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Semiconductor Physics
- 1. SEMICONDUCTOR PHYSICS PRINCIPLES OF ELECTRONICS By; Shahzeb Mahesar BS Computer Science Sukkur IBA University, Sukkur.
- 2. INTRODUCTION • Certain substances like germanium, silicon, carbon etc. are neither good conductors nor insulators. • In other words, the resistivity of these materials lies inbetween conductors and insulators. • Such substances are classified as semiconductors. • Semiconductors have some useful properties and are being extensively used in electronic circuits.
- 3. SEMICONDUCTOR • A semiconductor is a substance which has resistivity (10−4 to 0.5 Ωm) inbetween conductors and insulators e.g. germanium, silicon, selenium, carbon etc. • Properties of Semiconductors i. The resistivity of a semiconductor is less than an insulator but more than a conductor. ii. Semiconductors have negative temperature co-efficient of resistance i.e. the resistance of a semiconductor decreases with the increase in temperature and vice- versa. iii. When a suitable metallic impurity is added to a semiconductor, its current conducting properties change appreciably.
- 4. BONDS IN SEMICONDUCTORS • The atoms of every element are held together by the bonding action of valence electrons. • In semiconductors, bonds are formed by sharing of valence electrons. Such bonds are called co-valent bonds. i. Co-valent bonds are formed by sharing of valence electrons. ii. In the formation of co-valent bond, each valence electron of an atom forms direct bond with the valence electron of an adjacent atom. iii. Valence electrons are associated with particular atoms. For this reason, valence electrons in a semiconductor are not free.
- 5. COMMONLY USED SEMICONDUCTORS • There are many semiconductors available, but very few of them have a practical application in electronics. • The two most frequently used materials are germanium (Ge) and silicon (Si). • It is because the energy required to break their co-valent bonds is very small; being about 0.7 eV for germanium and about 1.1 eV for silicon. • Germanium has become the model substance among the semiconductors; the main reason being that it can be purified relatively well and crystallised easily. • The silicon compounds are chemically reduced to silicon which is 100% pure for use as a semiconductor.
- 6. EFFECT OF TEMPERATURE ON SEMICONDUCTORS • The electrical conductivity of a semiconductor changes appreciably with temperature variations. • At absolute zero temperature, all the electrons are tightly held by the semiconductor atoms. At this temperature, the co-valent bonds are very strong and there are no free electrons. Therefore, the semiconductor crystal behaves as a perfect insulator. • When the temperature is raised, some of the covalent bonds in the semiconductor break due to the thermal energy supplied. The breaking of bonds sets those electrons free which are engaged in the formation of these bonds.The result is that a few free electrons exist in the semiconductor. These free electrons can constitute a tiny electric current. This shows that the resistance of a semiconductor decreases with the rise in temperature
- 7. INTRINSIC SEMICONDUCTOR • A semiconductor in an extremely pure form is known as an intrinsic semiconductor. • In an intrinsic semiconductor, even at room temperature, hole-electron pairs are created. When electric field is applied across an intrinsic semiconductor, the current conduction takes place by two processes, namely ; by free electrons and holes. The free electrons are produced due to the breaking up of some covalent bonds by thermal energy. At the same time, holes are created in the covalent bonds. Under the influence of electric field, conduction through the semiconductor is by both free electrons and holes. Therefore, the total current inside the semiconductor is the sum of currents due to free electrons and holes.
- 8. EXTRINSIC SEMICONDUCTOR • The intrinsic semiconductor has little current conduction capability at room temperature. • To be useful in electronic devices, the pure semiconductor must be altered so as to significantly increase its conducting properties. This is achieved by adding a small amount of suitable impurity to a semiconductor. It is then called impurity or extrinsic semiconductor. • The process of adding impurities to asemiconductor is known as doping.
- 9. EXTRINSIC SEMICONDUCTOR • The purpose of adding impurity is to increase either the number of free electrons or holes in the semiconductor crystal. • If a pentavalent impurity (having 5 valence electrons) is added to the semiconductor, a large number of free electrons are produced in the semiconductor. • On the other hand, addition of trivalent impurity (having 3 valence electrons) creates a large number of holes in the semiconductor crystal. • Depending upon the type of impurity added, extrinsic semiconductors are classified into: • (i) n-type semiconductor (ii) p-type semiconductor
- 10. N-TYPE SEMICONDUCTOR • When a small amount of pentavalent impurity is added to a pure semiconductor, it is known as n-type semiconductor. • The addition of pentavalent impurity provides a large number of free electrons in the semiconductor crystal. • Typical examples of pentavalent impurities are arsenic and antimony. • Such impurities which produce n-type semiconductor are known as donor impurities because they donate or provide free electrons to the semiconductor crystal.
- 11. N-TYPE SEMICONDUCTOR • When a small amount of pentavalent impurity like arsenic is added to a semiconductor like germanium crystal, a large number of free electrons become available in the crystal. • Arsenic is pentavalent i.e. its atom has five valence electrons. An arsenic atom fits in the germanium crystal in such a way that its four valence electrons form covalent bonds with four germanium atoms. The fifth valence electron of arsenic atom finds no place in co- valent bonds and is thus free • Therefore, for each arsenic atom added, one free electron will be available in the germanium crystal. Thus the addition of pentavalent impurity produces a number of conduction band electrons i.e., free electrons.
- 12. P-TYPE SEMICONDUCTOR • When a small amount of trivalent impurity is added to a pure semiconductor, it is called p-type semiconductor. • The addition of trivalent impurity provides a large number of holes in the semiconductor. • Typical examples of trivalent impurities are gallium and indium. • Such impurities which produce p-type semiconductor are known as acceptor impurities because the holes created can accept the electrons.
- 13. P-TYPE SEMICONDUCTOR • When a small amount of trivalent impurity like gallium is added to germanium crystal, there exists a large number of holes in the crystal. • Gallium is trivalent i.e. its atom has three valence electrons. • Each atom of gallium fits into the germanium crystal but now only three co-valent bonds can be formed. It is because three valence electrons of gallium atom can form only three single co-valent bonds with three germanium atoms. • In the fourth co-valent bond, only germanium atom contributes one valence electron while gallium has no valence electron to contribute. • This missing electron is called a hole. Therefore, for each gallium atom added, one hole is created.
- 14. CHARGE ON N-TYPE AND P-TYPE SEMICONDUCTORS • In n-type semiconductor, current conduction is due to excess of electrons whereas in a p-type semiconductor, conduction is by holes. • The n-type semiconductor has excess of electrons but these extra electrons were supplied by the atoms of donor impurity and each atom of donor impurity is electrically neutral. • When the impurity atom is added, the term “excess electrons” refers to an excess with regard to the number of electrons needed to fill the co-valent bonds in the semiconductor crystal. • The extra electrons are free electrons and increase the conductivity of the semiconductor. The situation with regard to p-type semiconductor is also similar. It follows, therefore, that n-type as well as p-type semiconductor is electrically neutral.
- 15. PN JUNCTION • When a p-type semiconductor is suitably joined to n-type semiconductor, the contact surface is called pn junction. • Most semiconductor devices contain one or more pn junctions. The pn junction is of great importance because it is in effect, the control element for semiconductor devices. • At the instant of pn-junction formation, the free electrons near the junction in the n region begin to diffuse across the junction into the p region where they combine with holes near the junction. • This creates a layer of positive charges (pentavalent ions) near the junction.
- 16. PN JUNCTION • As the electrons move across the junction, the p region loses holes as the electrons and holes combine. • The result is that there is a layer of negative charges (trivalent ions) near the junction. • These two layers of positive and negative charges form the depletion region (or depletion layer). • The term depletion is due to the fact that near the junction, the region is depleted of charge carries due to diffusion across the junction. • It may be noted that depletion layer is formed very quickly and is very thin compared to the n region and the p region.
- 17. BIASING A PN JUNCTION In electronics, the term bias refers to the use of d.c. voltage to establish certain operating conditions for an electronic device. In relation to a pn junction, there are following two bias conditions: 1. When external d.c. voltage applied to the junction is in such a direction that it cancels the potential barrier, thus permitting current flow, it is called forward biasing. 2. When the external d.c. voltage applied to the junction is in such a direction that potential barrier is increased, and no current flows across the circuit, it is called reverse biasing.
- 18. BIASING A PN JUNCTION • To apply forward bias, connect positive terminal of the battery to p-type and negative terminal to n-type. • The applied forward potential establishes an electric field which acts against the field due to potential barrier. As potential barrier voltage is very small, therefore, a small forward voltage is sufficient to completely eliminate the barrier. • Once the potential barrier is eliminated by the forward voltage, junction resistance becomes almost zero and a low resistance path is established for the entire circuit. Therefore, current flows in the circuit. This is called forward current.
- 19. BIASING A PN JUNCTION • To apply reverse bias, connect negative terminal of the battery to p-type and positive terminal to n-type. • Applied reverse voltage establishes an electric field which acts in the same direction as the field due to potential barrier. • Therefore, the resultant field at the junction is strengthened and the barrier height is increased. • The increased potential barrier prevents the flow of charge carriers across the junction. Thus, a high resistance path is established for the entire circuit and hence the current does not flow.