[Type text]
QUANTITATIVE THEORY OF PN JUNCTION DIODE:
PN JUNCTION WITH NO APPLIED VOLTAGE OR OPEN CIRCUIT
CONDITION:
In a piece of sc, if one half is doped by p type impurity and the other half is
doped by n type impurity, a PN junction is formed. The plane dividing the two halves or
zones is called PN junction. As shown in the fig the n type material has high
concentration of free electrons, while p type material has high concentration of holes.
Therefore at the junction there is a tendency of free electrons to diffuse over to the P side
and the holes to the N side. This process is called
diffusion. As the free electrons move across the junction from N type to P type, the
donor atoms become positively charged. Hence a positive charge is built on the N-side of
the junction. The free electrons that cross the junction uncover the negative acceptor ions
by filing the holes. Therefore a negative charge is developed on the p –side of the
junction..This net negative charge on the p side prevents further diffusion of electrons
into the p side. Similarly the net positive charge on the N side repels the hole crossing
from p side to N side. Thus a barrier sis set up near the junction which prevents the
further movement of charge carriers i.e. electrons and holes. As a consequence of
induced electric field across the depletion layer, an electrostatic potential difference is
established between P and N regions, which are called the potential barrier, junction
barrier, diffusion potential or contact potential, Vo. The magnitude of the contact
potential Vo varies with doping levels and temperature. Vo is 0.3V for Ge and 0.72 V for
Si.
The electrostatic field across the junction caused by the positively charged N-
Type region tends to drive the holes away from the junction and negatively charged p
type regions tend to drive the electrons away from the junction. The majority holes
[Type text]
diffusing out of the P region leave behind negatively charged acceptor atoms bound to
[Type text]
the lattice, thus exposing a negatives pace charge in a previously neutral region.
Similarly electrons diffusing from the N region expose positively ionized donor atoms
and a double space charge builds up at the junction as shown in the fig. 1.7
It is noticed that the space charge layers are of opposite sign to the majority
carriers diffusing into them, which tends to reduce the diffusion rate. Thus the double
space of the layer causes an electric field to be set up across the junction directed from N
to P regions, which is in such a direction to inhibit the diffusion of majority electrons and
holes as illustrated in fig 1.7. The shape of the charge density, ρ, depends upon how
diode id doped. Thus the junction region is depleted of mobile charge carriers. Hence it
is called depletion layer, space region, and transition region. The depletion region is of
the order of 0.5µm thick. There are no mobile carriers in this narrow depletion region.
Hence no current flows across the junction and the system is in equilibrium. To the left
of this depletion layer, the carrier concentration is p= NA and to its right it is n= ND.
[Type text]
1.1.2 FORWARD BIASED JUNCTION DIODE
When a diode is connected in a Forward Bias condition, a negative voltage is applied to
the N-type material and a positive voltage is applied to the P-type material. If this
external voltage becomes greater than the value of the potential barrier, approx. 0.7 volts
for silicon and 0.3 volts for germanium, the potential barriers opposition will be
overcome and current will start to flow. This is because the negative voltage pushes or
repels electrons towards the junction giving them the energy to cross over and combine
[Type text]
with the holes being pushed in the opposite direction towards the junction by the positive
voltage. This results in a characteristics curve of zero current flowing up to this voltage
point, called the "knee" on the static curves and then a high current flow through the
diode with little increase in the external voltage as shown below.
Forward Characteristics Curve for a Junction Diode
The application of a forward biasing voltage on the junction diode results in the
depletion layer becoming very thin and narrow which represents a low impedance path
through the junction thereby allowing high currents to flow. The point at which this
sudden increase in current takes place is represented on the static I-V characteristics
curve above as the "knee" point.
Forward Biased Junction Diode showing a Reduction in the Depletion Layer
[Type text]
This condition represents the low resistance path through the PN junction allowing very
large currents to flow through the diode with only a small increase in bias voltage. The
actual potential difference across the junction or diode is kept constant by the action of
the depletion layer at approximately 0.3v for germanium and approximately 0.7v for
silicon junction diodes. Since the diode can conduct "infinite" current above this knee
point as it effectively becomes a short circuit, therefore resistors are used in series with
the diode to limit its current flow. Exceeding its maximum forward current specification
causes the device to dissipate more power in the form of heat than it was designed for
resulting in a very quick failure of the device.
1.1.2 PN JUNCTION UNDER REVERSE BIAS CONDITION:
A silicon p–n junction in reverse bias.
Reverse Biased Junction Diode
When a diode is connected in a Reverse Bias condition, a positive voltage is applied to
the N-type material and a negative voltage is applied to the P-type material. The positive
voltage applied to the N-type material attracts electrons towards the positive electrode
and away from the junction, while the holes in the P-type end are also attracted away
from the junction towards the negative electrode. The net result is that the depletion layer
grows wider due to a lack of electrons and holes and presents a high impedance path,
almost an insulator. The result is that a high potential barrier is created thus preventing
current from flowing through the semiconductor material.
Reverse Biased Junction Diode showing an Increase in the Depletion Layer
[Type text]
This condition represents a high resistance value to the PN junction and practically zero
current flows through the junction diode with an increase in bias voltage. However, a
very small leakage current does flow through the junction which can be measured in
microamperes, (μA). One final point, if the reverse bias voltage Vr applied to the diode is
increased to a sufficiently high enough value, it will cause the PN junction to overheat
and fail due to the avalanche effect around the junction. This may cause the diode to
become shorted and will result in the flow of maximum circuit current, and this shown as
a step downward slope in the reverse static characteristics curve below.
Reverse Characteristics Curve for a Junction Diode
Sometimes this avalanche effect has practical applications in voltage stabilising circuits
where a series limiting resistor is used with the diode to limit this reverse breakdown
[Type text]
current to a preset maximum value thereby producing a fixed voltage output across the
diode. These types of diodes are commonly known as Zener Diodes and are discussed in
a later tutorial.
1.2 VI CHARACTERISTICS AND THEIR TEMPERATURE DEPENDENCE:
Diode terminal characteristics equation for diode junction current:
v
v
I D I 0 (e T
1)
Where VT = kT/q;
VD_ diode terminal voltage, Volts
Io _ temperature-dependent saturation current, µA
T _ absolute temperature of p-n junction, K
k _ Boltzmann’s constant 1.38x 10 -23J/K)
q _ electron charge 1.6x10-19 C
= empirical constant, 1 for Ge and 2 for Si
Temperature Effects on Diode
Temperature can have a marked effect on the characteristics of a silicon
semiconductor diode as shown in Fig. 1.24. It has been found experimentally that the
reverse saturation current Io will just about double in magnitude for every 10°C increase
in temperature.
[Type text]
It is not uncommon for a germanium diode with an Io in the order of 1 or 2 A at 25°C to
have a leakage current of 100 A _ 0.1 mA at a temperature of 100°C. Typical values of
Io for silicon are much lower than that of germanium for similar power and current
levels. The result is that even at high temperatures the levels of Io for silicon diodes do
not reach the same high levels [Link] germanium—a very important reason that
silicon devices enjoy a significantly higher level of development and utilization in
design. Fundamentally, the open-circuit equivalent in the reverse bias region is better
realized at any temperature with silicon than with germanium. The increasing levels of Io
with temperature account for the lower levels of threshold voltage, as shown in Fig. 1.24.
Simply increase the level of Io in and not rise in diode current. Of course, the level of TK
also will be increase, but the increasing level of Io will overpower the smaller percent
change in TK. As the temperature increases the forward characteristics are actually
becoming more “ideal,”
1.3 IDEAL VERSUS PRACTICAL RESISTANCE LEVELS
DC or Static Resistance
The application of a dc voltage to a circuit containing a semiconductor diode will
result in an operating point on the characteristic curve that will not change with time.
The resistance of the diode at the operating point can be found simply by finding the
corresponding levels of VD and ID as shown in Fig. 1.25 and applying the following
Equation:
[Type text]
The dc resistance levels at the knee and below will be greater than the resistance
levels obtained for the vertical rise section of the characteristics. The resistance levels
in the reverse-bias region will naturally be quite high. Since ohmmeters typically
employ a relatively constant-current source, the resistance determined will be at a
preset current level (typically, a few mill amperes).
Figure 1.25 determining the dc resistance of a diode at a particular operating point.
AC or Dynamic Resistance
It is obvious from Eq. 1.5 that the dc resistance of a diode is independent of the
shape of the characteristic in the region surrounding the point of interest. If a sinusoidal
rather than dc input is applied, the situation will change completely. The varying input
will move the instantaneous operating point up and down a region of the characteristics
and thus defines a specific change in current and voltage as shown in Fig. 1.27. With no
applied varying signal, the point of operation would be the Q-point appearing on Fig.
1.27 determined by the applied dc levels. The designation Q-point is derived from the
word quiescent, which means “still or unvarying.” A straight-line drawn tangent to the
curve through the Q-point as shown in Fig. 1.28 will define a particular change in
voltage and current that can be used to determine the ac or dynamic resistance for this
region of the diode characteristics. In equation form,
[Type text]
1.4 DIODE EQUIVALENT CIRCUITS
An equivalent circuit is a combination of elements properly chosen to best
represent the actual terminal characteristics of a device, system, or such in a particular
operating region. In other words, once the equivalent circuit is defined, the device
symbol can be removed from a schematic and the equivalent circuit inserted in its place
without severely affecting the actual behaviour of the system. The result is often a
network that can be solved using traditional circuit analysis techniques.
Piecewise-Linear Equivalent Circuit
One technique for obtaining an equivalent circuit for a diode is to approximate
the characteristics of the device by straight-line segments, as shown in Fig. 1.31. The
resulting equivalent circuit is naturally called the piecewise-linear equivalent circuit. It
should be obvious from Fig. 1.31 that the straight-line segments do not result in an exact
duplication of the actual characteristics, especially in the knee region. However, the
resulting segments are sufficiently close to the actual curve to establish an equivalent
circuit that will provide an excellent first approximation to the actual behaviour of the
device. The ideal diode is included to establish that there is only one direction of
conduction through the device, and a reverse-bias condition will result in the open-
circuit state for the device. Since a silicon semiconductor, diode does not reach the
conduction state until VD reaches 0.7 V with a forward bias (as shown in Fig. 1.31), a
battery VT opposing the conduction direction must appear in the equivalent circuit as
shown in Fig. 1.32. The battery simply specifies that the voltage across the device must
be greater than the threshold battery voltage before conduction through the device in the
[Type text]
direction dictated by the ideal diode can be established. When conduction is established,
the resistance of the diode will be the specified value of rav.
The approximate level of rav can usually be determined from a specified operating point
on the specification sheet. For instance, for a silicon semiconductor diode, if IF _ 10 mA
(a forward conduction current for the diode) at VD _ 0.8 V, we know for silicon that a
shift of 0.7 V is required before the characteristics rise.
1.5 TRANSITION AND DIFFUSION CAPACITANCE
Electronic devices are inherently sensitive to very high frequencies. Most shunt
capacitive effects that can be ignored at lower frequencies because the reactance
XC=1/2πfC is very large (open-circuit equivalent). This, however, cannot be ignored at
very high frequencies. XC will become sufficiently small due to the high value of f to
[Type text]
introduce a low-reactance “shorting” path. In the p-n semiconductor diode, there are two
capacitive effects to be considered. In the reverse-bias region we have the transition- or
depletion region capacitance (CT), while in the forward-bias region we have the
diffusion (CD) or storage capacitance. Recall that the basic equation for the capacitance
of a parallel-plate capacitor is defined by C=€A/d, where € is the permittivity of the
dielectric (insulator) between the plates of area A separated by a distance d. In the
reverse-, bias region there is a depletion region (free of carriers) that behaves essentially
like an insulator between the layers of opposite charge. Since the depletion width (d) will
increase with increased reverse-bias potential, the resulting transition capacitance will
decrease. The fact that the capacitance is dependent on the applied reverse-bias potential
has application in a number of electronic systems. Although the effect described above
will also be present in the forward-bias region, it is over shadowed by a capacitance
effect directly dependent on the rate at which charge is injected into the regions just
outside the depletion region. The capacitive effects described above are represented by a
capacitor in parallel with the ideal diode, as shown in Fig. 1.38. For low- or mid-
frequency applications (except in the power area), however, the capacitor is normally not
included in the diode symbol.
Diode capacitances: The diode exhibits two types of capacitances transition capacitance
and diffusion capacitance.
. Transition capacitance: The capacitance which appears between positive ion layer
in n-region and negative ion layer in p-region.
· Diffusion capacitance: This capacitance originates due to diffusion of charge
carriers in the opposite regions.
The transition capacitance is very small as compared to the diffusion capacitance.
In reverse bias transition, the capacitance is the dominant and is given by:
where CT - transition capacitance
A - diode cross sectional area
[Type text]
W - depletion region width
In forward bias, the diffusion capacitance is the dominant and is given by:
where CD - diffusion capacitance
dQ - change in charge stored in depletion region
V - change in applied voltage
- time interval for change in voltage
g - diode conductance
r - diode resistance
The diffusion capacitance at low frequencies is given by the formula:
The diffusion capacitance at high frequencies is
inversely proportional to the frequency and is given by the formula:
Note: The variation of diffusion capacitance with applied voltage is
used in the design of varactor.
1.6 BREAK DOWN MECHANISMS
When an ordinary P-N junction diode is reverse biased, normally only very small
reverse saturation current flows. This current is due to movement of minority carriers. It
is almost independent of the voltage applied. However, if the reverse bias is increased, a
point is reached when the junction breaks down and the reverse current increases
abruptly. This current could be large enough to destroy the junction. If the reverse
current is limited by means of a suitable series resistor, the power dissipation at the
junction will not be excessive, and the device may be operated continuously in its
breakdown region to its normal (reverse saturation) level. It is found that for a suitably
designed diode, the breakdown voltage is very stable over a wide range of reverse
currents. This quality gives the breakdown diode many useful applications as a voltage
reference source.
[Type text]
The critical value of the voltage, at which the breakdown of a P-N junction diode occurs
is called the breakdown voltage. The breakdown voltage depends on the width of the
depletion region, which, in turn, depends on the doping level. The junction offers almost
zero resistance at the breakdown point.
There are two mechanisms by which breakdown can occur at a reverse biased P-N
junction :
1. avalanche breakdown and
2. Zener breakdown.
Avalanche breakdown and
The minority carriers, under reverse biased conditions, flowing through the junction
acquire a kinetic energy which increases with the increase in reverse voltage. At a
sufficiently high reverse voltage (say 5 V or more), the kinetic energy of minority
carriers becomes so large that they knock out electrons from the covalent bonds of the
semiconductor material. As a result of collision, the liberated electrons in turn liberate
more electrons and the current becomes very large leading to the breakdown of the
crystal structure itself. This phenomenon is called the avalanche breakdown. The
breakdown region is the knee of the characteristic curve. Now the current is not
controlled by the junction voltage but rather by the external circuit.
Zener breakdown
Under a very high reverse voltage, the depletion region expands and the potential barrier
increases leading to a very high electric field across the junction. The electric field will
break some of the covalent bonds of the semiconductor atoms leading to a large number
of free minority carriers, which suddenly increase the reverse current. This is called the
Zener effect. The breakdown occurs at a particular and constant value of reverse voltage
called the breakdown voltage, it is found that Zener breakdown occurs at electric field
intensity of about 3 x 10^7 V/m.
[Type text]
Either of the two (Zener breakdown or avalanche breakdown) may occur
independently, or both of these may occur simultaneously. Diode junctions that
breakdown below 5 V are caused by Zener effect. Junctions that experience breakdown
above 5 V are caused by avalanche effect. Junctions that breakdown around 5 V are
usually caused by combination of two effects. The Zener breakdown occurs in heavily
doped junctions (P-type semiconductor moderately doped and N-type heavily doped),
which produce narrow depletion layers. The avalanche breakdown occurs in lightly
doped junctions, which produce wide depletion layers. With the increase in junction
temperature Zener breakdown voltage is reduced while the avalanche breakdown voltage
increases. The Zener diodes have a negative temperature coefficient while avalanche
diodes have a positive temperature coefficient. Diodes that have breakdown voltages
around 5 V have zero temperature coefficient. The breakdown phenomenon is reversible
and harmless so long as the safe operating temperature is maintained.
1.7 ZENER DIODES
The Zener diode is like a general-purpose signal diode consisting of a silicon PN
junction. When biased in the forward direction it behaves just like a normal signal diode
passing the rated current, but as soon as a reverse voltage applied across the zener diode
exceeds the rated voltage of the device, the diodes breakdown voltage VB is reached at
which point a process called Avalanche Breakdown occurs in the semiconductor
depletion layer and a current starts to flow through the diode to limit this increase in
voltage.
[Type text]
The current now flowing through the zener diode increases dramatically to the maximum
circuit value (which is usually limited by a series resistor) and once achived this reverse
saturation current remains fairly constant over a wide range of applied voltages. This
breakdown voltage point, VB is called the "zener voltage" for zener diodes and can range
from less than one volt to hundreds of volts.
The point at which the zener voltage triggers the current to flow through the diode can be
very accurately controlled (to less than 1% tolerance) in the doping stage of the diodes
semiconductor construction giving the diode a specific zener breakdown voltage, (Vz)
for example, 4.3V or 7.5V. This zener breakdown voltage on the I-V curve is almost a
vertical straight line.
Zener Diode I-V Characteristics
The Zener Diode is used in its "reverse bias" or reverse breakdown mode, i.e. the diodes
anode connects to the negative supply. From the I-V characteristics curve above, we can
see that the zener diode has a region in its reverse bias characteristics of almost a
constant negative voltage regardless of the value of the current flowing through the diode
and remains nearly constant even with large changes in current as long as the zener
[Type text]
diodes current remains between the breakdown current IZ(min) and the maximum current
rating IZ(max).
This ability to control itself can be used to great effect to regulate or stabilise a voltage
source against supply or load variations. The fact that the voltage across the diode in the
breakdown region is almost constant turns out to be an important application of the zener
diode as a voltage regulator. The function of a regulator is to provide a constant output
voltage to a load connected in parallel with it in spite of the ripples in the supply voltage
or the variation in the load current and the zener diode will continue to regulate the
voltage until the diodes current falls below the minimum IZ(min) value in the reverse
breakdown region.