Semiconductor Theory

Applied Physics
BS CS – 1st – Evening – Fall 2022
 SEMICONDUCTORS
•Semiconductors are those
materials having conductivity in
between conductors and
insulators.

•Conductors are those

materials that impose minimum
resistance in the flow of
electrons or current.

•Whereas, insulator materials

impose high resistivity and,
thus, no current flows in them.
Understanding Semiconductors
• Semiconductor devices can display a range of
useful properties such as showing variable
resistance, passing current more easily in one
direction than the other, and reacting to light and
heat.
• Their actual function includes the amplification of
signals, switching, and energy conversion.
•Therefore, they find widespread use in almost all
industries, and the companies that manufacture
and test them are considered to be excellent
indicators of the health of the overall economy.
.
 Continued ….
The semiconductor industry is a hugely important
sector for both the U.S. and world economies,
with semiconductor components found in a wide
range of consumer and commercial products from
vehicles to computers to mobile devices and
personal electronics
What is a Semiconductor?

Microprocessors

LED

Capacitors
Transistors
 Range of Conduciveness

The semiconductors fall somewhere midway

between conductors and insulators.
 Range of Conduciveness

Semiconductors have special electronic properties

which allow them to be insulating or conducting
depending on their composition.
 1824

John Jacob Berzelis

First to isolate and identify silicon.

Remains little more than a scientific curiosity until
the 1900s.
 1833

Resistance (Ohms)

Michael Faraday
Temperature (ºC)

Discovers that electrical resistively decreases as

temperature increases in silver sulfide.
This is the first investigation of a semiconductor.
Lab: Metals vs. Semiconductors
Lab: Metals vs. Semiconductors
Data Chart
Temperature Copper Germanium
0ºC 31Ω 5.2Ω
25ºC 33Ω 4.2Ω
50ºC 37Ω 1.2Ω
75ºC 41Ω 0.63Ω
100ºC 44Ω .029Ω
 1873

William Smith

Discovers the photoconductivity of selenium and

invents a selenium photometer.
 1874

Ferdinand Braun

The first semiconductor device was born.

Radio receivers required a device called a rectifier to
detect signals.

He used the rectifying properties of the galena crystal, a semiconductor

material composed of lead sulfide, to create the cat's whisker diode for
this purpose.
 1927

Sommerfeld Bloch

Applied quantum mechanics to solids, helping explain the

conduction of electricity in semiconductors.
Scientific Principle of
Conduction
 Valence Band

The highest occupied energy band is called the

valence band.
Most electrons remain bound to the atoms in this
band.
 Conduction Band

The conduction band is the band of orbitals that are

high in energy and are generally empty.
It is the band that accepts the electrons from the
valence band.
 Energy Gap

The “leap” required for electrons from the Valence

Band to enter the Conduction Band.
Conduction Band

Band Gap

Valence Band
 Conductors

In a conductor, electrons can move freely among

these orbitals within an energy band as long as the
orbitals are not completely occupied.
 Conductors

In conductors, the valence band is empty.

 Conductors

Also in conductors, the energy gap is nonexistent or

relatively small.
 Insulators

In insulators, the valence band is full.

 Insulators

Also in insulators, the energy gap is relatively large.

 Semiconductors

In semiconductors, the valence band is full but the

energy gap is intermediate.
 Semiconductors

Only a small leap is required for an electron to enter

the Conduction Band.
Band Diagrams
Silicon
Silicon is a very common element, the main element in sand & quartz.
Silicon’s Arrangement
 Intrinsic Silicon

A silicon crystal is different from an insulator.

 Intrinsic Silicon

At any temperature above absolute zero

temperature, there is a finite probability that an
electron in the lattice will be knocked loose from its
position.
 Intrinsic Silicon

The electron in the lattice knocked loose from its

position leaves behind an electron deficiency called
a "hole".
 Current Flow

If a voltage is applied, then both the electron and the

hole can contribute to a small current flow.
Impurity
 Doping

Doping (adding an impurity) can produce 2 types of

semi-conductors depending upon the element
added.
 P-Type Doping

In P-type doping, boron or gallium is the dopant.

 P-Type Doping

Boron and gallium each have only three outer

electrons.
When mixed into the silicon lattice, they form
"holes" in the lattice where a silicon electron has
nothing to bond to.
 P-Type Doping

The absence of an electron creates the effect of a

positive charge, hence the name P-type.

Holes can conduct current. A hole happily accepts

an electron from a neighbor, moving the hole over a
space. P-type silicon is a good conductor.
 N-Type

In N-type doping, phosphorus or arsenic is added to

the silicon in small quantities.
 N-Type

Phosphorus and arsenic each have five outer

electrons, so they're out of place when they get into
the silicon lattice.
The fifth electron has nothing to bond to, so it's free
to move around.
 N-Type

It takes only a very small quantity of the impurity to

create enough free electrons to allow an electric
current to flow through the silicon. N-type silicon is
a good conductor.
Electrons have a negative charge, hence the name
N-type.
 P-N Junction

We create a p-n junction by joining together two

pieces of semiconductor, one doped n-type, the
other p-type.
 P-N Junction

In the n-type region there are extra electrons and in

the p-type region, there are holes from the acceptor
impurities .
 P-N Junction
In the p-type region there are holes from the
acceptor impurities and in the n-type region there
are extra electrons.
 P-N Junction
When a p-n junction is formed, some of the
electrons from the n-region which have reached the
conduction band are free to diffuse across the
junction and combine with holes.
 P-N Junction
Filling a hole makes a negative ion and leaves
behind a positive ion on the n-side.

A space charge builds up, creating a depletion

region.
 P-N Junction

This causes a depletion zone to form around the

junction (the join) between the two materials.
This zone controls the behavior of the diode .
 Forward Biasing

Forward biasing the p-n junction drives holes to the

junction from the p-type material and electrons to
the junction from the n-type material.
 Forward Biasing

At the junction the electrons and holes combine so

that a continuous current can be maintained.
 Diode

A diode is the simplest possible semiconductor

device.
 One Way Electric “Turnstile”

A diode allows current to flow in one direction but

not the other.
 Jumping

If you apply enough reverse voltage, the junction

breaks down and lets current through.
 Reverse Biasing

The application of a reverse voltage to the p-n

junction will cause a transient current to flow as
both electrons and holes are pulled away from the
junction.
 Reverse Biasing

When the potential formed by the widened depletion

layer equals the applied voltage, the current will
cease except for the small thermal current.
 When forward-biased, there is a small amount of
voltage necessary to get the diode going. In silicon,
this voltage is about 0.7 volts.

This voltage is needed to start the hole-electron

combination process at the junction.
 Diode Characteristic

When reverse-biased, an ideal diode would block all

current. A real diode lets perhaps 10 microamps
through -- not a lot, but still not perfect.
 Diode Characteristic

Usually, the breakdown voltage is a lot more voltage

than the circuit will ever see, so it is irrelevant.
 1947

Working at Bell Telephone, they were trying to

understand the nature of the electrons at the
interface between a metal and a semiconductor
(germanium).
 Rectifiers

The most popular application of the diode.

Most electronics need a direct current to function,
but the standard form of electricity that is
transmitted to homes is alternating current.
 Rectifiers are needed to change the alternating
current

into direct current inside the electronics so that they

can function correctly.
 Rectification

is the conversion of alternating current (AC) to direct

current (DC).
 Rectifiers

This involves a device that only allows one-way flow

of electrons, which is exactly what a semiconductor
diode does.
 Half-Wave Rectifiers

The simplest kind of rectifier circuit is the half-wave

rectifier.

It only allows one half of an AC waveform to pass

through to the load.
 Half-wave rectification is a very simple way to
reduce power to a resistive load.

Some two-position lamp dimmer switches apply full

AC power to the lamp filament for “full” brightness
and then half-wave rectify it for a lesser light output.
Bridge Rectifiers
 Trends in Semiconductors

Smaller Transistors Higher Switching Speeds Declining Costs

Single Crystal Semiconductor
Semiconductor Spintronics
Superconductors
 Superconductors

Normal State Superconductor

Semiconductor Superconductors

Doping germanium with charged gallium ions.

Semiconductor Lasers
Semiconductor Manufacturing