SEMICONDUCTOR

DIODE
INTRODUCTION: DIODE
• Diode is an electronic device which allows current to flow only in
one direction
• The diode is the simplest and most fundamental nonlinear
circuit element.
• It has two terminals
• Its use in rectifiers is the most common application.
CATHODE
ANNODE Diode symbol
PHYSICAL STRUCTURE
OF DIODE

Diodes are formed by joining the N-type and

P-type semiconductors
TYPES OF DIODES
• PN Junction Diode •Light Emitting Diode

•Zener Diode •Photodiode

Current vs. voltage graphs:

I I I
I

V V 0.6 V V V
plain resistor diode idealized diode WAY idealized
diode

the direction the

arrow points in the
diode symbol is the
direction that
no current flows current
current flows will flow
The voltage applied to the semiconductor
diode is referred to as bias voltage.
Types of bias voltages:
•Forward Bias
•Reverse Bias
 FORWARD BIAS

•A forward biased diode conducts current in the

forward direction
•A forward biased diode conducts current as
long as a high external bias voltage with correct
polarity is applied
 REVERSE BIAS

Extremely small current flows through the diode

during reverse biasing. The minority carriers are
forced towards the junction where they combine
and support an extremely small current
I-V CHARACTERISTICS OF PRACTICAL
DIODE

The Forward-Bias Region, determined by vo

The Reverse-Bias Region, determined by  V  v  0
ZK
The Breakdown Region, determined by v  VZK
APPLICATION OF DIODE CIRCUITS
• AC provides a means for us to distribute electrical power, but most
devices actually want DC
– bulbs, toasters, heaters, fans don’t care: plug straight in
– sophisticated devices care because they have diodes and transistors that
require a certain polarity
• rather than oscillating polarity derived from AC
• this is why battery orientation matters in most electronics

• Use diodes to “rectify” AC signal

HALF-WAVE RECTIFIER

input voltage
load
AC source

diode only conducts

when input voltage is positive

voltage seen by load

• The diode in the rectifying circuit simply prevented the negative swing
of voltage from conducting
– but this wastes half the available cycle
– also very irregular (bumpy): far from a “good” DC source

• By using four diodes, we can recover the negative swing:

FULL-WAVE BRIDGE RECTIFIER
B & C conduct
A B input voltage
AC source

A & D conduct
C D load

voltage seen by load

SPECIAL-PURPOSE DIODES
• Light-emitting diodes
• Main difference is material is more exotic than silicon used in
ordinary diodes/transistors
– typically 2-volt drop instead of 0.6 V drop
• When electron flows through LED, loses energy by emitting a
photon of light rather than vibrating lattice (heat)
• Anything with an LED cares about the battery orientation (it’s
still a diode, after all)
• LED efficiency is 30% (compare to incandescent bulb at 10%)
 Zener diodes
– uses the relatively constant
reverse breakdown voltage
to produce a voltage
reference
– breakdown voltage is called
the Zener voltage, VZ
– output voltage of circuit
shown is equal to VZ despite
variations in input voltage V
– a resistor is used to limit
the current in the diode
 Photodiode

• A photodiode is receiver for optical signals

• It is a reverse biased pn-junction

• It is designed in such a way that light falling on it may enter

into the charge depleted region of the junction
 Signal clamping
– a simple form of
signal conditioning
– circuits limit the
excursion of the
voltage waveform
– can use a
combination of
signal and Zener
diodes
CONCLUSION-Summing up
Summing up all about
diodes…!!

 Unidirectional device permitting easy flow of current in

one direction

 Semiconductor diode basically a pn junction diode

 Forward bias : zero resistance. Reverse bias : infinite

resistance

 Brief insight of various diodes

Thank you AND HAVE A NICE
DAY…!!
-Henry Brahma, Biplob Saha, Samrat Sarkar, Bishal Choudhury