Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Dr G.S. Virdi
Director R & D Former Director Grade Scientist
GGS College of Modern Technology CSIR- Central Electronic Engineering
Kharar Mohali Research Institute- Pilani
Introduction to Electronic Devices
In the modern world no other technology
permeates every nook and cranny of our
existence as does electronics.
Band gap
Eg
Ev
Valence band
n-type material
p-type material
Contains POSITIVELY charged
Contains NEGATIVELY charged donors (immovable) and
acceptors (immovable) and NEGATIVELY charged free
POSITIVELY charged holes (free). electrons.
Total charge = 0 Total charge = 0
Semiconductor Terminology
donor: impurity atom that increases n
intrinsic semiconductor: n = p = ni
N P
N-type
P-type I
diode
symbol
V
Reverse bias Forward bias
DEPLETION REGION
Free electrons on the n-side and free holes on the p-side can initially
diffuse across the junction. Uncovered charges are left in the
neighborhood of the junction.
Electron Metallurgical
Movement junction
++++ ----
++++ Fixed positive ---- Fixed negative Ohmic
++++ space-charge ---- space-charge end-contact
The formation of p-n junction
Potential barrier
the barrier opposes the flow of majority charge
carriers and only a small number have enough
energy to surmount it
this generates a small diffusion current
the barrier encourages the flow of minority carriers
and any that come close to it will be swept over
this generates a small drift current
for an isolated junction these two currents must
balance each other and the net current is zero
Forward bias to p-n junction
When an external voltage is applied
to the P-N junction making the P side
positive with respect to the N side the
diode is said to be forward biased
(F.B).
The barrier p.d. is decreased by the
external applied voltage. The depletion
band narrows which urges majority
carriers to flow across the junction.
A F.B. diode has a very low resistance.
Forward bias to p-n junction
Forward bias
if the p-type side is made positive with respect to
the
n-type side the height of the barrier is reduced
more majority charge carriers have sufficient
energy to surmount it
the diffusion current therefore increases while the
drift current remains the same
there is thus a net current flow across the junction
which increases with the applied voltage
Reversed bias to p-n junction
When an external voltage is applied to the
PN junction making the P side negative
with respect to the N side the diode is said
to be Reverse Biased (R.B.).
If V > +0.1 V
eV
I ≈ Is exp = Is ( exp 40V )
kT
If V < -0.1 V
I ≈ Is ( 0 − 1) = −Is
Small leakage
current
Temperature dependence of the volt
ampere of a p-n diode
Diode Circuits
Half-wave rectifier
peak output voltage
is equal to the peak
input voltage minus
the conduction
voltage of the diode
reservoir capacitor
used to produce a
steadier output
Diode Circuits
Full-wave rectifier
use of a diode
bridge reduces
the time for which
the capacitor has
to maintain the
output voltage
and thus reduced
the ripple voltage
Diode Circuits
Signal rectifier
used to demodulate
full amplitude
modulated signals
(full-AM)
also known as an
envelope detector
found in a wide range
of radio receivers from
crystal sets to
super heterodynes
Diode Circuits
Signal clamping
a simple form of
signal conditioning
circuits limit the
excursion of the
voltage waveform
can use a
combination of
signal and Zener
diodes
Key Points of Diode
Diodes allow current to flow in only one direction
At low temperatures semiconductors act like insulators
At higher temperatures they begin to conduct
Doping of semiconductors leads to the production of p-
type and n-type materials
A junction between p-type and n-type semiconductors
has the properties of a diode
Silicon semiconductor diodes approximate the behavior
of ideal diodes but have a conduction voltage of about
0.7 V
There are also a wide range of special purpose diodes
Diodes are used in a range of applications
Silicon & Germanium diode Comparison
Parameter Germanium Silicon Comments
Germanium can be useful for low
Depletion layer p.d. 0.15V 0.6V
voltage applications.
A few milli- Tens of Silicon much better for high
Forward current
Amperes Amperes current applications.
A few micro- A few nano- Germanium 1000 times more
Reverse leakage current
amperes amperes leaky than silicon.
Hundreds of Silicon the only real choice for
Max. reverse voltage Volts
volts high voltage applications.
Germanium more sensitive to
Temperature stability Poor Good temperature. Can be a problem or
can be useful.
This is a useful feature for high
frequency use. Note: low
Very low (point Comparativel
Junction capacitance capacitance silicon diodes are also
contact) y high
available but their capacitance is
still higher than point contact type.
Semiconductor Devices
• Crystal Preparation
• Masking
• Photolithographic Process
• Deposition
• Implantation
• Diffusion
• Oxidation
• Epitaxy
• Contacts, Interconnect ,Metalization and
Planarizatiomn
IC Fabrication Techniques
G.S.VIRDI
Semiconductor Devices
IC Fabrication Laboratory
G.S.VIRDI
Semiconductor Devices
G.S.VIRDI