Electronic Physics Lectures

Electronic Physics First stage Ms. Chnar H.
Aziz
The Atom:
An atom is the smallest particle of an element that retains the characteristics of that
element.
The Bohr Model of Atom
According to the classical Bohr model, atoms have a planetary type of structure
that consists of a central nucleus surrounded by orbiting electrons, as illustrated in Figure
(1).The nucleus consists of positively charged particles called protons and uncharged
particles called neutrons. The basic particles of negative charge are called electrons.
Figure (1): The Bohr model of an atom showing electrons in orbits around the nucleus, which consists
of protons and neutrons. The tails on the electrons indicate motion.
Each type of atom has a certain number of electrons and protons that distinguishes
it from the atoms of all other elements. For example, the simplest atom is that of
hydrogen, which has one proton and one electron, as shown in Figure (2-a). As another
example, the helium atom, shown in Figure (2-b), has two protons and two neutrons in
the nucleus and two electrons orbiting the nucleus.
Figure (2): Two simple atoms, hydrogen and helium.
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Electronic Physics First stage Ms. Chnar H. Aziz
Atomic Number
The atomic number equals the number of protons in the nucleus, which is the
same as the number of electrons in a neutral atom. For example, hydrogen has an atomic
number of 1 and helium has an atomic number of 2.
Electrons and Shells
Electrons orbit the nucleus of an atom at certain distances from the nucleus.
Electrons near the nucleus have less energy than those in more distant orbits. Only
discrete values of electron energies exist within atomic structures. Therefore, electrons
must orbit only at discrete distances from the nucleus.
Each discrete distance (orbit) from the nucleus corresponds to a certain energy
level. In an atom, the orbits are grouped into energy levels known as shells. A given atom
has a fixed number of shells. Each shell has a fixed maximum number of electrons. The
shells (energy levels) are designated 1, 2, 3, and so on, with 1 being closest to the
nucleus. The Bohr model of the silicon atom is shown in Figure (3). Notice that there are
14 electrons and 14 each of protons and neutrons in the nucleus.
Figure (3): Illustration of the Bohr model of the silicon atom.
The maximum number of electrons ( ) that can exist in each shell of an atom is a fact of
nature and can be calculated by the formula,
Where n is the number of the shell. The maximum number of electrons that can exist in
the innermost shell (shell 1) is
The maximum number of electrons that can exist in shell (2) is
2
Valence Electrons
Electrons that are in orbits farther from the nucleus have higher energy and are less
tightly bound to the atom than those closer to the nucleus. This is because the force of
attraction between the positively charged nucleus and the negatively charged electron
decreases with increasing distance from the nucleus. Electrons with the highest energy
exist in the outermost shell of an atom and are relatively loosely bound to the atom. This
outermost shell is known as the valence shell and electrons in this shell are called
valence electrons. These valence electrons contribute to chemical reactions and bonding
within the structure of a material and determine its electrical properties. When a valence
electron gains sufficient energy from an external source, it can break free from its atom.
Positive ion
A positive ion is a neutral atom that has lost a valence electron and has a net
positive charge, for example when a neutral hydrogen atom loses its valence electron and
becomes a positive ion, it is designated .
Negative ion
A negative ion is a neutral atom that has gained an extra electron and has a net
negative charge, for example when a neutral chlorine atom gained an extra electron and
becomes a negative ion, it is designated .
Questions:
1. Describe the Bohr model of the atom.
- The Bohr model has a central nucleus consisting of protons and neutrons orbited by
electrons at varying distances from the nucleus.
2. Define electron.
- An electron is the smallest particle of negative electrical charge.
3. What is the nucleus of an atom composed of? Define each component.
- Protons and neutrons. A proton is a particle of positive charge and a neutron has no net
charge.
4. Define atomic number.
- The atomic number is the number of protons in the nucleus of an atom.
5. Discuss electron shells and orbits and their energy levels.
- An electron shell contains orbiting electrons at a certain energy level. Each shell of a
given atom is at a different energy level.
6. What is a valence electron?
- A valence electron is one that is in the outer shell of an atom.
7. What is a free electron?
- A free electron is a valence electron that has broken free of its parent atom.
8. Discuss the difference between positive and negative ionization.
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- A positive ion is a previously neutral atom that has lost a valence electron and has a net
positive charge. A negative ion is one that has gained an extra electron and has a net
negative charge.
9. Describe the structure of an atom.
10.Define electron, proton, neutron, and nucleus.
11.Explain energy levels.
12.Discuss ionization.
13.Define ion.
Types of Materials:
In terms of their electrical properties, materials can be classified into three groups:
conductors, semiconductors, and insulators.
1. An insulator is a material that does not conduct electrical current under normal
conditions. Valence electrons are tightly bound to the atoms; therefore, there are very few
free electrons in an insulator. Examples: rubber, plastics, glass, mica, and quartz.
2. A conductor is a material that easily conducts electrical current. Valence electron
very loosely bound to the atom. These loosely bound valence electrons become free
electrons. Examples: copper (Cu), silver (Ag), gold (Au), and aluminum (Al).
3. A semiconductor is a material that is between conductors and insulators in its
ability to conduct electrical current. A semiconductor in its pure (intrinsic) state is neither
a good conductor nor a good insulator. Examples: antimony (Sb), arsenic (As), astatine
(At), boron (B), polonium (Po), tellurium (Te), silicon (Si), and germanium (Ge).
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Band Gap
When an electron acquires enough additional energy, it can leave the valence
shell, become a free electron, and exist in what is known as the conduction band.
The difference in energy between the valence band and the conduction band is
called an energy gap or band gap. This is the amount of energy that a valence electron
must have in order to jump from the valence band to the conduction band. Once in the
conduction band, the electron is free to move throughout the material and is not tied to
any given atom.
Figure (4) shows energy diagrams for insulators, semiconductors, and conductors.
In insulators, the gap can be crossed only when breakdown conditions occur as when a
very high voltage is applied across the material.
In semiconductors the band gap is smaller, allowing an electron in the valence band to
jump into the conduction band if it absorbs a photon. The band gap depends on the
semiconductor material.
In conductors, the conduction band and valence band overlap, so there is no gap. This
means that electrons in the valence band move freely into the conduction band, so there
are always electrons available as free electrons.
Figure (4): Energy diagrams for the three types of materials.
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Silicon and Germanium

Figure (5) shows the atomic structures of silicon and germanium. The valence
electrons in germanium are in the fourth shell while those in silicon are in the third shell,
closer to the nucleus. This means that the germanium valence electrons are at higher
energy levels than those in silicon and, therefore, require a smaller amount of additional
energy to escape from the atom. This property makes germanium more unstable at high
temperatures and results in excessive reverse current. This is why silicon is a more
widely used semiconductive material.
Figure (5): Diagrams of the silicon and

germanium atoms.
Covalent Bonds
Figure (6) shows a silicon (Si) atom with its four valence electrons shares an
electron with each of its four neighbors. This creates eight shared valence electrons for
each atom and produces a state of chemical stability. Also, this sharing of valence
electrons produces the covalent bonds that hold the atoms together; each valence electron
is attracted equally by the two adjacent atoms which share it. Covalent bonding in an
intrinsic silicon crystal is shown in Figure (7).Covalent bonding for germanium is similar
because it also has four valence electrons.
Figure (6): Illustration of covalent bonds in silicon.
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Figure (7): Covalent bonds in a silicon crystal.

Questions:
1. What is the basic difference between conductors and insulators?
- Conductors have many free electrons and easily conduct current. Insulators have
essentially no free electrons and do not conduct current.
2. How do semiconductors differ from conductors and insulators?
- Semiconductors do not conduct current as well as conductors do. In terms of
conductivity, they are between conductors and insulators.
3. How many valence electrons does a conductor such as copper have?
- Conductors such as copper have one valence electron.
4. How many valence electrons does a semiconductor have?
- Semiconductors have four valence electrons.
5. Name three of the best conductive materials.
- Gold, silver, and copper are the best conductors.
6. What is the most widely used semiconductive material?
- Silicon is the most widely used semiconductor.
7. Why does a semiconductor have fewer free electrons than a conductor?
- The valence electrons of a semiconductor are more tightly bound to the atom than
those of conductors.
8. How are covalent bonds formed?
- Covalent bonds are formed by the sharing of valence electrons with neighboring atoms.
9. What is meant by the term intrinsic?
- An intrinsic material is one that is in a pure state.
10.What is a crystal?
- A crystal is a solid material formed by atoms bonding together in a symmetrical
pattern.
11.Discuss insulators, conductors, and semiconductors and how they differ.
12.Describe the carbon atom.
13.Name two types each of semiconductors, conductors, and insulators.
14.Explain the band gap.
15.Define valence band and conduction band.
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16.Compare a semiconductor atom to a conductor atom.

17.Discuss silicon and germanium atoms.
18.Explain covalent bonds.
19.Define crystal.
Conduction Electrons and Holes
Figure (8) shows the energy band diagram for an unexcited (no external energy
such as heat) atom in a pure silicon crystal. This condition occurs only at a temperature of
absolute 0 Kelvin.
Figure (8): Energy band diagram for an unexcited

atom in a pure (intrinsic) silicon crystal. There are no
electrons in the conduction band.
An intrinsic (pure) silicon crystal at room temperature has sufficient heat (thermal)
energy for some valence electrons to jump the gap from the valence band into the
conduction band, becoming free electrons. Free electrons are also called conduction
electrons as illustrated in Figure (9).
Figure (9): Creation of electron-hole pairs in a silicon crystal. Electrons in the conduction band are free
electrons.
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When an electron jumps to the conduction band, a vacancy is left in the valence
band within the crystal. This vacancy is called a hole. For every electron raised to the
conduction band by external energy, there is one hole left in the valence band, creating
what is called an electron-hole pair. Recombination occurs when a conduction-band
electron loses energy and falls back into a hole in the valence band. This is illustrated in
Figure (10).
Figure (10): Electron-hole pairs

in a silicon crystal. Free electrons
are being generated continuously
while some recombine with holes.
Types of Current In Semiconductor:
1. Electron current:
When a voltage is applied across a piece of intrinsic silicon, as shown in
Figure(11), the thermally generated free electrons in the conduction band, which are free
to move randomly in the crystal structure, are now easily attracted toward the positive
end. This movement of free electrons is one type of current in a semiconductive material
and is called electron current.
Figure (11): Electron current in intrinsic silicon is produced by the movement of thermally generated
free electrons.
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2. Hole current:
Another type of current occurs in the valence band, where the holes created by the
free electrons exist. Electrons remaining in the valence band are still attached to their
atoms and are not free to move randomly in the crystal structure as are the free electrons.
However, a valence electron can move into a nearby hole with little change in its energy
level, thus leaving another hole where it came from. Effectively the hole has moved from
one place to another in the crystal structure, as illustrated in Figure (12). Although current
in the valence band is produced by valence electrons, it is called hole current to
distinguish it from electron current in the conduction band.
Figure (12): Hole current in intrinsic silicon

Questions:
1. Are free electrons in the valence band or in the conduction band?
- Free electrons are in the conduction band.
2. Which electrons are responsible for electron current in silicon?
- Free (conduction) electrons are responsible for electron current in silicon.
3. What is a hole?
- A hole is the absence of an electron in the valence band.
4. At what energy level does hole current occur?
- Hole current occurs at the valence level.
5. Describe how current is produced in a semiconductor.
6. Discuss conduction electrons and holes.
7. Explain an electron-hole pair.
8. Discuss recombination.
9. Explain electron and hole current.
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Types of Semiconductors
Since semiconductors are generally poor conductors, their conductivity can be
increased by addition of impurities to the intrinsic semiconductors. This process, called
doping, increases the number of current carriers (electrons or holes).
Types of impurities:
1.N-Type Semiconductor
To increase the number of conduction-band electrons in intrinsic silicon,
pentavalent impurity atoms are added. These are atoms with five valence electrons such
as arsenic (As), phosphorus (P), bismuth (Bi), and antimony (Sb).As illustrated in Figure
(13), each pentavalent atom (antimony, in this case) forms covalent bonds with four
adjacent silicon atoms. Four of the antimony atoms valence electrons are used to form
the covalent bonds with silicon atoms, leaving one extra electron. This extra electron
becomes a conduction electron because it is not involved in bonding. Because the
pentavalent atom gives up an electron, it is often called a donor atom.
Since most of the current carriers are electrons, in n-type semiconductor (the n
stands for the negative charge on an electron),the electrons are called the majority
carriers which are produced by the addition of the pentavalent impurity atoms and
beside that a few holes are created when electron-hole pairs are thermally generated
which are called minority carriers.
Figure (13): Pentavalent impurity atom in a silicon

crystal structure. An antimony (Sb) impurity atom is
shown in the center. The extra electron from the Sb
atom becomes a free electron.
2. P-Type Semiconductor
To increase the number of holes in intrinsic silicon, trivalent impurity atoms are
added. These are atoms with three valence electrons such as boron (B), indium (In), and
gallium (Ga). As illustrated in Figure (14), each trivalent atom (boron, in this case) forms
covalent bonds with four adjacent silicon atoms. All three of the boron atoms valence
electrons are used in the covalent bonds; and, since four electrons are required, a hole
results when each trivalent atom is added. Because the trivalent atom can take an
electron, it is often referred to as an acceptor atom.
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Since most of the current carriers are holes in p-type semiconductor, the holes are
called the majority carriers which are produced by the addition of the trivalent impurity
atoms and beside that a few conduction-band electrons are created when electron-hole
pairs are thermally generated which are called minority carriers.
Figure (14): trivalent impurity atom in a silicon crystal

structure. A boron (B) impurity atom is shown in the
center.
Questions:
1. Define doping.
- Doping is the process of adding impurity atoms to a semiconductor in order to modify
its conductive properties.
2. What is the difference between a pentavalent atom and a trivalent atom?
- A pentavalent atom has five valence electrons and a trivalent atom has three valence
electrons.
3. What are other names for the pentavalent and trivalent atoms?
- A pentavalent atom is called a donor atom and a trivalent atom is called an acceptor
atom.
4. How is an n-type semiconductor formed?
- An n-type material is formed by the addition of pentavalent impurity atoms to the
intrinsic semiconductive material.
5. How is a p-type semiconductor formed?
- A p-type material is formed by the addition of trivalent impurity atoms to the intrinsic
semiconductive material.
6. What is the majority carrier and minority carrier in an n-type semiconductor?
- The majority carrier in an n-type semiconductor is the free electron.
7. What is the majority carrier and minority carrier in a p-type semiconductor?
- The majority carrier in a p-type semiconductor is the hole.
8. By what process are the majority carriers produced?
- Majority carriers are produced by doping.
9. By what process are the minority carriers produced?
- Minority carriers are thermally produced when electron-hole pairs are generated.
10.What is the difference between intrinsic and extrinsic semiconductors?
- A pure semiconductor is intrinsic. A doped (impure) semiconductor is extrinsic.
11.Describe the properties of n-type and p-type semiconductors.
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SEMICONDUCTOR DIODE
The semiconductor diode is formed by simply bringing n- and p-type materials
together.
At the instant the two materials are joined the electrons and holes in the region of
the junction will combine, resulting in a lack of carriers in the region near the junction as
shown in Figure 15a. note in the Figure 15a that the only particles displayed in this region
are the positive and the negative ions remaining once the free carriers have been absorbed
.This region of uncovered positive and negative ions is called the depletion region due
to the depletion of carriers in this region. Since the diode is a two-terminal device, the
application of a voltage across its terminals leaves three possibilities: no bias ( ),
forward bias ( ), and reverse bias ( ).
Figure (15):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 carriers flow is zero at
the external terminal of the device when .
No Applied Bias ( )
Under no-bias conditions, any minority carriers (holes) in the n-type material that
find themselves within the depletion region will pass directly into the p-type material.
The closer the minority carrier is to the junction, the greater the attraction for the layer of
negative ions and the less the opposition offered by the positive ions in the depletion
region of the n-type material. This carrier flow is indicated at the top of figure 15c for the
minority carriers of each material .Similar discussion can be applied to the minority
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carriers (electrons) of the p-type material. This carrier flow has been indicated in Figure
15c for the minority carriers of each material.
The majority carriers (electrons) of the n-type material must overcome the
attractive forces of the layer of positive ions in the n-type material and the shield of
negative ions in the p-type material to migrate into the area beyond the depletion region
of the p-type material. However, the number of majority carriers is so large in the n-type
material that there will invariably be a small number of majority carriers with sufficient
kinetic energy to pass through the depletion region into the p-type material. Again, the
same type of discussion can be applied to the majority carriers (holes) of the p-type
material. A close examination of Figure 15c will reveal that the relative magnitudes of
the flow vectors are such that the net flow in either direction is zero. In summary,
therefore: In the absence of an applied bias across a semiconductor diode, the net flow
of charge in any one direction is zero.
Reverse-Bias Condition ( )
If an external potential of volts is applied across the p-n junction such that the
positive terminal is connected to the n-type material and the negative terminal is
connected to the p-type material as shown in Figure 16, the number of uncovered positive
ions in the depletion region of the n-type material will increase due to the large number of
free electrons drawn to the positive potential of the applied voltage. For similar
reasons, the number of uncovered negative ions will increase in the p-type material. The
net effect, therefore, is a widening of the depletion region. This widening of the depletion
region will establish too great a barrier for the majority carriers to overcome, effectively
reducing the majority carrier flow to zero as shown in Figure 16a.
The number of minority carriers, however, that find themselves entering the depletion
region will not change, resulting in minority-carrier flow vectors of the same magnitude
indicated in Fig. 15c with no applied voltage.
The current that exists under reverse-bias conditions is called the reverse saturation
current and is represented by .
Figure16: Reversed-biased p-n

junction.(a)internal distribution of charge
under revers-bias conditions;(b)reverse bias
polarity and direction of reverse saturation
current.
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The reverse saturation current is seldom more than a few microamperes except for
high-power devices. In fact, in recent years its level is typically in the nanoampere range
for silicon devices .The term saturation comes from the fact that it reaches its maximum
level quickly and does not change significantly with increase in the reverse-bias potential,
as shown on the diode characteristics of Figure 18 for .The reverse-biased
conditions are depicted in Figure16b for the diode symbol and p-n junction. Note, in
particular, that the direction of is against the arrow of the symbol. Note also that the
negative potential is connected to the p-type material and the positive potential to the n-
type material.
Forward-Bias Condition ( )
A forward-bias or on condition is established by applying the positive potential

to the p-type material and the negative potential to the n-type material as shown in
Figure17.
Figure 17: Forward-biased p-n junction.(a)internal distribution of charge under forward -bias
conditions;(b) forward bias polarity and direction of resulting current.
The application of a forward-bias potential will pressure electrons in the n-
type material and holes in the p-type material to recombine with the ions near the
boundary and reduce the width of the depletion region as shown in Figure 17a. The
resulting minority-carrier flow of electrons from the p-type material to the n-type material
(and of holes from the n-type material to the p-type material) has not changed in
magnitude, but the reduction in the width of the depletion region has resulted in a heavy
majority flow across the junction. An electron of the n-type material now sees a
reduced barrier at the junction due to the reduced depletion region and a strong attraction
for the positive potential applied to the p-type material. As the applied bias increases in
magnitude the depletion region will continue to decrease in width until a flood of
electrons can pass through the junction, resulting in an exponential rise in current as
shown in the forward-bias region of the characteristics of Figure 18. Note that the vertical
scale of Figure 19 is measured in milliamperes and the horizontal scale in the forward-
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bias region has a maximum of 1 V. Typically, therefore, the voltage across a forward-
biased diode will be less than 1 V. Note also, how quickly the current rises beyond the
knee of the curve.
The general characteristics of a semiconductor diode can be defined by the
following equation, referred to as Shockleys equation, for the forward- and reverse-bias
regions:
( ) (1)
Where reverse saturation current.
.
is the ideality factor ,which is a function of the operating conditions and
physical construction ;it has a range between 1 and 2 depending on a wide
variety of factors .
is called thermal voltage and determined by
(2)
Where
Boltizmanns constant
the absolute temperature in Kelvins .
the magnitude of electronic charge
A plot of Equation (1) with is provided in Figure 18 as the dashed line.

If we expand Equation (1) into the following form, the contributing component for each
region of Figure 18 can be described with interested clarity:

Figure 18: Silicon semiconductor diode

characteristic.
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For positive values of the first term of the above equation will grow very
quickly and totally overpower the effect of the second term. The result is the following
equation,

( )
For negative values of the exponential term drops very quickly below the level
of and the resulting equation for is simply
( )
Note in figure 18 that for negative values of the current is essentially horizontal at the
level of .
At , equation (1) becomes
The sharp change in the direction of the curve at V is simply due to the
change in the current from the above the axis to below the axis .Note that the above the
axis the scale is in milliamperes (mA) whereas the below the axis it is in picoameres
( A).
For the voltage there is also measurable change in scale between the right hand
region of the graph and the left hand region .For positive values of the scale is in
tenths of volts ,and for the negative region it is in tens of volts .
Example1:
(a)Determine the diode current at 20C for a silicon diode with and an applied
forward bias of 0.6 , consider .
(b) Repeat example for T = 100C. Assume that has increased to 5.0 A.
(a)

( )

( )
(b)
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( )

( )
Example2:
(a) Determine the diode current at 20C for a silicon diode with = 0.1 A at a reverse-
bias potential of V , consider . (b) Is the result expected? Why?

( )

( )
(b)The result is expected since the diode current under reverse-bias condition should
equal the saturation value.
Problem 1:
Consider a p-n junction at T = 300K in which and , find the diode
current for
Answer :
A
A
Problem 2:
A silicon p-n junction diode at T = 300K has a reverse saturation current of
, consider .
(a)Determine the forward biased diode current for: (1) , (2) and
(3)
(b)Find the reverse bias diode current for: (1) , (2)
Answer :
(a) A
A
A
(b) A both cases.
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Problem 3:
A silicon p-n junction diode at T = 300K has a reverse saturation current of
. The diode is forward-biased with a resulting current of 1mA.Determine
consider .
Answer :
Problem 4:
The voltage across the silicon diode at T=300K is 0.71V when 2.5mA current flows
through it .If the voltage increases to 0.8 V, calculate the new diode current.
Consider .
Answer : A
Problem 5:
A silicon diode has a reverse saturation current of 2.5 A at T = 300K .Find forward
voltage for the forward current of 10 A. consider .
Answer :
Breakdown Voltage
If the reverse-bias applied to a p-n junction is increased, a point will reach when the
junction breaks down and reverse current rises sharply. This specific value of the reverse
bias voltage is called breakdown voltage. After breakdown, a very small further increase
the reverse current. The breakdown voltage depends upon the width of depletion layer.
The width of depletion layer depends upon the doping level. The currentvoltage
characteristic of a diode in breakdown is shown in Figure 19.
Breakdown can take place either as Zener breakdown or as avalanche breakdown.
Zener Breakdown
The Zener Breakdown is observed in the Zener diodes having less than 5V. When a
reverse voltage is applied to a Zener diode, it causes a very intense electric field to appear
across a narrow depletion region. Such an intense electric field is strong enough to pull
some of the valence electrons into the conduction band by breaking their covalent bonds
.These electrons then become free electrons which are available for conduction. A large
number of such free electrons will constitute a large reverse current through the Zener
diode and breakdown is said to have occurred due to the Zener effect.
Avalanche Breakdown
The avalanche breakdown is observed in the Zener Diodes having greater than 5 V. In
the reverse biased condition, the conduction will take place only due to the minority
carriers. As we increase the reverse voltage applied to the Zener diode, these minority
carriers tend to accelerated. Therefore, the kinetic energy associated with them increases.
While travelling, these accelerated minority carriers will collide with the stationary atoms
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and impart some of the kinetic energy to the valence electrons present in the covalent
bonds.
Due to this additionally acquired energy, these valence electrons will break their covalent
bonds and jump into the conduction bond to become free conduction. Now these newly
generated free electrons will get accelerated. They will knock out some more valence
electrons by means of collision. This phenomenon is called as carrier multiplication as in
Figure 20.
Zener breakdown Avalanche breakdown

1.This is observed in Zener diodes having 1.This is observed in Zener diodes having
Vz < 5 volts. Vz > 5 volts.
2.This occurs at junctions which being 2. This occurs at junctions which being
heavily doped have narrow depletion layers. lightly doped have wide depletion layers.
3. Here electric field is very strong to rupture 3. Here minority carriers collide with semi
the covalent bonds thereby generating conductor atoms in the depletion region,
electron-hole pairs. which breaks the covalent bonds and
electron-hole pairs are generated.
4.The breakdown voltage decreases with 4.The breakdown voltage increases with
increase in temperature. increase in temperature.
Figure 19: Reverse-biased diode characteristics showing breakdown for a low-doped pn junction and a
high-doped pn junction. The reverse-bias current increases rapidly once breakdown has occurred.
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Figure 20: The avalanche multiplication process in the space charge region. Shown are the collisions of
electrons creating additional electronhole pairs. Holes can also be involved in collisions creating
additional electronhole pairs.
Peak Inverse Voltage

The maximum reverse-bias potential that can be applied on diode before entering the
Zener region is called the peak inverse voltage (PIV rating) or the peak reverse voltage
(PRV).
Ge, Si, and GaAs
A plot comparing characteristics of commercially available Ge, Si, and GaAs

diodes is provided in figure 21. It is obvious that the point that of vertical rise in
characteristics is different for each material. Ge is closest to the vertical axis and GaAs is
the most distant .The center of the knee of the curve is about 0.3 V for Ge , 0.7 V for Si ,
and 1.2 for GaAs.
In reverse-bias region, for GaAs, the revers saturation current is about 1pA, 10 pA
for Si and 1 for Ge. Also, GaAs has the maximum breakdown levels that exceed of Si
devices of the same power level by about 10% , with both having breakdown voltages
that extend between 50V and 1KV there are Si power diodes with breakdown voltages as
high as 20KV. Ge has breakdown voltages of less than 100V, with a maximum around
400V.
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Figure 21: Comparison of Ge, Si, and GaAs diodes.

Temperature Effects
Temperature can have a marked effect on the characteristics of a silicon
semiconductor diode as demonstrated by the characteristics of a silicon diode shown in
Figure 22.
In the forward-bias region the characteristics of a silicon diode shift to the left at a rate
of 2.5mVper centigrade degree increase in temperature.
An increase from room temperature (20oC) to (100oC) results in a drop of 80 (2.5mV) =
200 mV , or 0.2 V , which is significant on a graph scaled in tenths of volts.A decrease in
temperature has the reverse effect, as also shown in figure 22.
In the reverse -bias region the reverse saturation current of a silicon diode doubles in
magnitude for every 10C rise in temperature.
Example:
In the reverse-bias region the saturation current of a silicon diode is about at
T= 20C. Determine its approximate value if the temperature is increased 100 C.
Solution:
(Doubles every 10C rise in temperature)
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Problem: In the reverse-bias region the saturation current of a silicon diode is about
at .Determine its approximate value if the temperature is increased
. Answer:
Figure 22: Variation of Si characteristics with temperature change.
Forward Bias Reverse Bias
1. Positive terminal of the battery is connected to 1. Positive terminal of the battery connected to N-
P-side and Negative terminal is connected to N- side and Negative terminal is connected to P-side.
side.
2. The applied potential difference acts in opposite 2. The applied potential difference is in same
direction to barrier potential. direction to barrier potential.
3. The applied positive potential repels the holes in 3. Electrons in N-region and holes in P-region are
P-region and the electrons in N-region. attracted away from the junction.
4. The majority charge carriers flow across 4. The depletion region does not contain majority
junction and thus current flow in forward charge carriers. Therefore no current flows.
direction.
5. When the voltage increases, the depletion layer 5. The depletion region is shown much wider than
starts decreasing. in forward bias.
23
Questions:
1. What is a pn junction?
- A pn junction is the boundary between p-type and n-type semiconductors in a diode.
2. Explain diffusion.
- Diffusion is the movement of the free electrons (majority carriers) in the n-region
across the pn junction and into the p region.
3. Describe the depletion region.
- The depletion region is the thin layers of positive and negative ions that exist on both
sides of the pn junction.
4. Explain what the barrier potential is and how it is created.
- The barrier potential is the potential difference of the electric field in the depletion
region and is the amount of energy required to move electrons through the depletion
region.
5. What is the typical value of the barrier potential for a silicon diode?
- The barrier potential for a silicon diode is approximately 0.7 V.
6. What is the typical value of the barrier potential for a germanium diode?
- The barrier potential for a germanium diode is approximately 0.3 V.
7. Describe how a pn junction is formed.
8. Discuss diffusion across a pn junction.
9. Explain the formation of the depletion region.
10. Define barrier potential and discuss its significance.
11. Describe forward bias of a diode.
- When forward-biased, a diode conducts current. The free electrons in the n region
move across the pn junction and combine with the holes in the p region.
12. Explain how to forward-bias a diode.
- To forward-bias a diode, the positive side of an external bias voltage is applied to the p
region and the negative side to the n region.
13.Describe reverse bias of a diode.
- When reverse-biased, a diode does not conduct current except for an extremely small
reverse current.
14.Explain how to reverse-bias a diode.
- To reverse-bias a diode, the positive side of an external bias voltage is applied to the n
region and the negative side to the p region.
15.Compare the depletion regions in forward bias and reverse bias.
- The depletion region for forward bias is much narrower than for reverse bias.
16.Which bias condition produces majority carrier current?
- Majority carrier current is produced by forward bias.
17.How is reverse current in a diode produced?
- Reverse current is produced by the minority carriers.
18.When does reverse breakdown occur in a diode?
24
- Reverse breakdown occurs when the reverse-bias voltage equals or exceeds the
breakdown voltage of the pn junction of a diode.
19.Define avalanche effect as applied to diodes.
- Avalanche effect is the rapid multiplication of current carriers in reverse breakdown.
20.Which is greater, the breakdown voltage or the barrier potential?
- Breakdown voltage is always much greater than the barrier potential.
21.On what part of the curve is a reverse-biased diode normally operated?
- A reverse-biased diode is normally operated between 0 V and the breakdown voltage.
22.What happens to the barrier potential when the temperature increases?
- Barrier potential decreases as temperature increases.
23.Analyze the voltage-current (V-I) characteristic of a diode.
24.Explain the V-I characteristic for forward bias.
25.Graph the V-I curve for forward bias.
26.Explain the V-I characteristic for reverse bias.
27.Graph the V-I curve for reverse bias.
28.Describe the effects of temperature on the diode characteristic.
Diode Models:
In this section, you will learn how the diode can be modeled for circuit analysis using
three levels of complexity.
1. The Ideal Diode Model

The ideal model of a diode is a simple switch. When the diode is forward-biased, it acts
like a closed (on) switch, as shown in Figure (23-a). When the diode is reverse-biased, it
acts like an open (off) switch, as shown in Figure (23-b). The barrier potential, the
forward dynamic resistance, and the reverse current are all neglected.
Figure 23: The ideal model of a diode.
25
In Figure (23-c), the ideal V-I characteristic curve graphically depicts the ideal diode
operation. Since the barrier potential and the forward dynamic resistance are neglected,
the diode is assumed to have a zero voltage across it when forward-biased, as indicated
by the portion of the curve on the positive vertical axis.
The forward current is determined by:
Since the reverse current is neglected, its value is assumed to be zero, as indicated in
Figure (23-c) by the portion of the curve on the negative horizontal axis.
The reverse voltage equals the bias voltage.
2. The Practical Diode Model

The practical model adds the barrier potential to the ideal switch mode. When the diode is
forward-biased, it is equivalent to a closed switch in series with a small equivalent
voltage source equal to the barrier potential with the positive side toward the anode, as
indicated in Figure (24-a).
Figure 24: The practical model of a diode.

When the diode is reverse-biased, it is equivalent to an open switch just as in the ideal
model, as shown in Figure (24-b). The barrier potential does not affect reverse bias, so it
is not a factor.
The characteristic curve for the practical diode model is shown in Figure (24-c). Since the
barrier potential is included and the dynamic resistance is neglected, the diode is assumed
to have a voltage across it when forward-biased, as indicated by the portion of the curve
to the right of the origin.
The forward current is determined as follows by first applying Kirchhoff's voltage law to
Figure (24-a):
26
Substituting and solving for ( ),
The diode is assumed to have zero reverse current, as indicated by the portion of the curve
on the negative horizontal axis.
3. The Complete Diode Model

When the diode is forward-biased, it acts as a closed switch in series with the barrier
potential voltage and the small forward dynamic resistance ( ), as indicated in Figure
(25-a). When the diode is reverse-biased, it acts as an open switch in parallel with the
large internal reverse resistance ( ), as shown in Figure (25-b). The barrier potential
does not affect reverse bias, so it is not a factor.
Figure 25: The complete model of a diode.
The characteristic curve for the complete diode model is shown in Figure (25-c). Since
the barrier potential and the forward dynamic resistance are included, the diode is
assumed to have a voltage across it when forward-biased. This voltage ( ) consists of
the barrier potential voltage plus the small voltage drop across the dynamic resistance, as
indicated by the portion of the curve to the right of the origin. The curve slopes because
the voltage drop due to dynamic resistance increases as the current increases. For the
complete model of a diode, the following formulas apply:
27
Diode Circuits: DC analysis and models

There are four approaches to the dc analysis of diode circuits:
(1) Iteration.
(2) Graphical techniques.
(3) A piecewise linear modeling method.
(4) A computer analysis.
Methods (1) and (2) are closely related and are therefore presented together.
1. Iteration and Graphical Analysis Techniques

The graphical analysis technique involves plotting two simultaneous equations and
locating their point of intersection, which is the solution to the two equations. These
equations are difficult to solve by hand because they contain both linear and exponential
terms.
Consider, for example, the circuit shown in Figure 26, with a dc voltage
applied across a resistor and a diode. Kirchhoffs voltage law applies both to nonlinear
and linear circuits, so we can write
(3-a)
which can be rewritten as
(3-b)
The diode voltage and current are related by the ideal diode equation as
( ) (4)
where is assumed to be known for a particular diode.

Combining Equations (3-a) and (4), we obtain

( ) (5)
which contains only one unknown, .
The use of iteration to find a solution to this equation is demonstrated in the following
example.
Figure 26: A simple diode circuit
28
Example 3:
Determine the diode voltage and current for the circuit shown in Figure 26.Consider a
diode with a given reverse-saturation current of A.
Solution:

( )
We can write Equation (5) as
( ) (6)
- If we first try 0.60 V, the right side of Equation (6) is 2.7 V, so the equation is not
balanced and we must try again.
- If we next try 0.65 V, the right side of Equation (6) is 15.1 V. Again, the equation
is not balanced, but we can see that the solution for is between 0.6 and 0.65 V.
- If we continue refining our guesses, we will be able to show that, when 0.619 V,
the right side of Equation (6) is 4.99 V, which is essentially equal to the value of the left
side of the equation.
The current in the circuit can then be determined by dividing the voltage difference
across the resistor by the resistance, or
Problem 6:
Consider the circuit in Figure 27. Let 4 V, R = 4 k , and A.
Determine and , using the ideal diode equation and the iteration method.
(Answer: = 0.535 V, = 0.866 mA)
Figure 27: A simple diode circuit
To use a graphical approach to analyze the circuit from equation (3-b) we have:
if , then which is the horizontal axis intercept.

29
if , then which is the vertical axis intercept.

The load line can be drawn between these two points and the slope of the load line
is .
Using the values given in Example (3), we can plot the straight line shown in
Figure 28. The second plot in the figure is that of Equation (4), which is the ideal diode
equation relating the diode current and voltage. The intersection of the load line and the
device characteristics curve provides the dc current mA through the diode and
the dc voltage V across the diode. This point is referred to as the quiescent
point, or the Q-point.
Figure 28: The diode and load line characteristics for the circuit shown in Figure 24.
2. Piecewise Linear Model
Another, simpler way to analyze diode circuits is to approximate the diodes
currentvoltage characteristics, using linear relationships or straight lines. Figure 29, for
example, shows the ideal currentvoltage characteristics and two linear approximations.
Figure 29: The diode IV characteristics and two linear

approximations. The linear approximations form the
piecewise linear model of the diode.
30
For , we assume a straight-line approximation whose slope is , where

is the turn-on, or cut-in, voltage of the diode, and is the forward diode resistance.
The equivalent circuit for this linear approximation is a constant-voltage source in series
with a resistor Figure (30-a). For , we assume a straight-line approximation
parallel with the axis at the zero current level. In this case, the equivalent circuit is an
open circuit Figure (30-b).
If we assume , the piecewise linear diode characteristics are shown in Figure
(30-c).
Figure 30: The diode piecewise equivalent circuit (a) in the on condition when , (b) in the
off condition when , and (c) piecewise linear approximation when . When ,
the voltage across the diode is a constant at when the diode is conducting.
Example 4:
Determine the diode voltage and current in the circuit shown in Figure 31, using a
piecewise linear model. Also determine the power dissipated in the diode. Assume
piecewise linear diode parameters of 0.6 V and .
Figure 31: Example 4
Solution: The equivalent circuit is shown in Figure (32).
31
Figure 32: The equivalent circuit of figure 29.

The diode current is determined by
The diode voltage is
The power dissipated in the diode is given by
We then find
Problem 7: Consider the circuit shown in Figure 33. Let 8V and 0.7 V,
assume .
(a) Calculate the value of R such that 1.20 mA.
(b) If is reduced to 4 V and R is changed to 3.5 k , determine the power dissipated in
the diode.
Answer: (a) 6.08 k , (b) 0.66 mW.
Figure 33: Problem 7
32
Problem 8: Consider the circuit in Figure 26. Let and 0.7 V. Determine
for (a) 0.5 V, (b) 2 V, (c) 5 V.
Answer: (a) 0, (b) 0.325 mA, (c) 1.075 mA .
Problem 9: The power supply (input) voltage in the circuit of Figure 26 is 10 V

and the diode cut-in voltage is 0.7 V (assume 0). The power dissipated in the
diode is to be no more than 1.05 mW. Determine the maximum diode current and the
minimum value of R to meet the power specification.
Answer: 1.5 mA,
Diode Circuits: AC equivalent circuit

In the circuit shown in Figure 34(a), the voltage source is assumed to be a
sinusoidal, or time-varying, signal. The total input voltage is composed of a dc
component and an ac component superimposed on the dc value.
Since the input voltage contains a dc component with an ac signal superimposed,
the diode current will also contain a dc component with an ac signal superimposed, as
shown in Figure 34(b). Here, is the dc quiescent diode current. In addition, the diode
voltage will contain a dc value with an ac signal superimposed, as shown in Figure 34(c).
For this analysis, assume that the ac signal is small compared to the dc component, so
that a linear ac model can be developed from the nonlinear diode.
The relationship between the diode current and voltage can be written as
( ) ( )
(8)
where is the dc quiescent voltage and is the ac component. We are neglecting the
1 term in the diode equation given by Equation (4). Equation (8) can be rewritten as
( ) ( )
[ ] [ ] (9)
If the ac signal is small, then , and we can expand the exponential function
into a linear series, as follows:
( )
(10)
We may also write the quiescent diode current as

( )
(11)
33
Figure 34: AC circuit analysis: (a) circuit with combined dc and sinusoidal input voltages, (b)
sinusoidal diode current superimposed on the quiescent current, (c) sinusoidal diode voltage
superimposed on the quiescent value, and (d) forward-biased diode I V characteristics with a sinusoidal
current and voltage superimposed on the quiescent values.
The diode currentvoltage relationship from Equation (9) can then be written as
( ) (12)
where is the ac component of the diode current. The relationship between the ac
components of the diode voltage and current is then
( ) (13- a)
or
( ) (13- b)
The parameters and , respectively, are the diode small-signal incremental
conductance and resistance, also called the diffusion conductance and diffusion
resistance. We see from these two equations that
(14)
This equation tells us that the incremental resistance is a function of the dc bias current
and is inversely proportional to the slope of the IV characteristics curve, as shown in
Figure 32(d).
34
Circuit Analysis
To analyze the circuit shown in Figure 34(a), we first perform a dc analysis and
then an ac analysis. These two types of analyses will use two equivalent circuits. Figure
35(a) is the dc equivalent circuit .If the diode is forward biased, then the voltage across
the diode is the piecewise linear turn-on voltage.
Figure 35(b) is the ac equivalent circuit. The diode has been replaced by its
equivalent resistance . All parameters in this circuit are the small-signal time-varying
parameters.
Figure 35: Equivalent circuits: (a) dc and (b) ac.
Example 5: Analyze the circuit shown in Figure 34(a). Assume circuit and diode
parameters of ,R=5 , = 0.6 V, and
Solution: Divide the analysis into two parts: the dc analysis and the ac analysis.
For the dc analysis, we set and then determine the dc quiescent current from
Figure 35(a) as
The dc value of the output voltage is
For the ac analysis, we consider only the ac signals and parameters in the circuit in
Figure 35(b). In other words, we effectively set . The ac Kirchhoff voltage law
(KVL) equation becomes
where is again the small-signal diode diffusion resistance. From Equation (14), we
have
The ac diode current is
35
The ac component of the output voltage is
Problem 10: The circuit and diode parameters for the circuit shown in Figure 36 are
8 V, R = 20 , , and (a) Determine the quiescent
diode current and the time-varying diode current. (b) Repeat part (a) if the resistor is
changed to R = 10 .
Answer: (a) 0.365 mA, ; (b) 0.730 mA,
.
Figure 36
Example 6: For the series diode configuration of Figure 37,
(a) Determine , , and .
(b) Repeat , , and with the diode reversed.
Solution:
(a)
(b) Figure 37
due to the open circuit.
Applying Kirchhoffs voltage law around the closed loop yields
36
Example 7: Determine , , and for the circuit of Figure 38.
Solution
The combination of a short circuit in series with an open circuit always results in an open
circuit and = 0 A,
Figure 38
When = 0 A, =0V
= 0 A and =0V
Applying Kirchhoffs voltage law in a clockwise direction gives us
And
Example 8: Determine , , , and for the series dc configuration of Figure 39.

Solution
and the voltages are
Applying Kirchhoffs voltage law to the output section in the clockwise direction will
result in
And
37
The minus sign indicates that Vo has a polarity opposite to that appearing in Figure 39.
Figure 39
Example 9: Determine , , , and for the parallel diode configuration of Figure

40.
Figure 40
Solution
The voltage across parallel elements is always the same and
The current
Assuming diodes of similar characteristics, we have
Example 10: Determine the current I for the network of Figure 41.
Figure 41
38
Example 14: Determine the current I for each of the configurations of Figure 42 using
the approximate equivalent model for the diode.
Figure 42
(a) ; diode reverse-biased.
(b) (Kirchhoffs voltage law)
(c) ;center branch open
Example 11: Determine the level of for each network of Figure 43.
Figure 43
(a)
(b)
(c)
39
Example 12: Determine and for the networks of Figure 44.
Figure 44
Diode forward-biased
Kirchhoffs voltage law(CW):
Example 13: Determine and I for the networks of Figure 45.
(a) Ge diode on preventing Si diode from turning on:
(b)
Figure 45
40
Problem 11: For the series diode configuration of Figure 46, determine , , and .
Answer: , ,
Figure 46
Problem 12: Determine and for the series circuit of Figure 47.
,
Figure 47
Problem 13: Determine the voltage for the network of Figure 48.
Figure 48
41
Problem 14: Determine the currents , , and for the network of Figure49.
, ,
Figure 49
Problem 15: Determine and for the networks of Figure 50.
(a)
(b)
Figure 50
(a)
(b)
Figurer 51
42
(a)
(b)
Figure 52
Problem 18 :Determine , , and I for the network of Figure 53 .
Figure 53
Problem 19 :Determine and for the network of

Figure 54 .
Figure 54
43
The Basic DC Power Supply

The dc power supply converts the standard 120 V,60 Hz ac voltage into a constant
dc voltage. The voltage produced is used to power all types of electronic circuits
including consumer electronics (televisions, DVDs, etc.), computers, industrial
controllers, and most laboratory instrumentation systems and equipment. A basic block
diagram of the complete power supply is shown in Figure (55).
Figure (55): Complete power supply with transformer, rectifier, filter, and regulator.
Half-Wave Rectification
The network of half-wave rectifier is shown in Figure (56).
Figure (56): Half-wave rectifier.
During the interval in Figure (56) the diode is turn on. Substituting
the short-circuit equivalence for the ideal diode will result the equivalent circuit of Figure
(57), where the output signal is an exact replica of the applied signal.
44
Figure (57): Conduction region ( ).
For the period , the diode is turn off. Substituting the open-circuit
equivalence for the ideal diode will result in the equivalent circuit of Figure (58), where
the output signal is .
Figure (58): Non-conduction region ( ).
The output signal as shown in Figure (59) has a net positive area above the axis
over a full period and an average value determined by
(15)
Figure (59): Half-wave rectified signal.
45
For silicon diode with , , as shown in the figure(60). The net

effect is a reduction in area above the axis, which reduces the resulting dc voltage level.
For situations where , the following equation can be applied to determine the
average value with a relatively high level of accuracy.
(16)
In fact, if is sufficiently greater than , Equation (15) is often applied as a first
approximation for .
Figure (60): Effect of on half-wave rectified signal.

Example 14:
a. Sketch the output and determine the dc level of the output for the network of Figure
(61).
b. Repeat part (a) if the ideal diode is replaced by a silicon diode.
c. Repeat parts (a) and (b) if is increased to 200 V, and compare solutions using
Equations (15) and (16).
Figure (61) : Network for Example 14.

Solution:
a. The diode will conduct during the negative part of the input as shown in Figure(62),
For the full period, the dc level is
The negative sign indicates that the polarity of the output is opposite to the defined
polarity of Figure (61).
46
Figure (62): Resulting for the circuit of Example 20.
b. For a silicon diode, the output has the appearance of Figure (63) , and
The resulting drop in dc level is 0.22 V, or about 3.5%.
Figure (63): Effect of on output of Figure (64).
c. Equation (15):
Equation (16):
47
PIV (PRV)
The peak inverse voltage (PIV) rating of the diode is the voltage rating that must not be
exceeded in the reverse-bias region or the diode will enter the Zener avalanche region.
The required PIV rating for the half-wave rectifier can be determined from Figure (64) ,
Applying Kirchhoffs voltage law, the PIV rating of the diode must equal or exceed the
peak value of the applied voltage. Therefore,
Figure (64): Determining the required PIV rating for the half-wave rectifier.
Full-Wave Rectification
Bridge Network
The network of full-wave rectifier is shown in Figure (65) with four diodes in a bridge
configuration.
Figure (65): Full-wave bridge rectifier.
During the period and are conducting, whereas and are in

the off state as shown in Figure (66).
Figure (66): Network of Figure (65) for the period of the input voltage .
48
Since the diodes are ideal, the load voltage is , as shown in the figure(67).
Figure (67): Conduction path for the positive region of .
During the period and are conducting whereas and are in the
off state as shown in Figure (68).
Figure (68): Conduction path for the negative region of .
Since the area above the axis for one full cycle is now twice that obtained for a half-wave
system, the dc level has also been doubled as shown in figure (69) and
Figure (69): Input and output waveforms for a full-wave rectifier.

For silicon diode with as shown in Figure (70) the application of Kirchhoffs
voltage law around the conduction path results in
49
The peak value of the output voltage is therefore
Figure (70): Determining for silicon diodes in the bridge configuration.
For situations where , the following equation can be applied for the average
value with a relatively high level of accuracy:
If is sufficiently greater than , then Equation (18) is often applied as a first

approximation for .
PIV (PRV)
The required PIV of each diode (ideal) can be determined from Figure (71) obtained at
the peak of the positive region of the input signal. For the indicated loop the maximum
voltage across R is and the PIV rating is defined by
Figure (71) :Determining the required PIV for the bridge configuration.
50
Example 15:
Determine the output waveform for the network of Figure (72) and calculate the output
dc level and the required PIV of each diode.
Figure (72): Bridge network for Example 15.

Positive half - cycle of :
Voltage - divider rule:
Figure (73): Network of Figure (72) for the positive region of .

Negative half cycle of :
Polarity of across the resistor acting as a load is the same .
Voltage - divider rule:
For the negative part of the input, the roles of the diodes are interchanged and appears
as shown in Figure (74) .
Figure (74): Resulting output for Example 21.
51
The effect of removing two diodes from the bridge configuration is therefore to reduce
the available dc level to the following:
The PIV as determined from Figure (71) is equal to the maximum voltage across R ,
which is 5 V, or half of that required for a half-wave rectifier with the same input.
Problem 20 :
Sketch for the network of Figure (75) and determine the dc voltage available.
Figure (75)
Answer:
Problem 21 :
Sketch for the network of Figure (76) and determine the dc voltage available.
Figure (76)
Answer:
52
Problem 22: What PIV rating is required for the diodes in a bridge rectifier that produces
an average output voltage of 50 V?
Answer:
Problem 23: The rms output voltage of a bridge rectifier is 20 V. What is the peak
inverse voltage across the diodes?
Answer:
Problem 24: Draw the output voltage waveform for the bridge rectifier in Figure (77).
Figure (77)
Questions:
1. How does a full-wave voltage differ from a half-wave voltage?
- A full-wave voltage occurs on each half of the input cycle and has a frequency of
twice the input frequency. A half- wave voltage occurs once each input cycle and
has a frequency equal to the input frequency.
2. What is the average value of a full-wave rectified voltage with a peak value of 60
V?
-
3. What is the average of a half-wave rectified voltage with a peak value of 10 V?
-
4. What is the peak value of the output voltage of a half-wave rectifier with a peak
sine wave input of 25 V?
- The peak output voltage is 25V- 0.7V=24.3V.
5. When a 60 Hz sinusoidal voltage is applied to the input of a half-wave rectifier,
what is the output frequency?
- The output frequency is 60 Hz.
6. When a 60 Hz sinusoidal voltage is applied to the input of a full-wave rectifier,
what is the output frequency?
- The output frequency is 120 Hz.
7. At what point on the input cycle does the PIV occur?
- PIV across the diode occurs at the peak of the input when the diode is reversed
biased.
8. Explain and analyze the operation of half-wave rectifiers.
9. Discuss half-wave rectification.
10. Determine the average value of a half-wave voltage.
11. Explain how the barrier potential affects a half-wave rectifier output.
53
Power Supply Filter

A power supply filter eliminates the fluctuations in the output voltage of a half-
wave or full-wave rectifier and produces a constant-level dc voltage.
A half-wave rectifier with a capacitor-input filter is shown in Figure (78).The filter
is simply a capacitor connected from the rectifier output to ground. RL represents the
equivalent resistance of a load.
Figure (78): Operation of a half-wave rectifier with a capacitor-input filter. The current indicates
charging or discharging of the capacitor.
54
During the positive first quarter-cycle of the input, the diode is forward-biased,
allowing the capacitor to charge to within 0.7 V of the input peak, as illustrated in Figure
(78-a).When the input begins to decrease below its peak, as shown in part (b), the
capacitor retains its charge and the diode becomes reverse-biased because the cathode is
more positive than the anode. During the remaining part of the cycle, the capacitor can
discharge only through the load resistance at a rate determined by the R LC time constant,
which is normally long compared to the period of the input. The larger the time constant,
the less the capacitor will discharge. During the first quarter of the next cycle, as
illustrated in part (c), the diode will again become forward-biased when the input voltage
exceeds the capacitor voltage by approximately 0.7 V.
The capacitor quickly charges at the beginning of a cycle and slowly discharges
through RL after the positive peak of the input voltage (when the diode is reverse-biased).
The variation in the capacitor voltage due to the charging and discharging is called the
ripple voltage. Generally, ripple is undesirable; thus, the smaller the ripple, the better the
filtering action, as illustrated in Figure (79).
Figure (79): Half-wave ripple voltage (blue line).
For a given input frequency, the output frequency of a full-wave rectifier is twice
that of a half-wave rectifier, as illustrated in Figure (80). This makes a full-wave rectifier
easier to filter because of the shorter time between peaks. When filtered, the full-wave
rectified voltage has a smaller ripple than does a half-wave voltage for the same load
resistance and capacitor values. The capacitor discharges less during the shorter interval
between full-wave pulses, as shown in Figure (81).
Figure (80): The period of a full

wave rectified voltage is half
that of a half-wave rectified
voltage. The output frequency of
a full-wave rectifier is twice that
of a half-wave rectifier.
55
Figure (81): Comparison of

ripple voltages for half-wave
and full-wave rectified voltages
with the same filter capacitor
and load and derived from the
same sinusoidal input voltage.
The ripple factor (r) is an indication of the effectiveness of the filter and is defined as
Where is the peak-to-peak ripple voltage and is the dc (average) value of the
filters output voltage, as illustrated in Figure (82). The lower the ripple factor, the better
the filter. The ripple factor can be lowered by increasing the value of the filter capacitor
or increasing the load resistance.
Figure (82): and determine the ripple factor.
For a full-wave rectifier with a capacitor-input filter, approximations for the peak-to peak
ripple voltage, , and the dc value of the filter output voltage, , are given in the
following equations. The variable is the unfiltered peak rectified voltage. Notice
that if RL or C increases, the ripple voltage decreases and the dc voltage increases.
( )
( )
56
Example 16: Determine the ripple factor for the filtered bridge rectifier with a load as
indicated in Figure (83).
Figure (83)
Solution: The transformer turns ratio is n =0.1. The peak primary voltage is
The peak secondary voltage is
The unfiltered peak full-wave rectified voltage is
The frequency of a full-wave rectified voltage is 120 Hz. The approximate peak-to-peak
ripple voltage at the output is
( ) ( )
The approximate dc value of the output voltage is determined as follows:
( ) ( )
The resulting ripple factor is
The percent ripple is 3.9%.
Problem 25: Determine the peak-to-peak ripple voltage if the filter capacitor in Figure
(83) is increased to 2200 and the load resistance changes to 2.2 .
57
Problem 26: A certain full-wave rectifier has a peak output voltage of 30 V. A

capacitor-input filter is connected to the rectifier. Calculate the peak-to-peak ripple and
the dc output voltage developed across a 600 load resistance. What is the percentage of
ripple?
Answer:
Problem 27: What value of filter capacitor is required to produce a 1% ripple factor for
a full-wave rectifier having a load resistance of 1.5k Assume the rectifier produces a
peak output of 18 V.
Answer:
Problem 28: A full-wave rectifier produces an 80 V peak rectified voltage from a 60 Hz
ac source. If a filter capacitor is used, determine the ripple factor for a load
resistance of
Answer:
Problem 29: Determine the peak-to-peak ripple and dc output voltages in Figure 84. The
transformer has a 36 V rms secondary voltage rating, and the line voltage has a frequency
of 60 Hz. Draw the following voltage waveforms in relationship to the input waveforms:
VAB, VAD, and VCD. A double letter subscript indicates a voltage from one point to
another.
Answer:
Figure (84)
58
Questions:
1. What causes the ripple voltage on the output of a capacitor-input filter?
- The ripple voltage is caused by the slight charging and discharging of the capacitor
through the load resistor.
2. If the load resistance connected to a filtered power supply is decreased, what
happens to the ripple voltage?
- The ripple voltage amplitude increases when the load resistance decreases.
3. Define ripple factor.
- Ripple factor is the ratio of the ripple voltage to the average or dc voltage.
4. Define ripple voltage.
- The variation in the capacitor voltage due to the charging and discharging in Power
Supply Filter is called the ripple voltage.
5. Describe the operation of a capacitor-input filter.
Clippers (Diode Limiters)

Clippers are networks that employ diodes to clip away a portion of an input signal
without distorting the remaining part of the applied waveform.
There are two general categories of clippers: series and parallel.
Series Clippers
The series configuration is defined as one where the diode is in series with the load. The
response of the series configuration of an alternating waveforms is provided in Figure
(85).
Figure85: Series clipper.

The addition of a dc supply to the network can have a pronounced effect on the analysis
of the series clipper configuration as shown in Figure (86). The dc supply can aid or work
against the source voltage, and the dc supply can be in the leg between the supply and
output or in the branch parallel to the output.
Figure 86: Series clipper with a dc supply.
59
There procedure for analyzing network of clipper:
In Figure (86) it is directly across the resistor R. In some cases it may be across a
combination of series elements.
1. Try to develop an overall sense of the response by simply noting the pressure
established by each supply and the effect it will have on the conventional current
direction through the diode.
The network of Figure (86) we can conclude that the diode will be on for any
voltage that is greater than volts and off for any lesser voltage. For the off
condition, the output would be 0V due to the lack of current, and for the on condition it
would simply be as determined by Kirchhoffs voltage law.
2. Determine the applied voltage (transition voltage) that will result in a change of
state for the diode from the off to the on state.
This step will help to define a region of the applied voltage when the diode is on and
when it is off. On the characteristics of an ideal diode this will occur when
and . For the approximate equivalent this is determined by finding the applied
voltage when the diode has a drop of 0.7 V across it (for silicon) and .
From figure (87) note the substitution of the short-circuit equivalent for the diode and the
fact that the voltage across the resistor is 0 V because the diode current is 0 mA. The
result is , and so
(23)
is the transition voltage.
Figure (87): Determining the transition level for the circuit of Figure (86).
This permits drawing a line on the sinusoidal supply voltage as shown in Figure (88) to
define the regions where the diode is on and off.
Figure (88): Using the transition voltage to define the on and off regions.
60
For the on region, as shown in Figure (89), the diode is replaced by a short-circuit
equivalent, and the output voltage is defined by
For the off region, the diode is an open circuit, mA, and the output voltage is
Figure (89): Determining for the diode in the on state.

4. It is often helpful to draw the output waveform directly below the applied voltage
using the same scales for the horizontal axis and the vertical axis.
For the on condition, equation (24) can be used to find the output voltage when the
applied voltage has its peak value as shown in Figure (90):
and this can be added to the plot of Figure (90) . It is then simple to fill in the missing
section of the output curve.
Figure (90): Sketching the waveform of v o using the results obtained for v o above and below the
transition level.
Example 17: Determine and sketch for the network of Figure (91) for the input
shown.
For the 5V battry will ensure the diode is forward biased and
At
At
For the diode is reversed biased and
61
Figure (91) :Sketching for Example 17 .
Example 18: Determine and sketch for the network of Figure (92) for the input
shown.
For the diode is reversed biased and
For overpowers the 2V battery and the diode is on.
Applying Kirchhoffs voltage law in the clockwise direction:
Parallel Clippers
The parallel configuration is defined as one where the diode in a branch parallel to the
load. The network of Figure (93) is the simplest of parallel diode configurations
Figure (93): Response to a parallel clipper.
62
Example 19: Determine for the network of Figure (94) for the input shown.
For the diode is on .

For ,
For , diode is off ,
63
Figure (95): Clipping circuits.

64
CLAMPERS
A clamper is a network constructed of a diode, a resistor, and a capacitor that shifts
a waveform to a different dc level without changing the appearance of the applied signal.
Additional shifts can also be obtained by introducing a dc supply to the basic
structure. The chosen resistor and capacitor of the network must be chosen such that the
time constant determined by is sufficiently large to ensure that the voltage across
the capacitor does not discharge significantly during the interval the diode is
nonconducting. Throughout the analysis we assume that for all practical purposes the
capacitor fully charges or discharges in five time constants ( ).
The simplest of clamper networks is provided in Figure (96). It is important to note
that the capacitor is connected directly between input and output signals and the resistor
and the diode are connected in parallel with the output signal.
Figure (96) : Clamper.
There procedure for analyzing network of clamper:

Step 1: Start the analysis by examining the response of the portion of the input
signal that will forward bias the diode.
Step 2: During the period that the diode is in the on state, assume that the
capacitor will charge up instantaneously to a voltage level determined by the
surrounding network.
In the network of Figure (96) and for positive portion (0 to ) the diode is on and
, as shown in the sketch of in Figure (99) . During this same interval of time,
the time constant determined by is very small because the resistor R has been
effectively shorted out by the conducting diode and the only resistance present is the
wire resistance of the network. The result is that the capacitor will quickly charge to the
peak value of volts as shown in Figure (97).with the polarity indicated.
Figure (97): Diode on and the capacitor

charging to volts.
65
Step 3: Assume that during the period when the diode is in the off state the
capacitor holds on to its established voltage level.
Step 4: Throughout the analysis, maintain a continual awareness of the location and
defined polarity for to ensure that the proper levels are obtained.
When the input switches to the state, the network will appear as shown in Figure (98)
, with the open-circuit equivalent for the diode determined by the applied signal and
stored voltage across the capacitorboth pressuring current through the diode from
cathode to anode. Now that R is back in the network the time constant determined by the
RC product is sufficiently large to establish a discharge period , much greater than the
period , and it can be assumed on an approximate basis that the capacitor holds
onto all its charge and, therefore, voltage (since ) during this period.
Figure (98): Determining v o with the diode off.
Since is in parallel with the diode and resistor, it can also be drawn in the alternative
position shown in Figure (98) . Applying Kirchhoffs voltage law around the input loop
results in
And
The negative sign results from the fact that the polarity of is opposite to the polarity
defined for . The resulting output waveform appears in Figure (105) with the input
signal. The output signal is clamped to 0V for the interval 0 to but maintains the
same total swing ( ) as the input.
Step 5: Check that the total swing of the output matches that of the input.
66
Figure (99) : Sketching for the

network of Figure (104) .
Example 20: Determine for the network of Figure (100) for the input indicated.
Figure (100): Applied signal and network for Example 26.

Solution:
For the period diode is in on state as shown in Figure (101)
Applying Kirchhoffs voltage law around the input loop results in
Figure (101): Determining and with the diode in the on state.
67
In the period diode is in off state as shown in Figure (102)

Applying Kirchhoffs voltage law around the outside loop of the network results in
Figure (107): Determining with the diode in the off state.
The time constant of the discharging network of Figure (102) is determined by the
product RC and has the magnitude
= 5(10 ms) = 50 ms. (The total discharge time)
(the interval )
Since the interval will only last for 0.5 ms, it is certainly a good approximation
that the capacitor will hold its voltage during the discharge period between pulses of the
input signal. The resulting output appears in Figure (103) with the input signal.
Figure (103) : and for the clamper of Figure (100) .
68
Figure (104): Clamping circuits with ideal diodes ( ).
Questions:
1. Discuss how clippers and clampers differ in terms of their function.
- Clippers clip off or remove portions of a waveform. Clampers insert a dc level.
2. What is the difference between a positive limiter and a negative limiter?
- A positive limiter clips off positive voltages. A negative limiter clips off negative
voltages.
3. What component in a clamping circuit effectively acts as a battery?
- The capacitor acts as a battery.
4. Explain and analyze the operation of clippers.
5. Describe the operation of a clampers.
69
Voltage Multipliers
Voltage multipliers use clamping action to increase peak rectified voltages without
the necessity of increasing the transformers voltage rating. Multiplication factors of two,
three, and four are common. Voltage multipliers are used in high-voltage, low-current
applications such as cathode-ray tubes (CRTs) and particle accelerators.
a. Voltage Doubler
1. Half-Wave Voltage Doubler: A voltage doubler is a voltage multiplier with a

multiplication factor of two. A half-wave voltage doubler is shown in Figure (105).
During the positive half-cycle of the secondary voltage, diode is forward-biased
and is reverse-biased. Capacitor is charged to the peak of the secondary voltage
( ) with the polarity shown in part (a). During the negative half-cycle, diode
is forward-biased and is reverse-biased, as shown in part (b). Since cant
discharge, the peak voltage on adds to the secondary voltage to charge to
approximately 2 . Applying Kirchhoffs law around the loop as shown in part (b),
the voltage across is
Neglecting the diode drop of , . Therefore,
Figure (105): Half-wave voltage doubler operation. is the peak secondary voltage.
Under a no-load condition, remains charged to approximately . If a load

resistance is connected across the output, discharges slightly through the load on the
next positive half-cycle and is again recharged to on the following negative half-
cycle. The resulting output is a half-wave, capacitor-filtered voltage.
70
2. Full-Wave Voltage Doubler: A full-wave doubler is shown in Figure (106). When

the secondary voltage is positive, is forward-biased and charges to
approximately , as shown in part (a). During the negative half-cycle, is forward-
biased and charges to approximately , as shown in part (b). The output voltage,
, is taken across the two capacitors in series.
Figure (106): Full-wave voltage doubler operation.
b.Voltage Tripler
The addition of another diode-capacitor section to the half-wave voltage doubler

creates a voltage tripler, as shown in Figure (107).On the positive half-cycle of the
secondary voltage, charges to through . During the negative halfcycle,
charges to through , as described for the doubler. During the next positive half-
cycle, charges to through . The tripler output is taken across and , as
shown in the figure (107).
Figure (107): Voltage tripler.
71
c.Voltage Quadrupler
The addition of still another diode-capacitor section, as shown in Figure (108),

produces an output four times the peak secondary voltage. charges to through
on a negative half-cycle. The output is taken across and .
Figure (108): Voltage quadrupler.
Example: A certain voltage doubler has 20 V rms on its input. What is the output
voltage? Draw the circuit, indicating the output terminals. Repeat the question for a
voltage tripler and quadrupler.
In figure (109)
Figure (109)
In figure (110)
72
Figure (110)
Questions:
1. Explain and analyze the operation of diode voltage multipliers.

2. Discuss voltage doublers.
3. Explain the half-wave and the full-wave voltage doubler.
4. Discuss voltage triplers.
5. Discuss voltage quadruplers.
73

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Electronic Physics First stage Ms. Chnar H.

Figure (2): Two simple atoms, hydrogen and helium.

Figure (3): Illustration of the Bohr model of the silicon atom.

The maximum number of electrons that can exist in shell (2) is

The maximum number of electrons that can exist in shell (3) is

The maximum number of electrons that can exist in shell (4) is

Figure (4): Energy diagrams for the three types of materials.

Silicon and Germanium

Figure (5): Diagrams of the silicon and

Figure (6): Illustration of covalent bonds in silicon.

Figure (7): Covalent bonds in a silicon crystal.

16.Compare a semiconductor atom to a conductor atom.

Figure (8): Energy band diagram for an unexcited

Figure (10): Electron-hole pairs

Types of Current In Semiconductor:

Figure (12): Hole current in intrinsic silicon

Figure (13): Pentavalent impurity atom in a silicon

Figure (14): trivalent impurity atom in a silicon crystal

Figure16: Reversed-biased p-n

A forward-bias or on condition is established by applying the positive potential

A plot of Equation (1) with is provided in Figure 18 as the dashed line.

Figure 18: Silicon semiconductor diode

At , equation (1) becomes

Zener breakdown Avalanche breakdown

Peak Inverse Voltage

Ge, Si, and GaAs

A plot comparing characteristics of commercially available Ge, Si, and GaAs

Figure 21: Comparison of Ge, Si, and GaAs diodes.

(Doubles every 10C rise in temperature)

Figure 22: Variation of Si characteristics with temperature change.

Forward Bias Reverse Bias

1. The Ideal Diode Model

Figure 23: The ideal model of a diode.

The forward current is determined by:

The reverse voltage equals the bias voltage.

2. The Practical Diode Model

Figure 24: The practical model of a diode.

Substituting and solving for ( ),

3. The Complete Diode Model

Figure 25: The complete model of a diode.

Diode Circuits: DC analysis and models

1. Iteration and Graphical Analysis Techniques

where is assumed to be known for a particular diode.

Figure 26: A simple diode circuit

Figure 27: A simple diode circuit

if , then which is the horizontal axis intercept.

if , then which is the vertical axis intercept.

Figure 29: The diode IV characteristics and two linear

For , we assume a straight-line approximation whose slope is , where

Figure 31: Example 4

Solution: The equivalent circuit is shown in Figure (32).

Figure 32: The equivalent circuit of figure 29.

The diode voltage is

The power dissipated in the diode is given by

Figure 33: Problem 7

Problem 9: The power supply (input) voltage in the circuit of Figure 26 is 10 V

Diode Circuits: AC equivalent circuit

We may also write the quiescent diode current as

Figure 35: Equivalent circuits: (a) dc and (b) ac.

The dc value of the output voltage is

The ac diode current is

The ac component of the output voltage is

Applying Kirchhoffs voltage law around the closed loop yields

Example 7: Determine , , and for the circuit of Figure 38.