ELECTRONICS DEVICES AND CIRCUIT

ECE222

ENGR. VANESSA MARIE GABON

Semiconductor Diodes
I. Two types of electronic devices

A. Passive Device – absorbs power B. Active Device – supplies power

Examples. Examples.

a. Resistor – opposes current Battery

b. Inductor – coil of wire, stores charge, filter Vacuum Tube

c. Capacitor – stores energy Semiconductor – Diode, Transistors

d. Transformer – step up/down voltage

ENGR. VANESSA MARIE GABON

Semiconductor Diodes
II. Ideal Diode
The characteristics of an ideal diode are those of a switch that can conduct current in only one direction.

ENGR. VANESSA MARIE GABON

Semiconductor Diodes
II. Ideal Diode

ENGR. VANESSA MARIE GABON

Semiconductor Diodes
III. Semiconductor Materials
Semiconductor Theory
1. If the valence number of an atom is five (5) or more, material is an insulator.
2. If the valence number of an atom is three (3) or less, material is a conductor.
3. If the valence number of an atom is exactly four, material is an semiconductor.

ENGR. VANESSA MARIE GABON

Semiconductor Diodes
III. Semiconductor Materials
Semiconductor
Doping – the ability to change the characteristics of the material significantly.
Crystal – one complete pattern
Lattice – the periodic arrangement of the atoms.
Single-crystal – any material composed solely of repeating crystal structures of the same kind.
Covalent bonding – a bonding of atoms, strengthened by the sharing of electrons.
Intrinsic materials – are those semiconductors that have been carefully refined to reduce the impurities to a very
low level.
Extrinsic material – a semiconductor material that has been subjected to the doping process.

ENGR. VANESSA MARIE GABON

Semiconductor Diodes
IV. Energy Levels

ENGR. VANESSA MARIE GABON

Semiconductor Diodes
V. Extrinsic Materials
Two ways of Doping
1. Doping with pentavalent atoms
2. Doping with trivalent atoms

Two extrinsic materials

1. n-Type material – doping with +5 atoms, donors, e- (major carriers), + (minority carriers)
2. p-Type material – doping with +3 atoms, acceptors, + (majority carriers), e- (minority carriers)

ENGR. VANESSA MARIE GABON

Semiconductor Diodes
VI. Semiconductor Diodes
One end of a silicon or germanium crystal can be doped as a p-type material and the other end as an n-type
material. The result is a p-n junction.

Depletion region – the region of uncovered positive and negative ions

ENGR. VANESSA MARIE GABON

Semiconductor Diodes
V. Semiconductor Diodes
At the p-n junction, the excess conduction-band electrons on the n-type side are attracted to the valence-band
holes on the p-type side.
The electrons in the n-type material migrate across the junction to the p-type material (electron flow).
The electron migration results in a negative charge on the p-type side of the junction and a positive charge on the
n-type side of the junction.

The result is the formation of a depletion region around the junction.

ENGR. VANESSA MARIE GABON

Semiconductor Diodes
V. Semiconductor Diodes
A diode has three operating conditions:
• No bias
• Forward bias
• Reverse bias

ENGR. VANESSA MARIE GABON

Semiconductor Diodes
V. Semiconductor Diodes
A diode has three operating conditions:
No applied bias (Vd = 0V)
• No external voltage is applied: VD = 0 V
• No current is flowing: ID = 0 A
• Only a modest depletion region exists

ENGR. VANESSA MARIE GABON

Semiconductor Diodes
V. Semiconductor Diodes
A diode has three operating conditions:
Reverse bias
• External voltage is applied across the p-n junction in
the opposite polarity of the p- and n-type materials.
• The reverse voltage causes the depletion region to widen.
• The electrons in the n-type material are attracted toward the positive
terminal of the voltage source.
• The holes in the p-type material are attracted toward the negative
terminal of the voltage source.
The current that that exists under reverse-bias conditions is called
the reverse saturation current.

ENGR. VANESSA MARIE GABON

Semiconductor Diodes
V. Semiconductor Diodes
A diode has three operating conditions:
Forward bias
• External voltage is applied across the p-n junction in
the same polarity as the p- and n-type materials.
• The forward voltage causes the depletion region to narrow.
• The electrons and holes are pushed toward the p-n junction.
• The electrons and holes have sufficient energy to cross the p-n junction.

ENGR. VANESSA MARIE GABON

Semiconductor Diodes
V. Semiconductor Diodes
Actual Diode Characteristics

ENGR. VANESSA MARIE GABON

Semiconductor Diodes
V. Semiconductor Diodes
Actual Diode Characteristics
𝒌𝑽𝑫
𝑻𝒌
𝑰𝑫 = 𝑰𝒔 (𝒆 − 𝟏)
where 𝑰𝒔 = 𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒄𝒖𝒓𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒕
k = 11,600/η with η=1 for Ge and η=2 for Si for relatively low levels of diode current
η=1 for Ge and η=1 for Si for higher levels of diode current
𝑻𝒌 = 𝑻𝑪 + 𝟐𝟕𝟑

ENGR. VANESSA MARIE GABON

Semiconductor Diodes
V. Semiconductor Diodes
Zener Region
The Zener region is in the diode’s reverse-bias region.
At some point the reverse bias voltage is so large the diode breaks down
And the reverse current increases dramatically.

• The maximum reverse voltage that won’t take a diode into the zener region is
called the peak inverse voltage (PIV) or peak reverse voltage.
• The voltage that causes a diode to enter the zener region of operation is called the
zener voltage (VZ).

ENGR. VANESSA MARIE GABON

Semiconductor Diodes
V. Semiconductor Diodes
Forward Bias Voltage
The point at which the diode changes from no-bias condition to forward-bias condition occurs when the electrons
and holes are given sufficient energy to cross the p-n junction. This energy comes from the external voltage
applied across the diode.
The forward bias voltage required for a:
• gallium arsenide diode ≅ 1.2 V
• silicon diode ≅ 0.7 V
• germanium diode ≅ 0.3 V

ENGR. VANESSA MARIE GABON

Semiconductor Diodes
V. Semiconductor Diodes
Temperature Effects
As temperature increases it adds energy to the diode.
• It reduces the required forward bias voltage for forward bias conduction.
• It increases the amount of reverse current in the reverse bias condition.
• It increases maximum reverse bias avalanche voltage.
Germanium diodes are more sensitive to temperature variations than silicon or gallium arsenide diodes.

The reverse saturation current Is, will just about double in magnitude for every 10degC increase in temperature.

ENGR. VANESSA MARIE GABON

Seatwork:

1. Describe in your own words the characteristics of the ideal diode and how they determine
the on and off states of the device.
2. Describe how you will remember the forward- and reverse-bias states of the p-n junction
diode. That is, how you will remember which potential (positive or negative) is applied to
which terminal?

ENGR. VANESSA MARIE GABON

Semiconductor Diodes
V. Semiconductor Diodes
Resistance levels – DC (Static) Resistance
For a specific applied DC voltage VD, the diode has a specific current ID, and a specific resistance RD.

𝑉𝐷
𝑅𝐷 =
𝐼𝐷

ENGR. VANESSA MARIE GABON

Semiconductor Diodes
V. Semiconductor Diodes
Resistance levels – AC (Dynamic) Resistance
In the forward bias region:
26 𝑚𝑉
𝑟′𝑑 = + 𝑟𝐵
𝐼𝐷
•The resistance depends on the amount of current (ID) in the diode.
•The voltage across the diode is fairly constant (26 mV for 25°C).
•𝑟𝐵 ranges from a typical 0.1Ω for high power devices to 2Ω for low power,
general purpose diodes. In some cases 𝑟𝐵 can be ignored.
In the reverse bias region:
𝑟′𝑑 = ∞

ENGR. VANESSA MARIE GABON

Semiconductor Diodes
V. Semiconductor Diodes
Resistance levels – Average AC Resistance
AC resistance can be calculated using the current and voltage values for two points on the diode
characteristic curve.
∆𝑉𝑑
𝑟𝑎𝑣 =
∆𝐼𝑑

ENGR. VANESSA MARIE GABON

Semiconductor Diodes
V. Semiconductor Diodes
Diode Equivalent Circuits

ENGR. VANESSA MARIE GABON

Diode Applications
I. Load-line Analysis
The load line plots all possible combinations of diode current (ID) and voltage (VD) for a given
circuit. The maximum ID equals E/R, and the maximum VD equals E.
The point where the load line and the characteristic curve intersect is the Q-point, which
identifies ID and VD for a particular diode in a given circuit.

ENGR. VANESSA MARIE GABON

Diode Applications
II. Series Diode Configurations with DC Inputs

ENGR. VANESSA MARIE GABON

Diode Applications
II. Series Diode Configurations with DC Inputs

ENGR. VANESSA MARIE GABON

Diode Applications
II. Parallel Diode Configurations with DC Inputs

ENGR. VANESSA MARIE GABON

Diode Applications
III. AND/OR Gates

ENGR. VANESSA MARIE GABON

Diode Applications
III. AND/OR Gates

ENGR. VANESSA MARIE GABON

Diode Applications
III. Rectifiers
- a circuit that converts an AC into a pulsating DC.
AC – no fixed polarity
DC – fixed polarity

Transformer Action
A transformer can increase or decrease voltage or current levels according to the turns ratio.
In addition, the impedance connected to one side of a transformer can be made to appear
either larger or smaller (step up or step down) at the other side of the transformer, depending
on the square of the transformer winding turns ratio.

ENGR. VANESSA MARIE GABON

Diode Applications
III. Rectifiers
Transformer Action
A transformer improves the efficiency because it is able to transform the voltage,
current, and impedance.

ENGR. VANESSA MARIE GABON

Diode Applications
III. Sinusoidal Inputs: HALF-WAVE RECTIFICATION

ENGR. VANESSA MARIE GABON

Diode Applications
III. Sinusoidal Inputs: HALF-WAVE RECTIFICATION

ENGR. VANESSA MARIE GABON

Diode Applications
III. Sinusoidal Inputs: HALF-WAVE RECTIFICATION

ENGR. VANESSA MARIE GABON

Diode Applications
III. Sinusoidal Inputs: HALF-WAVE RECTIFICATION

ENGR. VANESSA MARIE GABON

Diode Applications
III. Sinusoidal Inputs: HALF-WAVE RECTIFICATION

ENGR. VANESSA MARIE GABON

Diode Applications
III. Sinusoidal Inputs: HALF-WAVE RECTIFICATION
Example.

ENGR. VANESSA MARIE GABON

Diode Applications
III. Sinusoidal Inputs: HALF-WAVE RECTIFICATION
PIV
Because the diode is only forward biased for one-half of the AC cycle, it is also reverse
biased for one-half cycle. It is important that the reverse breakdown voltage rating of the
diode be high enough to withstand the peak, reverse-biasing AC voltage and avoid entering
the Zener region.

ENGR. VANESSA MARIE GABON

Diode Applications
III. Sinusoidal Inputs: FULL-WAVE RECTIFICATION

ENGR. VANESSA MARIE GABON

Diode Applications
III. Sinusoidal Inputs: FULL-WAVE RECTIFICATION – Bridge Network

ENGR. VANESSA MARIE GABON

Diode Applications
III. Sinusoidal Inputs: FULL-WAVE RECTIFICATION – Bridge Network

ENGR. VANESSA MARIE GABON

Diode Applications
III. Sinusoidal Inputs: FULL-WAVE RECTIFICATION – Bridge Network

ENGR. VANESSA MARIE GABON

Diode Applications
III. Sinusoidal Inputs: FULL-WAVE RECTIFICATION – Bridge Network

ENGR. VANESSA MARIE GABON

Diode Applications
III. Sinusoidal Inputs: FULL-WAVE RECTIFICATION – Center-tapped Tfmr

ENGR. VANESSA MARIE GABON

Diode Applications
III. Sinusoidal Inputs: FULL-WAVE RECTIFICATION – Center-tapped Tfmr

ENGR. VANESSA MARIE GABON

Diode Applications
III. Sinusoidal Inputs: Summary

ENGR. VANESSA MARIE GABON