MEMS1082

Mechatronics
Chapter 3-1 Semiconductor devices
Diode

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Semiconductor: Si

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Semiconductor

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 N-type and P-type Semiconductors
There are two types of impurities:
N-type - In N-type doping, phosphorus or arsenic is added
to the silicon in small quantities. Phosphorus and arsenic
each have five outer electrons, so they're out of place when
they get into the silicon lattice. The fifth electron has
nothing to bond to, so it's free to move around. It takes only
a very small quantity of the impurity to create enough free
electrons to allow an electric current to flow through the
silicon. N-type silicon is a good conductor. Electrons have a
negative charge, hence the name N-type.
P-type - In P-type doping, boron or gallium is the dopant.
Boron and gallium each have only three outer electrons.
When mixed into the silicon lattice, they form "holes" in the
lattice where a silicon electron has nothing to bond to. The
absence of an electron creates the effect of a positive
charge, hence the name P-type. Holes can conduct current.
A hole happily accepts an electron from a neighbor, moving
the hole over a space. P-type silicon is a good conductor.
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N-type and P-type Semiconductors

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 Semiconductor device-diode
A diode is the simplest possible
semiconductor device. A diode allows
current to flow in one direction but
not the other. You may have seen
turnstiles at a stadium or a subway
station that let people go through in
only one direction. A diode is a one-
way turnstile for electrons.

When you put N-type and P-type

silicon together as shown in this
diagram, you get a very interesting
phenomenon that gives a diode its
unique properties.

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Diodes

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 Diode
Electron flow direction
Current direction

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Diode depletion region

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pn junction

 PN Junction

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Diode depletion region

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Diode forward and reverse bias

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Shockley diode equation

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Diode current and voltage

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Diode Characteristic

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Diode Characteristic

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Diode Characteristic at
different scale

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Diode Characteristic at
different scale

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Diode measurement
 Meter with a
“Diode check”
function displays
the forward voltage
drop of 0.548 volts
instead of a low
resistance

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Measurement of a diode
Measuring forward voltage of a diode without “diode
check” meter function: (a) Schematic diagram. (b) Pictorial
diagram

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Load line of diode
A circuit with a diode

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Example
 For circuit, determine the current i

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Example
 Circuit
reduction to
Thévenin
equivalent
circuit

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Example
 Thévenin equivalent circuit

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Example
 Draw load line
to determine the
diode voltage
and current

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Example
 Determine current i

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Example
 Determine the current and voltage of the diode in the
circuit. The diode characteristic is given in the right
figure.

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Example

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Piecewise-linear approximation and
small signal analysis
 Diode is nonlinear resistor

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Piecewise-linear approximation and
small signal analysis
 Diode piecewise-linear approximation

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Piecewise-linear approximation and
small signal analysis

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Piecewise-linear approximation and
small signal analysis

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Piecewise-linear approximation and
small signal analysis

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Piecewise-linear approximation and
small signal analysis
 Small signal analysis

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Piecewise-linear approximation and
small signal analysis
 Small signal analysis

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Piecewise-linear approximation and
small signal analysis
 If we are only interested in the portion due to vs(t), we may
set Es=0, and Ef =0, then

 Often, for practical purpose, we can assume Ef =0 in small

signal equivalent circuit of a diode. For typical diodes, the
value of Rf is quite small, between 1Ω and 100Ω. Thus Rf
can be neglected.
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Piecewise-linear approximation and
small signal analysis

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The ideal diodes

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The piecewise- linear model of a
diode, using an ideal diode

Ideal diode

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Example
 Nonlinear resistors with a wide range of characteristics can be
obtained, approximately, with circuit containing diodes, for
example, a square-law device is two-terminal nonlinear resistor
whose terminal voltage-current characteristic obey i = kv 2
where k is normalization constant. The ideal characteristic is
shown

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Example
 This device may be used in modulator, e.g., to attain a voice
signal to high-frequency carrier wave, as is done in amplitude
modulation (AM) radio transmission. Design a square-law
device to approximate the ideal characteristics for
0 ≤ v ≤ 5V
with a normalization constant k=0.001

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Example
 A circuit using ideal diodes D1 and D2
and voltage sources E1 and E2
 Use V=5V; E1 < E2
 Initially 0≤v≤ E1,the diodes are reverse
biased and open, the curve will have
slope 1/R3
 For E1 ≤v≤ E2,D1 closes, and D2 open,
the input resistance will be R3llR1
 For E2 ≤v≤ 5V,D1 and D2 close, the
input resistance will be R3llR1llR2
 Suppose E1 =2.0V and E2=3.5V

I1 = kE12 = 4mA
I 2 = kE22 = 12.25mA
I = kV 2 = 25mA Department of Mechanical Engineering
Example
 Noting the slope of each portion, we obtain
E1 E2 − E1
R3 = = 500Ω R1 R2 = = 182Ω R1 = 286Ω
I1 I 2 − I1
V − E2
R1 R2 R3 = = 118Ω R2 = 333Ω
I − I2

 Replacing the actual

diode with their
piecewise-linear
approximation using
R f = 10Ω, E f = 0.5V
R1 = 276Ω R2 = 323Ω R3 = 500Ω
E1 =1.5V and E2=3.0V Department of Mechanical Engineering
Ideal transformer

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Rectifiers
 Half-Wave Rectifier
 The transformer isolates the load from the source

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Rectifiers
 Half-Wave Rectifier
vL = Vs sin ωt 0 ≤ ωt ≤ π
The average dc value of vL
π
Vs sin ωt d (ωt )
π ≤ ωt ≤ 2π 1
vL = 0 VL =
2π ∫
0

Vs
=
π

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Rectifiers
 Representing the Half-Wave Rectifier voltage by Fourier series

vL = VL + a1 sin ωt + a2 sin 2ωt + ...... + b1 cos ωt + b2 cos 2ωt + .........

The Fourier coefficients can be determined as

an = ∫ vL (t )sin nωt dt ; bn = ∫ vL (t ) cos nωt dt

2 T 2 T
T 0 T 0
For the Half-Wave Rectified voltage
π
a1 = ∫ vL (t )sin ωt dt = Vs sin ωt sin ωt d (ωt ) =
2 T 1 Vs
T 0 π ∫
0 2
π
an = ∫ vL (t )sin nωt dt = Vs sin ωt sin nωt d (ωt ) = 0
2 T 1
T 0 π ∫ 0

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Rectifiers

2Vs 2Vs
b1 = 0; b2 = − , b3 = 0; b4 = − ; b5 = 0
3π 15π

Thus the Fourier series for the Half-Wave Rectified signal

vL (t ) =
Vs Vs 2V 2V
+ sin ωt − s cos 2ωt − s cos 4ωt + .....
π 2 3π 15π

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Rectifiers
 Filtering the Half-Wave Rectifier

Capacitor has lower

impedance to
higher frequencies

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Rectifiers
 Filtering the Half-Wave Rectifier

Larger C can be used to increase the time constant RC

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Rectifiers
 Effects of actual diodes

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Rectifiers
 Effects of actual diodes

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The Full-Wave Rectifiers
 The full-wave rectifier

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The Full-Wave Rectifiers
 The full-wave rectifier
The average dc value of vL
π
Vs sin ωt d (ωt )
1
π∫
VL =
0

2Vs
=
π

Thus the Fourier series for the Full-Wave Rectified signal

vL (t ) =
2Vs 4Vs 4Vs
− cos 2ωt − cos 4ωt + .....
π 3π 15π
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The Full-Wave Rectifiers
 Effect of actual diodes

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The Full-Wave Bridge Rectifier
 A bridge rectifier makes use of four diodes in a bridge
arrangement to achieve full-wave rectification. This is a widely
used configuration, both with individual diodes wired as shown
and with single component bridges where the diode bridge is
wired internally.

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Bridge Rectifiers

Various types of Bridge Rectifiers

Note that some have a hole through
their centre for attaching to a heat sink

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The Full-Wave Bridge Rectifier
 Bridge Rectifier

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The Full-Wave Bridge Rectifier
 Bridge Rectifier with RC Filter and LC filter

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The Voltage Limiter
 Limiter using ideal diodes and batteries

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The Voltage Limiter
 Limiter using ideal diodes and batteries

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The Voltage Limiter
 Limiter using ideal diode and batteries

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The Voltage Limiter
 Limiter using ideal diode and batteries
Load voltage is
limited for source
voltage
RL + Rs R + Rs
− V2 < vs (t ) < L V1
RL RL

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The Voltage Limiter
 Limiter using ideal diode and batteries

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Example
 For a limiter shown below, assume identical piecewise-
linear diodes with Rf=100Ω, Ef=0.5V, V1=V2=10V,
RL=100Ω, Rs=100Ω, and vs(t)=50sinωt V, sketch vL(t)

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Zener Diodes
 A Zener diode is a type of
diode that permits current not
only in the forward direction
like a normal diode, but also in
the reverse direction if the
voltage is larger than the
breakdown voltage known as
"Zener knee voltage" or
"Zener voltage". The device
was named after Clarence
Zener, who discovered this
electrical property.

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Zener Diodes
 Device characteristic  Piecewise-linear
of Zener diode characteristic

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Zener Diodes
 Piecewise-linear model

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Zener Diode Regulator
 In this circuit, a typical voltage
reference or regulator, an input voltage,
UIN, is regulated down to a stable
output voltage UOUT. The intrinsic
voltage drop of diode D is stable over a
wide current range and holds UOUT
relatively constant even though the
input voltage may fluctuate over a
fairly wide range. Because of the low
impedance of the diode when operated
like this, Resistor R is used to limit IDiode = (UIN - UOUT) / R
current through the circuit.

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Zener Diode Regulator
 R must be small enough that the current through D
keeps D in reverse breakdown. The value of this
current is given in the data sheet for D. For example,
the common BZX79C5V6 device, a 5.6 V 0.5 W
Zener diode, has a recommended reverse current of 5
mA. If insufficient current exists through D, then
UOUT will be unregulated, and less than the nominal
breakdown voltage. When calculating R, allowance
must be made for any current through the external
load, not shown in this diagram, connected across
UOUT.

 R must be large enough that the current through D

does not destroy the device. If the current through D
is ID, its breakdown voltage VB and its maximum
power dissipation PMAX, then IDVB < PMAX.
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Zener Diode regulator

Vs ,max − Vz Pmax Vz
I max = = +
Rs + Rmin Vz RL

Vs ,min − Vz Vz
I min = =
Rs + Rmax RL
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Example
 A source voltage varies between 120V and 75V. The source resistance is
zero, and the load resistance is 1kΩ. It is desired to maintain the load
voltage at 60V. Determine the value of a regulator resistor R that will
accomplish this and the required power rating of the zener.

1. A zener having a zener voltage of 60V is selected

2. The maximum value of regulator resistance
Vz 60 Vs ,min − Vz
I min = = = 60mA Rmax = = 250Ω
RL 1000 I min
3. The power rating is determined when Vs=Vs,max.
And zener draw the maximum current
Pmax Vs ,max − Vz Vz
I max = = − = 0.18 A
Vz R RL
Pmax = 10.8W Department of Mechanical Engineering
Light Emitting Diode

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Light Emitting Diode
An LED will begin to emit light when the
on-voltage is exceeded. Typical on
voltages are 2–3 volts

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 Connect Light Emitting
Diode in Series
Connecting LEDs in series
If you wish to have several LEDs on at the same time it may be
possible to connect them in series. This prolongs battery life by
lighting several LEDs with the same current as just one LED.
All the LEDs connected in series pass the same current so it is best
if they are all the same type. The power supply must have sufficient
voltage to provide about 2V for each LED (4V for blue and white)
plus at least another 2V for the resistor. To work out a value for the
resistor you must add up all the LED voltages and use this for VL.

Example calculations:
A red, a yellow and a green LED in series need a supply voltage of
at least 3 × 2V + 2V = 8V, so a 9V battery would be ideal.
VL = 2V + 2V + 2V = 6V (the three LED voltages added up).
If the supply voltage VS is 9V and the current I must be 15mA =
0.015A,
Resistor R = (VS - VL) / I = (9 - 6) / 0.015 = 3 / 0.015 = 200,
so choose R = 220 (the nearest standard value which is greater).

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