21ECC101J

Electronic system and PCB

design
Unit 2- Part 1
 Unit 2
Sl.No Topic Reference Page no

1. Introduction to power electronics Power Electronics: Converters, Applications, and 16-17

Design by Simon Sze, Ming-Kwei Lee
2. applications and role of power electronics Power Electronics: Converters, Applications, and 20-22
Design by Simon Sze, Ming-Kwei Lee
3. Introduction to power semiconductor Power Electronics: Converters, Applications, and 29
devices Design by Simon Sze, Ming-Kwei Lee
4. Operating characteristics of Power Diodes Power Electronics: Converters, Applications, and 30-31
Design by Simon Sze, Ming-Kwei Lee
5. Gunn Diode https://www.electrical4u.com/gunn-diode/ -

6. Schottky Diode https://www.electronics- -

tutorials.ws/diode/schottky-diode.html
7. IMPATT Diode https://electronicsdesk.com/impatt-diode.html -

8. Introduction Electronic Device and Circuits by S. Salivahanan, N 349-350

to Thyristor Suresh Kumar
9. PNPN Diode Electronic Device and Circuits by S. Salivahanan, N 349-350
Suresh Kumar
10. Silicon Control Rectifier (SCR) Electronic Device and Circuits by S. Salivahanan, N 350
Suresh Kumar
11. Thyristor Rating Electronic Device and Circuits by S. Salivahanan, N 352
21ECC101J
Suresh Kumar 2
 1.Introduction to power electronics

• The task of power electronics is to process and control the flow of

electric energy by supplying voltages and currents in a form that is
optimally suited for user loads.

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 Block diagram of power electronics and explanation
• The power input to this power processor is usually (but
not always) from the electric utility at a line frequency of
60 or 50 Hz, single phase or three phases.
• The phase angle between the input voltage and the
current depends on the topology and the control of the
power processor. The processed output (voltage, current,
frequency, and the number of phases) is as desired by the
load.
• If the power processor's output can be regarded as a
voltage source, the output current and the phase angle
relationship between the output voltage and the current
depend on the load characteristic.
• Normally, a feedback controller compares the output of
Fig 1: Block diagram of Power electronic system the power processor unit with a desired (or a reference)
value, and the error between the two is minimized by the
controller.
• The power flow through such systems may be reversible,
thus interchanging the roles of the input and the output.

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 Contd…..

• Controller- linear integrated circuits and/or digital signal processors.

• Power Processor- advances in semiconductor fabrication technology
have made it possible to significantly improve the voltage- and
current-handling capabilities and the switching speeds of power
semiconductor devices, which make up the power processor unit.

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 2. Applications and role of power electronics

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 3.Introduction to power semiconductor devices

• The increased power capabilities, ease of control, and reduced costs of

modem power semiconductor devices compared to those of just a few
years ago have made converters affordable in a large number of
applications and have opened up a host of new converter topologies for
power electronic applications.
• If the power semiconductor devices can be considered as ideal switches,
the analysis of converter topologies becomes much easier.
• Power semiconductor devices can be classified into three groups according
to their degree of controllability:
• 1. Diodes- On and off states controlled by the power circuit.
• 2. Thyristors- Latched on by a control signal but must be turned off by the
power
• 3. Controllable switches- Turned on and off by control signals.
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 4. Operating characteristics of Power Diodes

• When Diode- Forward biased- conduct with forward

voltage (1 V).
• Reverse biased- small leakage current flows until the
reverse breakdown voltage.
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 Contd…

• At turn ON- act as ideal switch because it turns on rapidly compared to the
transients in the power circuit.
• At turn OFF- the diode current reverses for a reverse-recovery time (trr)
before falling to zero (shown in Fig below)

• This reverse-recovery (negative) current is required to sweep out the

excess carriers in the diode and allow it to block a negative polarity voltage.
• The reverse-recovery current can lead to over voltages in inductive circuits.
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 5. Gunn Diode

• A Gunn diode is a passive semiconductor device with two terminals, which

consist of a p-n junction.
• Gunn diodes can be made composes of only an n-doped semiconductor
material, unlike other diodes from the materials which consist of multiple,
initially-empty, closely-spaced energy valleys in their conduction band like
Gallium Arsenide (GaAs), Indium Phosphide (InP), Gallium Nitride (GaN) etc..

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 Contd…

• General manufacturing procedure involves growing an epitaxial layer on a degenerate

n+ substrate to form three n-type semiconductor layers, where-in the extreme layers
are heavily doped when compared to the middle, active layer.
• Further the metal contacts are provided at either ends of the Gunn diode to facilitate
biasing.
• On applying a DC voltage across the terminals of the Gunn diode, an electric field is
developed across its layers, most of which appears across the central active region.
• At initial stages, the conduction increases due to the movement of electrons from the
valence band into the lower valley of the conduction band.

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 Contd…
• The associated V-I plot is shown by the curve in the
Region 1 (colored in pink) of Figure 2. However,
after reaching a certain threshold value (Vth), the
conduction current through the Gunn diode
decreases as shown by the curve in the Region 2
(colored in blue) of the figure.
• This is because, at higher voltages the electrons in
the lower valley of the conduction band move into
its higher valley where their mobility decreases due
to an increase in their effective mass. The reduction
in mobility decreases the conductivity which leads
to a decrease in the current flowing through the
diode.
• As a result the diode is said to exhibit negative
resistance region (region spanning from Peak point
to Valley Point) in the V-I characteristic curve. This
effect is called transferred electron effect and thus
the Gunn diodes are also called Transferred
Electron Devices.
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 Contd…
• In addition, at microwave frequencies, a current pulse travels across the
active region which is initiated at a particular voltage value.
• This movement of current pulse across the active region reduces the
potential gradient across it, which in turn avoids the formation of
further current pulses.
• The next current pulse can be generated only when the pulse previously
generated reaches the far-end of the active region, increasing the
potential gradient once again. T
• his indicates that the time taken by the current pulse to traverse across
the active region decides the rate at which the current pulses are
generated and thus fixes the operational frequency of the Gunn diode.
• Thus in order to vary the oscillation frequency, one has to vary the
thickness of the central active region.

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 6. Schottky Diode

• A Schottky diode (also known as the hot-carrier diode or Schottky barrier diode) is a semiconductor diode formed by the junction of a
semiconductor with a metal.
• Schottky diodes have a low forward voltage drop (0.15 to 0.45 V) and a very fast switching action.
• Just like a regular diode, a Schottky diode will conduct a current in the forward direction when sufficient forward voltage is applied.
• The junction in a Schottky diode is formed by the metal (such as gold, tungsten, chromium, platinum, molybdenum, or certain
silicides) and an N-type doped silicon semiconductor.
• Here, the anode is the metal side and the cathode is the semiconductor side.
• But a silicon PN junction diode has a typical forward voltage of 600–700 mV (0.6–0.75 V), while Schottky’s forward voltage is 150–450
mV (0.15–0.45 V).
• This lower forward voltage requirement enables Schottky diodes to have higher switching speeds and increased efficiency.

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 6. Working Principle of Schottky Diode

• The operation relies on the principle that the electrons in different materials
have different potential energy.
• N-type semiconductors have higher potential energy than electrons of
metals.
• When these two are brought into contact, there is a flow of electrons in both
directions across the metal-semiconductor interface.
• A voltage is applied to the Schottky so that the metal is positive when
compared to the semiconductor.
• The voltage opposes the built-in potential and makes the current flow easy.

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 6. V-I Characteristics of Schottky Diode

• The general shape of the metal-semiconductor Schottky diode I-V characteristics is very
similar to that of a standard pn-junction diode, except the corner or knee voltage at which
the ms-junction diode starts to conduct is much lower at around 0.4 volts.
• Due to this lower value, the forward current of a silicon Schottky diode can be many times
larger than that of a typical pn-junction diode, depending on the metal electrode used.
Remember that Ohms law tells us that power equals volts times amps, (P = V*I) so a
smaller forward voltage drop for a given diode current, ID will produce lower forward power
dissipation in the form of heat across the junction.

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 7. IMPATT Diode

• IMPATT is an abbreviation used for IMPact ionization Avalanche Transit-Time. IMPATT diode is a very
high power semiconductor device that is utilized for microwave applications.
• It is basically used as oscillator and amplifier at microwave frequencies. The operating range of the
IMPATT diode lies in the range of 3 to 100 GHz.
• As we can see that it consists of 4 regions namely P+-N-I-N+
• The structure of the IMPATT diode is somewhat similar to the PIN diode. However, it operates on a
very high voltage gradient of around 400KV/cm, so as to produce avalanche current.
• GaAs is preferred because of its low noise behaviour.
• Its construction is adopted to produce RF signals at microwave frequencies.
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 7. Working of IMPATT Diode
• IMPATT diodes operate on the principle of avalanche breakdown and
transit time delay.
• Avalanche Condition(breakdown):
• An action that causes an abrupt increase in the junction current in reverse
biased condition of pn junction diode leading to junction breakdown is known
as avalanche breakdown.
• We know that in reverse biased condition the width of the depletion region
becomes extremely thick. Due to which only minority carriers drift across the
junction. In the presence of a high electric field, the mobile charge carriers
move with greater velocity.
• During their movement, the high-velocity carriers collide with other atoms in
the crystal and generates electron-hole pairs. This causes multiplication of
charge carriers inside the crystal structure.
• Thus the moving charges generate high current inside the device. This is known
as avalanche condition or impact ionization and is utilized in IMPATT diodes.

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 7. Contd…
• The overall external field provided to the diode is the summation of RF ac signal and dc
voltage.
• Initially when ac voltage is 0 then due to applied low dc voltage, a very small amount of
current flows through the diode. This current is generally known as pre-breakdown
current.
• But as the applied potential increases then the electric field inside the diode increases. And
as we have already discussed that with an increase in the electric field there will be an
increase in the number of generated electron-hole pairs due to impact ionization.
• The increase in superimposed ac field and dc potential causes the electrons in the p+
region to get injected into the I region in order to drift towards n+ region. This is so because
with the increase in the applied field the electrons will move towards the anode and holes
towards the cathode.
• The moving electrons cause charge multiplication in the presence of a high electric field.
• By this time the ac field now starts approaching 0 but due to secondary charge generation,
the concentration of electrons in the avalanche region will be extremely high.
• This shows a phase shift of 90⁰ now gets generated between the ac input signal and
concentration of charge carriers in the avalanche region.
• Thus while drifting from avalanche region to anode, the electrons generate high current
with a phase opposite to that of the applied ac signal.
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 7. Contd…
• During the negative half of the ac signal, even the dc potential is high, still,
the reduction in the overall electric field will cause decay in the concentration
of carriers present in the avalanche region. Thus the current flowing through
it also gets reduced.
• In order to have the desired phase shift between the ac signal and diode
current, the thickness of the drift region must be properly selected.
• The thickness of the drift region must be such that the electron bunch must
be collected at the anode till the time ac voltage is approaching 0. Thereby
providing a phase shift of 90⁰. This is so because the thickness of the drift
region decides the time taken by the carriers to reach the respective
electrode.
• Though all the carriers travel unequal distance while approaching the
electrode. But the introduced phase-shift due to drifting generates negative
resistance.
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 7. Contd…

• The above figure represents the negative resistance characteristic of

IMPATT diode with respect to transit angle:

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 8. Introduction to Thyristor

• A Thyristor is a four-layer semiconductor device, consisting of

alternating P-type and N-type materials (PNPN).
• A Thyristor usually has three electrodes: an anode, a cathode and a
gate, also known as a control electrode.

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 9. PNPN Diode (Shockley Diode)

• It is a four layer PNPN silicon device with

two terminals.
• When an external voltage is applied :
• Anode- positive
• Cathode- Negative
• junctions J1 and J3- forward biased
• J2- reverse biased.
• applied voltage appears- reverse biased
junction J2.
• The current flowing through the device is
only reverse saturation current.
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 Contd…

• If applied voltage increased- current increases until break over voltage (VBO) is reached.
• Once VBO reaches, the current increases and the voltage drop across the device decreases sharply.
• At this point, the diode switches over from ‘OFF’ to ‘ON’ state.
• Once the device is fired into conduction, a minimum amount of current known a holding current, IH , is
• required to flow to keep the device in ON state.
• To turn the device OFF from ON state, the current has to be reduced below IH by reducing the applied
voltage close to zero, i.e. below holding voltage, VH.
• Thus the diode acts as a switch during forward bias condition.
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 10. SCR (Silicon Controlled Rectifier)

• It is a four layer three terminal device in which the end P-layer acts as
anode, the end N-layer acts as cathode and P-layer nearer to cathode acts as
gate.
• Leakage current in silicon - very small compared to germanium, SCRs are
made of silicon and not germanium. 25
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 11. Thyristor Ratings

• Gate current (IG ) Gate current is the current applied to the gate of the device for
control purposes. The minimum gate current is the minimum value of current
required at the gate for triggering the device.
• The maximum gate current is the maximum value of current applied to the device
without damaging the gate. More the gate current, earlier is the triggering of the
device and vice-versa.

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 11. Contd…

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 21ECC101J
Electronic system and PCB
design
Unit 2_Part 2
 Physics of Power BJT and Switching
Characteristics
• Power transistors are devices that have controlled turn-on and turn-off
characteristics.
• These devices are used a switching devices and are operated in the
saturation region resulting in low on-state voltage drop.
• They are turned on when a current signal is given to base or control
terminal.
• The transistor remains on so long as the control signal is present.
• The switching speed of modern transistors is much higher than that of
Thyristors and are used extensively in dc-dc and dc-ac converters.
• However, their voltage and current ratings are lower than those of
thyristors and are therefore used in low to medium power applications.
21ECC101J 29
 Physics of Power BJT and Switching
Characteristics
• The need for a large blocking voltage in the off state and a high current
carrying capability in the on state means that a power BJT must have
substantially different structure than its small signal equivalent.
• The modified structure leads to significant differences in the I-V
characteristics and switching behaviour between power transistors and its
logic level counterpart.
BJT Structure
• To form a three terminal device with the terminals named as Emitter, Base
and Collector, thin p-layer is sandwiched between two n-layers as shown in
fig.1. in the power BJT, the following differences over conventional one are
obviou

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 Physics of Power BJT and Switching Characteristics

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 Physics of Power BJT and Switching Characteristics
• A power transistor is a vertically oriented fourlayer structure of alternating
p-type and n-type.
• This is maximising the cross-section area results in current rating of BJT,
minimize the on-state resistance, and thus reduce the power losses.
• The doping of emitter layer and collector layer is quite large typically 1019
cm-3.
• A special layer called the collector drift region (n- ) has a light doping level
of 1014.
• The thickness of the drift region determines the breakdown voltage of the
transistor.
• The base thickness is made as small as possible in order to have good
amplification capabilities, however if the base thickness is small the
breakdown voltage capability of the transistor is compromised.
21ECC101J 32
 Physics of Power BJT and Switching Characteristics
• The power transistor has steady state characteristics almost similar to signal
level transistors except that the V-I characteristics has a region of quasi
saturation as shown by Fig.2.

• Three regions of operation for a BJT can be recognised:

• Cutoff Region: When the base current (IB) is zero, the collector current (IC) is
insignificant and the transistor is driven into the cutoff region. The transistor is
now in the OFF state.
21ECC101J 33
 Physics of Power BJT and Switching Characteristics
• The collector–base and base–emitter junctions are reversebiased in the cutoff region
or OFF state, and the transistor behaves as an open switch. In this region: IC= 0 and the
collector–emitter voltage VCE is equal to the supply voltage VCC
• Saturation Region: When the base current is sufficient to drive the transistor into
saturation. During saturation, both junctions are forward-biased and the transistor acts
like a closed switch.
• In the quasi saturation and hard saturation, the base drive is applied and transistor is
said to be on. In this region:
IC = VCC /RC and VCE = zero

• Active Region: In the active region, the collector–base junction is reversed-biased and
the base–emitter junction is forward-biased.
• The active region of the transistor is mainly used for amplifier applications and should
be avoided for switching operation.
• The power BJT is never operated in the active region (i.e. as an amplifier) it is always
operated between cut-off and saturation.

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 Physics of Power BJT and Switching Characteristics
• Power BJT as a Switch
• The transistor is used as a switch therefore it is used only between
saturation and cutoff. The following equations can be written:

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 Physics of Power BJT and Switching Characteristics
• A high value of ODF cannot reduce the CE voltage significantly.
• VBE increases due to increase base current resulting in increased power
loss.
• Once the transistor is saturated, the CE voltage is not reduced in relation
to increase in base current.
• The power is increased at a high value of ODF, the transistor may be
damaged due to thermal runaway.
• If the transistor is under driven IB to IBS it may operate in active region,
VCE increases resulting in increased power loss.

21ECC101J 36
 Physics of Power BJT and Switching Characteristics
• ADVANTAGES OF BJT’S
• BJT’s have high switching frequencies since their turn-on and turn-off
time is low.
• The turn-on losses of a BJT are small. BJT has controlled turn-on and turn-
off characteristics since base drive control is possible. BJT does not require
commutation circuits.
• DEMERITS OF BJT
• Drive circuit of BJT is complex.
• It has the problem of charge storage which sets a limit on switching
frequency

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 Physics of Power MOSFET and Switching Characteristics
• POWER MOSFETS
• Unlike the devices discussed so far, a power MOSFET is a unipolar, majority
carrier, “zero junction,” voltage-controlled device.
• Figures (a) and (b) below show the symbol of an Ntype and P-type MOS

21ECC101J 38
 Physics of Power MOSFET and Switching Characteristics
• Enhancement Type MOSFET Construction
• A slab of p-type material is formed and two n-regions are formed in the
substrate.
• The source and drain terminals are connected through metallic contacts to
n-doped regions, but the absence of a channel between the doped n-
regions.
• The SiO2 layer is still present like in conventional MOSFET to isolate the
gate metallic platform from the region between drain and source, but now
it is separated by a section of p-type material.

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 Physics of Power MOSFET and Switching Characteristics

• With the normal forward polarity for VDD on the MOSFET, but with VGs = 0, the device is like an npn transistor
with the drain to gate junction reverse-biased, and therefore no drain current flow.
• With VGs applied, making the gate positive with respect to the source, positive charge accumulates at the gate
metallic surface, an electric field is created in the oxide layer, and negative charge accumulates at the p- structure
surface in contact with the oxide layer.
• This negative charge repels holes in the p-structure and leaves a virtual n-type channel through which electrons
can flow from source to drain, i.e. conventional current low from drain to source. For the MOSFET to turn on, VGs
must exceed the threshold voltage VT.
• The linearized transfer characteristic of the MOSFET is shown in Fig. 5a, and the output, or drain-source,
21ECC101J
characteristic is shown in Fig. 5b. 40
 Physics of Power MOSFET and Switching Characteristics

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 Monolithic Fabrication Process
For the manufacture and production of the monolithic IC, all circuit
components and their interconnections are to be formed in a single thin wafer.
The different processes carried out for achieving this are explained below.
• P-layer Substrate Manufacture
• Being the base layer of the IC, the P-type is silicon is first built for the IC. A
silicon crystal of P-type is grown in dimensions of 250mm length and 25mm
diameter.
• The silicon is then cut into thin slices with high precision using a diamond saw.
Each wafer will precisely have a thickness of 200 micrometer and a diameter
of 25 mm.
• These thin slices are termed wafers. These wafers may be circular or
rectangular in shape with respect to the shape of the IC. After cutting
hundreds of them each wafer is polished and cleaned to form a P-type
substrate layer.

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 Monolithic Fabrication Process
• N-type Epitaxial Growth
• The epitaxial groth process of a low resistive N-type over a high resistive P-
type is to be carried out. This is done by placing the n-type layer on top of the
P-type and heating then inside a diffusion furnace at very high temperature
(nearly 1200C). After heating, a gas mixture f Silicon atoms and pentavalent
atoms are also passed over the layer. This forms the epitaxial layer on the
substrate. All the components required for the circuit are built on top of this
layer. The layer is then cooled down, polished and cleaned.
• The Silicon Dioxide Insulation Layer
• As explained above, this layer is required contamination of the N-layer
epitaxy. This layer is only 1 micrometer thin and is grown by exposing the
epitaxial layer to oxygen atmosphere at 1000C. A detailed image showing the
P-type, N-type epitaxial layer and SiO2 layer is given below.
•

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 Monolithic Fabrication Process

21ECC101J 44
 Monolithic Fabrication Process
• 4. Photolithographic Process for SiO2
• To diffuse the impurities with the N-type epitaxial region, the silicon
dioxide layer has to be etched in selected areas.
• Thus openings must be brought at these areas
through photolithographic process.
• In this process, the SiO2 layer is coated with a thin layer of a
photosensitive material called photoresist. A large black and white
pattern is made in the desired patter, where the black pattern
represents the area of opening and white represents the area that is left
idle.
• This pattern is reduced in size and fit to the layer, above the photoresist.
The whole layer is then exposed to ultraviolet light. Due to the exposure,
the photoresist right below the white pattern becomes polymerized.
21ECC101J 45
 Monolithic Fabrication Process

• The pattern is then removed and the wafer is developed using a chemical like trichloroethylene. The chemical
dissolves the unpolymerized portion of the photoresist film and leaves the surface.
• The oxide not covered by polymerised photoresist is then removed by immersing the chip in an etching solution of
HCl.
• Those portions of the Si02 which are protected by the photoresist remain unaffected by the acid.
• After the etching and diffusion process, with the help of chemical solvents like sulphuric acid, the resist mask is
then removed by mechanical abrasion.
• The appropriate impurities are then diffused through oxide free windows.

21ECC101J 46
 Monolithic Fabrication Process
Isolation Diffusion
• After photolithographic process the remaining SiO2 layer serves as a mask for the
diffusion of acceptor impurities. To get a proper time period for allowing a P-type
impurity to penetrate into the N-type epitaxial layer, isolation diffusion is to be
carried out.
• By this process, the P-type impurity will travel through the openings in SiO2 layer,
and the N-type layer and thus reach the P-type substrate, Isolation junctions are used
to isolate between various components of the IC.
• The temperature and time period of isolation diffusion should be carefully monitored
and controlled. As a result of isolation diffusion, the formation of N-type region
called Isolation Island occurs.
• Each isolated island is then chosen to grow each electrical component. From the
figure below you can see that the isolation islands look like back-to-back P-N
junctions.
• The main use if this is to allow electrical isolation between the different components
inside the IC. Each electrical element is later on formed in a separate isolation island.
• The bottom of the N-type isolation island ultimately forms the collector of an N-P-N
transistor. The P-type substrate is always kept negative with respect to the isolation
islands and provided with reverse bias at P-N junctions. The isolation will disappear if
the P-N junctions are forward biased.
21ECC101J 47
 Monolithic Fabrication Process
Base Diffusion
The working of base diffusion process is shown in the figure below. This process is done to create a new layer of SiO2
over the wafer.
P-regions are formed under regulated environments by diffusing P-type impurities like boron. This forms the base
region of an N-P-N transistor or as well as resistors, the anode of diode, and junction capacitor.
In this case, the diffusion time is so controlled that the P-type impurities do not reach the substrate. The resistivity of
the base layer is usually much higher than that of the isolation regions.

21ECC101J 48
 Monolithic Fabrication Process
Emitter Diffusion
• Masking and etching process is again carried out to form a layer of silicon dioxide over the entire surface and
opening of the P-type region.
• The transistor emitters, the cathode regions for diodes, and junction capacitors are grown by diffusion using N-
type impurities like phosphorus through the windows created through the process under controlled
environmental process.
• As shown in the figure below there are two additional windows: W1 and W2. These windows are made in the N-
region to carry an aluminium metallization process.

21ECC101J 49
 Monolithic Fabrication Process
Aluminium Metallization
• The windows made in the N-region after creating a silicon dioxide layer are then deposited with aluminium on the
top surface.
• The same photoresist technique that was used in photolithographic process is also used here to etch away the
unwanted aluminium areas. The structure then provides the connected strips to which the leads are attached. The
process can be better understood by going through the figure below.

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 Monolithic Fabrication Process
Scribing and Mounting
• This is the final stage of the IC manufacturing process. After the metallization process, the silicon wafer is then
scribed with a diamond tipped tool and separated into individual chips.
• Each chip is then mounted on a ceramic wafer and is attached to a suitable header. Next the package leads are
connected to the IC chip by bonding of aluminium or gold wire from the terminal pad on the IC chip to the package
lead.
• Thus the manufacturing process is complete. Thu, hundreds of IC’s is manufactured simultaneously on a single
silicon wafer.

21ECC101J 51
 Monolithic Fabrication Process-Diode
• They are also fabricated by the same diffusion process as transistors are. The only difference is that only two of
the regions are used to form one P-N junction.
• In figure, collector-base junction of the transistor is used as a diode. Anode of the diode is formed during the
base diffusion of the transistor and the collector region of the transistor becomes the cathode of the diode.
• For high speed switching emitter base junction is used as a diode.

21ECC101J 52
 Monolithic Fabrication Process-Resistors
• The resistors used in IC’s are given their respective ohmic value by varying the concentration of doping impurity
and depth of diffusion.
• The range of resistor values that may be produced by the diffusion process varies from ohms to hundreds of
kilohms. The typical tolerance, however, may be no better than ± 5%, and may even be as high as ± 20%.
• On the other hand, if all the resistors are diffused at the same time, then the tolerance ratio may be good.
• Most resistors are formed during the base diffusion of the integrated transistor, as shown in figure below. This is
because it is the highest resistivity region.
• For low resistance values, emitter region is used as it has much lower resistivity.
• Another diffusion technique is also used for the growth of IC resistors.
• It is basically a thin-film technique. In this process a metal film is deposited on a glass or Si02 surface. The
resistance value can be controlled by varying thickness, width and length of the film.
• Since diffused resistors can be processed while diffusing transistors. This technique is more economic and less
time consuming and therefore, the most widely used.

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 Monolithic Fabrication Process- Capacitors
• The figure below shows the P and N-regions forming the capacitor plates. The dielectric of the capacitor is the
depletion region between them.

• All P-N junctions have capacitance so capacitors may be produced by fabricating junctions.
• The amount of change in the reverse bias varies the value of junction capacitance and also the depletion width. The
value may be as less as 100 picoFarads.

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 Monolithic Fabrication Process- Capacitors

• Using the silicon dioxide as a dielectric may also be a way to fabricate capacitors. One plate of the capacitors is
formed by diffusing a heavily doped N-region.
• The other plate of the capacitor is formed by depositing a film of aluminium on the silicon dioxide dielectric on
the wafer surface.
• For such a capacitor, a voltage of any polarity can be used, and when comparing a diffused capacitor with such a
capacitor the diffused capacitor may have very small values of breakdown voltage.

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