P-N Junction Diode:

Now, if we join the two types of semi-conductors P-type and N-type together then a
new device is formed called as P-N junction diode. Since a junction forms between a P
type and N type material it is called as P-N junction.

The word diode can be explained as ‘Di’ means two and ‘ode’ is obtained from electrode. As
the newly formed component can have two terminals or electrodes (one connected to P-
type and the other to the N-type) it is called as diode or P-N junction diode or semi-
conductor diode.

The terminal connected to P-type material is called Anode and the terminal connected to N-
type material is called Cathode.

The white line indicates Cathode or negative terminal (IN4007)

The symbolic representation of the diode is as follows.

The arrow indicates the flow of current through it when the diode is in forward biased mode,
the dash or the block at the tip of the arrow indicates the blockage of current from the
opposite direction.

P-N Junction Theory:

We have seen how a diode is made with P and N semi-conductors but we need to know
what happens inside it to form a unique property of allowing current in only one direction
and what happens at the exact point of contact initially at its junction.

Junction Formation:
Initially, when both the materials are joined together (without any external voltage applied)
the excess electrons in the N-type and excess holes in the P-type will get attracted to each
other and gets recombined where the formation of immobile ions (Donor ion and Acceptor
ion) takes place as shown in below picture. These immobile ions resists the flow of
electrons or holes through it which now acts as a barrier in between the two materials
(formation of barrier means the immobile ions diffuses into P and N regions). The barrier
which is now formed is called as Depletion region. The width of the depletion region in this
case depends upon the doping concentration in the materials.

If the doping concentration is equal in both the materials then the immobile ions diffuses into
both the P and N materials equally.

What if the doping concentration differs with each other?

Well, if the doping differs the width of depletion region also differs. Its diffusion is more into
the lightly doped region and less into the heavily doped region.

Now let’s see the behavior of the diode when proper voltage is applied.

Diode in Forward Bias:

To make the diode conduct first we need to break the barrier formed in the path. To break a
barrier within a normal diode a minimum of +0.7 Volts (for Silicon) and +0.3 Volts (for
Germanium) external voltage should be applied to the terminals. These voltages are called
as Cut-in voltage or Offset voltage or Break-point voltage or firing voltage or
Threshold voltage. Until these voltages are very less, current flows through the diode
(ideally zero).

If a positive terminal of the battery or a voltage source is applied to the anode or P region of
the diode and negative terminal to the cathode or N region of the diode, it is said to
be forward biased.
Due to forward bias, majority charge carriers in both regions get repelled (because positive
voltage is applied to P region and negative to N region) and enter into the depletion region.
Hence immobile ions get back lost carriers become neutral and move to undepleted region
hence width of the barrier decreases gradually, when the applied voltage is greater than or
equal to cut-in voltage, entire barrier is destructed and the electrons and holes are now free
to cross the junction which then forms a closed circuit and enables the flow of current. Here
we have explained the Forward Biased Diode using below animation:

Diode in Forward bias

Diode in forward bias acts as closed switch and has a forward resistance of few ohms
(around 20Ω).

Diode in Reverse bias:

If negative terminal of a voltage source is applied to the anode or P region of the diode and
positive terminal to the cathode or N region of the diode, it is said to be Reverse biased.

When such voltage is applied, the majority charge carriers in both regions get attracted
towards source such that large numbers of immobile ions are created and enter into the P
and N regions. Therefore, width of the depletion region also increases gradually which is
now difficult for the electrons and holes to cross the junction so open circuit forms and
current flows. But if we go on increase the voltage, at a point barrier or depletion region
cannot withhold the external force and the junction breaks down which may sometimes
cause the normal diode damage permanently. To overcome this we can heavily dope the
regions and put the diode safe, this application can be seen in zener diodes.

The reverse voltage at which the diode conducts is called as Break down voltage.

As the diode in reverse bias acts as an open switch, its resistance is in the order of
Megaohms. Here we have explained the Reverse Biased Diode using below animation:
 Diode in Reverse bias

Working of a diode

When the reverse voltage is applied to the diode small amount of current flows in the circuit
due to the minority charge carriers which is generally called as Reverse saturation
current. These currents are also called as Leakage currents because even when the diode
is open circuited, current exists in circuit so it is termed as leakage.
Different Types of Diodes:
There are number of diodes whose construction is similar but the type of material used
differs. For example, if we consider a Light Emitting diode it is made of Aluminium, Gallium
and Arsenide materials which when excited releases energy in the form of light. Similarly,
variation in diode’s properties like internal capacitance, threshold voltage etc are considered
and a particular diode is designed based on those.

Here we have explained various types of diodes with their working, symbol, and
applications:

 Zener diode
 LED
 LASER diode
 Photodiode
 Varactor diode
 Schottky diode
 Tunnel diode
 PIN diode etc.
Let’s see the working principle and construction of these devices briefly.
Zener Diode:

The P and N regions in this diode are heavily doped such that the depletion region is very
narrow. Unlike a normal diode its breakdown voltage is very low, when the reverse
voltage is greater than or equal to the breakdown voltage the depletion region is vanished
and a constant voltage passes through the diode even if reverse voltage is increased.
Therefore, the diode is used to regulate voltage and maintain constant output voltage
when properly biased. Here is one example of limiting voltage using Zener.

The breakdown in Zener diode is called as zener breakdown. It means when the reverse
voltage is applied to the zener diode a strong electric field is developed at the junction which
is enough to break the covalent bonds within the junction and causes large flow of current
through. Zener breakdown is caused at very low voltages when compared to the avalanche
breakdown.

The black line indicates cathode or negative terminal

There is another type of breakdown named as avalanche breakdown generally seen in the
normal diode which requires large amount of reverse voltage to break the junction. Its
working principle is when the diode is reverse biased, small leakage currents pass through
the diode, when the reverse voltage is further increased the leakage current also increases
which are fast enough to break few covalent bonds within the junction these new charge
carriers further breaks down the remaining covalent bonds causing huge leakage currents
which may damage the diode forever.

Light Emitting Diode (LED):

Its construction is similar to a simple diode but various combinations of semi-conductors are
used to generate different colors. It works in forward biased mode. When the electron
hole recombination takes places a resultant photon is released which emits light, if the
forward voltage is further increased more photons will be released and light intensity also
increases but the voltage should not exceed its threshold value else the LED gets
damaged.

To generate different colors, the combinations are used AlGaAs (Aluminium Gallium
Arsenide) – red and infrared, GaP (Gallium Phosphide) – yellow and green, InGaN (Indium
Gallium Nitride) – blue and ultra-violet LEDs etc. Check a Simple LED circuit here.
LED: A cut at the base of the LED represents cathode.

For an IR LED we can see its light through a camera.

LASER Diode:

LASER stands for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation. A P-N junction is
formed by two layers of doped Gallium Arsenide where a High reflective coating is applied
to one end of the junction and a partial reflective coating at the other end. When the diode is
forward biased similar to LED it releases photons, these hit other atoms such that photons
will be released excessively, when a photon hits the reflective coating and strikes back the
junction again more photons releases, this process repeats and a high intensity beam of
light is released in only one direction. Laser diode needs a Driver circuit to work properly.

Laser Diode

The symbolic representation of a LASER diode is similar to that of LED.

Photo Diode:

In a photo diode, the current through it depends upon the light energy applied on the P-N
junction. It is operated in reverse bias. As discussed earlier, small leakage current flows
through a diode when reverse biased which is here called as dark current. As the current is
due to lack of light (darkness) it is called so. This diode is constructed in such a way that
when light strikes the junction it is enough to break the electron hole pairs and generate
electrons which increases the reverse leakage current. Here you can check Photodiode
working with IR LED.

Varactor Diode:

It is also called as Varicap (variable capacitor) diode. It operates in reverse biased mode.
The general definition of a capacitor separation of conducting plate with an insulator or a
dielectric, when a normal diode is reverse biased the width of the depletion region
increases, as the depletion region represents an insulator or a dielectric it can now act as
capacitor. With the variation of reverse voltage causes separation of P and N regions to
vary thus lead the diode to work as variable capacitor.

Since capacitance increase with decrease in distance between the plates, the large reverse
voltage means the low capacitance and vice-versa.

Varactor Diode symbol

Schottky Diode:

N-type semiconductor is joined to the metal (gold, silver) such that high energy level
electrons exist in the diode these are termed as hot carriers so this diode is also called
as hot carrier diode. It doesn’t have minority carriers and no depletion region exist rather a
metal semi-conductor junction exist, when this diode is forward biased it acts conductor but
the charge have high energy levels which are helpful in fast switching especially in digital
circuits these are also used in microwave applications. Check Schottky Diode in
action here.
Schottky diode appearance is similar to diode its number is IN5819

Tunnel Diode:

The P and N regions in this diode are heavily doped such the existence of a depletion is
very narrow. It exhibits negative resistance region which can be used as an oscillator and
microwave amplifiers. When this diode is forward biased firstly, since the depletion region is
narrow the electrons tunnel through it, the current increases rapidly with a small change in
voltage. When the voltage is further increased, due to the excess electrons at the junction,
the width of the depletion region starts to increase causing the blockage of forward current
(where the negative resistance region forms) when the forward voltage is further increased
it acts as a normal diode.

Tunnel diode symbol

PIN Diode:

In this diode, the P and N regions are separated by an intrinsic semiconductor. When the
diode is reverse biased it acts as a constant valued capacitor. In forward bias condition, it
acts as a variable resistance which is controlled by current. It is used in microwave
applications which are to be controlled by DC voltage.

PIN Diode symbol

Its symbolic representation is similar to a normal P-N diode.

Applications of Diodes:
 Regulated power supply: Practically it is impossible to generate DC voltage, the only
type of source available is AC voltage. Since the diodes are unidirectional devices it can
be used to convert AC voltage to the pulsating DC and with further filtering sections
(using capacitors and inductors) an approximate DC voltage can be obtained.
 Tuner circuits: In communication systems at the receiver end since antenna receives all
the radio frequencies available in space there is a need to select a desired frequency.
So, tuner circuits are used which are nothing but the circuit with variable capacitors and
inductors. In this case a varactor diode can be used.
 Televisions, traffic lights, display boards: In order to display images on TVs or on
display boards LEDs are used. Since LED consumes very less power it is extensively
used in lighting systems like LED bulbs.
 Voltage regulators: As Zener diode has a very low breakdown voltage it can be used as
a voltage regulator when reverse biased.
 Detectors in Communications Systems: A well-known detector which uses diode is an
Envelope detector which is used to detect the peaks of the modulated signal.