Advertisements
Advertisements
Question
How is a zener diode fabricated so as to make it a special purpose diode? Draw I-V characteristics of zener diode and explain the significance of breakdown voltage.
Explain briefly, with the help of a circuit diagram, how a p-n junction diode works as a half wave rectifier.
Solution
Zener is fabricated such that both the p-type and the n-type are highly doped. This makes the depletion region thin. When an electric field is applied, a high electric field appears across the thin depletion region. When the electric field becomes very high, it knocks off electrons from the host atoms to create a large number of electrons. This results in a large value of current inside the circuit.
Zener has a sharp breakdown voltage and this property of zener is used for voltage regulation.
An ac current has a positive half cycle and a negative half cycle. A pn junction allows current to pass only in one direction and that is when it is forward biased.
When a positive half-cycle occurs, the p-side has a lower potential. Therefore, the diode is now forward biased and therefore conducts and this positive cycle is available for the load.
When a negative half cycle occurs, the n-side has a higher potential than the p-side. Hence, the diode is now reverse biased and thus, does not conduct. As a result, this positive half cycle also does not conduct. Therefore, it does not appear at the load and is cut-off.
We obtain a waveform, which has only positive half cycles and therefore it is called half-wave rectifier.
APPEARS IN
RELATED QUESTIONS
In a p-n junction diode, the current I can be expressed as
I = `"I"_0 exp ("eV"/(2"k"_"BT") - 1)`
where I0 is called the reverse saturation current, V is the voltage across the diode and is positive for forward bias and negative for reverse bias, and I is the current through the diode, kBis the Boltzmann constant (8.6×10−5 eV/K) and T is the absolute temperature. If for a given diode I0 = 5 × 10−12 A and T = 300 K, then
(a) What will be the forward current at a forward voltage of 0.6 V?
(b) What will be the increase in the current if the voltage across the diode is increased to 0.7 V?
(c) What is the dynamic resistance?
(d) What will be the current if reverse bias voltage changes from 1 V to 2 V?
Write the two processes that take place in the formation of a p-n junction.
Explain briefly with the help of necessary diagrams, the forward biasing of a p-n junction diode. Also draw characteristic curves.
A hole diffuses from the p-side to the n-side in a p-n junction. This means that
In a p-n junction with open ends,
(a) there is no systematic motion of charge carries
(b) holes and conduction electrons systematically go from the p-side to n-side and from the n-side to p-side respectively
(c) there is no net charge transfer between the two sides
(d) there is a constant electric field near the junction.
In a p.n junction, the depletion region is 400 nm wide and an electric field of 5 × 105 V m−1 exists in it. (a) Find the height of the potential barrier. (b) What should be the minimum kinetic energy of a conduction electron which can diffuse from the n-side to the p-side?
Calculate the current through the circuit and the potential difference across the diode shown in figure. The drift current for the diode is 20 µA.
Find the currents through the resistance in the circuits shown in figure.
(Assume that the resistance of each diode is zero in forward bias and is infinity in reverse bias.)
Draw the current-voltage characteristics for the device show in figure between the terminals A and B.
(Assume that the resistance of each diode is zero in forward bias and is infinity in reverse bias.)
During the formation of a p-n junction ______.
