• TITLE OF PROJECT :- PN JUNCTION DIODE

• COURSE :- BASIC ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION

• COURSE CODE :- 22225

This to certify that the following students of semester Second of diploma

Place:- malvan
Date:-

SUBJECT TEACHER HOD PRINCIPAL

1. 1207 2101170138 Suhani Magaj

2. 1227 2101170158 Janhavi Loke

3. 1229 2101170158 Chaitali Gawde

4. 1250 2101170181 Easha Kadganve

Name Of Guide
Sagar Harne sir
PN Junction:-
A p-n junction is an interface or a boundary between
two semiconductor material types, namely the p-type and the n-type,
inside a semiconductor.
The p-side or the positive side of the semiconductor has
an excess of holes and the n-side or the negative side has an excess of
electrons. In a semiconductor, the p-n junction is created by the
method of doping. The process of doping is explained in further detail
in the next section.
Formation of P-N Junction
As we know, if we use different semiconductor materials to make a
p-n junction, there will be a grain boundary that would inhibit the
movement of electrons from one side to the other by scattering the
electrons and holes and thus, we use the process of doping. We will
understand the process of doping with the help of this example. Let us
consider a thin p-type silicon semiconductor sheet. If we add a small
amount of pentavalent impurity to this, a part of the p-type Si will get
converted to n-type silicon. This sheet will now contain both p-type
region and n-type region and a junction between these two regions.
The processes that follow after the formation of a p-n junction are of
two types – diffusion and drift. As we know, there is a difference in the
concentration of holes and electrons at the two sides of a junction, the
holes from the p-side diffuse to the n-side and the electrons from the
n-side diffuse to the p-side. These give rise to a diffusion current
across the junction.
There are three biasing conditions for p-n junction diode
and this is based on the voltage applied:
Zero bias: There is no external voltage applied to the p-n
junction diode.
Forward bias: The positive terminal of the voltage potential
is connected to the p-type while the negative terminal is
connected to the n-type.
Reverse bias: The negative terminal of the voltage potential
is connected to the p-type and the positive is connected to
the n-type.
Unbiased PN junction
Unbiased PN junction:- When an electron diffuses from the n-side
to the p-side, an ionized donor is left behind on the n-side, which is
immobile. As the process goes on, a layer of positive charge is
developed on the n-side of the junction. Similarly, when a hole goes
from the p-side to the n-side, and ionized acceptor is left behind in the
p-side, resulting in the formation of a layer of negative charges in the
p-side of the junction. This region of positive charge and negative
charge on either side of the junction is termed as the depletion region.
Due to this positive space charge region on either side of the junction,
an electric field direction from a positive charge towards the negative
charge is developed. Due to this electric field, an electron on the p-
side of the junction moves to the n-side of the junction. This motion is
termed as the drift. Here, we see that the direction of drift current is
opposite to that of the diffusion current.
Forward Bias PN Junction
When the p-type is connected to the positive terminal of the
battery and the n-type to the negative terminal then the p-n
junction is said to be forward-biased. When the p-n junction is
forward biased, the built-in electric field at the p-n junction and
the applied electric field are in opposite directions. When both
the electric fields add up, the resultant electric field has a
magnitude lesser than the built-in electric field. This results in a
less resistive and thinner depletion region. The depletion
region’s resistance becomes negligible when the applied voltage
is large. In silicon, at the voltage of 0.6 V, the resistance of the
depletion region becomes completely negligible and the current
flows across it unimpeded.
Reverse Bias PN Junction
When the p-type is connected to the negative terminal of the
battery and the n-type is connected to the positive side then the
p-n junction is said to be reverse biased. In this case, the built-in
electric field and the applied electric field are in the same
direction. When the two fields are added, the resultant electric
field is in the same direction as the built-in electric field creating
a more resistive, thicker depletion region. The depletion region
becomes more resistive and thicker if the applied voltage
becomes larger.
Current Flow in PN Junction Diode
The flow of electrons from the n-side towards the p-side of
the junction takes place when there is an increase in the
voltage. Similarly, the flow of holes from the p-side
towards the n-side of the junction takes place along with
the increase in the voltage. This results in the concentration
gradient between both sides of the terminals. Due to the
formation of the concentration gradient, there will be a flow
of charge carriers from higher concentration regions to
lower concentration regions. The movement of charge
carriers inside the pn junction is the reason behind the
current flow in the circuit.
V-I Characteristics
VI characteristics of PN junction diode is a curve between the voltage and
current through the circuit. Voltage is taken along the x-axis while the current
is taken along the y-axis. The above graph is the VI characteristics curve of
the PN junction diode. With the help of the curve we can understand that
there are three regions in which the diode works, and they are:
Zero bias
Forward bias
Reverse bias
When the PN junction diode is under zero bias condition, there is no external
voltage applied and this means that the potential barrier at the junction does
not allow the flow of current.
When the PN junction diode is under forward bias condition, the p-type is
connected to the positive terminal while the n-type is connected to the
negative terminal of the external voltage. When the diode is arranged in this
manner, there is a reduction in the potential barrier. For silicone diodes, when
the voltage is 0.7 V and for germanium diodes, when the voltage is 0.3 V, the
potential barriers decreases and there is a flow of current.
When the diode is in forward bias, the current increases slowly and the
curve obtained is non-linear as the voltage applied to the diode is
overcoming the potential barrier. Once the potential barrier is
overcome by the diode, the diode behaves normal and the curve rises
sharply as the external voltage increases and the curve so obtained is
linear.
When the PN junction diode is under negative bias condition, the p-
type is connected to the negative terminal while the n-type is
connected to the positive terminal of the external voltage. This results
in an increase in the potential barrier. Reverse saturation current flows
in the beginning as minority carriers are present in the junction.
When the applied voltage is increased, the minority charges will have
increased kinetic energy which affects the majority charges. This is the
stage when the diode breaks down. This may also destroy the diode.
Experimental setup for forward bias PN junction
Experimental setup for reverse bias PN junction
Applications
1.Diodes are used in clamping circuits for DC restoration.
2. Diodes are used in clipping circuits for wave shaping.
3. Diodes are used in voltage multipliers.
4. Diodes are used as switch in digital logic circuits used in
computers.
5. Diodes are used in demodulation circuits.
6. Diodes are used in voltage regulators.