i.

Introduction to Mechatronics
ii. Semiconductors and Diodes
Week #1
Atoms
Atom is smallest building block of matter. It is mainly
composed of Nucleus and Electrons
Electrons are negatively charged
The Nucleus is made of neutrons (no charge) and protons
(positive charge)

Slide adopted from Dr. Zamani

Atoms (contd.)
If an atom gains electron it becomes a negative ion. It has a
net negative charge
Atom + additional electron = negative ion

An electron hole is termed as a lack of hole in a place where

an electron could exist
A hole is basically an empty space left by an electron
When an atom looses an electron it becomes positive ion

Slide adopted from Dr. Zamani

Atoms (contd.)
Atoms are differentiated by the different arrangements and
numbers of electrons, protons and neutrons.
Atomic number is the total number of protons in an atom
Atomic weight is very nearly equal to the total number of protons
and neutrons in the nucleus of an atom
example: Silicon has 14 neutrons, 14 protons, and 14 electrons .
The atomic weight of silicon is ~28
Electrons can only occupy certain orbital rings (or shells) arranged
at a fixed distance from the nucleus
Each shell can only occupy a particular number of electrons
Electron from one atom can replace an electron from another
atom

Slide adopted from Dr. Zamani

Atoms (contd.)
Electrons in the outer most shell are important factor for
electrical and chemical properties of a an atom
The electrical and chemical properties of the atom are
determined by the electrons in the outer shell
These electrons are called valance electrons.

An atom may have its outer shell (valance shell), completely

filled or only partially filled.
Here is the configuration for silicon and germanium

Slide adopted from Dr. Zamani

Atoms (contd.)
Electron motion and electric current:
Electric current is the flow of free electrons
Free electrons can move under an applied electric field that
leads to electric current

Slide adopted from Dr. Zamani

Insulators, Conductors, Semiconductors
Conductors:
In conductors there is a an abundance of free electrons
drifting in space. These free electrons can easily move by
applying a voltage.
The bonding in insulator is called metallic bonding
Free electrons acts like glue to give the substance a structure

Slide adopted from Dr. Zamani

Insulators, Conductors, Semiconductors
Semiconductors:
Semiconductors normally have 4 outer-
shell electrons (and 4 holes).
These are so close together that the outer
shell electrons behave as if they were
orbiting in the valance shells of two
atoms.
This way, each valance shell electron fills
one of the holes in the valance shell of the
adjacent atom (covalent bonding)
In semiconductors, some electrons are so
weakly attached to their atoms that they
can be break away when a voltage is
applied

Slide adopted from Dr. Zamani

Insulators, Conductors, Semiconductors

Insulators:
Insulators has very small number of free mobile electrons.
In these atoms the valance band are full
Valance shell electrons are so strongly attached to the atoms
that no charge carriers are available for current flow.

Slide adopted from Dr. Zamani

 Effect of Heat
For a conductor, as
temperature increases, the For a semiconductor as
resistance increases temperature increases,
Heat makes atoms vibrate, the resistance decreases.
for conductors the At absolute zero it
vibrations makes collision of becomes pure insulator
electrons thus loosing
electron energy

Slide adopted from Dr. Zamani

Doping!!
Insertion of substances to
enhance performance
Doping
A pure semiconductor is called an intrinsic material,
not very useful for our purposes
It must be doped, i.e., impurity atoms must be added to
improve conductivity
After doping, the semiconductor is called an extrinsic
material.
The doping is in the order of one part per million or 10
million (very small)
Donor doping generates free electrons

Slide adopted from Dr. Zamani

Doping (N type)
In donor doping, impurity atoms with 5 valance-shell
electrons and 3 holes are added. Group 5 of the periodic
table

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Doping (N type)
Add phosphorous (5 valance electrons) to silicon (4 valance
electrons)

Slide adopted from Dr. Zamani

Doping (p type)
In acceptor doping, impurity atoms with 3 valance-shell
electrons and 5 holes are added.
Group 3 of the periodic table

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Doping (p type)
Add Boron (3 valance electrons and 5 holes) to silicon (4
valance electrons). This creates a hole in the semiconductor
material.

Slide adopted from Dr. Zamani

n-type and p-type
In n-type materials:
electrons are majority charge carriers
holes are minority charge carriers
In p-type materials:
holes are majority charge carriers
electrons are minority charge carriers

Slide adopted from Dr. Zamani

PN Junction, the Fundamental Block in
Electronics
An n-type material is placed adjacent to a p-type material.
This is called a pn junction
Electrons from the n-type diffuse into the p-type material
and holes from the p-side material diffuse into the n-type
material

Slide adopted from Dr. Zamani

 PN Junction
The diffusion process establishes a
potential difference (or voltage
barrier) and is in the manufacturing
stage
In the case of silicon, at room
temperature, the barrier voltage is
approximately 0.7V
In the case of germanium, at room
temperature, the barrier voltage is
approximately 0.3V

Slide adopted from Dr. Zamani

PN Junction
The barrier voltage opposes the flow of majority carriers
across the pn-junction
However, the thermally generated electrons and holes are in
fact crossing the junction. Electrons on the p-side and hole
on the n-side are minority carries. Therefore, the barrier
voltage assists the flow of minority carriers across the
junction

Slide adopted from Dr. Zamani

Forward-Biased PN-Junction
Here, the depletion region is contracted and as long as
sufficient voltage is applied to overcome the barrier voltage,
a relatively large forward current is existing

Silicon junctions are forward-biased at approximately

0.7 V, whereas the Germanium junctions are
Slide credit Dr. Zamani forward-biased at approximately 0.3 V.
Slide adopted from Dr. Zamani
Reverse-Biased PN-Junction
Note the polarity of the source in the figure. Both the holes
on the p-side and the electrons on the n-side are also pushed
away from the junction. Therefore, the depletion region is
widened and there is no possibility of the majority charge
carriers to flow. Therefore no major current.

Slide adopted from Dr. Zamani

PN Junction- Diode
A semiconductor diode is a pn-junction with conductors on
each side of the junction for connecting the device to a
circuit

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 PN Junction- Diode
What happens when the diode is connected to a source?

No current, reverse biased Current flows (forward biased)

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 Mechanical (Hydraulic) Analogy for a
Diode (One way valve)

A real diode acts like a one-way gate and does not work all the time. It
takes a Minimum voltage to turn it on (approximately 0.7 V for silicon
and 0.3 V for germanium)

Slide adopted from Dr. Zamani

Different Models for Diode V/I
Characteristics

Slide adopted from Dr. Zamani

Basic Diode Parameters

Slide adopted from Dr. Zamani

The Ideal Diode Model In class activity (Problem #1)

Example: Assume the diode in the circuit below

is ideal. Determine the value of ID if a) VA = 10
volts (forward bias) and b) VA = -10 volts (reverse
bias)
RS = 80
a) When VA > 0 the diode will be in forward bias and for ideal
diode model it will be acting like a perfect conductor so:
ID = VA/RS = 10 V / 80 =
+
VA
_ b) When VA < 0 the diode will be in reverse bias and again for
ideal diode model it will be acting like a perfect insulator,
therefore no current can flow and ID = 0.
In class activity (Problem #2)
Calculate the current through the silicon diode assuming
a)Ideal diode condition
b)An approximate diode with rd = 0
c)A piecewise linear diode with rd = 0.25

Slide adopted from Dr. Zamani

Solution

Slide adopted from Dr. Zamani

 In class activity (Problem #3)
1. Calculate the current through the silicon diode assuming
2. Power dissipation in the diode

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 LED (Light Emitting Diode)
If the semiconductor material is
translucent, as it passes current, light
is emitted and therefore the name
LED. Some of these emiconductor
materials are: gallium arsenide (GaAs),
gallium aresinde phosphade, or gallium
phosphide (GaP).
Using various materials all colors can
be produced. The casing has nothing to
do with the color. The color is
determined only by the pn-junction
material

Slide adopted from Dr. Zamani

 Typical values for LED
VF forward voltage drop 1.5 V
IF(avg) average forward current 20 mA
VRBR reverse breakdown voltage 10 V
PD power dissipation 100 mW
A resistance in series is always used to
limit the current passing through. This is
called the current-limiting resistor.
In order to protect the LED from a large
reverse voltage, and ordinary diode may
be added in series, see the D2 diode.

Slide adopted from Dr. Zamani

 Example: 7 Segment LED display
The actual LEDs in the construction are very small therefore
solid plastic light pipes are used for illumination.
Seven segment LEDs may be connected either in the
common-anode or common-cathode configurations. when
using them, one should determine which of the two
configurations is required
A major drawback of 7-gegment LED is the high current
consumption
Problem: Calculate the power consumption if 1888
is displayed. Assume a 5V supply and a 10 mA current
through each LED.
Each segment has 7 LEDs
Segments = 1x2 + 3x7 =23
Total current = 23x10 mA = 230 mA
Power = 230 mA x 5V = 1150 mW = 1.15 W

Slide adopted from Dr. Zamani