Basic Electronics

Introduction to Semiconductor
 Current Conduction Mechanism in Semiconductor
• There are two types of current through a semiconducting material – one is
drift current and the other is diffusion current.
• Drift Current: An electric field (the result of applying a voltage between two
points) is used as a force to push electrons and holes through the
semiconductor.

In this entire system, because of the randomness, the net By apply an electric field, the electrons still have random
current due to the motion is 0. Everything balances out. bounces, but each electron gets a nudge to the right. The net
electron motion is to the right, which represent a current going
to the left.
Diffusion Current:
• Diffusion is the “smoothing” process by which randomly moving particles
will be re-distributed into a more uniform pattern.
• Whenever particles have a non-uniform distribution and they can move
randomly, there will be a net flow from the regions of higher concentration
into regions of lower concentration.
• The random motion of electrons and holes in a semiconductor leads to
diffusion currents.

Unequal distribution of electron After diffusion

 Diode
• It is simplest form of electronic device which characteristic closely matches
with a simple switch.
• The ideal diode is a two terminal device and conduct current in one direction

Diode in ON state

Diode in OFF state

 Diode Characteristic:
The diode operates in two modes i.e. conduction region and non-conduction region

For an ideal diode during conduction region:

For an ideal diode during non-conduction region:
• The voltage(VF ) across the diode is zero
• The reverse voltage(VR ) across the diode is infinite
• Current (IF ) through the diode is infinite
• Current (IR ) through the diode is zero
• The forward resistance (RF =VF /IF ) is zero
• The forward resistance (RR =VR /IR ) is infinite
• It behaves like a short path
• It behaves like a open path
Types of Diode
PN junction diode
Zener diode
Light emitting diode
Schottky diode
Photodiode
Varactor diode
PIN diode
Avalance diode
Tunnel diode
 p-n Junction diode
• The pn Junction diode is a combination of p-type and n-type of semiconductors
• The word diode is contraction of two electrodes, DIODE=DI(two)+electrODE
• The terminal on the p side is referred to as the anode, while that on the n side
is referred to as the cathode.
• If a piece of intrinsic silicon is doped so that part is n-type and the other part is
p-type, a pn junction forms at the boundary between the two regions and a
diode is created.
• The p-side is considered as anode and n-side is considered as cathode
• After doping, the crystal becomes an unstable structure
• The p region has many holes (majority carriers) from the impurity atoms and only a
few thermally generated free electrons (minority carriers).
• The n region has many free electrons (majority carriers) from the impurity atoms and
only a few thermally generated holes (minority carriers).
 In p-type, the circled minus symbol is a trivalent atom(boron impurity) and its plus
symbol represents a hole(vacant position of the valance band) at valance shell.
 In n-type, the circled plus symbol is a pentavalent atom(antimony impurity) and its
minus symbol represents its free electron.
 The free electrons in the n region are randomly drifting in all directions.
 At the instant of the pn junction formation, the free electrons near the junction in the n region
begin to diffuse across the junction (due to repulsive force among the electrons of n-side) into the p
region where they combine with holes.
 The diffused electrons combines with some holes of the p-side
 In P-side, after recombination, the hole disappear, the free electron becomes a valance electron
 The pentavalent atom becomes a stable positive ion after releasing the electron.
• The n-type region close to the junction becomes depleted of electrons and positively
charged, and the p-type region close to the junction becomes depleted of holes and
negatively charged.
• The region near to the pn-junction becomes depleted of majority carriers and is called the
depletion region(Majority charge carrier empty region).
• The depletion region is formed very quickly and is very thin compared to the n region and p
region.
• A point is reached where the total negative charge in the depletion region repels any further
diffusion of electrons (negatively charged particles) into the p region (like charges repel) and
the diffusion stops.
• As per Coulomb’s law when a positive charge and a negative charge near each other,
there is a force acting on the charges. In the depletion region there are many positive
charges and many negative charges on opposite sides of the pn junction.
• The forces between the the positive charges and the negative charges form an electric
field.
• The electric field is a barrier to the free electrons in the n region, and energy must be
expended to move an electron through the electric field.
• An external energy must be applied to get the electrons to move across the barrier of the
electric field in the depletion region.
• The potential difference of the electric field across the depletion region is the amount of
voltage required to move electrons through the electric field. This potential difference is
called the barrier potential
Barrier potential
• The barrier potential of a pn junction depends on several factors, including the type of
semiconductive material, the amount of doping, and the temperature.
• At room temperature(25°C), the barrier potential equals approximately 0.3 V for
germanium diodes and 0.6-0.7 V for silicon diodes.
• The barrier potential voltage also called as knee voltage or cut-in voltage of the diode
• The net flow of charge in any direction for a semiconductor diode is zero, when the
externally applied voltage is zero.
• An external voltage applied to the two terminals is referred to as a bias
• Three different biasing conditions can be possible:
Zero bias: Where the external voltage is zero
Forward bias: where the external voltage is applied such that the
anode is positive relative to the cathode
Reverse bias: where the external voltage is such that the anode is
negative relative to the cathode
 Forward Bias
• When the negative terminal of DC source terminal is connected to the n-type material,
and the positive terminal is connected to the p-type material. This connection is called
forward bias.
• When the battery voltage more than the barrier potential(0.6V for Si), holes (majority
carriers) of the p-side are repelled from the positive terminal of the DC source, move
towards the junction,
• The electrons (majority carriers) of the n-type are repelled from the negative terminal of
the DC source, move towards the junction.
•
 • Some of the electron or hole neutralizes the positive or negative ions
in the depletion region, by result the depletion layer became thinner.
• The junction offers low resistance (forward resistance, RF) to the flow
of current through it, because of large number of carriers present in
whole of the diode. This RF is of the order of a few unit ohms.
• Is is the reverse saturation current which is generated due to
minority charge carrier(free electrons are generated due to the
thermal energy).

 In the circuit, the

resistor may be
connected in
series to limit the
current flow
through the diode
I-V characteristic under Forward bias condition
In forward bias, the current through the diode is called as a forward
current.
 Reverse bias:
• In this mode, the negative terminal of the battery is connected to the p side and the
positive battery terminal to the n side.
• In this configuration, the free electrons in the n-type material are attracted toward the
positive terminal of the external voltage source.
• It increases the number of positive ions in the area of the p–n junction, which
increases the width of the depletion region on the n side of the junction.
• Electrons from the negative terminal of voltage source also enters at the p-side of
semiconductor
• The electron combines the holes of the p-type semiconductor, as a result increase
in negative ion which causes increase in width of depletion layer on p-side
• The depletion layer stops growing when its difference of potential equals the
applied reverse voltage. When this happens, electrons and holes stop moving away
from the junction.
• Under thermal energy, hole and free electrons can be created inside the depletion
layer of a reverse-biased diode.
• The free electron at A and the hole at B can now contribute to reverse current.
Because of the reverse bias, the free electron will move to the right, effectively
pushing an electron out of the right end of the diode. Similarly, the hole will move
to the left.
Breakdown region of a diode
• This parameter of diode is defined as how much reverse voltage a diode can
withstand before it is destroyed.
• Once the breakdown voltage is reached, a large number of the minority
carriers suddenly appears in the depletion layer and the diode conducts
heavily.
• When the reverse voltage increases, it forces the minority carriers to move
more quickly. These minority carriers collide with the atoms of the crystal.
• When these minority carrier have enough energy, it can knock valance
electron and generate a free electron
• The process is geometric because one free electron liberates one valence
electron to get two free electrons. These two free electron produce another
two free electron and this process will continue.
• Due to the free electrons, heavy current flows through the diode