Tunnel diodes

&
Varactor Diodes
Muhammad Umer Tahir 16F9102
Muhammad Zain Bashir 16F9119
Imran Yusaf 16F9119
 What are tunnel diodes ?
The tunnel diode is a form of very fast semiconductor
diode that will operate into a microwave frequency
region.
Is a two terminal device.
Switching in 1 nano second.
Tunnel diode is also known as Esaki diode after the name
of Leo Esaki for his work on this effect.

Nobel Prize in Physics in 1973

 Tunnel diode structure Basics

Why very fast semiconductor diode ?

Because n-type and p-type material are highly doped
Level of impurities added are very large in case of tunnel
diode
The concentration of dopants in both p and n region is
very high. It is about 1024 - 1025 m-3 the p-n junction.
 Tunnel diode structure Basics

The width of depletion region is very small in case of

tunnel diodes as shown below.

The width of the depletion

region of the tunnel diode is
from 50-150 Angstrom
1 Angstrom = 10^-10 meters
 Symbols

TUNNEL DIODES CIRCUIT SYMBOL

 Tunnel Diode theory basics

The characteristic curve for a tunnel diode shows an area

of negative resistance

Ipe = peak current

Iv = valley current
Vpe =peak voltage
Vv = valley voltage

Tunnel Diode I-V characteristic

 I-V Characteristics

In the current voltage characteristics of tunnel diodes, we

can find a negative slope region when forward biased.
Quantum mechanical tunneling is responsible for this
phenomenon.
 Condition for Quantum mechanical
tunneling
Electron should be on the same site as that of the holes on
the other side of the junction.
There should be high potential to suck electrons across
the junction
 Forward bias operation

Under normal forward bias operation, as voltage begins to

increase, electrons at first tunnel through the very narrow
pn junction barrier and fill electron states in the
conduction band on the n-side which become aligned with
empty valence band hole states on the p-side of the p-n
junction. As voltage increases further, these states become
increasingly misaligned and the current drops. This is
called negative resistance because current decreases with
increasing voltage. As voltage increases yet further, the
diode begins to operate as a normal diode
 Reverse bias operation

When used in the reverse direction, tunnel diodes are

called back diodes (or backward diodes) and can act as
fast rectifiers with zero offset voltage.
 Applications of tunnel diode

Tunnel diode is a type of Si diode which is capable of

very fast switching and operates in microwave frequency
range. It is ideal for fast oscillators.
It cannot be used in large integrated circuits thats why
its applications are limited.
Oscillator circuits
Used in microwave circuits
Amplifiers
VARACTOR DIODES
 Varactor Diodes

A varactor diode is a P-N junction diode that changes its

capacitance and the series resistance as the bias applied to
the diode is varied.
It is also a semiconductor microwave solid state device,
which is frequently used in applications, where variable
capacitance is desired which can be achieved by
controlling voltage.
It is also named as variable reactor or variable capacitor.
 Symbols

Varactor Diode Circuit Symbol

 Basic operation

Operates in reverse bias and this gives rise to three

regions. At either end of the diode are the p-n regions.
However, around the junction is the depletion region
where no current carriers are available. As a result current
can be carried in the p-n regions, but the depletion region
is an insulator.
Same as capacitor construction. It has conductive plates
separated by an insulating dielectric.
Capacitor behaviour
Basic Operation
C-V & I-V Characteristics
 Applications

Variable reactor in microwave circuits.

It is used in variable resonant tank LC circuit. Here C part
is varied using varactor diode.
AFC (Automatic Frequency Control) where in varactor
diode is used to set LO signal.
Varactor is used as frequency modulator in Radios and
Television sets.
It is used as frequency multiplier in microwave receiver
LO.
It is used as RF phase shifter.
 Characteristics

Low-noise characteristic : produce much less noise than

most conventional amplifiers.

Low cost

High reliability

Light weight

Small size