PN Junctions and Bipolar Junction Transistors

Jieh-Tsorng Wu
September 6, 2002
A
1896
E S
National Chiao-Tung University
Department of Electronics Engineering
PN Junctions
Built-in potential =
0
= U
T
ln
N
A
N
D
n
2
i
U
T
=
kT
q
26 mV at 300

K
n
i
1.5 10
10
cm
3
at 300

K for Si
Solving Poissons equation,
W
1
=

_
_
2(
0
+ V
R
)
qN
A
_
1 +
N
A
N
D
_
_
_
_
1/2
W
2
=

_
_
2(
0
+ V
R
)
qN
D
_
1 +
N
D
N
A
_
_
_
_
1/2
BJT 2-2 Analog ICs; Jieh-Tsorng Wu
Small-Signal Junction Capacitance
Depletion layer charge is Q
j
= qN
A
W
1
A = qN
D
W
2
A, where A is the cross-sectional area.
Depletion-region capacitance
C
j
=
dQ
j
dV
R
= A
_
q
2
0
N
A
N
D
N
A
+ N
D
_
1/2

1
_
1 +
V
R

0
=
C
j 0
_
1 +
V
R

0
BJT 2-3 Analog ICs; Jieh-Tsorng Wu
Small-Signal Junction Capacitance
C
j
can be expressed as
C
j
= A

x
d
x
d
= W
1
+ W
2
In general
C
j
=
C
j 0
_
1 +
V
R

0
_
m
1
3
m
1
2
m = 1/2 for abrupt junction.
m = 1/3 for graded junction.
In forward bias, diusion capacitance dominates.
BJT 2-4 Analog ICs; Jieh-Tsorng Wu
Large-Signal Junction Capacitance
Depletion layer charge can be rewritten as
Q
j
=
C
j 0
1 m

0

_
1 +
V
R

0
_
1m
Average capacitance is dened as
C
j av
=
Q
j
(V
2
) Q
j
(V
1
)
V
2
V
1
For an abrupt junction, m = 0.5,
C
j av
= 2C
j 0

_
1 +
V
2

0

_
1 +
V
1

0
V
2
V
1
If V
1
= 0 V, V
2
= 5 V, and
0
= 0.9 V
C
j av
= 0.56 C
j 0

1
2
C
j 0
BJT 2-5 Analog ICs; Jieh-Tsorng Wu
PN Junction in Forward Bias
V
D
I
D
r
d C
T
Small-Signal Model
I
D
= I
S
(e
V
D
/U
T
1) I
S
e
V
D
/U
T
I
S
A
_
1
N
A
+
1
N
D
_
1
r
d
=
dI
D
dV
D
=
I
D
U
T
C
T
= C
d
+ C
j
C
d
=
T

I
D
U
T
=

T
r
d

T
= Transit Time
For moderate forward-bias currents, C
d
C
j
, r
d
C
T

T
.
For Schottky diode, C
d
= 0.
BJT 2-6 Analog ICs; Jieh-Tsorng Wu
PN Junction Avalanche Breakdown
The maximum electric eld in the depletion region of an abrupt junction is
|E
max
| =
qN
A
W
1

=
_
2qN
A
N
D
(
0
+ V
R
)
(N
A
+ N
D
)
_
1/2
|E
max
| increases with both V
R
and doping density.
As |E
max
| E
cri t
, carriers crossing the depletion region acquire enough energy
to create new electron-hole pairs when colliding with silicon atoms. The result is
avalanche breakdown.
I
RA
= MI
R
M =
1
1
_
V
R
BV
_
n
BV is the breakdown voltage. And typically 3 n 6
E
cri t
is a function of doping density, which can vary from 3 10
5
V/cm to 10
6
V/cm as
N
A
(or N
D
) varying from 10
15
atoms/cm
3
to 10
18
atoms/cm
3
.
BJT 2-7 Analog ICs; Jieh-Tsorng Wu
PN Junction Breakdown
Zener Breakdown
In very heavily doped junctions where the electric eld becomes large enough to strip
electrons always from the valence bonds. This process is called tunneling.
The Zener breakdown mechanism is important only for breakdown voltages below
about 6 V.
Punch Through
A form of breakdown that occurs when the depletion regions of two neighboring
junctions meet.
BJT 2-8 Analog ICs; Jieh-Tsorng Wu
Bipolar Junction Transistor (BJT)
BJT 2-9 Analog ICs; Jieh-Tsorng Wu
Minority Carrier Current in the Base Region
There is a negligible ow of holes between emitter and collector junctions because
neither can supply a signicant ow of holes into the base. Thus, in the neutral base
region,
J
p
= q
p
p
b
(x)E(x) qD
p
dp
b
dx
= 0 E(x) =
D
p

p
1
p
b
dp
b
dx
=
kT
q
1
p
b
dp
b
dx
Note that for uniformly doped region dp
b
/dx = 0 E(x) = 0
For electrons in the base,
J
n
= q
n
n
b
(x)E(x) + qD
n
dn
b
dx
= kT
n
n
b
p
b
dp
b
dx
+ qD
n
dn
b
dx
=
qD
n
p
b
_
n
b
dp
b
dx
+ p
b
dn
b
dx
_
=
qD
n
p
b
_
d(n
b
p
b
)
dx
_
BJT 2-10 Analog ICs; Jieh-Tsorng Wu
Minority Carrier Current in the Base Region
Assuming negligible recombination in the base, so that J
n
is constant,
J
n
_
W
B
0
p
b
(x)
qD
n
dx =
_
W
B
0
d(n
b
p
b
)
dx
dx = n
b
(0)p
b
(0) n
b
(W
B
)p
b
(W
B
)
From the Boltzman approximation at the edges of the depletion layers,
n
b
(0)p
b
(0) = n
2
i
e
V
BE
/U
T
n
b
(W
B
)p
b
(W
B
) = n
2
i
e
V
BC
/U
T
Thus
J
n
=
qn
2
i
_
W
B
0
p
b
D
n
dx
_
e
V
BE
/U
T
e
V
BC
/U
T
_
= J
S
_
e
V
BE
/U
T
e
V
BC
/U
T
_
where
J
S

qn
2
i
_
W
B
0
p
b
D
n
dx
BJT 2-11 Analog ICs; Jieh-Tsorng Wu
Gummel Number (G)
D
n
is a weak function of x. Then, J
S
can be expressed as
J
S
=
qn
2
i
_
W
B
0
p
b
D
n
dx
=
qn
2
i
D
n
G
where
G
_
W
B
0
p
b
(x)dx
_
W
B
0
N
A
(x)dx
The Gummel number, G, is simply the dopant concentration per unit cross-sectional
area of the base.
For a uniform base region, N
A
(x) = N
A
, then G = W
B
N
A
.
BJT 2-12 Analog ICs; Jieh-Tsorng Wu
Base Transport Current
The total minority carrier transport current across the base is
I
T
= J
N
A = I
S
_
e
V
BE
/U
T
e
V
BC
/U
T
_
where I
S
= J
S
A =
qn
2
i
D
n
G
A
The transport current can be separated into forward and reverse components as
I
T
= I
S
_
e
V
BE
/U
T
1
_
I
S
_
e
V
BC
/U
T
1
_
= I
CF
+ I
ER
If V
BE
> 0 and V
BC
< 0, the device is biased in the forward-active region,
I
T
= I
S
e
V
BE
/U
T
If V
BE
< 0 and V
BC
> 0, the device is biased in the inverse-active region,
I
T
= I
S
e
V
BC
/U
T
If V
BE
> 0 and V
BC
> 0, the device is biased in the saturation region.
BJT 2-13 Analog ICs; Jieh-Tsorng Wu
Base Current
In the forward-active region
I
B
= I
BB
+ I
BE
I
BB
is due to the recombination of holes and electrons in the base.
I
BE
is due to the injection of holes from the base into the emitter.
Dene Q
e
as the minority carrier charge in the base region
Q
e
= qA
_
W
B
0
n
b
(x)dx or Q
e
=
1
2
qAW
B
n
b
(0) =
1
2
qAW
B
n
2
i
N
A
e
V
BE
/U
T
I
BB
is related to Q
e
by the lifetime of minority carriers in the base,
b
I
BB
=
Q
e

b
=
1
2
qAW
B

b
n
2
i
N
A
e
V
BE
/U
T
BJT 2-14 Analog ICs; Jieh-Tsorng Wu
Base Current
I
BE
depends on the gradient of minority carriers (holes) in the emitter.
For a long-base emitter (all minority carriers recombine in the quasi-neutral region)
with a diusion length L
p
I
BE
=
qAD
p
L
p
p
eo
e
V
BE
/U
T
=
qAD
p
L
p
n
2
i
N
D
e
V
BE
/U
T
N
D
= Emitter Doner Density
For a short-base emitter (all recombination at the contact) with emitter width W
E
, W
E
simply replaces L
p
in the expression for I
BE
.
The total base current in the forward-active region is
I
B
=

1
2
qAW
B

B
n
2
i
N
A
+
qAD
p
L
p
n
2
i
N
D
_
e
V
BE
/U
T
In modern narrow-base transistors I
BE
I
BB
.
BJT 2-15 Analog ICs; Jieh-Tsorng Wu
Forward Current Gain
In the forward-active region, the forward current gain is

F

I
C
I
B
=
1
W
2
B
2
b
D
n
+
D
p
D
n
W
B
L
P
N
A
N
D
The emitter current is
I
E
= (I
C
+ I
B
) =
_
I
C
+
I
C

F
_
=
I
C

F
where

F

I
C
I
E
=

F

F
+ 1
=
1
1 +
1

F
=
1
1 +
W
2
B
2
b
D
n
+
D
p
D
n
W
B
L
P
N
A
N
D

T

T
=
1
1 +
W
2
B
2
B
D
n
=
1
1 +
D
p
D
n
W
B
L
P
N
A
N
D

T
is called the base transport factor, and is called the emitter injection eciency.
BJT 2-16 Analog ICs; Jieh-Tsorng Wu
BJT DC Large-Signal Model in Forward-Active Region
V V
BE(on) BE
I
E
C
E
I
B
I I
C
B
E
C
B
I
I
E
B C
I
B
=
I
S

F
e
V
BE
/U
T
I
C
=
F
I
B
The voltage on the emitter junction can be approximated by a constant V
BE(on)
.
V
BE(on)
is usually 0.6 V to 0.8 V, and has a temperature coecient of 2 mV/

C.
BJT 2-17 Analog ICs; Jieh-Tsorng Wu
Dependence of
F
on Operating Condition
At high currents, due to high-level injection
I
C
I
S
e
V
BE
/(2U
T
)
At low currents, due to recombination in the B-E depletion region
I
B
I
S
e
V
BE
/(2U
T
)
BJT 2-18 Analog ICs; Jieh-Tsorng Wu
Collector Voltage Eects
In the forward-active region, an increase V
CE
in V
CE
results in an increase in the
collector depletion layer width, thereby reducing W
B
by W
B
, and increasing I
C
.
I
C
= I
S
e
V
BE
/U
T
= A
qn
2
i
D
n
G
e
V
BE
/U
T
G = Gummel number
I
C
V
CE
= A
qn
2
i
D
n
G
2
e
V
BE
/U
T

dG
dV
CE
=
I
C
G

dG
dV
CE
BJT 2-19 Analog ICs; Jieh-Tsorng Wu
Collector Voltage Eects
For a uniform-base transistor
G = W
B
N
A
and
I
C
V
CE
=
I
C
W
B

dW
B
dV
CE
dW
B
/dV
CE
is typically a weak function of V
CE
for a reverse biased collector junction
and is often assumed to be constant.
The Early voltage, V
A
, is given by
V
A
=
I
C
I
C
/V
CE
= W
B
1
dW
B
/dV
CE
The inuence of changes in V
CE
on I
C
can thus be represented as
I
C
= I
S
e
V
BE
/U
T
_
1 +
V
CE
V
A
_
Typical values of V
A
are 15100 V.
BJT 2-20 Analog ICs; Jieh-Tsorng Wu
Base Transport Model
B
E
C
I
T
I
C
I
E
I
S
/
R
I
S
/
F
I
T
= I
S
_
e
V
BE
/U
T
e
V
BC
/U
T
_
I
C
= I
T

I
S

R
_
e
V
BC
/U
T
1
_
I
E
= I
T

I
S

F
_
e
V
BE
/U
T
1
_
I
B
=
I
S

F
_
e
V
BE
/U
T
1
_
+
I
S

R
_
e
V
BC
/U
T
1
_
BJT 2-21 Analog ICs; Jieh-Tsorng Wu
Ebers-Moll Model
Recalling
I
T
= I
S
_
e
V
BE
/U
T
e
V
BC
/U
T
_
I
C
= I
T

I
S

R
_
e
V
BC
/U
T
1
_
I
E
= I
T

I
S

F
_
e
V
BE
/U
T
1
_
SPICE uses the base transport model with the equations rewritten as:
I
C
= I
S
_
e
V
BE
/U
T
1
_
I
S
_
1 +
1

R
_
_
e
V
BC
/U
T
1
_
= I
S
_
e
V
BE
/U
T
1
_

I
S

R
_
e
V
BC
/U
T
1
_
I
E
= I
S
_
1 +
1

F
_
_
e
V
BE
/U
T
1
_
I
S
_
e
V
BC
/U
T
1
_
=
I
S

F
_
e
V
BE
/U
T
1
_
I
S
_
e
V
BC
/U
T
1
_
Note that, in the classical Ebers-Moll model, parameters I
ES
and I
CS
are dened such
that

F
I
ES
=
R
I
CS
= I
S
BJT 2-22 Analog ICs; Jieh-Tsorng Wu
Leakage Current
In the forward-active region, e
V
BE
/U
T
1 and e
V
BC
/U
T
1, then
I
C
I
S
e
V
BE
/U
T
+
I
S

R
I
E

I
S

F
e
V
BE
/U
T
I
S
thus
I
S
e
V
BE
/U
T
=
F
I
E

F
I
S
and
I
C
=
F
I
E
+
_
1

R

F
_
I
S
=
F
I
E
+ I
CO
where
I
CO
(1
F

R
)
I
S

R
I
CO
is the collector-base leakage current with the emitter open.
In practice, because of surface leakage eects, I
CO
is several orders of magnitude
larger than the value predicted by the above denition.
BJT 2-23 Analog ICs; Jieh-Tsorng Wu
Common-Base Transistor Breakdown
Avalanche multiplication at the junctions
of a BJT limits the voltage that can be
sustained.
BV
CBO
is the breakdown voltage of C-B
junction with I
E
= 0.
BV
EBO
is much less than BV
CBO
.
Neglecting leakage currents
I
C
=
F
I
E
M where M =
1
1
_
V
CB
BV
CBO
_
n
BJT 2-24 Analog ICs; Jieh-Tsorng Wu
Common-Emitter Transistor Breakdown
I
C
I
B
V
CE
BJT 2-25 Analog ICs; Jieh-Tsorng Wu
Common-Emitter Transistor Breakdown
In this conguration, holes generated in the avalanche process are swept into the base
where they act as a supply of base current. The avalanche current is thus eectively
amplied by
F
.
I
B
= (I
C
+ I
E
) = I
C
+
I
C
M
F
I
C
=
_
M
F
1 M
F
_
I
B
where M is as dened above for the common-base case.
BV
CEO
is dened as the value of V
CE
for which I
C
; that is, for which M
F
1.
Assume V
CB
V
CE
, then
M =

F
1
_
BV
CEO
BV
CBO
_
n
= 1
BV
CEO
BV
CBO
= (1
F
)
1/n
=
1
(
F
+ 1)
1/n

1

1/n
F
Note: Here must use value of BV
CBO
for intrinsic transistor. Actual BV
CBO
is lower than
this because of sidewall eects.
BJT 2-26 Analog ICs; Jieh-Tsorng Wu
Small-Signal Model of Forward-Biased BJT
E
B C
I
c
I
b
V
be
V
CC
r

g
m
v

r
o
In the forward-active region
I
C
= I
S
e
V
BE
/U
T
_
1 +
V
CE
V
A
_
I
B
=
I
C

F
Bias and small-signal variables are:
I
b
= I
B
+ i
b
I
c
= I
C
+ i
c
V
be
= V
BE
+ v
be
BJT 2-27 Analog ICs; Jieh-Tsorng Wu
Small-Signal Model of Forward-Biased BJT
g
m
=
I
C
V
BE
=
qI
C
kT
=
I
C
U
T

o
=
I
C
I
B
=
_

I
C
_
I
C

F
__
1
g

=
I
B
V
BE
=
1
r

=
1

o
I
C
V
BE
=
g
m

o
g
o
=
I
C
V
CE
=
I
C
V
A
= g
m
g

=
I
BB
V
CB
=
I
BB
I
C
I
C
V
CB
=
1
r

= C
b
+ C
j e
=
F
g
m
+ C
j e
C

= C
j c
If
F
is constant, then
o
=
F
.

U
T
V
A
.
If I
B
= I
BB
g

I
B
I
C
I
C
V
CE
=
g
o

o
or r

=
o
r
o
Typically, r

> 10
o
r
o
.
For lateral pnp, r

is 2
o
r
o
5
o
r
o
.
Junction capacitances are
C
j
=
C
j 0
_
1
V

0
_
n
n = 0.2 0.5
BJT 2-28 Analog ICs; Jieh-Tsorng Wu
Charge Storage
In the intrinsic transistor charge is stored in the junction capacitances, C
j e
and C
j c
, and
as minority carriers in the base (Q
e
) and emitter (Q
p
).
Both Q
e
and Q
p
are proportional to e
V
BE
/U
T
.
Q
e
Q
p
and typically the eect of Q
p
is taken into account simply by modifying Q
e
.
An equivalent forward base transit time,
F
, is dened as

F

Q
e
I
C

F
=
W
2
B
2D
n
for uniform-base transistor
The diusion capacitance is
C
b
=
Q
e
V
BE
=
F
I
C
V
BE
=
F
g
m
BJT 2-29 Analog ICs; Jieh-Tsorng Wu
Complete Small-Signal Model with Extrinsic Components
B C
E
B
r

g
m
v

r
o
r
b
r
c
r
ex
v

C
cs
BJT 2-30 Analog ICs; Jieh-Tsorng Wu
Typical values of Extrinsic Components
r
b
50500
r
c
20500
r
ex
18
C
cs
0.23 pF
The value of r
b
varies signicantly with I
C
because of current crowding.
BJT 2-31 Analog ICs; Jieh-Tsorng Wu