Scribd
Upload
147 views

Lecture 2 N and P Type Semiconductors

The document discusses the atomic structure of elements and how semiconductors are made from elements like silicon and germanium. It explains that semiconductors have a crystalline structure and their properties can be altered through doping with other elements to add more electrons or holes. This allows the creation of n-type and p-type semiconductors which form the basis of diodes when an n-type and p-type material are joined together. The document describes how diodes behave under forward and reverse bias and explains their current-voltage characteristics.

Uploaded by

Taahir Yousaf
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
147 views

Lecture 2 N and P Type Semiconductors

The document discusses the atomic structure of elements and how semiconductors are made from elements like silicon and germanium. It explains that semiconductors have a crystalline structure and their properties can be altered through doping with other elements to add more electrons or holes. This allows the creation of n-type and p-type semiconductors which form the basis of diodes when an n-type and p-type material are joined together. The document describes how diodes behave under forward and reverse bias and explains their current-voltage characteristics.

Uploaded by

Taahir Yousaf
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 19

Lecture 2

Habiba Kiran

Dr. Abdul Majid Sandhu, Department of Physics,


University of Gujrat.
Atomic Structure

 Elements are made of atoms


 110 Elements; each has an atomic
structure

 Bohr Model
 Atoms have planetary structure
 Atoms are made of nucleus (Protons (+)
& Neutrons) and electrons (-)

110 th element is called Darmstadtium (Ds)


Atomic Structure
 Electrons go around the nucleus in their orbits at
discrete distances
 Each orbit has some energy level
 The closer the orbit to the nucleus the less energy it
has
 Electrons on the same shell have similar energy level
 Valence shell is the outmost shell. Its electrons are
ready to be freed
 Number of electrons (Ne) on each shell (n)

Ne = 2n2
 First shell has 2 electrons
 Second shell has 8 electrons (not shown here)
Valence Shell

 Atoms are made of valence shell


and core
 Core includes nucleus and other
inner shells
 For a Carbon atom the atomic
number is 6
 Core charge = 6 P + 2 e = (+6)+(-
2)=(+4)
 Remember the first shell has 2
electrons
Elements

 Basic categories Free electrons

 Conductors
 Examples: Copper, silver
 One valence electron , the e can
easily be freed Always free
electrons

 Insulators
 Valence electrons are tightly
bounded to the atom
 Semiconductors
 Silicon, germanium (single
element) Conduction band is where the
 Gallium arsenide, indium electron leaves the valence shell
phosphide (compounds) and becomes free
 They can act as conductors or Valence band is where the
insulators
outmost shell is
What is a Semiconductor?

 Low resistivity => “conductor”


 High resistivity => “insulator”
 Intermediate resistivity => “semiconductor”
 conductivity lies between that of conductors and
insulators
 generally crystalline in structure for IC devices
Semiconductor Materials

Phosphor
us
Galliu (P)
m
(Ga)
Semiconductor types

 A material whose properties are such that it is not quite a conductor, not quite an
insulator
 Some common semiconductors
 elemental
 Si - Silicon (most common)

 Ge - Germanium

 compound
 GaAs - Gallium arsenide

 GaP - Gallium phosphide

 AlAs - Aluminum arsenide

 AlP - Aluminum phosphide

 InP - Indium Phosphide


Semiconductor Crystalline Structure

 Semiconductors have a regular crystalline


structure
 for monocrystal, extends through entire

structure
 for polycrystal, structure is interrupted at

irregular boundaries
 Monocrystal has uniform 3-dimensional
structure
 Atoms occupy fixed positions relative to one
another, but
are in constant vibration about equilibrium
Semiconductors
 Remember the further away from the
nucleus the less energy is required to
free the electrons
 Germanium is less stable
 Less energy is required to make the
electron to jump to the conduction band

 When atoms combine to form a solid,


they arrange themselves in a
symmetrical patterns
 Semiconductor atoms (silicon) form
crystals
 Intrinsic crystals have no impurities
Conduction Electrons and Holes
 Electrons exist only within prescribed
energy bands
 These bands are separated by energy
gaps
 When an electron jumps to the
conduction band it causes a hole
 When electron falls back to its initial
valence recombination occurs
 Consequently there are two different
types of currents
 Hole current (electrons are the minority
carriers)
 Electron current (holes are the minority
carriers)

Remember: We are interested in electrical current!


Improving Conduction by
Doping

 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)
Doping
 By adding impurities to the intrinsic
semiconductor we can change the conductivity
of the material – this is called doping
 N-type doping
 P-type doping
 N-type: pentavalent (atom with 5 valence
electrons) impurity atoms are added
 [Sb(Antimony) + Si]
 Negative charges (electrons) are generated
  N-type has lots of free electrons
 P-type: trivalent (atom with 3 valence electrons)
impurity atoms are added
 [B(Boron) + Si]
 Positive charges (holes) are generated
 P-type has lots of holes
Electron and Hole
Concentrations
 Under thermal equilibrium conditions, the product
of the conduction-electron density and the hole
density is ALWAYS equal to the square of ni:
np  ni
2

N-type material P-type material


n  ND p  NA
2 2
n n
p i n i
ND NA
Diodes
 N region has lots of free electrons
 P region has lots of holes
 At equilibrium: total number positive and negative
charges is the same (@ room temp)
 At the pn junction the electrons and holes with different
charges form an electric field
 In order to move electrons through the electric field
(generate current) we need some force (voltage)
 This potential difference is called barrier voltage
 When enough voltage is applied such that electrons are
moved then we are biasing the diode
 Two layers of positive and negative charges for depletion
region – the region near the pn-junction is depleted of
charge carriers)
Biasing Types of a Diode
 Forward bias
Connected to the
 Bias voltage VBias > barrier voltage VBar negative side of
the battery
 Reduction in + and – ions  smaller
depletion region
 VBar Depends on material, doping, temp,
etc. (e.g., for silicon it is 0.7 V)
 Reverse bias
Connected to the
 Essentially a condition that prevents positive side of the
electrons to pass through the diode battery

 Very small reverse break down current


 Larger depletion region is generated

A K
Anode Cathode
p region n region
Biasing Types of a Diode (Forward)

Small dynamic resistance

Conventional
Current Flow
I (Forward)

Moving
electrons

VBias

Conventional
Current Flow
A K
Anode Cathode
p region n region
p n
Biasing Types of a Diode (Reverse)

Large resistance
Instant pull of
electrons

Very Small
Moving
Electrons:
Reverse Current)
VBias
Holes are left behind;
large depletion region

Conventional
Current Flow
A K
Anode Cathode
p region n region
p n
I-V Characteristic of a Diode
 Forward bias: current passes through Electrons moving
 The knee is where VBias=VBar from n to p region
 At point B VBias < VBar  Very little current
 Note that at the knee the current increases rapidly but V(forward) stays
almost the same

 Reveres bias: No current passes through


 When VBias < VBar  Very little current (mu or nano Amp)
 At the knee, the reverse current increases rapidly but the reverse
voltage remains almost the same
 Large reverse current can result in overheating and possibly damaging
the diode (V=50V or higher typically)

 Overheating results from high-speed electrons in the p-region


knocking out electrons of atoms in n-region from their orbit to the
conduction band
 Hence, we use limiting resistors

You might also like