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Semiconductor
Semiconductors are used extensively in electronic circuits. As its
name implies, a semiconductor is a
material that conducts current, but
only partly. The conductivity of a
semiconductor is somewhere between
that of an insulator, which has almost
no conductivity, and a conductor,
which has almost full conductivity.
Materials that permit flow
of electrons are called
conductors (e.g., gold,
silver, copper, etc.).
Materials that block flow
of electrons are called
insulators (e.g., rubber,
glass, Teflon, mica, etc.).
Materials whose
conductivity falls between
those of conductors and
insulators are called
semiconductors.
Semiconductors are part-
time conductors whose
conductivity can be
controlled.
Types of Semiconductors
P-Type
In a pure (intrinsic) Si or Ge semiconductor, each nucleus uses its
four valence electrons to form four covalent bonds with its neighbors
(see figure below). Each ionic core, consisting of the nucleus and non-
valent electrons, has a net charge of +4, and is surrounded by 4 valence
electrons. Since there are no excess electrons or holes In this case, the
number of electrons and holes present
at any given time will always be equal.
ACTIVE COMPONENTS:
Diode
A diode is a specialized electronic component with two electrodes called
the anode and the cathode. The main function of a diode is to block the
current in one direction, and allow
current to flow in the other (reverse)
direction. Current flowing through the
diode is called forward current.
There are several types of diodes:
Rectifier diodes -- these are the
most common, with its function
described above.
Detector diodes -- these are
more sensitive than normal rectifier diodes. They are used in radios and
televisions to convert radio signals to audio or television signals.
Zener diodes -- These diodes are the opposites of the normal
diodes, because they are designed to conduct current in the backwards
(reverse) direction But only at a very precise voltage. Zener diodes are
used to regulate voltages (to behave sort-of like a battery).
Capacitance diodes-- act as tunable capacitors and are also used
in radios and TVs to allow electronic automatic tuning.
Tunnel diodes-- are used in oscillator circuits.
Practical
Experiments
1. VI CHARACTERISTICS OF PN JUNCTION DIODE
Objective:
To study and verify the functionality of PN junction diode in forward
bias and reverse bias and to
Plot Volt-Ampere Characteristics of P-N Diode.
Plot Volt-Ampere Characteristics of P-N Diode in XY mode.
Find cut-in voltage for P-N Junction diode.
Find static and dynamic resistances in both forward and reverse
biased conditions.
Components:
Diode (1N4007) 1(One) No.
Resistor (1K) 1(One) No.
Bread board 1(One) No.
Operation:
A PN junction diode is formed when a single crystal of
semiconductor is doped with acceptors impurities (Pentavalent) on one
side and donor impurities (Trivalent) on the other side. It has two
terminals called electrodes, one each from P-region and N-region. Due
to two electrodes it is called (i.e., Di-electrode) Diode.
Biasing of PN junction Diode
Applying external D.C. voltage to any electronic device is called
biasing. There is no current in the unbiased PN junction at equilibrium.
Depending upon the polarity of the D.C. voltage externally applied
to diode, the biasing is classified as forward biasing and Reverse biasing.
Forward bias operation
The P-N junction supports uni-directional current flow. If +ve
terminal of the input supply is connected to anode (P-side) and ve
terminal of the input supply is connected the cathode. Then diode is said
to be forward biased. In this condition the height of the potential barrier
at the junction is lowered by an amount equal to given forward biasing
voltage. Both the holes from p-side and electrons from n-side cross the
junction simultaneously and constitute a forward current from n-side
cross the junction simultaneously and constitute a forward current
(injected minority current due to holes crossing the junction and
entering P- side of the diode). Assuming current flowing through the
diode to be very large, the diode can be approximated as short- circuited
switch.
Circuit Diagram:
Fig. (1) - Forward Bias Condition:
Fig. (2) -
Reverse
Bias
Condition:
Procedure:
Forward Bias Condition:
1. Connect the circuit as shown in figure (1) using PN Junction diode.
2. Initially vary Regulated Power Supply (RPS) voltage Vs in steps
of 0.1 V. Once the current starts increasing vary Vs
from 1V to 12V in steps of 1V and note down the corresponding
readings Vf and If.
3. Tabulate different forward currents obtained for different forward
voltages.
VI
Characteristics Graph
2. PIN DIODE BASED FIRE SENSOR
Here is an ultra-sensitive fire sensor that activates an alarm when it
detects fire. Thermistor based fire alarms have a drawback; the alarm
turns on only if the fire heats the thermistor in close vicinity. In this
circuit, a sensitive PIN diode is used as a fire sensor for a longer-range
fire detection.
It detects visible light and infrared (IR) in the range of 430nm
1100nm. So visible light and IR from the fire can easily activate the
sensor to trigger the alarm. It also detects sparks in the mains wiring and,
if these persist, it gives a warning alarm.
PIN diode BPW34 is used in the circuit as light and IR sensor.
BPW34 is a 2-pin photodiode with anode (A) and cathode (K). The
anode end can easily be identified from the top-
view flat surface of the photodiode. A small
solder point to which a thin wire is connected is
the anode and the other one is the cathode
terminal. Fig. 2: BPW34 PIN photodiode
BPW34 is a tiny PIN photodiode or mini solar cell with radiant
sensitive surface that generates 350mV DC open-circuit voltage when
exposed to 900nm light. It is sensitive to natural sunlight and also to
light from fire. So it is ideal for use as a light sensor.
BPW34 photodiode can be used in zero-bias as well as reverse-bias
states. Its resistance decreases when light falls on it.
Circuit and Working
Circuit diagram:
It is built around 9V battery, PIN diode BPW34 (D1), op-amp
CA3140 (IC1), counter CD4060 (IC2), transistors BC547 (T1 and T2), a
piezo buzzer (PZ1) and a few other components. In the circuit, PIN
photodiode BPW34 is connected to the inverting and non-inverting
inputs of op-amp IC1 in reverse-biased mode to feed photo current into
the input of op-amp. CA3140 is a 4.5MHz Bi-MOS op-amp with
MOSFET inputs and bipolar output.
Gate-protected MOSFET (PMOS) transistors in the input circuit
provide very high input impedance, typically around 1.5T ohms. The IC
requires very low input current, as low as 10pA, to change output status
to high or low.
In the circuit, IC1 is used as a Trans
impedance amplifier to act as a current-to-
voltage converter. IC1 amplifies and
converts the photo current generated in the
PIN diode to the corresponding voltage in
its output. The non-inverting input is
connected to the ground and anode of
photodiode, while the inverting input gets
photo current from the PIN diode.
Large-value feedback resistor R1
sets the gain of the Trans impedance amplifier since it is in inverting
configuration. Connection of non-inverting input to ground provides low
impedance load for the photodiode, which keeps the photodiode voltage
low.
The photodiode operates in the photovoltaic mode with no external
bias. Feedback of the op-amp keeps the photodiode current equal to the
feedback current through R1. So the input offset voltage due to the
photodiode is very low in this self-biased photovoltaic mode. This
permits a large gain without any large-output offset voltage. This
configuration is selected to get large gain in low-light conditions.
Normally, in ambient light condition, photocurrent from the PIN
diode is very low; it keeps output of IC1 low. When the PIN diode
detects visible light or IR from fire, its photo current increases and Trans
impedance amplifier IC1 converts this current to corresponding output
voltage. High output from IC1 activates transistor T1 and LED1 glows.
This indicates that the circuit has detected fire. When T1 conducts, it
takes reset pin 12 of IC2 to ground potential and CD4060 starts
oscillating.
IC2 is a binary counter with ten outputs that turn high one by one
when it oscillates due to C1 and R6. Oscillation of IC2 is indicated by
the blinking of LED2. When output Q6 (pin 4) of IC2 turns high after 15
seconds, T2 conducts and activates piezo buzzer PZ1, and LED3 also
glows. The alarm repeats again after 15 seconds if fire persists.
You can also turn on an AC alarm that produces a loud sound by
replacing PZ1 with a relay circuitry (not shown here). The AC alarm is
activated through contacts of the relay used for this purpose.
Construction and testing
An actual-size, single-side PCB for the PIN diode based fire sensor
is shown in Fig. 4 and its component layout in Fig. 5. Enclose the PCB
in a small box in such a way that you can connect PIN diode BPW34
easily at the rear side of the box. Install the PIN diode in a suitable place
and cover it such that normal light/sunlight does not fall on it.
Testing the circuit is simple. Normally, when there is no fire flame
near the PIN diode, the piezo buzzer does not sound. When a fire flame
is sensed by the PIN diode, piezo buzzer sounds an alarm. Its detection
range is around two meters. It can also detect sparks in the mains wiring
due to short-circuit.
PCB Layout:
Final Output