![]() In this instance, the negative terminal connects to the n-type silicon, and the positive terminal connects to the p-type silicon. Let’s say you put n-type and p-type silicon together and then connect a battery, creating a circuit. By joining n-type and p-type silicon together, you create a junction. Now that your pieces of silicon are both positively and negatively doped, you can put them together.This is called p-type or positive-type silicon. Adding boron to silicon removes electrons from the silicon atom, leaving empty holes where the electrons should be. This is called n-type, or negative-type silicon, because it has more negative electrons than usual. The first is to dope silicon with antimony, which gives it a few extra electrons and allows silicon to conduct electricity. With silicon all grown up, it’s now time to dope it.This is called a clean room, meaning it’s free from dust and other contaminants. First, silicon is grown in a tightly controlled laboratory environment.Here’s how the doping process works in a typical piece of silicon: However, if you add impurities to it through a process called doping, you give it the magical power to conduct electricity by night.īecause of their dual capabilities as both an insulator and conductor, semiconductors have found their perfect niche in components that need to control the flow of electric current in the form of diodes and transistors. So how do we get electricity to flow through silicon or germanium? With a little magic trick called doping. If you know anything about semiconductors, then you’ll know that neither of these elements conducts electricity in their natural state. You’ll find most diodes these days made from two of the most popular semiconductor materials in electronics – silicon or germanium. The arrow on a diode symbol indicates the direction the current will flow. Some diodes will have both their anode and cathode marked as positive and negative, but a simple way to remember which way current flows in a diode is to follow the direction of the arrow. Just look for the large arrow with a line running through it, as shown below. You can easily spot a diode on a schematic. You can spot the cathode side on a physical diode by looking for the silver strip near one of the terminals. C urrent can only move in a diode from the anode to the cathode, never the other way around. The other terminal is the negative end, called the cathode. ![]() One side is the positive terminal, called the anode. On a physical diode, you’ll notice two terminals extending from a tin can shape in the middle. Diode Polarity & Symbolsĭiodes are polarized components, meaning they have a very specific orientation that needs to be connected in a circuit to work correctly. It’s either closed (on) and letting current flow through it, or open (off), and no current can flow through. While these two terms might seem overly complicated, think of a diode as a switch. Reverse-Biased: When you slip a battery into a circuit backward, your diode will block any current from flowing, which is called a reverse-biased state.Īn easy way to visualize the difference between forward-biased and reverse-biased states of a diode in a simple circuit.Forward-Biased: When you insert a battery correctly into a circuit, current will be allowed to flow through a diode this is called a forward-biased state.There are two ways to describe how current will or won’t flow through a diode: Unlike passive components that sit idly by resisting or storing, diodes actively have their hands deep in the ebb and flow of current as it courses throughout our devices. The diode is well known for its ability to control the flow of electrical current in a circuit. Today, we’ll cover the diode, the notorious control freak that only allows electricity to flow in one direction! If you’ve seen a LED in action, you’re already well ahead of the game. These parts come to life when wired into a circuit and can manipulate electricity in many ways. There are two semiconductor components that you’ll be working with: the diode and transistor. It’s time to level up your knowledge and move beyond simple passive components into the realm of semiconductor components. Learn how the diode works to control the flow of electric current in a circuit with the use of n-type and p-type semiconductors.
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