BY Mr. ISAAC KUMA YEBOAH.

Considering the wide range of electronic devices people use every day, it is not surprising that electrical engineering has become the most populated of the engineering disciplines. Electrical engineering has a wide range of career opportunities in almost all of the industrial sectors. In order to provide a brief discussion of such a broad field, we will divide electrical engineering into eight areas. These are,1. Computer, 2. Communications, 3. Circuits and solid state devices, 4. Control, 5. Instrumentation, 6. Signal processing, 7. Bioengineering, and 8. Power.

Engineers specializing in computer technology are in such high demand that numerous institutions offer a separate major for computer engineering. Electrical engineers are responsible for the explosion in communication technologies. Satellites provide nearly instantaneous global communication. Global positioning systems (GPS) allow anyone with the required handheld unit to pinpoint precisely where they are located anywhere in the world. Fiber optics and lasers are rapidly improving the reliability and speed with which information can be exchanged. Wireless communication allows people to communicate anywhere, with anyone. Future breakthroughs in this field will have a tremendous impact on how we live in tomorrow`s society.

Electrical engineers also design and develop electronic circuits. Circuit design has changed rapidly with the advent of microelectronics. As circuits continue to shrink, new barriers such as molecular size emerge. As the limits of current technology are approached, there will be incentives to develop new and faster ways to accomplish the same tasks. Almost all modern machines and systems are digitally controlled. Digital controls allow for safer and more efficient operation. Electronic systems monitor processes and make corrections faster and more effectively than human operators. This improves reliability, efficiency and safety. The electrical engineer is involved in the design, development and operation of these control systems. The engineer must determine the kind of control required, what parameters to monitor, the speed of the correction, and many other factors.

Control systems are used in chemical plants, power plants, automotive engines, airplanes and a variety of other applications. For a control system to operate correctly, it must be able to measure the important parameters of whatever it is controlling. Doing so require accurate instrumentation, another area for the electrical engineer. Electrical engineers who work in this area develop electrical devices to measure quantities such as pressure, temperature, flow rate, speed, heart rate and blood pressure. Often, the electrical devices convert the measured quantity to an electrical signal that can be read by a control system or a computer. Instrumentation engineers also design systems to transmit the measured information to a recording device, using telemetry. Such system are needed for transmitting a satellite`s measurements to the recording computers back on earth as it orbits a distant planet.

Signal processing is another area where electrical engineers are needed. In many instances the electrical signals come from instrumentation or other sources must be conditioned before the information can be used. Signal may need to be electronically filtered, amplified or modified. An example is the active noise control system on a stethoscope which allows a paramedic to listen to a patient`s heart while in a helicopter. The active noise control system can block out the sound of the helicopter so the paramedic can maker a quick, accurate assessment of the patient. Signal processing also comes into play in areas such as voice recognition for computers. Electrical engineers work in biomedical or bioengineering, applications, as described earlier. Electrical engineers work with medical personnel to design and develop devices used in diagnosis and treatment of patients.

The generation, transmission and distribution of electric power is perhaps the most traditional aspect of electrical engineering. Electrical engineers work closely with mechanical engineers in the production of electrical power. They also oversee the distribution of power through electrical network and must ensure reliable supplies of electricity to our communities. Electrical engineers also work with materials engineers to incorporate superconductivity and other technology in more efficient power transmission.

The institution of Radio Engineers (IRE) has defined the term Electronics as that field of science and engineering which deals with electron device and their utilization. Here, the term electron device is a device in which conduction takes place by the movement of electrons in vacuum (i.e. absence of air), fluids (i.e. gases and liquids) and in crystals (i.e. semiconductor).

All matter is composed of molecules which are made up of a combination of atoms. Atoms have a nucleus with electrons orbiting around it. The nucleus is composed of protons and neutrons. Most atoms have an equal number of electrons and protons. Electrons have a negative charge (-). Protons have a positive charge (+). Neutrons are neutral. The negative charge of the electrons is balanced by the positive charge of the protons. Electrons are bound in their orbit by the attraction of the protons. These are referred to as bound electrons.

Electrons in the outer band can become free of their orbit by the application of some external force such as movement through a magnetic field, friction, or chemical action. These are referred to as free electrons. A free electron leaves a void which can be filled by an electron forced out of orbit from another atom. As free electrons move from one atom to the next an electron flow is produced. This is the basis of electricity.

Review: The structure of an atom

Electron energy

Conduction Band

Energy Gap

Valence Band

Generation of electron-hole pairs

Insulator
Conduction Band

Semiconductor

Conductor
Conduction Band

Conduction Band

Energy Gap

Energy Gap Valence Band

Valence Band

Valence Band

An electric current is produced when free electrons move from one atom to the next. Materials that permit many electrons to move freely are called conductors. Copper, silver, aluminum, zinc, brass, and iron are considered good conductors. Copper is the most common material used for conductors and is relatively inexpensive.

Materials that allow few free electrons are called insulators. Materials such as plastic, rubber, glass, mica, and ceramic are good insulators. An electric cable is one example of how conductors and insulators are used. Electrons flow along a copper conductor to provide energy to an electric device such as a radio, lamp, or a motor. An insulator around the outside of the copper conductor is provided to keep electrons in the conductor.

Semiconductor materials, such as silicon, can be used to manufacture devices that have characteristics of both conductors and insulators. Many semiconductor devices will act like a conductor when an external force is applied in one direction. When the external force is applied in the opposite direction, the semiconductor device will act like an insulator. This principle is the basis for transistors, diodes, and other solid-state electronic device.

MOSFET: The Metal-Oxide-Silicon Field-Effect- Transistor can be found in all electronic devices and systems. It is the primary active element that acts as a switch, logic element or amplifier. Laser diode: Laser diodes can be found in CDROM drives, DVD players and barcode scanners. They provide a compact and efficient source of coherent light. Photodiode: Photodiodes convert light to an electrical signal. They act as detectors in CDROM drives, DVD players and barcode scanners and represent the key functional element in solar panels, scanners and digital cameras. Wireless Communication: Wireless communication is obtained by sending radio frequency (RF) signals between the base station and the mobile unit (cell phones). A small yet powerful RF amplifier in the cell phone generates a signal that can be received at the base station. Digital Light Projector: Digital light projectors contain millions of tiny mirrors that enable to project a digital image on a screen. Optoelectronic Transmitter/Receiver: Optoelectronic transmitters and receivers provide the infra-red signals that can propagate over large distances along optical fibers. These enable rapid transmission of large amount of digital information across the world through the internet.

SEMICONDUCTOR Semiconductors are a group of solids whose electrical properties are intermediate between conductors and insulators .

For example, the resistivity of a conductor is of the order of 10-8 m, that of an insulator is 104 m and that of a semiconductor is 10-1m

Semiconductors are group IV elements i.e. each has four valence electrons. They are therefore called Tetravalent Atoms The valence electrons are shared with four neighboring atoms in a tetrahedral arrangement forming covalent bonds, which maintain the crystalline solid structure.

 Silicon crystalline structure with covalent bonds

Si Si Si

Si
Si

Si

Si

Si

Si

INTRINSIC SEMICONDUCTOR

BASIC SEMICONDUCTOR CONCEPTS

The main reason semiconductor materials are so useful is that their behaviour can easily be manipulated by the addition of impurities, through a process called doping. Extrinsic Semiconductor N- type Semiconductor P-type Semiconductor

P-n junction

Zener effect
Zener breakdown occurs when the electric field in the depletion layer increases to the point where it can break covalent bonds and generate electron hole pairs.

Avalanche effect
This occurs when the minority carriers that cross the depletion region under the influence of the electric field, gain sufficient kinetic energy to be able to break covalent bonds in atoms with which they collide

Semiconductor devices play an indispensable role in electronics Semiconductor devices are electronic components that exploit the electronic properties of semiconductor materials, principally silicon, germanium, and gallium arsenide etc.

In the early days of radio and television, transmitting and receiving equipment relied on vacuum tubes, but these have been completely replaced in the last three decades by semiconductor devices, which include transistors, diodes, relays integrated circuits and other electronic components

Diodes

Transistors

Integrated circuits

A diode is a PN junction device with two external electrode leads. The P-side is called the ANODE and the N-side is called the CATHODE. On most diode packages, the cathode side is identified by a band. On the diodes schematic symbol, the anode is represented by the arrowhead and the cathode is the straight line.

A diode is rated for the maximum forward current it can safely conduct and maximum reverse voltage that can be applied. The maximum forward current rating applies to the amount of current the diode can withstand while conducting electrons in the forward direction. Exceeding the maximum forward current rating causes the diode to overheat and may cause the diode to fail. The maximum reverse voltage rating applies to the amount of voltage that may be applied in the reverse direction without allowing the diode to conduct (voltage breakover) in the opposite direction.

A diode is Forward-Biased when the positive terminal of the voltage source connects to the anode and the negative terminal connects to the cathode. A forward-biased diode conducts current when the bias voltage overcomes the barrier potential. The V-I curve for a forward-biased diode shows that the voltage drop across a silicon diode remains at about 0.7 volts for wide variations in current. Germanium=0.3 volts.

4 3.5 3 2.5

x 10

-5

V-I Characteristic of a diode under forward bias. Silicon(n = 2)

Current(mA)

2 1.5 1 0.5 0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4 0.5 Voltage(Volt)

0.6

0.7

0.8

0.9

Three basic types of rectifiers used in single-phase DC power supplies are; 1. Half-wave rectifier, 2. Full-wave rectifier, and 3. Full-wave bridge rectifier. Laser diode Laser diodes can be found in CDROM drives, DVD players and barcode scanners. They provide a compact and efficient source of coherent light. Photodiode Photodiodes convert light to an electrical signal. They act as detectors in CDROM drives, DVD players and barcode scanners and represent the key functional element in solar panels, scanners and digital cameras.

As discussed in the previous section, diodes are essentially oneway valves. They carry current in one direction, but block current in the other. In addition, in the forward conduction mode, the voltage must go above a threshold before significant conduction occurs. Diodes are used in a multitude of ways that utilize these characteristics. A diode is rated for the maximum forward current it can safely conduct and the maximum reverse voltage that can be applied. The maximum forward current rating applies to the amount of current the diode can withstand while conduction electrons in the forward direction. Exceeding the maximum forward current rating causes the diode to overheat and may cause the diode to fail. The maximum reverse voltage rating applies to the amount of voltage that may be applied in the reverse direction without allowing the diode to conduct (voltage breakover) in the opposite direction.

The diode being a non-linear element means that the basic methods of circuit analysis learned in your circuits course cannot be used. Then, how does one go about analyzing the circuit? For example, we can write a loop equation Vs = Vd + Vr = Vd + I*R Unfortunately, there are two unknowns in this equation, I and Vd. The relationship between voltage and current in the diode is given by Where VT is 25.9 mV at 300 degrees K, and IO is the reverse saturation current. If we put the two equations together we get This equation cannot be solved nalytically. But it can be solved numerically. You can make a guess of the diode voltage and plug into the equation and see if you get a balance.

Instead of using the diode equation as the model, we can get quite satisfactory results by using simpler models, or by using graphical methods from the plotted V-I characteristic of the diode. Consider the circuit in Figure 2. The loop equation is; Vs = Vd + I*R - (2) If we divide the circuit as shown in Figure 2b, the equation can be rewritten to solve for the voltage at the division. Vd = 5 - I*R (3) This equation can be solved for current This equation represents the relationship between current and terminal voltage for the left-hand side of the circuit. The relationship between current and terminal voltage for the righthand side is just the equation for diode.

Three basic types of rectifiers used in single-phase DC power supplies are the half-wave rectifier, full-wave rectifier and full-wave bridge rectifier. Half-Wave Rectifiers: Is accomplished because current is allowed to flow only when the anode terminal of the diode is positive with respect to the rectifier when the cathode is positive with respect to the anode. Full-Wave Rectifier: Is accomplished when two diodes conducts in the same direction during both positive and negative of A.C. voltage cycle. For a full wave rectifier a centre tapped transformer is used. Full-Wave Bridge Rectifier: Is accomplished by using four diodes in a bridge configuration. The analysis of the bridge rectifier is simple to understand by visualizing the operation of the rectifier for the two half-cycles of the AC wavefrorm separately.

Transistor Structures
The bipolar junction transistor (BJT) has three separately doped regions and contains two pn junctions. With three separately doped regions, the bipolar transistor is a three-terminal device.

The basic transistor principle is that the voltage between two terminals controls the current through the third terminal.
Current in the transistor is due to the flow of both electrons and holes, hence the name bipolar.

Transistor Structures
There are two types of bipolar junction transistor: npn and pnp. The npn bipolar transistor contains a thin p-region between two n-regions.

The pnp bipolar transistor contains a thin n-region sandwiched between two pregions. The three regions and their terminal connections are called the emitter, base, and collector.

Transistor Construction
There are two types of transistors: pnp and npn-type.

Note: the labeling of the transistor: E - Emitter B - Base C - Collector

npn Transistor
If the transistor is used as an amplifying device, the baseemitter (B-E) junction is forward biased and the basecollector (B-C) junction is reverse-biased, in a configuration called the forward-active operating mode, or simply the active region. Since the B-E junction is forward biased, electrons from the emitter are injected across the B-E junction into the base. The current through B-E junction to be an exponential function of B-E voltage, just as the current through a pn junction diode.

npn Transistor
The flow of the negatively charged electrons is through the emitter into the base. The conventional emitter current is therefore out of the emitter terminal. The number of these injected electrons reaching the collector is the major component of collector current. The collector current is controlled by the voltage across the other two terminals. The collector current is slightly smaller than the emitter current.

npn Transistor
Since the B-E junction is forward biased, holes from the base flow across the B-E junction into the emitter. The flow of holes forms one component of the base current (iB1). A few electrons recombine with majority carrier holes in the base. The holes that are lost must be replaced through the base terminal. The flow of such holes is a second component of the base current (iB2). The total base current is the sum of the above two components.

npn Transistor
If the concentration of electrons in the n-type emitter is much larger than the concentration of holes in the p-type base, then the number of electrons injected into the base will be much larger than the number of holes injected into the emitter. This means that the iB1 component of the base current will be much smaller than the collector. In addition, if the base width is small, then the number of electrons that recombine will be small, and the iB2 of the base current will be also much smaller than the collector current.

pnp Transistor

pnp Transistor

pnp Transistor

pnp Transistor

Currents in a Transistor

IE IC IB IC IE
Note that IC is comprised of two currents:

IC ICmajority ICOminority

Circuit Symbols and Conventions

npn bipolar transistor simple block diagram and circuit symbol. Arrow is on the emitter terminal that indicates the direction of emitter current (out of emitter terminal for the npn device) pnp bipolar transistor simple block diagram and circuit symbol. Arrow is on the emitter terminal that indicates the direction of emitter current (into of emitter terminal for the pnp device)

Common-Base Configuration
The base is common to both input (emitter - base) and output (collector - base) of the transistor.

Input Characteristics for a Common-Base Amplifier

This demonstrates the input current IE to input voltage VBE for various levels of output voltage VCB.

Output Characteristics for a Common-Base Amplifier

This demonstrates the output current IC to an output voltage VCB for various levels of input current IE.

3 Regions of Operation
Active Operating range of the amplifier.
Cutoff The amplifier is basically off. There is voltage but little current.

Saturation The amplifier is full on. There is little voltage but lots of current.

Common-Base Current Gain

Alpha () is called common-base current gain, relates the DC currents IC to IE: dc
IC IE

Ideally = 1, but in reality it is between 0.9 and 0.998.

Alpha () in AC mode:
ac
IC IE VCB constant

Reverse Saturation Current or Leakage Current

In the common-base circuit, if the current source IE = 0, transistor will be cut off, but the B-C junction will still be reverse biased.

A reverse-bias leakage current exists in the junction, and this current corresponds to the reverse saturation current in a diode.
The direction of the reverse-bias leakage current is the same as that of the collector current. The term ICBO is the collector leakage current in the common base configuration when the emitter is open circuit.

Common-Emitter Configuration

The Emitter is common to both input (base-emitter) and output (collector-emitter). The input is on the Base and the output is on the Collector.

Common-Emitter Circuit

Common-emitter circuit with an npn transistor includes the transistor currents, and base-emitter (B-E) and collector-emitter (C-E) voltages. A more usual circuit configuration using the pnp transistor that allows positive voltage supplies to be used.

Common-emitter circuit with a pnp bipolar transistor.

Characteristics of Common-Emitter

Collector characteristics = output characteristics. Base characteristics = input characteristics.

Common-Emitter Current Gain

Beta () is called common-emitter current gain. In DC mode: dc

IC IB
IC IB VCE constant

In AC mode: ac

indicates the amplification factor of a transistor. ( is sometimes referred to as hfe, a term used in transistor modeling calculations)

Determining Beta () from a Graph

2.7mA DC (forVCE 7.5) 108 25 A

AC

(3.2mA 2.2mA) 1mA (forVCE 7.5) 100 (30 A 20 A) 10 A

Note: AC = DC

 Provides a Relationship Between Currents

IE IC IB

IC IB
IE ( 1)IB

Relationship Between and

Example
Example 1 Compute the corresponding values of if = 0.99.
Answer: = 99

Example 2 A certain transistor operated with forward bias of the base-emitter junction and reverse of the base-collector junction (i.e. operation is in the active region) has iC = 9.5 mA and iE = 10 mA. Find the values of iB, and . Answer: iB = 0.5 mA, = 0.95 and = 19

Circuit Conditions for ICEO or Leakage Current

Another leakage current can exist between emitter and collector with the base terminal an open circuit. The current component ICEO is the normal collector current resulting from the emitter current ICEO. We can write:

or

Limitations of Operation for Each Configuration

Note:

VCE is at maximum and IC is at minimum (ICmax=ICEO) in the cutoff region. IC is at maximum and VCE is at minimum (VCEmax = VCEsat = VCEO) in the saturation region. The transistor operates in the active region between saturation and cutoff.

Device Equations

Example
A certain transistor has = 50, IS = 10-14 A, vCE = 5 V and iE = 10 mA. Assume that VT = 0.026 V. Find vBE, vBC, iB, iC and .
Solution: IE = IS [exp(VBE / VT) - 1] or, VBE = VT ln [(IE / IS) + 1] =0.026 V ln [(10-2 A / 10-14 A) + 1] = 0.718 V VBC = VBE - VCE = 0.718 V - 5 V = -4.28 V = / ( + 1) = 50 / (50 + 1) = 0.98 iC = iE = 0.98 x 10 mA = 9.80 mA iB = iC / = 9.80 mA / 50 = 0.196 mA

MOSFET The Metal-Oxide-Silicon Field-Effect- Transistor can be found in all electronic devices and systems. It is the primary active element that acts as a switch, logic element or amplifier. The n-type Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor Field-EffectTransistor (nMOSFET) consists of a source and a drain, two highly conducting n-type semiconductor regions, which are isolated from the p-type substrate by reversedbiased p-n diodes. A metal or poly-crystalline gate covers the region between source and drain. The gate is separated from the semiconductor by the gate oxide. The basic structure of an n-type MOSFET and the corresponding circuit symbol are shown in Figure 7.1.1.

As can be seen on the figure the source and drain regions are identical. It is the applied voltages, which determine which n-type region provides the electrons and becomes the source, while the other n-type region collects the electrons and becomes the drain. The voltages applied to the drain and gate electrode as well as to the substrate by means of a back contact are referred to the source potential, as also indicated Figure 7.1.1. A conceptually similar structure was proposed and patented independently by Lilienfeld and Heil in 1930, but was not successfully demonstrated until 1960. The main technological problem was the control and reduction of the surface states at the interface between the oxide and the semiconductor. Initially it was only possible to deplete an existing n-type channel by applying a negative voltage to the gate. Such devices have a conducting channel between source and drain even when no gate voltage is applied and are called "depletion-mode" devices. A reduction of the surface states enabled the fabrication of devices, which do not have a conducting channel unless a positive voltage is applied. Such devices are referred to as "enhancement-mode" devices. The electrons at the oxide-semiconductor interface are concentrated in a thin (~10 nm thick) "inversion" layer. By now, most MOSFETs are "enhancement-mode" devices.

While a minimum requirement for amplification of electrical signals is power gain, one finds that a device with both voltage and current gain is a highly desirable circuit element. The MOSFET provides current and voltage gain yielding an output current into an external load which exceeds the input current and an output voltage across that external load which exceeds the input voltage. The current gain capability of a Field-Effect-Transistor (FET) is easily explained by the fact that no gate current is required to maintain the inversion layer and the resulting current between drain and source. The device has therefore an infinite current gain in DC. The current gain is inversely proportional to the signal frequency, reaching unity current gain at the transit frequency. The voltage gain of the MOSFET is caused by the current saturation at higher drain-source voltages, so that a small draincurrent variation can cause a large drain voltage variation.

A top view of the same MOSFET is shown in Figure 7.2.1, where the gate length, L, and gate width, W, are identified. Note that the gate length does not equal the physical dimension of the gate, but rather the distance between the source and drain regions underneath the gate. The overlap between the gate and the source/drain region is required to ensure that the inversion layer forms a continuous conducting path between the source and drain region. Typically this overlap is made as small as possible in order to minimize its parasitic capacitance.

The flow of electrons from the source to the drain is controlled by the voltage applied to the gate. A positive voltage applied to the gate attracts electrons to the interface between the gate dielectric and the semiconductor. These electrons form a conducting channel between the source and the drain called the inversion layer. No gate current is required to maintain the inversion layer at the interface since the gate oxide blocks any carrier flow. The net result is that the current between drain and source is controlled by the voltage, which is applied to the gate. NOTE: We will primarily discuss the n-type or n-channel MOSFET in this chapter. This type of MOSFET is fabricated on a p-type semiconductor substrate. The complementary MOSFET is the p-type or p-channel MOSFET. It contains p-type source and drain regions in an n-type substrate. The inversion layer is formed when holes are attracted to the interface by a negative gate voltage. While the holes still flow from source to drain, they result in a negative drain current. CMOS circuits require both n-type and p-type devices.