Lecture 2:

Diode Operation, V-I Characteristic of a

Diode, Diode equation, Load line
Analysis
Lecturer: Znar R. Saeed
[email protected]
Department of Communication Engineering
First stage
First Semester
Diode
• A diode is a semiconductor device, made from a small piece of semiconductor
material, such as silicon, in which half is doped as a p region and half is doped
as an n region with a PN junction and depletion region in between.
• The p region is called the anode and n region is called the cathode. It conducts
current in one direction and offers high resistance in other direction. The basic
diode structure and symbol are shown in Fig.1.

Figure 1.
Forward Bias
• Bias is the application of a dc voltage to a diode to make it either conduct or
block current.
• Forward bias is the condition that allows current through the pn junction. This
external bias voltage is designated as VBIAS.
• The resistor limits the forward current to a value that will not damage the diode.
• In the forward bias, the negative side of VBIAS is connected to the n region of the
diode and the positive side is connected to the p region.
• The bias voltage VBIAS, must be greater than the barrier potential; bias must be
greater than 0.3V for germanium or 0.7V for silicon diodes.

Figure 2. A diode connected for forward bias.

• Negative side of bias voltage ‘pushes’ free electrons towards pn junction. The
negative side of the source also provides a continuous flow of electrons
through the external connection and into the n region as shown in Figure 3.
• The bias-voltage source imparts sufficient energy to the free electrons for
them to overcome the barrier potential of the depletion region and move on
through into the p region.

Figure 3. A forward-biased diode showing the flow of majority carriers and the voltage due to the barrier
potential across the depletion region.
• Since unlike charges attract, the positive side of the bias-voltage source attracts the
valence electrons toward the left end of the p region.

• The holes in the p region provide the medium for these valence electrons to move
through the p region. The holes, (majority in p region), move to the right toward the
junction.

• As the electrons flow out of the p region through the external connection, these
electrons become conduction electrons .

• As more electrons move into the depletion region, the number of positive ions is
reduced. As more holes flow into the depletion region on the other side of the pn
junction, the number of negative ions is reduced.

• This reduction in positive and negative ions causes the depletion region to narrow.
Reverse Bias
• Reverse bias is the condition that essentially prevents current through the
diode. Figure 4 shows a dc voltage source connected across a diode in the
direction to produce reverse bias.
• The positive side of VBIAS is connected to the n region of the diode and the
negative side is connected to the p region. Also, note that the depletion region
is shown much wider than in forward bias or equilibrium.
• The positive side of the bias-voltage source pulls the free electrons, (majority
in n region), away from the pn junction.

Figure 4
• As electrons move away from junction, more positive ions are created. This
results in a widening of the depletion region and a depletion of majority
carriers.

• In p region, electrons from negative side of battery enter as valence electrons.

It moves from hole to hole toward the depletion region, creating more
negative ions.

• This can be viewed as holes being pulled towards the negative side. The
electric field increases in strength until the potential across depletion region
equals the bias voltage.

• At this point, very small reverse current exist that can usually be neglected.
Reverse Breakdown
• Normally, the reverse current is so small that it can be neglected. If the
external reverse-bias voltage is increased to a value called the breakdown
voltage, the reverse current will drastically increase.
• The high reverse-bias voltage imparts energy to the free minority electrons so
that as they speed through the p region, they collide with atoms with enough
energy to knock valence electrons out of orbit and into the conduction band.
• The newly created conduction electrons have high energy, and repeat the
process, they quickly multiply. They have high energy to move though pn
junction, and not combine with holes.
• The multiplication of conduction electrons just discussed is known as the
avalanche effect.
(V-I) Characteristic of A Diode for Forward Bias
• The current in forward biased called forward current and is designated IF.
• At 0 V (Vbias) across the diode, there is no forward current. Figure 5 illustrates
what happens as the forward-bias voltage is increased positively from 0 V.
• The resistor is used to limit the forward current to a value that will not
overheat the diode and cause damage.
• With gradual increase of Vbias, the forward voltage and forward current
increases. A portion of forward-bias voltage (Vf) drops across the limiting
resistor. Continuing increase of Vf causes rapid increase of forward current
but the voltage across the diode increases only gradually above 0.7V.
• The resistance of the forward-biased diode is not constant but it changes over
the entire curve. Therefore, it is called dynamic resistance.
Figure 5. Relationship of voltage and current in a forward-biased diode.
(V-I) Characteristic of A Diode for Reverse Bias
• With 0 V reverse voltage there is no reverse current.
There is only a small current through the junction as the
reverse voltage increases.
• At a point, reverse current shoots up with the breakdown
of diode. The voltage called breakdown voltage.
• This is not normal mode of operation. After this point
the reverse voltage remains at approximately VBR but IR
increase very rapidly. Break down voltage depends on
doping level, set by manufacturer.
• Combine the curves for both forward bias and reverse
Figure 6
bias, and you have the complete V-I characteristic curve
for a diode, as shown in Figure 6.
The diode equation
• The diode equation provides a mathematical model for the I-V characteristics of the
diode.

𝐼𝐷 = 𝐼𝑆 𝑒(𝑞𝑉𝐷⁄𝑛𝐾𝑇) − 1 = 𝐼𝑆 𝑒(𝑉𝐷⁄𝑛𝑉𝑇) − 1

𝐼𝑆 =reverse saturation current of diode (A)

T = absolute temperature (K)
𝑉𝐷 = voltage applied to diode (V)
n = nonideality factor (dimensionless)
q = electronic charge (1.60 × 10−19 C)
𝑉𝑇 = kT /q = thermal voltage (V)
k = Boltzmann’s constant (1.38 × 10−23 J/K)
Example 2.1
a) Find the diode voltage for a diode with IS = 0.1 fA operating at room
temperature at a current of 300 𝜇A. What is the diode voltage if IS = 10 fA?
What is the diode voltage if the current increases to 1 mA?

b) Find the diode voltage for a silicon power diode with IS = 10 nA and n = 2
operating at room temperature at a current of 10 A.

c) A diode is operating with a temperature of 50◦C and the diode voltage is

measured to be 0.736 V at a current of 2.50 mA. What is the saturation
current of the diode?
Solution:
a) At room temperature, we will use VT = 0.025 V = 1/40 V; assume n = 1, since it
is not specified otherwise. For Is = 0.1fA
b)

c)
Load-Line Analysis (graphical solution)
• The applied load will normally have an important impact
on the point or region of operation of a device. If the
analysis is performed in a graphical manner, a line can be
drawn on the characteristics of the device that represents
the applied load. The intersection of the load line with the
characteristics will determine the point of operation of the
system. Such an analysis is, for obvious reasons, called
load-line analysis.
Load-Line Analysis (graphical solution)
Load-Line Analysis (graphical solution)

• A straight line is defined by the parameters of the network.

• It is called the load line because the intersection on the vertical axes is
defined by the applied load R.
Load-Line Analysis (graphical solution)
• The maximum ID equals E/R, and the maximum VD
equals E.
• The point where the load line and the characteristic
curve intersect is the Q-point, which identifies ID and VD
for a particular diode in a given circuit.
• The point of intersection between the two is the point of
operation for this circuit. By simply drawing a line down
to the horizontal axis the diode voltage VDQ can be
determined, whereas a horizontal line from the point of
intersection to the vertical axis will provide the level of
IDQ. The point of operation is usually called the
quiescent point (abbreviated “Q-point.”).
Example 2.2
• For the given diode configuration and diode characteristics, determine: VDQ ,
IDQ and VR .
• The load line is firstly drawn between
VD=E=10 V and ID=E/R=10/0.5kΩ =20mA.
The intersection between the load line and characteristics defines the Q-point as
VDQ=0.78 and IDQ=18.5mA.
VR=IDQ R=(18.5mA)(0.5kΩ)=9.25 V.