Objective:

1. To understand the characteristics of a npn Bipolar Junction Transistor.

2. To plot the base current I B versus collector current I C curve and determine the gain of the
transistor.
3. To plot the Collector-Emitter voltage V CE versus the collector current I C for different
values of base current I B and determine the dynamic output resistance of the transistor.

Equipment:
 DC power supply 0-20V 0-5A
 npn Transistor BC337
 Digital multimeters (DMMs)
 Resistors – 1kΩ, 270kΩ
 Insulated wire leads, connector clips, bread board

Theory:
Bipolar Junction Transistor
A bipolar junction transistor consists of two P-N junctions and is made of either silicon or
germanium. Silicon based transistors are common and come is either n-p-n or p-n-p format. The
junctions are produced in a single layer of silicon by diffusing impurities. The three terminals of a
BJT are emitter, base and collector (Figure 1).

Figure 1: npn Transistor construction and symbol

Transistors are basically used to perform two fundamental operations, switching and amplification.
The PN junctions of the transistor are in effect two back-to-back facing diodes (Figure 2). When
used as an amplifier, the base-emitter junction is forward-biased while the collector-base junction is
reverse-biased. Therefore the voltage drop across the base-emitter junction is similar to that of a
PN junction diode (0.6-0.7 V). Due to the base layer being very thin and emitter being heavily
doped, there is a flow of large current from collector to emitter when the PN junction of the base-
emitter is forward biased.

Figure 2: npn Transistor as back-to-back diodes and its symbol

ENGD1004 EEP Lab 7 1

The base current is derived from the base voltage source V BB and when the collector voltage V CC is
slightly greater than this, an interesting phenomenon occurs: there is a large flow of majority
charge carriers from emitter to collector right through the base layer, or in conventional current
flow representation, there is a large flow of current from collector to emitter. This effect is what is
called as amplification of a small base current into a large collector current. Their ratio is the Gain
of the transistor (Figure 3).

Figure 3: Typical I B- I C curve (transfer characteristic) of a npn transistor.

Slope of this plot gives the Gain of the transistor.

The Output Characteristics of a transistor is determined by plotting V CE versus I C, the collector-

emitter voltage versus the collector current. The plots are nearly constant for different values of
base current once the V CE crosses a knee voltage of about 1 V. This shows that the Gain of the
transistor remains constant over this entire parameter space. The transistor moves between the
cut-off region when it is fully OFF to the saturation region when it is fully ON as the base current I B
is increased from a very low value to high value. Due to the limitations of the collector supply
voltage V CC and RC , this high value of I C drives V CE to a very small value. The active region of the
transistor is between the OFF and ON states.

Figure 4: Plot of V CE versus I C showing the output characteristics of the transistor as a switch.

ENGD1004 EEP Lab 7 2

Procedure & Analysis:

Procedure to determine Transistor Gain:

1. Download the manufacturer’s Datasheet for the transistor BC337.
2. Determine the E B C terminals of the transistor from this datasheet.
3. Connect the circuit as shown in Figure 5 using a bread board and the components provided.
4. Connect an ammeter between V BB and R B to measure the base current I B, and connect
another ammeter between V CC and RC to measure the base current I C.
5. Switch ON the collector supply voltage V CC to 12 volts.
6. Switch ON the base voltage supply V BB to 3 volts and record the base current I B and
collector current I C readings from the ammeters. Note the ammeter readings in Table 1.
Increase the base voltage supply V BB in steps and note the readings again in Table 1.
7. Plot I B (X-axis) versus I C (Y-axis) on Excel. The shape of the plot should look similar to that
given in Figure 3.

Figure 5: Circuit to measure the V-I characteristics of the transistor

Table 1: Values of I B versus I C for different values of base supply voltage V BB

Procedure to determine Transistor Output V-I characteristics and hence the

Output Dynamic Resistance:
1. Connect the circuit as shown in Figure 5 using a bread board and the components provided.
2. Connect an ammeter between V BB and R B to measure the base current I B, and connect
another ammeter between V CC and RC to measure the base current I C.
3. Connect a voltmeter between the Collector and Emitter terminals of the transistor. This will
give us the V CE.
4. Switch ON the base voltage supply V BB to a value which gives a base current I B=20 μA .
5. Change V CC such that V CE is 0.05 volts and record the collector current I C reading from
the ammeter. Note this reading in Table 2 in the appropriate box.
6. Change V CC in steps as given in Table 2 and record I C.
7. Change V BB such that I B=40 μA , 60 μA and repeat steps 5 and 6.
8. Plot V CE (X-axis) versus I C (Y-axis) on Excel. The shape of the plot should look similar to
that given in Figure 6.

Figure 6: Typical V-I characteristics of collector-emitter junction.

ENGD1004 EEP Lab 7 3

 Table 2: Values of V CE versus I C for different values of Base Current I B

Analysis:
∆ IC
1- Plot the I B- I C curve and calculate the Gain of the transistor h fe= . Compare this value
∆IB
with that from the manufacturer’s datasheet.

2- Plot the V CE versus I C curves for different values of base current by varying the supply
voltage to the Base V BB .

∆ V CE
3- Calculate the dynamic output resistance
∆ IC
from the above plot for one specific value
of base current (e.g., 60 μA ).
169.04x - 4.4056 = 60 μA

4- What would the I B-V BE plot (input characteristic) look like.

Once the graph reaches 6V, the voltage will present itself as constant however the current will
increase.
5- What are the main uses of transistors? Mention a few circuits and their applications.
Transistors are used to regulate current, amplify an input signal into a greater output signal and
switch electronic signals. The most widely used applications of transistors would be the transistor
amplifiers we use in our cell phones. Over the years as technology has developed, transistors have
gotten smaller therefore less space is required to fit them into electrical devices. They have a high
voltage gain and do not require a lot of voltage supply to operate. Due to its solid properties they
are usually durable and tend to not overheat.

ENGD1004 EEP Lab 7 4