Module 1

Semiconductor Diodes
• A diode is defined as a two-terminal electronic component that only conducts
current in one direction (so long as it is operated within a specified voltage
level). An ideal diode will have zero resistance in one direction, and infinite
resistance in the reverse direction.

• Although in the real world, diodes can not achieve zero or infinite
resistance. Instead, a diode will have negligible resistance in one direction
(to allow current flow), and a very high resistance in the reverse direction (to
prevent current flow). A diode is effectively like a valve for an electrical
circuit.
• A PN junction is the simplest form of the semiconductor
diode.
• We can create a simple PN junction diode by doping
pentavalent or donor impurity in one portion and
trivalent or acceptor impurity in other portion of silicon
or germanium crystal block.
• These dopings make a PN junction at the middle part of
the block. We can also form a PN junction by joining a p-
type and n-type semiconductor together with a special
fabrication technique. The terminal connected to the p-
type is the anode. The terminal connected to the n-type side
is the cathode.
• A diode’s working principle depends on the interaction of n-type and p-type
semiconductors. An n-type semiconductor has plenty of free electrons and a
very few numbers of holes. (In other words, we can say that the concentration of free
electrons is high and that of holes is very low in an n-type semiconductor. )
• Free electrons in the n-type semiconductor are referred as majority charge
carriers, and holes in the n-type semiconductor are referred to as minority
charge carriers.
• A p-type semiconductor has a high concentration of holes and a low
concentration of free electrons. Holes in the p-type semiconductor are
majority charge carriers, and free electrons in the p-type semiconductor are
minority charge carriers
Unbiased Diode
• What happens when one n-type region and one p-type region come in contact?
• Due to concentration differences, majority carriers diffuse from one side to another. As the
concentration of holes is high in the p-type region and it is low in the n-type region, the
holes start diffusing from the p-type region to the n-type region.
• Again the concentration of free electrons is high in the n-type region and it is low in the p-
type region and due to this reason, free electrons start diffusing from the n-type region to the
p-type region.
• The free electrons diffusing into the p-type region from the n-type region would recombine
with holes available there and create uncovered negative ions in the p-type region. In the
same way, the holes diffusing into the n-type region from the p-type region would recombine
with free electrons available there and create uncovered positive ions in the n-type
region. In this way, there would a layer of negative ions in the p-type side and a layer of
positive ions in the n-type region appear along the junction line of these two types of
semiconductors.
• The layers of uncovered positive ions and uncovered negative ions form a region in the
middle of the diode where no charge carrier exists since all the charge carriers get
recombined here in this region. Due to the lack of charge carriers, this region is called
the depletion region

• After the formation of the depletion region, there is no more diffusion of charge carriers from
one side to another in the diode. This is due to the electric field appeared across the
depletion region will prevent further migration of charge carriers from one side to another.
Forward Biased Diode
• Positive terminal of a source is connected to the p-type side and the
negative terminal of the source is connected to the n-type side of the
diode and if we increase the voltage of this source slowly from zero.

• In the beginning, there is no current flowing through the diode. This is

because although there is an external electrical field applied across the
diode, the majority charge carriers still do not get sufficient influence of
the external field to cross the depletion region.
• The depletion region acts as a potential barrier against the majority
charge carriers.

• This potential barrier is called forward potential barrier. The

majority charge carriers start crossing the forward potential barrier
only when the value of externally applied voltage across the junction is
more than the potential of the forward barrier.
• For silicon diodes, the forward barrier potential is 0.7 volt and for
germanium diodes, it is 0.3 volt.
Reverse Biased Diode
• Connect the negative terminal of the voltage source to the p-
type side and positive terminal of the voltage source to the n-
type side of the diode. At that condition, due to electrostatic
attraction of the negative potential of the source, the holes in
the p-type region would be shifted more away from the
junction leaving more uncovered negative ions at the
junction.
• Same way the free electrons in the n-type region would be
shifted more away from the junction towards the positive
terminal of the voltage source leaving more uncovered
positive ions in the junction. As a result of this phenomenon,
the depletion region becomes wider. This condition of a
diode is called the reverse biased condition
V-I Characteristics of Diode
Diode Parameters
Diode Approximations

• The approximation technique that helps in analyzing the various

initial criteria of the diode can be defined as Diode
Approximations.
• Each approximates relates from assuming ideal conditions to
reaching practical ones.
• Types of Diode Approximations
• The diode approximation can be done in three methods using first,
second, and third.
First Approximation

• In the first situation of approximating

the Diode considered to be in Ideal
mode. It means there is zero Internal
Resistance and doesn’t have any
consuming Voltage. This indicates that
Diode in Ideal mode is a Perfect
Version of Switch.
• Generally in the theoretical analysis,
we can use this concept but practically
this situation is impossible.
Second
Approximation

• The first condition is about the Ideal Mode of

the Diode. It doesn’t require any initial voltage
to turn it into ON. But in the second case, it
prefers a certain amount of voltage to turn the
Diode ON.
• In this case of Second Approximation, the Diode
can be made to function as a switch by applying
the cut-off voltages.
• For example, if the silicon is the semiconductor
material used. Then in this case, if the voltage
applied exceeds 0.7 volts the Diode is in ON
mode. If it is below the minimum voltage then
the diode is in OFF mode. Therefore, in this way
diode acts as a switch.
Third Approximation

• In this approximation, the cut-off

voltage along with some Internal
Resistance across the Diode is
observed.
• This condition exists in the practical
application in the design of circuits.
• This type of resistance can be referred
to as Bulk Resistance. It is dependent
upon the amount of the Forward
Voltages and Forward Currents
applied to the diode.
DC Load Line analysis

• In graphical analysis of nonlinear

electronic circuits, a load line is a line
drawn on the
current–voltage characteristic graph for
a nonlinear device like a diode or
transistor. It represents the constraint
put on the voltage and current in the
nonlinear device by the external circuit
• The circuit of is the simplest of diode
configurations. We are going to replace
the Approximate model of a Diode to a
Real Diode in Nature.
What is Load Line
• Load Line is the Graphical representation of KVL applying in
a loop containing DC voltage Source, resistor and one non -linear
element.
• The load line, usually a straight line, represents the response of the
linear part of the circuit, connected to the nonlinear device in
question.
• The load line is determined simply by the applied network,
whereas the characteristics are defined by the chosen device.
Diode as Rectifier

• Rectifiers are used in AC to DC power supplies; The diodes were first used for
rectification purposes to convert the AC signal into a unidirectional DC signal.

• A P-N junction diode allows electric current in forward bias conditions and
blocks electric current in reverse bias conditions. Different types of rectifier
circuits may be built using diodes.

• Half wave, center-tapped full-wave rectifier and full bridge rectifier circuits
are the most common kinds. In most power conversion applications, a single
or a combination of four diodes is utilized.
Half Wave Rectifier
• Only one half cycle is allowed to pass in a half-wave rectifier, while the remaining half cycle is blocked.
As a result, the half-wave rectifier wastes roughly half of the input power.
• Furthermore, a half-wave rectifier's output current or voltage is a pulsing DC rather than a pure DC.
Full Wave Rectifier

• Power Diodes can be connected together to form a full wave

rectifier that convert AC voltage into pulsating DC voltage for use
in power supplies.
• The full wave rectifier converts both halves of each waveform cycle
into pulsating DC signal using four rectification diodes.
• In a Full Wave Rectifier circuit two diodes are now used, one for
each half of the cycle. A multiple winding transformer is used
whose secondary winding is split equally into two halves with a
common centre tapped connection, (C).
• The full wave rectifier circuit consists of two power
diodes connected to a single load resistance (RL) with each
diode taking it in turn to supply current to the load. When
point A of the transformer is positive with respect to
point C, diode D1 conducts in the forward direction as
indicated by the arrows.
• When point B is positive (in the negative half of the cycle)
with respect to point C, diode D2 conducts in the forward
direction and the current flowing through resistor R is in
the same direction for both half-cycles. As the output
voltage across the resistor R is the phasor sum of the two
waveforms combined,
Capacitor Filter.
Capacitive Reactance.
• A capacitor is a device used to store electrical energy. The capacitance of a capacitor
determines the amount of charging a capacitor can achieve. The measure of the opposition to
alternating current by the capacitor is called Capacitive Reactance. The unit of Capacitive
Reactance is Ohms like resistance. The symbol of Capacitive Reactance is XC.
• Capacitive Reactance Formula is expressed by
• Xc = 1 / 2πfC
Where in,
• XC is the capacitance reactance measured in ohms
• C = capacitance in farads
• f = frequency in hertz
Pi” (π) filter
Circuit.
• A Pi filter is an electronic filter circuit consisting of a series connection of a
capacitor and an inductor, followed by another capacitor, arranged in the shape of
the Greek letter “Pi” (π).
• It is used to reduce high-frequency noise and ripple from a power supply,
typically in order to provide a clean and stable DC voltage to sensitive electronic
components.
• Function of the Pi filter
• AC components are also present in the rectifier’s output voltage. Therefore, getting
rid of these AC ripples is absolutely necessary to boost the device’s performance.
The result from the rectifier is straightforwardly applied to the info capacitor.
• The capacitor has a high resistance to DC voltage and a low impedance to AC ripples
in the output voltage. As a result, only the capacitor in the input stage is used to get
around the majority of the AC ripples.
• The inductor coil and the capacitor connected parallel across the load filter the
residual AC components that are still present in the filtered DC signal. The
effectiveness of filtering thus increases multiple times.
Zener Diode as a Voltage Regulator

• There is a series resistor connected to the

circuit in order to limit the current into the
diode. It is connected to the positive terminal
of the d.c.
• It works in such a way the reverse-biased can
also work in breakdown conditions. We do not
use ordinary junction diode because the low
power rating diode can get damaged when
we apply reverse bias above its breakdown
voltage.
• When the minimum input voltage and the
maximum load current is applied, the Zener
diode current should always be minimum.
• Since the input voltage and the required
output voltage is known, it is easier to choose
a Zener diode with a voltage approximately
equal to the load voltage, i.e. VZ = VL.
Zener Diode as a Voltage
Regulator
• Zener diodes find wide application as voltage regulators, maintaining a constant
output voltage despite variations in the input voltage or load conditions.
• The Zener diode is connected in parallel to the load and is reverse biased,
allowing it to regulate the voltage across the load.
• When the input voltage (Vin) is greater than the Zener voltage (Vz), the diode enters
the breakdown region and acts as a low impedance path.
• As a result, the excess current flows through the diode, limiting the voltage across
the load (Vout) to the Zener voltage (Vz).
• Conversely, when the input voltage (Vin) is lower than the Zener voltage (Vz), the
diode remains in the normal forward bias region and allows current to pass through
it.
• In this case, the voltage across the load (Vout) is equal to the input voltage (Vin)
minus the forward voltage drop of the diode regulate the voltage across the load.
Advantages of Zener Diode Voltage Regulation

• Zener diodes offer several advantages as voltage

regulators:  Simplicity: Zener diode voltage regulators
are straightforward to design and implement.
• Zener diodes are relatively inexpensive compared to
other voltage regulation solutions.
• Efficiency: Zener diodes provide efficient voltage
regulation with low power dissipation.
• Compactness: Zener diodes are available in small
packages, making them suitable for compact electronic
devices.
Applications of Zener Diodes

•  Voltage regulation in power supplies.

•  Overvoltage protection for sensitive electronic
components.  Voltage clamping and level shifting
circuits.
•  Voltage reference circuits
•  Signal limiting and clipping circuits.