International Islamic University Islamabad

Faculty of Engineering & Technology

Department of Electrical Engineering

POWER ELECTRONICS LAB (EE421L)

Experiment No. 3: Switching Characteristics of Power BJT

Name of Student: ……………………………………

Registration No.: ……………………………………..

Date of Experiment: …………………………………

Submitted To: ………………………………………,..

Experiment No. 3: Switching Characteristics of Power BJT Page 1

Objectives:
 To study the basic properties of the power BJT.
 To demonstrate the different regions of operation of power BJT.
 To plot the output characteristics of the power BJT.
Equipment Required:
 DMM
 DC Power Supply: +24V(variable); +5V (fixed);
 NPN Power BJT: TIP31 [Qty=1];
 Resistor: 22-kΩ/1W [Qty=1];
 Power Resistor: 1-kΩ /5W [Qty=1];
 Potentiometer: 5-kΩ [Qty=1];
 Connecting wires
Theory:
Power transistors are devices that have controlled turn-ON and turn-OFF
characteristics. They are turned ON, when a current signal is given to base or control. The
transistor remains ON as long as the control signal is present. The switching speed of modern
transistors is much higher than that of Thyristors and they are extensively employed in DC-
to-DC and DC-to-AC converters. However, their voltage and current ratings are lower than
those of Thyristors and are therefore they are used in low to medium power applications. The
power Bipolar Junction Transistor (BJT) is a current controlled device and it has three
terminals: Collector (C), Emitter (E) and Base (B). There are two types of power
BJTs; NPN and PNP transistor as given in Figure 3.1(a) and 3.1(b) respectively. NPN
transistor is widely used as compared to PNP transistor.
Power BJT has a vertically oriented four-layer structure. The vertical structure
increases the cross-sectional area. The first layer is a heavily doped emitter layer (n+). The
second layer is moderately doped the base layer (p). The third region is lightly
doped collector drift region (n-). The last layer is a highly doped collector region (n+). The
drift layer (n-) increase the voltage blocking capacity of the transistor due to the low doping
level. The width of this layer decides the breakdown voltage. The disadvantage of this layer
is that, it increases the ON-state voltage drops, which increases power losses. The power BJT
blocks a high voltage in the OFF-state and high current carrying capacity in the ON-state. In
the structure of a BJT, there are two junctions; base-emitter (BE) and collector-base (CB)
junction respectively.

Experiment No. 3: Switching Characteristics of Power BJT Page 2

 Figure 3.1(a): NPN Bipolar Junction Transistor Figure 3.1(b): PNP Bipolar Junction Transistor

There are four regions of operation of a power BJT (cutoff, active, quasi-saturation
and hard-saturation region) as demonstrated in Figure 3.2.

Figure 3.2 Expected Output Characteristics of a Power BJT

i. Cutoff region:
When the base current (IB) is zero, the collector current (IC) is insignificant and the
transistor is driven into the cutoff region. The transistor will be in OFF state and a very small
reverse leakage current (IC = ICEO) flows through the collector. The collector-base (CB) and
base-emitter (BE) both junctions are reverse biased in cutoff region, and the transistor
behaves as an open switch.

Experiment No. 3: Switching Characteristics of Power BJT Page 3

 ii. Active region:
The BE junction is forward biased and CB junction is reverse biased. The collector
current (IC) increase slightly with an increase in collector-emitter voltage (VCE) if base
current (IB) is increased. The relation of IB and IC is: IC = βdc IB is true in the active region. In
this region, BJT is used as an amplifier or as a series pass transistor in the voltage regulator.
The dynamic resistance in this region is large. The power dissipation is maximum.
iii. Quasi-saturation region:
Quasi-saturation region is between the hard saturation and active region. This region
exists due to the lightly doped drift layer. When the BJT operates at high frequency, it is
operated in this region. Both junctions are forward biased. The device offers low resistance
compared to the active region. Therefore, power loss is less. In this region, the device does
not go into deep saturation. Therefore, it can turn OFF quickly. That is why; we can use
power BJT for higher frequency applications. Remember, this feature is not found in small
signal transistor.
iv. Hard-saturation region:
The power BJT pushes into the hard-saturation region from the quasi-saturation
region by increasing the base current. This region is also known as deep saturation region.
The resistance offers in this region is minimum. It is even less than the quasi-saturation
region. Therefore, when the BJT operates in this region, power dissipation is minimum. The
device acts as a closed switch when it operates in this region. However, it needs more time to
turn OFF. Therefore, this region is suitable only for low-frequency switching application. In
this region, both junctions are forward biased. The collector current is not proportional to the
base current, IC remains almost constant at IC (sat) and independent of base current.
Key Points:
In power handling and control purposes, power BJT is generally used in cutoff for OFF state
and quasi-saturation for ON state to act as a switch. This switching is very quick that results
in low voltage drops which is desired characteristic for power electronics components.
Applications of Power BJT:
i. Switch mode power supply (SMPS) commonly used in computers.
ii. Final audio amplifier in stereo systems.
iii. Power amplifiers.
iv. DC to AC inverters.
v. Relay and display drivers.
vi. AC motor speed controllers.

Experiment No. 3: Switching Characteristics of Power BJT Page 4

Procedure:
a. Identify the base, emitter and collector terminal of the power BJT.
b. Construct the circuit of Figure 3.3 on the breadboard. Measure and record the value of
base and collector resistor using DMM.
RB (measured) =__________________
RC (measured) =__________________

Figure 3.3

c. Apply VCC = 12V to the circuit of Figure 3.3, and set the potentiometer (Pot-1) such that
the base current (IB) is equal to 0-uA.
d. Now, vary the supply voltage (VCC) in steps as mentioned in Table 3.1 and record the
𝐕𝐑𝐂
values of collector-emitter voltage (VCE) and the collector current (IC = ) at each step
𝐑𝐂
to fill the Table 3.1.
Note: Measure the voltage across the collector resistor (VRC) using smallest possible
scale of voltmeter, because BJT will be in cutoff region, when IB = 0-uA, and very
minimum current will flow through the collector resistor.
Table 3.1 (For IB = 0-uA)

VCC 0V 2V 4V 6V 8V 10V 12V 14V 16V 18V 20V

(measured)
VCE
(measured)
VRC
(measured)
𝐕𝐑𝐂
IC =
𝐑𝐂
(measured)

Experiment No. 3: Switching Characteristics of Power BJT Page 5

e. Set the base current (IB) to 40-uA value by varying the potentiometer (Pot-1).
Note: Measure the base current using smallest possible scale of ammeter. In the absence
of ammeter, you can set the IB = 40-uA, by setting the voltage across the base resistor
(VRB) to nearly 0.88V.
f. Now, vary the supply voltage (VCC) in steps as mentioned in Table 3.2 and record the
𝐕𝐑𝐂
values of collector-emitter voltage (VCE) and the collector current (IC = ) at each step
𝐑𝐂

to fill the Table 3.2.

Table 3.2 (For IB = 40-uA)

VCC
0V 2V 4V 6V 8V 10V 12V 14V 16V 18V 20V
(measured)
VCE
(measured)
VRC
(measured)
𝐕𝐑𝐂
IC =
𝐑𝐂
(measured)

g. Again, set the base current (IB) to 80-uA value by varying the potentiometer (Pot-1).
Note: Measure the base current using smallest possible scale of ammeter. In the absence
of ammeter, you can set the IB = 80-uA, by setting the voltage across the base resistor
(VRB) to nearly 1.76V.
h. Now, vary the supply voltage (VCC) in steps as mentioned in Table 3.3 and record the
𝐕𝐑𝐂
values of collector-emitter voltage (VCE) and the collector current (IC = ) at each step
𝐑𝐂

to fill the Table 3.3.

Table 3.3 (For IB = 80-uA)

VCC 0V 2V 4V 6V 8V 10V 12V 14V 16V 18V 20V

(measured)
VCE
(measured)
VRC
(measured)
𝐕𝐑𝐂
IC =
𝐑𝐂
(measured)

Experiment No. 3: Switching Characteristics of Power BJT Page 6

i. Again, set the base current (IB) to 120-uA value by varying the potentiometer (Pot-1).
Note: Measure the base current using smallest possible scale of ammeter. In the absence
of ammeter, you can set the IB = 120-uA, by setting the voltage across the base resistor
(VRB) to nearly 2.64V.
j. Now, vary the supply voltage (VCC) in steps as mentioned in Table 3.4 and record the
𝐕𝐑𝐂
values of collector-emitter voltage (VCE) and the collector current (IC = ) at each step
𝐑𝐂

to fill the Table 3.4.

Table 3.4 (For IB = 120-uA)

VCC
0V 2V 4V 6V 8V 10V 12V 14V 16V 18V 20V
(measured)
VCE
(measured)
VRC
(measured)
𝐕𝐑𝐂
IC =
𝐑𝐂
(measured)

k. Again, set the base current (IB) to 160-uA value by varying the potentiometer (Pot-1).
Note: Measure the base current using smallest possible scale of ammeter. In the absence
of ammeter, you can set the IB = 160-uA, by setting the voltage across the base resistor
(VRB) to nearly 3.52V.
l. Now, vary the supply voltage (VCC) in steps as mentioned in Table 3.5 and record the
𝐕𝐑𝐂
values of collector-emitter voltage (VCE) and the collector current (IC = ) at each step
𝐑𝐂

to fill the Table 3.5.

Table 3.5 (For IB = 160-uA)

VCC 0V 2V 4V 6V 8V 10V 12V 14V 16V 18V 20V

(measured)
VCE
(measured)
VRC
(measured)
𝐕𝐑𝐂
IC =
𝐑𝐂
(measured)

Experiment No. 3: Switching Characteristics of Power BJT Page 7

Sketching of Switching Characteristics:
 Using the data of Table 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4 and 3.5, draw the switching characteristics
curves of the power BJT on Figure 3.4.

Figure 3.4: Switching Characteristics of Power BJT

Experiment No. 3: Switching Characteristics of Power BJT Page 8