Q1. Diode’s ideal and non-ideal behaviour is shown below.

Describe briefly (1-2 lines) the

physical mechanism for current conduction in different regions.

● Generation current : In reverse bias conditions, minority carriers can be thermally

generated within the depletion region. This current, though small, is significant at higher
temperatures and contributes to the overall reverse current
● Breakdown: In reverse bias, if the voltage exceeds a certain threshold (the breakdown
voltage), the diode experiences avalanche breakdown or Zener breakdown, depending on
the doping levels and characteristics. In avalanche breakdown, the high electric field
accelerates carriers, leading to a large multiplication of charge carriers, while Zener
breakdown involves tunneling of carriers across the junction. This causes a sharp increase
in current.
● Recombination current :When a diode is forward biased, electrons from the n-type
region are injected into the p-type region, and holes from the p-type region are injected
into the n-type region. As these majority carriers move into the opposite region, they can
recombine with minority carriers. This results in a situation where not all injected carriers
contribute to the current. The effective carrier concentration decreases due to
recombination
● Diffusion current: When forward biased, holes diffuse from the p-side to the n-side and
electrons from the n-side to the p-side. The resulting current is due to the movement of
 these charge carriers driven by their concentration gradients occurs in the neutral n and
neutral p regions .
● High level injection:High-Level Injection occurs in semiconductor devices when the
carrier concentration (either electrons or holes) exceeds the doping concentration of the
semiconductor material.When the carrier concentration exceeds the doping level, the
device reaches a point where most of the available states for recombination are filled.
As a result, adding more voltage does not lead to a proportional increase in current. This
causes the I-V curve to flatten out, reducing the slope.
● Ohmic effects: In the forward-biased condition, while the diode ideally allows current to
flow with minimal resistance, real diodes have inherent resistance due to the materials
and structure. This resistance can be thought of as a series resistance in the circuit.The
presence of this resistance means that not all the voltage applied across the diode
contributes to the forward current. A portion of the voltage is dropped across the internal
resistance which reduces the effective voltage across the junction which results in a
modified current that is less than what would be predicted by the ideal equation.

Q2. In a PN junction diode, what is a difference between diffusion and recombination current?
Draw and describe the regions where diffusion and recombination occurs?
Ans- 1. Diffusion Current:

● Cause: Diffusion current occurs because of the concentration gradient of charge carriers
across the junction. In a PN junction, the concentration of electrons is higher on the
N-side and lower on the P-side, while the concentration of holes is higher on the P-side
and lower on the N-side.
● Mechanism: Electrons tend to diffuse from the N-region (where their concentration is
high) to the P-region (where their concentration is low), and holes diffuse from the
P-region to the N-region.
● Location: Diffusion primarily occurs near the depletion region, where the gradient of
carrier concentration is steepest.
● Net Current: This diffusion of carriers results in a net current known as the diffusion
current.
2. Recombination Current:

● Cause: Recombination current occurs due to the recombination of electrons and holes
within the junction region. When electrons from the N-region cross into the P-region,
they can recombine with holes in the P-region, and similarly, holes crossing into the
N-region can recombine with electrons.
● Mechanism: Once electrons and holes recombine, they annihilate each other (i.e., an
electron fills a hole), and this process releases energy, typically in the form of heat or
light.
● Location: Recombination primarily happens in the depletion region (near the junction),
where the electron-hole pairs meet and recombine.
● Net Current: This recombination leads to the recombination current, which tends to
oppose the diffusion current.
Q3. In a PN junction, draw minority carrier profile during
a. Low level injection (𝑉𝐴 < 𝑉𝑏𝑖)
b. High level injection (𝑉𝐴 → 𝑉𝑏𝑖)
c. Reverse bias
Reverse bias
Q4. For a Silicon PN junction Nd=1018 /cm3 , Na=1016/cm3 .
a. What is the built-in voltage?
b. How much series resistance will be offered by a PN junction if P and N regions are 1 µm
long and have 100 µm2 area?
c. How much current flows through the diode in forward of 2V.
Q5. Describe the electron flow in the PN junction and show the complete path from battery
positive terminal to negative terminal for:
(a) Forward bias

Electron Flow Path:

Battery Positive Terminal: The positive terminal of the battery creates a high potential at
the p-type side, attracting holes toward the junction.

P-Type Material: Holes move from the p-type region toward the junction, while electrons
from the n-type region are pushed toward the junction by the negative terminal of the
battery.

Junction Region: When the applied voltage exceeds the built-in potential barrier of the
diode, electrons from the n-type region move across the junction into the p-type region.

Recombination: In the p-type region, these electrons recombine with holes, allowing
current to flow.

Circuit Continuation: The current continues from the p-type material back to the battery's
positive terminal, completing the circuit.

b) reverse bias
Electron Flow Path:

Battery Positive Terminal: The positive terminal creates a high potential at the n-type side,
attracting electrons away from the junction.
N-Type Material: Electrons in the n-type region are pulled away from the junction, widening the
depletion region and increasing the barrier potential.
Junction Region: The widened depletion region prevents majority carriers (holes in the p-type
and electrons in the n-type) from crossing the junction.
Minority Carriers: Only a very small reverse current (due to minority carriers) can flow. In the
p-type region, minority electrons can move towards the junction, while in the n-type region,
minority holes can move towards the junction.
Circuit Continuation: The reverse current flows from the n-type material to the p-type material
and then returns to the battery’s negative terminal.
Q6. What is a subthreshold slope (SS)? Find the SS slope for
a. Diffusion current
b. Recombination current – Does Recombination current slow or make the current transition
faster compared to diffusion current?
c. Describe SS dependence on temperature
Ans- The subthreshold slope is the rate at which the current increases exponentially with the
applied voltage in the subthreshold region.

a)

,
b) Recombination current slows the current transition, Since the subthreshold slope for
recombination current is larger than that for diffusion current (120 mV/decade versus 60
mV/decade at room temperature).

,
c) The subthreshold slope increases with temperature, making the current transition
slower at higher temperatures.

Q7.
(a) Describe Avalanche breakdown. How can we increase Avalanche breakdown voltage?
Avalanche breakdown:
When a PN junction is reverse-biased, a small current flows due to minority carriers. As the
reverse voltage increases, the electric field in the depletion region becomes stronger.
At sufficiently high reverse voltages, the electric field can accelerate minority carriers (like
electrons in a p-type material) to energies high enough to cause impact ionization. This means
that when these energetic carriers collide with lattice atoms, they can knock off additional
electrons, creating more electron-hole pairs.
The newly generated electron-hole pairs are also accelerated by the electric field, which can lead
to further impact ionization. This process can rapidly multiply the number of charge carriers,
resulting in a sudden increase in current, known as avalanche breakdown.

Methods to increase avalanche breakdown voltage:

1.Temperature Control: Since breakdown voltage decreases with an increase in temperature,
maintaining a lower operating temperature can help in achieving a higher breakdown voltage.

2.Using semiconductor materials with a wider bandgap, such as silicon carbide (SiC) or gallium
nitride (GaN), can help achieve higher breakdown voltages.

3.Using lower doping levels in both the p-type and n-type regions can widen the depletion
region. A wider depletion region can withstand higher electric fields before breakdown occurs,
thus increasing the breakdown voltage.

b) describe Zener breakdown. How can we decrease Zener breakdown voltage?

Zener breakdown:
When the reverse voltage across the diode increases, the electric field in the depletion region
becomes very strong.
Tunneling Effect: In Zener breakdown, the strong electric field allows electrons from the
valence band of the p-type material to tunnel through the narrow depletion region into the
conduction band of the n-type material. This process occurs without needing the electrons to gain
enough thermal energy to cross the bandgap.As the reverse bias voltage increases, more electrons
tunnel through, resulting in a sharp increase in current, which defines the Zener breakdown. It
occurrs in heavily doped pn junction, since the depletion region becomes very narrow.

Ways to decrease Zener breakdown voltage:

Increase Doping Levels: Higher doping concentrations in the p-type and n-type materials
narrow the depletion region, which can lower the breakdown voltage.
Choose Appropriate Materials: Using semiconductor materials with a smaller bandgap can
also lead to lower Zener breakdown voltages.

(a) On which parameters does Tunneling probability depend on?

The tunneling probability in Zener breakdown depends on several parameters:

● Electric Field Strength: A higher electric field increases the tunneling probability by
providing a steeper potential barrier.

● Width of the Barrier: A narrower barrier allows for a higher tunneling probability as
electrons can easily cross the barrier.
 ● Energy of the Electrons: The closer the energy of the electrons is to the conduction band,
the higher the tunneling probability.

● Temperature: Higher temperatures can increase the kinetic energy of the carriers,
potentially affecting tunneling dynamics.

(b)Does Avalanche breakdown occur in Zener diodes?

Yes, avalanche breakdown can occur in Zener diodes, but it typically happens at higher
reverse voltages, above the Zener breakdown voltage.

c) Are both these breakdown mechanisms reversible? Explain.

Yes, both Zener breakdown and avalanche breakdown mechanisms are reversible processes.

Zener Breakdown
When the reverse voltage is removed or reduced below the Zener breakdown voltage, the current
stops flowing, and the diode returns to its normal state without any permanent damage. This is
because the tunneling effect that causes the breakdown only occurs under specific conditions of
high electric field strength.
Avalanche Breakdown
Avalanche breakdown is also reversible. When the reverse voltage is decreased below the
breakdown threshold, the current reduces to a negligible level, and the diode returns to its normal
state. As long as the diode is not subjected to excessive current that could lead to thermal damage
or other forms of failure, it will recover without lasting effects.

(d)If a diode is given to you randomly, can you go into the lab and find out if it is Zener diode or
Avalanche diode?

Yes, we can conduct some tests to determine it.

1) Temperature dependence:

As the temperature of a semiconductor increases, its energy band gap (Eg) narrows. As
temperature increases, the depletion region narrows, making Zener breakdown more
likely to occur at lower voltage. In other words, Zener voltage decreases as temperature
increases. (Negative temperature coefficient)

Increase in temperature increases the crystal lattice vibration. Therefore, an increase in

temperature makes it more difficult for electrons and holes to flow. (Their mobility
decreases.) Avalanche breakdown generates electron-hole pairs when electrons
accelerated by an electric field collide with atoms in a crystal. An increase in
temperature causes avalanche breakdown to occur at higher voltage. In other words,
avalanche breakdown voltage increases as temperature increases. (Positive
temperature coefficient)

2)Secondly, we can plot the current-voltage (IV) characteristics of the diode:

Connect the diode in reverse bias.Slowly increase the reverse voltage while monitoring the
current.Note the voltage at which the current begins to increase sharply.

If the diode shows a sharp increase in current at a low reverse voltage (usually below 6V), it is
likely a Zener diode.
If the breakdown occurs at a higher reverse voltage and involves a more gradual increase in
current, it may indicate avalanche breakdown.

(e) If the material band gap is increased, how does the Avalanche and Zener Breakdown voltage
change?

Zener breakdown:
A larger bandgap reduces the probability of tunneling at lower voltages, resulting in a higher
Zener breakdown voltage threshold.
Avalanche breakdown:
Increasing the bandgap generally results in a higher avalanche breakdown voltage. This is
because a larger bandgap means that more energy is required to create electron-hole pairs. As a
result, the electric field must be stronger to achieve the same level of impact ionization, which
raises the breakdown voltage.
Q8. How does the diode IV changes if the PN junction semiconductor is changed from
Germanium to Silicon to GaAs? Explain the impact on Saturation current (𝐼0), Built-in
voltage (𝑉𝑏𝑖), Breakdown voltage (𝑉𝑏𝑟)
1. Saturation Current (I₀):

The saturation current (I₀), also called the reverse saturation current, is the small current that
flows through a diode in the reverse direction when reverse-biased. It is exponentially dependent
on the bandgap energy (E_g) of the semiconductor material.

● Germanium (Ge): Has a smaller bandgap (0.66 eV) compared to silicon and GaAs. This
leads to a higher saturation current because the lower bandgap allows more carriers to
thermally excite across the junction.
● Silicon (Si): Has a bandgap of 1.12 eV, larger than that of Ge. Consequently, the
saturation current in silicon is much lower than in Ge.
● Gallium Arsenide (GaAs): GaAs has an even larger bandgap of 1.42 eV. As a result,
GaAs devices exhibit the lowest saturation current of the three. The larger bandgap
means fewer carriers are thermally excited, so the reverse leakage current is significantly
reduced.

Summary of I₀:

● Ge: Highest I₀
● Si: Lower I₀
● GaAs: Lowest I₀

2. Built-in Voltage (V_bi):

The built-in voltage (V_bi), or junction potential, is the voltage across the depletion region of a
PN junction in thermal equilibrium. This voltage depends on the material's bandgap and doping
levels.

● Germanium (Ge): The built-in voltage is relatively low because of the small bandgap
(0.66 eV). For typical Ge diodes, V_bi is around 0.2-0.3 V.
● Silicon (Si): Silicon’s higher bandgap (1.12 eV) leads to a higher built-in voltage,
typically around 0.7 V for standard Si diodes.
● Gallium Arsenide (GaAs): GaAs, with its larger bandgap (1.42 eV), has the highest
built-in voltage of the three materials. A typical GaAs diode has a built-in voltage of
about 1.0-1.3 V.

Summary of V_bi:

● Ge: ~0.3 V (lowest)

● Si: ~0.7 V (medium)
● GaAs: ~1.0-1.3 V (highest)

3. Breakdown Voltage (V_br):

The breakdown voltage (V_br) is the voltage at which a diode begins to conduct in reverse
(breakdown occurs). This voltage is highly dependent on the bandgap and the electric field
strength at which avalanche breakdown or Zener breakdown occurs.

● Germanium (Ge): Ge has the lowest breakdown voltage because of its smaller bandgap
and higher carrier density at a given temperature. Ge diodes are more prone to earlier
breakdown, which limits their high-voltage applications.
● Silicon (Si): Si has a higher breakdown voltage compared to Ge. The larger bandgap
(1.12 eV) and better thermal stability make Si diodes more suitable for higher voltage
applications, and Si diodes typically break down at higher voltages.
● Gallium Arsenide (GaAs): GaAs, with the highest bandgap (1.42 eV), has the highest
breakdown voltage. GaAs devices are preferred in high-power and high-frequency
applications because they can withstand higher voltages before breakdown occurs.

Summary of V_br:

● Ge: Lowest breakdown voltage (lowest tolerance for reverse bias)

● Si: Higher breakdown voltage
● GaAs: Highest breakdown voltage (most resistant to breakdown)

Q9. How can you get AND, OR logic gate using diodes and resistors?

OR Gate Using Diode

AND gate using diodes
Q10. Describe tunnel diode operation in forward and reverse bias? What does negative
resistance signify?
Answer Tunnel diode is a highly doped PN junction diode due to high doping it has narrow
depletion width.Below is the band diagram of Tunnel diode

Due to high doping it can be observed that Fermi levels are inside the Conduction band in N type
and Inside the valence band in P type region.
A)Forward Bias

1.At Very Low Forward Voltage (Initial Tunneling):

When small forward bias voltage is applied to the tunnel diode the fermi levels on both P and N
side shift due to applied voltage and electrons tunnel from Conduction band of N type to Valence
band of P type through the narrow depletion region.The current keeps on increasing until it
reaches a maximum value.
2.Increasing Forward Voltage (Negative Resistance Region):
As the forward voltage increases beyond a certain point, the energy bands shift.
The alignment of energy states between the conduction band (N-side) and the valence band
(P-side) becomes less favorable for tunneling. Fewer electrons find available energy states to
tunnel into, and as a result, the tunneling current decreases.
This reduction in tunneling current as the voltage increases causes the diode to exhibit negative
resistance (current decreases with increasing voltage).
3.At Higher Forward Voltage (Normal Diode Conduction):

As the voltage increases even further, the conduction band and valence band are no longer
aligned for tunneling. Tunneling practically stops, and the diode behaves like a regular
forward-biased diode.

The current starts increasing again as normal carrier injection occurs, but this time through the
typical diode conduction mechanism, not tunneling.
A)Reverse Bias
In reverse bias, the P-side is made negative with respect to the N-side. The behavior of the tunnel
diode in reverse bias is different from that of a normal diode:

● Tunneling occurs once again, allowing electrons to tunnel from the valence band of the
P-side to the conduction band of the N-side.
● As a result, a small reverse current flows even at very low reverse voltages.

2. Higher Reverse Voltage (Increased Reverse Current):

As the reverse bias is increased, the tunneling current continues to flow and increases
slightly, but the diode remains in a high-conduction state for reverse bias due to the
tunneling effect.

3. Breakdown Region:

If the reverse bias is increased further, the tunnel diode will eventually undergo avalanche
breakdown, similar to a regular diode, but this occurs at much higher reverse
voltages.However, tunnel diodes are generally used below breakdown voltages in reverse
bias due to their unique tunneling properties.
Q11. A semi-infinite silicon bar is uniformly doping with Nd=1015 /cm3and illuminated with light
at the x = 0 end, generating excess minority carriers ᐃpn (x = 0 ) with a value of 1010 /cm3 .The
wavelength of the light is such that no light penetrates the bar's interior ( x > 0 ). Determine the
ᐃpn (x).
Q12. A semi-infinite p-type bar is illuminated with light which generates GL electron-hole pairs
per cm3-sec uniformly throughout the volume of the semiconductor . Simultaneously , carriers
are extracted at x = 0 making ᐃnp = 0 at x = 0 . Assuming a steady state condition has been
established and ᐃnp(x) << po for all x , determine ᐃnp (x) .