Download Section B The Semiconductor Diode (Sections 3.2 through 3.8 of your text)

Section B
The Semiconductor Diode
(Sections 3.2 through 3.8 of your text)
Section B1: Introduction & Goals
From your previous studies in circuit analysis, you are familiar with the most
basic linear element – the resistor (remember Ohm’s Law, V=IR?). This tells
us that there is (ideally) a constant (linear) relationship between voltage and
current for a given resistance, as illustrated in Figure 3.13 of your text.
What we are going to look at, and become familiar with, in this section is the
simplest of nonlinear devices – the diode. The diode, along with all other
semiconductor devices, is dependent on the properties, characteristics and
behaviors of materials as described in the previous section.
The objectives of this section are to:
¾ introduce the semiconductor diode in terms of previously defined material
properties and characteristics;
¾ develop the relationship between the current through a diode and the
voltage measured across its terminals;
¾ present the modifications to ideal diode behaviors required for practical
devices and the equivalent circuit models for each level of abstraction;
¾ develop the concepts of rectification, clipping and clamping, and develop
and analyze common diode circuits;
¾ introduce the properties, characteristics, common circuits and behaviors
of the Zener diode; and
¾ work a BUNCH of problems!