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DIODE
pn-juntion-Diode
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
pn-juntion-Diode
The junction is biased with a voltage Va as shown in Figure.
We will call the junction forward-biased if a positive voltage
is applied to the p-doped region and reversed-biased if a
negative voltage is applied to the p-doped region. The
contact to the p-type region is also called the anode, while
the contact to the n-type region is called the cathode, in
reference to the anions or positive carriers and cations or
negative carriers in each of these regions.
Flatband diagram
The principle of operation will be explained using a gedanken experiment, an
experiment, which is in principle possible but not necessarily executable in
practice. We imagine that one can bring both semiconductor regions together,
aligning both the conduction and valence band energies of each region. This
yields the so-called flatband diagram shown in Figure.
Energy band diagram of a p-n junction (a) before and (b) after merging the
n-type and p-type regions
Note that this does not automatically align the Fermi
energies, EF,n and EF,p. Also, note that this flatband diagram
is not an equilibrium diagram since both electrons and
holes can lower their energy by crossing the junction.
A motion of electrons and holes is therefore expected
before thermal equilibrium is obtained. The diagram shown
in Figure (b) is called a flatband diagram. This name refers
to the horizontal band edges. It also implies that there is no
field and no net charge in the semiconductor.
pn-juntion-Diode
At Thermal Equilibrium
A short time after the junction is
established and thermal equilibrium is
achieved, charge carriers in the vicinity of
the junction will neutralize each other
(electrons combining with holes), leaving
the unneutralized negatively ionized
acceptors, N - , in the p-region and
a
unneutralized positively ionized donors,
Nd+ , in the n-region. This region of
ionized donors and acceptors creates a
space charge and its region is called the
depletion region.
The edge of the depletion region given by -xp on the p-side and +xn on the n-side.
the ionized donors and acceptors are located in substitutional lattice sites and
Cannot move in the electric field. The concentration of these donors and
acceptors are selected to give the p-n junction desired device properties
pn-juntion-Diode
Energy Band Diagram at Thermal Equilibrium
At thermal equilibrium
dE f 0
dx
i.e. the Fermi level in the p- and n- type
semiconductors must be equal. This
requirement for constant Fermi level
pushes Drift
the n-type semiconductor Fermi level
Diffusio n
down to be constant with the p-type
semiconductor Fermi level, as shown in
the diagram. The amount the bands are
bent is the difference In work function. Diffusio n
Drift
pn-juntion-Diode
potentia
l, �,
which is
caused
by the
workfun
ction
differen
ce
betwee
n the n-
type
and p-
type
pn-juntion-Diode
Junction Potential
K – Boltzman constant
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VT = Thermal voltage
pn-juntion-Diode
The built-in potential
pn-juntion-Diode
Semiconductor Diode
No Applied Voltage
A semiconductor diode is created by joining the n-type semiconductor to a p-type
semiconductor.
In the absence of a
bias voltage across
the diode, the net
flow of charge is one
direction is zero. Bias is
the term used when an
external DC voltage
is applied
pn-juntion-Diode
pn-juntion-Diode
Biasing the Junction Diode
Forward Bias Reverse Bias
pn-juntion-Diode
Electrostatic analysis of a p-n diode
pn-juntion-Diode
What Are Diodes Made Out Of?
pn-juntion-Diode
P-Type Material:
P-type material is produced when the dopant that
is introduced is from Group III. Group III
elements have only 3 valence electrons and
+4 +4 +4 therefore there is an electron missing. This
creates a hole (h+), or a positive charge that can
move around in the material. Commonly used
Group III dopants are aluminum, boron, and
+4 +3 +4
gallium.
The 2D diagram to the left shows the hole that
+4 +4 +4 will be present when a Group III dopant is
introduced to a material such as silicon. This
hole is quite mobile in the same way the extra
electron is mobile in a n-type material.
pn-juntion-Diode
The PN Junction
Steady State1
Metallurgical Junction
Na Nd
- - - - - - + + + + + +
- - - - - - + + + + + +
P -
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
+ + + + + + n
+ + + + + +
- - - - - - + + + + + +
Space Charge
ionized Region
acceptors ionized
donors
E-Field
_ _
+ +
h+ drift = h+ diffusion e-
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diffusion e- drift
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The PN Junction
Steady State
Metallurgical
Na Nd Junction
hen no external source is connected to the pn junction, diffusion and drift balance e
- - - - - + + + + +
- - - - - + + + + +
P
- - - - - + + + + +
n
- - - - - + + + + +
Space Charge
ionized Region ionized
acceptors donors
E-Field
__
+ +
h+ drift h+ diffusion e- diffusion == e- drift
==
Space Charge Region: Also called the depletion region. This region includes
the net positively and negatively charged regions. The space charge region
does not have any free carriers. The width of the space charge region is
denoted by W in pn junction formula’s.
Metallurgical Junction: The interface where the p- and n-type materials meet.
pn-juntion-Diode
Na & Nd: Represent the amount of negative and positive doping in number of
carriers per centimeter cubed. Usually in the range of 1015 to 1020.
pn-juntion-Diode
The Biased PN Junction
Metal
Contact
“Ohmic
Contact” _
(Rs~0) Applied +
Electric Field
P n
_
+
Vapplied
The pn junction is considered biased when an external voltage is
applied.
There are two types of biasing: Forward bias and Reverse bias.
pn-juntion-Diode
These are descpnr-ibnetiodn Doinodethen next slide.
The Biased PN Junction
Forward Bias: In forward bias the depletion region shrinks slightly in width. With
this shrinking the energy required for charge carriers to cross the
depletion region decreases exponentially. Therefore, as the
Vapplied > 0 applied voltage increases, current starts to flow across the
junction. The barrier potential of the diode is the voltage at which
appreciable current starts to flow through the diode. The barrier
potential varies for different materials.
Reverse Bias: Under reverse bias the depletion region widens. This causes the
electric field produced by the ions to cancel out the applied
reverse bias voltage. A small leakage current, Is (saturation
Vapplied < 0 current) flows under reverse bias conditions. This saturation
current is made up of electron-hole pairs being produced in the
depletion region. Saturation current is sometimes referred to as
scale current because of it’s relationship to junction temperature.
Properties of Diodes
Figure 1.10 – The Diode Transconductance Curve2
ID (mA) • VD = Bias Voltage
• ID = Current through
Diode. ID is Negative
for Reverse Bias
and Positive for
IS Forward Bias
VBR • IS = Saturation
Current
~V VD
• VBR = Breakdown
Voltage
• V = Barrier Potential
Voltage
(nA) pn-juntion-Diode
Properties of Diodes
The Shockley Equation
• The transconductance curve on the previous slide is characterized by
the following equation:
ID = IS(eVD/VT – 1)
• As described in the last slide, ID is the current through the diode, IS is the
saturation current and VD is the applied biasing voltage.
• VT is the thermal equivalent voltage and is approximately 26 mV at room
temperature. The equation to find VT at various temperatures is:
VT = kT
q
k = 1.38 x 10-23 J/K T = temperature in Kelvin q = 1.6 x 10-19 C
• is the emission coefficient for the diode. It is determined by the way the
diode is constructed. It somewhat varies with diode current. For a silicon
diode is around 2 for low currents and goes down to about 1 at higher
currents
Diode Circuit Models
The Ideal The diode is designed to allow current to flow in
Diode only one direction. The perfect diode would be a
Model perfect conductor in one direction (forward bias)
and a perfect insulator in the other direction
(reverse bias). In many situations, using the ideal
diode approximation is acceptable.
Example: Assume the diode in the circuit below is ideal. Determine the
value of ID if a) VA = 5 volts (forward bias) and b) VA = -5 volts (reverse
bias)
RS = 50
With > 0 the diode is in forward bias
A
V
ID and is acting like a perfect conductor
+ so write a KVL equation to find ID:
_ 0 = VA – IDRS - V
VA +
V I = V - V = 4.7 V = 94 mA
D A
RS 50
Diode Circuit Models
The Ideal This model is the most accurate of the three. It includes a
Diode with linear forward resistance that is calculated from the slope of
the linear portion of the transconductance curve. However,
Barrier this is usually not necessary since the RF (forward
Potential and resistance) value is pretty constant. For low-power
Linear Forward germanium and silicon diodes the RF value is usually in the
2 to 5 ohms range, while higher power diodes have a RF
Resistance value closer to 1 ohm.
ID
Linear Portion of
+ transconductance
V F curve
Δ ID
RF = Δ VD
Δ ID
VD
ΔVD
Diode Circuit Models
The Ideal Example: Assume the diode is a low-power diode
Diode with with a forward resistance value of 5 ohms. The
Barrier barrier potential voltage is still: V = 0.3 volts (typical
Potential and for a germanium diode) Determine the value of ID if
Linear Forward VA = 5 volts.
Resistance
RS = 50
Ideal Diode
Ideal Diode
Model with
Model with
Ideal Diode Barrier
Barrier
Model Potential and
Potential
Linear Forward
Voltage
Resistance
ID 100 mA 94 mA 85.5 mA
+ ID = VA – V
VA _ RS
= 6V +
V Using V values of 0 volts and 1.4 volts we obtain
ID values of 6 mA and 4.6 mA respectively. Next
we will draw the line connecting these two points
on the graph with the transconductance curve.
This line is the load line.
The Q Point
The
ID (mA) transconductance
curve below is for a
12
Silicon diode. The
Q point in this
10 example is located
at 0.7 V and 5.3
mA.
8
Q Point: The intersection of the
load line and the
6 transconductance curve.
5.3
4.6
4
VD (Volts)
0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4
0p.n7-
The dynamic resistance of the diode is mathematically determined
as the inverse of the slope of the transconductance curve.
Therefore, the equation for dynamic resistance is:
rF = VT
ID
The dynamic resistance is used in determining the voltage drop
across the diode in the situation where a voltage source is
supplying a sinusoidal signal with a dc offset.
The ac component of the diode voltage is found using the
following equation:
vF = vac rF
rF + RS
The voltage drop through the diode is a combination of the ac and
dc components and is equal to:
o
V D = V vF
+
-ju t ion
Dynamic Resistance
Example: Use the same circuit used for the Q point example but change
the voltage source so it is an ac source with a dc offset. The source
voltage is now, vin = 6 + sin(wt) Volts. It is a silicon diode so the barrier
potential voltage is still 0.7 volts.
RS = 1000 The DC component of the circuit is
the same as the previous example and
therefore ID = 6V – 0.7 V = 5.2 mA
ID
1000
+
= = 1 * 26 mV = 4.9
v V+
rF VT
in
ID 5.3 mA
= 1 is a good approximation if the dc
current is greater than 1 mA as it is in
this example.
vF = vac rF = sin(wt) V 4.9 = 4.88 sin(wt) mV
rF + RS 4.9 + 1000
Therefore, VD = 700 + 4.9 sin (wpnt-) mntioVn i(otdhe e voltage drop across
the
diode)
Types of Diodes and Their Uses
A K P n
Schematic Symbol for a PN Representative Structure for
Junction Diode a PN Junction Diode
A K
A K