15. Semiconductor Electronics.

2. MARKS
1*. What is a n-type semiconductor? What are the majority and minority charge carriers in it?
If a pentavalent (i.e. As, Sb, P) impurity is added to a tetravalent that is Ge (or) Si semiconductors, it
is called n-type semiconductor.
In n-type semiconductor majority charge carriers are electrons and minority charge carriers are holes.
2*. What are intrinsic and extrinsic semiconductors?
Pure form of semiconductors is called intrinsic semiconductors. When impure atoms are added to
increase their conductivity, they are called extrinsic semiconductors.
3*. What is a p-type semiconductor? What are the majority and minority charge carriers in it?
If a trivalent (i.e. In, Ga, Al.) impurity is added to a tetravalent that is Ge (or) Si semiconductors, it is
called p-type semiconductor.
In p-type semiconductor majority charge carriers are holes and minority charge carriers are electrons.
4. What is a p-n Junction diode? What is deplection layer?
p-n junction: An arrangement consisting of p-type semiconductor brought in close contact with n-
type semiconductor is called p-n junction.
Depletion layer. The region near the p-n junction which is free from mobile charge carriers is called
depletion layer.
5*. What is the maximum percentage of rectification in half wave and full wave rectifiers?
percentage of rectification in half wave: 40.6%
percentage of rectification in full wave rectifier: 81.2%
6*. Draw the circuit symbols for p-n-p and n-p-n transistors.

7.Define amplifier and amplification factor.

i)Amplifier: Rising the strength of a weak signal is known as amplification and the device is called
amplifier.
𝑉
ii) Amplification factor is the ratio between output voltage to the input voltage. A = 𝑉𝑜
𝑖
8*. In which bias can a Zener diode be used as voltage regulator?
In reverse bias Zener diode can be used as voltage regulator.
9.Which gates are called universal gates?
NAND gate and NOR gate are called universal gates.
4. MARKS
1*. What are n-type and p-type semiconductors? How is a semiconductor junction formed?
n-type: If a pentavalent (i.e. As, Sb, P) impurity is added to a tetravalent that is Ge and Si
semiconductors, it is called n-type semiconductor.
In n-type semiconductor majority charge carriers are electrons and minority charge carriers are holes.
p-type: If a trivalent (i.e., In, Ga, Al.) impurity is added to a tetravalent that is Ge and Si
semiconductors, it is called p-type semiconductor.
In p-type semiconductor majority charge carriers are holes and minority charge carriers are electrons.
p-n junction: An arrangement consisting of p-type semiconductor brought in close contact with n-
type semiconductor is called p-n junction.
An n-type Ge or Si crystal is prepared by adding appropriate impurities. It is then cut into thin slices
called wafers. Now on a wafer on n-type an aluminium film is placed and heated to a temperature about
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600°C. The aluminium (p-type) atoms diffuse into surface of the wafer. This way a p-type semiconductor
can be formed on n-type semiconductor.
The boundary between p-type and n-type semiconductors is called p-n junction.
2*. Describe how a semiconductor diode is used as a half wave rectifier.
Explanation: During the positive half cycle, the diode is
forward biased and current flows through the diode. During the
negative half cycle, the diode is reverse biased and current does not
flow through it. The current flows in 𝑅𝐿 , only in one direction.
Hence a half-wave rectifier rectifies only one-half cycle of the a.c.
input.
Efficiency of half wave rectifier is
dc Power output 𝑃 0.406 𝑅
𝜂 = ac Power input = 𝑃𝑑𝑐 = 𝑟 + 𝑅 𝐿
𝑎𝑐 𝑓 𝐿
In half-wave rectification a maximum of 40.6% of a.c. power is
converted into d.c. power.
3*. What is rectification? Explain the working of a full wave rectifier.
Definition: - The process of converting an alternating current into a direct current is called
rectification.

Working: - A full wave rectifier consists of two diodes 𝐷1 and 𝐷2 , center tap transformer and load resistance
𝑅𝐿 are connected in secondary.
A rectifier which rectifies both halves of the ac input is called full wave rectifier. During the positive half
cycles of an ac input Diode 𝐷1 is forward biased and 𝐷2 is reverse biased the current flows through load
resistance 𝑅𝐿 due to 𝐷1 and 𝐷2 will not conduct. During the negative half cycles of an ac input diode 𝐷1 is
reverse biased and 𝐷2 is forward biased and current flows through load resistance due to 𝐷2 and 𝐷1 will not
conduct. Hence current flow through load resistance during both the half cycles and in the same direction.
dc Power output 𝑃 0.812 𝑅
Efficiency of full wave rectifier is 𝜂 = ac Power input = 𝑃𝑑𝑐 = 𝑟 + 𝑅 𝐿
𝑎𝑐 𝑓 𝐿

In full-wave rectification a maximum of 81.2% of a.c. power is converted into d.c. power.
4*. Distinguish between half wave and full wave rectifiers.
Half Wave rectifier Full wave rectifier
1) Only one diode is used. 1) Two diodes are used.
2) The output is discontinuous and pulsating d.c. 2) The output is continuous and pulsating d.c.
3) Efficiency is 40.6% 3) Efficiency is 81.2%
4) Only one half of the a.c. input wave comes out as 4) Both half cycles of a.c. input wave comes out as
d.c. output. d.c. output.
5) Efficiency is low 5) Efficiency is high.
5. Define NAND and NOR gates. Give their truth tables.
NAND gate: NAND is combination of AND + NOT gates.
The logic gate in which the output of AND gate is connected to the input of NOT gate is called NAND gate,
Truth table for NAND gate.

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 A B Y=𝐴𝐵̅̅̅̅
0 0 1
0 1 1
1 0 1
1 1 0
NOR-gate : NOR-gate is combination of OR+NOT gates.
The logic gate in which the output of OR gate is connected to the input of NOT gate is called NOR gate.
Truth table for NOR gate
A B Y=𝐴̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅
+𝐵
0 0 1
0 1 0
1 0 0
1 1 0
6*. Explain the operation of a NOT gate and give its truth table.
NOT gate: The NOT gate is an electronic circuit that produces an inverted version of the input at its
output. It is also known as an inverter. If the input variable is A, the inverted output is known as NOT
A. This is also shown as A', or A with a bar over the top (Ā), as shown at the outputs. The diagrams below
show two ways that the NAND logic gate can be configured to produce a NOT gate. It can also be done
using NOR logic gates in the same way.

7. Explain the working of LED. What are its advantages over conventional incandescent low power
lamps?
Working of LED: It is a heavily doped p-n junction diode which emits light in forward bias. When
the diodes forward biased electrons sent from n →p and holes sent from p →n. Due to this the
concentration of minority charge carriers increases at the junction boundary and they recombine with
majority carriers as result energy is released in the form of photons. The intensity of light proportional to the
forward current.
Advantages of LED:
1. Low operational voltage and less power
2. Fast action and no warm-up time required
3. The bandwidth of emitted light is 100𝐴0 to 500 𝐴0 .
4. Long life and ruggedness.
5. Fast on-off switching capability.
8.What is Zener diode? Explain how it is used as a voltage regulator?
Zener diode: A heavily doped p-n junction diode which has sharp
break down voltage and operated in reverse bias is called Zener diode.
Zener diode as voltage regulator explanation: The unregulated DC
voltage is connected to the Zener diode through a series resistance 𝑅𝑠 , such
that the Zener diode is reverse biased. If the input voltage increases, the current
through 𝑅𝑠 and the Zener diode also increases. This increases the voltage drop
across 𝑅𝑠 without any change in the voltage across Zener diode,
Similarly, if the input voltage decreases the current through 𝑅𝑠 and
Zener diode also decreases. The voltage drops across 𝑅𝑠 decreases without any
Circuit diagram:
change in the voltage across the Zener diode. Thus, the Zener diode acts as a
voltage regulator.
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9. Define Avalanche break down and Zener break down.
Avalanche break down: In Avalanche break down, the thermally generated electrons and holes
acquire sufficient energy from the applied potential to produce new carriers by removing valence electrons
from their bonds. These new carriers in turn produce additional carriers again through the process of
disrupting bonds. This cumulative process is referred to as Avalanche break down. This occurs in highly
doped diodes at high reverse bias voltages.
Zener break down: If diode is heavily doped, direct capture of covalent bonds takes place because
of strong electric field at the junction. As a result of heavily doping of P and n regions, the depletion region
width becomes very small and an applied voltage of 6 V or less causes an electric field of 107 v/m at the
junction, making condition suitable for Zener break down. This occurs in heavily doped diodes at low
reverse bias voltages.
10. Draw and explain the current voltage (I-V) characteristic curves of a junction diode in forward and
reverse bias.
V-I characteristics of P-N junction diodes is a curve
between the voltage and current through the circuit.
Voltage is taken along the x-axis while the current is
taken along the y-axis. The above graph is the V-I
characteristics curve of the P-N junction diode. With the
help of the curve, we can understand that there are two
regions in which the diode works, and they are:
• Forward bias
• Reverse bias
When the P-N junction diode is in forward bias condition, the p-type is connected to the positive terminal
while the n-type is connected to the negative terminal of the external voltage. When the diode is arranged in
this manner, there is a reduction in the potential barrier. For silicone diodes, when the voltage is 0.7 V and
for germanium diodes, when the voltage is 0.3 V, the potential barriers decrease, and there is a flow of
current.

When the P-N junction diode is in reverse bias condition, the p-type is connected to the negative terminal
while the n-type is connected to the positive terminal of the external voltage. This results in an increase in
the potential barrier. Reverse saturation current flows in the beginning as minority carriers are present in the
junction. When the applied voltage is increased, the minority charges will have increased kinetic energy
which affects the majority charges. This is the stage when the diode breaks down. This may also destroy the
diode.

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