VNU-University of Engineering and Technology

Faculty of Electronics and Telecommunications

Lecture #1: Diodes & Applications

2/9/2023

1
Outline
1. Introduction
2. The ideal diode
3. The real diode
4. Applications
5. Other diode

Textbook: Adel. S. Sedra, Kenneth C. Smith. Microelectronic Circuits. Oxford University

Press. 2011/2014 (Chapter 4).
References: Thomas L. Floyd, Electronic devices, 9th edition, Prentice Hall (Section 2).

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1. Introduction
▪ Diode is a semiconductor device which conduct the
current in one directly only. The name diode comes
from dielectrodes, that is, 2 electrodes.
▪ Two terminals: Anode (A+) and Cathode (K-).
▪ When the positive polarity is at the anode, the diode is
forward biased and is conducting.
▪ When the positive polarity is at the cathode, the diode is
reversed biased and is not conducting.
▪ If the reverse-biasing voltage is sufficiently large, the
diode is in reverse-breakdown region and large current
flows though it.

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 2. The Ideal Diode
2.1 Current-Voltage characteristic
❖ The ideal diode may be considered the most
fundamental nonlinear circuit element

(b) i-v characteristic

(a) Diode circuit symbol

(c) Equivalent circuit in (d) Equivalent circuit in the

the reserve direction forward direction
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 2. The Ideal Diode
2.2 Some applications – The rectifier

(1) Input waveform (2) Rectifier circuit (3) Output waveform

Another example is in our cars: the alternator

charges the battery when the engine is running, but
when the engine stops, a diode prevents the battery
from discharging through the alternator.

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Exercise 1
For the circuit as shown:

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Exercise 1 (Solution)

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2. The Ideal Diode
2.2 Some applications – Diode Logic Gates

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 Exercise 2
• Assuming the diodes to
be ideal, find the values
of I and V.

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Exercise 3 Find the values of I and V in the circuits
shown in below Fig. 1.4

Fig. 1.4

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Exercise 4

Figure
1.5
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3. The Real Diode
3.1 The I-V characteristic
➢ The characteristic curve consists of three distinct regions:
✓ The forward-bias region, by v > 0
✓ The reverse-bias region, by v < 0
✓ The breakdown region, by v < -VZK Knee
voltage

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3. The Real Diode
3.1 The I-V characteristic

or

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Exercise 5

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Exercise 6: Find the change in diode voltage if the current changes from 0.1 mA to
10 mA.
• Solution: we have V2 - V1 = 2.3 × VT × log(I2/I1) = 60 × log (10/0.1) = 120 (mV)

Exercise 7: A silicon junction diode has v = 0.7 V at i = 1 mA. Find the voltage
drop at i = 0.1 mA and i = 10 mA.

Solution: we have V2 - V1 = 2.3 × VT × log(I2/I1)

o i = 0.1 mA: V2 – 700 = 60 × log(0.1/1) => V2 - 700= -60 =>V2 = 640 mV = 0.64 V.
o i = 10 mA: V2 – 700 = 60 × log(10/1) => V2 = 700 + 60 = 760 (mV) = 0.76 V.

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3. The Real Diode
3.1 The I-V characteristic
•
Knee
voltage

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3. The Real Diode
3.2 Modeling the Diode Forward Characteristics
• The exponential model: The most accurate description of the diode operation in
the forward region is provided by the exponential model.

(Kirchhoff loop)

Two ways for obtaining the solution of the 2 above equations:

✔ Graphical Analysis using the exponential model
✔ Iterative analysis using the exponential model
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3. The Real Diode
3.2 Modeling the Diode Forward Characteristics
❖ Graphical analysis using the exponential model

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3. The Real Diode
3.2 Modeling the Diode Forward Characteristics
• Iterative analysis using the exponential model

Two equations can be solved using a simple iterative procedure, as illustrated in

the following exercise.

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Exercise 8

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 3. The Real Diode
3.2 Modeling the Diode Forward Characteristics
To speed up the analysis process, we must
find a simpler model for the diode forward
characteristic.

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Exercise 9

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3. The Real Diode
3.2 Modeling the Diode Forward Characteristics
The small signal model: vD(t) = VD + vd(t)

or iD = ID + id with

The dynamic resistance:

→ This is the small signal model of the diode, which applies for
signal that has amplitude smaller than 5mV
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Exercise 10

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Exercise 11
Consider the circuit shown in the below figure for the case in which R = 10k. The power supply V+
has a DC value of 10 V on which is superimposed a 60Hz sinusoid of 1V peak amplitude. (This
“signal” component of the power-supply voltage is an imperfection in the power-supply design. It is
known as the power-supply ripple. More on this later.) Calculate both the dc voltage of the diode and
the amplitude of the sine-wave signal appearing across it. Assume the diode to have a 0.7-V drop at
1-mA current.

a) Circuit for the Example

b) Circuit for calculating the dc operating point
c) Small signal equivalent circuit

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Exercise 11 (solution)

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3. The Real Diode
3.3 Zener diode Operation in the Reverse Region

(knee current)

(maximum current)

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Exercise 12

Figure 4.19. (a) Circuit for example; (b) The

circuit with the Zener diode replaced with
its equivalent circuit model.

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Exercise 12 (Solution)

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Exercise 12 (Solution)

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4. Some application circuits using diodes
4.1 Rectifier circuits
Fig.: Block diagram of a DC power supply

Ripple
• Half-Wave Rectifier Still contains a time-dependent

• Full-Wave Rectifier
• Bridge Rectifier
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4. Some application circuits using diodes
4.1 Rectifier circuits
• Half-Wave Rectifier

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Exercise 13

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4. Some application circuits using diodes
4.1 Rectifier circuits Fig.: Input & output
• Half-Wave Rectifier waveforms assuming
an ideal diode.
Let the input vI be a sinusoid with a peak
value Vp, and assume the diode to be ideal.

Real Diode?
Fig.: A simple circuit used to illustrate
the effect of a filter capacitor.
The circuit provides a dc voltage output equal to
the peak of the input sine wave.
There is no way for the capacitor to discharge.

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4. Some application circuits using diodes
4.1 Rectifier circuits
• Half-Wave Rectifier

dvI
iD = iC + iL = C + iL Ideal diode
dt
1
VO = V p − Vr
2
T
Vr  V p is peak-to-peak ripple voltage
CR
2
t = 2Vr / V p , where  =
T
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4. Some application circuits using diodes
4.1 Rectifier circuits
• Full-wave Rectifier

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Exercise 14

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Exercise 14 (solution)

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4. Some application circuits
using diodes
4.1 Rectifier circuits
• The Bridge Rectifier

Noted: the PIV is about half the value for the full-wave rectifier
with a center-tapped transformer. This is another advantage of
the bridge rectifier.
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Exercise 15

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Exercise 15 (solution)

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4. Some application circuits using diodes
4.2 Limiting Circuits
• Limiter/clipper circuits

Transfer
characteristic for
a double limiter
circuit

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4. Some application circuits using diodes
4.2 Limiting Circuits
• Limiter/clipper circuits

double-anode zener

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 Exercise 16
Assuming the diodes to be ideal, describe the transfer
characteristic of the circuit shown in the beside figure.

• Solution:
2 diodes are cut-OFF for -5 ≤ vI ≤ +5 & vo = vI

For vI ≤ -5 V: D1 is ON, D2 is OFF

For vI ≥ -5 V: D2 is ON, D1 is OFF

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4. Some application circuits using diodes
4.3 Clamping Circuits
• The Clamped Capacitor or DC Restorer
A Clamper Circuit is a circuit that adds a DC level to an AC signal. As the DC level gets shifted, a
clamper circuit is called as a Level Shifter. It shifts the waveform to a desired DC level without
changing the shape of the applied signal (but only shifts the amplitude of the signal).
Types of Clampers: Clamp circuits are categorised by their operation: negative or positive, and
biased or unbiased.
• Positive Clamper
✔Positive clamper with positive Vb
✔Positive clamper with negative Vb
• Negative Clamper
✔Negative clamper with positive Vb
✔Negative clamper with negative Vb

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 4. Some application circuits using diodes
4.3 Clamping Circuits
C1
Positive Clamper
Initially when the input is given, the R1 VO
Vi
capacitor is not yet charged and the D1

diode is reverse biased.

@ t0 the -25 V input signal appears across R1 & D1 (the C is a short at the
first instant). The initial voltage across R1 & D1 causes a voltage spike in the
output. The charge time of C1 through D1 is almost instantaneous, the
duration of the pulse is so short → it has a negligible effect on the output.
@ t1 the D1 is off (as open circuit) → KVL: VO = Vi + VC1 = 50 V. From t1 to t2, C1 has small discharge thru
R1 so it has the voltage VC1 about +23 V and the VO drops from +50 V to +48 V.
@ t2 the Vi changes from +25 V to -25 V. The input is now series opposing with the +23 V across C1. This
leaves VO = -25 + 23 = -2 V. D1 is on. From t2 to t3, C1 charges from +23 V to +25 V; VO reaches to 0 volts.
@ t3 the Vi and VC1 (voltage of C1) are again series adding. → VO is again +50 V.
During t3 and t4, C1 discharges 2 V through R1. Then circuit operation from t3 to t4 is the same as it was
from t1 to t2.
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 4. Some application circuits using diodes
4.3 Clamping Circuits
Negative Clamper
Initially when the input is given, the capacitor is not yet
charged and the diode is reverse biased.

In this case, you must explain

how does the circuit works
by yourself at home.

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 4. Some application circuits using diodes
4.3 Clamping Circuits
❑ Positive Clamper

For the input signal is AC

sin-wave, you must explain
how does the circuit works
by yourself at home.

❑ Negative Clamper

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 4. Some application circuits using diodes
4.3 Clamping Circuits
❑ Positive Clamper with positive biasing Vb
The positive clamper can be biased with another
voltage source to further shift the input signal
waveform. The positive biasing further shifts up
the waveform by the amount of the biasing
voltage.

❑ Positive Clamper with negative biasing Vb

The negative biasing lower down the waveform
by the amount of the biasing voltage.

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 4. Some application circuits using diodes
4.3 Clamping Circuits
❑ Negative Clamper with positive biasing Vb
Positive Biasing
The positive biasing of the negative clamper adds a
positive or upward shift by the amount of biasing
voltage to the negative clamped waveform. It shifts the
waveform up to the positive level due to positive
basing.

❑ Negative Clamper with negative biasing Vb

The negative biasing of the negative clamper further

shifts downward the input signal waveform.

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5. Some other types of diodes
5.1 Photo diode
Photo Diode

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5. Some other types of diodes
5.2 Light-emitting Diode (LED)

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 End of Lecture #1

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