TOPIC

Semiconductors
Electronics
Semiconductors;
These are those materials which have conductivity between
conductors and insulators.

Why semiconductors are so

important?
Semiconductors are so important because they
have two important properties-
• can control number of charge carriers
• can give unidirectional current.

Before the discovery of semiconductors

these operations were performed by
vacuum tubes

In Vacuum tubes:
• number of electrons can be
controlled by varying voltage
between cathode and anode.
• Electrons can flow in one
direction from cathode to anode
*vacuum is created because electrons can collide
with air molecules and lose their energy

Disadvantages of vacuum
tubes:
• Bulky in size
• Vacuum creation is hard
• operates at high power
• high voltage needed
• low life
• less reliability

so in 1930 some solid state semiconductors were

discovered in which the charge carriers can be
varied with small intensity of heat, light, voltage.

E.g. of semiconductors

Elemental semiconductors; Silicon(Si) and

Germanium(Ge)

Compound semiconductors; Inorganic- GaAs,

InP, etc.
Organic- Anthracene, Polyaniline, etc.
Difference between semiconductors, insulators and
conductors

Material Resistivity Conductivity

Semiconductors 10-5 to 106 Ωm 105 to 10-6 Sm-1

Conductors 10-2 to 10-8Ωm 102 to 108 Sm-1

Insulators 1011 to 1019Ωm 10-11 to 10-19Sm-1

*
these values can go well outside the range

Energy band in crystal

In an isolated atom, the energy of
an e- depends upon the orbit it is revolving
in(Bohr’s theory)

-0.85ev n=4
-1.51ev n=3
-3.40ev n=2
13.6ev n=1 (H-atom)
In an isolated atom discrete energy levels are
present(like straight lines).
In a crystal atoms come close(2A° to 3A°)
and the elements have some new interactions-
• with electrons of neighbouring atom
• with nucleus of neighbouring atom

In a crystal each atom has a unique position

hence each electron has new interaction, will
have different energy levels even when they
belong to same orbit of isolated atom. There
energies are slightly greater or smaller than
their original energies in isolated state.

Let us take example of sodium(Na)

Suppose we have 1 mole of sodium atom =

6.022*1023 atoms
Na = 1s22s22p63s1
Z=11
* the inner electrons are nearly unaffected by
neihbouring atom

Example of silicon
We have a crystal of silicon(si) containing ‘N’
atoms of ‘Si’
(N is the order of 1023-1024)
In Si,
Z=14 1s22s22p63s23p2
outer energy levels

No of electrons in outer orbit of each Si

atom = 4
Total number of elecrtons in outer orbit = 4N
No. of outer energy levels available in each
silicon atom = 8 (2s+6p)
 No. of outer energy level available in
crystal = 8N
Out of 8 energy level
4N are filled with electrons and 4N are vacant
Valanace band
• Range of energies possessed by valance
electrons in a crystal.
• It contains valance electrons.
• These valance band electrons do not
participate in electrical conductivity.
Conduction band
• The energy band above valance band is
called conduction band.
• Range of energies possessed by free
electrons in a crystal.
• C.B. electrons are responsible for
electrical conductivity.
Forbidden energy gap
EG = Ec – Ev
EG = (C.B.)min – (V.B.)max
Electrons in valance band gain energy and
jumps to conduction band. The electrons can
not found in region between V.B. and C.B.
Some energy level in between V.B. and
C.B. are forbidden(restrictly prohibited) for
electrons. These energy level are together
known as Forbidden energy gap.Difference
between conductors,semiconductors and
insulators
Types of semiconductors
1. Intrinsic semiconductors
2. Extrinsic semiconductors

Intrinsic semiconductors
Semiconductors that are chemically pure, in
other words, free from impurities are termed
as intrinsic semiconductors. The number of
holes and electrons is therefore determined by
the properties of the material itself instead of
the impurities. In intrinsic semiconductors,
the number of excited electrons is equal to the
number of holes; n = p. They are also termed
as undoped semiconductors or i-type
semiconductors. Silicon and germanium are
examples of i-type semiconductors. These
elements belong to the IVth Group of the
periodic table and their atomic numbers are
14 and 32 respectively.
We notice from the electron configurations of both the
elements that they have four electrons in their
outermost shell or valence shell. As the temperature of
the semiconductor is increased, the electrons gain
more thermal energy and thus break free from their
shell. The process of ionization of the atoms in the
crystal lattice creates a vacancy in the bond between
the atoms. The position from which the electron gets
dislodged has a hole which is equivalent to an
effective positive charge. The hole is then occupied by
a free electron, as a result of which the latter vacant
position becomes a hole and the former becomes a
neutral position. This way the hole or the effective
positive charge is transferred from one position to
another. In an intrinsic semiconductor, the number of
free electrons is equal to the number of holes.
Mathematically,
ne = nh = ni
Here, the ni gives the number of total intrinsic
carrier concentration which is equal to the total
number of holes or the total number of electrons.
When the temperature of an intrinsic
semiconductor is T=0K, it behaves like an
insulator. When the temperature is increased
further, (T>0), the electrons get excited and move
from the valence band to the conduction band.
These electrons occupy the conduction band
partially, leaving a correspondingly equal number
of holes in the valence band.
Extrinsic semiconductors
The conductivity of an intrinsic semiconductor
depends on the surrounding temperature. At room
temperature, it exhibits a low conductivity. Due to its
low conductivity, it is deemed unsuitable for use in
electronic devices. In order to deal with this problem,
the concept of doping arose, and as a result of which
extrinsic semiconductors were manufactured. To make
extrinsic semiconductors doping method is used.

Why are Semiconductors Doped?

Extrinsic semiconductors are semiconductors that are
doped with specific impurities. The impurity modifies
the electrical properties of the semiconductor and
makes it more suitable for electronic devices such as
diodes and transistors.
While adding impurities, a small amount of suitable
impurity is added to pure material, increasing its
conductivity by many times. Extrinsic semiconductors
are also called impurity semiconductors or doped
semiconductors. The process of adding impurities
deliberately is termed as doping and the atoms that are
used as an impurity are termed as dopants. The
impurity modifies the electrical properties of the
semiconductor and makes it more suitable for
electronic devices such as diodes and transistors.

The dopant added to the material is chosen such that

the original lattice of the pure semiconductor is not
distorted. Also, the dopants occupy only a few of the
sites in the crystal of the original semiconductor and it
is necessary that the size of the dopant is nearly equal
to the size of the semiconductor atoms.

Some Commonly Used Dopants

While doping tetravalent atoms such as Si or Ge, two

types of dopants are used, and they are:

• Pentavalent atoms: Atoms with valency 5; such as

Arsenic (As), Phosphorous (Pi), Antimony (Sb),
etc.
• Trivalent atoms: Atoms with valency 3; such as
Indium (In), Aluminium (Al), Boron (B), etc.
The reason behind using these dopants is to have
similar-sized atoms as the pure semiconductor. Both
Silicon and Germanium atoms belong to the fourth
group in the periodic table. Hence, the choice of
dopants from the third and fifth group is more viable.
This ensures that the size of the atoms is not very
different from the fourth group. Therefore, the
trivalent and pentavalent choices. These dopants give
rise to two types of semiconductors as follows:
• n-type semiconductors
• p-type semiconductors
.

n-type semiconductors
When a tetravalent atom such as Si or Ge is doped
with a pentavalent atom, it occupies the position of an
atom in the crystal lattice of the Si atom. The four of
the electrons of the pentavalent atom bonds with the
four neighboring silicon atoms and the fifth one
remains weakly bound to the parent atom. As a result
of this, the ionization energy required to set the fifth
electron free is very less and the electrons become
free to move in the lattice of the semiconductor. Such
semiconductors are termed as n-type semiconductors.
p-type semiconductors
When a tetravalent atom such as Si or Ge is doped
with a trivalent impurity such as Al, B, In, etc., the
dopant atom has one less electron than the
surrounding atoms of Si or Ge. Thus, the fourth atom
of the tetravalent atom is free and a hole or a vacancy
is generated in the trivalent atom. In such materials,
the holes are the charge carriers and such
semiconductors are termed as p-type semiconductors.

A diode is a two-terminal electronic component that

has a low resistance to the flow of current in one
direction thus allowing the passage of current in one
direction whereas there will be a high resistance in the
other, thus restricting the flow of current in that
direction. Semiconductor diodes are two-terminal
devices that consist of a p-n junction and metallic contacts
at their two ends.
What is a Semiconductor Diode
A semiconductor diode is a p-n junction diode. It is a
two-terminal device that conducts current only in one
direction.

The figure above represents the symbol for the p-n

junction diode, which symbolizes the direction of the
current. By applying an external voltage V we can
vary the potential barrier.

Semiconductor Diode Symbol

A p-n junction is denoted by the symbol shown in the

figure above. Here, the direction of the arrow
indicates the permissible direction of the current.
P-N Junction Diode Under Forward Bias

When we apply the external voltage across the

semiconductor diode in such a way that the p-side is
connected to the positive terminal of the battery and
the n-side is connected to the negative terminal, then
the semiconductor diode is said to be forward-biased.
In this case, the built-in potential of the diode and thus
the width of the depletion region decreases, and the
height of the barrier gets reduced. The overall barrier
voltage, in this case, comes out to be V0-V, which is
the difference between the built-in potential and the
applied potential. As we supply a small amount of
voltage, the reduction in the barrier voltage from the
above-given formula is very less and thus only a small
number of current carriers cross the junction in this
case. Whereas, if the potential is increased by a
significant value, the reduction in the barrier height
will be more, thus allowing the passage of more
number of carriers.

P-N Junction Diode Under Reverse Bias

When we apply the external voltage across the

semiconductor diode in such a way that the positive
terminal of the battery is connected to its n-side and
the negative terminal of the battery is connected to the
p-side of the diode, then it is said to be in the
condition of reverse bias. When an external voltage is
applied across the diode, as the direction of the
external voltage is the same as that of the barrier
potential, the total voltage barrier sums up to be
(V0+V). Also, the width of the depletion region
increases. As a result of this, the motion of carriers
from one side of the junction to another decreases
significantly.
Semiconductor Diode Characteristics
The V-I characteristics of a semiconductor diode are
given below. These characteristics curve is a typical
explanation for the V-I characteristic of a
semiconductor diode. Current in the semiconductor
diode starts to conduct when the current exceeds the
threshold of the forward voltage, which is mentioned
by the manufacturer.

Types of Semiconductor Diode

Following are the types of semiconductor diodes:
LED
• Zener diode
• Rectifier diode
• Tunnel diode
• Variable capacitance diode
• Photodiode
Applications of Semiconductor Diode
Following are the applications of semiconductor
diodes:

• Rectifier diode which is used for the rectification

of alternating current.
• Gunn diode which is one of the components of
high-frequency electronics.
• Zener diode is used for the stabilization of current
and voltage in electronic systems.
• Photodiode works as a photo-detector.
• Switching diode which is used for fast switching
requirements.
• A tunnel diode is a special diode that is used in the
negative dynamic resistance region.
• LED is used for emitting an infrared light
spectrum.
• A variable capacitance diode is used when a
voltage is applied in reverse biased condition.
References/ Bibliography
• Hradesh sir
• wikipedia
• byjus
• physicswallah
• cbse.nic.in
• ncert cbse book