Semiconductor Fundamentals, Theory and Diode Circuits

Conductor

A material that allows the flow of electrical current.

Insulator

A material that does not conduct electricity under normal conditions.

Semiconductor

A material with electrical properties between those of conductors and insulators, typically used in electronic devices.

Solid-state device

An electronic device that operates by the movement of charge carriers confined within a solid material.

Energy gap

The minimum amount of energy required for an electron to move from the valence band to the conduction band.

Valence electrons

Electrons found in the outermost shell of an atom that determine its ability to gain or lose electrons.

Ionization

The process whereby an atom loses or gains electrons, creating positive or negative ions.

Doping

The process of adding impurities to a semiconductor to alter its electrical properties.

P-N junction

The boundary between p-type and n-type semiconductors in a diode, crucial for its function.

Forward bias

When a diode is connected in such a way that it allows current to flow through it.

Reverse bias

When a diode is connected in such a way that it prevents current from flowing.

Depletion region

The region near a pn junction where charge carriers are depleted, creating an electric field.

Saturation current

The small current that flows through a reverse biased diode due to minority carriers.

Rectifier

An electronic circuit that converts alternating current (AC) to direct current (DC).

Half-wave rectifier

A rectifier that allows current to flow only during one half of the input cycle.

Full-wave rectifier

A rectifier that allows current to flow through the load during both halves of the input cycle.

Ripple factor

A measure of the fluctuations in the output voltage of a rectifier.

Voltage regulator

A device that maintains a constant output voltage despite variations in input voltage or load.

Atomic Number

the number of neutrons in the nucleus of an atom, which is also equal to the number of electrons in a neutral atom.

Diffusion Current

current in a semiconductor due to the random motion of electrons when no external electric field is applied

Drift Current

the directional current produced in a semiconductor due to the application of external voltage

Biasing

refers to the process of applying a dc voltage to a semiconductor device to achieve its proper operating condition

Surface Leakage Current

the small current flows on the surface of the crystal

DC Resistance

static resistance, slope of the line connecting 2 points in the characteristic curve of the diode

Recombination

When a free electron loses energy and falls back into a hole in the

valence band, the process is called

Q point

The intersection of the characteristic curve and the load line is called the