A substantially concentric lateral bipolar transistor having a base region that is disposed about a periphery of an emitter region, and a collector region that is disposed about a periphery of the base region to form the concentric lateral bipolar transistor of the invention. A gate overlies the substrate and at least a portion of the base region. At least one electrical contact is formed connecting the base and the gate, although a plurality of contacts may be formed. A further bipolar transistor is formed according to the following method of the invention. A base region is formed in a substrate and a gate region is formed overlying at least a portion of the base region. Emitter and collector terminals are formed on opposed sides of the base region. The gate is used as a mask during first and second ion implants. During the first ion implant the ions bombard the substrate from a first direction to grade a base/emitter junction, and during the second ion implant ions bombard the substrate from a second direction to grade a base/collector junction. Also a lateral bipolar transistor having a decreased base width as a result of implanting ions after fabrication of collector and emitter regions to enlarge the collector and emitter regions, thereby decreasing the base region and increasing gain.