EST 1A

ELECTRONIC CIRCUITS AND DEVICES

REVIEW OF TOPICS ON PASSIVE DEVICES

Resistor
Capacitor
Inductor
RESISTOR
WHAT IS A RESISTOR?

A resistor is an electrical component that limits

or regulates the flow of electrical current in an
electronic circuit.
CAPACITOR
WHAT IS A CAPACITOR?
The capacitor is a passive component and it stores the
electrical energy into an electrical field. The effect of the
capacitor is known as a capacitance. It is made up of two
close conductors and separated by the dielectric material. If
the plates are connected to the power then the plates
accumulate the electric charge. One plate accumulates the
positive charge and another plate accumulates the negative
charge.
INDUCTOR
WHAT IS AN INDUCTOR?

An inductor, also called a coil, choke, or reactor, is a

passive two-terminal electrical component that
stores energy in a magnetic field when electric
current flows through it. An inductor typically
consists of an insulated wire wound into a coil.
END
END
Electronic
Circuits
SESSION 2
Your best quote that reflects your
approach… “It’s one small step for
man, one giant leap for mankind.”

- NEIL ARMSTRONG
What is Capacitance
Property of an electric conductor, or set of conductors, that is
measured by the amount of separated electric charge that can
be stored on it per unit change in electrical potential.
Capacitance also implies an associated storage of
electrical energy. If electric charge is transferred between two
initially uncharged conductors, both become equally charged,
one positively, the other negatively, and a potential difference
is established between them.
What is Resistance?
Resistance refer to the property of materials that allow the
flow of electric current. Resistance certainly opposes the
flow of current. Furthermore, the unit of resistance is ohms
which is represented by the Greek uppercase letter omega
Ω. Moreover, the resistance depends on the voltage across
a particular resistor and the current flowing through it.
Resistance refers to a measure of the opposition to current
flow in a particular electrical circuit.
Resistance = voltage drop across a resistor/ current flowing
through a resistor
R = V/I
R = resistance (Ohms, Ω)
V = voltage difference which is between the two ends of a
resistor (Volts, V)
I = the current which flows through a resistor (Amperes, A)
What is electric current?
An electric current is a stream of charged particles, such as electrons or
ions, moving through an electrical conductor or space. It is measured as
the net rate of flow of electric charge through a surface or into a control
volume. The moving particles are called charge carriers, which may be
one of several types of particles, depending on the conductor. In electric
circuits the charge carriers are often electrons moving through a wire.
In semiconductors they can be electrons or holes. In a electrolyte the
charge carriers are ions, while in plasma, an ionized gas, they are ions
and electrons.
What is voltage?
Voltage, also called electromotive force, is
a quantitative expression of the potential
difference in charge between two points in
an electrical field.
AC and DC in Circuits
What Does AC and DC Mean in Electricity? When
talking about electrical current, AC stands for
"alternating current" and DC stands for "direct current."
Alternating current is the type of current that comes
from a power plant and outlet, in which the current
changes directions rapidly.
Semiconductor
A semiconductor is a crystal material whose ability to
conduct electricity rises as its temperature goes up. That
is, it sometimes acts as a conductor and sometimes as an
insulator. Its conducting ability can be much increased by
chemical treatment.
Diode
A diode is defined as a two-terminal electronic
component that only conducts current in one direction
(so long as it is operated within a specified voltage
level). An ideal diode will have zero resistance in one
direction, and infinite resistance in the reverse direction.
•P-N Junction Diode
•Small Signal Diode

•Rectifier Diode

•Schottky Diode

•Super Barrier Diodes

•Light Emitting Diode (LED)

•Photodiode

•Laser Diode

•Tunnel Diode

•Zener Diode
• Backward Diode

• Avalanche Diode

• Transient Voltage Suppression (TVS) Diode

• Gold Doped Diode

• Constant Current Diode

• Step Recovery Diode

• Peltier Or Thermal Diode

• Vacuum Diode

• Varactor Diode

• Gunn Diode

• PIN Diode

• Silicon Controlled Rectifier (SCR)

• Shockley Diode

• Point Contact Diode

Commonly Used Diode
Light Emitting Diode
Rectifier Diode
Zener Diode
Light Emitting Diode (LED)
The light emitting diode is also a type of P-N junction diode that emits
light in the forward bias configuration.
LED is made up of a direct-band semiconductor. When the charge
carriers (electrons) cross the barrier and recombine with electron holes
on the other side, they emit photon particles (light). While the color of the
light depends on the energy gap of the semiconductor.
Rectifier Diode
A rectifier diode is a type of P-N junction diode, whose P-N
junction area is very large. This results in high capacitance in
reverse direction. It has low switching speed.
This is the most common and most used type of a diode.
These types of diodes can handle heavy current and are used
in converting AC into DC (Rectification).
Zener Diode
Zener diodes have a well-defined breakdown voltage,
so that current flows in the reverse direction at that
voltage and a constant voltage can be maintained
despite fluctuations in voltage or current.
Zener Diode
Zener diode is named after Clarence Malvin Zener who discovered the zener effect.

It is a type of diode, which not only allows the flow of current in the forward direction but also
in reverse direction. when the reverse voltage reaches the breakdown voltage known
as Zener voltage it allows the current flow.

The Zener diode has heavier doping concentration than a normal P-N junction diode. Hence,
it has a very thin depletion region.

In forward bias, it operates as a simple P-N junction diode (Rectifier).

In reverse bias, it blocks until the reverse voltage reaches breakdown. After that, it allows the
current flow with a constant voltage drop.
END
Electronic Circuit and
Devices
Session 4
The P-N Junction
Definition: A p-n junction is an interface or a boundary
between two semiconductor material types, namely the
p-type and the n-type, inside a semiconductor. The p-
side or the positive side of the semiconductor has an
excess of holes and the n-side or the negative side has an
excess of electrons. In a semiconductor, the p-n junction
is created by the method of doping. The process of
doping is explained in further details in the next section.
Unbiased PN Junction
Depletion Region
A depletion region forms instantaneously across
a p–n junction. It is most easily described when
the junction is in thermal equilibrium or in a
steady state: in both of these cases the
properties of the system do not vary in time;
they have been called dynamic equilibrium.
Forward Biased
When the p-type is connected to the positive terminal of
the battery and the n-type to the negative terminal then
the p-n junction is said to be forward biased. When the
p-n junction is forward biased, the built-in electric field at
the p-n junction and the applied electric field are in
opposite directions. When both the electric fields add up
the resultant electric field has a magnitude lesser than
the built-in electric field. This results in a less resistive
and thinner depletion region.
Reverse Biased
When the p-type is connected to the negative terminal
of the battery and the n-type is connected to the
positive side then the p-n junction is said to be reverse
biased. In this case, the built-in electric field and the
applied electric field are in the same direction. When
the two fields are added, the resultant electric field is
in the same direction as the built-in electric field
creating a more resistive, thicker depletion region.
END
EST 1A
Session 5
Zener diode

It is a special type of diode designed to reliably

allow current to flow "backwards" when a certain
set reverse voltage, known as the Zener voltage, is
reached.
They are also used to protect circuits from overvoltage,
especially electrostatic discharge (ESD)

These diodes are used as voltage regulator.

Avalanche breakdown
It is a phenomenon that can occur in both insulating and
semiconducting materials. It is a form of electric current
multiplication that can allow very large currents within
materials which are otherwise good insulators. It is a type
of electron avalanche. The avalanche process occurs
when carriers in the transition region are accelerated by
the electric field to energies sufficient to create mobile or
free electron-hole pairs via collisions with bound
electrons.
Light Emitting Diode

-or simply LED is one of the most commonly

used sources of light now-a-days. Whether it
may be your car’s headlights (or daytime
running lights) or your home’s living room
lights, the applications of LEDs are countless.
1. It has to be connected in a forward bias
combination across the power supply and it
should be current limited by using a resistor
connected in series to protect it from the excess
current flow.
2. Each LED has its own individual forward voltage
drop along the PN junction and this parameter
has been determined by the semiconductor
material used in manufacturing of LED.
Diode Array
A diode array is a type of electronic
component that consists of multiple diodes
within a single package.
END
TYPES OF DIODES AND
THEIR APPLICATIONS
WHAT IS A DIODE?

• Can be
considered as
electrical check
valves
WHAT IS A DIODE?

• Can be
considered as
electrical check
valves
WHAT DOES A DIODE DO?

1. Diodes that exhibit differing electrical behavior

2. Others that emit light (LEDs)
3. Those that can sense properties like temperature and light
levels
TYPES OF DIODES

Vacuum Tube (Thermionic) Diode

TYPES OF DIODES

P-N Junction Diode

TYPES OF DIODES

Zener Diode
TYPES OF DIODES

Schottky Diode
PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS OF DIODES

1. Rectification
2. Light emission
3. Inductive Load Dissipation
4. Sensing and Control
END