Contents
What is a transistor current?
We know that in transistors and diodes, electric current is carried by both free electrons and holes. Free electrons and holes travel in opposite directions. For example, if free electrons flow from left to right then the holes will flow from right to left.
How does current flow through NPN transistor?
In an NPN transistor, the flow of current runs from the collector terminal to the emitter terminal. In the PNP transistor, the flow of current runs from the emitter terminal to the collector terminal. As a result, a PNP transistor switches ON by a low signal, where an NPN transistor switches ON by a high signal.
How does current flow through Transistor?
Transistors can also work as switches. A tiny electric current flowing through one part of a transistor can make a much bigger current flow through another part of it. In other words, the small current switches on the larger one. This is essentially how all computer chips work.
What is the voltage required to turn on a transistor?
Note in the formula above, that V BE (sat) is the required base voltage that must be present in order to forward-bias the transistor’s base/emitter junction (i.e., to turn the transistor on). Generally speaking, this value is between .6 to .7 volts for a general-purpose transistor.
Can you use transistor as resistor?
Using a transistor in place of a resistor or a capacitor is sometimes done in integrated circuit design, because some processes don’t offer suitable resistors or capacitors or they simply would take up too much area.
Why transistor is called Transistor of resistor?
transistor is a combination of the words transfer and resistor called transistor. It’s called so because it is a resistor or semiconductor device which can amplify electrical signals as they are transferred through it from input to output terminals.