PN Junction

Dr. Ihab El-Flaky

---- Electronics ----
• Ahmed Foly Ahmed
• Mahmoud Tarek Eldyasty
Introduction

Semiconductor devices are at the heart of modern electronics, and the

PN junction is one of the most fundamental concepts in this field. A
PN junction is formed by joining a P-type and an N-type
semiconductor, creating a depletion region that acts as a barrier to
current flow in the reverse direction while allowing current flow in
the forward direction. This paper will explore the basic physics
behind PN junctions, their properties, and their applications in
various electronic devices.

History

The concept of PN junctions was first introduced by Russell Ohl, an

American physicist, in 1939. While conducting experiments on the
properties of semiconductors, he discovered that the boundary
between a P-type and N-type semiconductor could create a barrier
that allowed the flow of electric current in only one direction. This
discovery led to the development of the first practical semiconductor
diode, which played a crucial role in the development of modern
electronics.

PN junction

A PN junction is a type of semiconductor diode that has two regions

of different doping concentrations, p-type and n-type, which are
joined together. The PN junction is the fundamental building block of

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many semiconductor devices such as transistors, solar cells, LEDs,
and integrated circuits1.

The PN junction is formed by

doping a crystal with
impurities that introduce
excess electrons (n-type) or
holes (p-type) into the
crystal lattice. When these two regions are brought into contact,
electrons diffuse from the n-type region to the p-type region and
recombine with holes. This creates a depletion region around the
junction where there are no free charge carriers.

PN junctions are elementary "building blocks" of semiconductor

electronic devices such as diodes, transistors, solar cells, light-
emitting diodes (LEDs), and integrated circuits; they are the active
sites where the electronic action of the device takes place. For
example, a common type of transistor, the bipolar junction transistor
(BJT), consists of two p–n junctions in series, in the form n–p–n or
p–n–p; while a diode can be made from a single p-n junction. A
Schottky junction is a special case of a p–n junction, where metal
serves the role of the n-type semiconductor.

Depletion Region:

In semiconductor physics, the depletion region, also called depletion

layer, depletion zone, junction region, space charge region or space
charge layer, is an insulating region within a conductive, doped
semiconductor material where the mobile charge carriers have been

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diffused away, or have been forced away by an electric field. The only
elements left in the depletion region are ionized donor or acceptor
impurities. This region of uncovered positive and negative ions is
called the depletion region due to the depletion of carriers in this
region.

A depletion region forms instantaneously across a p–n junction. It is

most easily described when the junction is in thermal equilibrium or
in a steady state: in both of these cases the properties of the system do
not vary in time; they have been called dynamic equilibrium.
Electrons and holes diffuse into regions with lower concentrations of
them, much as ink diffuses into water until it is uniformly distributed.
By definition, the N-type semiconductor has an excess of free
electrons (in the conduction band) compared to the P-type
semiconductor, and the P-type has an excess of holes (in the valence
band) compared to the N-type. Therefore, when N-doped and P-
doped semiconductors are placed together to form a junction, free
electrons in the N-side conduction band migrate (diffuse) into the P-
side conduction band, and holes in the P-side valence band migrate
into the N-side valence band.

forward bias

A PN junction is said to be forward-biased when the p-type region of

a junction is connected to the positive terminal of a voltage source
and the n-type region is connected to the voltage source’s negative
terminal. In this forward-biased condition, due to the attraction of
the positive terminal of the source, electrons that participated in
covalent bond creation in the p-type material will be attracted

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towards the terminal. As a result, the number of covalent bonds is
broken and electrons are shifted towards the positive terminal. This
results in the electrons’ concentration in the crystal closer to the
terminal to increase, and these electrons recombine with holes here.
In this way, the number of holes increases in the portion of the p-type
region away from the junction, and it is reduced in the portion of the
p-type region nearer to the terminal as such holes are shifted from
terminal to junction.

In the forward bias, the p side of the diode is connected to the positive
side of the battery and the n side is connected to the negative side of
the battery. The direction of the applied voltage is opposite to the
junction barrier potential. Therefore, the size of the depletion region
decreases. Therefore, the voltage applied in the forward direction
assists the electrons in the n region to overcome the barrier and flow
to the p region.

Reverse bias
Connecting the p-type region to the negative terminal of the voltage
supply and the n-type region to the positive terminal corresponds to
reverse bias. If a diode is reverse-biased, the voltage at the cathode is
comparatively higher than at the anode. Therefore, very little current
flows until the diode breaks down. The connections are illustrated in
the adjacent diagram.

Because the p-type material is now

connected to the negative terminal
of the power supply, the 'holes' in
the p-type material are pulled
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away from the junction, leaving behind charged ions and causing the
width of the depletion region to increase. Likewise, because the n-
type region is connected to the positive terminal, the electrons are
pulled away from the junction, with similar effect. This increases the
voltage barrier causing a high resistance to the flow of charge
carriers, thus allowing minimal electric current to cross the p–n
junction. The increase in resistance of the p–n junction results in the
junction behaving as an insulator.

The strength of the depletion zone electric field increases as the

reverse-bias voltage increases. Once the electric field intensity
increases beyond a critical level, the p–n junction depletion zone
breaks down and current begins to flow, usually by either the Zener
or the avalanche breakdown processes. Both of these breakdown
processes are non-destructive and are reversible, as long as the
amount of current flowing does not reach levels that cause the
semiconductor material to overheat and cause thermal damage.

This effect is used to advantage in Zener diode regulator circuits.

Zener diodes have a low breakdown voltage. A standard value for
breakdown voltage is for instance 5.6 V. This means that the voltage
at the cathode cannot be more than about 5.6 V higher than the
voltage at the anode (though there is a slight rise with current),
because the diode breaks down, and therefore conduct, if the voltage
gets any higher. This, in effect, limits the voltage over the diode.

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Diodes
The PN junction diode consists of a p-region
and n-region separated by a depletion region
where charge is stored. The effect described in
the previous tutorial is achieved without any
external voltage being applied to the actual
PN junction resulting in the junction being in a
state of equilibrium.

However, if we were to make electrical

connections at the ends of both the N-type and the P-type materials
and then connect them to a battery source, an additional energy
source now exists to overcome the potential barrier.

The effect of adding this additional energy source results in the free
electrons being able to cross the depletion region from one side to the
other. The behavior of the PN junction with regards to the potential
barrier’s width produces an asymmetrical conducting two terminal
devices, better known as the PN Junction Diode.

A PN Junction Diode is one of the simplest semiconductor devices

around, and which has the electrical characteristic of passing current
through itself in one direction only. However, unlike a resistor, a
diode does not behave linearly with respect to the applied voltage.
Instead, it has an exponential current-voltage (I-V) relationship and
therefore we cannot describe its operation by simply using an
equation such as Ohm’s law.

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If a suitable positive voltage (forward bias) is applied between the
two ends of the PN junction, it can supply free electrons and holes
with the extra energy they require to cross the junction as the width
of the depletion layer around the PN junction is decreased.

By applying a negative voltage (reverse bias) result in the free

charges being pulled away from the junction resulting in the
depletion layer width being increased. This has the effect of
increasing or decreasing the effective resistance of the junction itself
allowing or blocking the flow of current through the diodes PN
junction.

Then the depletion layer widens with an increase in the application of

a reverse voltage and narrows with an increase in the application of
a forward voltage. This is due to the differences in the electrical
properties on the two sides of the PN junction resulting in physical
changes taking place. One of the results produces rectification as seen
in the PN junction diodes static I-V (current-voltage) characteristics.
Rectification is shown by an asymmetrical current flow when the
polarity of bias voltage is altered as shown below.

V-I Characteristics of PN Junction

The relationship between the voltage across
the junction and current through the circuit is
known as the volt-ampere (V-I)
characteristics of a PN junction or
semiconductor diode. Normally, voltage is
measured along the x-axis, whereas the
current is measured along the y-axis.
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The V-I characteristics of the PN junction
can be explained in three cases:

1. Zero bias or un bias

2. Forward bias
3. Reverse bias

No movement of holes or electrons occurs at zero bias state as no

potential is applied externally which prevents the passage of electric
current to flow in the diode.

When the PN junction diode is in the forward bias, the P-type is

linked to the positive terminal of the external voltage, while the N-
type is connected to the negative terminal. This arrangement of
diodes reduces the potential barrier. When the voltage is 0.7 V for
silicon diodes and 0.3 V for germanium diodes, the potential barriers
diminish, and current flows.

The current grows slowly while the diode is in the forward bias, and
the curve formed is non-linear because the voltage supplied to the
diode surpasses the potential barrier. Once the diode has broken over
the potential barrier, it operates normally, and the curve climbs
steeply as the external voltage rises, yielding a linear curve.

When the PN junction diode is in negative bias, the P-type is linked to

the negative terminal of the external voltage, while the N-type is
connected to the positive terminal which leads to the higher potential
barrier. Because minority carriers are present at the junction, a
reverse saturation current occurs at first.

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Applications of PN Junction Diode
Some of the most exciting applications of PN diodes are as follows:
• PN junction diode is utilized as a more triple, voltage doubler,
and quadruple in voltage multiplier circuits as well as a switch
in various electrical circuits.
• These are used in numerous circuit rectifiers, and varactors for
voltage-controlled oscillators.
• While the PN junction diode produces light when biased with a
current, hence it is employed in light-emitting diode (LED) and
photodiode applications.
• PN junction diodes can also be used for another diode termed a
light amplification stimulated emission of radiation.
• In power electronics engineering, it can be employed in solar
cells.
• It is employed in the detector as well as the demodulator circuit
thus it can be used as a detector for the demodulation circuit.
• They are used as clamps to adjust the reference voltage.
• The voltage across the PN junction diode is used to produce
temperature sensors and reference voltages.

Conclusion
In conclusion, PN junctions are an essential component of modern
electronics. They are formed by joining a P-type and an N-type
semiconductor, creating a depletion region that acts as a barrier to
current flow in the reverse direction while allowing current flow in
the forward direction. The properties of PN junctions depend on
several factors, such as the doping concentration, the temperature,
and the applied voltage.

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