Crystal diode and its basic application

1)Application Example 1: Semiconductor Converter Technology

Converter technology is a technology of power conversion. Generally speaking, "conversion"
means "AC to DC, and DC to AC." For example, common chargers use AC to DC converter
technology.

Application Example 3: Bidirectional Power Electronic Switch

The bidirectional power electronic switch application circuit is shown in Figure 5-5. In a
chopped AC voltage regulator circuit, the power electronic switch must meet the following
requirements: the switch is fully controlled, and can be controlled to be turned on or off, so it
must be fully controlled. Type device. Power electronic switches must be bidirectionally
conductive, so a single device cannot meet the requirements, and multiple devices must be
combined. The switching frequency is high, generally above 90kHz.

Only one controllable element is used, and four diodes are used to form a bridge connection
at the same time, so that the collector of the transistor always flows regardless of the
direction of the external circuit current.
2) What is a Rectifier?
Bridge rectifier selection depends on load requirements and apart from this some more
consideration are component ratings, breakdown voltage, forward current rating, transient
current rating, temperature ranges, mounting requirements, etc. We can connect the diodes in
different configurations for obtaining different types of rectifiers.

Types of Rectifiers
Rectifiers are classified into a variety of configurations as shown in below figure. Depends on
factors like type of supply, bridge configuration, control nature, components used, etc these
rectifiers are classified. Majorly rectifiers are classified into single phase and three phase rectifier
and these are further classified into uncontrolled, half controlled and full controlled rectifiers. Let
us see in brief about some of these types of rectifiers.

Types of Rectifiers

Single Phase Uncontrolled Rectifiers

This type of rectifiers uses the uncontrolled diode for rectifying the input AC supply. At the
output terminals of this rectifier, power becomes constant and changes of its magnitude or value
depend on load requirement is not possible.

Half Wave Rectifier

It is a simple type of rectifier made with single diode which is connected in series with load. For
small power levels this type of rectifier circuit is commonly used.
Full Wave Center-tapped Rectifier

This type of rectifier uses two diodes and a transformer with center tapped secondary winding.
During the positive half cycle of the input AC diode D1 is forward biased and the current starts
flowing to the load through it. During the negative half of the input diode D2 forward biased and
D1 becomes reverse biased. Load current start flowing through D2 during this negative peak.
Note that the current flow through load has not changed even when the voltage polarity changed.

Full Wave Bridge Rectifier

Using the same secondary voltage, this bridge rectifier can produce almost double the output
voltage as compared with full wave center-tapped transformer rectifier. During the positive half
of the input AC diodes D1 and D2 are forward biased and D3 and D4 are reverse biased. Thus
load current flows through D1 and D2 diodes. During the negative half cycle of the input diodes
D3&D4 are forward biased and D1&D2 are reverse biased. Therefore load current flows through
D3&D4 diodes.

Single Phase Half Controlled Rectifiers

The circuit of single phase half controlled rectifier is shown below where it uses two diodes and
two thyristors which are connected across the load. Each leg consists of one thruster and one
diode and for every conduction, two leg components are responsible. However thyristors T1 and
T3 or diodes D2 and D4 cannot conduct simultaneously .

During the positive half cycle of the input, T1 and D2 are forward biased. When T1 is fired, then
the load current flows through T1 and D2. If the voltage passes through negative going zero
crossing of the input voltage, D4 comes into conduction by commutating D2 and then the load
voltage becomes zero.

Single Phase Fully Controlled Rectifier

This type of power electronics based rectifier circuit is most popular one and widely used in
controlling speed of the DC motors. This circuit is obtained by replacing all the diodes used in
uncontrolled or half controlled rectifiers with thyristors as shown in figure. From the circuit, we
can observe that one thyristor from a top group (T1, T3) and one thyristor from the bottom group
(T2, T4) must conduct for load current flow. However T1T3 or T2T4 cannot conduct
simultaneously.

Full Controlled Rectifier Waveforms

These are the few types of rectifiers used frequently for several  applications including all
electronic and electrical projects.  This article discussed only single phase rectifier for easier
understanding and not to make this document as complex one. We hope that readers might have
got a better answer for the question what is a rectifier and its types. Any further queries regarding
this topic or practical guidance of building electronic projects you can comment below.

3) Zener Diode Regulator

Resistor, RS is connected in series with the zener diode to limit the current flow through the
diode with the voltage source, VS being connected across the combination. The stabilised output
voltage Vout is taken from across the zener diode.

The zener diode is connected with its cathode terminal connected to the positive rail of the DC
supply so it is reverse biased and will be operating in its breakdown condition. Resistor RS is
selected so to limit the maximum current flowing in the circuit.

With no load connected to the circuit, the load current will be zero, ( IL = 0 ), and all the circuit
current passes through the zener diode which in turn dissipates its maximum power. Also a small
value of the series resistor RS will result in a greater diode current when the load resistance RL is
connected and large as this will increase the power dissipation requirement of the diode so care
must be taken when selecting the appropriate value of series resistance so that the zener’s
maximum power rating is not exceeded under this no-load or high-impedance condition.

The load is connected in parallel with the zener diode, so the voltage across RL is always the

The zener voltage regulator consists of a current limiting resistor RS connected in series with the
input voltage VS with the zener diode connected in parallel with the load RL in this reverse biased
condition. The stabilised output voltage is always selected to be the same as the breakdown
voltage VZ of the diode.

Zener Diode Example No1

A 5.0V stabilised power supply is required to be produced from a 12V DC power supply input
source. The maximum power rating PZ of the zener diode is 2W. Using the zener regulator circuit
above calculate:

a). The maximum current flowing through the zener diode.

4) Wonders of LED:

A Light Emitting Diode (LED) is one of the latest inventions and is extensively used these days.
From your cell phone to the large advertising display boards, the wide range of applications of
these magical light bulbs can be witnessed almost everywhere. Today their popularity and
applications are increasing rapidly due to some remarkable properties they have. Specifically,
LEDs are very small in size and consume very little power.

Working Principle: 
A light-emitting diode is a two-lead semiconductor light source. It is a p–n junction diode that
emits light when activated. When a suitable voltage is applied to the leads, electrons are able to
recombine with electron holes within the device, releasing energy in the form of photons. This
effect is called electroluminescence, and the color of the light (corresponding to the energy of the
photon) is determined by the energy band gap of the semiconductor.

Working in a nutshell:
 The material used in LEDs is basically aluminum-gallium-arsenide (AlGaAs). In its
original state, the atoms of this material are strongly bonded. Without free electrons,
conduction of electricity becomes impossible here.
 By adding an impurity, which is known as doping, extra atoms are introduced, effectively
disturbing the balance of the material.
  These impurities in the form of additional atoms are able either to provide free electrons
(N-type) into the system or suck out some of the already existing electrons from the
atoms (P-Type) creating “holes” in the atomic orbits. In both ways the material is
rendered more conductive. Thus in the influence of an electric current in N-type of
material, the electrons are able to travel from anode (positive) to the cathode (negative)
and vice versa in the P-type of material. Due to the virtue of the semiconductor property,
current will never travel in opposite directions in the respective cases.
 From the above explanation, it’s clear that the intensity of light emitted from a source
(LED in this case) will depend on the energy level of the emitted photons which in turn
will depend on the energy released by the electrons jumping in between the atomic orbits
of the semiconductor material.
 We know that to make an electron shoot from lower orbital to higher orbital its energy
level is required to be lifted. Conversely, if the electrons are made to fall from the higher
to the lower orbitals, logically energy should be released in the process.
 In LEDs, the above phenomena is well exploited. In response to the P-type of doping,
electrons in LEDs move by falling from the higher orbitals to the lower ones releasing
energy in the form of photons i.e. light. The farther these orbitals are apart from each
other, the greater the intensity of the emitted light.

LED connect resistor-Limiting current into an LED is very important. An LED

behaves very differently to a resistor in circuit. Resistors behave linearly according to Ohm's
law: V = IR. For example, increase the voltage across a resistor, the current will increase
proportionally, as long as the resistor's value stays the same. Simple enough. LEDs do not
behave in this way. They behave as a diode with a characteristic I-V curve that is different than a
resistor.

For example, there is a specification for diodes called the characteristic (or recommended)
forward voltage (usually between 1.5-4V for LEDs). You must reach the characteristic forward
voltage to turn 'on' the diode or LED, but as you exceed the characteristic forward voltage, the
LED's resistance quickly drops off. Therefore, the LED will begin to draw a bunch of current
and in some cases, burn out. A resistor is used in series with the LED to keep the current at a
specific level called the characteristic (or recommended) forward current.
5) Characteristics of Tunnel Diode
When reverse bias is applied the Fermi level of the p-side becomes higher than the Fermi level of
n-side. Hence, the tunneling of electrons from the balance band of p-side to the conduction band
of n-side takes place. With the interments of the reverse bias the tunnel current also increases.

When forward bias is applied the Fermi level of n-side becomes higher that the Fermi level of p-
side, thus the tunneling of electrons from the n-side to p-side takes place. The amount of the
tunnel current is very large than the normal junction current. When the forward bias is increased,
the tunnel current is increased up to certain limit.

When the band edge of n-side is the same as the Fermi level in p-side, the tunnel current is
maximum with the further increment in the forward bias the tunnel current decreases and we get
the desired negative conduction region. When the forward bias is raised further, normal pn
junction current is obtained which is exponentially proportional to the applied voltage. The V-I
characteristics of the tunnel diode is given,

The negative resistance is used to achieve oscillation and often Ck+ function is of very high
frequency frequencies.

Tunnel Diode Symbol

The symbol for a tunnel diode is shown below.
6)
Varactor diode applications
Varactor diodes are widely used within many RF designs. They provide a method of varying the
capacitance within a circuit by the application of a control voltage. This gives them an almost
unique capability and as a result varactor diodes are widely used within the RF industry.

Although varactor diodes or varicap diodes can be used many different circuits, they find uses in
two main areas:

 Voltage controlled oscillators, VCOs:   Voltage controlled oscillators are used in many
different RF designs. One major area is for the oscillator within phased locked loops. In
turn these can be used as FM demodulators or within frequency synthesizers. The
varactor diode is a key component within the voltage controlled oscillator.
 RF filters:   Using varactor diodes makes it possible to tune filters. Tracking filters may
be needed in receiver front end circuits where they enable the filters to track the incoming
received signal frequency. Again this can be controlled using a control voltage. Typically
this might be provided under microprocessor control via a digital to analogue converter.
 Frequency & phase modulators:   Varactor diodes can be used in frequency and phase
modulators. In frequency modulators they can be placed across the resonant element
within the generator and the audio applied to the diode. In this way its capacitance will
vary in line with the audio, causing the signal frequency to shift up and down in line with
the capacitance variations, and hence in line with the audio.

For phase modulation, the fixed frequency signal can be passed through a phase shift
network, and the diode incorporated int his. Again, audio is applied to the diode and this
causes the phase to shift in line with the audio variations.

Operation of a variable capacitor

They key to understanding how a varactor or varicap diode works is to look at what a capacitor is
and what can change the capacitance. As can be seen from the diagram below, a capacitor
consists of two plates with an insulating dielectric between them.

. . . the capacitance and the amount of charge that can be stored depends on the
area of the plates and the distance between them . . . .

The capacitance of the capacitor is dependent upon the area of the plates - the larger the area the
greater the capacitance, and also the distance between them - the greater the distance the smaller
the level of capacitance.

A reverse biased diode has no current flowing between the P-type area and the N-type area. The
N-type region and the P-type regions can conduct electricity, and can be considered to be the two
plates, and the region between them - the depletion region is the insulating dielectric. This is
exactly the same as the capacitor above.

As with any diode, if the reverse bias is changed so does the size of the depletion region. If the
reverse voltage on the varactor or varicap diode is increased, the depletion region of the diode
increases and if the reverse voltage on varactor diode is decreased the depletion region narrows.
Therefore by changing the reverse bias on the diode it is possible to change the capacitance.