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Semiconductors

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33 views28 pages

Semiconductors

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sohamrajam
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What is a Semiconductor? MD A semiconductor is « material, whose conductivity properties lie between the conductor and insulator. > Semiconductor Examples are: Silicon, Germanium, Gallium Arsenide ete. Semiconductor eed Intrinsic a a mp "hn" stands for negative (free electrons) @> "p" stands for positive (holes) wow:TheengineeringProjects.com cre ng What is a Semiconductor? = Asemiconductor material is defined by its ability to conduct electricity and its conductivity properties lie between conductor and insulator. = Under specific conditions, Semiconductors have the ability to act either as a = Moreover, semiconductors(after creating a PN junction) can also control the direction of the flow of electrical charges, which is not the case with conductors(as they allow current to flow in both directions). = Examples of Semiconductor materials are Silicon, Germanium, Gallium Arsenide etc., where Silicon is the most commonly used. = Gallium arsenide stands as the second-best semiconductor material and is used in solar cells, laser diodes, microwave frequency Examples of semiconductors MD Some examples of semiconductors are micro-contreller, memory, diserate transistors and diodes, aceslerometers. play drivers, audle drivers, keyboard controllsrs, wunu-TheEnginesringProjects.com cIyey ng What are semiconductors used for? Semiconductors have brought a revolution in the field of electronics. Semiconductors are used for designing electronic components: = The most commonly used semiconductor component is the Diode., which allows the flow of current in one direction only and thus acts as a one-way electronic valve. = After the diode, transistor was invented, which is used for fast switching or current amplification. = The invention of diode & transistor opened the door to nanotechnology and new integrated chips were designed i.e. microcontrollers, ULN2003, CD4050 etc. = All these integrated chips have semiconductor components embedded in them. i} Types of Semiconductors Engineers have divided Semiconductors into two main types, named: 1. Intrinsic Semiconductors. 2. Extrinsic Semiconductors. Intrinsic Semiconductors » Semiconductors in their pure form are called Intrinsic Semiconductors and are barely useful as they are neither good conductors nor good insulators. » Inthe pure forum, the valence shell(of semiconductor material) carries an equal number of holes & electrons(silicon has 4 valence electrons). Extrinsic Semiconductors Impurities(i.e. Boron, Arsenic, Antimony etc.) are added to the pure Semiconductors by a method called Doping, which increases the conductive behavior of semiconductors and such doped semiconductors are known as Extrinsic Semiconductors. (We will discuss doping shortly) Depending on the doping material used, extrinsic semiconductors are further divided into two types, named: « N-Type semiconductors. « P-Type semiconductors. N-Type Semiconductors = When a pentavalent(having 5 valence electrons) material is used as a doping agent, four of its electrons in the valence shell create covalent bonds with the neighboring Si atoms, while the 5th electron(of pentavalent element) becomes a free electron. Such extrinsic semiconductors are called N-Type Semiconductors. = In N-Type Semiconductors, the majority charge carriers are electrons(negatively charged). = Pentavalent Elements normally used in the doping process are Antimony, Arsenic, Phosphorous etc. » Asa semiconductor is accepting a free elector so itis termed as Acceptor, while the pentavalent element is termed as Donor as it's donating its electron. P-Type Semiconductors = When a semiconductor material is doped with a Trivalent(having 3 valence electrons) material, three valence electrons(of trivalent element) creates covalent bonds with the Si atoms nearby but it couldn't provide the 4th electron and thus creates a hole(positively charged), which is actually a vacancy & waits for an electron to join. Such doped semiconductors are called P-Type Semiconductors. In P-Type Semiconductors, the majority charge carriers are holes(positively charged). Examples of Trivalent Elements used in the doping process are Boron, Gallium, Aluminium, Indium etc. The trivalent element is here, while the semiconductor is P-Type Semiconductors => Siuipoar neon sociales aver shaapastonysixyen weave neeeys soy stn Sk tps nemes vee Aye Sonate SS sry cog Err en SSD vane tomers Yee tre: at sn ont o:-o-=> The trivalent element is Acceptor here, while the semiconductor is Donor. PN Junction in Semiconductors SD 4 special barrir is created at the boundary of P & N type regions, which stops the flow of ‘charge carriers and Is called PN Junction. a) This PN Junction formulated the basis of first semiconductor component called Diode Depletion region N-Type P-Type ° ° ° ° ° Qe ° ° ° Semiconductor Materials {S> There are numerous Semiconductor materials available, a few of them are as follows: Sut i ee eee eee et Organic aad Peed Applications of Semiconductor Materials Hitt et 1. Consumer Goods(Electronics) * We cant think of a world without Electronic devices(i.e. mobile phones, laptops, microwaves, refrigerators etc.). « All these appliances are using semiconductor components(i.e. diode, transistor, MOSFET, integrated chip etc.) in their electronic control units. 2. Embedded Systems « Microcontrollers/Microprocessors have revolutionized the world and are considered as the base of Embedded Systems. « These embedded controllers have nano transistors(semiconductor component) embedded in them, acting as smart switches. * So, semiconductors play an important role in embedded systems as well. 3. Thermal Conductivity = As few semiconductors have high thermal conductivity and are thus used as a cooling agent in thermoelectric applications. 4. Light Emitting Diode = Instead of heat, few semiconductors also produce light and are thus used in LEDs, OLEDs etc. « These semiconductors are normally available in liquid or amorphous form and are used as a thin coated film. Which devices are made with semiconductors? Semiconductors are useful for making extremely small electronics device with which evolution of modern electronics possible. With the semiconductors two terminals, three terminals and four terminal devices are made. Two terminal devices Diode - which is made up by two semiconductors. It made with a p-n junction. The diode only passes current through it when it is in forwarding bias. Diodes are used rectifier circuits which converts A.C to D.C. Gunn diode IMPATT diode Laser diode nN Zener diode Three-terminal devices are Bipolar transistor - Transistor is three terminal device. Base, collector, and emitter. Transistors are used in switching applications and as an amplifier. Field-effect transistor Darlington transistor IGBT Unijunction transistor Silicon-controlled rectifier Four-terminal devices are e Photocoupler (Optocoupler) e Hall effect sensor (magnetic field sensor) Semiconductor Examples in Daily Life Gallium arsenide, germanium, and silicon are some of the most commonly used semiconductors. Silicon is used in electronic circuit fabrication and Gallium arsenide stands as the second-best semiconductor material and is used in solar cells, laser diodes, microwave frequency integrated circuits etc, Semiconductor Manufacturing Process 1. Design / Mask Creation: During this phase, the function of the semiconductor / IC is defined, the electric circuit is designed, and a mask for IC manufacturing is created based on the design. 2. Patterning: This procedure is used for the formation of a circuit pattern during various front-end processes. 3. Wafer Fabrication: During this phase, an IC is created on a silicon substrate (wafer). 4. Device Formation / Device Insulation Layer Formation: A device insulation layer (field oxide-film) is formed for electrical isolation of the devices. 5. Device Formation / Transistor Formation: Transistors are formed in the active regions to control the flow of electrons. 6. Metallization: Devices, such as transistors, are interconnected to form an electronic circuit. 7. Assembly and Testing: During this phase, the IC chips created during the wafer fabrication phase are encapsulated into packages, and thoroughly inspected before becoming completed products. How Semiconductor Works a Ads by Google Why this ad? ® Ea Be aired Cee] Nerem =U) PT SCM elry He | | | S K SHELL sl LG Sue Pole Lg ol) All semiconductor materials like silicon, germanium, gallium arsenide, and silicon carbide have a unique property — All of them have 4 electrons in their outermost orbit. All the 4 electrons form perfect covalent bonds with four other atoms creating a lattice to form crystals. These crystals may look like a diamond (if the semiconductor material used is carbon) or it may look like a silver metallic substance (if the semiconductor material used is silicon). Most semiconductors are made by using silicon since it is abundantly available on earth and is easy to work with. When an “impure” substance, such as boron or gallium is introduced in small quantity, it causes the silicon crystal to become unstable. This instability allows free movement of electrons. Free movement of electrons causes an imbalance of electrons. This imbalance of electrons can generate a charge which can be either a positive charge (if there are lesser electrons) or a negative charge (if there are more electrons). PHT #41 @D Advantages semiconductor devices: Semiconductor devices have no filaments hence there is no power needed to heat them to cause the emission of the electrons. «As we know the semiconductor device does not produce any humming noise. Semiconductor devices have shockproof. The semiconductor device is cheaper as compared to vacuum tubes. The semiconductor device has an almost unlimited life. The semiconductor device has a small size, so the circuits involving devices are very compact. No heating is required so semiconductor devices are set into operation as soon as the circuit is switched on. Semiconductor devices occupy less space on any type of printed circuit board. As we know that when no vacuum has to be created in semiconductor devices they have no vacuum deterioration trouble. Semiconductor devices require low voltage operation as compared to the vacuum tubes. Disadvantages of semiconductor devices: e The noise level is too much higher in semiconductor devices as compared to the vacuum tubes. e In when we have to use the ordinary semiconductor devices cannot handle as more power as ordinary vacuum tubes can do. e In the high-frequency range, they have poor performance.

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