Diffusion Capacitance

Until now we assumed that the frequency of the sinusoidal excitation was sufficiently low that
charge stored in the diode has negligible effect. At higher excitation frequencies charge-
storage effects are accounted for by the means of the diffusion capacitance CD in the small-
signal diode model as shown in the figure below.

rd CD
The origin of CD can be qualitatively described as follows.
For the forward biased junction, holes diffuse from the p side to the n side. Consequently, in
the vicinity of the junction on the n side, we have a greater hole concentration than normally
exists because of the diffusion. This excess hole density can be considered as charge storage in
the neighbourhood of the junction. The amount of excess charge is established by the degree of
the forward bias. As we move forward from the junction, the excess hole concentration
decreases because of the recombination with the majority electrons. Similar statements apply
to the electrons which diffuse into the p side. Now if a signal is applied which increases the
forward bias by ΔV, the increased hole (electron) diffusion causes a change ΔQ in the charge
stored near the junction. The ratio ΔQ/ΔV in the limit defines the diffusion capacitance CD. As
one side is more often more heavily doped than the other, CD is found to be in farads (F).

dQ I D 
CD    Farads
dV VT rd
The mean carrier lifetime τ in the equation above is the measure of the recombination time for
excess minority carriers. As τ = rdCD, carrier lifetime can be regarded as the diffusion time
constant.
Transition Capacitance
The equivalent circuit given below is used to model the reverse-biased diode. The resistance
rr is the incremental resistance with the subscript r specifying the reverse biased. The element
CT called the depletion, transition, barrier, or space-charge capacitance, represents the change
in charge stored in the depletion region with respect to a change in the junction voltage. The
increase in the level of reverse bias causes the width of the depletion region W to increase.
An increase in W is accompanied by additional uncovered charges in the space-charge
region. Because positive charges exist on one side of the junction and negative charges on the
other, CT is analogous to a parallel-plate capacitor.

rr CT
 A
C T  Farads
W
Where W is the width of the depletion region, A is the junction area,
and ε is the permittivity of the semiconductor. It may be emphasized
that W is the function of the reverse-biased voltage so that CT is voltage
dependent.
Schottky Barrier Diodes

The junction formed by metal and extrinsic semiconductor (moderately doped n-

type semiconductor material) can be either rectifying or ohmic. Because of the
differences in the carrier concentrations in the two materials, a potential barrier
exists. Ohmic contacts, used to make connections to semiconductor devices, exist
when care is exerted to eliminate the effect of the barrier. Such is the case of the
junction between aluminium and heavily doped silicon used in IC fabrication.
When lightly doped silicon is used the aluminium-silicon junction is rectifying
and the devices so formed are called Schottky barrier or simply Schottky diodes.
The I-V charcteristic of the silicon and schottky diode is shown in the figure
below.
The figure above displays the comparison of the volt-ampere characteristics of a
Schottky barrier diode and a silicon junction diode. They have almost similar
shapes. However, two major differences between the two characteristics are also
observed:

1) The cut-in voltage Vγ is lower

2) The reverse saturation current is higher in the case of Schottky diode.

Both features result from the high electron concentration in the metal.
A principal use of Schottky barrier diodes in IC is that it switches faster than the
junction diodes. It is the majority carrier device since there are no minority
carriers in the metal.
Photo Diodes
If a reverse biased pn junction is illuminated, that is exposed to incident
light, the photons impacting the junction cause covalent bonds to break,
thus electron-hole pairs are generated in the depletion layer. The
electric field in the depletion region then sweeps the liberated electrons
to the n side and the holes to the p side, giving rise to a reverse current
across the junction. This current, known as the photocurrent, is
proportional to the intensity of the incident light. Such a diode is called
photodiode. Photodiodes are used to convert light signals into electrical
signals. Photodiodes are usually fabricated using a compound
semiconductor such as gallium arsenide.
Light Emitting Diodes (LED)
The light emitting diode (LED) performs the inverse of the photodiode.
It converts the forward current into light. The minority carriers in the
case of forward biased pn junction are injected across the junction and
diffuse into the p and n regions. The diffusing minority carriers then
recombine with the majority carriers. Such recombination can be made
to give rise to light emission. This can be done by fabricating the pn
junction using a semiconductor of the type known as direct-bandgap
materials. Gallium arsenide belongs to this group and thus can be used
to fabricate LEDs. The light emitted by an LED is proportional to the
number of recombinations that take place, which in turn is proportional
to the forward current in the diode.
Varacter Diodes
The reverse biased pn junctions exhibit a charge storage effect
that is modelled with the depletion layer or the transition
capacitance CT which is the function of the reverse biased
voltage VR. This dependence can be used in a number of
applications, such as automatic tuning of the radio receivers.
Special diodes are therefore fabricated to be used as a voltage
variable capacitors known as varactors.
 Tunnel diode
Tunnel diode definition
A Tunnel diode is a heavily doped p-n junction diode in which the electric
current decreases as the voltage increases.
In tunnel diode, electric current is caused by “Tunneling”. The tunnel
diode is used as a very fast switching device in computers. It is also used
in high-frequency oscillators and amplifiers.
Symbol of tunnel diode
The circuit symbol of tunnel diode is shown in the below figure. In tunnel
diode, the p-type semiconductor act as an anode and the n-type
semiconductor act as a cathode.
We know that a anode is a positively charged electrode which attracts
electrons whereas cathode is a negatively charged electrode which emits
electrons. In tunnel diode, n-type semiconductor emits or produces
electrons so it is referred to as the cathode. On the other hand, p-type
semiconductor attracts electrons emitted from the n-type semiconductor
so p-type semiconductor is referred to as the anode.
The operation of tunnel diode depends on the quantum mechanics
principle known as “Tunneling”. In electronics, tunneling means a direct
flow of electrons across the small depletion region from n-side
conduction band into the p-side valence band.
The germanium material is commonly used to make the tunnel
diodes. They are also made from other types of materials such
as gallium arsenide, gallium antimonide, and silicon.
Width of the depletion region in tunnel diode
The depletion region is a region in a p-n junction diode where
mobile charge carriers (free electrons and holes) are absent.
Depletion region acts like a barrier that opposes the flow of
electrons from the n-type semiconductor and holes from the p-
type semiconductor.
The width of a depletion region depends on the number of
impurities added. Impurities are the atoms introduced into the p-
type and n-type semiconductor to increase electrical conductivity.
If a small number of impurities are added to the p-n junction diode (p-type
and n-type semiconductor), a wide depletion region is formed. On the
other hand, if large number of impurities are added to the p-n junction
diode, a narrow depletion region is formed.
In tunnel diode, the p-type and n-type semiconductor is heavily doped
which means a large number of impurities are introduced into the p-type
and n-type semiconductor. This heavy doping process produces an
extremely narrow depletion region. The concentration of impurities in
tunnel diode is 1000 times greater than the normal p-n junction diode.
In normal p-n junction diode, the depletion width is large as compared to
the tunnel diode. This wide depletion layer or depletion region in normal
diode opposes the flow of current. Hence, depletion layer acts as a
barrier. To overcome this barrier, we need to apply sufficient voltage.
When sufficient voltage is applied, electric current starts flowing through
the normal p-n junction diode.
Unlike the normal p-n junction diode, the width of a depletion
layer in tunnel diode is extremely narrow. So applying a small
voltage is enough to produce electric current in tunnel diode.
Tunnel diodes are capable of remaining stable for a long duration
of time than the ordinary p-n junction diodes. They are also
capable of high-speed operations.

Concept of tunneling
The depletion region or depletion layer in a p-n junction diode is made up of
positive ions and negative ions. Because of these positive and negative ions,
there exists a built-in-potential or electric field in the depletion region. This
electric field in the depletion region exerts electric force in a direction opposite
to that of the external electric field (voltage).
Another thing we need to remember is that the valence band and
conduction band energy levels in the n-type semiconductor are slightly
lower than the valence band and conduction band energy levels in the p-
type semiconductor. This difference in energy levels is due to the
differences in the energy levels of the dopant atoms (donor or acceptor
atoms) used to form the n-type and p-type semiconductor.

Electric current in ordinary p-n junction diode

When a forward bias voltage is applied to the ordinary p-n junction diode,
the width of depletion region decreases and at the same time the barrier
height also decreases. However, the electrons in the n-type
semiconductor cannot penetrate through the depletion layer because the
built-in voltage of depletion layer opposes the flow of electrons.
If the applied voltage is greater than the built-in voltage of depletion layer,
the electrons from n-side overcomes the opposing force from depletion
layer and then enters into p-side. In simple words, the electrons can pass
over the barrier (depletion layer) if the energy of the electrons is greater
than the barrier height or barrier potential.
Therefore, an ordinary p-n junction diode produces electric
current only if the applied voltage is greater than the built-in
voltage of the depletion region.
Electric current in tunnel diode
In tunnel diode, the valence band and conduction band energy
levels in the n-type semiconductor are lower than the valence
band and conduction band energy levels in the p-type
semiconductor. Unlike the ordinary p-n junction diode, the
difference in energy levels is very high in tunnel diode.
Because of this high difference in energy levels, the conduction
band of the n-type material overlaps with the valence band of
the p-type material.
Quantum mechanics says that the electrons will directly penetrate through
the depletion layer or barrier if the depletion width is very small.
The depletion layer of tunnel diode is very small. It is in nanometers. So
the electrons can directly tunnel across the small depletion region from n-
side conduction band into the p-side valence band.
In ordinary diodes, current is produced when the applied voltage is
greater than the built-in voltage of the depletion region. But in tunnel
diodes, a small voltage which is less than the built-in voltage of depletion
region is enough to produce electric current.
In tunnel diodes, the electrons need not overcome the opposing force
from the depletion layer to produce electric current. The electrons can
directly tunnel from the conduction band of n-region into the valence band
of p-region. Thus, electric current is produced in tunnel diode.
How tunnel diode works?

Step 1: Unbiased tunnel diode

When no voltage is applied to the tunnel diode, it is said
to be an unbiased tunnel diode. In tunnel diode, the
conduction band of the n-type material overlaps with the
valence band of the p-type material because of the
heavy doping.
Because of this overlapping, the conduction band electrons at n-side and valence
band holes at p-side are nearly at the same energy level. So when the temperature
increases, some electrons tunnel from the conduction band of n-region to the valence
band of p-region. In a similar way, holes tunnel from the valence band of p-region to
the conduction band of n-region.
However, the net current flow will be zero because an equal number of charge
carriers (free electrons and holes) flow in opposite directions.

Step 2: Small voltage applied to the tunnel diode

When a small voltage is applied to the tunnel diode which is less than the built-in
voltage of the depletion layer, no forward current flows through the junction. However,
a small number of 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 small forward bias tunnel current.
Thus, tunnel current starts flowing with a small application of voltage.
Step 3: Applied voltage is slightly increased

When the voltage applied to the tunnel diode is slightly

increased, a large number of free electrons at n-side and
holes at p-side are generated. Because of the increase
in voltage, the overlapping of the conduction band and
valence band is increased.
In simple words, the energy level of an n-side conduction
band becomes exactly equal to the energy level of a p-
side valence band. As a result, maximum tunnel current
flows.

Step 4: Applied voltage is further increased

If the applied voltage is further increased, a slight

misalign of the conduction band and valence band takes
place.
Since the conduction band of the n-type material and the
valence band of the p-type material sill overlap. The electrons
tunnel from the conduction band of n-region to the valence
band of p-region and cause a small current flow. Thus, the
tunneling current starts decreasing.

Step 5: Applied voltage is largely increased

If the applied voltage is largely increased, the tunneling current
drops to zero. At this point, the conduction band and valence
band no longer overlap and the tunnel diode operates in the
same manner as a normal p-n junction diode.
If this applied voltage is greater than the built-in potential
of the depletion layer, the regular forward current starts
flowing through the tunnel diode.
The portion of the curve in which current decreases as
the voltage increases is the negative resistance region of
the tunnel diode. The negative resistance region is the
most important and most widely used characteristic of
the tunnel diode.
A tunnel diode operating in the negative resistance
region can be used as an amplifier or an oscillator.
Advantages of tunnel diodes
 Long life
 High-speed operation
 Low noise
 Low power consumption

Disadvantages of tunnel diodes

 Tunnel diodes cannot be fabricated in large numbers
 Being a two terminal device, the input and output are not
isolated from one another.
Applications of tunnel diodes

 Tunnel diodes are used as logic memory storage devices.

 Tunnel diodes are used in relaxation oscillator circuits.
 Tunnel diode is used as an ultra high-speed switch.
 Tunnel diodes are used in FM receivers.