Reverse Biased Capacitance

The charge at the p-n junction, qj, changes with applied voltage The depletion region is sort of like a parallel plate capacitor

dq j C j = -------dV anode

+++++++ +++++++ +++++++ +++++++ +++++++ +++++++

_ + _ + _ + _ + _ +
-V

Vo+V

+ cathode

Because the depletion region changes with applied voltage, (roughly

speaking) the distance between +q and -q changes, hence capacitance changes

Does Cj increase or decrease with negative applied voltage?

Lecture 10-1

Reverse Biased Capacitance

How can we tell from this voltage vs. charge plot that the capacitance is a

nonlinear function of the applied voltage?

dq j C j = -------dV

qj

at some voltage bias point

V
What does this capacitance represent?

Lecture 10-2

Depletion Capacitance Often called Junction Capacitance

Vo is the built-in voltage

K C j = ----------------------------m (V o V D)

Applied only for negative external voltage, VD. K is a constant that is a function of the Si

doping, etc.
m is a constant that depends on how the

junction was formed (how the impurities were added) --- varies between 1/3 and 1/2 for Si diodes

Lecture 10-3

Positive Applied Voltage

A positive external voltage will reduce the barrier and allow more carriers to

diffuse
The depletion region width is also reduced

anode

+++++++ +++++++ +++++++ +++++++ +++++++ +++++++

_ + _ + _ + _ + _ +

Vo-V

+ cathode

0 < V < Vo

I = ID - IS
Now the diffusion current dominates the drift current

Lecture 10-4

Positive Applied Voltage

With a lower potential barrier, more free carriers are able to diffuse

anode

+++++++ +++++++ +++++++ +++++++ +++++++ +++++++ I

_ + _ + _ + _ + _ +

Vo-V

+ cathode

0 < V < Vo

excess carriers

npo pno

equilibrium value

Lecture 10-5

+ Positive Applied Voltage - p n diode

The lower doped region is sometimes called the base. For the asymmetrical doping of p and n regions the minority carrier

concentrations in both regions differ. The excess carrier concentrations will differ as well.

pn >> np

Why?

p+

n pn
pno

np

npo

equilibrium value

Lecture 10-6

Positive Applied Voltage

At steady state for V>0, the excess carrier distributions correspond to

diffusion currents that comprise the external diode current, I

Excess carriers decay exponentially with distance (due to recombination),

therefore the minority carrier distributions are exponential

The minority carrier injection at the edge of the depletion region increases

exponentially with increasing voltage

minority hole concentration

The total excess charge, Qp,

pn(0) e

is directly proportional to ev because it varies exponentially with distance

Ip pno
equilibrium value

Lecture 10-7

Forward Bias - Recombination Current

Diffusion current within the neutral region is bigger closer to the depletion layer

where the gradient is bigger. What about current continuity?

The charge transport through the forward biased diode can be attributed to acts of

recombination!
Minority holes injected into the n region attract electrons from the contact. The

electron-hole pairs diffuse according to the hole gradient until the pair recombines. In equilibrium, each time such a recombination occurs, a new hole is injected. Thus, the each act of recombination corresponds to an act of transport of an elementary charge. Similar thing happens at the p side of the junction... (at low current levels,
recombination in the depletion region is also an important mechanism contributing to the overall current).

recombination electron current

J current density

J Total current density

depletion region

hole current

metal contact
X

+ + + + + + xn

xn

Lecture 10-8

Reverse Bias - Generation Current

Diffusion current within the neutral region is bigger closer to the depletion

layer where the gradient is bigger.

In equilibrium, each time generation occurs, a new electron-hole pair starts

diffusing towards the depletion region. At xn, the pair is separated: hole is swept through the depletion layer and electron goes to contact of n region. Thus, each act of generation corresponds to an act of transport of an elementary charge. Similar thing happens at the p side of the junction...
(generation in the depletion region is also an important mechanism contributing to the overall current in Si diodes, especially for large reverse bias voltage, when the depletion layer is wide).

The charge transport through the reverse biased diode can be attributed to acts

of generation! The explanation based on the drift current (given earlier) is still valid: generated holes and electrons drift through the depletion layer.
J minority hole concentration

Here: pn < 0
Ip pn(0) e
v

pno xn

equilibrium value

+ + + + + + xn

Lecture 10-9

Positive Applied Voltage

The minority carrier charges have an average lifetime of , before they

recombine What is the rate at which charge must be owing in from the external circuit to replenish the lost charge?

p(0) e

Qp Ip

pno
What does this charge ow represent?

equilibrium value

Lecture 10-10

Diffusion Capacitance
The change in this charge with change in voltage represents the diffusion

capacitance
By denition

pn(0) e

v + dv v

dQ C = -----dV

pn(0) e

pno

equilibrium value

Since Q is directly proportional to IA, the current at operating point A, then

dI A C -------dV
And since I is an exponential function of voltage

C IA
Diffusion Capacitance (nonlinear function of voltage):

Cd = kcI A
Lecture 10-11

Positive Applied Voltage

From

Ie

One can derive the complete expression for the steady state diode current:
T 1 i = I Se IS is saturation current (component due to drift) which depends on area of the junction and temperature --- why?

v nV

IS is on the order of 10-15Amps for ICs, but doubles with every 5 C increase

in temperature
n varies between 1 and 2, and depends on how the junction is formed VT is the thermal voltage, KT/q 19 23 j

q 1.602 10

K 1.38 10

-----K

At room temperature, 20C, VT = 25.2mV

Lecture 10-12

Positive Applied Voltage

Does the equation agree with the physical explanation when v=0 and v<<0?

i = I Se

v nV T

Whats the expression look like for v >> VT?

Lecture 10-13

Positive Applied Voltage

Since the current varies exponentially with voltage, the look of the curve as

compared to an ideal curve depends very much on the range over which the plot is made
One might say that the turn-on voltage is 0.7 volts in this plot, but this really

depends on how you view the current scale

Note that Vo is NOT the turn-on voltage

Vo=Vj=1.0v
0.0 30
ID1 >>>>>> MA

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

0.7

0.8

mA 20

VD 5V

D0 Custom

10

0 ID

Lecture 10-14

Positive Applied Voltage

On a semi-log scale, it is easy to see that an order of magnitude change in

current corresponds to ~60mV (n=1) change in voltage at room temperature I 1 = I Se I 2 = I Se

V 1 nV T V 2 nV T
1e-4 I [A]

I 2 I 2 - = 2.3 nV T log ---- V 2 V 1 = nV T ln ---I I 1 1

1e-5

1e-6

1e-7 500 LOG(I)

520

540

560

580

600 V [mV]

Lecture 10-15

Variation with Temperature

The diode characteristic varies with temperature since IS and VT vary with T The change in voltage is approximately 2mV for every 1 C increase

I [A] 1e-4

1e-5

30 C 25 C 20 C

1e-6

1e-7 500 LOG(ID2)

520

540 LOG(ID1)

560

580

600 V [mV] LOG(ID3)

Lecture 10-16

Variation with Temperature

The change in voltage is approximately 2mV for every 1 C increase

Linear Scale for ID

700 2 mA

2 mV C
710 720 mV

30 C
1

25 C 20 C

0 ID1 ID2 ID3

Lecture 10-17

Complete Characteristic
The reverse current is approximately, IS, but it can be much larger than this

value as V becomes more negative

-5 0.2 A

-4

-3

-2

-1

0.1

0.0

-0.1 ID1

Lecture 10-18

Reverse Characteristic
A plot of the reverse characteristic only shows the increase in saturation

current with reverse bias

-5 0 pA

-4

-3

-2

-1

-1

-2

-3

-4

-5

-6 ID1

The SPICE model we use is linear for this portion of characteristics.

Lecture 10-19

Breakdown Characteristic
A plot of the reverse characteristic including breakdown

-7 0.0 PA

-6

-5

-4

-3

-2

-1

-0.1

-0.2 ID1

Lecture 10-20

Diode Circuits
Solving for the loop current requires solving a nonlinear equation in the

circuit below
Superimpose Thevenin characteristic on diode i-v curve

id R VS Vs vd Vs R

------

Lecture 10-21

Diode Circuits in SPICE

SPICE solves these circuit problems via Newton-Raphson iteration

id

------

Vs R

Vs initial guess for diode voltage

vd

Lecture 10-22

Simplied Diode Models

For hand calculations we generally use a simplied diode model A two-piece piecewise-linear model is the most obvious choice

R VS

id

V D0

vd

What are the equations for this straight-line characteristic?

Lecture 10-23

Simplied Diode Models

What does the diode equivalent circuit model look like?

id
slope = 1/rD

V D0

vd

Lecture 10-24

Even Simpler Model

To further simplify a hand analysis, we generally rely on the following model:

id

VD0

ON

V D0

vd

OFF

The value of VD0, the on-voltage, is based on the current level for which

one would consider the diode to be on ---- typically ~ 0.7 volts

Lecture 10-25

Example
Solve for the current, I, and the voltage, V, in the circuit below:

VCC R + V _

Lecture 10-26

Small Signal Diode Model

For analog design were often interested in the small signal response Especially for transistor circuits, we will bias a nonlinear circuit to a dc

operating point, then model it as linear for the small ac analog signals
Model the diode as a single piecewise linear segment that passes through the

bias point

R vs(t)
+

id

vd(t) _ ID

VS

VD

vd

Lecture 10-27

Small Signal Diode Model

With a piecewise linear tangential approximation passing through the bias

point, the model represents the exact dc solution

If the ac signal is small, we can assume that the diode variation in current due

to a small variation in voltage follows the piecewise linear approximation id

slope=1/rd ID

VD

vd

Lecture 10-28

Small Signal Diode Model

This approximation, if valid, allows us to analyze the ac and dc responses

separately R vs(t)
+

vd(t) _

VS

Lecture 10-29

Small Signal Diode Model

R vs(t)
+

vd(t) _

VS

Lecture 10-30