BASIC ELECTRONICS

CSE III-SEM , SEC- A&B)

PRESENTED BY
SUJAYA GRACE CH.
Asst. Prof. ,ECE Dept,
STLW.
Contact: 8712152659
[email protected]
SYLLABUS
UNIT-1
PN Junction Diode: Characteristics, Half wave
rectifier, Full wave rectifier, filters, ripple,
regulation, TUF and efficiency, Zener diode and
Zener diode regulators, CRT construction and
CRO applications
 PN Junction Diode
• Diode
• PN-junction diode
• PN-junction diode in Equilibrium with No applied
voltage
* At junction there is a tendency for the free
electrons to diffuse over to the P-side and holes to the
N-side which is called diffusion
• PN-junction diode under Forward Bias condition
• PN-junction diode under Reverse Bias condition
PN-Junction Diode under Forward Bias

• A PN-junction diode is formed

when a P-type semiconductor is
fused to an n-type semiconductor
creating a potential barrier voltage
across the diode junction.
• Magnitude of potential
barrier(Vo) varies with doping
levels and temperature . Vo =
0.3V for Ge, Vo = 0.7V for Si
• Width of depletion decreases by
applying of positive voltg.
• Allows current flow through the
diode
 PN-Junction Diode under Reverse Bias
• By applying a negative
voltage (reverse bias) results
in the free charges being
pulled away from the junction
resulting in the depletion
layer width being increased.
• This has the effect of
increasing or decreasing the
effective resistance of the
junction itself allowing or
blocking current flow through
the diode.
V-I Characteristics of P-N Junction diode

• The forward voltage at
which the silicon or
Germanium diode starts
allowing large electric
current is called cut-in
voltage or Knee Voltage.
• The cut-in voltage for
silicon diode is
approximately 0.7V and
for Germanium, it is 0.3
V
 Applications of PN-junction diode

• Rectifiers in DC power supplies

• Switch in digital logic circuits used in
computers
• Clipping circuits
• Demodulation circuits
• Detectors in optical communication circuits
 Rectifier
• The device which converts a bidirectional AC to
pulsating (Unidirectional) is called as rectifier.
• This rectification is achieved by the electronic
element called semiconductor diode.
• When a p-type semiconductor is suitably joint to n-
type semiconductor by special fabrication technique
is known as semiconductor diode or crystal diode.
• Every electronic circuit such as Amplifier Needs a
D.C power source for its operation.
• To obtain D.C supply voltage, the A.C supply has
to be reduced using transformer.
• Elements for conversion: A. Rectifiers i.e Diode B.
Filter i.e Capacitor/inductor
 Rectifiers
• Electronic device used for converting AC
voltage into unidirectional voltage
• Types of Rectifiers:
1) Half wave Rectifier
2) Full wave Rectifier
Half wave Rectifier
 Half wave Rectifier
• Operation:
1.During positive half cycle the diode is forward biased and
diode current flows through it, this current flows through load
resistor(RL) and develops a voltage across it. This is the out
put dc voltage
2.During negative half cycle the is reversed biased and diode
current does not flows through it, there is no load current
across the resistor (RL) as a result the out put dc voltage
during negative half cycle is A rectifier in which the positive
or negative half of the AC wave is passed, while the other half
is blocked is called as half wave rectifier.
Center-taped full wave rectifier
Center-taped full wave rectifier
 Center-taped full wave rectifier
• A center tapped full wave rectifier is a type of rectifier
which uses a center tapped transformer and two diodes
to convert the complete AC signal into DC signal.
Operation:
• During positive half cycle ,D1 is in forward bias and
D2 is in reverse bias and current will only flows from
D1 through RL to secondary winding.
• During negative half cycle , D2 is forward biased and
D1 will be reversed biased and no current will flow
through D1 the current flows through D2 through RL
to secondary winding
Full wave bridge Rectifier
Full wave bridge Rectifier
 Full wave bridge Rectifier

• A Full wave rectifier is a circuit arrangement which

makes use of both half cycles of input alternating
current (AC) and convert them to direct current
(DC).
OPERATION:
• During positive half cycle , diode D1 and D2 are
forward biased where as D3 and D4 are reversed
biased the load current and load voltage both are
positive.
• During negative half cycle , diode D3 and D4 are
forward biased and D1 and D2 are reversed biased
the load current and load voltage both are negative.
 Advantages & Disadvantages of Bridge
Rectifier

Advantages
• Bulky center tapped transformer is not
required
• TUF is considerably high

Disadvantages
• Requires four diodes
CAPACITOR FILTER
PN DIODE CURRENT EQUATION
 Zener diode
• Diode - A diode is a specialized electronic component
with two electrode called the anode and the cathode.
• Most diodes are made with semiconductor materials
such as silicon, germanium, or selenium.

• Clarence Melvin Zener (December 1, 1905 – July 2,

1993) was the American physicist who first described
the property concerning the breakdown of electrical
insulators.
• These findings were later exploited by Bell Labs in the
development of the Zener diode, which was duly
named after him
 Zener diode
•  The arrowhead on a Zener diode symbol points in the
direction of forward current when the diode is forward
biased.
• The Zener diode is normally operated in reverse breakdown
and the current direction is then from anode to cathode
• Zener diodes are highly doped diodes
• All diodes have some type of reverse breakdown
characteristic. A “Zener diode” is a diode which is
characterized and sold as a circuit component that has a
known reverse breakdown characteristic. 
 Zener Diode
• A Zener diode is a type of diode that permits
current not only in the forward direction like a
normal diode, but also in the reverse direction if
the voltage is larger than the breakdown voltage
known as “Zener knee voltage” or “Zener voltage”
• this provides more voltage handling capabilities as
the breakdown voltage is higher.
 Zener Diode - Circuit
• The most basic Zener diode circuit consist of a
single Zener diode and a resistor.
• The Zener diode provides the reference voltage,
but a series resistor must be in place to limit the
current into the diode otherwise a large amount of
current would flow through it and it could be
destroyed.
• The value of resistor calculated to give required
value of current for supply voltage used.
 Zener Diode Forward bias
• When a Zener diode is forward biased, it operates
as a normal diode.
• In forward biased P side connected to +ve and N
side connected to
–ve terminal of battery. In this case the electrons
and holes are swept across the junction an large
current flow through it.
 Zener Diode Reverse biased

• In case of reverse biased, current is

practically zero and at certain voltage which
is called Zener voltage, the current increases
sharply.
• Each Zener diode has breakdown rating
which specifies the max voltage that can be
dropped across it.
 Zener Diode - Characteristics
• The figure shows, the forward
characteristics is same as that of ordinary
forward biased junction diode.
 Zener Diode - Characteristics

In reverse direction however there is a very small leakage current

between 0V an the Zener voltage –i.e. tiny amount of current is able
to flow.
• Then, when the voltage reaches the breakdown voltage (VZ),
suddenly current flow through it.
• Notice that as the reverse voltage is increased the leakage current
remains essentially constant until the breakdown voltage is reached
where the current increases dramatically.
• A Zener diode is always reverse connected
• When forward biased, its characteristics are just like of ordinary
diode
• It has sharp breakdown voltage, called Zener voltage
 Applications of Zener Diode
The most common application of Zener Diode --
1. Zener Regulator
2. Zener Comparator
3. Zener Limiters
4. Zener in Power Supplies
 Principle of Zener Diode
• The Working Principle of zener diode lies in
the cause of breakdown for a diode in
reverse biased condition.
• Normally there are two types of breakdown.
1) Zener Breakdown
2) Avalanche Breakdown.
 Zener Breakdown
• This type of breakdown occurs for a reverse bias voltage
between 2 to 8V.
• Even at low voltage, the electric field intensity is strong
enough to exert a force.
• The valence electrons of the atom are separated from the
nuclei.
• This type of break down occurs normally for highly doped
diode with low breakdown voltage and larger electric field.
• As temperature increases, the valence electrons gain more
energy to disrupt from the covalent bond and the less
amount of external voltage is required.
• Thus zener breakdown voltage decreases with temperature.
 Avalanche Breakdown
• This type of breakdown occurs at the reverse bias voltage
above 8V and higher.
• It occurs for lightly doped diode with large breakdown
voltage.
• As minority charge carriers (electrons) flow across the device.
• They tend to collide with the electrons in the covalent bond
and cause the covalent bond to disrupt.
• As voltage increases, the kinetic energy (velocity) of the
electrons also increases.
• The covalent bonds are more easily disrupted, causing an
increase in electron hole pairs.
• The avalanche breakdown voltage increases with temperature.
 Avalanche Breakdown
• Avalanche breakdown involves minority carrier electrons in
the transition region being accelerated, by the electric field, to
energies sufficient for freeing electron-hole pairs via
collisions with bound electrons.
• In general, diode junction breakdowns occurring below 5
volts are caused by the Zener effect, whereas breakdowns
occurring above 5 volts are caused by the avalanche effect.
• Zener breakdown occurs in heavily doped junctions
(p-type semiconductor moderately doped and n-type
heavily doped), which produces a narrow depletion
region.
• The avalanche breakdown occurs in lightly doped
junctions, which produce a wider depletion region.
 As Voltage Regulator
• In a DC circuit, Zener diode can be used as a
voltage regulator or to provide voltage reference.
• The main use of zener diode lies in the fact that
the voltage across a Zener diode remains
constant for a larger change in current.
• This makes it possible to use a Zener diode as a
constant voltage device or a voltage regulator.
• In any power supply circuit, a regulator is used
to provide a constant output (load) voltage.
 CRO
• The CRO stands for a Cathode Ray Oscilloscope.
• CRO gives visual representation of time varying
signals
• In modern electronics, the CRO plays an important role
in the electronic circuits.
• Most of the oscilloscopes uses probes and they are used
for the input of any instrument.
• We can analyze the waveform by plotting amplitude
along with the x-axis ( represents time) and y-
axis(represents input voltage signal).
 CRO
• The cathode ray oscilloscope is an electronic test instrument.
• It is used to obtain waveforms when the different input signals
are given.
• In the early days, it is called as an Oscillograph.
• The oscilloscope observes the changes in the electrical signals
over time.
• Thus the voltage and time describe a shape and it is
continuously graphed beside a scale.
• By seeing the waveform, we can analyze some properties like
amplitude, frequency, rise time, distortion, time interval and
etc.
Block diagram of CRO
 CRT(Cathode Ray Tube)

• Heart of CRO
• Used to emit electrons required to strike the phosphor
screen to produce the spot for the visual display of the
signals
• Parts of CRT are –
1. Electron gun,
2. Deflection system,
3. Fluorescent or phosphor screen,
4. Glass tube or envelope ,
5. Base
 Electron gun
• The electron gun section of the cathode ray tube
provides a sharply focused  electron beam 
directed towards the fluorescent coated screen
•  This section starts from thermally heated
cathode  emitting the electrons
•  The Control grid is given negative potential
with respect to cathode
•  This grid controls  number of electrons in the
beam,  going to the screen
• The momentum of the electrons determines the
 Continuied….
• Since the electron beam consists of many electrons ,the
Beam tends to diverge
•  This is because the similar charges on the electron repel
each other
•  To  compensate for such repulsion forces an adjustable
electrostatic field is created between two cylindrical
anodes called the focusing anodes
•  The variable positive voltage on the second anode is used
to adjust the focus or sharpness of the bright beam spot
•  The high positive potential is also given to the
preaccelerating anodes and  accelerating anodes
• Which results into the required acceleration of the
electrons
 Deflection system
• When the electron beam is accelerated it passes through the deflection
system with which beam can be positioned anywhere on the screen

• The deflection system of the cathode ray tube consists of two pairs of
parallel plates referred to as vertical and horizontal deflection plates

• One of the plates in each set is connected to ground that is 0 volts to

the other plate of each set the external deflection voltage is applied
through an internal adjustable  in a gain amplifier stage

•  To apply the deflection voltage externally an external terminal called

the Y input or the X input is available

•  As shown in figure the electron beam passes through these plates
 Continuied….
•  A positive voltage applied to the Y input terminal (Vy) Causes
the Beam to deflect vertically upwards due to the attraction
forces while in negative voltage applied to the Y input terminal
will cause the electron beam to deflect vertically downwards
due to the repulsion forces.

•  similarly a positive voltage applied to X input terminal (Vx) 

will cause the electron beam to deflect horizontally towards
the right while a negative voltage applied to the input terminal
will cause the electron beam to deflect horizontally towards
the left of the screen

•  the amount of vertical or horizontal deflection is directly

proportional to the corresponding applied voltage
 Fluorescent screen
• The light produced by the screen does not disappear
immediately when bombardment by electrons that is
when the signal  becomes zero

• The time period for which the trace remains on the screen
after the signal becomes zero is known as Persistence or
fluorescence

• The persistent may be as short as a few microseconds or

as long as tens of seconds or  even minutes
 Continuied….
• Medium persistence traces are mostly used for general
purpose applications
•  long persistent races are used in the study of transient it
helps in the study of transient since the trace is still seen
on the screen after the transient has disappeared
•  short  persistence is needed for extremely high speed
phenomenon
•  the screen is coated with a fluorescent material called
phosphor which  emits  light when bombarded by
electrons
 Glass Tube & base
Glass Tube:
• All the components of a CRT are enclosed in an
evacuated glass tube called envelope
•  this allows the emitted electrons to move about
freely from one end of the tube to the other end
Base:
•  the base is provided to the CRT through which the
connections are made to the path to the various parts
Vertical Amplifier:
• i/p signals are generally not strong to provide the
measurable deflection on the screen. Hence it is used to
amplify the i/p signals.
Delay line:
• Used to delay signal for some time in the vertical sections
• When it is not used, the part of the signal gets lost
• Thus i/p signal is not applied directly to the vertical plates
but is delayed by some time using a delay line circuit
Trigger Circuit: to synchronize horizontal deflection with
vertical deflection a synchronizing or triggering circuit is used.
• It converts the incoming signal into the triggering pulses,
which are used for the synchronization.
Time Base Generator :
• Used to generate the sawtooth voltage, required to deflect the
beam in the horizontal section
• This voltage deflects the spot at a constant time dependent rate.
• Thus x-axis on the screen can be represented as time, which
helps to display and analyse the time varying signals
Horizontal Amplifier:
• Sawtooth voltage produced by the time base generator may not be of
sufficient strength.
• Hence before giving it to the horizontal deflection plates, it is amplified
using the horizontal amplifier
Power supply :
• Provides voltages required by CRT to generate and accelerate an electron
beam
• There are 2 sections of a power supply block - The high voltage (HV)
section and Low voltage (LV) section
• HV voltages of the order of 1000 to 1500V are required by CRT
• LV voltage is required for heating of the electron gun, which emits the
electrons
 Applications of CRO
• Voltage measurement
• Current measurement
• Measurement of phase
• Measurement of frequency
• It can display different types of waveforms
• It can measure short time interval
• In voltmeter, it can measure potential
difference