FIITJEE LTD

NARAYANGUDA
PHYSICS-II
IPE NOTES - 2023

CHAPTER 15
SEMICONDUCTOR ELECTRONICS:
MATERIALS, DEVICES AND SIMPLE CIRCUITS

VERY SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS

1. What is an n-type semiconductor? What are the majority and minority charge carriers
in it?
Ans. n–type semiconductor:
A pure tetravalent semiconductor is doped with a pentavalent impurity then n–type
semiconductor is formed.
The impurity is called donor impurity.
In n–type semiconductors the majority charge carriers are electrons.

2. What are intrinsic and extrinsic semiconductors?

Ans. Pure semiconductors are called intrinsic semiconductors. When a pure semiconductor is
doped with impurities, extrinsic semiconductors are formed.
The n–type and p–type semiconductors are extrinsic semiconductors.

3. What is an p-type semiconductor? What are the majority and minority charge carriers
in it?
Ans: n–type semiconductor:
A pure tetravalent semiconductor is doped with a pentavalent impurity then n–type
semiconductor is formed.
The impurity is called donor impurity.
In n–type semiconductors the majority charge carriers are electrons.

4. What is p-n junction diode? Define depletion layer.

Ans. A p–n junction diode is a semiconductor device that allows electric charges to flow in one
direction, but not in the opposite direction;
negative charges (electrons) can easily flow through the junction
from n to p but not from p-side to n-side, and the reverse is true
for holes.
The depletion layer is the region where the flow of charges
decreases. This region acts as the barrier that opposes the flow
of electrons from the n-side to the p-side of the semiconductor
diode.

5. How is a battery connected to a junction diode in i) forward and ii) reverse bias?
Ans: i) In forward bias, p-side is connected to the positive terminal of the battery and n-side to the
negative terminal.
ii) In the reverse bias, n-side is connected to the positive terminal of the battery and p-side is
negative terminal.

6. What is the maximum percentage of rectification in half-wave and full-wave rectifiers?

Ans. Maximum percentage of rectification in half-wave rectifier is 40.6%.
Maximum percentage of rectification in full-wave rectifier is 81.2%.
 In the reverse bias of a zener diode, the voltage at which the current suddenly increases to
maximum is known as zener voltage.
7. What is Zener Voltage (Vz) and how will a Zener diode be connected in circuits
generally?
Ans. By heavy doping, a large number of electron-hole pairs are created, and they constitute the
large reverse current. To get this current, the minimum voltage required is known as the knee
voltage or the Zener voltage.
A Zener diode is connected such that it is reverse biased.

8. Write the expression for the efficiency of a full-wave rectifier and a half-wave rectifier.
P
Ans. The efficiency of a rectifier, %  DC 100%
PAC
8
For a full-wave rectifier, %   100%  81.2%
2
4
For a half-wave rectifier, %   100%  40.6%
2

9. What happens to the width of the depletion layer in a p-n junction diode when it is
i) forward biased and ii) reverse biased?
Ans: i) When p-n junction diode is forward biased, the width of the depletion layer decreases.
ii) When p-n junction diode is forward biased, the width of the depletion layer increases.
Reverse
10. Draw the circuit symbols for p-n-p and n-p-n transistors.
Ans:
n-p-n Transistor p-n-p Transistor
Circuit Symbols

The process of raising the strength of a signal is known as amplification

11. Define amplifier and amplification factor.
Ans: An amplifier is an electronic a device which produces an enlarged copy of a signal, i.e.,
increases the voltage, current, or power of a signal.
The amplification factor, also called gain, is the extent to which an analog amplifier boosts the
strength of a signal
Current amplification factor (β): This is defined as the ratio of the change in collector current
to the change in base current at a constant collector-emitter voltage (VCE) when the
 I  The ratio of output voltage to the input voltage of an amplifier is known as
transistor is in active state. ac   C  Amplification Factor.
 I B VCE Amplification Factor = Vo/Vi

12. In which bias can a Zener diode be used as voltage regulator?

Ans. In reverse bias, after a certain voltage, the current suddenly increases (breakdown voltage) in
a Zener diode. This property has been used to obtain voltage regulation.

13. Which gates are called universal gates? NAND and NOR gates are universal gates
Ans: NAND gates are also called Universal Gates since by using these gates you can realise other
basic gates like OR, AND and NOT.

14. Write the truth table of NAND gate. How does it differ from AND gate?
Ans: Truth table of a NAND gate:

NAND gate is an AND gate followed by a NOT gate.

AND Gate + NOT Gate = NAND Gate
 SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS

1. What are n–type and p-type semiconductors? How is a semiconductor junction

formed?
Ans. Pure semiconductors are called intrinsic semiconductors. When a pure semiconductor is
doped with impurities, extrinsic semiconductors are formed.
The n–type and p–type semiconductors are extrinsic semiconductors.
p-type semiconductor: A pure tetravalent semiconductor is doped with a trivalent impurity
then p - type semiconductor is formed.
Here the impurity is called acceptor impurity.
In p–type semiconductors the majority charge carriers are holes.
n–type semiconductor: A pure tetravalent semiconductor is doped with a pentavalent
impurity then n–type semiconductor is formed.
The impurity is called donor impurity.
In n–type semiconductors the majority charge carriers are electrons.
Formation of semiconductor junction:
When an electron diffuses from n → p, it leaves
behind an ionised donor on n-side. This ionised
donor (positive charge) is immobile as it is
bonded to the surrounding atoms. As the
electrons continue to diffuse from n → p, a layer
of positive charge (or positive space-charge
region) on n-side of the junction is developed.
Similarly, when a hole diffuses from p → n due to
the concentration gradient, it leaves behind an
ionised acceptor (negative charge) which is
immobile.
As the holes continue to diffuse, a layer of negative charge (or negative space-charge region)
on the p-side of the junction is developed. This space-charge region on either side of the
junction together is known as depletion region.

2. Discuss the behaviour of p–n junction. How does a potential barrier develop at the
junction?
Ans. Behaviour of the p-n junction:
When an external voltage V is applied across a
semiconductor diode such that p-side is connected to the
positive terminal of the battery and n-side to the negative
terminal, it is said to be forward biased.
The applied voltage mostly drops across the depletion
region and the voltage drop across the p-side and n-side
of the junction is negligible.
The direction of the applied voltage (V) is opposite to the
built-in potential V0. As a result, the depletion layer width
decreases and the barrier height is reduced.
The effective barrier height under forward bias is (V0 – V).
Barrier potential (1) without battery, (2) Low battery
voltage, and (3) High voltage battery.
The total diode forward current is sum of hole diffusion
current and conventional current due to electron diffusion.
 The magnitude of this current is usually in mA.
When an external voltage (V) is applied across the diode
such that n-side is positive and p-side is negative, it is
said to be reverse biased. The applied voltage mostly
drops across the depletion region. The direction of
applied voltage is same as the direction of barrier
potential. As a result, the barrier height increases and the
depletion region widens due to the change in the electric
field. The effective barrier height under reverse bias is (V0
+ V). This suppresses the flow of electrons from n → p
and holes from p → n. Thus, diffusion current, decreases
enormously compared to the diode under forward bias.

Potential barrier at the junction:

When, at the junction, the holes start to move towards the electrons then there is
formation of the layer of electrons on the p-type and a layer of holes in the n-type
side which forms a region known as depletion layer, this depletion layer is the cause
of the formation potential barrier.

3. Draw and explain the current-voltage (I-V) characteristic curves of a junction diode in
forward and reverse bias.
Ans. Current-Voltage (I-V) Characteristics of a Junction Diode:
The circuit arrangement for studying the V -I characteristics of a diode, (i.e., the variation of
current as a function of applied voltage) are follows. For different values of voltages, the value
of the current is noted.
Forward Bias:
Note that in forward bias measurement, we use a milliammeter since the expected current is
large while a micro ammeter is used in reverse bias to measure the current.
In forward bias, the current first increases very
slowly, almost negligibly, till the voltage across the
diode crosses a certain value. After the characteristic
voltage, the diode current increases significantly
(exponentially), even for a very small increase in the
diode bias voltage. This voltage is called the
threshold voltage or cut-in voltage (~0.2V for
germanium diode and ~0.7 V for silicon diode).
Reverse Bias:
In the reverse bias, small current flows in the circuit
due to minority charge carries (electrons). The
applied reverse voltage appears as forward bias to
these minority charge carriers. Therefore, a small
current flows in the reverse direction. This current is
called reverse saturation current. If the reverse
voltage is increased further, after some voltage,
there will be a sudden rise of reverse current. This
region is named as breakdown region.

Thus, voltage versus current graph for a given diode

in both forward & reverse biased can be obtained.
4. Describe how a semiconductor diode is used as a half-wave rectifier.
Ans. A half wave rectifier consists of a single diode ‘D’
and load resistance RL are connected in series. If
an alternating voltage is applied across a diode
in series with a load, a pulsating voltage will
appear across the load only during the half
cycles of the ac input during which the diode is
forward biased. Such rectifier circuit, is called a
half-wave rectifier .

The secondary of a transformer supplies the desired

ac voltage across terminals A and B. When the
voltage at A is positive, the diode is forward biased
and it conducts. When A is negative, the diode is
reverse-biased and it does not conduct. Therefore,
in the positive half-cycle of ac there is a current
through the load resistor RL and we get an output
voltage, whereas there is no current in the negative
half-cycle. In the next positive half-cycle, again we
get the output voltage. Thus, the output voltage,
though still varying, is restricted to only one direction
and is said to be rectified . Since the rectified output
of this circuit is only for half of the input ac wave it is
called as half-wave rectifier .

5. What is rectification? Explain the working of a full-wave rectifier.

Ans. Rectification: The process of converting an alternating current into a direct current is called
rectification. The device used for this purpose is called rectifier. The circuit using two diodes,
gives output rectified voltage corresponding to both the positive as well as negative half of the
ac cycle. Hence, it is known as full-wave rectifier. Here the p-side of the two diodes are
connected to the ends of the secondary of the transformer.

The n-side of the diodes are connected and the output is taken between this common point of
diodes and the midpoint of the secondary of the transformer. So for a full-wave rectifier the
secondary of the transformer is provided with a centre tapping and so it is called centre-tap
transformer.
 Suppose the input voltage to A with respect to the
centre tap at any instant is positive. It is clear that,
at that instant, voltage at B being out of phase will
be negative as shown). So, diode D1 gets forward
biased and conducts (while D2 will be reverse
biased and it will not conduct).
Hence, during this positive half cycle we get an
output current. During the ac cycle when the
voltage at A becomes negative with respect to
centre tap, the voltage at B would be positive. In
this part of the cycle diode D1 would not conduct
but diode D2 would, giving an output current and
output voltage during the negative half cycle of the
input ac. Thus, we get output voltage during both
the positive as well as the negative half of the
cycle.

6. Distinguish between half-wave and full-wave rectifiers.

Ans.
Half-wave rectifier Full-wave rectifier
1. Every positive half cycle is rectified. 1. Both positive and negative half cycles are
rectified.
2. Single diode is used. 2. Two diodes are used.
3. Only one diode conducts electricity 3. The diodes conduct electricity one after
during the positive half cycle another during the full cycle, as they
as it is forward biased. are forward biased one after another.
4. One diode rectifies one half cycle. 4. Two diodes rectify two half cycles.
5. The transformer secondary does not 5. The secondary of transformer used is centrally
possess central tap. tapped.

7. Distinguish between Zener breakdown and avalanche breakdown.

Ans. Zener breakdown
It is seen that when the applied reverse bias voltage (V) reaches the breakdown voltage (VZ)
of the Zener diode, there is a large change in the current. Note that after the breakdown
voltage VZ, a large change in the current can be produced by almost insignificant change in
the reverse bias voltage.We know that reverse current is due to the flow of electrons (minority
carriers) from p → n and holes from n → p. As the reverse bias voltage is increased, the
electric field at the junction becomes significant. When the reverse bias voltage V = VZ, then
the electric field strength is high enough to pull valence electrons from the host atoms on the
p-side which are accelerated to n-side. These electrons account for high current observed at
the breakdown.
Avalanche breakdown: In avalanche breakdown, the thermally generated electrons and
holes acquire sufficient energy from the applied potential to produce new carriers by removing
valence electrons from their bonds. This process is called as Avalanche multiplication. It
results in the large flow of current, and the diode finds itself in Avalanche break down. This
occurs in lightly doped diodes at high reverse bias voltages.

8. Explain hole conduction in Intrinsic semiconductors.

Ans. Semiconductors, in their pure form are called intrinsic semiconductors. Examples are silicon
and germanium. Silicon and germanium are tetravalent. In their crystal lattice, each atom with
its four valence electrons forms four covalent bonds, with the adjacent atoms. The binding
forces between neighbouring atoms result from the fact that each of the valence electrons of
a germanium/silicon atom is shared by one of its four nearest neighbours, resulting in
covalent bonds. The fact that the valence electrons serve to bind one atom to the next also
results in the valence electron being tightly bound to the nucleus. Hence, in spite of the
availability of four valence electrons, the crystal has low conductivity.
At a very low temperature (say 0 K) the
crystal behaves as an insulator. Due to
 thermal energy itself some of the electrons
escape from the bonds and an empty conduction band
space is left behind in the valence band.
This vacancy (absence of electron) in the Fermi energy level
valence band is called a hole. The
liberated electrons go to the conduction
band thus electron–hole pairs are created valence band
due to thermal energy.
(o – hole, e-electron, - - - - - - Fermi energy
Under applied electric field the holes drift in an opposite direction to the electrons with lesser
speed and behave like positive charge carriers. In intrinsic semiconductors, holes and
electrons are always equal in number. Their number increases with increase in temperature.

9. What is a photodiode? Explain its working with a circuit diagram and draw its I-V
characteristics.
Ans. A Photodiode is a special purpose p-n junction
diode fabricated with a transparent window to
allow light to fall on the diode. It is operated under
reverse bias. When the photodiode is illuminated
with light (photons) with energy (hν) greater than
the energy gap (Eg) of the semiconductor, then
electron-hole pairs are generated due to the
absorption of photons. The diode is fabricated
such that the generation of e-h pairs takes place
in or near the depletion region of the diode. Due to
electric field of the junction, electrons and holes
are separated before they recombine. The
direction of the electric field
is such that electrons reach n-side and holes reach p-side. Electrons are collected on n-side
and holes are collected on p-side giving rise to an emf. When an external load is connected,
current flows. The magnitude of the photocurrent depends on the intensity of incident light
(photocurrent is proportional to incident light intensity).It is easier to observe the change in the
current with change in the light intensity, if a reverse bias is applied. Thus photodiode can be
used as a photo detector to detect optical signals.

10. Explain the working of LED and what are its advantages over conventional
incandescent low power lamps.
Ans. It is a heavily doped p-n junction which under forward bias emits spontaneous radiation. The
diode is encapsulated with a transparent cover so that emitted light can come out. When the
diode is forward biased, electrons are sent from n → p (where they are minority carriers) and
holes are sent from p → n (where they are minority carriers). At the junction boundary the
concentration of minority carriers increases compared to the equilibrium concentration (i.e.,
when there is no bias). Thus, at the junction boundary on either side of the junction, excess
minority carriers are there which recombine with majority carriers near the junction. On
recombination, the energy is released in the form of photons. Photons with energy equal to or
slightly less than the band gap are emitted. When the forward current of the diode is small,
the intensity of light emitted is small. As the forward current increases, intensity of light
increases and reaches a maximum. Further increase in the forward current results in
decrease of light intensity. LEDs are biased
such that the light emitting efficiency is maximum. LEDs have the following advantages over
conventional incandescent low power lamps:
(i) Low operational voltage and less power.
(ii) Fast action and no warm-up time required.
(iii) The bandwidth of emitted light is 100 Å to 500 Å or in other words it is nearly (but not
exactly) monochromatic.
(iv) Long life and ruggedness.
(v) Fast on-off switching capability.

11. Explain the working of a solar cell and draw its I-V characteristics.
Ans. Solar Cell:
 A solar cell is basically a p-n junction which generates
emf when solar radiation falls on the p-n junction. It works
on the same principle (photovoltaic effect) as the
photodiode, except that no external bias is applied and
the junction area is kept much larger for solar radiation to
be incident because it can generate more power. A p-Si
wafer is taken over which a thin layer of n-Si is grown on
one-side by diffusion process. The other side of p-Si is
coated with a metal (back contact). On the top of n-Si
layer, metal finger electrode (or metallic grid) is
deposited. This acts as a front contact. The metallic grid
occupies only a very small fraction of the cell area so that
light can be incident on the cell from the top. The
generation of emf by a solar cell, when light falls on, it is
due to the following three basic processes:
(i) generation of e-h pairs due to light (with hν > Eg) close to the junction;
(ii) separation of electrons and holes due to electric field of the depletion region because of
which electrons are swept to n-side and holes to p-side;
(iii) the electrons reaching the n-side are collected by the front contact and holes reaching p-
side are collected by the back contact. Thus p-side becomes positive and n-side becomes
negative giving rise to photovoltage. When an external load is connected a photocurrent IL
flows through the load.

12. Explain the different transistor configurations with diagrams. Transistors

configurations
Ans. In electronic circuits, transistors are connected in three ways. They are
(i) Common base configuration
(ii) Common emitter configuration
(iii) Common collector configuration
Common Base configuration
In this configuration base is common to both input and output. Base terminal is earthed and
input is given across base – emitter and output is taken across base collector.
e c
p n p
Output Input b Output
Input

b
Common Base (C.B) circuit Circuit Symbol
Common Emitter configuration
In this configuration emitter is common to both input and output. The emitter is earthed and
input is given across base – emitter and output is taken across collector – emitter.
c c
p
b
n Output
p b Output
Input
e
Input e
(a)
Common Collector (C.E.) circuit (b) Circuit Symbol

Common Collector configuration

In this configuration collector is common to both input and output. The collector is earthed and
input is given across base-collector and output is taken across emitter collector.
 e e
p
b
n Output
Input p b Output

Input
c
c
(a)
Common Collector (C.C.) circuit (b) Circuit Symbol

13. Explain how transistor can be used as a switch.

Ans. When the transistor is used in the cutoff or saturation state it acts as a switch.
Consider a transistor biased in CE configuration.

Applying Kirchhoff’s voltage rule to the input and output sides of this circuit, we get
VBB = IB RB + VBE and VCE = VCC– IC RC.
We shall treat VBB as the dc input voltage Vi and VCE as the dc output voltage VO. So, we
have
Vi = IBRB + VBE and Vo = VCC – ICRC.
As long as Vi is low and unable to forward-bias the transistor, Vo is high (at VCC ). If Vi is high
enough to drive the transistor into saturation, then Vo is low, very near to zero. When the
transistor is not conducting it is said to be switched off and when it is driven into saturation it
is said to be switched on. This shows that if we define low and high states as below and
above
certain voltage levels corresponding to cut-off and saturation of the transistor, then we can
say that a low input switches the transistor off and a high input switches it on. Alternatively,
we can say that a low input to the transistor gives a high output and a high input gives a low
output. The switching circuits are designed in such a way that the transistor does not remain
in active state.

14. Explain how transistor can be used as an oscillator.

Ans. An oscillator is a generator of an alternating voltage, usually of high frequency and constant
amplitude. The energy required for this is taken from a dc source. As in an amplifier, the
base-emitter junction is forward biased while the base-collector junction is reverse biased.

Consider the switch S1 is put on to apply proper bias for the first time. A variable collector
current flows in the transistor. This current flows through the coil T2 where terminals are
numbered 3 and 4. This current does not reach full amplitude instantaneously but increases
from X to Y. The inductive coupling between coil T2 and coil T1 now causes a current to flow
in the emitter circuit. As a result of this positive feedback, emitter current T1 also increases
from X´ to Y´. The current in T2 (collector current) connected in the collector circuit acquires
 the value Y when the transistor becomes saturated. This means that maximum collector
current is flowing and can increase no further. Since there is no further change in collector
current, the magnetic field around T2 does not grow. As soon as the field becomes static,
there will be no further feedback from T2 to T1.
Without continued feedback, the emitter current begins to fall. As a result, collector current
decreases from Y towards Z . The decrease of collector current causes the magnetic field to
decay around the coil T2. Thus, T1 is now seeing a decreasing field in T2. This causes a
further decrease in the emitter current till it reaches Z/ when the transistor is cut-off. This
means that both IE and IC decrease to flow. Therefore, the transistor has come back to its
original state. The whole process now repeats itself. That is, the transistor
is driven to saturation, then to cut-off,
and then back to saturation. The
frequency of the oscillations set up in
 1 
the circuit is given by v   
 2 LC 

15. Define NAND and NOR gates. Give their truth tables.
Ans. NAND Gate
This is an AND gate followed by a NOT gate. If inputs A and B
are both ‘1’, the output Y is not ‘1’. The gate gets its name from
this NOT AND behaviour. NAND gates are also called Universal
Gates since by using these gates we can get other basic gates
like OR, AND and NOT gates.
Truth table of a NAND gate:

NOR Gate:
It has two or more inputs and one output. A NOT- operation
applied after OR gate gives a NOT-OR gate (or simply
NOR gate). Its output Y is ‘1’ only when both inputs A and
B are ‘0’, i.e., neither one input nor the other is ‘1’. NOR
gates are considered as universal gates because we can
obtain all the gates like AND, OR, NOT by using only NOR
gates.
Truth table of a NOR gate:

16. Explain the operation of a NOT gate and give its truth table.
Ans. NOT gate:
This is the most basic gate, with one input and one output. It
produces a ‘1’ output if the input is ‘0’ and vice-versa. That is, it
produces an inverted version of the input at its output. Thus, it is
also known as an inverter.
Truth table of a NOT gate:
 CHAPTER 15
SEMICONDUCTOR ELECTRONICS:
MATERIALS, DEVICES AND SIMPLE CIRCUITS

QUESTIONS FROM PREVIOUS PAPERS AND MODEL PAPERS

VSAQ

1. Draw the circuit symbols for p-n-p and n-p-n transistors. (6)
2. Write the truth table of NAND gate. How does it differ from AND gate? (2)
3. Which gates are called universal gates?
4. What is Zener Voltage (Vz) and how will a Zener diode be connected in circuits
generally?

SAQ

1. Define NAND and NOR gates. Give their truth tables. (2)
2. What is rectification? Explain the working of a full-wave rectifier. (2)
3. Describe how a semiconductor diode is used as a half-wave rectifier. (2)
4. Draw and explain the current-voltage (I-V) characteristic curves of a junction diode in
forward and reverse bias.
5. Explain the working of a solar cell and draw its I-V characteristics.