Emitterbasiskollektor

Emitterbasiskollektor, often abbreviated as EBC, is the German name for the bipolar junction transistor (BJT) described by its three terminals: emitter (E), base (B), and collector (C). The term emphasizes the device’s three-terminal structure and the sequence of junctions that determine its operation: emitter-base and base-collector junctions form a pair of PN junctions within the same semiconductor crystal.

In a BJT, the emitter is heavily doped to inject charge carriers into the base, the base is thin and lightly doped to allow most carriers to diffuse across to the collector, and the collector is moderately doped to collect carriers. The typical active region occurs when the emitter-base junction is forward biased and the base-collector junction is reverse biased. Under these conditions, a small base current controls a much larger collector current, yielding current gain (beta). When both junctions are forward biased, the device enters saturation; when both are reverse biased, it is in cut-off. Material types define the common BJT variants: NPN and PNP, with opposite carrier types and bias polarities.

The EBC terminology appears in German-language electronics literature to reference the BJT’s physical structure and operation, rather than a specific circuit configuration. In circuit design, BJTs are more commonly discussed in terms of configurations such as common-emitter, common-base, and common-collector, but all rely on the E-B-C structure described by the EBC concept. See also Bipolar junction transistor, NPN, PNP.