Chapter 1

The Atom

1. The Bohr model has a central nucleus consisting of protons and neutrons orbited by electrons at
varying distances from the nucleus.
2. An electron is the smallest particle of negative electrical charge.
3. Protons and neutrons. A proton is a particle of positive charge and a neutron has no net charge.
4. The atomic number is the number of electrons in the nucleus of an atom.
5. An electron shell contains orbiting electrons at a certain energy level. Each shell of a given atom
is at a different energy level.
6. A valence electron is one that is in the outer shell of an atom.
7. A free electron is a valence electron that has broken free of its parent atom.
8. A positive ion is a previously neutral atom that has lost a valence electron and has a net positive
charge. A negative ion is one that has gained an extra electron and has a net negative charge.
9. The quantum model is based on the uncertainty principle and wave-particle duality

Materials Used in Electronics

 Conductors have many free electrons and easily conduct current. Insulators have essentially no
free electrons and do not conduct current.
 Semiconductors do not conduct current as well as conductors do. In terms of conductivity, they
are between conductors and insulators.
 Conductors such as copper have one valence electron.
 Semiconductors have four valence electrons.
 Gold, silver, and copper are the best conductors.
 Silicon is the most widely used semiconductor.
 The valence electrons of a semiconductor are more tightly bound to the atom than those of
conductors.
 Covalent bonds are formed by the sharing of valence electrons with neighboring atoms.
 An intrinsic material is one that is in a pure state.
 A crystal is a solid material formed by atoms bonding together in a symmetrical pattern

Current in Semiconductors

 Free electrons are in the conduction band.

 Free (conduction) electrons are responsible for electron current in silicon.
 A hole is the absence of an electron in the valence band.
 Hole current occurs at the valence level

N-Type and P-Type Semiconductors

 Doping is the process of adding impurity atoms to a semiconductor in order to modify its
conductive properties.
 A pentavalent atom has five valence electrons and a trivalent atom has three valence electrons.
 A pentavalent atom is called a donor atom and a trivalent atom is called an acceptor atom.
  An n-type material is formed by the addition of pentavalent impurity atoms to the intrinsic
semiconductive material.
 A p-type material is formed by the addition of trivalent impurity atoms to the intrinsic
semiconductive material.
 The majority carrier in an n-type semiconductor is the free electron.
 The majority carrier in a p-type semiconductor is the hole
 Majority carriers are produced by doping.
 Minority carriers are thermally produced when electron-hole pairs are generated.
 A pure semiconductor is intrinsic. A doped (impure) semiconductor is extrinsic.

The PN Junction

 A pn junction is the boundary between p-type and n-type semiconductors in a diode.

 Diffusion is the movement of the free electrons (majority carriers) in the n-region across the pn
junction and into the p region.
 The depletion region is the thin layers of positive and negative ions that exist on both sides of
the pn junction.
 The barrier potential is the potential difference of the electric field in the depletion region and is
the amount of energy required to move electrons through the depletion region.
 The barrier potential for a silicon diode is approximately 0.7 V.
 The barrier potential for a germanium diode is approximately 0.3 V.
Chapter 2

Diode Operation

 When forward-biased, a diode conducts current. The free electrons in the n region move across
the pn junction and combine with the holes in the p region.
 To forward-bias a diode, the positive side of an external bias voltage is applied to the p region
and the negative side to the n region.
 When reverse-biased, a diode does not conduct current except for an extremely small reverse
current.
 To reverse-bias a diode, the positive side of an external bias voltage is applied to the n region
and the negative side to the p region.
 The depletion region for forward bias is much narrower than for reverse bias.
 Majority carrier current is produced by forward bias.
 Reverse current is produced by the minority carriers.
 Reverse breakdown occurs when the reverse-bias voltage equals or exceeds the breakdown
voltage of the pn junction of a diode.
 Avalanche effect is the rapid multiplication of current carriers in reverse breakdown

Voltage-Current Characteristic of a Diode

 The knee of the characteristic curve in forward bias is the point at which the barrier potential is
overcome and the current increases drastically.
 A forward-biased diode is normally operated above the knee of the curve.
 Breakdown voltage is always much greater than the barrier potential.
 A reverse-biased diode is normally operated between 0 V and the breakdown voltage.
 Barrier potential decreases as temperature increases.

Diode Models

 A diode is operated in forward bias and reverse bias.

 A diode should never be operated in reverse breakdown.
 The diode can be ideally viewed as a switch.
 A diode includes barrier potential, dynamic resistance, and reverse resistance in the complete
model.
 The complete diode model is the most accurate diode approximation.

Half-Wave Rectifiers

 PIV across the diode occurs at the peak of the input when the diode is reversed biased.
 There is current through the load for approximately half (50%) of the input cycle.
 The average value is 2(60 V)/ π = 38.12 V
 The peak output voltage is 25 V - 0.7 V = 24.3 V.
  The PIV sating must be at least 60 V.

Full-Wave Rectifiers

 A full-wave voltage occurs on each half of the input cycle and has a frequency of twice the input
frequency. A half-wave voltage occurs once each input cycle and has a frequency equal to the
input frequency.
 The average value of 2(60 V) / π = 38.12 V
 The bridge rectifier has the greater output voltage.
 The 50 V diodes must be used in the bridge rectifier.
 In the center-tapped rectifier, diodes with a PIV rating of at least 90 V would be required.

Power Supply Filters and Regulators

 The output frequency is 60 Hz.

 The output frequency is 120 Hz.
 The ripple voltage is caused by the slight charging and discharging of the capacitor through the
load resistor.
 The ripple voltage amplitude increases when the load resistance decreases.
 Ripple factor is the ratio of the ripple voltage to the average or dc voltage.
 Input regulation is a measure of the variation in output voltage over a range of input voltages.
Load regulation is a measure of the variation in output voltage over a range of load current
values.

Diode Limiters and Clampers

 Limiters clip off or remove portions of a waveform. Clampers insert a dc level.

 A positive limiter clips off positive voltages. A negative limiter clips off negative voltages.
 0.7 V appears across the diode.
 The bias voltage must be 5 V - 0.7 V = 4.3 V.
 The capacitor acts as a battery.

Voltage Multipliers

 The peak voltage rating must be 100 V.

 The PIV rating must be at least 310 V

The Diode Datasheet

 1N4002: 100 V; 1N4003: 200 V; 1N4004: 400 V; 1N4005: 600 V; 1N4006: 800 V
 No
 Approximately 0.65 A
  12 A

Troubleshooting

 0.5 V to 0.9 V
 OL
 An open diode results in no output voltage.
 An open diode produces a half-wave output voltage.
 The shorted diode may burn open. Transformer will be damaged. Fuse will blow.
 The amplitude of the ripple voltage increases with a leaky filter capacitor.
 There will be no output voltage when the primary opens.
 The problem may be a partially shorted secondary winding.

Summary

◆ A diode conducts current when it is forward-biased and blocks current when it is reversedbiased.
Actually, there is a very small current in reverse bias due to the thermally generated minority carriers,
but this can usually be neglected.

◆ Avalanche occurs in a reverse-biased diode if the bias voltage equals or exceeds the breakdown
voltage.

◆ Reverse breakdown voltage for a diode is typically greater than 50 V and can exceed 1000 V

◆ The V-I characteristic curve shows the diode current as a function of voltage across the diode. ◆ The
change in voltage divided by a corresponding change in current of a forward-biased diode is called the
dynamic or ac resistance. ◆ Reverse current increases rapidly at the reverse breakdown voltage. ◆
Reverse breakdown should be avoided in most diodes.

◆ The ideal model represents the diode as a closed switch in forward bias and as an open switch in
reverse bias. ◆ The practical model represents the diode as a switch in series with the barrier potential.
◆ The complete model includes the dynamic forward resistance in series with the practical model in
forward bias and the reverse resistance in parallel with the open switch in reverse bias.
◆ A dc power supply typically consists of a transformer, a diode rectifier, a filter, and a regulator. ◆ The
single diode in a half-wave rectifier is forward-biased and conducts for 1808 of the input cycle. ◆ The
output frequency of a half-wave rectifier equals the input frequency. ◆ PIV (peak inverse voltage) is the
maximum voltage appearing across the diode in reverse bias.

◆ Each diode in a full-wave rectifier is forward-biased and conducts for 1808 of the input cycle.

◆ The output frequency of a full-wave rectifier is twice the input frequency.

◆ The two basic types of full-wave rectifier are center-tapped and bridge.

◆ The peak output voltage of a center-tapped full-wave rectifier is approximately one-half of the total
peak secondary voltage less one diode drop◆ The PIV for each diode in a center-tapped full-wave
rectifier is twice the peak output voltage plus one diode drop. ◆ The peak output voltage of a bridge
rectifier equals the total peak secondary voltage less two diode drops. ◆ The PIV for each diode in a
bridge rectifier is approximately half that required for an equivalent center-tapped configuration and is
equal to the peak output voltage plus one diode drop

◆ A capacitor-input filter provides a dc output approximately equal to the peak of its rectified input
voltage. ◆ Ripple voltage is caused by the charging and discharging of the filter capacitor. ◆ The smaller
the ripple voltage, the better the filter. ◆ Regulation of output voltage over a range of input voltages is
called input or line regulation. ◆ Regulation of output voltage over a range of load currents is called load
regulation.

◆ Diode limiters cut off voltage above or below specified levels. Limiters are also called clippers. ◆
Diode clampers add a dc level to an ac voltage.

◆ Voltage multipliers are used in high-voltage, low-current applications such as for electron beam
acceleration in CRTs and for particle accelerators. ◆ A voltage multiplier uses a series of diode-capacitor
stages. ◆ A voltage multiplier increases the peak voltage of an ac input to produce a dc voltage that is
double, triple, or quadruple the input peak.

◆ A datasheet provides key information about the parameters and characteristics of an electronic
device. ◆ A diode should always be operated below the absolute maximum ratings specified on the
datasheet

◆ A datasheet provides key information about the parameters and characteristics of an electronic
device. ◆ A diode should always be operated below the absolute maximum ratings specified on the
datasheet