1.

Basic Semiconductor Theory

1.1. Introduction
• A study of modern electronic devices like diodes,
transistors and integrated circuits must begin with a study
of the materials from which those devices are constructed.
• Knowledge of the principles of material composition at the
level of the fundamental structure of matter is an
important prerequisite in the field of electronics.
• The vital concern of this field is predicting and controlling
the flow of the atomic charge.
• The study of electronic devices is now almost synonymous
with the study of semiconductor devices. The label
semiconductor itself provides a hint as to its characteristics.
• The prefix semi is normally applied to a range of levels
midway between two limits
 Cont..

• So a Semiconductor is a material that has

conductivity level somewhere between the
extremes of an insulator and conductor.
• Conductor is applied to any material that will
support a generous flow of charge when a
voltage source of limited magnitude is applied
across its terminals.
• Insulator is a material that offers a very low
level of conductivity under pressure from an
applied voltage source.
 Resistivity

Resistivity
• Inversely related to the conductivity of a
material is its resistance to the flow of charge,
or current.
• That is, the higher the conductivity level, the
lower the resistance level.
• In tables below, the term resistivity (ρ, Greek
letter rho) is often used when comparing the
resistance levels of materials.
Cont…
 1.2. Atomic Theory

• The atoms of both materials Ge and Si form a

very definite pattern that is periodic in nature
(i.e., continually repeats itself).
• One complete pattern is called a crystal and the
periodic arrangement of the atoms a is lattice.
• For Ge and Si the crystal has the three
dimensional diamond structure of Fig. 1.2
 Cont……

Figure.1.2. Ge and Si (Single-crystal structure Silicon Lattice)

 Cont….
• Any material composed solely of repeating
crystal structures of the same kind is called a
single-crystal structure.
• For semiconductor materials of practical
application in the electronics field, this single-
crystal feature exists, and, in addition, the
periodicity of the structure does not change
significantly with the addition of impurities in
the doping process.
 Cont….

• How the structure of the atom might affect the

electrical characteristics of the material?
• As you are aware, the atom is composed of three
basic particles: the electron, the proton, and the
neutron.
• In the atomic lattice, the neutrons and protons
form the nucleus, while the electrons revolve
around the nucleus in a fixed orbit.
• The Bohr models of the two most commonly used
semiconductors; Germanium and silicon are
shown in Fig. 1.3
 Cont…

Figure 1.4 Covalent bonding of the silicon atom

Figure 1.3 Atomic structures: (a) germanium;
(b) Silicon
 Cont….

• As indicated by Fig. 1.3a, the germanium atom has 32

orbiting electrons, while silicon has 14 orbiting electrons.
• In each case, there are 4 electrons in the outermost
(valence) shell.
• The potential (ionization potential) required to remove
any one of these 4 valence electrons is lower than that
required for any other electron in the structure
• In a pure germanium or silicon crystal these 4 valence
electrons are bonded to 4 adjoining atoms, as shown in
Fig. 1.4 for silicon. Both Ge and Si are referred to as
tetravalent atoms because they each have four valence
electrons.
 ENERGY LEVELS

• In the isolated atomic structure there are discrete

(individual) energy levels associated with each
orbiting electron, as shown in Fig. 1.5.
• Each material will, in fact, have its own set of
permissible energy levels for the electrons in its
atomic structure.
• The more distant the electron from the nucleus,
the higher the energy state, and any electron that
has left its parent atom has a higher energy state
than any electron in the atomic structure.
 Cont……

Figure 1.5 Energy levels: discrete levels in isolated atomic structures;

 Cont….

• The energy associated with each electron is

measured in electron volts (eV). The unit of
measure is appropriate, since
 Cont…..
• As derived from the defining equation for voltage V = W/Q.
• The charge Q is the charge associated with a single electron.
• Substituting the charge of an electron and a potential
difference of 1 volt into Eq. (1.2) will result in an energy level
referred to as one electron volt.
• Since energy is also measured in joules and the charge of one
electron =1.6 × 10-19 coulomb
 Energy Band Model

• One method of characterizing an electrical material is based

up on a diagram that represents electron energy in that
material.
• In the general case, electronic energy is divided among three
bands that are designated as the valence band (bonding
electrons with lowest energy), forbidden gap or band
(electrons do not occupy energy states), and conduction
band (conduction electrons with highest energy).
• In metallic conductors the forbidden gap is absent. In
insulators, the forbidden gap is very large, and in
semiconductors it is relatively small.
• Energy band diagrams for these three classes of materials
are illustrated in figure 1.6.
 Cont…

1.6. Conduction and valence bands of an Insulator, Semiconductor and

Conductor
 Cont….
• Electrons occupy specific energy states, or levels,
in the conduction and valence bands, but they
may not occupy energy states located in the band
gap, which is why it is frequently called the
forbidden gap.
• Relative to figure 1.6, to achieve electrical
conduction, electrons must transfer from energy
states in the valence band to energy states in the
conduction band.
 Cont………..

• The valence band represents low energy states of

the electrons, in which the electrons are tightly
bound to the atoms of the material.
• The forbidden band is an energy gap.
• To cross the band gap, an electron must attain
energy equal to or greater than the lowest
allowed energy state in the conduction band;
otherwise it cannot cross the gap
 Cont….
• In metals once temperature rises above absolute
zero (0 K), electrons acquire sufficient thermal
energy to transfer from the valence band to the
conduction band, thus making electrical
conduction possible in the form of that described
by Ohm’s law.
• In semiconductors, the term ohmic condition is
applied to this phenomenon. Atoms are ionized
(electrons are torn loose), and free (conduction)
electrons are released to establish an electric
current.
 Cont…..
• The forbidden gap regions associated with
insulators and semiconductors represent energy
levels that electrons may not assume.
• The only way that an electron can move from the
valence band to the conduction band in these
materials is by acquiring sufficient energy to
cross the gap.
• Because of the large forbidden band in
insulators, the material is usually damaged or
destroyed
 Cont….
• In the pure (intrinsic) state, semiconducting
materials manifest a forbidden gap that is less
than that found in insulators.
• These materials are basically insulators, but not
particularly good ones.
• When intrinsic semiconductors are modified by
the addition of certain impurities, new (allowed)
valence electrons states are created high in the
forbidden gap, so that electrons can jump
relatively easily into the conduction band
 Example

1.How much energy in joules is required to move a

charge of 6 C through a difference in potential of 3
V?
Solution

2.If 48 eV of energy is required to move a charge

through a potential difference of 12V, determine
the charge involved.
Solution
 Semiconductor Materials
• Semiconductor materials are basically Intrinsic
and Extrinsic semiconductor
 1.3.1. Intrinsic Semiconductor

• An intrinsic semiconductor is one, which is pure

enough that impurities do not appreciably affect its
electrical behavior.
• In this case, all carrier are created due to thermally
or optically excited electrons from the full valence
band into the empty conduction band.
• Thus equal numbers of electrons and holes are
present in an intrinsic semiconductor.
• Electrons and holes flow in opposite directions in
an electric field, though they contribute to current
in the same direction since they are oppositely
charged.
 Cont…..
• Hole current and electron current are not necessarily equal
in an intrinsic semiconductor, however, because electrons
and holes have different effective masses .
• The concentration of carriers is strongly dependent on the
temperature.
• At low temperatures, the valence band is completely full
making the material an insulator.
• Increasing the temperature leads to an increase in the
number of carriers and a corresponding increase in
conductivity.
• This characteristic shown by intrinsic semiconductor is
different from the behaviour of most metals, which tend to
become less conductive at higher temperatures due to
increased phonon scattering.
 Negative temperature coefficient:

• Semiconductor materials such as Ge and Si

that show a reduction in resistance with
increase in temperature are said to have a
negative temperature coefficient
 1.3.2. Extrinsic Semiconductor

• The characteristics of semiconductor materials

can be altered significantly by the addition of
certain impurity atoms into the relatively pure
semiconductor material.
• These impurities, although only added to
perhaps 1 part in 10 million, can alter the
band structure sufficiently to totally change
the electrical properties of the material.
• A semiconductor material that has been
subjected to the doping process is called an
extrinsic material.
 1.4. Types of Extrinsic Semiconductor Materials

• There are two extrinsic materials of

immeasurable importance to semiconductor
device fabrication: n-type and p-type.
• Each will be described in some detail in the
following paragraphs
 1.4.1. N-Type Material

• Both the n- and p-type materials are formed

by adding a predetermined number of
impurity atoms into a germanium or silicon
base.
• The n-type is created by introducing those
impurity elements that have five valence
electrons (pentavalent), such as antimony,
arsenic, and phosphorus.
• The effect of such impurity elements is
indicated in Fig. 1.7 below (using antimony as
the impurity in a silicon base).
 Cont….

Figure 1.7 Antimony impurity in n-type material.

 Cont…..
• Note that the four covalent bonds are still
present. There is, however, an additional fifth
electron due to the impurity atom, which is not
associated with any particular covalent bond.
This remaining electron, loosely bound to its
parent (antimony) atom, is relatively free to
move within the newly formed n-type material.
Since the inserted impurity atom has donated a
relatively “free” electron to the structure:
 Cont……
• Diffused impurities with five valence electrons are
called donor atoms.
• It is important to realize that even though a large
number of “free” carriers have been established
in the n-type material, it is still electrically neutral
since ideally the number of positively charged
protons in the nuclei is still equal to the number
of “free” and orbiting negatively charged
electrons in the structure
 Cont….
• The effect of this doping process on the relative
conductivity can best be described through the use of the
energy-band diagram of Fig. 1.8 below
• Note that a discrete energy level (called the donor level)
appears in the forbidden band with an Eg significantly less
than that of the intrinsic material.
• Those “free” electrons due to the added impurity sit at this
energy level and have less difficulty absorbing a sufficient
measure of thermal energy to move into the conduction
band at room temperature.
• The result is that at room temperature, there are a large
number of carriers (electrons) in the conduction level and
the conductivity of the material increases significantly
 Cont….

Figure 1.8 Effect of donor impurities on the energy band structure

 1.4.2. P-Type Material

• The p-type material is formed by doping a pure

germanium or silicon crystal with impurity atoms
having three valence electrons.
• The elements most frequently used for this
purpose are boron, gallium, and indium. The
effect of one of these elements, boron, on a base
of silicon is indicated in Fig. 1.9
 Cont….

Figure 1.9 Boron impurities in p-type material.

 Cont……
• Note that there is now an insufficient number of
electrons to complete the covalent bonds of the
newly formed lattice.
• The resulting vacancy is called a hole and is
represented by a small circle or positive sign due
to the absence of a negative charge.
• Since the resulting vacancy will readily accept a
“free” electron:
• The diffused impurities with three valence
electrons are called acceptor atoms
 Cont…
• The resulting p-type material is electrically
neutral, for the same reasons described for the n-
type material
 Electron versus Hole Flow

• The effect of the hole on conduction is shown in Fig.

1.10 below
• If a valence electron acquires sufficient kinetic energy
to break its covalent bond and fills the void created
by a hole, then a vacancy, or hole, will be created in
the covalent bond that released the electron.
• There is, therefore, a transfer of holes to the left and
electrons to the right, as shown in Fig. 1.10 below
• The direction to be used in this text is that of
conventional flow, which is indicated by the direction
of hole flow.
 Cont…..

Figure 1.10 Electron versus hole flow.

 Diffusion and drift current
• The diffusion is a flow of charge carriers from a region of
high density to a region of low density due to non uniform
distribution of it.
• Diffusion current is the transport of charge carriers in a
semiconductor.
• Drift is charged particle motion in response to an applied
electric field.
• When an electric field is applied across a semiconductor,
the carriers start moving, producing a current.
• The positively charged holes move with the electric field,
whereas the negatively charged electrons move against
the electric field.
 Majority and Minority Carriers
• In the intrinsic state, the number of free electrons
in Ge or Si is due only to those few electrons in
the valence band that has acquired sufficient
energy from thermal or light sources to break the
covalent bond or to the few impurities that could
not be removed.
• The vacancies left behind in the covalent bonding
structure represent our very limited supply of
holes
 Cont………
• In an n-type material, the number of holes has
not changed significantly from this intrinsic level.
The net result, therefore, is that the number of
electrons far outweighs the number of holes. For
this reason:
• In an n-type material (Fig. 1.11a) the electron is
called the majority carrier and the hole the
minority carrier.
• For the p-type material the number of holes far
outweighs the number of electrons, as shown in
Fig. 1.11b. Therefore:
 Cont…

• In a p-type material the hole is the majority carrier and the

electron is the minority carrier.
• When the fifth electron of a donor atom leaves the parent
atom, the atom remaining acquires a net positive charge:
hence the positive sign in the donor-ion representation.
• For similar reasons, the negative sign appears in the
acceptor ion.
• The n- and p-type materials represent the basic building
blocks of semiconductor devices.
• We will find in the next section that the “joining” of a single
n-type material with a p-type material will result in a
semiconductor element of considerable importance in
electronic systems.
 Cont…..

Figure 1.11 (a) n-type material; (b) p-type material

 Regeneration and Recombination of Electron-Hole Pair

• Free electrons and holes are generated by thermal

energy, which causes covalent bonds to break at a
rate depending strongly on temperature.
• The higher the temperature, the higher will be the
rate of regeneration. On the other hand, for every
'liberated' electron a 'hole' remains in valence band.
• The atom with the 'hole' now has bonding
'deficiency' that demands filling.
• Please note that, for the deficient silicon atom, a net
positive charge has resulted.
 Cont…..
• Also note that in a pure semiconductor, that is an
intrinsic semiconductor, the number of liberated
electrons equals the number of holes.
• The liberated electrons to the conduction band
give up energy and drop into a hole in the
valence band.
• This does not contribute to the current; rather it
is cancellation of charge carriers. And we say
that recombination has occurred.
 Cont…
• Thus, in semiconductors, the process of
recombination and generation of electron-hole
pairs establishes equilibrium at a particular
temperature.
 Cont….

• Therefore at any particular temperature there

exists a certain number of electron-hole pairs that
will govern the conductivity and the resistance of
the material.
• Increasing the temperature of silicon will increase
its conductivity and thus decrease its resistance.
• Thus semiconductors have a negative
Temperature Coefficient of Resistance.
 1.5. PN- Junction Theory

1.5.1. Unbiased PN-Junction

• We have just seen that a crystal of pure silicon can
be turned into a relatively good electrical conductor
by adding an impurity such as Arsenic or
Phosphorus (for an n-type semiconductor) or
Aluminum or Gallium (for a p-type semiconductor).
 1.5.1. Unbiased PN-Junction
• By itself, a single type of semiconductor
material is not very useful.
• But, something interesting happens when a
single semiconductor crystal contains both p-
type and n-type regions.
• Hereafter, we examine the properties of a
single silicon crystal which is half n-type and
half p-type.
 Cont….
• Consider the silicon crystal represented below.

Fig.1.12.PN - Junction
 Cont………
• Half is n-type while the other half is p-type.
• The two types are shown slightly separated, as if
they were two separate crystals.
• In the real world, two such crystals cannot be
joined together usefully.
• Therefore, a practical pn junction can only be
created by inserting different impurities into
different parts of a single crystal
 Cont…..
• When we join the n- and p-type crystals together, an
interesting interaction occurs at the junction.
• The extra electrons in the n region will seek to lose
energy by filling the holes in the p region.
• This leaves an empty zone, or depletion region, around
the junction.
• This action also leaves a small electrical imbalance inside
the crystal.
• The n region is missing some electrons so it has a
positive charge.
• Those electrons have migrated to fill holes in the p
region, which therefore has a negative charge.
 Cont….

• This electrical imbalance amounts to about 0.3

volt in a germanium crystal, and about 0.65 to 0.7
volt in a silicon crystal, known as a barrier
potential.
• This will vary somewhat depending on the
concentration of the impurities on either side of
the junction.
 Cont……

Fig.1.13.PN – Junction (unbiased)

 1.5.2. PN – Junction Biasing

• Forward Biasing
• Suppose now we apply a voltage to the outside ends
of our pn-crystal.
• In the forward biasing case, the negative terminal of
the supply voltage is connected to the N-type end
and the positive terminal is connected to the P-type
material.
• The negative voltage applied to the N-type end
pushes electrons towards the junction, while the
positive voltage at the P-type end pushes holes
towards the junction.
• This has the effect of shrinking the depletion region
 Forward Biasing

• As the applied voltage exceeds the internal

electrical imbalance, current carriers of both
types can cross the junction into the opposite
ends of the crystal.
• Now, electrons in the p-type end are attracted to
the positive applied voltage, while holes in the n-
type end are attracted to the negative applied
voltage.
• This is the condition of forward bias.
 Cont……

Fig.1.15. PN – Junction (Forward biased)

 Reverse Biasing

• Assume that the applied voltage polarities are

reversed.
• In the reverse biasing case, the positive terminal of
the external voltage is applied to the n-type
material and the negative terminal of the supply
voltage is connected to the p-type end.
• In such a case, the positive voltage applied to the n-
type material attracts free electrons towards the
end of the crystal and away from the junction, while
the negative voltage applied to the p-type end
attracts holes away from the junction on this end.
 Cont……
• The conclusion is that due to the decrease of depletion
region resistance, an electrical current can flow through
the junction in the forward direction, but not in the
reverse direction.
• This is the basic property of a semiconductor diode acting
as a closed switch.
• It is important to realize that holes exist only within the
crystal.
• A hole reaching the negative terminal of the crystal is filled
by an electron from the power source and simply
disappears.
• At the positive terminal, the power supply attracts an
electron out of the crystal, leaving a hole behind to move
 Cont….

Fig.1.14.PN – Junction (Reverse biased)

 Cont………
• The result is that all available current carriers are
attracted away from the junction, and the depletion
region grows correspondingly larger and its resistance
increases.
• Therefore, there is no current flow through the crystal
because no current carriers can cross the junction (in
practice, some tiny leakage current can still flow).
• This is known as reverse bias applied to the
semiconductor crystal, which is another basic
property of a semiconductor diode acting as an open
switch