Unit-1

Semiconductors And Rectifiers

Topics

v Classification of solids based on energy band

v Theory of
Ø Intrinsic semiconductor
Ø Extrinsic semiconductor
Ø P-Type And N-Type semiconductor

v PN Junction diode

v Zener effect and zener diode characteristics

v Half wave And Full wave rectifiers

v Voltage Regulation
Classification of solids based on energy band

In Fig. 1.27 (a), F1, F2, F3 are the radius of the first orbit, second and
third orbit respectively.
v As stated earlier each orbit has fixed amount of energy associated with
it. And hence the electrons moving in a particular orbit possess the
energy of that orbit.
v Instead of drawing various orbits to the scale of their radii, it is
represented by horizontal lines as shown in Fig.1.27 (b). Such a diagram
is called an energy level diagram.
v The first line represents the first energy level and the 2nd line represents
the 2nd energy level of an isolated atom.
v The electrons in the first orbit of a solid have different energies because
no two electrons have the same charge. Since there are thousands of
first orbit electrons, the slightly different energy levels form a band
called as its energy band.
v The electrons in the first orbit may have any energy range in this band.
Similarly the second orbit electrons and the third orbit electrons form the
second energy band, third energy band respectively and so on. This is
illustrated in Fig. 1.27 (c).
v Energy bands in solids
Ø There are three important Energy bands.
1. Valence band
2. Conduction band
3. Forbidden energy gap
Valence band

v Electrons in the outermost orbit of an atom are called as valence

electrons.
v The range of energies possessed by valence electrons is known as
valence band. This band may be completely or partially filled in. It is the
highest occupied band.
Conduction band

v The electrons which left the valence band are called as free electrons.
v The band occupied by free electrons is called as conduction band. It may
either be empty or partially filled with electrons.
v In the conduction band, the electrons move freely and conduct the
electric current through the solid.
Forbidden energy gap

v The valence band and conduction band are separated by a gap on the
energy band diagram known as forbidden energy gap
v No electrons of solid will stay in a forbidden energy gap as there is no
allowed energy state in this region.
Insulators, Semiconductors and Metals

Insulator

v Insulator is a substance through which the passage of current is not

allowed.
v The electrons in the valence band are bound very tightly to their parent
atoms. In energy band diagram the valence band is filled and the
conduction band is empty.
v The forbidden energy gap is very large between them (=15ev).
Semiconductor

v A semiconductor is a substance. Its conductivity lies in between

conductors and insulators.
v It behaves as an insulator at low temperatures. As the temperature
increases, the number of electrons crossing over to the conduction band
increases and hence electrical conductivity increases.
 v In the energy band diagram, the valence band is filled and the
conduction band is empty. Moreover, the energy gap 1.31 between the
valence band and the conduction band is very small.
Conductor
v Conductor is also a substance. It easily allows the passage of electric
current.
v It is because that there are plenty of free electrons available.
v In energy band diagram, the valence and the conduction bands overlap
each other as shown in Fig 1.22(b). In fact, there is no physical
distinction between the two bands.
SEMICONDUCTORS

v Germanium and silicon are the best examples for the semiconductors.
Atomic structure of silicon and germanium atoms

v Germanium and silicon are the most commonly used semiconductors.

Their characteristics are given below.
v Silicon has 14 protons in its nucleus. Around the nucleus there are three
orbits as shown in Fig.l .30(a). The first orbit consists of 2 electrons.
Second orbit has 8 electrons and third orbit has 4
Diffusion current

v When one type of charge carriers concentration is more at one end of a

piece of a semiconductor material, the charge carriers move gradually
from the region of high carrier density to the region of low carrier
density. This movement of charge carriers provides an electric current.
This type of current is called the diffusion current.
SEMICONDUCTOR DIODE

P-N Junction diode

v When a semiconductor crystal is doped in such a way that one half of it

is N type and the other half is P type, this type of crystal is called a diode
and the point where the P-type and N type meet is called the junction.
The diode is also known as junction diode or PN diode.
 v In the diode, the free electrons in the N type move towards the junction,
attracted to the Positive charge in the P type and the positive charged
holes in the P type, move towards the junction, attracted to the negative
charge of the free electrons in the N type half.

v The electron after crossing the junction will fall in soon into the hole.
After receiving the electron that particular atom will have more electrons
than holes. So it becomes negative ion. It is shown in the Fig.1 .36 as an
encircled -ve sign.
v The particular atom in the N-region which produces the electron to cross
the junction becomes positive ion. It is shown in the Fig.1 .36 as an
encircled +ve sign. These ions are immovable.
Initial condition of charge carriers in a P-N junction diode

v The negative ions close to the junction create a negative charge.

Similarly, the positive ions close to the junction create positive charge.
v Thus, the charge carriers creates a potential difference at the junction.
This potential’ difference is called potential barrier. Because, it prevents
any further crossing of junction by the free electrons and holes
v Typical barrier potentials at room temperature are O.3V for germanium
and O.7V for silicon.
v On either side of the junction there is no free electrons and holes. So
this region is called the depletion region or the space charge region or
the transition region.
Forward Biasing
v When the positive terminal of the battery is connected to the P-side and
the negative terminal to the N-side of a P-N junction diode, it is called as
forward biasing.
 v Under the forward bias condition, the applied positive potential repels
the holes in the P-region towards the junction and the applied negative
potential repels the electrons in the N-region towards the junction.
v Due to this the number of negative ions in the P-region and the positive
ions in the N-region decreases.
v In turn the barrier potential height is reduced at the junction as shown in
Fig.l .37.

v If the applied voltage is more than the potential barrier, then the
.depletion region as well as the barrier field disappears.
v Hence the junction resistance becomes almost zero and a low resistance
path is established. Therefore, a current is said to flow in the forward
direction.
Reverse Biasing
v When the positive terminal of a battery is connected to the N-region
and the negative terminal to the P-region as shown in Fig. 1.38, it is
called as reverse biasing.

v Under the reverse bias condition, the applied negative potential attracts
the holes in the P-region away from the junction and the applied positive
potential attracts the electron in the N- region away from the junction.
 v Due to this, the number of negative ions in the P-region and the positive
ions in the N-region increases.
v In turn the barrier potential height is increased as shown in Fig. 1.38,
and the depletion region becomes wide.
v Since there is no majority current carriers in the depletion region, the
junction resistance becomes very high and it becomes an insulator.
However a small current flows in the circuit because of the minority
carriers.
Volt-Ampere characteristics

v V-I characteristics of a P-N junction shows the relationship between the

voltage across the junction and the circuit current. Generally voltage is
taken along X-axis and current is along V-axis.
v When the external voltage is zero, the circuit is open due to the barrier
potential at the junction Hence the circuit current is zero. It is indicated
by point 0 in the Fig.1 .39.
v When the P-N junction is forward biased (i.e.,p-side to +ve terminal and
N-side to -ye terminal) the potential barrier is reduced. At the beginining
when the forward voltage increases the current is increasing slowly. This
portion of the curve OA is called the non linear region.

v However, once the external voltage exceeds the potential barrier

voltage, the P-N junction behaves like an ordinary conductor.
v So, the current rises very rapidly with increase in external voltage as
shown in Fig.1 .39.
v The voltage at which currents starts increasing rapidly is called ‘knee
voltage’. This portion of the curve AB is called the linear region.
v When the P-N junction is reverse biased, (i.e, P-side to -ye terminal and
N-side to ÷ve terminal) the potential barrier is increased: Therefore the
junction resistance become very high and no current flows in the circuit.
v But due to the minority current carriers very small current in the order of
microampere flows in the circuit. This is called as reverse current or
leakage current.
v If the reverse voltage is increased continuously, the kinetic energy of the
minority carriers may become very high. In turn it will strike the atoms
 within the depletion region and may cause larger carriers to be knocked
out of the atoms. At this stage break down of the junction occurs. It is
followed by a sudden rise of

v reverse current and sudden fall of resistance of the barrier region.If it is

allowed continuously it will destroy the junction of the diode
permanently.
Applications
1. Used demodulation
2. Used in logic circuits.

ZENER DIODE

v Zener diode is a reverse-biased heavily doped PN junction diode. It

operates exclusively in the breakdown region where current is limited by
dissipation of the diode, Its symbol and as rectifier in clipper and damper
circuits in communication circuits for modulation and both external

resistance and power its complete equivalent circuit is shown in Fig.1.40.

v Germanium is having more current handling capacity and hence it is
preferred than silicon to manufacture zener diode.
v There are two mechanisms by which breakdown is occuring at a reverse
biased PN junction.
v They are (i) zener breakdown and (ii) avalanche breakdown.
v At a low reverse voltage zener effect is more effective whereas at a high
voltage avalanche effect is more effective.
V-I Characteristics

v A typical V-I characteristic is shown in Fig.1 .41 - The forward

characteristic is simply that of an ordinary forward biased junction diode.
v Under reverse bias condition a small reverse saturation current flows
through it.
v This current remains constant until certain voltage is reached. Beyond
this voltage the reverse current increases rapidly. This voltage is called
zener breakdown voltage (Vz min).
 v The current corresponding to is called zener breakdown current
v This is the minimum current required to sustain breakdown. After the
breakdown, the voltage drop across the diode remains constant with
further increase of reverse bias voltage. The

characteristic in this region is fairly vertical. Zmax is the maximum zener

current. It is limited by both external resistance and power dissipation of
the diode.
v The sharply increasing current under breakdown condition is due to the
following two mechanisms.
1. Zener breakdown 2. Avalanche breakdown
Zener Breakdown

v Under the influence of high electrical field, large number of electrons

within the depletion region break the covalent bonds with their atoms.
v Thus a large reverse current flow. Its value is limited only by the
external resistance in the circuit. It is independent of the applied
voltage.
v This breakdown occurs for lower breakdown voltage. This is called .zener
break down. Hence, the diode using zener breakdown mechanism is
called zener diode.
Avalanche Breakdown

v When reverse bias voltage is increased, the velocity of the minority

carriers is increased. Consequently the energy content of the minority
carriers is also increased.
v When these. high energy charge carriers strike atoms within the
depletion region, they cause other charge carriers to break away from
their atoms and join with the flow at current across the junction.
v This is called ionization by collision. The additional charge carriers
generated in this way are also accelerated to a high energy state.
 v So the additional charge carriers can cause further ionization by collision.
This process is cumulative and resulting a sudden increase in reverse
current. The result is avalanche breakdown. This breakdown occurs for
higher breakdown voltage.
Applications
I. Used as voltage regulators.
2. Used as peak clippers.
3. Used for meter protection against over voltage.
4. Used as a fixed reference voltage in a network of calibrating
voltmeters
RECTIFIER

v A rectifier is a device which offers a low resistance to the current in one

direction and a high resistance in the opposite direction. Such a device is
capable of converting A voltage into a pulsating D.C voltage. The rectifier
employs one or more semiconductor diodes.
v There are two types, namely
1. Half wave rectifier 2. Full wave rectifier
Half wave rectifier

v A half Wave rectifier is one, which converts an A.C. voltage into a

pulsating voltage using half cycle of the applied voltage.
v The rectifying element conducts only during one half cycle. It uses one
diode and a transformer.
v The diode ID is connected in series with load resistance across the
secondary of the transformer as shown in Fig.3.1

v During the positive half cycle of the secondary, terminal. A is positive

w.r.t. terminal B. Mow diode 0 is forward biased and hence conducts.
The current i flows from terminal A to terminal B through 0 and load
resistance RL and then through the secondary of the transformer
v During the negative half cycle of the secondary, terminal B is positive
w.r.t. terminal A. Now diode D is reverse biased and hence does not
conduct and there is no current. The waveforms are shown in Fig. 3.2
Peak Inverse voltage (Plv)

v It represents the maximum voltage which the diode withstand during the
negative half cycle of input. Therefore half wave rectifier PIV = V
Average value or D.C. value of current
v It is the arithmetic average of all values of an alternating over one cycle
is called Average Value.
v The rectified output current consists of half wave pulses as shown in F
3.2 (b) The current flowing through the load resistance RL produces the
output voltage as shown in Fig. 3.2(c).
v In this type, the current flowing in the secondary is unidirectional. Hence
D.C saturation in the core takes place must for a
R.M.S. value of current

v The root mean square value of an alternating current is defind as

that steady current which when flowing through a given resistance for
a given time produces the same amount of heat as produced by the
alternating current when flowing through the same resistance for the
same time.
It is also known as effective value of an alternating current.

Ripple factor

v Ripple factor is defined as the ratio of rms value of the A.C

Component to the output D.C component in the rectifier output.
Rectification efficiency

v It is defined as the ratio of the D.C. output power delivered to

the load to the A.C input power drawn. For a half wave rectifier, the
D.C power delivered to the load is
Full wave rectifier

v A full wave rectifier converts the applied A.C voltage into a pulsating
voltage using the full cycle of the A.C voltage. It is a double element
rectifier. It uses two doides and a centre tapped transformer as shown in
Fig.3.3.

v The secondary of the transformer applies two equal voltages having a

phase shift of 180° from each other across the diodes D and 02 The load
resistance AL is connected between junction point of two cathodes and
center tap of secondary winding of the transformer.
v During the positive half cycle the secondary terminal A is positive w the
center tap C. Now diode D is forward biased and hence conducts
whereas D is reverse biased and does not conduct. The current 1 flows
in the direction indicated by the arrow through the load resistance RL.
v During the negative half cycle, the secondary terminal B is positive w.r.t.
the centre tap C.
v Now diode 2 is forward biased and hence conducts, whereas D is reverse
biased and does not conduct. The current lb in the direction indicated by
the arrow through the load resistance AL The input and the rectified
output waveforms of current and load voltage are shown inFig.3.4.
 v For each complete cycle of the A.C. input voltage there are two output
pulses and hence the ripple frequency is twice the A.C supply frequency.

D.C. saturation
v the two current of the transformer does not takes place since and b2 flo
in opposite directions through

Peak Inverse Voltage (PIV)

v Reverse voltage across the non-conducting diode D is the sum of

voltage across lower half of the winding and the voltage across the load
resistance, RL
v Therefore, peak inverse voltage, PIV = Vm + Vm = 2

Average value

v It is arithmetic average of all the values of an alternating over one cycle

is called Average Value.
v Ripple factor Ripple factor is A.C component and defined as a ratio of the
AMS value of the D.C component
VOLTAGE REGULATORS

v The output of a power supply unit varies as and when the load current
and supply voltage vary.
v But for practical purposes constant D.C output is a must. Therefore
voltage regulators are used to maintain a constant D.C output voltage.
Zener diode voltage regulator

v The simple voltage regulator using a zener diode is shown in Fig. 3.21. A
protective resistance Rand a suitably rated zener diode D are connected
in series across the unregulated power supply.

The load RL is connected across the zener diode.

v The function of this voltage regulator circuit is explained by considering
the following two cases.
v When the load current remains constant and the unregulated input
voltage increases, the current drawn from supply also increases. Hence
zener current also increases by the same amount.
v The increased supply current produces more drop in the series
resistance R.
v This increased drop compensates the increases in supply voltage and
thus the output voltage remains constant.
v When the load current remains constant and the unregulated input
voltage decreases, the current drawn from the supply also decreases.
Hence zener current also decreases by the same amount.
v The decreased supply current produces less drop in the series resistance
11. This decreased drop compensates the decrease in supply voltage and
thus output voltage remains constant.
v Similarly, any change in load current causes similar variation in voltage
drop across the series resistance and thus the output voltage is kept
constant.
Drawbacks

1. The efficiency is low at heavy load currents because there is a

considerable power loss in the current limiting resistance.
2. 2. The output voltage slightly changes due to zener impedence and
hence the output voltage is not absolutely constant.
3. Series type voltage regulator
4. A series type feedback voltage regulator employs principles of negative
feedback to hold the output almost constant despite changes in line
voltage and load current. The circuit of a series feedback voltage
regulator is shown in Fig.3.22.
5. The transistor Q is called the pass transistor because all the load current
passes through it. The voltage divider, which consists of R and F delivers
a negative feedback voltage to the base of 01. The feedback voltage VF
controls the collector current of 01. If the output voltage is increased
due to any reason, the voltage across A is also increased- As a result,
more voltage VF is feedback to the base of transistor 1 producing a large
collector current of 01. Most of this collector current flows through Fl and
causes the base voltage of 2 to decrease. This results in less Output
voltage i.e. increase in voltage is offset. Thus output voltage remains
constant.
6. Similarly if output voltages tries to decrease, the feedback voltage V also
decreases. This reduces the current through and Fl This means more
base voltage at Q and more output voltage. Consequently the output
voltage remains at the original level.

v If the load is shorted, the excessive load current will pass through
the transistor. Due to that the pass transistor can be destroyed.
This is the main drawback in series type regulators.
v To avoid this, a current limiting circuit is added.
v The current limiting circuit consists of a transistor (03) and a
series resistor (A that is connected between base and emitter
terminals of 03.
v When the load current is normal, transistor 03 is off, and the
circuit works as normal. When load current becomes negative the
voltage across R becomes large enough to turn 03.
v The collector current of 03 flows through Ft and thus base voltage
of decreases. This results in reduction of transistor Q thus reducing
the load current.
IC Voltage regulators

v Voltage regulators comprise a class of widely used Cs. Regulator IC

units contain the circuitry for reference source, comparator amplifier,
control device and overload protection all in a single IC chip.
v IC units provide regulation of eithera fixed positive voltage, a fixed
negative voltage or an adjustable set voltage.
Advantages
1. Simplicity
2. Low cost
3. Reliability
4. Small in size
5. Best performance
Fixed Positive voltage regulators

v The series 78 regulators provide fixed regulated from 5 to 24V. In

this, 78 indicates that this type is positive and the remaining numbers
indicate that the amount of constant voltage that it can provide.
v 7806 is a fixed positive type and it can supply +6 voltage as an
output.
v A table of positive voltage regulator ICs is provided in Table 1.
Table-i: Positive voltage regulators in 78xx series

v The connection of a 7812 with a complete voltage supply is shown in

the connection of Fig.3.23. The A.C line voltage (120 V rms)is
stepped down to 18V rms across each half of the center tapped
transformer.
v A full wave rectifier and capacitor filter then provides an unregulated
D.C voltage, shown as a D.C voltage of about 22V, with A.C ripple of
a few volts as input to the regulator.
v The 7812 IC then provides an output of a regulated +12V D.C which
is filtered by capacitor C The third IC terminal is connected to ground
(GND).
 v While the input voltage may vary over some permissible voltage
range, and the output load may vary over some acceptable range, the
output voltage remains constant within specified voltage variation
limits.
Fixed Negative Voltage Regulators

v The series 7900 Cs provide negative voltage regulators, similar to

those providing positive voltages. A list of negative voltage regulator
ICs is provided in Table-2. As shown,
v IC regulators are available for a range of fixed negative voltages, the
selected IC providing the rated output voltage as long as the input
voltage is maintained greater than the minimum input value.
v For example, the 7912 provides an output of—i 2V as long as the
input to the regulator IC is more negative than —i4.6V.