CURRENT IN SEMICONDUCTORS

As you have learned, the electrons of an atom can exist only within prescribed energy
bands. Each shell around the nucleus corresponds to a certain energy band and is
separated from adjacent shells by band gaps, in which no electrons can exist. Figure 1
(next page) shows the energy band diagram for an unexcited (no external energy such
as heat) atom in a pure silicon crystal. This condition occurs only at a temperature of
absolute 0 Kelvin.
Conduction Electrons and Holes
An intrinsic (pure) silicon crystal at room temperature has sufficient heat (thermal) energy
for some valence electrons to jump the gap from the valence band into the conduction
band, becoming free electrons. Free electrons are also called conduction electrons. This is
illustrated in the energy diagram of Figure (a) and in the bonding diagram of Figure (b).

Creation of electron-hole pairs in a silicon crystal. Electrons in the conduction band are
free electrons.
When an electron jumps to the conduction band, a vacancy is left in the valence band
within the crystal. This vacancy is called a hole. For every electron raised to the conduction
band by external energy, there is one hole left in the valence band, creating what is called
an electron-hole pair. Recombination occurs when a conduction-band electron loses
energy and falls back into a hole in the valence band.
To summarize, a piece of intrinsic silicon at room temperature has, at any instant, a number
of conduction-band (free) electrons that are unattached to any atom and re essentially
drifting randomly throughout the material. There is also an equal number of holes in the
valence band created when these electrons jump into the conduction band. This is
illustrated in Figure next page.
Electron-hole pairs in a silicon crystal. Free electrons are being generated continuously
while some recombine with holes.
Electron and Hole Current
When a voltage is applied across a piece of intrinsic silicon, as shown in Figure below, the
thermally generated free electrons in the conduction band, which are free to move
randomly in the crystal structure, are now easily attracted toward the positive end. This
movement of free electrons is one type of current in a semiconductive material and is
called electron current.

Electron current in intrinsic silicon is produced by the movement of thermally

generated free electrons.
Another type of current occurs in the valence band, where the holes created by the free
electrons exist. Electrons remaining in the valence band are still attached to their atoms and
are not free to move randomly in the crystal structure as are the free electrons. However, a
valence electron can move into a nearby hole with little change in its energy level, thus
leaving another hole where it came from. Effectively the hole has moved from one place to
another in the crystal structure, as illustrated in Figure next page. Although current in the
valence band is produced by valence electrons, it is called hole current to distinguish it
from electron current in the conduction band.
So, conduction in semiconductors is considered to be either the movement of free electrons
in the conduction band or the movement of holes in the valence band, which is actually the
movement of valence electrons to nearby atoms, creating hole
current in the opposite direction.
Hole current in intrinsic silicon.
Comparison & contrast between semiconductor & conductor

It is interesting to contrast the two types of charge movement in a semiconductor with the
charge movement in a metallic conductor, such as copper. Copper atoms form a different
type of crystal in which the atoms are not covalently bonded to each other but consist of a
“sea” of positive ion cores, which are atoms stripped of their valence electrons. The
valence electrons are attracted to the positive ions, keeping the positive ions together and
forming the metallic bond. The valence electrons do not belong to a given atom, but to the
crystal as a whole. Since the valence electrons in copper are free to move, the application
of a voltage results in current. There is only one type of current—the movement of free
electrons—because there are no “holes” in the metallic crystal structure.
 SEMICONDUCTOR MATERIALS
AND PROPERTIES
Most electronic devices are fabricated by using semiconductor materials along with
conductors and insulators. To gain a better understanding of the behavior of the
electronic devices in circuits, we must first understand a few of the characteristics of
the semiconductor material. Silicon is by far the most common semiconductor material
used for semiconductor devices and integrated circuits. Other semiconductor materials
are used for specialized applications. For example, gallium arsenide and related
compounds are used for very high speed devices and optical devices. A list of some
semiconductor materials is given in Table 1.1
Intrinsic Semiconductors
An atom is composed of a nucleus, which contains positively charged protons and neutral
neutrons, and negatively charged electrons that, in the classical sense, orbit the nucleus. The
electrons are distributed in various “shells” at different distances from the nucleus, and
electron energy increases as shell radius increases. Electrons in the outermost shell are
called valence electrons, and the chemical activity of a material is determined primarily by
the number of such electrons.
Elements in the periodic table can be grouped according to the number of valence electrons.
Table 1.2 shows a portion of the periodic table in which the more common semiconductors
are found. Silicon (Si) and germanium (Ge) are in group IV and are elemental
semiconductors. In contrast, gallium arsenide is a group III–V compound semiconductor.
We will show that the elements in group III and group V are also important in
semiconductors.
Figure 1.1(a) shows five non-interacting silicon atoms, with the four valence electrons of
each atom shown as dashed lines emanating from the atom. As silicon atoms come into
close proximity to each other, the valence electrons interact to form a crystal. The final
crystal structure is a tetrahedral configuration in which each silicon atom has four nearest
neighbors, as shown in Figure 1.1(b). The valence electrons are shared between atoms,
forming what are called covalent bonds.
Germanium, gallium arsenide, and many other semiconductor materials have the same
tetrahedral configuration. Figure 1.1(c) is a two-dimensional representation of the lattice
formed by the five silicon atoms in Figure 1.1(a). An important property of such a lattice is
that valence electrons are always available on the outer edge of the silicon crystal so that
additional atoms can be added to form very large single-crystal structures.
Figure 1.1 Silicon atoms in a crystal matrix:

(a) five noninteracting silicon atoms, each with four

valence electrons,
(b) the tetrahedral configuration,
(c) a two-dimensional representation showing the
covalent bonding
Extrinsic Semiconductors
Since the electron and hole concentrations in an intrinsic semiconductor are relatively
small, only very small currents are possible. However, these concentrations can be greatly
increased by adding controlled amounts of certain impurities. A desirable impurity is one
that enters the crystal lattice and replaces (i.e., substitutes for) one of the semiconductor
atoms, even though the impurity atom does not have the same valence electron structure.
For silicon, the desirable substitutional impurities are from the group III and V elements
(see Table 1.2).
The most common group V elements used for this purpose are phosphorus and arsenic. For
example, when a phosphorus atom substitutes for a silicon atom, as shown in Figure
1.6(a), four of its valence electrons are used to satisfy the covalent bond requirements. The
fifth valence electron is more loosely bound to the phosphorus atom. At room temperature,
this electron has enough thermal energy to break the bond, thus being free to move
through the crystal and contribute to the electron current in the semiconductor. When the
fifth phosphorus valence electron moves into the conduction band, a positively charged
phosphorus ion is created as shown in Figure 1.6(b).
The most common group III element used for silicon doping is boron. When a boron atom
replaces a silicon atom, its three valence electrons are used to satisfy the covalent bond
requirements for three of the four nearest silicon atoms (Figure 1.7(a)). This leaves one
bond position open. At room temperature, adjacent silicon valence electrons have
sufficient thermal energy to move into this position, thereby creating a hole. This effect is
shown in Figure 1.7(b). The boron atom then has a net negative charge, but cannot move,
and a hole is created that can contribute to a hole current.
Because the boron atom has accepted a valence electron, the boron is therefore called an
acceptor impurity. Acceptor atoms lead to the creation of holes without electrons being
generated. This process, also called doping, can be used to control the concentration of
holes in a semiconductor.

The materials containing impurity atoms are called extrinsic semiconductors, or doped
semiconductors. The doping process, which allows us to control the concentrations of
free electrons and holes, determines the conductivity and currents in the material.
N-TYPE AND P-TYPE SEMICONDUCTORS
A semiconductor that contains donor impurity atoms is called an n-type semiconductor
(for the negatively charged electrons) and has a preponderance of electrons compared
to holes.

A semiconductor that contains acceptor impurity atoms is called a p-type

semiconductor (for the positively charged holes created) and has a preponderance of
holes compared to electrons.
 SEMICONDUCTOR

INTRINSIC SEMICONDUCTOR EXTRINSIC SEMICONDUCTOR

N-Type SEMICONDUCTOR
P-Type SEMICONDUCTOR