Reading for LECTURE 02

Revision of Diode

Dr. Salman Durrani

School of Engineering,
The Australian National University.
http://people.cecs.anu.edu.au/asp/academics/bio

1 ENGN2218 Electronic Systems and Design

 Revision Slides

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 Terminology
• The convention used in this course is

• Commonly used symbols in this course are

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 Electric Circuit Vocabulary
• An electric circuit consists of circuit elements (such as
voltage sources, resistors, capacitors and inductors)
connected in closed paths by conductors.

• A node in an electrical circuit is a point at which two or

more circuit elements are joined together (an essential
node is where three or more circuit elements join).

• A loop in an electrical circuit is a closed path whose last

node is the same as the starting node.

• A mesh is a special case of a loop. A mesh is a loop that

does not contain any other loops.

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 Kirchhoff’s Laws
• Kirchhoff’s Current Law (KCL):

• Kirchhoff’s Voltage Law (KVL):

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 Current and Voltage Conventions
• Conventional current flows from +ve terminal of battery
to –ve terminal. Flow of electrons is in opposite direction
to conventional current direction.

• The terminal where conventional current enters an

element is assigned +ve polarity and the terminal
where conventional current leaves an element is
assigned -ve polarity.

• Following conventional current in a circuit, if we move

from +ve polarity towards –ve polarity (voltage drop),
the element absorbs energy that appears as heat or
stored chemical energy. If we move from –ve polarity
towards +ve polarity (voltage rise), the element supplies
energy.

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 Open and Short Circuit Concepts
• The extreme value of R =infinity Ω is given special name
of open circuit.
– Using analogy of a switch, it corresponds to the case when
switch is open (i.e. OFF)

• The extreme value of R =0Ω is given special name of

short circuit.
– Using analogy of a switch, it corresponds to the case when
switch is closed (i.e. ON)

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 Summary of Open and Short Circuit

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 Semiconductors
• A semiconductor is neither a good conductor nor a
good insulator.

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 Basic Semiconductor Concepts
• Electronic devices such as diodes and transistors are
made of a semiconductor material.

• A basic knowledge of semiconductor physics helps us to

understand diode and bipolar junction transistor
behaviour.

• Common semiconductor materials are

– Silicon (Si) [single-element semiconductor]
– Germanium (Ge) [single-element semiconductor]
– Carbon (C) [single-element semiconductor]
– Gallium Arsenide (GaAs) [compound semiconductor]

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 Intrinsic Silicon
• Silicon is the most widely used material in diodes,
transistors other semiconductor devices.

• Intrinsic (pure) Silicon is a crystalline material with Si

atoms held together by covalent bonds.

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 Extrinsic Semiconductors
• Extrinsic (impure) semiconductors are formed by
adding small amounts of suitable impurities to intrinsic
semiconductors in order to improve conductivity.

• The process of adding controlled impurities to intrinsic

(pure) semiconductor materials is called doping.

• Two types of extrinsic semiconductor materials are:

– An n-type semiconductor material consists of Si
atoms and pentavalent impurity atoms.
– A p-type semiconductor material consists of Si atoms
and trivalent impurity atoms.

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 N-Type Semiconductors
• An n-type semiconductor material consists of Si atoms
and pentavalent impurity atoms such as Arsenic (As),
Phosphorus (P), Bismuth (Bi) and Antimony (Sb).

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 P-Type Semiconductors
• A p-type semiconductor material consists of Si atoms
and trivalent impurity atoms such as Boron (B), Indium
(I) and Gallium (Ga).

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 PN Junction
• A pn junction consists of a single crystal of
semiconductor material that is doped to produce n-type
material on one side and p-type on the other side.

• The pn junction is fundamental to the operation of

devices such as diodes and transistors.

• Barrier Potential is the

amount of voltage required
to move electrons through
the pn junction.
(0.7V for Si and 0.3V for Ge)

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 Diode
• Diode is a device that allows current to flow in one
direction but blocks current in reverse direction.

• An diode is a two terminal device (the anode or “p” and

the cathode or “n”) commonly made from Silicon.

• The arrow in the symbol points in the direction of

conventional current flow.

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 Basic Definitions
• Bias is the use of a dc voltage to establish certain
operating conditions for an electronic device.

• A diode is said to be forward biased if the p-side of the

diode is more +ve with respect to the n-side of the diode.

• A diode is said to be reverse biased if the n-side of the

diode is more +ve with respect to the p-side of the diode.

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 Volt-ampere Characteristics
• Diode is a non-linear device.

• Diode is usually operated in the forward bias and reverse

bias regions, without entering the breakdown region.

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 Volt-ampere Characteristics (contd.)
• V-I characteristics for a typical Si diode.

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 Ideal Diode Model
• The ideal diode acts as a short circuit for forward
currents and as an open circuit with reverse voltage
applied.

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 Practical Diode Model
• The practical diode model adds a 0.7V voltage source in
series with an ideal diode model.

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 Comparison with Mechanical Switch
• A mechanical switch in “ON” state allows current to
flow in either direction.

• A diode in “ON” state allows current to flow in one

direction only (uni-directional switch). The arrow in the
symbol points in the direction of conventional current
flow.

• Practically, we assume a 0V drop across a mechanical

switch in “ON” state while we assume a 0.7V drop
across a diode in “ON” state.

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 Comparison of Diode Models

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