
Characteristics of the BJT
Using BJTs to Create Current Sources
59
V
(BR)CEX
(see Figure 4.8A) tests the breakdown voltage of the collector-emitter junc-
tion, measured with the base-emitter junction forward-biased at a particular voltage or
current. V
(BR)EBO
(shown in Figure 4.8B) will test the breakdown voltage of the emit-
ter-base junction, when measured at a specified emitter current (I
E
), with the collector
terminal open-circuit.
Incidentally, the collector-base voltage V
CBO
as well as the collector-emitter voltage
V
CEO
both have a small positive temperature coefficient of between +0.07 to
+0.09%/˚C.
No BJT is perfect: they all have some small degree ...