Bipolar Junction Transistors

Dr. Rajan Pandey

Associate Professor, SENSE
BJT Physics
 Common base configuration
NPN BJT

Electron injection from emitter into base

produces and determines IC
IC is an exponential function of
forward VBE and independent
of reverse VCB.
We will find that out…

VBE and VCB indicate that B is common

Common-Emitter Configuration

For VCE higher than about 0.3 V, the characteristics

are identical to the common base configuration but
with a shift to the right because VCE = VCB + VBE.

Below VCE ≈ 0.3 V, the base–collector junction is

strongly forward biased and IC decreases.

IB, is commonly used as the variable parameter in

lieu of VBE. IC is proportional to IB.

VBE and VCE indicate that E is common

Let us calculate the collector current…

Collector Current

d 2 n n
2
 2
dx LB x = 0 is the edge of the BE junction depletion layer. WB is the width of
the base neutral region.
LB   B DB
τB : base recombination lifetime
DB : base minority carrier (electron) diffusion constant
LB : diffusion length of carriers in the base.
Boundary conditions :
where nB0 = ni2/NB, and NB is the base
doping concentration. VBE is normally
n(0)  nB 0 (e qVBE / kT  1) Forward biased
a forward bias (positive value) and VBC
is a reverse bias (negative value).

n(WB )  nB 0 (e qVBC / kT  1)   nB 0  0 Modern BJTs have base widths of

about 0.1 μm.
Reverse biased
Collector Current dn AE is the area of the BJT,
W  x  I C  AE qDB specifically the emitter area.
sinh  B  dx
 LB 
n( x)  nB 0 (e qVBE / kT  1) DB niB2 qVBE / kT
sinh WB / LB   AE q (e  1)
WB N B
IS is the saturation
I C  I S (e qVBE / kT  1) current (assuming
uniform base
It can be shown doping)
When WB << LB, the excess
minority carrier concentration qni2 qVBE / kT GB is the base
in the base is approximately I C  AE (e  1) Gummel number
a linear function of x. GB
WB
ni2 p When the base
GB   2 dx doping is not
n DB
0 iB
uniform
niB is the intrinsic carrier concentration of the base
n( x)  n(0)(1  x / WB ) material. The subscript, B, is added to ni because the
niB2 qVBE / kT base may be made of a different semiconductor (such as
 (e  1)(1  x / WB ) SiGe alloy, which has a smaller band gap and therefore a
NB larger ni than the emitter and collector material).
 High Level Injection Effect (IC vs. VBE)
• At low-level injection, inverse slope is The decrease in the slope of the
60 mV/decade curve at high IC is called the high-
• High-level injection effect : level injection effect.

At large VBE, n  p  N B
NB is the base doping
n  p  n  p concentration
2 q( E E ) / kT 2
np  ni e Fn Fp  ni e qVBE / kT
 n  p  ni e qVBE / 2 kT
GB  p  ni e qVBE / 2 kT

I C  ni e qVBE / 2 kT
When p > NB , inverse slope is 120mV/decade.
 Base Current
When the base–emitter junction is forward biased, holes are injected from the P-type
base into the N+ emitter. The holes are provided by the base current, IB .

IB supplies holes at a significant A good metal–semiconductor

(b)
rate for recombination in the
base. Recombination is negligible
in the narrow base of a typical
modern BJT.
ohmic contact (at the end of the
emitter) is an excellent source
and sink of carriers.
More carriers are injected
in lighter doped regions.
 Base Current

qni2 qVBE / kT When the emitter doping is uniform

I B  AE (e  1)
GE
WE
ni2 n DE niE2 qVBE / kT
GE   2 dx I B  AE q (e  1)
n DE
0 iE WE N E

GE is the emitter Gummel number.