BULACAN STATE UNIVERSITY

CITY OF MALOLOS, BULACAN

COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
ELECTRONICS ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT

Name: ESPERANZA, Ronabelle M.

Course/Year/Section: ECE 3A

Experiment No. 5
Programmable Unijunction Transistor (PUT)
✎Objectives

1. To use the programmable unijunction transistor (PUT) as a relaxation

oscillator.

☑ Materials
Name of the apparatus/
No. Range/Rating Quantity
equipment/ components
1. PUT 2N6027 or equivalent 1 pc
2. Capacitor 0.22uF 1 pc
3. Resistor 470 kΩ and 22 Ω 1 pc
4. Resistor 10 kΩ 2 pcs
5. Oscilloscope 2 channels 2 pcs
6. Voltage Source 20V 1 pc

☑ Characteristics
The programmable unijunction transistor (PUT) is actually a type of thyristor and not like
the unijunction transistor (UJT) at all in terms of structure. The only similarity to a UJT is
that the PUT can be used in some oscillator applications to replace the UJT. The PUT is
similar to an SCR except that its anode-to-gate voltage can be used to both turn on and
turn off the device.

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 BULACAN STATE UNIVERSITY
CITY OF MALOLOS, BULACAN
COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
ELECTRONICS ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT

(a) Basic construction (b) symbol

☑ Circuit Diagram

Figure 1. PUT relaxation oscillator circuit

☑ Procedure

1. Connect the circuit as shown in Figure 1.

2. Measure the peak voltage across the capacitor C1 and view the output using an
oscilloscope.

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 BULACAN STATE UNIVERSITY
CITY OF MALOLOS, BULACAN
COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
ELECTRONICS ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT

3. Measure the peak voltage across resistor R2 and view the output using an
oscilloscope.

Peak value of the voltage across C1: 10.538V

Output waveform in oscilloscope:

Peak value of the voltage across R2: 9.359 V

Output waveform in oscilloscope:

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 BULACAN STATE UNIVERSITY
CITY OF MALOLOS, BULACAN
COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
ELECTRONICS ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT

☑ Self-Test

1. What does the term programmable mean as used in programmable unijunction

transistor (PUT)?
The term “programmable” refers to computer instructions that
enable a machine to complete a task or respond to orders. In
compared to the unijunction transistor, the intrinsic standoff ratio
and peak voltage are fixed and cannot be modified. While it is
possible to program the PUT utilizing external resistors that form a
voltage divider circuit.

2. When will the PUT conduct?

When the anode voltage exceeds the gate voltage, the
programmable unijunction transistor conducts.

3. Compare the structure and the operation of a PUT to UJT.

The UJT is made up of a tenuously doped n-region known as
the base region and a tiny, significantly doped p-region known as
the emitter area. On the other hand, PUT is a four-layer device that
has a gate terminal connected to the n-region adjacent to the
anode. Moreover, they differ in operation because the intrinsic
stand-off ratio of a UJT is fixed, restricting the capacity to change
operational parameters. The operating properties of the PUT, on the

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 BULACAN STATE UNIVERSITY
CITY OF MALOLOS, BULACAN
COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
ELECTRONICS ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT

other hand, can be changed. These include the base-base

resistance, intrinsic stand-off voltage, valley current, and peak
current, all of which can be modified by varying the values of two
external resistors.
☑ Conclusion
The programmable unijunction transistor, or PUT, can be used
as a relaxation oscillator circuit, which is defined as a non-linear
electronic oscillator circuit that can generate a non-sinusoidal
repetitive output signal or a sawtooth wave. It is called relaxation
because the timing interval is set up by the charging of a capacitor
and the timing interval is ceased by the rapid discharge of the same
capacitor. As the graph shows, it conducts when the voltage at the
anode exceeds the voltage at the gate. Due to this, peak voltage is
set via resistors R3 and R4. The cathode current of the PUT is limited
by R2. The frequency is controlled by R1 and C1. It charges capacitor C1
through resistor R1 when supply voltage is supplied. When the
voltage across the capacitor exceeds the V p, PUT creates a low
resistance path from anode to cathode. This is where the capacitor
discharges. The voltage across the capacitor must be below the
valley point voltage (Vv) for the PUT to function. The cycle is repeated
as the capacitor charges. Therefore, the sawtooth waveform across
the capacitor occurs from charging and discharging.

Screenshot of circuit experiment on Multisim:

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