JUNCTION DIODE CHARACTERISTICS AND SPECIAL DIODES

Syllabus

UNIT- II: Junction Diode Characteristics : Open circuited p-n junction, Biased p-n junction,
p-n junction diode,current components in PN junction Diode, diode equation, V-I
Characteristics, temperature dependence on V-Icharacteristics, Diode resistance, Diode
capacitance, energy band diagram of PN junction Diode.
Special Semiconductor Diodes: Zener Diode, Breakdown mechanisms, Zener diode
applications, LED, Photodiode, Tunnel Diode, SCR, UJT. Construction, operation and
characteristics of all the diodes are required to beconsidered.

When a p-type semiconductor is suitably joined to n-type semiconductor, the contact surface is
called pnjunction.A PN junction diode is a simple electrical device that allows the flow of
current only in one direction. It can be used as a switch, a rectifier, a demodulator etc. It is
derived from "di-ode” which means a device having two electrodes. The arrowhead points in the
direction of conventional current flow.

Prepared by Ashish Kumar (Assistant Professor ECE Dept) Page 1

The concentration of holes in the anode is much greater than that of the cathode.
The concentration of free electrons in the cathode is much greater than that of the anode.

Due to diffusion
1) Holes begin to migrate (diffuse) across the junctionfrom the anode to the cathode.
2) Free electrons begin to migrate (diffuse) acrossthe junction from the cathode to the anode.

The majority charge carriers (holes and electrons) recombine and disappear near the
junction.This creates a layer of positive charges (pentavalent ions) and negative charges
(trivalent ions) on the opposite sides of the junction. These two layers form the depletion region
(or depletion layer). The term depletion is due to the fact that near the junction, the region is
depleted (i.e. emptied) of charge carries (free electrons and holes) due to diffusion across the
junction.

Prepared by Ashish Kumar (Assistant Professor ECE Dept) Page 2

Once pnjunction is formed and depletion layer created, the diffusion of free electrons stops. The
depletion region acts as a barrier to the further movement of free electrons across the
junction.The uncovered ions of opposite polarity generate an electric field across the
junction.There exists a potential difference across the depletion layer and is called barrier
potential (VB). The barrier potential of a pn junction depends upon several factors including the
type of semiconductor material, the amount of doping and temperature.

Thus, the diffusion current across the p-n junction willdepend on three things:
1.The majority particleconcentration. -The more holes or free electrons there are, the more
particles will diffuse across the junction.
2.The barrier voltage VB– A lowerbarrier means less kinetic energy isrequired to diffuse across
thedepletion region, resulting in more.
3.The diode temperature – Highertemperature means holes andelectrons have more kinetic
energyand thus are more likely to diffuseacross the depletion region.
Typically, we find that when the junction diode is opencircuited (i.e., VD =0 and ID =0), this
barrier voltage isapproximately (0.7 V for Si and 0.3V for Ge.)

Prepared by Ashish Kumar (Assistant Professor ECE Dept) Page 3

1. ForwardBiasing.(VD > 0 V)

A forward-bias or on condition is established by applying the positive potential to the p-type

material and the negative potential to the n-type material semiconductor
i) The electrons in the n-type material and holes in the p-type material will recombine with each
other at the junction..
ii) It reduces the width of the depletion region
iii)The junction offers low resistance (forward resistance, Rf) to current flow.
iv)The Current flows in the circuit due to the establishment of low resistance path. The
magnitudeof current depends upon the applied forward voltage.
𝟏 𝐖𝐧 𝐍𝐀
Width of depletion region α ; =
√𝐃𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐖𝐩 𝐍𝐃

Forward Bias Reverse Bias

2. Reverse biasing.

If an external potential of V volts is applied across the p-n junction such that the positiveterminal
is connected to the n-type material and the negative terminal is connected to the p-type
i) The electrons in the n-type material and holes in the p-type material will move away from the
junction.
ii) The widening of the depletion region takes place
iii) The junction offers very high resistance (called reverse resistance, Rr) to current flow.
iv) No current flows in the circuit due to the establishment of high resistance path.
The width of depletion region 𝛂√𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞 𝐁𝐢𝐚𝐬 𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐞

Prepared by Ashish Kumar (Assistant Professor ECE Dept) Page 4

The Current Component of a p-n Junction Diode

When a p-n junction diode is forward biased a large forward current flows, which is mainly due
to majority carriers. The depletion region near the junction is very small; holes get diffused into
n-side from p-side while electrons get diffused into p-side from n-side.

Ipp (x) = Current due to holes in p-side (majority carriers)

Inn(x) = Current due to electrons in n-side(majority carriers)

The hole current Ipn from p-side diffuse into n-side, decreases exponentially with respect to
distance measured from the junction. Similarly the current carried by electrons which is diffusion
current Inpdue to minority carriers, decreases exponentially with respect to distance measured
from the junction

Ipn(x) = Current due to holes in n-side as a function of x (minority carriers)

Inp(x) = Current due to electrons in p-side as a function of x (minority carriers)
Hence the current at the junction is the total conventional current I flowing through the circuit.
I = Ipn(0) + Inp(0)
p-side I = Ipp(x) + Inp(x) and

n-side I = Inn(x) + Ipn(x)

Prepared by Ashish Kumar (Assistant Professor ECE Dept) Page 5

The sum of the currents carried by holes and electrons at any point inside the diode is always
constant equal to total forward current I. Typically this drift/diffusion current is verysmall,
generally 10-8 to 10-12 Amps.

Diode Equation
The diode equation gives an expression for the current through a diode as a function of voltage.
The Ideal Diode Law, expressed as:
V
I = I0 [e ηVT
−1]A
I = the net current flowing through the diode;
I0 = "dark saturation current", the diode leakage current density in the absence oflight;
V = applied voltage across terminals of the diode;T = absolute temperature (K).
At 300K, 𝑉𝑇 =kT/q = 25.85 mV, the "thermal voltage".
where: η = 1for Germanium and 2 for silicon.
When the voltage V is positive (forward bias), the exponential term increases rapidly with V and
the current≅Is is very high.
V V
I = I0 [ e ηVT
−1]A ; I ≅ I0 [eηVT
]A
When the voltage V is negative (reverse bias), the exponential term decreases rapidly with V and
the current is small. The current that exists under reverse bias condition is calledthe reverse
saturation current represented by Is
V
I = I0 [ e ηVT
−1]A ; Is ≅ - I 0
𝐈𝟎 doubles for every 10o C rise in temperature and it is independent of voltage.𝐈𝟎 for Ge is in
µA and for Si is in nA.

Leakage current
It is also known as minority saturation current or thermally generated current.
Io doubles for every 100 C and for every 10C, Io increases by 7%.
Io (T2 ) = Io (T1 )[2 ( T2 − T1 )/10 ]; where (T2 >T1 )
Io for Ge = µA and forSi = nA,.
Si is suitable for high temperature application

Prepared by Ashish Kumar (Assistant Professor ECE Dept) Page 6

Ideal diode characteristics.

𝑉 𝑉
Rf = 0; I = 𝑅 = ∞; Rr = ∞; I = 𝑅 = 0; for ideal diode.

If the voltage across anode and cathode is greater than zero, the resistance of an ideal diode is
zero and current becomes infinite. However, if the voltage is less than zero, the resistance
becomes infinite and current becomes zero.
Volt-Ampere Characteristic

Prepared by Ashish Kumar (Assistant Professor ECE Dept) Page 7

Breakdown Voltage: It is the minimum voltage at which p-n junction breaks down with sudden
rise in reverse current.
Knee Voltage: It is the forward voltage at which the current through the junction starts to
increase rapidly.
Maximum forward Current: It is the highest instantaneous forward current that a p-n junction
can conduct without damage to the junction.
Peak Inverse voltage (PIV): It is the maximum reverse voltage that can be applied to the p-n
junction without damage to the junction.
Maximum power rating: It is the maximum power that can be dissipated at the junction without
damaging it. If the maximum specified power dissipation is not exceeded, breakdown is not a
destructive process

Forward Biased PN Junction Diode

When a diode is connected in a Forward Bias condition and If this external voltage becomes
greater than the value of the potential barrier, approx. 0.7 volts for silicon and 0.3 volts for
germanium, the potential barriers opposition will be overcome and current will start to flow.This
results in a characteristics curve of zero current flowing up to this voltage point, called the
“knee” on the static curves and then a high current flow through the diode with little increase in
the external voltage as shown below.

Prepared by Ashish Kumar (Assistant Professor ECE Dept) Page 8

Reverse Biased PN Junction Diode

When a diode is connected in a Reverse Bias condition, a positive voltage is applied to the N-
type material and a negative voltage is applied to the P-type material.The net result is that the
depletion layer grows wider due to a lack of electrons and holes and presents a high impedance
path, almost an insulator

This condition represents a high resistance value to the PN junction and practically zero current
flows through the junction diode with an increase in bias voltage. However, a very small leakage
current does flow through the junction which can be measured in micro-amperes, ( μA ).

If the reverse bias voltage Vr is increased greater than Reverse Breakdown Voltage, it will
cause the diode’s PN junction to overheat and fail due to the avalanche effect around the
junction. This may cause the diode to become shorted and will result in the flow of maximum
circuit current.

Temperature Dependence on V – I characteristic

Effect of Temperature on Forward Voltage Drop

With increase in temperature, more minority charge carriers are produced, leading to their
increased drift across the junction. Vd decreases and results in decrease of barrier potential.VT
also increases as temperature increases.The equation for the barrier potential is as follows:

Prepared by Ashish Kumar (Assistant Professor ECE Dept) Page 9

 V
ID = I0 [ e ηVT
− 1 ]; ( I0 ≅ Is )
V
ID
≅ eηVT ;
Is
V
ID
ln( I ) ≅ ln( e ηVT
)
s

ID VD
ln( ) ≅
Is ηVT
𝑉𝐷 = ηVT (ln(ID ) − ln(Is ))
R6

The equations tell us that the

Io doubles for every 100 C and for every 10C, Io increases by 7%.

Io (T2 ) = Io (T1 )[2 ( T2 − T1 )/10 ]; where (T2 >T1 )

The reverse saturation current of Si and Ge diodes doubles for every 10° C rise in temperature.
The reverse breakdown voltage increases as temperature increases.

Prepared by Ashish Kumar (Assistant Professor ECE Dept) Page 10

Transition capacitances:
When P-N junction is reverse biased the depletion region act as an insulator or as a dielectric
medium and the p-type an N-type region have low resistance and act as the plates.
Thus this P-N junction can be considered as a parallel plate capacitor.
This junction capacitance is called as space charge capacitance or transition capacitance and is
denoted as CT.
Since reverse bias causes the majority charge carriers to move away from the junction, so the
thickness of the depletion region W increases with the increase in reverse biasvoltage.
This incremental capacitance CT may be defined asCT = dQ/dV, where dQ is the increase incharge
and dV is the change or increase in voltage.
The depletion region increases with the increase in reverse bias potential the resulting transition
capacitance decreases.
The formula for transition capacitance is given as CT = Aε/W, where A is the cross sectional
area of the region, and W is the width.

Diffusion capacitance:
1.When the junction is forward biased, a capacitance comes into play, that is known as diffusion
capacitance denoted as CD. It is much greater than the transition capacitance.
2. During forward biased the potential barrier is reduced. The charge carriers move away from

Prepared by Ashish Kumar (Assistant Professor ECE Dept) Page 11

the junction and recombine.
3. The density of the charge carriers is high near the junction and reduces or decays as the
distance increases.
4. Thus in this case charge is stored on both side of the junction and varies with the applied
potential. So change in charge with respect to applied voltage results in capacitance is called as
diffusion capacitance.
5. The formula for diffusion capacitance is CD = τID / ηV , where τ is the mean life time of the
charge carrier, ID is the diode current and VT is the applied forward voltage, and η is generation
recombination factor.
6. The diffusion capacitance is directly proportional to the diode current.
7. In forward biased CD>> CT. And thus CT can be neglected.

Diffusion Capacitance (CD)

The capacitance that exists in a forward biased junction is called a diffusion or storage
capacitance CD, whose value is usually much large then CT, which exists in a reverse biased
junction.Diffusion capacitance CD is defined as the rate of change of injected charge with applied
dQ
voltagedV. i.e.,CD =
dV

Calculation of CD:
Q
We know that I = , Q= Г.I
Г
Г = life time of carriers i.e., holes & electrons
dQ dI
CD = = Г.
dV dV
V V
The PN diode current equation is I = I0 [ eηVT − 1 ] I0 eηVT = I + I0
V
dI I0 eηVT I+ I0
 = =
dV ηVT ηVT

Here I indicate the diode current and IOindicates the Reverse saturation current.
dI I
As I >> I0 =
dV ηVT

Prepared by Ashish Kumar (Assistant Professor ECE Dept) Page 12

 𝐝𝐐 𝐝𝐈 𝐈
𝐂𝐃 = = Г. = Г.
𝐝𝐕 𝐝𝐕 𝛈𝐕𝐓
Where  = a constant, 1 for Ge;2 for Si
VT – volt-equivalent temperature i.e., thermal voltage,VT =kT/q = 25.85 mV

Diffusion capacitance CD increases exponentially with forward bias or proportional to diode

forwards current. The values of CD range from 10 to 1000 PF, the large values being associated
with the diode carrying a larger anode current, I.

DC or Static Resistance

Static resistance or DC resistance of a PN junction diode defines the diode’s resistive nature
when a DC source is connected to it. The static resistance at the knee of the curve and below of it
will be much greater than the resistance values of the vertical rise section of the characteristic
curve. Minimum is the current passing through a diode maximum is the level of DC resistance.
RDC = VDC / IDC

AC or Dynamic Resistance

It defines the diode resistive nature when an AC source is connected to it. If an external
sinusoidal signal is given to the circuit consisting of a diode, the altering input will shift the
instantaneous Q – point slightly from the current position in the characteristics and therefore it
defines a definite change in voltage and current. It is equivalent to slope of voltage – current of
the PN diode.rd = ΔVd / ΔId

Prepared by Ashish Kumar (Assistant Professor ECE Dept) Page 13

Energy Band Diagram of a PN junction diode under Open circuit conditions

When P and N type material are put together, Fermi level readjusts due to movements of charge
carriers initially. At equilibrium Fermi level is same in both P & N side.However E F closer to EC
in N type material and closer to Ev in P type material. Conduction band in P type is at a higher
level compared to that in N type.This creates a Energy Hill or Energy Barrier, for the electrons
on N side, denoted by E0and given by:

EG EG
E0 = E1 + E2 = − (EF − EVp ) + − (ECn − EF )
2 2
E0 = E1 + E2 = EG − (EF − EVp ) = EG − (EF − EVp ) − (ECn − E F )

We know that
n = NC . e(−(Ec −EF )/(k B T)
andp = NV . e(−(EF −EV )/(k B T))

np = NC . NV . e−(EC −EV )/(k B T))

np = NC . NV . e−(EG )/(k B T)) = ni2

NV NC
EG = KTln( )
n i2

Prepared by Ashish Kumar (Assistant Professor ECE Dept) Page 14

We know that for n type semiconductor
NC
(ECn − EF ) = k B Tln ( )
ND
And for p type semiconductor
NV
(EF − EVp ) = k B Tln( )
NA
Using the above equations we get
NV NC NV NC
E0 = E1 + E2 = KT(ln ( ) − ln ( ) − ln ( ))
ni2 NA ND
NV NC NA ND
E0 = E1 + E2 = KTln ( . . )
ni2 NV NC
𝐍𝐃 𝐍𝐀
𝐄𝟎 = 𝐄𝟏 + 𝐄𝟐 = 𝐊𝐓𝐥𝐧 ( )
𝐧𝐢𝟐

The Zener Diode

The Zener diode is like a general-purpose signal diode consisting of a silicon PN junction.
When biased in the forward direction it behaves just like a normal signal diode passing the rated
current, but as soon as a reverse voltage applied across the Zener Diode exceeds the rated voltage
of the device, the diodes breakdown voltage is reached at which point a process called Avalanche

Prepared by Ashish Kumar (Assistant Professor ECE Dept) Page 15

Breakdown occurs in the semiconductor depletion layer and a current starts to flow through the
diode to limit this increase in voltage.
The voltage point at which the voltage across the zener diode becomes stable is called the “zener
voltage”. This voltage can range from less than one volt to hundreds of volts.This zener
breakdown voltage on the I-V curve is almost a vertical straight line.

Zener Diode I-V Characteristics

The fact that the voltage across the diode in the breakdown region is almost constant turns out to
be an important application of the zener diode as a voltage regulator. The function of a regulator
is to provide a constant output voltage to a load connected in parallel with it in spite of the
ripples in the supply voltage or the variation in the load current and the zener diode will continue
to regulate the voltage until the diodes current falls below the minimum IZ(min) value in the
reverse breakdown region.

Therefore, zener diode can conduct in both ways. If the anode to cathode voltage is higher than
forward voltage drop (about 0.7V), it will conduct in forward direction, and it will conduct in
reverse direction, if the reverse voltage is equal to zener voltage (may be any value ex: -12V or -
70V).

Differences between a PN junction diode and zener diode

Prepared by Ashish Kumar (Assistant Professor ECE Dept) Page 16

1. Diode can conduct current only in one direction, whereas zener diode allows the conduction in
both directions.
2. A normal diode will be permanently damaged for a large reverse current, but a zener diode
will not
3. Amount of doping for P and N semiconductor layers are different in the two devices
4. Diodes are normally used for rectification, whereas zener diodes are used for voltage
regulation.

Differences between Avalanche &Zener breakdown

Zener breakdown:
 Both sides of PN junction are heavily doped
 Depletion layer is narrow
 Here electric field is produced and very strong to rupture the covalent bonds thereby
generating electron hole pairs.
 So even a small increase in reverse voltage is capable of producing large number of
current carriers.
 This resultsinZenerbreakdown
 Zener current is independent of applied voltage

Avalanche breakdown
 This occurs at junctions which being lightly doped has wide depletion layers.
 Electric field is not so strong
 Here minority carriers collide with semi conductor atoms in the depletion region, which
breaks the covalent bonds and electron-hole pairs are generated.
 Newly generated charge carriers are accelerated by the electric field which results in
more collision and generates avalanche of charge carriers. This results in avalanche
breakdown.
 This is akin to an avalanche where a small disturbance causes a whole mountainside of
snow to come crashing down.

Tunnel diode Working principle and characteristics

Prepared by Ashish Kumar (Assistant Professor ECE Dept) Page 17

Tunnel diode is a highly doped semiconductor device and is used mainly for low voltage high
frequency switching applications. It works on the principle of Tunneling effect. Tunnel diode is
the p-n junction device that exhibits negativeresistance. That means when thevoltage is increased
the current through it decreases.

In normal PN junction diodes the doping levels will be of the order 1 atom in 108 atoms of Si (or)
Ge. If the doping levels are increased to 1 in 103, the depletion layer width is of the order of 10
nm. In such a PN junction tunneling effect is significant, such PN junction devices are called
Tunnel diodes.Tunneling occurs within tunnel diodes because of the very high doping levels
employed.

VI characteristics of Tunnel diode:

Tunnel diode IV characteristic

For thick barrier, both Newtonian and Quantum mechanics say that the electrons cannot cross
the barrier. It can only pass the barrier if it has more energy than the barrier height.

For thin barrier, Newtonian mechanics still says that the electrons cannot cross the barrier.
However, Quantum mechanics says that the electron wave nature will allow it to tunnel through
the barrier.

Prepared by Ashish Kumar (Assistant Professor ECE Dept) Page 18

• For thin barrier, Newtonian mechanics still says that the electrons cannot cross the
barrier.
• However, Quantum mechanics says that the electron wave nature will allow it to tunnel
through the barrier.

Electron Tunneling in p-n junction

When the p and n region are highly doped, the depletion region becomes very (~10nm). In such
case, there is a finite probability that electrons can tunnel from the conduction band of n-region
to the valence band of p-region.

Prepared by Ashish Kumar (Assistant Professor ECE Dept) Page 19

Tunnel Diode Operation
When the semiconductor is very highly doped (the doping is greater than No) the Fermi level
goes above the conduction band for n-type and below valence band for p-type material. These
are called degenerate materials.

Under Forward Bias

Step 1: At zero bias there is no current flow

The Fermi level Ef in the p-side is at the same energy as the Fermi level Ef in the n-side.Note
that there are no filled states on one side of the junction which are at the same energy asempty
allowed states on the other side. Hence there can be no flow of charge in either directionacross
the junction, and the current is zero for an open circuited diode.

Prepared by Ashish Kumar (Assistant Professor ECE Dept) Page 20

fig (a) A small forward bias is applied. Potential barrier is still very high –no noticeable injection
and forward current through the junction.However, electrons in the conduction band of the n
region will tunnel to the empty states of the valence band in p region. This will create a forward
bias tunnel current
fig (b)With a larger voltage the energy of the majority of electrons in then-region is equal to that
of the empty states (holes) in the valence band of p-region; this will produce maximum tunneling
current
fig(c) As the forward bias continues to increase, the number of electronsin the n side that are
directly opposite to the empty states in the valence band (in terms of their energy) decrease.
Therefore decrease in the tunneling current will start.
fig (d)As more forward voltage is applied, the tunneling current drops tozero. But the regular
diode forward current due to electron – hole injection increases due to lower potential
barrier.With further voltage increase, the tunnel diode I-V characteristic issimilar to that of a
regular p-n diode.

Prepared by Ashish Kumar (Assistant Professor ECE Dept) Page 21

A light-emitting diode (LED) is a diode that gives off visible light when forward biased.Light-
emitting diodes are not made from silicon or germanium but are made by using elements like
gallium, phosphorus and arsenic. By varying the quantities of these elements, it is possible to
produce light of different wavelengths with colors that in-clude red, green, yellow and blue. For
example, when LED manufactured using gallium arsenide, it will produce a red light. If the LED
is made with gallium phosphide, it will produce a green light.

Theory-When light-emitting diode (LED) is for-ward biased the electrons from the n-type
material cross the pn junction and recombine with holes in the p-type material. Recall that these
free electrons are in the conduction band and at a higher energy level than the holes in theva-
lence band. When recombination takes place, the recombining electrons release energy in the
form of heat and light. In germanium and silicon diodes, almost the entire energy is given up in
the form of heat and emitted light is insignificant. However, in materials like gallium arsenide,
the number of photons of light energy is sufficient to produce quite intense visible light.

Advantages of LED

Prepared by Ashish Kumar (Assistant Professor ECE Dept) Page 22

The light-emitting diode (LED) is a solid-state light source. LEDs have replaced incandescent
lamps in many applications because they have the following advantages :
(i) Low voltage
(ii) Longer life (more than 20 years) (iii) Fast on-off switching

Photo-diode
A photo-diode is a reverse-biased silicon or germanium pn junction in which reverse current in-
creases when the junction is exposed to light.The reverse current in a photo-diode is directly
proportional to the intensity of light falling on its pn junction. This means that greater the
intensity of light falling on the pn junction of photo-diode, the greater will be the reverse current.
Principle-A photo-diode differs from a rectifier diode in that when its pn junction is ex-posed to
light, the reverse current increases with the increase in light intensity and vice-versa. This is
explained as follows. When light (photons) falls on the pn junction, the energy is imparted by the
photons to the atoms in the junction. This will create more free electrons (and more holes). These
additional free electrons will increase the reverse current. As the intensity of light incident on the
pn junction increases, the reverse current also increases,the resistance of the device (photo-diode)
decreases.

Prepared by Ashish Kumar (Assistant Professor ECE Dept) Page 23

Silicon Controlled Rectifier (SCR)

A silicon controlled rectifier is a semiconductor device that acts as a true electronic switch. It
can change alternating current into direct current and at the same time can control the amount of
power fed to the load. Thus SCR combines the features of a rectifier and a transistor.

Working of SCR

In a silicon controlled rectifier, load is connected in series with anode. The anode is always kept
at positive potential w.r.t. cathode.
(i) When gate is open.
SCRcircuit with gate openi.e. no voltage applied to the gate. Under this condition, junction J2 is
reverse biased while junctions J1 and J3 are forward biased. Hence, the situation in the junctions
J1 and J3 is just as in anpn transistor with base open. Consequently, no current flows through the
load RL and the SCRiscut off. However, if the applied voltage is gradually increased, a stage is
reached when * reverse biased junction J2 breaks down. The SCR now conducts**heavily and is
said to be in the ON state. The applied voltage at which SCR conducts heavily without gate
voltage is called Breakover voltage.

Prepared by Ashish Kumar (Assistant Professor ECE Dept) Page 24

 (ii) When gate is positive w.r.t. cathode.
TheSCRcan be made to conduct heavily at smallerapplied voltage by applying a small positive
potential to the gate as shown. Now junction J3is forward biased and junction J2is reverse biased.
The electrons from n-type material start moving across junction J3 towards left whereas holes
from p-type towards the right. Consequently, the electrons from junction J3 are attracted across
junction J2 and gate current starts flowing. The increased anode current in turn makes more
electrons available at junction J2. This process continues and in an extremely small time, junction
J2 breaks down and the SCR starts conducting heavily. Once SCR starts conducting, the
gateloses all control. Even if gate voltage is removed, the anode current does not decrease at all.
The only way to stop conduction (i.e. bring SCR in off condition) is to reduce the applied
voltage to zero.

Conclusion-The following conclusions are drawn from the working ofSCR:

(i) AnSCRhas two statesi.e.either it does not conduct or it conducts heavily. There is no
stateinbetween. Therefore, SCR behaves like a switch.
(ii) There are two ways to turn on theSCR. The first method is to keep the gate open and
makethe supply voltage equal to the break over voltage. The second method is to operate SCR
with supply voltage less than break over voltage and then turn it on by means of a small voltage
( typically 1.5 V, 30 mA) applied to the gate.
(iii) Applying small positive voltage to the gate is the normal way to close anSCRbecause
thebreakover voltage is usually much greater than supply voltage.
(iv) To open theSCR, reduce the supply voltage to zero.

Prepared by Ashish Kumar (Assistant Professor ECE Dept) Page 25

 Equivalent Circuit of SCR

Important Terms
The following terms are much used in the study of SCR

(i) Breakover voltage (ii) Peak reverse voltage

(iii) Holding current (iv) Forward current

(i) Breakover voltage. It is the minimum forward voltage, gate being open, at which SCRstarts
conducting heavily i.e. turned on. If the supply voltage is more than this value, then SCR will be
turned on. Commercially available SCRs have breakover voltages from about 50 V to 500 V.

(ii) Peak reverse voltage (PRV). It is the maximum reverse voltage that can be applied to an
SCR without conducting in the reverse direction.During the negative half of a.c. supply, reverse
voltage is applied across SCR. If PRV is exceeded, there may be avalanche breakdown and the
SCR will be damaged. Commercially available SCRs have PRV ratings upto 2.5 kV.

(iii) Holding current. It is the maximum anode current, gate being open, at which SCR isturned
off from ON conditions. The only way to turn off or open the SCR is to reduce the supply
voltage to almost zero at which point the internal transistor comes out of saturation and opens
the SCR. The anode current under this condition is very small (a few mA) and is called holding
current.

Prepared by Ashish Kumar (Assistant Professor ECE Dept) Page 26

Unijunction Transistor (UJT)
A unijunction transistor (abbreviated as UJT) is a three-terminal semiconductor switching
device. This device has a unique characteristic that when it is triggered, the emitter current
increases regeneratively until it is limited by emitter power supply.
Construction
Figureshows the basicstructure of a unijunction transistor. It consists ofan n-type silicon bar
with an electrical connection on each end. The leads to these connections are called base leads
base-one B1 and base two B2. The lead to this junction is called the emitter lead E.The emitter is
heavily doped having many holes. Thenregion, however, is lightly doped.For this reason, the
resistance between the base terminals is very high (5 to 10 kΩ) when emitter lead is open.

Prepared by Ashish Kumar (Assistant Professor ECE Dept) Page 27

Operation
(i) The devicehas normally B2 positive w.r.t. B1.If voltageVBBis applied betweenB2andB1with
emitter open, a voltagegradient is established along the n-type bar. The voltage V1between
emitter and B1establishes a reverse bias on the pn junction and the emitter current is cut off. Only
a small leakage current flows from B2 to emitter due to minority carriers.

(ii) If a positive voltage is applied at the emitter, thepnjunction will remainreverse biased so long
as the input voltage is less than V1. If the input voltage to the emitter exceeds V1, thepnjunction
becomesforward biased. Under these conditions, holes are injected from p-typematerial into the
n-type bar. These holes are repelled by positive B2 terminal and they are attracted towards B1
terminal of the bar. This accumulation of holes in the emitter to B1 region results in the decrease
of resistance in this section of the bar and hence the emitter current I Eincreases. The device is
now in the ON state.
(iii) If a negative pulse is applied to the emitter, thepnjunction is reverse biased and the
emittercurrent is cut off. The device is then said to be in the OFF state.

Equivalent Circuit of a UJT

Prepared by Ashish Kumar (Assistant Professor ECE Dept) Page 28

With no voltage applied to theUJT, the inter-base resistance is given by;
R BB = R B1 + R B2
The value of RBB generally lies between 4 kΩ and 10 kΩ.

If a voltageVBBis applied between the bases with emitter open, the voltage will divide upacross
RB1 and RB2.
RB1 𝑉1 RB1
Voltage across RB1 𝑉1 =R 𝑉𝐵𝐵 ; =
B1+RB2 𝑉𝐵𝐵 RB1 +RB2

The ratio V1/VBB is called intrinsic stand-off ratio and is represented by Greek letter η.
RB1
η=
RB1 +RB2

The value of η usually lies between 0.51 and 0.82.

Voltage across RB1 = ηVBB
The voltage ηVBB appearing across RB1 reverse biases the diode. Therefore, the emitter current is
zero.
If now a progressively rising positive voltage is applied to the emitter, the diode will
becomeforward biased when input voltage exceeds ηVBB by VD, the forward voltage drop across
the silicon diode i.e.
VP = η VBB+ VD
where VP = ‘peak point voltage’
forward voltage drop across silicon diode
VD = (0.7 V)

Prepared by Ashish Kumar (Assistant Professor ECE Dept) Page 29