PHYSICS INVESTIGATORY

PROJECT

Name – Vaishali Tripathi

Class- 12 t h c
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

◦I would like to express my special

thanks of gratitude to my teacher
Mrs.Toshee Gupta and our
principal Mrs. Ghazala Afsar who
gave me the golden opportunity to
do this project on the topic
SEMICONDUCTOR. It helped
me in doing a lot of research and I
came to know about a lot of
things related to this topic.
◦Finally, I would also like to thank
my parents and friends who
helped me a lot in finalizing this
project within the limited time
frame
 Index
WHAT IS SEMICONDUCTOR? ( page – 4)
SEMICONDUCTOR DIODE ( page – 5)
SEMICONDUCTOR DIODE SYMBOL ( page -9)
PN JUNCTION ( page – 7 to 11)
V-I CHARACTERISTICS ( page -12 to 15)
TYPES OF SEMICONDUCTOR DIODE ( page
16)
APPLICATION OF SEMICONDUCTOR DIODE
( page 17)
DIODE AS A RECTIFIER (page – 18 to 22)
BIBLIOGRAPHY ( Page 23)
 What is semiconductor?

Example of
Definition Semiconductor More to know
• Gallium arsenide,
• They have resistivity
• Semiconductors are germanium and silicon or conductivity
materials which have are some of the intermediate to metals
a conductivity most commonLy used and insulators.
between semiconductors. ρ ~ 10-5. 106 Ωm, σ ~
conductors (generally Silicon is used in 10+5 .10-6 Sm-1
metals) and non- electronic circuit
conductors fabrication, and
or insulators (such as gallium arsenide is
ceramics). used in solar cells,
Semiconductors can laser diodes, etc
be compounds, such
as gallium arsenide, or
pure elements, such as
germanium or silicon.
Physics explains the
theories, properties
and mathematical
approach related to
semiconductors.
Semiconductor diode

A diode is a two-terminal
electronic component that has
a low resistance to the flow of
current in one direction thus
allowing the passage of
current in one direction
whereas there will be a high
resistance in the other, thus
restricting the flow of current
in that direction.
Semiconductor diodes are
two-terminal devices that
consist of a p-n junction and
metallic contacts at their two
ends.
SEMICONDUCTOR
DIODDE SYMBOL
A p-n junction is denoted by the
symbol shown in the figure above.
Here, the direction of the arrow
indicates the permissible direction of
the current.
 WHAT IS P-N
JUNCTION?

◦ A P-N junction is an interface or a boundary

between two semiconductor material types,
namely the p-type and the n-type, inside a
semiconductor.
◦ In a semiconductor, the P-N junction is
created by the method of doping. The p-side
or the positive side of the semiconductor has
an excess of holes, and the n-side or the
negative side has an excess of electrons.
Formation of depletion layer in pn
junction process

◦ As soon as the P-N junction diode is formed , the holes in

P-type regions starts to diffuse in to N-side of the junction
and when this hole which has a positive charge move to
the N-type of junction it leaves the space near the junction
creating negative charge and similarly when the electrons
which have a negative charge starts to diffuse towards the
P-type part of junction diode, as soon as electron enter in
P-type part of diode, electron leaves the space near the
junction creating positive charge.

This space near the junction carrying those positive and

negative charges is known as depletion region or depletion
layer.Hence, the diffusion of holes and electrons in N-type
region and P-type regions to neutralize the both regions of
the PN junction is the cause of depletion region formation.
P-N JUNCTION UNDER
FORWARD BIAS
◦ When we apply the external voltage across the
semiconductor diode in such a way that the p-side is
connected to the positive terminal of the battery and the
n-side is connected to the negative terminal, then the
semiconductor diode is said to be forward-biased
◦ In this case, the built-in potential of the diode and thus
the width of the depletion region decreases, and the
height of the barrier gets reduced. The overall barrier
voltage, in this case, comes out to be V0-V, which is the
difference between the built-in potential and the applied
potential.
• As we supply a small amount of voltage, the reduction
in the barrier voltage from the above-given formula is
very less and thus only a small number of current
carriers cross the junction in this case. Whereas, if the
potential is increased by a significant value, the
reduction in the barrier height will be more, thus
allowing the passage of more number of carriers.

Due to the applied voltage, electrons from n-side cross the

depletion region and reach p-side (where they are minority
carries). Similarly, holes from p-side cross the junction and
reach the n-side (where they are minority carries). This
process under forward bias is known as minority carrier
injection.
P-n junction under reverse
bias
• When we apply the external voltage across the
semiconductor diode in such a way that the
positive terminal of the battery is connected to its
n-side and the negative terminal of the battery is
connected to the p-side of the diode, then it is said
to be in the condition of reverse bias.
• When an external voltage is applied across the
diode, as the direction of the external voltage is the
same as that of the barrier potential, the total
voltage barrier sums up to be (V0+V). Also, the
width of the depletion region increases. As a result
of this, the motion of carriers from one side of the
junction to another decreases significantly.
Important diagram of reverse bias
Semiconductor diode
characteristics (v-I
characteristics)
◦ The V-I characteristics curve of a semiconductor
diode is given below. This characteristic curve is
a typical explanation for the V-I characteristic of
a semiconductor diode. Current in the
semiconductor diode starts to conduct when the
current exceeds the threshold of the forward
voltage, which is mentioned by the
manufacturer.
Types of vi characteristics
(graphs )

◦ Linear VI graph

◦ Non linear graph

Explanation of graphs

◦Linear VI Characteristics
◦ A linear VI curve has a constant slope and
hence a constant resistance. Carbon
resistors and metals obey Ohm’s law and
have constant resistance. The V-I curve is a
straight line passing through the origin. An
electronic component may exhibit linear
characteristics only in a particular region.
For example, a diode has a mostly linear
behaviour in its operating region.
◦ Non-linear VI Characteristics
◦ A circuit component has a non-linear
characteristic if the resistance is not
constant throughout and is some
function of voltage or current. The
diode, for example, has varying
resistance for different voltage
values. However, it has a linear
characteristic for a narrow operating
region. In the graph below, we can also
see the maximum forward and reverse
voltage in which the diode can be
operated without causing breakdown
and burning up of the diode.
TYPES OF
SEMICONDUCTOR
DIODES

◦ Following are the types of

semiconductor diodes:
• LED
• Zener diode
• Rectifier diode
• Tunnel diode
• Variable capacitance diode
• Photodiode
• Switching diode
• Gunn diode
 DIODE AS A
RECTIFIER
◦ The main application of p-n junction diode is in
rectification circuits. These circuits are used to describe
the conversion of a.c signals to d.c in power supplies.
Diode rectifier gives an alternating voltage which pulsates
in accordance with time. The filter smoothes the pulsation
in the voltage and to produce d.c voltage, a regulator is
used which removes the ripples.
◦ There are two primary methods of diode rectification:
• Half Wave Rectifier
• Full Wave Rectifier
HALF WAVE
RECTIFIER-
◦ In a half-wave rectifier, one half of each a.c input
cycle is rectified. When the p-n junction diode is
forward biased, it gives little resistance and when it
is reversed biased it provides high resistance.
During one-half cycles, the diode is forward biased
when the input voltage is applied and in the
opposite half cycle, it is reverse biased. During
alternate half-cycles, the optimum result can be
obtained.
WORKING OF HALF WAVE
RECTIFIER

◦ The half-wave rectifier has both positive and negative

cycles. During the positive half of the input, the current
will flow from positive to negative which will generate
only a positive half cycle of the a.c supply. When a.c
supply is applied to the transformer, the voltage will be
decreasing at the secondary winding of the diode. All the
variations in the a.c supply will reduce, and we will get
the pulsating d.c voltage to the load resistor.
 FULL WAVE RECTIFIER
◦ Full-wave rectifier circuits are used for
producing an output voltage or output current
which is purely DC. The main advantage of a
full-wave rectifier over half-wave rectifier is
that such as the average output voltage is
higher in full-wave rectifier, there is less
ripple produced in full-wave rectifier when
compared to the half-wave rectifier.
WORKING OF FULL
WAVE RECTIFIER
◦ The full-wave rectifier utilizes both halves of
each a.c input. When the p-n junction is forward
biased, the diode offers low resistance and when
it is reverse biased it gives high resistance. The
circuit is designed in such a manner that in the
first half cycle if the diode is forward biased then
in the second half cycle it is reverse biased and so
on.
APPLICATION OF
SEMICONDUCTOR
DIODE
◦ Following are the applications of semiconductor diodes:
• Rectifier diode which is used for the rectification of
alternating current.
• Gunn diode which is one of the components of high-
frequency electronics.
• Zener diodes are used for the stabilisation of current and
voltage in electronic systems.
• Photodiode works as a photo-detector.
• Switching diode which is used for fast switching
requirements.
• A tunnel diode is a special diode that is used in the negative
dynamic resistance region.
• LED is used for emitting an infrared light spectrum.
• A variable capacitance diode is used when a voltage is
applied in reverse biased condition.
BIBILIOGRAPHY

◦ NCERT PHYSICS –II

◦ BYJUS
◦ Links –
◦ https://byjus.com/jee/semiconduc
tors/
◦ https://www.learncbse.in/semicon
ductor-electronics-materials-devi
ces-simple-circuits-cbse-notes-cl
ass-12-physics