Cutoff mode and Saturation mode are utilized in switching application

Mode table

Image of Structure for the BJT (Bipolar Junction Transistor)

Lecture 2a: BJT Structure 2

 Operation of the npn Transistor in the Active Mode
Active mode in npn Transistor

Lecture 2a: BJT Structure 3

 2 external voltage sourves are used to establish the required bias condiition for active-mode
operation

The voltage VBE causes the p-type base to be higher in potential than the n-type emitter ⇒
forward biasing the emitter-base junction (from left to right)

The collector-base voltage VCB causes the n-type collector to be at a higher potential than the
p-type ⇒ reverse biasing the collector-base junction (from right to left)

Current Flow

The forward bias on the emitter-base junction will cause current to flow across this junction

Current consists of 2 components

e− injected from the emitter into the base

holes injected from the base into the emitter

💡 highly desirable to have the first component (e− from emitter to base) to be much larger
than the second component (holes form base to emitter)

⟹ This can be accomplished by fabricating the device with a heavily doped emitter and a lightly
doped base. In other word, a high denisty of e− in the emitter and a low density of holes in the
base

Lecture 2a: BJT Structure 4

 The current that flwos across the emitter-base junction will constitude the emitter curernt iE

In the first current component, e− injected from the base the emitter into the base. These e−
will be minority carries in the p-type base region

Because their concentration will be highest at the emitter side of the base, the injected
electrons will diffuse through the base region toward the collector.

In their journey across the base, some of the electrons will combine with holes, which are
majority carriers in the base. However, since the base is usually very thin and, as mentioned
earlier, lightly doped, the proportion of electrons that are “lost” through this recombination
process will be quite small ⇒ most of the diffusing electrons will reach the boundary of the
collector–base depletion region. Because the collector is more positive than the base (by the
reverse-bias voltage vCB ), these successful electrons will be swept across the CBJ depletion
region into the collector. They will thus get collected and constitute the collector current iC

Collector Current

Collector current is carried by the e− that reach the collector region.

Its direction will be opposite to that of the flow of e− and thus into the collector terminal

iC = IS evBE /VT
where IS is the saturation current

NOTE: iC is independent of the value of vCB . This means that as long as the collector is
positive with respect to the base, the electrons that reach the collector side of the base region
will be swept into the collector and will be registered as collector current

Base Current

Base current iB composed of 2 component

iB 1 is due to the holes injected form teh base reigon into the emitter region
iB 2 is due to holes that have to be supplied by the external circuit in order to replace the
holes lost from the base through the recombination process

iB = iB1 + iB2

Lecture 2a: BJT Structure 5

 iC IS
iB = =( )evBE /VT
β β
Where β is the transistor parameter also known as common-emitter current gain

The value of β is highly influenced by 2 factors

Width of base reigon W

Relative dopings of the base region and the emitter region NA /ND

⟹ To obtain high β , the base should be thin (W small) and lightly doped while the emitter
is heavily doped (NA /ND small)

Emitter Curent

Since the currenst that enters a transistor must leave it, then emitter current equals to

iE = iB + iC
Collary Equation

β+1 β+1
iE =  iC =  IS evBE /VT
β β
Alternatively

IS vBE /VT
iC = αiE = e
α
where

β α
α= ⟷β=
β+1 1−α
α is called the common-base current gain

Current Voltage Chracteristics

Circuit Symbols and Conventions
The polarity of device - npn or pnp - is indicated by the direction of the arrowhead on the emitter.
This arrwoshead points in teh direction of normal current flow in the emitter which is also the

Lecture 2a: BJT Structure 6

 forward direction of the base-emitter junction

Figure below shows that npn and pnp transistors connected to dc sources so as to operate in the
active mode. It also indicates the reference and actual directions of current flow throughout the
transistor.

npn and pnp circuit

Our convention take the refernce direction to coincide with normal direction of current flow ⇒
should not encounter a negative value for iE ,  iB ,  or iC

Note that currents flow from top to bottom and that voltages are higher at the top and lower at the
bottom. The arrowhead on the emitter also implies the polarity of the emitter–base voltage that
should be applied in order to forward bias the emitter–base junction.

Active Mode vs Saturation Mode

Lecture 2a: BJT Structure 7

 It follows that an npn transistor whose EBJ is forward biased (usually, VBE ≃ 0.7V ) will
operate in the active mode as long as the collector voltage does not fall below that of the base
by more than approximately 0.4V . Otherwise, the transistor leaves the active mode and
enters the saturation region of operation.

Summary of BJ T Current-Voltage Relationships in Active Mode

The Early Effect - Dependence of iC on the Collector Voltage

When operated in active region, BJ T shows some dependence of collector current on the
collector voltage

Common-Emitter Configuration

Lecture 2a: BJT Structure 8

 The transistor is conected in the common-emitter configuration, where the emitter serves as
a common termial between the input and output ports

At low values of vCE (lower than about 0.3V), as the collector voltage goes below that of the
base by more than 0.4V, the collector-base junction becomes forward biased ⇒ transistor
leaves the active mode and enters the saturation mode

The voltage VA is called Early voltage

At a given value of vBE , increasing vCE increases the reverse-bias voltage on the collector–
base junction ⇒ increases the width of the depletion region of this junction. This in turn
results in a decrease in the effective base width W .

⇒
Recalling that IS is inversely proportional to W , we see that IS will increase iC increases
proportionally. This is the Early effect also known as the base-width modulation effect.

The linear dependence of iC on vCE can be explicitly accounted for by assuming that IS remians
constant

vCE
iC = IS evBE /VT (1 + )
VA
Where VA is the Early Voltage (15V − 500V )

Lecture 2a: BJT Structure 9

 Pi Model
The transconductance, gm , of a bipolar transistor is defiend as the change in teh collector current
divided by the change of the base-emitter voltage

∂iC iC
gm = =
∂vBE VT
The base input resistance, rπ , id defiend as the change of the emitter base voltage divided by the
change of the base current

∂vBE ∂vBE β VT
rπ = =β = =
∂iB ∂iV gm iB
Image

The output resistance, r0 , is defined as

vCE
iC = IS evBE /VT (1 + )
VA
vCB
βF = βF 0 (1 + )
VA
VA
r0 =
iC
Where βF 0 is forward commonemitter current gain when vCB = 0V
r0 is the output impedance

Lecture 2a: BJT Structure 10

 Because

∂vCE ∂vCB ∣VA∣

r0 = ≃ =
∂iC ∂iC IC

At low frequencies, the junction capacitance can be ignored but at high frequencies, we need to
include capacitances for the base-emitter and base-collector junctions

Cj, BF 0
Cj, BF =
vBE
1−
ϕi, BE
Cj, BC0
Cj, BC =
vBC
1−
ϕi, BC

Lecture 2a: BJT Structure 11