PIN Diode

What is PIN Diode?

A PIN diode can be defined as:

A diode with a wide and undoped intrinsic semiconductor region between a p-type and an n-type semiconductor region.

It has an undoped intrinsic semiconductor region between a p-type and an n-type semiconductor.

• The PIN diode was first used in the year 1952 as a low frequency and high power rectifier. It was even used for microwave applications and as a photodetector as it is said to be a good light absorber.
• A PIN diode is a type of diode having undoped intrinsic semiconductor region placed between two regions called p-type semiconductor and the n-type semiconductor region. These two regions are primely heavily doped as they find applications for ohmic contacts.

Characteristics of Pin Diode

Some of the PIN Diode characteristics are given in the points below.

• The capacitance of PIN diode is independent of bias level as the net charge is said to be very less in the intrinsic layer
• PIN diode possesses very low reverse recovery time
• The Diode obeys the standard diode equation for all the low-frequency signals.
• This diode appears more like a resistor than any other non-linear device and is said to produce no distortion or rectification.

Structure and Working of a Pin Diode

The PIN diode comprises a semiconductor diode having three layers naming the P-type layer, Intrinsic layer and N-type layer, as shown in the figure below. The P and N regions are there, and the region between them consists of the intrinsic material, and the doping level is said to be very low in this region.  The thickness of the intrinsic layer is very narrow, which ranges from 10 – 200 microns. The P region and the N-type regions are known to be heavily doped.

The changes in the properties of the diode are known from the intrinsic material. These diodes are made of silicon. The intrinsic region of the PIN diode acts like an inferior rectifier which is used in various devices such as attenuators, photodetectors, fast switches, high voltage power circuits, etc.

You may also want to check out these topics given below!

• How do Diodes Work as a Rectifier?
• Uses of diode
• Semiconductor Diode – Forward Bias and Reverse Bias
• Difference Between Diode and Rectifier

Applications of PIN Diode

PIN Diode has a wide range of applications coming in various fields of physics like radio frequency switch, microwave switch, radiofrequency attenuator, microwave attenuator, photodetector, etc. Some applications are given below:

• These diodes are used in the RF and also for microwave switches and microwave variable attenuators since they are said to have low capacitance.
• They are used in Photodetectors and photovoltaic cells, and the PIN photodiodes are used for fibre optic network cards and switches.
• These diodes are effectively used for RF protection circuits, and they can also be utilized as an RF switch.
• The PIN photodiode is also used to detect X-rays and gamma rays photons.