UNSW Sydney Australia

School of Photovoltaic and Renewable Energy Engineering

SOLA2060 (Introduction to Electronic Devices)

Question DA1

Consider the circuit below. A 100 Ω resistor, a diode and a constant voltage source (2 V) are
connected in series. I-V curve of the diode is shown below [Vd (Volts), I (mA)].
a) Find the current in the above circuit using graphical method.

Diode I-V
Curve ID = Ioe(qV /k T) - 1
d b

𝑉𝑉𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷
= 20𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚
𝑅𝑅

Q-point
Id ≈ 12.6mA

Vd ≈ 0.73V
VDD

I = Io ≈ 12.6mA

b) Find the current again if the voltage source is 3 V.

Similar as above I ≈ I D ≈ 23mA

c) Solve a) analytically using the ideal diode model.

From the graph, VD = 0.7 V when I D = 5.2 mA

qV D
kT
For an ideal diode, I D = I 0 (e kT − 1) where = 26 meV at 300 K
q
Substituting for V D , I D and kT/q, we get ⇒ I 0 = 1.056 × 10 −14 A
The diode equation can thus be written as :
qV D

I D = 1.056 × 10 −14 (e kT − 1) Eq. (i)

From the circuit :

V DD − V D 2 − VD
ID = = Eq (ii)
R 100

From (i) and (ii)

qV D
2 − VD
= 1.056 × 10 −14 (e kT − 1) ⇒ V D = 0.723 V and I D = 12.77 mA
100
Question DA2
A half wave rectifier circuit shown on the right.
The diode has turn-on voltage, vD = 0.7 V and
negligible internal resistance. The input is ac
line voltage vin (sine wave with an rms
amplitude of 240 V and frequency of 50 Hz).
The transformer has turn ratio of N1:N2 = 25:1
and the load is 200 Ω.
a) Write down an expression for vS in terms of
vin and vO in terms of vS. Calculate the
values of vin, vs and vo for the following
times.
𝑣𝑣𝑆𝑆 𝑁𝑁2 𝑣𝑣𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖
= → 𝑣𝑣𝑆𝑆 =
𝑣𝑣𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖 𝑁𝑁1 25

Also,
𝑣𝑣𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖 = 240√2 sin(2𝜋𝜋𝜋𝜋𝜋𝜋) = 240√2 sin(2𝜋𝜋. 50. 𝑡𝑡)

𝑣𝑣𝑂𝑂 = 𝑣𝑣𝑠𝑠 − 0.7 𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖 𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓 𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 𝑣𝑣𝑂𝑂 = 0 𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖 𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟 𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏

t=0 t=T/4 t=T/2 t=3T/4 t=T

vin(V) 0 vin (peak) = 240√2 = 339.4 0 - vin (peak) = −339.4 0
vs(V) 0 𝑣𝑣𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖(𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝) 240√2 0 −𝑣𝑣𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖(𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝) 0
= = 13.6 = −13.6
25 25 25
vo(V) 0 0 0 0
T is the time period of the input voltage.

b) Neatly sketch vS and vO on the same graph for two periods of the input waveform.
c) If a capacitor is inserted into the circuit in parallel to R, the circuit becomes a peak rectifier. What should be the
minimum value of the capacitor in order to ensure the ripple voltage across R is less than 1% of the peak value
of vO?
𝑣𝑣𝑂𝑂 𝑣𝑣𝑂𝑂 1 1
Ripple voltage for half wave rectifier given by 𝑉𝑉𝑟𝑟 = → 0.01𝑣𝑣𝑂𝑂 = → 𝐶𝐶 = = = 10 𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚
𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓 𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓 0.01𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓 0.01∗50∗200

Question DA3
Consider the following circuit below.
R = 300 Ω

vi = 5sin ωt V ∼ D1 D2 vo

a) Sketch the curves for vi and vo on the same

graph as a function of time (or ωt). You
may assume turn-on voltages for the 2 diodes
of 0.6 V (below which voltage it is assumed
that no current flows and above which
voltage it is assumed that any magnitude of
current can flow).
b) Sketch the curve of the current ID1
through diode D1 as a function of ωt.

c) Repeat (a) roughly, showing how the

curve for vo will be modified if an
exponential diode curve is considered.

d) Give an example of when such a circuit might be of use.

This circuit can be used as a clipper circuit for clipping voltages above 0.6V in both half cycles.

Question DA4
Consider the following circuit. D is 1 kΩ
a Zener diode with reverse-bias
breakdown of 12 V and 1 kΩ
forward-bias turn-on voltage of 0.6
V. vi vo
a) Assume that vi is ramped D
linearly from - 20 V to + 20 V
over a period of 10 seconds.
Draw a graph showing the time
dependence of vi and vo.
At t=0, Vi=-20V ; Therefore D is forward biased
General expression,
VO = -0.6 + (Vi+0.6)/2
Vo = -0.6 – 19.4/2 = -10.3V
From t = 4.85 seconds to 5 seconds (Vi is between 0.6 V and 0 V), diode conducts essentially
zero current because the forward bias is below the cut in voltage (0.6V) of the diode and hence
the diode is off.
From t=5 seconds to 8 seconds (Vi is between
0 V and +12 V), diode conducts essentially
zero current because it is reverse biased. Break
down happens at=+12V (t=8second)
General expression, Vo=12+(Vi-12)/2
Therefore, when t=10seconds (Vi=20V) ,
Vo=16V
b) Sketch the curve of the current ID
through the diode D as a function of
time.
For t=0 to 4.85seconds,
I= (Vi+0.6)/2 kΩ
So at Vi=-20V, i=-9.7mA
At Vi=-0.6V, i=0. (at 4.85 seconds)
For 4.85 ≤ t ≤ 8 seconds, I=0.
For t > 8 seconds, I= (Vi-12)/2 kΩ
So at Vi=10, i=0
At Vi=20V, i=4mA.
c) Given that the peak power rating for
the diode is 150 mW, find the
allowable range of values (positive and negative) for vi for which this rating will not be
exceeded.
Peak power =150 mW
Positive bias on diode |Vd| =0.6V
P= |VI| => |Imax|= 150/0.6 =250mA
For positive bias of diode, Vi max= -2 kΩ x Imax -0.6
So Vi= -250mA* 2 kΩ-0.6 = -500.6Volts

For –ve bias on diode |Vd| =12V

Therefore |Imax| = 150mW/12V = 12.5mA
I= (Vi-12)/2 kΩ Vi max=2 kΩ* Imax+12V =37V
So, the input range is -500.6V < Vi < 37V

Question OE1:
 a) Explain how light emitting diodes (LEDs) and laser diodes work. Which type of band gap (indirect or
direct) is best suited for LEDs and lasers? Why? Should an LED be operated in forward or reverse bias?
Both work by using radiative recombination to generate light by biasing. LEDS rely on spontaneous emission
from a standard pn junction, but with the material being a direct band gap to ensure a high proportion of
radiative recombination. Lasers also work for direct band gap materials, but in this case stimulated emission is
harnessed, this relies on population inversion where the population of carriers at higher energies is greater than
thse at lower energies, this stimulates recombination. Reflective layers mean that the emitted light is bounced
back and forward creating further stimulated emission. A coherent, high intensity beam of light results.
Direct band gap material is needed since the emission in such materials is predominantly radiative emission i.e. when
e-h pair recombine they give off the excess energy as a photon.
An LED works in forward bias as the forward bias current for a pn junction is a recombination current, we need this
to generate photons.

b) GaAs has a direct bandgap of 1.42 eV at 300 K. What is the “cut-off” wavelength for photons, beyond
which electron-hole pair generation is no longer possible. How might this value be shifted?

Find cut-off wavelength using 1.242/EG, gives 875 nm. Anything with wavelength longer than this is not
absorbed. We can change the cut-off wavelength by using different materials with different band gaps. To
increase the cut-off wavelength use lower band gap material like InAs. For much shorter cut-off wavelgnth
use higher band gap materials like GaN.

c) Photodetectors are usually reverse biased and the photocurrent measured. Explain what advantage there is by
having the photodetector in reverse bias in terms of photocurrent collection. Include relevant equations in your
discussion.

Reverse bias means the electric field at the junction is increased and the depletion region width increases. Collection
in the depletion region is effectively unity for a good device. The other aspect is the dark current is small in this
case, since the reverse bias current for a pn junction is small (equals the saturation current typically ~pA or
lower), this makes it easier to see the signal from the light being detected. Include equations like the diode
equation, also expression for depletion region width with reverse bias.

Question OE2:
Consider a 1 mm2 GaAs pn junction diode with the following parameters at 300 K: Dn = 30 cm2s-1, Dp = 15 cm2s-1, τn
= 10-8 s, τp = 10-7 s. The doping levels are NA = 5 x 1018 cm-3, ND = 1 x 1016 cm-3. The radiative recombination
efficiency of the diode is found to be 0.5. What will be the optical power generated by the diode at 1 V?

The current will be dominated by holes being injected from the p side to the n side. So find the term related to this.
ni for GaAs is 1.84 x 106 cm-3.
𝐷𝐷𝑝𝑝 𝑛𝑛𝑖𝑖2 𝑞𝑞𝑞𝑞�
𝐼𝐼𝑝𝑝 = 𝑞𝑞𝑞𝑞 �𝑒𝑒 𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘 − 1�
𝐿𝐿𝑝𝑝 𝑁𝑁𝐷𝐷
We find 𝐿𝐿𝑝𝑝 = �𝐷𝐷𝑝𝑝 𝜏𝜏𝑝𝑝 =12.25 μm = 1.225 x 10-3 cm
Ip = 4.52 x 10-4 A = 0.4452 mA
Photon flux is then the hole flux by the radiative efficiency (which is given as 0.5)

Iph = (Ip/q)*ηrad = 4.52 x 10-4/1.6 x 10-19)*0.5 = 1.41 x 1015 s-1

Each photon has an energy equal to the band gap of GaAs, which is 1.42 eV at room temperature.
So P = Iph*q*EG = 1.41 x 1015 .1.6 x 10-19. 1.42 = 3.21 x 10-4 W = 0.32 mW.
Question OE3:

Consider a silicon p-i-n diode (this is a pn junction with an intrinsic layer inserted between the p and n region).
a) Explain why the inclusion of the intrinsic region can help with detecting light. Use diagrams to explain your
answer.
The intrinsic region is included to expand the depleted region of the junction. Since there is no charge in the intrinsic
region it means the electric field will stay constant across this layer. So by expanding the intrinsic layer thickness we
can expand the collection region for photogenerated carriers.

b) The intrinsic region is 10 μm thick and light emitted from GaAs (band gap 1.43 eV) is incident on the diode
with a power density of 1 W/cm2. What will be the photocurrent density for this diode?

Find photon flux that is hitting detector: Iph = P/qEG = 1 /1.42 x 1.6 x 10-19 = 4.37 x 1018 cm-2s-1
Absorption coefficient for silicon at 875 nm is 700 cm-1
Assuming we have zero reflection losses we can calculate the photocurrent as:

𝐽𝐽𝐿𝐿 = 𝑞𝑞𝐼𝐼𝑝𝑝ℎ (1 − 𝑒𝑒 −𝛼𝛼𝛼𝛼 )

2
So we get 0.352 A/cm
Question SC1:
I
(a) For the solar cell output current-voltage D
diode curve for
curve shown, calculate approximately
a solar cell in
(using a ruler) the power being
the dark
generated at points 1 to 8. You may 6
assume the open-circuit voltage is
600 mV and the short-circuit current is
3.0 A.
(b) Which point produces the maximum
power? V1 5 VD
(c) On the same curve, superimpose a
sketch of power output as a function of illuminated
voltage by re-defining the vertical axis solar cell
as "Power".
IL
I1 3
1
2
8 -I 7 4
L

Point # 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Power 1.26 1.25 1.18 0.99 0.00 -1.51 0.00 -0.62
(W)
(b) Point #1 produces the maximum power.

(c)

Solar Cell Current and Power vs Voltage

2
Current (A), Power (W)

Power
1

0
-0.4 -0.2 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8
-1

-2
Current
-3
Voltage (V)

Question SC2:
(a) A solar cell is illuminated by a monochromatic light with a wavelength of 700 nm and intensity of 20 mW/cm2.
What is the corresponding incident photon flux and the theoretical maximum short-circuit current output of the
cell if it's band gap is 1.4 eV? (That is assuming zero reflection; all available photons are absorbed and zero
recombination of minority carriers).
(b) What would be the corresponding current if the band gap were 2.0 eV?

a) The wavelength of light is l = 700 nm , and it has an intensity F = 20 mW/cm2.

The energy of each photon is:

Eph = hc/l = (6.626x10-34 x 2.99x108 cm/s)/(700x10-9).
= 2.84x10-19 J
= 1.77 eV
Therefore, Nph, the photon flux (number of photons/cm2/s) in a beam of intensity F (W/cm2) is given by:
Nph = F/ Eph = 20x10-3 / 2.84x10-19 = 7.04x1016 photons/cm2/s

We are assuming that there is zero reflection, all photons are absorbed and no recombination. Hence, at
short-circuit, for every photon/cm2/s we have one electron flowing in the external circuit. Each electron has
a charge qe = 1.60x10-19C.

So, ideally the current density at short-circuit, JSC = JL = qeNph = 11.3 mA/cm2
For a cell of area A, then ISC = A.JSC

b) For a cell with a bandgap energy equal to 2.0 eV, as the light has an energy Eph < Eg, then there will be
no absorption so the current generated will be zero.
Question SC3:
A solar cell is illuminated by monochromatic light of intensity 100 mW/cm2. The cell has a saturation current
density of 10-11 A/cm2 at 300K. Calculate the maximum conversion efficiency of this light to electrical power at
300 K if the wavelength of light is:
(a) 450 nm
(b) 900 nm.
Assume that the photon energy is larger than the band gap in each case
(c) Explain the difference in the efficiency values obtained.

(a) For l = 450 nm, then Nph = F/ Eph = 100x10-3 / 4.41x10-19

Nph = 2.27 x 1017 photons/cm2/s

Again we assume all photons are converted into electrons flowing at short-circuit conditions.

So JSC = JL = qeNph = 36.4 mA/cm2

Then VOC = (kT/q)ln(JL/J0 + 1) = 0.026ln(0.0364/10-11 +1) = 0.572 V

The ideal fill factor is given by

FF0 = [vOC - ln(vOC + 0.72)]/( vOC +1) where vOC = VOC/( kT/q) = 22.0

FF0 = 0.821

Hence the maximum efficiency h = JSC.VOC.FF0 / F

h = 0.0364x0.572x0.821/100x10-3 = 17.1%

(b) For l = 900 nm, then Nph = F/ Eph = 100x10-3 / 2.21x10-19

Nph = 4.53 x 1017 photons/cm2/s

Again we assume all photons are converted into electrons flowing at short-circuit conditions.

So JSC = JL = qeNph = 11.3 mA/cm2 = 72.6 mA/cm2

Then VOC = (kT/q)ln(JL/J0 + 1) = 0.026ln(0.0726/10-11 +1) = 0.590 V

The ideal fill factor is given by

FF0 = [vOC - ln(vOC + 0.72)]/( vOC +1) where vOC = VOC/( kT/q) = 22.7

FF0 = 0.825

Hence the maximum efficiency h = JSC.VOC.FF0 / F

h = 0.0726x0.590x0.825/100x10-3 = 35.3%

(c) A 900 nm photon has half the energy of a 450 nm photon. Therefore, for a constant intensity of light (100
mW/cm2), there are twice as many 900 nm photons in the beam than for the 450 nm beam. Hence the 900 nm case
gives twice the current. The Voc and FF are similar. This is the major reason as to why the efficiency essentially
doubles.

Question SC4:
A solar cell at 300 K has an area A = 62.5 cm2, an open-circuit voltage of 550 mV, a short-circuit current of 2 A (at
1000 W/m2), and an ideality factor of 1.3.
(a) Generate an IV curve using the ideal equation for a solar cell (you could use Excel for example). Plot the graph
so that ISC is a positive quantity.
(b) On the same graph plot the Power vs Voltage curve (you could use a second y axis to display the power).
(c) Calculate the VMP and Imp, PMP, FF and efficiency for this cell (assume the intensity of the sunlight incident on
the cell is 1000 W/m2).
(d) What will be the operating point of the cell when you measure the current using a hand held meter with an input
resistance of 0.05Ω and the leads have a total resistance of 0.05Ω.
(e) This cell has an infinite shunt resistance. However most real cells will have some shunt resistance. Another
cell has identical characteristics to the above cell EXCEPT it has a shunt resistance of 2.5Ω. What will be the
operating point of this cell when you measure the current using a hand held meter with an input resistance of
0.05Ω and the leads have a total resistance of 0.05Ω.
(f) Calculate the IV curve of a solar cell with 0.05Ω series resistance AND 2.5Ω shunt resistance. (Hint: you
need to derive the eqn. solar cell with Rs and Rsh. Also to work out the current when Rs is present in the
model, it is easiest once you recognize that at a particular output voltage V , for a cell with zero Rs, the
calculated current is the same for a cell with Rs EXCEPT the output voltage is now equal to (V(Rs=0) – IRs).

(a), (b)

2.50 1.50
IV curve
1.25
2.00
IV curve with 1.00
1.50 Rsh = 2.5
load line ohms 0.75
Power
1.00
0.50

0.50
0.25

0.00 0.00
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6

(c)
Vmp (V) Imp (A) Pmp (W) Ff (%) Eff (%)

0.459 1.86 0.856 77.8% 13.7%

(d) The operating point will occur at the intersection of the load line (I = V/RL) where RL = 0.05 + 0.05 = 0.1 W.
This can be calculated numerically by using a program like Excel (calculate the curves see where they intersect).
By inspecting the data we see that the solar cell operates at, V = 0.2 V, I = 2.0 A

Alternately we notice that for such low values of load resistance, the cell will operate at a low voltage. Hence the
diode in our solar cell model will have very little current through it. So we can ignore it! This leaves us with a
very simple model for our solar cell: a 2 A current source and a 0.1 W load resistor. Then the calculation is easy!
A 2 A current passing through a 0.1 W resistance has a voltage drop = 2 x 0.1 = 0.2 V.

Hence the solar cell operates at, V = 0.2 V, I = 2.0 A

+
RL V
-
IL

(e) For the shunted cell the current is simply reduced by DI = V/RSH for all points of the IV curve. For RSH = 2.5W
this is shown in the graph. Again the operating point will occur at the intersection of the load line (I = V/RL) where
RL = 0.05 + 0.05 = 0.1 W. Hence, V = 0.192 V, I = 1.92 A.

ALTERNATELY again the voltage across the cell is small, so we can ignore the diode in our model. Now we
must include a shunt resistance. (see model below). The 2 A current source shares it’s current between the shunt
resistance (2.5 W) and the load resistance (0.1 W). The resistors in parallel are equivalent to a resistance of 0.09615
W. Hence the voltage across the cell is: = 2 A x 0.09615 W = 0.192 V. As the load resistance is 0.1 W, then the
current through RL is : 0.192 V / 0.1 W = 1.92 A.

+
RL V
RS
-

IL
(f) Shown in the graph below are curves for i) the ideal
solar cell ( ie no Rsh and no Rs), then ii) with Rsh and then iii) with Rsh and Rs.

i) Calculate the ideal cell using standard equations.

ii) With Rsh present, subtract from the current for the ideal cell, a current term equal to V/Rsh.
iii) With Rsh and Rs present. For the same currents as calculated for ii) the voltage at the output of the cell is
simply V’ = V(Rs = 0) – I.Rs.

That is V(Rs=0) is simply the cell voltage from ii) ( ie with Rsh but no Rs).
In Excel simply calculate a column of numbers V’ = V(Rs = 0) – I.Rs . This is the voltage across the solar cell with
Rs present. The current is just the same as for part the cell with Rsh (ii). So simply plot I vs V’.

The parameters for each of the cells are given in the table below:
Vmp (V) Imp (A) Pmp (W) Eff
ideal 0.459 1.865 0.856 13.7%
with Rsh 0.453 1.705 0.773 12.4%
with Rsh & Rs 0.385 1.642 0.632 10.1%

Question BJT1:
Consider a npn BJT in forward active mode.
i) Explain with the aid of neat diagrams, the motion of electron and holes throughout the BJT.

ii) Identify which charged carrier flows contribute to the Base, Emitter and Collector currents.

From the lectures:

Question BJT2:
a) Give the definitions of αF and βF for a BJT. What bias conditions for each junction are assumed in these
 definitions?
b) An npn transistor is operating with the base-emitter junction forward biased and the base collector junction reverse
biased. If IC = 9 mA and IB = 10 µA, find the values of IE, αF and βF.
c) An npn transistor is operating with the base-emitter junction forward biased and the base collector junction
reverse biased. If β F = 200 and IB = 10 µA, find the values of IC, and IE.

a) αF is common base current gain in forward active mode = IC/IE. βF is common emitter gain in
forward active mode = IC/IB.
b) In active mode of operation: IE = IC + IB = 9.01 mA
So βF = IC/IB = 9.01/0.01 = 900
And αF = IC/IE = 9.00/9.01 = 0.9989
c) IC = βFIB = 2 mA
IE= (βF + 1)IB = IC + IB = 2.01mA

Question BJT3:
a) Draw band diagrams for a npn transistor in:
(i) thermal equilibrium, be sure to indicate the relative doping levels of the different regions
(ii) forward active mode,
(iii) saturation mode

b) For each mode in part a) sketch the minority carrier concentrations in each of the transistor regions.

See below for a) and b)

c) Consider a npn transistor with base doping of 1016 cm-3. If the electron diffusion coefficient in the base is 10
cm2s-1 and the electron lifetime is 10-6 s, calculate the base width required to give a base transport factor of 0.997.
You may assume the base width is equal to the neutral base width (i.e. do not worry about the depletion region
widths in the base). What is the required base width if the electron lifetime in the base is 10-9 s?

Use definition given in lectures for base transport factor:

 −1
1 𝑊𝑊𝐵𝐵 2
𝛼𝛼 𝑇𝑇 = �1 + � � �
2 𝐿𝐿𝐵𝐵
Re-arrange to get the following:
𝑊𝑊𝐵𝐵2 = 2𝐿𝐿2𝐵𝐵 �1�𝛼𝛼𝑇𝑇 − 1�
Get the relationship: WB = 0.078LB
Find LB (in this case it is Ln): 𝐿𝐿𝐵𝐵 = �𝐷𝐷𝑛𝑛 𝜏𝜏𝑛𝑛 = 3.16 x 10-3 cm = 31.6 microns.Need base width to be ~ 2.5
microns.

Question BC1:
Question BC2:

Question BC3:
Question BC4:
Question BC5
Question BC6