Name of the Subject: ADE Name of the Faculty: CH SHANTHI

Unit Wise Notes

Module-I

P-N Junctions: P-N junction diode working, I-V characteristics of a diode, half-wave and full-
wave rectifiers, clamping and clipping circuits, Special purpose diode - Zener diode, Varactor
diode. Bipolar Junction Transistors (BJT):Transistor fundamentals and operations, Input
output characteristics of BJT in CB, CE, CC configurations, DC operating point, Load line
analysis, common-emitter, common-base and common collector amplifiers; design and analysis
of the fixed bias, emitter bias with and without emitter resistance circuits, variation of operating
point and its stability.

Introduction:

Based on the electrical conductivity all the materials in nature are classified as insulators,

semiconductors, and conductors.

Insulator: An insulator is a material that offers a very low level (or negligible) of conductivity
when voltage is applied. Eg: Paper, Mica, glass, quartz. Typical resistivity level of an insulator
is of the order of 1010 to 1012 Ω-cm. The energy band structure of an insulator is shown in the
fig.1.1. Band structure of a material defines the band of energy levels that an electron can
occupy. Valance band is the range of electron energy where the electron remain bended too the
atom and do not contribute to the electric current. Conduction bend is the range of electron
energies higher than valance band where electrons are free to accelerate under the influence of
external voltage source resulting in the flow of charge.

The energy band between the valance band and conduction band is called as forbidden band
gap. It is the energy required by an electron to move from balance band to conduction band i.e.
the energy required for a valance electron to become a free electron.

1 eV = 1.6 x 10 -19 J

For an insulator, as shown in the fig.1.1 there is a large forbidden band gap of greater than 5Ev.

Because of this large gap there a very few electrons in the CB and hence the conductivity of
insulator is poor. Even an increase in temperature or applied electric field is insufficient to
transfer electrons from VB to CB.

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Name of the Subject: ADE Name of the Faculty: CH SHANTHI

P-N junction diode working:

A PN junction diode is a semiconductor device that allows the flow of electric current in one
direction and blocks the flow in the opposite direction. It is created by joining two types of
semiconductors – P-type and N-type – together. The interface between the P-type and N-type
regions is known as the PN junction.

V-I Characteristics of P-N Junction Diode

VI characteristics of P-N junction diodes is a curve between the voltage and current through the circuit. Voltage is taken
along the x-axis while the current is taken along the y-axis. The above graph is the V-I characteristics curve of the P-N
junction diode. With the help of the curve, we can understand that there are three regions in which the diode works, and
they are:

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Name of the Subject: ADE Name of the Faculty: CH SHANTHI

 Zero bias

 Forward bias

 Reverse bias

When the P-N junction diode is in zero bias condition, there is no external voltage applied and this means that the
potential barrier at the junction does not allow the flow of current.

When the P-N junction diode is in forward bias condition, the p-type is connected to the positive terminal while the n-
type is connected to the negative terminal of the external voltage. When the diode is arranged in this manner, there is a
reduction in the potential barrier. For silicone diodes, when the voltage is 0.7 V and for germanium diodes, when the
voltage is 0.3 V, the potential barriers decrease, and there is a flow of current.

When the diode is in forward bias, the current increases slowly, and the curve obtained is non-linear as the voltage
applied to the diode overcomes the potential barrier. Once the diode overcomes the potential barrier, the diode behaves
normally, and the curve rises sharply as the external voltage increases, and the curve obtained is linear.

When the P-N junction diode is in negative bias condition, the p-type is connected to the negative terminal while the n-
type is connected to the positive terminal of the external voltage. This results in an increase in the potential barrier.
Reverse saturation current flows in the beginning as minority carriers are present in the junction.

When the applied voltage is increased, the minority charges will have increased kinetic energy which affects the majority
charges. This is the stage when the diode breaks down. This may also destroy the diode.

Applications of P-N Junction Diode

 P-N junction diode can be used as a photodiode as the diode is sensitive to the light when the configuration of the diode is reverse-
biased.

 It can be used as a solar cell.

 When the diode is forward-biased, it can be used in LED lighting applications.

 It is used as rectifier in many electric circuits and as a voltage-controlled oscillator in varactors.

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(B)Unit wise question bank

UNIT 1

SHORT QUESTIONS:

1)

LONG QUESTIONS:

UNIT 2:

SHORT QUESTIONS:

1)

LONG QUESTIONS:

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UNIT 3:

SHORT QUESTIONS:

1)

LONG QUESTIONS:

UNIT 4:

SHORT QUESTIONS:

LONG QUESTIONS:

1)

UNIT 5:

LONG QUESTIONS:

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5. Previous question papers

(a) University

6. Model Question Papers

7. References/ URLS (if any)

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