Semiconductor Devices

A semiconductor device is an electronic component that exploits the electronic properties of

semiconductor material, principally silicon, germanium, and gallium arsenide, as well as
organic semiconductors. Semiconductor devices have replaced vacuum tubes in most
applications. They use electrical conduction in the solid state rather than the gaseous state
or thermionic emission in a vacuum.

Semiconductor devices are manufactured both as single discrete devices and as integrated
circuit (IC) chips, which consist of two or more devices—which can number from the hundreds
to the billions—manufactured and interconnected on a single semiconductor wafer (also
called a substrate).

Semiconductor materials are useful because their behavior can be easily manipulated by the
deliberate addition of impurities, known as doping. Semiconductor conductivity can be
controlled by the introduction of an electric or magnetic field, by exposure to light or heat, or
by the mechanical deformation of a doped monocrystalline silicon grid; thus, semiconductors
can make excellent sensors. Current conduction in a semiconductor occurs due to mobile or
"free" electrons and electron holes, collectively known as charge carriers. Doping a
semiconductor with a small proportion of an atomic impurity, such as phosphorus or boron,
greatly increases the number of free electrons or holes within the semiconductor. When a
doped semiconductor contains excess holes, it is called a p-type semiconductor (p for
positive electric charge); when it contains excess free electrons, it is called an n-type
semiconductor (n for negative electric charge). A majority of mobile charge carriers have
negative charge. The manufacture of semiconductors controls precisely the location and
concentration of p- and n-type dopants. The connection of n-type and p-type semiconductors
form p–n junctions.

The most common semiconductor device in the world is the MOSFET (metal–oxide–
semiconductor field-effect transistor), also called the MOS transistor. As of 2013, billions of
MOS transistors are manufactured every day. Semiconductor devices made per year have
been growing by 9.1% on average since 1978, and shipments in 2018 are predicted for the
first time to exceed 1 trillion, meaning that well over 7 trillion has been made to date, in just
in the decade prior.

DIODE
A semiconductor diode is a device typically made from a single p–n junction. At the junction
of a p-type and an n-type semiconductor there forms a depletion region where current
conduction is inhibited by the lack of mobile charge carriers. When the device is forward
biased (connected with the p-side at higher electric potential than the n-side), this depletion
region is diminished, allowing for significant conduction, while only very small current can be
achieved when the diode is reverse biased and thus the depletion region expanded.
Exposing a semiconductor to light can generate electron–hole pairs, which increases the
number of free carriers and thereby the conductivity. Diodes optimized to take advantage of
this phenomenon are known as photodiodes. Compound semiconductor diodes can also be
used to generate light, as in light-emitting diodes and laser diodes.

PHOTODIODE
A photodiode is a semiconductor device that converts light into an electrical current. The
current is generated when photons are absorbed in the photodiode. Photodiodes may contain
optical filters, built-in lenses, and may have large or small surface areas. Photodiodes usually
have a slower response time as their surface area increases. The common, traditional solar
cell used to generate electric solar power is a large area photodiode.

Photodiodes are similar to regular semiconductor diodes except that they may be either
exposed (to detect vacuum UV or X-rays) or packaged with a window or optical fiber
connection to allow light to reach the sensitive part of the device. Many diodes designed for
use specially as a photodiode use a PIN junction rather than a p–n junction, to increase the
speed of response. A photodiode is designed to operate in reverse bias.

Principle of operation
A photodiode is a p–n junction or PIN structure. When a photon of sufficient energy strikes the
diode, it creates an electron–hole pair. This mechanism is also known as the inner
photoelectric effect. If the absorption occurs in the junction's depletion region, or one
diffusion length away from it, these carriers are swept from the junction by the built-in
electric field of the depletion region. Thus holes move toward the anode, and electrons
toward the cathode, and a photocurrent is produced. The total current through the
photodiode is the sum of the dark current (current that is generated in the absence of light)
and the photocurrent, so the dark current must be minimized to maximize the sensitivity of
the device.

To first order, for a given spectral distribution, the photocurrent is linearly proportional to the
irradiance.

Photovoltaic mode
When used in zero bias or photovoltaic mode, photocurrent flows out of the anode through a
short circuit to the cathode. If the circuit is opened or has load impedance, restricting the
photocurrent out of the device, a voltage builds up in the direction that forward biases the
diode, that is, anode positive with respect to cathode. If the circuit is open or the impedance
is high, a forward current will consume all or some of the photocurrent. This mode exploits
the photovoltaic effect, which is the basis for solar cells – a traditional solar cell is just a large
area photodiode. For optimum power output, the photovoltaic cell will be operated at a
voltage that causes only a small forward current compared to the photocurrent.

Applications of Diode
 P–n photodiodes are used in similar applications to other photodetectors, such as
photoconductors, charge-coupled devices, and photomultiplier tubes. They may be
used to generate an output which is dependent upon the illumination (analog; for
measurement and the like), or to change the state of circuitry (digital; either for control
and switching, or digital signal processing).

 Photodiodes are used in consumer electronics devices such as compact disc players,
smoke detectors, medical devices and the receivers for infrared remote control devices
used to control equipment from televisions to air conditioners. For many applications
either photodiodes or photoconductors may be used. Either type of photosensor may
be used for light measurement, as in camera light meters, or to respond to light levels,
as in switching on street lighting after dark.

 Photosensors of all types may be used to respond to incident light, or to a source of

light which is part of the same circuit or system. A photodiode is often combined into a
single component with an emitter of light, usually a light-emitting diode (LED), either
to detect the presence of a mechanical obstruction to the beam (slotted optical
switch), or to couple two digital or analog circuits while maintaining extremely high
electrical isolation between them, often for safety (optocoupler). The combination of
LED and photodiode is also used in many sensor systems to characterize different
types of products based on their optical absorbance.

 Photodiodes are often used for accurate measurement of light intensity in science and
industry. They generally have a more linear response than photoconductors.

 They are also widely used in various medical applications, such as detectors for
computed tomography (coupled with scintillators), instruments to analyze samples
(immunoassay), and pulse oximeters.

 PIN diodes are much faster and more sensitive than p–n junction diodes, and hence are
often used for optical communications and in lighting regulation.

 P–n photodiodes are not used to measure extremely low light intensities. Instead, if
high sensitivity is needed, avalanche photodiodes, intensified charge-coupled devices
 or photomultiplier tubes are used for applications such as astronomy, spectroscopy,
night vision equipment and laser rangefinding.

LIGHT EMITTING DIODE

Light emitting diodes are p-n diodes in which the recombination of electrons and holes yields
a photon. This radiative recombination process occurs primarily in direct bandgap
semiconductors where the lowest conduction band minimum and the highest valence band
maximum occur at k = 0, where k is the wavenumber. Examples of direct bandgap
semiconductors are GaAs, InP, and GaN while most group IV semiconductors including Si, Ge
and SiC are indirect bandgap semiconductors.

The radiative recombination process is in competition with non-radiative recombination

processes such as trap-assisted recombination. Radiative recombination dominates at high
minority-carrier densities. Using a quantum well, a thin region with a lower band gap,
positioned at the metallurgical junction, one can obtain high carrier densities at low current
densities. These quantum well LEDs have high internal quantum efficiency as almost every
electron injected in the quantum well recombines with a hole and yields a photon.

The external quantum efficiency of planar LEDs is much lower than unity due to total internal
reflection. As the photons are generated in the semiconductor, which has a high refractive
index, only photons traveling normal to the semiconductor-air interface can exit the
semiconductor. For GaAs with a refractive index of 3.5, the angle for total internal reflection
equals 17o so that only a few percent of the generated photons can escape the
semiconductor. This effect can be avoided by having a spherical semiconductor shape, which
ensures that most photons travel normal to the interface. The external quantum efficiency
can thereby be increased to values larger than 50%.

Applications of LEDs
. LEDs could become the next generation of lighting and used anywhere like in indication
lights, computer components, medical devices, watches, instrument panels, switches, fiber-
optic communication, consumer electronics, household appliances, traffic signals, automobile
brake lights, 7 segment displays and inactive displays, and also used in different electronic
and electrical engineering projects such as

 Propeller Display of Message by Virtual LEDs.

 LED Based Automatic Emergency Light.
 Mains Operated LED Light.
 Display of Dialed Telephone Numbers on Seven Segment Display.
 Solar Powered Led Street Light with Auto Intensity Control.

LASER DIODES
Laser diodes are very similar to LEDs since they also consist of a p-n diode with an active
region where electrons and holes recombine resulting in light emission. However, a laser
diode also contains an optical cavity where stimulated emission takes place. The laser cavity
consists of a waveguide terminated on each end by a mirror. As an example, the structure of
an edge-emitting laser diode is shown in Figure 4.6.5. Photons, which are emitted into the
waveguide, can travel back and forth in this waveguide provided they are reflected at the
mirrors.

The light in the waveguide is amplified by stimulated emission. Stimulated emission is a

process where a photon triggers the radiative recombination of an electron and hole thereby
creating an additional photon with the same energy and phase as the incident photon. This
process is illustrated with Figure 4.6.6. This "cloning" of photons results in a coherent beam.

The stimulated emission process yields an increase in photons as they travel along the
waveguide. Combined with the waveguide losses, stimulated emission yields a net gain per
unit length, g. The number of photons can therefore be maintained if the roundtrip
amplification in a cavity of length, L, including the partial reflection at the mirrors with
reflectivity R1 and R2 equals unity.

If the roundtrip amplification is less than one, then the number of photons steadily decreases.
If the roundtrip amplification is larger than one, the number of photons increases as the
photons travel back and forth in the cavity. The gain required for lasing therefore equals:

Initially, the gain is negative if no current is applied to the laser diode as absorption
dominates in the waveguide. As the laser current is increased, the absorption first decreases
and the gain increases. The current for which the gain satisfies the lasing condition is the
threshold current of the laser, Ith. Below the threshold current very little light is emitted by
the laser structure. For an applied current larger than the threshold current, the output
power, Pout, increases linearly with the applied current, as each additional incoming electron-
hole pair is converted into an additional photon.

Applications of Laser Diode

Laser Diodes are used in fiber optic communication, optical memories, military applications,
CD players, surgical procedures, Local Area Networks, long distance communications, optical
memories, fiber optic communications and in electrical projects such as RF Controlled Robotic
Vehicle with Laser Beam Arrangement and so on.

Thus, this is all about the optoelectronic devices which include laser diodes, photo diodes,
solar cells, LEDs, optical fibers. These optoelectronic devices are used in different electronic
project kits as well as in telecommunications, military services and in medical applications.
For more information regarding the same, please post your queries by commenting below.

SOLAR CELL
A solar cell, or photovoltaic cell, is an electrical device that converts the energy of light
directly into electricity by the photovoltaic effect, which is a physical and chemical
phenomenon. It is a form of photoelectric cell, defined as a device whose electrical
characteristics, such as current, voltage, or resistance, vary when exposed to light. Individual
solar cell devices can be combined to form modules, otherwise known as solar panels. The
common single junction silicon solar cell can produce a maximum open-circuit voltage of
approximately 0.5 to 0.6 volts.

Solar cells are described as being photovoltaic, irrespective of whether the source is sunlight
or an artificial light. In addition to producing energy, they can be used as a photodetector (for
example infrared detectors), detecting light or other electromagnetic radiation near the
visible range, or measuring light intensity.

The operation of a photovoltaic (PV) cell requires three basic attributes:

 The absorption of light, generating either electron-hole pairs or excitons.

 The separation of charge carriers of opposite types.
 The separate extraction of those carriers to an external circuit.

In contrast, a solar thermal collector supplies heat by absorbing sunlight, for the purpose of
either direct heating or indirect electrical power generation from heat. A "photoelectrolytic
cell" (photoelectrochemical cell), on the other hand, refers either to a type of photovoltaic
cell (like that developed by Edmond Becquerel and modern dye-sensitized solar cells), or to a
device that splits water directly into hydrogen and oxygen using only solar illumination.

Applications of Solar Cell

 From a solar cell to a PV system. Diagram of the possible components of a photovoltaic

system
 Assemblies of solar cells are used to make solar modules that generate electrical
power from sunlight, as distinguished from a "solar thermal module" or "solar hot
water panel". A solar array generates solar power using solar energy.

 Multiple solar cells in an integrated group, all oriented in one plane, constitute a solar
photovoltaic panel or module. Photovoltaic modules often have a sheet of glass on the
 sun-facing side, allowing light to pass while protecting the semiconductor wafers. Solar
cells are usually connected in series and parallel circuits or series in modules, creating
an additive voltage. Connecting cells in parallel yields a higher current; however,
problems such as shadow effects can shut down the weaker (less illuminated) parallel
string (a number of series connected cells) causing substantial power loss and possible
damage because of the reverse bias applied to the shadowed cells by their illuminated
partners. Strings of series cells are usually handled independently and not connected
in parallel, though as of 2014, individual power boxes are often supplied for each
module, and are connected in parallel. Although modules can be interconnected to
create an array with the desired peak DC voltage and loading current capacity, using
independent MPPTs (maximum power point trackers) is preferable. Otherwise, shunt
diodes can reduce shadowing power loss in arrays with series/parallel connected cells.
[citation needed]
o Optical Fiber
o An optical fiber or optic fiber is a plastic and transparent fiber made of plastic or
glass. It is somewhat thicker than a human hair. It can function as a light pipe or
waveguide to transmit light between the two ends of the fiber. Optical fibers
usually include three concentric layers: a core, a cladding and a jacket. The
core, a light transmitting region of the fiber, is the central section of the fiber,
which is made of silica. Cladding, the protective layer around the core, is made
of silica.This creates an optical waveguide that limits the light in the core by
total reflection at the interface of the core-cladding. Jacket, the non-optical layer
around the cladding, typically consists of one or more layers of a polymer that
protect the silica from the physical or environmental damage.

OPTICAL FIBER
Along with the fiber-optic cable, jackets are available in different colors. These colors allow
the recognition of the fiber-optic cable and the type of cable one is dealing with. For example,
an orange-color cable clearly indicates a single-mode fiber, while a yellow one indicates a
multimode fiber. In the single-mode fiber, one mode propagates and the light rays travel
straight through the cable. In a multimode cable, the light rays travel through the cable
following different modes.

These cables are used in telecommunications, sensors, fiber lasers, bio-medicals and in many
other industries. The advantages of using optical-fiber cable include their higher bandwidth,
less signal degradation, weightlessness and thinness than a copper wire, cost-effectiveness,
flexibility, and hence they are used in medical and mechanical imaging systems.

ZENER DIODE
A Zener diode is a type of diode that allows current to flow not only from its anode to its
cathode, but also in the reverse direction, when the voltage across its terminals exceeds the
Zener voltage, a characteristic of the device. This effect is known as the Zener effect, after
Clarence Zener, who first described the phenomenon.
Zener diodes have a highly doped p–n junction. Normal diodes break down with a reverse
voltage, but the voltage and sharpness of the knee are not as well defined as for a Zener
diode. Normal diodes are not designed to operate in the breakdown region, whereas Zener
diodes operate reliably in this region.

Zener reverse breakdown is due to electron quantum tunnelling caused by a high-strength

electric field. However, many diodes described as "Zener" diodes rely instead on avalanche
breakdown. Both breakdown types are used in Zener diodes with the Zener effect
predominating at lower voltages and avalanche breakdown at higher voltages.

Zener diodes are widely used in electronic equipment of all kinds and are one of the basic
building blocks of electronic circuits. They are used to generate low-power stabilized supply
rails from a higher voltage and to provide reference voltages for circuits, especially stabilized
power supplies. They are also used to protect circuits from overvoltage, especially
electrostatic discharge (ESD).

Applications of Zener Diode

Zener diodes are widely used as voltage references and as shunt regulators to regulate the
voltage across small circuits. When connected in parallel with a variable voltage source so
that it is reverse biased, a Zener diode conducts when the voltage reaches the diode's
reverse breakdown voltage. From that point on, the low impedance of the diode keeps the
voltage across the diode at that value.

Zener Diode as a Voltage Regulator

In this circuit, a typical voltage reference or regulator, an input voltage, Uin, is regulated
down to a stable output voltage Uout. The breakdown voltage of diode D is stable over a wide
current range and holds Uout approximately constant even though the input voltage may
fluctuate over a wide range. Because of the low impedance of the diode when operated like
this, resistor R is used to limit current through the circuit.
In the case of this simple reference, the current flowing in the diode is determined using
Ohm's law and the known voltage drop across the resistor R;

The value of R must satisfy two conditions:

 R must be small enough that the current through D keeps D in reverse breakdown. The
value of this current is given in the data sheet for D. For example, the common
BZX79C5V6 device, a 5.6 V 0.5 W Zener diode, has a recommended reverse current of
5 mA. If insufficient current exists through D, then Uout is unregulated and less than
the nominal breakdown voltage (this differs from voltage-regulator tubes where the
output voltage is higher than nominal and could rise as high as Uin). When calculating
R, allowance must be made for any current through the external load, not shown in
this diagram, connected across Uout.
 R must be large enough that the current through D does not destroy the device. If the
current through D is ID, its breakdown voltage VB and its maximum power dissipation
Pmax correlate

A load may be placed across the diode in this reference circuit, and as long as the Zener
stays in reverse breakdown, the diode provides a stable voltage source to the load. Zener
diodes in this configuration are often used as stable references for more advanced voltage
regulator circuits.

Shunt regulators are simple, but the requirements that the ballast resistor be small enough to
avoid excessive voltage drop during worst-case operation (low input voltage concurrent with
high load current) tends to leave a lot of current flowing in the diode much of the time,
making for a fairly wasteful regulator with high quiescent power dissipation, only suitable for
smaller loads.

These devices are also encountered, typically in series with a base-emitter junction, in
transistor stages where selective choice of a device centered on the avalanche or Zener point
can be used to introduce compensating temperature co-efficient balancing of the transistor
p–n junction. An example of this kind of use would be a DC error amplifier used in a regulated
power supply circuit feedback loop system.

Zener diodes are also used in surge protectors to limit transient voltage spikes.

Another application of the Zener diode is the use of noise caused by its avalanche breakdown
in a random number generator.
Waveform clipper
Two Zener diodes facing each other in series clip both halves of an input signal. Waveform
clippers can be used not only to reshape a signal, but also to prevent voltage spikes from
affecting circuits that are connected to the power supply.

Voltage shifter
A Zener diode can be applied to a circuit with a resistor to act as a voltage shifter. This circuit
lowers the output voltage by a quantity that is equal to the Zener diode's breakdown voltage.

Voltage regulator
A Zener diode can be applied in a voltage regulator circuit to regulate the voltage applied to
a load, such as in a linear regulator.