Addis Ababa Institute of Technology

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Addis Ababa University
Laboratory Report
Course: Electrical Engineering Lab II

Course No.: Eceg 2205

Experiment No. : 05

Title: Transistor biasing and Operating Point Stabilization

By: Aisha Abdulahi

Group: 2B

Date of Experiment: December 16, 2010

Date of Submission: December 23, 2010

 Introduction
Objective
 The objective of this experiment was to study the techniques of transistor
biasing and operating point.

Equipments Used

No. Description Code/Lab Reference Quantity

1 low voltage dc power supply - 2
2 Digital multimeter - 1

Components Used

No. Description Type Quantity

1 Junction transistor BC-109B 1
2 Decade Resistor - 1
 Theory
A bipolar (junction) transistor is a three-layer semiconductor device consisting of either two n-
and one p-type layers of material or two p- and one n-type layers of material. The former
is called an npn transistor, while the latter is called a pnp transistor. A transistor may be used in
amplifying or switching applications. Bipolar transistors are so named because their operation
involves both electrons and holes. Charge flow in a BJT is due to bidirectional diffusion of
charge carriers across a junction between two regions of different charge concentrations. This
mode of operation is contrasted with unipolar transistors, such as field-effect transistors, in
which only one carrier type is involved in charge flow due to drift. By design, most of the BJT
collector current is due to the flow of charges injected from a high-concentration emitter into
the base where they are minority carriers that diffuse toward the collector, and so BJTs are
classified as minority-carrier devices.

Transistor Operation
In the transistor, a combination of two junctions may be used to achieve amplification. One
type, called the n-p-n junction transistor, consists of a very thin layer of p-type material
between two sections of n-type material, arranged in a circuit. The n-type material at the left of
the diagram is the emitter element of the transistor, constituting the electron source. To permit
the forward flow of current across the n-p junction, the emitter has a small negative voltage
with respect to the p-type layer, or base component, that controls the electron flow. The n-type
material in the output circuit serves as the collector element, which has a large positive voltage
with respect to the base to prevent reverse current flow. Electrons moving from the emitter
enter the base, are attracted to the positively charged collector, and flow through the output
circuit. The input impedance, or resistance to current flow, between the emitter and the base is
low, whereas the output impedance between collector and base is high. Therefore, small
changes in the voltage of the base cause large changes in the voltage drop across the collector
resistance, making this type of transistor an effective amplifier.

Similar in operation to the n-p-n type is the p-n-p junction transistor, which also has two
junctions and is equivalent to a triode vacuum tube. Other types with three junctions, such as
the n-p-n-p junction transistor, provide greater amplification than the two-junction transistor.
Transistor 'alpha' and 'beta'
The proportion of electrons able to cross the base and reach the collector is a measure of the
BJT efficiency. The heavy doping of the emitter region and light doping of the base region cause
many more electrons to be injected from the emitter into the base than holes to be injected
from the base into the emitter. The common emitter current gain is represented by βF or hfe; it
is approximately the ratio of the DC collector current to the DC base current in forward-active
region. It is typically greater than 100 for small-signal transistors but can be smaller in
transistors designed for high-power applications. Another important parameter is the common-
base current gain, αF. The common-base current gain is approximately the gain of current from
emitter to collector in the forward-active region. This ratio usually has a value close to unity;
between 0.98 and 0.998. Alpha and beta are more precisely related by the following identities
(NPN transistor):

Input and output characteristics

Input characteristics:

The EB junction of the common-emitter configuration can also be considered as a

forward biased diode, the current-voltage characteristics is similar to that of a diode:

Output characteristics:

The CB junction is reverse biased, the current IC= βIB + ICEO = βIB + (β+1)ICBO depends on the
current IB. When IB=0, IC=ICEO, the current cause by the minority carriers crossing the pn-
junctions. When IB is increased, IC is correspondingly increased by β fold.
 Procedure
A. Measurement of the output characteristics
Step one: A circuit that looks like the figure below was set up using a decade resistor for R B set
at 100K, a multimeter in series with RB, a variable voltage source at VB and Vcc.

Step two: ic Vs VCE was recorded for different values of iB.

B. Measurement of the input characteristics V R V

Step three: The milliammeter was connected in series with RB and a voltmeter across VB.

Step four: The input characteristics for the transistor was obtained. I B Vs VBE was recorded for
different values of VCE.
 Result
Output characteristics
IB=0 µA IB=1µA IB=3.5µA
VCC IC IC IC
0 0 0 0
0.09 1 4 5
0.5 2 5.75 16.5
1 2 6.75 20
1.5 2 7 21
2 2 7 21
2.59 2 7 21
3 2 7 21
3.75 2 7 21

Vc Vs Ic graph

25

20

15
IB=0 µA
IB=1µA
10 IB=3.5µA

0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4
 Input characteristics
VCE=0 VCE=1 VCE=3.5
iB VB VB VB
0 0 5
0.1 1 5
0.2 1 5
0.3 1 5
0.4 4 6
0.5 5 32 7
0.6 49 74 31
0.7 503 630 519

Vb Vs Ib graph

700

600

500

400
VCE=0
VCE=1
300 VCE=3.5

200

100

0
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8
 Observation
Transistor number= BC109

Symbol Parameter Conditions MIn Max Unit

VCBO Collector base voltage Open emitter - 30 V
VCEO Collector emitter voltage Open base - 20 V
ICM Peak collector current - 200 mA
Ptot Total power dissipation Tamb < 25C - 300 mW
hFE Ic=2mA; VCE=5v 200 800
Ic=10mA; VCE=5v;
fT Transistor frequency 100 - MHz
f=100MHz
Discussion and conclusion