SEMICONDUCTOR ELECTRONICS: MATERIALS, DEVICES AND

SIMPLE CIRCUITS
Ch:14 , Class- XII

 CLASSIFICATION OF METALS, CONDUCTORS AND SEMICONDUCTORS:

On the basis of conductivity (or resistivity)

On the basis of the relative values of electrical conductivity (σ) or resistivity ( ρ = 1/σ ), the solids are broadly
classified as:
(i) Metals: They possess very low resistivity (or high conductivity).
ρ 10–2 – 10–8 Ω m σ 102 – 108 S m–1
(ii) Semiconductors: They have resistivity or conductivity intermediate to metals and insulators.
ρ 10–5 – 106 Ω m σ 105 – 10–6 S m–1
(iii) Insulators: They have high resistivity (or low conductivity).
ρ 1011 – 1019 Ω m σ 10–11 – 10–19 S m–1

 CLASSIFICATION OF SEMICONDUCTOR:
(i) Elemental semiconductors: Si and Ge
(ii) Compound semiconductors: Examples are:
• Inorganic: CdS, GaAs, CdSe, InP, etc.
• Organic: anthracene, doped pthalocyanines, etc.
• Organic polymers: polypyrrole, polyaniline, polythiophene, etc.

Note: In this chapter, we will restrict ourselves to the study of inorganic semiconductors, particularly elemental
semiconductors Si and Ge.

 ENERGY BAND THEORY OF SOLIDS:

(i) According to the Bohr atomic model, in an isolated atom the energy of any of its electrons is decided by
the orbit in which it revolves.
(ii) But when the atoms come together to form a solid they are close to each other. So the outer orbits of
electrons from neighbouring atoms would come very close or could even overlap.
(iii) Because of this, each electron will have a different energy level. These different energy levels with
continuous energy variation called energy bands.
(iv) In any solid, such energy bands are majorly classified in two categories-

a. Valence band: The energy band which includes the energy levels of the valence electrons is called
the valence band. With no external energy, all the valence electrons will reside in the valence band.
b. Conduction band: The energy band above the valence band is called the conduction band.
Electrons present in conduction band are responsible for the electric conduction.
(v) There is an energy gap between the highest energy level in valence band & lowest energy level in
conduction band ,that is termed as forbidden energy gap (E g ) .

Note: (i) If some of the electrons from the valence band may gain external energy to cross the gap between the
conduction band and the valence band (E g ) , then these electrons will move into the conduction band.
(ii) The value of forbidden energy gap (E g ) determines the conducting nature of the material. More the value if E g , less
will be conductivity of the material.
 Energy Level Diagrams For Different Materials:
(i) For conductors/metals:- In conductors, the lowest level in the conduction band happens to be lower
than the highest level of the valence band, the electrons from the valence band can easily move into the
conduction band.
One can have a metal either when the conduction band is partially filled and the balanced band is
partially empty or when the conduction and valance bands overlap.

(ii) For insulators:- In this case, as shown , a large band gap E g exists (E g > 3 eV). There are no electrons
in the conduction band, and therefore no electrical conduction is possible. Note that the energy gap is so
large that electrons cannot be excited from the valence band to the conduction band by thermal
excitation.

(iii) For semiconductors:- This situation is shown . Here a finite but small band gap ( E g < 3 eV) exists.
Because of the small band gap, at room temperature some electrons from valence band can acquire
enough energy to cross the energy gap and enter the conduction band. These electrons (though small in
 numbers) can move in the conduction band. Hence, the resistance of semiconductors is not as high as
that of the insulators.

Note: The vacancy of electron in valence band is called hole & considered to carry a positive charge of 1.6 x 10 - 19 C .

 INTRINSIC/ PURE SEMICONDUCTOR:

It’s a semiconducting crystal containing only one kind of semiconducting atoms like Si or Ge bonded
covalently(each such atom has four valence electrons) .
 An intrinsic semiconductor will behave like an insulator at
T=0K
(Absolute
zero
temperature)

It is the thermal energy at higher temperatures (T > 0K), which excites some electrons from the valence band to
the conduction band. These thermally excited electrons at T > 0 K, partially occupy the conduction band.
Therefore, some electrons are in the conduction band. These electrons have come from the valence band leaving
equal number of holes there.

In intrinsic semiconductors, the number of free electrons, n e is equal to the number of holes, n h. That is
ne=nh=ni
where n i is called intrinsic carrier concentration.
The total current, i in semiconductor, is thus the sum of the electron current i e and the hole current i h:
i=i e + i h

 EXTRINSIC/IMPURE SEMICONDUCTOR:

Intrinsic semiconductor + Impurity (Dopant) = Extrinsic Semiconductor

“ Process of adding impurity to intrinsic semiconductor is called doping & the semiconductor so formed is
called doped semiconductor .

Condition for doping :-

(i) Dopant should not distort the original pure semiconductor lattice.
(ii) The sizes of the dopant and the semiconductor atoms should be nearly the same.

Reason of doping:-
To increase the conductivity of semiconductor at room temperature.

 TYPES OF EXTRINSIC SEMICONDUCTOR:

(i) n-type semiconductor:-
Impurity atom added – Pentavalent like Arsenic (As), Antimony (Sb), Phosphorous (P), etc (Nitrogen
family)
Majority charge carriers – Electrons
Minority charge carriers – Holes
Here pentavalent dopant is donating one extra electron for conduction and hence is known
as donor impurity. The number of electrons made available for conduction by dopant atoms depends
strongly upon the doping level and is independent of any increase in temperature.
For n-type semiconductors, n e >> n h

The semiconductor’s energy band structure is affected by doping. In the case of n-type semiconductors,
additional energy states due to donor impurities (ED) . 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.
 (ii) p-type semiconductor:-
Impurity atom added – Trivalent like Indium (In), Boron (B), Aluminium (Al), etc. ( Boron family)
Majority charge carriers – Holes
Minority charge carriers – Electrons
Here trivalent dopant has vacancy of one electron and hence is known as acceptor impurity.
For p-type semiconductors, n h >> n e

For p-type semiconductor, the acceptor energy level EA is slightly above the top EV of the valence band
as shown. With very small supply of energy an electron from the valence band can jump to the
level EA and ionise the acceptor negatively.
The electron and hole concentration in a semiconductor in thermal equilibrium is given by
n e x n h = n i2

 p-n JUNCTION :
When a crystal of pure Si or Ge is made extrinsic by mixing half part of it with pentavalent impurity (n type) &
remaining half part with trivalent impurity (p-type) , then the resultant crystal so obtained is called pn-junction or
diode (di + electrodes or two terminal ) .
Processes during pn-junction formation:
(i) Diffusion: During the formation of p-n junction, due to the higher concentration of holes in p-side, and
of electrons in n- side, holes diffuse from p-side to n-side (p → n) and electrons diffuse from n-side to p-
side (n → p). This motion of majority charge carries gives rise to diffusion current across the junction.

(ii) Formation of depletion region/layer: (a) When an electron diffuses from n → p, it leaves behind an
ionised donor (positive charge) on n-side which is immobile as it is bonded to the surrounding atoms..

(b) As the electrons continue to diffuse from n → p, a layer of positive charge on n-side of the junction
is developed.

(c) Similarly, when a hole diffuses from p → n due to the concentration gradient, it leaves behind an
ionised acceptor (negative charge) which is also immobile.

(d) As the holes continue to diffuse, a layer of negative charge on the p-side of the junction is developed.

This region on either side of the junction containing only immobile ions together is known as depletion region.
 The thickness of the depletion region is of order of 0.1 μm or 10 -7 m .

(iii) Barrier Field : Due to the positive charge region on n-side

of the junction and negative charge region on p-side of the
junction, an electric field directed from positive charge
towards negative charge (n → p) develops. This field opposes
the further flow majority charge carriers across the junction
& hence called barrier field .

Barrier Potential: The potential difference developed across

the junction due to barrier field is called barrier potential.

(iv) Drift : Due to barrier field, an electron on p-side of the

junction moves to n-side and a hole on n side of the junction
moves to p-side. The motion of charge carriers due to the
electric field is called drift and the current so formed is called
drift current, which is opposite in direction to the diffusion current. (Due to Minority)

Note: Initially, diffusion current is large and drift current is small. As the diffusion process continues, the depletion
regions on either side of the junction extend, thus increasing the electric field strength and hence drift current. This
process continues until the diffusion current equals the drift current. Thus a p-n junction is formed. In a p-n junction
under equilibrium (unbiased) there is no net current.

Symbol of pn-junction diode :

 BIASING OF PN- JUNCTION DIODE:

When a diode is connected to an external battery, it is said to be biased. There are two types of biasing in diode-
(i) p-n junction diode under forward bias: In such a biasing-
(a) p-side is connected to the positive terminal of the battery and n-side to the negative terminal of the
external battery.
(b) The direction of the applied voltage (V ) is
opposite to the barrier potential Vo . The effective
barrier height under forward bias is (V o – V ).
 (c) The depletion layer width decreases and the barrier height is
reduced.

V-i characteristics of pn-junction in forward biasing:

1. If the applied voltage is smaller than the barrier potential(V o) then only
a small number of majority charge carriers in the material (those in the
uppermost energy levels) will possess enough energy to cross the junction.
So the current will be small.
2. When the applied voltage is increased further (V > Vo) , the barrier height
will be reduced and more number of charge carriers will have the required
energy to cross the junction. Thus the current increases exponentially.
The forward current is due to diffusion & is of order of mili-ampere (mA).
3. The maximum value of applied voltage upto which , negligible
current flows is called threshold or knee voltage . It is numerically equal to
the barrier potential (Vo) . (Vo = 0.2V for Ge & 0.7V for Si)
4. For diodes, a quantity defined as the ratio of small change in voltage
(∆V) to a small change in current (∆ i), is called dynamic resistance , given by

(ii) p-n junction diode under reverse bias: In such a biasing-

(a) ) n-side is connected to the positive terminal of the battery and p-side to the negative terminal of the
external battery.
(b) The direction of the applied voltage (V ) is in same direction as
barrier potential Vo . The effective barrier height under reverse
bias is (Vo + V ).

(c) The depletion layer width increases and the barrier height is
also increased.

V-i characteristics of pn-junction in reverse biasing:

1. When the reverse voltage is applied across the junction, the depletion region widens that causes the diffusion
of majority charge carriers & hence the diffusion current to get reduced . Thus the diffusion current becomes
negligible.
 2. But at the same time, the minority charge carriers cross the junction due to applied electric field that causes
the formation of drift current of the order of μA .

(Drift current is also there under forward bias but it is negligible when compared with forward diffusion
current)
3. The current under reverse bias is essentially voltage independent upto a critical reverse bias voltage, known
as breakdown voltage (V b r ). Such a constant current is called saturation current .
4. When V = V b r , the diode reverse current increases sharply as the reverse voltage in such situation is
sufficiently high to pull new electrons from the atoms causing the formation of new electron-hole pairs near
the junction. Beyond breakdown voltage, diode gets destroyed due to overheating .

Note: V-i characteristics for a pn junction diode in forward as well as reverse biasing:

In ideal diode, maximum current flows in forward bias ( resistance is zero) & no current in reverse bias ( resistance
is infinite).

 APPLICATION OF JUNCTION DIODE AS A RECTIFIER:

The process of converting an alternating voltage into direct voltage ( AC to DC) is called rectification & the
device used for it is called rectifier .
Junction diode allows current to pass only when it is forward biased. So if an alternating voltage is applied across
a diode the current flows only in that part of the cycle when the diode is forward biased. Hence it can be used as
rectifier.
(i) Half Wave Rectifier: It converts only half cycle of AC signal into pulsating form (fluctuating) DC signal.
When AC input is supplied to diode by secondary coil of transformer-

(a) For the positive half-cycle of ac, the voltage at A is positive, the diode is forward biased and it conducts.
Hence output is obtained across load (RL) .
(b) For the negative half cycle of AC, A is negative, the diode is reverse-biased and it does not conduct.
The reverse saturation current of a diode is negligible and can be considered equal to zero for practical
purposes . Thus no output is obtained.
(c) The reverse breakdown voltage of the diode must be sufficiently higher than the peak ac voltage at the
secondary of the transformer to protect the diode from reverse breakdown.

(ii) Full Wave Rectifier: It converts full cycle of AC signal into pulsating form (fluctuating) DC signal. When
AC input is supplied to diodes by secondary coil of transformer-
(a) For the positive half-cycle of ac, the voltage at A is positive, the diode (D 1) is forward biased and it
conducts. Hence output is obtained across load (RL) but voltage at B is negative , the diode (D2) is
reverse biased giving no output.
(b) For the negative half-cycle of ac, the voltage at A is negative, the diode (D 1) is reverse biased and it
gives no output. But voltage at B is positive , the diode (D2) is forward biased giving output across the
load (RL) .
(c) Thus, the output voltage is obtained during both the positive as well as the negative half of the cycle.
 FILTER CIRCUIT :
The rectified voltage is in the form of pulses . Though it is unidirectional it does not have a steady value. To get
steady dc output from the pulsating voltage normally a capacitor is connected across the output terminals
(parallel to the load R L). One can also use an inductor in series with RL for the same purpose. Since these
additional circuits appear to filter out the ac components (ripple) and give almost pure dc voltage, so they are
called filters.
Capacitor filter circuit, blocks dc components & allows ac components to pass through itself. Hence the dc
components appear across the load (RL) .

 Some Other Uses of Junction Diode :

(i) Zener Diode: Highly doped junction diode in reverse biasing used to regulate voltage.
(ii) Light Emitting Diode (LED): A highly doped junction diode used in forward biased.
(iii) Photodiode: A junction diode in reverse biased.
(iv) Solar Cell: An unbiased junction diode that converts solar energy into electric energy.