CIRCUIT THEORY AND ELECTRONIC DEVICES

Dr.P.Rajasekar & Ms. N.Kiruthika

Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering

–Sri Krishna College of Technology, Coimbatore
rajasekarkpr@gmail.com

June 25, 2023

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 Outline

1 Syllabus

2 Materials

3 Semiconductor Physics

4 Theory of PN Junction Diode

5 Operation of PN junction

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 Syllabus

Syllabus I

Course Objective
1 To enable the students to understand the principles of electrical
circuit analysis in common circuit problems.
2 To develop, solve mathematical representations, and predict the
response for simple RLC circuits.
3 To learn resonance in series and parallel circuits.
4 To provide a comprehensive understanding of diodes and transistors.
5 To understand the characteristics of special semiconductor devices.
Course Outcome:
CO1 Analyze the circuit using circuit laws and simplification
theorems. [AN]

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 Syllabus

Syllabus II

CO2 Apply transform techniques to obtain the DC response and

frequency response of RC, RL and RLC circuits. [AP]
CO3 Outline the concepts of resonance in series and parallel circuits.
[U]
CO4 Analyze the characteristics of semiconductor diodes. [AN]
CO5 Examine the principle of operation of BJT, JFET and
MOSFET. [AN]
CO6 Interpret the characteristics of special semiconductor devices.
[U]

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 Syllabus

Syllabus III

MODULE :2 DIODES AND TRANSISTORS Theory of PN junction

diode – Energy band structure – current equation – space charge and
diffusion capacitances – effect of temperature and breakdown mechanism
– Zener diode and its characteristics. Principle of operation of PNP and
NPN transistors – study of CE, CB and CC configurations and comparison
of their characteristics – Breakdown in transistors – operation and
comparison of N-Channel and P-Channel JFET – drain current equation –
MOSFET – Enhancement and depletion types – structure and operation –
comparison of BJT with MOSFET – thermal effect on MOSFET.
Text Books:
1 Sudhakar, A., Shyammohan, S. P.; “Circuits and Network”; Tata
McGraw-Hill New Delhi, 2015

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 Syllabus

Syllabus IV

2 G. Streetman, and S. K. Banerjee, “Solid State Electronic Devices,”

7th edition, Pearson, 2014.
Reference Books:
1 Van, Valkenburg.; “Network analysis” ; Prentice hall of India, 2016.
2 A William Hayt, “Engineering Circuit Analysis” 8th Edition,
McGraw-Hill Education, 2013.
3 Chakrabati A., “Circuit Theory Analysis and Synthesis” 7th Revised
Edition Dhanpath Rai & Sons New Delhi, 2018.
4 Charles K. Alexander, Matthew N.O. Sadiku, “Fundamentals of
Electric Circuits”, 5th edition McGraw-Hill Publications, 2013.
5 D. Neamen , D. Biswas ”Semiconductor Physics and Devices,” 4th
edition, McGraw-Hill Education, 2017

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 Syllabus

Syllabus V

S. Salivahanan, “Electronic Devices and Circuits”, 4th edition,

6

McGraw Hill Education (India) Private Ltd., 2016

7 S. M. Sze and K. N. Kwok, “Physics of Semiconductor Devices,” 3rd

edition, John Wiley & Sons, 2006.

8 C.T. Sah, “Fundamentals of solid state electronics,” World Scientific

Publishing Co. Inc, 1991.

9 Y. Tsividis and M. Colin, “Operation and Modeling of the MOS

Transistor,” Oxford Univ.Press, 2011.

Web References:
1 Microelectronic Devices And Circuits

2 Electronics Resources

Online Resources
1 NPTEL

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 Materials

Materials I

Definition
Conductors: Materials that easily conduct electricity (i.e., materials with
high electrical conductivity and low electrical resistivity)
. A conductor is a material which supports a generous flow of charge
when a voltage is applied across its terminals. I.e. it has very high
conductivity
.The Valance and conduction bands overlap and there is no energy
gap for the electrons to move from valance band to conduction band. This
implies that there are free electrons in CB even at absolute zero
temperature (0K). Therefore at room temperature when electric field is
applied large current flows through the conductor.

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 Materials

Materials II

Definition
-Semiconductors: Materials with an electrical conductivity value that
falls between that of a conductor and that of an insulator
-A semiconductor is a material that has its conductivity somewhere
between the insulator and conductor. The resistivity level is in the range of
10 and 10−4 Ω Two of the most commonly used are Silicon (Si=14 atomic
no.) and germanium (Ge=32 atomic no.)

Definition
- Insulators: Materials that do not readily conduct electricity (i.e.,
materials with high electrical resistivity)
-Typical resistivity level of an insulator is of the order of 10 10 to 1012

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 Materials

Materials III

Figure: Energy band gap

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 Materials

Materials IV

Dr.P.Rajasekar & Ms. N.Kiruthika (SKCT) Figure: Types of Materials

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 Semiconductor Physics

Semiconductor I

Definition
Intrinsic Semiconductor A pure form of semiconductors is called as
intrinsic semiconductor (sc). Conduction in intrinsic sc is either due to
thermal excitation or crystal defects. Si and Ge are the two most
important semiconductors used. Other examples include Gallium arsenide
GaAs, InSb etc

Definition
Extrinsic SemiconductorThe current conduction capability of intrinsic
semiconductor can be increased significantly by adding a small amounts
impurity to the intrinsic semiconductor.

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 Semiconductor Physics

Semiconductor II

Definition
Doping: By adding impurities it becomes impure or extrinsic
semiconductor. This process of adding impurities is called as doping.

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 Semiconductor Physics

N Type Materials I

+ When extra valence electrons are introduced into a material such as

silicon an n-type material is produced.
+ The extra valence electrons are introduced by putting impurities or
dopant into the silicon.
+ The dopant used to create an n-type material are Group V elements.
+ The most commonly used dopant from Group V are arsenic,
antimony and phosphorus.
+ The 2D diagram shows the extra electron that will be present when a
Group V dopant is introduced to a material such as silicon.
+ This extra electron is very mobile.

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 Semiconductor Physics

N Type Materials II

Figure: N type materials

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 Semiconductor Physics

P Type Materials I

+ P-type material is produced when the dopant that is introduced is

from Group III.
+ Group III elements have only 3 valence electrons and therefore there is
an electron missing.
+ This creates a hole (h+), or a positive charge that can move
around in the material.
+ Commonly used Group III dopant are aluminum, boron, and
gallium.

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 Semiconductor Physics

P Type Materials II

Figure: P type materials

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 Semiconductor Physics

Conductivity of semiconductor: I

[+] In a pure semiconductor, the no. of holes is equal to the no. of

electrons.
[+] Thermal agitation continue to produce new electron- hole pairs and
the electron hole pairs disappear because of recombination with each
electron hole pair created , two charge carrying particles are formed [+]
The total current in internsic semiconductor is
J = Jp + Jn
J = qpµp E + npµn E (1)
= σE

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 Theory of PN Junction Diode

PN Junction Diode I

Definition
A PN-junction diode is formed when a p-type semiconductor is fused to an
n-type semiconductor creating a potential barrier voltage across the diode
junction

PN Junction Diode
+ A p–n junction is a boundary or interface between two types of
semiconductor materials, p-type and n-type, inside a single crystal of
semiconductor.
+ The p (positive) side contains an excess of holes, while the n
(negative) side contains an excess of electrons in the outer shells of
the electrically neutral atoms there.

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 Theory of PN Junction Diode

PN Junction Diode II

Figure: PN junction diode

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 Theory of PN Junction Diode

PN Junction Diode III

Figure: PN junction diode

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 Theory of PN Junction Diode

PN Junction Diode IV

PN Junction Diode
+ This diode is created by a method called doping. This process is
possible because the P diode has an excess number of holes, and the
N diode has an excess number of electrons. Moreover, the region
formed between the two diodes is also known as the depletion region,
where both positive and negative charges are located on either side of
the junctions.
+ This allows electrical current to pass through the junction only in one
direction. The p-n junction is created by doping

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 Theory of PN Junction Diode

PN Junction Diode V

Doping
Doping is the process of adding impurities to intrinsic semiconductors to
alter their properties. Normally Trivalent and Pentavalent elements are
used to dope Silicon and Germanium. When an intrinsic semiconductor is
doped with Trivalent impurity it becomes a p-Type semiconductor.

Diffusion
The n type material has high concentration of free electrons, while
p type material has high concentration of holes. Therefore at the
junction there is a tendency of free electrons to diffuse over to the
P side and the holes to the N side. This process is called diffusion.

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 Theory of PN Junction Diode

PN Junction Diode VI

Definition
Depletion Layer:A region around the junction from which the charge
carriers are depleted is called depletion layer

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 Theory of PN Junction Diode

PN Junction Diode VII

Figure: Electron and holes cross the junction

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 Theory of PN Junction Diode

PN Junction Diode VIII

Figure: Diffusion process

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 Operation of PN junction

Operation of PN junction I

+ A diode is a two layer, two-terminal Semiconductor device. One

terminal is attached to P material and the other to N material.
+The common connecting point where these materials are joined is called
a junction.
+The terminal which is connected to P side is anode and the terminal
which is connected to N side is called cathode.

Figure

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 Operation of PN junction

Operation of PN junction II

Unbiased
+When a diode is connected in a Zero Bias condition, no external
potential energy is applied to the PN junction

Figure: Unbiased model

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 Operation of PN junction

Forward Bias Operation- PN junction I

Circuit Connection:
+ An external voltage applied to a PN junction is called Bias.
+ The positive terminal of the bias battery is connected to the P-type
material and the negative terminal of the battery is connected to the
N-type material.
+ Forward bias meaning is that the current flows in the forward direction
due to the voltage applied in the forward direction.
+ In this forward-biased condition, due to the attraction of the positive
terminal of the source, electrons that participated in covalent bond
creation in the p-type material will be attracted towards the terminal

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 Operation of PN junction

Forward Bias Operation- PN junction II

Figure: PN Forward bias

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 Operation of PN junction

Forward Bias Operation- PN junction III

Figure: PN Forward bias - Barrier Potential

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 Operation of PN junction

Forward Bias Operation- PN junction IV

Figure: PN Forward bias - Si and GE

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 Operation of PN junction

Forward Bias Operation- PN junction V

Figure: PN Reverse bias - Barrier Potential

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 Operation of PN junction

Forward Bias Operation- PN junction VI

Figure: PN Reverse bias - Characteristics

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 Operation of PN junction

Current

Diffusion current the movement caused by variation in the carrier

concentration.
Drift current the movement caused by electric fields.

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