CHAPTER TWO

SEMICONDUCTOR,
DIODE AND POWER
SUPPLIES
SEMICONDUCTOR
Meaning of Semiconductor
Neither a conductor nor an insulator but
rather halfway in between the two.
The resistive properties of a semiconductor
can be varied between those a conductor
and those of an insulator.
 Three most commonly used
semiconductor materials are silicon (Si),
Germanium (Ge) and Carbon (C).
 Si and Ge widely used in the production of
solid state components.
 Atomic structure of (a) silicon; (b) germanium; and (c) gallium and arsenic.

The germanium atom has

32 orbiting electrons, while
silicon has 14 orbiting
electrons. In each case,
there are 4 electrons in the
outermost (valence) shell.

Copyright ©2006 by Pearson Education, Inc.

Robert L. Boylestad
Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458
Electronic Devices and Circuit Theory, 9e All rights reserved.
Energy Level

Energy has to be supplied to move electrons away from the nucleus of the
atom. The valence electrons have the highest energy levels of the electrons
that are still bound to their parent atoms, (as they are furthest from the
nucleus). Additional energy is required to completely remove an electron from
the atom, so free electrons have higher energy levels than valence electrons.
(Free electrons are the mobile charge carriers that enable metals to conduct
electricity.) 
In semiconductors there is a gap between the valence and conduction bands. So energy must be supplied for
valence electrons to "jump up" to the conduction band. This reflects the fact that energy must be supplied to
remove valence electrons from their parent atoms and become free electrons. In insulators this gap is much
larger, to represent the significantly higher energy levels that would be needed, to "pull" electrons from their
parent atoms. In metals the valence band and conduction band actually overlap. So in metals, valence
electrons can move easily into the conduction band, producing a large number density of free electrons.
Intrinsic and Extrinsic
 Intrinsic- pure material: semiconductor which has a very
low level of impurities.
Pure Si and Ge are poor conductor due to partially to the
number of valence electrons, covalent bonding and
relatively large energy gap.
 Extrinsic- those semiconductor that has been subjected
to doping process and no longer pure
 Doping- is the process of adding impurity atoms to
intrinsic Si or Ge to improve the conductivity of the
semiconductor.
N-Type material
 N stand for negative charge of
electron
 The n-type is created by
introducing those impurity
elements that have five
valence electrons
(pentavalent), such as
antimony, arsenic, and
phosphorus; into a pure Si or
Ge base.
P-Type material
 P stand for positive charge of
holes
 P created by adding with three
valence electron into pure Si
and Ge base
 The elements most frequently
used for
 this purpose are boron,
gallium, and indium.
PN junction

In an n-type material the electron is called the majority carrier and the
hole the minority carrier.
In a p-type material the hole is the majority carrier and the electron is the
minority carrier.
A p–n junction with no
external bias.
(a) An internal
distribution of charge;
(b) a diode symbol, with
the defined polarity and
the current direction;
(c) demonstration that
the net carrier flow is
zero at the external
terminal of the device
when VD = 0 V.
Diode
 Forward-biased p–n junction.
(a) Internal distribution of
charge under forward-bias
conditions; (b) forward-bias
polarity and direction of
resulting current.
Forward and Reverse bias
 Series diode configuration.

Copyright ©2006 by Pearson Education, Inc.

Robert L. Boylestad
Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458
Electronic Devices and Circuit Theory, 9e All rights reserved.
 Fig. 2.9 (a) Determining the state of the diode of Fig. 2.8; (b) substituting the equivalent model for the “on”
diode of Fig. 2.9a.

Copyright ©2006 by Pearson Education, Inc.

Robert L. Boylestad
Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458
Electronic Devices and Circuit Theory, 9e All rights reserved.
 Fig. 2.9 (continued) (a) Determining the state of the diode of Fig. 2.8; (b) substituting the equivalent
model for the “on” diode of Fig. 2.9a.

Copyright ©2006 by Pearson Education, Inc.

Robert L. Boylestad
Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458
Electronic Devices and Circuit Theory, 9e All rights reserved.
Fig. 2.12 Substituting the equivalent model for the “off” diode of Fig. 2.10.

Copyright ©2006 by Pearson Education, Inc.

Robert L. Boylestad
Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458
Electronic Devices and Circuit Theory, 9e All rights reserved.
 Fig. 2.11 Determining the state of the diode of Fig. 2.10.

Copyright ©2006 by Pearson Education, Inc.

Robert L. Boylestad
Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458
Electronic Devices and Circuit Theory, 9e All rights reserved.
 Fig. 2.10 Reversing the diode of Fig. 2.8.

Copyright ©2006 by Pearson Education, Inc.

Robert L. Boylestad
Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458
Electronic Devices and Circuit Theory, 9e All rights reserved.
 Fig. 2.13 Circuit for Example 2.4.

Copyright ©2006 by Pearson Education, Inc.

Robert L. Boylestad
Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458
Electronic Devices and Circuit Theory, 9e All rights reserved.
Fig. 2.14 Determining the unknown quantities for Example 2.5.  

Copyright ©2006 by Pearson Education, Inc.

Robert L. Boylestad
Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458
Electronic Devices and Circuit Theory, 9e All rights reserved.
Load line Analysis
Diode Characteristic
Load line and operating point
Steps:
To find load line
 From equation V=Vd+IR,

Let Vd=0, so Id=V/R

Let Id = 0, so V=Vd
 Draw a straight line between these two values.
The intersection between the load line and
characteristic curve is the operating point.
Example 1
Determine
a.VDq and IDq
b. VR
Approximate Model
Ideal Diode
Find the Operating Point using graphical
method or network
Series Configuration of Diode
with DC Input
 In general, a diode is the on state if the
current established by the applied sources
is such that its direction matches that
arrow in the diode symbol, and Vd > 0.7 V
for Silicon, and Vd > 0.3 V for Germanium.
Determine Vo and Vd
Parallel Configuration of Diode
Example 2
 Determine Vo.
Example 3
Solution
 I1 = Vk2 / 3.3k
= 0.7 / 3.3k
= 0.212mA
 Find V2, using KVL
-V+Vk1+Vk2+V2=0
V2=V-Vk1-Vk2
= 20-0.7-0.7
= 18.6V
 Find I2 using Ohm’s Law
I2=V2 / R2
= 18.6 / 5.6k
=3.32mA

 To find Id
Id=I2-I1
= 3.32mA- 0.212mA
= 3.11mA