Circuit with NPN Transistor's

[sanado]

Hey guys, i was wondering if you would be able to help me. I am currently in year 12 and am about to start learning about electronics. Part of the course is NPN transistors. I had read about 5 different books on how they work and yet i still dun understand them and how they work in a circuit. For example:

What does the base, emitter and collector do and how are they all related?
When a NPN transistor is used in a circuit, are the charge carriers positive?

Any help you can offer will be most appreciated.

 

[Nate810]

Thanks in advance.In an NPN transistor, the base is the control element of the transistor. It is used to control the flow of current between the emitter and collector. The emitter is where electrons enter the transistor and the collector is where they exit. The emitter and collector are connected by a very thin layer of semiconductor material known as an ‘active layer’. When a voltage is applied to the base, this causes the active layer to become thinner and allows current to flow between the emitter and collector. When a NPN transistor is used in a circuit, the charge carriers are electrons (negative) and not positive.

 

[Moetasim]

Hello there,

First of all, congratulations on taking an interest in electronics and starting your year 12 course! NPN transistors can be a bit tricky to understand at first, but with some practice and explanation, you'll be able to grasp their function in no time.

To answer your first question, the base, emitter, and collector are three terminals of an NPN transistor that are used to control the flow of current through the transistor. The emitter is the terminal from which current flows into the transistor, while the collector is the terminal from which current flows out. The base acts as a control terminal, allowing a small current to control a larger current flowing between the emitter and collector.

Think of the transistor as a switch that can be controlled by the base terminal. When a small current flows into the base, it allows a larger current to flow from the emitter to the collector. This allows the transistor to act as an amplifier or a switch in electronic circuits.

Now, to answer your second question, the charge carriers in an NPN transistor can be either positive or negative, depending on the type of material used. In an NPN transistor, the base and collector are made of p-type material, while the emitter is made of n-type material. This means that the charge carriers in the base and collector are holes (positively charged) and the charge carriers in the emitter are electrons (negatively charged).

I hope this helps to clarify some of your doubts about NPN transistors. Keep practicing and experimenting with them, and you'll soon become comfortable with their function in a circuit. Best of luck with your studies!