NETTUR TECHNICAL TRAINING FOUNDATION

BASIC ELECTRICAL & ELECTRONICS

SUBJECT CODE: CP00 01 05

COMMON MASTER FILE

FOR
DIPLOMA IN COMPUTER ENGINEERING & CLOUD COMPUTING
DIPLOMA IN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY & DATA ANALYTICS

Prepared by: Mrs. Rekha K

Approved by: Mr. Jagadeesh G K

Rev No: 0

:
Detailed Syllabus:
Chapter 1: Atomic Structure and Introduction to electron current 5 Hrs
1.1 Atom - Electron orbit & Energy levels 1
Concept of electric friction (resistance), current and voltage with
1
1.2 definition(s) Unit
1.3 Ohms Law 1
a) Temperature effect on resistance ( b) Ideal Vg source and current
1
1.4 source
1.5 Power, Energy, and energy in Kilo watt hour i.e., Unit with examples 1

Chapter 2: Resistors and Kirchoff’s law 4 Hrs

2.1 Resistance in series, Resistance in Parallel and related problems 1
2.2 Open circuit and short circuits 1
2.3 Kirchoff‘s voltage law with problems 1
2.4 Kirchoff‘s current law with problems 1

Chapter 3: Capacitors 3 Hrs

3.1 Capacitance of a Capacitor 0.5
3.2 Principle of Capacitance 0.5
Di-electric strength , effect of dielectric material on capacitance of a
1
3.3 capacitor and types
3.4 Capacitors in series and Parallel Combination 1

Chapter 4: Fundamentals of AC 2 Hrs

4.1 Different Waveforms, cycle, frequency, Time period 1
Instantaneous value, rms value, peak value, peak to peak value,
1
4.2 amplitude

5 Hrs
Chapter 5: Basic Semiconductor and P.N. junction Theory

5.1 Energy bands in conductors, semiconductors and insulators 1

5.2 Conduction in conductors and semiconductors 1

5.3 P-Type & N-type Semiconductor 1

PN junction –Unbiased and biased PN junction Forward Biasing
2
5.4 and Reverse Biasing,
Chapter 6: Semiconductor Diodes ,Zener Diodes and LED 7 Hrs
6.1 Introduction to P.N.-junction diodes 1
6.2 Diode characteristics & Description of diode equation 1
6.3 Zener diodes characteristics & parameters 1
Light emitting diodes, its working principle characteristics &
1
6.4 Application
6.5 Half wave rectifier 1
6.6 Full wave rectifier 1
6.7 Full wave bridge rectifier 1

Chapter 7: Digital Basics 9 Hrs

7.1 Introduction to digital system 0.5
7.2 Difference between digital and analog signals 0.5
7.3 Number system –different types 0.5
7.4 Conversion of Decimal to Binary and vice versa 2
7.5 Conversion of Decimal to hexa decimal and vice versa, 2
7.6 Conversion of binary to hexa decimal and vice versa 1
7.7 Binary coded decimal,ASCII,EBCDIC 1
7.8 Complement arithmetic [1‘s, 2‘s] 0.5
7.9 Binary addition 1

Chapter 8: Logic Gates 5 Hrs

8.1 Introduction of logic gates 1
8.2 Inverter - OR - AND - NOR – NAND symbol and truth table 2
8.3 XOR - XNOR gates 1
8.4 Construction of logic circuits using gates 1
 UNIT 1
ATOMIC STRUCTURE AND INTRODUCTION TO ELECTRON CURRENT
History & development of electronics
Electronics is the study of flow of electrons in various materials or space.
In the past, electronics dealt with the study of Vacuum Tubes. Today it deals
with flow of electrons in semiconductors. The main focus of electronics is the
controlled flow of electrons through a medium. By controlling the flow of
electrons, we can make them perform special tasks, such as power an induction
motor or heat a resistive coil.
Every day we are dealing with the electronic circuits and devices in some
or the other forms. Gadgets, home appliances, computers, transport systems,
cell phones, cameras, TV, etc. all have electronic components and devices in
them. Today‘s world of electronics has application in several areas, such as
healthcare, medical diagnosis, automobiles, industries, electronics projects etc.
and convinced everyone that without electronics, it is really impossible to work.

1st Generation

Electronics‘ history began with the invention of vacuum

diode by J.A. Fleming, in 1897. After that, a vacuum triode was
implemented by Lee De Forest to amplify electrical signals. This
led to the introduction of tetrode and pentode tubes that
dominated the world until the World War II.

2nd Generation

3rd Generation
Subsequently, the transistor era began with the junction transistor invention
in 1948. The use of germanium and silicon semiconductor materials made theses
transistor gain popularity in different electronic circuits.

Integrated circuits (ICs)

In the subsequent years the invention of the
integrated circuits (ICs) drastically changed the
electronic circuits. The entire electronic circuit got
integrated on a single chip, which resulted in low: cost,
size and weight electronic devices. The years 1958 to
1975 marked the introduction of IC with enlarged
capabilities with over several thousand components
on a single chip.
 Small Scale Integrated Circuits (SSI): Less than 100 Transistors per
Integrated Circuit or chip Medium Scale Integrated Circuits (MSI): 100 to 1000
Transistors per Integrated Circuit or chip.

4th Generation

The trend further carried forward with the JFETS and MOSFETs that were
developed during 1951 to 1958 by improving the device designing process and by
making more reliable and powerful transistors.

These ICs were developed with Transistor-

transistor logic (TTL), integrated injection logic (I2L)
and emitter coupled logic (ECL) technologies. Later
these digital ICs employed PMOS, NMOS, and CMOS
fabrication design technologies. Large Scale Integrated
Circuits (LSI): 1000 to 10000 Transistors per
Integrated Circuit or chip. Very Large Scale Integrated
Circuits (VLSI): 10000 to 1 million Transistors per
Integrated Circuit or chip.

5th Generation

All these changes led to the introduction of

microprocessor by Intel. Then analog integrated circuits
were developed that introduced an operational amplifier for
an analog signal processing. These analog circuits include
analog multipliers, ADC and DAC converters and analog
filters. Ultra Large Scale Integrated Circuits (ULSI): over 1
million Transistors per Integrated Circuit or Chip

1.1 Atom - Electron orbit & Energy levels

Electrons cannot be at any arbitrary distance from the nucleus; they can exist only in certain
specific locations called allowed orbits. This property, first explained by Danish physicist Niels Bohr
in 1913, is another result of quantum mechanics—specifically, the requirement that the angular
momentum of an electron in orbit, like everything else in the quantum world, come in discrete
bundles called quanta.
 All the material in nature are composed of very small particles called atoms. Atoms
are the building blocks of all matter. An atom consists of central nucleus of positive
charge around which small negatively charged particles called electrons revolve in
different paths.

Nucleus is the central part of an atom and it consists of protons and neutrons. A proton is
a positively charged particle and neutron has no charge.

Due to this relatively large mass the proton does not play an active part in electrical
current flow. It is the behaviour of the electrons that is more important. Electrons are
negatively charged. The unit of charge is coulomb (C). Since charge is considered as the
quantity of electricity it is given the symbol (Q).

The electrons revolve around the nucleus in circular paths called orbits or shells.
The orbits are named K, L, M and N respectively. Every orbit has fixed number of
electrons in them. The number of electrons in any orbit is given by 2n2, where ‗n‘ is the
orbit number. The charge of an electron and a proton are equal but have opposite
polarity. A charge of an electron is 1.6 * 10-19 coloumbs.

The number of electrons or protons in an atom is known as atomic number.

The outermost orbit of an atom is called valence shell and the electrons in this
shell are called valence electrons. The valence electrons will have the maximum
energy whereas the electron in the first orbit (inner most) will have the least energy.
Since the valence electron has more energy, there is a tendency for that electron to
leave the orbit and becomes free. When the electron leaves the atom the atom will
become more positive. The atom will be then be called an (+ve) ion.

As more and more atoms lose the electrons, the density of free electrons
increase. The conductors (metals) like copper, aluminium have more free electrons.

To understand electronics, we need to understand electricity and what it is.

Basically, electricity is the flow of electrons due to a difference in electrical charge
between two points. This difference in charge is created due to a difference in electron
density. If we have
a point where the electron density is higher
than the electron density at another point, the
electrons in the area of higher density will tend
to balance the charge by migrating towards the
area with lower density. This migration is
referred to as electrical current. Thus, flow in an
electrical circuit is induced by putting more
electrons on one side of the circuit than the
other, forcing them to move through the circuit
to balance the charge density.
1.2 Concept of electric friction (resistance), current and voltage with definition(s) Unit

The electric potential at a point in space is the amount of electric potential energy
that a unit point charge would have when located at that point. The electric potential of
a point may also be defined as the work done in carrying a unit positive charge from
infinity to that point in space.

Voltage is defined as the measure of electric potential

difference between two points. One point has more charge
than another. This difference in charge between the two
points is called voltage. It is measured in volts, which,
technically, is the potential energy difference between two
points. Voltage is represented in equations and
schematics by the letter ―V‖.

When describing voltage, current, and resistance, a common analogy is a water

tank. In this analogy, charge is represented by amount of water, voltage is represented
by the water pressure and current is represented by the flo w of water.

 Water = Charge
 Pressure = Voltage
 Flow = Current

Consider a water tank at a certain height above the ground. At the

bottom of this tank there is a hose.

The pressure at the end of the hose represents voltage. The

water in the tank represents charge. More the water in the tank, higher
the charge, the more pressure is measured at the end of the hose.
We can think of this tank as a battery, a place where we store a certain amount of
energy and then release it. If we drain our tank a certain amount, the pressure created
at the end of the hose goes down. We can think of this as decreasing voltage, like when
a flash light gets dimmer as the batteries run down. There is also a decrease in the
amount of water that will flow through the hose. Less pressure means less water is
flowing, which brings us to current.
 We can think of the amount of water flowing through the hose from the tank as
current. Higher the pressure, more will be the flow and vice-versa. With water, we would
measure the volume of the water flowing through the hose over a certain period of time.
With electricity, we measure the amount of charge flowing through the circuit over a
period of time.

Electromotive Force (emf): Let us now relook at what voltage means. The random
movement of electrons within a material cannot be called as electrical current. This is
because it does not result in a drift in one particular direction. In order to cause the ‗free‘
electrons to drift in a given direction an electromotive force (voltage) must be applied.
Thus the emf is the ‗driving‘ force in an electrical circuit.

The symbol for emf is E and the unit of measurement is the volt (V). Typical
sources of emf are cells, batteries and generators. The amount of current that will flow
through a circuit is directly proportional to the size of the emf applied to it. The circuit
diagram symbols for a cell and a battery are as shown in Figs. Note that the positively
charged plate is indicated by a long line and negative plate indicated by short line.

Current

Current is defined as the flow of electrical charge from one point to another. The
current flows from higher voltage (potential) point to a lower voltage point. Current
exists between two points having potential difference, when connected by a wire. In
electric circuits this charge is often carried by moving electrons in a wire. Current is
represented by the symbol "I‖. It is measured by ammeter. The unit of current is
―Ampere― and is represented by symbol ―A―

The relationship between current, charge and time can be expressed as a mathematical
equation as follows
 Now let us see the relationship between voltage and current. To understand the
relation let us consider the water tank analogy explained above. The flow of water
depends on a third factor: width of the hose. In this analogy, the width of the hose is the
resistance. This means we need
to add another term to our model:

 Water = Charge (measured in Coulombs)

 Pressure = Voltage (measured in Volts)
 Flow = Current (measured in Amperes, or ―Amps‖ for short)
 Hose Width = Resistance

Consider two water tanks, one with a

narrow pipe and one with a wide pipe.
The volume of water flowing from a
narrow pipe will be less
than the water flowing from a wide pipe. This is resistance.
Both tanks have equal water level, yet the amount of flow of
water is different due to difference in width of pipe. The
narrow pipe ―resists‖ the flow of water through it more than
the wider pipe.
Resistance & Resistivity

The above mentioned water analogy

can be extended to the electrical circuit.
Resistance is the hindrance to the flow of
electrons in a material. While the potential
difference across the conductor encourages
the flow of electrons, resistance discourages it. The rate at which charge flows between two
terminals is a combination of these two factors.

This opposition to current flow is called resistance (R). It is the property of a

conductor that limits current. The unit of resistance is ohm (fi). The circuit with the
higher resistance will allow less charge to flow, meaning the circuit with higher
resistance has less current flowing through it.

Resistivity of a resistance is measured in terms of OHM. One Ohm is

defined as the resistance which will have a current of 1 Ampere flowing
through it when 1 volt is connected across it.

Resistivity (Ohm) is denoted by the Greek symbol fi.

The resistance in a circuit is represented using the symbol

The resistance of any material with the uniform cross-sectional area is

determined by the following four factors:
a. Material
b. Length
c. Cross Sectional Area
d. Temperature
 To understand these four factors let us look at the water flow through a pipe analogy
and compare it to the flow of electrons.

We can now relate the analogy and state the laws of resistance.

The laws can be mathematically written as:

Resistance a Length R a L

Resistanc 1 1
ea Ar ea RaA

L
We can combine the two and write R a A
L
R=q A

q is the resistivity of the material. Resistivity is the resistance of a material which is

having unit length and unit area.

11
 Types of resistors
The principal job of a resistor within an electrical or electronic circuit is to resist or
regulate the flow of electrons (current). Resistors can also be connected together in
various series and parallel combinations to form resistor networks which can act as
voltage droppers, voltage dividers or current limiters within a circuit.
Resistors are made in many forms but all belong to either of two groups.

a. Fixed resistor
b. Variable resistor
c. Surface mounted Resistor (SMD)

a. Fixed Resistor: The value (resistance) of the

resistor is fixed. Example: 1 Ohm, 5 Ohm, 1 K
Ohm etc

Symbol (fixed)

b. Variable Resistor: The value of

resistor can be varied using a
knob.

Symbol (variable)

c. Surface mounted resistors (SMD): SMD resistors are rectangular in shape. Chip
resistors have metallised areas at either end of the body and this enables them to
make contact with the printed circuit board through the solder. These are mounted and
soldered on the boards.

Types of fixed resistors

a. Carbon Composition Resistors:

These resistors are cylindrical rods which are a mixture of carbon granules and
powdered ceramic. Since the rod is coated with an insulated material, there are
chances of damage due to excessive heat caused by soldering.
b. Carbon film resistors:
This resistor is formed by depositing a carbon film layer on an insulating
material. Helical cuts are then made through the carbon film to trace a long and
helical resistive path.

c.Metal Film resistor:

These resistors are made from small rods of ceramic coated with metal (such as a
nickel alloy). The value of resistance is controlled by the thickness of the coating layer.

d. Wire wound resistor:

Another type of resistor, called a Wire
wound Resistor, is made by winding a thin metal
alloy wire (Nichrome) or similar wire onto an
insulating ceramic former in the form of a spiral
helix similar to the film resistor above.

Variable resistor:
Presets and potentiometers are commonly used types of
variable resistors. These are mostly used for voltage division and
setting the sensitivity of sensors. These have a sliding contact or
wiper which can be rotated with the help of a screw driver to
change the resistance value.

Color coding of fixed resistors.

Most of the resistors are too small in size to have numbers printed on them.
Therefore, a system of
color coding is used to indicate their values.
The resistance value may be indicated using 3 bands,
4 bands, 5 bands or 6 colour bands.
For the fixed molded composition resistor, four color
bands are printed on one end of the outer casing. The color
bands are always read left to right from the end that has the
bands closest to it. The first and Second bands are
representing the first and second significant digits,
respectively of the resistance value. The third band is for the number of zeros that
follow the second digit. In case the third band is gold or silver it represents a
multiplying factor of 0.1 or 0.01. The fourth band represents the manufacturer―
tolerance. If the fourth band is not present the tolerance is assumed to be
±20%. The numerical value associated with each color is indicated in the table.
 Example :

Coding of SMD Resistors

These tiny chips are marked with three (3) or four (4) digit
codes which is called S MD Resistor codes to indicate their
resistance values.

Reading 3-Digit SMD Resistor Codes (for SMD Resistors)

 The first, Two (2) digits indicate the significant numbers.
 The third one will be multiplier (Power of Ten i.e. 10^ something). This is multiplied
with first Two (2) digit number. The third one indicates how many Zeros should be add
to the first Two (2) digit number.
 The letter ―R‖ is used for Decimal Point ―.‖ i.e. 1.1 K = 1R1 K.
 Resistances below 10 ohms (K) do not have a multiplier.

Examples of 3-Digit SMD Resistor Codes

250 = 25 x 10 0 = 25 x 1 = 25 K (This is only and only 25fi not 250 fi)
100 = 10 x 10 0 = 10x 1 = 10 fi
721 = 72 x 10 1 = 72 x 10 = 720 K
102 = 10 × 102 =10 x 100 = 1000K or 1kK
915 = 91 x 10 5 = 91 x 100000 = 9,100,000 K = 9.1MK
4R7 = 4.7K
R12 = 0.12 K

Reading 4-Digit SMD Resistor Codes (for SMD Resistors)

The only difference is that with the significant numbers.
 The first, Three (3) digits indicate the significant numbers.
 The fourth one will be multiplier (Power of Ten i.e. 10^ something) and then must be
multiply by the first Three
(3) digit number. The fourth one will indicate how many Zeros should be add
to the first Three (2) digit number.
 The letter ―R‖ is used for Decimal Point ―.‖ i.e. 11.5 K = 11R5 K (4-digit SMD resistors
(E96 series)
 Resistances below 10 ohms (K) do not have a multiplier
 Examples of 4-Digit SMD Resistor Codes
2500 = 250 x 100 = 250 x 1 = 250 K (This is only and only 250fi not 2500 fi)
1000 = 100 x 10 0 = 100x 1 = 100 fi
7201 = 720 x 101 = 720 x 10 = 7200 K or 7.2kK
1001 = 100 × 10 1 =100 x 10 = 1000 K or 1kK
1004 = 100 × 10 4 =100 x 10000 = 1000,000 K or 1MK
R102 =0.102 fi (4-digit SMD resistors (E96 series)
0R10 =0.1 x 10 0 = 0.1 x 1 = 0.1 fi (4-digit SMD
resistors (E24 series) 25R5 = 25.5K (4 -digit SMD
resistors (E96 series))
 1 .3 Ohm’s law
Ohm's Law is the mathematical relationship between lectric
current, resistance, and voltage.
It state that the current (I) flowing in the circuit is directly
proportional to the applied Voltage (V) and is inversely
proportional to the resistance(R), provided the temperature
remains constant. Mathematical equation
V
that describes this
relationship: R
I=

V = IR or R = V/I.

16
 Q. A voltage source of 6.0V is connected to a purely resistive lamp and a current of
2.0 amperes flows. All the wires are resistance-free. What is the resistance of the lamp?
V=6V I=2A R=V/I
=6/2
R =3K

1.4 a) Temperature effect on resistance ( b) Ideal Vg source and current source

a) Temperature effect on resistance

The resistance of a conductor changes with the size of the conductor (e.g. thicker wires
have less resistance to current flow than thinner wires), the resistance of a conductor also changes
with changing temperature. This may be expected to happen because, as temperature changes,
the dimensions of the conductor will change as it expands or contracts.

However, materials that are classed as CONDUCTORS tend to INCREASE their resistance with an
increase in temperature. INSULATORS however are liable to DECREASE their resistance with an
increase in temperature. Materials used for practical insulators (glass, plastic etc.) o nly exhibit a
marked drop in their resistance at very high temperatures. They remain good insulators over all
temperatures they are likely to encounter in use.

In a material where the resistance INCREASES with an increase in temperature, the material is
said to have a POSITIVE TEMPERATURE COEFFICIENT.

When resistance FALLS with an increase in temperature, the material is said to have a NEGATIVE
TEMPERATURE COEFFICIENT.

In general, conductors have a POSITIVE temperature coefficient, whilst (at high temperatures)
insulators have a NEGATIVE temperature coefficient.

( b) Ideal Vg source and current source

A Source is a device which converts mechanical, chemical, thermal or some other form of
energy into electrical energy.

The various types of sources available in the electrical network are voltage source and
current sources. A voltage source has a forcing function of emf whereas the current source
has a forcing function of current.

An ideal voltage source is a two-terminal element with the property that the voltage across the
terminals is specified at every instant in time. This voltage does not depend on the current through
the source. That is, any current in any direction could possibly flow through the source.
 Voltage Source

A voltage source is a two-terminal device whose voltage at any instant of time is constant
and is independent of the current drawn from it. Such a voltage source is called an Ideal
Voltage Source and have zero internal resistance.

Symbol

Circuit diagram and characteristics

Sources having some amount of internal resistances are known as Practical Voltage
Source.

Due to this internal resistance; voltage drop takes place, and it causes the terminal voltage
to reduce.
 The smaller is the internal resistance (r) of a voltage source, the more closer it is to an Ideal
Source

An ideal current source is a current source that supplies constant current to a circuit
despite any other conditions present in the circuit. An ideal current source provides
this constant current with 100% efficiency.
The current sources are further categorised as Ideal and Practical current source.
An Ideal current source is a two-terminal circuit element which supplies the same current to
any load resistance connected across its terminals.It is important to keep in mind that the
current supplied by the current source is independent of the voltage of source terminals. It
has infinite resistance.

Why Does an Ideal Current Source Have Infinite Internal Resistance?

The reason why an ideal current source has infinite internal resistance will now be explained.

Before we do that, realize that the job of a power source, whether voltage or current, is to supply
power to a load in a circuit, so that a load can be turned on and, thus, operate. So, we want to
ideally supply 100% of the power from the power source to the load. This is power transfer. In order
to supply 100% of the power from the source to the load, we must allocate the resistances in the
circuit appropriately so that the load receives this power. This is called current division. Current
always takes the path of least resistance. Thus, in order for current to go to the path of least
resistance, we must set up the source and load so that the source has much higher resistance than
the load. This will ensure that the current travels from source to load. This is why we construct the
ideal current source to have infinite internal resistance. This will ensure that current will flow out of it
and take the path of least resistance, which will be the load, since the load will not have infinite
internal resistance.

When the current source has infinite internal resistance, the output current from the source will not
change despite changes in resistance value from the load. The current will always want to escape
out of its infinite resistance to a lower resistance. This produces a current output graph below of an
ideal current source:
Symbol

circuit diagram and characteristics

A practical current source is represented as an ideal current source connected with

the resistance in parallel.

1.5 Power, Energy, and energy in Kilo watt hour i.e., Unit with examples

Power is the rate at which energy is supplied (or energy per unit time). Power is measured
in watts. One watt is equal to one joule supplied per second.

Electric power is the rate, per unit time, at which electrical energy is transferred by an
electric circuit. Power is how fast energy is used or transferred. Power can be expressed in
 many different units, all of which can be expressed as a unit of energy divided by a unit of
time.

The most common unit is the watt (W). A kilowatt is equal to 1000 watts, so 1 kWh
represents the amount of energy transfer that occurs over one hour from a power output of
1000 watts (i.e., joules per second).

Energy is referred to as the ability to do work. Energy is measured in units called joules, J, or in
watt hours as shown below. One kilojoule, kJ is equal to a thousand joules, and one megajoule,
MJ, is equal to a million joules.

Watt hours (Wh), are a convenient way of measuring electrical energy. One watt hour is equal to
a constant one watt supply of power supplied over one hour (3600 seconds). If a bulb is rated at
40watts, in one hour it will use 40 Wh, and in 8 hours it will use 320 Wh of energy. Electric power
companies measure the amount of energy supplied to costumers in kilowatt hours, Wh (or
thousands of watt-hours, kWh). Note that one kilowatt hour (1kWh) is equal to 3.6 megajoules.

Difference between Power and Energy

Power is the capacity of energy, which is being used. While energy is 'joules', power is
'joules per second'.Power is 'watt' and Energy is 'watt-hour'. Energy can be stored whereas
power cannot be stored.

kilowatt hour

The kilowatt hour (symbolized kW⋅h as per SI) is a composite unit of energy equivalent to
one kilowatt (1 kW) of power sustained for one hour.
 UNIT 2
Resistors and Kirchoff’s law
2.1 Resistance in series, Resistance in Parallel and related problems

Resistors in series combination

The circuit in which resistances are connected end to end as shown in the figure.

There is only one path for the current to flow. Therefore the same amount of current
(I) flows through all the resistances (R1, R2, R3) connected in series.
Considering the water analogy, the pressure drops along the pipe. Similarly in the
circuit the voltage drops across every resistance.
If we say that V1, V2 and V3 are the voltage drops across the resistance R1, R2
and R3, then Total voltage V = V1 + V2 + V3.

If R is total resistance in the circuit, applying ohms law we get

IR = IR1 + IR2 + IR3 ------- Current I is same in all three resistances

R = R1 + R2 + R3

Here the total resistance is equal to sum of individual resistances

In a series circuit:
a. The current ' I ' is same in all parts of the circuit.
b. The sum of the voltage is V1, V2 and V3 is equal to the total applied voltage (V). ie;
V = V1 + V2 + V3

c. Total resistance is obtained by adding together the values of the separate resistances
R total=R1+R2+R3

Resistors in parallel combination

Resistors are said to be connected together in ―Parallel‖ when both of their

terminals are respectively connected to each terminal of the other resistor or resistors.
In a parallel resistor network the circuit current
can take more than one path as there are multiple
paths for the current.
Since there are multiple paths for the supply
current to flow through, the current may not be the
 same through all the branches in the parallel
network. However, the voltage drop across all of the
resistors in a parallel resistive network is the same.
Then, Resistors in Parallel have a Common
Voltage across them and this is true for all parallel
connected elements.
So we can define a parallel resistive circuit as one where the resistors are
connected to the same two points (or nodes) and is identified by the fact that it has more
than one current path connected to a common voltage source. Then in our parallel
resistor example the voltage across resistor R1 equals the voltage across resistor R2
which equals the voltage across R3 and which equals the supply voltage. Therefore, for
a parallel resistor network this is given as:

Assume total current drawn from source is IT. Let current flowing in each path be I1, I2 and
I3
Then IT = I1 + I2 + I3
Applying Ohms law I = V/R

In parallel connection
 Resistances 3fi and 6 fi are in parallel R

Resistances 8fi and 2fi are in series R= 8+2 = 10 fi

We learnt how to calculate single equivalent resistance, ( RT ) when two or more

resistors are connected together in either series, parallel or combinations of both, and that
these circuits obey Ohm‘s Law.

2.2 Open circuit and short circuits

Open circuit means the wires are cut off so there will be no current flow, but there is
voltage.

Closed circuit means the wires are connected so there will be flow of current, but there is no
voltage.

Short circuit also refers closed circuit.

An open circuit is a circuit where no current flows.Any circuit which does not have a return path
is an open circuit.For example,if you connect wire to the two ends of a battery with a bulb in
 between, it glows as current flows in the wire because it has a return path or closed path.But, if
you remove half part of the wire,then no current flows. Hence this becomes an open circuit.

However, a short circuit is a circuit where the resistance is very low i.e. extremely high current
flows.For example, if you connect the two ends of a battery directly by using a wire without any
other components(like resistors) in between then it can be called a short circuit.

A short circuit is a direct connection between two points in a circuit that aren‘t supposed to
be directly connected, such as the two terminals of a power supply. Electric current takes the
path of least resistance, so in a short circuit, the current will bypass other parallel paths and
travel through the direct connection.
 In complex circuits, we cannot simply use Ohm‘s Law alone to find the voltages
or currents circulating within the circuit. For these types of calculations we need certain
rules which allow us to obtain the circuit equations and for this we can use Kirchhoffs
Circuit Laws.
In 1845, a German physicist, Gustav Kirchhoff developed a pair of rules or laws. These
two rules are:
Kirchhoffs Current Law (KCL) which deals with current at a node.
Kirchhoffs Voltage Law, (KVL) which deals with total voltage in a closed loop.

2.3 Kirchoff’s voltage law with problems

Kirchoffs Voltage Law (KVL) states that “in any closed loop network, the total
which
voltage around the loop is equal to the sum of all the is equal
voltage to zero.within the
drops
same loop” ,

In other words the algebraic sum of all voltages within the loop must be equal to
zero.

Sign Convention

Positive voltage sign i.e. potential rise if current pass from negative terminal to
positive terminal of the element and negative sign i.e. voltage drop if current pass from
positive to negative terminal.

V1 – V2 – V3 + V4 = 0

V1 + V4 = V2 + V3

2.4 Kirchoff’s current law with problems

Kirchhoff’s Current Law (KCL) states that the “total

current entering a junction is exactly equal to the
current leaving the junction. No current is lost
within the junction“.
The total current entering a junction = total current leaving a junction

The algebraic sum of currents entering and leaving a node is zero.

Σ currents in - Σ currents out = 0

I1 +I2 = I3 +I4 +I5

Problems based on KVL and KCL

Find the current flowing in the 40fi Resistor, R3

The circuit has 3 branches: 2 nodes (A and B) and 2

independent loops. Using Kirchoffs Current Law, KCL the
equations are given as;
At node A : I1 + I2 =
I3 At node B : I3 =
I1 + I2

Using Kirchoffs Voltage Law, KVL the equations are

given as; Loop 1 is given as : 10V = R1 x I1 + R3
 x I3 = 10I1 + 40I3 Loop 2 is given as : 20V = R2 x
I2 + R3 x I3 = 20I2 + 40I3 Loop 3 is given as : 10V
– 20V = 10I1 – 20I2

As I3 is the sum of I1 + I2 we can rewrite the equations as;

Eq. No 1 : 10 = 10I1 + 40(I1 + I2 ) = 50I1 + 40I2
Eq. No 2 : 20 = 20I2 + 40(I1 + I2 ) = 40I1 + 60I2

We now have two ―Simultaneous Equations‖ that can be reduced to give us the values
of I1 and I2 Substitution of I1 in terms of I2 gives us the value of I1 as -0.143 Amps
Substitution of I2 in terms of I1 gives us the value of I2 as
+0.429 Amps As : I3 = I1 + I2
Current flowing in resistor R3 is given as : -0.143 + 0.429 =
0.286 Amps The voltage across the resistor R3 is given as:
0.286 x 40 = 11.44 volts
 The negative sign for I1 means that the direction of current flow initially chosen was
wrong. In fact, the 20v battery is charging the 10v battery.

Questions

1. What is current?
2. What do the terms ‗fixed resistor‘ and ‗variable resistor‘ mean?
3. Fixed resistor has --------- terminals and variable resistor has terminals.
4. If a current of 100μA flows for a time of 20s, determine the amount of charge
transferred.
5. A charge of 40mC is transferred between two points in a circuit in a time of 10ms.
Calculate the value of current flowing.
6. What is resistance? What is the unit and symbol of resistance?
7. State the laws of resistance.
8. The Electric Current in a circuit is due to the flow of:
a. Electrons b. ions c. atoms d. charged particles.
9. The prerequisites for the flow of current
are:
a. a voltage source , a resistor and a Switch.
b. a power source and a bulb.
c. a voltage source and a conductor.
d. a power source, a resistor and a switch.

10. Ohm‘s law is valid only if:

temperature is constant.
a.
current is proportional to the voltage.
b.
resistance is wire wound type.
c.
all of above.
d.
10. Four resistances 80 ohms, 50 ohms, 25 ohms and R are connected in parallel.
Current through 25 ohm resistance is 4 Amps. Total current from the supply is 10
Amps. The value of R will be:

11. A resistor's first three colour bands are brown, black, and red. What is its value?
12. A 47 Kohm resistor would have which colours on its first three bands?

13. Three resistors each of R ohms are connected to form a triangle. The
resistance between any two terminals will be .
14. A voltage source of 20V is connected to a purely resistive lamp and a current of
2 amperes flows. All the wires are resistance-free. What is the resistance of the
lamp?
15. On SMD resistors the following numbers are written. Write their corresponding
resistance values:
721, 4R7, R12, 100.
16. If the voltage across a fixed value of resistance is increased five times, what does the
current do?
a. It increases by a factor of five.
b. It decreases by a factor of five.
c. No change.
d. Not enough information.
 UNIT 3
CAPACITORS

3.1 Capacitance of a Capacitor

The capacitor is a component which has the ability or ―capacity‖ to store

energy in the form of an electrical charge producing a potential
difference (Static Voltage) across its plates, similar to a small
rechargeable battery. It is a passive two-terminal electrical component. The
capacitor was originally known as a condenser.
Capacitance is a measure of capacitor‘s ability to store charge.
It is measured in farad (F) and represented as ‗C‘.

3.2 Principle of Capacitance

In its basic form, a capacitor consists of two or more parallel conductive (metal)
plates which are not connected or touching each other. They are electrically separated
either by air or by some form of a good insulating material such as waxed paper, mica,
ceramic, plastic or some form of a liquid gel as used in electrolytic capacitors. The
insulating layer between a capacitors plates is commonly called the Dielectric.

Due to this insulating layer, Direct Current (DC)(constant current flowing in only
one direction) cannot flow through the capacitor as it blocks it. Instead capacitor gets
charged to a voltage across the plates in the form of an electrical charge.
When a capacitor is connected to an alternating current or AC circuit, the flow of
the current appears to pass straight through the capacitor with little or no resistance.
A capacitor offers low impedance (resistance) to AC, but very high impedance
(resistance) to DC.
Therefore capacitors are used
a. To couple alternating current from one circuit to another.
b. To block the DC current from reaching the next circuit.
 There are two types of electrical charge, positive charge in the form of Protons
and negative charge in the form of Electrons. When a DC voltage is placed across a
capacitor, the positive (+ve) charge quickly accumulates on one plate while a
corresponding and opposite negative (-ve) charge accumulates on the other plate. For
every particle of +ve charge that arrives at one plate a charge of the same sign will depart
from the -ve plate.

The flow of electrons onto the plates is known as the capacitors Charging Current
which continues to flow until the voltage across both plates (and hence the capacitor) is
equal to the applied voltage Vc. At this point the capacitor is said to be ―fully charged‖
with electrons.
The strength or rate of this charging current is at its maximum value when the
plates are fully discharged (initial condition) and slowly reduces in value to zero as the
plates charge up to a potential difference across the capacitors plates equal to the
source voltage.
By applying a voltage to a capacitor and measuring the charge on the plates, the
ratio of the charge Q to the voltage V will give the capacitance value of the capacitor
and is therefore given as:
C = Q/V
This equation can also be re-arranged to give the more familiar formula for the
quantity of charge on the plates as:
Q =C x V
Example
1. A 0.05 F capacitor has 15 V DC applied across its plates. What is its charge in
coulombs?

C = Q/V
=0.001 / 200
=5× 10 −6 F

The farad is an extremely large unit of capacitance. In practice, it is more convenient to use the small
unit of farad such as microfarad (µF), which is 1◆10-6, nano farad (nF) and picofarad (pF).
 Although we said that the charge is stored on the plates of a capacitor, it is more
correct to say that the energy within the charge is stored in an ―electrostatic field‖
between the two plates. When an electric current flows into the capacitor, charging it up,
the electrostatic field becomes stronger as it stores more energy.
Also, because capacitors store the energy of the electrons in the form of an
electrical charge on the plates the larger the plates and/or smaller their separation the
greater will be the charge that the capacitor holds for any given voltage across its plates.
In other words, larger plates, smaller distance, implies more capacitance.

3.3 Di-electric strength, effect of dielectric

material on capacitance of a capacitor and types
One of the principal factors affecting the
capacitance of a capacitor is the type of dielectric
material (insulator) used between the plates. These
insulators, are rated by their ability to produce
dielectric flux in terms of a parameter called
dielectric constant (k). Materials having a high
dielectric constant can create more capacitance than
ones with a low k for the same plate area and
separation.

MATERIAL DIELECTRIC
CONSTANT K
Air or Vacuum 1
Paper 2.0-6.0
Plastic 2.1-6.0
Mineral Oil 2.2-2.3
Polystyrene 2.6

Glass 4.8-8.0
Porcelain 5.1-5.9
Mica 5.4-8.7

The value of a capacitor (capacitance value) is measured in Farads. It depends on:

a. Surface area of the conductive plates. More the surface area, more is the
capacitance.
b. Distance of separation between the plates. Less the distance, more is the
capacitance.
c. The dielectric constant of the material between plates. More the dielectric
constant, more is the capacitance.
Note: Detailed explanation about permittivity and dielectric constant is beyond the scope of
this unit.
Types of Capacitors
1. Paper capacitor
Paper capacitors are made of paper or oil-
impregnated paper and aluminum foil layers rolled
into a cylinder and sealed with wax. These
capacitors are now replaced by the plastic or
polymer type of capacitors. The paper capacitors
are bulky, highly hygroscopic and soaks moisture
which causes loss to the dielectric, degrading its
overall performance.

2. Ceramic capacitor
Ceramic Capacitors or Disc Capacitors as they are generally
called, are made by coating two sides of a small porcelain or
ceramic disc with silver and are then stacked together to make a
capacitor. For very low capacitance values a single ceramic disc of
about 3-6mm is used. Ceramic capacitors have a high dielectric
constant (High-K) and are available so that relatively high
capacitance‘s can be obtained i n a small physical Size.

3. Mica capacitor
The mica capacitor uses mica as the dielectric medium. Mica is
inert in nature and hence the physical and chemical properties
do not change as it ages. It provides good temperature stability
and resistance to corona discharge i.e. electrical discharges
due to Ionization around conductor. However, the cost is very
high and due to improper sealing the capacitor is highly prone
to moisture which increases the power factor.

4. Plastic film capacitor

These use polystyrene, polycarbonate or Teflon as their
dielectrics are sometimes called ―Plastic capacitors‖. The
construction of plastic film capacitors is similar to that for
paper film capacitors but use a plastic film instead of paper.
The main advantage of plastic film capacitors compared to
paper types is that they operate well under conditions of
high temperature, have smaller tolerances, a very long
service life and high reliability.

5. Electrolytic capacitor
An electrolytic capacitor is a polarized capacitor whose positive plate
is made up of metal. The +ve and –ve terminals are marked on the
capacitor. The voltage on the positive terminal must always be greater
than the voltage on the negative terminal.
In the circuit the capacitors are represented using the following symbols:

3.4 Capacitors in series and Parallel

Combination

Capacitors are said to be connected together ―in parallel‖ when both of their
terminals are respectively connected to each terminal of the other capacitor or capacitors.

The voltage (Vc) connected across all the capacitors that are connected in parallel is
THE SAME. Then, Capacitors in Parallel have a ―common voltage‖ supply across
them giving:

VC1 = VC2 = V C3 = VAB = 12V

When capacitors are connected together in parallel the total or equivalent
capacitance, C T in the circuit is equal to the sum of all the individual capacitors added
together. This is because the top plate of capacitor, C1 is connected to the top plate of C2
which is connected to the top plate of C 3 and so on.
The same is also true of the capacitors bottom plates. Then it is the same as if the
three sets of plates were touching each other and equal to one large single plate thereby
increasing the effective plate area in m2 .
Since capacitance, C is more if surface area is more, the capacitance value of the
combination will also increase. Then the total capacitance value of the capacitors
connected together in parallel is actually calculated by adding the plate area together. In
other words, the total capacitance is equal to the sum of all the individual capacitances
in parallel.

Capacitor in Series
 Capacitors are said to be connected together ―in series‖ when they are effectively
"daisy chained" together in a single line.
For series connected capacitors, the charging current (IC) flowing through the
capacitors is THE SAME for all capacitors as it only has one path to follow.

Then, Capacitors in Series all have the same current flowing through them as IT = I1
= I2 = I3 etc. Therefore each capacitor will store the same amount of electrical charge, Q on
its plates regardless of its capacitance. This is because the charge stored by a plate of any
one capacitor must have come from the plate of its adjacent capacitor. Therefore,
capacitors connected together in series must have the same charge.
QT = Q1 = Q2 = Q3 ….etc
In the series circuit above the right hand plate of the first capacitor, C 1 is connected to
the left hand plate of the second capacitor, C 2 whose right hand plate is connected to the left
hand plate of the third capacitor, C3 . This series connection means that in a DC connected
circuit, capacitor C2 is effectively isolated from the circuit.
The result of this is that the effective plate area has decreased to the smallest
individual capacitance connected in the series chain. Therefore the voltage drop across
each capacitor will be different depending upon the values of the individual capacitances.

Since Q = CV and rearranging for V = Q/C, substituting Q/C for each

capacitor voltage VC in the above KVL equation will give us:
Example :

1. To calculate the total capacitance for these three capacitors in parallel.

CTotal = C1 + C2 + C3 = 10F + 22F + 47F

= 79F

2. To calculate the total capacitance for these two capacitors in series.

 UNIT 4
FUNDAMENTALS OF AC

4.1 Different Waveforms, cycle, frequency, Time period

Alternating Current or AC is defined as one that varies in both magnitude and direction
in more or less an even manner with respect to time making it a ―Bi-directional‖
waveform. The electric charge that periodically switches the direction back and forth is
known as Alternating current (AC)
An AC function can represent either a power source or a signal source with the
shape of an AC waveform .
Waveform: A waveform is the shape and form of a signal.
E.g.: sine, square, triangular

A Sine Wave Waveform

The term AC generally refers to a time-varying waveform

with the most common of all being called a Sinusoid better
known as a Sinusoidal Waveform. Sinusoidal waveforms are
more generally called by their short description as Sine Waves.
Sine waves are by far one of the most important types of AC
waveform used in electrical engineering.
 A Square Wave Waveform

A Rectangular Waveform

Continous Waveform terms and definition-Waveform, cycle, frequency, period

Cycle: It is the complete event starting with a rise from zero

energy to a maximum amplitude, its return to zero, the rise to
a maximum in the opposite direction, and then its return to
zero. Frequency: The number of cycles per second. Unit is
Hertz (Hz)

Period: The time taken to complete one cycle.

4.2 Instantaneous value, rms value, peak value, peak to peak value, amplitude

Instantaneous value: This is the value (voltage or

current) of a wave at any particular instant.

35
Peak value: The peak value of the wave is the highest value the wave reaches
above a reference value. The reference value normally used is zero. In a voltage
Waveform the peak value may be labeled V PK or V MAX (IPK or IMAX in a current
waveform).

Amplitude: Amplitude of a sine wave is the maximum vertical

distance reached, in either direction from the center line of the
wave. As a sine wave is symmetrical about its centre line, the
amplitude of the wave is half the peak to peak value.

Peak to peak value: The peak to peak value is the vertical

distance between the top and bottom of the wave. It will be
measured in volts on a
voltage waveform, and may be labelled V PP or VPK−PK . In a current waveform it
would be labelled IPP or IPK−PK

RMS value: The RMS or ROOT MEAN SQUARED VALUE is the value of the
equivalent direct (non-varying) voltage or current which would provide the same
energy to a circuit as the sine wave measured.
For example, a lamp connected to a 6V RMS AC supply will shine with the same
brightness when connected to a steady 6V DC supply.

For a sine wave, the rms value is 0.707 times the peak value

Frequency and Time period

Frequency (f): It is the number of times the

waveform repeats itself within a one second. Unit of
frequency is Hertz, (Hz).

The frequency of power supply in India is 50 Hertz.

Time Period (T): It is the length of time in seconds

that the waveform takes to repeat itself from start to
finish. This is also called as Periodic Time of the
waveform for sine waves and Pulse Width for
square waves.
Relation between Frequency and time period

Frequency is the reciprocal of the time period,

f = 1/T and T = 1/ f
 UNIT 5

Basic Semiconductor and P.N. junction Theory

5.1 Energy bands in conductors, semiconductors and insulators

Matter is anything that occupies the space and has a mass. On earth matter is
commonly found in three different states: solid, liquid, and gas.

Energy level Diagram, Importance of energy band in solids

Energy bands
In a single isolated atom, the electrons in each orbit have definite energy associated
with it. But in case of solids all the atoms are close to each other, so the energy levels of
outermost orbit electrons are affected by the neighbouring atoms.

When two single atoms are brought close to each other, then the outermost orbit
electrons of two atoms interact with each other. i.e, the electrons in the outermost orbit of
one atom experience an attractive force from the neighbouring atomic nucleus. Due to this
the energies of all the electrons will not be at the same level. The energy levels of electrons
change to a value which is higher or lower than that of the original energy level of the
electron.

The electrons in same orbit exhibit different energy levels. The grouping of this
different energy levels is called energy band.

There are number of energy bands in solids but three of them are very important.
These three energy bands are important to understand the behavior of solids. These energy
bands are
 Valence band
 Conduction band
 Forbidden band or forbidden gap

Within any material electrons exist in either Valence

band or conduction band. No electron exists in forbidden
band.

The range of energies possessed by valence electrons is

called valence band. The electrons present in the valence
band are loosely bound to the nucleus of atom.
The range of energies possessed by free electrons i s
called conduction band. Generally, the conduction band is
empty. When external energy
(voltage) is applied the electrons from the valence band jumps to the conduction band
and become free electrons. Electrons in the conduction band have higher energy tha n
the electrons in valence band.
The conduction band electrons are not bound to the nucleus of atom.
Valence band and conduction band are separated by an energy gap in which no
electrons normally exist. This gap is called forbidden gap.

Electrons in conduction band are free electrons. Thereby the electrons in

conduction band may be easily moved around within the material by applying relatively
small amount of energy (voltage).
Much larger amount of energy must be applied to extract an electron from the
valence band. Electrons in valence band are in the normal orbit around the nucleus. For
any given material, the forbidden gap may be large, small or non-existent.

Classification of solids on the basis of energy bands

Based on the width of the forbidden gap, materials are classified as conductors,
insulators and semiconductors.
Conductors
Conductors are those substances, which allow electric current to pass through them.
Example: Copper, Al, salt solutions, etc.
In terms of energy bands, conductors are those substances in which there
is no forbidden gap. Valence and conduction band are overlapped.
For this reason, very large number of electrons is available for conduction
even at extremely low energy. Thus, conduction is possible even by a very weak
electric field.

Insulators
Insulators are those substances, which do not allow electric current to pass through
them.
Example: Rubber, glass, wood etc.
In terms of energy bands, insulators are those substances in which the forbidden
gap is very
large.
Thus valence and conduction band are widely separated as shown in fig. Therefore
insulators do
not conduct electricity even with the application of a large electric field or by heating or at
very high temperatures.
Semiconductors
Semiconductors are those substances whose conductivity lies in between that of a
conductor and Insulator.
Example: Silicon, Germanium, Selenium etc.

In terms of energy bands, semiconductors are those substances in which the

forbidden gap is narrow.
Thus valence and conduction bands are moderately separated.
In semiconductors, the valence band is partially filled, the conduction band is
also partially filled, and the energy gap between conduction band and valence band is
narrow.
Therefore, comparatively smaller electric field is required to move the electrons from
valence band to conduction band. At low temperatures the valence band is completely
filled and conduction band is completely empty. Therefore, at very low temperature a
semi- conductor behaves as an insulator.

The semiconductors have 4 electrons in the outermost orbit. To be stable every atom
 tries to have 8 electrons in the outer most orbit. Therefore every atom shares its electron
with the neighbouring atom and attain stable structure.

5.2 Conduction in conductors and semiconductors

Conductors are generally substances which have the property to pass different types of
energy. In the following, the conductivity of electricity is the value of interest.

Metals

The conductivity of metals is based on the free electrons (so -called Fermi gas) due to the
metal bonding. Already with low energy electrons become sufficiently detached from the
atoms and a conductivity is achieved.

The conductivity depends, inter alia, on the temperature. If the temperature rises, the metal
atoms swing ever stronger, so that the electrons are constrained in their movements.
Consequence, the resistance increases. The best conductors, gold and silver, are used
relatively rare because of the high costs (gold e.g. for the contacting of the finished chips).
The alternatives in the semiconductor technology for the wiring of the individual
components of microchips are aluminum and copper.

Semiconductors

Semiconductors are solids whose conductivity lies between the conductivity of conductors and
insulators. Due to exchange of electrons - to achieve the noble gas configuration -
semiconductors arrange as lattice structure. Unlike metals, the conductivity increases with
increasing temperature.

Increasing temperatures leads to broken bonds and free electrons are generated. At the location
at which the electron was placed, a so-called defect electron ("hole") remains.

Temperature co-efficient and its classifications

The temperature coefficient is the relative change of resistance when the

temperature varies. It is of two types-positive temperature co-efficient and negative
temperature co-efficient

Positive temperature co-efficient

Resistance value increases as the temperature increases. E.g.: Conductor
 As the temperature increases the vibrations of the atoms of the conductor become
more vigorous. As a result resistance of the conductor increases. Hence they have
positive temperature coefficient of resistance.
Negative temperature co-efficient
Resistance value decreases as the temperature increases. E.g.: Semiconductor
In Semiconductors when temperature increases, more electrons jump to
conduction band from valance bond. Hence resistance decreases.
5.3 P-Type & N-type Semiconductor

Semiconductors are classified into two types

a. Intrinsic semiconductors
b. Extrinsic semiconductors

Intrinsic Semiconductor

A semiconductor in extremely pure form is known as Intrinsic Semiconductor .

Example: Silicon, germanium.

Both silicon and Germanium are tetravalent (having 4

valence electrons).
Each atom forms a covalent bond or electron pair bond
with the electrons of neighboring atom.
At low temperature, all the valence electrons are tightly
bound to the nucleus. Hence no free electrons are available
for conduction. The semiconductor therefore behaves as an
Insulator at absolute zero temperature.
 At Room temperature, some of the valence electrons gain enough thermal energy to
break up the covalent bonds. This breaking up of covalent bonds sets the electrons free
and is available for conduction.
When an electron escapes from a covalent bond
and becomes free electron a vacancy is created in a
covalent bond. Such a vacancy is called Hole. It
carries positive charge and moves under the influence
of an electric field in the direction of the electric field
applied.
Numbers of holes are equal to the number of
electrons since; a hole is nothing but an absence of
electrons.

Electron motion
Free electrons in the conduction band move under the influence of the applied
electric field (voltage). Since electrons have negative charge they are attracted towards
the positive terminal and are repelled by the negative terminal of the applied voltage.

Hole Transfer
Hole (absence of electron) transfer involves the movement of holes. Holes may be
thought of as positive charged particles. These being positive are attracted by the
negative terminal and are repelled by negative terminal of the applied voltage.

(a) Electrons move right in the conduction band (b) Hole m oves right in the
valence band as as electrons enter tube. electrons move left.

Doping

Drawbacks in Intrinsic Semiconductors

Intrinsic semiconductors are not suitable for the construction of devices due to the following
reasons
1. Current is controlled by temperature
In intrinsic semiconductors when electrons get thermal energy, electrons move
from valence band to conduction band. More the thermal energy, more will be the
number of electrons in the conduction band, and more will be the current. Hence, current
is controlled by temperature.
2. Current is very small
Intrinsic semiconductor can conduct only a small amount of current at normal
temperature. To increase the current the semiconductor should be constantly heated
which is not suitable. Hence for devices that require large amount of current,
semiconductors cannot be used.

3. Number of holes equal to number of electrons

For creation of any device, number of electrons should be greater than number of
holes or vice versa.
But in intrinsic semiconductors as both the number of holes and number of electron are
equal, so it is not used.

Due to the drawbacks of intrinsic semiconductors they cannot be used in devices. To

make intrinsic semiconductor useful doping of semiconductor is done.

Doping is mixing semiconductor with a CHOICED impurity in a MEASURED

quantity. In other words, the process of adding impurity to pure semiconductor is
called doping.

The product formed after doping is called doped semiconductors or extrinsic

semiconductors.

The purpose of adding impurity is to increase either the number of free electrons or
holes in the semiconductor crystal. It also eliminates all the drawback stated above.

If a pentavalent impurity (having 5 valence electrons) is added to the

semiconductor, large number of free electrons are produced in the semiconductor. Eg:
Phosphorus (P), Arsenic (As), or Antimony (Sb)

On the other hand, addition of trivalent impurity (having 3 valence electrons)

creates a large number of holes in the semiconductor. E.g.: Boron (B),
Gallium(Ga),Indium(In),Aluminum(Al)

Extrinsic semiconductor

When an impurity is added to an intrinsic semiconductor its conductivity changes.

This processof adding impurity to a semiconductor is called Doping and
the impure semiconductor is called Extrinsic semiconductor.
Depending on the type of impurity added, extrinsic semiconductors are further
classified as n-type and p-type semiconductor.

Extrinsic semiconductors-N-type

When a small amount of pentavalent (atom with 5 electrons in the outermost

orbit) impurity is added to a pure semiconductor it is called as n-type
semiconductor.
 Addition of pentavalent impurity provides a large number of free electrons in a
semiconductor crystal.
Typical examples for pentavalent impurities are Arsenic, Antimony and Phosphorus
etc. Such impurities which produce n-type semiconductors are known as Donor impurities
because they donate or provide free electrons to the semiconductor crystal.
To understand the formation of n-type semiconductor, consider a pure silicon
crystal with impurity say phosphorus added to it as shown in figure. We know that a
silicon atom has 4 valence electrons and phosphorus has 5 valence electrons. When
phosphorus is added as impurity to silicon, the 4 valence electrons of silicon make co-
valent bond with 4 valence electrons of phosphorus.

The 5th Valence electron finds no place in the covalent bond thus, it becomes free
and travels to the conduction band as shown in figure. Therefore, for each phosphorus
atom added, one free electron will be available in the silicon crystal. Though each
phosphorus atom provides one free electron yet an extremely small amount of arsenic
impurity provides enough atoms to supply millions of free electrons.

Due to thermal energy, still hole electron pairs as in pure semiconductor are
generated. But the number of free electrons are very large in number when compared to
holes, due to impurity added, so in an n-type semiconductor electrons are majority charge
carriers and holes are minority charge carriers. Since the current conduction is pre-
dominantly by free electrons (negatively charges), it is called as n-type semiconductor (n-
means negative).
Extrinsic Semicoonductor P-Type
When a small amount of trivalent (atom with 3 electrons in the outermost orbit)
impurity is added to a pure semiconductor it is called p-type semiconductor.

The addition of trivalent impurity provides large number of holes (absence of

electrons) in the semiconductor crystals.
Example: Gallium, Indium, Aluminum or Boron etc. Such impurities which produce p-
type semiconductors are known as acceptor impurities because the holes created can
accept the electrons in the semiconductor crystal.
To understand the formation of p-type semiconductor, consider a pure silicon
crystal with an impurity say Aluminum added to it as shown in figure. We know that silicon
atom has 4 valence electrons and Aluminum has 3 electrons. When Aluminum is
added as impurity to silicon, the 3 valence electrons of gallium make 3 covalent bonds with
3 valence Electrons of silicon.
The 4th valence electrons of silicon cannot make a covalent bond with that of
Aluminum because of short of one electron as shown above. This absence of electron
is called a hole. Therefore for each gallium atom added one hole is created, a small
amount of Aluminum provides millions of holes which is very large compared to the
number of electrons. Therefore, in a p-type semiconductor holes are majority carriers
and electrons are minority carriers. Since the current conduction is predominantly by hole
(positive charges) it is called as p-type semiconductor (p means positive)
 Majority and Minority carriers

An n-type material has its share of electron-hole pairs (released by breaking of

bonds at room temperature) and in addition has a much larger quantity of free electrons
due to the contribution by impurity atoms. These impurity caused free electrons are no t
associated with holes. Consequently an n-type material has a large number of free
electrons and small number of holes. These free electrons are considered as majority
carriers since the majority portion of current in n-type is by the flow of free electrons and
the holes are the minority carriers.

A p-type material has its share of electron-hole pairs (released by breaking of bonds
at room temperature) and in addition has a much larger quantity of holes due to the
contribution by impurity atoms. These impurity caused holes are not associated with free
electrons. Consequently a p-type material has a large number of holes and small number of
free electrons. These holes are considered as majority carriers since the majority portion
of current in p-type is by the flow of holes and the free electrons are the minority
carriers.
5.4 PN junction –Unbiased and biased PN junction Forward Biasing and Reverse
Biasing,
The newly doped N-type and P-type semiconductor materials do very little on their
own as they are electrically neutral. However, if we join (or fuse) these two semiconductor
materials together they behave in a very different way merging together and producing
what is generally known as a ―PN Junction―.

PN junctions are fabricated from a monocrystalline piece of semiconductor with both a P-type
and N-type region in proximity at a junction. The transfer of electrons from the N side of the
junction to holes annihilated on the P side of the junction produces a barrier voltage.
P N junction under Forward bias

In forward biased p-n junction diode, the positive terminal of the battery is connected to the
p-type semiconductor material and the negative terminal of the battery is connected to the
n-type semiconductor material.

Unbiased diode and forward biased diode

Under no voltage or unbiased condition, the p-n junction diode does not allow the electric
current. If the external forward voltage applied on the p-n junction diode is increased from
zero to 0.1 volts, the depletion region slightly decreases. Hence, very small electric current
flows in the p-n junction diode. However, this small electric current in the p-n junction diode
is considered as negligible. Hence, they not used for any practical applications.
 If the voltage applied on the p-n junction diode is further increased, then even more number of
free electrons and holes are generated in the p-n junction diode. This large number of free
electrons and holes further reduces the depletion region (positive and negative ions). Hence, the
electric current in the p-n junction diode increases. Thus, the depletion region of a p-n junction
diode decreases with increase in voltage. In other words, the electric current in the p-n junction
diode increases with the increase in voltage.

Electron and hole current

 Electron current

If the p-n junction diode is forward biased with approximately 0.7 Volts for silicon diode or 0.3 volts
for germanium diode, the p-n junction diode starts allowing the electric current. Under this
condition, the negative terminal of the battery supplies large number of free electrons to the n-type
semiconductor and attracts or accepts large number of holes from the p -type semiconductor. In
other words, the large number of free electrons begins their journey at the negative terminal
whereas the large number of holes finishes their journey at the negative terminal.
The free electrons, which begin their journey from the negative terminal, produce a large negative
electric field. The direction of this negative electric field is apposite to the direction of positive
electric field of depletion region (positive ions) near the p-n junction.

Due to the large number of free electrons at n-type semiconductor, they get repelled from each
other and try to move from higher concentration region (n-type semiconductor) to a lower
concentration region (p-type semiconductor). However, before crossing the depletion region, free
electrons finds the positive ions and fills the holes. The free electrons, which fills the holes in
positive ions becomes valence electrons. Thus, the free electrons are disappeared.

The positive ions, which gain the electrons, become neutral atoms. Thus, the depletion region
(positive electric field) at n-type semiconductor near the p-n junction decreases until it disappears.

The remaining free electrons will cross the depletion region and then enters into the p -
semiconductor. The free electrons, which cross the depletion region finds the large number of holes
or vacancies in the p-type semiconductor and fills them with electrons. The free electrons which
occupy the holes or vacancies will becomes valence electrons and then these electrons get
attracted towards the positive terminal of battery or terminates at the positive terminal of battery.
Thus, the negative charge carriers (free electrons) that are crossing the depletion region carry the
electric current from one point to another point in the p-n junction diode.

 Hole current

The positive terminal of the battery supplies large number of holes to the p-type semiconductor and
attracts or accepts large number of free electrons from the n-type semiconductor. In other words,
the large number of holes begins their journey at the positive terminal whereas the large number of
free electrons finishes their journey at the positive terminal.

The holes, which begin their journey from the positive terminal, produce a large positive electric
field at p-type semiconductor. The direction this positive electric field is opposite to the direction of
negative electric field of depletion region (negative ions) near the p-n junction.
Due to the large number of positive charge carriers (holes) at p-type semiconductor, they get
repelled from each other and try to move from higher concentration region (p-type semiconductor)
to a lower concentration region (n-type semiconductor). However, before crossing the depletion
region, some of the holes finds the negative ions and replaces the electrons position with holes.
Thus, the holes are disappeared.

The negative ions, which lose the electrons, become neutral atoms. Thus, the depletion region or
negative ions (negative electric field) at p-type semiconductor near the p-n junction decreases until
it disappears.

The remaining holes will cross the depletion region and attracted to the negative terminal of battery
or terminate at the negative terminal of battery. Thus, the positive charge carriers (holes) that are
crossing the depletion region carry the electric current from one point to another point in the p -n
junction diode.

Reverse biased p-n junction diode.

The process by which, a p-n junction diode blocks the electric current in the presence of applied
voltage is called reverse biased p-n junction diode. When positive terminal of the battery is
connected to N-side and negative terminal to P-side, it is known as reverse biasing and the diode is
said to be reversed biased.

In reverse biasing, free electrons and holes move away from the junction. Hence, increasing the
width of depletion layer.

As the depletion layer increases, potential barrier also increases.

In reverse biasing the induced and applied potential are in the same direction i.e. the net potential
will increase with the increasing applied potential.

Higher will be the net potential in the diode, higher will be the resistance.

Majority charge carriers cannot move across the junction, hence current will not be allowed to flow
across the diode.
That is, on reverse biasing, P-N junction diode acts as insulator.

The current flowing in the reverse biased circuit due to the minority charge carrier is known as
reverse current.
 UNIT 6

Semiconductor Diodes ,Zener Diodes and LED

6.1 Introduction to P.N.-junction diodes

A suitable positive voltage (forward bias) applied between the two ends of the PN junction can

supply the free electrons and holes with the extra energy. ... The resulting electronic device that

has been made is commonly called a PN junction Diode or simply Signal Diode.

A P-N junction diode is a piece of silicon that has two terminals. One o f the terminals is doped

with P-type material and the other with N-type material. The P-N junction is the basic element for

semiconductor diodes. A Semiconductor diode facilitates the flow of electrons completely in one

direction only – which is the main function of semiconductor diode. It can also be used as a

Rectifier.
A diode is simply a PN junction, but its applications are extensive in electronic circuits. Three
important characteristics of a diode are, first of all, the forward voltage drop. Under a forward bias
condition, this should be about .7 volts. Then there is the reverse voltage drop. In the reverse,
when we reverse bias the diode the depletion layer widens and usually, the applied voltages are
felt across the diode. Then there is the reverse breakdown voltage. Reverse voltage drop that will

reverse current flow and in most cases destroy the diode.

6.3 Zener diodes characteristics & parameters

In the forward direction, the diode performs like any other, but it is in the reverse direction

where its specific performance parameters can be utilised. The Zener diode has a normal

forward characteristic where the current rises after the initial turn-on voltage is reached.

Zener diode – also called stabilizer or stabilistor. It is a member of the semiconductor

diodes family. It is often applied in limiter systems (e.g. in frequency modulation (FM) systems,

pulse selection systems), voltage stabilizers and as the component, which secures and

protects circuits from power surges.

 Ordinary diodes are forward biased and work in the forward direction. They have a large

forward current flowing through them with a negligible voltage drop across them. If we operate an

ordinary diode in reverse biased, it conducts insignificant current until the voltage applied across

them exceeds the reverse breakdown voltage. Once that happens, large current flows through the

junction and the diode may get destroyed. The Zener diode is a particular type of diode that solves

this problem. We operate a Zener diode in reverse biased conditions, and this diode does not get

damaged even when the voltage across this exceeds the reverse breakdown voltage. Let us learn

about this exciting and unique kind of diode. Zener diodes are heavily doped than ordinary diodes.

They have extra thin depletion region. When we apply a voltage more than the Zener breakdown

voltage (can range from 1.2 volts to 200 volts), the depletion region vanishes, and large current

starts to flow through the junction. There is a crucial difference between an ordinary diode and a

Zener diode. The depletion region regains its original position after removal of the reverse voltage

in Zener diode whereas in regular diodes, they don‘t, and hence they get destroyed.

A graph of current through vs the voltage across the device is called the characteristic of

Zener diode. The first quadrant is the forward biased region. Here the Zener diode acts like an

ordinary diode. When a forward voltage is applied, current flows through it. But due to higher

doping concentration, higher current flows through the Zener diode. In the third quadrant, the

magic happens. The graph shows the current vs voltage curve when we apply a reverse bias to

the diode. The Zener breakdown voltage is the reverse bias voltage after which a significant
amount of current starts flowing through the Zener diode. Here in the diagram, VZ refers to the

Zener breakdown voltage. Until the voltage reaches Zener breakdown level, tiny amount of current

flows through the diode. Once the reverse bias voltage becomes more than the Zener breakdown

voltage, a significant amount of current starts flowing through the diode due to Zener breakdown.

The voltage remains at the Zener breakdown voltage value, but the current through the diode

increases when the input voltage gets increased. Due to the unique property of Zener diode, the

depletion region regains its original position when the reverse voltage gets removed. The Zener

diode doesn‘t get damaged despite this massive amount of current flowing through it. This unique

functionality makes it very useful for many applications.

6.4 Light emitting diodes, its working principle characteristics & Application

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.

The Light emitting diode is a two-lead semiconductor light source. In 1962, Nick Holonyak has

come up with an idea of light emitting diode, and he was working for the general electric company.

The LED is a special type of diode and they have similar electrical characteristics of a PN junction

diode. Hence the LED allows the flow of current in the forward direction and blocks the current in

the reverse direction.

The lighting emitting diode is a p-n junction diode. It is a specially doped diode and made
up of a special type of semiconductors. When the light emits in the forward biased, then it is
called as a light emitting diode.
 How does the Light Emitting Diode work?

The light emitting diode simply, we know as a diode. When the diode is forward biased, then the
electrons & holes are moving fast across the junction and they are combining constantly, removing
one another out. Soon after the electrons are moving from the n-type to the p-type silicon, it
combines with the holes, then it disappears. Hence it makes the complete atom & more stable and
it gives the little burst of energy in the form of a tiny packet or photon of light.

Types of Light Emitting Diodes

There are different types of light emitting diodes present and some of them are mentioned below.

 allium Arsenide (GaAs) – infra-red

 Gallium Arsenide Phosphide (GaAsP) – red to infra-red, orange
 Aluminium Gallium Arsenide Phosphide (AlGaAsP) – high-brightness red, orange-red,
orange, and yellow
 Gallium Phosphide (GaP) – red, yellow and green
 Aluminium Gallium Phosphide (AlGaP) – green
 Gallium Nitride (GaN) – green, emerald green
 Gallium Indium Nitride (GaInN) – near ultraviolet, bluish-green and blue
 Silicon Carbide (SiC) – blue as a substrate
 Zinc Selenide (ZnSe) – blue
 Aluminium Gallium Nitride (AlGaN) – ultraviolet

Working Principle of LED

The working principle of the Light emitting diode is based on the quantum theory. The quantum
theory says that when the electron comes down from the higher energy level to the lower energy
level then, the energy emits from the photon. The photon energy is equal to the energy gap
between these two energy levels. If the PN-junction diode is in the forward biased, then the current
flows through the diode.

I-V Characteristics of LED

There are different types of light emitting diodes are available in the market and there are different
LED characteristics which include the color light, or wavelength radiation, light intensity. The
important characteristic of the LED is color. In the starting use of LED, there is the only red color.
As the use of LED is increased with the help of the semiconductor process and doing the research
on the new metals for LED, the different colors were formed.
 Applications of Light Emitting Diodes

There are many applications of the LED and some of them are explained below.

 LED is used as a bulb in the homes and industries

 The light emitting diodes are used in the motorcycles and cars
 These are used in the mobile phones to display the message
 At the traffic light signals led‘s are used

Advantages of LED’s

 The cost of LED‘s is less and they are tiny.

 By using the LED‘s the electricity is controlled.
 The intensity of the LED differs with the help of the microcontroller.

6.5 Half wave rectifier

A rectifier is an electronic device that converts AC voltage into DC voltage. In other words, it

converts alternating current to direct current. A rectifier is used in almost all the electronic devices.

Mostly it is used to convert the main voltage into DC voltage in the power supply section. By using

DC voltage supply electronic devices work. According to the period of conduction, rectifiers are

classified into two categories: Half Wave Rectifier and Full Wave Rectifier

A half wave rectifier is a type of rectifier which converts the positive half cycle (positive

current) of the input signal into pulsating DC (Direct Current) output signal.

Working of Half Wave Rectifier

During the positive half cycle the diode is under forward bias condition and it conducts current to
RL (Load resistance). A voltage is developed across the load, which is same as the input AC signal
of the positive half cycle.
Alternatively, during the negative half cycle the diode is under reverse bias condition and there is
no current flow through the diode. Only the AC input voltage appears across the load and it is the
net result which is possible during the positive half cycle. The output voltage pulsates the DC
voltage.

Rectifier Circuits

Single-phase circuits or multi-phase circuit comes under the rectifier circuits. For domestic
applications single-phase low power rectifier circuits are used and industrial HVDC applications
require three-phase rectification. The most important application of a PN junction diode is
rectification and it is the process of converting AC to DC.

In a single-phase half-wave rectifier, either negative or positive half of the AC voltage flows, while
the other half of the AC voltage is blocked. Hence the output receives only one half of the AC wave.
A single diode is required for a single-phase half-wave rectification and three diodes for a three-
phase supply. Half wave rectifier produces more amount of ripple content than full wave rectifiers
and to eliminate the harmonics it requires much more filtering.

For a sinusoidal input voltage, the no-load output DC voltage for an ideal half wave rectifier is

Vrms = Vpeak / 2

Vdc = Vpeak / ᴨ

Where

 Vdc, Vav – DC output voltage or average output voltage

 Vpeak – peak value of input phase voltage
 Vrms – the output voltage of root mean square value
 Operation of Half-Wave Rectifier

PN junction diode conducts only during the forward bias condition. Half wave rectifier uses the
same principle as PN junction diode and thus converts AC to DC. In a half-wave rectifier circuit, a
load resistance is connected in series with the PN junction diode. Alternating current is the input of
the half wave rectifier. A step down transformer takes input voltage and the resulting output of the
transformer is given to the load resistor and to the diode.

During the positive half cycle, the diode is under forward bias condition. During the negative half
cycle, the diode is under reverse bias condition. The voltage output is measured across the load
resistance. During the positive half cycles the output is positive and significant. And during the
negative half cycle the output is zero or insignificant. This is known as half wave rectification.

Advantages of Half wave Rectifier

 Cheap
 Simple
 Easy to use
 Low number of components

Disadvantages of Half wave Rectifier

 More amount of ripple content

 Transformer utilization factor is very low
 Rectification efficiency is low
 Generates harmonics

6.6 Full wave rectifier

A Full Wave Rectifier is a circuit, which converts an ac voltage into a pulsating dc voltage
using both half cycles of the applied ac voltage. It uses two diodes of which one conducts
during one half cycle while the other conducts during the other half cycle of the applied ac
voltage.

In a Full Wave Rectifier circuit two diodes are now used, one for each half of the cycle. A multiple
winding transformer is used whose secondary winding is split equally into two halves with a
common centre tapped connection, (C). This configuration results in each diode conducti ng in turn
when its anode terminal is positive with respect to the transformer centre point C producing an
output during both half-cycles, twice that for the half wave rectifier so it is 100% efficient as shown
below.
 Full Wave Rectifier Circuit

The full wave rectifier circuit consists of two po wer diodes connected to a single load resistance
(RL) with each diode taking it in turn to supply current to the load. When point A of the transformer
is positive with respect to point C, diode D1 conducts in the forward direction as indicated by the
arrows.

When point B is positive (in the negative half of the cycle) with respect to point C, diode D2
conducts in the forward direction and the current flowing through resistor R is in the same direction
for both half-cycles. As the output voltage across the resistor R is the phasor sum of the two
waveforms combined, this type of full wave rectifier circuit is also known as a ―bi -phase‖ circuit.

6.7 Full wave bridge rectifier

Another type of circuit that produces the same output waveform as the full wave rectifier circuit
above, is that of the Full Wave Bridge Rectifier. This type of single phase rectifier uses four
individual rectifying diodes connected in a closed loop ―bridge‖ configuration to produce the desired
output.

The main advantage of this bridge circuit is that it does not require a special centre tapped
transformer, thereby reducing its size and cost. The single secondary winding is connected to one
side of the diode bridge network and the load to the other side as shown below.
 The Diode Bridge Rectifier

The four diodes labelled D 1 to D4 are arranged in ―series pairs‖ with only two diodes conducting
current during each half cycle. During the positive half cycle of the supply, diodes D1 and D2
conduct in series while diodes D3 and D4 are reverse biased and the current flows through the load
as shown below.

The Positive Half-cycle

During the negative half cycle of the supply, diodes D3 and D4 conduct in series, but diodes D1 and D2
switch ―OFF‖ as they are now reverse biased. The current flowing through the load is the same direction as
before.
The Negative Half-cycle
 As the current flowing through the load is unidirectional, so the voltage developed across the load is also
unidirectional the same as for the previous two diode full-wave rectifier, therefore the average DC voltage
across the load is 0.637Vmax .

The diodes D 1 and D 3 are forward biased and the diodes D 2 and D 4 is reversed biased. Therefore,
diode D 1 and D 3 conduct and diode D 2 and D 4 does not conduct. The current (i) flows through diode
D 1, load resistor RL (from M to L), diode D 3 and the transformer secondary. The waveform of the full
wave bridge rectifier is shown below.
During the negative half cycle, the end A becomes negative and end B positive as shown in the
figure below.

From the above diagram, it is seen that the diode D 2 and D 4 are under forward bias and the diodes
D 1 and D 3 are reverse bias. Therefore, diode D 2 and D 4 conduct while diodes D 1 and D 3 does not
conduct. Thus, current (i) flows through the diode D 2, load resistor RL (from M to L), diode D 4 and
the transformer secondary.

The current flows through the load resistor RL in the same direction (M to L) during both the half
cycles. Hence, a DC output voltage V out is obtained across the load resistor.

Advantages of Full Wave Bridge Rectifier

 The center tap transformer is eliminated.

 The output is double to that of the center tapped full wave rectifier for the same secondary
voltage.
 The peak inverse voltage across each diode is one -half of the center tap circuit of the diode.

Disadvantages of Full Wave Bridge Rectifier

 It needs four diodes.

 The circuit is not suitable when a small voltage is required to be rectified. It is because, in
this case, the two diodes are connected in series and offer double voltage drop due to their
internal resistance.
Typical Bridge Rectifier

However in reality, during each half cycle the current flows through two diodes instead of just one
so the amplitude of the output voltage is two voltage drops ( 2*0.7 = 1.4V ) less than the input V MAX
amplitude. The ripple frequency is now twice the supply frequency (e.g. 100Hz for a 50Hz supply or
120Hz for a 60Hz supply.)

Although we can use four individual power diodes to make a full wave bridge rectifier, pre-made
bridge rectifier components are available ―off-the-shelf‖ in a range of different voltage and current
sizes that can be soldered directly into a PCB circuit board or be connected by spade connectors.

The image to the right shows a typical single phase bridge rectifier with one corner cut off. This cut -
off corner indicates that the terminal nearest to the corner is the positive or +ve output terminal or
lead with the opposite (diagonal) lead being the negative or -ve output lead. The other two
connecting leads are for the input alternating voltage from a transformer secondary winding.

The Smoothing Capacitor

We saw in the previous section that the single phase half-wave rectifier produces an output wave
every half cycle and that it was not practical to use this type of circuit to produce a steady DC
supply. The full-wave bridge rectifier however, gives us a greater mean DC value (0.637 Vmax)
with less superimposed ripple while the output waveform is twice that of the frequency of the input
supply frequency.

We can improve the average DC output of the rectifier while at the same time reducing the AC
variation of the rectified output by using smoothing capacitors to filter the output waveform.
Smoothing or reservoir capacitors connected in parallel with the load across the output of the full
wave bridge rectifier circuit increases the average DC output level even higher as the capacitor
acts like a storage device as shown below.

Full-wave Rectifier with Smoothing Capacitor

The smoothing capacitor converts the full-wave rippled output of the rectifier into a more smooth
DC output voltage.
 UNIT 7

Digital Basics
7.1 Introduction to digital system

Digital systems are designed to store, process, and communicate information in digital form. They
are found in a wide range of applications, including process control, communication systems, digital
instruments, and consumer products. The digital computer, more commonly called the computer, is
an example of a typical digital system.

A computer manipulates information in digital, or more precisely, binary form. A binary number has
only two discrete values — zero or one. Each of these discrete values is represented by the OFF
and ON status of an electronic switch called a transistor. All computers, therefore, only understand
binary numbers. Any decimal number (base 10, with ten digits from 0 to 9) can be represented by a
binary number (base 2, with digits 0 and 1).

The basic blocks of a computer are the central processing unit (CPU), the memory, and the
input/output (I/O). The CPU of the computer is basically the same as the brain of a human.
Computer memory is conceptually similar to human memory. A question asked to a human is
analogous to entering a program into the computer using an input device such as the keyboard,
and answering the question by the human is similar in concept to outputting the result required by
the program to a computer output device such as the printer. The main difference is that human
beings can think independently, whereas computers can only answer questions that they are
programmed for. Computer hardware refers ...

Electronic system can be divided into two categories-Analog and digital. Digital system is
discrete.

Digital electronics today involves circuits tha t have exactly two possible states.

A system having two states is called binary system. It has exactly two values- 0 and 1.

Digital Electronics is that branch of electronics which deals with the digital signals to perform
various tasks and meet various requirements

In positive logic system.

+5V dc=H=1

+0V dc=L=0

 In negative logic system

+5V dc=L=1

+0V dc=H=0

 The voltage levels in an ideal digital circuit will have values of either +5Vdc or 0V dc.
 7.2 Difference between digital and analog signals

Analog Signals

The analog signals were used in many systems to produce signals to carry information. These
signals are continuous in both values and time. The use of analog signals has been declined with
the arrival of digital signals. In short, to understand the analog signals – all signals that are natural
or comes naturally are analog signals.

Digital Signals

Unlike analog signals, digital signals are not continuous but signals are discrete in value and time.
These signals are represented by binary numbers and consist of different voltage values.

Difference Between Analog and Digital Signal

The Difference between Analog and Digital Signal in tabular form is given below.

Difference Between Analog And Digital Signal

Analog Signals Digital Signals

Continuous signals Discrete signals

Represented by sine waves Represented by square waves

Human voice, natural sound, analog Computers, optical drives, and other
electronic devices are few examples electronic devices

Continuous range of values Discontinuous values

Records sound waves as they are Converts into a binary waveform.

Suited for digital electronics like

Only be used in analog devices.
computers, mobiles and more.
7.3 Number system –different types

Number systems are the technique to represent numbers in the computer system architecture,
every value that you are saving or getting into/from computer memory has a defined number
system.

Computer architecture supports following number systems.

 Binary number system

 Octal number system
 Decimal number system
 Hexadecimal (hex) number system
 1) Binary Number System

A Binary number system has only two digits that are 0 and 1. Every number (value) represents with
0 and 1 in this number system. The base of binary number system is 2, because it has only two
digits.

2) Octal number system

Octal number system has only eight (8) digits from 0 to 7. Every number (value) represents with
0,1,2,3,4,5,6 and 7 in this number system. The base of octal number system is 8, because it has
only 8 digits.

3) Decimal number system

Decimal number system has only ten (10) digits from 0 to 9. Every number (value) represents with
0,1,2,3,4,5,6, 7,8 and 9 in this number system. The base of decimal number system is 10, because
it has only 10 digits.

4) Hexadecimal number system

A Hexadecimal number system has sixteen (16) alphanumeric values from 0 to 9 and A to F.
Every number (value) represents with 0,1,2,3,4,5,6, 7,8,9,A,B,C,D,E and F in this number system.
The base of hexadecimal number system is 16, because it has 16 alphanumeric values. Here A is
10, B is 11, C is 12, D is 13, E is 14 and F is 15.

7.4 Conversion of Decimal to Binary and vice versa

Conversion of a Decimal Number to Binary Equivalent:

(a) Let the decimal number be 217.

To find the binary equivalent proceed as follows:

Start binary number with last digit. Therefore the binary equivalent of 217 is 11011001.
(b) Convert .8125 into binary number.
 7.5 Conversion of Decimal to hexa decimal and vice versa

The Hexadecimal System:

The hexadecimal system has a base 16 and the digits 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and letters A, B, C,
D, E, F are used. The letters A, B, C, D, E and F represent the decimal numbers 10, 11, 12, 13, 14
and 15 respectively.

(a) Conversion of decimal number (259.8125)10 into hexadecimal form

(b) Conversion of hexadecimal number B2F.5 into Decimal equivalent.

When hexadecimal is used to represent a binary number, the individual hexadecimal digits
represent successive groups of four binary digits starting at the point. This is similar to the
conversion from binary to octal, in which each set of three bits is translated to an octal digit.
 7.6 Conversion of binary to hexa decimal and vice versa

In order to convert binary numbers into hexadecimal ones, and vice versa, it is crucial to
understand a few basics regarding the methodology. Thus, in the following sections, the
conversion methods have been explained with the help of examples. Have a look at the
reference conversion chart given below before proceeding.

Binary numbers represent any number (decimal or hexadecimal) using digits 0 and 1 only.
Each digit '1' in a binary number represents a power of two, and each '0' represents zero.
The method used to form the conversion table is explained below:

0001 = 20 = 116
0010 = 21 = 216
0100 = 22 = 416
1000 = 23 = 816

If the digit '1' occurs more than once, then you need to add the powers of 2:

0101 = 0 + 22 + 0 + 20 = 4 + 1 = 510 = 516

1010 = 23 + 0 + 21 + 0 = 8 + 2 = 1010 = 1016
0111 = 0 + 22 + 21 + 20 = 4 + 2 + 1 = 710 = 716
1111 = 23 + 22 + 21 + 20 = 8 + 4 + 2 + 1 = 1510 = F16

Number Chart

Binary Hexadecimal
0000 0
0001 1
0010 2
0011 3
0100 4
0101 5
0110 6
0111 7
1000 8
1001 9
Alphabet Chart

Binary Hexadecimal
1010 A
1011 B
1100 C
1101 D
1110 E
1111 F
 How to Convert Binary to Hexadecimal

Step 1

Divide the binary number into sets of 4 digits starting from right to left. For example, the
binary number '1001101100100101' should be partitioned as follows,
1001|1011|0010|0101➩1001 1011 0010 0101

Add leading zeroes wherever required. For example, the binary number '111011001' should
be noted down as,
000111011001

Follow the same aforementioned partitioning step,

0001|1101|1001➩0001 1101 1001

Step 2

Refer to the aforementioned chart, and write down the hexadecimal equivalent of every 4
digit binary number from left to right.

Step 3

Remove all spaces between the final output.

Example #1

Question: The given binary number is 11101010100011012. Find out its hexadecimal form.

Answer:
The number on partitioning will be written as,
1110 1010 1000 1101

The binary to hexadecimal conversion using the table is as follows,

11102 = E16

10102 = A16

10002 = 816

11012 = D 16

The final output (after removing the spaces) is,

11101010100011012 = EA8D 16
 Example #2

Question: The given binary number is 10111011111001010111112. Find out its

hexadecimal form.

Answer:
The number on partitioning and addition of zeroes will be written as,
0010 1110 1111 1001 0101 1111

The binary to hexadecimal conversion is as follows,

00102 = 216

11102 = E16

11112 = F16

10012 = 916

01012 = 516

11112 = F16

The final output (after removing the spaces) is,

10111011111001010111112 = 2EF95F16

How to Convert Hexadecimal to Binary

To convert a hexadecimal value to binary, you simply need to translate each hexadecimal
digit into its 4-bit binary equivalent.

Example #1

Question: The given hexadecimal number is 6FD 16. Find out its binary form.

Answer:
616 = 01102

F16 = 11112

D 16 = 11012

The final output (with spaces) is,

6FD 16 = 0110 1111 11012

Example #2

Question: The given hexadecimal number is 8F4E9A16. Find out its binary form.

Answer:
816 = 10002
 F16 = 11112

416 = 01002

E16 = 11102

916 = 10012

A16 = 10102

The final output (with spaces) is,

8F4E9A16 = 1000 1111 0100 1110 1001 1010 2

7.7 Binary coded decimal,ASCII,EBCDIC

Binary Coded Decimal

Binary Coded Decimal, or BCD, is another process for converting decimal numbers into their binary
equivalents,there are many different binary codes used in digital and electronic circuits, each with
its own specific use.

As we naturally live in a decimal (base-10) world we need some way of converting these decimal
numbers into a binary (base-2) environment that computers and digital electronic devices
understand, and binary coded decimal code allows us to do that.

We have seen previously that an n-bit binary code is a group of ―n‖ bits that assume up to 2n
distinct combinations of 1‘s and 0‘s. The advantage of the Binar y Coded Decimal system is that
each decimal digit is represented by a group of 4 binary digits or bits in much the same way as
Hexadecimal. So for the 10 decimal digits (0 -to-9) we need a 4-bit binary code.

But do not get confused, binary coded decimal is not the same as hexadecimal. Whereas a 4-bit
hexadecimal number is valid up to F16 representing binary 11112, (decimal 15), binary coded
decimal numbers stop at 9 binary 10012. This means that although 16 numbers (24) can be
represented using four binary digits, in the BCD numbering system the six binary code
combinations of: 1010 (decimal 10), 1011 (decimal 11), 1100 (decimal 12), 1101 (decimal 13),
1110 (decimal 14), and 1111 (decimal 15) are classed as forbidden numbers and can not be used.

The main advantage of binary coded decimal is that it allows easy conversion between decimal
(base-10) and binary (base-2) form. However, the disadvantage is that BCD code is wasteful as the
states between 1010 (decimal 10), and 1111 (decimal 15) are not used. Nevertheless, binary
coded decimal has many important applications especially using digital displays.

In the BCD numbering system, a decimal number is separated into four bits for each decimal digit
within the number. Each decimal digit is represented by its weighted binary value performing a
direct translation of the number. So a 4-bit group represents each displayed decimal digit from
0000 for a zero to 1001 for a nine.
So for example, 35710 (Three Hundred and Fifty Seven) in decimal would be presented in Binary
Coded Decimal as:

35710 = 0011 0101 0111 (BCD)

Then we can see that BCD uses weighted codification, because the binary bit of each 4-bit group
represents a given weight of the final value. In other words, the BCD is a weighted code and the
weights used in binary coded decimal code are 8, 4, 2, 1, commonly called the 8421 code as it
forms the 4-bit binary representation of the relevant decimal digit.

Binary Coded Decimal Representation of a Decimal Number

Binary Power 23 22 21 20

Binary Weight: 8 4 2 1

The decimal weight of each decimal digit to the left increases by a factor of 10. In the BCD number
system, the binary weight of each digit increases by a factor of 2 as shown. Then the first digit has
a weight of 1 ( 20 ), the second digit has a weight of 2 ( 21 ), the third a weight of 4 ( 22 ), the
fourth a weight of 8 ( 23 ).

Then the relationship between decimal (denary) numbers and weighted binary coded decimal digits
is given below.

Truth Table for Binary Coded Decimal

Decimal Number BCD 8421 Code
0 0000 0000
1 0000 0001
2 0000 0010
3 0000 0011
4 0000 0100
5 0000 0101
6 0000 0110
7 0000 0111
8 0000 1000
9 0000 1001
10 (1+0) 0001 0000
11 (1+1) 0001 0001
12 (1+2) 0001 0010
… …
20 (2+0) 0010 0000
21 (2+1) 0010 0001
22 (2+2) 0010 0010
etc, continuing upwards in groups of four
Then we can see that 8421 BCD code is nothing more than the weights of each binary digit, with
each decimal (denary) number expressed as its four-bit pure binary equivalent.

ASCII

Pronounced ask-ee, ASCII is the acronym for the American Standard Code for Information
Interchange. It is a code for representing 128 English characters as numbers, with each letter
assigned a number from 0 to 127. For example, the ASCII code for uppercase M is 77. Most
computers use ASCII codes to represent text, which makes it possible to transfer data from one
computer to another.

EBCDIC

EBCDIC(pronounced "ebb see dick") is short for extended binary coded decimal interchange code
is eight bits, or one byte, wide. This is a coding system used to represent characters-letters,
numerals, punctuation marks, and other symbols in computerized text. A character is represented
in EBCDIC by eight bit. EBCDIC mainly used on IBM mainframe and IBM midrange computer
operating systems. Each byte consists of two nibbles, each four bits wide. The first four bits define
the class of character, while the second nibble defines the specific character inside that class.

EBCDIC is different from, and incompatible with, the ASCII character set used by all other
computers. The EBCDIC code allows for 256 different characters. For personal computers,
however, ASCII is the standard. If you want to move text between your computer and a mainframe,
you can get a file conversion utility that will convert between EBCDIC and ASCII.
EBCDIC was adapted from the character codes used in IBM's pre electronic PUNCHED CARD
machines, which made it less than ideal for modern computers. Among its many inconveniences
were the use of non-contiguous codes for the alphabetic characters, and the absence of several
punctuation characters such as the square brackets [] used by much modern software.

For example, setting the first nibble to all-ones,1111, defines the character as a number, and the
second nibble defines which number is encoded. EBCDIC can code up to 256 different characters.

There have been six or more incompatible versions of EBCDIC, the latest of which do include all
the ASCII characters, but also contain characters that are not supported in ASCII.

7.8 Complement arithmetic [1’s, 2’s]

Ones' complement. The ones' complement of a binary number is defined as the value obtained
by inverting all the bits in the binary representation of the number (swapping 0s for 1s and vice
versa). The ones' complement of the number then behaves like the negative of the original
number in some arithmetic operations.

1’s complement of a binary number is another binary number obtained by toggling all bits in it, i.e.,
transforming the 0 bit to 1 and the 1 bit to 0.

Examples:

1's complement of "0111" is "1000"

1's complement of "1100" is "0011"

2’s complement of a binary number is 1 added to the 1‘s complement of the binary number.
Examples:

2's complement of "0111" is "1001"

2's complement of "1100" is "0100"

7.9 Binary addition

Binary addition is much like your normal everyday addition (decimal addition), except that it carries
on a value of 2 instead of a value of 10.

For example: in decimal addition, if you add 8 + 2 you get ten, which you write as 10; in the sum
this gives a digit 0 and a carry of 1. Something similar happens in binary addition when you add 1
and 1; the result is two (as always), but since two is written as 10 in binary, we get, after summing 1
+ 1 in binary, a digit 0 and a carry of 1.

Therefore in binary:
0+0 =0
0+1 =1
1+0 =1
1 + 1 = 10 (which is 0 carry 1)

Problem: 1010 + 11 = ?.
Answer: 1010 + 11 = 1101.

Explanation:

1010
+ 11

For the first column (from the right) we have 0 + 1. In binary addition:
0 + 1 = 1,

and the rightmost digit of the answer is 1.

For the second column, we have 1 + 1. In binary addition:

1 + 1 = 0 carry 1 .

Therefore, the second digit (from the right) in the answer is 0 and we carry 1 to the next column.
The next column now contains 0 + 0 + 1 (from the carry). In binary addition:
0 + 0 + 1 = 1,

so that the next digit that we can fill in for the answer is 1. The final column contains 1 + 0. In binary
addition:
1+0 =1 .

There are no more columns so our final answer is 1 1 0 1

Problem: 100101 + 10101 = ?.

Answer: 100101 + 10101 = 111010.

Explanation:

1 0 0 10 1
+ 1 0 10 1

first column (from the right!) : 1 + 1 = 0 carry 1

second column : 0 + 0 + 1 (carried) = 1
third column : 1 + 1 + no carry = 0 carry 1
fourth column : 0 + 0 + 1 (carried) = 1
fifth column : 0 + 1 + no carry = 1
sixth column : 1 + 0 + no carry = 1

Therefore the answer is 1 1 1 0 1 0

 UNIT 8

Logic Gates
8.1 Introduction of logic gates

Logic gates are the heart of digital electronics. A gate is an electronic device which is used to
compute a function on a two valued signal. Logic gates are the basic building blocks of digital
electronics which have 1 or more input signals based on which it gives one logical output. Logic
gate works on digital signals only and there are two states of these signals i.e. 0 as low and 1 as
high or ON and OFF state. The relationship between the input and the output is based on a certain
logic. Based on this, logic gates are named as AND gate, OR gate, NOT gate etc.

What is Active High and Active Low?

We see the active high input and active low input pins in ICs and micro controllers. Do you know
what they really mean? They just describe us how the pin is getting activated.

This means the Active low pin must be connected to low logic level or Ground. In the same way,
the Active high pin must be connected to high logic level or to 5 volts or 3.3 Volts.

TTL Logic Levels

TTL logic level is the standard logic level for majority of the logic devices. TTL means Transistor –
Transistor Logic. Transistors are electrically controlled switches. The voltage levels of logic families
are

VOH – min. output voltage level for HIGH signal

VOL – max. Output voltage level for LOW signal

VIH – min. input voltage level of a device to be considered for HIGH signal

VIL – max. Input voltage level of a device to be considered for LOW signal
If we observe the TTL logic levels, we can observe that the minimum high voltage level for output is
2.7 volts. This means, when the device is driving HIGH, the voltage should be at least 2.7 volts.

Similarly, the minimum high voltage level for input is 2 volts. So the voltages greater than 2 volts
will considered as logic 1, to a TTL device. The voltages between 0.8 volts and 2 volts are k nown
as noise margin.

In the same way, the maximum LOW voltage level for output is 0.4 volts. This means, when the
device is driving HIGH, the voltage should be less than 0.4 volts. Similarly, the maximum low
voltage level for input is 0.8 volts.

So the voltages less than 0 volts will consider as logic 0, to a TTL device. So when the logic device
is supplied with voltages between 0.8 V and 2 V, then logic level of the device will change between
High and Low. This situation is called ‗Floating‘.

8.2 Inverter - OR - AND - NOR – NAND symbol and truth table

AND Gate

The AND gate is so named because, if 0 is called "false" and 1 is called "true," the gate acts in the
same way as the logical "and" operator. The following illustration and table show the circuit symbol
and logic combinations for an AND gate. (In the symbol, the input terminals are at left and the
output terminal is at right.) The output is "true" when both inputs are "true." Otherwise, the output is
"false."

AND gate
 Input 1 Input 2 Output
0 0 0
0 1 0
1 0 0
1 1 1

The OR gate gets its name from the fact that it behaves after the fashion of the logical inclusive
"or." The output is "true" if either or both of the inputs are "true." If both inputs are "false," then the
output is "false."

OR gate

Input 1 Input 2 Output

0 0 0
0 1 1
1 0 1
1 1 1

A logical inverter , sometimes called a NOT gate to differentiate it from other types of electronic
inverter devices, has only one input. It reverses the logic state.

Inverter or NOT gate

Input Output
1 0
0 1
The NAND gate operates as an AND gate followed by a NOT gate. It acts in the manner of the
logical operation "and" followed by negation. The output is "false" if both inputs are "true."
Otherwise, the output is "true."

NAND gate

Input 1 Input 2 Output

0 0 1
0 1 1
1 0 1
1 1 0

The NOR gate is a combination OR gate followed by an inverter. Its output is "true" if both inputs
are "false." Otherwise, the output is "false."

NOR gate

Input 1 Input 2 Output

0 0 1
0 1 0
1 0 0
1 1 0
8.3 XOR - XNOR gates

The XOR ( exclusive-OR ) gate acts in the same way as the logical "either/or." The output is "true"
if either, but not both, of the inputs are "true." The output is "false" if both inputs are "false" or if both
inputs are "true." Another way of looking at this circuit is to observe that the output is 1 if the inputs
are different, but 0 if the inputs are the same.

XOR gate

Input 1 Input 2 Output

0 0 0
0 1 1
1 0 1
1 1 0

The XNOR (exclusive-NOR) gate is a combination XOR gate followed by an inverter. Its output is
"true" if the inputs are the same, and"false" if the inputs are different.

XNOR gate

Input 1 Input 2 Output

0 0 1
0 1 0
1 0 0
1 1 1

Using combinations of logic gates, complex operations can be performed. In theory, there is no limit
to the number of gates that can be arrayed together in a single device. But in practice, there is a
limit to the number of gates that can be packed into a given physical space. Arrays of logic gates
are found in digital integrated circuits (ICs). As IC technology advances, the required physical
volume for each individual logic gate decreases and digital devices of the same or smaller size
become capable of performing ever-more-complicated operations at ever-increasing speeds.
Logic gate symbols

8.4 Construction of logic circuits using gates

Combinational Logic Circuits

Combinational Logic Circuits are memoryless digital logic circuits whose output at any instant in
time depends only on the combination of its inputs

Unlike Sequential Logic Circuits whose outputs are dependant on both their present inputs and
their previous output state giving them some form of Memory. The outputs of Combinational
Logic Circuits are only determined by the logical function of their current input state, logic ―0‖ or
logic ―1‖, at any given instant in time.

The result is that combinational logic circuits have no feedback, and any changes to the signals
being applied to their inputs will immediately have an effect at the output. In other words, in a
Combinational Logic Circuit, the output is dependant at all times on the combination of its inputs.
Thus a combinational circuit is memory less.
So if one of its inputs condition changes state, from 0-1 or 1-0, so too will the resulting output as by
default combinational logic circuits have ―no memory‖, ―timing‖ or ―feedback loops‖ within their
design.

The three main ways of specifying the function of a combinational logic circuit are:

 1. Boolean Algebra – This forms the algebraic expression showing the operation of the logic
circuit for each input variable either True or False that results in a logic ―1‖ output.
 2. Truth Table – A truth table defines the function of a logic gate by providing a concise list
that shows all the output states in tabular form for each possible combination of input
variable that the gate could encounter.
 3. Logic Diagram – This is a graphical representation of a logic circuit that shows the wiring
and connections of each individual logic gate, represented by a specific graphical symbol,
that implements the logic circuit.

and all three of these logic circuit representations are shown below.

As combinational logic circuits are made up from individual logic gates only, they can also be
considered as ―decision making circuits‖ and combinational logic is about combining logic gates
together to process two or more signals in order to produce at least one output signal according to
the logical function of each logic gate. Common combinational circuits made up from individual
logic gates that carry out a desired application include Multiplexers, De-multiplexers, Encoders,
Decoders, Full and Half Adders etc.