Energy Bands in Solids:

According to Quantum Mechanical Laws, the energies of electrons in a

free atom can not have arbitrary values but only some definite
(quantized) values.
However, if an atom belongs to a crystal, then the energy levels are
modified.
This modification is not appreciable in the case of energy levels of
electrons in the inner shells (completely filled).
But in the outermost shells, modification is appreciable because the
electrons are shared by many neighbouring atoms.
Due to influence of high electric field between the core of the atoms and
the shared electrons, energy levels are split-up or spread out forming
energy bands.

Consider a single crystal of silicon having N atoms. Each atom can be

associated with a lattice site.
Electronic configuration of Si is 1s2, 2s2, 2p6,3s2, 3p2. (Atomic No. is 14)
Metals:
The first possible energy band diagram
shows that the conduction band is only
partially filled with electrons. • • • • • •
Partially filled
With a little extra energy the electrons Conduction Band
can easily reach the empty energy
levels above the filled ones and the
conduction is possible. Conduction Band

The second possible energy band

• • • • • •
diagram shows that the conduction Valence Band
band is overlapping with the valence
band. The highest energy level in the
conduction band occupied by
This is because the lowest levels in the
electrons in a crystal, at absolute 0
conduction band needs less energy
temperature, is called Fermi Level.
than the highest levels in the valence
band. The energy corresponding to this
energy level is called Fermi energy.
The electrons in valence band overflow
into conduction band and are free to If the electrons get enough energy
move about in the crystal for to go beyond this level, then
conduction. conduction takes place.
Semiconductors:
At absolute zero temperature, no
electron has energy to jump from Conduction Band
valence band to conduction band
and hence the crystal is an insulator.
Forbidden Energy Gap ≈1 eV
At room temperature, some valence ••• •• •
electrons gain energy more than the Valence Band
energy gap and move to conduction
band to conduct even under the
influence of a weak electric field. Eg-Si = 1.1 eV EgGe= 0.74 eV

Eg
- Since Eg is small, therefore, the fraction
The fraction is pαe kB T
is sizeable for semiconductors.

As an electron leaves the valence band, it leaves some energy level in band
as unfilled.
Such unfilled regions are termed as ‘holes’ in the valence band. They are
mathematically taken as positive charge carriers.
Any movement of this region is referred to a positive hole moving from one
position to another.
Insulators:
Electrons, however heated, can not Conduction Band
practically jump to conduction band
from valence band due to a large
energy gap. Therefore, conduction is Forbidden Energy Gap ≈6 eV
not possible in insulators.
Eg-Diamond = 7 eV
•Valence
• • • •Band
•
Electrons and Holes:
On receiving an additional energy, one of the electrons from a covalent band
breaks and is free to move in the crystal lattice.
While coming out of the covalent bond, it leaves behind a vacancy named
‘hole’.
An electron from the neighbouring atom can break away and can come to the
place of the missing electron (or hole) completing the covalent bond and
creating a hole at another place.
The holes move randomly in a crystal lattice.
The completion of a bond may not be necessarily due to an electron from a
bond of a neighbouring atom. The bond may be completed by a conduction
band electron. i.e., free electron and this is referred to as ‘electron – hole
recombination’.
Intrinsic or Pure Semiconductor:
Valence electrons
Covalent Bond
Ge Ge Ge Ge
Broken Covalent Bond

Free electron ( - )
Ge Ge Ge Ge Hole ( + )

Ge Ge Ge Ge C.B
+

Eg 0.74 eV
Ge Ge Ge Ge V.B
+ +

Heat Energy
 Intrinsic Semiconductor is a pure semiconductor.
The energy gap in Si is 1.1 eV and in Ge is 0.74 eV.
Si: 1s2, 2s2, 2p6,3s2, 3p2. (Atomic No. is 14)
Ge: 1s2, 2s2, 2p6,3s2, 3p6, 3d10, 4s2, 4p2. (Atomic No. is 32)
In intrinsic semiconductor, the number of thermally generated electrons
always equals the number of holes. So,
if ni and pi are the concentration of electrons and holes respectively, then n i =
p i. The
quantity ni or pi is referred to as the ‘intrinsic carrier concentration’.

Doping a Semiconductor:
Doping is the process of deliberate addition of a very small amount of
impurity into an intrinsic semiconductor.
The impurity atoms are called ‘dopants’.
The semiconductor containing impurity is known as ‘impure or extrinsic
semiconductor’.

Methods of doping:
i) Heating the crystal in the presence of dopant atoms.
ii) Adding impurity atoms in the molten state of semiconductor.
iii) Bombarding semiconductor by ions of impurity atoms.
Extrinsic or Impure Semiconductor:
N - Type Semiconductors:

Ge Ge Ge
C.B

- 0.045 eV
Eg = 0.74 eV
Ge As Ge
+ V.B

Ge Ge Ge Donor level
+

When a semiconductor of Group IV (tetra valent) such as Si or Ge is doped

with a penta valent impurity (Group V elements such as P, As or Sb), N –
type semiconductor is formed.
When germanium (Ge) is doped with arsenic (As), the four valence
electrons of As form covalent bonds with four Ge atoms and the fifth
electron of As atom is loosely bound.
The energy required to detach the fifth loosely bound electron is only of
the order of 0.045 eV for germanium.
A small amount of energy provided due to thermal agitation is sufficient to
detach this electron and it is ready to conduct current.
The force of attraction between this mobile electron and the positively
charged (+ 5) impurity ion is weakened by the dielectric constant of the
medium.
So, such electrons from impurity atoms will have energies slightly less
than the energies of the electrons in the conduction band.
Therefore, the energy state corresponding to the fifth electron is in the
forbidden gap and slightly below the lower level of the conduction band.

This energy level is called ‘donor level’.

The impurity atom is called ‘donor’.
N – type semiconductor is called ‘donor – type semiconductor’.
 P - Type Semiconductors:

Ge Ge Ge
C.B

Ge In Ge
Eg = 0.74 eV
0.05 eV
+
V.B

Ge Ge Ge Acceptor level
+

When a semiconductor of Group IV (tetra valent) such as Si or Ge is doped

with a tri valent impurity (Group III elements such as In, B or Ga), P – type
semiconductor is formed.
When germanium (Ge) is doped with indium (In), the three valence
electrons of In form three covalent bonds with three Ge atoms. The
vacancy that exists with the fourth covalent bond with fourth Ge atom
constitutes a hole.
The hole which is deliberately created may be filled with an electron from
neighbouring atom, creating a hole in that position from where the electron
jumped.
Therefore, the tri valent impurity atom is called ‘acceptor’.
Since the hole is associated with a positive charge moving from one position
to another, therefore, this type of semiconductor is called
P – type semiconductor.
The acceptor impurity produces an energy level just above the valence band.
This energy level is called ‘acceptor level’.
The energy difference between the acceptor energy level and the top of the
valence band is much smaller than the band gap.
Electrons from the valence band can, therefore, easily move into the acceptor
level by being thermally agitated.
P – type semiconductor is called ‘acceptor – type semiconductor’.
In a P – type semiconductor, holes are the majority charge carriers and the
electrons are the minority charge carriers.
It can be shown that,
n p = n i p i = n i2
Distinction between Intrinsic and Extrinsic Semiconductor:

S. No. Intrinsic SC Extrinsic SC

1 Pure Group IV elements. Group III or Group V elements
are introduced in Group IV
elements.

2 Conductivity is only slight. Conductivity is greatly

increased.

3 Conductivity increases with rise Conductivity depends on the

in temperature. amount of impurity added.

4 The number of holes is always In N-type, the no. of electrons is

equal to the number of free greater than that of the holes
electrons. and in P-type, the no. holes is
greater than that of the
electrons.
 Distinction between Semiconductor and Metal:

S. No. Semiconductor Metal

1 Semiconductor behaves like an Conductivity decreases with rise
insulator at 0 K. Its conductivity in temperature.
increases with rise in
temperature.
2 Conductivity increases with rise Conductivity is an intrinsic
in potential difference applied. property of a metal and is
independent of applied potential
difference.
3 Does not obey Ohm’s law or Obeys Ohm’s law.
only partially obeys.

4 Doping the semiconductors with Making alloy with another metal

impurities vastly increases the decreases the conductivity.
conductivity.
Electrical Conductivity of Semiconductors:
I = I e + Ih Ih Ie

Ie = neeAve Ih = nheAvh
So, I = neeAve + nheAvh
If the applied electric field is small, I
then semiconductor obeys Ohm’s law.
V
= neeAve + nheAvh E
R E V
= eA (neve + nhvh) = e (neve + nhvh) since E =
ρ l
VA Mobility (μ) is defined as the drift
Or = eA (neve + nhvh) velocity per unit electric field.
ρl ρl
since R = 1
A = e (neμe + nhμh)
ρ
Note:
Or σ = e (neμe + nhμh)
1. The electron mobility is higher than the hole mobility.
2. The resistivity / conductivity depends not only on the
electron and hole densities but also on their mobilities.
3. The mobility depends relatively weakly on temperature.
End of S & SC - I
PN Junction Diode:
When a P-type semiconductor is joined to a N-type semiconductor such
that the crystal structure remains continuous at the boundary, the resulting
arrangement is called a PN junction diode or a semiconductor diode or a
crystal diode.

P N

- - - - - + + + + +
- - - - - + + + + +
- - - - - + + + + +

Mobile Hole (Majority Carrier)

When a PN junction is formed, the P
region has mobile holes (+) and - Immobile Negative Impurity Ion
immobile negatively charged ions.
Mobile Electron (Majority Carrier)
N region has mobile electrons (-) and
immobile positively charged ions. + Immobile Positive Impurity Ion

The whole arrangement is electrically neutral.

For simplicity, the minority charge carriers are not shown in the figure.
 PN Junction Diode immediately after it is formed :

P V N

- - - - Fr - + + + + +
- - - - - + E + + + +
- - - - - + F + + + +
r

Depletion region

After the PN junction diode is formed –

i) Holes from P region diffuse into N region due to difference in concentration.
ii) Free electrons from N region diffuse into P region due to the same reason.
iii) Holes and free electrons combine near the junction.
iv) Each recombination eliminates an electron and a hole.
v) The uncompensated negative immobile ions in the P region do not allow any
more free electrons to diffuse from N region.
vi) The uncompensated positive immobile ions in the N region do not allow any
more holes to diffuse from P region.
 vii) The positive donor ions in the N region and the negative acceptor ions in
the P region are left uncompensated.
viii) The region containing the uncompensated acceptor and donor ions is
called ‘depletion region’ because this region is devoid of mobile charges.
Since the region is having only immobile charges, therefore, this region
is also called ‘space charge region’.
ix) The N region is having higher potential than P region.
x) So, an electric field is set up as shown in the figure.
xi) The difference in potential between P and N regions across the junction
makes it difficult for the holes and electrons to move across the junction.
This acts as a barrier and hence called ‘potential barrier’ or ‘height of the
barrier’.
xii) The physical distance between one side and the other side of the barrier is
called ‘width of the barrier’.
xiii) Potential barrier for Si is nearly 0.7 V and for Ge is 0.3 V.
xiv) The potential barrier opposes the motion of the majority carriers.
xv) However, a few majority carriers with high kinetic energy manage to
overcome the barrier and cross the junction.
ix) Potential barrier helps the movement of minority carriers.
SYMBOL OF DIODE
Forward Bias:
Ih P V N Ie

- - - - - + + + + +
- - - - - + EE + + + +
- - - - - + + + + +
Depletion region

E
When the positive terminal of the battery is connected to P-region and
negative terminal is connected to N-region, then the PN junction diode is said
to be forward-biased.
i) Holes in P-region are repelled by +ve terminal of the battery and the free
electrons are repelled by –ve terminal of the battery.
ii) So, some holes and free electrons enter into the depletion region.
iii) The potential barrier and the width of the depletion region decrease.
iv) Therefore, a large number of majority carriers diffuse across the junction.
v) Hole current and electronic current are in the same direction and add up.
v) Once they cross the junction, the holes in N-region and the electrons in
P-region become minority carriers of charge and constitute minority
current.
vi) For each electron – hole recombination, an electron from the negative
terminal of the battery enters the N-region and then drifts towards the
junction.

In the P-region, near the positive terminal of the battery, an electron

breaks covalent bond in the crystal and thus a hole is created. The hole
drifts towards the junction and the electron enters the positive terminal of
the battery.
vii) Thus, the current in the external circuit is due to movement of electrons,
current in P-region is due to movement of holes and current in N-region is
due to movement of electrons.
viii) If the applied potential is increased, the potential barrier further
decreases. As a result, a large number of majority carriers diffuse
through the junction and a larger current flows.
Reverse Bias:
Ih P V N Ie

- - - - - + + + + +
- - - - - + EE + + + +
- - - - - + + + + +
Depletion region

E
When the negative terminal of the battery is connected to P-region and
positive terminal is connected to N-region, then the PN junction diode is said
to be reverse-biased.
i) Holes in P-region are attracted by -ve terminal of the battery and the free
electrons are attracted by +ve terminal of the battery.
ii) Thus, the majority carriers are pulled away from the junction.
iii) The potential barrier and the width of the depletion region increase.
iv) Therefore, it becomes more difficult for majority carriers diffuse across
the junction.
 v) But the potential barrier helps the movement of the minority carriers. As
soon as the minority carriers are generated, they are swept away by the
potential barrier.
vi) At a given temperature, the rate of generation of minority carriers is
constant.
vii) So, the resulting current is constant irrespective of the applied voltage.
For this reason, this current is called ‘reverse saturation current’.
viii) Since the number of minority carriers is small, therefore, this current is
small and is in the order of 10-9 A in silicon diode and 10-6 A in germanium
diode.
ix) The reverse – biased PN junction diode has an effective capacitance
called ‘transition or depletion capacitance’. P and N regions act as the
plates of the capacitor and the depletion region acts as a dielectric
medium.
Diode Characteristics:
If (mA)
Forward Bias:

on
D

gi
Re
ar
ne
Li
VB
+ + Vr (Volt) 0 Vk V (Volt)
V mA f

Vk – Knee Voltage
VB – Breakdown Voltage

Reverse Bias:
D Ir (μA)

Resistance of a Diode:
+ + i) Static or DC Resistance Rd.c = V / I
V μA ii) Dynamic or AC Resistance
Ra.c = ΔV / ΔI
PN Junction Diode as a +
●
Half Wave Rectifier: D ●
The process of
converting RL
alternating
current into ●
direct current is ●
called
‘rectification’. ●
D ●
The device
used for RL No output
rectification is
called ●
‘rectifier’. ●
The PN +
junction diode ●
offers low ●
D
resistance in
forward bias RL
and high
resistance in ●
reverse bias. ●
PN Junction Diode as a +
●
Full Wave Rectifier: D1
RL
When the diode A B
rectifies whole ● ●
of the AC wave, D2
it is called ‘full
●
wave rectifier’.
During the ●
positive half D1
cycle of the RL
input ac signal, A B
● ●
the diode D1
conducts and D2
current is ●
+
through BA.
●
During the
negative half D1
cycle, the diode RL
A B
D2 conducts ● ●
and current is
D2
through BA.
●