What is Semiconductor?

Lesson 1

By:
Engr. Verna C. Magnaye, EcE
Overview:
Semiconductor is a solid substance that has
conductivity between that of an insulator and
a conductor. Hence, the term was formed from the
two words semi plus conductor. Devices made of
semiconductors are essential components of most
electronic circuits. They are used commonly in
communications, control and detection technology,
and in computers.
The lesson will focus on semiconductor
physics which is then a pre-requisite to the topic
about semiconductor diode.
Objectives:
After successfully completing this lesson, you should be able to:
 Define semiconductor.
 Describe the Bohr Model of semiconductor elements.
 Learn about the lattice networks of the semiconductors.
 Differentiate intrinsic semiconductor from extrinsic
semiconductor.
 Know the carrier concentrations of the semiconductor
materials.
 Identify the two types of extrinsic semiconductors.
Course Contents:
Terminologies
Electron
 Basic particle of negative charge in orbital rings around the
nucleus in an atom.
Electronics
 Refers to the Physics of electrons and electronic devices.
Electronics Engineering
 Refers to the field of engineering which deals with the study of
the movement and behavior of electrons in a medium
particularly semiconductor and gases.
Semiconductors
 Are special class of elements having a conductivity between that of a
good conductor and that of an insulator.
Conductors
 Materials that permit electric current to flow easily.
insulators
 Materials that does not allow current to flow easily when voltage is
applied because of its high resistance.
Energy Band Structure
 Insulator

CB

eg > 5eV
FB

VB
Energy Band Structure
 Semiconductor

CB

Eg: Si = 1.1 eV
FB
Ge = 0.67 eV
GaAs = 1.43 eV
VB
 The farther an electron is from the nucleus, the higher is the
energy state, and any electron that has left its parent atom has a
higher energy state than any electron in the atomic structure.
 An electron in the VB of silicon must absorb more energy than
one in the VB of germanium to become more a free carrier.
Similarly, an electron in the VB of gallium arsenide must gain
more energy than one in silicon or germanium to enter to CB.
Energy Band Structure
 Conductor

CB

The band overlaps

VB
Bohr Model of Elements
 It represents the atomic structure of elements
 Lattice Networks of Intrinsic Semiconductors

Covalent bonding of Silicon Covalent bonding of Gallium

(Si) Atom Arsenide (GaAs) crystal
Three semiconductors used most
frequently in the construction of
electronic devices
 1) Germanium
 2) Silicon
 3) Gallium Arsenide
General Characteristics of a
Semiconductor
 Semi – midway between two limits.
 Conductivity
 The higher the conductivity, the lower the resistance
 The ability of a material to pass electricity
 Refers to the relative number of free electrons in a material.
 Conduction Mechanism in a Conductor

 When electric field is applied to a metal, electrons are

accelerated, and the velocity would increase indefinitely with
time. However, the electron will not continue to accelerate
indefinitely because it will collide with one of the atoms. This
collisions, which may be elastic or inelastic will alter the
magnitude and direction of the electron’s velocity. On the
average, the magnitude of the velocity in the direction of the
acceleration will be reduced. The net effect of the collisions is
that, on the average, the magnitude of the electron’s velocity in
the direction of acceleration will not oscillate continuously but
will oscillate about an average value, called the drift velocity.
Two types of semiconductors
1) Intrinsic Semiconductors
2) Extrinsic Semiconductors

 INTRINSIC SEMICONDUCTORS
 Semiconductors that have been carefully refined to
reduce the impurities to a very low level essentially as
pure as can be made available thru modern
technology.
Conduction in intrinsic semiconductor
 Pure crystals containing no foreign atoms are called intrinsic
semiconductors, breaking a covalent bond results in both a free
electron and a hole and consequently, the hole concentration p
and electron concentration η must be equal.

 ηi = р = η
Example
 An intrinsic silicon bar is 3mm long and has a rectangular
cross-section (50 X 100)(µm)2 at 300 K, determine the
electric field intensity in the bar and the voltage across the
bar and when a steady current of 1µA is measured.
 Intrinsic Semiconductors
Ji = 𝐺𝑖𝜀 = I/A
𝐺𝑖= q ηi(µn + µp)
V=𝜀L

Constants for silicon bar:

 µn = 1500 cm2/vs
 µp = 475 cm2/vs
 ηi = 1.45 x 1010 cm-3
 q = 1.602 x 10-19 C
 Answer
𝐺𝑖 = q ηi(µn + µp)
Ji = 𝐺𝑖𝜀 = I/A
𝜀 = Ji/𝐺𝑖 = I/(A 𝐺𝑖)

V=𝜺L= 1380 V
EXTRINSIC SEMICONDUCTORS
 Semiconductor materials that have been subjected to doping
process.
 The usual way of doping is in the range of 1 impurity atom
for every 102 to 108 Si or Ge atoms
Two types of extrinsic semiconductor
 1) n-type Semiconductor
▪ Created by adding those impurity elements that have five
valence electrons called pentavalent.
▪ Four of the five electrons occupy covalent bond and the fifth
will be nominally unbound and will be available as a carrier of
current.
▪ The energy required to detach the fifth electron from the atom
is of the order of 0.05 eV for Si and is considerably less than the
energy required to break a covalent bond of 1.1 eV.
Continuation . . .
 Such impurities donate excess electron carriers and are
referred to as donors or n-type impurities.
 Dominant carriers are electrons and minority carriers are
holes.
 2) P-type Semiconductor
▪ Created by doping a pure crystal with impurity atoms having three
valence electrons called trivalent.
▪ Insufficient number of electrons to complete the covalent bond.
▪ The resulting vacancy is called a hole an it is ready to accept free
electrons. Hence, the impurities are called acceptor atoms.
▪ Dominant carriers are holes and minority carriers are electrons.
Mass Action Law
 Adding n-type impurities decreases the number of holes.
Similarly, doping with p-type impurities decreases the
concentration of electrons below that in the intrinsic
semiconductor. Under thermal equilibrium, the product of
the free negative and positive concentrations is a constant
independent of the amount of donor and acceptor impurity
doping. The relationship is called the mass-action law given
by
 ηр = ηi2

 η = concentration of electron
 р= concentration of hole
 ηi= intrinsic concentration
CARRIER CONCENTRATION
 Since the impurities are practically all ionized, they produce
positive ion and negative ion densities of ND and NA,
respectively. To maintain the electric neutrality of the crystal,
the total positive charge density must equal the concentration
of negative charges.
N D + p = NA + η
n - material p - material

e e e o o o

e e e o o o

e e e o o o
 Lattice Networks of Extrinsic
Semiconductor

n-type material p-type material

Case 1: Considering an n-type
material
Case 2: Considering a p-type
material
Case 1: Considering an n-type material

 NA = 0
 Since ηn >>>рn, then ND is almost equal to ηn
 Using the Mass-action Law

•ηр = ηi2
 Then,

рn = ηi2 / ηn = ηi2 / ND
Case 2: Considering a p-type material

 ND = 0
 Since ηp >>>рp, then NA is almost equal to рp
 Using the Mass-action Law

•ηр = ηi2
 Then,

ηp = ηi2 / рp = ηi2 / NA
example
 An n-type silicon bar sample is 3mm long and has a
rectangular cross-section of 50µm x 100µm. The donor
concentration at 300 K is 5 x 1014 cm-3 and corresponds to 1
impurity atom for 108 Si atoms. A steady current of 1µA
exists in the bar. Determine the electrons and hole
concentrations, the conductivity, and the voltage across the
bar.
 Answer: Vbar = 0.05V
Constants for silicon bar:
 µn = 1500 cm2/vs
 µp = 475 cm2/vs
 ηi = 1.45 x 1010 cm-3
 q = 1.602 x 10-19 C
𝐺= q (ηnµn +pn µp)
 Drift and Diffusion Currents
 The flow of charge or current, through a semiconductor material
normally referred to as one of two types, Drift and Diffusion
currents.
 Drift Current
 Current produced due to applied voltage across a material.
 Diffusion Current
 Current due only to interaction between neighboring atoms.
PN Junction and Methods of
Fabrication

e e e o o o

e e e o o o

e e e o o o

n - material p - material
PN Junction and Methods of
Fabrication
 Combination of p-type and n-type material
 Initially, there are more free electrons in the n-type and more
holes in the p-type
 Diffusion takes place which causes the random motion of the
free electrons and hole.
 There would be net flow of electrons from n-type into p-type
and also net flow of holes from p-type into n-type and are
called forward current flow, If.
 Conversely, electrons from p-type to n-type and holes from n-
type to p-type and are called reverse currents, I.
 Initially, If is far greater than Ir, but after a short time, an
equilibrium condition is reached where If = Ir, hence, depletion
region is formed.
 The depletion region is also called Potential Difference
which tends to inhibit If, hence, called Potential Barrier.
Course Materials:
Read:
 What is semiconductor?
https://www.dictionary.com/browse/semiconductor

 Semiconductor Physics.
Chapter 1
Boylestad, R. L. & Nashelsky, L. (2013). Electronic Devices and Circuit Theory.
First Lok Yang Road, Jurong, Singapore: Pearson Education South Asia Pte Ltd

 Basic Physical Concepts.

Chapter 1
Gibilisco, S. (2006). Teach Yourself Electricity and Electronics. Penn
Plaza, New York: McGraw-Hill Education.
Activities/Assessments:
1. Define Semiconductor.
2. Draw the corresponding lattice networks of P-type and N-
type semiconductor materials.
3. List down around four parameters/aspects on which
intrinsic and extrinsic semiconductors differ from each
other.
4. How would you compare the carrier concentrations of the
N-type and P-type materials?
5. Explain how are the N-type and P-type materials formed.