Semiconductors

SEMICONDUCTORS AND SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES
1. Metals They possess very low resistivity or high conductivity.

ρ ~ 10-2.10-8 Ωm, σ ~102. 108 Sm-1
2. Semiconductors They have resistivity or conductivity intermediate to metals and insulators.
ρ ~ 10-5to 106 Ωm, σ ~ 10+5 to 10-6 Sm-1
Types of Semiconductors Types of semiconductors are given below:
(i) Elements Semiconductors These semiconductors are available in natural form, e.g. silicon
and germanium.
(ii) Compound Semiconductors These semiconductors are made by compounding the metals,
e.g. CdS, GaAs, CdSe, InP, anthracene, polyaniline, etc.
3. Insulators They have high resistivity or low conductivity.
ρ ~ 1011 to 1019 Ωm, σ ~ 10-11. to 10-19 Sm-1
4. Energy Band In a crystal due to interatomic interaction, valence electrons of one
atom are shared by more than one atom in the crystal. Now, splitting of energy level
takes place. The collection of these closely spaced energy levels are called an energy
band.
5. Valence Band Valence band are the energy band which includes the energy levels of
the valence electrons.
6. Conduction Band Conduction band is the energy band above the valence band.
7. Energy Band Gap The minimum energy required for shifting electrons from valence
band to conduction band is called energy band gap (Eg ).
Differences between conductor, insulator and semiconductor on the basis of energy bands
are given below
SEMICONDUCTORS SONIA SARKAR

On the basis of purity , semiconductors are of two types:
Intrinsic Semiconductors It is a pure semiconductor without any significant dopant
species present
ne = nh =ni
where , ne and nh are number densities of electrons and holes respectively and ni is
called intrinsic carrier concentration.
An intrinsic semiconductor is also called an undoped semiconductor or i-type
semiconductor
Extrinsic Semiconductors Pure semiconductor when doped with the impurity, it is
known as extrinsic semiconductor.
Extrinsic semiconductors are basically of two types: (a) n-type semiconductors
(b) p-type semiconductors
NOTE: Both the type of semiconductors are electrically neutral.
In n-type semiconductor, majority charge carriers are electrons and minority charge
carriers are holes, i.e. ne> nh .
Here, we dope Si or Ge with a pentavalent element like Arsenic , phosphorus; then four
of its electrons bond with the four silicon neighbours, while fifth remains very weakly
bound to its parent atom.
In p-type semiconductor, majority charge carriers are holes and minority charge
carriers are eletron i.e. nh > ne .
In a p-type semiconductor, doping is done with trivalent impurity atoms, i.e. those
atoms which have three valence electrons in their valence shell.
At equilibrium condition, ne nh = ni2 , LAW OF MASS ACTION
Minimum energy required to create a hole-electron pair, hv > Eg where, Eg is energy band gap.

P N JUNCTION DIODE AND ITS APPLICATION
A p-n junction is an arrangement made by a close contact of n-type semiconductor and
p-type semiconductor.
Formation of Depletion Region in p-n Junction During formation of p-n junction, due
to the concentration gradient across p and n sides, holes diffuse from p-side to n-side (p
—> n) and electrons diffuse from n-side to p-side (n —> p).
This space charge region on either side of the junction together is known as depletion
region.
Depletion region is free from mobile charge carriers. Width of depletion region is of the
order of 10-6 m. The potential difference developed across the depletion region is called
the potential barrier.
semiconductor diode is basically a p-n junction with metallic contacts provided at the
ends for the application of an external voltage.
The direction of arrow indicates the conventional direction of current (when the diode
is under forward bias).
Junction diode is said to be forward bias when the positive terminal of the external
battery is connected less to the p-side and negative terminal to the n-side of the
diode. Junction diode is said to be reverse bias when the negative terminal of the
external battery is connected less to the p-side and positive terminal to the n-side of the
diode.

In forward bias diode operation, the diode act like a closed switch. The voltage source in
the forward bias configuration applies pressure on free electrons in N-region and holes
in P-region toward the depletion region. The free electrons and hole recombine with
the ions near the depletion region and the depletion region width is reduced. Then the
majority carrier can pass the thin depletion region. As the forward bias voltage increase,
the depletion region width decrease and more and more carrier can pass.
in Reverse Bias, the anode terminal of the voltage source is connected to the N-type
pin, and the cathode terminal of the voltage source is connected to the P-type pin of
the diode. In the reverse bias diode operation, the diode act like an open switch. The
anode terminal of the source will draw the free electrons from N-type and the cathode
will draw the hole from P-type. Thus the number of ions in the N-region and P-region
will increase which is the reason for the widening of the depletion region.
V-I CHARACTERISTICS OF THE PN JUNCTION DIODE

RECTIFIER
Diode as Rectifier The process of converting alternating voltage/current into direct
voltage/current is called rectification. Diode is used as a rectifier for converting
alternating current/voltage into direct current/voltage.
There are two ways of using a diode as a rectifier
Diode as a Half-Wave Rectifier Diode conducts corresponding to positive half cycle and
does not conduct during negative half cycle. Hence, AC is converted by diode into
unidirectional pulsating DC. This action is known as half-wave rectification. The diode is
forward biased during the positive half cycle of the AC voltage and reverse biased
during the negative half cycle.
Diode as a Full-Wave Rectifier In the full-wave rectifier, two p-n junction diodes, D1 and
D2 are used. During the positive half cycle, diode D1 is forward biased as it is connected to the
top of the secondary winding while diode D2 is reverse biased as it is connected to the bottom
of the secondary winding. Due to this, diode D1 will conduct acting as a short circuit and D2 will
not conduct acting as an open circuit
During the negative half cycle, the diode D1 is reverse biased and the diode D2 is forward
biased because the top half of the secondary circuit becomes negative and the bottom half of
the circuit becomes positive. Thus in a full wave rectifiers, DC voltage is obtained for both
positive and negative half cycle.
The circuit diagram or full-wave rectifier is shown below:

Optoelectronic Devices
Semiconductor diodes in which carriers are generated by photons(light) , i.e. photo-
excitation, such devices are known as optoelectronic devices.
These are as follows:
(i) Light Emitting Diode (LED) It is a heavily doped p-n junction diode which converts
electrical energy into light energy. When the diode is forward biased, the minority
electrons are sent from p → n while the minority holes are sent from n → p. At the
junction boundary, the concentration of minority carriers increases. The excess minority
carriers at the junction recombine with the majority charges carriers. The energy is
released in the form of photons on recombination. In standard diodes, the energy is
released in the form of heat. But in light-emitting diodes, the energy is released in the
form of photons. We call this phenomenon electroluminescence.
LEDs has the following advantages over conventional incandescent low power lamps
(a) Fast action and no warm up time required
(b) It is nearly monochromatic
(c) Low operational voltage and less power consumed
(d) Fast ON-OFF switching capability.
(ii) Photodiode A photodiode is a special type of junction diode used for detecting optical
signals. It is a reverse biased p-n junction made from a photosensitive material. Its symbol is
Its V-I characteristics is:
We observe from the figure that current in photodiode changes with the change in light
intensity (I) when reverse bias is applied.
(iii) Solar Cell: Solar cell is a p-n junction diode which converts solar energy into electrical
energy. When light reaches the p-n junction, the light photons can easily enter in the junction,
through very thin p-type layer. The light energy, in the form of photons, supplies sufficient
energy to the junction to create a number of electron-hole pairs. The incident light breaks the
thermal equilibrium condition of the junction. The free electrons in the depletion region can
quickly come to the n-type side of the junction.
Similarly, the holes in the depletion can quickly come to the p-type side of the junction. Once,
the newly created free electrons come to the n-type side, cannot further cross the junction
because of barrier potential of the junction.
Similarly, the newly created holes once come to the p-type side cannot further cross the
junction became of same barrier potential of the junction. As the concentration of electrons
becomes higher in one side, i.e. n-type side of the junction and concentration of holes
becomes more in another side, i.e. the p-type side of the junction, the p-n junction will behave
like a small battery cell. A voltage is set up which is known as photo voltage. If we connect a
small load across the junction, there will be a tiny current flowing through it

Its symbol is
The materials used for solar cell are Si and GaAs.

Semiconductors

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Semiconductors

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Semiconductors

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

SEMICONDUCTORS AND SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES

1. Metals They possess very low resistivity or high conductivity.

SEMICONDUCTORS SONIA SARKAR

SEMICONDUCTORS SONIA SARKAR

SEMICONDUCTORS SONIA SARKAR

V-I CHARACTERISTICS OF THE PN JUNCTION DIODE

SEMICONDUCTORS SONIA SARKAR

SEMICONDUCTORS SONIA SARKAR

Its V-I characteristics is:

SEMICONDUCTORS SONIA SARKAR

SEMICONDUCTORS SONIA SARKAR

You might also like