UNIT I

DIODES & Applications

By
E.Aparna
 OUTCOMES
• Junction Diode Characteristics
• Open circuited p-n Junction
• P-n Junction as a Rectifier
• V-I characteristics of Diode
• What is the effect of Temperature on Diode
• Diode Resistance
• Difffusion Capacitance
• Diode Switching times
 Continue…

• Breakdown diodes
• Tunnel Diodes
• Photo Diode
• LED
Part –II:Diode Applications
• Clipping Circuits
• Comparators
• Rectifiers
• Retifiers with capacitor filter
• Semiconductor - materials with characteristics which fall
• between insulator and conductors.
• – It will not pass current as readily as a conductor nor
will it block
• current as effectively as an insulator.
• – E.g. Germanium (Ge), Silicon (Si) and Carbon (C).
• • These materials have atomic structures which may be
easily
• altered to obtain specific electrical characteristics.
The bandgap energy largely determines the
electrical properties of solids:
• EG ≥ 3eV Insulator
• EG ≥ 0.1 - 3eV Semiconductor
• EG = 0 Conductor
Semiconductor atom

All atoms have a nucleus where protons and neutrons are located. It carries
positive charges, which are surrounded by electrons orbiting in certain
shells around the nucleus.
• Electrons occupy energy bands (shells). The 1st shell can only hold 2
electrons, the 2nd 8 electrons, the 3rd 18 electrons, the 4th 32 electrons and
so on.
• The outermost shell of an atom is called the valence shell and the electrons
orbiting within this shell are called valence electrons.
When an atom contains exactly 4 electrons in its outer shell, it does not readily
give up or accept electrons.
– Elements which contain atoms of this type do not make good
conductors or insulators.
• They are called semiconductor.
Each atom shares its 4 valence
electrons with 4 neighboring atoms.
– covalent bond.
• Each of the atoms in the structure tries
to take an additional electron to fill its
valence shell with 8 electrons to
achieve stability.
– Therefore each atom tends to be stable
and will not easily give up or accept
electrons.
• Due to the nature of the covalent bond
in semiconductor, semiconductor
materials have crystalline structure.
Conduction in intrinsic (pure)
semiconductor
Effect of Temperature
electrical characteristic of pure semiconductor material is
dependent upon temperature.
extremely low temperature, the valence electrons are held tightly
their parent atoms.
Therefore, the material cannot support current flow at this temperature.
Pure Ge and Si crystal function like an insulator.
the temperature of a Ge and Si crystal is increased, the valence
electrons became agitated.
Some with more energy will occasionally break away from the covalent
They will be free to drift from one atom to the next in a random manner.
These free moving electrons are able to support a small amount of electrical
current if a voltage is applied to the semiconductor.
they are exposed to extremely high temperature, they conduct as well
ordinary conductor.
8
(2) Electron-Hole Pair
• When an electron receives enough energy, it breaks away from
a covalent bond, a vacancy called hole exist in the bond.
– A hole represents the absence of an electron.
– Since electron has a negative charge, the hole has the characteristics of
a positively charged particle.
– Each corresponding free electron and hole generated is referred to as an
electron-hole pair.
• A hole will exerts an attraction force on an electron and
therefore, will be filled by a nearby passing electron.
– This process is known as recombination and it causes a continued loss
of holes and free electrons.
• At any given temperature, the rate of recombination of
electron-hole pairs is always equal to the generation of new
electron-hole pairs so that the total number of free electrons
and holes is constant.
9
(3) Current flow in pure semiconductor
• If a voltage is applied across a pure semiconductor, the free
electrons are attracted to the positive terminal of the voltage source
and the holes drift towards the negative terminal.
– The movement of particles is shown in the following diagram.
Extrinsic (impure) semiconductor
• Pure semiconductor materials contain only a
small
number of electrons and holes at room
temperature.
• Impurities (pentavalent or trivalent
materials) are added
to the semiconductor material through doping
to
increase the conductivity of semiconductor.
• Doping creates two types of extrinsic
semiconductor: ntype
and p-type.
11
(1) n–type Semiconductor
• A pure semiconductor material doped with a pentavalent
materials.
– E.g. arsenic (As)
– the arsenic atom will replace one of the Ge or Si atoms and share 4 of
its valence electrons with adjacent atoms in a covalent bond.
– However, its 5th valence electron is loosely attached to the nucleus of
the arsenic atom and can be easily set free.
Note: no holes are generated when the 5th electron leaves the
valence band.
• Since the As atom is called a donor atom.
– There are many donor atoms within the semiconductor material, there
are also many additional free electrons within the material.
– Due to the presence of these extra electrons in the doped Ge and Si
crystal, the material is called an n-type semiconductor.
12
• If a voltage is applied to an n–type semiconductor, the free
electrons will flow towards the positive terminal of the battery.
• The free electrons in the n–type come from two sources:
– Donor atoms (only electrons are generated, not electron-hole pairs)
due
to doping process.
– Thermally generated electron-hole pairs by breaking of covalent
bond.
• The holes move towards the negative terminal.
13
• At normal room temperature the number of free electrons
provided by the donor atom will greatly exceed the number
of holes and electrons that are produced by the breaking of
covalent bonds.
• Therefore the total number of electrons flowing in n–type
semiconductor greatly exceeds the number of holes.
– Hence, electrons are called the majority carriers while
holes are
called minority carriers.
• The material is still electrically neutral.
14
(2) p–type Semiconductor
• A pure semiconductor material added with a trivalent material.
– E.g. Aluminium (Al).
– The Al atom shared its electron with 3 adjacent atoms in the crystal
structure but cannot share with the 4th adjacent atom.
– This creates a hole in the covalent bond.
– The trivalent atom can take/accept an electron, it is also called acceptor
atom.
– A hole created by this doping process is not accompanied by a free
electron.
15
• Since many Al atoms are added, a large
number of holes
will be present in the material.
– Holes can be thought of as positive charges
because the absence of
an electron leaves a net positive charge on the
atom.
– Holes are the majority carriers in p–type
material.
– There are a few free electrons that are
created when electron-pairs
are thermally generated.
– Electrons in p–type material are called
minority carriers.
16
The pn – junction
• A pn–junction is formed at
the boundary between the
two regions (n–type and p–
type semiconductors)
– A diode is created.
– It is the electrical
characteristics of the junction
rather than the semiconductor
sample material that
determines the electrical
behavior of the entire
structure.
17
(1) Formation of the Space-Charge
Region (Depletion Region)
• At the instant the pn–junction is formed, the electrons near
the junction in the n region diffuse (because of high
concentration) across the junction into the p region and
combine with the holes near the junction.
18
• Electrons leaving the n region leaves a layer of donor positive ions.
• When these electrons combine with the holes in the p region, a layer of
acceptor negative ions is formed.
• This region is known as space-charge region or depletion region. It is
depleted of charge carriers.
• The main purpose of a depletion region is to control current flow.
19
(2) Barrier Potential
• In the depletion region, the forces between
the negative ions
and positive ions form an electric field.
• This electric field prevents the majority
carriers from one side
to cross over to the other side.
• Therefore, there is no net current flow in pn
device.
– The potential difference across the electric
field is known as barrier
potential.
– It is the amount of voltage required by the
majority carriers to get
through the electric field. Hence, we need to
apply a voltage source
across the pn junction that is greater than the
barrier potential so that
electrons from n region can flow through the
device.
20
• The barrier potential depends on
– the type of semiconductor material,
– amount of doping and
– temperature.
• The minority carriers are aided by the electric
field to cross the
junction.
– For example, minority carriers in the p
region, that is, the electrons
which are near to the depletion region will be
swept across by the
electric field to the n region and become the
majority carrier there.
• By controlling the width of the depletion
layer, we are able to
control the resistance of the pn junction and
thus the amount of
current that can pass through the device.
– Bias is a potential applied to a pn junction to
control the width of the
depletion layer.
21
(1) Forward Bias
• A pn–junction is forward biased when the n–
type is more
negative than the p–type.
• There are two ways in which a pn–junction
can be forward
biased:
22
• In forward bias mode and when VF >
barrier potential, the pn–junction
begins to conduct.
• The depletion region becomes
narrower.
• The majority carriers, for example,
electrons, from n side cross the pn–
junction and move into the p side
with little opposition and conduction
occurs.
• There is always a large majority of
electrons on the n side and holes on
the p side because the battery
replenishes them.
IF
23
• Once a pn–junction begins to conduct, it
provides a slight
opposition to current.
• This is the bulk resistance: it is the combined
resistance of the
n–type and p–type in forward–biased mode.
• Since RB is extremely low (typically, 25 or
less), very little
voltage drop across this resistance.
• Therefore, IR drop across RB is usually
ignored in circuit
calculations.
BpnRRR
24
• When a forward–biased pn–junction begins
to conduct, the
forward voltage, VF across the junction is
slightly greater
than the barrier potential.
• When the diode conducts, VF are
approximated as
VF = 0.7V for Si
VF = 0.3V for Ge
• IF is the forward current.
• VF is the voltage drop across the diode.
25
(2) Reverse Bias
• A pn–junction is reverse biased when the n–
type is more
positive than the p–type.
• There are two ways in which a pn–junction
can be reverse
biased:
26
• Reverse bias and its effects are
illustrated in the following
figures.
• Electrons in the n–type will
head toward the positive
terminal of the source.
– This will further deplete the
electrons in the n–type near the
junction.
• The same principle applies to
the holes in p–type.
• The depletion layer is then
widened.
• This increases the resistance of
the junction and conduction
drops to near zero.
27
• The increase in the depletion width is
extremely conductive to
the minority carriers.
• The electrons in the p–type which are near to
the depletion
region will be swept across the junction by the
electric field
into the n region.
• Therefore, there is a current flow - the
reverse current, IR.
• It is very small compare to IF.
• IR depends on temperature because the
electron-hole pairs
(minority carriers) are generated from the
breaking of covalent
bond which is temperature dependant.
– It is not affected by the magnitude of the
reverse bias VR.
27
• The increase in the depletion width is
extremely conductive to
the minority carriers.
• The electrons in the p–type which are near to
the depletion
region will be swept across the junction by the
electric field
into the n region.
• Therefore, there is a current flow - the
reverse current, IR.
• It is very small compare to IF.
• IR depends on temperature because the
electron-hole pairs
(minority carriers) are generated from the
breaking of covalent
bond which is temperature dependant.
– It is not affected by the magnitude of the
reverse bias VR.
28
PNJUNCTION DIODE
• A diode is forward biased even though a resistor, R, is
connected in series with it.
– Its p–type is connected to the positive terminal of the
source and its n–
type to the negative terminal.
– The p–type is guaranteed to be more positive than the n–
type.
• But whether the diode conducts or not, will have to
depend on
the voltage drop across it.
29
THE DIODE
• There are various types of diode but the ones
we will be
studying are the pn–junction diode (normally,
we just call
it “diode”) and zener diode.
• Diode conducts current in one direction
(when it is in
forward bias mode) and blocks current in the
other
direction (when it is in reverse bias mode).
• The symbol is shown here.
30
• When reverse biased, the diode conduction
drops to nearly
zero. What is the voltage drop across the
diode?
– A diode does not conduct when the symbol
points to the more positive
of the diode potentials.
31
DIODE MODELS
• A model is a representation of a component.
• It is used to show the characteristics of the
component
when the component is used in a particular
application.
• The diode has 3 models. Each has its
particular use in a
particular application.
– The ideal diode model.
– The practical diode model.
– The complete diode model.
32
(1) The Ideal Diode Model
• This model represents the diode as a switch:
– close (forward bias) or open (reverse bias).
• When the diode is forward bias (closed
switch), we can say
that:
– The diode has no resistance: it acts as a short
circuit.
– There is no voltage drop across the diode.
• When the diode is reverse bias (opened
switch), we can
say that:
– The diode has infinite resistance; therefore, it
acts as an open
circuit.
– The applied voltage drops across the diode
terminals.
33
• Normally, the ideal
model of the diode is
used in the initial
stages of circuit
troubleshooting.
– We are only interested
in whether the diode is
acting as a one-way
conductor.
– If it is not, then the
diode is faulty and
needs to be replaced.
 Example1:

Find the cuurent and voltage across the diode ?

Solution:
Since D1 is reverse biased, it acts as an open circuit.
Therefore,
IT = 0A,VD1 = VS,VR1 = 0A

35
Example
Solution
Since D1 is forward biased, it acts as a short circuit.
Therefore,
VD1 = 0V
VR1 = 5V
IT = VR1 / R1 = 5 / 1000 = 5mA
36
(2) The Practical Diode Model
• It is a bit more complex than the ideal diode model.
• The model includes characteristics
– forward voltage VF,
– peak reverse voltage VRRM,
– average forward current IO,
– forward power dissipation PD(max))
which are useful for mathematical analysis to help
determine which diode will be used for a given circuit37
• VF is the voltage drop across the diode.
• The following figures show the diode characteristics curve.
.
38
• IF suddenly increases when the voltage across the diode VF 
VK (knee voltage).
– Knee voltage is a general term to describe the situation where current
suddenly increase/decrease.
VK  0.7 V (Si)
– In an actual circuit, VK = 0.7V to 1.1V, depending on the current
through the device.
– As long as the diode is conducting, even if the applied voltage VS is
increased further, the voltage drop across the diode will remain VF =
VK.
39
Example
Solution
D1 is forward biased. It acts as a short circuit.
VD1 = 0.7V
VR1 = 5 – 0.7 = 4.3V
IT = VR1 / R1
= 4.3 / 1000
= 4.3mA
40
Peak Reverse Voltage VRRM
• When the diode is reverse-biased, the
maximum reverse voltage that will
not force the diode to conduct is
called VRRM.
• When VRRM is exceeded, the depletion
layer breaks down and the diode
conducts in the reverse direction.
– Any insulator will conduct if an applied
voltage is high enough to cause the
insulator to break down.
• The diode conducts in the reverse
direction when the VR > VRRM.
Normally, when a diode is forced to
conduct in the reverse direction, the
device is destroyed.
• The reverse current in this case is known as the avalanche
current.
• Avalanche breakdown is the result of collisions of high –
energy minority carriers with atoms to break the covalent
bond.
– When the reverse bias is large enough, some of the minority carriers
will gain sufficient energy and when these carriers collide with the
atoms, covalent bonds are broken.
– So, more electron – hole pairs are generated and will gain high –
energy (due to the large reverse bias) to cause further broken covalent
bonds.
– As the process is repeated, the saturation current quickly increases and
breakdown takes place.
• VRRM is a very important limiting parameter.
• In practice, the VRRM should at least be 20% greater than the
maximum voltage that the diode is expected to block.
– The reason for 20% is because in practical applications, there will be
minor variations in the source amplitude.
46
(3) The Complete Diode Model
• The complete diode model most accurately represents the
true operating characteristics of the diode.
• It includes characteristics e.g.
– bulk resistance RB,
– reverse current IR
that are meant for circuit development, high-frequency
analysis, etc.
• The model is used to explain many of the differences
between predicted and measured circuit values. 47
Bulk Resistance RB
• The effect due to RB is that VF become non-constant.
– VF is constant in the practical diode model.
 𝑞𝑉𝑑
 
𝐼𝑑= 𝐼𝑠 (𝑒 𝑛𝑘𝑇 − 1)
49
• The diode equivalent circuit looks as follows.
Note: VB and RB only exist when the diode is in
forward bias, not reverse bias.
• As IF increases, IFRB increases too.
– The total voltage across a diode varies with IF.

– The measured values of VF generally vary between 0.7 V and 1.1 V.

– In a low-current circuit, the VF will tend to be closer to 0.7 V because
lesser voltage drop across RB.
– In a high-current circuit, the VF will tend to be closer to 1.1 V.
http://picasa.google.com/
50
Reverse Current IR
• In reverse bias, the diode is supposed to stop current flow.
• However, there is a small current IR that flows because of the
minority carriers.
• IR is made of two components
IR = IS + ISL
where IS = the reverse saturation current (It varies with
temperature)
ISL = the surface-leakage current (It varies with the
reverse voltage). 51
• Since ISL << IS, it is safe to assume that IR  IS.
– This makes IR dependent on temperature as well.
– The voltage developed across any series resistance by IR is usually
insignificant. However, knowing it helps us to explain:
• Any voltage across the series resistance may increase dramatically
with increases in operating temperature.
• We often do not measure the full applied voltage across a reversebiased
diode.
52
Diode Capacitance
• When a diode is reversebiased,
it forms a depletion layer
(insulator) between two
semiconductor materials.
– It has some measurable amount of
junction capacitance.
• Junction capacitance is very
important in high-frequency
operation of a diode.
– There is a type of diode designed to
make use of its junction
capacitance: it is called a varactor.
53
Temperature Effects on Diode
Operation
• An increased in temperature
means increased thermal activity
and decreased diode resistance.
– This is true for both forward bias
and reverse bias.
• As temperature increases, at a
fixed value of VF, IF increases.
• As temperature increases, at a
fixed value of IF, VF decreases.
54
• As temperature increases, IR increases for all values of
VR (<
VRRM).
67
COMMON DIODE APPLICATION
CLIPPERS (LIMITERS)
• A clipper (or limiter) is a diode circuit that is
used
to eliminate some portion of a waveform.
– For example, the half-wave rectifier is a
clipper that
eliminates one of the alternations of an ac
signal.
• There are two basic clippers:
– Series clipper: series clippers contain a diode
in series
with the load.
– Shunt clipper: shunt clippers contain a diode
in parallel
with the load.
68
(1) Series Clippers
• The half-wave rectifier is actually a series clipper.
• The series clippers provide an output when the diode is
forward biased and no output when the diode is reverse
biased.
– Two types: the negative and the positive series clippers.
Positive Series Clipper:
• Works the same way as negative series clippers with only
the following differences:
– The output voltage polarities are reversed.
– The current directions through the circuit are reversed.
Shunt Clippers:
• The shunt clipper provides an output when the diode is
reverse biased and shorts the output signal to ground when
the diode is forward biased.
VR(S) = - Vin + 0.7 V
Example
Determine the value for VL for each for the input
alternations.

Solution
• When the input is positive, the diode is forward biased.
Thus, VL = 0.7 V.
VR(S) = Vin – 0.7 = 10V – 0.7 = 9.3 Vpk
• When the input is negative, the diode is reverse biased. Thus,
VL = (RL / RL + RS) Vin
= (1.2k / 1.4k)(–10V)
= − 8.45Vpk
What is the use of RS?
• It is used as a current-limiting resistor.
• During forward biased, the diode shorts the
signal source
to the ground during positive alternation of the
input
signal.
– The diode and the components in the signal
source may be
damaged by the excessive forward current.
• Note: Make the RS much lower than the RL.
3) Biased Clippers
(
(4) Clipper Applications
• They are generally used to perform one of the two functions:
1.Alter the shape of a waveform
2.Provide circuit transient protection
• E.g. the half-wave rectifier is an example where the circuit alters the shape of an ac signal,
changing a sine-wave to a pulsating dc. 78
Transient Protection:
• A transient is an abrupt current or voltage spike that has an
extremely short duration.
– A current surge is an example of a transient.
– Transients can damage circuits whose input must stay within certain voltage or current limits.
• For example, digital circuits have inputs that can handle only voltages that fall within a
specified range.
– A voltage transient that goes outside the specified voltage range cannot be allowed to reach
the input.
– A clipper can be used in this case to prevent such a transient from reaching a digital circuit.