Practice questions

Electron emission
1. Work function of metals is generally measured in .............. (i) joules
(ii) electron-volt (iii) watt-hour (iv) watt
2. The operating temperature of an oxide coated emitter is about ..............
(i) 750ºC (ii) 1200ºC (iii) 2300ºC (iv) 3650ºC
3. .............. is used in high voltage (> 10 kV) applications. (i) tungsten emitter
(ii) oxide-coated emitter (iii) thoriated-tungsten emitter (iv) none of the above
4. A desirable characteristic of an emitter is that it should have .............. work
function. (i) large (ii) very large (iii) small (iv) none of the above
5. The thermionic emitter that has the highest operating temperature is ..............
(i) oxide-coated (ii) thoriated-tungsten (iii) tungsten (iv) none of the above
6. If the temperature of an emitter is increased two times, the electron emission
is .............. (i) increased two times (ii) increased four times (iii) increased
several million times (iv) none of the above
7. In X-ray tubes, .............. emitter is used. (i) thoriated tungsten (ii) tungsten
(iii) oxide-coated (iv) none of the above
8. The electrons emitted by a thermionic emitter are called .............. (i) free
electrons (ii) loose electrons (iii) thermionic electrons (iv) bound electrons
9. The work function of an oxide-coated emitter is about .............. (i) 1.1 eV
(ii) 4 eV (iii) 2.63 eV (iv) 4.52 eV
10. The most commonly used emitter in the tubes of a radio receiver is ..............
(i) tungsten (ii) thoriated-tungsten (iii) oxide-coated (iv) none of the above
11. Field emission is utilised in .............. (i) vacuum tubes (ii) TV picture tubes
(iii) gas-filled tubes (iv) mercury pool devices
12. Oxide-coated emitters have electron emission of .............. per watt of
heating power. (i) 5-10 mA (ii) 40-90 mA (iii) 50-100 mA (iv) 150-1000 mA
13. The oxide-coated cathodes can be used for voltages upto ..............
(i) 1000V (ii) 3000 V (iii) 4000 V (iv) 10,000 V
14. A tungsten wire of length 7.5cm and diameter 0.2mm emits electrons when
subjected to a temperature of 27000K. Calculate the thermionic emission current
if the work function is 4.52eV and emitter constant is 60A/cm2/K2
(i) 0.759A (ii) 0.750A (iii) 0.723A (iv) 0.777A
15. Light of wavelength 300nm is incident on a metal that has a work function
of 1.4eV. What is the maximum speed of the emitted electrons?
(i)9.72 x 10-4m/s (ii) 9.50 x 105m/s (iii) 9.82 x 105m/s (iv) 9.67 x 10-5m/s
16. Find current density at 25000K for a tungsten consisting of a cylindrical
cathode 5cm long and 0.01cm in diameter at 60.2x104A.m-2.K-2 and work
function 4.517eV if the electrons encounter a barrier and reflect with a
coefficient of 0.2
(i) 4778.40A/m2 (ii) 4740.51A/m2 (iii) 4855A/m2 (iv) 4990.2A/m2
17. the space charge limited current in a plane parallel vacuum diode is 300mA
for an anode voltage of 200V. what is the anode voltage for a space charge
limited current of 200mA?
(i) 150.2V (ii) 157. 3V (iii) 152.6V (iv) 153V

Semiconductors
1. A semiconductor has ........ band. (i) almost empty valence (ii) almost empty
conduction (iii) almost full conduction (iv) none of the above
2. The electrons in the conduction band are known as ........ (i) bound electrons
(ii) valence electrons (iii) free electrons (iv) none of the above
3. In insulators, the energy gap between valence and conduction bands is ........
(i) very large (ii) zero (iii) very small (iv) none of the above
4. In a conductor, the energy gap between valence and conduction bands is ........
(i) large (ii) very large (iii) very small (iv) none of the above
5. According to Bohr’s theory of atom, an electron can move in an orbit of ........
(i) any radius (ii) certain radius (iii) some range of radii (iv) none of the above
6. In a semiconductor, the energy gap between valence and conduction bands is
about ........ (i) 15 eV (ii) 100 eV (iii) 50 eV (iv) 1 eV
7. The energy gap between valence and conduction bands in insulators is about
........ (i) 15 eV (ii) 1.5 eV (iii) zero (iv) 0.5 eV
8. A semiconductor is formed by ........ bonds. (i) covalent (ii) electrovalent (iii)
co-ordinate (iv) none of the above
9. A semiconductor has ........ temperature coefficient of resistance. (i) positive
(ii) zero (iii) negative (iv) none of the above
10. The most commonly used semiconductor is ........ (i) germanium (ii) silicon
(iii) carbon (iv) sulphur
11. When a pure semiconductor is heated, its resistance ........ (i) goes up
(ii) goes down (iii) remains the same (iv) cannot say
12. When a pentavalent impurity is added to a pure semiconductor, it becomes
........ (i) an insulator (ii) an intrinsic semiconductor (iii) p-type semiconductor
(iv) n-type semiconductor
13. Addition of pentavalent impurity to a semiconductor creates many ........ (i)
free electrons (ii) holes (iii) valence electrons (iv) bound electrons
14. A pentavalent impurity has ........ valence electrons. (i)3 (ii) 5 (iii)4 (iv) 6
15. An n-type semiconductor is ........ (i) positively charged (ii) negatively
charged (iii) electrically neutral (iv) none of the above
16. A trivalent impurity has ........ valence electrons. (i)4 (ii) 5 (iii)6 (iv) 3
17. Addition of trivalent impurity to a semiconductor creates many ........ (i)
holes (ii) free electrons (iii) valence electrons (iv) bound electrons
18. A hole in a semiconductor is defined as ........ (i) a free electron (ii) the
incomplete part of an electron pair bond (iii) a free proton (iv) a free neutron
19. In a semiconductor, current conduction is due ........ (i) only to holes (ii) only
to free electrons (iii) to holes and free electrons (iv) none of the above
20. The random motion of holes and free electrons due to thermal agitation is
called ........(i) diffusion (ii) pressure (iii) ionisation (iv) none of the above
21. A forward biased pn junction has a resistance of the ........ (i) order of Ω (ii)
order of kΩ (iii) order of MΩ (iv) none of the above
22. The battery connections required to forward bias a pn junction are ........
(i) +ve terminal to p and −ve terminal to n (ii) −ve terminal to p and +ve
terminal to n (iii) −ve terminal to p and −ve terminal to n (iv) none of the above
23. The barrier voltage at a pn junction for germanium is about ........ (i) 3.5 V
(ii) 3V (iii) zero (iv) 0.3 V
24. In the depletion region of a pn junction, there is a shortage of .......... (i)
acceptor ions (ii) holes and electrons (iii) donor ions (iv) none of the above
25. A reverse biased pn junction has ........ (i) very narrow depletion layer
(ii) almost no current (iii) very low resistance (iv) large current flow
26. A pn junction acts as a ........ (i) controlled switch (ii) bidirectional switch
(iii) unidirectional switch (iv) none of the above
27. A reverse biased pn junction has resistance of the........ (i) order of Ω (ii)
order of kΩ (iii) order of MΩ (iv) none of the above
28. When the temperature of an extrinsic semiconductor is increased, the
pronounced effect is on ........ (i) junction capacitance
(ii) minority carriers (iii) majority carriers (iv) none of the above
29. With forward bias to a pn junction, the width of depletion layer ........
(i) decreases (ii) increases (iii) remains the same (iv) none of the above
30. In an intrinsic semiconductor, the number of free electrons ........ (i) equals
the number of holes (ii) is greater than the number of holes (iii) is less than the
number of holes (iv) none of the above
31. At room temperature, an intrinsic semiconductor has ........ (i) many holes
only (ii) a few free electrons and holes (iii) many free electrons only (iv) no
holes or free electrons
32. At absolute temperature, an intrinsic semiconductor has ........ (i) a few free
electrons (ii) many holes (iii) many free electrons (iv) no holes or free electrons
33. At room temperature, an intrinsic silicon crystal acts approximately as ........
(i) a battery (ii) a conductor (iii) an insulator (iv) a piece of copper wire
34. Calculate the intrinsic conductivity of specimen of pure silicon at room
temperature given that n1=1.4x1016m-3, ue = 0.145m2/V-s, uh=0.05m2/V-s. Also,
calculate the individual contribution from electrons and holes

Diodes
1. Zener diodes are used primarily as (i) amplifiers (ii) voltage regulators
(iii) rectifiers (iv) oscillators
2. A pn junction that radiates energy as light instead of as heat is called a
(i) LED (ii) photo-diode (iii) photocell (iv) Zener diode
3. The capacitance of a varactor diode increases when reverse voltage across it
(i) decreases (ii) increases (iii) breaks down (iv) stores charge
4. A photo-diode is normally (i) forward-biased (ii) reverse-biased (iii) Neither
forward nor reverse biased (iv) Emitting light
5. When the reverse voltage increases, the junction capacitance (i) decreases (ii)
stays the same (iii) increases (iv) has more bandwidth
6. The device associated with voltage-controlled capacitance is a (i) LED (ii)
photo-diode (iii) varactor diode (iv) Zener diode
7. The varactor is usually (i) forward-biased (ii) reverse-biased (iii) unbiased
(iv) in the breakdown region
8. When the light increases, the reverse current in a photo-diode (i) increases (ii)
decreases (iii) is unaffected (iv) none of the above

Transistors
1. A transistor has ........ (i) one pn junction (ii) two pn junctions (iii) three pn
junctions (iv) four pn junctions
2. The number of depletion layers in a transistor is ........ (i) four (ii) three (iii)
one (iv) two
3. The base of a transistor is ....... doped. (i) heavily (ii) moderately (iii) lightly
(iv) none of the above
4. The element that has the biggest size in a transistor is ........ (i) collector (ii)
base (iii) emitter (iv) collector-base junction
5. In a pnp transistor, the current carriers are ........ (i) acceptor ions (ii) donor
ions (iii) free electrons (iv) holes
6. The collector of a transistor is ........ doped. (i) heavily (ii) moderately (iii)
lightly (iv) none of the above
7. A transistor is a ......... operated device. (i) current (ii) voltage (iii) both
voltage and current (iv) none of the above
8. In an npn transistor, ....... are the minority carriers. (i) free electrons (ii) holes
(iii) donor ions (iv) acceptor ions
9. The emitter of a transistor is ........ doped. (i) lightly (ii) heavily (iii)
moderately (iv) none of the above
10. In a transistor, the base current is about ........ of emitter current. (i) 25% (ii)
20% (iii) 35% (iv) 5%
11. At the base-emitter junction of a transistor, one finds ........ (i) reverse bias
(ii) a wide depletion layer (iii) low resistance (iv) none of the above
12. The input impedance of a transistor is ...... (i) high (ii) low (iii) very high
(iv) almost zero
13. Most of the majority carriers from the emitter ......... (i) recombine in the
base (ii) recombine in the emitter (iii) pass through the base region to the
collector (iv) none of the above
14. The current IB is ........ (i) electron current (ii) hole current (iii) donor ion
current (iv) acceptor ion current
15. In a transistor, ........ (i) IC = IE + IB (ii) IB = IC + IE (iii) IE = IC − IB
(iv) IE = IC + IB
16. The value of α of a transistor is ........ (i) more than 1 (ii) less than 1 (iii)1
(iv) none of the above
17. The output impedance of a transistor is ........ (i) high (ii) zero (iii) low (iv)
very low
18. In a transistor, IC = 100 mA and IE = 100.5 mA. The value of β is ........ (i)
100 (ii) 50 (iii) about 1 (iv) 200
19. In a transistor if β = 100 and collector current is 10 mA, then IE is ........
(i) 100 mA (ii) 100.1 mA (iii) 110 mA (iv) none of the above
20. The relation between β and α is ........ (i) β = 1 /1− α (ii) β = 1 – α/ α
(iii) β = 1/ α − α (iv) β = 1/ α + α
21.The value of β for a transistor is generally ........ (i)1 (ii) less than 1
(iii) between 20 and 500 (iv) above 500
22. The most commonly used transistor arrangement is ........ arrangement.
(i) common emitter (ii) common base (iii) common collector (iv) none of the
above
23. The input impedance of a transistor connected in .......... arrangement is the
highest. (i) common emitter (ii) common collector (iii) common base (iv) none
of the above
24. The output impedance of a transistor connected in ......... arrangement is the
highest. (i) common emitter (ii) common collector (iii) common base (iv) none
of the above
25. The phase difference between the input and output voltages in a common
base arrangement is ......... (i) 180º (ii) 90º (iii) 270º (iv) 0º
26. The power gain of a transistor connected in ........ arrangement is the highest.
(i) common emitter (ii) common base (iii) common collector (iv) none of the
above
27. The phase difference between the input and output voltages of a transistor
connected in common emitter arrangement is ........ (i) 0º (ii) 180º (iii) 90º (iv)
270º
29. The voltage gain of a transistor connected in ........ arrangement is the
highest. (i) common base (ii) common collector (iii) common emitter (iv) none
of the above
30. As the temperature of a transistor goes up, the base-emitter resistance ........
(i) decreases (ii) increases (iii) remains the same (iv) none of the above
31. The voltage gain of a transistor connected in common collector arrangement
is ....... (i) equal to 1 (ii) more than 10 (iii) more than 100 (iv) less than 1
32. The phase difference between the input and output voltages of a transistor
connected in common collector arrangement is ........ (i) 180º (ii) 0º (iii) 90º (iv)
270º
38. A transistor is connected in CB mode. If it is now connected in CE mode
with same bias voltages, the values of IE, IB and IC will .... (i) remain the same
(ii) increase (iii) decrease (iv) none of the above
39. If the value of α is 0.9, then value of β is ........ (i)9 (ii) 0.9 (iii) 900 (iv) 90
40. In a transistor, signal is transferred from a ........ circuit. (i) high resistance to
low resistance (ii) low resistance to high resistance (iii) high resistance to high
resistance (iv) low resistance to low resistance
41. The arrow in the symbol of a transistor indicates the direction of .........
(i) electron current in the emitter (ii) electron current in the collector (iii) hole
current in the emitter (iv) donor ion current
42. A heat sink is generally used with a transistor to ........ (i) increase the
forward current (ii) decrease the forward current (iii) compensate for excessive
doping (iv) prevent excessive temperature rise
43. The most commonly used semiconductor in the manufacture of a transistor
is ........ (i) germanium (ii) silicon (iii) carbon (iv) none of the above
44. The collector-base junction in a transistor has ........ (i) forward bias at all
times (ii) reverse bias at all times (iii) low resistance (iv) none of the above
45. When transistors are used in digital circuits they usually operate in the:
a. active region
b. breakdown region
c. saturation and cutoff regions
d. linear region
46. Three different Q points are shown on a dc load line. The upper Q point
represents the:
Select one:
a. minimum current gain
b. intermediate current gain
c. maximum current gain
d. cutoff point
47. A current ratio of IC/IE is usually less than one and is called:
Select one:
a. beta
b. theta
c. alpha
d. omega
48. With the positive probe on an NPN base, an ohmmeter reading between the
other transistor terminals should be:
Select one:
a. open
b. infinite
c. low resistance
d. high resistance
49. To operate properly, a transistor's base-emitter junction must be forward
biased with reverse bias applied to which junction?
a. collector-emitter
b. base-collector
c. base-emitter d. collector-base
50. The ends of a load line drawn on a family of curves determine:
a. saturation and cutoff
b. the operating point
c. the power curve
d. the amplification factor
51. The C-B configuration is used to provide which type of gain?
a. voltage
b. current
c. resistance
d. power
52. The Q point on a load line may be used to determine:
a. VC
b. VCC
c. VB
d. IC
53. A transistor may be used as a switching device or as a:
a. fixed resistor
b. tuning device
c. rectifier
d. variable resistor
54. Which is beta's current ratio?
A. IC/IB
B. IC/IE
C. IB/IE
D. IE/IB
55. A collector characteristic curve is a graph showing:
A. emitter current (IE) versus collector-emitter voltage (VCE) with (VBB) base
bias voltage held constant
B. collector current (IC) versus collector-emitter voltage (VCE) with (VBB)
base bias voltage held constant
C. collector current (IC) versus collector-emitter voltage (VC) with (VBB)
base bias voltage held constant
D. collector current (IC) versus collector-emitter voltage (VCC) with (VBB)
base bias voltage held constant
56. What is the current gain for a common-base configuration where IE = 4.2
mA and IC = 4.0 mA?
A. 16.80
B. 1.05
C. 0.20
D. 0.95