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Group2 How Diodes Work ?

A diode is a semiconductor device that allows current to flow in only one direction. It is constructed where a p-type semiconductor and an n-type semiconductor meet, forming a pn junction. When forward biased with a voltage greater than its threshold (around 0.7V for silicon), electrons can overcome the depletion region and current flows through the diode. When reverse biased, the depletion region widens and blocks current from flowing, making the diode act as an open switch with very high resistance.

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Sudesh Fernando Vayanga Subasingha
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37 views10 pages

Group2 How Diodes Work ?

A diode is a semiconductor device that allows current to flow in only one direction. It is constructed where a p-type semiconductor and an n-type semiconductor meet, forming a pn junction. When forward biased with a voltage greater than its threshold (around 0.7V for silicon), electrons can overcome the depletion region and current flows through the diode. When reverse biased, the depletion region widens and blocks current from flowing, making the diode act as an open switch with very high resistance.

Uploaded by

Sudesh Fernando Vayanga Subasingha
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Group 2

How
diodes
work ?

 What is diode ?
 How diode constructed ?
As a one way valve for
conducting,

A diode has two terminals: an anode (positive side) and a cathode (negative side). The diode conducts
current when the voltage at the anode is higher than the voltage at the cathode by more than a value
specified in a datasheet (roughly 0.7 V in the case of silicon pn junction diodes).

Basically, a diode is a one way valve for electricity


• P-Type Semiconductor: Majority Charge
Carriers are Holes(+).
• N-Type Semiconductor: Majority Charge
Carriers are Electrons(-)

When these two semiconductors are


joined/merged together, the free electrons
from the N-Type start to move towards the
P-Type region, while the Holes start moving
towards the N-Type region.
At the border of these two regions, electrons
get combined with Holes and neutralized.

• These neutralized atoms create a layer at


the border(of N-Type & P-Type regions)
and stop the flow of electrons & Holes. This
newly created third layer/region is called

Construction of Diode
the depletion region.
• The PN Junction created at the center of two regions is very

Forward biasing small but it's powerful enough to stop the free electrons
from passing through it.
• So, if we could provide some external power to these
electrons, they can break this barrier and can make their
entry into the P-Type region.
• This external power required to overcome the depletion
region is normally termed as a Forward Threshold Voltage of
diode.

• This threshold voltage value depends on the semiconductor


material used in the diode construction i.e. for silicon it's
+0.7V and for Germanium, it's +0.3V.
• So, for a normal diode, if we provide an external power of
+0.7V, the electrons will overcome the depletion region and in
simple words, the current will start flowing through the
diode.

• As you can see in this figure, the positive terminal of the


battery is connected with the anode of the diode and as we
will provide a voltage greater than its threshold voltage, the
diode will start conducting and is said to be acting as forward
biased.
Reverse biasing
If the polarity of the applied power is reversed
i.e. positive terminal of the battery gets
connected with the cathode(-), while the
negative terminal gets connected with the
anode(+), the depletion region will start to
increase.

In this state, the diode won't allow the current


to flow through it and is said to be acting as
reverse biased.
In a reverse Biased state, the diode acts as an
open switch.

The PN junction in reverse biasing offers a very


high resistance due to the thickness of the
depletion region.

A diode in ideal condition when reverse biased


has infinite resistance.
A diode is said to be an Ideal Diode when it is
Ideal diode forward biased and acts as a perfect conductor,
with zero voltage across it. Similarly, when the
diode is reversed biased, it acts as a perfect
insulator with zero current through it.
Real diode A Real diode contains barrier potential V0 (0.7 V
for silicon and 0.3 V for Germanium) and a
forward resistance RF of about 25 ohms. When a
diode is forward biased and conducts a forward
current IF flows through it which causes a
voltage drop IFRF in the forward resistance.

Hence, the forward voltage VF applied across the


real diode for conduction, has to overcome the
following.
• Potential barrier
• Drop in forward resistance

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