Module 5

Part 1- Semiconductor Devices

Semiconductor
Semiconductors are those substances whose conductivity lies between
conductors and insulators. e.g., germanium, silicon, carbon etc.
Types of Semiconductor
(i) Intrinsic Semiconductor A semiconductor in its pure state is called intrinsic
semiconductor.
(ii) Extrinsic Semiconductor A semiconductor doped with suitable impurity to
increase its impurity, is called extrinsic semiconductor.
On the basis of doped impurity extrinsic semiconductors are of two types
(i) n-type Semiconductor Extrinsic semiconductor doped with pentavalent
impurity like As, Sb, Bi, etc. in which negatively charged electrons works
as charge carrier, is called n-type semiconductor. Every pentavalent
impurity atom donate one electron in the crystal, therefore it is called a
donor atom.
(ii) p -type Semiconductor Extrinsic semiconductor doped with trivalent
impurity like Al, B, etc, in which positively charged holes works as charge
carriers, is called p-type semiconductor. Every trivalent impurity atom
have a tendency to accept one electron, therefore it is called an acceptor
atom
Semiconductors
Conductivity in between those of metals and insulators.
Conductivity can be varied over orders of magnitude by changes in
temperature, optical excitation, and impurity content (doping).
Generally found in column IV and neighboring columns of the periodic table.
Elemental semiconductors: Si, Ge.
Impurities
Can be added in precisely controlled amounts.
Can change the electronic and optical properties.
Used to vary conductivity over wide ranges.
Can even change conduction process from conduction by negative charge
carriers to positive charge carriers and vice versa.
Controlled addition of impurities doping.
Energy Gap
Distinguishing feature among metals, insulators, and semiconductors.
Determines the absorption/emission spectra, the leakage current, and the
intrinsic conductivity.
Unique value for each semiconductor (e.g. 1.12 eV for Si, 1.42 eV for GaAs)
function of temperature.

Semiconductor devices are electronic components that exploit the electronic properties
of semiconductor materials, principally silicon, germanium, and gallium arsenide, as well
as organic semiconductors. Semiconductor devices have replaced thermionic devices (vacuum
tubes) in most applications. They use electronic conduction in the solid state as opposed to
the gaseous state or thermionic emission in a high vacuum.

Semiconductor devices are manufactured both as single discrete devices and as integrated
circuits (ICs), which consist of a numberfrom a few (as low as two) to billionsof devices
manufactured and interconnected on a single semiconductor substrate, or wafer. Semiconductor
materials are useful because their behaviour can be easily manipulated by the addition of
impurities, known as doping. Semiconductor conductivity can be controlled by the introduction of
an electric or magnetic field, by exposure to light or heat, or by the mechanical deformation of
a doped monocrystalline grid; thus, semiconductors can make excellent sensors. Current
conduction in a semiconductor occurs via mobile or "free" electrons and holes, collectively known
as charge carriers. Doping a semiconductor such as silicon with a small amount of impurity
atoms, such as phosphorus or boron, greatly increases the number of free electrons or holes
within the semiconductor. When a doped semiconductor contains excess holes it is called "p-
type", and when it contains excess free electrons it is known as "n-type", where p (positive
forholes) or n (negative for electrons) is the sign of the charge of the majority mobile charge
carriers. The semiconductor material used in devices is doped under highly controlled conditions
in a fabrication facility, or fab, to control precisely the location and concentration of p- and n-type
dopants. The junctions which form where n-type and p-type semiconductors join together are
called pn junctions.

P-N Junction

A pn junction is a boundary or interface between two types of semiconductor material, p-

type and n-type, inside a single crystal of semiconductor. It is created by doping. pn junctions
are elementary "building blocks" of most semiconductor electronic devices such
as diodes, transistors, solar cells,LEDs, and integrated circuits; they are the active sites where
the electronic action of the device takes place. P-n junctions are formed by joining n-type
and p-type semiconductor materials, as shown below. Since the n-type region has a high
electron concentration and the p-type a high hole concentration, electrons diffuse from
the n-type side to the p-type side.

Depletion Layer and barrier Potential

Depletion region or depletion layer is a region in a semiconductor where no
mobile charge carriers are present. Depletion layer acts like a barrier that
opposes the flow of electrons from n-side and holes from p-side. consider p-
type and n-type semiconductor when they are joined together. We know
that holes are majority carriers in p-type, and electrons are majority carriers
in n-type materials. When the two types of semiconductor materials are
joined together, the electrons from the n-type material diffuse into p-type
material and combines with holes. This creates a layer of negative ions
near the junction in p-type material. Negative ions are formed because the
trivalent impurities ( e.g. Aluminum) now has an extra electron from the n-
type material. Similarly the holes from the p-type material diffuse into n-
type material resulting in a layer of positive ions in the n-type
material. These two layers of positive and negative ions form the
depletion region. The term depletion refers to the fact that the
region near the junction is depleted of their respective majority
charge carriers.

barrier potential

the voltage across the depletion layer. Potential barrier(Which opposes the further motion
of charges) is formed.The barrier would be very thin.We can increase or decrease this by reverse and
forward bias of the circuit respectively.This voltage is built into the pit junction because it
is the difference of potential between the ions on both sides of the junction. It
equals approximately 0.7 V for a silicon diode.
Forward and Reverse Biasing
When the positive terminal of the battery is connected to the p-type material
and the negative terminal of the battery is connected to the n-type material,
such a connection is called forward bias.
When the diode is connected in forward bias, the electric field due to external
voltage source and the electric field due to depletion region are in the opposite
direction. This reduces the net electric field in the junction and the electrons can
now pass from n-region to the p-region. As more electrons now flows into the
depletion region, the number of positive ions is reduced. Same discussion can
also be applied to holes. With the reduction in net electric field, the holes can
now flow into the n-region. As the holes pass through the depletion region, the
number of negative ions also decreases. Hence the the width of depletion region
decreases due to reduction in the number of positive and negative ions.

When the positive terminal of the battery is connected to n-type material and
the negative terminal of the battery is connected to p-type material, such a
connection is called reverse bias.

hen the diode is reverse biased, the electric field due to the battery and the
electric field of the depletion region are in the same direction. This makes the
electric field even stronger than that before reverse bias was applied. The
electrons from the n-type material (majority carriers) now faces a stronger
electric field and it becomes even more difficult for them to move towards the p-
type material. Same discussion also applies to holes. The holes from the p-type
material (majority carriers) now faces a stronger electric field and it becomes
even more difficult to move from p-type to n-type material.Hence we conclude
that there is no flow of current due to majority carriers when the diode is reverse
biased.
When the positive terminal of the battery is connected to the n-type
semiconductor, the electrons from the n-type semiconductor are quickly drawn
towards the positive terminal. (Refer the above figure). This reduces the number
of majority carriers in n-type semiconductor. As the number of electrons reduces,
additional positive ions are created. Similarly the holes from the p-type
semiconductor are attracted towards the negative terminal of the battery. This
reduces the number of holes in the p-type semiconductor and hence additional
negative ions are created in the p-type material. Hence we conclude that as the
number of positive and negative ions increases, the width of the depletion
region increases.

Power semiconductor devices

Power Diodes
A power diode has a P-I-N structure as compared to the signal diode having a P-N
structure. Here, I (in P-I-N) stands for intrinsic semiconductor layer to bear the
high-level reverse voltage as compared to the signal diode (n- , drift region layer
shown in Fig. 2). However, the drawback of this intrinsic layer is that it adds
noticeable resistance during forward-biased condition. Thus, power diode
requires a proper cooling arrangement for handling large power dissipation.
Power diodes are used in numerous applications including rectifier, voltage
clamper, voltage multiplier and etc. Power diode symbol is the same as of the
signal diode as shown in Fig.

Other features that are incorporated in the power diode letting it handle larger
power are:
(a) Use of guard rings
(b) Coating of Silicon Dioxide layer
Guard rings are of p-type that prevents their depletion layer merge with the
depletion layer of the reverse-biased p-n junction. The guard rings prevent the
radius of the curvature of the depletion layer boundary to become too narrow
which increases the breakdown strength. Coating of SiO2 layer helps in limiting
the electric field at the surface of the power diode.
If thickness of lightly doped I layer (n- layer) > depletion layer width at
breakdown Non-punch through power diode. (This means depletion layer has
not punched through the lightly-doped n-layer.) If thickness of I layer < depletion
layer width at breakdown Punch through power diode.
Characteristics of Power Diode
The two types of characteristics of a power diode
(i) Amp-volt characteristics (i-v characteristics)
(ii) Turn-off characteristics (or reverse-recovery characteristics)
i-v characteristics
Cut-in voltage is the value of the minimum voltage for V A (anode voltage) to
make the diode works in forward conducting mode. Cut-in voltage of signal diode
is 0.7 V while in power diode it is 1 V. So, its typical forward conduction drop is
larger. Under forward-bias condition, signal diode current increases
exponentially and then increases linearly. In the case of the power diode, it
almost increases linearly with the applied voltage as all the layers of P-I-N
remain saturated with minority carriers under forward bias. Thus, a high value of
current produces results in voltage drop which mask the exponential part of the
curve. In reverse-bias condition, small leakage current flows due to minority
carriers until the avalanche breakdown appears

Reverse-Recovery Characteristics
After the forward diode comes to null, the diode continues to conduct in the
opposite direction because of the presence of stored charges in the depletion
layer and the p or n-layer. The diode current flows for a reverse-recovery time
trr. It is the time between the instant forward diode current becomes zero and
the instant reverse-recovery current decays to 25 % of its reverse maximum
value.
Time Ta : Charges stored in the depletion layer removed.
Time Tb : Charges from the semiconductor layer is removed.
Shaded area in Fig 4.a represents stored charges QR which must be removed
during reverse-recovery time trr.
Power loss across diode = vf * if (shown in Fig. 4.c)
As shown, major power loss in the diode occurs during the period tb.
Recovery can be abrupt or smooth as shown in Fig. 5. To know it quantitatively,
we can use the S factor.
Ratio Tb/Ta : Softness factor or S-factor.
S-factor: measure of the voltage transient that occurs during the time the diode
recovers.
S-factor = 1 low oscillatory reverse-recovery process. (Soft recovery diode)
S-factor <1 large oscillatory over voltage (snappy-recovery diode or fast-
recovery diode).
Power diodes now exist with forward current rating of 1A to several thousand
amperes with reverse-recovery voltage ratings of 50V to 5000V or more.
 Types Of Diodes
1. General purpose diode
2. Fast recovery diode
3. Schottky diode
General purpose diode
Standard or general purpose diodes have a comparatively high reverse recovery
time, when compared to other diodes. Due to this reason they are used in
applications which are not time sensitive and generally run on low speeds.
Usually the reverse recovery time for general purpose diodes varies between 20
micro seconds to 30 micro seconds which is quite a lot. Typical low speed
applications for general purpose diodes include the power diode being used as a
rectifier or in a converter, where the frequency input is quite low.
Fast Recovery Diodes:
As their name suggests, these are the type of power diodes which have a
relatively faster reverse recovery time, which usually varies from 2 micro
seconds to 5 micro seconds. With such a fast recovery time, they can be easily
used in high speed switching applications where the time is of great importance.
Due to their property of fast reverse recovery, they are also comparatively
expensive as compared to the general purpose diodes.
Schottky Diodes:
Sometimes we face problem in charge storage in a pn-junction. This thing can be
minimized to a great extent in a Schottky diode. A Schottky diode sets a barrier
potential, i.e. a metal layer is deposited on n-type silicon.
As the rectification depends upon the majority charge carriers, so this layer
prevents the recombination of these majority charge carriers, and a fast recovery
can also be achieved in this way.
 A Schottky diode, also known as a hot carrier diode, is a semiconductor
diode which has a low forward voltage drop and a very fast switching action.
There is a small voltage drop across the diode terminals when current flows
through a diode. A normal diode will have a voltage drop between 0.6 to 1.7
volts, while a Schottky diode voltage drop is usually between 0.15 and 0.45 volts.
This lower voltage drop provides better system efficiency and higher switching
speed. In a Schottky diode, a semiconductormetal junction is formed between a
semiconductor and a metal, thus creating a Schottky barrier. The N-type
semiconductor acts as the cathode and the metal side acts as the anode of the
diode. This Schottky barrier results in both a low forward voltage drop and very
fast switching.