Do transistors have direction?

Asked Mar 31 '18 at 23:59

Active Apr 01 '18 at 07:27

Viewed 84 times

On diagrams the transistor have usually a direction - it is assumed that (for bipolar NPN) current goes from base to emitter and it is reflected in symbol:

schematic

^{simulate this circuit – Schematic created using CircuitLab}

However when if I look how transistors are actually being built it seems that there is no difference between collector and emitter - both are N regions (for NPN transistors). Is there a difference between them I can't see or is it just a convention to allow reader get the intended direction or current?

(I described bipolar but I'm also interested in FETs)

edited Apr 01 '18 at 07:27

jsotola

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asked Mar 31 '18 at 23:59

Maciej Piechotka

"... if I look how transistors are actually being built ..." You aren't seeing how they're built, you're seeing a very simplified model that hides the polarity. – Ignacio Vazquez-Abrams Apr 01 '18 at 00:01
https://electronics.stackexchange.com/questions/33303/what-is-the-difference-between-emitter-and-collector-for-bjts – τεκ Apr 01 '18 at 00:04
@τεκ Sorry - search didn't find that one. – Maciej Piechotka Apr 01 '18 at 00:06

Do transistors have direction?

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