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A bipolar junction transistor (BJT) is a type of
transistor upright=1.4, gate (G), body (B), source (S) and drain (D) terminals. The gate is separated from the body by an insulating layer (pink). A transistor is a semiconductor device used to Electronic amplifier, amplify or electronic switch, switch e ...
that uses both
electron The electron ( or ) is a subatomic particle with a negative one elementary electric charge. Electrons belong to the first generation of the lepton particle family, and are generally thought to be elementary particles because they have no kno ...
s and
electron hole In physics, chemistry, and electronic engineering, an electron hole (often simply called a hole) is a quasiparticle which is the lack of an electron at a position where one could exist in an atom or atomic lattice. Since in a normal atom or c ...
s as
charge carrier In physics, a charge carrier is a particle or quasiparticle that is free to move, carrying an electric charge, especially the particles that carry electric charges in electrical conductors. Examples are electrons, ions and holes. The term is used ...
s. In contrast, a unipolar transistor, such as a
field-effect transistor The field-effect transistor (FET) is a type of transistor that uses an electric field to control the flow of current in a semiconductor. FETs (JFETs or MOSFETs) are devices with three terminals: ''source'', ''gate'', and ''drain''. FETs control ...
, uses only one kind of charge carrier. A bipolar transistor allows a small
current Currents, Current or The Current may refer to: Science and technology * Current (fluid), the flow of a liquid or a gas ** Air current, a flow of air ** Ocean current, a current in the ocean *** Rip current, a kind of water current ** Current (stre ...
injected at one of its terminals to control a much larger current flowing between the terminals, making the device capable of amplification or switching. BJTs use two p–n junctions between two
semiconductor A semiconductor is a material which has an electrical conductivity value falling between that of a conductor, such as copper, and an insulator, such as glass. Its resistivity falls as its temperature rises; metals behave in the opposite way. ...
types, n-type and p-type, which are regions in a single crystal of material. The junctions can be made in several different ways, such as changing the doping of the semiconductor material as it is grown, by depositing metal pellets to form alloy junctions, or by such methods as diffusion of n-type and p-type doping substances into the crystal. The superior predictability and performance of junction transistors quickly displaced the original
point-contact transistor The point-contact transistor was the first type of transistor to be successfully demonstrated. It was developed by research scientists John Bardeen and Walter Brattain at Bell Laboratories in December 1947. They worked in a group led by physicis ...
. Diffused transistors, along with other components, are elements of
integrated circuit An integrated circuit or monolithic integrated circuit (also referred to as an IC, a chip, or a microchip) is a set of electronic circuits on one small flat piece (or "chip") of semiconductor material, usually silicon. Large numbers of tiny M ...
s for analog and digital functions. Hundreds of bipolar junction transistors can be made in one circuit at very low cost. Bipolar transistor integrated circuits were the main active devices of a generation of
mainframe A mainframe computer, informally called a mainframe or big iron, is a computer used primarily by large organizations for critical applications like bulk data processing for tasks such as censuses, industry and consumer statistics, enterprise ...
and
minicomputers A minicomputer, or colloquially mini, is a class of smaller general purpose computers that developed in the mid-1960s and sold at a much lower price than mainframe and mid-size computers from IBM and its direct competitors. In a 1970 survey, ...
, but most computer systems now use
CMOS Complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor (CMOS, pronounced "sea-moss", ) is a type of metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) fabrication process that uses complementary and symmetrical pairs of p-type and n-type MOSF ...
integrated circuits relying on
field-effect transistor The field-effect transistor (FET) is a type of transistor that uses an electric field to control the flow of current in a semiconductor. FETs (JFETs or MOSFETs) are devices with three terminals: ''source'', ''gate'', and ''drain''. FETs control ...
s. Bipolar transistors are still used for amplification of signals, switching, and in mixed-signal integrated circuits using
BiCMOS Bipolar CMOS (BiCMOS) is a semiconductor technology that integrates two semiconductor technologies, those of the bipolar junction transistor and the CMOS (complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor) logic gate, into a single integrated circuit. In ...
. Specialized types are used for high voltage switches, for
radio-frequency Radio frequency (RF) is the oscillation rate of an alternating electric current or voltage or of a magnetic, electric or electromagnetic field or mechanical system in the frequency range from around to around . This is roughly between the uppe ...
amplifiers, or for switching high currents.


Current direction conventions

By convention, the direction of current on diagrams is shown as the direction that a positive charge would move. This is called ''conventional current''. However, current in
metal A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typica ...
conductors is generally due to the flow of electrons. Because electrons carry a negative charge, they move in the direction opposite to conventional current. On the other hand, inside a bipolar transistor, currents can be composed of both positively charged holes and negatively charged electrons. In this article, current arrows are shown in the conventional direction, but labels for the movement of holes and electrons show their actual direction inside the transistor.


Arrow direction

The arrow on the symbol for bipolar transistors indicates the
p–n junction A p–n junction is a boundary or interface between two types of semiconductor materials, p-type and n-type, inside a single crystal of semiconductor. The "p" (positive) side contains an excess of holes, while the "n" (negative) side contai ...
between base and emitter and points in the direction in which
conventional current An electric current is a stream of charged particles, such as electrons or ions, moving through an electrical conductor or space. It is measured as the net rate of flow of electric charge through a surface or into a control volume. The moving pa ...
travels.


Function

BJTs exist as PNP and NPN types, based on the doping types of the three main terminal regions. An NPN transistor comprises two semiconductor junctions that share a thin p-doped region, and a PNP transistor comprises two semiconductor junctions that share a thin n-doped region. N-type means doped with
impurities In chemistry and materials science, impurities are chemical substances inside a confined amount of liquid, gas, or solid, which differ from the chemical composition of the material or compound. Firstly, a pure chemical should appear thermodynam ...
(such as
phosphorus Phosphorus is a chemical element with the symbol P and atomic number 15. Elemental phosphorus exists in two major forms, white phosphorus and red phosphorus, but because it is highly reactive, phosphorus is never found as a free element on Ea ...
or
arsenic Arsenic is a chemical element with the symbol As and atomic number 33. Arsenic occurs in many minerals, usually in combination with sulfur and metals, but also as a pure elemental crystal. Arsenic is a metalloid. It has various allotropes, but ...
) that provide mobile electrons, while p-type means doped with impurities (such as
boron Boron is a chemical element with the symbol B and atomic number 5. In its crystalline form it is a brittle, dark, lustrous metalloid; in its amorphous form it is a brown powder. As the lightest element of the ''boron group'' it has th ...
) that provide holes that readily accept electrons. Charge flow in a BJT is due to
diffusion Diffusion is the net movement of anything (for example, atoms, ions, molecules, energy) generally from a region of higher concentration to a region of lower concentration. Diffusion is driven by a gradient in Gibbs free energy or chemical p ...
of
charge carriers In physics, a charge carrier is a particle or quasiparticle that is free to move, carrying an electric charge, especially the particles that carry electric charges in electrical conductors. Examples are electrons, ions and holes. The term is use ...
(electrons and holes) across a junction between two regions of different charge carrier concentration. The regions of a BJT are called ''emitter'', ''base'', and ''collector''. A discrete transistor has three
leads Lead is a chemical element with symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead or The Lead may also refer to: Animal handling * Leash, or lead * Lead (leg), the leg that advances most in a quadruped's cantering or galloping stride * Lead (tack), a lin ...
for connection to these regions. Typically, the emitter region is heavily doped compared to the other two layers, and the collector is doped more lightly (typically ten times lighter) than the base. By design, most of the BJT collector current is due to the flow of charge carriers injected from a heavily doped emitter into the base where they are
minority carrier In physics, a charge carrier is a particle or quasiparticle that is free to move, carrying an electric charge, especially the particles that carry electric charges in electrical conductors. Examples are electrons, ions and holes. The term is use ...
s (electrons in NPNs, holes in PNPs) that diffuse toward the collector, so BJTs are classified as ''minority-carrier devices''. In typical operation, the base–emitter junction is forward biased, which means that the p-doped side of the junction is at a more positive potential than the n-doped side, and the base–collector junction is reverse-biased. When forward bias is applied to the base–emitter junction, the equilibrium between the thermally generated carriers and the repelling electric field of the emitter
depletion region In semiconductor physics, the depletion region, also called depletion layer, depletion zone, junction region, space charge region or space charge layer, is an insulating region within a conductive, doped semiconductor material where the mobile ...
is disturbed. This allows thermally excited carriers (electrons in NPNs, holes in PNPs) to inject from the emitter into the base region. These carriers create a
diffusion current Diffusion current Density is a current in a semiconductor caused by the diffusion of charge carriers (electrons and/or electron holes). This is the current which is due to the transport of charges occurring because of non-uniform concentration of ch ...
through the base from the region of high concentration near the emitter toward the region of low concentration near the collector. To minimize the fraction of carriers that recombine before reaching the collector–base junction, the transistor's base region must be thin enough that carriers can diffuse across it in much less time than the semiconductor's minority-carrier lifetime. Having a lightly doped base ensures recombination rates are low. In particular, the thickness of the base must be much less than the diffusion length of the carriers. The collector–base junction is reverse-biased, and so negligible carrier injection occurs from the collector to the base, but carriers that are injected into the base from the emitter, and diffuse to reach the collector–base depletion region, are swept into the collector by the electric field in the depletion region. The thin ''shared'' base and asymmetric collector–emitter doping are what differentiates a bipolar transistor from two ''separate'' diodes connected in series.


Voltage, current, and charge control

The collector–emitter current can be viewed as being controlled by the base–emitter current (current control), or by the base–emitter voltage (voltage control). These views are related by the current–voltage relation of the base–emitter junction, which is the usual exponential current–voltage curve of a
p–n junction A p–n junction is a boundary or interface between two types of semiconductor materials, p-type and n-type, inside a single crystal of semiconductor. The "p" (positive) side contains an excess of holes, while the "n" (negative) side contai ...
(diode). The explanation for collector current is the concentration gradient of minority carriers in the base region. Due to
low-level injection Low-level injection conditions for a p–n junction, in physics and electronics, refers to the state where the number of minority carriers generated is small compared to the majority carriers of the material. The semiconductor's majority-carrier ...
(in which there are much fewer excess carriers than normal majority carriers) the ambipolar transport rates (in which the excess majority and minority carriers flow at the same rate) is in effect determined by the excess minority carriers. Detailed
transistor models Transistors are simple devices with complicated behavior. In order to ensure the reliable operation of circuits employing transistors, it is necessary to scientifically model the physical phenomena observed in their operation using transistor mod ...
of transistor action, such as the
Gummel–Poon model The Gummel–Poon model is a model of the bipolar junction transistor. It was first described in an article published by Hermann Gummel and H. C. Poon at Bell Labs in 1970.H. K. Gummel and H. C. Poon, "An integral charge control model of bipolar ...
, account for the distribution of this charge explicitly to explain transistor behaviour more exactly. The charge-control view easily handles
phototransistor A photodiode is a light-sensitive semiconductor diode. It produces current when it absorbs photons. The package of a photodiode allows light (or infrared or ultraviolet radiation, or X-rays) to reach the sensitive part of the device. The packag ...
s, where minority carriers in the base region are created by the absorption of
photon A photon () is an elementary particle that is a quantum of the electromagnetic field, including electromagnetic radiation such as light and radio waves, and the force carrier for the electromagnetic force. Photons are massless, so they always m ...
s, and handles the dynamics of turn-off, or recovery time, which depends on charge in the base region recombining. However, because base charge is not a signal that is visible at the terminals, the current- and voltage-control views are generally used in circuit design and analysis. In
analog circuit Analogue electronics ( en-US, analog electronics) are electronic systems with a continuously variable signal, in contrast to digital electronics where signals usually take only two levels. The term "analogue" describes the proportional relat ...
design, the current-control view is sometimes used because it is approximately linear. That is, the collector current is approximately \beta_\text times the base current. Some basic circuits can be designed by assuming that the base–emitter voltage is approximately constant and that collector current is β times the base current. However, to accurately and reliably design production BJT circuits, the voltage-control (for example, Ebers–Moll) model is required. The voltage-control model requires an exponential function to be taken into account, but when it is linearized such that the transistor can be modeled as a transconductance, as in the
Ebers–Moll model A bipolar junction transistor (BJT) is a type of transistor that uses both electrons and electron holes as charge carriers. In contrast, a unipolar transistor, such as a field-effect transistor, uses only one kind of charge carrier. A bipolar t ...
, design for circuits such as differential amplifiers again becomes a mostly linear problem, so the voltage-control view is often preferred. For translinear circuits, in which the exponential I–V curve is key to the operation, the transistors are usually modeled as voltage-controlled current sources whose
transconductance Transconductance (for transfer conductance), also infrequently called mutual conductance, is the electrical characteristic relating the current through the output of a device to the voltage across the input of a device. Conductance is the reciproca ...
is proportional to their collector current. In general, transistor-level circuit analysis is performed using SPICE or a comparable analog-circuit simulator, so mathematical model complexity is usually not of much concern to the designer, but a simplified view of the characteristics allows designs to be created following a logical process.


Turn-on, turn-off, and storage delay

Bipolar transistors, and particularly power transistors, have long base-storage times when they are driven into saturation; the base storage limits turn-off time in switching applications. A
Baker clamp Baker clamp is a generic name for a class of electronic circuits that reduce the storage time of a switching bipolar junction transistor (BJT) by applying a nonlinear negative feedback through various kinds of diodes. The reason for slow turn-off t ...
can prevent the transistor from heavily saturating, which reduces the amount of charge stored in the base and thus improves switching time.


Transistor characteristics: alpha () and beta ()

The proportion of carriers 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 causes many more electrons to be injected from the emitter into the base than holes to be injected from the base into the emitter. A thin and lightly-doped base region means that most of the minority carriers that are injected into the base will diffuse to the collector and not recombine. The ''
common-emitter In electronics, a common-emitter amplifier is one of three basic single-stage bipolar-junction-transistor (BJT) amplifier topologies, typically used as a voltage amplifier. It offers high current gain (typically 200), medium input resistance a ...
current gain'' is represented by F or the -parameter FE; it is approximately the ratio of the DC collector current to the DC base current in forward-active region. (The F subscript is used to indicate the forward-active mode of operation.) It is typically greater than 50 for small-signal transistors, but can be smaller in transistors designed for high-power applications. Both injection efficiency and recombination in the base reduce the BJT gain. Another useful characteristic is the ''
common-base In electronics, a common-base (also known as grounded-base) amplifier is one of three basic single-stage bipolar junction transistor (BJT) amplifier topologies, typically used as a current buffer or voltage amplifier. In this circuit the emitte ...
current gain'', F. 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 0.980 and 0.998. It is less than unity due to recombination of charge carriers as they cross the base region. Alpha and beta are related by the following identities: :\begin \alpha_\text &= \frac, & \beta_\text &= \frac, \\ \alpha_\text &= \frac & \iff \beta_\text &= \frac. \end Beta is a convenient figure of merit to describe the performance of a bipolar transistor, but is not a fundamental physical property of the device. Bipolar transistors can be considered voltage-controlled devices (fundamentally the collector current is controlled by the base–emitter voltage; the base current could be considered a defect and is controlled by the characteristics of the base–emitter junction and recombination in the base). In many designs beta is assumed high enough so that base current has a negligible effect on the circuit. In some circuits (generally switching circuits), sufficient base current is supplied so that even the lowest beta value a particular device may have will still allow the required collector current to flow.


Structure

BJTs consists of three differently doped semiconductor regions: the ''emitter'' region, the ''base'' region and the ''collector'' region. These regions are, respectively, ''p'' type, ''n'' type and ''p'' type in a PNP transistor, and ''n'' type, ''p'' type and ''n'' type in an NPN transistor. Each semiconductor region is connected to a terminal, appropriately labeled: ''emitter'' (E), ''base'' (B) and ''collector'' (C). The ''base'' is physically located between the ''emitter'' and the ''collector'' and is made from lightly doped, high-resistivity material. The collector surrounds the emitter region, making it almost impossible for the electrons injected into the base region to escape without being collected, thus making the resulting value of α very close to unity, and so, giving the transistor a large β. A cross-section view of a BJT indicates that the collector–base junction has a much larger area than the emitter–base junction. The bipolar junction transistor, unlike other transistors, is usually not a symmetrical device. This means that interchanging the collector and the emitter makes the transistor leave the forward active mode and start to operate in reverse mode. Because the transistor's internal structure is usually optimized for forward-mode operation, interchanging the collector and the emitter makes the values of α and β in reverse operation much smaller than those in forward operation; often the α of the reverse mode is lower than 0.5. The lack of symmetry is primarily due to the doping ratios of the emitter and the collector. The emitter is heavily doped, while the collector is lightly doped, allowing a large reverse bias voltage to be applied before the collector–base junction breaks down. The collector–base junction is reverse biased in normal operation. The reason the emitter is heavily doped is to increase the emitter injection efficiency: the ratio of carriers injected by the emitter to those injected by the base. For high current gain, most of the carriers injected into the emitter–base junction must come from the emitter. The low-performance "lateral" bipolar transistors sometimes used in
CMOS Complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor (CMOS, pronounced "sea-moss", ) is a type of metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) fabrication process that uses complementary and symmetrical pairs of p-type and n-type MOSF ...
processes are sometimes designed symmetrically, that is, with no difference between forward and backward operation. Small changes in the voltage applied across the base–emitter terminals cause the current between the ''emitter'' and the ''collector'' to change significantly. This effect can be used to amplify the input voltage or current. BJTs can be thought of as voltage-controlled
current source A current source is an electronic circuit that delivers or absorbs an electric current which is independent of the voltage across it. A current source is the dual of a voltage source. The term ''current sink'' is sometimes used for sources fed ...
s, but are more simply characterized as current-controlled current sources, or current amplifiers, due to the low impedance at the base. Early transistors were made from
germanium Germanium is a chemical element with the symbol Ge and atomic number 32. It is lustrous, hard-brittle, grayish-white and similar in appearance to silicon. It is a metalloid in the carbon group that is chemically similar to its group neighbors si ...
but most modern BJTs are made from
silicon Silicon is a chemical element with the symbol Si and atomic number 14. It is a hard, brittle crystalline solid with a blue-grey metallic luster, and is a tetravalent metalloid and semiconductor. It is a member of group 14 in the periodic tab ...
. A significant minority are also now made from
gallium arsenide Gallium arsenide (GaAs) is a III-V direct band gap semiconductor with a zinc blende crystal structure. Gallium arsenide is used in the manufacture of devices such as microwave frequency integrated circuits, monolithic microwave integrated circui ...
, especially for very high speed applications (see HBT, below). The
heterojunction bipolar transistor The heterojunction bipolar transistor (HBT) is a type of bipolar junction transistor (BJT) which uses differing semiconductor materials for the emitter and base regions, creating a heterojunction. The HBT improves on the BJT in that it can handle s ...
(HBT) is an improvement of the BJT that can handle signals of very high frequencies up to several hundred
GHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose expression in terms of SI base units is s−1, meaning that one he ...
. It is common in modern ultrafast circuits, mostly RF systems. Two commonly used HBTs are silicon–germanium and aluminum gallium arsenide, though a wide variety of semiconductors may be used for the HBT structure. HBT structures are usually grown by
epitaxy Epitaxy refers to a type of crystal growth or material deposition in which new crystalline layers are formed with one or more well-defined orientations with respect to the crystalline seed layer. The deposited crystalline film is called an epit ...
techniques like
MOCVD Metalorganic vapour-phase epitaxy (MOVPE), also known as organometallic vapour-phase epitaxy (OMVPE) or metalorganic chemical vapour deposition (MOCVD), is a chemical vapour deposition method used to produce single- or polycrystalline thin films. ...
and
MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language of t ...
.


Regions of operation

Bipolar transistors have four distinct regions of operation, defined by BJT junction biases. ;Forward-active (or simply ''active''): The base–emitter junction is forward biased and the base–collector junction is reverse biased. Most bipolar transistors are designed to afford the greatest common-emitter current gain, βF, in forward-active mode. If this is the case, the collector–emitter current is approximately proportional to the base current, but many times larger, for small base current variations. ;Reverse-active (or ''inverse-active'' or ''inverted''): By reversing the biasing conditions of the forward-active region, a bipolar transistor goes into reverse-active mode. In this mode, the emitter and collector regions switch roles. Because most BJTs are designed to maximize current gain in forward-active mode, the βF in inverted mode is several times smaller (2–3 times for the ordinary germanium transistor). This transistor mode is seldom used, usually being considered only for failsafe conditions and some types of bipolar logic. The reverse bias breakdown voltage to the base may be an order of magnitude lower in this region. ;Saturation: With both junctions forward biased, a BJT is in saturation mode and facilitates high current conduction from the emitter to the collector (or the other direction in the case of NPN, with negatively charged carriers flowing from emitter to collector). This mode corresponds to a logical "on", or a closed switch. ;Cut-off: In cut-off, biasing conditions opposite of saturation (both junctions reverse biased) are present. There is very little current, which corresponds to a logical "off", or an open switch. ;
Avalanche breakdown Avalanche breakdown (or avalanche effect) is a phenomenon that can occur in both insulating and semiconducting materials. It is a form of electric current multiplication that can allow very large currents within materials which are otherwise good ...
region: The modes of operation can be described in terms of the applied voltages (this description applies to NPN transistors; polarities are reversed for PNP transistors): ;Forward-active: Base higher than emitter, collector higher than base (in this mode the collector current is proportional to base current by \beta_\text). ;Saturation: Base higher than emitter, but collector is not higher than base. ;Cut-off: Base lower than emitter, but collector is higher than base. It means the transistor is not letting conventional current go through from collector to emitter. ;Reverse-active: Base lower than emitter, collector lower than base: reverse conventional current goes through transistor. In terms of junction biasing: (''reverse biased base–collector junction'' means V < 0 for NPN, opposite for PNP) Although these regions are well defined for sufficiently large applied voltage, they overlap somewhat for small (less than a few hundred millivolts) biases. For example, in the typical grounded-emitter configuration of an NPN BJT used as a pulldown switch in digital logic, the "off" state never involves a reverse-biased junction because the base voltage never goes below ground; nevertheless the forward bias is close enough to zero that essentially no current flows, so this end of the forward active region can be regarded as the cutoff region.


Active-mode transistors in circuits

The diagram shows a schematic representation of an NPN transistor connected to two voltage sources. (The same description applies to a PNP transistor with reversed directions of current flow and applied voltage.) This applied voltage causes the lower P–N junction to become forward biased, allowing a flow of electrons from the emitter into the base. In active mode, the electric field existing between base and collector (caused by ''V''CE) will cause the majority of these electrons to cross the upper P–N junction into the collector to form the collector current ''I''C. The remainder of the electrons recombine with holes, the majority carriers in the base, making a current through the base connection to form the base current, ''I''B. As shown in the diagram, the emitter current, ''I''E, is the total transistor current, which is the sum of the other terminal currents, (i.e., ''I''E = ''I''B + ''I''C). In the diagram, the arrows representing current point in the direction of
conventional current An electric current is a stream of charged particles, such as electrons or ions, moving through an electrical conductor or space. It is measured as the net rate of flow of electric charge through a surface or into a control volume. The moving pa ...
 – the flow of electrons is in the opposite direction of the arrows because electrons carry negative
electric charge Electric charge is the physical property of matter that causes charged matter to experience a force when placed in an electromagnetic field. Electric charge can be ''positive'' or ''negative'' (commonly carried by protons and electrons respectiv ...
. In active mode, the ratio of the collector current to the base current is called the ''DC current gain''. This gain is usually 100 or more, but robust circuit designs do not depend on the exact value (for example see
op-amp An operational amplifier (often op amp or opamp) is a DC-coupled high- gain electronic voltage amplifier with a differential input and, usually, a single-ended output. In this configuration, an op amp produces an output potential (relative to ...
). The value of this gain for DC signals is referred to as h_, and the value of this gain for small signals is referred to as h_. That is, when a small change in the currents occurs, and sufficient time has passed for the new condition to reach a steady state h_ is the ratio of the change in collector current to the change in base current. The symbol \beta is used for both h_ and h_. The emitter current is related to V_ exponentially. At
room temperature Colloquially, "room temperature" is a range of air temperatures that most people prefer for indoor settings. It feels comfortable to a person when they are wearing typical indoor clothing. Human comfort can extend beyond this range depending on ...
, an increase in V_ by approximately 60 mV increases the emitter current by a factor of 10. Because the base current is approximately proportional to the collector and emitter currents, they vary in the same way.


History

The bipolar
point-contact transistor The point-contact transistor was the first type of transistor to be successfully demonstrated. It was developed by research scientists John Bardeen and Walter Brattain at Bell Laboratories in December 1947. They worked in a group led by physicis ...
was invented in December 1947 at the
Bell Telephone Laboratories Nokia Bell Labs, originally named Bell Telephone Laboratories (1925–1984), then AT&T Bell Laboratories (1984–1996) and Bell Labs Innovations (1996–2007), is an American industrial research and scientific development company owned by mult ...
by
John Bardeen John Bardeen (; May 23, 1908 – January 30, 1991) was an American physicist and engineer. He is the only person to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics twice: first in 1956 with William Shockley and Walter Brattain for the invention of the tran ...
and
Walter Brattain Walter Houser Brattain (; February 10, 1902 – October 13, 1987) was an American physicist at Bell Labs who, along with fellow scientists John Bardeen and William Shockley, invented the point-contact transistor in December 1947. They shared the ...
under the direction of
William Shockley William Bradford Shockley Jr. (February 13, 1910 – August 12, 1989) was an American physicist and inventor. He was the manager of a research group at Bell Labs that included John Bardeen and Walter Brattain. The three scientists were jointly ...
. The junction version known as the bipolar junction transistor (BJT), invented by Shockley in 1948, was for three decades the device of choice in the design of discrete and
integrated circuits An integrated circuit or monolithic integrated circuit (also referred to as an IC, a chip, or a microchip) is a set of electronic circuits on one small flat piece (or "chip") of semiconductor material, usually silicon. Large numbers of tiny M ...
. Nowadays, the use of the BJT has declined in favor of
CMOS Complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor (CMOS, pronounced "sea-moss", ) is a type of metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) fabrication process that uses complementary and symmetrical pairs of p-type and n-type MOSF ...
technology in the design of digital integrated circuits. The incidental low performance BJTs inherent in CMOS ICs, however, are often utilized as
bandgap voltage reference A bandgap voltage reference is a temperature independent voltage reference circuit widely used in integrated circuits. It produces a fixed (constant) voltage regardless of power supply variations, temperature changes, or circuit loading from a dev ...
,
silicon bandgap temperature sensor The silicon bandgap temperature sensor is an extremely common form of temperature sensor (thermometer) used in electronic equipment. Its main advantage is that it can be included in a silicon integrated circuit at very low cost. The principle of t ...
and to handle
electrostatic discharge Electrostatic discharge (ESD) is a sudden and momentary flow of electric current between two electrically charged objects caused by contact, an electrical short or dielectric breakdown. A buildup of static electricity can be caused by tribocha ...
.


Germanium transistors

The
germanium Germanium is a chemical element with the symbol Ge and atomic number 32. It is lustrous, hard-brittle, grayish-white and similar in appearance to silicon. It is a metalloid in the carbon group that is chemically similar to its group neighbors si ...
transistor was more common in the 1950s and 1960s but has a greater tendency to exhibit
thermal runaway Thermal runaway describes a process that is accelerated by increased temperature, in turn releasing energy that further increases temperature. Thermal runaway occurs in situations where an increase in temperature changes the conditions in a way t ...
. Since germanium p-n junctions have a lower forward bias than silicon, germanium transistors turn on at lower voltage.


Early manufacturing techniques

Various methods of manufacturing bipolar transistors were developed. *
Point-contact transistor The point-contact transistor was the first type of transistor to be successfully demonstrated. It was developed by research scientists John Bardeen and Walter Brattain at Bell Laboratories in December 1947. They worked in a group led by physicis ...
 – first transistor ever constructed (December 1947), a bipolar transistor, limited commercial use due to high cost and noise. ** Tetrode point-contact transistor – Point-contact transistor having two emitters. It became obsolete in the middle 1950s. * Junction transistors **
Grown-junction transistor The grown-junction transistor was the first type of bipolar ''junction'' transistor made. It was invented by William Shockley at Bell Labs on June 23, 1948 (patent filed June 26, 1948), six months after the first bipolar point-contact transistor ...
first bipolar ''junction'' transistor made. Invented by
William Shockley William Bradford Shockley Jr. (February 13, 1910 – August 12, 1989) was an American physicist and inventor. He was the manager of a research group at Bell Labs that included John Bardeen and Walter Brattain. The three scientists were jointly ...
at
Bell Labs Nokia Bell Labs, originally named Bell Telephone Laboratories (1925–1984), then AT&T Bell Laboratories (1984–1996) and Bell Labs Innovations (1996–2007), is an American industrial research and scientific development company owned by mult ...
on June 23, 1948. Patent filed on June 26, 1948. **
Alloy-junction transistor The germanium alloy-junction transistor, or alloy transistor, was an early type of bipolar junction transistor, developed at General Electric and RCA in 1951 as an improvement over the earlier grown-junction transistor. The usual construction of ...
emitter and collector alloy beads fused to base. Developed at
General Electric General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable energy ...
and
RCA The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Com ...
in 1951. ***
Micro-alloy transistor The germanium alloy-junction transistor, or alloy transistor, was an early type of bipolar junction transistor, developed at General Electric and RCA in 1951 as an improvement over the earlier grown-junction transistor. The usual construction o ...
(MAT) high-speed type of alloy junction transistor. Developed at
Philco Philco (an acronym for Philadelphia Battery Company) is an American electronics manufacturer headquartered in Philadelphia. Philco was a pioneer in battery, radio, and television production. In 1961, the company was purchased by Ford and, from 196 ...
. ***
Micro-alloy diffused transistor The germanium alloy-junction transistor, or alloy transistor, was an early type of bipolar junction transistor, developed at General Electric and RCA in 1951 as an improvement over the earlier grown-junction transistor. The usual construction o ...
(MADT) high-speed type of alloy junction transistor, speedier than MAT, a
diffused-base transistor A diffused junction transistor is a transistor formed by diffusing dopants into a semiconductor substrate. The diffusion process was developed later than the alloy junction and grown junction processes for making bipolar junction transistors (B ...
. Developed at
Philco Philco (an acronym for Philadelphia Battery Company) is an American electronics manufacturer headquartered in Philadelphia. Philco was a pioneer in battery, radio, and television production. In 1961, the company was purchased by Ford and, from 196 ...
. ***
Post-alloy diffused transistor The germanium alloy-junction transistor, or alloy transistor, was an early type of bipolar junction transistor, developed at General Electric and RCA in 1951 as an improvement over the earlier grown-junction transistor. The usual construction o ...
(PADT) high-speed type of alloy junction transistor, speedier than MAT, a
diffused-base transistor A diffused junction transistor is a transistor formed by diffusing dopants into a semiconductor substrate. The diffusion process was developed later than the alloy junction and grown junction processes for making bipolar junction transistors (B ...
. Developed at
Philips Koninklijke Philips N.V. (), commonly shortened to Philips, is a Dutch multinational conglomerate corporation that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, it has been mostly headquartered in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarters i ...
. **
Tetrode transistor A tetrode transistor is any transistor having four active terminals. Early tetrode transistors There were two types of tetrode transistor developed in the early 1950s as an improvement over the point-contact transistor and the later grown-junction ...
high-speed variant of grown-junction transistor or alloy junction transistor with two connections to base. **
Surface-barrier transistor The surface-barrier transistor is a type of transistor developed by Philco in 1953 as an improvement to the alloy-junction transistor and the earlier point-contact transistor. Like the modern Schottky transistor, it offered much higher speed than ...
high-speed metal-barrier junction transistor. Developed at
Philco Philco (an acronym for Philadelphia Battery Company) is an American electronics manufacturer headquartered in Philadelphia. Philco was a pioneer in battery, radio, and television production. In 1961, the company was purchased by Ford and, from 196 ...
in 1953. **
Drift-field transistor The drift-field transistor, also called the drift transistor or graded base transistor, is a type of high-speed bipolar junction transistor having a doping-engineered electric field in the base to reduce the charge carrier base transit time. Inven ...
high-speed bipolar junction transistor. Invented by
Herbert Kroemer Herbert Kroemer (; born August 25, 1928) is a German-American physicist who, along with Zhores Alferov, received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2000 for "developing semiconductor heterostructures used in high-speed- and opto-electronics". Kroemer ...
at the Central Bureau of Telecommunications Technology of the German Postal Service, in 1953. ** Spacistor around 1957. **
Diffusion transistor A diffused junction transistor is a transistor formed by diffusing dopants into a semiconductor substrate. The diffusion process was developed later than the alloy junction and grown junction processes for making bipolar junction transistors (B ...
modern type bipolar junction transistor. Prototypes developed at Bell Labs in 1954. ***
Diffused-base transistor A diffused junction transistor is a transistor formed by diffusing dopants into a semiconductor substrate. The diffusion process was developed later than the alloy junction and grown junction processes for making bipolar junction transistors (B ...
first implementation of diffusion transistor. ***
Mesa transistor A diffused junction transistor is a transistor formed by diffusing dopants into a semiconductor substrate. The diffusion process was developed later than the alloy junction and grown junction processes for making bipolar junction transistors (B ...
developed at
Texas Instruments Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) is an American technology company headquartered in Dallas, Texas, that designs and manufactures semiconductors and various integrated circuits, which it sells to electronics designers and manufacturers globall ...
in 1957. ***
Planar transistor A diffused junction transistor is a transistor formed by diffusing dopants into a semiconductor substrate. The diffusion process was developed later than the alloy junction and grown junction processes for making bipolar junction transistors (B ...
the bipolar junction transistor that made mass-produced monolithic
integrated circuit An integrated circuit or monolithic integrated circuit (also referred to as an IC, a chip, or a microchip) is a set of electronic circuits on one small flat piece (or "chip") of semiconductor material, usually silicon. Large numbers of tiny M ...
s possible. Developed by
Jean Hoerni Jean Amédée Hoerni (September 26, 1924 – January 12, 1997) was a Swiss-American engineer. He was a silicon transistor pioneer, and a member of the " traitorous eight". He developed the planar process, an important technology for reliably f ...
at
Fairchild Fairchild may refer to: Organizations * Fairchild Aerial Surveys, operated in cooperation with a subsidiary of Fairey Aviation Company * Fairchild Camera and Instrument * List of Sherman Fairchild companies, "Fairchild" companies * Fairchild Fas ...
in 1959. ** Epitaxial transistor a bipolar junction transistor made using vapor-phase deposition. See
epitaxy Epitaxy refers to a type of crystal growth or material deposition in which new crystalline layers are formed with one or more well-defined orientations with respect to the crystalline seed layer. The deposited crystalline film is called an epit ...
. Allows very precise control of doping levels and gradients.


Theory and modeling

BJTs can be thought of as two diodes (
P–N junction A p–n junction is a boundary or interface between two types of semiconductor materials, p-type and n-type, inside a single crystal of semiconductor. The "p" (positive) side contains an excess of holes, while the "n" (negative) side contai ...
s) sharing a common region that minority carriers can move through. A PNP BJT will function like two diodes that share an N-type cathode region, and the NPN like two diodes sharing a P-type anode region. Connecting two diodes with wires will not make a BJT, since minority carriers will not be able to get from one P–N junction to the other through the wire. Both types of BJT function by letting a small current input to the base control an amplified output from the collector. The result is that the BJT makes a good switch that is controlled by its base input. The BJT also makes a good amplifier, since it can multiply a weak input signal to about 100 times its original strength. Networks of BJTs are used to make powerful amplifiers with many different applications. In the discussion below, focus is on the NPN BJT. In what is called active mode, the base–emitter voltage V_ and collector–base voltage V_ are positive, forward biasing the emitter–base junction and reverse-biasing the collector–base junction. In this mode, electrons are injected from the forward biased n-type emitter region into the p-type base where they diffuse as minority carriers to the reverse-biased n-type collector and are swept away by the electric field in the reverse-biased collector–base junction. For an illustration of forward and reverse bias, see semiconductor diodes.


Large-signal models

In 1954, Jewell James Ebers and John L. Moll introduced their
mathematical model A mathematical model is a description of a system using mathematical concepts and language. The process of developing a mathematical model is termed mathematical modeling. Mathematical models are used in the natural sciences (such as physics, ...
of transistor currents:


Ebers–Moll model

The DC emitter and collector currents in active mode are well modeled by an approximation to the Ebers–Moll model: : \begin I_\text &= I_\text \left(e^\frac - 1\right) \\ I_\text &= \alpha_\text I_\text \\ I_\text &= \left(1 - \alpha_\text\right) I_\text \end The base internal current is mainly by diffusion (see
Fick's law Fick's laws of diffusion describe diffusion and were derived by Adolf Fick in 1855. They can be used to solve for the diffusion coefficient, . Fick's first law can be used to derive his second law which in turn is identical to the diffusion eq ...
) and : J_ = \frac q D_n n_ e^ where * V_ is the
thermal voltage The Boltzmann constant ( or ) is the proportionality factor that relates the average relative kinetic energy of particles in a gas with the thermodynamic temperature of the gas. It occurs in the definitions of the kelvin and the gas constant, ...
kT/q (approximately 26 mV at 300 K ≈ room temperature). * I_ is the emitter current * I_ is the collector current * \alpha_\text is the common base forward short-circuit current gain (0.98 to 0.998) * I_ is the reverse saturation current of the base–emitter diode (on the order of 10−15 to 10−12 amperes) * V_ is the base–emitter voltage * D_n is the diffusion constant for electrons in the p-type base * ''W'' is the base width The \alpha and forward \beta parameters are as described previously. A reverse \beta is sometimes included in the model. The unapproximated Ebers–Moll equations used to describe the three currents in any operating region are given below. These equations are based on the transport model for a bipolar junction transistor. :\begin i_ &= I_\text \left \left(e^\frac - e^\frac\right) - \frac \left(e^\frac - 1\right) \right\ i_ &= I_\text \left \frac \left(e^\frac - 1 \right) + \frac \left(e^\frac - 1\right) \right\ i_ &= I_\text \left \left(e^\frac - e^\frac\right) + \frac \left(e^\frac - 1\right) \right\end where * i_\text is the collector current * i_\text is the base current * i_\text is the emitter current * \beta_\text is the forward common emitter current gain (20 to 500) * \beta_\text is the reverse common emitter current gain (0 to 20) * I_\text is the reverse saturation current (on the order of 10−15 to 10−12 amperes) * V_\text is the
thermal voltage The Boltzmann constant ( or ) is the proportionality factor that relates the average relative kinetic energy of particles in a gas with the thermodynamic temperature of the gas. It occurs in the definitions of the kelvin and the gas constant, ...
(approximately 26 mV at 300 K ≈ room temperature). * V_\text is the base–emitter voltage * V_\text is the base–collector voltage


=Base-width modulation

= As the collector–base voltage (V_\text = V_\text - V_\text) varies, the collector–base depletion region varies in size. An increase in the collector–base voltage, for example, causes a greater reverse bias across the collector–base junction, increasing the collector–base depletion region width, and decreasing the width of the base. This variation in base width often is called the ''
Early effect The Early effect, named after its discoverer James M. Early, is the variation in the effective width of the base in a bipolar junction transistor (BJT) due to a variation in the applied base-to-collector voltage. A greater reverse bias acros ...
'' after its discoverer James M. Early. Narrowing of the base width has two consequences: * There is a lesser chance for recombination within the "smaller" base region. * The charge gradient is increased across the base, and consequently, the current of minority carriers injected across the emitter junction increases. Both factors increase the collector or "output" current of the transistor in response to an increase in the collector–base voltage. In the forward-active region, the Early effect modifies the collector current (i_\text) and the forward common emitter current gain (\beta_\text) as given by: :\begin i_\text &= I_\text \, e^\frac \left(1 + \frac\right) \\ \beta_\text &= \beta_ \left(1 + \frac\right) \\ r_\text &= \frac \end where: * V_\text is the collector–emitter voltage * V_\text is the Early voltage (15 V to 150 V) * \beta_ is forward common-emitter current gain when V_\text = 0 V * r_\text is the output impedance * I_\text is the collector current


=Punchthrough

= When the base–collector voltage reaches a certain (device-specific) value, the base–collector depletion region boundary meets the base–emitter depletion region boundary. When in this state the transistor effectively has no base. The device thus loses all gain when in this state.


Gummel–Poon charge-control model

The
Gummel–Poon model The Gummel–Poon model is a model of the bipolar junction transistor. It was first described in an article published by Hermann Gummel and H. C. Poon at Bell Labs in 1970.H. K. Gummel and H. C. Poon, "An integral charge control model of bipolar ...
is a detailed charge-controlled model of BJT dynamics, which has been adopted and elaborated by others to explain transistor dynamics in greater detail than the terminal-based models typically do. This model also includes the dependence of transistor \beta-values upon the direct current levels in the transistor, which are assumed current-independent in the Ebers–Moll model.


Small-signal models


Hybrid-pi model

The hybrid-pi model is a popular circuit model used for analyzing the small signal and AC behavior of bipolar junction and field effect
transistors upright=1.4, gate (G), body (B), source (S) and drain (D) terminals. The gate is separated from the body by an insulating layer (pink). A transistor is a semiconductor device used to Electronic amplifier, amplify or electronic switch, switch e ...
. Sometimes it is also called ''Giacoletto model'' because it was introduced by L.J. Giacoletto in 1969. The model can be quite accurate for low-frequency circuits and can easily be adapted for higher-frequency circuits with the addition of appropriate inter-electrode
capacitance Capacitance is the capability of a material object or device to store electric charge. It is measured by the change in charge in response to a difference in electric potential, expressed as the ratio of those quantities. Commonly recognized are ...
s and other parasitic elements.


h-parameter model

Another model commonly used to analyze BJT circuits is the '' h-parameter'' model, also known as the hybrid equivalent model, closely related to the
hybrid-pi model The hybrid-pi model is a popular circuit model used for analyzing the small signal behavior of bipolar junction and field effect transistors. Sometimes it is also called Giacoletto model because it was introduced by L.J. Giacoletto in 1969. The ...
and the
y-parameter Admittance parameters or Y-parameters (the elements of an admittance matrix or Y-matrix) are properties used in many areas of electrical engineering, such as power, electronics, and telecommunications. These parameters are used to describe the ele ...
two-port A two-port network (a kind of four-terminal network or quadripole) is an electrical network ( circuit) or device with two ''pairs'' of terminals to connect to external circuits. Two terminals constitute a port if the currents applied to them sati ...
, but using input current and output voltage as independent variables, rather than input and output voltages. This two-port network is particularly suited to BJTs as it lends itself easily to the analysis of circuit behaviour, and may be used to develop further accurate models. As shown, the term ''x'' in the model represents a different BJT lead depending on the topology used. For common-emitter mode the various symbols take on the specific values as: * Terminal 1, base * Terminal 2, collector * Terminal 3 (common), emitter; giving ''x'' to be ''e'' * ''i''i, base current (''i''b) * ''i''o, collector current (''i''c) * ''V''in, base-to-emitter voltage (''V''BE) * ''V''o, collector-to-emitter voltage (''V''CE) and the h-parameters are given by: * ''h''ix = ''h''ie for the common-emitter configuration, the input impedance of the transistor (corresponding to the base resistance ''r''pi). * ''h''rx = ''h''re, a reverse transfer relationship, it represents the dependence of the transistor's (input) ''I''B–''V''BE curve on the value of (output) ''V''CE. It is usually very small and is often neglected (assumed to be zero) at DC. * ''h''fx = ''h''fe, the "forward" current-gain of the transistor, sometimes written ''h21''. This parameter, with lower case "fe" to imply small signal (AC) gain, or more often with capital letters for "FE" (specified as ''h''FE) to mean the "large signal" or DC current-gain (''β''DC or often simply ''β''), is one of the main parameters in datasheets, and may be given for a typical collector current and voltage or plotted as a function of collector current. See below. * ''h''ox = 1/''h''oe, the output impedance of transistor. The parameter ''h''oe usually corresponds to the output admittance of the bipolar transistor and has to be inverted to convert it to an impedance. As shown, the h-parameters have lower-case subscripts and hence signify AC conditions or analyses. For DC conditions they are specified in upper-case. For the CE topology, an approximate h-parameter model is commonly used which further simplifies the circuit analysis. For this the ''h''oe and ''h''re parameters are neglected (that is, they are set to infinity and zero, respectively). The h-parameter model as shown is suited to low-frequency, small-signal analysis. For high-frequency analyses the inter-electrode capacitances that are important at high frequencies must be added.


=Etymology of hFE

= The ''h'' refers to its being an h-parameter, a set of parameters named for their origin in a ''hybrid equivalent circuit'' model (see above). As with all h parameters, the choice of lower case or capitals for the letters that follow the "h" is significant; lower-case signifies "small signal" parameters, that is, the slope the particular relationship; upper-case letters imply "large signal" or DC values, the ratio of the voltages or currents. In the case of the very often used ''hFE'': * ''F'' is from ''Forward current amplification'' also called the current gain. * ''E'' refers to the transistor operating in a ''common Emitter'' (CE) configuration. So hFE (or hFE) refers to the (total; DC) collector current divided by the base current, and is dimensionless. It is a parameter that varies somewhat with collector current, but is often approximated as a constant; it is normally specified at a typical collector current and voltage, or graphed as a function of collector current. Had capital letters not been used for used in the subscript, i.e. if it were written ''hfe'' the parameter indicate small signal ( AC) current gain, i.e. the slope of the Collector current versus Base current graph at a given point, which is often close to the hFE value unless the test frequency is high.


Industry models

The Gummel–Poon SPICE model is often used, but it suffers from several limitations. For instance, reverse breakdown of the base–emitter diode is not captured by the SGP (SPICE Gummel–Poon) model, neither are thermal effects (self-heating) or quasi-saturation. These have been addressed in various more advanced models which either focus on specific cases of application (Mextram, HICUM, Modella) or are designed for universal usage (VBIC).


Applications

The BJT remains a device that excels in some applications, such as discrete circuit design, due to the very wide selection of BJT types available, and because of its high
transconductance Transconductance (for transfer conductance), also infrequently called mutual conductance, is the electrical characteristic relating the current through the output of a device to the voltage across the input of a device. Conductance is the reciproca ...
and output resistance compared to
MOSFET The metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET, MOS-FET, or MOS FET) is a type of field-effect transistor (FET), most commonly fabricated by the controlled oxidation of silicon. It has an insulated gate, the voltage of which d ...
s. The BJT is also the choice for demanding analog circuits, especially for
very-high-frequency Very high frequency (VHF) is the ITU designation for the range of radio frequency electromagnetic waves (radio waves) from 30 to 300 megahertz (MHz), with corresponding wavelengths of ten meters to one meter. Frequencies immediately below VHF ...
applications, such as
radio-frequency Radio frequency (RF) is the oscillation rate of an alternating electric current or voltage or of a magnetic, electric or electromagnetic field or mechanical system in the frequency range from around to around . This is roughly between the uppe ...
circuits for wireless systems.


High-speed digital logic

Emitter-coupled logic In electronics, emitter-coupled logic (ECL) is a high-speed integrated circuit bipolar transistor logic family. ECL uses an overdriven bipolar junction transistor (BJT) differential amplifier with single-ended input and limited emitter current to ...
(ECL) use BJTs. Bipolar transistors can be combined with MOSFETs in an integrated circuit by using a
BiCMOS Bipolar CMOS (BiCMOS) is a semiconductor technology that integrates two semiconductor technologies, those of the bipolar junction transistor and the CMOS (complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor) logic gate, into a single integrated circuit. In ...
process of wafer fabrication to create circuits that take advantage of the application strengths of both types of transistor.


Amplifiers

The transistor parameters α and β characterize the
current gain In electronics, gain is a measure of the ability of a two-port circuit (often an amplifier) to increase the power or amplitude of a signal from the input to the output port by adding energy converted from some power supply to the signal. It is u ...
of the BJT. It is this gain that allows BJTs to be used as the building blocks of electronic amplifiers. The three main BJT amplifier topologies are: *
Common emitter In electronics, a common-emitter amplifier is one of three basic single-stage bipolar-junction-transistor (BJT) amplifier topologies, typically used as a voltage amplifier. It offers high current gain (typically 200), medium input resistance a ...
*
Common base In electronics, a common-base (also known as grounded-base) amplifier is one of three basic single-stage bipolar junction transistor (BJT) amplifier topologies, typically used as a current buffer or voltage amplifier. In this circuit the emit ...
*
Common collector In electronics, a common collector amplifier (also known as an emitter follower) is one of three basic single-stage bipolar junction transistor (BJT) amplifier topologies, typically used as a voltage buffer. In this circuit the base terminal o ...


Temperature sensors

Because of the known temperature and current dependence of the forward-biased base–emitter junction voltage, the BJT can be used to measure temperature by subtracting two voltages at two different bias currents in a known ratio.


Logarithmic converters

Because base–emitter voltage varies as the logarithm of the base–emitter and collector–emitter currents, a BJT can also be used to compute
logarithm In mathematics, the logarithm is the inverse function to exponentiation. That means the logarithm of a number  to the base  is the exponent to which must be raised, to produce . For example, since , the ''logarithm base'' 10 o ...
s and anti-logarithms. A diode can also perform these nonlinear functions but the transistor provides more circuit flexibility.


Avalanche pulse generators

Transistors may be deliberately made with a lower collector to emitter breakdown voltage than the collector to base breakdown voltage. If the emitter–base junction is reverse biased the collector emitter voltage may be maintained at a voltage just below breakdown. As soon as the base voltage is allowed to rise, and current flows
avalanche An avalanche is a rapid flow of snow down a slope, such as a hill or mountain. Avalanches can be set off spontaneously, by such factors as increased precipitation or snowpack weakening, or by external means such as humans, animals, and eart ...
occurs and impact ionization in the collector base depletion region rapidly floods the base with carriers and turns the transistor fully on. So long as the pulses are short enough and infrequent enough that the device is not damaged, this effect can be used to create very sharp falling edges. Special
avalanche transistor An avalanche transistor is a bipolar junction transistor designed for operation in the region of its collector-current/collector-to-emitter voltage characteristics beyond the collector-to-emitter breakdown voltage, called '' avalanche breakdown regi ...
devices are made for this application.


Vulnerabilities

Exposure of the transistor to ionizing radiation causes
radiation damage Radiation damage is the effect of ionizing radiation on physical objects including non-living structural materials. It can be either detrimental or beneficial for materials. Radiobiology is the study of the action of ionizing radiation on living ...
. Radiation causes a buildup of 'defects' in the base region that act as recombination centers. The resulting reduction in minority carrier lifetime causes gradual loss of gain of the transistor. Transistors have "maximum ratings", including
power rating In electrical engineering and mechanical engineering, the power rating of equipment is the highest power input allowed to flow through particular equipment. According to the particular discipline, the term ''power'' may refer to electrical or me ...
s (essentially limited by self-heating), maximum collector and base currents (both continuous/DC ratings and peak), and
breakdown voltage The breakdown voltage of an insulator is the minimum voltage that causes a portion of an insulator to experience electrical breakdown and become electrically conductive. For diodes, the breakdown voltage is the minimum reverse voltage that make ...
ratings, beyond which the device may fail or at least perform badly. In addition to normal breakdown ratings of the device, power BJTs are subject to a failure mode called secondary breakdown, in which excessive current and normal imperfections in the silicon die cause portions of the silicon inside the device to become disproportionately hotter than the others. The electrical resistivity of doped silicon, like other semiconductors, has a negative
temperature coefficient A temperature coefficient describes the relative change of a physical property that is associated with a given change in temperature. For a property ''R'' that changes when the temperature changes by ''dT'', the temperature coefficient α is def ...
, meaning that it conducts more current at higher temperatures. Thus, the hottest part of the die conducts the most current, causing its conductivity to increase, which then causes it to become progressively hotter again, until the device fails internally. The
thermal runaway Thermal runaway describes a process that is accelerated by increased temperature, in turn releasing energy that further increases temperature. Thermal runaway occurs in situations where an increase in temperature changes the conditions in a way t ...
process associated with secondary breakdown, once triggered, occurs almost instantly and may catastrophically damage the transistor package. If the emitter–base junction is reverse biased into
avalanche An avalanche is a rapid flow of snow down a slope, such as a hill or mountain. Avalanches can be set off spontaneously, by such factors as increased precipitation or snowpack weakening, or by external means such as humans, animals, and eart ...
or Zener mode and charge flows for a short period of time, the current gain of the BJT may be permanently degraded, as the emitter is smaller than the collector and cannot dissipate significant power. This is a common ESD failure mechanism in low-voltage devices.


See also

*
Bipolar transistor biasing Bipolar transistors must be properly biased to operate correctly. In circuits made with individual devices (discrete circuits), biasing networks consisting of resistors are commonly employed. Much more elaborate biasing arrangements are used in ...
*
Gummel plot In electronics, the Gummel plot is the combined plot of the base and collector electric currents, I_\text and I_\text, of a bipolar transistor vs. the base–emitter voltage, V_\text, on a semi-logarithmic scale. This plot is very useful in devi ...
*
Heterojunction bipolar transistor The heterojunction bipolar transistor (HBT) is a type of bipolar junction transistor (BJT) which uses differing semiconductor materials for the emitter and base regions, creating a heterojunction. The HBT improves on the BJT in that it can handle s ...
*
Insulated gate bipolar transistor An insulated-gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) is a three-terminal power semiconductor device primarily used as an electronic switch, which, as it was developed, came to combine high efficiency and fast switching. It consists of four alternating lay ...
*
MOSFET The metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET, MOS-FET, or MOS FET) is a type of field-effect transistor (FET), most commonly fabricated by the controlled oxidation of silicon. It has an insulated gate, the voltage of which d ...
*
Multiple-emitter transistor A multiple-emitter transistor is a specialized bipolar transistor mostly used at the inputs of integrated circuit TTL NAND logic gates. Input signals are applied to the emitters. The voltage presented to the following stage is pulled low if any o ...


Notes


References


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bipolar Junction Transistor Transistor modeling Transistor types