TRANSISTORS AND AMPLIFIERS

Abstract

This chapter treats transistors, their noise properties, and applications to basic circuits. First, the physics of bipolar transistors is discussed with an emphasis on device parameters important for circuit design. The properties of common emitter, common base, and common collector (emitter follower) circuits are discussed together with extensions to cascode and differential amplifiers. The analogous treatment is applied to junction field effect transistors (JFETs) and metal oxide semiconductor devices (MOSFETs). Noise properties of bipolar and field effect transistors are derived together with their dependence on device parameters and operating conditions. These results are then applied to the overall noise when used with a detector and pulse shaper. Low power operation is essential in large-scale strip and pixel detectors, so the closing sections discuss techniques to optimize the balance between noise, speed, and power.