SEMICONDUCTOR MATERIAL

A semi-conductor material is one that, in its

pure state at normal room temperature is
neither a good conductor nor good
insulator. That means it has the properties
of both conductors and insulators. However
pure semi-conducting materials are seldom
used in electronics. Instead, small amounts
of other substances are added by a
process called DOPING.
One of the main reasons that
semiconductors are useful in electronics is
that their electronic properties can be
greatly altered in a controllable way by
adding small amounts of impurities. These
impurities are called dopant.
Doping is the process of changing the
characteristic of a relatively poor conductor
to a good conductor of electricity.

The most widely used semi-conductor

materials are the elements germanium and
silicon and the compound gallium and
arsenide. They are used in solid-state
diodes. The atoms of germanium and
silicon have valence (free) electrons, (which
are in the outer most shell. Each atom
shares each of its valence electrons with
near atoms which is called covalent
bonding, i.e. the bonding of two atoms.

There are two types of semi-conductor

materials, the:
 ‘P’ type
 ‘N’ type
Silicon contains free electrons or negatively
charged particles and is called an ‘N’ type
semi-conductor material. Semi-conductor
materials that contain many holes are
called ‘P’ type material; because holes
represent the lack of electrons, thus it is
considered a positively charged current
carrier.

Intrinsic and extrinsic semiconductors

An intrinsic semiconductor is a
semiconductor which is pure enough that
the impurities in it do not appreciably affect
its electrical behavior. In this case, all
carriers are created by thermally or optically
excited electrons from the full valence band
into the empty conduction band. Thus equal
numbers of electrons and holes are present
in an intrinsic semiconductor. Electrons and
holes flow in opposite directions in an
electric field, though they contribute to
current in the same direction since they are
oppositely charged.Hole current and
electron current are not necessarily equal in
an intrinsic semiconductor, however,
because electrons and holes have different
effective masses (crystalline analogues to
free inertial masses).

The concentration of carriers in an intrinsic

semiconductor is strongly dependent on the
temperature. At low temperatures, the
valence band is completely full, making the
material an insulator. Increasing the
temperature leads to an increase in the
number of carriers and a corresponding
increase in conductivity. This principle is
used in thermistors.

An extrinsic semiconductor is a
semiconductor that has been doped with
impurities to modify the number and type of
free charge carriers present.
A semiconductor which is doped to such
high levels that the dopant atoms are an
appreciable fraction of the semiconductor
atoms is called degenerate. A degenerate
semiconductor acts more like a conductor
than a semiconductor.

P-TYPE & N-TYPE DOPING

The purpose of p-type doping is to create

an abundance of holes. The purpose of N-
type doping is to produce an abundance of
mobile or "carrier" electrons in the material.

P-N JUNCTIONS

A p-n junction may be created by doping

adjacent regions of a semiconductor with p-
type and n-type dopants. If a positive bias
voltage is placed on the p-type side, the
dominant positive carriers (holes) are
pushed toward the junction. At the same
time, the dominant negative carriers
(electrons) in the n-type material are
attracted toward the junction. Since there is
an abundance of carriers at the junction,
the junction behaves as a conductor, and
the voltage placed across the junction
produces a current.

THE P-N JUNCTION DIODE

A diode is a device that allows current to
flow in only one direction while blocking it in
the other direction; it is also used to convert
alternating current to direct current. The
basic solid-state diode is a combination of
‘P’ type and ‘N’ Type materials.

It is named a single unit through a chemical

process. The section where the two
materials meet is known as a P-N junction,
thus the name P-N JUNCTION DIODE
When the P-N junction is formed, free
electrons within the ‘N’ section spread out
across the junction to combine with the
holes in the “P” section. At the same time
the holes on the “P” section spread out
across the junction to combine with free
electrons that are within the ‘N’ Section
near the junction. As a result of these
combinations, the atoms near the junction
of each section become ionized. Since this
action reduces the number of N-section
electrons and P-section holes, the area
where the process of ionization occurs is
called a depletion region.
SYMBOL AND POLARITY

The symbol for a diode is labeled plus (+)

and minus (-). The plus (positive) side is
called the “ANODE” while the minus
(negative) side is called the “CATHODE”.
This is important to take note of, because
not all diodes are marked with a plus or
minus.

However, by using an ohmmeter you can

find out which end of the diode is anode or
which is cathode. With this information,
you can put the diode into circuit the right
way; otherwise you might hook the diode
the wrong way and block current flow.
If a diode is not marked for polarity, hook
the positive lead of the ohmmeter to one
end of the diode and the negative lead to
the other end. If the meter gives a low
reading (resistance) the diode is forward-
bias; polarity is correct. If the test reading
is high (high resistance) the diode is
reversed-bias; polarity is incorrect. Simply
reverse the leads connections and retest
for forward bias (low resistance)
The current flows in the direction of the
arrow from + to – or (anode – cathode) the
polarity of the voltage applied to a diode will
determine whether or not the diode will
conduct electricity. The two polarities of an
applied voltage are known as forward
biased and reversed- biased.
When a diode is forward-biased it will
conduct electricity. In this case, the positive
terminal of the supply is connected to the
positive side of the diode and the negative
terminal of the supply is connected to the
negative side of the diode.
When the diode is reverse biased it will not
conduct electricity, therefore it blocks the
current. In this case, the positive terminal of
the supply is connected to the negative side
and the negative terminal to the positive
side of the diode.
A diode is normally labeled 1N with a series
of digits behind it e.g. 1N0048, where 1N =
1 junction

OVERHEATING OF DIODES CAN CAUSE

ONE OF TWO THINGS TO HAPPEN.
THESE ARE:

 It may open the diode;

How do you know this? Do you remember

how to measure the polarity of a diode in
two directions? In one direction the
resistance is very high and in the other the
resistance is very low. If the diode is open,
the resistance will be high in both
directions.

 It may shorts out the diode

If the diode is shorts out it will conduct

electricity in both directions. This will cause
damage to other devices, because current
should flow in only one direction. To find
out if a diode is shorts out, you would
conduct the usual test on the diode. The
diode should have a high reading in one
direction and a low resistance in the other.
If the reading in both directions is low, then
the diode is shorts out.

DIODES IN SERIES

Some circuits use two diodes in series. If

one of these diodes has a current rating of
3A and a second diode has a current rating
of 1A, the safest amount of current you
could pass through the diode is 1A. Note
that one diode can handle only 1A. If we try
to pass 3A through it, this diode would be
destroyed. Therefore circuit showing two
diodes in series can handle a current
equivalent to the diode with the lower
current rating.
Take the same diodes and look at their
P.I.V, (peak inverse voltage) also consider
their P.I.V in series. Bear in mind that when
two diodes are connected in series, their
P.I.V is the sum of the two.

DIODES IN PARALLEL

If we hook two diodes in parallel instead of

series we would get different results. The
current rating of diodes for parallel hook up
would be added to get the total value. This
means that if there is a need for more
current than a given diode can handle, we
can hook up two or more in parallel to
handle the current.

Looking at the P.I.V for the parallel group,

you can see it now has the rating of the
diode with the lower value. Anytime we
hook two diodes in parallel, the circuit can
handle more current, but we must watch for
low P.I.V. If the circuit voltage is higher
than the P.I.V. rating, the diodes will pass
current in the reverse direction.
RECTIFIER CIRCUIT

A rectifier circuit is a circuit made to convert

alternating current to direct current. There
are two types of rectifier circuits, the half
wave and the full wave.

HALF-WAVE RECTIFICATION
In half wave rectification, either the positive
or negative half of the AC wave is passed
easily, while the other half is blocked,
depending on the polarity of the rectifier.
Because only one half of the input
waveform reaches the output, it is very
inefficient if used for power transfer. Half-
wave rectification can be achieved with a
single diode in a one phase supply.

In a half wave rectifier circuit, only a half of

the cycle is passed through the diode,
therefore only a half of the cycle is rectified.
The output is a rough (pulsating) d.c. To
maintain a smooth and continuous current,
a smoothing circuit is used. This is
accomplished by a capacitor connected
across the output.

FULL WAVE RECTIFIER

There are two types:
 2- Diode Full
 Full Wave Bridge (4 Diodes)

2- DIODE FULL
This arrangement requires two ac. voltage
inputs 180 out of phase. During the
0

positive ½ cycle, diode one (D1) conducts,

since its ‘P’ side is positive relative to its ‘N’
side (D1 is forward bias). At the same time
the negative ½ cycle is applied to the ‘P’
side of D2 (D2 is reverse bias). A diode in
the 2-diode full wave rectifier circuit must
be able to handle the minimum Peak
Reverse Voltage (PRV) of
 The Average (d.c) value of voltage
for a full wave rectifier circuit is expressed
by the formula.

Practical 2-diode full wave rectifier circuit

requires a centre-tapped transformer to
produce the ac voltage necessary for the
D1
+
A C IN P U T

OUTPUT

proper operation of the circuit.

-

D2

A 2-DIODE RECTIFIER CIRCUIT

t t

AC INPUT PULSATING DC OUTPUT

WAVEFORM WAVEFORM
THE BRIDGE TYPE

The bridge rectifier circuit gives the same

result as the two-diode full wave rectifier.
However this circuit requires four diodes
instead of two and does not require a
INPUT +

OUTPUT

centre tap transformer.

A BRIDGE RECTIFIER CIRCUIT
-

t t

AC INPUT PULSATING DC OUTPUT

WAVEFORM WAVEFORM

During the positive ½ cycle of the sine

wave, D1 & D3 are forward biased. At the
same time D2 & D4 are reversed biased.
During the negative ½ cycle of the sine
wave D2 & D4 are forward biased while D1 &
D3 are reversed biased. In both full wave
rectifier circuits, both halves of the cycle are
passed through the diodes; therefore both
half cycles are rectified. The current flows
through the resistor is the same direction in
both instances. Therefore, the voltage
polarity across the resistor doesn’t change
for either half cycle of the sine wave.
SMOOTHING CIRCUITS

The varying d.c. output from a rectifier

circuit can be used to charge a battery, but
must be smoothed to obtain the steady d.c.
required by electronic devices. The
simplest way to smooth an output d.c. is to
connect a capacitor, called a reservoir
capacitor or filter capacitor across the
output, as in the figure below.
The waveform of the smooth output voltage
is represented by straight lines, as in the
figure below

The smoothing action of the capacitor ‘C’ is

as follows: - During the first half cycle of
a.c. when the diode (D) is forward biased, a
current charges the capacitor to near the
peak value of the a.c. During the rest of the
cycle, the capacitor keeps the load supplied
with current by partly discharging through it.
While this occurs, the output voltage falls
until the next pulse of the rectified current
tops up the charge on the capacitor. It
does this near the peak of the half cycle.
Thus for most of each cycle the load
current is supplied by the capacitor acting
as a reservoir of charge. This is classified
as a C-input filter.

The smoothing produced by a reservoir

capacitor (C1) can be increased and ripple
reduced further by adding a filter circuit.
This consists of an inductor ‘L’ (choke) and
another large capacitor (C2) across the
output as in the figure below.

The varying d.c. voltage produced across

capacitor one (C1) is regarded as a steady
d.c. voltage, plus a small ripple voltage (the
a.c. component). The inductor ‘L’ offers
much greater impedance than capacitor
two (C2) to the a.c. component and thus
most of the unwanted ripple voltage is
developed across it. For the d.c.
component, the situation is reversed and
most of it appears across capacitor two
(C2). The filter thus acts as a voltage
divider, separating d.c. from a.c. and
producing a d.c. output voltage across
capacitor two (C2) with less ripple. A
resistor may replace the inductor when the
current to be supplied is small. The
simplified circuit has a well-deserved
reputation for being dangerous, because, in
some applications, the capacitor can retain
a lethal charge after the AC power source
is removed. A practical circuit should
always include an assured way to safely
discharge the capacitor. If the normal load
cannot be guaranteed to perform this
function, perhaps because it can be
disconnected, the circuit should include a
so-called bleeder resistor connected as
close as practical across the capacitor.
Because a bleeder sets a minimum current
drain, the regulation of the circuit, defined
as percentage voltage change from
minimum to maximum load, is improved.

THE ZENNER DIODE

A zenner diode is designed for operation or
keeping the output voltage of a power
supply steady, despite the varying input.
When forward-biased, the zenner diode
conducts about 0.6V, however it is normally
used on the reversed-biased.

LIGHT EMITTING DIODE

A light-emitting diode (THE LED), is a diode
that when forward-biased it conducts and
emits light. This light depends on the
colour of its composition. This kind of diode
is used as an indicator for a power
indicating if it’s “ON” or “OFF”

TRANSISTOR
A transistor is a semiconductor device that
can be used to control the flow of current or
to amplify an input voltage or current. The
two most common types of transistors are
the P-N-P and the N-P-N transistors. They
are often called bi-polar transistors because
their operation depends on the movements
of both electrons and holes. These
transistors operate by combining ‘N’ type
and ‘P’ type materials. The materials are
arranged as two diodes connected back-to-
back. This arrangement formed three
regions called EMITTER, COLLECTOR
and BASE.
To identify a transistor, the symbol that
represents a P-N-P transistor is the one
with the arrow “P″ointing in” while the N-P-
N is the one with the arrow “N”ot pointing
in. The emitter of a transistor emits the flow
of charges; the base controls the flow of
charges while the collector collects the flow
of charges. Like all semiconductor devices,
current flows in the direction of the arrow.
Transistors are identified by a number
starting with ‘2N’ meaning two junctions.

A transistor can be connected in an

electronic circuit in one of three
configurations:
i.Common Base (CB)
ii. Common Collector (CC), and
iii. Common Emitter (CE)

In a CB configuration, the base is common

to both input and output; in a CC
configuration, the collector is common to
both the input and the output and in the CE,
the emitter is common to both the input and
the output.
THYRISTOR

A thyristor (also called silicon-control-

rectifier; SCR) is a four-layer, three-terminal
semiconductor device.
The terminals are anode, cathode and gate.
Since it is a silicon control rectifier it can
control the power supply to a load with very
little waste of energy, and like silicon
diodes, it conducts current in only one
direction. However the exact time at which
it will begin conduct is when an alternating
voltage is applied to the anode and cathode
and a positive voltage is applied to the
gate. Conduction continues when the gate
voltage is removed and stops only if the
supply voltage is switched “off” or is
reversed. It is constructed with alternate ‘P’
type and ‘N’ type materials.
The operation of a thyristor can be
understood in terms of a pair of tightly
coupled Bipolar Junction Transistor (BJT)
arranged to cause the self-latching action.

TYPES OF THYRISTORS
SCR— Silicon controlled rectifier
LASCR— light activated SCR, or LIT —
light triggered thyristor
DIAC & SIDIAC – both forms of trigger
devices
  TRIAC – a bidirectional switching device
containing two thyristor structures
 GTO – gate turn-off thyristor
APPLICATIONS
 Speed Control
 Inverters
 Heater Control
 Phase Control
 Battery Chargers

THERMISTOR
A thermistor is a type of resistor used to
measure temperature changes, relying on
the change in its resistance with changing
temperature. It’s a heat sensitive device
whose resistance is relative to its body
temperature. Its resistance is inversely
proportional to its temperature. Thermistor
is a combination of the words thermal and
resistor.

THERMOSTAT
A thermostat is a device used to control
heating appliance automatically to maintain
a desired temperature. It acts as a switch
that can turn a circuit ‘ON’ and ‘OFF’.
These are usually found in refrigerators,
electric iron and electric stove.