Rizal Technological University

Brgy. Maybunga, Pasig City

MATERIALS SCIENCE
and
ENGINEERING
“SEMICONDUCTOR”

Submitted By: Submitted To:

Beringuel, Jake Engr. Paul Adrian C. Manalang
Felices, Ressie Jay
Linaga, Hannah
Magallanes, Jerold
Millete, Diossah Mae
Navarro, Aijie
Plaza, AJ

PCEIT – 29 -201P
Saturday/10:30a-1:30p
 SEMICONDUCTOR
Semiconductivity

The electrical conductivity of semiconducting materials is not as high as that of the

metals.
The electrical properties of these materials are extremely sensitive to the
presence of even minute concentrations of impurities.

Intrinsic Semiconductors

Are those in which the electrical behavior is based on the electronic structure
inherent to the pure material.

Extrimic Semiconductor

When electrical characteristics are dictated by impurity

atoms.

Intrinsic Semiconduction

Characterized by the Electron Band Structure, a completely filled valence band,

separated from an empty conduction band by a relatively narrow forbidden
bandgap.

The two elemental Semiconductors are Silicon (Si) and Germanium (Ge), having a
band gap energy.

 er elements having band gap energies are Gallium arsenide (GaAs), and Indium
antimonide (InSb); frequently called III-V compounds. Also some elements coming
from group IIB and VIA such as Cadmium sulfide (CdS) and Zinc telluride (ZnTe).
The more separated, the more ionic and the magnitude of the band gap energy
increases.

Concept of a Hole

In Intrinsic Semiconductors, for every electron excited into the conduction band
there is left behind a missing electron in one of the covalent bonds.

This process is expedited by treating a missing electron from the valence band
as a positively charged particle called a hole.
A hole is considered to have a charge that is of the same magnitude as that for an
electron, but of opposite sign (+1.6x10^-19C).

Intrinsic Conductivity

Since there are two types of charge carrier (free electrons and holes) in an
intrinsic semiconductor, the expression for electrical conduction, must be
modified to include a term to account for the contribution of the hole current.
Therefore, we write

Extrinsic Semiconduction

Virtually all commercial

Semiconductors are extrinsic; that is, the electrical behavior is determined by impurities.
In extrinsic semiconductors, large numbers of charge carriers (either electrons or
holes, depending on the impurity type) are created at room temperature, by the
available thermal energy. As a consequence, relatively high room-temperature
electrical conductivities are obtained in extrinsic semiconductors. Most of these
materials are designed for use in electronic devices to be operated at ambient
conditions.

Two Type of Extrinsic Semiconduction

n-Type Extrinsic Semiconduction

Extrinsic n-type semiconduction model (electron bonding). An impurity atom
such as phosphorus, having five valence electrons, may substitute for a
silicon atom. This results in an extra bonding electron, which is bound to the
impurity atom and orbits it. Excitation to form a free electron. The motion of
this free electron in response to an electric field.

The energy state of such an electron may be viewed from the perspective of the
electron band model scheme. For each of the loosely bound electrons, there
exists a single energy level, or energy state, which is located within the
forbidden bandgap just below the bottom of the conduction ban
Each excitation event, supplies or donates a single electron to the conduction
band; an impurity of this type is aptly termed a donor. Since each donor electron is
excited from an impurity level, no corresponding hole is created within the valence
band. At room temperature, the thermal energy available is sufficient to excite large
numbers of electrons from donor states. A material of this type is said to be an n-
type extrinsic semiconductor, the electrons are majority carriers by virtue of their
density or concentration; holes, on the other hand, are the minority charge carriers.
For n-type semiconductors, the Fermi level is shifted upward in the band gap, to
within the vicinity of the donor state; its exact position is a function of both
temperature and donor concentration.

p-Type Extrinsic Semiconduction

An opposite effect is produced by the addition to silicon or germanium of
trivalent substitutional impurities such as aluminum, boron, and gallium from
Group IIIA of the periodic table. One of the covalent bonds around each of
these atoms is deficient in an electron; such a deficiency may be viewed as a
hole that is weakly bound to the impurity atom.

Extrinsic p-type semiconduction model (electron bonding). An

impurity atom such as boron, having three valence electrons, may substitute for a silicon
atom. This result in a deficiency of one valence electron, or a hole associated with the
impurity atom. The motion of this hole in response to an electric field.
In essence, the electron and the hole exchange position. A moving hole is considered to
be in an excited state and participates in the conduction process, in a manner analogous
to an excited donor electron, as described above.
Each impurity atom of this type introduces an energy level within the band gap, above
yet very close to the top of the valence band. A hole is imagined to be created in the
valence band by the thermal excitation of an electron from the valence band into this
impurity electron state, as demonstrated in.

With such a transition, only

one carrier is produced—a
hole in the valence band; a
free electron is not created
in either the impurity level
or the conduction band.
For p-type
semiconductors, the Fermi
level is positioned within
the band gap and near to
the accept or level.
An impurity of this type is called an acceptor, because it is capable of accepting
an electron from the valence band, leaving behind a hole. It follows that the
energy level within the band gap introduced by this type of impurity is called an
accept or state.

Inextrinsic semiconductors, large numbers of charge carriers (either electron or holes,

depending on the impurity type) are created at room temperature, by the available
thermal energy. As a consequence, relatively high room-temperature electrical
conductivities are obtained in extrinsic semiconductors. Most of these materials are
designed for use in electronic devices to be operated at ambient conditions.

The Temperature Variation of Conductivity and

Carrier Concentration
Figure 12.15 plots the logarithm of the electrical
conductivity as a function of the logarithm of
absolute temperature for intrinsic silicon, and also
for silicon that has been doped with 0.0013 and
0.0052 at % boron: again, boron acts as an
acceptor in silicon. Worth nothing from this figure
is that the electrical conductivity in the intrinsic
specimen increases dramatically with rising
temperature. The numbers of both electrons and
holes increase with temperature because more
thermal energy is available to excite electrons
from the valence to the conduction band. Thus,
both the values of n and p in the intrinsic
conductivity expression, Equation 12.15, are
enhanced. The magnitudes of electron and hole
mobilities decrease slightly with temperature as a
Figure 12.15 The Temperature dependence of the electrical result of more effective electron
conductivity (log-log scales) for intrinsic silicon and boron doped
silicon at two doping levels. [Adapted from G.L. Pearson and J.
and hole scattering by the
Bardeen, Phys. Rev., 75,8665 (1949).] thermal vibrations. However,
these reductions in µe and µh by
no means offset the increase in n and p, and the net effect of a rise in temperature is
to produce a conductivity increase.
Mathematically, the dependence of intrinsic conductivity σ on the absolute
temperature T is approximately

(12.18)

Where C represents a temperature- independent

constant and Eg and k are the band gap energy and Boltzmann’s constant,
respectively. Since the increase of n and p with rising temperature is so much greater
than the decrease in µe and µh, the dependence of carrier concentration on
temperature for intrinsic behavior is virtually the same
as for the (12.19)
conductivity, or

The parameter C’ is a constant

that is independent of
temperature, yet is different from
C in Equation 12.18.
In light of Equation 12.19,
another method of representing
the temperature dependence of
the electrical behavior of
semiconductors is as the natural
logarithm of electron and hole
concentrations versus the
reciprocal of the absolute
temperature. Figure 12.16 is
such a plot using data taken from
Figure 12.15; and, as may be
noted (Figure 12.16), a straight
line segment results for the
intrinsic material; such a plot
expedites the determination of
the band gap energy. According
to Equation 12.19, the slope of
this line segment is equal to
Figure 12.16 The logarithm of carrier (electron and hole) −E g∨2 k or E g may be
concentration as a function of there reciprocal of the absolute
temperature for intrinsic silicon and two boron-doped silicon
determined as follows:
materials. (Adapted from G.L. Pearson and J. Bardeen, Phys.
Rev., 75, 865, 1949.)
 (12.20)
This is indicated in the schematic plot of Figure
12.17.
Another important feature of the behavior
shown in Figures 12.15 and 12.16 is that at
temperatures below about 800 K (527oC), the
boron-doped materials are extrinsically p-type;
that is, virtually all the carrier holes result from extrinsic excitations—electron
transitions from the valence band into the boron acceptor level, which leave behind
valence band holes (Figure 12.14). The available thermal energies at these
temperatures are sufficient to promote significant numbers of these excitations, yet
insufficient to stimulate many electrons from the valence band across the band gap.
Thus, the extrinsic conductivity far exceeds that of the intrinsic material. For example,
at 400 K (127oC) the conductivities for intrinsic silicon and extrinsic 0.0013 at% boron-
doped material are approximately 10-2 and 600 (Ω-m)-1 respectively (Figure 12.15).
This comparison indicates the sensitivity of conductivity to even extremely small
concentrations of some impurity elements.
Furthermore, the extrinsic
conductivity is also sensitive to
temperature, as indicated in Figure
12.15, for both boron-doped
materials. Beginning at about 75K (-
200oC), the conductivity first
increases with temperature, reaches
a maximum, and then decreases
slightly prior to becoming intrinsic.
Or, in terms of carrier (i.e., hole)
concentration, Figure 12.16, ln p first
increases linearly with decreasing
1/T (or increasing temperature).
Large numbers of extrinsic
excitations are possible even at
these relatively low temperatures
inasmuch as the acceptor level lies
just above the top of the valence
band. With further temperature
increase (1/T decrease), the hole
concentration eventually becomes
FIGURE 12.17 Schematic plot of the natural logarithm of
independent of temperature, Figure
hole concentration as a function of the reciprocal of 12.16. At this point virtually all of the
absolute temperature for a p-type semiconductor that boron atoms have accepted electrons
exhibits extrinsic, saturation, and intrinsic behavior.
from the valence band, or are said to
be saturated; this is appropriately
termed the saturation region (Figure 12.17). (Donor impurities become exhausted
instead of saturated.) The number of holes in this region is approximately equal to the
number of dopant impurity (i.e., boron) atoms.
 The decrease of conductivity with increasing temperature within the saturation
region for the two extrinsic curves in Figure 12.15 may be explained by the reduction in
hole mobility with rising temperature. From the extrinsic conductivity expression,
Equation 12.17, both e and p are independent of temperature in this region, and the
only temperature dependence comes from the mobility.
Also worth noting from Figures 12.15 and 12.16 is that at about 800 K (527 oC),
the conductivity of both boron-doped materials becomes intrinsic. At the outset of
intrinsic behavior, the number of intrinsic valence band-to-conduction band transitions
becomes greater than the number of holes that are extrinsically generated.
A couple of final comments relate to the influence of boron acceptor content on
the electrical behavior of silicon. First, the extrinsic and saturation conductivities and
hole concentrations are greater for the material with the higher boron content (Figures
12.15 and 12.16), a result not unexpected, since more B atoms are present from which
holes may be produced. Also, the intrinsic outset temperature becomes elevated as
the dopant content increases.

THE HALL EFFECT

is the production of a voltage difference (the Hall voltage) across an electrical
conductor, transverse to an electric current in the conductor and to an
applied magnetic field perpendicular to the current. It was discovered by Edwin Hall in
1879. For clarity, the original effect is sometimes called the ordinary Hall effect to
distinguish it from other "Hall effects" which have different physical mechanisms.
The Hall coefficient is defined as the ratio of the induced electric field to the product of
the current density and the applied magnetic field. It is a characteristic of the material
from which the conductor is made, since its value depends on the type, number, and
properties of the charge carriers that constitute the current.

The modern theory of electromagnetism was systematized by James Clerk Maxwell in

the paper "On Physical Lines of Force", which was published in four parts between
1861-1862. While Maxwell's paper established a solid mathematical basis for
electromagnetic theory, the detailed mechanisms of the theory were still being
explored. One such question was about the details of the interaction between magnets
and electric current, including whether magnetic fields interacted with the conductors
or the electric current itself. In 1879 Edwin Hall was exploring this interaction, and
discovered the Hall effect while he was working on his doctoral degree at Johns
Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. Eighteen years before the electron was
discovered, his measurements of the tiny effect produced in the apparatus he used
were an experimental tour de force, published under the name "On a New Action of
the Magnet on Electric Currents"
The Hall effect is due to the nature of the current in a conductor. Current consists of
the movement of many small charge carriers,
typically electrons, holes, ions (see Electromigration) or all three. When a magnetic
field is present, these charges experience a force, called the Lorentz force. When such
a magnetic field is absent, the charges follow approximately straight, 'line of sight'
paths between collisions with impurities, phonons, etc. However, when a magnetic
field with a perpendicular component is applied, their paths between collisions are
curved, thus moving charges accumulate on one face of the material. This leaves
equal and opposite charges exposed on the other face, where there is a scarcity of
mobile charges. The result is an asymmetric distribution of charge density across the
Hall element, arising from a force that is perpendicular to both the 'line of sight' path
and the applied magnetic field. The separation of charge establishes an electric
field that opposes the migration of further charge, so a steady electric potential is
established for as long as the charge is flowing.
In classical electromagnetism electrons move in the opposite direction of the
current I (by convention "current" describes a theoretical "hole flow"). In some
semiconductors it appears "holes" are actually flowing because the direction of the
voltage is opposite to the derivation below.
For a simple metal where there is only one type of charge carrier (electrons), the Hall
voltage VH can be derived by using the Lorentz force and seeing that, in the steady-
state condition, charges are not moving in the y-axis direction. Thus, the magnetic
force on each electron in the y-axis direction is cancelled by a y-axis electrical force
due to the buildup of charges. The vx term is the drift velocity of the current which is
assumed at this point to be holes by convention. The vxBz term is negative in the y-
axis direction by the right hand rule.
{\displaystyle \mathbf {F} =q{\bigl (}\mathbf {E} +\mathbf {v} \times \mathbf {B} {\bigl )}}

In steady state, F = 0, so 0 = Ey − vxBz, where Ey is assigned in the direction of the y-

axis, (and not with the arrow of the induced electric field ξy as in the image (pointing in
the −y direction), which tells you where the field caused by the electrons is pointing).
In wires, electrons instead of holes are flowing, so vx → −vx and q → −q. Also Ey =
−VH/w. Substituting these changes gives

{\displaystyle V_{\mathrm {H} }=v_{x}B_{z}w}

The conventional "hole" current is in the negative direction of the electron current and
the negative of the electrical charge which gives Ix = ntw(−vx)(−e) where n is charge
carrier density, tw is the cross-sectional area, and −e is the charge of each electron.

Solving for {\displaystyle w}  and plugging into the above gives the Hall voltage:

{\displaystyle V_{\mathrm {H} }={\frac {I_{x}B_{z}}{nte}}}

If the charge build up had been positive (as it appears in some semiconductors), then
the VH assigned in the image would have been negative (positive charge would have
built up on the left side).
The Hall coefficient is defined as

{\displaystyle R_{\mathrm {H} }={\frac {E_{y}}{j_{x}B_{z}}}}

where j is the current density of the carrier electrons, and Ey is the induced electric
field. In SI units, this becomes
{\displaystyle R_{\mathrm {H} }={\frac {E_{y}}{j_{x}B}}={\frac {V_{\mathrm {H} }t}{IB}}=-

{\frac {1}{ne}}.}
(The units of RH are usually expressed as m3/C, or Ω·cm/G, or other variants.) As a
result, the Hall effect is very useful as a means to measure either the carrier density or
the magnetic field.
One very important feature of the Hall effect is that it differentiates between positive
charges moving in one direction and negative charges moving in the opposite. The
Hall effect offered the first real proof that electric currents in metals are carried by
moving electrons, not by protons. The Hall effect also showed that in some substances
(especially p-type semiconductors), it is more appropriate to think of the current as
positive "holes" moving rather than negative electrons. A common source of confusion
with the Hall effect is that holes moving to the left are really electrons moving to the
right, so one expects the same sign of the Hall coefficient for both electrons and holes.
This confusion, however, can only be resolved by modern quantum mechanical theory
of transport in solids.
The sample inhomogeneity might result in spurious sign of the Hall effect, even in
ideal van der Pauw configuration of electrodes. For example, positive Hall effect was
observed in evidently n-type semiconductors. Another source of artifact, in uniform
materials, occurs when the sample's aspect ratio is not long enough: the full Hall
voltage only develops far away from the current-introducing contacts, since at the
contacts the transverse voltage is shorted out to zero.

Hall effect in semiconductors

When a current-carrying semiconductor is kept in a magnetic field, the charge carriers
of the semiconductor experience a force in a direction perpendicular to both the
magnetic field and the current. At equilibrium, a voltage appears at the semiconductor
edges.
The simple formula for the Hall coefficient given above is usually a good explanation
when conduction is dominated by a single charge carrier. However, in semiconductors
the theory is more complex, because in these materials conduction can involve
significant, simultaneous contributions from both electrons and holes, which may be
present in different concentrations and have different mobilities. For moderate
magnetic fields the Hall coefficient is
{\displaystyle R_{\mathrm {H} }={\frac {p\mu _{\mathrm {h} }^{2}-n\mu _{\mathrm {e} }
^{2}}{e\left(p\mu _{\mathrm {h} }+n\mu _{\mathrm {e} }\right)^{2}}}}

or equivalently
with

{\displaystyle b={\frac {\mu _{\mathrm {e} }}{\mu _{\mathrm {h} }}}} .

Here n is the electron concentration, p the hole concentration, μe the electron
mobility, μh the hole mobility and e the elementary charge.
For large applied fields the simpler expression analogous to that for a single carrier
type holds.
 Semiconductor Devices and Circuits, Applications
The Semiconductor device is made up of a material that is neither a good conductor
nor a good insulator, it is called a semiconductor. Such devices have established wide
applications because of their reliability, compactness, and low cost. These are discrete
components which are used in power devices, compactness optical sensors, and light
emitters, including solid-state lasers. They have a wide range of current and voltage
handling capabilities, with current ratings more than 5,000 amperes and voltage
ratings more than 100,000 volts. More importantly, semiconductor devices lend
themselves to integration into complex but readily build-up microelectronic circuits.
They are having probable future, the key elements of the majority of electronic
systems including communications with data-processing, consumer, and industrial-
control equipment.

Semiconductor Devices
Semiconductor devices are nothing but electronic components that exploit the
electronic properties of semiconductor materials, like as silicon, germanium, and
gallium arsenide, as well as organic semiconductors. Semiconductor devices have
replaced vacuum tubes in many applications. They use electronic conduction in the
solid state as opposed to the thermionic emission in a high vacuum. Semiconductor
devices are manufactured for both discrete devices and integrated circuits, which
consist of from a few to billions of devices manufactured and interconnected on a
single semiconductor substrate or wafer.

Semiconductor materials are useful by their behavior which can be easily

manipulated by the addition of impurities is known as doping. Semiconductor
conductivity can be controlled by the electric or magnetic field, by exposure to light or
heat, or by the mechanical deformation of a doped mono crystalline grid; thus,
semiconductors can make excellent sensors. Current conduction in a semiconductor
occurs free of electrons and holes, collectively known as charge carriers. Doping of
silicon is done by adding a small amount of impurity atoms and also for phosphorus or
boron, significantly increases the number of electrons or holes within the
semiconductor.
When a doped semiconductor contains excess holes it is called “p-type” (positive for
holes) semiconductor, and when it contains some excess of free electrons, it is known
as “n-type” (negative for electrons) semiconductor, is the sign of charge of the majority
mobile charge carriers. The junctions which formed where n-type and p-type
semiconductors are joined together is called p–n junction.

Diode
A semiconductor diode is a device typically made up of a single p-n junction. The
junction of a p-type and n-type semiconductor forms a depletion region where current
conduction is reserved by the lack of mobile charge carriers. When the device is
forward biased, this depletion region is reduced, allowing for significant conduction,
when the diode is reverse biased, the only less current can be achieved and the
depletion region can be extended. Exposing a semiconductor to light can produce
electron hole pairs, which increases the number of free carriers and thereby the
conductivity. Diodes optimized to take advantage of this phenomenon is known as
photodiodes. Compound semiconductor diodes are also being used to generate light,
light-emitting diodes and laser diodes.
Transistor
Bipolar junction transistors are formed by two p-n junctions, in either p-n-p or n-p-n
configuration. The middle or base, the region between the junctions is typically very
narrow. The other regions, and their related terminals, are known as the emitter and
collector. A small current injected through the junction between the base and emitter
change the properties of the base collector junction so it can be conduct current even
though it is reverse biased. This creates a larger current between the collector and
emitter, and controlled by the base-emitter current.

Another type of transistor named as field-effect transistor, it operates on the

principle that semiconductor conductivity can increased or decreased by the presence
of an electric field. An electric field can increase the number of electrons and holes in a
semiconductor, thus changing its conductivity. The electric field may be applied by a
reverse-biased p-n junction, and it’s forms a junction field-effect transistor (JFET) or by
an electrode insulated from the bulk material by an oxide layer, and it forms a metal-
oxide semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET).
Now a day’s most used in the MOSFET, a solid-state device, and semiconductor
devices. The gate electrode is charged to produce an electric field that can control the
conductivity of a “channel” between two terminals, is called the source and drain.
Depending upon the type of carrier in the channel, the device may be n-channel (for
electrons) or p-channel (for holes) MOSFET.

Semiconductor Device Materials

The silicon (Si) is most widely used material in semiconductor devices. It’s having
lower raw material cost and relatively simple process. Its useful temperature range
makes it currently the best compromise among the various competing materials.
Silicon used in semiconductor device manufacturing is presently fabricated into bowls
that are large enough in diameter to allow the manufacture of 300 mm (12 in.) wafers.
Germanium (Ge) was a widely used in early semiconductor material, but its thermal
sensitivity makes less useful than silicon. Nowadays, germanium is often alloyed with
(Si) silicon for use in very-high-speed SiGe devices; IBM is a main producer of such
devices.
Gallium arsenide (GaAs) is also widely used with high-speed devices, but so far, it has
been difficult to form large-diameter bowls of this material, limiting the wafer diameter
sizes significantly smaller than silicon wafers thus making mass production of Gallium
arsenide (GaAs) devices significantly more expensive than silicon.
List of Common Semiconductor Devices
The list of common semiconductor devices mainly includes two terminals, three
terminals and four terminal devices.

The two-terminal devices are

 Diode (rectifier diode)
  Gunn diode
 IMPATT diode
 Laser diode
 Zener diode
 Schottky diode
 PIN diode
 Tunnel diode
 Light-emitting diode (LED)
 Photo transistor
 Photocell
 Solar cell
 Transient-voltage-suppression diode
 VCSEL
Three-terminal devices are
 Bipolar transistor
 Field-effect transistor
 Darlington transistor
 Insulated-gate bipolar transistor (IGBT)
 Unijunction transistor
 Silicon-controlled rectifier
 Thyristor
 TRIAC
Four-terminal devices are
 Photo coupler (Optocoupler)
 Hall effect sensor (magnetic field sensor)
Semiconductor Device Applications
All types of transistor can be used as the building blocks of logic gates, which is useful
to design of digital circuits. In digital circuits like as microprocessors, transistors so
which is acting as a switch (on-off); in the MOSFET, for example, the voltage applied
to the gate determines whether the switch is on or off.
The transistors are used for analog circuits do not act as switches (on-off); relatively,
they respond to a continuous range of input with a continuous range of output.
Common analog circuits include oscillators and amplifiers. The circuits that interface or
translate between analog circuits and digital circuits are known as the mixed-signal
circuits.

Advantages of Semiconductor Devices

 As semiconductor devices have no filaments, hence no power is needed to heat
them to cause the emission of electrons.
 Since no heating is required, semiconductor devices are set into operation as
soon as the circuit is switched on.
 During operation, semiconductor devices do not produce any humming noise.
 Semiconductor devices require low voltage operation as compared to vacuum
tubes.
 Owing to their small sizes, the circuits involving semiconductor devices are very
compact.
 Semiconductor devices are shock proof.
 Semiconductor devices are cheaper as compared to vacuum tubes.
  Semiconductor devices have an almost unlimited life.
 As no vacuum has to be created in semiconductor devices, they have no
vacuum deterioration trouble.

Disadvantages of Semiconductor Devices

 The noise level is higher in semiconductor devices as compared to that in the
vacuum tubes.
 Ordinary semiconductor devices cannot handle as more power as ordinary
vacuum tubes can do.
 In high frequency range, they have poor responder.

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