Semiconductor Devices

Atoms and electricity Semiconductor structure Conduction in semiconductors Doping

epitaxy diffusion ion implantation
MOS CMOS

(4.1)

Transistors

Implementing logic functions

Electricity

(4.2)

Electricity is the flow of electrons Good conductors (copper) have easily released electrons that drift within the metal Under influence of electric field, electrons flow in a current

Current flow governed by Ohms Law V = IR

magnitude of current depends on magnitude of voltage applied to circuit, and the resistance in the path of the circuit

+
-

electron flow direction

Electron Bands
Electrons circle nucleus in defined shells
K L M N 2 electrons 8 electrons 18 electrons 32 electrons K L

(4.3)

Within each shell, electrons are further grouped into subshells

s p d f 2 electrons 6 electrons 10 electrons 14 electrons
M shell d p s

electrons are assigned to shells and subshells from inside out

10 6 2

Si has 14 electrons: 2 K, 8 L, 4 M

Semiconductor Crystalline Structure

Semiconductors have a regular crystalline structure
for monocrystal, extends through entire structure for polycrystal, structure is interrupted at irregular boundaries

(4.4)

Monocrystal has uniform 3-dimensional structure Atoms occupy fixed positions relative to one another, but are in constant vibration about equilibrium

Semiconductor Crystalline Structure

Silicon atoms have 4 electrons in outer shell
inner electrons are very closely bound to atom

(4.5)

These electrons are shared with neighbor atoms on both sides to fill the shell
resulting structure is very stable electrons are fairly tightly bound

at room temperature, if battery applied, very little electric current flows

no loose electrons

Conduction in Crystal Lattices

2 in the s subshell 2 in the p subshell

(4.6)

Semiconductors (Si and Ge) have 4 electrons in their outer shell As the distance between atoms decreases the discrete subshells spread out into bands As the distance decreases further, the bands overlap and then separate

the subshell model doesnt hold anymore, and the electrons can be thought of as being part of the crystal, not part of the atom 4 possible electrons in the lower band (valence band) 4 possible electrons in the upper band (conduction band)

Energy Bands in Semiconductors

The space between the bands is the energy gap, or forbidden band

(4.7)

Insulators, Semiconductors, and Metals

(4.8)

This separation of the valence and conduction bands determines the electrical properties of the material Insulators have a large energy gap
Conductors (metals) have a very small (or nonexistent) energy gap Semiconductors have a moderate energy gap
only a few electrons can jump to the conduction band
only a little current can flow
leaving holes

electrons cant jump from valence to conduction bands no current flows

electrons easily jump to conduction bands due to thermal excitation current flows easily

Insulators, Semiconductors, and Metals (continued)

(4.9)

Conduction Band

Valence Band
Conductor Semiconductor Insulator

Hole - Electron Pairs

(4.10)

Sometimes thermal energy is enough to cause an electron to jump from the valence band to the conduction band produces a hole - electron pair Electrons also fall back out of the conduction band into the valence band, combining with a hole

pair elimination

pair creation

hole

electron

Improving Conduction by Doping

(4.11)

To make semiconductors better conductors, add impurities (dopants) to contribute extra electrons or extra holes
elements with 5 outer electrons contribute an extra electron to the lattice (donor dopant) elements with 3 outer electrons accept an electron from the silicon (acceptor dopant)

Improving Conduction by Doping (cont.)

Phosphorus and arsenic are donor dopants
if phosphorus is introduced into the silicon lattice, there is an extra electron free to move around and contribute to electric current
very loosely bound to atom and can easily jump to conduction band

(4.12)

produces n type silicon phosphorus becomes positive ion after giving up electron

sometimes use + symbol to indicate heavier doping, so n+ silicon

Improving Conduction by Doping (cont.)

Boron has 3 electrons in its outer shell, so it contributes a hole if it displaces a silicon atom
boron is an acceptor dopant yields p type silicon boron becomes negative ion after accepting an electron

(4.13)

Epitaxial Growth of Silicon

Epitaxy grows silicon on top of existing silicon uses chemical vapor deposition new silicon has same crystal structure as original Silicon is placed in chamber at high temperature 1200 o C (2150 o F) Appropriate gases are fed into the chamber other gases add impurities to the mix Can grow n type, then switch to p type very quickly

(4.14)

Diffusion of Dopants
It is also possible to introduce dopants into silicon by heating them so they diffuse into the silicon no new silicon is added high heat causes diffusion Can be done with constant concentration in atmosphere close to straight line concentration gradient Or with constant number of atoms per unit area predeposition bell-shaped gradient Diffusion causes spreading of doped areas

(4.15)

top

side

Diffusion of Dopants (continued)

(4.16)

Concentration of dopant in surrounding atmosphere kept constant per unit volume

Dopant deposited on surface - constant amount per unit area

Ion Implantation of Dopants

One way to reduce the spreading found with diffusion is to use ion implantation
also gives better uniformity of dopant yields faster devices lower temperature process

(4.17)

Ions are accelerated from 5 Kev to 10 Mev and directed at silicon

higher energy gives greater depth penetration total dose is measured by flux
number of ions per cm2 typically 1012 per cm2 - 1016 per cm2

Flux is over entire surface of silicon

Heat afterward to work into crystal lattice

use masks to cover areas where implantation is not wanted

Hole and Electron Concentrations

(4.18)

To produce reasonable levels of conduction doesnt require much doping

silicon has about 5 x 1022 atoms/cm3 typical dopant levels are about 1015 atoms/cm3

In undoped (intrinsic) silicon, the number of holes and number of free electrons is equal, and their product equals a constant
actually, ni increases with increasing temperature np = ni2

This equation holds true for doped silicon as well, so increasing the number of free electrons decreases the number of holes

Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor Transistors
greater density simpler geometry, hence easier to make

(4.19)

Most modern digital devices use MOS transistors, which have two advantages over other types
MOS transistors switch on/off more slowly MOS transistors consist of source and drain diffusions, with a gate that controls whether the transistor is on
S n+ p Gate D n+ metal silicon dioxide monosilicon

MOS Transistors (continued)

Making gate positive (for n channel device) causes current to flow from source to drain
attracts electrons to gate area, creates conductive path

(4.20)

For given gate voltage, increasing voltage difference between source and drain increases current from source to drain
S

n+ p

n+

+ -

Complementary MOS Transistors

(4.21)

A variant of MOS transistor uses both n-channel and p-channel devices to make the fundamental building block (an inverter, or not gate) lower power consumption symmetry of design If in = +, n-channel device is on, p-channel is off, out is connected to If in = -, n-channel is off, p-channel is on, out is connected to + No current flows through battery in either case!!
P out in N

CMOS (continued)
CMOS geometry (and manufacturing process) is more complicated Lower power consumption offsets that Bi-CMOS combines CMOS and bipolar (another transistor type) on one chip

(4.22)

CMOS for logic circuits Bi-polar to drive larger electrical circuits off the chip
S n+ p D n+ S p+ D p+

Logic Functions Using CMOS

p A p B

(4.23)

out

input 0

two input NAND - if n both inputs 1, both p-channel are off, both n-channel are n on, out is negative; otherwise at least one p-channel is on and one ninput 1 channel off, and out is positive