TOPIC 5: SEMICONDUCTOR

1. Atomic Structure & Semiconductor Theory

Introduction
There are three basic types of materials that we are concerned with in electronics. These are
conductors, semiconductors and insulators.
Materials that have very low electrical resistivity (in the order of 1 x 10-6 ohm-metres) are
called conductors.
Materials that have very high electrical resistivity (in the order of 1 x 1013 ohm-metres) are
called insulators.
Semiconductors are materials that have resistivity values in between those of conductors and
insulators, they are neither good conductors nor good insulators.

Examples of conductors: Examples of insulators: Examples of Semiconductors:

• Copper • Rubber • Silicon

• Aluminium • PVC • Germanium
• Silver • Paper
• Gold • Mica
Semiconductor materials are used to make a range of devices that are used in modern
electronic circuits. In order to understand how these devices work we must first gain an
understanding of the electrical properties of naturally occurring (intrinsic) semiconductors.
We then need to learn about the electrical properties of extrinsic semiconductors. Extrinsic
semiconductor material is just a naturally occurring pure semiconductor material that has
been modified by a manufacturing process.

First we will look at the atomic structure of intrinsic semiconductors to understand their
electrical properties. Then we will look at how this structure is modified to produce extrinsic
semiconductor material and how this changes the materials electrical properties. Finally we
will look at the construction and operation of a semiconductor diode which is the most basic
semiconductor device used in electronic circuits. During this section we will consider "true"
electron flow rather than conventional current flow which is used in electrical circuit
analysis.
2. Electrons in Conductors & Semi-conductors (Outline of atomic theory)

An atom can be thought of as a central positively charged nucleus orbited by negatively

charged electrons. The positive charge of the nucleus is due to the positively charged protons
it contains. For an atom in its natural state the total negative charge of the electrons is equal in
magnitude to the positive charge of the nucleus. Therefore the atom is electrically neutral.
The orbits of the electrons are arranged in shells. The first shell is closest to the nucleus and
contains a maximum of two electrons. The next outer shell contains a maximum of eight
electrons. The next shell also contains a maximum of eight electrons.

Element groups
One way of categorising the atoms of different elements is by the number of electrons in their
outer shell.

• An atom with one electron in its outer shell is called a group one element
• An atom with two electrons in its outer shell is called a group two element
• An atom with three electrons in its outer shell is called a group three element
• An atom with four electrons in its outer shell is called a group four element
• An atom with five electrons in its outer shell is called a group five element etc.
Semiconductors are group four elements i.e. they have four electrons in their outermost shell.
(The electrons in the outer shell of an atom are called valence electrons). Note it is important
to point out that the element groups refer to the number of electrons in the outermost shell of
the atom, the total number of electrons in the atom can be greater ie for atoms that have inner
shells that also contain electrons. Also many atoms have less electrons in their outer shell
than the maximum number that the shell can hold e.g. for group 4 materials silicon and
germanium the outer shell can hold a maximum of 8 electrons so the outer shell is only half
full. The outer shell of the atom is more stable when it is completely full.

Periodic Table of Groups of Elements

3. Semiconductor Materials

Intrinsic semiconductor materials

The naturally occurring semiconductor materials that are used to manufacture electronic
devices are Silicon and Germanium (Germanium is an older choice of material which is less
used today). The following text refers to silicon but is equally applicable to germanium.

Pure Silicon
First a very pure crystal of silicon must be produced. The atomic structure of the silicon can
be represented by the diagram below. Silicon like all semiconductors is a group 4 element
and its atoms have only four electrons in the outer shell ( 4 valence electrons). It takes eight
electrons to fill the outer shell and make it stable. The atoms share their valence electrons
with neighbouring atoms so that each atom effectively contains eight electrons in the outer
shell. This sharing of valence electrons with neighbouring atoms forms covalent bonds. It is
these covalent bonds that bind the atoms together.

 The silicon atoms form a square lattice

 Each silicon nucleus has four electrons in its outer shell
 These electrons are paired with the corresponding electrons in adjacent atoms.
 These are called covalent bonds. Covalent bonds are what binds the material together
 The net result is that each nuclei (along with the electrons in the inner shells) are
surrounded by eight outer electrons tightly bound in the atomic structure.
This diagram does give a good representation of how the electrons are bound to the atoms.
This reflects the fact that there are no free electrons to produce an electrical current if a
voltage is applied to the material. However an energy level diagram is better for explaining
more about the electrical properties of silicon.

Energy band diagrams

Energy band diagrams show the energy levels of the electrons in the material. We are only
interested in two of the bands, the conduction band and the valence band. The valence band is
occupied by the electrons with the highest energy level of those which are still attached to
their parent atoms, these are the outer most (or valence) electrons. The conduction band is
occupied by electrons which are free from their parent atoms. These electrons are free to
move through the material. (When a voltage is applied these electrons will drift to produce an
electrical current.) In semiconductors there is a gap between the valence and conduction
bands. This energy gap reflects the amount of energy that would be needed to remove an
electron from its parent atom (i.e. to transfer it from the valence to the conduction band).

Energy band diagram for silicon

The number of valence electrons in the pure silicon is enough to completely fill the valence
band (so no movement of electrons can occur in the valence band). There are no free
electrons, therefore the conduction band is completely empty.
Electron-Hole Pair Generation
As previously stated there is an energy gap between the conduction and valence band in
semiconductors. However the energy required to jump this gap can be supplied to the
electrons from heat energy. (This means that if the material is heated some electrons will
acquire enough energy to break free of their parent atoms to become free electrons.) At
room temperature some electrons will have acquired the energy to jump into the conduction
band. If the temperature is increased so will the number of electrons in the conduction band.
This process is called electron-hole pair generation. This is because by supplying energy
we transfer an electron from the valence band to the conduction band. This produces a free
electron in the conduction band and leaves a hole (vacant electron position) in the valence
band.

The free electrons are now available to contribute to an electrical current if a voltage is
applied to the material. Also the holes (the vacant electron positions) in the valence band will
now allow movement of electrons in the valence band, this can also contribute to an electrical
current. The net effect is that heat increases the conduction properties of a pure
semiconductor.

Holes (virtual particles!)

The movement of electrons in the valence band is complicated and as they move to fill the
vacant electron positions the position of the hole appears to move in the opposite direction to
the electrons. In fact it is easier to consider the movement of the hole and we can imagine it
to be a positively charged particle because of the direction it moves in (opposite to that of
negatively charged electrons).
At first this may seem a strange idea but later you will see that by considering the movement
of these virtual particles it is much easier to understand how semiconductor devices work.
However it is important to remember that although we regard holes as positively charged
particles they are not real particles and all the effects we see are actually caused by the
movement of electrons in the valence band.

When an external voltage is applied the negatively charged electrons in the conduction band
will move towards the positive terminal and the positively charge holes in the valence band
will move towards the negative terminal.

Leakage current
It is important to realize that although electron-hole pair generation in semiconductors means
that there will be some current flow when a voltage is applied, this current is very small
(typically millionths of an Amp) compared to the current which would flow through a
conductor with the same voltage applied. This current is called leakage current.

Comparison of Silicon and Germanium

All of the above applies equally to both Silicon and Germanium except for the actual value of
leakage current. Germanium has a smaller energy gap between the valence and conduction
band. Therefore more electron hole pairs are produced in Germanium resulting in a higher
leakage current at any given temperature.
Comparison of Conductor, semiconductor and insulator energy band diagrams
In conductors the valence band and conduction band overlap therefore electrons can move
freely into the conduction band. The vast number of electrons in the conduction band drift to
produce large currents when a voltage is applied. In insulators the energy gap between the
valence and conduction band is very large. Therefore very few electrons manage to jump into
the conduction band and leakage currents are extremely small.

Electrical breakdown

It is important to point out that when we are describing the conduction properties of materials
we are considering fairly normal operating conditions and we are not talking about situations
involving extreme voltages. Air for instance is an excellent insulator, however in
thunderstorms voltages in the order of a hundred million volts can force a current through the
air in the form of a lightning bolt. It would not take such an extreme voltage to break down a
small piece of silicon and force it to conduct electricity. There are two stages that occur as a
material begins to breakdown due a large applied voltage. These are zener breakdown and
avalanche breakdown.

Zener breakdown
In Zener breakdown the electrostatic attraction between the negative electrons and a large
positive voltage is so great that it pulls electrons out of their covalent bonds and away from
their parent atoms. ie Electrons are transferred from the valence to the conduction band. In
this situation the current can still be limited by the limited number of free electrons produced
by the applied voltage so it is possible to cause Zener breakdown without damaging the
semiconductor.

Avalanche breakdown
Avalanche breakdown occurs when the applied voltage is so large that electrons that are
pulled from their covalent bonds are accelerated to great velocities. These electrons collide
with the silicon atoms and knock off more electrons. These electrons are then also
accelerated and subsequently collide with other atoms. Each collision produces more
electrons which leads to more collisions etc. The current in the semiconductor rapidly
increases and the material can quickly be destroyed.
4. Formation of P-type & N-type materials (Extrinsic semiconductor)

To produce extrinsic semiconductor material specific amounts of impurity are added to the
pure intrinsic semiconductor. This process is called doping and the impurity atoms are called
donor atoms. There are two types of extrinsic semiconductor which are manufactured, P type
semiconductor and N type semiconductor. The production of extrinsic semiconductor will be
described for the more common silicon semiconductor material but the process is identical
for germanium.

N type semiconductor
The pure silicon is doped with a group 5 element such as phosphorus, antimony or arsenic.
These materials have atoms with five valence electrons (pentavalent atoms). Four of these
electrons will form covalent bonds with neighboring silicon atoms. As there are only four
covalent bonds binding the donor atom to the neighboring silicon atoms the fifth electron is
not part of a covalent bond, and is therefore a free electron. Every impurity atom will produce
a free electron in the conduction band. These electrons will drift to produce an electrical
current if a voltage is applied to the material and the N type semiconductor is a much better
conductor than the intrinsic pure silicon material.
 • The silicon atoms form a square lattice
• The green atoms represent the donor atoms
• Four of the five valence electrons form covalent bonds with neighbouring silicon
atoms
• The fifth electron has no neighbouring electron to pair with and is a free electron
• Each donor atom produces a free electron

Note it is important to point out that the material is called N type semiconductor because the
majority of charge carriers which will contribute to an electrical current through the material
are negatively charged free electrons produced by the doping process. There will be some
contribution to the current flow from positively charge holes due to electron hole pair
generation but these holes are the minority charge carriers in this material. The N type
material itself is not negatively charged. The negative charge of the electrons of the
donor atoms is balanced by the positive charge in the nucleus.

Energy band diagram

The diagram below shows an energy band diagram for N type semiconductor. The valence
band is completely full as all of the covalent bonds are complete. The conduction band
contains free electrons from the fifth valence electrons in the donor atoms.
Note this diagram does not show the electron hole pairs that would be present due to thermal
energy. The electron hole pairs are minority charge carriers in N type semiconductors, the
majority being the free electrons produced by the doping process.

P type semiconductor
The pure silicon is doped with a group 3 element such as boron, aluminium or indium. These
materials have atoms with three valence electrons (trivalent atoms). The three electrons will
form covalent bonds with neighbouring silicon atoms. However there are not enough

electrons to form the fourth covalent bond. This leaves a hole in the covalent bond structure
and therefore a hole in the valence band of the energy level diagram. Every impurity atom
will produce a hole in the valence band. These holes will drift to produce an electrical current
if a voltage is applied to the material and the P type semiconductor is a much better conductor
than the intrinsic pure silicon material.

• The silicon atoms form a square lattice

• The green atoms represent the donor atoms
• three of the four covalent bonds are formed with neighbouring silicon atoms
• The fourth bond cannot be formed as there are not enough electrons, this leaves a hole
in the valence band
• Each donor atom produces a hole in the valence band

Note it is important to point out that the material is called P type semiconductor because the
majority of charge carriers which contribute to an electrical current are positively charged
holes produced by the doping process. There will be some contribution to the current flow
from negatively charged electrons due to electron hole pair generation but these electrons
are the minority charge carriers in this material. The P type material itself is not positively
charged because the negative charge of the electrons of the donor atoms are balance by
the positive charge in the nucleus.

Energy band diagram

The diagram below shows an energy band diagram for P type semiconductor. The valence
band contains holes due to the incomplete covalent bond around each donor atom. The
conduction band is empty as there are no free electrons.

Note this diagram does not show the electron hole pairs that would be present due to thermal
energy. The electron hole pairs are minority charge carriers in P type semiconductors, the
majority being the holes produced by the doping process.

5. The PN junction diode & Operation

Understanding the operation of the semiconductor diode is the basis for an understanding of
all semiconductor devices. The diode is actually manufactured as a single piece of material
but it is much easier to explain the operation if we imagine producing two separate pieces of
N type and P type material and then "sticking" them together.

Consider a piece of N type material. It contains mobile charge carriers in the form of free
electrons. These electrons will be in motion due to thermal energy. (It is important to realise
that this motion does not result in an electrical current because the motion is random and
there is not net movement of charge from one area of the material to another. This is similar
to the way that even in a perfectly still glass of water the individual molecules will be moving
randomly on a microscopic scale.) The net result is that the random motion of the electrons
results in them being evenly distributed throughout the N type material. In the P type material
it is the positively charged holes that are mobile and for identical reasons to those previously
described the holes are evenly distributed throughout the P type material.

Now consider what will happen if these two separate pieces of P and N type material are
joined together. The random motion of the mobile electrons in the N type material and the
holes in the P type material would tend to cause an even distribution of electrons and holes
throughout the semiconductor. And in fact this is what begins to happen.
Consider the electrons in the N type material. The electrons start to migrate across the
junction of the two materials. When they cross into the P type material they recombine with
the holes (ie they fill in the holes in the valence band by filling in the vacant electron
positions around the trivalent donor atoms). This means that the number of holes near to the
junction becomes depleted. Also as the electrons leave the previously neutral N type material
a positive charge builds up at the junction. (This is because the positive charge from the
nucleus of atoms near to the junction is now greater than the negative charge of the electrons
in that region. This is due to the reduction in the number of electrons due to those which have
moved across the junction.)

Similarly as holes migrate from the P to N type material they recombine with electrons (the
free electron from the pentavalent atoms completes the fourth covalent bond around the
trivalent atom). This leaves a depletion of free electrons near the junction in the N type
material. Also a negative charge builds up near the junction in the P type material due to the
loss of positively charged holes.
The net result is that the migration of electrons from N to P type material and the migration of
holes from P to N has two effects. It results in a depletion of mobile charge carriers near the
junction (a depletion of electrons in the N type material and a depletion of holes in the P type
material). This depletion layer is typically about 1 micrometer wide (1 millionth of a meter!).
Also a voltage is produce across the junction which is called a barrier voltage. The N type
material develops a positive charge close to the junction and the P type develops a negative
charge. This prevents any further migration of mobile charge carriers.

The effect of the barrier voltage

The positive charge at the N side of the junction repels any positively charged holes that
would tend to migrate across the junction from the P type material. It also attracts free
electrons and therefore to prevents them moving out of the N type material. Similarly the
negative charge in the P type material close to the junction repels electrons which would tend
to migrate from the N type material and it attracts the holes and prevents them moving out of
the P type material. The migration of mobile charge carriers across the junction would stop
when the barrier voltage had built up to a sufficient level to prevent any further migration.
For Silicon this is about 0.6 to 0.7 volts for Germanium it is about 0.2 to 0.3 volts.

Reverse Bias
Consider applying an external voltage to the diode as shown below with the positive terminal
connected to the N type material and the negative terminal connected to the P type material.
The external voltage would tend to cause the movement of electrons from the negative
terminal of the supply through the diode and back to the positive terminal (electron flow).

To do this the negative terminal would tend to inject electrons into the P type material
causing a further depletion of holes. This would produce a widening of the depletion layer
and an increase in the negative charge at the junction until it was equal in magnitude to the
applied voltage. The negative charge at the junction would oppose the negative terminal of
the external voltage and this would prevent any further injection of electrons into the P type
material.
Similarly, the positive terminal would tend to pull electrons from the N type material. This
would further deplete the N type material of electrons, widening the depletion layer and
increasing the positive charge at the junction until it was equal to the magnitude of the
applied voltage. This would then prevent any further loss of electrons.
The net effect is that when an external voltage is connected this way the effect of the barrier
voltage opposes the external voltage. Any initial movement of charge due to the external
voltage will just increase the barrier voltage until it is equal to the applied voltage and
therefore no current will flow through the diode. When an external voltage is connected to a
diode with this polarity we say that it is reverse biased.

Note as holes are the majority current carriers in P type material it is more common to
consider the movement of holes rather than electrons in the P type material. Therefore we can
say that the negative terminal tends to remove holes rather than injecting electrons in the
same way that we considered the positive terminal removing electrons from the N type
material. The effect is the same, the removal of holes from the P type material would increase
the depletion layer and increase the barrier voltage.

Forward bias
Consider applying an external voltage to the diode as shown below with the positive terminal
connected to the P type material and the negative terminal connected to the N type material.
The external voltage would tend to cause the movement of electrons from the negative
terminal of the supply through the diode and back to the positive terminal (electron flow).
The negative terminal would tend to inject electrons into the N type material. This would
increase the number of electrons and therefore reduce depletion layer. This would reduce the
positive charge at the junction. Similarly the positive terminal would tend to pull electrons
from the P type material. This would increase the number of holes, reducing the depletion
layer and reducing the negative charge at the junction.

The net effect is that when the external voltage is connected this way it reduces the barrier
voltage and if the applied voltage is greater than the barrier voltage it will overcome it and
produce a current flow through the diode. When an external voltage is connected to a diode
with this polarity we say that it is forward biased.

Note as holes are the majority current carriers in P type material it is more common to
consider the movement of holes rather than electrons in the P type material. Therefore we can
say that the positive terminal injects holes rather than removes electrons in the same way that
we considered the negative terminal injecting electrons into the N type material. The effect is
the same the injection of holes would reduce the depletion layer and reduce the barrier
voltage.

Diode Characteristic
A diode characteristic is simply a graph of the voltage applied to a diode and the current it
produces. The negative part of the voltage axis corresponds to when the diode is reverse
biased and the positive part is when the diode is forward biased. The negative part of the
current axis shows current flowing in the reverse direction through the diode.
The main features of the characteristic are:

 No current flows when the diode is forward biased until the barrier voltage is
overcome (0.6V - 0.7V for silicon 0.2V - 0.3V for germanium)
 The forward characteristic is nonlinear (not a straight line). This shows that the
resistance is not constant.
 The gradient of the forward characteristic quickly becomes very steep. This shows
that the forward resistance is very low
 The negative current axis is on a different scale (showing millionths of an amp rather
than thousandths) this is so we can indicate the very small leakage current which
flows due to electron hole pair generation (i.e. due to the natural conduction
properties of the pure silicon). The leakage current flows in both directions but is too
small to indicate on the current scale used on the forward part of the characteristic
 If a large enough reversed bias voltage is applied the diode will eventually conduct
due to zener then avalanche breakdown (i.e. due to the natural conduction properties
of the pure silicon). The actually voltage that breakdown occurs varies for individual
diodes and can be determined by the manufacturing process