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PHYSICS CORE NOTES

TOPIC: SEMICONDUCTOR ELECTRONICS LECTURE - 2
2. Reverse biasing: A junction diode is said to be reverse biased when the positive terminal of the
external battery is connected to the n-side and negative terminal to the p-side of the diode.

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Flow of current in reverse biasing In this situation, the reverse voltage supports the potential barrier,
due to which the potential barrier increases and hence width of depletion layer increases.

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Under the effect of external electric field, holes in the p-region and electrons in the n-region are pushed
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away from the junction, i.e. they cannot be combined at the junction.
So, there is almost no flow of current due to majority charge carriers.
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However, a very small current due to minority charge carriers, flows across the junction. This current is
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called reverse saturation current

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Ex. The below diagram show reverse bias of p n junction diode

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Ex. Figure shows a diode connected to an external resistance and an e.m.f. Assuming that the
barrier potential developed in diode is 0.5 V, obtain the value of current in the circuit in
milliampere.

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Sol. Solve it yourself.

1. Forward biased characteristics: When the diode is in forward biased, i.e. p-side is kept at
higher potential, the current in the diode changes with the voltage applied across the diode.

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A graph is plotted between voltage and current. The curve so obtained is the forward characteristic of
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the diode. At the start when applied voltage is low, the current through diode is almost zero. It is
because of potential barrier, which opposes the applied voltage.
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Till the applied voltage exceeds the potential barrier, the current increases very slowly with increase in
applied voltage (OA portion of the graph)
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After this voltage, the diode current increases rapidly (AB portion of the graph), even for very small
increase in the diode voltage. In this situation, the diode behaves like a conductor. The forward voltage
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beyond which the current through the junction starts increasing rapidly with voltage is called the
threshold voltage or cut-off voltage or knee voltage.
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The value of the cut in voltage is about 0.3 V for a germanium diode and 0.7 V for a silicon diode.
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2. Reverse biased characteristics: In reverse biased, the applied voltage supports the flow of minority
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charge carriers across the junction. So, a very small current flows across the junction due to minority
charge carriers.
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Motion of minority charge carriers is also supported by internal potential barrier, so all the minority
carriers cross over the junction.
Therefore, the small reverse current remains almost constant over a sufficiently long range of reverse
bias voltage, increasing very little with increasing voltage (OC portion of the graph).
This reverse current is voltage independent upto certain voltage known as breakdown voltage and this
voltage independent current is called reverse saturation current.
If the reverse biased voltage is too high, then p-n junction breaks. It is of following two type
(a) Zener breakdown: When reverse bias voltage is increased, the electric field across the junction also
increases. At some stage, the electric field becomes so high, that it breaks the covalent bonds creating

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electron-hole pairs. Thus, a large number of carriers are generated. So, this causes a large current to
flow. This mechanism is known as Zener breakdown.

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(b) Avalanche breakdown: At high reverse voltage, due to high electric field, the minority charge

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carriers, while crossing the junction acquire very high velocities. These by collision breaks down the

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covalent bonds generating more carriers. A
Chain reaction is established giving rise to high current. This mechanism is called Avalanche breakdown.

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Note: Zener breakdown occurs in a highly doped p-n junction whereas Avalanche breakdown occurs in a
lightly doped p-n junction.
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p-n Junction diode as a rectifier. A rectifier is a device which converts an alternating current (or voltage)
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into a direct (or unidirectional) current (or voltage).
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Principle: A p-n junction diode can work as an excellent rectifier because it permits current in one
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direction only. It offers a low resistance for the current to flow when it is forward biased, but a very high
resistance when reverse biased. Thus, it allows current to flow through it in only one direction and acts
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as a rectifier. The junction diode can be used either as a half-wave rectifier or as a full-wave rectifier.
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1. p-n junction diode as half-wave Rectifier: A simple rectifier circuit called the half-wave rectifier, using
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only one diode is shown in figure. The AC voltage to be rectified is connected to the primary coil of a
step-down transformer. Secondary coil is connected to the diode through resistor RL across which,
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output is obtained.
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Working: During positive half cycle of the input AC (i.e.VA > 0), the p-n junction is in forward biased.
Thus, the resistance in p-n junction becomes low and current flows. Hence, we get output in the load.

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2. p-n junction diode as full wave rectifier:

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Working: During the positive half cycle of the input AC, the diode D1 is in forward biased and the diode
D2 is in reverse biased. The forward current flows through diode D1
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Zener diode: It is a special purpose diode, designed to operate under the reverse bias in the breakdown
region and used in voltage regulation. Symbol of Zener diode is

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In reverse bias of zener diode 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 through current through the zener diode varies over a wide range. This property
of the zener diode is used for regulating voltage.

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1. Light emitting diode (L.E.D): It is a heavily doped P-N junction which under forward bias emits

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spontaneous radiation. Its symbol is when LED is forward biased then electrons move from

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N → P and holes move from P → N. At the junction boundary these are recombined. On
recombination, energy is released in the form of photons of energy equal to or slightly less than the
band gap.
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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
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current results in decrease of light intensity. LEDs are biased in such a way that the light emitting
efficiency should be maximum. In case of Si or Ge diodes, the energy released in recombination lies in
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infra-red region. Therefore to form LED, such semiconductors are to be used which have band gap from
1.8 eV to 3 eV. Hence GaAs1−x Px is used in forming LED.
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2. Photodiode: It is a special purpose junction diode used to sense and measure incident light. its
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symbol is It is operated under reverse bias.

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Figure (a) An illuminated photodiode, under reverse bias

(b) I-V characteristics of a photodiode for different illumination intensity I3 > I2 > I1
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When light of energy "hv" falls on the photodiode (Here hv > energy gap) more electrons move from
valence band to conduction band, due to this current in circuit of photodiode in "Reverse bias”,
increases. As light intensity is increased, the photo current goes on increasing. So photo diode is used
"to detect light intensity’. Example used in "Video camera’.

3. Solar cell: A p-n junction which generate emf when solar radiation falls on it, called solar cell. 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.

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When light falls on, emf generates due to the following three basic processes: generation, separation
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and collection- (i) generation of e-h pairs due to light (with hv > Eg) in junction region; (ii) separation of
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electrons and holes due to electric field of the depletion region. Electrons are swept to n-side and holes
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to p-side by the junction field; (iii) On reaching electrons at n-side and holes on at p-side. Thus n-side
becomes negative and p-side becomes positive potential and giving rise to photovoltage.
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Ex. A zener diode, having breakdown voltage equal to 15V, is used in a voltage regulator circuit
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shown in figure. The current through the diode is

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(1) 10 mA (2) 15 mA (3) 20 mA (4) 5 mA

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Ans. (4)

Ex. Zener diode is used for

(1) Amplification
(2) Rectification
(3) Stabilization
(4) Producing oscillations in an oscillator
Ans. (3)
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Ex. In a p-n junction photocell, the value of the photo-electromotive force produced by
monochromatic light is proportional to
(1) The voltage applied at the p-n junction
(2) The barrier voltage at the p-n junction
(3) The intensity of the light falling on the cell
(4) The frequency of the light falling on the cell
Ans. (3)

Ex. If a full wave rectifier circuit is operating from 50Hz mains, the fundamental frequency in the

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ripple will be
(1) 100 Hz (2) 25 Hz (3) 50 Hz (4) 70.7 Hz

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Ans. (1)

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Ex. A d.c. battery of V volt is connected to a series combination of a resistor R and an ideal diode D
as shown in the figure below. The potential difference across R will be

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(1) 2V when diode is forward biased (2) Zero when diode is forward biased
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(3) V when diode is reverse biased (4) V when diode is forward biased
Ans. (4)
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Ex. A depletion layer consists of

(1) Electrons (2) Protons
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(3) Mobile ions (4) Immobile ions

Ans. (4)
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Digital circuits – A signal that can take only two discrete values of current or voltage is called digital
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signal.
A digital signal can take only two values, i.e. 0 and 1, which are marked as low and high values
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respectively. In the square wave shown in Fig, a signal of 0 V represents binary 0 and a signal of 5V
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represents binary 1.

The electrical circuits which process digital signals are called digital circuits. e.g. Pocket calculators,
burglar alarms, modern computers,
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Binary system: There are number of questions which have only two answers Yes or No. A statement can
be either True or False. A switch can be either ON or OFF.
These values may be represented by two symbols 0 and 1. In a number system in which, we have only
two digits is called a binary system.
In binary system, usually we write 1 for positive response (e.g. when a switch is ON) and 0 for negative
(when switch is OFF).
Truth table: It is a table that shows all possible input combinations and the corresponding output
combinations for a logic gate.to understand the concept of truth table, let us take an example. A bulb is
connected to an AC source via two switches S1 and S2 .

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In binary system, we will write 0, if the switch (or bulb) is OFF and write 1 if it is ON.

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Some useful postulates and laws of boolean algebra

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(i) Boolean postulates

(a) 0 + A = A (b) 1 + A = 1 (c) 0 ⋅ A = 0 (d) 1⋅ A = A
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(e) A + A = 1
(ii) Identity law
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(a) A + A = A (b) A .A = A
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(iii) Negation law

̅=A
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(iv) De-Morgan’s theorem

(a) ̅̅̅̅̅̅̅
A+B=A ̅∙B̅ (b) ̅̅̅̅̅̅
A∙B =A ̅+B
̅
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Logic gates – A logic gate is a digital circuit which is based on certain logical relationship between the
input and the output voltages of the circuit.
The operation of a logic gate is indicated in a table, known as truth table. This table contains all possible
combinations of inputs and the corresponding outputs.
There are three basic logic gates
(1) OR gate
(2) AND gate
(3) NOT gate
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OR gate – It is a logic gate which has two or more inputs and one output

Boolean expression: Let the two input of OR gate be A and B respectively and its output be Y
Y=A+B
Logic symbol:

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Truth table:
A B Y

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0 0 0
0 1 1

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1 0 1
1 1 1

A+A =A @
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1+1=1
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OR Gate using diodes:

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Input and output waveforms for an OR gate

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2. AND gate – It has two or more inputs and one output. In AND gate, output is 1 only when all the
inputs are 1.
AND operation: Consider the circuit given below

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Boolean expression: Let the inputs of AND gate be A and B respectively and its output be Y
𝐘=𝐀𝐁
Logic symbol:

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Truth table:
A B Y

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0 0 0

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0 1 0

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1 0 0
1 1 1

AND gate using diodes: @

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Input and output waveforms for an AND gate

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3. NOT gate – It has only one input and one output. It gives an inverted version of its input, i.e. if input is
1, then output is 0 and vice-versa.
NOT operation:

Boolean expression: Let the input of NOT gate be A and its output be Y.
Y=A ̅

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Logic symbol:

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Truth table:

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A ̅
Y= 𝐀

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0 1
1 0

Input and output waveforms for NOT gate @

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Combination of logic gates –

1. NAND gate: It has two or more inputs and one output. This is an AND gate followed by a NOT gate. In
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this gate, if all the inputs are 1, then output will be 0.

Boolean expression:
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𝐘 = ̅̅̅̅̅̅
𝐀 ∙ 𝐁 𝐨𝐫 𝐘 = ̅̅̅̅
𝐀𝐁
Logic symbol:
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Truth table:

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A B Y’ Y
0 0 0 1
0 1 0 1
1 0 0 1
Input and output waveforms for NAND gate
1 1 1 0

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2. NOR gate: It has two or more inputs and one output. When a NOT operation is applied after OR gate,
then it is called NOR gate.

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In this gate, if all the inputs are 0, then only output will be 1, otherwise it is 0
Boolean expression:

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𝐘 = ̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅
𝐀+𝐁
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Logic symbol:
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Truth table:
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A B Y’ Y
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0 0 0 1
0 1 1 0
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1 0 1 0
1 1 1 0
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Input and output waveforms of NOR gate

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3. XOR gate: It is also called the exclusive OR function. It is a function of two logical variables A and B
which evaluates to 1, if one of two variables is 0 and the other is 1. The output is zero, if both the
variables are 0 or 1.
Boolean expression:
Y=A ̅ B + AB ̅
Logic symbol:

Truth table:
̅ ̅ ̅ ̅𝐁 ̅+𝐀
̅𝐁

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A B 𝐀 𝐁 𝐀𝐁 𝐀 𝐘 = 𝐀𝐁
0 0 1 1 0 0 0

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0 1 1 0 0 1 1

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1 0 0 1 1 0 1

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1 1 0 0 0 0 0

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Input and output waveforms of XOR gate

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4. XNOR gate: It is also called exclusive NOR function. It is a function of two logical variables A and B
which evaluates to 0, if one of two variable is 0 and the other is 1. The output is one, if both the
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variables are 0 or 1.
Boolean expression:
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𝐘=𝐀 ̅𝐁̅ + 𝐀𝐁
Logic symbol:
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Truth table:
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A B ̅
𝐀 ̅
𝐁 𝐀𝐁 ̅𝐁
𝐀 ̅ ̅𝐁
𝐘 = 𝐀𝐁 + 𝐀 ̅
0 0 1 1 0 1 1
0 1 1 0 0 0 0
1 0 0 1 0 0 0
1 1 0 0 1 0 1

Input and output waveforms of XNOR gate

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Logic gates using NAND gate –

NOT gate from NAND gate: To obtain NOT gate from NAND gate, the two inputs of the NAND gate are

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joined together.

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Boolean expression:
When

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Y = ̅̅̅̅̅̅
A∙B

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B = A,

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Y = ̅̅̅̅̅̅
A∙A
=A̅
Logic symbol:
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AND gate from NAND gate: To obtain AND gate form NAND gate, one NOT gate (made from NAND gate)
is used. The output of the NAND gate is given to the input of the NOT gate. The logic circuit so obtained
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will work as AND gate.

Boolean expression:
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Y = ̅̅̅̅
AB
=A∙B
nd

Logic symbol
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Truth table: Make it yourself.

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OR gate from NAND gate: To obtain OR gate from NAND gate, two NOT gates are used. The outputs of
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two NOT gate (obtain from NAND gate) is given to the inputs of the NAND gate. The logic circuit so
obtained will work as OR gate.
Boolean expression
The Boolean expression for a NAND gate having A̅ and B̅ as its two inputs is
Y = ̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅
̅∙B
(A ̅)
̅
=A+B ̅ (applying De Morgan’s theorem)
=A+B (Boolean expression for OR gate)

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Logic symbol:

Truth table: Make it yourself.

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Logic gates using NOR gate –

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NOT gate from NOR gate: To obtain NOT gate from NOR gate, two inputs of NOR gate are joined
together.

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Boolean expression

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The Boolean expression for NOR gate is given by
Y = ̅̅̅̅̅̅̅

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A+B
Putting B = A, Y = ̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅
A+A=A ̅ (∵ A + A = A)
Logic symbol
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Truth table: Make it yourself.
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AND gate from NOR gate: To obtain AND gate from NOR gate, two NOT gates (made from NOR gates)
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are connected to a NOR gate. The logic circuit so obtained will work as AND gate.
Boolean expression
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The boolean expression for a NOR gate having A ̅ and B

̅ as two inputs is given by
̅̅̅̅̅̅̅
̅+B
Y = (A ̅)
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=A̅∙B ̅ (applying De Morgan’s theorem)

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=A∙B (boolean expression for AND gate)

Logic symbol:
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rs
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Truth table: Make it yourself.

OR gate from NOR gate: To obtain OR gate from NOR gate, we connect NOR gate to the NOT gate
(made from NOR gate). The logic circuit obtained will work as OR gate

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Boolean expression:
The output of the NOR gate is given by Y′ = ̅̅̅̅̅̅̅
A+B
This output of the NOR gate forms the input of the NOT gate.
∴ The final output is given by
Y = Y′̅ = ̅̅̅̅̅̅̅
A+B
=A+B (boolean expression for OR gate)
Logic symbol:

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Truth table: Make it yourself.

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Ex. Which logic gate is represented by the following combination of logic gates?

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(1) OR (2) NAND (3) AND (4) NOR
Ans. (3)
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Ex. Which represents NAND gate?

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Ans. (1)
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Ex. Given below are four logic gate symbol (figure). Those for OR, NOR and NAND are respectively
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(1) 1, 4, 3 (2) 4, 1, 2 (3) 1, 3, 4 (4) 4, 2, 1

Ans. (3)

Ex. The boolean expression for the circuit given in the figure is
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̅
(1) Y = A + B (2) Y = ̅̅̅̅̅̅̅
A+B ̅+B
(3) Y = A (4) Y = A + B
Ans. (3)

Ex. The output (X) of the logic circuit shown in figure will be

(1) X = ̅̅̅̅̅̅̅
A+B ̅. B
(2) X = A ̅

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̅̅̅̅̅
(3) X = A. B (4) X = A. B

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Ans. (4)

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Ex. Which logic gates is represented by the following combination of logic gates?

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(1) NAND (2) AND (3) NOR (4) OR
1

Ans. (2)
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Ex. To get output 1 for the following circuit, the correct choice for the input is [NEET-I 2016]
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(1) A = 0, B = 1, C = 0 (2) A = 1, B = 0, C = 0
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(3) A = 1, B = 1, C = 0 (4) A = 1, B = 0, C = 1
Ans. (4)
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Ex. In the combination of the following gates the output Y can be written in terms of inputs A and B
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(1) ̅̅̅̅̅
A. B ̅. B
̅+A
(2) A. B (3) ̅̅̅̅̅
A. B + A. B (4) ̅̅̅̅̅̅̅
A+B
Ans. (2)

Ex. The truth table for the given logic circuit is

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Ans. (2)

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1
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nd
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