Unit 3

Semiconductors
Conductors: A conductor is a type of material that allows the electric current to flow through
it i.e. it possesses least resistance in the path of free electrons.

Insulator: An insulator is type of material that does not allow the electric current to pass through
it, due to its high electrical resistance. In the insulators, the energy gap between valance and
conduction bands is very large.

Semiconductor: The semiconductors are the materials having conductivity in-between

conductors and insulators. In a semiconductor, the forbidden energy gap between valance and
conduction bands is very small (about 1 eV) as compared to insulators.

Diode:
A diode is defined as a two-terminal electronic component that only conducts current in one
direction (so long as it is operated within a specified voltage level). An ideal diode will have
zero resistance in one direction, and infinite resistance in the reverse direction.

Types of Diode
The types of diode include:
§ Zener diode
§ PN junction diode
§ Photodiode
§ PIN diode
§ Light emitting diode

Biasing:
bias or biasing as a method of establishing a set of currents or voltages at different points of an
electronic circuit to establish proper operating conditions within an electronic component.

Forward Bias

In forward biasing the external voltage is applied across the PN-junction diode. This voltage
cancels the potential barrier and provides the low resistance path to the flow of current. The
forward bias means the positive region is connected to the p-terminal of the supply and the
negative region is connected to the n-type of the device.
The potential barrier voltage is very small (nearly 0.7 V for silicon and 0.3 V for germanium
junction) hence very few amount of voltage is required for the complete elimination of the
barrier. The complete elimination of the barrier constitutes the low resistance path for the flow
of current. Thus, the current starts flowing through the junction. This current is called forward
current.

Reverse Biasing

In reversed bias the negative region is connected to the positive terminal of the battery and the
positive region is connected to the negative terminal. The reverse potential increases the
strength of the potential barrier. The potential barrier resists the flow of charge carrier across
the junction. It creates a high resistive path in which no current flows through the circuit.

VI characteristics of Junction Diode in Forward Bias

The VI characteristics of PN junction diode in forwarding bias are nonlinear, that is, not a
straight line. This nonlinear characteristic illustrates that during the operation of the N junction,
the resistance is not constant. The slope of the PN junction diode in forwarding bias shows the
resistance is very low. When a forward bias is applied to the diode then it causes a low
impedance path and permits to conduct a large amount of current which is known as infinite
current. This current starts to flow above the knee point with a small amount of external
potential.

The potential difference across the PN junction is maintained constant by the depletion layer
action. The max amount of current to be conducted is kept incomplete by the load resistor
because when the PN junction diode conducts more current than the normal specifications of
the diode, the extra current results in the heat dissipation and also leads to serving damage to
the device.
VI Characteristics of PN Junction Diode in Reverse Bias
In this type of bias, the characteristic curve of the diode is shown in the fourth quadrant of the
below figure. The current in this biasing is low till breakdown is reached and hence the diode
looks like an open circuit. When the input voltage of the reverse bias has reached the
breakdown voltage, reverse current increases enormously.

PN Junction Diode VI Characteristics in Reverse Bias

Therefore, this is all about PN junction diode in zero bias, forward bias and reverse bias
conditions and VI characteristics of PN junction diode. We hope that you have got a better
understanding of this concept. Furthermore, any doubts regarding this article, or electronics
projects please give your feedback by commenting in the comment section below. Here is a
question for you, which diode is used in the phototransistor?

Zener diode
A zener diode is a p-n junction semiconductor device designed to operate in the reverse
breakdown region. The breakdown voltage of a zener diode is carefully set by controlling the
doping level during manufacture.
The name zener diode was named after the American physicist Clarance Melvin Zener who
discovered the zener effect. Zener diodes are the basic building blocks of electronic circuits.
They are widely used in all kinds of electronic equipments. Zener diodes are mainly used to
protect electronic circuits from over voltage.

The V-I Characteristics of a Zener Diode can be divided into two parts
(i) Forward Characteristics
(ii) Reverse Characteristics

Forward Characteristics
The forward characteristics of a Zener diode is shown in figure. It is almost identical to the
forward characteristics of a P-N junction diode.
Reverse Characteristics
As we increase the reverse voltage, initially a small reverse saturation current Io. Which is
in A, will follow. This current flows due to the thermally generated minority carriers. At a
certain value of reverse voltage, the reverse current will increase suddenly and sharply . This
is an indication that the breakdown has occurred. This breakdown voltage is called as Zener
breakdown voltage or Zener voltage and it is denoted by Vz.

Reverse Characteristics of Zener Diode

The value of Vz can be precisely controlled by controlling the doping levels of P and N regions
at the time of manufacturing a Zener diode. After breakdown has occurred. The voltage across
Zener diode remains constant equal to Vz. Any increase in the source voltage will result in the
increase in reverse Zener current. The Zener current after the reverse breakdown must be
controlled by connecting a resistor R as shown in figure. This is essential to avoid any damage
to the device due to excessive heating.

Application of Zener Diode are as follows:

Zener diodes have a large number of application. few of them are
(i) Zener diode is used as a voltage regulator.
(ii) Zener diode is used as a peak clipper in wave shaping circuits.
(iii) Zener diode is used as a fixed reference voltage in transistor biasing circuits.
(iv) Zener diode is used for meter protection against damage from accidental application of
excessive voltages.
 Rectifier
A rectifier is a device that converts an oscillating two-directional alternating current
(AC) into a single-directional direct current (DC).

applications of rectifiers are:

• Rectifiers are used in electric welding to provide polarized voltage

• Half-wave rectifiers are used as a mosquito repellent
• Half-wave rectifiers are used as a signal peak detector in AM radio
• Rectifiers are used in modulation, demodulation and voltage multipliers

Half Wave Rectifier

Half-wave rectifiers transform AC voltage to DC voltage. A halfwave rectifier circuit uses only
one diode for the transformation.
A halfwave rectifier is defined as a type of rectifier that allows only one-half cycle of an AC
voltage waveform to pass while blocking the other half cycle.

1. A high AC voltage is applied to the primary side of the step-down transformer. The
obtained secondary low voltage is applied to the diode.
2. The diode is forward biased during the positive half cycle of the AC voltage and reverse
biased during the negative half cycle.

The final output voltage waveform is as shown in the figure below:

Applications of Half Wave Rectifier

Here are a few common applications of half wave rectifiers:

• They are used for signal demodulation purpose

• They are used for rectification applications
• They are used for signal peak applications
Disadvantages of Half Wave Rectifier

• Power loss
• Low output voltage
 Full Wave Rectifier Circuit
The circuit of the full wave rectifier can be constructed in two ways. The first method uses a
centre tapped transformer and two diodes. This arrangement is known as a centre tapped full
wave rectifier. The second method uses a standard transformer with four diodes arranged as a
bridge.

The circuit of the full wave rectifier consists of a step-down transformer and two diodes that
are connected and centre tapped. The output voltage is obtained across the connected load
resistor.
Working of Full Wave Rectifier
The input AC supplied to the full wave rectifier is very high. The step-down transformer in the
rectifier circuit converts the high voltage AC into low voltage AC. The anode of the centre
tapped diodes is connected to the transformer’s secondary winding and connected to the load
resistor. During the positive half cycle of the alternating current, the top half of the secondary
winding becomes positive while the second half of the secondary winding becomes negative.
During the positive half cycle, diode D1 is forward biased as it is connected to the top of the
secondary winding while diode D2 is reverse biased as it is connected to the bottom of the
secondary winding. Due to this, diode D1 will conduct acting as a short circuit and D2 will not
conduct acting as an open circuit
During the negative half cycle, the diode D1 is reverse biased and the diode D2 is forward
biased because the top half of the secondary circuit becomes negative and the bottom half of
the circuit becomes positive. Thus in a full wave rectifiers, DC voltage is obtained for both
positive and negative half cycle.
 Bridge Rectifier

Bridge Rectifiers are circuits that convert alternating current (AC) into direct current (DC)
using diodes arranged in the bridge circuit configuration. Bridge rectifiers typically comprise
of four or more diodes. The output wave generated is of the same polarity irrespective of the
polarity at the input.

How does a Bridge Rectifier work?

Bridge Rectifiers use four diodes that are arranged cleverly to convert the AC supply voltage
to a DC supply voltage. The output signal of such a circuit is always of the same polarity
regardless of the polarities of the input AC signal. Figure 2 depicts the circuit of a bridge
rectifier with diodes interlocked in a bridge configuration. The AC signal is applied at the input
terminals a and b, and the output is observed across the load resistor R1.

Let’s see how this rectifier circuit responds to an AC signal with changing polarities at every
cycle:
1. In the first positive half cycle of the AC signal, the diodes D2 and D3 become forward
biased and start conducting. At the same time, the diodes D1 and D4 will be reverse biased and
will not conduct. The current will flow through the load resistor via the two forward-biased
diodes. The voltage seen at the output will be positive at terminal d and negative at terminal c.

2. Now, during the negative half cycle of the AC signal, the diodes D1 and D4 will be
forward biased and diodes D2 and D3 will become reverse biased. The positive voltage will
appear on the anode of D4, and negative voltage will be applied to the cathode of D1. It is
worth noting at this point that the current that will be flowing through the load resistor will
have the same direction as it has with the positive half cycle. Therefore, no matter the polarity
of the input signal, the output polarity will always be the same. We can also say that the
negative half cycle of the AC signal has been inverted and is appearing as a positive voltage at
the output.