Products
Design & Development
Innovation Centre
At the Toshiba Innovation Centre we constantly strive to inspire you with our technologies and solutions. Discover how to place us at the heart of your innovations.
Knowledge
Highlighted Topics
Further Materials
This webpage doesn't work with Internet Explorer. Please use the latest version of Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox or Safari.
require 3 characters or more.
The information presented in this cross reference is based on TOSHIBA's selection criteria and should be treated as a suggestion only. Please carefully review the latest versions of all relevant information on the TOSHIBA products, including without limitation data sheets and validate all operating parameters of the TOSHIBA products to ensure that the suggested TOSHIBA products are truly compatible with your design and application.
Please note that this cross reference is based on TOSHIBA's estimate of compatibility with other manufacturers' products, based on other manufacturers' published data, at the time the data was collected.
TOSHIBA is not responsible for any incorrect or incomplete information. Information is subject to change at any time without notice.
require 3 characters or more.
No. Transistors are designed to provide the optimum performance when they are correctly connected. Interchanging the collector and emitter terminals not only degrades the transistor performance but also might cause permanent damage to the device.
Generally, bipolar transistors are designed in such a manner as to achieve high hFE. To accomplish this, numerous majority carriers (electrons in the case of npn transistors) in the emitter must diffuse into the base region and then be efficiently swept across the base region into the collector. It is also necessary to control the depletion layer in the collector region in order to increase a transistor’s withstand voltage (i.e., collector-base voltage, VCBO). These conditions are fulfilled by:
Therefore, the dopant concentrations in the three semiconductor regions have the following relationship: emitter >> base > collector.
If the connections of the collector and emitter terminals are reversed, the above relationship is not satisfied. In this case, hFE decreases, making it impossible for a bipolar transistor to function as intended and possibly causing the base current to exceed its specified rating. Moreover, because of the decreased VCEO, the transistor might break down when it turns off. As a result of the foregoing, a reverse-connected transistor might be permanently damaged.
Typical bipolar transistors must be connected in the normal direction, except for muting transistors* that are designed for reverse connection.
* At present, Toshiba does not provide muting transistors.