ELECTRONIC DEVICES

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 UNIT I - INTRODUCTION TO SEMICONDUCTOR PHYSICS

Atomic
Structure:
 Atomic structure refers to the structure of atom comprising of a nucleus (center)
in which the protons (positively charged) and neutrons (neutral) are present.

 The negatively charged particles called electrons revolve around the center of
the nucleus.
Protons (positively charged), neutrons(neutral), Electrons
(Negatively charged)
Atomic weight = no of protons + no of neutrons.

Atomic number = no of protons / no of electrons in atom

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Electron:

tiny particles - electrons

Energy of an electron:
2 types
• kinetic energy due to its motion
• Potential energy due to charge on the nucleus
Total energy = K.E+P.E
Energy of electron increases as its distance from the nucleus
increases.
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Last orbits electron possess very high energy as compared to electron in
the inner orbits.
Energy band description
 Bands are classified into 2 types

1.Valance Band
energy possessed by valence electron.
2. Conduction band:
energy possessed by free electron.
3. Forbidden energy gap:
Separation between conduction band and valance band on the
energy level diagram.

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Classification of Solids
 Classification based on:

1. valance electrons
2.Free electrons
3.Forbidden energy gap
 Valance electron: determines the
metal, non-metal, solids, gas, and
electrical properties of a material
based on outermost valance
electron.
 Electrical conductivity of material
are classified into
• conductor
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• insulator
Classification of Solids

Conductor
 It is a material that easily conducts electrical

current.

 It has large number of free electrons loosely

bound to the atoms.

 These loosely bound valance electrons can

easily break away from their atoms and

become free electrons.

 Forbidden energy gap does not exist.

 Examples : Copper, Gold, Silver 6

Insulator
 It is a material that does not conduct electrical

current under normal condition.

 It has no free electrons.

 The valance electrons are tightly bound to the

atoms.

 Forbidden energy gap > 5eV.

 Examples : Paper, rubber, glass etc.,

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Classification of Solids

Semiconductor
 Semiconductors are the materials that possess

the property of electrical conductivity less than

conductors.

 A semiconductor in its pure state is neither a

good conductor nor a good isolator.

 It has very few free electrons.

 Forbidden energy gap very small (1eV).

 Examples : Silicon, Germanium, Arsenic etc.,

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Classification of Solids

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Comparison Chart
Parameter Conductor Semiconductor Insulator
Forbidden Energy
Not Exist Small (1eV) Large (>5eV)
Gap
Resistivity Low Moderate High
Flow of current Due to movement Due to movement Almost negligible
of free electrons. of electrons and but only due to free
holes. electrons.
Charge carriers in Completely filled Partially filled Completely vacant
conduction band
Charge carriers in Almost vacant Partially filled Completely filled
valence band
Example Copper, Silicon, Paper, rubber, glass,
Aluminium, Germanium, plastic etc.
graphite etc. arsenic etc.
Applications Conducting wires, Diodes, Sports equipment,
Transformers, in transistors, opto home appliances 3
electrical cordsELECTRONIC
NEC – 19EC31C couplers etc.
DEVICES etc.
etc.
 Semiconductor Materials
 Semiconductors are the group of materials having conductivities between those
of metals and insulators.
 Two general classifications of semiconductors are
1. Elemental semiconductors (found in group IV of the periodic table)
2. Compound Semiconductors (formed from special combinations of group
III and group V elements). Elemental Semiconductors
A portion of the Periodic Table Si – Silicon
Ge - Germanium
III IV V
5) B 6) C Compound Semiconductors
13) Al 14) Si 15) P
AlP – Aluminium Phospide
31) Ga 32) Ge 33) As
AlAs – Aluminium Arsenide
49) In 51) Sb
GaP – Gallium Phospide
GaAs – Gallium Arsenide 1
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InP – Indium Phospide
 Semiconductor Materials

 Silicon is by far the most commonly used semiconductor used in integrated

circuits.

 The Valance electrons in Ge are in the fourth shell, while in silicon are in third
shell closer to the nucleus.
 This means that the Ge valance electrons are at higher levels than in silicon and
require a smaller amount of energy to escape from the atom. This makes Ge more
unstable at high temperatures. 1
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 Two elements or “binary” compound semiconductors- GaAs, GaP
 Three element or “ternary” compound semiconductors – AlGaAs
 Classification of Semiconductors

Types of Semiconductor
1. Intrinsic Semiconductor
2. Extrinsic Semiconductor
i. P-type
ii. N-type

Intrinsic Semiconductor
 A pure semiconductor is called intrinsic semiconductor.
 At room temperature, some of the valence electron acquire sufficient
(thermal) energy to jump from VB-CB becoming free electrons (also called
conduction electrons).
 When an electron jumps to the CB, a vacancy left in the VB within the crystal.
This is called a hole.
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 For every electron raised to the CB by external energy, there is one hole left 3
in
VB creating an electron hole pair.
 Extrinsic Semiconductor
 Semiconductor materials do not conduct well and are of limited value in their
intrinsic state.
 This is because of the limited number of free electrons in the CB and holes in the
VB.
 Hence intrinsic silicon must be modified by increasing the no. of free electrons or
holes to increase its conductivity.
 This is done by adding impurities to the intrinsic material.

The conductivity of silicon and Germanium can be drastically increased by the

controlled addition of impurities to the intrinsic semiconductor material. This process

is called doping.
Two types of Extrinsic Semiconductor are n-type and p-type.
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Fermi-Dirac distribution function
Fermi Level
 Density of States
Number of states per unit energy per unit Volume
Fermi level of intrinsic semiconductor
.

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