Chapter 1
SEMICONDUCTOR
MATERIALS
ELECTRONIC DEVICES EMT 116/3
CONTENT
1.1 Atomic structure
1.2 Semiconductor, conductors and insulators
1.3 Covalent bonding
1.4 Conduction in semiconductors
1.5 N-type and P-type semiconductors
1.6 The diode
1.7 Biasing the diode
1.8 Voltage-current characteristic of a diode
1.9 Diode models
1.10 Testing a diode
WHAT IS ELECTRONIC
DEVICES??
Such as diodes, transistors, and
integrated circuits (ICs).
Made of a semiconductive material.
To understand how these devices work, we should have a basic
knowledge of the atoms structure and the interaction of atom
particles !!
History Of Semiconductor Devices
Atom is the smallest particle of an element contain 3 basic
particles:
ATOM
Electrons
Protons (negative charge)
(positive charge)
Nucleus
(core of atom)
Neutrons
(uncharged)
This model was
Proposed by Niels
Bohr in 1915
Electrons circle
the nucleus that
consists of
protons and
neutrons.
Figure 1.1 : Bohr model of an atom
ATOMIC STRUCTURE (cont..)
Atomic
number
Electron shells
Valence electron
ATOM & orbit
Ionization
ATOMIC STRUCTURE (cont..)
Atomic Number
Atomic no. = No. of protons in nucleus
Element in periodic table are arranged according to atomic no.
Electron Shells and Orbits
Electrons near the nucleus have less energy than those in more
distant orbits.
Each distance (orbits) from the nucleus corresponding to a certain
energy level.
In an atom, the orbits are group into energy bands – shells
Diff. in energy level within a shell << diff. in energy between shells.
The maximum number of electrons (Ne) in each shell is
calculated using formula below:
n = number of shell
N e 2n 2
Example for 2nd shell:
N 2n 2(2) 8
e
2 2
ATOMIC STRUCTURE (cont..)
INSULATORS, CONDUCTORS & SEMICONDUCTORS (cont..)
Energy increases as the distance
from the nucleus increases
Valence Electrons
Electrons with the highest energy levels exist in the outermost
shell and loosely bound to the atom. The outermost shell – valence
shell.
Electron in the valence shell called valence electrons.
Ionization
When atoms absorb energy (e.g heat source), the energies of electron
are raised .
Valence electron can easily jump to higher orbits.
If acquires a sufficient energy, it can escape from outer shell and atom’s
influence.
Losing valence electrons called ionization – positive ion.
Escape electron called free electron.
ATOMIC STRUCTURE (cont..)
Atom can be represented by the valence shell and a core.
A core consists of all the inner shell and the nucleus.
Carbon atom:
valence shell – 4 e
inner shell – 2 e
+6 for the nucleus
and -2 for the two
Nucleus: inner-shell electrons
6 protons (net charge +4)
6 neutrons
Insulators
material does not conduct electrical current
valence electron are tightly bound to the atom – very few free electron
Conductors
material that easily conducts electrical current.
The best conductors are single-element material (e.g copper, silver,
gold, aluminum)
Only one valence electron very loosely bound to the atom- free electron
Semiconductors
material between conductors and insulators in its ability to conduct
electric current
in its pure (intrinsic) state is neither a good conductor nor a good
insulator
most common semiconductor- silicon(Si), germanium(Ge), and
carbon(C) which contains four valence electrons.
INSULATORS, CONDUCTORS & SEMICONDUCTORS (cont..)
Energy Bands
Energy gap-diff. in energy between the valence band and conduction
band.
Band-another name for an orbital shell (valence shell=valence band)
Conduction band –the band outside the valence shell where it has free
electrons.
INSULATORS, CONDUCTORS & SEMICONDUCTORS (cont..)
Energy Bands
at room temperature
25°
INSULATORS, CONDUCTORS & SEMICONDUCTORS (cont..)
Comparison between a Semiconductor Atom &
Conductor Atom
A Silicon atom: A Copper atom:
• 4 valence electrons • Only 1 valence electron
• A semiconductor • A good conductor
• Electron conf.: 2:8:4 • Electron conf.:2:8:18:1
14 protons 29 protons
14 nucleus 29 nucleus
10 electrons 28 electrons
in inner shell in inner shell
INSULATORS, CONDUCTORS & SEMICONDUCTORS (cont..)
Covalent bonding – holding atoms together by sharing
valence electrons
Sharing of valence To form Si crystal
electron produce the
covalent bond
Result of the bonding:
The atom are held together forming a solid substrate.
The atoms are all chemically stable, because their valence shells are
complete.
• Covalent bonding in an
intrinsic or pure silicon crystal.
An intrinsic crystal has no
impurities.
Covalent bonds in a 3-D silicon crystal
COVALENT BONDING (cont..)
Figure 1-10 Energy band diagram for a pure (intrinsic) silicon crystal
with unexcited (no external energy such as heat) atoms. There are no
electrons in the conduction band. This condition occurs only at a
temperature of absolute 0 Kelvin.
Conduction Electrons and Holes
Absorbs enough energy
(thermal energy)
to jump
a free electron and
its matching valence
Recombination-when a conduction electron
band hole
loses energy and fall back into hole in
electron-hole pair
valence band
Figure 1-11 Creation of electron-hole pairs in a silicon crystal. Electrons in the
conduction band are free (also called conduction electrons)
CONDUCTION IN SEMICONDUCTOR (cont..)
Conduction Electrons and Holes
Figure 1-12 Electron-hole pairs in a silicon crystal. Free electrons are being
generated continuously while some recombine with holes.
CONDUCTION IN SEMICONDUCTOR (cont..)
Electrons and Holes current
Electron current
free
electrons
Apply voltage
When a voltage is applied, free electrons are free to move randomly
and attracted toward +ve end. The movement of electrons is one type of
current in semiconductor and is called electron current.
Figure 1-13 Electron current in intrinsic silicon is produced by the movement of
thermally generated free electrons.
CONDUCTION IN SEMICONDUCTOR (cont..)
Electrons and Holes Current
movement
of holes
Figure 1-14 Hole current in intrinsic silicon.
CONDUCTION IN SEMICONDUCTOR (cont..)
Doping
The process of creating N and P type materials
By adding impurity atoms to intrinsic Si or Ge to improve the
conductivity of the semiconductor
Two types of doping – trivalent (3 valence e-) & pentavalent (5
valence e-)
p-type material – a semiconductor that has added
trivalent impurities
n-type material – a semiconductor that has added
pentavalent impurities
Trivalent Impurities:
Aluminum (Al)
Gallium (Ga)
Boron (B)
Indium (In)
Pentavalent Impurites:
Phosphorus (P)
Arsenic (As)
Antimony (Sb)
Bismuth (Bi)
N-TYPE & P-TYPE SEMICONDUCTORS (cont..)
N-type semiconductor
Pentavalent impurities are added to Si or Ge, the result is an increase of
free electrons
1 extra electrons becomes a conduction electrons because it is not
attached to any atom
No. of conduction electrons can be controlled by the no. of impurity
atoms
Pentavalent atom gives up an electron - call a donor atom
Current carries in n-type are electrons – majority carriers
Holes – minority carriers (holes created in Si when electron- hole pairs
are thermally generated.
Sb
impurity Pentavalent
atom impurity atom
in a Si crystal
N-TYPE & P-TYPE SEMICONDUCTORS (cont..)
P-type semiconductor
Trivalent impurities are added to Si or Ge to increase number of holes.
Boron, indium and gallium have 3 valence e- form covalent bond with 4
adjacent silicon atom. A hole created when each trivalent atom is added.
The no. of holes can be controlled by the no. of trivalent impurity atoms
The trivalent atom can take an electron- acceptor atom
Current carries in p-type are holes – majority carries
electrons – minority carries (created during electron-holes pairs
generation).
B
impurity
atom
Trivalent impurity
atom in a Si crystal
N-TYPE & P-TYPE SEMICONDUCTORS (cont..)
