Seven Segments Display, 7-segment Display The 7-segment display, is a component that is used to represent numbers in many electronic devices. Today, it is very common to find LCDs in many electronic equipments (due to its very low energy demand), but there are many that still use the 7-segment display for its simplicity. This element is made in a way […]
LED – Light-emitting diode Light-emitting diode (LED) is a special type of diode, that emits light when it is forward biased. There are LEDs of various colors. LED colors depend on the material with which they were built. There are red, green, yellow, amber, infrared, etc. If a current flows through a semiconductor diode, there are electrons and holes […]
The SCR (Silicon Controled Rectifier) The SCR is a 4 layers semiconductor device which behaves almost as an ideal switch. Thyristor symbol and structure are shown at right. A = anode, G = gate and K = cathode. Basic Operation of a SCR To understand the SCR operation, the following picture shows an equivalent circuit. An IG current is applied to […]
Darlington transistor The Darlington transistor is a special type of transistor which has a high current gain. It consists of two internally bipolar transistors being connected in cascade. The T1 transistor delivers on its emitter terminal, a current that goes to the base of the T2 transistor. The current gain equation of a typical transistor is: IE = ßxIB (collector current is […]
What is a Zener diode? The Zener diode is a special type of diode that allows the flow of the current to run on the opposite direction of the arrow of the diode. This diode does not conduct until the applied voltage reaches or is greater of the breakdown voltage. This is the “zener voltage”. Note: The zener diode behaves like a common semiconductor […]
The Semiconductor Diode The semiconductor diode is the simplest semiconductor device and can be found in almost any electronic circuit. Diodes are manufactured with silicon (the most common) and germanium. Diodes are composed of two parts, one called N and the other called P, which are separated by a barrier. This barrier has 0.3 volts in the germanium diode and approximately 0.6 volts in […]