Basic Transistor Connections

Author: Leonard Krugman

Some confusion exists about which electrode should be connected to ground in a transistor system. The basic reason for the difficulty lies in the terminology: grounded base, grounded emitter, and grounded collector. Actually, these designations do not refer to the circuit ground, but only specify which of the three electrodes is common to both the input and output circuits. A better way to specify the three basic connections would be: common base, common emitter, and common collector. These latter designations are used by many authorities. In general, the system ground can be made at any convenient point in the circuit, without consideration to the type of connection.

• The Grounded Base Transistor
• Grounded Emitters and Grounded Collectors