INTRODUCTION TO ELECTRONIC COMPONENTS

Experiment 3

Electronic Components and Devices

Component classifications
Passive devices - All electrical devices which consume energy are called passive devices, like resistors, inductors and capacitors. Active devices - Active devices produce energy that can be used to provide power gain in an electronic circuit . This means that the power of their output signal may be more than

Introduction to Diodes
A diode is an electrical device allowing current to move through it in one direction with far greater ease than in the other. Most diodes are similar in appearance to a resistor and will have a painted line on one end showing the direction or flow (white side is negative). If the negative side is on the negative end of the circuit, current will flow. If the negative is on the positive side of the circuit no current will flow.

N-type and P-type semiconductors

Example: Adding other atoms with 5 valence electrons such as Antimony(Sb),Arsenic(As) and Phosporous(P) to Silicon to increase the free electrons.

Donor atom

Example: Adding other atoms with 3 valence electrons such as Boron(B), Gallium(Ga) and Indium(In) to Silicon to create a deficiency of electrons or hole charges.

Acceptor atom

Diode biasing
A forward-biased diode conducts current and drops a small voltage across it, leaving most of the battery voltage dropped across the lamp.

If the battery's polarity is reversed, the diode becomes reverse-biased, and drops all of the battery's voltage leaving none for the lamp

Reverse Bias
If no voltage applied is across a semiconductor diode, a thin depletion region exists around the region of the P-N junction, preventing current flow. If a reverse-biasing voltage is applied across the P-N junction, this depletion region expands, further resisting any current through it

Forward Bias
If a forward-biasing voltage is applied across the P-N junction, the depletion region collapses becoming thinner. The diode becomes less resistive to current through it. In order for a sustained current to go through the diode; though, the depletion region must be fully collapsed by the applied voltage. This takes a certain minimum voltage to accomplish, called the forward voltage.

I-V characteristics
A reverse-biased diode prevents current from going through it, due to the expanded depletion region. In actuality, A very small amount of current can and does go through a reversebiased diode, called the leakage current, but it can be ignored for most purposes. The ability of a diode to withstand reverse-bias voltages is limited, as it is for any insulator. If the applied reverse-bias voltage becomes too great, the diode will experience a condition known

Review
1. A diode is an electrical component acting as a one-way

valve for current. When voltage is applied across a diode in such a way that the diode allows current, the diode is said to be forward-biased.
2. When voltage is applied across a diode in such a way

that the diode prohibits current, the diode is said to be reverse-biased.

3. The voltage dropped across a conducting, forward-

biased diode is called the forward voltage. Silicon diodes have a forward voltage of approximately 0.7 volts. Germanium diodes have a forward voltage of approximately 0.3 volts.
4. The maximum reverse-bias voltage that a diode can

withstand without breaking down

Introduction to transistors
A transistor is a semiconductor device, commonly used as an amplifier or an electrically controlled switch. The transistor is the fundamental building block of the circuitry that governs the operation of computers, cellular phones, and all other modern electronics This section will be mainly concerned with the bipolar junction transistor (BJT). Bipolar junction transistors are similar to junction diodes, but one more junction is included.

Transistor NPN and PNP

How to determined NPN or PNP transistor? When forward biased, the resistance is low. During reverse bias, the resistance is high.
Reference Ohmmeter for Transistors Checking

... pnp npn

RBE high low*

REB low high**

RBC high low

RCB low high

RCE high high

REC high high

NPN

PNP

Transistor as a switch
Transistors can be used as current-controlled switch. This is because, a relatively small flow of electrons sent through the base of the transistor has the ability to exert control over a much larger flow of electrons through the collector. Suppose we had a lamp that we wanted to turn on and off by means of a switch. We need to add something more so that we can have base current.

Transistor as a switch
Consider this example, where a solar cell is used to control the transistor, which in turn controls the lamp: Or, we could use a thermocouple to provide the necessary base current to turn the transistor on:

Review Review
Transistors may be used as switching elements to control DC power to a load. The switched (controlled) current goes between emitter and collector, while the controlling current goes between emitter and base. When a transistor has zero current through it, it is said to be in a state of cutoff (fully nonconducting). When a transistor has maximum current through it, it is said to be in a state of saturation (fully conducting).

Introduction to transformer
A basic transformer consists of:
1.A primary coil or winding. 2.A secondary coil or winding. 3.A core that supports the

coils or windings.

How does a transformer work?

A transformer is based on a very simple fact about electricity: when a fluctuating electric current flows through a wire, it generates a magnetic field (an invisible pattern of magnetism) or "magnetic flux" all around it. The strength of the magnetism (which has the rather technical name of magnetic flux density) is directly related to the size of the electric current. So the bigger the current, the stronger the magnetic field.

How does a transformer work?

Now there's another interesting fact about electricity too. When a magnetic field fluctuates around a piece of wire, it generates an electric current in the wire. So if we put a second coil of wire next to the first one, and send a fluctuating electric current into the first coil, we will create an electric current in the second wire.

Faraday's Law: A changing magetic flux through a loop of wire induces an electromotive force (emf : voltage) and push the current around the circuit.

How does a transformer work?

The current in the first coil is usually called the primary current and the current in the second wire is (surprise, surprise) the secondary current. What we've done here is pass an electric current through empty space from one coil of wire to another. This phenomenon is called electromagnetic induction. We can make electrical energy pass more efficiently from one coil to the other by wrapping them around a soft iron bar (sometimes called a core):

Step-down transformer
If the first coil has more turns that the second coil, the secondary voltage is smaller than the primary voltage: This is called a step-down transformer. If the second coil has half as many turns as the first coil, the secondary voltage will be half the size of the primary voltage; if the second coil has one tenth as many turns, it has one tenth the voltage.

V2/V1 = N2/N1 I2/I1 = N1/N2

Step-up transformer
Reversing the situation, we can make a step-up transformer that boosts a low voltage into a high one: In a step-up transformer, we use more turns in the secondary than in the primary to get a bigger secondary voltage and a smaller secondary current.

V2/V1 = N2/N1 I2/I1 = N1/N2

Transformer at home
Electronic devices such as laptop computers and chargers for MP3 players and mobile phones use relatively tiny voltages: a laptop needs about 15 volts, an iPod charger needs 12 volts, a cellphone typically needs less than 6 volts when you charge up its battery. So electronic appliances like these have small transformers built into them (often mounted at the end of

Transformer application
Automobile Ignition System

Iron C

Output power = IV -------------------Why is output at low current and high voltage, and not high current and low voltage? --------------------