Page 1 of 10 SPH 2110: Instrumental Electronics Lecture Notes
Transistor
A transistor is an electronic component that has two basic functions:
Amplification (increase of signal strength), and
Switching (change of state between on and off).
A transistor is formed through the fusion of two individual diodes to produce a three
layer, two junction, three terminal device.
o The physical arrangement of the p-type and n-type semiconductor materials to
form a transistor results into two basic types of transistors: NPN transistor and PNP
transistor. The figure below shows their arrangement and circuit symbols (figure
(a) – NPN transistor and figure (b) – PNP transistor).
o The base is lightly doped, the collector is moderately doped and the emitter is
heavily doped.
o The base region is much thinner than either the collector or emitter regions. The
collector region is usually thicker than the emitter as the largest amount of heat is
dissipated in the collector.
o From the figures above, junction 1 is the emitter to base (E-B) junction and
junction 2 is the collector to base (C-B) junction.
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Page 2 of 10 SPH 2110: Instrumental Electronics Lecture Notes
Consider an NPN transistor.
o Suppose that the E-B junction is forward-biased and the collector is left open.
o Electrons flow from the emitter to
the base as holes flow in the
opposite direction, base to emitter.
o The base is very thin (much
narrower than the emitter region)
and lightly doped so there are
relatively few holes in it compared
with the electrons from the heavily
doped (as denoted by n+) emitter
region.
o As there are few holes in the base
for the electrons to combine with,
only some of the electron-hole
pairs in the base will recombine;
the remaining charge carriers will
give rise to a net flow of current
from base to emitter.
o Now, suppose that the C-B junction is reverse-biased.
o The electrons “emitted” by the
emitter with the E-B junction
forward-biased reach the very
narrow base region, and since there
are few holes in the base for the
electrons to combine with, most of
the electrons diffuse into the reverse
biased C-B junction and they are
“collected” by the collector.
o The reverse bias across the C-B
junction, therefore, sweeps the
electrons from the emitter into the
collector. This happens because the
base is narrow and there is a high
probability that the electrons will
have gathered enough momentum
from the electric field to cross the
reverse-biased C-B junction and
make it into the collector.
o This results into a net flow of current from collector to emitter (opposite in
direction to the flow of electrons), in addition to the hole current from base to
emitter.
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Page 3 of 10 SPH 2110: Instrumental Electronics Lecture Notes
Thus, following KCL,
I E =I B + I C
Where, I E , I B and I C are emitter, base and collector currents respectively.
i.e. the current flowing out of the transistor must be equal to the currents flowing
into the transistor.
o The electron current flowing into the collector through the base is substantially
larger than that which flows into the base. Thus,
I C =β I B
Where, β is a current amplification factor. It is dependent upon the physical
properties of a transistor and it has typical values ranging from 20 to 200.
o A small base current I B, therefore, is used to control a much larger collector current
I C.
o The collector current I C also relates to the emitter current I E as,
I C =α I E
Where, α is a current amplification factor. It is, however, is usually very small,
close to but less than 1. That means I C is very close to, but less than I E .
o By combining the expressions for bothα and β the mathematical relationship
between these parameters and therefore the current gain of the transistor can be
given as,
IC IC
α= ∧β=
IE IB
I C =α I E=β I B
o From α I E=β I B, it can be shown that,
β α
α= ∧ β=
β+ 1 1−α
o NB:
− The operation of a PNP transistor is analogous to that of an NPN transistor
except that the role of charge carriers is reversed.
− In NPN transistors, electron flow is dominant while PNP transistors rely
mostly on the flow of “holes"
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Page 4 of 10 SPH 2110: Instrumental Electronics Lecture Notes
− In practice, NPN transistors are much more popular than PNP transistors
because electrons move faster in a semiconductor. As a result, an NPN
transistor has a faster response time compared to a PNP transistor.
− The discussion entails what is referred to as transistor action.
− The transistor action described involves the flow of both the majority and
minority charge carriers. The associated transistor (NPN or PNP) is referred
to as a Bipolar Junction Transistor (BJT).
There exists another category of transistors, known as Field Effect
Transistors (FETs), whose action involves the flow of the majority charge
carrier only.
o Examples:
1. A transistor has a β of 250 and a base current, I B, of 20 µA. Determine the collector
current, I C.
Solution:
I C =β I B =250 ×20 μA=5000 μA
2. Determine the collector current for a transistor configuration with a beta of 100 and
a base current of 30 µA?
Solution:
I C =β I B =100 ×30 μA=3000 μA
Based on the polarity of the voltage applied to the two junctions (E-B and C-B), a
transistor can be made to operate in three modes:
1. Active mode
2. Cutoff mode
3. Saturation mode
1. Active mode:
The E-B junction is forward-biased while the C-B junction is reverse biased
i.e. while one diode is forward-biased, the other one is reverse biased.
This was discussed earlier in transistor action.
The active mode of operation, therefore, is used for the amplification of
current.
2. Cutoff mode:
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Page 5 of 10 SPH 2110: Instrumental Electronics Lecture Notes
Both the junctions of the transistor are reverse biased i.e. both diodes are
reverse-biased ⇒ no current flows through the transistor.
Therefore, the transistor is in OFF state and acts like an open switch.
3. Saturation mode:
Both the junctions of the transistor are forward biased i.e. both diodes are
forward-biased ⇒ current flows through the transistor.
Electrons flow from the emitter to base as well as from collector to base. As
a result, a huge current will flow to the base of transistor.
Therefore, the transistor is in ON state and acts like a closed switch.
A transistor can therefore be used as,
1. An amplifier – in active mode.
2. An ON/OFF switch - in saturation and cutoff modes respectively.
An assortment of transistors is shown below:
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Page 6 of 10 SPH 2110: Instrumental Electronics Lecture Notes
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Page 7 of 10 SPH 2110: Instrumental Electronics Lecture Notes
Operation amplifier (Op amp)
It is an electronic device that is primarily used for signal amplification.
Its circuit symbol is shown in the figure below:
o It has one output and two inputs: the
inverting input (−) and the non-inverting
input (+).
o When a signal is fed to the (−) input, the
output signal is inverted i.e. if the input
signal is positive, the output signal is
negative.
o When a signal is fed to the (+) input, the
output signal is of the same polarity as
the input i.e. if the input signal is
positive, the output signal is positive.
An op amp amplifies the difference between input voltages.
o If the input voltages V 1 and V 2 are fed to the
inverting and non-inverting inputs respectively, and
the output voltage is V o , then the following three
situations are possible:
i. If V 2 >V 1, V o is positive.
ii. If V 2 <V 1, V o is negative.
iii. If V 2=V 1, V o is zero.
o Thus in general:
V o =A (V 2−V 1)
Vo
A=
V 2 −V 1
Where, A is the open-loop voltage gain.
An ideal op amp has the following common features:
i. A very high input resistance i.e. no current ever flows into either input of the op
amp.
ii. A very low output resistance.
iii. The open-loop voltage gain is infinite.
iv. The output voltage is zero when the input voltage difference is zero.
Common op amp configurations include:
1. The inverting amplifier
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Page 8 of 10 SPH 2110: Instrumental Electronics Lecture Notes
2. The non-inverting amplifier
3. The unity gain amplifier
4. The summing amplifier
Only the inverting amplifier shall be considered.
The inverting amplifier
o The input signal is applied to the inverting input terminal (-) of the op amp.
o A feedback resistor R f is connected between the output terminal and the inverting
input terminal to provide feedback.
o The output voltage is of opposite polarity to the input voltage.
o The noninverting terminal is connected to ground.
Therefore, from the equation V o =A (V 2−V 1), we get
V out =A ¿
o And by virtue of the op amp’s infinite gain,
V V OUT
−¿= =0 ¿
∞
o For an inverting amplifier, therefore, the V- terminal is a “virtual ground”.
o Consequently, V ¿ appears across R¿ and V OUT appears across R f .
o Therefore,
V ¿ =i ¿ R ¿ and V OUT =−i fb R f
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Page 9 of 10 SPH 2110: Instrumental Electronics Lecture Notes
−i fb R f
⇒ the gain ACL=
i ¿ R¿
Where, is the closed-loop voltage gain and i fb=i¿
o Thus,
−R f
ACL=
R¿
−R f
V OUT = V¿
R¿
o The gain is, therefore,
Entirely determined by the resistances R f and R¿.
Can be altered by changing R f and R¿.
‒ R f > R¿: the signal is amplified (and inverted).
‒ R f < R¿: the signal is attenuated (and inverted).
‒ R f =R¿ : the signal is neither amplified nor attenuated but it is inverted.
NB: The gain of an op-amp without feedback is called the open-loop gain whereas the
gain of an op-amp with a feedback circuit is called the closed-loop gain
Op amps are contained in an integrated circuit (IC) package as shown below:
Examples:
1. A differential amplifier has an open-loop voltage gain of 150 when the input
signals are 3.55 V and 3.40 V. Determine the output voltage of the amplifier.
Solution:
Vo
A=
V 2 −V 1
Where, A ≡ A OL is the open-loop voltage gain, V o is the output voltage.
Let V 2=3.55 V and V 1=3.40 V
Thus,
V o =A OL ( V 2−V 1 ) =150 ( 3.55−3.40 )=22.5 V
2. An inverting amplifier has R¿ =1 k Ω and R f =2 k Ω . Determine the output voltage
when the input voltage is: (a) +0.4V (b) −1.2V.
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Page 10 of 10 SPH 2110: Instrumental Electronics Lecture Notes
Solution:
−R f
V OUT = V¿
R¿
a) When, V ¿ =+0.4 V
−2000
V OUT = ( +0.4 )=−0.8 V
1000
a) When, V ¿ =−1.2 V
−2000
V OUT = (−1.2 )=+2.4 V
1000
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