Department of electrical and

electronics engineering

UMARU ALI SHINKAFI

POLYTECHNIC SOKOTO

EEC121: Telecommunication engineering I

Lecture Two: CONDUCTORS, INSULATORS AND SEMICONDUCTORS

 CONDUCTORS, INSULATORS AND SEMICONDUCTORS

Conductor
A conductor is a material through which free electrons will flow easily. In such
materials, the valence electrons can be easily dislodged from their parent atoms
by applying electromotive force. As stated in the previous module, most elements
with one, two or three valence electrons are example of good conductors of
electricity. Copper, Silver and aluminum are example of good conductors of
electricity
Insulator
Elements whose valences orbits are almost filled-up with valence electrons hardly give
up (their valence) electrons instead they prefer to fill up their valance orbit with
electrons; such material have very few free electrons which may not be able to support
current flow. They are therefore poor conductors of electricity.

❑ They are better known as insulators or dielectrics. Plastic, rubber and paper, mica
etc. are examples of insulator so that the current which they carry will not leak off
or pass through unwanted conductor materials.

❑ It is a matter of technical interest to note that all insulating materials (insulators)

will break down and conductor current if a sufficiently high voltage is applied
across them. In some elements or compounds the electrons are not easily excited.
They are strongly held by the nucleus and cannot become free.
 Semiconductor
Semiconductors are materials with intermediate characteristics between good
conductor and good insulators, some of these materials normally have four valence
electrons. Carbon, silicon, and germanium are example of semiconductors.

❑ Silicon and germanium are used in the manufacture of diodes, transistors etc.

❑ Carbon is used in the production of resistors and some sliding contacts such as
motor brushes.

❑ A resistor can be considered a material that supports the flow of electric current
better than an insulator but not as well as a conductor.
 CONDUCTION IN METALS

Metals have a crystalline structure, the atoms of the metal are in regular rows and
columns, they are held in their places by the strong forces that exist between an atom
and its neighbors.

❑ The electrons of each atom have different amounts of energy, those in the inner
shells have the highest energy, as they are attracted strongly by the nuclease,

❑ The outer electrons have less energy hence are not so strongly attracted and are
also affected by the atoms around them, sometimes they gain energy, sometimes
they lose it.

❑ Those electrons that have the most energy are said to be excited, they may have
enough energy to escape from the attraction of the nucleus, in that case they leave
the electron cloud and become ‘free electrons’.
 CONDUCTION IN METALS Cont.
When a piece of metal is connected between the terminals of a battery cell, the
electromotive force (e.m.f) of the cell makes a field, and the electrons are repelled
from the negative terminal and attracted towards the positive terminal, hence we have
an electric current.

As the electrons flow, negative electric charge is carried from the negative terminal of
the cells to the positive terminal, thus the electrons are charge carriers.

There are the three conditions for an electric current:

(a) There must be charge carriers (electrons)
(b) The charge carriers (electrons) are free to move.
(c) There must be an e.m.f.(voltage) to make them move

If any one of these conditions is absent, there is no current.

 INTRINSIC SEMICONDUCTOR

When an electron breaks free from an atom and thus becomes available for a
current it leaves the atom with a net positive charge and a vacancy for an electron,
this vacancy is called a hole. It represents a location into which an electron from
another atom can easily move, however such a movement would mean that there
was a hole in another atom, an electron movement has led to a hole movement. In
pure germanium or silicon which are good examples of semiconductors, there are
as many holes as there are free electrons. Thus when a potential difference is
applied to such a semiconductor there is a current due to the movement of the free
electrons, each hole being created by an electron becoming free. Such
semiconductors are called intrinsic semiconductors.
 INTRINSIC SEMICONDUCTOR Cont.

❑ In an intrinsic semiconductor the current is due in equal parts to electron and

hole movement.

❑ The introduction of impurities into silicon or germanium can have a great effect
on their resistivity, the deliberate introduction of impurities being known as
doping.

❑ When small amount of phosphorus, arsenic or antimony are added to silicon or

germanium the materials ends up with more electrons than holes. This is because
these materials have easily detached electrons.

❑ Such impurities are known as donors, because they donate electrons. The
materials are known as n-type, they are negatively charged particles.
 INTRINSIC SEMICONDUCTOR cont.

When small amounts of aluminum, gallium or iridium are added to germanium or

silicon the materials ends up with more holes than free electrons, this is because
these atoms supply sites which can be occupied by electrons from the germanium or
silicon.

Such impurities are known as acceptors, because they accept electrons. The
materials are known as p-type, they are positively charged particles(under a potential
difference the holes move in the opposite direction to electrons).
 INTRINSIC SEMICONDUCTOR

N-type semiconductors
An n-type semiconductor is one with mobile negative-charge carriers (electrons) in
its structure. Current flow in semiconductors is largely due to the movement of what
are known as majority-charge carriers in that material. In n-type materials, electrons
are the majority-charge carriers, positive –charge carrier (holes) are the minority –
charge carriers.

P-type semiconductors
A p-type semiconductor is one with mobile positive –charge carrier (holes) in its
structure. In p-type materials, current flow is largely due to the movement of
holes(which are in this case the majority –charge carriers) while a small proportion
of current flow is due to electrons (which are in this case the minority –charge
carriers).
 EXTRINSIC SEMICONDUCTOR

The material produced by doping is known as an extrinsic semi-conductor

because the impurity introduces charge carriers extra to the intrinsic one. Doping
is the deliberate introduction of impurities into silicon or germanium and can
have a great effect on their resistivity. In such materials there is a majority charge
carrier and holes and electrons do not contribute equally to a current
 ELECTRICAL FORCE AND POTENTIAL

If there are two particles or atoms which both have the same charge they are
repelled from each other, and if they are free to move, an electrical force makes
them move apart. If these particles or atoms have opposite charges, they are
attracted to one another. In other words, like charges repel while unlike charges
attract, as shown in the diagrams below;

Unlike Charge Repel Like Charge Repel

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