INTRODUCTION TO

SEMICONDUCTORS
Prelims Lecture 1
ATOMIC STRUCTURE
 Atom
 smallest particle of an element that retains the
characteristics of that element
ATOMIC STRUCTURE
 Two simple atoms
ATOMIC STRUCTURE
 Atomic Number
 equals the number of protons in the nucleus
 same as the number of electrons in an
electrically balanced (neutral) atom
ATOMIC STRUCTURE
 Energy Levels
 Orbit – discrete distance from the nucleus
corresponds to a certain level
 Shells – grouped energy bands
 has a fixed maximum number of electrons at
permissible energy levels
 designated as 1, 2, 3 ... With 1 being closest to the
nucleus
ATOMIC STRUCTURE
 Energy increases as the distance from the
nucleus increases

Ne = 2n2

where:
Ne – maximum number of
electrons
n – number of the shell
ATOMIC STRUCTURE
 Valence Electrons
 electrons in the outermost shell also known as
the valence shell
 contribute to chemical reactions and bonding
within the structure of a material
 determines the electrical properties of a
material
ATOMIC STRUCTURE
 Ionization
 process of losing a valence electron resulting to
a positively charged atom called a positive ion.
 Hydrogen : H  H+ .... Free electrons
 Chlorine : Cl  Cl- ... Non-metallic materials
INSULATORS, CONDUCTORS,
AND SEMICONDUCTORS
 electrical properties of an atom
 valence shell and a core that consists of all the
inner shells and the nucleus
INSULATORS, CONDUCTORS AND
SEMICONDUCTORS
 Insulators
 a material that does not conduct under normal
conditions
 mostly compounds rather than a single-element
materials
 valence electrons are tightly bound to the atoms
 very few free electrons
 rubber, plastic, glass, mica, quartz
INSULATORS, CONDUCTORS AND
SEMICONDUCTORS
 Conductors
 materials that easily conduct electrical current
 best conductors are single-element materials,
such as copper, silver, gold, and aluminum
 in a conductive material the free electrons are
valence electrons
INSULATORS, CONDUCTORS AND
SEMICONDUCTORS
 Semiconductors
 materials that are between conductors and
insulators in its ability to conduct electrical
current
 pure semiconductor is neither a good conductor
nor a good insulator
 silicon, germanium, carbon
 gallium arsenide, indium phosphide
CONDUCTORS, INSULATORS AND
SEMICONDUCTORS
 Energy Bands
 Conduction Band – where the free electrons go
after leaving the valence shell
 Energy Gap – difference in energy between the
valence band and the conduction band
 the amount of energy that a valence electron must
have in order to jump from the valence band to the
conduction band
CONDUCTORS, INSULATORS AND
SEMICONDUCTORS
 Energy Diagrams
CONDUCTORS, INSULATORS AND
SEMICONDUCTORS
 Semiconductor Atom vs. a Conductor Atom
CONDUCTORS, INSULATORS AND
SEMICONDUCTORS
 Silicon and Germanium
CONDUCTORS, INSULATORS AND
SEMICONDUCTORS
 Covalent Bonds
CONDUCTORS, INSULATORS AND
SEMICONDUCTORS
 Covalent Bonding – bonding of two or more
atoms by interaction of their valence
electrons
 Crystal – a solid material in which the atoms
are arranged in a symmetrical pattern
 Intrinsic crystal – one that has no impurities
CONDUCTORS, INSULATORS AND
SEMICONDUCTORS
 Covalent bonds in a silicon crystal
CURRENT IN SEMICONDUCTORS
 Energy band diagram for an unexcited atom
in a pure silicon crystal
CURRENT IN SEMICONDUCTORS
 Conduction Electrons and Holes
CURRENT IN SEMICONDUCTORS
 Hole – the absence of an electron in the
valence band of an atom
 Electron-Hole Pair – conduction electron and
the hole created when the electron leaves
the valence band
 Recombination – occurs when a conduction-
band electron loses energy and falls back
into a hole in the valence band
CURRENT IN SEMICONDUCTORS
 Electron-Hole Pairs in a silicon crystal
CURRENT IN SEMICONDUCTORS
 Electron and Hole Current
CURRENT IN SEMICONDUCTORS
 Hole Current in intrinsic silicon
N-TYPE AND P-TYPE
SEMICONDUCTORS
 Doping – the process of imparting impurities
to an intrinsic semi conductive material in
order to control its conduction characteristic
 increases the number of current carriers
 n-type and p-type
N-TYPE AND P-TYPE
SEMICONDUCTORS
 N-Type Semiconductor
 increased conduction-band electrons
 pentavalent impurity atoms
 arsenic, phosphorus, bismuth and antimony
N-TYPE AND P-TYPE
SEMICONDUCTORS
 P-type Semiconductor
 increase the number of holes
 trivalent impurity atoms
 boron, indium and gallium
THE DIODE
 Diode – an electronic component that allows
current to pass through in a single direction
only as denoted by the arrow in the symbol,
and blocks any attempt to pass through
current at the opposite direction

- +
THE DIODE
 Formation of the Depletion Region
 pn junction – the boundary between two
different types of semi-conductive materials
 depletion region – the area near a pn junction
on both sides that has no majority carriers
THE DIODE
 Barrier Potential – the potential difference
of the electric field across the depletion
region
 the amount of voltage required to move
electrons through the electric field
 expressed in volts
 a certain amount of voltage equal to the barrier
potential and with proper polarity must be
applied across a pn junction before electrons will
begin to flow across the junction
 0.7V and 0.3V at 25C
THE DIODE
 Energy Diagrams of the PN Junction and
Depletion Region
THE DIODE
 Biasing a Diode
 Bias – the use of a dc voltage to establish certain
operating condition for an electronic device
 forward and reverse
THE DIODE
 Forward Bias
 the condition that allows current through the pn
junction
THE DIODE
 Forward Bias – electron current
THE DIODE
 The effect of Forward Bias on the Depletion
Region
THE DIODE
 The Effect of the Barrier Potential During
Forward Bias
 dynamic resistance – the non-linear internal
resistance of a semi-conductive material
THE DIODE
 Reverse Bias – the condition that essentially
prevents current through the diode
THE DIODE
 Reverse Bias
THE DIODE
 Reverse Current (Reverse Breakdown/
Avalanche Effect)
THE DIODE
 Voltage-Current Characteristic of a Diode
 V-I Characteristic for Forward Bias
THE DIODE
 Graphing the V-I Curve
 dynamic or ac resistance
 r’d = VF / IF
THE DIODE
 V-I Characteristic for Reverse Bias
THE DIODE
 The Complete V-I Curve
THE DIODE
 Temperature Effects
THE DIODE
 Diode Models
 Forward-Bias and Reverse-Bias Connection
THE DIODE
 The Ideal Diode Model
THE DIODE
 Practical Diode Model
THE DIODE
 The Complete Diode Model
THE DIODE
 Typical Diode Packages
THE DIODE
 Testing Diode
THE DIODE
 Testing a Diode