Other Two Terminal Devices

Presented by:
Prateek B.S. (03)
Shreyas Deshmukh (029)
Introduction
• There are a number of two terminal devices having a
single p-n junction but different modes of operation and
terminal characteristics. Today we will be discussing:
Schottky diode photodiode
The Schottky Diode
• The Schottky diode (named after German
physicist Walter H. Schottky; also known as hot
carrier diode) is a semiconductor diode with a
low forward voltage drop and a very fast switching
action. The cat's-whisker detectors used in the
early days of wireless can be considered as
primitive Schottky diodes. A Schottky diode is a
special type of diode with a very low forward-
voltage drop. When current flows through a diode
there is a small voltage drop across the diode
terminals. A normal silicon diode has a voltage
drop between 0.6–1.7 volts[1], while a Schottky
diode voltage drop is between approximately
0.15–0.45 volts. This lower voltage drop can
provide higher switching speed and better system
efficiency. Construction
• A Schottky diode uses a metal–semiconductor
junction as a Schottky barrier (instead of a
semiconductor–semiconductor junction as in
conventional diodes). This Schottky barrier
results in both very fast switching and low
forward voltage drop.
Characteristics of the ‘hot carrier’
• [edit] Reverse recovery time
• The most important difference between p-n and Schottky diode is reverse recovery time,
when the diode switches from non-conducting to conducting state and vice versa. Where in
a p-n diode the reverse recovery time can be in the order of hundreds of nanoseconds and
less than 100 ns for fast diodes, Schottky diodes do not have a recovery time, as there is
nothing to recover from. The switching time is ~100 ps for the small signal diodes, and up
to tens of nanoseconds for special high-capacity power diodes. With p-n junction switching,
there is also a reverse recovery current, which in high-power semiconductors brings
increased EMI noise. With Schottky diodes switching essentially instantly with only slight
capacitive loading, this is much less of a concern.
• It is often said that the Schottky diode is a "majority carrier" semiconductor device. This
means that if the semiconductor body is doped n-type, only the n-type carriers (mobile
electrons) play a significant role in normal operation of the device. The majority carriers
are quickly injected into the conduction band of the metal contact on the other side of the
diode to become free moving electrons. Therefore no slow, random recombination of n-
and p- type carriers is involved, so that this diode can cease conduction faster than an
ordinary p-n rectifier diode.
Applications
• This property in turn allows a smaller device area, which also makes for a faster transition.
This is another reason why Schottky diodes are useful in switch-mode power converters;
the high speed of the diode means that the circuit can operate at frequencies in the range
200 kHz to 2 MHz, allowing the use of small inductors and capacitors with greater
efficiency than would be possible with other diode types. Small-area Schottky diodes are
the heart of RF detectors and mixers, which often operate up to 50 GHz.
• [edit] Voltage clamping
• While standard silicon diodes have a forward voltage drop of about 0.6 volts and
germanium diodes 0.3 volts, Schottky diodes' voltage drop at forward biases of around 1
mA is in the range 0.15 V to 0.46 V (see the 1N5817 [2] and 1N5711 datasheets found online
at manufacturer's websites), which makes them useful in voltage clamping applications and
prevention of transistor saturation. This is due to the higher current density in the Schottky
diode.
• Discharge protection
• A typical application of power Schottky diodes is discharge-protection for solar cells connected to
lead-acid batteries.
• Power supply
• They are also used as rectifiers in switched-mode power supplies; the low forward voltage and fast
recovery time leads to increased efficiency.
• Schottky diodes can be used in power supply "OR"ing circuits in products that have both an internal
battery and a mains adapter input, or similar. However, the high reverse leakage current presents a
problem in this case, as any high-impedance voltage sensing circuit (e.g. monitoring the battery voltage
or detecting whether a mains adaptor is present) will see the voltage from the other power source
through the diode leakage.

Limitations
• The most evident limitations of Schottky diodes are the relatively low reverse voltage rating for silicon-
metal Schottky diodes, 50 V and below, and a relatively high reverse leakage current. Diode designs
have been improving over time. Voltage ratings now can reach 200 V. Reverse leakage current, because
it increases with temperature, leads to a thermal instability issue. This often limits the useful reverse
voltage to well below the actual rating.
The Photodiode
• A photodiode is a type of photodetector capable of converting light into either current or
voltage, depending upon the mode of operation.[1]
• Photodiodes are similar to regular semiconductor diodes except that they may be either exposed
(to detect vacuum UV or X-rays) or packaged with a window or optical fiber connection to allow
light to reach the sensitive part of the device. Many diodes designed for use specifically as a
photodiode will also use a PIN junction rather than the typical PN junction.

• Principle of operation
• A photodiode is a PN junction or PIN structure. When a photon of sufficient energy strikes the
diode, it excites an electron, thereby creating a free electron and a (positively charged electron)
hole. If the absorption occurs in the junction's depletion region, or one diffusion length away from
it, these carriers are swept from the junction by the built-in field of the depletion region. Thus
holes move toward the anode, and electrons toward the cathode, and a photocurrent is produced.
• Photovoltaic mode
• When used in zero bias or photovoltaic mode, the flow of photocurrent out of the device is
restricted and a voltage builds up. The diode becomes forward biased and "dark current" begins
to flow across the junction in the direction opposite to the photocurrent. This mode is responsible
for the photovoltaic effect, which is the basis for solar cells – in fact, a traditional solar cell is just
a large area photodiode.
Modus operandi
• Photoconductive mode
• In this mode the diode is often reverse biased, dramatically reducing the response time at the expense of increased
noise. This increases the width of the depletion layer, which decreases the junction's capacitance resulting in faster
response times. The reverse bias induces only a small amount of current (known as saturation or back current)
along its direction while the photocurrent remains virtually the same. The photocurrent is linearly proportional to
the illuminance.[1]
• Although this mode is faster, the photoconductive mode tends to exhibit more electronic noise. [citation needed] The
leakage current of a good PIN diode is so low (< 1nA) that the Johnson–Nyquist noise of the load resistance in a
typical circuit often dominates.
• Other modes of operation
• Avalanche photodiodes have a similar structure to regular photodiodes, but they are operated with much
higher reverse bias. This allows each photo-generated carrier to be multiplied by avalanche breakdown, resulting
in internal gain within the photodiode, which increases the effective responsivity of the device.
• Phototransistors also consist of a photodiode with internal gain. A phototransistor is in essence nothing more
than a bipolar transistor that is encased in a transparent case so that light can reach the base-collector junction.
The electrons that are generated by photons in the base-collector junction are injected into the base, and this
photodiode current is amplified by the transistor's current gain β (or h fe). Note that while phototransistors have a
higher responsivity for light they are not able to detect low levels of light any better than photodiodes. [citation needed]
Phototransistors also have significantly longer response times.
A typical application of the photodiode

Photodetector
Characteristics of the photodiode

• Response of a silicon photo diode vs wavelength of the incident light

• Critical performance parameters of a photodiode include:
• Responsivity The ratio of generated photocurrent to incident light power, typically expressed in
A/W when used in photoconductive mode. The responsivity may also be expressed as a
Quantum efficiency, or the ratio of the number of photogenerated carriers to incident photons
and thus a unitless quantity. Dark current The current through the photodiode in the absence
of light, when it is operated in photoconductive mode. The dark current includes photocurrent
generated by background radiation and the saturation current of the semiconductor junction.
Dark current must be accounted for by calibration if a photodiode is used to make an accurate
optical power measurement, and it is also a source of noise when a photodiode is used in an
optical communication system. Noise-equivalent power (NEP) The minimum input optical
power to generate photocurrent, equal to the rms noise current in a 1 hertz bandwidth. The
related characteristic detectivity (D) is the inverse of NEP, 1/NEP; and the specific detectivity
() is the detectivity normalized to the area (A) of the photodetector, . The NEP is roughly the
minimum detectable input power of a photodiode. When a photodiode is used in an optical
communication system, these parameters contribute to the sensitivity of the optical receiver,
which is the minimum input power required for the receiver to achieve a specified
bit error ratio.
Applications of the photodiode

• P-N photodiodes are used in similar applications to other photodetectors, such as

photoconductors, charge-coupled devices, and photomultiplier tubes.
• Photodiodes are used in consumer electronics devices such as compact disc players,
smoke detectors, and the receivers for remote controls in VCRs and televisions.
• In other consumer items such as camera light meters, clock radios (the ones that dim the display
when it's dark) and street lights, photoconductors are often used rather than photodiodes,
although in principle either could be used.
• Photodiodes are often used for accurate measurement of light intensity in science and industry.
They generally have a better, more linear response than photoconductors.
• They are also widely used in various medical applications, such as detectors for
computed tomography (coupled with scintillators) or instruments to analyze samples (
immunoassay). They are also used in pulse oximeters.
• PIN diodes are much faster and more sensitive than ordinary p-n junction diodes, and hence are
often used for optical communications and in lighting regulation.
• P-N photodiodes are not used to measure extremely low light intensities. Instead, if high
sensitivity is needed, avalanche photodiodes, intensified charge-coupled devices or
photomultiplier tubes are used for applications such as astronomy, spectroscopy,
night vision equipment and laser rangefinding.
P-N vs. P-I-N photodiodes

1.Due to the intrinsic layer, a PIN photodiode must be

reverse biased (Vr). The Vr increases the depletion
region allowing a larger volume for electron-hole pair
production, and reduces the capacitance thereby
increasing the bandwidth.
2.The Vr also introduces noise current, which reduces the
S/N ratio. Therefore, a reverse bias is recommended for
higher bandwidth applications and/or applications
where a wide dynamic range is required.
3.A PN photodiode is more suitable for lower light
applications because it allows for unbiased operation.