B.Sc.

- III [Physics]
Paper – III [Solid State Electronics]
Unit – III
Title ‒ Transistor: Current and Voltage Gain
Part – 1: Basic Concepts

By
Shri Prakash Gupta
Assistant Professor,
Department of Physics,
Harish Chandra P.G. College, Varanasi

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 Transistor: Current and Voltage Gain
Transistor:
When a third doped element is added to a crystal diode in a way that two
p-n junctions are formed, the resulting device is known as a ‘transistor’. The
transistor is capable of achieving amplification of weak signals in a fashion
comparable and often superior to that realized by vacuum tubes. It was invented
in 1948 by J. Bardeen and W.H. Brattain of Bell Telephone Laboratories, U.S.A.
“A transistor consists of two p-n junctions formed by sandwiching either p-
type or n-type semiconductor between a pair of opposite types.” Accordingly,
there are two types of transistors, namely:
(i) n-p-n transistor
(ii) p-n-p transistor
An npn transistor is composed of two n-types semiconductors separated
by a thin section of p-type as shown in Fig.1. (i). However, a pnp transistor is
formed by two p-type semiconductors separated by a thin section of n-type as
shown in Fig. 1. (ii).

Fig.1. (i)

Fig.1. (ii)

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In each type of transistor, the following points may be noted:
(i) There are two p-n junctions. Therefore a transistor may be regarded as a
combination of two diodes connected back to back.
(ii) There are three terminals, one taken from each type of semi-conductor.
(iii) The middle section is very thin layer. This is the most important factor in the
function of a transistor.

Naming the Transistor Terminals:

A transistor (pnp or npn) has three section of doped semiconductors. The section
on one side is the emitter and the section on the opposite side is the collector.
The middle section is called the base and forms two junctions between the
emitter and collector.

(1) Emitter:

The section on one side that supplies charge carriers (electrons and holes)
is called the emitter. The emitter is always forward biased w.r.t. base so that it
can supply a large number of majority carriers. In Fig. 2 (i), the emitter (p-type)
of pnp transistor is forward biased and supplies hole charges to its junction with
the base. Similarly, in Fig. 2 (ii), the emitter (n-type) of npn transistor has a
forward bias and supplies free electrons to its junction with base.

Fig. 2.

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(2) Collector:
The section on the other side that collects the charges is called the collector.
The collector is always reverse biased. Its function is to remove charges from its
junction with base. In Fig. 2(i), the collector (p-type) of pnp transistor has a
reverse bias and receives hole charges that flow in the output circuit. Similarly,
in Fig. 2(ii), the collector (n-type) of npn transistor has reverse bias and receives
electrons.

(3) Base:
The middle section which forms two pn-junctions between the emitter and
collector is called base. The base-emitter junction is forward biased, allowing
low resistance for the emitter circuit. The base-collector junction is reverse
biased and provides high resistance in the collector circuit.

Some Facts about the Transistor:

The following facts about the transistor must be kept in mind:

 The transistor has three regions, namely; emitter, base and collector. The
base is much thinner than the emitter while collector is wider than both as
shown in Fig. 3.

Fig. 3.

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  The emitter is heavily doped so that it can inject a large number of charge
carriers (electrons or holes) into the base. The base is lightly doped and
very thin; it passes most of the emitter injected charge carriers to the
collector. The collector is moderately doped.
 The transistor has two pn-junctions i.e. it is like two diodes. The junction
between emitter and base may be called emitter-base diode or simply the
emitter diode. The junction between the base and collector may be called
collector-base diode or simply the collector diode.
 The emitter diode is always forward biased whereas collector diode is
always reverse biased.
 The resistance of emitter diode (forward biased) is very small as compared
to collector diode (reverse biased). Therefore, forward bias applied to the
emitter diode is generally very small whereas reverse bias on the collector
diode is much higher.

Transistor Action:
The emitter-base junction of a transistor is forward biased whereas
collector-base junction is reverse biased. If we ignore the presence of emitter-
base junction, then practically no current would flow in the collector circuit
because of the reverse bias. However, if the emitter-base junction is also present,
then forward bias on it causes the emitter current to flow. It is seen that this
emitter current almost entirely flows in the collector circuit. Therefore, the
current in the collector circuit depends upon the emitter current. If the emitter
current is zero, then collector current is nearly zero. However, if the emitter
current is 1mA, then collector current is also about 1mA. This is precisely what
happens in a transistor.

(i) Working of npn transistor:

Fig. 4 shows the npn transistor with forward bias to emitter-base
junction and reverse bias to collector-bias junction. The forward bias
causes the electron in the n-type emitter to flow towards the base.

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This constitutes the emitter current 𝐼𝐸 . As these electrons flow through the p-type
base, they tend to combine with holes. As the base is lightly doped and very thin,
therefore, only a few electrons (less than 5%) combine with holes to constitute
base current 𝐼𝐵 . The remainder (more than 95%) crosses over into the collector
region to constitute collector current 𝐼𝐶 . In this way, almost the entire emitter
current flows in the collector circuit. It is clear that emitter current is the sum of
collector and the base current i.e.
𝐼𝐸 = 𝐼𝐵 + 𝐼𝐶 .

Fig. 4.
(ii) Working of pnp transistor:
Fig. 5 shows the basic connection of a pnp transistor. The forward bias
causes the holes in the p-type emitter to flow towards the base. This constitutes
the emitter current 𝐼𝐸 . As these holes cross into n-type base, they tend to combine
with the electrons. As the base is lightly doped and very thin, only a few holes
(less than 5%) combine with the electrons. The remainder (more than 95%)
crosses into the collector region to constitute collector current 𝐼𝐶 . In this way,

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almost the entire emitter current flows in the collector circuit. It may be noted
that current conduction within pnp transistor is by holes. However, in the
external connecting wires, the current is still by electrons.

Fig. 5.

Note:
There are two basic transistor types: the bipolar junction transistor (BJT)
and field-effect transistor (FJT). These two transistor type types differ in both
their operating characteristics and their internal construction. The term bipolar
junction transistor (BJT) comes from the fact that in a bipolar transistor, there are
two types of charge carriers (viz. electrons and holes) that play part in
conduction. Note that bi means two and polar refers to polarities. The field-effect
transistor is simply referred to as FET.

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Transistor Symbols:
In the earlier diagrams, the transistors have been shown in
diagrammatic form. However, for the sake of convenience, the transistors are
represented by schematic diagrams. The symbols used for npn and pnp
transistors are shown in Fig. 6.

Fig. 6.(i): The schematic diagram of npn transistor.

Note that emitter is shown by an arrow which indicates the direction of

conventional current flow with forward bias. For npn connection, it is clear that
conventional current flows out of the emitter as indicated by the outgoing
arrowin Fig. 6(i). Similarly, for pnp connection, the conventional current flows
into the emitter as indicated by inward arrow in Fig. 6(ii).

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Fig. 6(ii): The schematic diagram of pnp transistor.

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Transistor Circuit as an Amplifier:
“A transistor raises the strength of a weak signal and thus acts as an
amplifier.” The input circuit (i.e. emitter-base junction) has low resistance
because of forward bias whereas output circuit (i.e. collector-base junction) has
high resistance due to reverse bias. As we have seen, the input emitter current
almost entirely flows in the collector circuit. Therefore, a transistor transfers the
input signal current from a low-resistance circuit to a high-resistance circuit. This
is the key factor responsible for the amplifying capability of the transistor.

Fig. 7 : Transistor Circuit as an Amplifier

Fig.7 shows the basic circuit of a transistor amplifier. The weak signal
is applied between emitter-base junction and output is taken across the load 𝑅𝐶
connected in the collector circuit. In order to achieve faithful amplification, the
input circuit should always remain forward biased. To do so, a d. c. voltage 𝑉𝐸𝐸
is applied in the input circuit in addition to the signal as shown. This d. c. voltage
is known as bias voltage and its magnitude is such that it always keeps the input
circuit forward biased regardless of the polarity of the signal.

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As the input circuit has low resistance, therefore, a small change in signal
voltage causes an appreciable change in emitter current. This cause almost the
same change in collector current due to transistor action. The collector current
flowing through a high load resistance 𝑅𝐶 produces a large voltage across it.
Thus, a weak signal applied in the input circuit appears in the amplified form in
the collector circuit. It is in this way that a transistor acts as an amplifier.

Comments: The basic amplifying action is produced by transferring a current

from a low-resistance to a high-resistance circuit. Consequently, the name
transistor is given to the device by combining the two terms given in magenta
letters below:
Transfer + Resistor → Transistor

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References:
(i) Principles of Electronics by V.K. Mehta and Rohit Mehta.
(ii) Solid State Electronics by J.P. Agarwal.

———ӜӜӜӜ———

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