Introduction to 2n3053

Introduction to 2n3053

• 2n3053 is an NPN bipolar junction transistor which is mainly used for general purpose amplification and switching purpose.
• It consists of three terminals called emitter, base, and collector. and comes in TO-39 Metal Can Package.
• This NPN transistor exhibits low leakage current, high breakdown voltage and low capacity and beta value which are useful over a wide range of current.
• As it is an NPN transistor, so base will be positive with respect to emitter.
• Sometimes it is called current controlled device because small current at the base side is used to control large current at the emitter and collector side.

• It is called BJT(bipolar junction transistor) because conduction is done by the movement of both electrons and holes but majority charge carriers will be electrons.
• When we apply positive voltage at the base side, it gets biased and then it handles the current at the emitter and collector side.
• The ability of base to control number of electrons is used for amplification purpose.
• P terminal of the transistor is behaved like base and other two N terminals represent emitter and collector respectively.
• The emitter emits the electrons which are then controlled by base and collected by collector.

2n3053 Pinout

• Transistor action is triggered by the free movement of electrons from its base side.
• These free electrons act like a bridge between emitter and collector.

Circuit Diagram of 2n3053

• In order to flow current from emitter to collector, base voltage must be positive with respect to emitter.
• The current at the emitter side is the sum of current at the base and collector side.
• Forward current gain is the ratio between collector current to base current and it is denoted by beta ß. Beta is a ratio between two current so it has no unit.
• This beta value is sometimes referred as an amplification factor i.e. it is used for amplification purpose.
• Beta value ranges between 20 and 1000 but standard value of beta is 200.
• Current gain of the transistor is represented by alpha a. It is a ratio between collector current and emitter current. Alpha value exists between 0.95 to 0.99 but most of the time alpha value is considered as unity.

Absolute Maximum Ratings of 2n3053

• Absolute maximum rating of 2n3053 is shown in the figure below.

• Collector-Base and Collector-Emitter voltages are 60V and 40V respectively.
• The maximum power it can dissipate is 5W.
• It is important to note that if stresses are exceeded from given absolute maximum ratings, they can damage the device.
• Also, if stresses are applied for extended period of time, they can effect the device overall reliability.
• This bipolar junction transistor mainly consists of silicon semiconductor that's the reason it is mostly referred as Switching Silicon Bipolar Transistor.

Main Difference between NPN and PNP transistors

• Main difference between NPN and PNP transistors are the charge carriers.
• In case of NPN transistor majority charge carriers are electrons while majority charge carriers are holes in case of PNP transistors.
• Most of the professional prefer NPN transistors over PNP transistors, because conduction through mobility of electron is better than mobility of holes.

Applications

• This transistor is mainly used for general purpose amplification.
• It is widely used as a simple switch. Actually, conduction starts between emitter and collector when voltage is applied at the base side. When there is no bias voltage at the base side, the switch will be OFF. If voltage is present at the base side, switch will be ON.