EC111:Fundamental of Electronics

Engineering
RUPESH KUMAR DUTTA
Assistant Professor, ECE Department
COURSE CONTENT: UNIT 2
 DIODE AND ITS CIRCUITS:
 Introduction to Semiconductor theory: Classification of
materials- Insulators, conductors and semiconductors and
their Energy Bands, Types of semiconductors- Intrinsic,
Extrinsic. PN Junction Diode: Biasing and operation of PN
Diode, V-I characteristics, Limiting Values of PN Diode,
Breakdown in PN Diode,Applications of PN Diode.
 Zener Diode: V-I Characteristics, Applications of Zener
Diode. Rectifier Circuits: PN Diode as a Rectifier, Half
Wave Rectifier, Full Wave Rectifier, Full Wave Bridge
Rectifier, Clipping Circuits, Clamper Circuits

2 Assistant Professor Mr. Rupesh Kumar Dutta

EC111: Fundamental of Electronics Engineering Unit II
Introduction to Semiconductor theory
 Periodic Table

III IV V

Boron Carbon
(B) (C)
Aluminum Silicon Phosphorous
(Al) (Si) (P)
Galium Germanium Arsenic
(Ga) (Ge) (As)

 This shorten table contains elements with three to five valence

electrons, with Silicon(Si) being the most important.

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EC111: Fundamental of Electronics Engineering Unit II
Some Semiconductor materials

Elementary Semiconductors

Si Silicon

Ge Germanium

Compound Semiconductors

AlP Aluminum Phosphide

AlAs Aluminum arsenide

GaAs Gallium arsenide

InP Indium phosphide

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EC111: Fundamental of Electronics Engineering Unit II
Important Terms
 Carriers---A free electron is negative charge and a hole is
positive charge. Both of them can move in the crystal
structure.They can conduct electric circuit.
 Valence electron---each silicon atom has four valence
electrons.
 Covalent bond---two valence electrons from different two
silicon atoms form the covalent bond
 Be intact at sufficiently low temperature (0K)
 Be broken at room temperature
 Free electron---produced by thermal ionization, move freely in
the lattice structure.
 Hole---empty position in broken covalent bond, can be filled
by free electron, positive charge.

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EC111: Fundamental of Electronics Engineering Unit II
Silicon Bonding Si

Si Si Si

Each Si atom shares one electron with eachSiof its four closest neighbors so that its
valence band will have a full 8 electrons.
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EC111: Fundamental of Electronics Engineering Unit II
Types of semiconductors- Intrinsic,
Extrinsic

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EC111: Fundamental of Electronics Engineering Unit II
 Types of semiconductors- Intrinsic,
Extrinsic
Intrinsic Semiconductor

Si Si Si
+4 +4 +4
Trivalent Dopant
Pentavalent Dopant Si Si Si
+4 +4 +4

Si Si Si
+4 +4 +4

+4 +4 +4 +4 +4 +4

+4 +5 +4 +4 +3 +4
Extrinsic Semiconductor
+4 +4 +4 +4 +4 +4

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EC111: Fundamental of Electronics Engineering Unit II
n type semiconductor
 Concept
Doped silicon in which the majority of charge
carriers are the negatively charged electrons
is called n type semiconductor.
 Terminology
+4 +4 +4  Donor---impurity provides free electrons,
usually entirely ionized.
 Positive bound charge---impurity atom
donating electron gives rise to positive bound
charge
+4 +5 +4
 carriers
 Free electron---majority, generated mostly by
ionized and slightly by thermal ionization.
+4 +4 +4  Hole---minority, only generated by thermal
ionization.
 The 2D diagram to the left shows the extra
electron that will be present when a Group
V dopant is introduced to a material such
as silicon. This extra electron is very
mobile.

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EC111: Fundamental of Electronics Engineering Unit II
p-type Material
 Concept
Doped silicon in which the majority of
charge carriers are the positively charged
holes is called p type semiconductor.
 Terminology
+4 +4 +4  acceptor---impurity provides holes, usually
entirely ionized.
 negatively bound charge---impurity atom
accepting hole give rise to negative bound
charge
+4 +3 +4
 carriers
 Hole---majority, generated generated mostly
by ionized and slightly by thermal ionization.
+4 +4 +4  Free electron---minority, only generated by
thermal ionization.
 The 2D diagram to the left shows the
hole that will be present when a Group
III dopant is introduced to a material
such as silicon. This hole is quite mobile
in the same way the extra electron is
mobile in a n-type material.

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EC111: Fundamental of Electronics Engineering Unit II
Energy Levels and Energy Bands

Overlapping levels
Outer levels begin to interact

Electron energy
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EC111: Fundamental of Electronics Engineering Unit II
Energy Bands
 The energy difference between the conduction and
valence bands is the “gap energy” We must supply
this much energy to elevate an electron from the
valence band to the conduction band. If Eg is < 2eV,
the material is a semiconductor.

Some common band gaps:

Element gap (ev)
Ge 0.6
Si 1.1
GaAs 1.4
SiO2 9.0

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EC111: Fundamental of Electronics Engineering Unit II
 The probability of occupation of energy levels in valence
band and conduction band is called Fermi level.

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EC111: Fundamental of Electronics Engineering Unit II
 Ec
Ed Ec
Ed

Ev
Ev

SiSi
Si lattice with n-type dopant

Sb
Sb
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EC111: Fundamental of Electronics Engineering Unit II
 Ec

Ea
Ev

Si
Si lattice with p-type dopant

In
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EC111: Fundamental of Electronics Engineering Unit II
The PN Junction

P n

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EC111: Fundamental of Electronics Engineering Unit II
The PN Junction

- - - + + +
- - - + + +

P -
-
-
-
-
-
+
+
+
+
+
+ n
- - -
+ + +
- - - + + +

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EC111: Fundamental of Electronics Engineering Unit II
The PN Junction
Metallurgical Junction
Na Nd

- - - - - - + + + + + +
- - - - - -
- - - - - - + + + + + +
P - - - - - - + + + + + + n
- - - - - -
+ + + + + +
- - - - - -
- - - - - - + + + + + +

Space Charge
ionized Region ionized
acceptors donors
E-Field
 Space Charge Region: Also called the depletion region. This region includes the
net positively and negatively charged regions. The space charge region does not
have any free carriers. The width of the space charge region is denoted by W.

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EC111: Fundamental of Electronics Engineering Unit II
V-I Characteristics

ID • VD = Bias Voltage
(mA)
• ID = Current
through Diode. ID
is Negative for
IS Reverse Bias and
Positive for
VBR Forward Bias
VD • IS = Saturation
V Current
• VBR = Breakdown
Voltage
• V = Barrier
Potential Voltage

(µA)
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EC111: Fundamental of Electronics Engineering Unit II
V-I Characteristics

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EC111: Fundamental of Electronics Engineering Unit II
Diode Current Equation
• The transconductance curve on the previous slide is characterized by the
following equation:
ID = IS(eVD/ VT – 1)
• As described in the last slide, ID is the current through the diode, IS is the
saturation current and VD is the applied biasing voltage.
• VT is the thermal equivalent voltage and is approximately 26 mV at room
temperature. The equation to find VT at various temperatures is:
VT = kT
q
k = 1.38 x 10-23 J/K T = temperature in Kelvin q = 1.6 x 10-19 C
• is the emission coefficient for the diode. It is determined by the way the
diode is constructed. It somewhat varies with diode current. For a silicon
diode is around 2 and for Germenium it is around 1.

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EC111: Fundamental of Electronics Engineering Unit II
Symbol and Characteristic for the
Ideal Diode

(a) diode circuit symbol; (b) i–v characteristic; (c) equivalent circuit in the
reverse direction; (d) equivalent circuit in the forward direction.

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EC111: Fundamental of Electronics Engineering Unit II
Ideal vs Practical

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EC111: Fundamental of Electronics Engineering Unit II
Temperature dependence of the
diode forward characteristic
 Figure illustrating the temperature dependence of the
diode forward characteristic. At a constant current,
the voltage drop decreases by approximately 2 mV
for every 1 C increase in temperature.

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EC111: Fundamental of Electronics Engineering Unit II
Breakdown In PN Diode
 Its a phenomenon that occur at the reverse biased
condition of pn dioide. When the voltage we apply across
the reverse biased diode is increased, a point is reached
where the current increases rapidly! This is called junction
breakdown!
 At breakdown voltage, the current through diode shoots
rapidly. Even for a small change in applied voltage, there is
a high increase in net current through the diode. For each
pn junction diode, there will be a maximum net current
that it can withstand. If the reverse current exceeds this
maximum rating, the diode will get damaged.

25 Assistant Professor Mr. Rupesh Kumar Dutta

EC111: Fundamental of Electronics Engineering Unit II
Avalanche breakdown
 The Avalanche breakdown happens, due to the
avalanche effect. If the reverse bias voltage is very high,
then the depletion region widens, and the electric field is
quite strong.
The minority charge carriers get accelerated in this
depletion region, and gain kinetic energy. Once the field is
strong enough, they can knock off, other electrons from
the valency band (creating a hole and another conduction
electron). The beauty is, one energetic electron (or hole)
produces two MORE charge carriers.

26 Assistant Professor Mr. Rupesh Kumar Dutta

EC111: Fundamental of Electronics Engineering Unit II
Zener breakdown
 Zener breakdown, as mentioned, only happens, when
the doping concentration is extremely high. So high, that
the depletion region becomes few atoms wide.

 Because of the high E , a sufficiently strong force exerted

on a bound electron by the field to tear it out of its
covalent bond . The new hole-electron pair created
increases the reverse current

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EC111: Fundamental of Electronics Engineering Unit II
The Application of Diode Circuits
 Rectifier circuits
 Half-wave rectifier
 Full-wave rectifier
 Transformer with a center-tapped secondary winding
 Bridge rectifier
 Voltage regulator
 Clipper
 Clamper

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EC111: Fundamental of Electronics Engineering Unit II
Diode
 In an ideal diode, if the voltage across it tends to exceed
zero, current flows.
 It is analogous to a water pipe that allows water to flow
in only one direction.

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EC111: Fundamental of Electronics Engineering Unit II
Diode
 Diodes cannot be connected in series randomly. For the
circuits above, only a) can conduct current from A to C.

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EC111: Fundamental of Electronics Engineering Unit II
Ideal Diode
 The diode behaves as a short circuit during the positive
half cycle (voltage across it tends to exceed zero), and an
open circuit during the negative half cycle (voltage across
it is less than zero).

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EC111: Fundamental of Electronics Engineering Unit II
Diode’s Application: Rectifier
Half Wave Rectifier
 A rectifier is a device that passes positive-half cycle of a
sinusoid and blocks the negative half-cycle or vice versa.
 When Vin is greater than 0, diode shorts, so Vout = Vin;
however, when Vin is less than 0, diode opens, no current
flows through R1,Vout = IR1R1 = 0.

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EC111: Fundamental of Electronics Engineering Unit II
Half Wave Rectifier

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EC111: Fundamental of Electronics Engineering Unit II
Half Wave Rectifier
 For large C1,Vout has small ripple.

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EC111: Fundamental of Electronics Engineering Unit II
Full Wave Rectifier: Center Tap
Transformer

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EC111: Fundamental of Electronics Engineering Unit II
Full Wave Rectifier:
Bridge Rectifier

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EC111: Fundamental of Electronics Engineering Unit II
Full Wave Rectifier:
Bridge Rectifier

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EC111: Fundamental of Electronics Engineering Unit II
 Comparison of Rectifier Circuits

Half Wave Full Wave Full wave

Rectifier Center Tap Bridge
Transformer
Number of diodes 1 2 4
Maximum rectifier 40.6% 81.2% 81.2%
efficiency
Ripple Factor 1.21 0.482 0.482
Ripple frequency 50Hz 100Hz 100Hz
T.U.F 0.287 0.693 0.812
PIV Esm 2Esm Esm

38 Assistant Professor Mr. Rupesh Kumar Dutta

EC111: Fundamental of Electronics Engineering Unit II
Zener Diode
 The Zener diode is like a general-purpose diode. When
biased in the forward direction it behaves just like a
normal diode, but when a reverse voltage is applied to it,
the voltage remains constant for a wide range of currents.

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EC111: Fundamental of Electronics Engineering Unit II
Clipper Circuits: Positive Clipper

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EC111: Fundamental of Electronics Engineering Unit II
Clipper Circuits: Negative Clipper

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EC111: Fundamental of Electronics Engineering Unit II
Clipper Output for Practical Diode

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EC111: Fundamental of Electronics Engineering Unit II
Different Clipping Circuits

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EC111: Fundamental of Electronics Engineering Unit II
Different Clipping Circuits cont…

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EC111: Fundamental of Electronics Engineering Unit II
Different Clipping Circuits cont…

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EC111: Fundamental of Electronics Engineering Unit II
Combination Clipper

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EC111: Fundamental of Electronics Engineering Unit II
Clamper Circuits

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EC111: Fundamental of Electronics Engineering Unit II
Negative Clamper

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EC111: Fundamental of Electronics Engineering Unit II
Positive Clamper

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EC111: Fundamental of Electronics Engineering Unit II
Assigment

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EC111: Fundamental of Electronics Engineering Unit II
 Queries are Welcome….

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EC111: Fundamental of Electronics Engineering Unit II