Semiconductor Materials and PN

Junction Diode

By: Jaspreet Singh

Department of Electrical and Instrumentation Engineering

Sant Longowal Institute of Engineering and Technology
(Deemed-to-be-University, Established by Govt. of India)
Longowal-148106 (Punjab
 1833

Resistance (Ohms)
Michael Faraday

Temperature (ºC)

Discovers that electrical resistivity decreases as the

temperature increases in silver sulfide.
This is the first investigation of a semiconductor.
 Metals vs. Semiconductors
Data Chart
Temperature Copper Germanium
0ºC 31Ω 5.2Ω
25ºC 33Ω 4.2Ω
50ºC 37Ω 1.2Ω
75ºC 41Ω 0.63Ω
100ºC 44Ω .029Ω
 Why semiconductors?
• SEMICONDUCTORS: They are here, there, and everywhere
• Computers, Laptops - Silicon (Si) MOSFETs, ICs, CMOS
• Cell phones, pagers - Si ICs, GaAs FETs, BJTs
• CD players - GaAs and InGaP laser diodes, Si photodiodes
• TV remotes, mobile terminals - Light emitting diodes (LEDs)
• Fiber networks - InGaAsP laser diodes
• Traffic signals, car Taillights - GaN LEDs (green,
green blue)
blue
InGaAsP LEDs (red,red amber)
amber
• Air bags - Si MEMs, Si ICs
 Introduction
Semiconductors are materials whose electrical properties
lie between Conductors and Insulators.

Ex : Silicon (Si) and Germanium (Ge)

Difference in conductivity
Parameter Conductor Semiconductor Insulator
Forbidden energy gap Not exist Small (1 eV) Large (>5 eV)

Conductivity High (10-7 mho/m) Medium (10-7 to 10- Very Low (10-13 mho/m)
13
mho/m) Almost negligible.

Resistivity Low Moderate High

Flow of current Due to movement of Due to movement of Almost negligible but
free electrons. electrons and holes. only due to free
electrons.
Temperature coefficient Positive Negative Negative
of resistance
Charge carriers in Completely filled Partially filled Completely vacant
conduction band

Charge carriers in Almost vacant Partially filled Completely filled

valence band
Example Copper, Aluminium, Silicon, Germanium, Paper, rubber, glass,
graphite etc. arsenic etc. plastic etc.
Applications Conducting wires, Diodes, transistors, Sports equipment, home
Transformers, in optocouplers etc. appliances etc.
electrical cords etc.
 Semiconductor Materials
• Elemental semiconductors – Si and Ge (column IV of periodic
table) –compose of single species of atoms
• Compound semiconductors – combinations of atoms of column III
and column V and some atoms from column II and VI. (combination
of two atoms results in binary compounds)
• There are also three-element (ternary) compounds (GaAsP) and
four-elements (quaternary) compounds such as InGaAsP.
 Scientific Principle of
Conduction (Energy Bands)
 Valence Band

The highest occupied energy band is called the

valence band.
Most electrons remain bound to the atoms in this
band.
 Conduction Band

The conduction band is the band of orbitals that are

high in energy and are generally empty.
It is the band that accepts the electrons from the
valence band.
 Energy Gap

The “leap” required for electrons from the Valence

Band to enter the Conduction Band.
 Conductors

In a conductor, electrons can move freely among

these orbitals within an energy band as long as the
orbitals are not completely occupied.
 Conductors

Also in conductors, the energy gap is nonexistent or

relatively small.
 Insulators

In insulators, the valence band is full.

 Insulators

Also in insulators, the energy gap is relatively large.

 Semiconductors

In semiconductors, the valence band is full but the

energy gap is intermediate.
 Semiconductors

Only a small leap is required for an electron to enter

the Conduction Band.
 Band Diagrams

The highest energy level that an electron can occupy at the absolute zero
temperature is known as the Fermi Level.
The Silicon Atomic Structure
-
- -
-
- -
- Si -
-
14 -
- -
-
-

Silicon: our primary example and focus

Atomic no. 14
14 electrons in three shells: 2 ) 8 ) 4
i.e., 4 electrons in the outer "bonding" shell
Silicon forms strong covalent bonds with 4 neighbors
Silicon’s Arrangement
 Intrinsic Silicon

At any temperature above absolute zero

temperature, there is a finite probability that an
electron in the lattice will be knocked loose from its
position.
 Intrinsic Silicon

The electron in the lattice knocked loose from its

position leaves behind an electron deficiency called
a "hole".
 Current Flow

If a voltage is applied, then both the electron and the

hole can contribute to a small current flow.
The Germanium Atomic Structure
 Band Gap Energy
n=3 n=3

n=2 n=2

n=1 n=1

Atom 1 Atom 2

Discrete energy levels for 2 atoms separated by a

large distance.

Note that the band gap energy,

Eg for insulators is ~ 10 eV,
while for metals it is close to 0
Typical continuous band pictures at eV (1eV=1.6x10-19 J).
0 K for different solid materials.
 Electrons and Holes
Si and Ge are tetravalent elements – each atom of Si and Ge has 4 valence
electrons in crystal matrix

T=0 all electrons are bound in For T> 0 thermal fluctuations can
covalent bonds break electrons free creating
electron-hole pairs
no carriers available for conduction.
Both can move throughout the lattice
and therefore conduct current.
 Electrons and Holes
For T>0
some electrons in the valence band receive
enough thermal energy to be excited
across the band gap to the conduction
band.
The result is a material with some electrons
in an empty conduction band and some
unoccupied states in a filled valence band.
An empty state in the valence band is
referred to as a hole.
If the conduction band electron and the
Electron-hole pairs in a semiconductor.
The bottom of the conduction band
hole are created by the excitation of a
denotes as Ec and the top of the valence valence band electron to the conduction
band denotes as Ev. band, they are called an electron-hole pair
(EHP).
 Intrinsic Material
A perfect semiconductor crystal with no impurities or lattice defects is called an
intrinsic semiconductor.

At T=0 K – At T>0
No charge carriers Electron-hole pairs are generated
Valence band is filled with electrons
EHPs are the only charge carriers in
Conduction band is empty
intrinsic material

Since electron and holes are created in

pairs – the electron concentration in
conduction band, n (electron/cm3) is
equal to the concentration of holes in the
valence band, p (holes/cm3).
Each of these intrinsic carrier
concentrations is denoted ni.
Thus for intrinsic materials n=p=ni

Electron-hole pairs in the covalent bonding

model in the Si crystal.
 Increasing conductivity by
temperature
As temperature increases, the number of free electrons and holes
created increases exponentially.
17
Carrier Concentration vs Temp (in Si)
1 10
16
1 10
15
1 10
14
1 10

Intrinsic Concentration (cm^-3)

13
1 10
12
1 10
11
1 10
ni 1 1010
T
9
1 10
8
1 10
7
1 10
6
1 10
5
1 10
4
1 10
3
1 10
100
150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500
T
Temperature (K)

Therefore the conductivity of a semiconductor is influenced by

temperature
 Extrinsic Material
By doping, a crystal can be altered so that it has a predominance of either
electrons or holes. Thus there are two types of doped semiconductors, n-type
(mostly electrons) and p-type (mostly holes). When a crystal is doped such that the
equilibrium carrier concentrations n0 and po are different from the intrinsic carrier

concentration ni, the material is said to be extrinsic.

Donor impurities (elements of When impurities or lattice

group V): P, Sb, As defects are introduced,
additional levels are created
Acceptor elements (group III): in the energy bands
B, Al, Ga, In structure, usually within the
band gap.
 P-Type Doping

In P-type doping, boron or gallium is the dopant.

 P-Type Doping

Boron and gallium each have only three outer

electrons.
When mixed into the silicon lattice, they form
"holes" in the lattice where a silicon electron has
nothing to bond to.
 N-Type Doping

In N-type doping, phosphorus or arsenic is added to

the silicon in small quantities.
 N-Type Doping

Phosphorus and arsenic each have five outer

electrons, so they're out of place when they get into
the silicon lattice.
The fifth electron has nothing to bond to, so it's free
to move around.
 P-N Junction

We create a p-n junction by joining together two

pieces of semiconductor, one doped n-type, the
other p-type.
 P-N Junction
In the p-type region there are holes from the
acceptor impurities and in the n-type region there
are extra electrons.
 P-N Junction

When a p-n junction is formed, some of the

electrons from the n-region which have reached the
conduction band are free to diffuse across the
junction and combine with holes.
 P-N Junction
Filling a hole makes a negative ion and leaves
behind a positive ion on the n-side.

A space charge builds up, creating a depletion

region.
 Forward Biasing
When a diode is connected in a Forward Bias condition, a negative voltage is
applied to the N-type material and a positive voltage is applied to the P-type
material. If this external voltage becomes greater than the value of the potential
barrier, approx. 0.7 volts for silicon and 0.3 volts for germanium, the potential
barriers opposition will be overcome and current will start to flow.
Reduction in the Depletion Layer due to Forward Bias
 Forward Characteristics Curve
for a Junction Diode
The negative voltage repels electrons towards the junction giving them the
energy to cross over and combine with the holes being pushed in the opposite
direction towards the junction by the positive voltage. This results in a
characteristics curve of zero current flowing up to this voltage point, called the
“knee” on the static curves and then a high current flow through the diode with
little increase in the external voltage as shown below.
 Reverse Biasing

The positive voltage applied to the N-type material attracts electrons towards the
positive electrode and away from the junction, while the holes in the P-type are also
attracted away from the junction towards the negative electrode. The net result is that
the depletion layer grows wider due to a lack of electrons and holes and presents a
high impedance path, almost an insulator and a high potential barrier is created across
the junction thus preventing current from flowing through the semiconductor material.
Increase in the Depletion Layer due to Reverse Bias
 Jumping

If you apply enough reverse voltage, the junction

breaks down and lets the current through.
Reverse Characteristics Curve
I-V Characteristics of PN junction Diode
 Rectifiers
The main application of p-n junction diode is in rectification
circuits. These circuits are used to convert the AC signals
into DC signals. More specifically, diodes are used to get
the positive peaks out from the alternating signals. Then,
the capacitor based filter is used to smooth the pulsation
in the voltage and convert into DC signal, a regulator is
used which removes the ripples.
Half-wave rectifier
RMS of Half-wave rectifier

The RMS voltage, VRMS = √ Vm2/2π 0∫π sin2ωt dωt

= √ Vm2/2π 0 ∫π(1 – cos2ωt) / 2 ) dωt
= √ Vm2/4π [ωt – sin2ωt / 2]0π
= √ Vm2/4π [ π – (sinπ) / 2 – (0 – (sin0) / 2)]
= √ Vm2/4π ( π ) = √ Vm2/ 4
Therefore the RMS voltage, VRMS = Vm/ 2
Average of Half-wave rectifier

Average voltage, VDC = Vm/2π 0∫π sinωt dωt

= Vm/2π [ – cosωt]0π = Vm/2π [- cosπ + cos0]
= Vm/2π [1+1] = 2Vm/2π = Vm/π
VDC = Vm/π.
 Characteristics of Half Wave Rectifier

Ripple Factor

Ripple factor is the ratio of RMS value of the AC component of the output voltage to
the DC component of the output voltage.

R.F = √ (Irms / Idc)2 -1 = 1.21

Where, Irms = Im/2

Idc = Im/ π
 Characteristics of Half Wave Rectifier
Form Factor
The form factor is the ratio of RMS value to the DC value. For a half-wave
rectifier, the form factor is 1.57.

Rectifier Efficiency

Rectifier efficiency is the ratio of output DC power to the input AC power. For
a half-wave rectifier, rectifier efficiency is 40.6%.

Peak factor

The peak factor is defined as the ratio of the maximum value to the RMS
value of an alternating quantity.
Vm / VRMS = Vm / ( Vm / 2 ) = 2 Vm / Vm = 2
Advantages of Half Wave Rectifier
•Affordable
•Simple connections
•Easy to use as the connections are simple
•Number of components used are less

Disadvantages of Half Wave Rectifier

•Ripple production is more
•Harmonics are generated
•Utilization of the transformer is very low
•The efficiency of rectification is low

Applications of Half Wave Rectifier

•Signal demodulation: Half wave rectifiers are used for demodulating
the AM signals.
•Signal peak detector: Half wave rectifier is used for detecting the
peak of the incoming waveform.
 Full Wave Rectifier

The circuit is designed in such a manner that in the first half cycle if the
diode is forward biased then in the second half cycle it is reverse biased
and so on.
 RMS of Full-wave rectifier

The RMS voltage, VRMS = √ Vm2/π 0∫π sin2ωt dωt

= √ Vm2/π 0 ∫π(1 – cos2ωt) / 2 ) dωt = √ Vm2/2π [ωt – sin2ωt / 2]0π
= √ Vm2/2π [ π – (sinπ) / 2 – (0 – (sin0) / 2)] = √ Vm2/2π ( π ) = √ Vm2/ 2
RMS voltage, VRMS = Vm/ √2
Average of Full-wave rectifier

Average voltage, VDC = Vm/π 0∫ π sinωt dωt

= Vm/π [ – cosωt]0π = Vm/π [- cosπ + cos0]
= Vm/π [1+1] = 2Vm/π = 2Vm/π
VDC = 2Vm/π.
Characteristics of Full Wave Rectifier
Ripple Factor

Where, Irms = Im/√ 2

Idc = 2Im / π

R.F = √ (Im/√ 2/ 2Im / π)2 -1 = 0.48

 Characteristics of Full Wave Rectifier
Form Factor

The form factor is the ratio of RMS value of current to the output DC
current. The form factor of a full-wave rectifier is given as 1.11

Rectifier Efficiency

Rectifier efficiency is used as a parameter to determine the efficiency

of the rectifier to convert AC into DC. It is the ratio of DC output power
to the AC input power. The rectifier efficiency of a full-wave rectifier
is 81.2%.

Peak Factor

Vm / Vm/ √2 = Vm √2 / Vm = √2 = 1.414
Types of Full Wave Rectifier
•Two diodes full-wave rectifier
circuit (requires a center-tapped
transformer)

•Bridge rectifier
circuit (doesn’t require a
centre-tapped transformer
and is used along with
transformers for efficient
usage)
Advantages of Full Wave Rectifier
•The rectifier efficiency of a full-wave rectifier is high
•The power loss is very low
•Number of ripples generated are less

Disadvantages of Full Wave Rectifier

•Very expensive

Applications of Full Wave Rectifier

Following are the uses of full-wave rectifier:
•Full-wave rectifiers are used for supplying polarized voltage in
welding and for this bridge rectifiers are used.
•Full-wave rectifiers are used for detecting the amplitude of
modulated radio signals.
Thank You