CPO Science

Foundations of Physics

Unit 7, Chapter 24
 Unit 7: Electricity and Magnetism
Chapter 24 Electricity and Magnetism

 24.1 Semiconductors

 24.2 Circuits with Diodes and Transistors

 24.3 Digital Electronics

 Chapter 24 Objectives
1. Describe how a diode and transistor work in terms of
current and voltage.

2. Explain the difference between a p-type and an n-type

semiconductor.

3. Construct a half-wave rectifier circuit with a diode.

4. Construct a transistor switch.

5. Describe the relationship between inputs and outputs of the

four basic logic gates.

6. Construct an adding circuit with logic gates.

 Chapter 24 Vocabulary Terms
 forward bias  conductivity  AND
 reverse bias  p-n junction  OR
 bias voltage  logic gate  NAND
 p-type  rectifier  NOR
 n-type  diode  binary
 depletion region  transistor  CPU
 hole  amplifier  program
 collector  gain  memory
 emitter  analog  bit
 base  digital  integrated circuit
 24.1 Semiconductors

Key Question:

What are some useful

properties of
semiconductors?

*Students read Section 24.1

AFTER Investigation 24.1
 24.1 Diodes
 A diode is a one-way valve for electric current.

 Diodes are a basic building block of all electronics and

are used to control the direction of current flowing in
circuits.
 24.1 Diodes
 When a diode is connected in a circuit so current flows
through it, we say the diode is forward biased.

 When the diode is reversed so it blocks the flow of

current, the diode is reverse biased.
 24.1 Diodes

 In a forward-biased diode the

current stays at zero until the
voltage reaches the bias
voltage (Vb), which is 0.6 V
for common silicon diodes.

 You can think of the bias

voltage as the amount of
energy difference it takes to
open the diode.
 24.1 Transistors
 A transistor allows you to control the current, not just block
it in one direction.
 A good analogy for a transistor is a pipe with an adjustable
gate.
24.1 Transistors
 A transistor has three
terminals.

 The main path for current

is between the collector and
emitter.

 The base controls how

much current flows, just
like the gate controlled the
flow of water in the pipe.
24.1 Transistors
 The current versus voltage
graph for a transistor is more
complicated than for a simple
resistor because there are three
variables.

 A transistor is very sensitive;

ten-millionths of an amp makes
a big difference in the
resistance between the collector
and emitter.
 24.1 Conductivity and semiconductors
 The relative ease at which electric current flows through a
material is known as conductivity.
 Conductors (like copper) have very high conductivity.
 Insulators (like rubber) have very low conductivity.
 The conductivity of a semiconductor depends on its
conditions.
 For example, at low temperatures and low voltages a
semiconductor acts like an insulator.
 When the temperature and/or the voltage is increased, the
conductivity increases and the material acts more like a
conductor.
 24.1 Metals as conductors

 Metals are good

conductors because a
small percentage of
electrons are free to
separate from atoms and
move independently.
 24.1 Nonmetals as conductors
 In an insulator, the
electrons are tightly
bonded to atoms and
cannot move.

 Since the electrons cannot

move, they cannot carry
current.
 24.1 Semiconductors
 The electrons in a
semiconductor are also
bound to atoms, but the
bonds are relatively weak.

 The density of free

electrons is what
determines the conductivity
of a semiconductor.
 24.1 Semiconductors
 If there are many free electrons to carry
current, the semiconductor acts more like a
conductor.
 If there are few electrons, the semiconductor
acts like an insulator.
 Silicon is the most commonly used
semiconductor.
 Atoms of silicon have 14 electrons.
 Ten of the electrons are bound tightly inside
the atom.
 Four electrons are near the outside of the atom
and only loosely bound.
24.1 Changing conductivity
 Anything that changes the number of
free electrons has a huge effect on
conductivity in a semiconductor.

 Adding a phosphorus impurity to

silicon increases the number of
electrons that can carry current.

 Silicon with a phosphorus impurity

makes an n-type semiconductor with
current of negative charge.
 24.1 Changing conductivity
 When a small amount of boron is mixed into silicon the opposite
effect happens.
 When an electron is taken by a boron atom, the silicon atom is
left with a positive charge and current is carried as electrons
move.
 Silicon with a boron impurity is a p-type semiconductor.
 24.1 The p-n junction
 A p-n junction forms where p-type and n-type
semiconductor materials meet.
 The depletion region becomes an insulating barrier to the
flow of current because electrons and holes have combined
to make neutral silicon atoms.
 24.1 The physics of diodes
 The depletion region of a p-n junction is what gives
diodes, transistors, and all other semiconductors their
useful properties.
 24.1 The physics of diodes
 As the voltage increases, no current can flow
because it is blocked by a larger (insulating)
depletion region.
 24.1 The physics of diodes
 If the opposite voltage is applied, both electrons and holes are
repelled toward the depletion region.
 As a result, the depletion region gets smaller.
 Once the depletion region is gone, electrons are free to carry
current across the junction and the semiconductor becomes a
conductor.
 24.1 The physics of diodes

 In short, a p-n junction is a diode.

1. The p-n junction blocks the flow of current from
the n side to the p side.
2. The p-n junction allows current to flow from the p
side to the n side if the voltage difference is more
than 0.6 volts.
24.1 The physics of transistors
 A transistor is made from two p-n
junctions back to back.

 An npn transistor has a p-type

layer sandwiched between two n-
type layers.

 A pnp transistor is the inverse.

 An n-type semiconductor is
between two layers of p-type.
24.2 Circuits with diodes and transistors
 A diode can convert alternating current electricity to direct
current.
 When the AC cycle is positive, the voltage passes through the
diode because the diode is conducting and has low resistance.
 A single diode is called a halfwave rectifier since it converts
half the AC cycle to DC.
 24.2 Circuits with Diodes and Transistors

 When 4 diodes are arranged in a circuit, the whole AC

cycle can be converted to DC and this is called a full-
wave rectifier.
 24.2 AC into DC
 A bridge-rectifier circuit
uses the entire AC cycle by
inverting the negative
portions.

 This version of the full-

wave rectifier circuit is in
nearly every AC adapter
you have ever used.
24.2 A transistor switch
 In many electronic circuits a small voltage or current is used
to switch a much larger voltage or current.
 Transistors work very well for this application because they
behave like switches that can be turned on and off
electronically instead of using manual or mechanical action.
24.2 A transistor switch
 When the current into the base is zero, a transistor has a
resistance of 100,000 ohms or more.
 When a tiny current flows into the base, the resistance drops to
10 ohms or less.
24.2 A transistor switch

 The resistance difference

between “on” and “off” for a
transistor switch is good
enough for many useful circuits
such as an indicator light bulb
in a mechanical circuit.
24.2 A transistor amplifier
 One of the most important uses of a transistor is to amplify a
signal.
 In electronics, the word “amplify” means to make the voltage
or current of the input signal larger without changing the
shape of the signal.
24.2 A transistor amplifier
 In an amplifier circuit, the
transistor is not switched
fully “on” like it is in a
switching circuit.

 Instead, the transistor

operates partially on and
its resistance varies
between a few hundred
ohms and about 10,000
ohms, depending on the
specific transistor.
 24.2 Electronic Logic
 Logic circuits are designed to compare inputs and
produce specific output when all the input conditions
are met.

 Logic circuits assign voltages to the two logical

conditions of TRUE (T) and FALSE (F).

 For example, the circuit that starts your car only works
when a) the car is in park, b) the brake is on, and c) the
key is turned.
 24.2 Electronic Logic
 There is one output which starts the car if TRUE and does not
start the car if FALSE.
 24.2 A transistor
logic circuit
 The only way for the
output to be 3 V is when
all three transistors are
on, which only happens
if all three inputs are
TRUE.
 24.2 Circuits with Diodes and Transistors

Key Question:

What are some useful properties of transistors?

*Students read Section 24.2 BEFORE Investigation 24.2

 24.3 Digital Electronics
 A signal is anything that
carries information.

 Today the word signal usually

means a voltage, current, or
light wave that carries
information.

 A microphone converts the

variations in air pressure from
the sound wave into variations
in voltage in an analog
electrical signal.
 24.3 Digital Electronics
 A digital signal can only be on or off.
 A digital signal is very different from an analog signal.
 24.3 Digital Electronics
 Digital signals can send billions of ones and zeros per
second, carrying more information than analog signals.
 24.3 Digital Electronics
 Digital signals are also easier to store, process, and
reproduce than analog signals.
24.3 Digital Electronics
 24.3 Computers
 A computer is an electronic
device for processing digital
information.

 All computers have three key

systems:
1. memory
2. central processing unit, or cpu
3. input-output system or I/O
 24.3 Computers
 Circuits called logic gates are the basic building blocks of
computers and almost all digital systems.

 The fundamental logic gates are called AND, OR, NAND, and
NOR.
 24.3 Computers
 Logic gates are built from
many transistors in
integrated circuits,
commonly known as “chips.”

 As their names imply, these

gates compare two input
voltages and produce an
output voltage based on the
inputs.
24.3 Computers
 This logic circuit compares
two four-bit electronic
numbers.

 The output of this circuit will

be four ones (3V on each)
only if the number entered
by the keyboard exactly
matches the number in the
computer’s memory.
 24.3 Digital Electronics

Key Question:

How do you construct

electronic logic
circuits?

*Students read Section 24.3 BEFORE Investigation 24.3

Application: Electronic Addition of Two
Numbers