Topic No: 1

Tunnel Diode:
A tunnel diode is a high conductivity two terminal P-N Junction diode
doped heavily about 1000 times higher than a conventional junction
diode. It is also called as Esaki. The tunnel diode is a two terminal device
with p type semiconductor acting as anode and n type semiconductor as
cathode. The circuit symbol of tunnel diode is shown.

Tunnelling Behaviour:
According to classical mechanics theory, a particle must have an energy
at least equal to the height of a potential-energy barrier if it has to move
from one side of the barrier to the other. In other words, energy has to be
supplied from some external source so that the electrons on N side of
junction climb over the junction barrier to reach the P-side. However if the
barrier is thin such as in tunnel diode ,the Schrodinger equation(Quantum
Mechanics) indicates that there is a large probability that an electron will
penetrate through the barrier. This will happen without any loss of energy
on the part of electron. This quantum mechanical behavior is referred to
as tunneling and the high-impurity P-N junction devices are called tunneldiodes.
Operation and VI Characteristics :
The operation of the tunnel diode mainly includes two biasing methods
such as forward and reverse

Forward Bias:

Under the forward bias condition, as voltage increases, then current

decreases and thus become increasingly misaligned, known as negative
resistance. An increase in voltage will lead to operate as a normal diode
where the conduction of electrons travels across the P-N junction diode.
The negative resistance region is the most important operating region for
a Tunnel diode. The Tunnel diode and normal P-N junction diode
characteristics are different from each other. In forward bias, it act as
normal diode working after more voltage is applied.

Reverse Bias:

At reverse bias, the electrons tunnel from the valence band in the p-type
material to the conduction band in the n-type material, and the level of
the current increase monotonically. In reverse bias, it act as Zenor diode.
Applications:
1.
2.
3.
4.

High speed switch

Memory device for logical circuits
In RF, as oscillators and amplifiers
Satellite

Benefits:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Low cost
Light weight
High speed
Low power
Low noise

Topic No: 2
Gun Diode:
Gunn diode is a passive semiconductor device with two terminals, which
composes of only an n-doped semiconductor material, unlike other diodes
which consist of a p-n junction. Gunn diodes can be made from the
materials which consist of multiple, initially-empty, closely-spaced energy
valleys in their conduction band like Gallium Arsenide (GaAs), Indium
Phosphide (InP), Gallium Nitride (GaN), Cadmium Telluride (CdTe),
Cadmium Sulfide (CdS), Indium Arsenide (InAs), Indium Antimonide (InSb)
and Zinc Selenide (ZnSe). General manufacturing procedure involves
growing an epitaxial layer on a degenerate n+ substrate to form three ntype semiconductor layers (Figure 1a), where-in the extreme layers are
heavily doped when compared to the middle, active layer. Further the
metal contacts are provided at either ends of the Gunn diode to facilitate
biasing. The circuit symbol for Gunn diode is as shown by Figure 1b and
differs from that normal diode so as to indicate the absence of p-n
junction.

Working:
On applying a DC voltage across the terminals of the Gunn diode, an
electric field is developed across its layers, most of which appears across
the central active region. At initial stages, the conduction increases due to
the movement of electrons from the valence band into the lower valley of
the conduction band. The associated V-I plot is shown by the curve in the
Region 1 (colored in pink) of Figure 2.
However, after reaching a certain threshold value (V th), the conduction
current through the Gunn diode decreases as shown by the curve in the
Region 2 (colored in blue) of the figure. This is because, at higher voltages
the electrons in the lower valley of the conduction band move into its
higher valley where their mobility decreases due to an increase in their
effective mass. The reduction in mobility decreases the conductivity which
leads to a decrease in the current flowing through the diode. As a result
the diode is said to exhibit negative resistance region (region spanning
from Peak point to Valley Point) in the V-I characteristic curve. This effect
is called transferred electron effect and thus the Gunn diodes are also
called Transferred Electron Devices.

Gun Effect:
In some materials (III-V compounds such as GaAs and InP), after an
electric field in the material reaches a threshold level, the mobility of
electrons decrease as the electric field is increased, thereby producing
negative resistance. A two-terminal device made from such a material can
produce microwave oscillations, the frequency of which is primarily
determined by the characteristics of the specimen of the material and not
by any external circuit. This effect is called Gun effect.

Explanation:
Further it is to be noted that the transferred electron effect is also called
Gunn effect and is named after John Battiscombe Gunn (J. B. Gunn) after
his discovery in 1963 which showed that one could generate microwaves
by applying a steady voltage across a chip of n-type GaAs semiconductor.
However it is important to note that the material used to manufacture
Gunn diodes should necessarily be of n-type as the transferred electron
effect holds good only for electrons and not for holes. Moreover as the
GaAs is a poor conductor, Gunn diodes generate excessive heat and thus
are usually provided with a heat sink. In addition, at microwave
frequencies, a current pulse travels across the active region which is
initiated at a particular voltage value. This movement of current pulse
across the active region reduces the potential gradient across it, which in
turn avoids the formation of further current pulses. The next current pulse
can be generated only when the pulse previously generated reaches the
far-end of the active region, increasing the potential gradient once again.
This indicates that the time taken by the current pulse to traverse across
the active region decides the rate at which the current pulses are
generated and thus fixes the operational frequency of the Gunn diode.
Thus in order to vary the oscillation frequency, one has to vary the
thickness of the central active region. Further it is to be noted that the
nature of negative resistance exhibited by the Gunn diode enables it to
work as both amplifier and oscillator.
Applications:

Gunn didoe is used as low and medium power oscillators in

microwave instruments and receiver circuits.
As pump sources in parametric amplifiers.
Used in police radars and also in CW doppler radars.

Topic No: 3
Pin Diode