Electronics

PHY 234
Fall 2021

Dr. Muhammad Habib

Department of Physics
COMSATS University Islamabad.
Contents
 Forward biasing of diode
 Reverse biasing of diode
 Diode I-V curve
 Reverse breakdown
 Avalanche effect
 Diode model in forward and reverse biasing

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Diode or PN junction diode
 If metal contacts are made to the p and n regions of a semiconductor then pn junction diode will be
formed.
 P region contact is called the anode and n region contact is called the cathode.

p n

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Forward biasing of diode
 If p region/anode is connected with the +ve terminal of battery and n region with Connecting a
–ve terminal, then diode is said to be in forward bias condition. battery to the
 Diode will allow current to flow through it. diode is
called biasing.
 In forward bias depletion region is squeezed.
 Holes are repelled by +ve potential while electrons by –ve potential.
 In forward bias, current in n-type region is due to negative charge carriers
while in p-type due to positive charge carriers.
 In fact, in the p-type region, electrons from the n-type block, enters and hops
from hole to hole and thus give feeling of movement of holes.

With no biasing COMSATS University Islamabad 4

Reverse biasing of diode
 If p region/anode is connected with the -ve terminal of battery and n region with +ve
terminal, then diode will be in reverse bias condition.
 Diode does not allow current to flow through it.
Reverse bias working can be understood in several ways:
 In reverse bias, more –ve charges are induced in p-region and +ve in n-region. They
repel towards junction and more immobile charges pile up, and widens the depletion
region.
 Negative terminal attracts holes in the p-type region while positive terminal attracts
electrons in the from the n-type region away from junction which widens the depletion
region.

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Reverse biasing of diode
 When depletion region widens up and then potential barrier increases up to the applied battery
voltage and further widening process stops.
 In reverse bias depletion region gets stronger and acts as an insulator while n and p-regions acts
like charge plates.

Reverse bias current

During reverse biasing, thermally generated charges in the depletion region and minority carriers in
the n/p-region constitute a minute amount of current called reverse bias current.

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Diode I-V curve
Potential barrier
 Potential that develops at depletion region due to pile up of immobile charges.
 It is 0.7V for Si and 0.3V for Ge device.

Reverse breakdown
 When value of reverse bias voltage exceeds beyond a particular limit then
reverse breakdown of a diode occurs.
 For most diodes VBR is 50V.

Avalanche effect
Minority charge carriers in each region knock out electrons by colliding with
atoms which further knock out more electrons and thus produce a surge of
charges and generate an avalanche effect.

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The Ideal Diode Model
Ideally diode model can be represented by a simple switch.

 When the diode is forward-biased, it ideally acts like a
closed (On) switch.
 Ideally, in forward bias, barrier potential and the forward
dynamic resistance are neglected, and diode is assumed to
have a zero voltage across it.
 When the diode is reverse-biased, it acts like an
open (Off) switch.
 During reverse bias no current will flow through it.

 During forward bias maximum current will flow through it.  In reverse bias, voltage across the diode is equal to
the bias voltage.

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Practical diode model
• In the practical model of diode barrier potential is also considered.
• During forward-bias, diode is equivalent to a closed switch in series with a small equivalent
voltage source (VF) equal to the barrier potential (0.7 V).

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Thanks for your attention.

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