Chapter One: Basic Semiconductor

Theory

Electronic 1 / 30
Outlines

Introduction
2 Atomic
Theory
3 Energy
Levels
4 Energy Band
Model
5 Semiconductor Materials

6 Types of Extrinsic Semiconductor

Materials
7 PN- Junction
Theory

Electronic 2 / 30
Introduction

Conductor is a material that will support a generous flow of charge

when a voltage source is applied across its terminals.
An insulator is a material that offers a very low level of
conductivity for an applied voltage source.
A semiconductor , therefore, is a material that has a conductivity
level somewhere between the extremes of an insulator and a
conductor.
The study of electronic devices is now almost synonymous with the
study of semiconductor devices

Electronic 3 / 30
Cont. . . .
Resistivity (ρ): Inversely related to the conductivity of a material is
its resistance to the flow of charge, or current
RA
ρ= =⇒ Ω − cm
Ωcm
l 2
= (1)
cm

Figure: defining the metric units of

resistivity

Electronic 4 / 30
Cont. . . .

Ge and Si have received the attention they have for a

number of reasons
They can be manufactured to a very high purity level
The ability to change the characteristics of the material
significantly through adding impurity levels process,
known as “doping”
Their characteristics can be altered significantly
through the application of heat or light
Important consideration in the development of heat-
and light-sensitive devices
The atoms of both materials form a very definite
pattern that is periodic in nature

Electronic 5 / 30
Cont. . . .
Some of the unique qualities of Ge and Si are due to
their atomic structure
The atoms of both materials form a very definite pattern
A crystal : One complete pattern
A lattice : The periodic arrangement of the atoms
A single-crystal : Any material composed solely of
repeating crystal structures of the same kind

Figure: Ge and Si (Single-crystal structure Silicon

Lattice)
Electronic 6 / 30
Cont. . . .
The Bohr models of the two most commonly used
semiconductors; Germanium and silicon

The potential (ionization potential) required to remove any

one of valence electrons is lower than that required for any
other electron in the structure
In a pure germanium or silicon crystal 4 valence electrons
are bonded to 4 adjoining atoms
Electronic 7 / 30
Cont. . . .
A bonding of atoms, strengthened by the sharing of valence
electrons, is called covalent bonding

Figure: Covalent bonding of the silicon

atom Electronic 8 / 30
Energy Levels
In the isolated atomic structure there are discrete
(individual) energy levels associated with each orbiting
electron

Each material have its own set of permissible energy

levels for the electrons in its atomic structure
Electronic 9 / 30
Cont. . . .

The more distant the electron from the nucleus, the higher the energy
state, and any electron that has left its parent atom has a higher
energy state than any electron in the atomic structure
The energy associated with each electron is measured
in electron volts (eV)
W = QV

(2)

1eV = 1.6 × 10− 19 J

Example
1. How much energy in joules is required to move a
charge of 6C through a difference in potential of 3V ?
2. If 48eV of energy is required to move a charge through a
potential difference of Electronic
12V , determine the charge 10 /
Energy Band Model

One method of characterizing an electrical material is

based up on a diagram that represents electron energy in
that material
Electronic energy is divided among three bands
1. Valence band: bonding electrons with lowest energy
The electrons are tightly bound to the atoms of the
material
2. Forbidden gap or band : electrons do not occupy energy
states
Is not a physical void, but rather an energy gap
Absent in metallic conductors, very large in
insulators, and in semiconductors it is relatively
small.
3. Conduction band : conduction electrons with highest
energy.
Electrons occupy specific energy states, or levels, in the
Electronic 11 /
Cont. . . .

To achieve electrical conduction, electrons must transfer

from energy states in the valence band to energy states in
the conduction band
The valence band represents low energy states of the
electrons, in which the electrons are tightly bound to the
Cont. . . .
To cross the band gap, an electron must attain energy
equal to or greater than the lowest allowed energy state
in the conduction band
In metals, electrons acquire sufficient thermal energy to
transfer from the valence band to the conduction band,
thus making electrical conduction possible
In semiconductors, Atoms are ionized(electrons are torn
loose), and free (conduction) electrons are released to
establish an electric current.
The forbidden gap regions associated with insulators and
semiconductors represent energy levels that electrons may
not assume
The only way that an electron can move from the valence to
conduction band is by acquiring sufficient energy to cross
the gap, the material is usually damaged or destroyed
In the pure (intrinsic) state, semiconducting materials
manifest a forbidden gap that is less than that found in
insulators Electronic 13 /
Semiconductor Materials
Semiconductor materials are basically
1. Intrinsic semiconductor
Impurities do not appreciably affect its electrical behaviour
All carriers are created due to thermally or optically excited
electrons from the full valence band into the empty
conduction band
Equal numbers of electrons and holes are present
Electrons and holes flow in opposite directions in an electric
field, though they contribute to current in the same
direction since they are oppositely charged
Hole and electron current are not necessarily equal, however,
because electrons and holes have different effective masses
(crystalline analogues to free inertial masses).
The concentration of carriers is strongly dependent on the
temperature. At low temperatures, the valence band is
completely full making the material an insulator.
Increasing the temperature leads to an increase in the
number of carriers and increase in conductivity.
2. Extrinsic semiconductor
Material that has Electronic
been subjected to the doping process 14 /
Types of Extrinsic Semiconductor Materials
There are two extrinsic materials of immeasurable
importance to semiconductor device fabrication:
n-type
and p-
type
Both the n- and p-type materials are formed by adding a
predetermined number of impurity atoms into a germanium
or silicon base

N-Type Material
Created by introducing those
impurity elements that have five
valence electrons (pentavalent),
such as antimony, arsenic, and
phosphorus.
Electronic 15 /
Cont. . . .

There is an additional fifth electron due to the impurity

atom, which is not associated with any particular covalent
bond, free to move within the newly formed n-type material
Diffused impurities with five valence electrons are donor
atoms.
A large number of “free” carriers have been established in
the n-type material, it is still electrically neutral
A discrete energy level (called the donor level) appears in
the
forbidden band with an Eg significantly less than that of the
intrinsic material.
“free” electrons due to the added impurity have less
difficulty absorbing
a sufficient measure of thermal energy to move into the
conduction band at room temperature
Electronic 16 /
Cont. . . .
At room temperature, there are a large number of carriers
(electrons) in the conduction level and the conductivity of
the material increases significantly.

Electronic 17 /
Cont. . . .
P-Type Material
Formed by doping a pure Ge or Si crystal with impurity
atoms having three valence electrons, such as boron,
gallium, and indium

There is an insufficient number of electrons to complete

the covalent bonds of the newly formed lattice.
The resulting vacancy is called a hole and is represented
by a small circle or positive sign due to the absence of a
negative charge. Electronic 18 /
Cont. . . .

Since the resulting vacancy will readily accept a “free”

electron: The diffused impurities with three valence
electrons are called acceptor atoms
The resulting p-type material is electrically
neutral Electron versus Hole Flow
If a valence electron acquires sufficient kinetic energy to
break its covalent bond and fills the void created by a hole,
then a vacancy, or hole, will be created in the covalent
bond that released the electron

A transfer of holes to the left and electrons to

the right
By:Eshetu T.(ASTU) Electronic July, 19 /
Cont. . . .

Diffusion and drift current

The diffusion is a flow of charge carriers from a region of
high density to a region of low density due to non uniform
distribution of it.
Diffusion current is the transport of charge carriers in a
semiconductor. Drift is charged particle motion in response
to an applied electric field. When an electric field is applied
across a semiconductor, the carriers start moving, producing
a current.
The positively charged holes move with the electric field,
whereas the
negatively charged electrons move against the electric field.
Majority and Minority Carriers
In the intrinsic state, the number of free electrons in Ge or
Si is due only to those few electrons in the valence band
that has acquired sufficient energy from thermal or light
sources to break the Electronic
covalent bond or to the few 20 /
Cont. . . .

In an n-type material the electron is called the majority

carrier and the hole the minority carrier
In a p-type material the hole is the majority carrier and the
electron is the minority carrier.

The n- and p-type materials represent the basic building

blocks of semiconductor devices

Electronic 23 /
Cont. . . .

Regeneration and Recombination of Electron-Hole Pair

Free electrons and holes are generated by thermal energy,
which causes covalent bonds to break at a rate depending
strongly on temperature
The higher the temperature, the higher will be the rate of
regeneration
The process of recombination and generation of electron-
hole pairs establishes equilibrium at a particular
temperature.
For every ’liberated’ electron a ’hole’ remains in valence
band
The liberated electrons to the conduction band give up
energy and drop into a hole in the valence band which
does not contribute to the current; rather it is cancellation
of charge carriers and recombination has occurred
At any particular temperature there exists a certain number
of electron-hole pairs that will govern the conductivity and
the resistance of theElectronic
material 22 /
PN- Junction Theory
Pure silicon can be turned into a relatively good electrical
conductor when contains both p-type and n-type regions.

In the real world, two such crystals cannot be joined

together usefully.
A practical pn junction can only be created by inserting
different impurities intoElectronic
By:Eshetu T.(ASTU)
different parts of a single
July, 23 /
Cont. . . .

Unbiased PN-Junction
When we join the n- and p-type crystals together, the extra
electrons in the n region will seek to lose energy by filling the
holes in the p region which leaves an empty zone, or
depletion region, around the junction, also leaves a small
electrical imbalance inside the crystal.
The n region is missing some electrons so it has a
positive charge. Those electrons have migrated to fill
holes in the p region, which therefore has a negative
charge.
Electrical imbalance amounts to about 0.3 volt in a
germanium crystal,
and about 0.65 to 0.7 volt in a silicon crystal, known as
a barrier potential.

Electronic 24 /
Cont. . . .

Electronic 25 /
Cont. . . .

PN – Junction Biasing
Forward Biasing
The negative terminal of the supply voltage is connected to
the N-type end and the positive terminal is connected to the
P-type material

Due to the decrease of depletion region resistance, an

electrical current can flow through the junction in the
forward direction, but not in the reverse direction.
diode acting as a closed switch

Electronic 26 /
Cont. . . .
Reverse Biasing
The positive terminal of the external voltage is applied to the
n-type material and the negative terminal of the supply
voltage is connected to the p-type end.

all available current carriers are attracted away from the

junction, and the depletion region grows correspondingly
larger and its resistance increases
No current flow through the crystal
diode acting as an open switch
Electronic 27 /
Thank
You

Electronic 28 /