Date : 02/10/2018

Semiconductor
Electronics
ARULMOZHI ELANCHEZHIAN
DEPARTMENT OF BIO -SYSTEMS ENGINEERING
 Synopsis
Introduction about semi-conductors
Basic physics of the semi conductors
Diodes
Types of diodes
Junction diodes
 PN junction
Zener diodes
Voltage regulators
Optoelectronic diodes
Basic Physics of Semi-Conductors
Conductors
Insulators
Semi conductors
Dopants
Valence and conduction band of
Materials
Difference between Diode and Transistor
Difference between Diode and Transistor
PARAMETERS DIODE TRANSISTOR
Definition A diode is a two terminal device which Transistor is a three terminal device which allows current
allows current to pass in one direction to flow from high resistance region to low resistance
only. region
Formation It is formed by joining a P-type It is formed by sandwiching a layer of P-type or N-type
semiconductor with N-type material between two N-type or P-type material on
semiconductor. either end.
Circuit Symbol
Depletion Layer Only one depletion region is formed. Two depletion region are formed.
Number of Junctions Only one junction between P-type and Two Junctions are formed one in between emiter and
N-type semiconductor. base and other between base and collector.
Terminals 2 terminals are there in a diode i.e. 3 terminals are there in transistor i.e. emitter, base and
anode and cathode. collector.
Considered as It can be considered as a switch. It can be considered as a switch or an amplifier.

Applications Rectifier, voltage double, clipper etc. Amplifier, Oscillator etc.

Difference between Intrinsic and
Extrinsic Semi Conductor
Doping
To change the conductivity (resistivity) of the material.
To create “traps” in the material that speed up recombination of electrons and holes.
To produce junctions.
Doping
Doping
BASIS OF DIFFERENCE
Group of Doping Element
Nature of Doping Element
Type of impurity added
Majority Carriers
Minority Carriers
Density of Electrons and Holes
Energy level
Fermi level
Movement of Majority carriers
p TYPE SEMICONDUCTOR n TYPE SEMICONDUCTOR
In P type semiconductor V group element is In n type semiconductor III group element is
added as doping element. added as doping element.
Impurity added provides extra electrons Impurity added creates a vacancy of
called as Donor Atom. electrons called holes and is known as
Acceptor Atom.
Trivalent impurity like Al, Ga, In etc. are Pentavalent impurity like P, As, Sb, Bi etc. are
added. added.
Holes are majority carriers Electrons are majority carriers
Electrons are minority carriers Holes are minority carriers
The electron density is much greater than the The hole density is much greater than the
hole density. electron density.
ne >> nh nh >> ne
The donor energy level is close to the The acceptor energy level is close to the
conduction band and away from the valence valence band and away from the conduction
band. band.
Fermi level lies between donor energy level Fermi level lies between acceptor energy
and the conduction band. level and the valence band.
Majority carriers move from higher to lower Majority carriers move from lower to higher
potential. potential.
Junction Diode
Electronic Devices are produced by creating microscopic interfaces between differently doped
areas within semi-conductor material
Pn junction, Zener Diode
To design Amplifier, Voltage stabilizer, Wave shaper(rectifiers)
Junction Diode
Construction
Working

Biasing

Junction Diode
PN junction Characteristics
Biasing
Operation of PN Junction Diode
Anode - P Type Side
Cathode- N Type Side
PN junction, electrons from the n-type silicon can diffuse to occupy the holes in the p-type
silicon, creating what is called a depletion region
A small electric field develops across this thin depletion region due to the diffusion of electrons.
This results in a voltage difference across the depletion region called the contact potential Or
Junction Potential
Drift Current
Breakdown Voltage, Cut in Voltage
Silicon- contact potential is on the order of 0.6–0.7 V
Diode Operation
Diode Equation
ID is the current through the junction,
I0 is the reverse saturation current,
q is the charge of one electron (1.60 10 ^-19 C)
k is Boltzmann’s constant(1.381 10 ^-23 J/K)
VD is the forward bias voltage across the junction
T is the absolute temperature of the junction in Kelvin
Example
1. A Germanium diode has reverse saturation
current of 0.19µA.Find the Current in the diode
when it is forward biased with 0.3V at 27⁰C ?
2. The Forward Current in a Si Diode is 15mA at 27⁰C
.If the reverse Saturation Current is 0.24nA,What
is the Forward Bias Voltage ?.
Diode Characteristics
Diode is useful as a rectifier, where it passes only the positive half or the negative half of an AC
signal.
Rectifier circuits are used in the design of power supplies, where AC power must be transformed
into DC power for use in electronic devices and digital circuits.
Zener Diode
Also Called as Zener, Avalanche Or Voltage – Regulator Diodes
It order to control the Breakdown Diode is doped very Controlled manner
Zener Diode Operation
Voltage Regulator Circuit
Finding Regulated Output Voltage
Voltage Regulator with Load
Finding Source Current
Zener Diode Voltage Regulator Design
Example Questions
We wish to determine the regulation performance of the Zener diode circuit shown Below for a
voltage source Vin whose value ranges between 20 and 30 V. For the Zener diode, we select a
1N4744A manufactured by National Semiconductor from the family 1N4728A to 1N4752A
(having different zener voltage values). It is a 15 V, 1 W zener diode. We select a value of R based
on the specifications of this diode.
Example Problems
Example Problems
Voltage Regulators
Although the Zener diode voltage regulator is cheap and simple to use, it has some drawbacks:
The output voltage cannot be set to a precise value, and regulation against source ripple and
changes in load is limited.
Special semiconductor devices are designed to serve as voltage regulators, some for fixed
positive or negative values and others easy to adjust to a desired, nonstandard value.
Voltage Regulators

Three-terminal voltage regulators are accurate, reject ripple on the input, reject
voltage spikes, have roughly a 0.1% regulation, and are quite stable, making
them useful in mechatronic system design.
Optoelectronics Diodes
Light-emitting diodes are diodes that emit photons when forward biased
The LED is usually encased in a colored plastic material that enhances the
wavelength generated by the diode and sometimes helps focus the light into a
beam. The intensity of light is related to the amount of current flowing through
the device
LED has a voltage drop of 1.5 to 2.5 V when forward biased
Earlier we said that a pn junction is sensitive to light. Special diodes, called
photodiodes, are designed to detect photons and can be used in circuits to
sense light
Optoelectronics Diodes