INDEX

 Certificate
 Acknowledgement
 Introduction
 Properties of P-n Junction Diode
 Symbol for a Semiconductor Diode
 Depletion Layer Formation
 Formation in a P-n Junction Diode
 Forward Biased
 Reverse Biased
 P-n Junction Diode
 Forward Biased P-n Junction Diode
 Reversed Biased P-n Junction Diode
 Forward Biased Characteristics
 Reverse Biased Characteristics
 Bibliography
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I wish to express my deep gratitude and sincere thanks to
Mr.Sameer Sharma for his encouragement and for all
facilities that he provided for this project work. I sincerely
appreciate this magnanimity by taking me into his fold for
which I shall remain indebted to him.
I extend my heartily thanks to Mr.Satish Sharma, our
practical teacher who guided me to the successful
completion of this opportunity to express my deep sense of
gratitude for his invaluable guidance , comments sympathetic
attitude and immense motivation which has sustained my
efforts at all stages for this project work.
 CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that project work titled “A STUDY ON PN
JUNCTION AND DIODES” being submitted by DRISHTI DUA a
student of class XII-D has successfully completed the search
on the below mentioned project under the guidance of
MR.SATISH KUMAR (Practical Teacher) and MR.SAMEER
SHARMA (Subject Teacher) during the year 2016-2017 in
partial fulfilment of physics practical examination conducted
by CBSE.
SEMICONDUCTOR
INTRODUCTION:
Conductors are materials that permit electrons to flow
freely from particle to particle. Examples of conductors
include metals, aqueous solutions of salts (i.e., ionic
compounds dissolved in water), graphite, and the human
body.
Insulators are materials that impede the free flow of
electrons from atom to atom and molecule to molecule.
Examples of insulators include plastics, Styrofoam, paper,
rubber, glass and dry air.
Semiconductors are those substances whose conductivity
lies between conductors and insulators. e.g., Germanium,
Silicon, Carbon etc.
 PN JUNCTION
 Also known as a diode.
 One of the basics of semiconductor technology.
 Created by placing n-type and p-type material in close
contact.
 Diffusion – mobile charges (holes) in p-type combine with
mobile charges (electrons) in n-type.
 PN JUNCTION
 Region of charges left behind (dopant fixed in crystal
lattice)
 Group III in p-type (one less than Si-negative charge).
 Group IV in n-type (one more proton than Si-positive
charge).
 Region is totally depleted of mobile charges –“depletion
region”
 Electric field forms due to fixed charges on the depletion
region.
 Depletion region has high resistance due to lack of
mobile charges.
PROPERTIES OF PN
JUNCTION
 The p- and n- sides of PN Junction before the contact.
 The P-N Junction after contact, in equilibrium and in open
circuit.
 Carrier concentrations along the whole device, through the
p-n junction.
 Net space charge density across the p-n junction.
 DEPLETION REGION
In semiconductor physics, the depletion region, also
called depletion layer, depletion zone, junction region, space
charge region or space charge layer, is an insulating region
within a conductive, doped semiconductor material where
the mobile charge carriers have been diffused away, or have
been forced away by an electric field. The only elements left
in the depletion region are ionized donor or acceptor
impurities.
The depletion region is so named because it is formed from a
conducting region by removal of all free charge carriers,
leaving none to carry a current. Understanding the depletion
region is key to explaining
modern semiconductor electronics: diodes, bipolar junction
transistors, field-effect transistors, and variable capacitance
diodes all rely on depletion region.
Formation in a P-N
Junction

A PN junction in forward bias mode, the depletion width

decreases. Both p and n junctions are doped at a 1e/cm3
doping level, leading to built -potential of ~0.59V.Observethe
different Quasi Fermi levels for conduction band and valence
band in n and p regions (red curves).A depletion region forms
instantaneously across a p–n junction. It is most easily
described when the junction is in thermal equilibrium or in
a steady state: in both of these cases the properties of the
system do not vary in time; they have been called dynamic
equilibrium. Electrons and holes diffuse into regions with
lower concentrations of electrons and holes, much as ink
diffuses into water until it is uniformly distributed. By
definition, N-type semiconductor has an excess of free
electrons compared to the P-type region, and P-type has an
excess of holes compared to the N-type region. Therefore,
when N-doped and P-doped pieces of semiconductor are
placed together to form a junction, electrons migrate into the
P-side and holes migrate into the N-side. Departure of an
electron from the N-side to the P-side leaves a
positive donor ion behind on the N-side, and likewise the
hole leaves a negative acceptor ion on the P-side.
Following transfer, the diffused electrons come into contact
with holes on the P-side and are eliminated by recombination
.Likewise for the diffused holes on the N-side. The net result
is the diffused electrons and holes are gone, leaving behind
the charged ions adjacent to the interface in a region with no
mobile carriers (That's why it is called the depletion region;
carriers are being depleted). The uncompensated ions are
positive on the N side and negative on the P side. This creates
an electric field that provides a force opposing the continued
exchange of charge carriers. When the electric field is
sufficient to arrest further transfer of holes and electrons,
the depletion region has reached its equilibrium dimensions.
Integrating the electric field across the depletion region
determines what is called the built-in voltage (also called the
junction voltage or barrier voltage or contact potential).
Mathematically speaking, charge transfer in semiconductor
devices is due both to conduction driven by the electric field
(drift) and by diffusion. For a P-type region, where holes
conduct with electrical conductivity σ and diffuse with
diffusion constant D, the net current density is given by

j= σ E - D ∇qp

with q the elementary charge(1.6×10−19 coulomb) and p the

hole density (number per unit volume). Conduction forces
the holes along the direction of the electric field. Diffusion
moves the carriers in the direction of decreasing
concentration, so for holes a negative current results for a
positive density gradient. (If the carriers are electrons, we
replace the whole density p by the negative of the
electrondensity n; in some cases, both electrons and holes
must be included.) When the two current components
balance, as in the p–n-junction depletion region at dynamic
equilibrium, the current is zero due to the Einstein relation,
which relates D to σ.
Forward bias
Forward bias (P positive with respect to N) narrows the
depletion region and lowers the barrier to carrier injection
(shown in the figure to the right). In more detail, majority
carriers get some energy from the bias field, enabling them
to go into the region and neutralize opposite charges. The
more bias the more neutralization (or screening of ions in the
region) occurs. The carriers can be recombined to the ions
but thermal energy immediately makes recombined carrier
transition back as Fermi energy is in proximity. When bias is
strong enough that the depletion region becomes very thin,
the diffusion component of the current greatly increases and
the drift component decreases. In this case, the net current is
rightward in the figure of the p–n junction. The carrier
density is large (it varies exponentially with the applied bias
voltage), making the junction conductive and allowing a large
forward current. The mathematical description of the current
is provided by the Shockley diode equation. The low current
conducted under reverse bias and the large current under
forward bias is an example.
Reverse bias
Under reverse bias (P negative with respect to N), the
potential drop (i.e.,voltage) across the depletion region
increases. In more detail, majority carriers are pushed away
from the junction, leaving behind more charged ions. Thus
the depletion region is widened and its field becomes
stronger, which increases the drift component of current and
decreases the diffusion component. In this case, the net
current is leftward in the figure of the p–n junction. The
carrier density (mostly, minority carriers) is small and only a
very small reverse saturation current flows.
PN Junction diode
If one side of a single crystal of pure semiconductor
(Germanium or Silicon) is doped with acceptor impurity
atoms and the other side is doped with donor impurity
atoms, a PN junction is formed as shown in Fig. P region has a
high concentration of holes and N region contains a large
number of electrons.

As soon as the junction is formed, free electrons and holes

cross through the junction by the process of diffusion. During
this process, the electrons crossing the junction from N-
region into the P region, recombine with holes in the P-
region very close to the junction. Similarly holes crossing the
junction from the P-region into the N-region, recombine with
electrons in the N-region very close to the junction. Thus a
region is formed, which does not have any mobile charges
very close to the junction. This region is called depletion
region. In this region, on the left side of the junction, the
acceptor atoms become negative ions and on the right side
of the junction, the donor atoms become positive ions .
An electric field is set up, between the donor and acceptor
ions in the depletion region. The potential at the N-side is
higher than the potential at P-side. Therefore electrons in the
N-side are prevented to go to the lower potential of P-side.
Similarly, holes in the P-side find themselves at a lower
potential and are prevented to cross to the N-side. Thus,
there is a barrier at the junction which opposes the
movement of the majority charge carriers. The difference of
potential from one side of the barrier to the other side is
called potential barrier. The potential barrier is
approximately 0.7V for a silicon PN junction and 0.3V for a
germanium PN junction. The distance from one side of the
barrier to the other side is called the width of the barrier,
which depends upon the nature of the material.
Forward Biased
P-N Junction Diode:
When the positive terminal of the battery is connected to P-
side and negative terminal to the N-side, so that the potential
difference acts in opposite direction to the barrier potential,
then the PN junction diode is said to be forward biased.
When the PN junction is forward biased (Fig), the applied
positive potential repels the holes in the P-region, and the
applied negative potential repels the electrons in the N-
region, so the charges move towards the junction. If the
applied potential difference is more than the potential
barrier, some holes and free electrons enter the depletion
region.

Hence, the potential barrier as well as the width of the

depletion region are reduced. The positive donor ions and
negative acceptor ions within the depletion region regain
electrons and holes respectively. As a result of this, the
depletion region disappears and the potential barrier also
disappears. Hence, under the action of the forward potential
difference, the majority charge carriers flow across the
junction in opposite direction and constitute current flow in
the forward direction.
Reverse Biased
P-N Junction Diode:
When the positive terminal of the battery is connected to the
N-side and negative terminal to the P-side, so that the
applied potential difference is in the same direction as that of
barrier potential, the junction is said to be reverse biased.
When the PN junction is reverse biased (Fig), electrons in the
N region and holes in the P-region are attracted away from
the junction.
Because of this, the number of negative ions in the P-region
and positive ions in the N-region increases. Hence the
depletion region becomes wider and the potential barrier is
increased.

Since the depletion region does not contain majority charge

carriers, it acts like an insulator. Therefore, no current should
flow in the external circuit. But, in practice, a very small
current of the order of few microamperes flows in the
reverse direction. This is due to the minority carriers flowing
in the opposite direction. This reverse current is small,
because the number of minority carriers in both regions is
very small. Since the major source of minority carriers is,
thermally broken covalent bonds, the reverse current mainly
depends on the junction temperature.
Symbol for a
Semiconductor Diode:
The diode symbol is shown in Fig. The P-type and N-type
regions are referred to as P-end and N-end respectively. The
arrow on the diode points the direction of conventional
current.
Forward Bias
Characteristics
The circuit for the study of forward bias characteristics of PN
junction diode is shown in Fig a. The voltage between P-end
and N-end is increased from zero in suitable equal steps and
the corresponding currents are noted down. Fig b shows the
forward bias characteristic curve of the diode. Voltage is the
independent variable. Therefore, it is plotted along X-axis.
Since, current is the dependent variable, it is plotted against
Y-axis. From the

characteristic curve, the following conclusions can be made.

(i) The forward characteristic is not a straight line. Hence the
ratio V/I is not a constant (i.e) the diode does not obey
Ohm's law. This implies that the semiconductor diode is a
non-linear conductor of electricity. (ii) It can be seen from
the characteristic curve that initially, the current is very
small. This is because , the diode will start conducting, only
when the external voltage overcomes the barrier potential
(0.7V for silicon diode). As the voltage is increased to 0.7 V,
large number of free electrons and holes start crossing the
junction. Above 0.7V, the current increases rapidly. The
voltage at which the current starts to increase rapidly is
known as cut-in voltage or knee voltage of the diode.
Reverse Bias
Characteristics
The circuit for the study of reverse bias characteristics of PN
junction diode is shown in Fig a. The voltage is increased
from zero in suitable steps. For each voltage, the
corresponding current readings are noted down. Fig b shows
the reverse bias characteristic curve of the diode. From the
characteristic curve, it can be concluded that, as voltage is
increased from zero, reverse current (in the order of
microamperes) increases and reaches the maximum value at
a small value of the reverse voltage. When the voltage is
further increased, the current is almost independent of the
reverse voltage upto a certain critical value. This reverse
current is known as the reverse saturation current or leakage
current. This current is due to the minority charge carriers,
which depends on junction temperature.
 BIBLIOGRAPHY
 NCERT textbook class 12
 NCERT physical lab manual
 INTERNET
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 www.scribd.com
 www.google.com