Special-Purpose Diodes

Course: Electronic Circuit Analysis I

Term: Fall 2020
Textbook: Floyd, ‘Electronic Devices’, Ed. 9.

1. Varactor Diode
• It is a diode that operates in reverse-bias and is doped to maximize the inherent
capacitance of the depletion region.
• It is used as voltage-controlled capacitor in tuning circuits for adjusting the
resonant frequency over a specified range such as in satellite receivers and in
cellular communications.
• When reverse biased, the depletion region acts as a capacitor dielectric because
of its nonconductive characteristic. The p and n regions are conductive and act
as the capacitor plates.

• The capacitance is given by 𝐶 = 𝐴𝜖/𝑑 where 𝐴 is the plate area, 𝜖 is the

dielectric constant, and 𝑑 is the plate separation.
• As the depletion region width varies with reverse-bias, the junction capacitance
of diodes varies too. Thus, the varactor diode acts as a variable capacitor
controlled by the reverse bias.

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2. Light-Emitting Diode (LED)
• It is a PN junction diode using a special doping material that emits either
visible light at different colored wavelength or invisible infra-red light for
remote controls.
• At forward-bias, e’s in conduction band from n-type cross the pn junction and
recombine with h’s in valence band in p-type.
• Since energy of conduction band is higher than valence band, the recombining
e’s release energy in the form of photons.
• The wavelength of emitted photons determines the color of the light and it
depends on the band gap. This process, called electroluminescence.
• In LEDs, most of the generated energy radiates away as a light. This is unlike
normal incandescent lamps and bulbs which generate large amounts of heat
when illuminated. Also, LEDs provide much longer lamp life than normal light.

LED Semiconductor Materials

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LED Biasing

• LED normal operation when it is forward biased.

• LED forward voltage VF is greater than that in Si diode.
• VF = 1.2 V – 3.6 V → (depending on the material)
• Emitted light is directly proportional to forward current IF

LED I-V Characteristics

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LED Construction

• LED is surrounded by a transparent plastic body which acts as a lens

concentrating the amount of light.
• The body is slightly coloured to both enhance the light output and to indicate its
colour.

Direction Pattern

• It depends on the shape emitter surface, lenses, diffusion films .. Etc.

Applications

• Typical applications of LED are for

(1) displaying such as in seven-segment display, light traffic, and LED displays,

(2) illumination in buildings, streets, and vehicles,

(3) communications such as in remote control unit

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3. Photodiode
Definition
• A pn junction diode that generates current when exposed to light. It operates in
reverse-bias and converts light energy into electrical energy. It works on the on
the principle of Photoelectric effect.

Structure and Symbol

• It has a small transparent window that allows light to strike the pn junction.
Typical photodiode device and circuit symbol are shown in the figure.

Operation Principle
• Recall that the reverse-biased current IR is produced by thermally generated
electron-hole pairs in depletion region.
• In a photodiode, when pn-junction is exposed to light, more electron-hole pairs
are generated, and IR increases proportionally with the light intensity. When
there is no incident light, IR is almost negligible and named the dark current.

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Applications

• Photodiode is used in different applications based on its material spectrum

response.

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