BASIC ELECTRONICS

PHY 203 (BASIC ELECTRONICS)

Dr. Odo Ayodele

Dept. of Physics
Federal University Oye-Ekiti.
Nigeria

Email: [email protected]
[email protected]

Adapted from presentation of eSyst.org

Electronic Materials
 The goal of electronic materials is to generate and control
the flow of an electrical current.
 Electronic materials include:
1. Conductors: have low resistance which allows electrical current
flow
2. Insulators: have high resistance which suppresses electrical
current flow
3. Semiconductors: can allow or suppress electrical current flow
Conductors
 Good conductors have low resistance so electrons flow through them
with ease.
 Best element conductors include:
 Copper, silver, gold, aluminum, & nickel
 Alloys are also good conductors:
 Brass & steel
 Good conductors can also be liquid:
 Salt water
Conductor Atomic Structure

 The atomic structure of good

conductors usually includes
only one electron in their
outer shell.
 It is called a valence electron.
 It is easily striped from the
atom, producing current flow.

Copper Atom
Insulators
 Insulators have a high resistance so current does not flow in them.
 Good insulators include:
 Glass, ceramic, plastics, & wood
 Most insulators are compounds of several elements.
 The atoms are tightly bound to one another so electrons are difficult to
strip away for current flow.
Semiconductors
 Semiconductors are materials that essentially can be conditioned to
act as good conductors, or good insulators, or any thing in between.
 Common elements such as carbon, silicon, and germanium are
semiconductors.
 Silicon is the best and most widely used semiconductor.
Semiconductor Valence Orbit

 The main characteristic

of a semiconductor
element is that it has
four electrons in its outer
or valence orbit.
Crystal Lattice Structure

 The unique capability of

semiconductor atoms is their ability
to link together to form a physical
structure called a crystal lattice.
 The atoms link together with one
another sharing their outer
electrons.
 These links are called covalent
bonds. 2D Crystal Lattice Structure
3D Crystal Lattice Structure
Semiconductors can be Insulators
 If the material is pure semiconductor material like silicon, the crystal lattice
structure forms an excellent insulator since all the atoms are bound to one
another and are not free for current flow.
 Good insulating semiconductor material is referred to as intrinsic.
 Since the outer valence electrons of each atom are tightly bound together with
one another, the electrons are difficult to dislodge for current flow.
 Silicon in this form is a great insulator.
 Semiconductor material is often used as an insulator.
Doping
 To make the semiconductor conduct electricity, other atoms called
impurities must be added.
 “Impurities” are different elements.
 This process is called doping.
Semiconductors can be Conductors

 An impurity, or element like arsenic,

has 5 valence electrons.
 Adding arsenic (doping) will allow
four of the arsenic valence electrons to
bond with the neighboring silicon
atoms.
 The one electron left over for each
arsenic atom becomes available to
conduct current flow.
Resistance Effects of Doping
 If you use lots of arsenic atoms for doping, there will be lots of extra
electrons so the resistance of the material will be low and current will
flow freely.
 If you use only a few boron atoms, there will be fewer free electrons
so the resistance will be high and less current will flow.
 By controlling the doping amount, virtually any resistance can be
achieved.
Another Way to Dope

 You can also dope a semiconductor material with

an atom such as boron that has only 3 valence
electrons.
 The 3 electrons in the outer orbit do form covalent
bonds with its neighboring semiconductor atoms as
before. But one atom is missing from the bond.
 This place where a fourth electron should be is
referred to as a hole.
 The hole assumes a positive charge so it can
attract electrons from some other source.
 Holes become a type of current carrier like the
electron to support current flow.
Types of Semiconductor Materials
 The silicon doped with extra electrons is called an “N type”
semiconductor.
 “N” is for negative, which is the charge of an electron.
 Silicon doped with material missing electrons that produce locations
called holes is called “P type” semiconductor.
 “P” is for positive, which is the charge of a hole.
Current Flow in N-type Semiconductors

 The DC voltage source has a positive

terminal that attracts the free electrons in
the semiconductor and pulls them away
from their atoms leaving the atoms charged
positively.
 Electrons from the negative terminal of the
supply enter the semiconductor material
and are attracted by the positive charge
of the atoms missing one of their electrons.
 Current (electrons) flows from the positive
terminal to the negative terminal.
Current Flow in P-type Semiconductors

 Electrons from the negative supply

terminal are attracted to the positive
holes and fill them.
 The positive terminal of the supply pulls
the electrons from the holes leaving the
holes to attract more electrons.
 Current (electrons) flows from the
negative terminal to the positive terminal.
 Inside the semiconductor current flow is
actually by the movement of the holes
from positive to negative.
In Summary
 In its pure state, semiconductor material is an excellent insulator.
 The commonly used semiconductor material is silicon.
 Semiconductor materials can be doped with other atoms to add or subtract electrons.
 An N-type semiconductor material has extra electrons.
 A P-type semiconductor material has a shortage of electrons with vacancies called
holes.
 The heavier the doping, the greater the conductivity or the lower the resistance.
 By controlling the doping of silicon the semiconductor material can be made as
conductive as desired.