Electronic Devices and Applications - Lecture 1

MENG 321 - Electronic devices and applications Lecture #1 (Introduction to Semiconductor Materials)
MENG 321 - Electronic devices and applications
Lecture #1
Introduction to Semiconductor Materials
Dr. Mahmoud Samy

MaOmar@nu.edu.eg
1
Course Overview :
Item Details
Credit hours 2
Schedule Wednesday 4:30 PM – 6:29 PM
Wednesday 6:30 PM – 8:20 PM
Place UB1 , 145 (for 4:30 PM – 6:29 PM)
UB1 , 134 (for 6:30 PM – 8:20 PM)
Textbooks 1- Adel S. Sedra, Kenneth C. Smith, Microelectronic Circuits,
Senenth Edition.
2- Thomas L. Floyd, Electronic Devices Conventional Current
Version, Tenth Edition.
Resources Lecture notes.
Online materials.
Assessment Labs & Assignments (15%), Quizzes (10%), Mid-term exam
Procedures (20%), Project (15%), and Final exam (40%).
2
2
Course Objectives :
▪ By the end of this course, you should be able to:
➢ Understand the concepts of semiconductor material and
technology.
➢ Understand the structure and the operation of PN Junction
Diode and its characteristics.
➢ Understand, analyze and develop the diode circuit applications.
➢ Understand the structure and the operation of BJT and FET
Transistors and its characteristics.
➢ Understand, analyze and develop the BJT and FET Transistor
circuit applications.
3
❑ The Bohr Model
▪ The Bohr model of an atom showing electrons in orbits around the nucleus, which consists of protons and
neutrons.
4
❑ Atomic Number
▪ The atomic number equals the

number of protons in the nucleus,
which is the same as the number
of electrons.
▪ Atom is electrically balanced

(neutral).
▪ Atomic numbers of all the elements

are shown on the periodic table of
the elements.
5
❑ Electrons and Shells

❖ Energy Levels
▪ Electrons orbit the nucleus of an atom at certain distances from the
nucleus.
▪ Electrons near the nucleus have less energy than those in more
distant orbits.
▪ Only discrete (separate and distinct) values of electron energies exist
within atomic structures.

The Bohr model of the silicon atom
Therefore, electrons must orbit only at discrete distances from
the nucleus.
▪ Each discrete distance (orbit) from the nucleus corresponds to a
certain energy level. 6

❑ Electrons and Shells

❖ Energy Levels
▪ In an atom, the orbits are grouped into energy levels known as shells.
▪ A given atom has a fixed number of shells.
▪ Each shell has a fixed maximum number of electrons.
▪ The shells (energy levels) are designated 1, 2, 3, and so on, with 1
being closest to the nucleus.
❑ The Maximum Number of Electrons in Each Shell
▪ The maximum number of electrons (Ne) that can exist in each shell
The Bohr model of the silicon atom
can be calculated by :
𝑵𝒆 = 𝟐𝒏𝟐
where n is the number of the shell.
✓ The maximum number of electrons that can exist in the innermost shell (shell 1) is:
✓ The maximum number of electrons that can exist in shell 2 is:
✓ The maximum number of electrons that can exist in shell 3 is 7
❑ Valence Electrons
▪ Electrons that are in orbits farther from the nucleus have higher energy and
are less tightly bound to the atom than those closer to the nucleus.
▪ Electrons with the highest energy exist in the outermost shell of an atom
and are relatively loosely bound to the atom.
▪ This outermost shell is known as the valence shell, and electrons in this shell
are called valence electrons.
▪ These valence electrons contribute to chemical reactions and bonding within
the structure of a material and determine its electrical properties.
▪ When a valence electron gains sufficient energy from an external source, it
can break free from its atom. This is the basis for conduction in materials.
8
❑ Ionization
❑ When an atom absorbs energy, the valence electrons can easily jump to
higher energy shells.
❑ If a valence electron acquires a sufficient amount of energy, called
ionization energy, it can escape from the outer shell and the atom’s influence.
❑ The departure of a valence electron leaves a previously neutral atom with an
excess of positive charge (more protons than electrons).
❑ The process of losing a valence electron is known as ionization, and the
resulting positively charged atom is called a positive ion.
❑ The escaped valence electron is called a free electron.
9
Insulators, Conductors, and Semiconductors
❑ Insulators
▪ An insulator is a material that does not conduct electrical current under normal conditions.
▪ Valence electrons are tightly bound to the atoms; therefore, there are very few free electrons in an
insulator.
▪ Examples : rubber, plastics, glass, mica, and quartz
❑ Conductors
▪ A conductor is a material that easily conducts electrical current.
▪ The best conductors are single-element materials, which are characterized by atoms with only one valence
electron very loosely bound to the atom.
▪ These loosely bound valence electrons can become free electrons with the addition of a small amount of
energy.
▪ Therefore, in a conductive material, the free electrons are available to carry current.
▪ Examples : copper (Cu), silver (Ag), gold (Au), and aluminum (Al), Most metals are good conductors.
10

❑ Semiconductors
▪ A semiconductor is a material that is between conductors and insulators in electrical conduction.
▪ Single-element semiconductors : antimony (Sb), arsenic (As), astatine (At), boron (B), polonium (Po),
tellurium (Te), silicon (Si), and germanium (Ge).
▪ Compound semiconductors : gallium arsenide, indium phosphide, gallium nitride, silicon carbide, and silicon
germanium.
▪ The single-element semiconductors are characterized by atoms with four valence electrons.
▪ Silicon is the most commonly used semiconductor.
11
12

❑ Comparison of a Semiconductor Atom to a Conductor Atom
13
❑ Band Gap
▪ In solid materials, Valence electrons are confined to the valence band.
▪ When an electron acquires enough additional energy, it can leave the valence
shell, become a free electron, and exist in what is known as the conduction band.
▪ In the conduction band, the electron is free to move throughout the material
and is not tied to any given atom.
▪ The difference in energy between the valence band and the conduction band is
called an energy gap or band gap.
▪ Energy gap or band gap : the amount of energy that a valence electron must have
in order to jump from the valence band to the conduction band.
▪ The bandgap energy 𝑬𝒈 is the minimum energy required to break a covalent bond
and thus generate an electron-hole pair. 14


❑ Band Gap
Energy diagrams for the three types of materials

15
Semiconductors
1. Intrinsic Semiconductors
❑ Silicon and Germanium

▪ both silicon and germanium have four valence electrons.
▪ The valence electrons in germanium are in the fourth shell
while those in silicon are in the third shell, closer to the nucleus.
▪ This means that the germanium valence electrons are at higher
energy levels than those in silicon and, therefore, require a
smaller amount of additional energy to escape from the atom.
▪ This property makes germanium more unstable at high
temperatures. This is why silicon is a more widely used
semiconductive material. 16
Semiconductors
❑ Covalent Bonds
▪ Each silicon atom positions itself with four
adjacent silicon atoms to form a silicon
crystal,
▪ A silicon (Si) atom with its four valence

covalent bonds in silicon.
electrons shares an electron with each of
its four neighbors.
▪ This creates eight shared valence
electrons for each atom and produces a
state of chemical stability. Covalent bonding in an intrinsic silicon crystal 17

Semiconductors
❑ Current In Semiconductors
▪ The electrons exist only within prescribed energy bands.
▪ Each shell corresponds to a certain energy band and is
separated from adjacent shells by band gaps, in which no
electrons can exist.
▪ The Figure shows the energy band diagram for the atoms in a
pure silicon crystal at its lowest energy level.
▪ There are no electrons shown in the conduction band, a
condition that occurs only at a temperature of absolute 0 Energy band diagram for an atom in a
pure (intrinsic) silicon crystal.
Kelvin.
18
Semiconductors
❑ Conduction Electrons and Holes
▪ An intrinsic (pure) silicon crystal at room
temperature has sufficient heat (thermal)
energy for some valence electrons to jump
the gap from the valence band into the
conduction band, becoming free electrons.
This process is called thermal generation.
▪ Free electrons are also called conduction

• Creation of electron-hole pairs in a silicon crystal.
electrons. • Electrons in the conduction band are free electrons.
19
Semiconductors
▪ When an electron jumps to the conduction
band, a vacancy is left in the valence band
within the crystal.
▪ This vacancy is called a hole.
▪ For every electron raised to the conduction
band by external energy, there is one hole
left in the valence band, creating what is

called an electron-hole pair. • Electrons in the conduction band are free electrons.
20
Semiconductors
▪ At low temperatures, (0 K), the intrinsic silicon crystal behaves as an insulator.
▪ At room temperature, sufficient thermal energy exists to break some of the covalent bonds, a process
known as thermal generation.
▪ When a covalent bond is broken, an electron is freed.
▪ The free electron can conduct electric current if an electric field is applied to the crystal.
▪ As the electron leaves its parent atom, it leaves behind (ionized atom) with a net positive charge , equal
to the magnitude of the electron charge.
▪ As temperature increases, more covalent bonds are broken and electron–hole pairs are generated.
▪ The increase in the numbers of free electrons and holes results in an increase in the conductivity of
silicon.
21
Semiconductors
▪ Recombination occurs when a conduction-band
electron loses energy and falls back into a
hole in the valence band.
▪ The recombination rate is proportional to the
number of free electrons and holes, which is
determined by the thermal generation rate

which is a strong function of temperature. • Electrons in the conduction band are free electrons.
22
Semiconductors
▪ Thermal generation results in free electrons and holes in equal numbers and hence equal concentrations,
where concentration refers to the number of charge carriers per unit volume (cm3).
▪ In thermal equilibrium, the recombination rate is equal to the generation rate, and the concentration of
free electrons n is equal to the concentration of holes p,
𝒏 = 𝒑 = 𝒏𝒊 where ,
ni = number of free electrons and holes / unit volume
𝑛𝑖 = 𝐵𝑇 3/2 𝑒 −𝐸𝑔 /2𝑘𝑇 p = number of holes
equal to 𝑝 and 𝑛 n = number of free electrons
𝐵 : is a material-dependent parameter 7.3×1015 𝑐𝑚−3 𝐾 −3/2 for silicon;

𝑇 : is the temperature in K; 𝑘 : Boltzmann’s constant (8.62 × 10−5 eV/K).
𝐸𝑔 ∶ is the bandgap energy, is 1.12 electron volt (eV) for silicon
(1 eV = 1.6× 10−19 J)
23
Semiconductors
▪ The product of the hole and free-electron concentration :
𝒑 𝒏 = 𝒏𝟐𝒊
where ,
for silicon at room temperature, 𝑛𝑖 = 1.5 × 1010 /cm3
▪ The previous relationship extends to extrinsic or dopped silicon too.
24
Semiconductors
▪ a piece of intrinsic silicon at room temperature
has, a number of conduction-band (free)
electrons that are unattached to any atom and
are essentially drifting randomly throughout
the material.
▪ There is also an equal number of holes in the
valence band created when these electrons

• Electron-hole pairs in a silicon crystal.
jump into the conduction band.
• Free electrons are being generated continuously
while some recombine with holes.
25
Semiconductors
❑ Electron and Hole Current
▪ When a voltage is applied across a piece of intrinsic
silicon, the thermally generated free electrons in the
conduction band, which are free to move randomly in

Electron current in intrinsic silicon is produced
the crystal structure, are now easily attracted by the movement of thermally generated free
electrons.
toward the positive end.
▪ This movement of free electrons is one type of current in a semiconductive material and is called
electron current.
▪ Another type of current occurs in the valence band, where the holes created by the free electrons exist.
26
Semiconductors
❑ Electron and Hole Current
❑ Although current in the valence band is produced by
valence electrons, it is called hole current to distinguish
it from electron current in the conduction band.
❑ So, Conduction in semiconductors is considered to be
either the movement of free electrons in the

✓ When a valence electron moves left to
conduction band or the movement of holes in the right to fill a hole while leaving another hole
behind, the hole has effectively moved
valence band, which is actually the movement of valence
from right to left.
electrons to nearby atoms, creating hole current in the ✓ Gray arrows indicate effective movement
of a hole.
opposite direction.
27
Semiconductors
❑ Extrinsic (Dopped) Semiconductors
▪ Semiconductive materials do not conduct current well (generally poor conductors) in their intrinsic state
because of the limited number of free electrons in the conduction band and holes in the valence band.
▪ The conductivity of semiconductors can be increased by the controlled addition of impurities to the
intrinsic (pure) semiconductive material.
▪ Intrinsic silicon (or germanium) must be modified by increasing the number of free electrons or holes to
increase its conductivity and make it useful in electronic devices.
▪ This is done by adding impurities to the intrinsic material. This process is called doping.
▪ Doping increases the number of current carriers (electrons or holes).
▪ Two types of extrinsic (impure) semiconductive materials, n-type and p-type, are the key building blocks
for most types of electronic devices. 28

Semiconductors
❑ N-Type Semiconductor
▪ To increase the number of conduction-band electrons in
intrinsic silicon, pentavalent impurity atoms are added.
▪ These are atoms with five valence electrons such as arsenic
(As), phosphorus (P), bismuth (Bi), and antimony (Sb).
▪ Each pentavalent atom (antimony) forms covalent bonds with
four adjacent silicon atoms.

• Pentavalent impurity atom in a silicon
▪ Four of the antimony atom’s valence electrons are used to crystal structure.
• An antimony (Sb) impurity atom is
form the covalent bonds with silicon atoms, leaving one extra shown in the center.
• The extra electron from the Sb atom
becomes a free electron.
electron.
▪ This extra electron becomes a conduction electron because it is not involved in bonding.
29
Semiconductors
▪ Because the pentavalent atom gives up an electron, it is
often called a donor atom.
▪ The number of conduction electrons can be controlled by
the number of impurity atoms added to the silicon.
▪ A conduction electron created by this doping process does
not leave a hole in the valence band because it is in • Pentavalent impurity atom in a silicon
crystal structure.
excess of the number required to fill the valence band. • An antimony (Sb) impurity atom is
shown in the center.
• The extra electron from the Sb atom
becomes a free electron.
30
Semiconductors
➢ Majority and Minority Carriers
▪ Since most of the current carriers are electrons, silicon (or germanium) doped with pentavalent atoms is
an n-type semiconductor (the n stands for the negative charge on an electron).
▪ The electrons are called the majority carriers in n-type material.
▪ Although the majority of current carriers in n-type material are electrons, there are also a few holes
that are created when electron-hole pairs are thermally generated.
▪ These holes are not produced by the addition of the pentavalent impurity atoms.
▪ Holes in an n-type material are called minority carriers.
31
Semiconductors
❑ If the concentration of donor atoms is 𝑵𝑫 , where 𝑁𝐷 is usually much greater than 𝑛𝑖 ,
✓ the concentration of free electrons in the n-type silicon will be :
𝒏𝒏 ≅ 𝑵𝑫 where, the subscript n denotes n-type silicon.
✓ Thus 𝒏𝒏 is determined by the doping concentration and not by temperature.
❑ All the holes in the n-type silicon are those generated by thermal generation.
✓ The hole concentration 𝒑𝒏 can be found from the equation: 𝒑 𝒏 = 𝒏𝟐𝒊
❑ Thus, for n-type silicon

𝒑𝒏 𝒏𝒏 = 𝒏𝟐𝒊
➢ So, the hole concentration 𝒑𝒏 :

𝒏𝟐𝒊
𝒑𝒏 ≅
𝑵𝑫 32
Semiconductors
❑ P-Type Semiconductor
▪ To increase the number of holes in intrinsic silicon,
trivalent impurity atoms are added.
▪ These are atoms with three valence electrons such
as boron (B), indium (In), and gallium (Ga).
▪ Each trivalent atom (boron, in this case) forms
covalent bonds with four adjacent silicon atoms.
▪ All three of the boron atom’s valence electrons are • Trivalent impurity atom in a silicon crystal
structure.
• A boron (B) impurity atom is shown in the
used in the covalent bonds; and, since four electrons
center
are required, a hole results when each trivalent
atom is added.
33
Semiconductors
▪ Because the trivalent atom can take an electron, it
is often referred to as an acceptor atom.
▪ The number of holes can be controlled by the
number of trivalent impurity atoms added to the
silicon.
▪ A hole created by this doping process is not
accompanied by a conduction (free) electron. • Trivalent impurity atom in a silicon crystal

structure.
• A boron (B) impurity atom is shown in the
center
34
Semiconductors
➢ Majority and Minority Carriers
▪ Since most of the current carriers are holes, silicon (or germanium) doped with trivalent atoms is a p-
type semiconductor.
▪ The holes are called the majority carriers in p-type material.
▪ Although the majority of current carriers in p-type material are holes, there are also a few conduction-
band electrons that are created when electron-hole pairs are thermally generated.
▪ These conduction-band electrons are not produced by the addition of the trivalent impurity atoms.
▪ Conduction-band electrons in p-type material are called minority carriers.
35
Semiconductors
❑ If the concentration of acceptor atoms is 𝑵𝑨 , where 𝑁𝐴 is usually much greater than 𝑛𝑖 ,
✓ the concentration of holes in the p-type silicon will be :
𝒑𝒑 ≅ 𝑵𝑨 where, the subscript p denotes p-type silicon.
✓ Thus 𝒑𝒑 is determined by the acceptor concentration and not by temperature.
❑ All the free electrons in the p-type silicon are those generated by thermal generation.
✓ The free electrons concentration 𝒏𝒑 can be found from the equation: 𝒑 𝒏 = 𝒏𝟐𝒊
❑ Thus, for p-type silicon
𝒑𝒑 𝒏𝒑 = 𝒏𝟐𝒊
➢ So, the free electrons concentration 𝒑𝒏 :
𝒏𝟐𝒊
𝒏𝒑 ≅
𝑵𝑨 36
❑ n-type semiconductor ❑ p-type semiconductor

• pn will have the same dependence on • np will have the same dependence on
temperature as ni2 temperature as ni2
• the concentration of free electrons (nn) will • the concentration of holes (pn) will be much
be much larger than holes larger than holes
• electrons are the majority charge carriers • holes are the majority charge carriers
• holes are the minority charge carrier • free electrons are the minority charge
carrier
2
𝑝
ด𝑛 × 𝑛
ด𝑛 = 𝑛
ด𝑖 2
number number number 𝑝
ด𝑝 × 𝑛
ด𝑝 = 𝑛
ด𝑖
of holes of free of free number number number
in n−type electrons electrons of holes of free of free
in n−type and holes in 𝑝 −type electrons electrons
in thermal in 𝑝 −type and holes
equil. in thermal
equil.
𝑛𝑖2 𝑛𝑖2
𝑛𝑛 ≅ 𝑁𝐷 𝑝𝑛 ≈ 𝑝𝑝 ≅ 𝑁𝐴 𝑛𝑝 ≈
𝑛𝐷 𝑛𝐴
37
38

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MENG 321 - Electronic devices and applications Lecture #1 (Introduction to Semiconductor Materials)

MENG 321 - Electronic devices and applications

Dr. Mahmoud Samy

❑ The Bohr Model

▪ The atomic number equals the

▪ Atom is electrically balanced

▪ Atomic numbers of all the elements

❑ Electrons and Shells

▪ Electrons orbit the nucleus of an atom at certain distances from the

▪ Only discrete (separate and distinct) values of electron energies exist

within atomic structures.

▪ Each discrete distance (orbit) from the nucleus corresponds to a

certain energy level. 6

❑ Electrons and Shells

❑ The Maximum Number of Electrons in Each Shell

and are relatively loosely bound to the atom.

are called valence electrons.

▪ These valence electrons contribute to chemical reactions and bonding within

the structure of a material and determine its electrical properties.

▪ When a valence electron gains sufficient energy from an external source, it

higher energy shells.

❑ If a valence electron acquires a sufficient amount of energy, called

❑ The departure of a valence electron leaves a previously neutral atom with an

excess of positive charge (more protons than electrons).

❑ The process of losing a valence electron is known as ionization, and the

resulting positively charged atom is called a positive ion.

❑ The escaped valence electron is called a free electron.

Insulators, Conductors, and Semiconductors

Insulators, Conductors, and Semiconductors

▪ A semiconductor is a material that is between conductors and insulators in electrical conduction.

tellurium (Te), silicon (Si), and germanium (Ge).

▪ Silicon is the most commonly used semiconductor.

Insulators, Conductors, and Semiconductors

Insulators, Conductors, and Semiconductors

and is not tied to any given atom.

called an energy gap or band gap.

in order to jump from the valence band to the conduction band.

and thus generate an electron-hole pair. 14

Insulators, Conductors, and Semiconductors

Energy diagrams for the three types of materials

❑ Silicon and Germanium

▪ The valence electrons in germanium are in the fourth shell

▪ This means that the germanium valence electrons are at higher

energy levels than those in silicon and, therefore, require a

smaller amount of additional energy to escape from the atom.

▪ This property makes germanium more unstable at high

temperatures. This is why silicon is a more widely used

▪ Each silicon atom positions itself with four

adjacent silicon atoms to form a silicon

▪ A silicon (Si) atom with its four valence

its four neighbors.

▪ This creates eight shared valence

electrons for each atom and produces a

state of chemical stability. Covalent bonding in an intrinsic silicon crystal 17

▪ The electrons exist only within prescribed energy bands.

▪ Each shell corresponds to a certain energy band and is

separated from adjacent shells by band gaps, in which no