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ELECTRONIC COMPONENTS & MATERIALS

Electronic components are the components used in 1.1 CONDUCTORS

electronics to constitute the flow of electrons. These
components are made of materials such as conductors ,  Conductors are the materials or substances which
insulators semiconductors and magnetic materials. In allow electricity to flow through them.
 They are able to conduct electricity because they
any electronic circuits ,these materials are used along
allow electrons to flow inside them very easily.
with safety devices such as MCB relay and some other  Conductors have this property of allowing the
devices or components such as switches ,cables and cells transition of heat or light from one source to
and batteries .Hence ,it can be said that electronic another.
components and materials are the building block of
electronics 1.1.1 Examples

CLASSIFICATION OF MATERIALS  Silver is the best conductor of electricity.

However, it is costly and so, we don’t use silver
On the basis of conductivity ,the materials can be in industries and transmission of electricity.
classified in to following categories:-
 Copper, Brass, Steel, Gold, and Aluminium are
 Conducting materials are good conductors of good conductors of electricity. We use them
mostly in electric circuits and systems in form of
Electricity and are characterized by large
wires.
electrical conductivity and small electrical
 Mercury is an excellent liquid conductor that
resistivity.
finds use in many instruments.
 Insulating materials are characterized by poor
electrical conductivity and are used to block  Gases are not good conductors of electricity as
the particles of matter are quite far away and
currents from flowing it. thus, they are unable to conduct electrons
 There is another group of materials which are 1.1.2 Applications
 Mercury is a common ingredient in thermometer
neither good conductors nor good insulators. to check the temperature of the body.
 At room temp such materials have conductivities  Aluminum finds use in making foils to store
considerably lower than those of conductors and food and also in the production of fry pans to
store heat quickly.
higher than those of insulators. they are known as
 Iron is common in vehicle engine manufacturing
semiconductors to conduct heat.
 Germanium, Silicon are the examples.  The plate of an iron is made up of steel to absorb
heat briskly.
Material Conductivity
 Conductors find their use in car radiators to
eradicate heat away from the engine.
Conductors 105 to 108/ Ω m .
1.2 INSULATORS

Semiconductors 10-7 to 104/ Ω m  All such material which do not allow

electrons/charged particles to move freely within
Insulators 10-12 to 10-20/ Ω m them are insulators.
 The basic property of an insulator is its dielectric
strength.
1.2.1:Most Commonly used insulating materials 13. Marble It is also used where high
and its applications: temperature is expected.

1. Dry air It is used as an insulator in 14. Shellac It is a resin secreted by

high power transmission female lac bug. It is
lines between the parrel dissolved in ethanol to
wires make varnish. This varnish
is used to make paper,
2. Vulcanised It is used to make the cloth, wood, etc., moisture
rubber insulating covering of wires free. As mica is very brittle,
and cables. therefore, it is necessary
that a composition should
3. PVC It is good insulator and is be made. Shellac is usually
more stronger than used for this purpose.
vulcanised rubber. Now –a-
days PVC is used in place 15. paper It is used as an insulator in
of rubber. paper capacitor.

4. Ebonite It is used for making pannel 16. slate It is used as switch board
board, covering, container or panel board after dipping
of lead –acid batteries ,etc it into oil and then
varnishing it.
5. Mica It is used in making the
heating elements of eletrical 17. Dry wood It is used to make switch
and eletronic equipment. board, round block, etc.

6. Micanite They are used in armature 18. Resin It is a type of synthetic

winding material used to make
Bakelite which is used to
7. Bakelite It is used for making make insulating covering of
switch, plug top ,sockets, the materials.
bulb holder, etc.

8. Leatheroid It is used as an insulator in

paper electric machine winding 1.3 Semiconductors
between coils and
armature slots.  Semiconductors do not fall into either the
conductor or non-conductor categories. Instead
9. Mineral oil It is used as an insulator in they fall in between.
transformers, starters, high  A variety of materials fall into this category, and
current switches, capacitor, they include silicon, germanium, gallium
etc. arsenide, and a variety of other substances.
 Semiconductors can be compounds such as
10. Porcelain It is used in making the gallium arsenide or pure elements, such as
insulation of overhead germanium or silicon
wires, switches, plates for  Semi conductors have negative temperature
heating elements, etc. coefficient of resistance.
 At absolute zero temperature they are perfect
11. Glass It is used in making the insulators.
bulbs, fluorescent lamps,  The conductivity of semiconductor can also be
etc. crown glass provides controlled by controlling the amount of impurity
more insulation than normal added to it.
glass.  Conductivity of Silicon increases 8% per degree rise
in temperature and that of Germanium increase 6% per
12. Asbestos It is used as an insulator
degree rise in temperature
and heat resistant material
in electric press, heater, etc.

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 Energy gap 1.1eV for Silicon 0.72eV for germanium & o Come in two types — north pole and south
1.41eV for GaAs at room temp. pole, often shortened to north and south or
abbreviated N and S.
 Energy Gap is 1.21eV for Silicon 0.785eV for o Magnetic poles always occur in north-south
Germanium at absolute Zero Temp. pairs called dipoles.
o Combinations of of dipoles are called
 Semiconductors are classified into two categories multipoles.
(i) Intrinsic (ii) extrinsic o Some multipole arrangements have special
names
 Semiconductor in its purest form is called o two dipoles form a quadrupole
intrinsic semiconductor. o three dipoles form a sextupole
o four dipoles form an octupole
 The process of deliberately adding impurities to a o Magnetic monopoles do not seem to exist.
semiconductor material is called doping. o When a dipole magnet is broken, all of its
pieces are also dipoles.
 A doped semiconductor is called an Extrinsic o This is true down to the subatomic level.
Semiconductor. Electrons, protons, and neutrons are dipoles..

 For making an N type semiconductor Pentavalent Rule of Action

impurity (Phosphorus) is added to the intrinsic o Like poles repel.

semiconductor. o Opposite poles attract.
 At room temperature each impurity atom donates one
Compass
electron to the conduction band. This type of impurity is
called Donor type impurity. o A compass is any dipole magnet that is free
to rotate.
 This donated electron is called excess electrons, since
they are excess to the electrons which are thermally Magnetic Field
generated.
o The direction of the magnetic field is determined by
 N type semiconductor electrons are majority carriers and
following the north pole of a compass.
holes are minority carriers.
o Magnetic field lines diverge from the north pole of a
 Trivalent impurity (Boron, Aluminum, Galium, magnet and converge on its south pole.
o The strength of the magnetic field at any location is
Indium) is added to the intrinsic semiconductor the
proportional to the density of the lines drawn.
result is a P type Semiconductor. This type of impurity is o Magnetic field lines never intersect (since the field
called acceptor type. can only point in one direction at any location).
 P type semiconductor holes are majority carriers and o Magnetic field lines form closed loops.
o Magnetic field lines reconnect inside a magnet.
electrons are minority carriers. o The symbol for magnetic field is an uppercase, bold
1.4 MAGNETIC MATERIALS B (vector notation) or an uppercase, italic B (for the
magnitude only).
A magnet is an object that exhibits magnetic properties o The magnetic field is also known as the B field,
such as… magnetic flux density, and magnetic induction.
o The SI unit of magnetic field is the tesla [T].
1. exerting an attractive force on iron or other o In terms of other units, the tesla is also a newton per
ferromagnetic materials ampere meter (from the Lorentz force law), a weber
2. exerting both attractive and repulsive forces on other per meter square (from Faraday's law), or a kilogram
magnets per ampere second square (in fundamental units)
3. deflecting the path of a moving charged particle o 1 T is a very large magnetic field.

Terms associated with Magnetic Materials Geomagnetism

Magnetic Poles o The earth is basically a dipole magnet.

o A compass will rotate until it aligns with the Earth's
o Regions on a magnet where the forces are the magnetic field.
strongest. o The north pole of a compass tends to point north
(toward the Earth's north magnetic pole).

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 o The south pole of a compass tends to point south  A battery is a combination of two or more
(towardthe Earth's south magnetic pole). electrochemical cells.
o The magnetic poles of the Earth (locations on the  These electrochemical cells store energy in the form
surface of the Earth where the magnetic field is the of chemical energy, and this is converted into
strongest) are near the geographic poles (locations electrical energy when connected to an electrical
where the spin axis of the Earth intersects its surface). circuit in which an electrical current can flow.
o The north magnetic pole of the Earth is currently in  A cell consists of two electrodes with an electrolyte
the Arctic Ocean near the north geographic pole. A placed between them.
compass would point straight down at this location  The negative electrode is known as the cathode,
making it a south magnetic pole. while the positive electrode is known as the anode.
o The south magnetic pole of the Earth is currently in  The electrolyte between them can either be a liquid or
the Indian Ocean near Antarctica. A compass would a solid.
point straight up at this location making it a south  Today many cells are enclosed in a special container,
magnetic pole. and there is an element known as a separator placed
o The magnetic axis of the Earth differs from its between the anode and cathode.
rotational axis by about 10°.  This is porous to the electrolyte and prevents the tow
o The magnetic field strength on the surface of the electrodes from coming into contact with each other.
Earth is around 45±15 µT.  The potential difference across the terminals of the
battery is known as the terminal voltage.
o Classifications of Materials  If the battery is not passing any current, e.g. when it
is not connected to any circuit, then the terminal
voltage seen is the open circuit voltage and this
1. Ferromagnetic
equals the EMF or electro-motive force of the
 strongly magnetic, attractive
battery.
 neighboring atoms align their magnetic axes
 It is found that all batteries have a certain level of
 capable of forming permanent magnets internal resistance. As a result the terminal voltage
 elements :iron, cobalt, nickel ,dysprosium, falls when it is connected to an external load. As the
gadolinium battery becomes exhausted it is found that the internal
 alloys, blends of metals or metals and nonmetals resistance rises and the voltage under load falls.
 Some iron minerals are magnetic
(e.g. magnetite,Fe3O4), some are not (e.g. pyrite, FeS2) 1.5.1 Primary and secondary cells
 Some steels are magnetic (e.g. ferritic steels), some
are not (e.g. austenitic steels) Although there are many different types of battery,
 Some alloys of non ferromagnetic metals are there are two main categories of cell or battery that
ferromagnetic (e.g. Heusler alloy, Cu2MnSn) can be used to provide electrical power.
2. Paramagnetic
 weakly magnetic, attractive  Primary batteries
 atoms align their magnetic axes somewhat with an
external magnetic field Primary batteries are essentially batteries that cannot
 a temporary effect be recharged.
 most materials are paramagnetic (e.g. molecular
oxygen, O2) They irreversibly transform chemical energy to
3. Diamagnetic electrical energy.
 weakly magnetic, repulsive
 atoms align their magnetic axes opposite to an When the chemicals within the battery have all
external magnetic field reacted to produce electrical energy and they are
 a temporary effect exhausted, the battery or cell cannot be readily
 few materials are diamagnetic (e.g. carbon, restored by electrical means.
mercury, water)
4. Superdiamagnetic
 Secondary batteries:
 strongly magnetic, repulsive
 Meissner effect, magnetic levitation Secondary batteries or secondary cells are different to
 magnetic fields cannot penetrate below a thin surface primary ones in that they can be recharged.
layer
 a temporary effect The chemical reactions within the cell or battery can
 superdiamagnetism is a property of superconductors be reversed by supplying electrical energy to the cell,
restoring their original composition.

1.5 Battery and cell concepts

Standard cell and battery sizes

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 Standard Cell & Battery Sizes high energy density.

Cell type Diameter Height Secondary Cells

mm mm

AAA 10.5 44.5

Nickel 1.2 Were in very common use, but
AA 14.5 50.5 cadmium now giving way to NiMH cells
NiCd and batteries in view of
C 26.2 50.0 environmental impacts. Low
internal resistance and can
D 34.2 61.5
supply large currents. Long life
if used with care.
1.5.2 Cell types: Nickel 1.2 Higher capacity but more
metal expensive than NiCads.
Summary of some of the different types that are in more hydride Charging must be carefully
common use today.
NiMH controlled. Being used in many
applications where NiCads were
Cell type Nominal Characteristics
previously used.
voltage
V Lithium Highest capacity and they are
ion now widely used in many
Primary
Lion laptops, mobile phones,
cells and
cameras . . etc. Charging must
batteries
be carefully controlled and often
have a limited life ~ typically
Alkaline 1.5 Widely available, providing
300 charge discharge cycles.
manganese high capacity. Shelf life
dioxide normally up to about five years.
Lead acid 2.0 Widely used for automotive
Capable of providing
applications. Relatively cheap,
moderate current.
but life expectancy often short
Lithium 3.6 Good for low to medium
thionyl currents. High energy density
chloride and long shelf life.

Lithium 3.0 Long shelf life combined with

manganese high energy density and
dioxide moderate current capability.

Mercury 1.35 Used for button cells but are

oxide virtually phased out now
because of the mercury they
contain.

Silve oxide 1.5 Good energy density. Mainly

used for button cells.

Zinc 1.5 Widely used for consumer

carbon applications. Low cost,
moderate capacity. Operate best
under intermittent use
conditions.

Zinc air 1.4 Mostly used for button cells.

Have a limited life once opened
and low current capability but a

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 1.5:SWITCHES,MCBAND RELAYS  Single pole double throw switch(SPDT) this
switch has three teminals,one is input contact
1.5.1 RELAY and remaining two are output contacts. This
means that in consist of two ON positions and
 A relay is an automatic device which senses an
one OFF position.
abnormal condition of electrical circuts and
 Doule pole single throw switch(DPST) this
close its contacts. These contacts inturn a lose
switch consists of four terminals, two input
and complete the circuit before breakertrip coil
contacts and two output contacts. Is ehaves
circuit hence make the circuit breaker tripped for
like a two separate SPST configurations,
disconnecting the faulty portion of the eletrical
operating at the same time.
circuit from rest of the healty circuit.
 Double pole double throw switch(DPDT)
 Therefore,protection relays protect the connected
this is a dual ON/OFF switch consisting of two
eletrics appliances and cables in faulty eletrical
Onpositions. Is has six terminals two are input
circuit from overloading current.
contacts and remaining four are the ouput
 A bimetallic strip type thermal relay uses a
contacts. It behave like a two separate SPDT
bimetallic strip which always bends when it is
configuration, operating at the same time.
heated up due to its inequality of linear
 Push button switch it is momentary contact
expansion of two different metals.the basic
switch that make or breaks aonnection as long
working principle of thermal relay is that, when
as pressure is applied (or when the button is
a bimetallic strip is heated up by a heating coil
pushed ).generally, this pressure is supplied by
carrying over current of the system,it bends and
a button pressed by someone’s finger.
makes normally open contacts.
 Toggled switch a toggle switch is manually
1.5.2 Miniature circuit braker(MCB) actuated (or pushed up or down) by a
mechanical handle,lever or rocking
 The circuit beaker is an automated eletrical
mechanism. These are commonly used as light
switch,which interrupted the current in the
control switches.
eletric circuit when there is overload or shot
circuit. Hence , it protects the circuit from  Float switches: float switched are mainly
damage. used for controlled DC and AC motor pumps
 Now-a-day MCB is used instead of fuse.its according to the liquid or water in a tank or
characteristics is that is switches off itself or
sump. This switch is operated when the float
break the circuit when circuit is in overload
condition. (or floating object) moves downward or
 The function of self switching OFF is achieved upward based on water level in a tank
by a bimetallic device.
 These circuit breakers are available in 5A to
60A,230V range. Its appears like a switch and
is operated like switch ON and OFF

1.5.3 SWITCHES
A switch is a device which is designed to interrupt the
current flow in a circuit ,in other words, it can make or
break an eletrical circuit.
There are many types of switch, some important are
discussed below.
 Single pole single throw switch(SPST) this is
the basic ON and OFF switch consisting of
one input contact and one output contact. It
switches a single circuit and it can either make
(ON) or break(OFF) the load.