ELECTRONICS I

BASIC ELECTRONICS
COURSE OUTLINE
Objectives

The objective of this course is to introduce students to the basic

electronics and applications of diodes, and transistors.

23/01/2024 Dr S B Osman 2
 Learning Outcomes
1. Students should be able to understand basic electronics.

2. Students should understand the behaviour of electricity parameters

(Voltage, Current and Resistance) in electronic components.

3. Students should know the application of electronics in our modern

world.

4. Students should be able to demonstrate knowledge and uses of

electronic components
23/01/2024 Dr S B Osman 3
LECTURE
#1
INTRODUCTION TO
ELECTRONIC
S
 By the end of the lecture Students should have an
idea of:
• What is electronics
• Structure of atom
• Important Terms
• Current
Outline • Voltage
• Resistance
• Ohm’s law
• Open and Short Circuit
• Series and Parallel Connection
• Semiconductor
• N-type and P-type semiconductors

23/01/2024 Dr S B Osman 5
 Definition Study of electronic devices and technologies.

23/01/2024 Dr S B Osman 7
 Electronics is the branch of science
More that deals with the study of the flow of
definitions electrons and their effects in a vacuum,
gases, and semiconductor materials.

23/01/2024 Dr S B Osman 8
 Electronics comprises the
More physics, engineering, technology
and applications that deal with the
definitions emission, flow and control of
electrons in vacuum and matter.

23/01/2024 Dr S B Osman 9
 Difference
Between
Electricity and Electronics deals with flow of charge (electron) through non-metal conductors (semiconductors). Electricity deals with the flow of charge through metal conductors.

Electronics
Definition

23/01/2024 Dr S B Osman 10
 Matter
• Occupies space
• Has weight

23/01/2024 Dr S B Osman 11
 • Basic building blocks of nature.
• Cannot be reduced to a simpler substance
Elements by chemical means.
• Just over 100 known elements.

23/01/2024 Dr S B Osman 12
Structure of Atom
Atoms consist of three basic
particles:
protons, electrons, and
neutrons.
The nucleus (centre) of the atom
contains the protons (positively
charged) and the neutrons (no
charge).
The outermost regions of the
atom are called electron shells
and contain the (negatively
charged).
23/01/2024 Dr S B Osman 13
Important Terms
Current
It is simply the flow of electrons.
A continuous flow of electrons or charged particles, can be termed as
Current.
It is indicated by I or i.
It is measured in Amperes, A.
This can be alternating current AC or direct current DC.

23/01/2024 Dr S B Osman 15
Voltage
It is the potential difference.
It is measured between those two points.
It is indicated by V.
It is measured in Volts, V.

23/01/2024 Dr S B Osman 16
Resistance
It is the property of opposing the flow of electrons.
The possession of this property can be termed as resistivity.
It is indicated by R.
It is measured in ohms, Ω.

23/01/2024 Dr S B Osman 17
 Ohm’s
Law

This states the relation between current and voltage in an ideal

conductor.
According to Ohm’s law, the potential difference across an ideal
conductor is proportional to the current through it.

23/01/2024 Dr S B Osman 18
 Hence, in practice, an Ohm’s law can be stated
Ohm’s Law as −
The current flowing through a conductor is
proportional to the potential difference
across it and is inversely proportional to the
resistance it offers.

23/01/2024 19
Dr S B Osman
 Terms

1/23/2024 Dr S B Osman 20
Dr S B
Osman
Electronic Components
A Component is a basic element that
contributes to the development of an idea
into a circuit for execution.
Each component has a few basic
properties and the component behaves
accordingly.

23/01/2024 21
Active Components
• Active Components are those which conduct upon providing some
external energy.
• Active Components produce energy in the form of voltage or current.
• Examples − Diodes, Transistors, Transformers, etc.

23/01/2024 Dr S B Osman 22
 Passive Components
Passive components are those which start
their operation once they are connected. No
external energy is needed for their operation.
Passive components store and maintain
energy in the form of voltage or current.
Examples − Resistors, Capacitors,
Inductors, etc.

Dr S B Osman 23/01/2024 23
 Linear Components

Linear elements or components are the

ones that have linear relationship between
current and voltage.
The parameters of linear elements are not
changed for current and voltage.
Examples − Diodes, Transistors,
Transformers, etc.

Dr S B Osman 23/01/2024 24
Dr S B
Osman
Non-linear Components
Non-linear elements or components are the ones that have a non-linear
relationship between current and voltage.
The parameters of non-linear elements are changed with respect to
current and voltage.
Examples − Resistors, Capacitors, Inductors, etc.

23/01/2024 25
 Electronic
Circuits
A certain number of
components when connected
for a purpose in a specific
fashion makes a circuit.
A circuit is a network of
different components.
There are different types of
circuits.

23/01/2024 Dr S B Osman 26
 Active Circuit

A circuit that is built using Active

components is called an active
Circuit.
It usually contains a power source
from which the circuit extracts more
power and delivers it to the load.
Additional Power is added to the
output and hence output power is
always greater than the input power
applied.
23/01/2024 Dr S B Osman 27
 Passive Circuit
A circuit that is built using Passive components is called Passive
Circuit.
Even if it contains a power source, the circuit does not extract any
power.
Additional Power is not added to the output and hence output
power is always less than the input power applied.
The power gain will always be less than unity.

23/01/2024 Dr S B Osman 28
 Analog Circuit
An analogue circuit can be one
which has linear components in
it. Hence it is a linear circuit.
An analog circuit has analog
signal inputs which are a
continuous range of voltages.

23/01/2024 Dr S B Osman 29
Digital Circuit

A digital circuit can be one which

has non-linear components in it.
Hence it is a non-linear circuit.
It can process digital signals only.
A digital circuit has digital signal
inputs which are discrete values.

23/01/2024 Dr S B Osman 30
Mixed Signal Circuit
• A mixed signal circuit can be one which has both linear and non-linear
components in it. Hence it is called as a mixed signal circuit.
• These circuits consist of analogue circuitry along with microprocessors
to process the input.

23/01/2024 Dr S B Osman 31
 Devices

Electronic devices are components

for controlling the flow of electrical
currents for the purpose of
information processing and system
control.
Prominent examples
include transistors and diodes.
Electronic devices are usually small
and can be grouped together into
packages called integrated circuits.

Dr S B Osman 23/01/2024 32
 Solid State
devices

33 23/01/2024
Active Devices

23/01/2024 34
 Passive Devices

35 23/01/2024
 Dr S B Osman

36
OPEN AND
SHORT
CIRCUITS
There are two special cases
that we give names.
One is when the current is zero
(open circuit) and the other is
when the voltage is zero (short
circuit).
 Dr S B Osman

37

Open Circuit
An open circuit is when two points are not
connected by anything.
No current flows and nothing happens.
If a wire in your iron cord breaks, it can
cause an open circuit and no current can
flow so it does not do anything.
There may be a voltage between those two
points, but the current can not flow without
a connection.
 Dr S B Osman

38

Short Circuit
A short circuit (or short) is when two points with
different voltage levels are connected with no
resistance between two points.
This can cause a large amount of current to flow.
If a short circuit happens in your house, it will
usually cause a circuit breaker to break or a fuse
to blow.
If there is no device to limit the current, the wires
may melt and cause a fire.
 Dr S B Osman

39
Series
Connection
A series connection is when
two or more components are
joined together by a common
leg and nothing else is
connected to that point.
 Dr S B Osman

40

Parallel Connection

A parallel connection is
when two or more
components are joined
together by both legs.
 Dr S B Osman

41

Resistivity
The problem with using resistance as a
measurement is that it depends very
much on the physical size of the
material being measured as well as the
material out of which it is made.
For example, if we were to increase
the length of the material (making it
longer) its resistance would also
increase proportionally
 Dr S B Osman

42

Resistivity cont.
Likewise, if we increased its diameter or size
(making it thicker) its resistance value would
decrease.
So, we want to be able to define the material
in such a way as to indicate its ability to
either conduct or oppose the flow of
electrical current through it no matter what
its size or shape happens to be.
Resistivity cont.
The quantity that is used to indicate this specific resistance is called
Resistivity and is given the Greek symbol of ρ, (Rho).
Resistivity is measured in Ohm-metres, (Ω.m). Resistivity is the
inverse to conductivity.
If the resistivity of various materials is compared, they can be
classified into three main groups, Conductors, Insulators, and
Semiconductors as shown below.

Dr S B Osman 43
 Dr S B Osman

44 Conductors
 Dr S B Osman

45

Conductors
When a positive voltage potential is applied to the
material the “free electrons” leave their parent atom and
travel together through the material forming an electron
drift, more commonly known as a current.
How “freely” these electrons can move through a
conductor depends on how easily they can break free
from their constituent atoms when a voltage is applied.
Then the number of electrons that flow depends on the
amount of resistivity the conductor has.
 Dr S B Osman

46
Examples of good conductors are
generally metals such as Copper,
Aluminium, Silver or non-metals such
as Carbon because these materials have
very few electrons in their outer
“Valence Shell” or ring, resulting in
them being easily knocked out of the
Conductors
atom’s orbit.
Conductors
Generally speaking, most metals are good conductors of electricity, as they have
very small resistance values, usually in the region of micro-ohms per metre, (µΩ.m).
While metals such as copper and aluminium are very good conducts of electricity,
they still have some resistance to the flow of electrons and consequently do not
conduct perfectly.
The energy which is lost in the process of passing an electrical current appears in the
form of heat which is why conductors and especially resistors become hot.
Also, the resistivity of conductors increases with ambient temperature because
metals are also generally good conductors of heat.

Dr S B Osman 47
Insulators

Insulators on the other hand are the exact opposite of

conductors.
They are made of materials, generally non-metals, that
have very few or no “free electrons” floating about within
their basic atom structure because the electrons in the
outer valence shell are strongly attracted by the positively
charged inner nucleus.

Dr S B Osman 48
Insulators
Insulators also have very high resistances, millions of ohms per
metre, and are generally not affected by normal temperature
changes (although at very high temperatures wood becomes
charcoal and changes from an insulator to a conductor).
Examples of good insulators are marble, fused quartz, PVC
plastics, rubber etc.

Dr S B Osman 49
 Dr S B Osman

50

Insulators play a very important role within

electrical and electronic circuits, because
without them electrical circuits would short
together and not work.
Insulators For example, insulators made of glass or
porcelain are used for insulating and
cont. supporting overhead transmission cables while
epoxy-glass resin materials are used to make
printed circuit boards, PCB’s etc.
 Dr S B Osman

51

Semiconductor
Semiconductors are not good conductors
nor good insulators (hence their name
“semi”-conductors).
They have very few “free electrons”
because their atoms are closely grouped
together in a crystalline pattern called a
“crystal lattice” but electrons are still
able to flow, but only under special
conditions.
 Semiconductor
The ability of semiconductors to conduct electricity can be greatly
improved by replacing or adding certain donor or acceptor atoms
to this crystalline structure thereby, producing more free electrons
than holes or vice versa.
That is by adding a small percentage of another element to the
base material, either silicon or germanium.

52 Dr S B Osman
 Dr S B Osman

53

Semiconductor
The most commonly used
semiconductor basics material by
far is silicon.
Silicon has four valence electrons
in its outermost shell which it
shares with its neighbouring silicon
atoms to form full orbitals of eight
electrons.
 Dr S B Osman

54

Semiconductor
The structure of the bond between the two
silicon atoms is such that each atom shares
one electron with its neighbour making the
bond very stable.
As there are very few free electrons
available to move around the silicon crystal,
crystals of pure silicon (or germanium) are
therefore good insulators, or at the very
least very high-value resistors.
Semiconductor doping
This process of adding donor or acceptor atoms to semiconductor
atoms (the order of 1 impurity atom per 10 million (or more)
atoms of the semiconductor) is called Doping.
As the doped silicon is no longer pure, these donor and acceptor
atoms are collectively referred to as “impurities”, and by doping
these silicon material with a sufficient number of impurities, we
can turn it into a semi-conductor.

Dr S B Osman 55
The structure and
lattice of a ‘normal’
pure crystal of silicon

Dr S B Osman 56
 Dr S B Osman

57

N-type Semiconductor Basics

In order for our silicon crystal to conduct electricity,

we need to introduce an impurity atom such as
Arsenic, Antimony or Phosphorus into the
crystalline structure making it extrinsic (impurities
are added).
These atoms have five outer electrons in their
outermost orbital to share with neighbouring atoms
and are commonly called “Pentavalent” impurities.
 Dr S B Osman

58

N-type Semiconductor Basics

This allows four out of the five orbital electrons to

bond with its neighbouring silicon atoms leaving
one “free electron” to become mobile when an
electrical voltage is applied (electron flow).
As each impurity atom “donates” one electron,
pentavalent atoms are generally known as “donors”.
59

N-type Semiconductor Basics

Dr S B Osman
 Dr S B Osman

60

N-type Semiconductor Basics

The resulting semiconductor material

has an excess of current-carrying
electrons, each with a negative charge,
and is therefore referred to as an N-
type material with the electrons called
“Majority Carriers” while the resulting
holes are called “Minority Carriers”.
 Dr S B Osman

61

N-type Semiconductor Basics

Then a semiconductor material is

classed as N-type when its donor
density is greater than its
acceptor density,
in other words, it has more
electrons than holes thereby
creating a negative pole as
shown.
 Dr S B Osman

62

P-Type Semiconductor Basics

If we go the other way and introduce

a “Trivalent” (3-electron) impurity
into the crystalline structure, such as
Aluminium, Boron or Indium, which
have only three valence electrons
available in their outermost orbital,
the fourth closed bond cannot be
formed.
 Dr S B Osman 63

P-Type
Semiconductor
Basics
 Dr S B Osman

64
P-Type Semiconductor Basics
[cont.]
Then a semiconductor material is
classed as P-type when its
acceptor density is greater than
its donor density.
Therefore, a P-type
semiconductor has more holes
than electrons.
 Dr S B Osman

65

Summary
N-type (e.g., doped with Antimony)
These are materials which have Pentavalent impurity atoms
(Donors) added and conduct by “electron” movement and are
therefore called N-type Semiconductors.
 Dr S B Osman

66

Summary
In N-type semiconductors there are:
The Donors are positively charged.
There are a large number of free electrons.
A small number of holes in relation to the number of free
electrons.
Summary [cont.]
Doping gives:
Positively charged donors.
Negatively charged free electrons.

Supply of energy gives:

Negatively charged free electrons.
Positively charged holes.

Dr S B Osman 67
Summary [cont.]
P-type (e.g. doped with Boron)
These are materials which have Trivalent impurity atoms
(Acceptors) added and conduct by “hole” movement and are
therefore called, P-type Semiconductors.

Dr S B Osman 68
Summary [cont.]
In P types of materials are:
The Acceptors are negatively charged.
There are a large number of holes.
A small number of free electrons in relation to the number of holes.

Dr S B Osman 69
Summary [cont.]
Doping gives:
Negatively charged acceptors.
Positively charged holes.
Supply of energy gives:
Positively charged holes.
Negatively charged free electrons.
and both P and N-types, are electrically neutral on their own.

Dr S B Osman 70
Summary [cont.]
Antimony (Sb) and Boron (B) are two of the most commonly
used doping agents as they are more freely available compared to
other types of materials.
They are also classed as “metalloids”.

Dr S B Osman 71
Summary [cont.]
These other chemical elements can also be used as
doping agents to a base material of either Silicon (Si) or
Germanium (Ge) to produce different types of basic
semiconductor materials for use in electronic
semiconductor components, microprocessor and solar
cell applications.
These additional semiconductor materials are given
below.

Dr S B Osman 72
Periodic Table of
Semiconductors

Dr S B Osman 73
Assignment: Ohm's Law questions
Question 1:
What is Ohm's Law?
Question 2:
If the voltage across a resistor is 12 volts and the resistance is 4 ohms, what is the current flowing through
it?
Question 3:
A circuit has a current of 2 amperes flowing through it, and the resistance is 8 ohms. What is the voltage
across the circuit?
Question 4:
If a resistor has a voltage drop of 9 volts across it and a current of 3 amperes flowing through it, what is its
resistance?
Question
23/01/2024
5: Dr S B Osman 74

How is power (P) related to voltage (V), current (I), and resistance (R) in an electrical circuit?
Thank you

23/01/2024 Dr S B Osman 75