Fundamentals of Microelectronics

 CH1 Why Microelectronics?

 CH2 Basic Physics of Semiconductors
 CH3 Diode Circuits
 CH4 Physics of Bipolar Transistors
 CH5 Bipolar Amplifiers
 CH6 Physics of MOS Transistors
 CH7 CMOS Amplifiers
 CH8 Operational Amplifier As A Black Box

1
 Diode Circuits

 After we have studied in detail the physics of a diode, it is

time to study its behavior as a circuit element and its many
applications.
CH3 Diode Circuits 2
 Diode’s Application: Cell Phone Charger

 An important application of diode is chargers.

 Diode acts as the black box (after transformer) that passes
only the positive half of the stepped-down sinusoid.
CH3 Diode Circuits 3
 Diode’s Action in The Black Box (Ideal Diode)

 The diode behaves as a short circuit during the positive

half cycle (voltage across it tends to exceed zero), and an
open circuit during the negative half cycle (voltage across it
is less than zero).

CH3 Diode Circuits 4

 Ideal Diode

 In an ideal diode, if the voltage across it tends to exceed

zero, current flows.
 It is analogous to a water pipe that allows water to flow in
only one direction.
CH3 Diode Circuits 5
 Diodes in Series

 Diodes cannot be connected in series randomly. For the

circuits above, only a) can conduct current from A to C.

CH3 Diode Circuits 6

 IV Characteristics of an Ideal Diode

V V
R 0 I   RI  0
R R

 If the voltage across anode and cathode is greater than

zero, the resistance of an ideal diode is zero and current
becomes infinite. However, if the voltage is less than zero,
the resistance becomes infinite and current is zero.
CH3 Diode Circuits 7
 Anti-Parallel Ideal Diodes

 If two diodes are connected in anti-parallel, it acts as a

short for all voltages.

CH3 Diode Circuits 8

 Diode-Resistor Combination

 The IV characteristic of this diode-resistor combination is

zero for negative voltages and Ohm’s law for positive
voltages.

CH3 Diode Circuits 9

 Diode Implementation of OR Gate

 The circuit above shows an example of diode-implemented

OR gate.
 Vout can only be either VA or VB, not both.

CH3 Diode Circuits 10

 Input/Output Characteristics

 When Vin is less than zero, the diode opens, so Vout = Vin.
 When Vin is greater than zero, the diode shorts, so Vout = 0.
CH3 Diode Circuits 11
 Diode’s Application: Rectifier

 A rectifier is a device that passes positive-half cycle of a

sinusoid and blocks the negative half-cycle or vice versa.
 When Vin is greater than 0, diode shorts, so Vout = Vin;
however, when Vin is less than 0, diode opens, no current
flows thru R1, Vout = IR1R1 = 0.
CH3 Diode Circuits 12
 Signal Strength Indicator

Vout  V p sin t  0 for 0t 

T
2
1T 1 T /2
Vout, avg   Vout (t )dt   V p sin tdt
T0 T 0
1 Vp Vp
  cos t 0 
T /2
for
T
t T
T   2

 The averaged value of a rectifier output can be used as a

signal strength indicator for the input, since Vout,avg is
proportional to Vp, the input signal’s amplitude.

CH3 Diode Circuits 13

 Diode’s application: Limiter

 The purpose of a limiter is to force the output to remain below

certain value.
 In a), the addition of a 1 V battery forces the diode to turn on after
V1 has become greater than 1 V.
CH3 Diode Circuits 14
 Limiter: When Battery Varies

 An interesting case occurs when VB (battery) varies.

 Rectification fails if VB is greater than the input amplitude.
CH3 Diode Circuits 15
 Different Models for Diode

 So far we have studied the ideal model of diode. However,

there are still the exponential and constant voltage models.
CH3 Diode Circuits 16
 Input/Output Characteristics with Ideal and
Constant-Voltage Models

 The circuit above shows the difference between the ideal

and constant-voltage model; the two models yield two
different break points of slope.
CH3 Diode Circuits 17
Input/Output Characteristics with a Constant-Voltage
Model

 When using a constant-voltage model, the voltage drop

across the diode is no longer zero but Vd,on when it
conducts.
CH3 Diode Circuits 18
 Another Constant-Voltage Model Example

 In this example, since Vin is connected to the cathode, the

diode conducts when Vin is very negative.
 The break point where the slope changes is when the
current across R1 is equal to the current across R2.
CH3 Diode Circuits 19
 Exponential Model

I in
I D1 
Is2
1
I s1
I in
I D2 
I s1
1
Is2

 In this example, since the two diodes have different cross-

section areas, only exponential model can be used.
 The two currents are solved by summing them with Iin, and
equating their voltages.
CH3 Diode Circuits 20
 Another Constant-Voltage Model Example

 This example shows the importance of good initial

guess and careful confirmation.
CH3 Diode Circuits 21
 Cell Phone Adapter

Vout  3VD
Ix IX
 3VT ln
Is

 Vout = 3 VD,on is used to charge cell phones.

 However, if Ix changes, iterative method is often needed to
obtain a solution, thus motivating a simpler technique.

CH3 Diode Circuits 22

 Small-Signal Analysis

V
I D  I D1
VT

 Small-signal analysis is performed around a bias point by

perturbing the voltage by a small amount and observing
the resulting linear current perturbation.
CH3 Diode Circuits 23
 Small-Signal Analysis in Detail

I D dI D
 |VD VD1
VD dVD
Is I D1
 exp
VT VT
I D1

VT

 If two points on the IV curve of a diode are close enough,

the trajectory connecting the first to the second point is like
a line, with the slope being the proportionality factor
between change in voltage and change in current.
CH3 Diode Circuits 24
 Small-Signal Incremental Resistance

VT
rd 
ID
 Since there’s a linear relationship between the small signal
current and voltage of a diode, the diode can be viewed as
a linear resistor when only small changes are of interest.
CH3 Diode Circuits 25
 Small Sinusoidal Analysis

V0 VT
V (t )  V0  V p cos t I D (t )  I 0  I p cos t  I s exp  V p cos t
VT I 0
 If a sinusoidal voltage with small amplitude is applied, the
resulting current is also a small sinusoid around a DC
value.
CH3 Diode Circuits 26
 Cause and Effect

 In (a), voltage is the cause and current is the effect. In (b),

the other way around.
CH3 Diode Circuits 27
 Adapter Example Revisited

3rd
vout  vad
R1  3rd
 11.5mV

 With our understanding of small-signal analysis, we can

revisit our cell phone charger example and easily solve it
with just algebra instead of iterations.
CH3 Diode Circuits 28
 Simple is Beautiful

Vout  I D  (3rd )
 0.5mA(3  4.33)
 6.5mV

 In this example we study the effect of cell phone pulling

some current from the diodes. Using small signal analysis,
this is easily done. However, imagine the nightmare, if we
were to solve it using non-linear equations.
CH3 Diode Circuits 29
 Applications of Diode

CH3 Diode Circuits 30

 Half-Wave Rectifier

 A very common application of diodes is half-wave

rectification, where either the positive or negative half of
the input is blocked.
 But, how do we generate a constant output?
CH3 Diode Circuits 31
 Diode-Capacitor Circuit: Constant Voltage Model

 If the resistor in half-wave rectifier is replaced by a

capacitor, a fixed voltage output is obtained since the
capacitor (assumed ideal) has no path to discharge.
CH3 Diode Circuits 32
 Diode-Capacitor Circuit: Ideal Model

 Note that (b) is just like Vin, only shifted down.

CH3 Diode Circuits 33

 Diode-Capacitor With Load Resistor

 A path is available for capacitor to discharge. Therefore,

Vout will not be constant and a ripple exists.

CH3 Diode Circuits 34

 Behavior for Different Capacitor Values

 For large C1, Vout has small ripple.

CH3 Diode Circuits 35

 Peak to Peak amplitude of Ripple

t
Vout (t )  (V p  VD ,on ) exp 0  t  Tin
RL C1
t V p  VD ,on t
Vout (t )  (V p  VD ,on )(1  )  (V p  VD ,on ) 
RL C1 RL C1
V p  VD ,on Tin V p  VD ,on
VR   
RL C1 RL C1 f in

 The ripple amplitude is the decaying part of the exponential.

 Ripple voltage becomes a problem if it goes above 5 to 10%
of the output voltage.

CH3 Diode Circuits 36

 Maximum Diode Current

2VR V p V p 2VR
I p  C1inV p   ( RLC1in  1)
V p RL RL Vp
 The diode has its maximum current at t1, since that’s when
the slope of Vout is the greatest.
 This current has to be carefully controlled so it does not
damage the device.
CH3 Diode Circuits 37
 Full-Wave Rectifier

 A full-wave rectifier passes both the negative and positive

half cycles of the input, while inverting the negative half of
the input.
 As proved later, a full-wave rectifier reduces the ripple by a
factor of two.
CH3 Diode Circuits 38
 The Evolution of Full-Wave Rectifier

 Figures (e) and (f) show the topology that inverts the negative
half cycle of the input.
CH3 Diode Circuits 39
 Full-Wave Rectifier: Bridge Rectifier

 The figure above shows a full-wave rectifier, where D1 and

D2 pass/invert the negative half cycle of input and D3 and D4
pass the positive half cycle.
CH3 Diode Circuits 40
Input/Output Characteristics of a Full-Wave Rectifier
(Constant-Voltage Model)

 The dead-zone around Vin arises because Vin must exceed 2

VD,ON to turn on the bridge.
CH3 Diode Circuits 41
 Complete Full-Wave Rectifier

 Since C1 only gets ½ of period to discharge, ripple voltage

is decreased by a factor of 2. Also (b) shows that each
diode is subjected to approximately one Vp reverse bias
drop (versus 2Vp in half-wave rectifier).
CH3 Diode Circuits 42
 Current Carried by Each Diode in the Full-Wave Rectifier

CH3 Diode Circuits 43

 Summary of Half and Full-Wave Rectifiers

 Full-wave rectifier is more suited to adapter and charger

applications.
CH3 Diode Circuits 44
 Voltage Regulator

 The ripple created by the rectifier can be unacceptable to

sensitive load; therefore, a regulator is required to obtain a
very stable output.
 Three diodes operate as a primitive regulator.
CH3 Diode Circuits 45
 Voltage Regulation With Zener Diode

rD
Vout  Vin
rD  R1

 Voltage regulation can be accomplished with Zener diode.

Since rd is small, large change in the input will not be
reflected at the output.
CH3 Diode Circuits 46
 Line Regulation VS. Load Regulation

Vout rD1  rD 2 Vout

  (rD1  rD 2 ) || R1
Vin rD1  rD 2  R1 IL

 Line regulation is the suppression of change in Vout due to

change in Vin (b).
 Load regulation is the suppression of change in Vout due to
change in load current (c).
CH3 Diode Circuits 47
 Evolution of AC-DC Converter

CH3 Diode Circuits 48

 Limiting Circuits

 The motivation of having limiting circuits is to keep the

signal below a threshold so it will not saturate the entire
circuitry.
 When a receiver is close to a base station, signals are large
and limiting circuits may be required.
CH3 Diode Circuits 49
 Input/Output Characteristics

 Note the clipping of the output voltage.

CH3 Diode Circuits 50

 Limiting Circuit Using a Diode:
Positive Cycle Clipping

 As was studied in the past, the combination of resistor-

diode creates limiting effect.
CH3 Diode Circuits 51
 Limiting Circuit Using a Diode:
Negative Cycle Clipping

CH3 Diode Circuits 52

 Limiting Circuit Using a Diode:
Positive and Negative Cycle Clipping

CH3 Diode Circuits 53

 General Voltage Limiting Circuit

 Two batteries in series with the antiparalle diodes control

the limiting voltages.

CH3 Diode Circuits 54

 Non-idealities in Limiting Circuits

 The clipping region is not exactly flat since as Vin

increases, the currents through diodes change, and so
does the voltage drop.
CH3 Diode Circuits 55
 Capacitive Divider

C1
Vout  Vin Vout  Vin
C1  C2

CH3 Diode Circuits 56

 Waveform Shifter: Peak at -2Vp

 As Vin increases, D1 turns on and Vout is zero.

 As Vin decreases, D1 turns off, and Vout drops with Vin from
zero. The lowest Vout can go is -2Vp, doubling the voltage.
CH3 Diode Circuits 57
 Waveform Shifter: Peak at 2Vp

 Similarly, when the terminals of the diode are switched, a

voltage doubler with peak value at 2Vp can be conceived.
CH3 Diode Circuits 58
 Voltage Doubler

 The output increases by Vp, Vp/2, Vp/4, etc in each input

cycle, eventually settling to 2 Vp.
CH3 Diode Circuits 59
 Current thru D1 in Voltage Doubler

CH3 Diode Circuits 60

 Another Application: Voltage Shifter

CH3 Diode Circuits 61

 Voltage Shifter (2VD,ON)

CH3 Diode Circuits 62

 Diode as Electronic Switch

 Diode as a switch finds application in logic circuits and

data converters.
CH3 Diode Circuits 63
 Junction Feedthrough

Cj / 2
Vout  Vin
C j / 2  C1

 For the circuit shown in part e) of the previous slide, a small

feedthrough from input to output via the junction
capacitors exists even if the diodes are reverse biased
 Therefore, C1 has to be large enough to minimize this
feedthrough.
CH3 Diode Circuits 64