Download Chapter 24: Electronics

CPO Science
Foundations of Physics
Unit 7, Chapter 24
Unit 7: Electricity and Magnetism
Chapter 24 Electricity and Magnetism
 24.1 Semiconductors
 24.2 Circuits with Diodes and Transistors
 24.3 Digital Electronics
Chapter 24 Objectives
1. Describe how a diode and transistor work in terms of
current and voltage.
2. Explain the difference between a p-type and an n-type
semiconductor.
3. Construct a half-wave rectifier circuit with a diode.
4. Construct a transistor switch.
5. Describe the relationship between inputs and outputs
of the four basic logic gates.
6. Construct an adding circuit with logic gates.
Chapter 24 Vocabulary Terms










forward bias
reverse bias
bias voltage
p-type
n-type
depletion region
hole
collector
emitter
base










conductivity
p-n junction
logic gate
rectifier
diode
transistor
amplifier
gain
analog
digital










AND
OR
NAND
NOR
binary
CPU
program
memory
bit
integrated circuit
24.1 Semiconductors
Key Question:
What are some useful
properties of
semiconductors?
*Students read Section 24.1
AFTER Investigation 24.1
24.1 Diodes
 A diode is a one-way valve for electric current.
 Diodes are a basic building block of all electronics
and are used to control the direction of current
flowing in circuits.
24.1 Diodes
 When a diode is connected in a circuit so current
flows through it, we say the diode is forward
biased.
 When the diode is reversed so it blocks the flow of
current, the diode is reverse biased.
24.1 Diodes
 In a forward-biased diode
the current stays at zero
until the voltage reaches
the bias voltage (Vb),
which is 0.6 V for
common silicon diodes.
 You can think of the bias
voltage as the amount of
energy difference it takes
to open the diode.
24.1 Transistors
 A transistor allows you to control the current, not just
block it in one direction.
 A good analogy for a transistor is a pipe with an
adjustable gate.
24.1 Transistors
 A transistor has three
terminals.
 The main path for
current is between the
collector and emitter.
 The base controls how
much current flows, just
like the gate controlled
the flow of water in the
pipe.
24.1 Transistors
 The current versus voltage
graph for a transistor is
more complicated than for a
simple resistor because
there are three variables.
 A transistor is very
sensitive; ten-millionths of
an amp makes a big
difference in the resistance
between the collector and
emitter.
24.1 Conductivity and semiconductors
 The relative ease at which electric current flows
through a material is known as conductivity.
 Conductors (like copper) have very high conductivity.
 Insulators (like rubber) have very low conductivity.
 The conductivity of a semiconductor depends on its
conditions.
 For example, at low temperatures and low voltages a
semiconductor acts like an insulator.
 When the temperature and/or the voltage is increased,
the conductivity increases and the material acts more
like a conductor.
24.1 Metals as conductors
 Metals are good
conductors because a
small percentage of
electrons are free to
separate from atoms
and move
independently.
24.1 Nonmetals as conductors
 In an insulator, the
electrons are tightly
bonded to atoms and
cannot move.
 Since the electrons
cannot move, they
cannot carry current.
24.1 Semiconductors
 The electrons in a
semiconductor are also
bound to atoms, but the
bonds are relatively
weak.
 The density of free
electrons is what
determines the
conductivity of a
semiconductor.
24.1 Semiconductors
 If there are many free electrons to carry
current, the semiconductor acts more like
a conductor.
 If there are few electrons, the
semiconductor acts like an insulator.
 Silicon is the most commonly used
semiconductor.
 Atoms of silicon have 14 electrons.
 Ten of the electrons are bound tightly
inside the atom.
 Four electrons are near the outside of the
atom and only loosely bound.
24.1 Changing conductivity
 Anything that changes the
number of free electrons has a
huge effect on conductivity in a
semiconductor.
 Adding a phosphorus impurity to
silicon increases the number of
electrons that can carry current.
 Silicon with a phosphorus
impurity makes an n-type
semiconductor with current of
negative charge.
24.1 Changing conductivity
 When a small amount of boron is mixed into silicon the
opposite effect happens.
 When an electron is taken by a boron atom, the silicon
atom is left with a positive charge and current is carried
as electrons move.
 Silicon with a boron impurity is a p-type semiconductor.
24.1 The p-n junction
 A p-n junction forms where p-type and n-type
semiconductor materials meet.
 The depletion region becomes an insulating barrier to
the flow of current because electrons and holes have
combined to make neutral silicon atoms.
24.1 The physics of diodes
 The depletion region of a p-n junction is what
gives diodes, transistors, and all other
semiconductors their useful properties.
24.1 The physics of diodes
 As the voltage increases, no current can flow
because it is blocked by a larger (insulating)
depletion region.
24.1 The physics of diodes
 If the opposite voltage is applied, both electrons and
holes are repelled toward the depletion region.
 As a result, the depletion region gets smaller.
 Once the depletion region is gone, electrons are free to
carry current across the junction and the semiconductor
becomes a conductor.
24.1 The physics of diodes
 In short, a p-n junction is a diode.
1. The p-n junction blocks the flow of current
from the n side to the p side.
2. The p-n junction allows current to flow from
the p side to the n side if the voltage
difference is more than 0.6 volts.
24.1 The physics of transistors
 A transistor is made from two
p-n junctions back to back.
 An npn transistor has a p-type
layer sandwiched between two
n-type layers.
 A pnp transistor is the inverse.
 An n-type semiconductor is
between two layers of p-type.
24.2 Circuits with diodes and transistors
 A diode can convert alternating current electricity to
direct current.
 When the AC cycle is positive, the voltage passes
through the diode because the diode is conducting and
has low resistance.
 A single diode is called a halfwave rectifier since it
converts half the AC cycle to DC.
24.2 Circuits with Diodes and
Transistors
 When 4 diodes are arranged in a circuit, the whole
AC cycle can be converted to DC and this is
called a full-wave rectifier.
24.2 AC into DC
 A bridge-rectifier circuit
uses the entire AC cycle
by inverting the negative
portions.
 This version of the fullwave rectifier circuit is in
nearly every AC adapter
you have ever used.
24.2 A transistor switch
 In many electronic circuits a small voltage or current is
used to switch a much larger voltage or current.
 Transistors work very well for this application because
they behave like switches that can be turned on and off
electronically instead of using manual or mechanical
action.
24.2 A transistor switch
 When the current into the base is zero, a transistor has a
resistance of 100,000 ohms or more.
 When a tiny current flows into the base, the resistance
drops to 10 ohms or less.
24.2 A transistor switch
 The resistance difference
between “on” and “off” for
a transistor switch is
good enough for many
useful circuits such as an
indicator light bulb in a
mechanical circuit.
24.2 A transistor amplifier
 One of the most important uses of a transistor is to
amplify a signal.
 In electronics, the word “amplify” means to make the
voltage or current of the input signal larger without
changing the shape of the signal.
24.2 A transistor amplifier
 In an amplifier circuit,
the transistor is not
switched fully “on” like
it is in a switching
circuit.
 Instead, the transistor
operates partially on
and its resistance varies
between a few hundred
ohms and about 10,000
ohms, depending on the
specific transistor.
24.2 Electronic Logic
 Logic circuits are designed to compare inputs and
produce specific output when all the input
conditions are met.
 Logic circuits assign voltages to the two logical
conditions of TRUE (T) and FALSE (F).
 For example, the circuit that starts your car only
works when a) the car is in park, b) the brake is
on, and c) the key is turned.
24.2 Electronic Logic
 There is one output which starts the car if TRUE and
does not start the car if FALSE.
24.2 A transistor
logic circuit
 The only way for the
output to be 3 V is
when all three
transistors are on,
which only happens if
all three inputs are
TRUE.
24.2 Circuits with Diodes and
Transistors
Key Question:
What are some useful properties of transistors?
*Students read Section 24.2 BEFORE Investigation 24.2
24.3 Digital Electronics
 A signal is anything that
carries information.
 Today the word signal
usually means a voltage,
current, or light wave that
carries information.
 A microphone converts the
variations in air pressure
from the sound wave into
variations in voltage in an
analog electrical signal.
24.3 Digital Electronics
 A digital signal can only be on or off.
 A digital signal is very different from an analog signal.
24.3 Digital Electronics
 Digital signals can send billions of ones and zeros
per second, carrying more information than
analog signals.
24.3 Digital Electronics
 Digital signals are also easier to store, process,
and reproduce than analog signals.
24.3 Digital Electronics
24.3 Computers
 A computer is an electronic
device for processing digital
information.
 All computers have three key
systems:
1. memory
2. central processing unit, or
cpu
3. input-output system or I/O
24.3 Computers
 Circuits called logic gates are the basic building
blocks of computers and almost all digital systems.
 The fundamental logic gates are called AND, OR,
NAND, and NOR.
24.3 Computers
 Logic gates are built from
many transistors in
integrated circuits,
commonly known as
“chips.”
 As their names imply,
these gates compare two
input voltages and
produce an output voltage
based on the inputs.
24.3 Computers
 This logic circuit
compares two four-bit
electronic numbers.
 The output of this circuit
will be four ones (3V on
each) only if the number
entered by the keyboard
exactly matches the
number in the computer’s
memory.
24.3 Digital Electronics
Key Question:
How do you construct
electronic logic
circuits?
*Students read Section 24.3 BEFORE Investigation 24.3
Application: Electronic Addition of
Two Numbers