Transistors acting as resistors

Join the discussion
Registration is free. Ask a follow-up in this thread, or start your own.
2 replies · 1K views
mvpshaq32
Messages
28
Reaction score
0
From what I understand, transistors can be viewed as several things, one of which is a resistor.

So how much resistance is a transistor turned on generally equivalent to?

And what is normally considered a large or small resistance? I know voltmeters have a large internal resistance in the order of megaohms. And I believe transistors are in the order of kilos, so would transistors acting as resistors be considered as having a low resistance?
 
Engineering news on Phys.org
Some bipolar transistors, when turned fully on, will have a voltage drop across the collector and emitter of approximately 0.3 volts (silicon based).

For MOSFET's, when turned fully on, there is a on-resistance in the order of milliohms. I would suggest looking at the datasheet for the transistor using.

If you are using the small-signal model of a transistor then you will be able to describe it as resistors and controlled current/voltage sources.
 
Certain MOSFETS are used a voltage-controlled variable resistors. Google "Siliconix VCR"