KIoT

SECE

Chapter Two
Semiconductor Diodes and their Applications
Lecture # 2

Jemal H. ( Msc )
KIoT, School of Electrical and Computer Engineering
[email protected]

May, 2023

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 Chapter Contents

PN junction
Biased and Unbiased PN junction diode
Diode
Analysis and configuration of diode circuits
Types of Diode
Applications of diode circuits

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 P-N junction

• The p-n junction is among the simplest semiconductor devices which finds
application in many electronic systems, such as, signal rectification, voltage
clamping, light emitters, photo-detectors and solar cells.
• The pn-junction is composed of two silicon-based semiconductors, one
doped to be p-type and the other n-type.
• When a p type semiconductor and an n type semiconductor are brought
into contact through fabrication process (doping) they form a metallurgical
junction
free holes free electrons

positive bound
negative bound
charges
charges
p-type n-type
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 Cont…

• 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 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.

• As the number of dipoles builds up, the region near the junction
is emptied of carriers. We call this charge-empty region the depletion
layer .
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 Biasing Conditions for the P-N Junction Diode

• The term bias refers to the application of an external voltage across the two
terminals of the device to extract a response .
• There are three biasing conditions for the P-N junction diode, and this is
based on the voltage applied:
• Zero bias: No external voltage is 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.
• 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.

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 P-N Junction Diode Under Forward Bias

• The p-side is connected to the positive terminal of the battery and the n-side is
connected to the negative terminal, then the semiconductor diode is said to be
forward-biased.
• The application of a forward-bias potential VD will “pressure” electrons in the n-type
material and holes in the p-type material to recombine with the ions near the
boundary and reduce the width of the depletion region

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 P-N Junction Diode Under Reverse Bias

• The positive terminal of the battery is connected to its n-side and the negative
terminal of the battery is connected to the p-side of the diode, then it is said to be in
the reverse bias.
• The width of the depletion region increases(Widen).
• The current that exists under reverse-bias conditions is called the reverse saturation
current and is represented by Is.

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 V-I Characteristics of P-N Junction Diode

• VI characteristics of P-N junction diodes 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.
• Plot of the diode current versus the diode voltage looks like the following
graph
• when the diode is forward biased,
there is no significant current until
the diode voltage is greater than
the barrier potential.
• On the other hand, when the
diode is reverse biased, there is
almost no reverse current until
the diode voltage reaches the
breakdown voltage.
• Then, avalanche produces a large
reverse current, destroying the
diode
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 Diode

• It is a two-terminal device that conducts current only in one direction.

• Most fundament nonlinear circuit element operates in two modes on and off
• Cathode – negative terminal, from which current flows
• Anode – positive terminal of diode, into which current flows

mode #2: mode #1:

reverse bias = forward bias =
device symbol open ckt. short ckt
with two nodes

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 Cont…

• If a negative voltage is applied to the diode, no current flows and the diode
behaves as an open circuit.
• Diodes operated in this mode are said to be reverse biased.
• An ideal diode has zero current and is said to be cut off, or simply off.
• On the other hand, if a positive current is applied to the ideal diode, zero
voltage drop appears across the diode. the ideal diode behaves as a short
circuit in the forward direction.
• A forward-biased diode is said to be turned on, or simply on.

equivalent circuit in the reverse direction equivalent circuit in the forward direction
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 Diode configuration and Analysis

• A diode is in the “on” state if the current established by the applied sources is such
that its direction matches that of the arrow in the diode symbol, and =0.7V for
silicon, = 0.3V for germanium.
forward-biased

Analysis (for silicon)

V D = 0.7V ( or V D = E if E < 0.7V )
VR = E −VD
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 Cont…

Reverse Bias Analysis

VD = E
• Diodes ideally behave as open circuits VR = 0 V
ID = IR = 0A

Equivalent circuit for the “off ” diode

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 Parallel Configuration of Diode

• Analyzing the parallel configuration of Diodes

• First substitute the diode with the appropriate model, using the practical
model
• The applied voltage E is greater than 0.7 V, both diodes are in the “on”
state.

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 Cont…

• The voltage across parallel elements is always the same and

• Vo = 0.7V

• The current is

• Assuming diodes of similar characteristics, we have

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 Series-Parallel Configuration

• Analyzing the Series-parallel configuration of Diodes

• First substitute the diode with the appropriate model using the practical
model.
• The applied voltage (pressure) is such as to turn both diodes on, as
indicated by the resulting current directions.

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 Cont…

Applying KVL

At the bottom node a,

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 Diode Applications

Rectification
• The conversion of an alternating current to pulsating direct current

• Diodes have ability to conduct current in one direction and block current
in the other direction

• Rectifiers used to convert ac voltage into dc voltage

• Rectifiers are found in all dc power supplies that operate from an ac

voltage source

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 Half-wave Rectifier

• A half-wave rectifier is a circuit that allows only one half-cycle of the AC

voltage waveform to be applied to the load, resulting in one non-alternating
polarity across it.
• half-wave rectifier – utilizes only alternate half-cycles of the input
sinusoid.

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 Cont…

• The diode conducts during the positive half cycle.

• It does not conduct during the negative half cycle.

Fig. Half-wave Rectifier Circuit

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 Full-wave Rectifier

• The rectification process can be improved by using a full-wave rectifier

circuit.
• Current flows through the load in the same direction for both the cycles of
input ac voltage.
• A full-wave rectifier allows unidirectional (one-way) current through the
load during the entire 360o of the input cycle.
• Full-wave rectification produces a greater DC output:
Half-wave: Vdc = 0.318Vm
Full-wave: Vdc = 0.636Vm

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 A Center-Tapped Rectifier

• A center-tapped rectifier is a type of full-wave rectifier that uses two diodes

connected to the secondary of a center-tapped transformer.
• The secondary winding is dividing into two halves and each half contains the
equal number of turns.

Figure : During positive half-cycles, D 1 is forward-biased and D 2 is reverse-biased.

• During the positive half-cycle, the upper diode is forward-biased and the
lower diode is reverse-biased.
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 Cont…

• During the negative half-cycle, the lower diode is forward-biased and the
upper diode is reverse-biased.
• The current path is through D1 and the load resistor RL, as indicated.

Figure : During negative half-cycles, D 2 is forward-biased and D 1 is reverse-biased.

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 The Bridge Full-Wave Rectifier

• The bridge rectifier uses four diodes connected as shown.

• When the input cycle is positive a voltage is developed across R L that
looks like the positive half of the input cycle.
• During the positive half-cycle of the input, D 1 and D 2 are forward-biased
and conduct current. D 3 and D 4 are reverse-biased.

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 Cont…

• When the input cycle is negative as in Figure below, diodes D 3 and D 4 are
forward-biased and conduct current in the same direction through R L as
during the positive half-cycle.
• During the negative half-cycle of the input, D 3 and D 4 are forward-biased
and conduct current. D 1 and D 2 are reverse-biased.

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 Example

• Determine the peak output voltage and current for the bridge rectifier in
Figure below. Assuming the practical model, what PIV rating is required
for the diodes? The transformer is specified to have a 12 V rms secondary
voltage for the standard 120 V across the primary.

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 Example ( Solution)

The peak output voltage

Vp(sec) = 1.414Vr m s = 1.414(12V ) = 17V V p(out)

Vp( out) = V p(sec) - 1 . 4 V = 17V −1.4V = 15.6V

The P I V rating for each diode is

P I V = V p(out) + 0.7V = 15.6V + 0.7V = 16.3V

Applying Ohm’s law,

V p(out) 15.6V
I p(out) = = = 1.56mA
RL 10KΩ

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 Types of diodes

Light Emitting Diodes – LEDs

• Light Emitting Diodes – LEDs are p–n junctions fabricated from special
semiconductors materials, like gallium arsenide.
• They are useful because they allow direct recombination of electrons and
holes, thus releasing energy in the form of light.
• A light-emitting diode (LED) is a diode that gives off visible light when
forward biased.

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 Photodiode

• A photodiode is a type of photo-detector capable of converting light into

either current or voltage, depending upon the mode of operation.
• A photodiode is designed to operate in reverse bias and is traditional solar cell
used to generate electric solar power.
• PN junction diode that consumes light energy to produce electric current.
• A Photo diode is a reverse biased silicon or germanium PN junction diode in
which reverse current increases when the junction is exposed to light.
• When no light is incident on the PN junction diode of photo diode , the reverse
current is very small and it is called as dark current.
• The resistance of photo diode with no incident light is called as Dark resistance.

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 PIN diode

• Used for converting the light energy into electrical energy.

• The intrinsic layer of high resistivity is sandwiched between P and N regions.
• Intrinsic region provides the large electric field between the P region and N
region and the movement of the holes and the electrons induces electric field.
• PIN diode operates in both Reverse and Forward bias.
• When the diode is forward biased, it acts like a current-controlled resistance
and when reverse biased, the PIN diode acts like a fixed capacitor.
• The PIN diode is widely used in modulator circuits for RF and microwave
applications

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 Zener Diode

• The Zener is a diode operated in reverse bias at the Zener Voltage (Vz)
When

• The Zener is on
• Voltage across the Zener is
• Zener current:
• The Zener Power:

When
• The Zener is off
• The zener acts as an open circuit

Basic Zener regulator

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 Cont…

• If R is too large, the Zener diode cannot conduct because the available
amount of current is less than the minimum current rating.
• The minimum current is given by:

• The maximum value of resistance is:

• If R is too small, the Zener current exceeds the maximum current rating, .

• The maximum current for the circuit is given by:

• The minimum value of resistance is:

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 Clipper (diode limiter)

• A diode limiter (clipper) is a circuit that limits (or clips) either the positive
or negative part of the input voltage.
• Clippers: Used to remove part of the signal w.r.t the reference level.
• This kind of processing is useful for signal shaping, circuit protection, and
communications.
• The following circuit removes all the positive parts of the input signal.
• This is why the output signal has only negative half-cycles.

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 Cont…

• If we reverse the polarity of the diode as shown in figure we will get a

negative clipper as it is shown.
• As you would expect, this removes the negative parts of the signal.
• Ideally, the output waveform has nothing but positive half-cycles.
• If the input signal has a peak of 20 V, the output signal will look like Fig.

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 Diode Clamping Circuits

• A clamper (dc restorer) is a circuit that adds a dc level to an ac signal.

• Diode clampers are widely used in television receiver and FM transmitters, where
the variable frequency interference can be removed by using clamping method.
• Positive diode clamper circuit inserts a positive DC level in the output waveform.
• The circuit will be called a positive clamper , when the signal is pushed upward by
the circuit.
• When the signal moves upward, as shown in figure, the negative peak of the signal
coincides with the zero level.

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 Cont…

• A Negative diode clamper circuit inserts a negative DC level in the output

waveform.
• The circuit will be called a negative clamper, when the signal is pushed
downward by the circuit.
• When the signal is pushed on the negative side, as shown in figure below the
positive peak of the input signal coincides with the zero level.
• For a clamping circuit at least three components — a diode, a capacitor and a
resistor are required.

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 End of Slide
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