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SEMICONDUCTOR ELECTRONICS:
MATERIALS, DEVICES AND SIMPLE CIRCUITS

Semiconductors
It has been observed that certain materials like germanium, silicon etc. have resistivity
between good conductors like copper and insulators like glass. These materials are known
as semiconductors. A material which has resistivity between conductors and insulators is
known as semiconductor. The resistivity of a semiconductor lie approximately between
10-2 and 104 Ω m at room temperature. The resistance of a semiconductor decreases with
increase in temperature over a particular temperature range. This behavior is contrary to
that of a metallic conductor for which the resistance increases with increase in
temperature.
The elements that are classified as semiconductors are Si, Ge, In, etc. Germanium and
silicon are most widely used as semiconductors

Energy band in solids

In the case of a single isolated atom, there are various discrete energy levels. In solids, the
atoms are arranged in a systematic space lattice and each atom is influenced by
neighboring atoms. The closeness of atoms results in the intermixing of electrons of
neighboring atoms.
Inside the crystal each electron has a unique position and no two electrons see exactly the
same pattern of surrounding charges. Because of this, each electron will have a different
energy level.
These different energy levels with continuous energy variation form what are called
energy bands. The energy band which includes the energy levels of the valence electrons is
called the valence band. The energy band above the valence band is called the conduction
band.
Energy difference between energy of conduction band and valance band is called band gap
energy or forbidden energy gap
With no external energy, all the valence electrons will reside in the valence band. If the
lowest level in the conduction band happens to be lower than the highest level of the
valence band, the electrons from the valence band can move
into the conduction band
Let us consider what happens in the case of Si or Ge crystal
containing N atoms. For Si, the outermost orbit is the third orbit
(n = 3), while for Ge it is the fourth orbit (n = 4). The number of
electrons in the outermost orbit is 4 (3s and 3p electrons for Si).
Hence, the total number of outer electrons in the crystal is 4N.
The maximum possible number of electrons in the outer orbit is
8 (2s + 6p electrons).
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So, for the 4N valence electrons there are 8N available energy states. These 8N discrete
energy levels can either form a continuous band or they may be grouped in different
bands depending upon the distance between the atoms in the crystal
Conductors:
Normally the conduction band is empty. But when it overlaps
on the valence band electrons can move freely into it. This is
the case with metallic conductors.

Insulators
In an insulator, the forbidden energy gap is very large. In general,
the forbidden energy gap is more than 3eV and almost no
electrons are available for conduction. Therefore, a very large
amount of energy must be supplied to a valence electron to
enable it to move to the conduction band. In the case of
materials like glass, the valence band is completely filled at 0 K.
The energy gap between valence band and conduction band is of
the order of 10 eV. Even in the presence of high electric field, the
electrons cannot move from valence band to conduction band.
If the electron is supplied with high energy, it can jump across the forbidden gap. When
the temperature is increased, some electrons will move to the conduction band. This is the
reason, why certain materials, which are insulators at room temperature become
conductors at high temperature. The resistivity of insulator approximately lies between
1011 and 1016 Ω m

Semiconductors
In semiconductors (Fig), the forbidden gap is very small.
Germanium and silicon are the best examples of
semiconductors. The forbidden gap energy is of the order
of 0.7eV for Ge and 1.1eV for Si.
There are no electrons in the conduction band. The valence
band is completely filled at 0 K. With a small amount of
energy that is supplied, the electrons can easily jump from
the valence band to the conduction band.
For example, if the temperature is raised, the forbidden gap
is decreased and some electrons are liberated into the conduction band.
The conductivity of a semiconductor is of the order of 102 mho m–1
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INTRINSIC SEMICONDUCTOR
A semiconductor which is pure and contains no impurity is known as an intrinsic
semiconductor. In an intrinsic semiconductor, the number of free electrons and holes are
equal. Common examples of intrinsic semiconductors are pure germanium and silicon
Fig a and Fig b represent charge carriers at absolute zero temperature and at room
temperature respectively.

The electrons in an intrinsic semiconductor, which move in to the conduction band at high
temperatures are called as intrinsic carriers. In the valence band, a vacancy is created at
the place where the electron was present, before it had moved in to the conduction band.
This vacancy is called hole.
Fig c helps in understanding the creation of a hole. Consider the case of pure germanium
crystal. It has four electrons in its outer or valence orbit. These electrons are known as
valence electrons. When two atoms of germanium are brought close to each other, a
covalent bond is formed between the atoms. If some additional energy is received, one of
the electrons contributing to a covalent bond breaks and it is free to move in the crystal
lattice

While coming out of the bond, a hole is said to be created at its place, which is usually
represented by a open circle. The hole behaves as an apparent free particle with effective
positive charge. An electron from the neighboring atom can break the covalent bond and
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can occupy this hole, creating a hole at another place. Since an electron has a unit
negative charge, the hole is associated with a unit positive charge. The importance of hole
is that, it may serve as a carrier of electricity in the same manner as the free electron, but
in the opposite direction.
In intrinsic semiconductors, the number of free electrons, ne is equal to the number of
holes, nh. That is ne = nh = ni
where ni is called intrinsic carrier concentration
Under the action of an electric field, these holes move towards negative potential
giving the hole current, Ih. The total current, I is thus the sum of the electron current Ie and
the hole current Ih:
I = Ie + Ih
It may be noted that apart from the process of generation of conduction electrons and
holes, a simultaneous process of recombination occurs in which the electrons recombine
with the holes. At equilibrium, the rate of generation is equal to the rate of recombination
of charge carriers. The recombination occurs due to an electron colliding with a hole.

EXTRINSIC SEMICONDUCTOR
Electrons and holes can be generated in a semiconductor crystal with heat energy or light
energy. But in these cases, the conductivity remains very low. The efficient and convenient
method of generating free electrons and holes is to add very small amount of selected
impurity inside the crystal. The impurity to be added is of the order of 100 ppm (parts per
million). The process of addition of a very small amount of impurity into an intrinsic
semiconductor is called doping.
The impurity atoms are called dopants. The semiconductor containing impurity atoms is
known as impure or doped or extrinsic semiconductor.
There are three different methods of doping a semiconductor.
(i) The impurity atoms are added to the semiconductor in its molten state.
(ii) The pure semiconductor is bombarded by ions of impurity atoms.
(iii) When the semiconductor crystal containing the impurity atoms is heated, the impurity
atoms diffuse into the hot crystal.
Usually, the doping material is either pentavalent atoms (bismuth, antimony,
phosphorous, arsenic which have five valence electrons) or trivalent atoms (aluminium,
gallium, indium, boron which have three valence electrons).
The pentavalent doping atom is known as donor atom, since it donates one electron to the
conduction band of pure semiconductor.
The trivalent atom is called an acceptor atom, because it accepts one electron from the
pure semiconductor atom.
Depending upon the type of impurity atoms added, an extrinsic semiconductor can be
classified as N-type or P-type.

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(A) N-TYPE SEMICONDUCTOR

When a small amount of pentavalent impurity such as arsenic is added to a pure
germanium semiconductor crystal, the resulting crystal is called N-type semiconductor.
Fig a shows the crystal structure obtained when pentavalent arsenic impurity is added
with pure germanium crystal

The four valence electrons of arsenic atom form covalent bonds with electrons of
neighboring four germanium atoms. The fifth electron of arsenic atom is loosely bound.
This electron can move about almost as freely as an electron in a conductor and hence it
will be the carrier of current. In the energy band picture, the energy state corresponding
to the fifth valence electron is in the forbidden gap and lies slightly below the conduction
band (Figb).

This level is known as the donor level. When the fifth valence electron is transferred to the
conduction band, the arsenic atom becomes positively charged immobile ion. Each
impurity atom donates one free electron to the semiconductor. These impurity atoms are
called donors.
In N-type semiconductor material, the number of electrons increases, compared to the
available number of charge carriers in the intrinsic semiconductor. This is because, the
available larger number of electrons increases the rate of recombination of electrons with
holes. Hence, in N-type semiconductor, free electrons are the majority charge carriers and
holes are the minority charge carriers in an extrinsic
therefore, known as n-type semiconductors. For n-type semiconductors,
we have, ne >> nh

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(b) P-type semiconductor

When a small amount of trivalent impurity (such as indium, boron or gallium) is added to a
pure semiconductor crystal, the resulting semiconductor crystal is called P-type
semiconductor. (Fig a )shows the crystal structure obtained, when trivalent
boron impurity is added with pure germanium crystal.

The three valence electrons of the boron atom form covalent bonds with valence
electrons of three neighborhood germanium atoms. In the fourth covalent bond, only one
valence electron is available from germanium atom and there is deficiency of one electron
which is called as a hole.
Hence for each boron atom added, one hole is created. Since the holes can accept
electrons from neighborhood, the impurity is called acceptor. The hole, may be filled by
the electron from a neighboring atom, creating a hole in that position from where the
electron moves. This process continues and the hole moves about in a random manner
due to thermal effects. Since the hole is associated with a positive charge moving from
one position to another, this is called as P-type semiconductor. In the P-type
semiconductor, the acceptor impurity produces an energy level just above the valence
band. (Fig b).

Since, the energy difference between acceptor energy level and the valence band is much
smaller, electrons from the valence band can easily jump
into the acceptor level by thermal agitation. In P-type semiconductors, holes are the
majority charge carriers and free electrons are the minority charge carriers.

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Therefore, extrinsic semiconductors doped with trivalent impurity are called p-type
semiconductors. For p-type semiconductors, the recombination process will reduce
the number (ni)of intrinsically generated electrons to ne. We have, for p-type
semiconductors nh >> ne
Note that the crystal maintains an overall charge neutrality as the charge of additional
charge carriers is just equal and opposite to that of the ionised cores in the lattice.
Conduction in p-type and n-type semiconductors
The semiconductor’s energy band structure is affected by doping. In the case of extrinsic
semiconductors, additional energy states due to donor impurities and acceptor impurities
also exist.
In the energy band diagram of n-type Si semiconductor, the donor energy level is slightly
below the bottom of the conduction band and electrons from this level move into the
conduction band with very small supply of energy. At room temperature, most of the
donor atoms get ionised but very few (~10–12) atoms of Si get ionised. So the conduction
band will have most electrons coming from the donor impurities,
Similarly for p-type semiconductor, the acceptor energy level is slightly above the top of
the valence band. With very small supply of energy an electron from the valence band can
jump to the level and ionise the acceptor negatively. (Alternately, we can also say that
with very small supply of energy the hole from level sinks down into the valence band.
Electrons rise up and holes fall down when they gain external energy.) At room
temperature, most of the acceptor atoms get ionised leaving holes in the valence band.
Thus at room temperature the density of holes in the valence band is predominantly due
to impurity in the extrinsic semiconductor. The electron and hole concentration in a
semiconductor in thermal equilibrium is given by 𝑛𝑒 𝑛ℎ = 𝑛𝑖2

Solved Numerical
Q) Suppose a pure Si crystal has 5 × 1028 atoms m–3. It is doped by 1 ppm concentration of
pentavalent As. Calculate the number of electrons and holes. Given that ni =1.5 × 1016 m–3.
Solution:
Note that thermally generated electrons (ni ~1016 m–3) are negligibly small as compared to
those produced by doping.
Therefore, ne ≈ ND.
Since 𝑛𝑒 𝑛ℎ = 𝑛𝑖2
The number of holes
nh = (2.25 × 1032)/(5 ×1022)
nh ~ 4.5 × 109 m–3

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PN Junction diode
If one side of a single crystal of pure semiconductor (Ge or Si) is doped with acceptor
impurity atoms and the other side is doped with donor impurity atoms, a PN junction is
formed as shown in Fig

P region has a high concentration of holes and N region contains a large

number of electrons. As soon as the junction is formed, free electrons and holes cross
through the junction by the process of diffusion. During this process, the electrons
crossing the junction from N-region into the P region, recombine with holes in the P-region
very close to the junction.
Similarly holes crossing the junction from the P-region into the N-region, recombine
with electrons in the N-region very close to the junction. Thus a region is formed,
which does not have any mobile charges very close to the junction. This region is called
depletion region. In this region, on the left side of the junction, the acceptor atoms
become negative ions and on the right side of the junction, the donor atoms become
positive ions
An electric field is set up, between the donor and acceptor ions in the depletion region.
The potential at the N-side is higher than the potential at P-side. Therefore electrons in the
N-side are prevented to go to the lower potential of P-side. Similarly, holes in the P-side
find themselves at a lower potential and are prevented to cross to the N-side. Thus, there
is a barrier at the junction which opposes the movement of the majority charge carriers.
The difference of potential from one side of the barrier to the other side is called potential
barrier. The potential barrier is approximately 0.7V for a silicon PN junction and 0.3V for a
germanium PN junction. The distance from one side of the barrier to the other side is
called the width of the barrier, which depends upon the nature of the material.
Symbol for a semiconductor diode
The diode symbol is shown in Fig The P-type and N-type regions are referred to
as P–end and N–end respectively. The arrow on the diode points the direction of

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Forward biased PN junction diode

When the positive terminal of the battery is connected to P-side and negative terminal to
the N-side, so that the electric field across diode due to battery is in opposite direction to
the electric field of barrier, then the PN junction diode is said to be forward biased.

When the PN junction is forward biased (Fig), the applied positive potential repels the
holes in the P-region, and the applied negative potential repels the electrons in the N-
region, so the charges move towards the junction.
If the applied potential difference is more than the potential barrier, some holes and free
electrons enter the depletion region.
Hence, the potential barrier as well as the width of the depletion region are reduced. The
positive donor ions and negative acceptor ions within the depletion region regain
electrons and holes respectively. As a result of this, the depletion region disappears and
the potential barrier also disappears. Hence, under the action of the forward potential
difference, the majority charge carriers flow across the junction in opposite direction and
constitute current flow in the forward direction.

Forward bias characteristics

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The circuit for the study of forward bias characteristics of PN junction diode is shown in Fig
The voltage between P–end and N–end is increased from zero in suitable equal steps and
the corresponding currents are noted down. (Fig b) shows the forward bias characteristic
curve of the diode. Voltage is the independent variable. Therefore, it is plotted along X–
axis. Since, current is the dependent variable, it is plotted against Y–axis. From the
characteristic curve, the following conclusions can be made.
(i) The forward characteristic is not a straight line. Hence the ratio V/I is not a
constant (i.e) the diode does not obey Ohm’s law. This implies that the
semiconductor diode is a non-linear conductor of electricity.
(ii) It can be seen from the characteristic curve that initially, the current is very
small. This is because, the diode will start conducting, only when the external voltage
overcomes the barrier potential (0.7V for silicon diode). As the voltage is increased to 0.7
V, large number of free electrons and holes start crossing the junction. Above 0.7V, the
current increases rapidly. The voltage at which the current starts to increase rapidly is
known as cut-in voltage or knee voltage of the diode

Reverse biased PN junction diode

When the positive terminal of the battery is connected to the difference is in the same
direction as that of barrier potential, the junction is said to be reverse biased.

When the PN junction is reverse biased (Fig), electrons in the N region and holes in the P-
region are attracted away from the junction N-side and negative terminal to the P-side, so
that the applied potential Because of this, the number of negative ions in the P-region and
positive ions in the N-region increases. Hence the depletion region becomes wider and the
potential barrier is increased.
Since the depletion region does not contain majority charge carriers, it acts like an
insulator. Therefore, no current should flow in the external circuit. But, in practice, a very
small current of the order of few microamperes flows in the reverse direction. This is due
to the minority carriers flowing in the opposite direction. This reverse current is small,
because the number of minority carriers in both regions is very small. Since the major
source of minority carriers is, thermally broken covalent bonds, the reverse current mainly
depends on the junction temperature.
Reverse bias characteristics
The circuit for reverse bias characteristics of PN junction diode is shown(Fig. )

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The voltage is increased from zero in suitable steps. For each voltage, the corresponding
current readings are noted down. Fig b shows the reverse bias characteristic curve of the
diode. From the characteristic curve, it can be concluded that, as voltage is increased from
zero, reverse current (in the order of microamperes) increases and reaches the maximum
value at a small value of the reverse voltage. When the voltage is further increased, the
current is almost independent of the reverse voltage upto a certain critical value.
This reverse current is known as the reverse saturation current or leakage current. This
current is due to the minority charge carriers, which depends on junction temperature.

Avalanche breakdown :
When both sides of the PN junction are lightly doped and the depletion layer becomes
large, avalanche breakdown takes place. In this case, the electric field across the depletion
layer is not so strong. The minority carriers accelerated by the field, collide with the
semiconductor atoms in the crystal.
Because of this collision with valence electrons, covalent bonds are broken and electron
hole pairs are generated. These charge carriers, so produced acquire energy from the
applied potential and in turn produce more and more carriers. This cumulative process is
called avalanche multiplication and the breakdown is called avalanche breakdown.

Solved Numerical
Q) Find the voltage at the point B in the figure (Silicon diode is used).

Solution:
The potential drop across the diode is equal to the knee voltage when diode is in forward
biases. This voltage for Si diode is 0.7V
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Now by applying Kirchhoff law
5 = 0.7 + VR
VR = 4.3 V
Now VR = potential at B
Thus potential at B is 4.3V

Half wave rectifier

A circuit which rectifies half of the a.c wave is called half wave rectifier. Fig shows the
circuit for half wave rectification. The a.c. voltage (Vs) to be rectified is obtained across the
secondary ends S1 S2 of the transformer.

The P-end of the diode D is connected to S1 of the secondary coil of the transformer. The
N-end of the diode is connected to the other end S2 of the secondary coil of the
transformer, through a load resistance RL.
The rectified output voltage Vdc appears across the load resistance RL. During the positive
half cycle of the input a.c. voltage Vs, S1 will be positive and the diode is forward biased
and hence it conducts.
Therefore, current flows through the circuit and there is a voltage drop across RL. This
gives the output voltage as shown in Fig. During the negative half cycle of the input a.c.
voltage (Vs), S1 will be negative and the diode D is reverse biased. Hence the diode
does not conduct. No current flows through the circuit and the voltage drop across R L will
be zero. Hence no output voltage is obtained.
Thus corresponding to an alternating input signal, unidirectional pulsating output is
obtained. The ratio of d.c. power output to the a.c. power input is known as rectifier
efficiency. The efficiency of half wave rectifier is approximately 40.6%.

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Full-wave rectifier:

The circuit using two diodes, shown in Fig. (a), gives output rectified voltage corresponding
to both the positive as well as negative half of the ac cycle. Hence, it is known as full-wave
rectifier.
Here the p-side of the two diodes are connected to the ends of the secondary of the
transformer. The n-side of the diodes are connected together and the output is taken
between this common point of diodes and the midpoint of the secondary of the
transformer. So for a full-wave rectifier the secondary of the transformer is provided with
a centre tapping and so it is called centre-tap transformer.
Suppose the input voltage to A with respect to the centre tap at any instant is positive. It is
clear that, at that instant, voltage at B being out of phase will be negative as shown in So,
diode D1 gets forward biased and conducts (while D2 being reverse biased is not
conducting). Current flows through path AD1XY to central tapping.
Hence, during this positive half cycle we get an output current (and a output voltage
across the load resistor RL) as shown in (Fig.b).
In the course of the ac cycle , the voltage at B would be positive. In this part of the cycle
diode D1 would not conduct but diode D2 would, giving an output current path of current
will be BD2 XY to central tapping and output voltage (across RL) during the negative half
cycle of the input ac.
Thus, we get output voltage during both the positive as well as the negative half of the
cycle. This is a more efficient circuit for getting rectified voltage or current than the
halfwave rectifier
The rectified voltage is in the form of pulses of the shape of half sinusoids. Though it is
unidirectional it does not have a steady value.

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To get steady dc output from the pulsating voltage normally a capacitor is connected
across the output terminals (parallel to the load RL). One can also use an inductor in series
with RL for the same purpose. Since these additional circuits appear to filter out the ac
ripple and give a pure dc voltage, so they are called filters.

Filter circuits and regulation property of the power supply

The rectified voltage is in the form of pulses of the shape of half sinusoids. Though it is
unidirectional it does not have a steady value.
To get steady dc output from the pulsating voltage normally a capacitor is connected
across the output terminals (parallel to the load RL). One can also use an inductor in series
with RL for the same purpose. Since these additional circuits appear to filter out the ac
ripple and give a pure dc voltage, so they are called filters. Now we shall discuss the role of
capacitor in filtering.

When the voltage across the capacitor is rising, it gets charged. If there is no external load,
it remains charged to the peak voltage of the rectified output.
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When there is a load, it gets discharged through the load and the voltage across it begins
to fall. In the next half-cycle of rectified output it again gets charged to the peak value
(Fig.).

The rate of fall of the voltage across the capacitor depends upon the inverse product of
capacitor C and the effective resistance RL used in the circuit and is called the time
constant.
To make the time constant large value of C should be large. So capacitor input filters use
large capacitors. The output voltage obtained by using capacitor input filter is nearer to
the peak voltage of the rectified voltage. This type of filter is most widely used in power
supplies.

Zener diode
It is a special purpose semiconductor diode, named after its inventor C. Zener.
It is designed to operate under reverse bias in the breakdown region and used as a voltage
regulator. The symbol for Zener diode is shown in (a).

Zener diode is fabricated by heavily doping both p-, and n- sides of the junction.
Due to this, depletion region formed is very thin (<10–6 m) and the electric field of the
junction is extremely high (~5×106 V/m) even for a small reverse bias
voltage of about 5V. The I-V characteristics of a Zener diode is shown in Fig.

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It is seen that when the applied reverse bias voltage(V) reaches the breakdown voltage
(Vz) of the Zener diode, there is a large change in the current. Note that after the
breakdown voltage Vz, a large change in the current can be produced by almost
insignificant change in the reverse bias voltage. In other words, Zener voltage remains
constant, even though current through the Zener diode varies over a wide range. This
property of the Zener diode is used for regulating supply voltages so that they are
constant.

Zener breakdown :
We know that reverse current is due to the flow of electrons (minority carriers) from p →
n and holes from n → p.
When both sides of the PN junction are heavily doped, consequently the depletion layer is
narrow. Zener breakdown takes place in such a thin narrow junction
As the reverse bias voltage is increased, the electric field at the junction becomes
significant. When the reverse bias voltage V = Vz, then the electric field strength is high
enough to pull valence electrons from the host atoms on the p-side which are accelerated
These electrons account for high current observed at the breakdown. The emission of
electrons from the host atoms due to the high electric field is known as internal field
emission or field ionisation. The electric field required for field ionisation is of the order of
106 V/m.

Zener diode as voltage regulator:

To maintain a constant voltage across the load, even if the input voltage or load current
varies, voltage regulation is to be made.

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A Zener diode working in the break down region can act as voltage regulator. The circuit in
which a Zener diode is used for maintaining a constant voltage across the load R L is shown
in Fig

The Zener diode in reverse biased condition is connected in parallel with the load R L. Let
Vdc be the unregulated dc voltage and Vz be Zener voltage (regulated output voltage).
Rs is the current limiting resistor. It is chosen in such a way that the diode operates in the
breakdown region. Inspite of changes in the load current or in the input voltage, the Zener
diode maintains a constant voltage across the load. The action of the circuit can be
explained as given below.
(i) load current varies, input voltage is constant : Let us consider that the load current
increases. Zener current hence decreases, and the current through the resistance Rs is a
constant.
The output voltage is Vz = Vdc – IRs, since the total current I remains
constant, output voltage remains constant.
(ii) input voltage varies :
If input voltage increases, In the breakdown region, Zener voltage remains constant even
though the current through the Zener diode changes.
Similarly, if the input voltage decreases, the current through Rs and Zener diode also
decreases. The voltage drop across Rs decreases without any change in the voltage across
the Zener diode.
Thus any increase/decrease in the input voltage results in, increase/decrease of the
voltage drop across Rs without any change in voltage across the Zener diode. Thus the
Zener diode acts as a voltage regulator.
We have to select the Zener diode according to the
required output voltage and accordingly the series resistance Rs.

(i) Photodiode
A Photodiode is again a special purpose p-n junction diode fabricated with a transparent
window to allow light to fall on the diode.
It is operated under reverse bias.
Reverse saturation current flows through the PN junction diode on connecting it in a
reverse bias mode.
The reverse saturation current can be increased by making more light incident on it
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When the photodiode is illuminated with light (photons) with energy (hν) greater than the
energy gap (Eg) of the semiconductor, then electron-hole pairs are generated due to the
absorption of photons.

The diode is fabricated such that the generation of e-h pairs takes place in or near the
depletion region of the diode.
Due to electric field of the junction, electrons and holes are separated before they
recombine. The direction of the electric field is such that electrons reach n-side and holes
reach p-side.
When an external load is connected ,electrons are collected on n-side and holes are
collected on p-side giving rise to reverse saturation current.
The magnitude of the photocurrent depends on the intensity of incident light
photocurrent is proportional to incident light intensity).
Thus photodiode can be used as a photo detector to detect optical signals.

Light emitting diode

It is a heavily doped p-n junction which under forward bias emits spontaneous radiation.
The diode is encapsulated with a transparent cover so that emitted light can come out.
When the diode is forward biased, electrons are sent from n → p and holes are sent from
p → n.
At the junction boundary the concentration of minority carriers increases compared to the
equilibrium concentration (i.e., when there is no bias).
Thus at the junction boundary on either side of the junction, excess minority carriers are
there which recombine with majority carriers near the junction.
On recombination, the energy is released in the form of photons. Photons with energy
equal to or slightly less than the band gap are emitted.
When the forward current of the diode is small, the intensity of light emitted is small. As
the forward current increases, intensity of light increases and reaches a maximum. Further
increase in the forward current results in decrease of light intensity.
LEDs are biased such that the light emitting efficiency is maximum.

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The V-I characteristics of a LED is similar to that of a Si junction diode. But the threshold
voltages are much higher and slightly different for each colour.
The reverse breakdown voltages of LEDs are very low, typically around 5V. So care should
be taken that high reverse voltages do not appear across them.
LEDs that can emit red, yellow, orange, green and blue light are commercially available.
The semiconductor used for fabrication of visible LEDs must at least have a band gap of 1.8
eV (spectral range of visible light is from about 0.4 μm to 0.7 μm, i.e., from about 3 eV to
1.8 eV).
The compound semiconductor Gallium Arsenide – Phosphide (GaAs1–xPx) is used for
making LEDs of different colours.
GaAs0.6 P0.4 (Eg ~ 1.9 eV) is used for red LED.
GaAs (Eg ~ 1.4 eV) is used for making infrared LED.
These LEDs find extensive use in remote controls, burglar alarm systems, optical
communication, etc. Extensive research is being done for developing white LEDs which can
replace incandescent lamps.
LEDs have the following advantages over conventional incandescent low power lamps:
(i) Low operational voltage and less power.
(ii) Fast action and no warm-up time required.
(iii) The bandwidth of emitted light is 100 Å to 500 Å or in other words it is nearly (but not
exactly) monochromatic.
(iv) Long life and ruggedness.
(v) Fast on-off switching capability.

Solar cell

A solar cell is basically a p-n junction which

generates emf when solar radiation falls on the
p-n junction. It works on the same principle
(photovoltaic effect) as the photodiode, except
that no external bias is applied and the junction
area is kept much larger for solar radiation to be
incident because we are interested in more
power. A simple p-n junction solar cell is shown in
figure
A p-Si wafer of about 300 μm is taken over which
a thin layer (~0.3 μm) of n-Si is grown on

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one-side by diffusion process. The other side of p-Si is coated with a metal (back contact).
On the top of n-Si layer, metal finger electrode (or metallic grid) is deposited. This acts as a
front contact. The metallic grid occupies only a very small fraction of the cell area (<15%)
so that light can be incident on the cell from the top.
The generation of emf by a solar cell, when light falls on, it is due to the following three
basic processes: generation, separation and collection—
(i) generation of e-h pairs due to light (with hν > Eg) close
to the junction;
(ii) separation of electrons and holes due to electric field of
the depletion region. Electrons are swept to n-side and
holes to p-side;
(iii) the electrons reaching the n-side are collected by the
front contact and holes reaching p-side are collected by the
back contact. Thus p-side becomes positive and n-side
becomes negative giving rise to photovoltage.
When an external load is connected as shown in the Fig. a photocurrent IL flows through
the load. A typical I-V characteristics of a solar cell is shown in the Fig.b

Note that the I – V characteristics of solar cell is drawn in the fourth quadrant of the
coordinate axes. This is because a solar cell does not draw current but supplies the same
to the load.
Semiconductors with band gap close to 1.5 eV are ideal materials for solar cell fabrication.
Solar cells are made with semiconductors like
Si (Eg = 1.1 eV),
GaAs (Eg = 1.43 eV),
CdTe (Eg = 1.45 eV),
CuInSe2 (Eg = 1.04eV), etc.
The important criteria for the selection of a material for solar cell fabrication are
(i) Band gap (~1.0 to 1.8 eV),
(ii) High optical absorption (~104 cm–1), electrical conductivity,
(iv) Availability of the raw material, and
(v) Cost. Note that sunlight is not always required for a solar cell.
Any light with photon energies greater than the band gap will do. Solar cells are used

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to power electronic devices in satellites and space vehicles and also as power supply to
some calculators.

Junction transistor
A junction transistor is a solid state device. It consists of silicon or germanium crystal
containing two PN junctions.
The two PN junctions are formed between the three layers. These are called base,
emitter and collector.
(i) Base (B) layer : It is a very thin layer, the thickness is about 25 microns. It is the central
region of the transistor.
(ii) Emitter (E) and Collector (C) layers : The two layers on the opposite sides of B layer are
emitter and collector layers. They are of the same type of the semiconductor.
An ohmic contact is made to each of these layers. The junction between emitter and base
is called emitter junction. The junction between collector and base is called collector
junction.
In a transistor, the emitter region is heavily doped, since emitter has to supply majority
carriers. The base is lightly doped. The collector region is lightly doped. Since it has to
accept majority charge carriers, it is physically larger in size. Hence, emitter and collector
cannot be interchanged.
The construction of PNP and NPN transistors are shown in Fig a and Fig b respectively.

For a transistor to work, the biasing to be given are as follows :

(i) The emitter-base junction is forward biased, so that majority charge carriers are
repelled from the emitter and the junction offers very low resistance to the current.
(ii) The collector-base junction is reverse biased, so that it attracts majority charge carriers
and this junction offers a high resistance to the current.
Transistor circuit symbols
The circuit symbols for a PNP and NPN transistors are shown in Fig

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The arrow on the emitter lead pointing towards the base represents a PNP transistor
When the emitter-base junction of a PNP transistor is forward biased, the direction of the
conventional current flow is from emitter to base.
NPN transistor is represented by arrow on the emitter lead pointing away from the base.
When the emitter base junction of a NPN transistor is forward biased, the direction of the
conventional current is from base to emitter.

Working of a NPN transistor

A NPN transistor is like two PN junction diodes, which are placed back-to-back. At each
junction, there is a depletion region which gives rise to a potential barrier. The external
biasing of the junction is provided by the batteries VEE and VCC as shown in Fig.
The emitter base junction is forward biased and the collector base junction is reverse
biased.
Since the emitter-base junction is forward biased, a large number of electrons cross the
junction and enters the base constitutes current IE.
The base width is small and has fewer concentration of impurity as a result only 5% of
electrons entering base recombine with holes.
The rest of the electrons enters collector region due to influence of the battery V CC.
For every electron entering the collector one electron flows in the external circuit and
constitutes the collector current IC.
Similarly for every electron combing with the hole in the base section, there is one
electron which gets attracted by VEE and flows as base current IB in external circuit
Applying Kirchoff’s current law to the circuit, the emitter current is the sum of collector
current and base current. IE = IC + IB

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This equation is the fundamental relation between the currents in a transistor circuit.
This equation is true regardless of transistor type or transistor configuration. The action of
PNP transistor is similar to that of NPN transistor.

Solved Numerical
10
Q) In NPN transistor about 10 electrons enter the emitter in 1μs when it is connected to
a battery. About 2% electrons recombine with the holes in the base. Calculate the values
of IE , IB, IC, αdc, and βdc ( e = 1.6 ×10-19 C)
Solution:
As per the definition of current
Q ne
IE = =
t t

1010 × 1.6 × 10−19

𝐼𝐸 = = 1600𝜇𝐴
10−6
2% of the total current entering the base from the emitter recombine with the holes which
constitutes the base current IB. The rest of the 98% electrons reaches the collector and
constitutes the collector current
IB = 0.021, IE = 0.02 × 1600 = 32 μA
IC = 0.98, IE = 0.98 × 1600 =1568 μA
IC 1568 × 10−6
αdc = = = 0.98
IE 1600 × 10−6
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IC 1568 × 10−6
βdc = = = 49
IB 32 × 10−6

Transistor circuit configurations

There are three types of circuit connections (called configurations or modes) for operating
a transistor. They are (i) common base (CB) mode

(ii)common emitter (CE) mode

(iii)common collector (CC) mode.

In a similar way, three configurations can be drawn for PNP transistor.

Current amplification factors α and β and the relation between them

The current amplification factor or current gain of a transistor is the ratio of output
current to the input current.
If the transistor is connected in common base mode, the current gain α
IC
α=
IE
and if the transistor is connected in common emitter mode, the current gain β
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IC
β=
IB

Since 95% of the injected electrons reach the collector, the collector current is almost
equal to the emitter current. Almost all transistors have α , in the range 0.95 to 0.99
We know that

IC
α=
IE
And IE = IC + IB Thus

𝐼𝐶
𝛼=
IC + IB

1 IC + IB 𝐼𝐵
= =1+
𝛼 𝐼𝐶 𝐼𝐶

1 𝐼𝐵
−1=
𝛼 𝐼𝐶

1 1
−1=
𝛼 𝛽

𝛼
𝛽=
1−𝛼

Usually β lies between 50 and 300. Some transistors have β as high as 1000.
Similarly we can prove
β
α=
1+β

Characteristics of an NPN transistor in common emitter configuration

The three important characteristics of a transistor in any mode
are (i) input characteristics (ii) output characteristics and (iii) transfer characteristics.
The circuit to study the characteristic curves of NPN transistor in common emitter mode is
as shown in Fig

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Input characteristics
Input characteristic curve is drawn between the base current (IB) and voltage between
base and emitter (VBE), when the voltage between collector and emitter (VCE) is kept
constant at a particular value. VBE is increased in suitable equal steps and corresponding
base current is noted. The procedure is repeated for different values of VCE.
IB values are plotted against VBE for constant VCE. The input characteristic thus obtained is
shown in Fig

The input impedance of the transistor is defined as the ratio of small change in base –
emitter voltage to the corresponding change in base current at a given VCE.
Input impedance, ri
∆𝑽𝑩𝑬
𝒓𝒊 = ( )
∆𝑰𝑩 𝑽𝑪𝑬
The input impedance of the transistor in CE mode is very high.

Output characteristics
Output characteristic curves are drawn between IC and VCE, when IB is kept constant at a
particular value. The base current IB is kept at a constant value, by adjusting the base
emitter voltage VBE. VCE is increased in suitable equal steps and the corresponding collector
current is noted. The procedure is repeated for different values of IB. Now, Ic versus VCE
curves are drawn for different values of IB. The output characteristics thus obtained are
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represented in Fig.

The three regions of the characteristics can be discussed as follows :

Saturation region :
The initial part of the curve (ohmic region, OA) is called saturation region. (i.e) The region
in between the origin and knee point. (Knee point is the point, where Ic is about to become
a constant). In this region both base-emitter region and base-collector region are forward
bias.

Cut off region :

There is very small collector current in the transistor, even when the base current is zero
(IB = 0). In the output characteristics, the region below the curve for IB = 0 is called cut off
region. Below the cut off region, the transistor does not function. In this region both base-
emitter region and base-collector region are reverse biased.

Active region :
The central region of the curves is called active region. In the active region, the curves are
uniform. In this region, E-B junction is forward biased and C-B junction is reverse biased.
The output impedance ro is defined as the ratio of variation in the collector emitter voltage
to the corresponding variation in the collector current at a constant base current in the
active region of the transistor characteristic curves.
output impedance, ro
∆𝑽𝑪𝑬
𝒓𝒐 = ( )
∆𝑰𝑪 𝑰
𝑩
The output impedance of a transistor in CE mode is low.
Its value can be found out from the input characteristic curve. Normally its value is found
between 50kΩ to 100kΩ

Transfer characteristics

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The transfer characteristic curve is drawn between IC and IB, when VCE is kept constant at a
particular value. The base current IB is increased in suitable steps and the collector current
IC is noted down for each value of IB. The transfer characteristic curve is shown in Fig.

The current gain is defined as the ratio of a small change in the collector current to the
corresponding change in the base current at a constant VCE.
current gain, β
∆𝐼𝐶
𝛽=( )
∆𝐼𝐵 𝑉𝐶𝐸

The common emitter configuration has high input impedance, low output impedance and
higher current gain when compared with common base configuration.
Taking the ratio of β and ri for ac circuit
∆𝐼𝐶
𝛽 ⁄∆𝐼 ∆𝐼𝐶
𝐵
= =
𝑟𝑖 ∆𝑉𝐵𝐸⁄ ∆𝑉𝐵𝐸
∆𝐼𝐵
Ratio of the change in the current in the output circuit (ΔIC) to the change in the input
voltage (ΔVBE) is known as the trans-conductance gm its unit is mho
∆𝐼𝐶 𝛽
𝑔𝑚 = =
∆𝑉𝐵𝐸 𝑟𝑖
Transistor as switch
In an ideal ON/OFF switch, when it is OFF the current is not flowing in the circuit because
switch offers infinite resistance.
When switch is in On condition, maximum current flows because its resistance is zero.
We can prepare such an electronic switch by using the resistor.
The operating point switch from cutoff to saturation along the load line.

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We shall try to understand the operation of the transistor as a switch by analyzing the
behavior of the base-biased transistor in CE configuration as shown in Fig.
Applying Kirchhoff’s voltage rule to the input and output sides of this circuit, we get
VBB = IBRB + VBE and VCE = VCC – ICRC.
We shall treat VBB as the dc input voltage Vi and VCE as the dc output voltage VO.
So, we have
Vi = IBRB + VBE ----eq(1)and
Vo = VCC – ICRC. ----eq(2)
Let us see how Vo changes as Vi increases from zero onwards.

(i) When input voltage Vi is zero or less than 0.6V for Si transistor ( transistor cut in
voltage), the base current IB will be zero. Hence the collector current will also
zero IC = 0
From eq(2) VO = VCC
In this situation resistance of output circuit is very large. Hence the current is
not flowing through it. This is the ‘OFF’ or “cut off” condition of the transistor.
(ii) When the input voltage will be Vi = VCC , the base current is maximum, hence
the collector current is maximum. The voltage drop (ICRL) across the load
resistance RL will be approximately VCC . According to eq(2)
VO = 0
In this condition resistance of the output circuit of the transistor is very small to
the effect that maximum current is flowing through it. This is called the “ON”
condition or saturation condition of the transistor.
Alternatively, we can say that a low input to the transistor gives a high output and a high
input gives a low output. The switching circuits are designed in such a way that the
transistor does not remain in active state. This circuit is used to make ‘NOT’ gate in the
digital electronics

Transistor as an Amplifier
The important function of a transistor is the amplification. An amplifier is a circuit capable
of magnifying the amplitude of weak signals. The important parameters of an amplifier are
input impedance, output impedance, current gain and voltage gain. A good design of an
amplifier circuit must possess high input impedance, low output impedance and high
current gain.
Transistor act as an amplifier when operated in active region.
In this region base-emitter region is forward biased and base-collector region is reverse
biased.

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The A.C. signal (Vi) causes the change in the base emitter voltage VBE. This result in the
change in the base current IB. the change in the base current is of the order of
microampere. This results in the change in the collector current equal to βI B, which is of
the order of milliampere.
For using the transistor as an amplifier we will use the active region of the Vo versus Vi
curve.

The slope of the linear part of the curve represents the rate of change of the output with
the input. It is negative because the output is VO = VCC – ICRC and not ICRC. That is why as
input voltage of the CE amplifier increases its output voltage decreases and the output is
said to be out of phase with the input.
If we consider ΔVo and ΔVi as small changes in the output and input voltages then ΔVo/ΔVi
is called the small signal voltage gain AV of the amplifier.
If the VBB voltage has a fixed value corresponding to the midpoint of the active region, the
circuit will behave as a CE amplifier with voltage gain ΔVo/ ΔVi. We can express the voltage
gain AV in terms of the resistors in the circuit
Working of the circuit
(1) Input Circuit
In absence of input signal Vi = 0 as per the Kirchhoff’s second law for input circuit
VBB = VBE
In presence of signal VI, the change in the base emitter voltage is ∆VBE
∴ VBB + Vi = VBE + ∆VBE
From above equations
Vi = ∆VBE

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Change in base current ∆IB is due to the voltage change ∆VBE. As per definition of
the input resistance ri we have
∆VBE
ri =
∆IBE
Or ∆VBE = Vi = ri ∆IB

(2) Output circuit

The collector current increases by an amount ∆IC due to the change in the base
circuit ∆IB. As a result the voltage change by an equal amount RLIC across resistor RL
As per the kirchhoff’s law
VCC = ICRC + VCE
∴ ∆ VCC = RC ∆IC+ ∆VCE
As the battery VCC remains constant ∆ VCC =0
Thus ∆VCE = -RC∆IC
Here ∆VCE is obtained across the two ends of load resistor and is known as the
output voltage VO
∴ VO = -RC∆IC
Negative sign shows input and output voltages are out of phase by 180 O
Whenever the input voltage increases output voltage decrease and vice versa
Voltage gain(AV):
As per the definition of voltage gain
𝑜𝑢𝑡𝑝𝑢𝑡 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑉𝑂
𝐴𝑉 = =
𝐼𝑛𝑝𝑢𝑡 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑉𝑖
Since VO = -RC∆IC and Vi = ri ∆IB

𝑅𝐶 ∆𝐼𝐶
𝐴𝑉 =−
𝑟𝑖 ∆𝐼𝐵
As current gain β=∆IC/∆IB
𝑅𝐶
𝐴 𝑉 = −𝛽
𝑟𝑖
Since trans-conductance gm = β/ri
∴ 𝐴𝑉 = −𝑔𝑚 𝑅𝐶

Power gain (AP): AS per definition of the gain AP

𝑂𝑢𝑝𝑢𝑡 𝐴𝐶 𝑝𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟
𝐴𝑃 =
𝐼𝑛𝑝𝑢𝑡 𝐴𝐶 𝑝𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟
∆𝑉𝐶𝐸 ∆𝐼𝐶
𝐴𝑃 =
∆𝑉𝐵𝐸 ∆𝐼𝐵
𝐴𝑃 = 𝐴𝑉 𝐴𝑖
𝑅𝐶
𝐴𝑃 = (−𝛽 ) (𝛽)
𝑟𝑖

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𝑅𝐶
|𝐴𝑃 | = 𝛽2
𝑟𝑖

Solved Numerical
Q) The current gain β of the silicon transistor used in the circuit as shown in figure is 50.
(Barrier potential for silicon is 0.69 V)

Find: (i) IB (ii) IE (iii) IC and (iv) VCE

Given:
VBB = 2 V, VCC = 10 V; β = 50 ;RB = 10 k Ω ; RC = 1 k Ω The barrier potential for silicon
transistor VBE = 0.69 V
Solution :
From input circuit
VBB = IBRB + VBE
𝑉𝐵𝐵 − 𝑉𝐵𝐸 2.0 − 0.69
𝐼𝐵 = = = 131𝜇𝐴
𝑅𝐵 10000
Current gain β
𝐼𝐶
𝛽=
𝐼𝐵
𝐼𝐶 = 𝛽𝐼𝐵
𝐼𝐶 = 50 × 131 × 10−6 = 6.5𝑚𝐴

Emitter current IE = IC + IB
IE = 6.5 mA + 131 μA
IE = 6.5 mA + 0.131 mA
IE = 6.631 mA
VCC = VCE + ICRC
VCE = VCC – ICRC
VCE = 10 – (6.5 × 10−3 × 1 × 103)

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VCE = 3.5 V

Q) A transistor is connected in CE configuration. The voltage drop across the load

resistance (RC) 3 k Ω is 6 V. Find the base current. The current gain α of the transistor is
0.97
Given : Voltage across the collector load resistance (RC) = 6 V α = 0.97; RC = 3 k Ω
Solution : The voltage across the
collector resistance is, RC = ICRC = 6V
Hence, IC
6 6
𝐼𝑐 = = = 2 𝑚𝐴
𝑅𝐶 3 × 103
Current gain β
𝛼 0.97
𝛽= = = 32.33
1 − 𝛼 1 − 0.97
𝐼𝐶 2 × 10−3
𝐼𝐵 = = = 61.86 𝜇𝐴
𝛽 32.33

Q) A change of 0.02V takes place between the base and emitter when an input signal is
connected to CE transistor amplifier. As a result, 20μA change takes place in the base
current and change of 2mA takes place in the collector current. Calculate the following
quantities
(1) Input resistance (2) A.C. Current gain (3) Trans-conductance (4) If the load resistance
is 5kΩ, what will be the voltage gain and power gain
Solution:
Here ΔIB = 20μA = 20×10-6 A ; ∆VBE = 0.02 V ; ∆IC = 20 mA = 20×10-3 A, RL = 5 kΩ = 5 ×103 Ω
(1) Input resistance
∆𝑉𝐵𝐸 0.02
𝑟𝑖 = = = 1𝑘Ω
∆𝐼𝐵 20 × 10−6
(2) AC current gain
Δ𝐼𝐶 2 × 10−3
𝐴𝑖 = 𝛽 = = = 100
Δ𝐼𝐵 20 × 10−6
(3) Trans-conductance
𝛽 100
𝑔𝑚 = = = 0.1 𝑚ℎ𝑜
𝑟𝑖 1000
(4) Voltage gain
|𝐴𝑉 | = 𝑔𝑚 𝑅𝐿
|𝐴𝑉 | = (0.1)(5000) = 500
(5) Power gain
𝐴𝑃 = 𝐴𝑉 𝐴𝑖
𝐴𝑃 = (500)(100) = 5 × 104

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Q) For the circuit shown in figure IB = 5μA. RB = 1 MΩ., RL = 1.1 kΩ, IC = 5 mA and VCC = 6V.
Calculate the values of VBE and VCE

Solution:
For input circuit VCC = IBRB + VBE
VBE = VCC - IBRB
VBE = 6 – (5×10-6)(1×106) = 1 V
From output circuit VCC = ICRC + VCE
VCE = VCC - ICRC
VCE = 6 – (5×10-3)(1.1×103) = 0.5 V

Q) The A.C current gain of a PNP common emitter circuit is 100. The value of the input
resistance is 1kΩ. What should be the value of the load resistor RL in order to obtain power
gain of 2000?
Solution:
Power gain
𝑅𝐿
|𝐴𝑃 | = 𝛽2
𝑟𝑖
𝑅𝐿
2000 = (1002 )
1 × 103
RL = 200 Ω

Transistor oscillators
An oscillator may be defined as an electronic circuit which converts energy from a d.c.
source into a periodically varying output.
Oscillators are classified according to the output voltage, into two types viz. sinusoidal and
non-sinusoidal oscillators.
If the output voltage is a sine wave function of time, the oscillator is said to be sinusoidal
oscillator. If the oscillator generates non-sinusoidal waveform, such as square, rectangular
waves, then it is called as non-sinusoidal oscillator (multivibrator).
The oscillators can be classified according to the range of frequency as audio-frequency
(AF) and radio-frequency (RF) oscillators.
Sinusoidal oscillators may be any one of the following three types:
(i) LC oscillators

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(ii) RC oscillators
(iii) Crystal oscillators
Essentials of LC oscillator:
Fig shows the block diagram of an oscillator.
It’s essential components are (i) tank circuit, ii)
amplifier and (iii) feedback circuit.

(i) Tank circuit : It consists of inductance coil (L)

connected in parallel with capacitor (C). The
frequency of oscillations in the circuit depends upon the values of inductance coil and
capacitance of the capacitor.

(ii) Amplifier : The transistor amplifier receives d.c. power from the battery and changes it
into a.c. power for supplying to the tank circuit.

(iii) Feedback circuit : It provides positive feedback (i.e.) this circuit transfers a part of
output energy to LC circuit in proper phase, to maintain the oscillations

Suppose switch S1 is put on to apply proper bias for the first time. Obviously, a surge of
collector current flows in the transistor. This current flows through the coil T2 where
terminals are numbered 3 and 4 [Fig.]. This current does not reach full amplitude
instantaneously but increases from X to Y, as shown in [Fig.a]
The inductive coupling between coil T2 and coil T1 now causes a current to flow in the
emitter circuit (note that this actually is the ‘feedback’ from input to output).
As a result of this positive feedback, this current (in T1; emitter current) also increases
from X´ to Y´ [Fig.b]

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The current in T2 (collector current) connected in the collector circuit acquires the value Y
when the transistor becomes saturated.
This means that maximum collector current is flowing and can increase no further. Since
there is no further change in collector current, the magnetic field around T2 ceases to
grow. As soon as the field becomes static, there will be no further feedback from T2 to T1.
Without continued feedback, the emitter current begins to fall.
Consequently, collector current decreases from Y towards Z [Fig. a]. However, a decrease
of collector current causes the magnetic field to decay around the coil T2. Thus, T1 is now
seeing a decaying field in T2 (opposite from what it saw when the field was growing at the
initial start operation). This causes a further decrease in the emitter current till it reaches
Z’ when the transistor is cut-off.
This means that both IE and IC cease to flow. Therefore, the transistor has reverted back to
its original state (when the power was first switched on).
The whole process now repeats itself. That is, the transistor is driven to saturation, then to
cut-off, and then back to saturation. The time for change from saturation to cut-off and
back is determined by the constants of the tank circuit or tuned circuit (inductance L of coil
T2 and C connected in parallel to it). The resonance frequency (ν ) of this tuned circuit
determines the frequency at which the oscillator will oscillate.
1
𝜈=
2𝜋√𝐿𝐶
In the circuit of the tank or tuned circuit is connected in the collector side. Hence, it is
known as tuned collector oscillator.
If the tuned circuit is on the base side, it will be known as tuned base oscillator.
There are many other types of tank circuits (say RC) or feedback circuits giving different
types of giving different types of oscillators like Colpitt’s oscillator, Hartley oscillator, RC-
oscillator

Solved Numerical
Q) In transistor oscillator circuit an output signal of 1MHz frequency is obtained. The value
of capacitance C = 100pF. What should be the value of the capacitor is a signal of 2MHz
frequency is to be obtained
Solution:
C1 = 100pF = 10 ×10-13 F, f1 = 1MHz = 106 Hz

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f2 = 2 MHz = 2×106 Hz, C2 = ?
1
𝑓1 =
2𝜋√𝐿𝐶1
And
1
𝑓2 =
2𝜋√𝐿𝐶2
𝑓1 𝐶2
=√
𝑓2 𝐶1
𝑓1 2
𝐶2 = ( ) × 𝐶1
𝑓2
1 2
𝐶2 = ( ) × 100 × 10−12 = 25𝑝𝐹
2

Digital electronics
Digital Electronics involves circuits and systems in which there are only two possible states
which are represented by voltage levels. Other circuit conditions such as current levels
open or closed switches can also represent the two states.
Analog signal
The signal current or voltage is in the form of continuous, time varying voltage or current
(sinusoidal). Such signals are called continuous or analog signals. A typical analog signal is
shown in Fig

Digital signal and logic levels

A digital signal (pulse) is shown in Fig. It has two discrete levels, ‘High’ and ‘Low’. In most
cases, the more positive of the two levels is called HIGH and is also referred to as logic 1.
The other level becomes low and also called logic 0. This method of using more positive
voltage level as logic 1 is called a positive logic system. A voltage 5V refers to logic 1 and 0
V refers to logic 0. On the other hand, in a negative logic system, the more negative of the
two discrete levels is taken as logic 1 and the other level as logic 0. Both positive and
negative logic are used in digital systems. But, positive logic is more common of logic
gates. Hence we consider only positive logic for studying the operation of logic gates.

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Logic gates
Circuits which are used to process digital signals are called logic gates. They are binary in
nature. Gate is a digital circuit with one or more inputs but with only one output. The
output appears only for certain combination of input logic levels. Logic gates are the basic
building blocks from which most of the digital systems are built up. The numbers 0 and 1
represent the two possible states of a logic circuit. The two states can also be referred to
as ‘ON and OFF’ or ‘HIGH and LOW’ or ‘TRUE and FALSE’.
Basic logic gates using discrete components
The basic elements that make up a digital system are ‘OR’, ‘AND’ and ‘NOT’ gates. These
three gates are called basic logic gates. All the possible inputs and outputs of a logic circuit
are represented in a table called TRUTH TABLE. The function of the basic gates are
explained below with circuits and truth tables.

(i) OR gate
An OR gate has two or more inputs but only one output. It is known as OR gate, because
the output is high if any one or all of the inputs are high. The logic symbol of a two input
OR gate is shown in Fig

The Boolean expression to represent OR gate is given by Y= A+B (+ symbol should be read
as OR)
The OR gate can be thought of like an electrical circuit shown in Fig, in which switches are
connected in parallel with each other. The lamp will glow if both the inputs are closed or
any one of them is closed.

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Diode OR gate
Fig shows a simple circuit using diodes to build a two input OR gate. The working of this
circuit can be explained as follows.

Case (i) A = 0 and B = 0

When both A and B are at zero level, (i.e.) low, the output voltage will be low, because the
diodes are non-conducting.
Case (ii) A = 0 and B = 1
When A is low and B is high, diode D2 is forward biased so that current flows through RL
and output is high.
Case (iii) A = 1 and B = 0
When A is high and B is low, diode D1 conducts and the output is high.
Case (iv) A = 1 and B = 1
When A and B both are high, both diodes D1 and D2 are conducting and the output is high.
Therefore Y is high
Truth table of OR gate:

(ii) AND gate

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An AND gate has two or more inputs but only one output. It is known as AND gate because
the output is high only when all the inputs are high. The logic symbol of a two input AND
gate is shown in Fig.

The Boolean expression to represent AND gate is given by Y = A∙B ( ∙ should be read as
AND) AND gate may be thought of an electrical circuit as shown in Fig,

in which the switches are connected in series. Only if A and B are closed, the lamp will
glow, and the output is high.

Diode AND gate

Fig shows a simple circuit using diodes to build a two-input
AND gate.

The working of the circuit can be explained as follows :

Case (i) A = 0 and B = 0
When A and B are zero, both diodes are in forward bias
condition and they conduct and hence the output will be
zero, because the supply voltage VCC will be dropped across
RL only. Therefore Y = 0.
Case (ii) A = 0 and B = 1
When A = 0 and B is high, diode D1 is forward biased and diode D2 is reverse biased. The
diode D1 will now conduct due to forward biasing. Therefore, output Y = 0.
Case (iii) A = 1 and B = 0
In this case, diode D2 will be conducting and hence the output Y = 0.
Case (iv) A = 1 and B = 1
In this case, both the diodes are not conducting. Since D1 and D2
are in OFF condition, no current flows through RL. The output is equal
to the supply voltage. Therefore Y = 1.
Thus the output will be high only when the inputs A and B are
high.
Truth table of AND gate:

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(iii) NOT gate (Inverter)

The NOT gate is a gate with only one input and one output. It is so called, because its
output is complement to the input. It is also known as inverter. Fig shows the logic symbol
for NOT gate.

The Boolean expression to represent NOT operation is Y = A .

The NOT gate can be thought of like an electrical circuit as shown in Fig.

When switch A is closed, input is high and the bulb will not glow (i.e) the output is low and
vice versa.
When the input A is high, the transistor is driven into saturation and hence the output Y is
low. If A is low, the transistor is in cutoff and hence the output Y is high. Hence, it is seen
that whenever input is high, the output is low and vice versa.

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Truth table of NOT gate:

(iv) NAND gate

This is a NOT–AND gate. It can be obtained by connecting a NOT gate at the output of an
AND gate (Fig).

The logic symbol for NAND gate is shown in Fig 9.53b.

The Boolean expression to represent NAND Operation is Y = AB

NAND gate function is reverse of AND gate function. A NAND gate will have an output,
only if both inputs are not 1. In other words, it gives an output 1, if either A or B or both
are 0.
Truth table of NAND gate:

(V)NOR gate
This is a NOT–OR gate. It can be made out of an OR gate by connecting an inverter at its
output (Fig).

The logic symbol for NOR gate is given in Fig.

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The Boolean expression to represent NOR gate is Y = A + B

The NOR gate function is the reverse of OR gate function. A NOR gate will have an output,
only when all inputs are 0. In a NOR gate, output is high, only when all inputs are low.
Truth table of NOR gate:

De-Morgan’s theorems
First theorem
“The complement of a sum is equal to the product of the complements.”
If A and B are the inputs, then
̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅
𝑨+𝑩=𝑨 ̅∙𝑩 ̅

Second theorem
“The complement of a product is equal to the sum of the complements.” If A and B are the
inputs, then ̅̅̅̅̅̅
𝐴 . 𝐵 = 𝐴̅ + 𝐵̅.
The theorems can be proved, first by considering the two variable cases and then
extending this result as shown in Table

NAND and NOR as Universal gates

NAND and NOR gates are called Universal gates because they can perform all the three
basic logic functions. Table gives the construction of basic logic gates NOT, OR and AND
using NAND and NOR gates

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Boolean algebra

Boolean algebra, named after a mathematician George Boole is the algebra of logic, which
is applied to the operation of computer devices. The rules of this algebra is simple, speed
and accurate. This algebra is helpful in simplifying the complicated logical expression.
Laws and theorems of Boolean algebra
The fundamental laws of Boolean algebra are given below which are necessary for
manipulating different Boolean expressions.
Basic laws :
Commutative laws : A + B = B + A ; AB = BA
Associative Laws: A + (B + C) = (A + B) + C ; A (BC) = (AB) C
Distributive law: A (B+C) = AB + AC
Special theorems :
A + AB = A
(A + B) (A + C) = A + BC
A (A + B) = A
A+AB=A+B
A ( A + B) = AB
(A + B) ( A + C) = AC + A B
AB + A C = (A + C) ( A + B)
Theorems involving a single variable can be proved by considering every possible value of
the variable.

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Solved Numerical
Q) Find the output F of the logic circuit given below:

Solution :

Let X and Y be the output of two OR gates

Thus X = A + B
And Y = A + C
Output X and Y acts as input for AND gate
Thus F = X ∙ Y
F = (A+B)(A+C) = AC + AB ( from special theorems)

Q) The outputs of two NOT gates are in put for NOR, as shown in figure.
What is this combination equivalent to?

Solution:
From the logic circuit it follows that the output
𝑦 = 𝐴 ̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅
̅ + 𝐵̅
Applying DeMorgan’s first theorem,
we get, 𝑦 = 𝐴̿ ∙ 𝐵̿ = 𝐴𝐵
Hence given logic circuit is AND operation.

Q) Show that the circuit drawn in figure comprising of three NAND gates behave as an OR
gate

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Solution:
Gate 1 and Gate 2 have identical inputs. Hence both behaves as NOT gate
Hence 𝑦1 = 𝐴̅ and 𝑦2 = 𝐵̅
Gate 3 is NAND hence output
𝑦=𝑦 ̅̅̅̅̅̅
1 𝑦2
̅̅̅̅
𝑦 = 𝐴̅𝐵̅
By DeMorgan’s theorem y = AB
Hence the above circuit behaves as OR gate and can be verified using truth table

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