ELECTRONICS

SEMICONDUCTOR
A Semiconductor is a material which has an electric conductivity intermediate in value between that of a
a good conductor and that of a good insulator.

TYPES OF SEMICONDUCTOR

1. Intrinsic semiconductor
2. Extrinsic semiconductor

INTRINSIC SEMICONDUCTOR OR PURE SEMICONDUCTOR

TYPES

germanium and silicon

STRUCTURE
They posses a crystalline structure i.e the atoms are arranged in orderly manner and they have four
valence electrons. They are in group IV of the periodic table.
CONDUCTIVITY
Below room temperature pure germanium is a poor electrical conductor.
At room temperature, thermal energy of the valency electron may become greater than the energy
binding it to its nucleus, such an electron becomes liberated from the bonds and becomes free electron
by moving out of its position in the atom. This leaves a vacancy at the electron’s former position. This
vacant space is called hole. An electron from a neighboring atom can move into the vacancy.
The conductivity of a semiconductor increases when it is irradiated with electromagnetic waves of a
certain maximum wavelength or temperature is increased.
CARRIERS OF ELECTRICITY
a. free electrons which have negative charges
b. Holes which have positive charges.

APPLICATION OF ELECTRIC FIELD

When an electric field is applied the charge carriers move in opposite directions. Holes behave like
positive charged particle.

EXTRINSIC SEMICONDUCTOR OR IMPURE SEMICONDUCTOR

TYPES
a. n-type
b. p-type

a. n-type
This is done by doping into germanium with small amount of arsenic( donor). Arsenic is in group 5, it
has five valency electrons. Germanium has four valency electrons so, four of the valency electron of
Arsenic forms a covalent bond with germanium. The fifth valency electron is very loosely bound, it
does not participate in covalent bond. Conductivity is due to the movement of electron. The majority
carrier of current are negative electrons while the minority carrier are holes.

b. p-type
Adding atoms of an element in Group 3 e.g Boron or indium to germanium produces a p-type. Boron
has three valency electrons, to form covalent bond with germanium, it can take electron from
germanium, leaving a hole in germanium. This hole acts as a positive charge that can move through
the crystal, The boron is called the acceptor. Conduction is due to movement of holes. The majority
carrier of current are holes.

SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES
1. Rectifier ( p-n Junction diode)

2. photocell

3. light emitting diode(LED)

Rectifier ( p-n Junction diode)

To fabricate a p-n junction is to deposit some n-type material on the very clean surface of p-type
material. It acts as current rectifier i.e allows current to flow only in one direction (forward bias) and
little or nothing in the reverse bias. It can change alternating current to direct current.

FORWARD BIAS

P N

If the positive terminal of the battery is connected to the p- region and the negative terminal to the

n-region, the positive terminal repels the numerous holes across the junction and the negative
terminal repels the electrons across the junction, thus holes plentiful in the p-region flow easily across
the junction into the n-region. Free electrons, plentiful in the n-region easily into p-region, these
movement of charge constitute a forward current. The p-n junction diode in this arrangement has a
fairly low resistance and conducts well.
REVERSE BIAS

P N

Connecting the negative terminal of the battery to the p-region and positive terminal to the n-region
gives a reverse bias. The negative terminal repels electrons from p-region to n-region and positive
terminal repels holes from n-region to p-region, but there are few free electrons in the p-region and
very few holes in the n-region. As a result the current in the reverse direction is much smaller than
that with the same potential difference in the forward direction.

I-V CHARACTERISTICS FOR P-N JUNCTION DIODE

Forward bias
I

-V

V
Reverse bias
-I
The graph does not obey ohm’s law.

p-n junction diode has a low resistance in one direction (forward bias) and a high resistance in the
reverse bias. Thus it can be used as a current rectifier to change a.c to d.c.

ADVANTAGES OF p-n JUNCTION OVER THERMIONIC DIODE

I. It is much smaller

2. it needs a small p.d to operate in a radio receiver

3. it requires no time to warm up to produce current carriers.

4. it is cheaper to manufacture in large quantities and less liable to break.

In half wave rectifier, if a.c supply is applied at input, positive half cycle appear across output and
negative half cycle suppressed . Only one crystal diode is used.

WAVE FORMS
VInput

FULL-WAVE RECTIFIER

It has two diodes , D1 produces one half of the cycle, D2 produces another one half of the circuit. The
output is equivalent to a steady voltage together with varying voltages. To filter of the fluctuations, a
filter circuit is used which consists of a high inductance in series with a large capacitance, since
inductance and capacitance are in series with voltage, very little of the varying voltage appears.

D1

D2
WAVEFORM
Vinput

t
QUESTIONS ON ELECTRONICS

1. Which of the following statements about a diode is correct ?

A. Reverse bias diodes have low resistance

B. Forward bias diodes have high resistance

C. Forward bias diodes produce high current

D. Forward bias diodes function as a result of heat.

2. Which of the following is a semiconductor material?

A. Copper B. Silicon C. Steel D. Iron

3. In a common emitter configuration, the output voltage is through the

A. resistor B. Base C. collector D. emitter

4. Which of the graphs below shows the characteristics of an I-V transistor?

A I B I

V
V
D I
C I

5. The bond between silicon and germanium is

A. dative B. covalent C. trivalent D. ionic

6. The p-n junction diodes can act as rectifiers because they

A. conduct current when forward-biased

B. conduct current when reverse-biased

c. block current when forward-biased

7. If a reverse-biased voltage is applied across a p-n junction, the depletion layer width is

A. increased B. decreased C. constant D. halved

8. The electrical properties of germanium can be altered drastically by the addition of impurities. This
process is referred to as

A. saturation B. bonding C. amplification D. doping

9. Which of the following is a pure semiconductor?

A. Silicon B. Phosphorus C. Transistor D. Carbon

10. Which of the following can conduct electricity owing to the presence of free mobile electrons?

A. Germanium B. Silicon C. Grapefruit D. Copper

11. When a pentavalent impurity is added to a pure semiconductor, it becomes

A. a p-type semiconductor B. an n-type semiconductor

C. an insulator D. an intrinsic semiconductor

12. Zener diode is used for

A. current amplification B. power amplification C. voltage regulation D. energy conversion

13. When a pure semiconductor is heated, its resistance

A. increases B. decreases C. remains the same D. increases and then decreases.

14. i. For current amplification ii. For voltage stabilization iii. for power amplification iv. Switch.

Which of the above are the uses of a transistor?

A. I, ii, iii and iv B. I, iii and iv only C. I, ii and iii only D. I, ii and iv only

15. Silicon doped with aluminium and germanium doped with arsenic become

A. p-and n-types respectively B. n-and p- types respectively

C. p-type semiconductors D. n-type semiconductor

16. A silicon material is doped with an element of a certain group and an n-type semiconductor is

formed. The most likely group of the element is

A. 1 B. II C. III D. V
17 When impurities are added to semiconductors, the conductivity of the semiconductor

A. increases B. decreases C. remains constant D. increases then decreases

18. The current in a reverse-biased junction is due to

A. majority carriers B holes C. minority carriers D. electrons