Tunnel Diode

Tunnel Diode
• It was introduced by Leo Esaki in 1958.
• Heavily-doped p-n junction
• Width of the depletion layer is very small
(about 100 A).
• It is generally made up of Ge and GaAs
• It shows tunneling phenomenon
VI Characteristics of Tunnel Diode
AT ZERO BIAS (A)
AT SMALL FORWARD VOLTAGE
(10 mV)
AT MAXIMUM TUNNELING CURENT (B)
(50 mV)
AT DECREASING CURRENT REGION
(B to C)
AT HIGHER FORWARD VOLTAGE
(At C- No tunnel current)
AT REVERSE BIAS VOLTAGE
(R)
 CHARACTERISTIC OF TUNNEL DIODE

Ip:- Peak Current

Iv :- Valley Current
Vp:- Peak Voltage
Vv:- Valley Voltage
Equivalent Circuit Of Tunnel
Diode When Biased In
Negative Resistance Region

•Cj- junction diffusion

capacitance
•Rn - Negative resistance
of the device in the NRR
•Ls - Series Inductance
•Rs - Series Resistance

- At higher frequencies
the series Rs and Ls can be
ignored
 Application of Tunnel Diode
• Used as an ultra high speed switch
• Used as logic memory storage device
• Used as an Amplifier
• Used as Microwave oscillator
• Tunnel diode oscillator applied as sensor-
modulator for telemetry of temperature in
human beings and animals
 Reference

• Electronic Devices & Circuits by S Salivahanan