Republic of the Philippines

NUEVA VIZCAYA STATE UNIVERSITY

Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya
INSTRUCTIONAL MODULE
IM No.05: ECE01-2S-2021-2022

College: Engineering
Campus: Bambang

DEGREE PROGRAM Bachelor of

Science in
COURSE NO. ECE 01
Mechanical
Engineering
SPECIALIZATION COURSE TITLE Basic Electronics
nd
YEAR LEVEL 2 Year TIME FRAME 5 Hrs WK NO. 5 IM NO. 05

I. UNIT TITLE/CHAPTER TITLE

Semiconductors PN Junction Diode Part III

II. LESSON TITLE

1. Transition and Diffusion Capacitance

2. Reverse Recovery Time
2.1 Storage Time
2.2Transition Time
3I. Diode Specification Sheets
3.1. Forward Voltage
3.2. Forward Current
3.3. Reverse Saturation Current
3.4. Maximum Power Dissipation
3.5. Capacitance Levels
3.6. Reverse Recovery Time
3.7. Operating Temperature
4. Semiconductor Diode Notation

III. LESSON OVERVIEW

This module provides the students the fundamentals of the semiconductor device part III, which
is mainly the electronic device nowadays. This module discusses the semiconductor device from its initial
state as a pure element; Silicon, Germanium, etc., up to its final complete material form, the simplest
electronics device the “Diode”. This part of the semiconductor fundamentals will discuss about the diode
specification sheet and its important parameters.

IV. DESIRED LEARNING OUTCOMES

At the end of the lesson, the students should be able to:

1. Discuss the diode specification sheet important parameters.

2. Identify the diode specification sheet important parameters.
3. Described the diode specification sheet important parameters

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NUEVA VIZCAYA STATE UNIVERSITY
Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya
INSTRUCTIONAL MODULE
IM No.05: ECE01-2S-2021-2022

V. LESSON CONTENT

1. Transition and Diffusion Capacitance

Every electronic or electrical device is frequency sensitive. That is, the terminal characteristics of any device
will change with change of frequency. Even the resistance of a basic resistor, as of any construction, will be
sensitive to the applied frequency.
At low to mid-frequencies most resistors can be considered fixed in value. However, as we approach high
frequencies, stray capacitive and inductive effects start to play a role and will affect the total impedance level of
the element.
For the semiconductor diode, it is the stray capacitance levels that have the greatest effect. At low
frequencies, only relatively small levels of capacitance the reactance of a capacitor, determined by

1
𝑋𝑐 = Equation # 1
2𝜋𝑓𝐶

is usually so high it can be considered infinite in magnitude, represented by an open circuit, and ignored. At high
frequencies, however, the level of 𝑋𝑐 can drop to the point where it will introduce a low-reactance “shorting”
path. If this shorting path is across the diode (conducts current flow).

In the p–n semiconductor diode, there are two capacitive effects to be considered. Both types of capacitance
are present in the forward- and reverse-bias regions, but one so outweighs the other in each region that we
consider the effects of only one in each region.

Recall that the basic equation for the capacitance of a parallel-plate capacitor is defined by
𝐴
𝐶= 𝜖 Equation # 2
𝑑

where 𝝐 is the permittivity of the dielectric (insulator) between the plates of area A separated by a distance d.

In a diode, the depletion region (the junction)) 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, as shown in Figure 1.0. The fact that the capacitance is dependent on the
applied reverse-bias potential has application in a number of electronic systems such as the Varactor diode used
in tuning circuits for radios.

Figure 1.0 Transition and diffusion capacitance versus applied bias for a silicon diode.

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NUEVA VIZCAYA STATE UNIVERSITY
Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya
INSTRUCTIONAL MODULE
IM No.05: ECE01-2S-2021-2022

This capacitance, called the transition ( 𝐶𝑇 ), barriers, or depletion region capacitance, is determined by
𝐶(0)
𝐶𝑇 = 𝑛 Equation # 3
(1+ |𝑉𝑅⁄𝑉 |)
𝐾

where 𝐶(0) is the capacitance under no-bias conditions and 𝑉𝑅 is the applied reverse bias potential. The power
𝑛 is 1⁄2 or 1⁄3 depending on the manufacturing process for the diode.

Although the effect described above will also be present in the forward-bias region, it is overshadowed
by a capacitance effect directly dependent on the rate at which charge is injected into the regions just outside
the depletion region. The result is that increased levels of current will result in increased levels of diffusion
capacitance (𝐶𝐷 ) as demonstrated by the following equation:

𝜏
𝐶𝐷 = ( 𝑇 ) 𝐼𝐷 Equation # 4
𝑉𝐾

where 𝜏 𝑇 is the minority carrier lifetime—the time it take for a minority carrier such as a hole to recombine with
an electron in the n-type material.

However, increased levels of current result in a reduced level of associated resistance and the resulting
time constant (𝜏 = 𝑅𝐶), which is very important in high-speed applications, does not become excessive. In
general, therefore, the transition capacitance is the predominant capacitive effect in the reverse-bias region
whereas the diffusion capacitance is the predominant capacitive effect in the forward-bias region.

2. Reverse recovery time

The reverse recovery time, denoted by 𝑡𝑟𝑟 is equal to the storage time ( 𝑡𝑠 ) plus the transition time (𝑡𝑡 ).
In the forward-bias state it was shown earlier that there are a large number of electrons from the n -type material
progressing through the p -type material and a large number of holes in the n -type material—a requirement for
conduction of current flow. The electrons in the p-type material and holes progressing through the n -type material
establish a large number of minority carriers in each material. If the applied voltage should be reversed to
establish a reverse-bias situation, we would ideally like to see the diode change instantaneously from the
conduction state ( “on state”) to the nonconduction state (“off state”).

However, because of the large number of minority carriers in each material, the diode current will simply
reverse as shown in Figure 2.0 and stay at this measurable level for the period of time 𝑡𝑠 (storage time) required
for the minority carriers to return to their majority-carrier state in the opposite material. In essence, the diode will
remain in the short-circuit state with a current 𝐼𝑟𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑒 determined by the network parameters. Eventually, when
this storage phase has passed, the current will be reduced in level to that associated with the nonconduction
state. This second period of time is denoted by 𝑡𝑡 (transition time).

Figure 2.0 Defining the reverse recovery time.

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NUEVA VIZCAYA STATE UNIVERSITY
Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya
INSTRUCTIONAL MODULE
IM No.05: ECE01-2S-2021-2022
3. Diode specification sheets

Data on specific semiconductor devices are normally provided by the manufacturer in one of two forms.
Most frequently, the manufacturer gives a very brief description on how to used their products. Most of the times,
they give a thorough examination of the characteristics using graphs, artwork, tables, and so on. In either case,
there are specific pieces of data that must be included for proper use of the semiconductor diode device. They
include the following:

i. The reverse-voltage rating [PIV or PRV or V(BR), where BR comes from the term “breakdown”
(at a specified temperature)] as shown in Table 1.0 (A). The data sheet highlights the fact that the silicon
high-voltage diode has a minimum reverse-bias voltage of 125 V at a specified reverse-bias current.

ii. Operating temperature range as shown in Table 1.0 (B). Note the wide range of temperature operation. Always
be aware that data sheets typically use the centigrade scale, with 200°C = 392°F and -65°C = -85°F.

iii. The maximum power dissipation level at a particular temperature as shown in Table 1.0 (C). The maximum
power dissipation level is given by PDmax= VD ID = 500 mW = 0.5 W. The effect of the linear derating factor of
3.33 mW/°C is demonstrated in Figure. 3.0 . Once the temperature exceeds 25°C the maximum power rating
will drop by 3.33 mW for each 1°C increase in temperature.

At a temperature of 100°C, which is the boiling point of water, the maximum power rating has dropped to
one half of its original value. An initial temperature of 25°C is typical inside a cabinet containing operating
electronic equipment in a low-power situation.

iv. The maximum forward current IF (at a specified temperature) as shown in Table 1.0 (D). The maximum
sustainable current is 500 mA. The plot of Figure 4.0 reveals that the forward current at 0.5 V is about 0.01
mA, but jumps to 1 mA (100 times greater) at about 0.65 V. At 0.8 V the current is more than 10 mA, and just
above 0.9 V it is close to 100 mA. The curve of Figure 4.0 certainly looks nothing like the characteristic curves
appearing in the last few sections. This is a result of using a logarithmic scale or log scale for the current and
a linear scale for the voltage. Log scales are often used to provide a broader range of values for a variable
in a limited amount of space.

v. The forward voltage V F (at a specified current and temperature) as shown in Table 1.0 (E). The data provide
a range of VF (forward-bias voltages) for each current level. The higher the forward current, the higher is the
applied forward bias. At 1 mA we find VF can range from 0.6 V to 0.68 V, but at 200 mA it can be as high as
0.85 V to 1.00 V. For the full range of current levels with 0.6 V at 1 mA and 0.85 V at 200 mA it is certainly a
reasonable approximation to use 0.7 V as the average value.

vi. The reverse saturation current IR (at a specified voltage and temperature) as shown in Table 1.0 (F). The data
provided clearly reveal how the reverse saturation current increases with applied reverse bias at a fixed
temperature. At 25°C the maximum reverse-bias current increases from 0.2 nA to 0.5 nA due to an increase
in reverse-bias voltage by the same factor of 5. At 125°C it jumps by a factor of 2 to the high level of 1 mA.
Note the extreme change in reverse saturation current with temperature as the maximum current rating jumps
from 0.2 nA at 25°C to 500 nA at 125°C (at a fixed reverse-bias voltage of 20 V). A similar increase occurs at
a reverse-bias potential of 100 V. Note also that the “temperature and applied reverse bias are very important
factors in designs sensitive to the reverse saturation current”.

vii. Capacitance levels as shown in Table 1.0 (G). As shown in the data listing and on Figure 5.0, the transition
capacitance at a reverse-bias voltage of 0 V is 5 pF at a test frequency of 1 MHz. Note the severe change in
capacitance level as the reverse-bias voltage is increased. As mentioned earlier, this sensitive region can be
put to good use in the design of a device called Varactor whose terminal capacitance is sensitive to the
applied voltage.

viii. Reverse recovery time trr as shown in Table 1.0 (H). The reverse recovery time is 3 ms for the test conditions
shown. This is not a fast time for some of the current high-performance systems in use today. However, for
a variety of low- and mid-frequency applications it is acceptable specially for rectification purposes.

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NUEVA VIZCAYA STATE UNIVERSITY
Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya
INSTRUCTIONAL MODULE
IM No.05: ECE01-2S-2021-2022
If the maximum power or dissipation rating is provided by the manufacturer, it is understood to be equal to the
following product:

𝑃𝐷𝑚𝑎𝑥 = 𝑉𝐷 𝐼𝐷

where ID and VD are the diode current and voltage, respectively, at a particular point of operation.
.

Table 1.0 Electrical characteristics of a high-voltage, low-leakage diode.( BAY73)

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NUEVA VIZCAYA STATE UNIVERSITY
Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya
INSTRUCTIONAL MODULE
IM No.05: ECE01-2S-2021-2022

Figure 3.0 Power Derating Curve

Figure 4.0 Forward voltage vs forward current

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NUEVA VIZCAYA STATE UNIVERSITY
Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya
INSTRUCTIONAL MODULE
IM No.05: ECE01-2S-2021-2022

Figure 5.0 Capacitance versus Reverse Voltage

4. Semiconductor diode notation

The notation most frequently used for semiconductor diodes is provided in Figure 6.0. For most diodes any
marking such as a dot or band, as shown in the figure 6.0, appears at the cathode end. The terminology anode
and cathode is a carryover from vacuum-tube notation. The anode refers to the higher or positive potential, and
the cathode refers to the lower or negative terminal.

This combination of bias levels will result in a forward-bias or “on” condition for the diode. A number of
commercially available semiconductor diodes appear in Figure 7.0

Figure 6.0 Semiconductor diode notation

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NUEVA VIZCAYA STATE UNIVERSITY
Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya
INSTRUCTIONAL MODULE
IM No.05: ECE01-2S-2021-2022

Figure 7.0 Various types of commercially available junction diodes.

VI. LEARNING ACTIVITIES

1. MODIFIED TRUE OR FALSE

DIRECTION: Write TRUE if the statement is correct but if it’s false, change the underlined word or group
of words to make the whole statement correct.

___________________ 1. In general, every electronic or electrical device is frequency sensitive

___________________ 2. The diode capacitance in the forward-bias condition is called transition

capacitance.

___________________ 3. The diffusion capacitance is the predominant capacitive effect in the

forward-bias region.

___________________ 4. From the basic equation for the capacitance of a parallel-plate capacitor, as
the distance of the two parallel plates increases, the capacitance also
increases.

___________________ 5. The capacitance at no-bias condition or no applied voltage source is C(0).

___________________ 6. The reverse-recovery time of a diode only counts the time from the moment
the diode is turned “off”.

___________________ 7. The current the flows during the reverse recovery time period is the leakage
current.

___________________ 8. The reverse voltage that can be applied before entering the breakdown region
of a diode is called reverse recovery voltage.

___________________ 9. The maximum power dissipation can be exceeded and still operates well.

___________________ 10. The reverse saturation current also varies as the temperature varies in level.

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NUEVA VIZCAYA STATE UNIVERSITY
Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya
INSTRUCTIONAL MODULE
IM No.05: ECE01-2S-2021-2022
2. ESSAY TYPE
Direction: Answer the following essay questions briefly. You may use the Internet if necessary.

1. Describe in your own words how diffusion and transition capacitances differ.

2.What are the difference of 1N4001 and 1N4007 rectifier diodes?

(Give the URL Address of your source)

VII. EVALUATION (Note: Not to be included in the student’s copy of the IM)

1. ONLINE ASSIGNMENTS

2. ONLINE QUIZZES

VIII. ASSIGNMENT

1. Problem Solving Type

Direction: Answer the following problem solving by showing the complete solution, no short-cuts.

1. The no-bias transition capacitance of a silicon diode is 8 pF with V K = 0.7 V and n = 1/2. What is the
transition capacitance if the applied reverse bias potential is 5 V?

2. For the diode of Figure 8.0 determine the level of IR at room temperature (25°C) and the boiling point
of water (100°C). Is the change significant? Does the level just about double for every 10°C increase
in temperature?

Figure 8.0 Reverse Current versus Temperature

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NUEVA VIZCAYA STATE UNIVERSITY
Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya
INSTRUCTIONAL MODULE
IM No.05: ECE01-2S-2021-2022
IX. REFERENCES

A. Book/Printed Resources

Boylestad, R.L. & Nashelsky, L. (2013). Electronic devices and circuit theory (11th Ed.) Pearson Education
South Asia. Singapore

Floyd, T.L. (2005). Electronic devices: conventional current version (7th Ed.). Pearson Education South
Asia. Singapore.

Neamen, D.A. (2002). Electronics circuit analysis and design (2nd Ed.). Philippines: McGraw-Hill
International Edition.

B. e-Resources/ e-Book

Schultz, Mitchel E. (2016). Grob Basic Electronics. ( 12 Edition). McGraw-Hill Education, 2 Penn Plaza,
New York, NY 10121. https://engineeringbookslibrary.com/grobs-basic-electronics-12th-edition/

MIT OpenCourseWare ( 30 August 2019) Circuits and Electronics

http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/electrical-engineering-and-computer-science/6-002-circuits-and-electronics-
spring-2007

Dube.D.C. ( 30 August 2019 ) Electronics I https://freevideolectures.com/course/3062/electronics-i

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