ELECTRONIC CIRCUITS

Syed Muhammad Rehan Ali

Email smra401@yahoo.com
Phone no. 03335577508
Whatsapp. 03175115649
 Course Objective
 To introduce large signal analysis and design of diode circuits
and transistor based amplifiers

 ESSENTIAL TOPICS TO BE COVERED:

 Diode circuit analysis and applications
 Biasing of BJT amplifier.
 Biasing of FET amplifier.
 Modeling of amplifiers.
 Operational amplifier application.
 Course Description
 Introduction to diodes and their applications (rectifiers, clippers
and clampers).
 BJT biasing, bias stability.
 Design and analysis of common emitter, common base and
common collector amplifiers.
 FET biasing.
 Design of common source, common drain and common gate
amplifiers.
 Hybrid parameters, ac gain and frequency analysis of amplifiers.
 Classes of amplifiers, power amplifiers.
 Differential amplifiers, operational amplifiers and applications.
 Course Learning Objective

At the end of the course, you should be able to:

 Describe and explain the basic construction, operation and
characteristics of semiconductor devices.

 Apply the acquired knowledge to solve small scale circuits

consisting of semiconductor devices.

 Illustrate dc and ac response of small signal amplifier circuits

using device Models
 Grading

 Assignment 10 % (6 assignments)
 Random Quizzes 10% (6 quizzes)
 OHT Exam (15+15)30 %
 Final Exam 50 %
 Books
 Text book
 Electronics devices by Floyd
 Electronic Devices and Circuits Theory by Robert
L.Boylested

 Reference books
 Electronics Principles by Albert Malvino/ David Bates
 Principles of Electronics by V.K. Mehta
 Chapter 1

Semiconductors
 Atomic Theory
 The atom has 3 basic particles:
 Proton
• positive charge
• Same magnitude but different pole with electron
 Electron
• negative charge
• Same magnitude but different pole with hole
 Neutron
• neutral
 Protons and neutrons form the nucleus
 Electrons appear in fixed orbits around the nucleus.
 For each atom;
No. of proton in nucleus = no. of electron
(ATOM IS NEUTRAL)
• If an atom losses 1 valence electron - +ve
• If an atom gains 1 valence electron - -ve
 Bohr Model
 The orbital paths or shells are identified using K through M.
 The innermost shell- K shell.
 The outermost atom- valence shell.
 Valence shell – determines the
conductivity of atom.
 The conductivity of atom depends on
the number of electron in valence shell
(valence electrons).
The number of electrons in any orbit is
given by 2n2 where n is the number of the orbit
First orbit contains = 2 electrons
Second orbit contains = 8 electrons
Third orbit contains = 18 electrons
 The Electron
 Since electronics deals with tiny particles called electrons
 Some of the important properties of an electron are :
 Charge on an electron, e = 1.602 × 10−19 coulomb
 Mass of an electron, m = 9.0 × 10−31 kg
 Radius of an electron, r = 1.9 × 10−15 metre
 The ratio e/m of an electron is 1.77 × 1011 coulombs/kg.
 This means that mass of an electron is very small as compared
to its charge.
 due to this property of an electron that it is very mobile and is
greatly influenced by electric or magnetic fields
 Atomic Structure
atomic weight = no. of protons +
no. of neutrons
atomic number = no. of protons or
electrons in an atom
 Energy of an Electron
An electron moving around the nucleus possesses two types of
energies .
 kinetic energy due to its motion
 potential energy due to the charge on the nucleus.
 Total energy of the electron is the sum of these two energies.
 The energy of an electron increases as its distance from the
nucleus increases
 Electrons in the last orbit possess very high energy as compared
to the electrons in the inner orbits.
 These last orbit electrons play an important role in determining
the physical, chemical and electrical properties of a material
 Valence Electrons
 The electrons in the outermost orbit of an atom are known as
valence electrons.
 The outermost orbit can have a maximum of 8 electrons
 The valence electrons determine the physical and chemical
properties of a material. These electrons determine whether
or not the material is chemically active; metal or non-metal or,
a gas or solid.
 On the basis of electrical conductivity, materials are generally
classified into
 Conductors
 insulators
 semi-conductors
 Energy Band
 Electron energy level in valence shell is changing depend on the
atomic force.
 In any material, there are 2 energy band;
 Valence band – the outermost shell that determines the conductivity
 Energy band – the band outside the valence shell.
 The 2 bands are separated by one energy gap called – forbidden gap.
 The valence band contains with electrons.
 The electrons can move to the conduction band if it have enough
energy ( eg: light or heat)
 When the electron absorbs enough energy to jump from valence
band to the conduction band, the electron is said to be in excited
state.
 The concept of energy bands is particularly important in
classifying materials as conductors, semiconductors, and
insulators
 Insulator
 Insulator - very wide energy gap. The wider this gap, the
greater the amount of energy required to move the electron
from the valence band to the conduction band.
 Therefore, an insulator requires a large amount of energy to
obtain a small amount of current.
 • The insulator "insulates" because of the wide forbidden
band or energy gap.
 Semiconductor
 A semiconductor is an element with electrical properties
between those of a conductor and those of an insulator.
 Semiconductor - has a smaller forbidden band and requires
less energy to move an electron from the valence band to the
conduction band.
 Therefore, for a certain amount of applied voltage, more
current will flow in the semiconductor than in the insulator.
 Conductor
 When the number of valence electrons of an atom is less than 4 (i.e.
half of the maximum eight electrons), the material is usually a metal
and a conductor.
 no forbidden band or energy gap and the valence and conduction
bands overlap.
 With no energy gap, it takes a small amount of energy to move
electrons into the conduction band; consequently, conductors pass
electrons very easily.
 Properties of Semiconductors
 The resistivity of a semiconductor is less than an insulator but more than
a conductor.
 Semiconductors have negative temperature co-efficient of resistance i.e.
the resistance of a semiconductor decreases with the increase in
temperature and vice-versa. For example, germanium is actually an
insulator at low temperatures but it becomes a good conductor at high
temperatures.
 When a suitable metallic impurity (e.g. arsenic, gallium etc.) is added to a
semiconductor, its current conducting properties change between that
of a good conductor (like cooper) and that of an insulator (like plastic).
 Most of the transistors, diodes, integrated circuits, etc. used in modern
electronics are built using a range of semiconductors
 The semiconductor atoms complete their valence shells by sharing
valence electrons with other atoms covalent bonding.
 In room temperature, the stability of atom is threatened. Some
of the electrons free from its bonding and jump to forbidden
gap.
 When the temperature increases, more valence electrons (free
electron) jump to conduction band and increase the
conductivity.
 When the covalent bonding break, the hole is created by free
electrons in valence bands.
 The thermal energy (heat) causes the constant creation of
electron – hole pairs.
 Recombination occurs when the free electrons loss their energy
and fall down to valence band (fill the hole).
 Semiconductor
 A semiconductor is a substance which has resistivity (10−4 to
0.5 Ωm) in between conductors and insulators e.g.
germanium, silicon, selenium, carbon etc.
 Silicon and Germanium
 The atomic structures of silicon and germanium are compared
in Figure
 Silicon is mostly used in diodes, transistors, integrated
circuits, and other semiconductor devices. Why?
 The valence electrons in germanium are in the fourth shell
while those in silicon are in the third shell, closer to the
nucleus.
 germanium valence electrons are at higher energy levels than
those in silicon
 require a smaller amount of additional energy to escape from
the atom.
 This property makes germanium more unstable at high
temperatures and results in excessive reverse current
 Bonds in Semiconductors
 Figure shows how each silicon atom positions itself with four
adjacent silicon atoms to form a silicon crystal

 In semiconductors, bonds are formed by sharing of valence

electrons. Such bonds are called co-valent bonds.
 Types of Semiconductor
 Semiconductors are mainly classified into two
 categories:
 Intrinsic
 Extrinsic
 An intrinsic semiconductor is a pure semiconductor. A silicon
crystal is an intrinsic semiconductor if every atom in the
crystal is a silicon atom. At room temperature, a silicon crystal
acts like an insulator
 Conduction Electrons and Holes
 An intrinsic (pure) silicon crystal at room temperature has
sufficient heat (thermal) energy for some valence electrons to
jump the gap from the valence band into the conduction band,
becoming free electrons. Free electrons are also called
conduction electrons.
 When an electron jumps to the conduction band, a vacancy is
left in the valence band within the crystal. This vacancy is
called a hole.
 Recombination occurs when a conduction-band electron loses
energy and falls back into a hole in the valence band.
 There is also an equal number of holes in the valence band
created when these electrons jump into the conduction band.
 Electron and Hole Current
 When a voltage is applied across a piece of intrinsic silicon, as
shown in Figure the thermally generated free electrons in the
conduction band, which are free to move randomly in the
crystal structure, are now easily attracted toward the positive
end. This movement of free electrons is one type of current in
a semiconductive material and is called electron current.
 Another type of current occurs in the valence band, where the
holes created by the free electrons exist.
a valence electron can move into a nearby hole with little
change in its energy level, thus leaving another hole where it
came from. Effectively the hole has moved from one place to
another in the crystal structure
 Although current in the valence band is produced by valence
electrons, it is called hole current
 conduction in semiconductors is considered to be either the
movement of free electrons in the conduction band or the movement
of holes in the valence band
 actually the movement of valence electrons to nearby atoms, creating
hole current in the opposite direction.
 intrinsic semiconductor has the same number of free electrons and
holes. This is because thermal energy produces free electrons and
holes in pairs. The applied voltage will force the free electrons to flow
left and the holes to flow right. When the free electrons arrive at the
left end of the crystal, they enter the external wire and flow to the
positive battery terminal.
 the free electrons at the negative battery terminal will flow to the right
end of the crystal. At this point, they enter the crystal and recombine
with holes that arrive at the right end of the crystal. In this way, a
steady flow of free electrons and holes occurs inside the
semiconductor. Note that there is no hole flow outside the
semiconductor.
 the free electrons and holes move in opposite directions.
 N-TYPE AND P-TYPE
SEMICONDUCTORS
 One way to increase conductivity of a semiconductor is by
doping. This means adding impurity atoms to an intrinsic
crystal to alter its electrical conductivity. A doped
semiconductor is called an extrinsic semiconductor.
 The two categories of impurities are:
 n-type
 p-type.
 N-Type Semiconductor
 When a small amount of pentavalent impurity is added to a pure
semiconductor, it is known as n-type semiconductor.
 The addition of pentavalent impurity provides a large number of free
electrons in the semiconductor crystal. Typical examples of
pentavalent impurities are arsenic and antimony Such impurities
which produce n-type semiconductor are known as donor impurities
because they donate or provide free electrons to the semiconductor
crystal.
 a manufacturer controls the conductivity of a doped
semiconductor. The more impurity that is added, the greater
the conductivity. In this way, a semiconductor may be lightly
or heavily doped. A lightly doped semiconductor has a high
resistance, whereas a heavily doped semiconductor has a low
resistance.
 Majority and Minority Carriers
 most of the current carriers are electrons, silicon (or
germanium) doped with pentavalent atoms is an n-type
semiconductor (the n stands for the negative charge on an
electron). The electrons are called the majority carriers in
n-type material.
 there are also a few holes that are created when electron-hole
pairs are thermally generated, Holes in an n-type material are
called minority carriers
 P-Type Semiconductor
 When a small amount of trivalent impurity is added to a pure
semiconductor, it is called p-type semiconductor.
 The addition of trivalent impurity provides a large number of
holes in the semiconductor. Typical examples of trivalent
impurities are gallium and boron. Such impurities which
produce p-type semiconductor are known as acceptor
impurities because the holes created can accept the electrons.
 Majority and Minority Carriers
 Since most of the current carriers are holes, silicon (or
 germanium) doped with trivalent atoms is called a p-type
semiconductor. The holes are the majority carriers in p-type
material. Although the majority of current carriers in p-type
material are holes, there are also a few conduction-band
electrons that are created when electron-hole pairs are
thermally generated. These conduction-band electrons are
not produced by the addition of the trivalent impurity atoms.
Conduction-band electrons in p-type material are the
minority carriers.
 pn Junction
 If a piece of intrinsic silicon is doped so that part is n-type and
the other part is p-type, a pn junction forms
 Depletion layer
 the free electrons near the junction in the n region begin to
diffuse across the junction into the p region where they
combine with holes near the junction
 This creates a layer of positive charges (pentavalent ions) near
the junction.
 the p region loses holes as the electrons and holes combine
 a layer of negative charges (trivalent ions) near the junction.
 these two layers of positive and
negative charges form the
depletion region (or depletion layer).