PCB assemblies often contain numerous components. The engineer designing the board selects these components individually, based on their function in the circuit. For a successful project, it is essential to understand the basic operation of these components individually, and in relation to one another. One such component is the diode.

A diode is a semiconductor device with a PN junction. It supports current flow in only the forward direction—from the anode to the cathode—and not in the reverse. However, to allow current flow in the forward direction, a diode must be given a particular voltage to overcome the bias in its PN junction. Diode biasing is the application of a DC voltage across the diode’s terminals for overcoming the PN junction bias.

It is possible to bias a diode in two ways—forward and reverse. When forward biased, the diode allows current flow from its anode to its cathode, provided the biasing voltage is greater than the PN junction bias. However, when reverse-biased, the biasing voltage cannot overcome the PN junction bias, and the diode blocks any current flow. Reverse biasing a diode is a convenient way for using it to convert alternating current to direct current. Proper use of forward and reverse biasing also allows other functions, such as electronic signal control.

Diodes are mostly germanium or silicon-based. A diode consists of a layer of P-type semiconductor material and another layer of an N-type semiconductor material joined together. The P-type material forms the anode terminal and the N-type material forms the cathode terminal of the diode.

When fabricating a diode, the manufacturer dopes the two layers differently. They dope one of the layers with boron or aluminum to make it P-type, which gives it a slightly positive charge. The P-type semiconductor, therefore, has a deficit of electrons or an abundance of holes. They dope the other layer with phosphorus or arsenic to give it a slightly negative charge and make it N-type. Therefore, the N-type semiconductor has an abundance of electrons.

At the junction of the P-type and N-type layers, electrons and holes combine to form a sort of neutral zone. Therefore, when a current must flow, a voltage bias is necessary to push the electrons and holes through this neutral zone. The neutral zone is less than a millimeter in thickness.

A forward bias pushes holes from the P-type layer, across the neutral zone, into the N-type layer. The forward bias reduces the width of the neutral zone to allow the current to flow. The forward bias necessary depends on the material of the diode. It is 0.7 VDC for silicon diodes and about 0.3 VDC for germanium diodes.

On the other hand, a reverse bias adds more electrons to the N-type layer and holes to the P-type layer. This increases the width of the neutral zone, making it impossible for current to flow across it.

Therefore, forward biasing allows current flow through the diode from the anode to the cathode, and reverse biasing prevents current flow. Even with forward biasing, there is no current flow until the voltage is able to overcome the PN junction bias.