Recall-Lecture 6

• Diode AC equivalent circuit – small signal analysis

– During AC analysis the diode is equivalent to a resistor,
rd

VDQ
rd
+ -

IDQ id

DC equivalent AC equivalent
 DC ANALYSIS AC ANALYSIS

DIODE = MODEL CALCULATE DIODE =

1 ,2 OR 3 rd RESISTOR, rd

CALCULATE DC CALCULATE AC
CURRENT, ID CURRENT, id
• Zener effect and Zener diode
– When a Zener diode is reverse-biased, it acts at
the breakdown region, when it is forward
biased, it acts like a normal PN junction diode
• Avalanche Effect
– Gain kinetic energy – hit another atom –
produce electron and hole pair
Model 1 Model 2 Model 3
V = 0 V V and rf Load Line  ID vs VD

Forward Biased, DC Analysis

At 300K VT = 0.026 V
AC Analysis
Thermal equilibrium,
depletion region
Reverse Biased Must perform DC
Analysis first to get
PN junction DC diode current, ID
Group 5

N-type P-type Group 3

Calculate
rd = VT / ID
Insulator Extrinsic
Semiconductor:
Conductor Group 4 eg. photodiode
Semiconductor Silicon and
Germanium Intrinsic
Other Solar cells
Materials Bandgap types of
Energy diode LED
CHAPTER 2
Zener Diode
 Chapter 3
Diode Circuits
Voltage Regulator
Voltage Regulator - Zener Diode

A voltage regulator supplies constant voltage to a load.

 The breakdown voltage of a Zener
diode is nearly constant over a wide
range of reverse-bias currents.
 This make the Zener diode useful in a
voltage regulator, or a constant-
voltage reference circuit.
3. The remainder of VPS
drops across Ri

2. The load
resistor sees
a constant
voltage
regardless of
the current
1. The Zener diode holds the
voltage constant regardless of
the current
 Example

A Zener diode is connected in a voltage regulator circuit. It is given that VPS = 20V, the
Zener voltage, VZ = 10V, Ri = 222  and PZ(max) = 400 mW.

a. Determine the values of IL, IZ and II if RL = 380 .

b. Determine the value of RL that will establish PZ(max) = 400 mW in the diode.

ANSWER: ANSWER:
Part (a) Part (b)
IL = 26.3 mA PZ = IZ VZ
IZ = 18.7 mA IZ = 40 mA
II = 45 mA IL = 45 -40 = 5 mA
 RL = 2 k
For proper function the circuit must satisfied the following conditions.
1. The power dissipation in the Zener diode is less than the rated value
2. When the power supply is a minimum, VPS(min), there must be minimum
current in the Zener diode IZ(min), hence the load current is a maximum,
IL(max),
3. When the power supply is a maximum, VPS(max), the current in the diode is a
maximum, IZ(max), hence the load current is a minimum, IL(min)

AND Or, we can write

 Considering designing this circuit by substituting IZ(min) = 0.1 IZ(max),
now the last Equation becomes:

Maximum power dispassion in the Zener diode is

EXAMPLE 1
Consider voltage regulator is used to power
the cell phone at 2.5 V from the lithium ion
battery, which voltage may vary between 3
and 3.6 V. The current in the phone will vary 0
(off) to 100 mA(when talking). Calculate the
value of Ri and the Zener diode power
dissipation
Solution:
The stabilized voltage VL = 2.5 V, so the Zener diode voltage must be VZ = 2.5 V. The
maximum Zener diode current is

The maximum power dispassion in the Zener diode is

The value of the current limiting resistance is

Rectifier
Rectifier Circuits
 A DC power supply is required to bias all electronic circuits.
 A diode rectifier forms the first stage of a dc power supply.

Diagram of an Electronic Power Supply

 Rectification is the process of converting an alternating (ac) voltage

into one that is limited to one polarity.
 Rectification is classified as half-wave or full-wave rectifier.
Rectifier Parameters
Relationship between the number of turns of a
step-down transformer and the input/output
voltages

 =

The peak inverse voltage (PIV) of the diode is the peak value of the voltage
that a diode can withstand when it is reversed biased

Duty Cycle: The fraction of the wave cycle over which the diode is
conducting.
Half Wave Rectifier
• vs< V, diode off, open circuit, no
current flow, Vo = 0V
•vs > V, diode conducts, current flows,
v = vs – V
o

V

Equation of VO and current when diode is conducting

𝑣  𝑂 =𝑖 𝐷 𝑅=𝑣 𝑆 − 𝑉 𝛾

  𝑣 𝑆− 𝑉 𝛾
𝑖𝐷 =
𝑅
• vs < V, diode off, open circuit, no current flow, vo = 0V
• v > V, diode conducts, current flows and v = v – V
s o s

Consider a sine wave where vs = v m sin t and v

m is the peak value

v m Notice that the

peak voltage of Vo
V is lower

v s > V
Example
Consider the rectifier circuit in the figure below. Let R = 1 k, and the diode
has the properties of V = 0.6 V and rf = 20 .

Assume v = 10 sin t (V)

s

i. Determine the peak value of the diode current

ii. Sketch vO versus time, t. Label the peak value of vO.

vs
 SOLUTION

vO

v s > V