Page 1 of 12 SPH 2110: Instrumental Electronics Lecture Notes

Diode
• An electric device that allows current to flow in one direction only.

• Preliminary studies: Conductors, semiconductors and insulators

o Recall - when a potential difference is applied across a material, the resulting flow
of electrons (current) experiences some resistance to the flow and this resistance
is quantified by a value unknown as resistivity (𝜌).
o 𝜌, therefore, gives a measure of a material’s ability to provide resistance to the
flow of electric current and it becomes a basis upon which materials are classified
as conductors, semiconductors, or insulators as shown in the figure below:
Resisitivity values at normal room • Conductors
temperature. ‒ They have plenty of “free” electrons within their
basic atom structure. When a potential difference
is applied across a conductor, these “free
electrons” leave their parent atom and travel
together through it forming an electric current.
‒ Low resistivity values in the order of
10−7 𝑡𝑜 10−8 Ω ∙ 𝑚.
‒ Examples: metals (Cu, Al, Ag, etc), non-metals
(carbon/graphite, etc.).
• Semiconductors
‒ Resistivity values are in between those of
conductors and insulators.
‒ Examples: intrinsic semiconductors (silicon and
germanium) and extrinsic semiconductors/doped
semiconductors.
• Insulators
‒ They have very few or no “free electrons” within
their basic atom structure.
‒ High resistivity values in the order of
104 𝑡𝑜 1014 Ω ∙ 𝑚.
‒ Examples: non-metals (glass, plastics, rubber,
marble, quartz, etc.)

o For a specimen of each of these materials, at say, 15°C, the variation for a small
increase in temperature to t°C is as shown below:

NB: Supplement your learning from the lecture and lecture notes by independent study and discussions.
Page 2 of 12 SPH 2110: Instrumental Electronics Lecture Notes
o Generally, therefore, over a limited range of temperatures,
‒ the resistance of a conductor increases with temperature increase,
‒ the resistance of insulators remains approximately constant with variation of
temperature, and
‒ the resistance of semiconductor materials decreases as the temperature
increases.

o As the temperature of semiconductor materials is raised above room temperature,

the resistivity is reduced and ultimately a point is reached where they effectively
become conductors.
As the temperature of a semiconductor is reduced below normal room
temperature, the resistivity increases until, at very low temperatures the
semiconductor becomes an insulator.

• Semiconductor materials
o Recall
‒ An atom contains both negative charge carriers (electrons) and positive charge
carriers (protons).
‒ Electrons each carry a single unit of negative electric charge while protons
carry a single unit of positive charge.
‒ Atoms normally contain an equal number of electrons and protons. The net
charge present is therefore equal to zero.

‒ Electrons are in constant motion as they orbit around the nucleus of the atom.
‒ Electron orbits are organised into shells.

NB: Supplement your learning from the lecture and lecture notes by independent study and discussions.
Page 3 of 12 SPH 2110: Instrumental Electronics Lecture Notes
‒ The first shell can hold up to 2 electrons, the second shell up to 8 electrons, the
3rd shell up to 18 electrons, the 4th shell up to 32 electrons, the 5th shell up to
50 electrons, etc.

‒ In electronics, only the electron shell furthermost from the nucleus of an atom
is important. It is called the valence shell.

‒ Movement of electrons between atoms only involves those present in the

valence shell.

‒ If the valence shell contains the maximum number of electrons possible the
electrons are rigidly bonded together and the material has the properties of an
insulator.

‒ If the valence shell does not have its full complement of electrons, the electrons
can be easily detached from their orbital bonds, and the material has the
properties associated with an electrical conductor.

‒ In its pure state, silicon is an insulator because the covalent bonding rigidly
holds all of the electrons leaving no free (easily loosened) electrons to conduct
current.

‒ A silicon atom has four valence electrons in its valence shell. These atoms are
closely grouped together to form a crystalline structure in which the valence
electrons are shared between neighbouring atoms to form full orbits of eight

NB: Supplement your learning from the lecture and lecture notes by independent study and discussions.
Page 4 of 12 SPH 2110: Instrumental Electronics Lecture Notes
electrons. This leaves no free electrons thereby making pure silicon a very good
insulator.

If an atom of a different element that has five electrons in its valence shell is
introduced into the crystalline structure of silicon, four out of the five valence
electrons bond with the four valence electrons of silicon, thereby leaving one
“free electron”.
For instance, introducing an antimony (Sb) atom into the crystalline structure
of silicon (Si) as shown in the figure below:

NB: Supplement your learning from the lecture and lecture notes by independent study and discussions.
Page 5 of 12 SPH 2110: Instrumental Electronics Lecture Notes

The introduced pentavalent atom is an impurity atom and when several of them
are introduced into the crystalline structure of silicon, each impurity atom
provides a surplus electron. The result is an extrinsic semiconductor material
and the process of adding the impurity atom is referred to as doping. If a
potential difference is applied across the material these free electrons flow to
constitute electric current.

A trivalent atom (with three valence electrons) can as well be introduced into
the silicon crystalline lattice. In this case, the three valence electrons of the
trivalent atom bond with three out of the four valence electrons of a silicon
atom. These leaves a fourth bond that cannot be formed forming a so-called
“hole” – electrons are effectively missing from the crystalline structure.
For instance, introducing boron (B) into the crystalline structure of silicon (S)
as shown in the figure below:

The hole attracts a neighbouring electron that leaves another hole behind and
so forth. This movement of holes results into a shortage of electrons in the
crystal thereby turning it into a positive pole.
NB: Supplement your learning from the lecture and lecture notes by independent study and discussions.
Page 6 of 12 SPH 2110: Instrumental Electronics Lecture Notes

When doping is done using a pentavalent atom, the result is an excess of

current-carrying electrons, each with a negative charge, and the resulting
material is an extrinsic semiconductor referred to as an n-type semiconductor.
The electron is said to be the majority charge carrier.

When doping is done using a trivalent atom, the result is a deficiency of

electrons and the resulting material is an extrinsic semiconductor referred to as
a p-type semiconductor. The hole is said to be the majority carrier.

• The p-n junction i.e. the diode

o It is made when a p-type and n-type semiconductor are brought in contact as shown
in the figure below:

‒ Assume that a hole is a positive charge

carrier and that an electron is a negative
charge carrier.
‒ At the junction, free electrons in the n-type
material diffuse into the p-type material
(diffusion is from an area of high density to
an area of lower density) and the holes in the
p-type material diffuse into the n-type
material.
‒ Because the n-type material has lost
electrons, it acquires a positive potential
with respect to the p-type material while the
p-type material has gained electrons and
becomes negatively charged with respect to
the n-type material.
‒ After a short while, this creates a potential
difference (barrier potential) across the
junction which stops further diffusion.

NB: Supplement your learning from the lecture and lecture notes by independent study and discussions.
Page 7 of 12 SPH 2110: Instrumental Electronics Lecture Notes
‒ The result is an area in the region of the
junction that is depleted of holes and
electrons. This area is called a depletion
layer.

o The depletion layer lacks charge carriers and is therefore a non-conducting layer
(insulator).
o The p-n junction is also referred to as the diode. It makes use of the depletion layer
to allow flow of charge in one direction but not in the other.

o When an external voltage is applied to a p-n

junction making the p-type material positive w.r.t
the n-type material (figure (a) alongside),
‒ Holes in the p-type material drift towards the
junction,
Similarly
‒ Electrons in the n-type material drift towards
the junction.
o Consequently, the width of the depletion layer
and size of the barrier potential are reduced, in
effect, closing the depletion layer.
o The holes and electrons can now cross the
junction and a current flows, and the p-n junction
is said to be forward biased.
figure (a)

NB: Supplement your learning from the lecture and lecture notes by independent study and discussions.
Page 8 of 12 SPH 2110: Instrumental Electronics Lecture Notes

o When an external voltage is applied to a p-n

junction making the p-type material negative with
respect to the n-type material (figure (b)
alongside),
‒ Holes in the p-type material drift towards the
negative terminal,
Similarly
‒ Electrons in the n-type material drift towards
the positive terminal.
o Consequently, the width of the depletion layer
and size of the barrier potential are increased.
o In theory, no current flows and the p-n junction is
said to be reverse biased.
figure (b)

o The circuit symbol for a diode is as shown below:

o The anode is the p-type material and the cathode is the n-type material. Conventional
current through the device flows in the direction of anode to cathode.

o Since a diode is used to allow current flow in one direction while blocking the flow
in the other direction, it is implemented in a forward-bias configuration or a
reverse-bias configuration (figure below).

• The current-voltage relationship for forward and reverse biased p-n junctions
o Example with silicon (Si) and germanium (Ge) p-n junctions.

NB: Supplement your learning from the lecture and lecture notes by independent study and discussions.
Page 9 of 12 SPH 2110: Instrumental Electronics Lecture Notes

o For silicon and germanium the barrier

voltages are approximately 0.6 V and 0.2
V respectively.
o In forward bias,
‒ For the applied voltages from 0 to
the barrier voltage (0.6 V silicon and
0.2 V germanium), very little current
flows.
‒ When the barrier voltage is reached,
current starts to flow, and as the
applied voltage is raised above it, the
current increases exponentially.

o In reverse bias, theoretically, no current

is supposed to flow across the junction.
However, in reality, a small amount of
current is able to flow (caused by
thermal excitations). As the reverse
voltage is increased, the reverse current
increases very slowly and may get to a
point when a sufficiently large amount
of reverse current flows.

o These curves – I-V characteristic curves

o Sample problem: The forward characteristic of a diode is shown in the figure below:

Use it to determine, (a) the current flowing in the diode when a forward voltage of
0.4 V is applied, (b) the voltage dropped across the diode when a forward current of
NB: Supplement your learning from the lecture and lecture notes by independent study and discussions.
Page 10 of 12 SPH 2110: Instrumental Electronics Lecture Notes
9 mA is flowing in it, (c) the resistance of the diode when the forward voltage is 0.6
V, and (d) whether the diode is a Ge or Si type.
Solution:
a) When 𝑉𝑓𝑤𝑑 = 0.4 𝑉, 𝐼𝑓𝑤𝑑 = 1.9 𝑚𝐴
b) When 𝐼𝑓𝑤𝑑 = 9 𝑚𝐴, 𝑉𝑓𝑤𝑑 = 0.67 𝑉
c) When 𝑉𝑓𝑤𝑑 = 0.6 𝑉, 𝐼𝑓𝑤𝑑 = 6.0 𝑚𝐴
𝑉 0.6 𝑉
Thus, 𝑅 = = = 100 Ω
𝐼 6×10−3 𝐴
d) It’s Ge → conduction begins at approximately 0.2 V.

• I-V characteristic curve for an ideal diode

o An ideal diode is a diode that acts like a perfect conductor when it is forward biased and
like a perfect insulator when it reverse biased.

o From the figure above, when the diode is forward-biased it instantly conducts an infinite
amount of current, and when it is reverse-biased it conducts no current at all.

• Types of diodes
o A diode provides an extremely low resistance to current flow in one direction and an
extremely high resistance to current flow in the other.
This property allows diodes to be used in applications that require a circuit to behave
differently according to the direction of current flowing in it.

o A diode is encapsulated p-n junction fitted with connecting leads or tags for
connection to external circuitry.

o Various different types of diode are available for different applications. These
include:
NB: Supplement your learning from the lecture and lecture notes by independent study and discussions.
Page 11 of 12 SPH 2110: Instrumental Electronics Lecture Notes

Rectifier diodes Used in power supplies to convert

alternating current (AC) to direct
current (DC)

Zener diodes Used for voltage regulation, surge

suppression, and in clipper circuits

Light emitting Mostly used in lighting (bulbs,

diodes (LEDs) indicators, etc.)

• Rectification – conversion of alternating current (AC) to direct current (DC)

o Direct current (DC) remains constant in magnitude and polarity. It therefore flows
continuously in the same direction through a conductor.
o Alternating current (AC) continuously changes in magnitude and periodically
reverses in polarity as shown in the figure below. AC, therefore, flows in both
directions through a conductor.

o If AC is supplied to a circuit as shown in the

figure alongside only half of the input
produces a voltage across the output
terminals. This is called half-wave
rectification.
o If a capacitor is connected across the output
terminals, the output would be smoothed out
as shown in the figure alongside.
o The capacitor (smoothing capacitor) charges
during the positive-going side of each

NB: Supplement your learning from the lecture and lecture notes by independent study and discussions.
Page 12 of 12 SPH 2110: Instrumental Electronics Lecture Notes

positive half-cycle, and it discharges through

the load during the rest of the cycle.

o Full-wave rectification can be achieved using the arrangement of diodes as shown

below (bridge rectifier circuit).

o Current flows from the input terminal P through AD, through the resistor R, back
through BC and to the other input terminal Q for one half of the cycle, and from Q to
CD, through R and back through BA to terminal P for the other half of the cycle.
Again, the output can be smoothed using a capacitor across the output terminals.

o NB: Smoothing is not perfect due to the capacitor voltage falling a little as it
discharges, giving a small ripple voltage. This is illustrated in the figure below:

NB: Supplement your learning from the lecture and lecture notes by independent study and discussions.