RS = 50 

ID
+

VA
_

Figure 1
Figure 2
Si Si Si
+4 +4 +4

Si Si Si
+4 +4 +4

Si Si Si
+4 +4 +4

Figure 3
 SEMICONDUCTOR DIODES
 We will start by looking at diodes
and semiconductors
 Then progress to diode theory
 Later we will look at more detailed
aspects of circuit design
DIODE
 Is an electronic device that allows
the passage of current in only one
direction.
 It is a specialized electronic
component with two electrodes
called the Anode and the Cathode.
 DIODE SYMBOL

N P

Cathode Anode

_ _
+ +
IDEAL DIODE
 The characteristics of an ideal
diode are those of a switch that can
conduct current in only one
direction.
 The term IDEAL refers to any device
or system that has ideal
characteristics that is perfect in
every way.
IDEAL DIODE
What Are Diodes Made Out Of?
 Silicon (Si) and
Germanium Si
+4
Si
+4
Si
+4

(Ge) are the two

most common Si
+4
Si
+4
Si
+4

single elements
that are used to Si
+4
Si
+4
Si
+4

make Diodes.
SEMICONDUCTOR MATERIAL
 Are all matters whose
characteristics lie between a
conductor and insulator.
 Ideally it has only 4 valence
electrons.
Ex. Silicon, Germanium, Gallium
Arsenide, Gallium Phosphide
CONDUCTOR MATERIAL
 Are substances or material which
have more than one but less than
four valence electrons.
 Ideally it has only one valence
electrons in the outer most shell.
Ex. Silver, Copper, Gold
INSULATOR MATERIAL
 Material which has more than four
valence electrons but with less then
8 valence electrons.
 Ideally it has 8 valence electrons in
the outer most shell
Ex. Glass, mica, Hard rubber
Two types of Semiconductor
1. Intrinsic Semiconductor
-- its is a pure semiconductor
-- every atom in the crystal is a
silicon atom

Ex. Silicon, Germanium

Two types of Semiconductor
2. Extrinsic Semiconductor
-- its is a doped semiconductor
-- it is a result of adding impurity
atom to an intrinsic crystal

Ex. Gallium Aresenide, Aluminum

Aresenide, Gallium Phosphide
DOPING
-- is the process of adding
pentavalent or trivalent impurities to
an intrinsic material.
Pentavalent impurity
-- is known as the donor atom
with five valence electrons in the
outer most shell.
Trivalent impurity
-- is an acceptor atom with only
three valence electrons in the outer
most shell
Extrinsic semiconductor
a. N-type
--produced when pentavalent
atoms are added to the silicon crystal
producing an excess of electrons
N-Type Material
 Majority carrier
is electrons.
+4 +4 +4
 Excess of
+4 +5 +4
electrons

+4 +4 +4
Extrinsic semiconductor
b. P-type
--produced when trivalent
atoms are added to the silicon crystal
producing an excess of holes
P-Type Material
 Majority carrier
is Hole.
+4 +4 +4
 Excess of hole

+4 +3 +4

+4 +4 +4
Recombination
-- is the merging of free electron
and a hole inside the silicon crystal.
Hole
-- is the term used to refer to the
vacancy left by the free electrons
Valence electrons
-- are electrons in the outer most
shell of an atom.
 THE PN JUNCTION
When a P-type Semiconductor is
joined together with an N-type
Semiconductor a PN junction is
formed. And it is also known as a
Semiconductor Diode.
 Ionized donors
Junction

P N
- - + +
- - + +
- - + +
- - + +
Space charge region
(OR)
Depletion region

Potential barrier height(V0)

Potential barrier width

(W)
Junction or pn-junction
-- is the interface where the p and
n type materials meet.
Space charge or Depletion region
-- is the region of positive and
negative ions in the absence of an
applied bias voltage across the diode
in which the net flow of charge in any
one direction is zero.
Biasing of diode
The diode can be operated in two
different ways, as Forward and
Reverse bias.
Forward bias
-- When positive terminal of the
battery is connected to the P-type &
negative terminal is to the N-type of
the PN-junction diode
 P Open circuit PN -junction N
- - + +
- - + +
- - + +
- - + +
Space charge region

P N
- +
- +
- +
- +

Forward bias

VF
Reverse bias
-- When negative terminal of the
battery is connected to the P-type &
positive terminal is to the N-type of
the PN-junction diode
 P Open circuit PN -junction N
- - + +
- - + +
- - + +
- - + +
Space charge region

P N
- - - + + +
- - - + + +
- - - + + +
- - - + + +

Reverse bias

VR
Diode Characteristic Curve
ID (mA) • VD = Bias Voltage
• ID = Current through
Diode. ID is Negative
for Reverse Bias and
Positive for Forward
IS Bias
VBR • IS = Saturation
Current
~V VD
• VBR = Breakdown
Voltage
• V = Barrier Potential
Voltage

(nA)
The characteristic curve on the previous slide is
characterized by the following equation:
ID = IS(eVD/nVT – 1)
Where: ID=diode current
Is=reverse saturation current
VD=forward voltage across diode
n =is the emission coefficient for the
diode. It is determined by the way the diode is
constructed. It somewhat varies with diode
current. For a silicon diode n is around 2 for low
currents and goes down to about 1 at higher
currents
•VT is the thermal equivalent voltage and is
approximately 26 mV at room temperature.
The equation to find VT at various
temperatures is:
VT = kT
q
k = 1.38 x 10-23 J/K
T = temperature in Kelvin (ºK = ºC + 273)
q = 1.6 x 10-19 C
Example 1
Determine the diode current at
20ºC for a silicon diode with Is=50nA
and an applied voltage of 0.6V.
Example 2
Determine the diode current at
27ºC for a germanium diode with
Is=0.1μA at -10V applied voltage.
Diode Circuit Model

The Ideal Diode Model

The diode is designed to allow current to flow in

only one direction. The perfect diode would be
a perfect conductor in one direction (forward
bias) and a perfect insulator in the other
direction (reverse bias). In many situations,
using the ideal diode approximation is
acceptable.
Example: Assume the diode in the circuit below is
ideal. Determine the value of ID if a) VA = 5 volts
(forward bias) and b) VA = -5 volts (reverse bias)

RS = 50 
a) With VA > 0 the diode is in
forward bias and is acting like a
ID perfect conductor so:
+ ID = VA/RS = 5 V / 50  = 100 mA
VA
_
b) With VA < 0 the diode is in
reverse bias and is acting like a
perfect insulator, therefore no
current can flow and ID = 0.
 The Ideal Diode with Barrier
Potential
+

This model is more accurate than the simple

ideal diode model because it includes the
approximate barrier potential voltage.
Remember the barrier potential voltage is the
voltage at which appreciable current starts to
flow.
Example: To be more accurate than just using the
ideal diode model include the barrier potential.
Assume V = 0.3 volts (typical for a germanium
diode) Determine the value of ID if VA = 5 volts
(forward bias).
With VA > 0 the diode is in
RS = 50 
forward bias and is acting
ID
like a perfect conductor so
+ write a KVL equation to find
VA ID :
_ +
V
0 = VA – IDRS - V
ID = VA - V = 4.7 V = 94 mA
RS 50 
 The Ideal Diode with Barrier Potential
and Linear Forward Resistance

+
V RF
This model is the most accurate of the three. It
includes a linear forward resistance that is
calculated from the slope of the linear portion
of the transconductance curve. However, this
is usually not necessary since the RF (forward
resistance) value is pretty constant. For low-
power germanium and silicon diodes the RF
value is usually in the 2 to 5 ohms range, while
higher power diodes have a RF value closer to 1
ohm.
 Example: Assume the diode is a low-power diode
with a forward resistance value of 5 ohms. The
barrier potential voltage is still: V = 0.3 volts
(typical for a germanium diode) Determine the
value of ID if VA = 5 volts.
RS = 50 

Once again, write a KVL

ID
+
equation for the circuit:
VA
_
0 = VA – IDRS - V - IDRF
+
V ID = VA - V
RS + RF
RF
= 5-0.3 ID = 85.5 mA
50+5
 Diode Circuit Models
Values of ID for the Three Different Diode Circuit Models

Ideal Diode
Ideal Diode
Model with
Model with
Ideal Diode Barrier
Barrier
Model Potential and
Potential
Linear Forward
Voltage
Resistance

ID 100 mA 94 mA 85.5 mA

These are the values found in the examples on

previous slides where the applied voltage was 5 volts,
the barrier potential was 0.3 volts and the linear
forward resistance value was assumed to be 5 ohms.
 The Q Point
The operating point or Q point of
the diode is the quiescent/steady
condition. The Q point is obtained
graphically and is really only needed
when the applied voltage is very close
to the diode’s barrier potential voltage.
The Q point is determined using the
transconductance curve and the load
line.
 First the load line is found by
RS = 1000  substituting in different values of V
into the equation for ID using the
ID ideal diode with barrier potential
+ model for the diode. With RS at 1000
VA
= 6V _ +
ohms the value of RF wouldn’t have
V much impact on the results.
ID = VA – V 
RS
Using V  values of 0 volts and 1.4
volts we obtain ID values of 6 mA and
4.6 mA respectively. Next we will
draw the line connecting these two
points on the graph with the
transconductance curve. This line is
the load line.
 The
ID (mA) transconductance
curve below is for a
12
Silicon diode. The Q
point in this example
10 is located at 0.7 V and
5.3 mA.

8
Q Point: The intersection of the load
line and the
6 transconductance curve.
5.3
4.6
4

VD (Volts)
0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4
Example:
1. For the series diode
configuration below determine
a. VDQ and IDQ
b. VR
si
Example:
2. repeat problem 1 for R=2000
ohms
a. VDQ and IDQ
b. VR
CONFIGURATIONS OF
SEMICONDUCTOR DIODE
1.Series Diode Configuration with DC
inputs
Conditions:
 the positive terminal of the diode is
connected to positive terminal of
battery
Vs must be greater than VD
 current arrow head coincides with
diode arrow head