ESC IV: Introduction to Electronics

and Electrical Engineering

Unit 1
Semiconductor Devices and
Applications
Lecture 2
Reference book :
1. Electronic Devices and Circuit Theory-Robert L. Boylestad, Louis Nashelsky, 9Ed,2008 PE.
2. Microelectric Circuits-Sedra and Smith-5 Ed., 2009, Oxford University press
Applications of PN diode
Rectifiers

The most popular application of the diode.

Most electronics need a direct current to function,
but the standard form of electricity that is
transmitted to homes is alternating current.
Rectification

is the conversion of alternating current (AC) to direct

current (DC).
Rectifiers

This involves a device that only allows one-way flow

of electrons, which is exactly what a semiconductor
diode does.
 Applications of PN diode
• Half wave rectifier
Using Ideal Diode
Example
Full wave rectifier: Bridge Network
FWR:Centre Tapped Transformer
 Diode selection for Rectifiers :
In selecting diodes for rectifier design, two important parameters must be specified :

• current-handling capability – what is maximum forward current

diode is expected to conduct?
• peak inverse voltage (PIV) – what is maximum reverse voltage it
is expected to block w/o breakdown?
• The peak inverse voltage (PIV) that the diode must be able to
withstand without breakdown, determined by the largest reverse
voltage that is expected to appear across the diode.
It is usually prudent to select a diode that has a reverse breakdown voltage at least
50% greater than the expected PIV.
Clippers
• Clipping circuit: A wave shaping circuit which controls the shape of the output
waveform by removing or clipping a portion of the applied wave.
• Half wave rectifier is the simplest example. (It clips negative half cycle).
• Also referred as voltage limiters/ amplitude selectors/ slicers.
• Applications:
- In radio receivers for communication circuits.
- In radars, digital computers and other electronic systems.
- Generation for different waveforms such as trapezoidal, or square
waves.
- Helps in processing the picture signals in television transmitters.
- In television receivers for separating the synchronising signals from composite
picture signals
Types of clippers
• According to non- linear devices used:
- Diode clippers and Transistor clippers
• According to biasing
- Biased clippers and Unbiased clippers.
• According to level of clipping
- Positive clippers, Negative clippers and combination
clippers
THUMB RULE

Action of biasing on diode

• When diode is forward biased, it acts as a closed switch ( ON state).

• When diode is reverse biased, it acts as a open switch ( OFF state).

Clippers
The diode in a series clipper
“clips” any voltage that does not
forward bias it:
•A reverse-biasing polarity
•A forward-biasing polarity less
than 0.7 V (for a silicon diode)
Clipper with DC supply
Adding a DC source in series
with the clipping diode
changes the effective forward
bias of the diode.
Example
Parallel Clippers The diode in a parallel
clipper circuit “clips” any
voltage that forward bias it.

DC biasing can be added in

series with the diode to
change the clipping level.
Examples
Repeat Example using a silicon diode with V = 0.7 V.
T
Summary of Clipper Circuits
Summary of Clipper Circuits
Drawbacks

• Series Diode Clipper

When diode is “OFF”, there should be no transmission of input
signal to output. But in case of high frequency, signal transmission
occurs through diode capacitance which is undesirable.

• Shunt Diode clippers

When diode is “OFF”, transmission of input signal to output should
take place. But in case of high frequency input signals, diode
capacitance affects the circuit operation and signal gets attenuated.
Clampers
• The clamping network is one that will “clamp” a signal to a different
dc level.

A diode and capacitor can be

combined to “clamp” an AC
signal to a specific DC level.
Clampers

•Circuits that shift the waveform of the input signal either all
above or below the reference voltage
• Add or restore a DC level to an electrical signal
•Also known as DC restorer
•Clamping circuit is often used in television receivers as dc
restorer. Incoming composite video signal is normally
processed through capacitively coupled amplifiers that
eliminate the dc component losing the reference levels which
must be restored using clamping circuits before applying to
the picture tube.
•
• During the interval 0 → T/2 the network will appear as shown, with
the diode in the “on” state effectively “shorting out” the effect of the
resistor R. The resulting RC time constant is so small (R determined by
the inherent resistance of the network) that the capacitor will charge
to V volts very quickly.
• When the input switches to the -V state, the network will appear with
the open-circuit equivalent for the diode. Now that R is back in the
network the time constant determined by the RC product is
sufficiently large to establish a discharge period 5RC much greater
than the period T/2 → T
Biased Clamper Circuits
The input signal can be any
type of waveform such as
sine, square, and triangle
waves.

The DC source lets you

adjust the DC clamping
level.
Example
 • Repeat Example using a silicon diode

Determining vo and VC with

Determining vo
the diode in the “on” state.
with the diode in the open
state
Other Examples
Summary of Clamper Circuits
Application of Clamper : Voltage Multiplier
Voltage multipliers are similar in many ways to rectifiers in that they convert
AC-to-DC voltages for use in many electrical and electronic circuit applications such
as in microwave ovens, strong electric field coils for cathode-ray tubes, electrostatic
and high voltage test equipment, etc, where it is necessary to have a very high DC
voltage generated from a relatively low AC supply.

• Circuit which produces a greater DC output voltage than AC input

voltage to the rectifiers
• Uses clamping action to increase peak rectified voltages without the
necessity of increasing the input’s transformers voltage rating
• Used in high – voltage, low current applications such as TV receivers
• The advantage of “Voltage Multiplier Circuits” is that it allows higher
voltages to be created from a low voltage power source without a need
for an expensive high voltage transformer
A Simple voltage doubler circuit

The circuit shows a half wave voltage doubler.

• During the negative half cycle of the sinusoidal input waveform, diode D1 is forward biased
and conducts charging up the pump capacitor, C1 to the peak value of the input voltage,
(Vp).
• Because there is no return path for capacitor C1 to discharge into, it remains fully charged
acting as a storage device in series with the voltage supply. At the same time,
diode D2 conducts via D1 charging up capacitor, C2.
A Simple voltage doubler circuit

• During the positive half cycle, diode D1 is reverse biased blocking the
discharging of C1 while diode D2 is forward biased charging up
capacitor C2. But because there is a voltage across capacitor C1 already
equal to the peak input voltage, capacitor C2 charges to twice the peak
voltage value of the input signa
• Then the voltage across capacitor, C2 can be calculated as: Vout = 2Vp,
(minus of course the voltage drops across the diodes used) where Vp is the
peak value of the input voltage.