SEMICONDUCTOR

AND INSULATOR
AND THEIR
ENERGY BOND
STRUCTURE
•Semiconductors and insulators are two
important types of materials that exhibit
different energy band structures, which
determine their electrical properties. Let's
explore the topic in more detail:
•Semiconductor Energy Band Structure: In semiconductors,
the energy band structure consists of three main regions: the
valence band, the conduction band, and the energy gap (or
band gap) between them.
•1)Valence Band: The valence band is the highest energy band
that is fully occupied by valence electrons. These electrons
are strongly bound to their parent atoms and are not easily
excited to higher energy levels.
•2)Conduction Band: The conduction band is the energy
band located above the valence band. It is separated
from the valence band by the energy gap. The
conduction band can be empty or partially filled with
free electrons that are not bound to any specific atom.
 Electrons in the conduction band are relatively free to
move and participate in electrical conduction.
•3)Energy Gap (Band Gap): The energy gap, also known as
the band gap, is the energy range between the valence band
and the conduction band. It represents the minimum energy
required to excite an electron from the valence band to the
conduction band. Semiconductors have a moderate energy
gap, typically ranging from about 0.1 eV to 3 eV. The size of
the band gap determines the electrical behavior of the
semiconductor.
•Semiconductor Material Properties:
Semiconductor materials can be
categorized into two types: intrinsic and
extrinsic (or doped) semiconductors.
• Intrinsic Semiconductors: Intrinsic semiconductors are pure
semiconductor materials, such as silicon (Si) or germanium (Ge). At
absolute zero temperature, these materials have a completely filled
valence band and an empty conduction band. Due to the energy gap,
intrinsic semiconductors have low conductivity at room temperature.
However, when provided with sufficient energy, such as thermal or
 optical excitation, electrons can be promoted to the conduction band,
creating electron-hole pairs and increasing conductivity.
• Extrinsic or Doped Semiconductors: Extrinsic semiconductors are
created by introducing impurities, known as dopants, into the intrinsic
semiconductors. This process is called doping. The dopants can be
either pentavalent elements (such as phosphorus or arsenic) or
trivalent elements (such as boron or gallium).
• N-type Semiconductors: Dopants like phosphorus introduce excess
electrons into the material, creating an N-type semiconductor. These
extra electrons increase the conductivity of the material by
contributing to the conduction band.
•P-type Semiconductors: Dopants like boron introduce
fewer electrons than the host material has in its
valence band, creating a P-type semiconductor. This
results in the formation of "holes" in the valence band,
which can be thought of as vacancies for electrons.
These holes can move through the material and
contribute to electrical conduction.
• Insulator Energy Band Structure: Insulators, unlike semiconductors,
have a large energy gap between the valence band and the conduction
band.
• Valence Band of Insulators: The valence band of insulators is fully
occupied by valence electrons, similar to semiconductors.
• Conduction Band of Insulators: In insulators, the conduction band is
significantly separated from the valence band by a large energy gap.
This energy gap is typically greater than 3 eV. As a result, insulators
lack free charge carriers in the conduction band, making them poor
conductors of electricity.
• Complete Band Gap: The complete band gap in insulators refers to
the absence of any available energy states between the valence band
and the conduction band. This lack of available states restricts the
movement of electrons, resulting in very low conductivity.
• In summary, semiconductors have a moderate energy gap that allows
for controlled conductivity, while insulators possess a large energy
gap, leading to very low conductivity. The energy band structure and
conductivity behavior of these materials play a crucial role in their
applications, ranging from electronics and telecommunications to
energy devices and insulation materials.