UNIVERSITY OF THE VISAYAS

Expanded Tertiary Education Equivalency and Accreditation Program

COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND ARCHITECTURE

CORRELATION COURSE IN ELECTRONICS

MODULE 1

PREPARED BY :

ENGR. CARMIE BASILLOTE

 SEMICONDUCTOR THEORY are still bound to their parent atoms, (as they are
furthest from the nucleus).
 Materials that permit flow of electrons are called  Additional energy is required to completely remove
conductors (e.g., gold, silver, copper, etc.). They an electron from the atom, so free electrons have
have very low electrical resistivity (in the order of 1 higher energy levels than valence electrons. (Free
x 10-6 ohm-metres) electrons are the mobile charge carriers that enable
 Materials that block flow of electrons are called metals to conduct electricity.) This can be illustrated
insulators (e.g., rubber, glass, Teflon, mica, etc.). with an energy band diagram, which shows two
They are materials that have very high electrical energy levels, a valence band and a conduction
resistivity (in the order of 1 x 1013 ohm-metres) band. Valence electrons are located in the valence
 Materials whose conductivity falls between those of band and the free electrons in the higher
conductors and insulators are called conduction band.
semiconductors.
 Semiconductors are “part-time” conductors whose
conductivity can be controlled. They have negative
temperature coefficient.

 In semiconductors there is a gap between the

valence and conduction bands. So energy must be
supplied for valence electrons to "jump up" to the
conduction band. This reflects the fact that energy
must be supplied to remove valence electrons from
their parent atoms and become free electrons.
 In insulators this gap is much larger, to represent
Mobile Charge Carriers the significantly higher energy levels that would be
needed, to "pull" electrons from their parent atoms.
 It is the abundance (or lack of) mobile charge  In metals the valence band and conduction band
carriers within a material, that determines its actually overlap. So in metals, valence electrons can
natural conduction properties. move easily into the conduction band, producing a
 Conductors contain a very high density of mobile large number density of free electrons.
charge carriers (in the order of 1028 per m3),
insulators have very few. Intrinsic and Extrinsic Semiconductor
 In conductors the mobile charge carriers are free  The naturally occurring semiconductor materials
electrons (i.e. electrons which are not bound to that are used to manufacture electronic devices, are
their parent atoms and can move freely within the Silicon and Germanium (Silicon is more widely used,
material). due to its lower leakage current.
Energy band diagrams  Silicon is the most common material used to build
semiconductor devices.
 Energy has to be supplied to move electrons away  Si is the main ingredient of sand and it is estimated
from the nucleus of the atom. The valence electrons that a cubic mile of seawater contains 15,000 tons
have the highest energy levels of the electrons that of Si.
 Si is spun and grown into a crystalline structure and  When phosphorus impurity is added to Si, every
cut into wafers to make electronic devices. phosphorus atom’s four valence electrons are
locked up in covalent bond with valence electrons
of four neighboring Si atoms. However, the 5th
valence electron of phosphorus atom does not find
a binding electron and thus remains free to float.
When a voltage is applied across the silicon-
phosphorus mixture, free electrons migrate toward
the positive voltage end.
 When phosphorus is added to Si to yield the above
effect, we say that Si is doped with phosphorus. The
resulting mixture is called N-type silicon (N:
negative charge carrier silicon).
 The pentavalent impurities are referred to as donor
impurities.
 Atoms in a pure silicon wafer contains four
electrons in outer orbit (called valence electrons).
 – Germanium is another semiconductor material
with four valence electrons.
 In the crystalline lattice structure of Si, the valence
electrons of every Si atom are locked up in covalent  Trivalent impurities e.g., boron, aluminum, indium,
bonds with the valence electrons of four and gallium have 3 valence electrons.
neighboring Si atoms.  When boron is added to Si, every boron atom’s
 In pure form, Si wafer does not contain any three valence electrons are locked up in covalent
free charge carriers. bond with valence electrons of three neighboring Si
 An applied voltage across pure Si wafer atoms. However, a vacant spot “hole” is created
does not yield electron flow through the within the covalent bond between one boron atom
wafer. and a neighboring Si atom. The holes are considered
 A pure Si wafer is said to act as an insulator. to be positive charge carriers. When a voltage is
 In order to make useful semiconductor devices, applied across the silicon-boron mixture, a hole
materials such as phosphorus (P) and boron (B) are moves toward the negative voltage end while a
added to Si to change Si’s conductivity. neighboring electron fills in its place.
 The process of adding impurities to an intrinsic  When boron is added to Si to yield the above effect,
material to increase its electrical conductivity is we say that Si is doped with boron. The resulting
what you call doping. mixture is called P-type silicon (P: positive charge
carrier silicon).
 The trivalent impurities are referred to as acceptor
impurities.

 The hole of boron atom points towards the negative

 Pentavalent impurities such as phosphorus, arsenic, terminal.
antimony, and bismuth have 5 valence electrons.
 The electron of neighboring silicon atom points C. Electrically neutral*
toward positive terminal. D. None of the above
 The electron from neighboring silicon atom falls 8. A trivalent impurity has ….. valence electrons
into the boron atom filling the hole in boron atom A. 4
and creating a “new” hole in the silicon atom. B. 5
 It appears as though a hole moves toward the C. 6
negative terminal D. 3*
9. Addition of trivalent impurity to a semiconductor
MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS creates many ……..
1. A semiconductor is formed by ……… bonds. A. Holes
A. Covalent* B. Free electrons*
B. Electrovalent C. Valence electrons
C. Co-ordinate D. Bound electrons
D. None of the above 10. A hole in a semiconductor is defined as …………….
2. A semiconductor has ………… temperature A. A free electron
coefficient of resistance. B. The incomplete part of an electron pair bond*
A. Positive C. A free proton
B. Zero D. A free neutron
C. Negative* 11. As the doping to a pure semiconductor increases,
D. None of the above the bulk resistance of the semiconductor ………..
3. The most commonly used semiconductor is ……….. A. Remains the same
A. Germanium B. Increases
B. Silicon* C. Decreases*
C. Carbon D. None of the above
D. Sulphur 12. A hole and electron in close proximity would tend
4. A semiconductor has generally ……………… valence to ……….
electrons. A. Repel each other
A. 2 B. Attract each other*
B. 3 C. Have no effect on each other
C. 6 D. None of the above
D. 4* 13. In a semiconductor, current conduction is due
5. When a pentavalent impurity is added to a pure to ……..
semiconductor, it becomes ……… A. Only holes
A. An insulator B. Only free electrons
B. An intrinsic semiconductor C. Holes and free electrons*
C. p-type semiconductor D. None of the above
D. n-type semiconductor* 14. How many valence electrons does a silicon atom
6. A pentavalent impurity has ………. Valence have?
electrons A. 0
A. 3 B. 1
B. 5* C. 2
C. 4 D. 4 *
D. 6 15. Silicon atoms combine into an orderly pattern
7. An n-type semiconductor is ……… called a
A. Positively charged A. Covalent bond
B. Negatively charged B. Crystal *
 C. Semiconductor
D. Valence orbit
16. At room temperature an intrinsic silicon crystal acts
approximately like
A. A battery
B. A conductor
C. An insulator *
D. A piece of copper wire
17. Holes act like
A. Atoms
B. Crystals
C. Negative charges
D. Positive charges*
18. Trivalent atoms have how many valence electrons?
A. 1
B. 3 *
C. 4
D. 5
19. If you wanted to produce a p-type semiconductor,
which of these would you use?
A. Acceptor atoms *
B. Donor atoms
C. Pentavalent impurity
D. Silicon
20. Which of the following doesn’t fit in the group?
A. Conductor *
B. Semiconductor
C. Four valence electrons
D. Crystal structure