Basic Semiconductor Theory

Session 1 Applied Electronics I

Reta D 1
 Basic Semiconductor Theory Introduction

• Instructor: Reta Degefa Melka (Msc.)

• Email: [email protected],
• Schedule:- Lectures:-Monday 2:00 - 3:45 Am, Tutorial:- Tuesday 3:45 - 5:45 Am
• Office Hours: Wednesday & Thirsday, 9:00– 11:00 pm

Reta D 2
Session 1 Instructor:- Reta D 2
 Basic Semiconductor Theory

• Text Book: Electronic Devices And Circuit Theory, Boylestad & Louis, 7th edition,
• Reference Text: Fundamentals of Microelectronics, Razavi 2006
• Assessment:

No. Assessment Percentage

1. Mid Exam 25%
2. Final Exam 50%
3. Test 10%
4. Assignments 10%
5. Quiz 5%
Total 100%
Reta D 3
Session 1 Instructor:- Reta D 3
 Basic Semiconductor Theory

Matter
• Occupies space

• Has weight

Element
• Basic building block of nature

• Can not be reduced to a simpler substance by chemical means

• Over 100 known elements

Reta D
Session 1 Instructor:- Reta D 4
 Basic Semiconductor Theory Introduction to atomic structure

•Semiconductors are materials

with conductivity between
conductors and insulators.
•Used in electronic devices
such as diodes, transistors, and
integrated circuits.
•Example: Silicon (Si),
Germanium (Ge).

Session 1 Instructor:- Reta D 5

Basic Semiconductor Theory

Reta D 6
Session 1 Instructor:- Reta D 6
 Basic Semiconductor Theory

Nucleus Located at centre of atom

Positively charges particles inside

Protons
Bohr Model of nucleus

an Atom
Neutrons Uncharged particles inside nucleus

Negatively charged particles that orbit

Electrons
nucleus

Reta D 7
Session 1 Instructor:- Reta D 7
 Basic Semiconductor Theory

• Atomic number
• The number of protons in the nucleus of the atom

• Atomic weight
• The mass of an atom

• Determine by the total number of protons and neutrons in the nucleus

8
Session 1 Reta D Instructor:- Reta D 8
 Basic Semiconductor Theory

• Shell
• Electrons orbit here

• Concentric circles around nucleus

• Filled in sequence

• Valence shell
• The outer most shell

• Valence
• The number of electrons contained in the outer shell

Reta D 9
Session 1 Instructor:- Reta D 9
 Basic Semiconductor Theory

Max Number of
Electrons in shell

• The maximum number of electrons (Ne)

that can exist in each shell of an atom
can be calculated by the formula,

• Ne = 2n2

Reta D 10
Session 1 Instructor:- Reta D 10
 Conductors
• A conductor is a material that easily conducts electrical current.

• Materials that contains a large number of free electrons.

Materials used • Most metals are good conductors.

in Electronics • The best conductors are single-element materials, such as silver (Ag), copper (Cu), gold (Au), and aluminum (Al),
which are characterized by atoms with only one valence electron very loosely bound to the atom.

• Conductors Insulators

• An insulator is a material that does not conduct electrical current under normal conditions.
• Insulators
• Most good insulators are compounds rather than single-element materials and have very high resistivity.

• Semi conductors • Valence electrons are tightly bound to the atoms; therefore, there are very few free electrons in an insulator.

• Examples of insulators are mica, glass, rubber, plastics, and quartz.

Semi conductors

• A semiconductor is a material that is between conductors and insulators in its ability to conduct
electrical current.

• A semiconductor in its pure (intrinsic) state is neither a good conductor nor a good insulator.

• Single-element semiconductors are antimony (Sb), arsenic (As), astatine (At), boron (B), polonium
Reta D 11
(Po), tellurium (Te), silicon (Si), and germanium (Ge).
 Basic Semiconductor Theory Atomic Structure Review

•Atoms consist of protons, neutrons, and electrons.

•Electrons orbit the nucleus in discrete energy levels.
•Outer-shell electrons (valence electrons) determine
material properties.

Session 1 Instructor:- Reta D 12

 Basic Semiconductor Theory Energy Bands in Semiconductors
 Silicon Structure:
o Each silicon atom has 4 valence electrons, forming covalent bonds in a crystal lattice.
o At room temperature, thermal energy causes some electrons to break free, leaving
behind holes (positive charge carriers).
 Energy Band Theory:
o Valence Band: The energy band containing the electrons involved in
bonding.
o Conduction Band: The energy band where free electrons can move
and conduct electricity.
o Band Gap (Eg): The energy difference between the valence band and
conduction band.
 Material Types Based on Band Gap:
o Conductors: No bandgap, electrons flow freely.
o Insulators: Large bandgap, electrons can’t jump to the conduction
band.
o Semiconductors: Small bandgap, electrons can move to the
conduction band with small energy input (e.g., heat or light).
Example bandgap values:
o Silicon (Si): 1.1 eV Read Band theory of Solids.pdf
o Germanium (Ge): 0.66 eV

Session 1 Instructor:- Reta D 13

Energy diagram for the three type of materials
Reta D 14
 Basic Semiconductor Theory Classification of Materials by Band Gap

Material Type Band Gap Energy Examples

Conductor No band gap Copper, Silver
Semiconductor Small band gap (0.1-2 eV) Silicon, Germanium
Insulator Large band gap (>3 eV) Glass, Rubber

Session 1 Instructor:- Reta D 15

 Basic Semiconductor Theory Comparison

• Semi-Conductor Atom vs Conductor Atom

• The core includes everything except the valence electrons.

• The core of the silicon (semi conductor) atom has a net charge of +4 (14 protons - 10 electrons)

• The core of the copper (conductor) atom has a net charge of +1 (29 protons - 28 electrons)

Session 1 Instructor:- Reta D 16

 Basic Semiconductor Theory Introduction to atomic structure

Covalent Bonding
• Example

• A silicon (Si) atom with its

four valence electrons
shares an electron with
each of its four neighbours.

• This effectively creates eight

shared valence electrons for
each atom and produces a
state of chemical stability.

Session 1 Instructor:- Reta D 17

 Basic Semiconductor Theory Intrinsic Silicon

• Energy band diagram for an

unexcited atom in a pure
(intrinsic) silicon crystal.

Session 2 Instructor:- Reta D 18

 Basic Semiconductor Theory Conduction Electrons and Holes

Conduction Electrons and Holes

• Hole
• When an electron jumps to the conduction band, a vacancy is left in the valence

band within the crystal.

• Electron-Hole Pair
• For every electron raised to the conduction band by external energy, there is one

hole left in the valence band, creating what is called an electron-hole pair.

• Recombination
• occurs when a conduction-band electron loses energy and falls back into a hole in

the valence band.

Session 2 Instructor:- Reta D 19

Basic Semiconductor Theory Conduction Electron and Holes

Session 2 Instructor:- Reta D 20

 Basic Semiconductor Theory Conduction Electron and Holes

Determine the density of electrons in silicon at T = 300 K (room temperature) and T = 600 K ??

Reta D 21
Session 2 Instructor:- Reta D 21
 Basic Semiconductor Theory Intrinsic Semiconductors

Chemically pure semiconductors in which electrical

conduction is due to thermally excited electrons and holes are
known as intrinsic semiconductors. For eg. Germanium and
silicon
The electrons reaching the conduction band, due to thermal
excitation leave equal number of holes in valence band. Hence
number of free electrons in conduction band is always equal to
the number of holes in the valence band.

Effect of Temperature on Semiconductors

•At absolute zero (0K), semiconductors behave as Si
insulators.
•With increasing temperature, electrons gain energy and
jump to the conduction band.
•Higher temperatures increase carrier concentration,
improving conductivity.

Reta D
Session 2 Instructor:- Reta D 22
 Basic Semiconductor Theory Electron and Hole Current

• When a voltage is applied across a piece of intrinsic silicon, the thermally generated free electrons in the

conduction band, which are free to move randomly in the crystal structure, are now easily attracted toward the

positive end.

• This movement of free electrons is one type of current in a semi conductive material and is called electron

current.
Session 2 Instructor:- Reta D 23
Basic Semiconductor Theory Electron and Hole Current

Session 2 Instructor:- Reta D 24

 Basic Semiconductor Theory Intrinsic Silicon

• Pure semiconductors
• thermal vibration results in some bonds being broken generating free
electrons which move about
• these leave behind holes which accept electrons from adjacent atoms and
therefore also move about
• electrons are negative charge carriers
• holes are positive charge carriers
• At room temperatures there are few charge carriers
• pure semiconductors are poor conductors
• this is intrinsic conduction

Session 2 Instructor:- Reta D 25

 Basic Semiconductor Theory Doping: Modifying Semiconductor Properties

• Doping
• Since semiconductors are generally poor conductors, their conductivity can be
drastically increased by the controlled addition of impurities to the intrinsic
(pure) semi conductive material.

• This process increases the number of current carriers (electrons or holes).

• The two categories of impurities are

• n-type and

• p-type.

Session 2 Instructor:- Reta D 26

 Basic Semiconductor Theory n-type and p-type Semiconductor

By adding impurities into the Si crystal that donate additional electrons to the Conduction
Band. we will then have n > p. The semiconductor is then called n-type. The Fermi level
must be closer to than , so that

It is also possible to have an excess of holes

in the Valance Band over electrons in the
Conduction Band, for example, by adding
impurities that remove electrons from the
Valance band and there by generate holes.
In that case is closer to than to . A
semiconductor in which p > n is called a p-
Energy band for (a) intrinsic, (b) n-type, and (c) p-type
semiconductors.
type semiconductor.
In all cases, .

Session 2 Instructor:- Reta D 27

 Basic Semiconductor Theory

• The dominant charge carriers in a doped semiconductor (e.g. electrons in n-type material) are
called majority charge carriers. Other type are minority charge carriers
• The overall doped material is electrically neutral

Session 2 Instructor:- Reta D 28

 Basic Semiconductor Theory Doping: Modifying Semiconductor Properties

The electronic properties and the conductivity of an

intrinsic semiconductor can be changed in a controlled
manner by adding very small quantities of other elements
called dopants.
This can be achieved by adding impurities of III or IV
group elements to the melt and then allowing it to solidify
into the crystal.
This process is called doping and these doped
semiconductors are called extrinsic semiconductors.

Session 2 Instructor:- Reta D 29

 Basic Semiconductor Theory N-Type Semi Conductor

• To increase the number of conduction-band

electrons in intrinsic silicon, pentavalent
impurity atoms are added.

• These are atoms with five valence electrons

such as arsenic (As), phosphorus (P),
bismuth (Bi), and antimony (Sb).

Donor Atom

Session 2 Instructor:- Reta D 30

 Basic Semiconductor Theory
By introducing small amounts of impurities into a pure Si crystal, it is possible to obtain a semiconductor in
which the concentration of carriers of one polarity is much in excess of the other type. Such semiconductors
are referred to as extrinsic semiconductors.

 If we add very small amount i.e one impurity atom for every million
host atoms because we wish to surround each impurity atom by
millions of Si atoms,
 thereby forcing the impurity atoms to bond with Si atoms in the same
diamond crystal structure.
 Arsenic has five valence electrons, whereas Si has four.
 Thus when an As atom bonds with four Si atoms, it has one electron
left unbonded. It cannot find a bond to go into, so it is left orbiting
around the As atom.
Arsenic-doped Si crystal.
 The As+ ionic center with an electron e− orbiting it is just like a
hydrogen atom in a silicon environment.

The four valence electrons of As allow it to bond just like Si, but the fifth electron is left orbiting the As site. The
energy required to release the free fifth electron into the CB is very small.

Session 2 Instructor:- Reta D 31

 Basic Semiconductor Theory N-Type Majority and Minority Carriers

• Most of the current carriers are electrons, silicon (or germanium) doped with pentavalent
atoms is an n-type semiconductor (the n stands for the negative charge on an electron).
The electrons are called the majority carriers in n-type material.

• Although the majority of current carriers in n-type material are electrons, there are also a
few holes that are created when electron-hole pairs are thermally generated. These holes
are not produced by the addition of the pentavalent impurity atoms. Holes in an n-type
material are called minority carriers.

Session 2 Instructor:- Reta D 32

 Basic Semiconductor Theory
For Hydrogen in free space, the energy required to remove the electron from its ground state (at n = 1) to far away from the
positive center would have been given by with n = 1. The binding energy of the electron in the H atom is thus

For, Crystal environment, we must use instead of and the effective mass
of the electron in the silicon crystal.

Thus, the binding energy of the electron to the site in the Si crystal is

With = 11.9 and for silicon, we find , which is comparable with the
average thermal energy of atomic vibrations at room temperature,
∼3kT (∼0.07 eV). Thus, the fifth valence electron can be readily freed by
thermal vibrations of the Si lattice. The electron will then be “free” in the
semiconductor or, in other words, it will be in the CB. Because the As
atom donates an electron into the CB, it is called a donor atom.
Energy band diagram for an n-type Si doped with
1 ppm As. There are donor energy levels () just
below Ec around As+ sites

Session 2 Instructor:- Reta D 33

 Basic Semiconductor Theory Doping: Modifying Semiconductor Properties
N-type Semiconductors:
P-type Semiconductors:  Dopant: Elements with 5 valence electrons
Dopant: Elements with 3 valence electrons
(e.g., Phosphorus, Arsenic).
(e.g., Boron, Gallium).  Extra electrons increase conductivity.
Creates "holes" in the structure.  Majority Carriers: Electrons.
 Majority Carriers: Holes.
 Minority Carriers: Holes.
 Minority Carriers: Electrons.

Session 1 Instructor:- Reta D 34

 Basic Semiconductor Theory

P-Type Semi Conductor

• To increase the number of holes in

intrinsic silicon, trivalent impurity
atoms are added.

• These are atoms with three valence

electrons such as boron (B), indium
(In), and gallium (Ga).
Acceptor Atom

Session 2 Instructor:- Reta D 35

 Basic Semiconductor Theory
Doping a Si crystal with a trivalent atom (valency of 3) such as B, Al, Ga, will result in a p-type Si crystal. We
consider doping Si with small amounts of B as shown in Figure 5.11a.

 Boron (B) has only three valence electrons, when

it shares them with four neighboring Si atoms,
one of the bonds has a missing electron, which of
course is a hole.

 A nearby electron can tunnel into this hole and

displace the hole further away from the boron
atom.

 As the hole moves away, it gets attracted by the

negative charge left behind on the boron atom
(a) Creation of hole due to adding trivalent atom and therefore takes an orbit around the B− ion
(B) with Si crystal.
(b) The hole orbits around the B− site by the
tunneling of electrons from neighboring
bonds
Session 2 Instructor:- Reta D 36
 Basic Semiconductor Theory
The binding energy of this hole to the B− ion can be calculated using the hydrogenic atom analogy as in the n-type
Si case. This binding energy turns out to be very small, ∼0.05 eV, so at room temperature the thermal vibrations of
the lattice can free the hole away from the B− site. A free hole, we recall, exists in the VB.

 There are acceptor energy levels just above around B−

sites.

 These acceptor levels accept electrons from the VB and

therefore create holes in the VB.

 The escape of the hole from the B− site involves the B atom
accepting an electron from a neighboring Si–Si bond (from
the VB)
 Which effectively results in the hole being displaced away
and its eventual escape to freedom in the VB.

 The B atom introduced into the Si crystal therefore acts as an

electron acceptor and, because of this, it is called an
Energy band diagram for a p-type Si doped with acceptor impurity.
1 ppm B.
Session 2 Instructor:- Reta D 37
 Diodes

Introduction
• This course adopts a top-down approach to the subject and so far
we have taken a ‘black-box’ view of active components (such as
op-amps)

Session 3 Instructor:- Reta D 38

 Diodes
Diodes
• An ideal diode passing electricity in one direction but not the other

Session 3 Instructor:- Reta D 39

 Diodes

• One application of diodes is in rectification

• the example below shows a half-wave rectifier

• In practice, no real diode has ideal characteristics but semiconductor pn

junctions make good diodes
• To understand such devices we need to look at some properties of materials

Session 3 Instructor:- Reta D 40

 Diodes pn Junctions
pn Junctions
• When p-type and n-type materials are joined this forms a pn junction
• majority charge carriers on each side diffuse across the junction where they
combine with (and remove) charge carriers of the opposite polarity
• hence around the junction there are few free charge carriers and we have a
depletion layer (also called a space-charge layer)

Session 3 Instructor:- Reta D 41

 Diodes pn Junctions

P-N junctions –diodes –are formed by joining P-type and N-type semiconductors
P-type on one side of the junction:- Majority carriers: holes–mobile positive charge
N-type on the other :- Majority carriers: electrons–mobile negative charge
At the junction:
Holes want to diffuse across into the N-type material
Electrons want to diffuse across into the P-type material
Mobile holes want to diffuse from p-type to n-type
Mobile electrons want to diffuse from n-type to p-type
Space-charge layer or depletion region is created
Diffusion drives negative charge one way, positive charge the other

Session 3 Instructor:- Reta D 42

 Diodes

The PN Junction
• When you take a block of silicon and dope part of it with a trivalent impurity
and the other part with a pentavalent impurity, a boundary called the PN
junction is formed between the resulting p-type and n-type portions.

43
Session 3 Instructor:- Reta D 43
 Diodes

The PN Junction • The basic silicon structure at the instant

of junction formation showing only the
majority and minority carriers.

• Free electrons in the n region near the p-

n junction begin to diffuse across the
junction and fall into holes near the
junction in the p region.

44

Session 3 Instructor:- Reta D 44

 Diodes

The PN Junction • For every electron that diffuses across the

junction and combines with a hole, a positive
charge is left in the n region and a negative charge
is created in the p region, forming a barrier
potential.

• This action continues until the voltage of the

barrier repels further diffusion.

• The blue arrows between the positive and

negative charges in the depletion region represent
45
the electric field.
Session 3 Instructor:- Reta D 45
Reta D 46
 Diodes

Formation of The Depletion Region

• When the pn junction is formed, the n region loses free electrons as they diffuse across the
junction.

• This creates a layer of positive charges (pentavalent ions) near the junction. As the
electrons move across the junction, the p region loses holes as the electrons and holes
combine.

• This creates a layer of negative charges (trivalent ions) near the junction. These two layers
of positive and negative charges form the depletion region.

47
Session 3 Instructor:- Reta D 47
 Diodes

Energy Diagrams for the PN Junction

• At the instant of junction formation

48

Session 3 Instructor:- Reta D 48

 Diodes

Energy Diagrams for the PN

Junction

• At equilibrium

49

Session 3 Instructor:- Reta D 49

 Diodes

• The diffusion of positive charge in one

direction and negative charge in the other
produces a charge imbalance
• this results in a potential barrier across the
junction

Session 3 Instructor:- Reta D 50

 Diodes

• Potential barrier
• the barrier opposes the flow of majority charge carriers and only a small number
have enough energy to surmount it
• this generates a small diffusion current
• the barrier encourages the flow of minority carriers and any that come close to it will
be swept over
• this generates a small drift current
• for an isolated junction these two currents must balance each other and the net
current is zero

Session 3 Instructor:- Reta D 51

 Diodes Forward bias
• if the p-type side is made positive with respect to the n-type side the height of the barrier is
reduced
• more majority charge carriers have sufficient energy to surmount it
• the diffusion current therefore increases while the drift current remains the same
• there is thus a net current flow across the junction which increases with the applied voltage

Session 3 Instructor:- Reta D 52

 Diodes Reverse bias
• if the p-type side is made negative with respect to the n-type side the height of the barrier is
increased
• the number of majority charge carriers that have sufficient energy to surmount it rapidly
decreases
• the diffusion current therefore vanishes while the drift current remains the same
• thus the only current is a small leakage current caused by the (approximately constant) drift
current
• the leakage current is usually negligible (a few nA)

Session 3 Instructor:- Reta D 53

 Diodes

• Currents in a pn junction

Session 3 Instructor:- Reta D 54

 Diodes Forward and reverse currents

• pn junction current is given approximately by

 eV 
𝑘=1.38×10−23𝐽/𝐾 is Boltzmann’s
I I s  exp  1
 kT 
e=1.6×10−19𝐶 is the charge of an
constant

At 𝑇=300𝐾, 𝑉𝑡h≈26𝑚V
electron

𝐼𝑠 is the saturation current

• where I is the current, e is the electronic charge, V is Typically
the applied e.g., 𝐼𝑠≈35𝑝A
voltage,
very small, k is
Boltzmann’s constant, T is the absolute temperature and  (Greek letter eta) is
a constant in the range 1 to 2 determined by the junction material,
• for most purposes we can assume  = 1

Session 3 Instructor:- Reta D 55

 Diodes Conti…

• Thus  eV 
I I s  exp  1
 kT 

at room temperature e/kT ~ 40 V-1

• If V > +0.1 V
 eV 
I I s  exp  I s exp 40V 
 kT 

• If V < -0.1 V
I Is 0  1  Is

• IS is the reverse saturation current

Session 3 Instructor:- Reta D 56

 Diodes
Semiconductor Diodes

• Forward and reverse currents

Session 3 Instructor:- Reta D 57

 Diodes Silicon diodes

• generally have a turn-on voltage of about 0.5 V

• generally have a conduction voltage of about 0.7 V

• have a breakdown voltage that depends on their construction

• perhaps 75 V for a small-signal diode

• perhaps 400 V for a power device

• have a maximum current that depends on their construction

• perhaps 100 mA for a small-signal diode

• perhaps many amps for a power device

Session 3 Instructor:- Reta D 58

 Diodes
• Turn-on and breakdown voltages for a silicon device

Session 3 Instructor:- Reta D 59

 Diodes

By what factor does the current change if the voltages changes by 120 mV?

Session 3 Instructor:- Reta D 60

 Basic Semiconductor Theory Reverse Breakdown

The breakdown phenomenon in PN junctions occurs by one of two possible mechanisms: “Zener effect” and “avalanche
effect.”

Shockley equation does not describe reverse-breakdown behavior

Typical Breakdown voltages are in the range of a few volts to hundreds of volts
Typically, we want to avoid exceeding the breakdown voltage
However, one class of diodes is designed to be used in breakdown: Zener diodes

Session 2 Instructor:- Reta D 61

 Diodes Zener diodes & Schottky diodes
• uses the relatively constant reverse breakdown voltage to produce
a voltage reference
• breakdown voltage is called the Zener voltage, VZ
• output voltage of circuit shown is equal to VZ despite variations
in input voltage V
• a resistor is used to limit the current in the diode

Session 3 Instructor:- Reta D 62

 Diodes

Schottky diodes
• formed by the junction between a layer of metal (e.g. aluminium) and a semiconductor
• action relies only on majority charge carriers
• much faster in operation than a pn junction diode
• has a low forward voltage drop of about 0.25 V
• used in the design of high-speed logic gates

Session 3 Instructor:- Reta D 63

 Diodes

Session 3 Instructor:- Reta D 64