BJT Summary

Important Conclusions and Concepts

1. Semiconductor devices have the following advantages over vacuum tubes: They are (1) of smaller size , (2) more
lightweight , (3)more rugged , and (4) more efficient . In addition, they have (1) no warm-up period , (2) no heater
requirement , and (3) lower
operating voltages.
2. Transistors are three-terminal devices of three semiconductor layers having a base or center layer a great deal thinner
than the other two layers. The outer two layers are both of either n - or p -type materials, with the sandwiched layer the
opposite type.
3. One p – n junction of a transistor is forward-biased , whereas the other is reverse biased.
4. The dc emitter current is always the largest current of a transistor, whereas the base current is always the smallest .
The emitter current is always the sum of the other two.
5. The collector current is made up of two components : the majority component and the minority current (also called
the leakage current).
6. The arrow in the transistor symbol defines the direction of conventional current flow for the emitter current and
thereby defines the direction for the other currents of the device.
7. A three-terminal device needs two sets of characteristics to completely define its characteristics.
8. In the active region of a transistor, the base–emitter junction is forward-biased, whereas the collector–base junction is
reverse biased .
9. In the cutoff region the base–emitter and collector–base junctions of a transistor are both reverse-biased .
10. In the saturation region the base–emitter and collector–base junctions are forward biased.
11. On an average basis, as a first approximation, the base-to-emitter voltage of an operating transistor can be assumed to
be 0.7 V .
12. The quantity alpha (a) relates the collector and emitter currents and is always close to one.
13. The impedance between terminals of a forward-biased junction is always relatively small, whereas the impedance
between terminals of a reverse-biased junction is usually quite large.
14. The arrow in the symbol of an npn transistor points out of the device (not pointing in), whereas the arrow points in to
the center of the symbol for a pnp transistor (pointing in).
15. For linear amplification purposes, cutoff for the common-emitter configuration will be defined by IC = ICEO.
16. The quantity beta (b) provides an important relationship between the base and collector currents, and is usually
between 50 and 400 .
17. The dc beta is defined by a simple ratio of dc currents at an operating point, whereas the ac beta is sensitive to the
characteristics in the region of interest. For most applications, however, the two are considered equivalent as a first
approximation.
18. To ensure that a transistor is operating within its maximum power level rating, simply find the product of the
collector-to-emitter voltage and the collector current, and compare it to the rated value.
Important Conclusions and Concepts
1. No matter what type of configuration a transistor is used in, the basic relationships between the currents are always the
same , and the base-to-emitter voltage is the threshold value if the transistor is in the “on” state.
2. The operating point defines where the transistor will operate on its characteristic curves under dc conditions . For
linear (minimum distortion) amplification, the dc operating point should not be too close to the maximum power, voltage,
or current rating and should avoid the regions of saturation and cutoff.
3. For most configurations the dc analysis begins with a determination of the base current .
4. For the dc analysis of a transistor network, all capacitors are replaced by an open circuit equivalent .
5. The fixed-bias configuration is the simplest of transistor biasing arrangements, but it is also quite unstable due its
sensitivity to beta at the operating point.
6. Determining the saturation (maximum) collector current for any configuration can usually be done quite easily if an
imaginary short circuit is superimposed between the collector and emitter terminals of the transistor. The resulting
current through the short is then the saturation current.
7. The equation for the load line of a transistor network can be found by applying Kirchhoff’s voltage law to the output
or collector network. The Q -point is then determined by finding the intersection between the base current and the load
line drawn on
the device characteristics.
8. The emitter-stabilized biasing arrangement is less sensitive to changes in beta— providing more stability for the
network. Keep in mind, however, that any resistance in the emitter leg is “seen” at the base of the transistor as a much
larger resistor , a fact that will reduce the base current of the configuration.
9. The voltage-divider bias configuration is probably the most common of all the configurations. Its popularity is due
primarily to its low sensitivity to changes in beta from one transistor to another of the same lot (with the same transistor
label). The exact analysis can be applied to any configuration, but the approximate one can be applied only if the reflected
emitter resistance as seen at the base is much larger than the lower resistor of the voltage-divider bias arrangement
connected to the base of the transistor.
10. When analyzing the dc bias with a voltage feedback configuration, be sure to remember that both the emitter resistor
and the collector resistor are reflected back to the base circuit by beta. The least sensitivity to beta is obtained when the
reflected resistance is much larger than the feedback resistor between the base and the collector.
11. For the common-base configuration the emitter current is normally determined first due to the presence of the
base-to-emitter junction in the same loop. Then the fact that the emitter and the collector currents are essentially of the
same magnitude is employed.
12. A clear understanding of the procedure employed to analyze a dc transistor network will usually permit a design of the
same configuration with a minimum of difficulty and confusion. Simply start with those relationships that minimize the
number of unknowns and then proceed to make some decisions about the unknown elements of the network.
13. In a switching configuration, a transistor quickly moves between saturation and cutoff, or vice versa . Essentially,
the impedance between collector and emitter can be approximated as a short circuit for saturation and an open circuit for
cutoff.
14. When checking the operation of a dc transistor network, first check that the base-toemitter voltage is very close to 0.7
V and that the collector-to-emitter voltage is between 25% and 75% of the applied voltage V CC .
15. The analysis of pnp configurations is exactly the same as that applied to npn transistors with the exception that current
directions will reverse and voltages will have the opposite polarities.
16. Beta is very sensitive to temperature , and V BE decreases about 2.5 mV (0.0025 V) for each 1_ increase in
temperature on a Celsius scale. The reverse saturation current typically doubles for every 10° increase in Celsius
temperature.
17. Keep in mind that networks that are the most stable and least sensitive to temperature changes have the smallest
stability factors.
Important Conclusions and Concepts
1. Amplification in the ac domain cannot be obtained without the application of dc biasing level .
2. For most applications the BJT amplifier can be considered linear, permitting the use of the superposition theorem to
separate the dc and ac analyses and designs.
3. When introducing the ac model for a BJT:
a. All dc sources are set to zero and replaced by a short-circuit connection to ground.
b. All capacitors are replaced by a short-circuit equivalent .
c. All elements in parallel with an introduced short-circuit equivalent should be removed from the network.
d. The network should be redrawn as often as possible.
4. The input impedance of an ac network cannot be measured with an ohmmeter.
5. The output impedance of an amplifier is measured with the a pplied signal set to zero . It cannot be measured with an
ohmmeter.
6. The output impedance for the r e model can be included only if obtained from a data sheet or from a graphical
measurement from the characteristic curves.
7. Elements that were isolated by capacitors for the dc analysis will appear in the ac analysis due to the short-circuit
equivalent for the capacitive elements.
8. The amplification factor (beta, b, or h fe ) is the least sensitive to changes in collector current , whereas the output
impedance parameter is the most sensitive. The output impedance is also quite sensitive to changes in VCE, whereas the
amplification factor
is the least sensitive . However, the output impedance is the least sensitive to changes in temperature , whereas the
amplification factor is somewhat sensitive.
9. The r e model for a BJT in the ac domain is sensitive to the actual dc operating conditions of the network . This
parameter is normally not provided on a specification sheet, although h ie of the normally provided hybrid parameters is
equal to b r e , but
only under specific operating conditions.
10. Most specification sheets for BJTs include a list of hybrid parameters to establish an ac model for the transistor.
One must be aware, however, that they are provided for a particular set of dc operating conditions.
11. The CE fixed-bias configuration can have a significant voltage gain characteristic, although its input impedance
can be relatively low . The approximate current gain is given by simply beta , and the output impedance is normally
assumed to be R C .
12. The voltage-divider bias configuration has a higher stability than the fixed-bias configuration, but it has about the
same voltage gain, current gain, and output impedance . Due to the biasing resistors, its input impedance may be lower
than that of the fixed-bias configuration.
13. The CE emitter-bias configuration with an unbypassed emitter resistor has a larger input resistance than the
bypassed configuration, but it will have a much smaller voltage gain than the bypassed configuration. For the
unbypassed or bypassed situation, the output impedance is normally assumed to be simply R C .
14. The emitter-follower configuration will always have an output voltage slightly less than the input signal .
However, the input impedance can be very large , making it very useful for situations where a high-input first stage is
needed to “pick up” as much
of the applied signal as possible. Its output impedance is extremely low , making it an excellent signal source for the
second stage of a multistage amplifier.
15. The common-base configuration has a very low input impedance , but it can have a significant voltage gain . The
current gain is just less than 1 , and the output impedance is simply R C .
16. The c ollector feedback configuration has an input impedance that is sensitive to beta and that can be quite low
depending on the parameters of the configuration. However, the voltage gain can be significant and the current gain of
some magnitude
if the parameters are chosen properly. The output impedance is most often simply the collector resistance R C .
17. The collector dc feedback configuration uses the dc feedback to increase its stability and the changing state of a
capacitor from dc to ac to establish a higher voltage gain than obtained with a straight feedback connection. The output
impedance is
usually close to R C and the input impedance relatively close to that obtained with the basic common-emitter
configuration .
18. The approximate hybrid equivalent network is very similar in composition to that used with the r e model . In fact,
the same methods of analysis can be applied to both models. For the hybrid model the results will be in terms of the
network parameters
and the hybrid parameters, whereas for the r e model they will be in terms of the network parameters and b, r e , and r o .
19. The hybrid model for common-emitter, common-base, and common-collector configurations is the same . The only
difference will be the magnitude of the parameters of the equivalent network.
20. The total gain of a cascaded system is determined by the product of the gains of each stage . The gain of each stage,
however, must be determined under loaded conditions .
21. Because the total gain is the product of the individual gains of a cascaded system, the weakest link can have a major
effect on the total gain.