ELECTRONIC DEVICES AND CIRCUITS

UNIT1:DIODE
Introduction: The classification of elements is done on the basis of their conductivity of electric
charge, i.e.
Conductors
Insulators.
Semi Conductor
Conductors::An electrical conductor is defined as materials that allow electricity to flow through them
easily. This property of conductors that allow them to conduct electricity is known as conductivity.
Examples of conductor
Graphite, the human body, and the earth are good conductors of electricity. Some of the common
conductor examples include metals such as:
 Copper
 Gold
 Iron
Insulators::Insulators are materials that hinder the free flow of electrons from one particle of the
element to another. If we transfer some amount of charge to such an element at any point, the
charge remains at the initial location and does not get distributed across the surface. The most
common process of charging of such elements is charging by rubbing (for some elements, with
the help of suitable materials).
Examples of insulators
 Plastic
 Wood
 Glass
Semiconductor::A semiconductor is a material whose electrical conductivity falls between that of a
conductor and an insulator.
Semiconductors are divided into two categories:
 Intrinsic semiconductors
 Extrinsic semiconductors.
  Intrinsic semiconductors, ::Intrinsic semiconductors, also referred to as pure or undoped, are flawless
crystals free of other elements’ flaws and impurities. All semiconductor materials, including those doped with
other components, have intrinsic features, with the doping components introducing other desired qualities.

 Extrinsic Semiconductor::The conductivity of the semiconductors can be improved with the help
of a small number of suitable atoms known as the impurity. The process that involves adding impurities to the
pure semiconductor is called doping. Generally, one atom in 107 will be replaced by a dopant atom in a doped

semiconductor.

 An extrinsic Semiconductor is divided into two types:

 N-type Semiconductor.
 P-type Semiconductor.
Properties N-type semiconductor
 It mainly occurs due to elections
 Completely neutral
 I = Ie and ne >> nh
 Majority- electrons and minority – holes.
When a pure semiconductor (Si & Ge) is doped in the pentavalent impurity (Sb, As, Bi, P), you will
notice that four electrons out of five valence bonds will create a bond with the four electrons of Si and
Ge.
The fifth electron of the dopant will be free. In that case, an impure atom will donate one free electron
for the conduction in the lattice is known as Donar.
Then the no. of electrons will increase with the addition of an impurity. Then the negative charge
carrier will increase. Hence this is called an N-type semiconductor. Crystal will always act neutral, but
the donor atom will automatically become an immobile ion. As conduction occurs to free many
electrons, electrons found in the N-type semiconductor have majority carriers, and the holes are the
minority carriers.
Properties of P-type semiconductors
 It mainly occurs due to holes.
 Completely neutral.
 I = Ih and nh >> ne
 Majority – holes, and minority – Electrons.
Whenever a pure semiconductor is doped with the trivalent impurity (B, Ge, Al, In), then three valence
electrons of the impurity bonds make a bond with the four valence electrons of the semiconductor.
In this case, the electron will be absent from the impurity. These impurity atoms, now ready to accept
bonded electrons, are known as acceptors. With the increase of impurity, the hole will also increase;
hence it is called the P-type semiconductor.
Difference Between Intrinsic Semiconductors And Extrinsic Semiconductors

S.NO Intrinsic semiconductors Extrinsic semiconductors

1 It is a pure semiconductor. It is an impure semiconductor.

2. Electron density is equal to the density of holes. Electron density is not equal to the density of ho

3. Electrical conductivity is low. Electrical conductivity is high.

4. Depending on the temperature. It also depends on temperature, but it also depen

5. No impurities. Trivalent impurity, pentavalent impurity.

Conclusion
Semiconductors are devices that have conduction between a conductor and insulators and are used in
everyday life in many devices like transistors, zener diodes, solar panels, switches, electric circuits, etc.
Semiconductors are divided into two types, intrinsic semiconductors, and extrinsic semiconductors.
Intrinsic semiconductors are pure semiconductors, and these are substances without the presence of any
impurity or doping. Extrinsic semiconductors are prepared by adding a sufficient amount of impurity.
Examples of Semiconductors
 Germanium
 Silicon
What Is a Diode?
A semiconductor diode is a two terminal electronic component with a PN junction. This is also called
as a Rectifier.
Diodes are used to protect circuits by limiting the voltage and to also transform AC into
DC. Semiconductors like silicon and germanium are used to make the most of the diodes. Even though
they transmit current in a single direction, the way with which they transmit differs. There are different
kinds of diodes and each type has its own applications.
Diode Symbol

The anode which is the positive terminal of a diode is represented with A and the cathode, which is
the negative terminal is represented with K. To know the anode and cathode of a practical diode, a fine
line is drawn on the diode which means cathode, while the other end represents anode.
Formation of a Diode
If a P-type and an N-type material are brought close to each other, both of them join to form a junction,
as shown in the figure below.
A P-type material has holes as the majority carriers and an N-type material has electrons as
the majority carriers. As opposite charges attract, few holes in P-type tend to go to n-side, whereas
few electrons in N-type tend to go to P-side.
As both of them travel towards the junction, holes and electrons recombine with each other to
neutralize and forms ions. Now, in this junction, there exists a region where the positive and negative
ions are formed, called as PN junction or junction barrier as shown in the figure.

The formation of negative ions on P-side and positive ions on N-side results in the formation of a
narrow charged region on either side of the PN junction. This region is now free from movable charge
carriers. The ions present here have been stationary and maintain a region of space between them
without any charge carriers.
As this region acts as a barrier between P and N type materials, this is also called as Barrier Junction.
This has another name called as Depletion Region meaning it depletes both the regions. There occurs a
potential difference due to the formation of ions, across the junction called as Potential Barrier as it
prevents further movement of holes and electrons through the junction.
Biasing of a Diode
When a diode or any two-terminal component is connected in a circuit, it has two biased conditions
with the given supply
. They are Forward biased condition and Reverse biased condition. Let us know them in detail.
 Forward Biased Condition
When a diode is connected in a circuit, with its anode to the positive terminal and cathode to the
negative terminal of the supply, then such a connection is said to be forward biased condition. This
kind of connection makes the circuit more and more forward biased and helps in more conduction. A
diode conducts well in forward biased condition.

Let us now try to know what happens if a diode is connected in forward biased and in reverse biased
conditions.
 Working under Forward Biased
When an external voltage is applied to a diode such that it cancels the potential barrier and permits the
flow of current is called as forward bias. When anode and cathode are connected to positive and
negative terminals respectively, the holes in P-type and electrons in N-type tend to move across the
junction, breaking the barrier. There exists a free flow of current with this, almost eliminating the
barrier.

With the repulsive force provided by positive terminal to holes and by negative terminal to electrons,
the recombination takes place in the junction. The supply voltage should be such high that it forces the
movement of electrons and holes through the barrier and to cross it to provide forward current.
Forward Current is the current produced by the diode when operating in forward biased condition and it
is indicated by If.

 Reverse Biased Condition

When a diode is connected in a circuit, with its anode to the negative terminal and cathode to the
positive terminal of the supply, then such a connection is said to be Reverse biased condition. This
kind of connection makes the circuit more and more reverse biased and helps in minimizing and
preventing the conduction. A diode cannot conduct in reverse biased condition.

 Working under Reverse Biased

When an external voltage is applied to a diode such that it increases the potential barrier and restricts
the flow of current is called as Reverse bias. When anode and cathode are connected to negative and
positive terminals respectively, the electrons are attracted towards the positive terminal and holes are
attracted towards the negative terminal. Hence both will be away from the potential barrier increasing
the junction resistance and preventing any electron to cross the junction.
The following figure explains this. The graph of conduction when no field is applied and when some
external field is applied are also drawn.
With the increasing reverse bias, the junction has few minority carriers to cross the junction. This
current is normally negligible. This reverse current is almost constant when the temperature is

constant. But when this reverse voltage increases further, then a point called reverse breakdown
occurs, where an avalanche of current flows through the junction. This high reverse current damages
the device.
Reverse current is the current produced by the diode when operating in reverse biased condition and it
is indicated by Ir. Hence a diode provides high resistance path in reverse biased condition and doesn’t
conduct, where it provides a low resistance path in forward biased condition and conducts. Thus we can
conclude that a diode is a one-way device which conducts in forward bias and acts as an insulator in
reverse bias. This behavior makes it work as a rectifier, which converts AC to DC.

V-I characteristics of P-N junction diodes:: It is a curve between the voltage and current through the
circuit. Voltage is taken along the x-axis while the current is taken along the y-axis. The above graph is
the V-I characteristics curve of the P-N junction diode. With the help of the curve, we can understand
that there are three regions in which the diode works, and they are:
 Zero bias
 Forward bias
 Reverse bias
When the P-N junction diode is in zero bias condition, there is no external voltage applied and this
means that the potential barrier at the junction does not allow the flow of current.
When the P-N junction diode is in forward bias condition, the p-type is connected to the positive
terminal while the n-type is connected to the negative terminal of the external voltage. When the diode
is arranged in this manner, there is a reduction in the potential barrier. For silicone diodes, when the
voltage is 0.7 V and for germanium diodes, when the voltage is 0.3 V, the potential barriers decrease,
and there is a flow of current.
When the diode is in forward bias, the current increases slowly, and the curve obtained is non-linear as
the voltage applied to the diode overcomes the potential barrier. Once the diode overcomes the
potential barrier, the diode behaves normally, and the curve rises sharply as the external voltage
increases, and the curve obtained is linear.
When the P-N junction diode is in negative bias condition, the p-type is connected to the negative
terminal while the n-type is connected to the positive terminal of the external voltage. This results in an
increase in the potential barrier. Reverse saturation current flows in the beginning as minority carriers
are present in the junction.
When the applied voltage is increased, the minority charges will have increased kinetic energy which
affects the majority charges. This is the stage when the diode breaks down. This may also destroy the
diode.
V-I EQUATION OF A DIODE
The mathematical representation of V-I characteristics of diode is called V-I
characteristic equation or diode current equation.
The diode current is represented as

Where
I = diode current, Amperes
Io = reverse saturation current, Amperes
V = Applied voltage, Volts
VT = voltage equivalent of temperature, Volts
η = emission co-efficient, η = 1 for Germanium and η = 2 for Silicon diode
The emission coefficient or ideality factor n represents the recombination occurring in
the depletion region.
The voltage equivalent of temperature indicates the dependence of diode current on
temperature.
VT = KT Volts

K - Boltzmann's constant = 8.62 x 10-5 e V/K

T - Temperature, K
At room temperature 27°C, T = 273 + 27 = 300 K
VT = KT
= 8.62 x 10-5 x 300
= 26 mV T

When voltage applied is zero ie., V = 0

ie., no current flows through the diode.

When forward bias is applied, current increases exponentially and

During reverse bias, voltage applied is negative and thus

neglecting exponential term

The negative sign indicates the current flows in opposite direction to that of forward
current.
Diode Equivalent Circuits
An equivalent circuit is nothing but a combination of elements that best represents the actual terminal
characteristics of the device. In simple language, it simply means the diode in the circuit can be
replaced by other elements without severely affecting the behavior of circuit. The diode can be
modeled in three different ways depending on the accuracy required. Three models with increasing
accuracy are listed below:
1. Piecewise-Linear Equivalent Circuit
A technique for obtaining an equivalent circuit for a diode is to approximate the characteristics of the
device by straight-line segments. The resulting equivalent circuit is naturally called the piecewise-linear
equivalent circuit

Piecewise-Linear
Equivalent Circuit
It is clear that the piece-wise linear characteristics do not exactly represent the characteristics of diode,
especially near the knee of the curve. However it provides a good first approximation to the actual
characteristics of the diode. Piecewise linear characteristics can be obtained by replacing the diode in
the circuit with a resistor, a battery and an ideal diode.
2. Simplified Equivalent Circuit
The equivalent model in this case consists of a battery and an ideal diode. Consider the horizontal line
from (0 to 0.7 V) in the curve. The horizontal line indicates that the current flowing through diode is
zero for voltages between 0 and 0.7 V.

Simplified
Equivalent Circuit
To model this behavior, we put a battery of 0.7 V in the equivalent diode model. This does not mean
that diodes are a source of voltage. When you measure the voltage across an isolated diode, the
instrument will show zero value. The battery simply indicates that it opposes the flow of current in
forward direction until 0.7 V. As the voltage becomes larger than 0.7 V, the current starts flowing in
forward direction.
3. Ideal Diode Model
Figure indicates that the voltage drop across the diode is zero for any value of diode current. The ideal
diode does not allow any current to flow in reverse biased condition. The current flowing through the
diode is zero for any value of reverse biased voltage. Taking this into consideration, the ideal diode can
be modeled as open or closed switch depending on the bias voltage.
 Ideal diode allows the flow of forward current for any value of forward bias voltage. Hence, Ideal
diode can be modeled as closed switch under forward bias condition. This is shown in the figure.
1. Ideal diode allows zero current to flow under reverse biased condition. Hence it can be modeled
as open switch. This is indicated in the figure.
2. Ideal diode allows zero current to flow under reverse biased condition. Hence it can be modeled as
open switch. This is indicated in the figure.

DIODE RESISTANCE

Even after forward biasing, the diode will not conduct until it reaches a minimum
threshold voltage level.

Aftertheappliedvoltageexceedsthisthresholdlevel,thediodestartsto conduct.
The resistance, offered by the diode under this condition as the forward resistance of the
diode.

 That is, the forward resistance is nothing but the resistance offered by the diode when the
diode is working in its forward biased condition.

Forward resistance is classified into two types, viz., static or dynamic depending on
whether the current flowing through the device is DC(Direct Current) or AC (Alternating
Current), respectively.
Diode Resistance

 Forward Resistance

 Static or DC Resistance

 Dynamic or AC Resistance

 Reverse Resistance
Static Resistance
It is the resistance offered by the diode to the flow of DC through it
when we apply a DC voltage to it.

Mathematically the static resistance is expressed as the ratio of DC

voltage applied across the diode terminals to the DC flowing through
it .

Dynamic

Resistance

It is the resistance offered by the diode to the flow of AC through it

when we connect it in a circuit which has an AC voltage source as an
active circuit element.
Mathematically the dynamic resistance is given as the ratio of change
in voltage applied across the diode to the resulting change in the current
flowing through it. This is shown by the slope- indicating red solid
lines in Figure and is expressed as
 Reverse Resistance
When we connect the diode in reverse biased condition, there will be a small current flowing
through it which is called the reverse leakage current.

When the diode functions in its reverse mode, the flow of minority carriers through the
device results in reverse leakage current.
Due to this current flow,the diode exhibits reverse resistance characteristic. The
mathematical expression for the same is similar to that for the forward resistance and is
given by

Where, Vrand Irare the reverse voltage and the reverse current respectively. After knowing

the basic facts about the diode resistance, it is important to note the fact that

“Generally the diodes have a high ratio of reverse to forward resistance, which
Makes them essentially unidirectional in function”.

DIFFUSION CAPACITANCE
 dq/di is yet to be derived as equivalent to τ

Space-Charge or
transition,CapacitanceC
T
A reverse bias causes majority carriers to move away from the junction, thereby
uncovering more immobile charges.Hence the thickness of the space-charge layer at
the junction increases with reverse voltage. This increase in uncovered charge with
applied reverse voltage may be considered as capacitive effect. Incremental
capacitance CTby
 Where dQ is the increase in charge caused by a changed Vin voltage.It follows from
this definition that a change in voltage dV in a time di will result in a current i = dQ/
dt, given by

The quantity CTis referred to as the transition-region, space-charge, barrier, or depletion-

region, capacitance.
As it turns out, this capacitance is not a constant, but depends upon the magnitude of the
reverse voltage. It is for this reason that CTis defined by Step graded junction

Diode as a Switch
Diode is a two terminal PN junction that can be used in various applications. One of such
applications is an electrical switch. The PN junction, when forward biased acts as close circuited
and when reverse biased acts as open circuited. Hence the change of forward and reverse biased
states makes the diode work as a switch, the forward being ON and
the reverse being OFF state.
Working of Diode as a Switch
Whenever a specified voltage is exceeded, the diode resistance gets increased, making the diode
reverse biased and it acts as an open switch. Whenever the voltage applied is below the reference
voltage, the diode resistance gets decreased, making the diode forward biased, and it acts as a
closed switch.
The following circuit explains the diode acting as a switch.
 A switching diode has a PN junction in which P-region is lightly doped and N-region is heavily
doped. The above circuit symbolizes that the diode gets ON when positive voltage forward
biases the diode and it gets OFF when negative voltage reverse biases the diode.
Ringing
As the forward current flows till then, with a sudden reverse voltage, the reverse current flows
for an instance rather than getting switched OFF immediately. The higher the leakage current,
the greater the loss. The flow of reverse current when diode is reverse biased suddenly, may
sometimes create few oscillations, called as RINGING.
This ringing condition is a loss and hence should be minimized. To do this, the switching times
of the diode should be understood.
DIODE SWITCHING TIMES
While changing the bias conditions, the diode undergoes a transient response. The response of a
system to any sudden change from an equilibrium position is called as transient response.
The sudden change from forward to reverse and from reverse to forward bias, affects the circuit.
The time taken to respond to such sudden changes is the important criterion to define the
effectiveness of an electrical switch.
 The time taken before the diode recovers its steady state is called as Recovery Time.
 The time interval taken by the diode to switch from reverse biased state to forward biased
state is called as Forward Recovery Time.(tfr)
 The time interval taken by the diode to switch from forward biased state to reverse biased
state is called as Reverse Recovery Time. (trr)
 Carrier Concentration
Minority charge carrier concentration reduces exponentially as seen away from the junction.
When the voltage is applied, due to the forward biased condition, the majority carriers of one
side move towards the other. They become minority carriers of the other side. This concentration
will be more at the junction.
For example, if N-type is considered, the excess of holes that enter into N-type after applying
forward bias, adds to the already present minority carriers of N-type material.
Let us consider few notations.
 The majority carriers in P-type (holes) = Ppo
 The majority carriers in N-type (electrons) = Nno
 The minority carriers in P-type (electrons) = Npo
 The miority carriers in N-type (holes) = Pno
During Forward biased Condition − The minority carriers are more near junction and less far
away from the junction. The graph below explains this.

Excess minority carrier charge in P-type = Pn−Pno with pno (steady state value)
Excess minority carrier charge in N-type = Np−Npo with Npo (steady state value)
During reverse bias condition − Majority carriers doesn’t conduct the current through the
junction and hence don’t participate in current condition. The switching diode behaves as a short
circuited for an instance in reverse direction.
The minority carriers will cross the junction and conduct the current, which is called as Reverse
Saturation Current. The following graph represents the condition during reverse bias.

In the above figure, the dotted line represents equilibrium values and solid lines represent actual
values. As the current due to minority charge carriers is large enough to conduct, the circuit will
be ON until this excess charge is removed.
The time required for the diode to change from forward bias to reverse bias is called Reverse
recovery time (trr). The following graphs explain the diode switching times in detail.
From the above figure, let us consider the diode current graph.
At t1t1 the diode is suddenly brought to OFF state from ON state; it is known as Storage
time. Storage time is the time required to remove the excess minority carrier charge. The
negative current flowing from N to P type material is of a considerable amount during the
Storage time. This negative current is,
−IR=−VR/R
The next time period is the transition time” (from t2 to t3)
Transition time is the time taken for the diode to get completely to open circuit condition.
After t3t3 diode will be in steady state reverse bias condition. Before t1t1 diode is under steady
state forward bias condition.
So, the time taken to get completely to open circuit condition is
 Reverse recovery time(trr)=Storage time(Ts)+Transition time(Tt)
Whereas to get to ON condition from OFF, it takes less time called as Forward recovery time.
Reverse recovery time is greater than Forward recovery time.
A diode works as a better switch if this Reverse recovery time is made less.
Summary::
 Storage time − The time period for which the diode remains in the conduction state even
in the reverse biased state, is called as Storage time.
 Transition time − The time elapsed in returning back to the state of non-conduction, i.e.
steady state reverse bias, is called Transition time.
 Reverse recovery time − The time required for the diode to change from forward bias to
reverse bias is called as Reverse recovery time.
 Forward recovery time − The time required for the diode to change from reverse bias to
forward bias is called as Forward recovery time.

PROBLEMS ON UNIT 1
P-1::The reverse saturation current of a silicon PN junction diode is 10 μA.
Calculate the diode current for the forward-bias voltage of 0.6 V at 25 °C.
Solution:
Given:
P-2::The voltage across a silicon diode at room temperature of 300 °K is 0.71 V
when 2.5 mA current flows through it. If the voltage increases to 0.88 V, What is
the value of diode current?
Solution:
Given:
V = 0.71 V
T = 300 K
I = 2.5 mA
When V = 0.8 V,

P-3::A Germanium diode has a saturation current of 10 μA at 300° K. Find the

saturation current at 400°K. (AU/EEE - May 2008)
Given:
T1 = 300° K = 27° C
T2 = 400° K = 127° C
Iol = 10 ΜΑ
Solution: