MODULE3

Bi
pol
arJunct
ionTr
ansi
stor
Fundament
alsofBJTOper
ati
on
Thebipolartransist
orisbasical
lyasimpledev ice,thissect
iondeal swi thsimpleand
l
argelyqualit
ativeview ofBJToper ati
on.Wewi lldealwi t
ht hedetail
soft heset ransi
stor
sin
fol
lowingsections,butfi
rstwemustdef i
nesomet er
msandgai nphysicalunderstandingofhow
carri
ersaretransportedt hr
oughthedevice.Thenwecandi scusshowt hecurrentthroughtwo
ter
mi nalscanbecont rol
ledbysmallchangesinthecurrentatat hi
rdterminal
.

Ext
ernal
cont
roloft
hecur
renti
nar
ever
se-
biasedp-
njunct
ion:

Fi
g.a–Opt i
calgenerat
ion
Fi
g.b-Junct
ionV-
Icharacter
isti
csasaf uncti
onofEHPgenerat
ion
Fig.c–Minor
itycarr
ierinj
ecti
onbyaI magi
narydev
ice

Ther ever sesat urationcur rentt hrought hisdi odedependsont herateatwhi ch

mi norit
ycar ri
ersar egener atedi nt henei ghbor hoodoft hej unct i
on.Ther eversecurrent
duet ohol esbei ngsweptf r
om nt opi sessent i
all
yi ndependentoft hesi zeoft he
j
unct ionel ectri
cf i
eldandhencei si ndependentoft her ev ersebias.Ther easoni st he
holecur rentdependsonhowof tenmi norit
yhol esar egener atedbyEl ectr
onHol ePai r
(EHP)cr eati
onwi t
hinadi f
fusionl engthoft hej unction,notuponhowf astapar ti
cular
holei ssweptacr ossthedepl eti
onl ayerbyt hef ield.Hence, i
tispossibletoincreaset he
reversecur r
entt hrought hedi odebyi ncr easi ngt her ateofEHPgener ati
on( Fig.
b).One
conv enientmet hodf oraccompl ishingt hisisopt i
calexci t
at i
onofEHPswi thlight
.Wi th
steadyphot oexci t
ationt her ever secur rentwi llst i
l
lbeessent iall
yindependentofbi as
voltage,andi ft hedar ksat urati
oncur renti snegl i
gibl
e,t her eversecurrenti sdir
ect l
y
propor t
ional totheopt i
cal gener ationr at egopasshowni nfig.a.

Ifi
tisi
maginedthatr
ever
secur r
entiscontr
oll
edbyext
ernalsour
ceelect
ri
cal
ly
,
wi
tht
heinj
ect
ionofhol
esatthepredet
erminedrat
easshowninfig.
c,t
hentheeff
ecton
thejunct i
oncurrentwi llr
esembl et heeffectsofopt i
calgener ation.Thecurrentfr
om n
topwi lldependont heholeinjectionrateandwi llbeessentiallyindependentofthebias
vol
tage( Ext
ernalv oltage).Therear esev eralobv i
ousadv antagest o such exter
nal
controlofacur rent;forexampl e,thecur r
entt hr
ought herever se-bi
asedjuncti
onwoul d
varyv erylit
tl
eift hel oadr esistorRL (Exter
nalResi stance)wer echanged,sincet he
magni tude oft he j uncti
on v ol
tage isr el
ativ
ely unimpor tant.Ther ef
ore,such an
arr
angementwi l
l actasacont roll
abl econstantcurrentsource.

PNPTr
ansi
stor

Aconv enientholei njecti

ondev iceisaf orward-bi
asedp+- njuncti
on.Thecur rent
i
nsuchaj unctioni sduepr i
mar i
l
yt ohol esi nj
ectedf r
om t hep+r egi
oni ntothen
material
.Ifwemaket hensi deofthef orward-
biasedjunctiont hesameast hensi deof
thereverse-biasedj uncti
on, thep+-n-pst r
uctureofFig.aresults.Withthi
sconfigur
at i
on,
i
njecti
onofhol esf rom thep+- njunctionintothecent ernr egionsuppli
esthemi nor i
ty
carr
ierholest opar ti
cipat
ei nt hereversecurrentthroughthen- pjuncti
on.Ofcourse, i
tis
i
mpor tantt hatthei nj
ectedhol esdonotr ecombi nei nthenr egi
onbef oretheycan
dif
fuset othedepl eti
onlay eroft herev er
sebiasedj uncti
on.Thuswemustmaket hen
regi
onnar rowcompar edwi thahol ediffusi
onlength.

Fi
g.a-Schematicrepresentat
ionofap-n-pdev i
cewit
haf or
ward-
biasedemi t
terj
unct
ionandar ever
se
biasedcol
lect
or
Fig.b-VIcharacteri
sti
csofthereverse-bi
asedn-pj
uncti
onasaf unct
ionofemittercur
rent

Thest r
ucturewehav edescr i
bed i
sa p- n-p bi
polarj unction tr
ansistor.The
for
war d-
biasedjuncti
onwhi chinject
sholesintothecenternr egioniscal l
edtheemi t
ter
j
unction,andther ever
se-biasedj uncti
onwhi chcol
lectstheinjectedhol esiscal l
edthe
col
lectorjunct
ion.Thep+r egi on,whichservesasthesour ceofi njectedholes,iscall
ed
theemi tt
er,andt hepr egi oni ntowhichthehol esar esweptbyt hereverse-bi
ased
j
unctioniscal l
edt hecollector .The,cent
ernr egioni scalledt hebase.Thebi asi
ng
arr
angementi nFig.aiscalledt hecommonbaseconf igurat
ion,sincet hebaseel ectr
ode
Bi
scommont
otheemi
tt
erandcol
l
ect
orci
rcui
ts.

To hav eagoodp- n-pt ransistor,wewoul dpreferthatal mostal lt hehol es

i
njectedbyt heemi tterintot hebasebecol lected.Thusthen- t
ypebaser egionshoul dbe
narrow,andt hehol elifetimeτ Ps houl dbel ong.Thisrequirementi ssummedupby
specifyingWb <Lp,wher eWbi st hel engthoft heneutralnmat eri
aloft hebase
(measur edbet weent hedepl etionr egionsoft heemi tt
erandcol lectorjunct i
ons) , andLp
i
st hedi ff
usionlengt hf orhol esint hebase.Wi ththi
srequir
ementsat isfi
ed, anav erage
holeinjectedatt heemi tterj unctionwi lldi
ffuset othedepletionr egionoft hecol l
ector
j
unct i
onwi t
houtr ecombi nat ionint hebase.Asecondr equirementi st hatt hecur rentIE
crossingt heemit terjunct ionshoul dbecomposedal mostentirelyofhol esi nject edinto
thebase,r athert hanel ect ronscr ossingf rom baset oemi tt
er.Thi sr equi rementi s
sati
sfiedbydopi ngt hebaser egionl ightl
ycompar edwiththeemi t
ter,sot hatt hep+- n
emitterjunctionofFi g.br esul ts.

Summar
yofhol
eandel
ect
ronf
lowi
nap-
n-pt
ransi
stor

1–Inject edhol eslosttorecombinati

oninthebase
2-Hol esr eachingt herev
erse-bi
asedcoll
ectorjunct
ion
3-Ther mal l
ygener atedelectr
onsandholesmaki ngupt herev
ersesat
urat
ioncur
rent
oft
hecol l
ectorj uncti
on
4-Electronssuppl i
edbyt hebasecontactforrecombinati
onwithhol
es
5–El ectronsi njectedacrossthefor
ward-biasedemitt
erjunct
ion
I
tisclearthatcurr
entIEf
lowsintot
heemi t
terofapr oper
lybiasedp-n-
pt r
ansist
or
andthatIcfl
owsoutatt hecoll
ector
,si
ncethedirect
ionofholefl
owi sfrom emit
terto
coll
ect
or.Howev er
,thebasecurr
entIBr
equi
resabi tmorethought.Inagoodt r
ansist
or
thebasecurrentwil
lbeverysmallsi
nceIEi
sessent i
all
yholecur
rent,andthecoll
ected
holecurr
entIci
sal
mostequaltoIETher
emustbesomebasecur
rent
,howev
er,duet
o
requi
rementsofelect
ronflow i
ntothen-
typebaser
egi
on.Wecanaccountf orIB
physi
call
ybythr
eedominantmechani
sms:

(
a)Theremustbesomer ecombi
nati
onofinj
ect
edholeswi
thel
ect
ronsi
nthebase,
evenwit
hWb <Lp.Theel ect
ronslosttorecombi
nat
ionmustberesuppl
i
ed
thr
oughthebasecont
act.

(
b)Someelect
ronswil
lbeinj
ectedfr
om ntopi
nthef
orwar
d-bi
asedemit
terjunct
ion,
eveni
ftheemitt
eri
sheav i
lydopedcompar
edtot
hebase.Theseel
ectr
onsmust
al
sobesuppli
edbyIB.

(
c)Someelectr
onsaresweptintothebaseattherever
se-
biasedcol
l
ectorjunct
ion
duetot her
malgenerati
onint hecoll
ect
or.Thissmallcurr
entreducesIB by
suppl
yi
ngelect
ronst
ot hebase.

Ampl
if
icat
ionwi
thBJT

Undertheseassumpti
ons,thecol
l
ect
orcurrentismadeupent i
rel
yofthosehol
es
i
nject
edatt heemit
terwhicharenotlostt
or ecombinat
ioni
nthebase.Thusi
cis
pr
oporti
onaltot
hehol
ecomponentoft
heemittercur
renti
Ep:
i
c=Bi
Ep

Thepr opor
tionali
tyfactorBissimplythefr
act
ionofinject
edholeswhichmakei tacr
oss
thebaset ot hecollector;B i
scalledtheBaseTr ansportFactor
.Thet ot
alemi tter
currentiEi
smadeupoft heholecomponenti
Ep andtheelect
roncomponentiEn)duet o
electr
onsinjectedfr
om baset oemi t
ter.

TheEmi
tt
erI
nject
ionEf
fi
ciencyi
s

Foraneffi
cientt
ransi
storwewoul dli
keBandγt obev erynearuni
ty;t
hatis,t
heemitt
er
cur
rentshouldbeduemost l
ytoholesandmostoft heinject
edholesshouldevent
ual
ly
part
ici
pat
eint hecoll
ectorcurr
ent(B-l)
.Ther
elati
onbet weenthecoll
ectorandemitt
er
cur
rentsi
s

Thepr oductBγisdef i
nedast hef actora,call
edt hecurr
enttransf
errati
o,which
repr
esentstheemitt
er-
to-col
lectorcur r
entampl i
fi
cat
ion.Ther
eisnor ealampli
fi
cati
on
betweenthesecurr
ents,sinceαi ssmal lert
hanunit
y .Ontheotherhand,therel
ati
on
betweenicandiBi
smor epromi singforampl i
fi
cati
on.
I
naccountingforthebasecur r
ent ,wemusti ncludetherat
esatwhi chelect
ronsarelost
f
rom thebasebyi nj
ectionacrosst heemi t
terjuncti
on(iEn)andt herateofelect
r on
r
ecombination wi
th holes int he base.I n each case,the lostelectr
ons mustbe
r
esuppli
edt hr
oughthebasecur rentiB.I
fthefracti
onofinj
ect edholesmakingitacr
oss
t
he base wi t
houtrecombi nat
ion i s B,then itfoll
ows that( 1 -B)i sthe fr
action
r
ecombininginthebase.Thust hebasecur r
entis

Neglect
ingcol
lect
orsat
urat
ioncur
rent
,ther
elat
ionbet
weent
hecol
l
ect
orandbase
cur
rentsisf
oundtobe

Thefactorβr el
atingthecol l
ectorcur
renttothebasecurrentisthebase-t
o
coll
ect
orcur
rentamplif
icati
onfact
or.Sinceα.i
snearunit
y,i
tiscl
earthatβcanbelar
ge
foragoodtr
ansist
or,
andt hecoll
ectorcurr
enti
slargecomparedwit
hthebasecurr
ent.

Theav er ageexcesshol espendsat i

meT„def inedast hetr
ansi ttimef r
om
emi tt
ert ocol l
ect or.Si ncethebasewi dthWb i smadesmal lcomparedwi thLp,t his
transittimei smuchl essthant heav eragehol elifet
imeτ pinthebase.Ont heot her
hand, anav erageexcessel ect
ronsuppl i
edf r
om t hebasecont actspendsτ psecondsi n
thebasesuppl yingspacechar geneut rali
tyduri
ngt hel i
fetimeofanav erageexcesshol e.
Whi letheav erageel ectronwaitsτ Ps econdsf orrecombi nat
ion,manyi ndivi
dualhol es
canent erandl eav et hebaser egion,eachwi t
hanav eraget r
ansittmeτ
i .I
t npar t
icular,
foreachel ectronent er i
ngfrom thebasecont act,τ p/τt,holescanpassf r
om emi tterto
collectorwhilemai ntainingspacechar geneutrali
ty.Thust herat
ioofcollectorcurr
entt o
basecur r
entissi mpl y

BJTFabr
icat
ion

Step1
Ap- t
ypeSisubst r
ateisoxi di
zed;windowsaredefi
nedusingphotoli
thography
andet chedintheoxide.Usingthephot or
esistandoxi
deasanimpl antmask,adonor
withverysmalldif
fusivi
tyinSi,suchasAsorSb,i si
mplant
edint
ot heopenwi ndowt o
form ahighl
yconductiv
en+l ayer.
 Fi
g.a-n+bur
iedl
ayerf
ormat
ion
Subsequent l
y,thephotoresi
standtheoxidear
er emoved,andali
ght
lydopedn-
ty
peepi t
axi all
ayerisgr own.Duri
ngthishightemperatur
egrowth,t
heimplant
edn+
l
ayerdiffusesonl yslightl
ytowardsthesur f
aceand becomesaconduct iv
eburied
coll
ect
or( subcoll
ector).

St
ep2

Fi
g.b-nepi
taxyf
oll
owedbyLOCOSi
sol
ati
on

Forintegr
atedcircui
tsinvolvi
ngnotj ustdi
screteBJTs,butmanyi nter
connected
tr
ansi
stors,t
hereareissuesi nvolvi
ngelectri
calisol
ationofadjacentBJTsi norderto
ensur
et hatthereisnoel ect r
icalcross-t
alkbetweent hem. Suchi solati
oncanbe
achi
evedbyLOCOSt oformf i
eldorisolat
ionoxidesafteraBchannel st
opimplant.

Anotherisolat
ionschemet hatisparti
cul ar
lywel lsui
tedforhigh-densi
tybipol
ar
ci
rcui
tsi nvolvest heformati
on ofshal l
ow t renchesbyRI E( Reacti
veI on Et
ching),
backfi
l
ledwi thoxideandpolysi
li
con.Inthi
spr ocessani t
ri
delayeri
spat t
ernedandused
asanet chmaskf orananisotr
opicet choft hesi l
icont oformt hetrench.Oxidati
on
i
nsidet hetrenchf or
msani nsulat
inglayer,andt het renchisthenfil
ledwi t
hoxi deby
Low-PressureChemi calVaporDeposit
ion(LPCVD) .

St
ep3
Fi
g.c-base-
emi
tt
erwi
ndowdef
ini
ti
onand(
opt
ional
)masked"
sinker
"impl
ant(
P)i
ntocol
lect
orcont
act
r
egi
on

Then+sub-coll
ectorlay
erguaranteesal owcollectorseri
esr
esistancewheni tis
connectedsubsequentl
yt othecoll
ectorohmi ccontact,somet i
mesthrought heuseof
anopt i
onal
,maskeddeepn+" si
nker"i
mpl antordif
fusi ononlyint
hecol l
ectorcontact
regi
on.Theli
ghtlydopedn- t
ypecoll
ectorregionabovet hen+subcollectorinthepartof
theBJTwher ethebaseandemi t
terareformedensur esahi ghbase-collect
orreverse
breakdownvolt
age.

Apolysi
li
conlayerisdeposit
edbyLPCVD,anddopedheav i
lyp+withBei t
her
duri
ngdeposi
ti
onorsubsequentlybyionimpl
antati
on.Anoxi
delay
erisdeposi
tednext
byLPCVD.Usingphotoli
thogr
aphywi t
hthebase/emitt
ermask,awindow i
setchedin
thepol
ysi
li
con/
oxidest
ackbyRI E.

St
ep4

Fi
g.d-i
ntr
insi
cbasei
mpl
antusi
ngsel
f-
ali
gnedoxi
desi
dewal
lspacer
s

Aheavilydoped" ext
ri
nsic"p+basei sformedbydi ff
usionofBf rom t hedoped
polysi
li
conl
ay erintot
hesubst r
ateinordert oprovi
deal ow-r
esistance,
high- speedbase
ohmi ccont
act .Anoxidel ayeristhendeposi tedbyLPCVD,whi chhast heef fectof
cl
osingupt hebasewi ndow thatwaset chedpr evi
ously,andBi simplant edintot hi
s
window.Thisbasei mplantformsamor elightl
ypdoped" i
ntr
insi
c"baset hroughwhi ch
mostoft hecur r
entf
lowsf rom theemittert othecollect
or.Themor eheav il
ydoped
extr
insi
cbasef ormsacol l
araroundthei ntri
nsicbase,andser v
est oreducet hebase
seri
esresi
stance.

St
ep5

Final
l
y,anotherLPCVD oxi
delay
eri
sdeposi
tedtocl
oseupthebasewindow
f
urt
her
,andt heoxidei
setchedallt
hewaytotheSisubst
rat
ebyRIE,l
eav
ingoxi
de
spacerson thesidewal
ls.Heav i
lyn+ doped (
typi
call
ywit
h As)poly
sil
i
con i
sthen
deposi
tedont hesubstrate,patt
ernedandetchedf or
mingpol
ysi
li
conemit
ter(pol
y
emitt
er)andcol
lect
orcontacts.

Fi
g.e-Sel
fal
ignedf
ormat
ionofn+emi
tt
er,
aswel
lasn+col
lect
orcont
act

Arseni
cfrom thepolysi
l
iconisdiff
usedi nt
othesubstr
atetof or
mthen+emi t
ter
regi
onnest edwi t
hinthebasei nasel f
-al
ignedmanner,aswel lasthen+coll
ector
contact.Sel
fali
gnmentreferstothefactthataseparat
eli
thographystepi
snotr
equir
ed
toformt hen+emitterr
egion.

TheCoupl
ed-
DiodeModel

From t
hesimpli
fi
edPNPt ransi
storshowni nthebelow fi
g.,ΔPE r
epresentsthe
excesshol
econcentr
ati
onattheedgeoft heEmi tt
erdepl
et i
onregion.ΔPC repr
esents
thehol
econcent
rat
ionattheedgeoftheEmitterdepl
eti
onregion.

Theequat
ionf
orΔPEandΔPCcanbewr
it
tenas
WhenEmi
tt
er

Forthesy
mmetri
calt
ransi
stor
,thesev ar
iouscomponent
sar edescri
bedbydef
ini
ng
a=(qADp/
Lp)ct
nh(Wb/Lp)andb=( qADp/Lp)csch(
Wb/Lp),
wehav e

Tot
alEmi
tt
erandCol
l
ect
orcur
rentcanbewr
it
tenas

Wecanseef r
om t
heseequati
onsthatali
nearsuperposit
ionofthenor
malandi nvert
ed
component
sdoesgivet
heresultweder
ivedprevi
ouslyforthesy
mmet r
icalt
ransistor
.

I
tispossibl
etorelat
ethefourcomponent sofcurrentbyfactor
sforasymmet r
ic
t
ransi
stor
sbyconsi
deri
ngrev
er sesat
urat
ioncur
rent
.Forexample,t
heemit
tercur
rent
i
nthenormalmodecanbewri
tten
Where,IES i
sthemagnitudeoftheemitt
ersaturati
oncurr
entinthenor malmode.Si nce
wespeci f
yΔpc=0i nthismode,weimplythatVCB =0.Thusweshal lconsiderI
ES t
obe
the magni t
ude oft he emi
tt
ersaturat
ion currentwit
ht he col
lectorjuncti
on short
cir
cui
ted.Si mi
lar
ly,
thecoll
ect
orcurr
entint
hei nvert
edmodeis

whereIcsi
sthemagnit
udeofthecollect
orsatur
ati
oncurr
entwit
hVEB =0.Asbef
ore,
t
hemi nussi
gnassoci
atedwit
hICIsi
mp l
ymea nsthati
ntheinver
tedmodehol
esa r
e
i
nject
edopposi
tet
othedefi
neddi
rect
ionofIC.

Thecorr
espondi
ngcollect
edcurr
ent
sforeachmodeofoper
ati
oncanbewr
it
tenby
def
ini
nganewαf oreachcase:

eαN andα
wher Iatar
etherat
iosofcol
l
ectedcur
rentt
oinject
edcur
rentineachmode.
Wenoti
cethati
nthei
nver
tedmodetheinj
ect
edcurr
enti
sICIandt
hecoll
ectedcur
renti
s
I.
EI

Thet
otal
cur
rentcanagai
nbeobt
ainedbysuper
posi
ti
onoft
hecomponent
s:

Theserel
ati
onswer eder
ivedbyJ.J.Eber
sandJ.L.Mol
landar
eref
err
edt
oast
he
Ebers-
Mollequat
ions.
Also

Forbot
hSy
mmet
ri
cal
andnonSy
mmet
ri
cal
Transi
stor
.

TheEber
sMol
lequat
ioncanbewr
it
tenas
Equi
val
entci
rcui
tfort
heabov
eequat
ionscanbewr
it
tenas

Tot
alEmi
tt
erandCol
l
ect
orcur
rentcanber
epr
esent
edi
nter
msofsat
urat
ioncur
rentas

Thet erms(1-αN αI)I

CS and(
1-αN αI)IES canbeabbrev
iatedasI
COa ndIEO,r
espect
ivel
y,where
ICOisthemagni
tudeoft hecol
l
ectorsaturati
oncurr
entwiththeemit
terjuncti
onopen(IE=0 )
,and
IEO i
sthemagnitudeoft heemit
tersaturationcur
rentwiththecol
lectoropen.TheEber s-Mol
l
equat i
onst
henbecome

Theequi val
entci
rcui
tisshowni nFi g.a.Int hi
sformt heequat ionsdescribebot hthe
emitt
erandcol l
ectorcurr
entsintermsofasi mplediodecharact eri
sticwit
hacur r
ent
generat
orproporti
onalt
ot heothercurrent.Theresult
ingcoll
ectorchar act
eri
sticsofthe
tr
ansist
orappearasaser iesofreverse-biaseddiodecurves,displacedbyi ncrements
proport
ionaltot
heemi t
tercurr
entFig.c.
Tr
ansi
storSwi
tchi
ng

Inaswi t
chingoper ati
onat ransist
ori susuall
ycontroll
edi ntwoconduct i
on
stat
es,whichcanber efer
redast he"ON"st ateandthe"OFF"st ate.Ideal
ly,aswi
tch
shouldappearasashor tcir
cuitwhenturnedONandanopenci rcuitwhenturnedOFF.It
i
sdesi rabl
et oswi t
cht hedev i
cefrom onest atetotheotherwi t
hnol ostti
mei n
between.Transi
storsdonotf i
tthi
sidealdescript
ionofaswi
tch, buttheycanserv
easa
usefulappr
oximationinpract
icalel
ectr
oniccircui
ts.

Fr
om thebelowfigurethecol l
ectorcurrenticiscontr
oll
edbyt hebasecur r entiB
overmostoft hefami
lyofchar acter
isti
ccurves.IfiBi
ssuchthattheoper ati
ngpoi ntlies
somewher ebetweenthet woendpoi ntsoftheloadl i
ne(fi
gb),t
hetransistoroperat esin
thenormalactiv
emode.Thati s, t
heemi tt
erjunctionisfor
wardbiasedandt hecollector
i
sr ev
ersebiased,wi
thar easonablev al
ueofiBflowingoutofthebase.

I
fthebasecur r
entiszeroornegative,thepointCi sreachedatt hebott
om endof
thel oadl i
ne,andt hecollectorcurr
entisnegl i
gible.Thisist he" OFF"stateofthe
transist
or,andthedev i
ceissaidtobeoper ati
ngint hecutoffregion.Ift
hebasecurr
ent
i
sposi t
iveandsuffi
cient
lylar
ge,thedevicei sdri
vent othesaturationregi
me,markedS.
Thisist he"ON"stat
eoft hetransi
stor
,inwhi chal argevalueofi cflowswithonl
yavery
smal lvolt
agedropVCE.

Inatypi
calswit
chingoper
ati
onthebasecurr
entswi
ngsf r
om positi
vetonegat
ive,
ther
ebydri
vingthedevicefr
om sat
urat
iontocutoff
,andvi
cev ersa.Inthi
ssecti
onwe
shal
lexpl
orethenatur
eofconducti
oninthecut
offandsat
urat
ionr egi
ons.
Thevar
iousregionsofoperat
ionofaBJTareil
l
ustrat
edin(
Fig.c)
.Ift
heemi
tt
er
j
unct
ionisforwardbiasedandthecol
l
ectorr
eversebi
ased,

Fi
g.a-Bi
asi
ngci
rcui
toftr
ansist
orswi
tchi
ngcircui
tint
hecommon- emi
tterconf
igurat
ion
Fi
g.b-col
lect
orchar
act
eri
sti
csandloadli
nef
orthecircui
t,wi
thcut
offandsat
urati
onindicat
ed
Fi
g.c–operat
ingregi
onsofBJT

Cut
offRegi
on

I
ftheemit
terj
unct
ionisr
eversebi
asedinthecutof
fregi
me(negat
iv B)
ei,wecan
appr
oxi
matetheexcesshol
econcentr
ati
onsattheedgesoftherev
ersebi
asedemi
tt
er
andcol
l
ect
orj
unct
ionsas

Which implies p(xn) = 0.The excess hole di str

ibuti
on inthe base is
approxi
mat el
yconst antat- Pn,withsomeslopetothedi st
ribut
ionateachedget o
accountforther ev
ersesat urat
ioncurr
entinthej
unct
ions.Thebasecur renti
Bcanbe
approxi
mat edforasy mmet ri
caltr
ansi
storonachar
gestoragebasi sas–qAPnWb/τp.

I
nt hi
s cal cul
ati
on a negativ
e excess hole concentrati
on cor r
esponds to
generat
ion i
nt he same way t hata posit
ive di
str
ibuti
on indicat
es recombi nat
ion.
Physi
cally
,asmal lsatur
ati
oncurrentfl
owsfrom ntopi neachr everse-
biasedjunct
ion,
andthiscurr
entissuppli
edbythebasecurrenti
B.

I
ftheshort
-ci
rcui
tsaturat
ioncurr
entsI
ES andI
csar
esmallandαN andα 1, ar
e
bothnearunity
,thesecur r
entswillbenegli
gibl
eandthecut
offregi
mewi llclosel
y
approxi
matethe"OFF"condi
tionofanideal
swit
ch.
Sat
urat
ionRegi
on

Thesaturationregi
onbeginswhent hereversebiasacr
ossthecol
lect
orj unct
ion
i
sr educedtozer o,andi tconti
nuesast hecollectorbecomesforwar
dbi ased.The
devi
cei ssat
uratedwhenΔpc=0,andf orwardbiasoft hecoll
ect
orj
uncti
onl eadstoa
posit
iveΔPc,dri
vingt hedevi
cefurt
heri
ntosaturati
on.
Fi
g.a–Excesshol
edi
str
ibuti
oninthebaseregi
onwithemit
terandcoll
ectorjuncti
onsr
ever
sebi
ased
Fig.
b–Equival
entci
rcui
tcorr
espondi
ngtocurrenti
E,i
B,i
C(cutoffregi
on)

Fi
g.a-Excessholedist
ributi
onint
hebaseofasatur
atedtransi
storatthebegi
nningofsat
urat
ion;
Fi
g.b-Excessholedistri
buti
oni
nthebaseofasatur
atedtransi
storaft
ersat
urati
on

Si
nceacer
tai
namountofst
oredchar
gei
srequir
edtoaccommodateagi
veniB
(andvicever
sa)
,anincr
easei
niBc al
l
sforani
ncreaseintheareaundert
heδp(
xn)
dist
ri
buti
on.

InFig.at
hedevicehasjustreachedsat
urat
ion,andthecollect
orjuncti
oni sno
l
ongerreversebi
ased.Sincetheemitterj
unct
ionisforwardbiasedandt hecol l
ector
j
uncti
onhaszerobias,veryl
it
tl
evolt
agedropappearsacrossthedev i
cefrom coll
ector
t
o emitter
.Themagni tudeof-VCE i
sv erysmall
.Ast hedeviceisdriv
en deeperinto
sat
urati
on(Fig.b),t
hecollect
orcurr
entstaysessenti
all
yconstantwhi
let
hebasecur
rent
i
ncreases.I
nt hi
ssat
urat
ioncondi
ti
ont het
ransi
storapproxi
mat
est he"
ON"stat
eofani
deal
swi
tch.

Wher
east
hedegr
eeof"
over
sat
urat
ion"(
indi
cat
edbyt
heshadedar
eai
nFi
g.b)
doesnotaff
ectthevalueoficsigni
fi
cant
ly,i
tisi
mport
anti
ndet
ermi
ningt
het
ime
requi
redt
oswit
chthedevi
cef
rom onestat
etotheot
her
.

Swi
tchi
ngCy
cle

Thevar
iousmechani smsofaswitchingcycleareill
ustrat
edint
hebelowFig.I
f
thedevi
ceisoriginal
lyi
nt hecut
offcondit
ion,ast epincreaseofbasecurrentt
oIB
causest
hehol
edi stri
but
iontoi
ncr
easeapproximatel
yasi l
lustr
atedi
nFi
g.b.
 Fig.
a-Switchi
ngeffect
sinacommonemi ttert
ransi
storci
rcui
tdiagram
Fig.
b-Approximat
ehol edi
str
ibut
ionsi
nthebaseduri
ngswi t
chingfrom cut
offtosatur
ati
on
Fi
g.c-basecurr
ent
,storedchar
ge,andcol
lect
orcur
rentduri
ngat ur
n-onandat urn-
offtr
ansi
ent

Attimet st
hedev iceenter
ssat urat
ion,andt heholedistr
ibuti
onreachesitsfinal
stat
eatt 2.Ast hes t
oredc har
g einth eba seQb increases,t
hereisa nincr
ea seinthe
coll
ectorcurrentic.Thecol l
ectorcur r
entdoesnoti ncreasebey onditsvalueatt he
beginni
ngofsat ur
ationts,however.Wecanappr oxi
mat ethissatur
atedcoll
ectorcurr
ent
asIc=ECC/ RL,whereEcci sthev al
ueoft hecol l
ectorcir
cuitbatt
eryandRList heload
resi
storFi
g.a.

Ref er
ri
ngt oFig.
c,thereisanessential
l
yexponentiali
ncreaseinthecol lect
or
curr
entwhi l
eQbrisestoitsval
ueQsatts;thi
sri
set i
meservesasoneoft helimitati
ons
ofthetransi
stori
naswi tchi
ngappli
cat
ion.Simil
arl
y,whenthebasecurrentisswitched
negati
ve,thestor
edchargemustbewi t
hdrawnfrom thebasebeforecut
offisreached.

WhileQb i
slargerthanQs,thecol l
ectorcurr
entr emainsatt heval
ueIc,f
ixedby
thebatteryandresi
stor.Thusthereisast oragedelayt i
met sd af
tert
hebasecurrenti
s
switchedandbef oreicbeginstof allt
owar dzero.Afterthest oredchar
geisreduced
below Qs,icdr opsexponential
lywi ththechar acteri
sti
cf alltime.Oncethest or
ed
chargei swithdr
awn,t hebasecur rentcannotbemai nt
ainedanyl ongeratit
sl ar
ge
negativeval
ueandmustdecayt othesmal lcutof
fvalue.

Speci
fi
cat
ionsf
orSwi
tchi
ngTr
ansi
stor
s

Thechar gi
ngt imeoft heemi tterjuncti
oncapaci t
anceneedst obeconsi dered,
goingf rom cutofftosaturati
on.Sincet heemi tt
erjunct ionisr ev
ersebiasedincut off
,it
i
snecessar yf ort heemi tt
erspacechar gelayert obechar gedt othef orward-bi
as
condi t
ionbeforecol l
ectorcurr
entcanf l
ow.Ther efore, weshoul dincl
udeadel aytimet d
asi nt hebelow Fi g.
a,toaccountf ort hi
sef fect.Ty picalv al
uesoft daregiveni nthe
speci f
icati
oninformationofmostswi t
chingt r
ansistor s,al
ongwi thar i
seti
met r,defi
ned
ast het i
mer equiredforthecollect
orcur renttor i
sef rom 10t o90%ofi t
sfinalvalue.A
thi
rdspeci fi
cati
oni sthef al
lti
met frequiredforictof allthroughasi mil
arfr
act i
onofi t
s
tur
n- offexcursi
on.
 Fi
g.a-Col
lect
orcur
rentduri
ngswit
chingt
ransients,
incl
udingthedel
ayti
merequi
redf
orchar
gingt
he
j
uncti
oncapaci
tance;
definit
ionsoftheri
setimeandfal
lti
me

TheOt
herI
mpor
tantEf
fect
s

Thissect i
ondeal swi tht heef fectsofnonuni f
or m dopingi nthebaser egionof
the tr ansistor.In par t
icular,we shal lfind t hatgr aded dopi ng can l ead to a dr ift
componentofchar get ranspor tacrosst hebase, addi
ngt othediffusi
onofcar ri
ersf r
om
emi t
tert ocollector.Weshal ldiscusst heef fectsofl arger ever
sebi asont hecol l
ector
j
unct ion, i
nt ermsofwi deningt hespacechar ger egi
onaboutt hejunctionandav al
anche
mul t
ipl i
cation.Weshal lseet hatt r
ansi storpar ameter sar eaffectedathi ghcur r
ent
l
ev elsbyt hedegr eeofi njectionandbyheat i
ngef fect s.Weshal lconsidersev eral
structur aleffectst hatar eimpor t
anti npr acticaldev ices,suchasasy mmet r
yi nt he
areasoft heemi t
terandcol l
ect orj
unct i
ons, seriesresistancebetweent hebasecont act
andt heact i
vepar toft hebaser egion,andnonuni for mi t
yofinjectionatt heemi tt
er
j
unct ion.Al ltheseef f
ectsar ei mportanti nunder st
andi ngt heoperationoft ransistors,
andpr operconsi derati
onoft heirinteractionscancont ri
butegreatlytot heusef ulness
ofpr act i
cal t
ransistorcircuit
s.

Dr
if
tint
heBaseRegi
on

Asshowni nthebel ow f
igur e,thereisaf airl
yshar pdisconti
nuityint hedoping
profi
le,whent hedonorconcent rationi nthebaser egionbecomessmal l
ert hanthe
constantp-ty
pebackgr ounddopi ngi nt hecoll
ect or.Simil
arly
,theemi t
terisassumedt o
beaheav i
lydoped( p+)shallow regi on,providingasecondr at
hershar pboundar yfor
thebase.Wi t
hinthebaser egionitsel f
,howev er,thenetdopi ngconcent rat
ion( Nd-Na=
N)v ari
esalongapr ofi
lewhi chdecr easesfrom t heemi t
teredget othecol lect
oredge.
howev er,
wecancl earl
yseet heef fectofani mpur i
tygradientbyassumi ngf orsimpli
cit
y
thatN(xn)vari
esexponentiall
ywithint hebaser egion(Fig.
b)
 Fi
g.a-Typi
caldopi
ngpr of
il
eonasemi l
ogplot
Fi
g.b-Appr
oxi
mat
eexponenti
aldi
str
ibut
ionofthenetdonorconcent
rat
ioni
nthebaser
egi
onona
l
inearpl
ot

Oneimportantr
esultofagradedbaser egi
oni sthatabui l
t-
inel
ectri
cfieldexists
from emit
tertocoll
ect
or(forap-n-p)
,ther
ebyaddingadr iftcomponentt ot hetransport
ofholesacrossthebase.Wecandemonst r
atethi
sef f
ectv erysimplybyconsi deri
ngt he
requi
redbalanceofdri
ftanddif
fusioninthebaseatequi l
ibri
um.I fthenetdonordopi ng
ofthebasei slargeenoughtoallow t
heusualapproxi
mationn( xn)=N(xn)
,thebalanceof
el
ect
rondr
if
tanddi
ff
usi
oncur
rent
satequi
l
ibr
ium r
equi
res

Ther
efor
e,t
hebui
l
t-i
nel
ect
ri
cfi
eldi
s

Foradopi ngprof
il
eN( xn)thatdecr easesintheposit
ivexn-
dir
ecti
on,thisf i
eldisposi
ti
ve,
di
rectedf r
om emit
tert
ocol l
ector.Fortheexampleofanexponent
ialdopi
ngpr ofi
le,
theel
ect
ric
fi
eldε (
xn)tur
nsouttobeconst antwithposi
ti
oninthebase.Wecanr epresentanexponenti
al
di
stri
butionas

Taki
ngt hederi
vat
iveoft
hisdi
str
ibut
ionandsubst
it
uti
ngi
nEquat
ionofel
ect
ri
cfi
eld,
weobt
ain
theconstantf
iel
d
 Sincethi
sfiel
daidsthetransportofhol
esacrossthebaseregionfr
om emi
tt
erto
coll
ector,thetransi
tt i
meT,i sr educedbelow thatofacompar abl
eunif
orm base
tr
ansistor.Si
mil
arly,
elect
rontr
ansportinann-p-ni
saidedbythebuil
t-i
nfi
eldi
nthebase.

BaseNar
rowi
ng

Ifthebaser egionislight
lydoped,t hedeplet
ionregi
onatt her ev
erse-
biased
coll
ect
orjuncti
oncanext endsigni
ficantl
yintothen-t
ypebaseregion.Asthecollect
or
volt
ageisincr
eased,t
hespacechar gel ayert
akesupmor eofthemet al
l
urgi
calwidthof
thebaseLb,andasar esul
t,t
heeffecti
vebasewi dt
hWbi sdecr
eased.

Fi
g.a-decr
easei
ntheef
fect
ivebasewi
dthast
her
ever
sebi
asont
hecol
lect
orj
unct
ioni
sincr
eased
Fi
g.b-decr
easei
ntheef
fect
ivebasewi
dthast
her
ever
sebi
asont
hecol
lect
orj
unct
ioni
sincr
eased

ThedecreaseinWb causesβt oincrease.Asar esult

,thecollectorcur r
entIc
i
ncreaseswi thcoll
ect
orv ol
tager at
herthanst ayi
ngconstantaspr edi ct
edf rom the
simpl
et reat
ment.TheslopeintroducedbytheEar l
yef
fectisalmostlinearwi t
hI c,and
thecommon- emitt
ercharact
eristi
csextr
apol
atet oani
ntersecti
onwit
ht hev ol
tageaxis
atVA,call
edtheEarl
yvolt
age.

Fort
hep+-n-
p+devi
ceofFi
g.awecanapproxi
mat
ethel
engt
hLoft
hecol
l
ect
or
j
unct
iondepl
eti
onregi
oni
nthenmater
ial
isgi
venby

Ift
herev
ersebi
asonthecol
lect
orjunct
ioni
sincr
easedfarenough,i
tispossi
ble
t
odecr
easeWbtotheext
entt
hatt
hecollect
ordepl
eti
onregi
onessenti
all
yfi
l
lstheent
ire
base.Inthispunch- t
hroughconditi
onholesaresweptdir
ectl
yfr
om theemitt
erregi
ont o
thecollector,andtransist
oracti
onislost.Punch-
thr
oughisabreakdownef f
ectthatis
generall
yav oidedincircui
tdesi
gn.Inmostcases,however,
aval
anchebreakdownoft he
coll
ectorjunctionoccursbeforepunch-
throughisr
eached.

Av
alancheBr
eakdown

Fi
g.ai ndicates,t he coll
ector currentincreases sharply ata wel
l-
defi
ned
breakdownv oltageBVCBO forthecommon- baseconf i
gurat
ion.Forthecommon-emi
tter
case,however ,thereisast ronginfluenceofcar ri
ermul t
ipl
icat
ionoverafai
rl
ybroad
rangeofcollectorvoltage.Furt
hermor e,t
hebr eakdownv ol
tageinthecommon-emitter
caseBVCEO i
ssi gnif
icantl
ysmal l
erthanBVCBO.

Wecanunder standtheseeff
ectsbyconsider
ingbreakdownf orthecondi
ti
onIE=
0i nt he common-base case and forIB =0i nthe common- emi t
tercase.These
conditi
onsareimpliedbyt heOi nthesubscri
ptsofBVCEO andBVCBO.Ineachcasethe
terminalcur
rentICi
sthecur r
entent
eringthecoll
ect
ordepleti
onregi
onmul ti
pli
edbythe
factorM.Incl
uding,
mul ti
pli
cat
ionduetoimpactioni
zati
on

Fort he l i
mit
ing common- base case ofIE =0 ,I
C i
s simplyMI co,and the
breakdownv oltageiswelldefi
ned,asinani sol
atedj
uncti
on.Thet er
m BVCBO signi
fi
es
thecollectorjuncti
onbreakdownv olt
ageincommon- basewiththeemi t
teropen.Inthe
common- emi t
tercasethesituat
ionissomewhatmor ecomplicated.Sett
ingIB =0,and
theref
ore, I
C =IE

Inthiscase,col
lect
orcurr
entincreasesi ndef
ini
tel
y,whenMαN approachesuni t
y.By
contr
ast,M mustapproachinf
ini
tyint hecommonbasecasebef oreBVCB0 i
sr eached.
SinceαN i
sclosetounit
yinmostt ransist
ors,M needbeonl
ysl
ightl
ylargerthanuni t
y.
Sincea,vi scl osetounit
yi nmosttransistor
s,M needbeonl ysli
ghtl
ylargerthanuni t
yt o
approachbr eakdown.Aval
anchemulti
pli
cationthusdominat
esthecurr
entinacommonemi t
ter
tr
ansistorwel lbel
ow thebreakdownvolt
ageoft heisol
atedcoll
ect
orjunct
ion.Thesust ai
ning
volt
agef oravalanchi
nginthecommon-emi tt
ercaseBVCEOi
sther
efor
esmal l
erthanBVCBO.

Whenani oni
zi
ngcol l
i
sionoccursinthecol
l
ect
orjuncti
ondepl
eti
onr
egion,asecondary
hol
eandel ectr
onar ecreated.Theprimar
yandsecondar yhol
esareswepti nt
ot he
col
lect
orinap- n-
p,butt heelectr
onisswepti nt
ot hebasebyt hejuncti
onfiel
d.
Theref
ore,t
hesupplyofelectr
onstothebasei
sincreased,
andfr
om ourchargecontr
ol
analysisweconcl udethathol einjectionattheemi tt
ermustincreaset omai nt
ainspace
chargeneut rali
ty.Thisisar egener ati
vepr ocess,inwhichani ncreasedi nj
ecti
onof
holesf rom theemi t
tercausesani ncreased multi
pli
cati
oncur rentatt hecollect
or
j
unct i
on;thisinturnincreasest herat eatwhi chsecondaryelect
ronsar eswepti ntothe
base,cal l
i
ngf ormor ehol einjecti
on.Becauseoft hisregenerat
iveef fect,iti
seasyt o
understandwhyt hemul ti
pli
cat i
onf actorM needbeonl yslight
lygreat erthanunityto
starttheavalanchingprocess.

Fig.a-Avalanchebreakdowni
ncommon-baseconfi
gurati
on
Fig.b-Avalanchebreakdownincommon-
emit
terconf
igurat
ion