P-n junction Definition and 59 Threads

For context, I have very little background knowledge of circuits. I'm reading about P-N junctions under forward and reverse bias, and I'm having a bit of trouble visualizing what's happening where the P side of the junction meets the circuit under forward bias. From what I understand, at the...

I don't understand why voltage increases with band gap. I understand why from the equations, but not conceptually. From my understanding, the onset voltage is what is needed to overcome the contact potential that forms when the p-type and n-type samples are joined together in a p-n junction. But...

does np=ni^2 holds even the space charge region of a pn junction diode?

My question for now is as follows: Why does a high doping concentration causes a decrease in the thickness of depletion region. Any help will be highly appreciated! Thanks a bunch Regards!

I'm new to semiconductors. While I was studying types of biasing in semiconductors, here's what I read - 'In forward biasing, the width of the depletion region is reduced.' Here's what I thought - Since the potential barrier is reduced in the junction due to external potential, the diffusion...

Homework Statement A p type semiconductor is brought into contact with an n type semiconductor to form p - n junction. Which statement is false? A. During forward bias condition, if applied p.d. overcomes the junction potential, electron will cross steadily from n - type side to p - type side...

Hello guys, I stumbled upon this problem while studying non uniformly distributed pn junctions and finding difficulty solving this. Any help will be greatly appreciated. A diffused silicon p-n junction has a linearly graded junction on the p side with a = 2 x10^19 cm-4, and a uniform doping of...

When a P-N junction is in reverse bias, the drift velocity of the system increases, so why is there no current flow? Is the drift velocity not connected to the current? Thanks in advance.

In Vol III, 14-4 and 14-5 of the Feynman Lectures (http://www.feynmanlectures.caltech.edu/III_14.html), Feynman gives a discussion of the p-n junction, in which he derives the diode characteristic equation via a nice, simple and convincing application of the Boltzmann distribution to the...

Often a band diagram is used to explain what happens when two pieces of the same semiconductor, one p-doped, one n-doped, are put together. I am a little confused about it, so here is my question. Initially and at ##0\mathrm{K}##, the surplus carriers should be confined to their respective...

Hi,how is the movement of the electrons in photovoltaic? I understand that there is n and p layer. What I do not understand is why the electrons does not move more directly to the p-side from the n-side. In the currect explanation it requires a circuitry. Thanx.

In an unbiased p-n junction, how does increase in doping affect the width of Depletion Region? I read somewhere that width decreases as increase in carrier concentration leads to more recombination of majority carriers with oppositely charged ions of their depletion regions leading to a...

Homework Statement In an abrupt p-n junction we consider the junction between one side p-doped with ##N_A## acceptor atoms and another side n-doped with ##N_D## donor atoms. Initially the chemical potential is different in the two sides, but thermal equilibrium requires that the chemical...

hi, I am looking a derivation of built in voltage, but the only thing I could find is a statement: built in voltage can be derived from band diagram with the Fermi energy constant throughout the device, or from equating the drift current through the junction equal to the diffusion current. I...

I am doing an experiment where we have to use the threshold voltage of LEDs to determine Planck's constant given the following relation $$ eV_0 = E_g = \frac{hc}{\lambda} $$ where ## V_0 ## is the threshold voltage, ## \lambda ## is the wavelength of emitted light and ## E_g ## is the band...

Hi Guys, i want to fabricate semiconductor p-type and n-type material and i want it to combine to make a p-n junction diode, but i don't know how to combine or merge the two, (my materials are thin films) I'm thinking to solder it but I'm afraid that it will break, or distort, or I'm thinking to...

Homework Statement An abrupt Si p-n junction of cross sectional area 10-4cm-2 has the following properties: p side: number densities of acceptor impurity atoms: NA = 1017cm-3 minority carrier lifetime: τn = 0.1 us hole mobility: μp = 200cm2/Vs electron mobility: μn = 700cm2/Vs n side...

I'm reading about short circuit current in a solar PV cell and I am a little confused. The short circuit current is defined as the current across the solar cell when there is zero potential difference across the cell. At this point the short circuit current is equal to the light current. What...

I understand the difference between p-type and n-type semiconductors but I just don't understand how adding a p-n junction to a circuit affects it. Can someone please explain how semiconductors work? For example, if I had a circuit with just a battery and a light bulb, what would change if I...

Hello Every body! As shown in below, If i join a heavily doped n+ semiconductor with an ordinary n-type semiconductor, What is the type of contact that forms between n+and n-type semiconductors ? is it Ohmic contact or rectifying contact ??

Hi, I had a question about p-n junctions. I've only recently started to learn these concepts so there may be flaws in my thinking (please feel free to correct me). What I'm understanding is that for a p-n junction to function properly and produce a current when connected with a load across the...

what happens to the minor charge carriers in p-n junction diode when forward biased?

If you wanted to separate the P and N type semi-conductive layers and place a diode (which contains a P-N junction) between them so that current would still travel in the correct direction, could you? I want to separate them so that I can insulate the N-type layer with a reflective metal. I just...

All the books that deal with the p-n junction under applied bias asume that the same equations used for the equilibrium case (no bias) can be used for the biased case provided that the juntcion voltage V_{ic} is substituted by V_{ic}-V, where V is the applied bias. Although this can seem...

Hi, I'm studying the p-n junction and I'm a little confused about the depletion layer that forms. I understand how electrons and holes diffuse across the junction, recombine and leave charged ions but what I don't understand is why the ions remain fixed around the junction. Surely the...

Hello! I was just having a hard time understanding how reverse bias works for a p-n junction. Put simply, why don't electrons just diffuse back into the n-type semiconductor during reverse bias, thus generating current? I was thinking maybe it's got something to do with energy levels, but I'm...

Hi, Could anyone explain how the affect that P-N junction depth has on the performance of a semiconductor device? Are there any devices which would benefit from having a much larger junction depth?

Hi, I'm trying to recreate some formulae of my professor's but I'm hitting a dead end. Starting with the following equation for the electron carrier density in the conduction band of a semiconductor: n = N_c exp(\frac{-(E_c - E_f)}{kt}) N_c is just a constant, E_f is the electron...

Hello all, I'm reading about rectification in a p-n junction. My book says there are two types of current for a p-n junction not in equilibrium: Generation current, and Recombination Current. Generation current Seems simple enough, but I don't get something about Recombination current. They...

Hello. I have a question regarding the p-n junction. When I look at figure B here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P-n_junction it looks completely wrong to me. Take the E-field. It is going to be positive outside the depletion region, which in turn will make the voltage tend towards zero...

Hi, Iam having a hard time understanding the benefits of using a semiconductor to construct e.g. a photodiode that creates a current in proportion of the energy deposited by radiation. Text books says that semiconductor is preferred as detectors due to high density (larger chance for...

Hi, I have a quick question. When constructing a semiconductor diode, the P-N junction is used to create a depletion region (depleted of mobile majority carriers) which is the active volume of the diode/detector. The region enables an electric current generated from the incomming radiation to...

We have been looking at P-N junction diodes in our lab session this week and investigating the current through the circuit and how this relates to the Voltage. We are using the approximation: I = (I0)*exp(qV/kT) We measured the voltage and the current for a few different voltages and this...

Homework Statement The forward bias current I in the diode described (silicon p-n junction) varies as a function of the voltage V and temperature T described by the formula I = I_s*|e^[(|e|*V]/[n*k_b*T]) - 1| where |e| is the fundamental charge, k_b is the Boltzmann constant, I_s is the...

why the potential of n side is higher than that of the p side when no battery is connected to the p-n junction?

Hello everyone. I have a couple of questions about the depletion region in the p-n junction 1) Why don't the negative ions on p-side of the depletion region donate their respective extra electrons to the positive ions on the n-side of the region so they can both be happy (This sounds kind of...

Homework Statement Hello PF, this is my first post (however I lurked here a few times). This comes from a lab I recently did. In this lab, we measure the current and voltage at a fixed temperature, in order to make an I(V) graph of a diode. Then, from this data and equation (1), we managed...

Hi, on re-visiting some basic ideas about PN junctions, I found I am confused with the depletion region diagram: I understand that the depletion region originated from the diffusion current at the local contact of the p and n type material, the electrons diffuse from the n type to p type...

Hi the first step to this is usually described as diffusion of electrons from the n type to the p type. However I have encountered sites and books that state that holes diffuse from p type to n type as well. I am of the opinion that only the electrons diffuse, and that there is no diffusion of...

I've been reading various explanations for a number of hours, and I'm still completely confused. I'll refer to an explanation from Wikipedia, but do point me to a better one if you know one. What does the depletion zone have to do with current flow? Looking at Figure A (see link above), there...

When electrons from N region diffuse to P region, the electrons combine with holes to form a -ve negative ion leaving behind a +ve ion in P region.So, my doubt is how the holes accept the electrons and get a negative charge because as the holes are positively charged, when they accept the...

Hello, A depletion region forms instantaneously across a P-N junction. When N-doped and P-doped pieces of semiconductor are placed together to form a junction, electrons migrate into the P-side and holes migrate into the N-side. As such, in the depletion region, the P-side becomes negatively...

Homework Statement A p+-n junction with the n-side donor concentration of 1016cm-3. If ni = 1010cm-3, the relative dielectric constant er = 12, Dn = 50cm2/s, Dp = 20cm2/s, tn = 100ns, tp = 50ns. Calculate the hole diffusion current density 2mm from the depletion edge on the n-side under a...

Q:-Find the current through the resistance R in the figure:- , if the value of R is:- a.12Ω b.48Ω. Assume resistance offered by diode is 0 in forward bias and ∞ in reverse bias. Homework Equations Ohms Law:- V=RiThe Attempt at a Solution I tried using kirchhoffs law but we don't know its in...

For p-n junctions (connected as a junction rectifier), the forward-bias connection (battery's positive terminal connected at the p side) results in a narrowed depletion zone, because: the p side becomes more positive and the n side becomes more negative, thus decreasing the height of the...

Given this picture, the circuit is put in reverse bias. Therefore the electrons are flowing INTO the p-type junction. - As electrons flow into the p-type material the depletion zone is raised as the p-side is made more negative. A picture from hyperphyics.phy-astr.gsu.edu illustrates this...

Greetings, I've just learned some of the basics about thermoelectrics, and I often come across a diagram that confuses me (see the third and fourth figures in the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermoelectric_effect#Charge-carrier_diffusion"). All of the literature I've read refers to the top...

Show how two P-N junction diodes can be used in conjunction with a transformer that has two secondary windings, to form a full-wave rectifier. (Draw a circuit diagram including connections to the mains transformer). Explain the operation of your circuit using sketches of waveforms. (3 marks)...

hi everyone, i have discussed this problem with some other people but couldn't understand it well because of my own limited knowledge and understanding of such things. then i sent an email to my very dear teacher and a friend. email copy and my teacher's reply is below. now the problem is i...

I am studying to become and electrical engineer and am currently taking Electronics I. I am having trouble understanding the change in the depletion region that results from a bias. I understand that at the time of manufacture the free electrons from the n-type semiconductor are attracted to the...