Semiconductor devices

in
Mechatronics

U G Dilusha Duminda
Cot Galle.
Mechatronics
 Outline
• Thyristors/Triacs
• Diodes
• Zener Diodes/Thermistors
• Photoresistors/Optoisolators
 Thyristors
• Four layer devices
• Class of semiconductor components
• Wide range of devices, SCR (silicon
controlled rectifier), SCS (silicon controlled
switch), Diacs, Triacs, and Shockley diodes
• Used in high power switching applications
i.e. hundreds of amps / thousands of watts
 Triacs
• The Triac is a three terminal AC
semiconductor switch
• Turned on with a low energy signal
to the Gate
• MT1 and MT2 are the current
carrying terminals
• G is the gate terminal, used for
triggering
 Triac Operation

•5 layer device
•Region between MT1 and
MT2 are parallel switches
(PNPN and NPNP)
•Allows for positive or
negative gate triggering
Triac Characteristic Curve
 Triac Characteristic Curve
• 1st quadrant - MT2 is (+) with respect to MT1
• VDRM is the break-over voltage of the Triac
and the highest voltage that can be blocked
• IRDM is the leakage current of the Triac when
VDRM is applied to MT1 and MT2
• IRDM is several orders of magnitude smaller
than the “on” rating
 Real World Triacs
• Come in various
shapes and sizes
• Essentially all the
same operationally
• Different mounting
schemes
 Triac Applications
Simple Triac Switch
•Small control
current/voltage
•Eliminates Mechanical
wear in a Relay
•Much Cheaper
 Diodes
Overview
• Brief review of semiconductors

• Junction Diodes

• Applications of Junction Diodes

• Zener Diodes
 Diodes
Review of Semiconductors
• The two semiconductors of greatest importance are Silicon (Si)
and Germanium (Ge)

• Both elements have four valence electrons

•The conduction band is defined as the lowest unfilled energy band

• The valence band is an energy region where
the states are filled or partially filled by
valence electrons

• Electrons in the valence band can be moved

to the conduction band with the application
of energy, usually thermal energy
U G Dilusha Duminda
• A material can be classified as:
1. Insulator – has valence and conduction bands well
separated
2. Semiconductor – has valence band close to conduction
band (the energy gap is about 1eV).
3. Conductor – has the conduction and valence bands
overlapping
• Pure semiconductors (Si, Ge) are poor conductors
• Semiconductors are valuable for two unusual properties:
1. Conductivity increases exponentially with temperature
(ex: Thermistor)
2. Conductivity can be increased and precisely controlled by
adding small impurities in a process called doping.
• n-type doping – adds impurities from column V of the periodic table
to a semiconductor material. Negative free charge carriers (electrons)
become available.

• p-type doping – adds impurities from column III of the periodic table
to a semiconductor material. Positive free charge carriers (holes)
become available.

• A diode is created when a p-type semiconductor is joined with and

n-type semiconductor by the addition of thermal energy.

• When both materials are joined, the thermal energy causes positive
carriers in the p-type material to diffuse into the n-type region and
negative carriers in the n-type material to diffuse into the p-type region.
This creates the depletion region within the diode.
• The depletion region contains an internal electric field caused by the
separation of charge. This is called the potential barrier and it acts to
oppose the diffusion of majority carriers across the junction.
Mayority carriers Mayority carriers

p n

Depletion Region

• Under open circuit conditions no current flows through the diode.

 Current flow in the diode
• The behavior of a diode depends on the the polarity of the circuit
• A diode is forward biased if the positive terminal of the battery
is connected to the p-type material. The majority carriers are forced
towards the junction and the depletion region decreases.
• If the voltage is high enough the depletion region can be entirely
eliminated.
• Current is sustained by the majority carriers. Depletion Region
Original Size

p n
if
V
Potential Barrier Vo
Vo-V
Forward Biased
• A diode is reverse biased if the positive terminal of the battery
is connected to the n-type material. The majority carriers are forced
away from the junction and the depletion region increases.
• The majority carriers are unable to create a current
• If reverse bias is sufficiently increased, a sudden increase in
reverse current is observed. This is known as the Zener or Avalanche
effect
• There is a small reverse current or leakage current sustained by
the minority carriers Depletion Region
Original Size

p n
ir

Vo+V V
Vo

Potential Barrier Reverse Biased

Diode characteristic curve

conduction
region

V
non-conduction
region

Ideal Curve
Ideal Diode – no resistance to current flow
in the forward direction and infinite resistance
in the reverse direction. (Equivalent to a
switch).
 Diode Specifications

• Forward Voltage Drop (Vf) - specified at

the forward current (if). Typically 0.3 V for
Germanium and 0.7 V for Silicon.

• Leakage Current – specified at a voltage less than the breakdown

voltage. Leakage current is undesirable and will be present until
the breakdown voltage is reached. Junction diodes are intended
to operate below their breakdown voltage.

• Current Rating – determined primarily by the size of the diode

chip, material used, and configuration of the package. Average
current is used (not RMS current).
• Minimum Diode Specifications
- Maximum reverse voltage - Max. reverse voltage that will not cause breakdown
- Rated forward current – Max. amount of average current permitted to flow in forward direction
- Maximum forward voltage drop – Max. forward voltage drop across diode @ indicated
• Switching
- The switching speed of a diode depends upon its
- Maximum leakage current -
- Maximum reverse recovery time

construction and fabrication.

- Generally, the smaller the chip the faster it switches (other
things being equal).
- The reverse recovery time, trr , is usually
current the limiting
parameter (trr is the time it takes a diode to switch from
ON to OFF).
U G Dilusha Duminda
 Diode Applications

• Half-wave rectifier circuit - Rectified signal is a combination

of an AC signal and a DC
component ( known as a DC pulse)

• Full-wave rectifier circuit - The diodes act to route the

current From both halves of the
AC wave

R
 Zener Diode
• Zener diodes operate in the breakdown region.
• Zener diodes have a specified voltage drop when
they are used in reverse bias.
• Every pn junction (i.e. diode) will break down in
reverse bias if enough voltage is applied.
• Zener diodes are operated in reverse bias for
normal voltage regulation.
• Able to maintain a nearly constant voltage under
conditions of widely varying current.
 Zener Diode I-V Graph

Zener characteristics and parameters

•Notice that as the reverse voltage VR is increased, the leakage current
remains essentially constant until the breakdown voltage VZ (Zener
voltage).
 Types of Breakdowns
• Zener breakdown - the electric field near the
junction becomes large enough to excite valence
electrons directly into the conduction band.
• Avalanche breakdown –minority carriers are
accelerated in the electric field near the junction to
sufficient energies that they can excite valence
electrons through collisions.

Note: The predominance of one breakdown over the

other depends on the room temperature.
 Zener Diode Applications

• Can serve as a “Voltage Regulator” when placed

in parallel across a load to be regulated.
 Zener Diode Specifications

• Basic Parameters
– Zener Voltage (VZ) – common range, 3.3 V to 75 V
– Tolerance of Zener Voltage – commonly 5 to 10%
– Test current (IZ) – correspondent to Vz
– Power handling capability – ¼, ½, 1, 5, 10, 50 W
 Thermistor
• Thermistor - Temperature sensitive resistor
• Their change in electrical resistance is very large
and precise when subjected to a change in
temperature.
• Thermistors exhibit larger parameter change with
temperature than thermocouples and RTD’s.
– Thermistor - sensitive
– Thermocouple - versatile
– RTD – stable
• Generally composed of semiconductor materials.
• Very fragile and are susceptible to permanent
decalibration.
 Thermistor Probe
One of many available probe assemblies

.095” DIA.
MAX.

TEFLON INSULATION #32 TINNED

COPPER WIRE
3” LONG
TEFLON TUBE

.11 DIA.
MAX.

2” MIN.
 Thermistor Characteristics
• Most thermistors have a negative temperature
coefficient (NTC); that is, their resistance decreases
with increasing temperature.
• Positive temperature coefficient (PTC) thermistors
also exist with directly proportional R vs. T.
• Extremely non-linear devices (high sensitivity)
• Common temperature ranges are –100 oF (~-75 oC)
to +300 oF (~150 oC)
• Some can reach up to 600 oF
 Thermistor R-T Curve
• An individual thermistor curve can be very
closely approximated by using the Steinhart-Hart
equation: T = Degrees Kelvin
1 3 R = Resistance of
= A B. ln( R) C . ln( R) the thermistor
T
A,B,C = Curve-fitting
• Typical Graph constants
V or R

Thermistor (sensible)

RTD (stable)

Thermocouple
(versatile)
T
 Thermistor Applications
Temperature Measurement
“Wheatstone bridge” with selector switch to measure
temperature at several locations
 Thermistor Applications
Temperature Control •Resistor is set to a desired
temperature (bridge
variable resistor
for setting
unbalance occurs)
desired •Unbalance is fed into an
temperature
amplifier, which actuates a
relay to provide a source of
heat or cold.
relay
•When the thermistor
senses the desired
thermistor high gain temperature, the bridge is
amplifier balanced, opening the relay
and turning off the heat or
cold.
 Phototransistor Background
• Operation similar to traditional transistors
• Have a collector, emitter, and base
• Phototransistor base is a light-sensitive
collector-base junction
• Small collector to emitter leakage current
when transistor is switched off, called
collector dark current
Phototransistor Package types
Phototransistor Construction
 Phototransistor Operation
• A light sensitive collector base p-n junction
controls current flow between the emitter and
collector
• As light intensity increases, resistance decreases,
creating more emitter-base current
• The small base current controls the larger emitter-
collector current
• Collector current depends on the light intensity
and the DC current gain of the phototransistor.
 Basic Phototransistor Circuit

• The phototransistor must be properly biased

Obstacle Avoidance Example
 Obstacle Avoidance Example
• Adjust baffle length to obtain a specific
detection range
• Use infrared components that won’t be
affected by visible light
• Use ~ 220 ohm resistors for LED’s
• Use multiple sensors in a row to detect
narrow obstacles
 Phototransistor Summary
• They must be properly biased
• They are sensitive to temperature changes
• They must be protected against moisture
• Hermetic packages are more tolerant of
severe environments than plastic ones
• Plastic packages are less expensive than
hermetic packages
 Optoisolator Background
• Operation similar to relays
• Used to control high voltage devices
• Excellent noise isolation because switching
circuits are electrically isolated
• Coupling of two systems with transmission
of photons eliminates the need for a
common ground
 Optoisolator Construction

Glass dielectric sandwich separates input from output

 Optoisolator Schematic

• Input Stage = infrared emitting diode (IRED)

• Output Stage = silicon NPN phototransistor
Optocoupler Interrupter Example
• Similar to lab setup
• Used to calculate
speed or distance
• Integrated emitter
and detector pair
• Easy to install
Optocoupler Interrupter Schematic

Eliminates mechanical positioning problems

encountered in adjusting the emitter and detector
for proper sensing
 Optoisolator Summary
• Ideal for for applications requiring
– High isolation surge voltage
– Noise isolation
– Small size
• Signal cannot travel in opposite direction
• Used to control motors, solenoids, etc.