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SEMICONDUCTORS

Semiconductors are materials with conductivity between conductors and insulators, commonly including silicon and gallium arsenide, and are essential in electronic devices. They operate through charge carriers, holes and electrons, with electrons having higher mobility, and their conductivity can be enhanced through doping. Semiconductors are crucial in various applications, from microchips to solar cells, due to their unique properties and advantages such as portability and lower power requirements.

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5 views6 pages

SEMICONDUCTORS

Semiconductors are materials with conductivity between conductors and insulators, commonly including silicon and gallium arsenide, and are essential in electronic devices. They operate through charge carriers, holes and electrons, with electrons having higher mobility, and their conductivity can be enhanced through doping. Semiconductors are crucial in various applications, from microchips to solar cells, due to their unique properties and advantages such as portability and lower power requirements.

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reibuddha
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© © All Rights Reserved
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What Are Semiconductors?

Semiconductors are materials which have a conductivity between conductors (generally


metals) and non-conductors or insulators (such as ceramics). Semiconductors can be
compounds, such as gallium arsenide, or pure elements, such as germanium or silicon.
Physics explains the theories, properties and mathematical approach related to
semiconductors.
Gallium arsenide, germanium and silicon are some of the most commonly used
semiconductors. Silicon is used in electronic circuit fabrication, and gallium arsenide is used
in solar cells, laser diodes, etc.

Holes and Electrons in Semiconductors

Holes and electrons are the types of charge carriers accountable for the flow of current in
semiconductors. Holes (valence electrons) are the positively charged electric charge carrier,
whereas electrons are the negatively charged particles. Both electrons and holes are equal in
magnitude but opposite in polarity.

Mobility of Electrons and Holes

In a semiconductor, the mobility of electrons is higher than that of the holes. It is mainly
because of their different band structures and scattering mechanisms. Electrons travel in the
conduction band, whereas holes travel in the valence band. When an electric field is applied,
holes cannot move as freely as electrons due to their restricted movement. The elevation of
electrons from their inner shells to higher shells results in the creation of holes in
semiconductors. Since the holes experience stronger atomic force by the nucleus than
electrons, holes have lower mobility.
The bond model of electrons in silicon of valency 4 is shown below. Here, when one of the
free electrons (blue dots) leaves the lattice position, it creates a hole (grey dots). This hole
thus created takes the opposite charge of the electron and can be imagined as positive
charge carriers moving in the lattice.

Band Theory of Semiconductors

The introduction of band theory happened during the quantum revolution in science. Walter
Heitler and Fritz London discovered the energy bands.
We know that the electrons in an atom are present at different energy levels. When we try
to assemble a lattice of a solid with N atoms, each level of an atom must split into N levels in
the solid. This splitting of sharp and tightly packed energy levels forms Energy Bands. The
gap between adjacent bands representing a range of energies that possess no electron is
called a Band Gap.

Properties of Semiconductors

Semiconductors can conduct electricity under preferable conditions or circumstances. This


unique property makes it an excellent material to conduct electricity in a controlled manner
as required.

Unlike conductors, the charge carriers in semiconductors arise only because of external
energy (thermal agitation). It causes a certain number of valence electrons to cross the
energy gap and jump into the conduction band, leaving an equal amount of unoccupied
energy states, i.e., holes. The conduction due to electrons and holes is equally important.
Resistivity: 10-5 to 106 Ωm
Conductivity: 105 to 10-6 mho/m
Temperature coefficient of resistance: Negative
Current flow: Due to electrons and holes

Why Does the Resistivity of Semiconductors Go Down with Temperature?

The difference in resistivity between conductors and semiconductors is due to their


difference in charge carrier density.
The resistivity of semiconductors decreases with temperature because the number of charge
carriers increases rapidly with an increase in temperature, making the fractional change, i.e.,
the temperature coefficient negative.

Some Important Properties of Semiconductors

 Semiconductors act like insulators at zero Kelvin. On increasing the temperature,


they work as conductors.
 Due to their exceptional electrical properties, semiconductors can be modified by
doping to make semiconductor devices suitable for energy conversion, switches and
amplifiers.
 Lesser power losses.
 Semiconductors are smaller in size and possess less weight.
 Their resistivity is higher than conductors but lesser than insulators.
 The resistance of semiconductor materials decreases with an increase in
temperature and vice-versa.
Types of Semiconductors

Semiconductors can be classified as follows:


Intrinsic Semiconductor
Extrinsic Semiconductor

Intrinsic Semiconductor

An intrinsic type of semiconductor material is made to be very pure chemically. It is made up


of only a single type of element.
Germanium (Ge) and silicon (Si) are the most common types of intrinsic semiconductor
elements. They have four valence electrons (tetravalent). They are bound to the atom by a
covalent bond at absolute zero temperature.

Extrinsic Semiconductor
The conductivity of semiconductors can be greatly improved by introducing a small number
of suitable replacement atoms called IMPURITIES. The process of adding impurity atoms to
the pure semiconductor is called DOPING. Usually, only 1 atom in 107 is replaced by a
dopant atom in the doped semiconductor. An extrinsic semiconductor can be further
classified into types:

N-type Semiconductor
P-type Semiconductor
Applications of Semiconductors

Semiconductors are used in almost all electronic devices. Without them, our life would be
much different.
Their reliability, compactness, low cost and controlled conduction of electricity make them
ideal to be used for various purposes in a wide range of components and devices.
Transistors, diodes, photosensors, microcontrollers, integrated chips and much more are
made up of semiconductors.

Uses of Semiconductors in Everyday Life

 Temperature sensors are made with semiconductor devices.


 They are used in 3D printing machines
 Used in microchips and self-driving cars
 Used in calculators, solar plates, computers and other electronic devices.
 Transistors and MOSFET used as a switch in electrical circuits are manufactured using
semiconductors.

Industrial Uses of Semiconductors

The physical and chemical properties of semiconductors make them capable of designing
technological wonders like microchips, transistors, LEDs, solar cells, etc.
The microprocessor used for controlling the operation of space vehicles, trains, robots, etc.,
is made up of transistors and other controlling devices, which are manufactured by
semiconductor materials.

Importance of Semiconductors

Here, we have discussed some advantages of semiconductors, which make them highly
useful everywhere.

 They are highly portable due to their small size


 They require less input power
 Semiconductor devices are shockproof
 They have a longer lifespan
 They are noise-free while operating

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