1.

Energy Band Theory of Solids

In a single isolated atom, the electrons in each orbit have definite energy associated with it. But in
case of solids all the atoms are close to each other, so the energy levels of outermost orbit electrons
are affected by the neighboring atoms.
When two single or isolated atoms are brought close to each other then the outermost orbit
electrons of two atoms are interact or shared with each other. i.e., the electrons in the outermost
orbit of one atom experience an attractive force from the nearest or neighboring atomic nucleus.
Due to this the energies of the electrons will not be in same level; the energy levels of electrons
are changed to a value which is higher or lower than that of the original energy level of the electron.
The electrons in same orbit exhibits different energy levels. The grouping of this different
energy levels is called energy band. However, the energy levels of inner orbit electrons are not
much affected by the presence of neighboring atoms.

Band Formation in crystals:

We know that the electrons in an atom are present in different energy level. When we try
to assemble a lattice of a solid with N atoms, then each level of an atom must split up into N levels
in the solid. This splitting up of sharp and tightly packed energy levels forms Energy Bands. The
gap between adjacent bands representing a range of energies that possess no electron is called a
Forbidden gap.
There are number of energy bands in solids but three of them are very important. These
three energy bands are important to understand the behavior of solids. These energy bands are:
1. Valence band
2. Conduction band
3. Forbidden band or gap
Valence band: The energy band formed by a series of energy levels containing valence electrons
is known as valence band. At 0 K, the electrons fill the energy levels in valence band starting from
lowest one.
(i) This band is always fulfilled by electron.
(ii) This is the band of maximum energy.
(iii) Electrons are not capable of gaining energy from external electric field.
(iv) No flow of current due to such electrons.
(v) The highest energy level which can be occupied by an electron in valence band at 0 K is
called fermi level.

(Fermi level: It is the highest energy level that an electron can occupy at absolute zero temperature.
It the reference level that gives the probability of occupancy of states in conduction band as well as unoccupied states
in valence band.)

Conduction band: The higher energy level band which contains conduction electrons is called
the conduction band.
(i) It is also called empty band of minimum energy.
(ii) This band is partially filled by the electrons.
(iii) In this band the electrons can gain energy from external electric field.
(iv) The electrons in the conduction band are called the free electrons. They are able to move
anywhere within the volume of the solid.
(v) Current flows due to such electrons.

Forbidden energy gap (Eg):

Energy gap between conduction band and valence band E g = (C.B.) min − (V .B.) max
(i) No free electron is present in forbidden energy gap.
(ii) Width of forbidden energy gap depends upon the nature of substance.
(iii) As temperature increases (), forbidden energy gap decreases () very slightly.

max.
C.B.
min.

Eg

max.
V.B.
min.

(i) Conductors:
The valence band and conduction band overlap here. As a result, even at room temperature, a large
number of electrons are available for conduction. As a result of the use of any extra or additional
energy, these metal types have a large number of free electrons and are thus known as good
conductors.

In such a conductor, either the valence band is not completely filled with electrons or the
“filled valence band” overlaps with the vacant conduction band. In general, both states occur
concurrently, so electrons can move within the partially filled (V.B) valence band or within the
bands that overlap.

In a conductor, there is no band gap between the conduction and valence bands. In the
scenario of a conductor, the band occupied by the final energy levels is only partially filled.
According to “Pauli’s exclusion principle,” the lowest levels are occupied one at a time by the
possible electrons. This leaves an unoccupied portion of the band known as the conduction band.
Electrons move freely in the conduction band, which is partially filled in the valence band.

At absolute zero temperature, electrons occupy the topmost energy level in the partially
filled conduction band, which is referred to as the “Fermi level,” and the equivalent energy is
referred to as the “Fermi energy.”

Figure: Energy bands in conductors

(iii) Semiconductors
• Semiconductors are neither insulators nor conductors. The forbidden gap in such materials
is very narrow as shown in Figure (c). Such materials are called semiconductors.
• The forbidden gap is less than 3 eV. For such materials, the energy provided by the heat at
room temperature is sufficient to lift the electrons from the valence band to the conduction
band.
• Therefore, at room temperature, semiconductors are capable of conduction. But at 0K or
absolute zero (-273 °C), all the electrons of semiconductor materials find themselves
locked in the valence band.
 • Hence at 0K, the semiconductor materials behave as perfect insulators. In case of
semiconductors, forbidden gap energy depends on the temperature.

(iii) Insulators
• In case of insulating material, there exists a large forbidden gap in between the conduction
band and the valence band. It is impossible for an electron to jump from the valence band
to the conduction band. Hence such materials cannot conduct and called insulators.
• The forbidden gap is greater than 3 eV is for insulators.
• For a diamond, which is an insulator, the forbidden gap is about 6 eV.
Such materials may conduct only at very high temperatures or if they are subjected to high
voltage. Such conduction is rare and is called breakdown of an insulator. The other
insulating materials are glass, wood, mica, paper etc.

2. Types of Semiconductors
A. Intrinsic Semiconductor
The Intrinsic semiconductor can be defined as chemically pure material without any
doping or impurity added to it. The most commonly known intrinsic or pure semiconductors
available are Silicon (Si) and Germanium (Ge).
When the temperature rises, due to collisions, few electrons are unbounded and become free to move
through the lattice, thus creating an absence in its original position (hole). These free electrons and
holes contribute to the conduction of electricity in the semiconductor. The negative and positive charge
carriers are equal in number. The thermal energy is capable of ionizing a few atoms in the lattice, and
hence their conductivity is less.
At absolute zero kelvin temperature: At this temperature, the covalent bonds are very strong and
there are no free electrons and the semiconductor behaves as a perfect insulator.
Above absolute temperature: With the increase in temperature few valence electrons jump into the
conduction band and hence it behaves like a poor conductor.

B. Extrinsic Semiconductor
The conductivity of semiconductors can be greatly improved by introducing a small number of
suitable replacement atoms called IMPURITIES. The process of adding impurity atoms to the pure
semiconductor is called DOPING. Usually, only 1 atom in 107 is replaced by a dopant atom in the
doped semiconductor. An extrinsic semiconductor can be further classified into:
➢ N-type Semiconductor
➢ P-type Semiconductor

(i) N-Type Semiconductor

• Conduction Mainly due to electrons
• Entirely neutral
• I = Ie and ne >> nh
• Majority – Electrons and Minority – Holes

When a pure semiconductor (Silicon or Germanium) is doped by pentavalent impurity (P,

As, Sb, Bi) then, four electrons out of five valence electrons bonds with the four electrons
of Ge or Si.
The fifth electron of the dopant is set free. Thus, the impurity atom donates a free electron
for conduction in the lattice and is called “Donar “.
Since the number of free electrons increases by the addition of an impurity, the negative
charge carriers increase. Hence it is called n-type semiconductor.
 Crystal as a whole is neutral, but the donor atom becomes an immobile positive ion. As
conduction is due to a large number of free electrons, the electrons in the n-type
semiconductor are the MAJORITY CARRIERS and holes are the MINORITY
CARRIERS.

Figure: (a) Pentavalent donor atom (As, Sb, P etc.) doped for tetravalent Si or Ge giving n-type semiconductor
(b) Commonly used schematic representation of n-type material which shows only the fixed cores of the substituent
donors with one additional effective positive charge and its associated extra electron.

(ii) P-Type Semiconductor

• Conduction Mainly due to holes
• Entirely neutral
• I = Ih and nh >> ne
• Majority – Holes and Minority – Electrons

When a pure semiconductor is doped with a trivalent impurity (B, Al, In, Ga) then, the three
valence electrons of the impurity bonds with three of the four valence electrons of the
semiconductor.
This leaves an absence of electron (hole) in the impurity. These impurity atoms which are ready
to accept bonded electrons are called “Acceptors “.
With the increase in the number of impurities, holes (the positive charge carriers) are increased.
Hence, it is called p-type semiconductor.
Crystal as a whole is neutral, but the acceptors become an immobile negative ion. As conduction
is due to a large number of holes, the holes in the p-type semiconductor are MAJORITY
CARRIERS and electrons are MINORITY CARRIERS.
Figure: (a) Trivalent acceptor atom (In, Al, B etc.) doped in tetravalent Si or Ge lattice giving p-type semiconductor.
(b) Commonly used schematic representation of p-type material which shows only the fixed core of the substituent
acceptor with one effective additional negative charge and its associated hole .

Band Diagram of Extrinsic Semiconductors:

Figure: Energy bands of (a) n-type semiconductor at T > 0K, (b) p-type semiconductor at T > 0K.

• In the energy band diagram of n-type Si semiconductor, the donor energy level ED is
slightly below the bottom EC of the conduction band and electrons from this level move
into the conduction band with very small supply of energy as shown in Fig. (a). At room
temperature, most of the donor atoms get ionised but very few (~10–12) atoms of Si get
ionised. So, the conduction band will have most electrons coming from the donor
impurities.
• For p-type semiconductor, the acceptor energy level EA is slightly above the top EV of the
valence band as shown in Fig.(b). With very small supply of energy an electron from the
valence band can jump to the level EA and ionise the acceptor negatively. (Alternately, we
can also say that with very small supply of energy the hole from level EA sinks down into
the valence band. Electrons rise up and holes fall down when they gain external energy.)
 At room temperature, most of the acceptor atoms get ionised leaving holes in the valence
band.

• The electron and hole concentration in a semiconductor in thermal equilibrium is given

by
𝑛𝑒 𝑛ℎ = 𝑛𝑖2
𝑛𝑒 = concentration of electrons
𝑛ℎ = concentration of electrons
𝑛𝑖 = concentration of charge carriers (e or h) in intrinsic SC

3. PN Junction
A p–n junction is a boundary or interface between two types of semiconductor materials, p-
type and n-type, inside a single crystal of semiconductor. The "p" (positive) side contains an
excess of holes, while the "n" (negative) side contains an excess of electrons in the outer shells of
the electrically neutral atoms there. This allows electrical current to pass through the junction only
in one direction.
The processes that follow after forming a P-N junction are of two types – diffusion and drift. There
is a difference in the concentration of holes and electrons at the two sides of a junction. The holes
from the p-side diffuse to the n-side, and the electrons from the n-side diffuse to the p-side. These
give rise to a diffusion current across the junction.
Also, when an electron diffuses from the n-side to the p-side, an ionised donor is left behind on
the n-side, which is immobile. As the process goes on, a layer of positive charge is developed on
the n-side of the junction. Similarly, when a hole goes from the p-side to the n-side, an ionized
acceptor is left behind on the p-side, resulting in the formation of a layer of negative charges in
the p-side of the junction.

Figure: p-n junction formation process.

This region of positive charge and negative charge on either side of the junction is termed as the
depletion region. Depletion region od depletion layer is a region in a P-N Junction diode where no
mobile charge carriers are present. Depletion layer acts like a barrier that opposes the flow of
electrons from N-side and holes from P-side.
Due to this positive space charge region on either side of the junction, an electric field with the
direction from a positive charge towards the negative charge is developed. Due to this electric
field, an electron on the p-side of the junction moves to the n-side of the junction. This motion is
termed the drift. Here, we see that the direction of the drift current is opposite to that of the
diffusion current.
 The loss of electrons from the n-region and the
gain of electron by the p-region causes a
difference of potential across the junction of the
two regions. The polarity of this potential is
such as to oppose further flow of carriers so that
a condition of equilibrium exists. This potential
tends to prevent the movement of electron from
the n region into the p region, it is often called
a Barrier potential.

4. Semiconductor Diode
A semiconductor diode is basically a p-n junction with metallic contacts provided at the ends for
the application of an external voltage.

Symbol: P-N junction Diode

(i) P-N junction diode under forward bias:

• When an external voltage V is applied across a semiconductor diode such that p-side is
connected to the positive terminal of the battery and n-side to the negative terminal, it is
said to be forward biased.
• The direction of the applied voltage (V) is opposite to the built-in potential (Barrier
potential) V0. As a result, the depletion layer width decreases and the barrier height is
reduced). The effective barrier height under forward bias is (V0 – V).
• If we increase the applied voltage significantly, the barrier height will be reduced and more
number of carriers will have the required energy. Thus, the current increases.
• when a diode is forward-biased, the negative side of the external bias voltage pushes the
majority carriers in the n region, which are free electrons, toward the p-n junction into p-
side (where they are minority carries). Similarly, holes from p-side cross the junction and
reach the n-side (where they are minority carries). This process under forward bias is
known as minority carrier injection.
• This motion of charged carriers on either side gives rise to current. The total diode forward
current is sum of hole diffusion current and conventional current due to electron diffusion.
The magnitude of this current is usually in mA.

(ii) P-N junction diode under reverse bias:

• When the positive terminal of a voltage source is connected to the n-type region and the
negative terminal of the source is connected to the p-type region. The PN junction is said
to be in reverse biased condition.

• When positive terminal of the source is connected to the n-type region, the free electrons
of that region are attracted towards the positive terminal of the source because of that
more positive impurity ions are created in the depletion layer which makes the layer of
positive impurity ions thicker.
• At the same time since the negative terminal of the source is connected to the p-type
region of the junction, electrons are injected in this region.
• Due to the positive potential of the n-type region, the electrons are drifted towards the
junction and combine with holes adjacent to the layer of positive impurity ions and create
more positive impurity ions in the layer. Hence, the thickness of the layer increases.
• In this way, the overall width of the depletion layer increases along with its barrier
potential. This increment of the depletion layer’s width will continue till the barrier
potential reaches to applied reverse biased voltage.
• Although this increment of barrier potential will continue up to applied reverse-biased
voltage, if the applied reverse biased voltage is sufficiently high, then the depletion layer
will disappear due to Zener breakdown and avalanche breakdowns.
(iii) I-V Characteristic:

The characteristics can be explained under three cases, such as:

1. Zero bias
2. Forward bias
3. Reverse bias

In zero bias condition, no external voltage is applied to the pn junction. he potential barrier at the
junction does not permit current flow.

In forward biased condition, p-type of the pn junction is connected to the positive terminal and
n-type is connected to the negative terminal of the external voltage. This results in reduced
potential barrier.
At some forward voltage i.e 0.7 V for Si and 0.3 V for Ge, the potential barrier is almost eliminated
and the current starts flowing in the circuit. Form this instant, the current increases with the
increase in forward voltage.
From the forward characteristics, it can be noted that at, the current increases very slowly and the
curve is non-linear. It is because in this region the external voltage applied to the pn junction is
used in overcoming the potential barrier.
However, once the external voltage exceeds the potential barrier voltage, the potential barrier is
eliminated and the pn junction behaves as an ordinary conductor. Hence, the current rises very
sharply with the increase in external voltage and the curve is almost linear.

In reverse bias condition, the p-type of the pn junction is connected to the negative terminal and
n-type is connected to the positive terminal of the external voltage. This results in increased
potential barrier at the junction. Hence, the junction resistance becomes very high and as a result
practically no current flows through the circuit.
However, a very small current of the order of μA , flows through the circuit in practice. This is
knowing as reverse saturation current (IS) and it is due to the minority carriers in the junction.
As we already know, there are few free electrons in p-type material and few holes in n-type
material. These free electrons in p-type and holes in n-type are called minority carriers.
The reverse bias applied to the pn junction acts as forward bias to their minority carriers and hence,
small current flows in the reverse direction.
If the applied reverse voltage is increased continuously, the kinetic energy of the minority carriers
may become high enough to knock out electrons from the semiconductor atom.
At this stage breakdown of the junction may occur. This is characterized by a sudden increase of
reverse current and a sudden fall of the resistance of barrier region. This may destroy the junction
permanently.

(iv) Avalanche Breakdown:

The avalanche breakdown occurs when a high reverse voltage is applied across the diode. As we
increase the applied reverse voltage, the electric field across the junction increases. This electric
field exerts a force on the electrons at the junction and frees them from covalent bonds.
These free electrons start moving with high velocity across the junction and collide with the other
atoms, thus creating more free electrons. This results in a rapid increase in net current

5. Diode as Rectifier
(i) Half-wave Rectifier:

• It consists of a step-down transformer, a diode (D) and a load resistor (RL). primary coil of
the transformer is connected to the ac mains and the secondary coil to a load resistor RL
through a diode D as shown in figure.
• During the positive half cycle of the input voltage sine wave, the diode is forward biased
and hence it conducts. The current flowing in the circuit produces a voltage across the load
which has the same shape as the positive half cycle of the input voltage.
• During the next half cycle (negative half cycle) of sine wave, the diode is reverse biased.
Hence, during this time no current flows in the circuit and no voltage is converted into
Pulsating DC voltage as shown in figure.
This process is called Half-wave Rectification. The output signal frequency in HWR is same
as input signal frequency

(ii) Full-wave Rectifier:

A full wave rectifier consists of two diodes D1 and D2 connected to a centre-tapped secondary coil
of a transformer and a load resistance RL as shown in figure.
• During the positive half cycle of the input voltage sine wave, the diode D1 is forward biased
and diode D2 is reverse biased and the current flows in the circuit in the direction shown in
the figure.
• During the negative half cycle the diode D2 is forward biased and diode D1 is reverse biased.
Hence, this time also, a current flow through RL in the same direction as in previous half
cycle.
• Thus, the current flows in the same direction through RL during the positive as well as
negative half-cycles of the input AC voltage. Hence, the DC shape across RL is as shown
in figure.
This process is known as Full-wave rectification. The output signal frequency in FWR is
double that of input signal frequency.