Basics of Electronics Engineering

References

• N.N. Bhargava , D.C. Kulshreshtha , S.C. Gupta, Basic Electronics and Linear Circuits,
Tata McGraw - Hill Education, New Delhi, 2nd Edition, 2014.
• Boylested, R. L. and Nashelsky, L., Electronic Devices and Circuit Theory, Pearson
Education, 10th Edition, 2009.
• Wayne Tomasi and Neil Storey, A Textbook on Basic Communication and Information
Engineering, Pearson, 5th Edition, 2010.
• Dr. K Gopakumar, Basics of electronics and communication Engineering, 5th edition
Introduction

• What is Electronics ?

Electronics is the branch of science that deals with the study of flow and control of electrons
(electricity)

The study of their behavior and effects in vacuums, gases, and materials (Conductors,
Semiconductors and Insulators)

Deals with devices using such electrons.

Application of Electronics
Introduction to Semiconductor Devices: Material Classification

• Materials are classified into

Conductors: Good conductors of electricity (Eg: Copper, Aluminium etc)

Insulators: Bad conductors of electricity (Eg: Glass, Quartz, Rubber etc)

Semiconductors: Material whose electrical properties lie between those of a conductor and an
insulator (Eg: Silicon, Germanium etc)

At room temperature, semiconductors have conductivity considerably lower than that of

conductors, but much higher than that of insulators.
Energy Band Diagram: Conductor

• A conductor contains a large number of free electrons

at room temperature and there is no forbidden
energy-gap between conduction band and valance
band

• The valence band energies and conduction band

energies are the same and hence it is very easy for a
valence electron to become a conduction (free)
electron.

• Conductors can conduct without supplying additional

energy.
Energy Band Diagram: Insulator

• In insulator the forbidden energy gap is very high and

it is very difficult for an electron from valence band to
reach the conduction band.

• At room temperature an insulator does not conduct at

all.

• It may conduct if its temperature is very high or if a

high voltage is applied across it. This is termed as the
breakdown of insulator.
Energy Band Diagram: Semiconductor

• In a semiconductor the valence band and conduction

band are separated by a small energy gap

• If an energy more than the energy gap is added, then

it is possible to liberate an electron from the valence
band to the conduction band.

• This gap between two energy levels is called

forbidden energy gap (The value is 1.12 eV for
Silicon, 0.72 eV for Germanium, and 1.43eV for
Gallium Arsenide).
Semiconductor Classification

• Semiconductors are mainly classified into two.

Intrinsic Semiconductors

Extrinsic Semiconductors
Intrinsic Semiconductor

• Semiconductors in the pure form are called intrinsic

semiconductors.

• In intrinsic semiconductor, the impurity content is less

than one part impurity in 100 million parts of semi
conductor.

• An intrinsic semiconductor (Si, Ge etc) has only four

electrons in its outermost orbit and requires four more
electrons to fill the shell.

• This is done by sharing one electron from each of the

four neighboring atoms and the resulting pattern is
called a crystal.
Intrinsic Semiconductor

• The valence electrons are shown around each core and

each of the valence electrons share electrons from
adjacent core to form a covalent bond.

• A covalent bond consists of two electrons, one from

each adjacent atom

• At zero kelvin all valence electrons are tightly bound

to the parent atom.

• Since there are no free electrons, an intrinsic

semiconductor behaves as a perfect insulator at
absolute zero temperature.
Intrinsic Semiconductor

• At room temperature additional electron-hole pairs are

generated because of thermal energy.

• The higher the temperature, greater the concentration

of charge carriers.

• It increases the conductivity (or decreases the

resistivity).

• Therefore a semiconductor is said to possess negative

temperature coefficient of resistance
Extrinsic Semiconductor

• The conductivity of a semiconductor can be increased is by adding small quantities of certain

impurities.

• The process of adding controlled quantities of impurities to a semiconductor is called doping.

• The resulting semiconductor is called an extrinsic semiconductor.

• Doping can be done using pentavalent or trivalent impurities

• Classified into two

N – type semiconductor

P – type semiconductor
N – type semiconductor

• Consider a pure semiconductor is doped with a pentavalent

impurity (Arsenic, Phosphorus, Antimony etc).

• Pentavalent atom has five electrons in their outermost orbit.

of which four electrons form covalent bonds with four
adjacent silicon atoms.

• The fifth electron can't form a covalent bond and hence is

quite far from the nucleus.

• The fifth electron is free and requires only very little

energy to free itself from the attractive force of the nucleus.

• Thus semiconductor doped with pentavalent impurities

contains excess of free electrons and hence called an
n-type semiconductor.
 N – type semiconductor

• As a result of doping, an impurity level Ei is formed in

between the conduction band (Ec) and the valence band
(Ev) which is nearer to the conduction band.

• This impurity level is filled with electrons.

• As temperature is increased, the free electrons from the

impurity energy level are donated to the conduction band.

• Since electrons are donated by the impurity level, the

n-type semiconductor is also referred to as donor type.

• An n-type semiconductor contains electrons as majority

carriers and thermally generated holes as minority carriers
Representation of N – type semiconductor
P – type semiconductor

• Consider a pure semiconductor is doped with a trivalent

impurity (containing 3 electrons in their outermost orbit) like
gallium, indium, aluminium etc.

• The three valence electrons of impurity atom share covalent bond

with neighbouring semiconductor atoms.

• The fourth neighbouring semiconductor atom is unable to form a

covalent bond with the impurity atom.

• As a result one electron is lacking or there exists a vacancy in the

crystal structure.

• This vacancy or lack of an electron is referred to as a hole.

• The semiconductor so formed has deficiency of electrons or

excess of holes and is therefore called a p-type semiconductor.
P – type semiconductor

• The doping results in the formation of an impurity energy

level (Ei) between the conduction band (Ec) and the
valence band (Ev) which is nearer to the valence band.

• At 0 K this level is filled with holes .

• As temperature is raised, the impurity energy level accepts

electrons from the valence band.

• Thus the impurity level acts as an acceptor of electrons and

therefore p-type semiconductor is also called acceptor type.

• A p-type semiconductor contains holes as majority carriers

and thermally generated electrons as minority carriers
Representation of P – type semiconductor
PN- Junction

• PN Junction is formed by combining a P- type semiconductor with an N- type

semiconductor with special manufacturing technique.
• It is also called semiconductor diode or crystal diode
• Structure and Symbol of a PN-Junction Diode
PN- Junction

• In a PN-junction one half is P-type and other half

is N-type.
• The P region has holes and negatively charged
impurity ions.
• The N region has free electrons and positively
charged impurity ions.
• Holes and electrons are the mobile charges, but
the ions are immobile.
• The sample as a whole is electrically neutral.
• In the P region, the charge of moving holes equal
the total charges on its free electrons and
immobile ions.
• In N region, the negative charge of its majority
carriers is compensated by the charge of its
minority carriers and immobile ions.
Case 1: PN- Junction with no External Voltage (Open Circuit Condition)

• Holes from the P region diffuse into the N region and combine with the free electrons in the N
region.

• Free electrons from the N region diffuse into the P region and combine with the holes.

• The diffusion of holes (from P region to N region) and electrons (from N region to P region) takes
place because of their concentration difference in two regions. The P region has more holes and the
N region has more free electrons.
Case 1: PN- Junction with no External Voltage (Open Circuit Condition)

• This recombination results in the formation of uncovered negative ions (acceptor ions) on P
side and positive ions (donor ions) on the N side

• The region of uncompensated acceptor and donor ions is called depletion region

• That is mobile charge carriers are completely depleted in this region.

Case 1: PN- Junction with no External Voltage (Open Circuit Condition)

• Since this region has immobile (fixed) ions which are electrically charged it is also referred
to as the space-charge region.

• The electric field between the acceptor and the donor ions is called a barrier.

• The physical distance from one side of the barrier the other is referred to as the width of the
barrier.
Case 1: PN- Junction with no External Voltage (Open Circuit Condition)

• The difference of potential from one side of the barrier to the other side is referred to as the
height of the barrier or barrier potential or built in potential or contact potential

• Barrier potential depends on the nature of semiconductor material

• For a silicon PN-junction, the barrier potential is about 0.7 V, whereas for a germanium
PN-junction it is approximately 0.3 V
Case 1: PN- Junction with no External Voltage (Open Circuit Condition)

• Additional holes trying to diffuse into the N region are repelled by the uncompensated
positive charge of the donor ions.

• The electrons trying to diffuse into the P region are repelled by the uncompensated negative
charges on the acceptor ions.

• As a result, total recombination of holes and electrons cannot occur.

Case 1: PN- Junction with no External Voltage (Open Circuit Condition)

• The barrier discourages the diffusion of majority carrier across the junction but helps the
thermally generated minority carriers to drift across the junction.

• The drift of minority carriers across the junction is counterbalanced by the diffusion of same
number of majority carriers having sufficient kinetic energy to overcome the barrier across
the junction.

• In fact, the barrier height adjusts itself so that the flow of minority carriers is exactly
balanced by the flow of majority carriers across the junction
Case 2: PN- Junction with Forward Bias

• A p-n junction diode is said to be forward biased if p-side is connected to positive terminal
of the battery and n-side to negative terminal of the battery.
Case 2: PN- Junction with Forward Bias

• When the PN-junction is forward biased, the holes

are repelled from the positive terminal of the battery
and are compelled to move towards the junction.

• The electrons are repelled from the negative

terminal of the battery and drift towards the
junction.

• Due to the acquired energy, some of the holes and

the free electrons penetrate the depletion region and
neutralizes the immobile ions on the depletion
region.

• This reduces the potential barrier.

Case 2: PN- Junction with Forward Bias

• The width of the depletion region reduces and so

does the barrier height.

• As a result of this, more majority carriers diffuse

across the junction.

• These carriers recombine and cause movement of

charge carriers in the space-charge region.

• The recombination process near the junction results

in the loss of carriers.

• But this is neutralized by the formation of new

electron-hole pairs.
Case 2: PN- Junction with Forward Bias

• The free electrons so produced are attracted by the

positive terminal of the battery.

• This is a continuous process and constitutes a current

flow by electrons in the external circuit in the direction
from p to n.

• The current continues as long as the battery is in the

circuit.

• If the applied voltage is further increased the barrier

potential is further reduced. More majority carriers
diffuse across the junction.

• This results in an increased current through the

PN-junction
Case 2: PN- Junction with Forward Bias
Case 3: PN- Junction with Reverse Bias

• A p-n junction diode is said to be reverse biased if p-side is connected to negative terminal of the
battery and n-side to positive terminal of the battery.
Case 3: PN- Junction with Reverse Bias

• The holes in the P region are attracted towards the negative

terminal of the battery.

• The electrons in the N region are attracted to the positive

terminal of the battery.

• Thus the majority carriers are drawn away from the

junction.

• This action widen the depletion region and increases the

barrier potential .

• The increased barrier potential makes it more difficult for

the majority carriers to diffuse across the junction.
Case 3: PN- Junction with Reverse Bias

• Thus no holes or electrons are left in the neighbourhood of the

p-n junction and current flow stops completely.

• A minute current of the order of microamperes (nanoamperes

in silicon diodes) flow through the diode as a result of
thermally generated minority carriers.

• The reverse current remains constant irrespective of applied

voltage as thermally generated minority carriers are constant for
a given temperature and material.

• Therefore the resulting current is referred to as reverse

saturation current
V-I Characteristics of PN Junction Diode

• V-I Characteristics is a graph between the applied voltage across diode terminals and the current that
flows through it.
V-I Characteristics of PN Junction Diode
V-I Characteristics of PN Junction Diode
V-I Characteristics of PN Junction Diode
Ideal PN Junction Diode

• The important property of a diode is that, It permits only

unidirectional conduction.

• It conducts well in the forward direction and poorly in the

reverse direction.

• If a diode is said to be ideal, it act as a perfect conductor (with

zero voltage across it) when it is forward biased

• It act as a perfect insulator (with no current through it) when it

is reverse biased.

• An ideal diode acts like an automatic switch. When the current

tries to flow in the forward direction, the switch is closed.

• On the other hand when the current tries to flow in reverse

direction, the switch is open
Reverse Breakdown

• PN-junction allows a very small current to flow when it is reverse biased.

• This current is due to the movement of minority carriers and is almost independent of applied reverse
voltage.

• However, if the reverse bias voltage is made too high, the current through the PN-junction increases
abruptly.

• The voltage at which this phenomenon occurs is called breakdown voltage.

• At this voltage, the crystal structure breaks down. In normal applications, this condition is avoided.

• The crystal structure will return to normal when the excess reverse bias is removed, provided that
overheating has not permanently damaged the crystal.
Reverse Breakdown

• Two processes which can cause junction breakdown.

Avalanche Breakdown

Zener Breakdown
Avalanche Breakdown

• If the amount of external reverse bias is increased, an electron

(minority carrier in the P material) moves with high velocity
towards N-region.

• This electron strikes a covalent bond in the N material with very

high kinetic energy.

• The energy is sufficient to break a covalent bond, which results

in the generation of an electron-hole pair.

• The electron so generated moves towards the positive side of the

battery whereas the hole moves towards p-material.

• The high speed hole strikes a covalent bond in the p-material and
generates another electron-hole pair.
Avalanche Breakdown

• The hole so formed travel towards the -ve side of the battery
whereas the electron move towards the n-material.

• A chain or cumulative reaction is thus established, creating

a large number of carriers.

• This cumulative phenomenon is called impact ionization

which gives rise to a high reverse current.

• This breakdown is called Avalanche Breakdown.

Zener Breakdown

• Zener breakdown occurs in junctions which are heavily doped.

• Heavy doping results in a narrow depletion layer for the pn junction.

• The applied voltage sets up a very strong electric field across this narrow layer.

• This field is strong enough to break or rupture the covalent bonds, generating a large number of
electron-hole pairs.

• This phenomenon is referred to as field ionization, as a result of which a large current flows through
the diode.

• This is called Zener Breakdown.

• Zener breakdown occur in Zener diodes.

Characteristics

• In general, at reverse voltages less than 6V, Zener effect

predominates and at higher voltages, avalanche effect is
predominant.

• The diode behaves like an ordinary pn junction under forward

biased condition.

• The device behavior changes when it is reverse biased.

• The current is almost negligible till the external voltage

reaches Vz, the breakdown voltage.

• At Vz, breakdown occurs and results in the generation of

large number of carriers.

• Thus a large current flow occurs.

Characteristics

• The characteristics show that once breakdown occurs, the

voltage across the device remains constant with sharp
increase in current.

• This nature of the device enables it to be used as a

voltage regulator, an electronic device which maintains
constant output voltage irrespective of load current and
input voltage variations
Formation of new electron-hole pairs.

• For each recombination of free electron and hole that occurs, an electron from the negative terminal of
the battery enters the N-type material. It then drifts towards the junction. Similarly, in the P-type
material near the positive terminal of the battery, an electron breaks a bond in the crystal and enters
the positive terminal of the battery For each electron that breaks its bond, a hole is created. This hole
drifts towards the junction. Note that there is a continuous electron current in the external circuit.