Introduction To SemiconductorsIntroduction To Semiconductors

Chapter 1

Atomic Structure

Semiconductor,Insulators and Conductors

Covalent Bonds

Conduction in Semiconductors

N-Type and P-Type Semiconductors

The PN-Junction

Biasing the PN-Junction

The DiodeKashif Bashir

Atomic StructureAtomic Structure

• All matter is made of atoms; and all atoms are made of electrons, Protons, and Electrons.

• Structure of the atom

• Electron Orbit Shells

• Valence electrons, Ions

• Two Semiconductive materials (Silicon and Germanium)

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• Conductor is a material that easily conducts electrical current.

• The best conductors are single-element materials, such as copper, silver, gold, and aluminum, which are characterized by atoms with only one valence electron very loosely bound to the atom.

• These loosely bound valence electrons can easily break away from their atoms and become free electrons.

• Therefore, a conductive material has many free electrons that, when moving in a net direction, make up the current.

Conductors

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Insulators

• An insulator is a material that does not conduct electrical current under normal conditions.

• Most good insulators are compounds rather that single-element materials.

• Valence electrons are tightly bound to the atoms; therefore, there are very few free electrons in an insulator.

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Semiconuctors

• A semiconductor is a material that is between conductors and insulators in its ability to conduct electrical current.

• A semiconductor in its pure (intrinsic) state is neither a good conductor nor a good insulator.

• The most common single-element semiconductors are silicon, germanium, and carbon.

• Compound semiconductors such as gallium arsenide are also commonly used.

• The single-element semiconductors are characterized atoms with four valence electrons.

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Energy diagrams for the three types of materials

Energy

Energy gap

Valence band

Conduction band

Conduction band

Valence band

Energy gapConduction bandValence band

Energy Energy

Insulator Semiconductor Conductor

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Covalent Bonds

• When certain atoms combine to form a solid material, they arrange themselves in a fixed pattern called a crystal.

• The atom within the crystal structure are are held together by covalent bonds, which are created by the interaction of the valence electrons of the atoms. Silicon is a crystalline material.

Si

SiSi

Si

Si

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Electron and Hole Current

• When a voltage is applied across a piece of intrinsic silicon, the thermally generated free electrons in the conduction band, which are free to move randomly in the crystal structure, are now easily attracted toward the positive end.

• This movement of free electrons is one type of current in a semiconductor material and is called electron current.

• A valence electron can move into a nearby hole, with little change in its energy level, thus leaving another hole where it came from.

• Effectively the hole has moved from one place to another in the crystal structure. This is called hold current.

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N-TYPE AND P-TYPE SEMICONDUCTORS

• Semiconductor materials do not conduct current well and are of little value in their intrinsic state.

• This is because of the limited number of free electrons in the conduction band and holes in the valence band.

• Intrinsic silicon (or germanium) must be modified by increasing the free electrons and holes to increase its conductivity and make it useful in electronic devices. This is done by adding impurities to the intrinsic material.

•Two types of extrinsic (impure) semiconductor materials N-type and P-type, are the key building block for all types of electronic devices.

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N-TYPE AND P-TYPE SEMICONDUCTORSContinue

Doping: The conductivity of silicon and germanium can be drastically increased by the controlled addition of impurities to the intrinsic (pure) semiconductor material. This process, called doping, increases the number of current carriers (electrons or holes), thus increasing the conductivity and decreasing the resistively. The two categories of impurities are n-type and p-type.

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N-TYPE SEMICONDUCTORS • To increase the number of conduction-band electrons in intrinsic silicon, pentavalent impurity atoms are added.

• These are atoms with five valence electrons such as arsenic (As), phosphorus (P), bismuth (Bi), and antimony (Sb).

• Each pentavalent atom (antimony, in this case) forms covalent bonds with four adjacent silicon atoms. Four of the antimony atom’s valence electrons are used to form the covalent bonds with silicon atoms, leaving one extra electron. This extra electron becomes a conduction electron because it is not attached to any atom. Because the pentavalent atom gives up an electron, it is often called a donor atom.

• The number of conduction electrons can be carefully controlled by the number of impurity atoms added to the silicon.

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NN-TYPE SEMICONDUCTORS Continue-TYPE SEMICONDUCTORS Continue

• Majority and Minority Carriers: Since most of the current carriers are electrons, silicon (or germanium) doped with pentavalent atoms is an n-type semiconductor material (the n stands for the negative charge on an electron). The electrons are called the majority carriers in n-type material.

• There are also a few holes that are created when electron-hole pairs are thermally generated. These holes are not produced by the addition of the pentavalent impurity atoms. Holes in an n-type material are called minority carriers.

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PP-type Semiconductor-type Semiconductor

• To increase the number of holes in intrinsic silicon, trivalent impurity atoms are added. These are atoms with three valence electrons such as aluminum (AI), boron (B), indium (In) and gallium (Ga).

• Because the trivalent atom can take an electron, it is often referred to as an acceptor atom.

• The number of holes can be carefully controlled by the number of trivalent impurity atoms added to the silicon.

• A hole created by this doping process is not accompanied by a conduction (free) electron.

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PP-type Semiconductor Continue-type Semiconductor Continue

• Majority and Minority Carriers. Since most of the current carriers are holes, silicon (or germanium) doped with trivalent atoms is called a p-type semiconductor material.

• Holes can be thought of as positive charges because the absence of an electron leaves a net positive charge on the atom. The holes are the majority carriers in p-type material.

• There are also a few free electrons that are created when electron-hole pairs are thermally generated. These free electrons are not produced by the addition of the trivalent impurity atoms.

• Electrons in p-type material are the minority carriers.

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THE PN JUNCTIONTHE PN JUNCTION

• If you take a block of silicon and dope half of it with a trivalent impurity and the other half with a pentavalent impurity, a boundary called the pn junction is formed between the resulting p-type and n-type portions .

• The pn junction is the feature that allows diodes, transistors, and other devices to work.

• If a piece of intrinsic silicon is doped so that half is n-type and the other half is p-type, a pn junction forms between the two regions as indicated.

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Formation of the Depletion RegionFormation of the Depletion Region

• When the pn junction is formed, the n region loses free electrons as they diffuse across the junction. This creates a layer of positive charges (pentavalent jons) near the junction. As the electrons move across the junction, the p region loses holes as the electrons and holes combine. This creates a layer of negative charges (trivalent jons) near the junction. These two layers of positive and negative charges form the depletion region.

• After the initial surge of free electrons across the pn junction, the depletion region has expanded to a point where equilibrium is established and there is no further diffusion of electrons across the junction.

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• The forces between the opposite charges form a “field of forces” called an electric field.

• This electric field is a barrier to the free electrons in the n region, and energy most be expended to move an electron through the electric field. That is, 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 energy required to move electrons through the electric field. This potential difference is called the barrier potential and is expressed in volts.

Barrier PotentialBarrier Potential

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Barrier PotentialBarrier Potential

• The barrier potential of a pn junction depends on several factors, including the type of semiconductor material, the amount of doping, and the temperature.

• The typical barrier potential is approximately 0.7 V for silicon and 0.3 V for germanium at 250C.

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Biasing The PN JunctionBiasing The PN Junction

• In electronics, the term bias refers to the use of a dc voltage to establish certain operating conditions for an electronic device.

• In relation to a pn junction, there are two bias conditions: forward and reverse..

• Either of these bias conditions is established by connecting a sufficient dc voltage of the proper polarity across the pn junction.

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Forward BiasForward Bias• Forward Bias is the condition that allows current through a pn junction a dc voltage source connected by conductive material (contacts and wire) across a pn junction in the direction to produce forward bias. This external bias voltage is designated as VBIAS.

• The negative side of VBIAS is connected to the n region of

the pn junction and the positive side is connected to the p region. A second requirement is that the bias voltage, VBIAS,

must be greater than the barrier potential. P region N region

+ Vbias -

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+ + + + _ _ _ _

Forward BiasForward Bias

• Because like charges repet, the negative side of the bias-voltage source “pushes” the free electrons, which are the majority carriers in the n region, toward the pn junction.

• This flow of free electrons is called electron current.

• The negative side of the source also provides a continuous flow of electrons through the external connection (conductor) and into the n region as shown.

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Reverse BiasReverse Bias

• Reverse bias is the condition that prevents current through the pn junction a dc voltage source connected across a pn junction in the direction to produce reverse bias.

• This external bias voltage is designated as VBIAS just as was

for forward bias. The positive side of VBIAS is connected to the

n region of the pn junction and the negative side is connected to the p region.

P -- ++ N

- Vbias +

Depletion Region

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• What happens when a pn junction is reverse-biased. Because unlike charges attract, the positive side of the bias-voltage source “pulls” the free electrons, which are the majority carriers in the n region, away from the pn junction.

• Reverse Current The small number of free minority electrons in the p region are “pushed” toward the pn junction by the negative bias voltage.

• When these electrons reach the wide depletion region, they “fall down the energy hill” and combine with the minority holes in the n region as valence electrons and flow toward the positive bias voltage, creating a small hole current.

• Therefore, the minority electrons easily pass through the depletion region because they require no additional energy.

Reverse BiasReverse Bias

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The DiodeThe Diode

• The diode is a PN junction devices and learn its electrical symbol.

• One half of the diode is an n-type semiconductor and the other half is a P-type semiconductor.

R

VF

VBIAS

+ -

Forward Bias

R

VBIAS+ -

I= 0A

VBIAS

Reverse Bias

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The Ideal Diode ModelThe Ideal Diode Model

• The ideal model of diode is a simple switch.

• When the diode is forward-biased, it acts like a closed (on) switch. VF = 0, IF = VBIAS/ RLIMIT

• When the diode is reverse-biased, it acts like an open (off) switch. IR = 0 A, VR = VBIAS

Ideal Diode

A K

VBIAS

RR

A KIdeal Diode

F.B R.B

VBIAS

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The Practical Diode ModelThe Practical Diode Model

• The practical model, the one we will use most often, adds the barrier potential to the ideal switch model.

• When the diode is forward-biased, it acts as a closed switch in series with a small voltage (0.7 or 0.3) equal to the barrier potential with the positive side toward the anode.

• IF = VBIAS - VF

RLIMIT

• The Reverse current is neglected , the diode is assumed to have zero reverse current. IR = 0A, VR = VBIAS

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VF

VBIAS

R

VBIAS

- +

F.B R.B

The Practical Diode ModelThe Practical Diode Model

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