Parth Gupta

Roll. No:- 1417123

Class:- 1st yr BTCHE
Section:-A
EC- Assignment

(1)Energy Hill: Before Diffusion, At

Equilibrium, Forward Bias.
(2) Barrier Potential and Temperature
(3) Reverse Bias Diode, Transient Current,
Reverse saturation current, Surface
leakage current.
(4) Numerical.

THE ENERGY
HILL
Before Diffusion
Assuming an abrupt junction (one that suddenly change from p to
n material).The energy band before electrons have diffused across

the junction the p side has many holes in the valence band, and
the n side has many electron in the conduction band.
Therefore, the orbits of a trivalent atom (p side) are slightly larger
than those of a pentavalent atom (n side).This is why the p band
are slightly higher than the n band.
Thus its an idealization because the p side cannot suddenly end
where the n side begins. A manufacture diode has a gradual
change from one material to other for this reason is a more
realistic energy of a junction diode.

At Equilibrium:
When the diode is first formed, there is no depletion layer. In free
electrons will diffuse across the junction. This means that the
electrons near the top of the n conduction band move across the
junction. After crossing the junction a free electron recombine
with a hole. As it does, it emits heat, light, and other radiation.
This recombination not only creates the depletion layer, it also
changes the energy levels at the junction by increasing the
energy level difference between the p and n bands.
At equilibrium, conduction-band electrons on the n side travel
in orbits not quite large enough to match p side orbits. In other
words, electrons on n side do not have enough energy to get
across the junction. To an electron trying to diffuse across the
junction, the path it must travel looks like a hill, an energy hill.
The electron cannot climb this hill unless it receives energy from
an outside source. The energy source may be a voltage source,
but it can also be heat, light, and other radiation.

Forward Bias:-

The battery increases the energy level of the free electron; this
equivalent to forcing the n band upward. Because of this free
electrons have enough energy to enter in the p region. After
entering the p region, they fall into holes. As valence electrons,
they continue moving toward the left end of the crystal; this
equivalent to holes moving toward the junction.
The negative terminal would tend to inject electrons into the N type
material. This would increase the number of electrons and therefore
reduce depletion layer. This would reduce the positive charge at the
junction. Similarly the positive terminal would tend to pull electrons
from the P type material. This would increase the number of holes,
reducing the depletion layer and reducing the negative charge at
the junction.

When free electrons fall from the conduction band to the valance
band, they radiate their excess energy in form of heat and light.
But with an LED, the radiation can be light such as red, green,
blue, or orange.

Barrier Potential And

Temperature
The junction temperature is the temperature inside a diode, right
at the pn junction. The ambient temperature is different. It is the
temperature of the air outside the diode, the air that surrounds
the diode. When the diode is conducting, the junction
temperature is higher than the ambient temperature because of
the heat created by recombination.
The barrier potential depends on the junction temp. .
An increase in junction temperature creates more free electrons
and holes in the doped regions. As these charges diffuse into the
depletion layer, it becomes narrower. This means that there is less
barrier potential at higher junction temperatures.
V/T= (-2mV/C) -------------------------------(1)

WHERE,
V stands for the change in voltage
T stands for the change in temperature.

By rearranging equation (1):

V= (-2mV/C)T
With this we can calculate the barrier potential at any junction
temperature.The spatially bounded region of high potential energ
y of a particle in a field of force on both sides of which the potenti
al energydecreases quite abruptly. The potential barrier correspon
ds to the repulsive force.

A potential barrier of simple form is illustrated in Figure 1 for the c

ase of linear motion of a particle along the x-axis. When x =x0, th
e potential energy V(x) assumes a maximum value V0, which is cal
led the height of the potential barrier. A potential barrierdivides sp
ace into two regions (I and II), in which the potential energy of the
particle is less than that in the region (III) within thepotential barri
er.
In classical mechanics, the passage of a particle through a potenti
al barrier is possible only when the particles total energy
kinetic energy plus potential energyexceeds the height of the b
arrier, that is, when V0. If, however, the energy of theparticle is
insufficient to surmount the barrier, < V0, then the particle, movi
ng from left to right, stops upon reaching the barrierat xi and mov
es in the opposite direction. The potential barrier is a sort of opaq
ue wall or barrier, hence its name, for particles
with energy less than its height.

Numerical on Barrier potential and

temperature

Assuming a barrier potential of 0.7 volt at an ambient

temperature of 25 C, what is the barrier potential of a silicon
diode, when a junction temperature is 100 C? At 0 C?
SOLUTIONWhen the junction temperature is 100 C, the change in barrier
potential is:
V= (-2mV/C) T=(-2Mv/C)(100 C 25 C)= -150Mv
Thus the barrier potential decreases 150mV from its room
temperature value:
Vb =0.7V 0.15V= 0.55V
When the junction temperature is 0 C, the change in barrier
potential is:
V= (-2mV/C) T= (-2mV/C)(0 C 25 C)=50Mv
This tells us that the barrier potential increases 50Mv from its
room temperature value. So, it equals:
Vb= 0.7V+0.05V=0.75V Answer.

Reverse Bias Diode:

An external voltage to the diode as shown below with the positive
terminal connected to the N type material and the negative
terminal connected to the P type material. The external voltage

would tend to cause the movement of electrons from the negative

terminal of the supply through the diode and back to the positive
terminal (electron flow).
To do this the negative terminal would tend to inject electrons into
the P type material causing a further depletion of holes. This
would produce a widening of the depletion layer and an increase
in the negative charge at the junction until it was equal in
magnitude to the applied voltage. The negative charge at the
junction would oppose the negative terminal of the external
voltage and this would prevent any further injection of electrons
into the P type material.

Similarly, the positive terminal would tend to pull electrons from the N type material.
This would further deplete the N type material of electrons, widening the depletion
layer and increasing the positive charge at the junction until it was equal to the
magnitude of the applied voltage. This would then prevent any further loss of
electrons.

The net effect is that when an external voltage is connected this way the effect of the
barrier voltage opposes the external voltage. Any initial movement of charge due to

the external voltage will just increase the barrier voltage until it is equal to the applied
voltage and therefore no current will flow through the diode. When an external
voltage is connected to a diode with this polarity we say that it is reverse biased.

Note as holes are the majority current carriers in P type material it is more common to
consider the movement of holes rather than electrons in the P type material. Therefore
we can say that the negative terminal tends to remove holes rather than injecting
electrons in the same way that we considered the positive terminal removing electrons
from the N type material. The effect is the same; the removal of holes from the P type
material would increase the depletion layer and increase the barrier voltage.

Transient Current:

they can be currents or voltages -- occur

momentarily and fleetingly in response to a stimulus or change in
the equilibrium of a circuit. Transients frequently occur when
power is applied to or removed from a circuit, because of
expanding or collapsing magnetic fields in inductors or the
charging or discharging of capacitors.

Reverse saturation current:

The saturation current or, more accurately, the reverse
saturation current is that part of the reverse current in
a semiconductor diode caused by diffusion of
minority carriers from the neutral regions to the depletion region.
This current is almost independent of the reverse voltage.
IS the reverse bias saturation current for an ideal pn diode.

Where

IS is the reverse bias saturation current,

e is elementary charge
A is the cross-sectional area
Dp,n are the diffusion coefficient of holes and electrons,
respectively,
ND,A are the donor and acceptor concentrations at the n side
and p side, respectively,
ni is the intrinsic carrier concentration in the semiconductor
material,
Are the carrier lifetimes of holes and electrons, respectively.

Surface leakage current:

Diodes reverse current that passes along the surface of the semiconductor
materials.
In low voltage applications, leakage current is caused by an
accidental grounding or a faulty component in the circuit. In
medium and high voltage applications, it can even be caused by
current running over the insulator instead of the intended
medium.

Numerical
A silicon diode has a saturation current of 5nA at 25 degree C.
What is the saturation current at 100 degree C?
SOLUTION:
The change in temperature is:
T=100 degree C 25 degree C= 75 degree C
Is= (2^7)(5nA)=640nA
With eq. (2-6), there are an additional 5 degree between 95
degree C and 100 degree C:
Is= (1.07^5) (640nA) =898nA (ANSWER).

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------