Physics Project

Investigator
y
Project
Semiconductor
s
- Samarth Mathur
XII-S1
Contents
1. Acknowledgement
2. Introduction
3. Intrinsic Semiconductor
4. Extrinsic Semiconductor
5. p-n Junction
Formation
Depletion Layer
6. Forward Biasing
7. Reverse Biasing
8. Certificate
Acknowledgement
I would like to express my
special thanks of gratitude
to my teacher
“Mrs. Uzma Khan”,
who gave me the
golden opportunity to do
this
wonderful project of
Chemistry on “Methods of
Purification of Water”,
who also helped me in
completing my project. I
came to know about so
many things I am really
thankful to them.
Secondly I would also
like to
thank my parents and
friends who helped me a
lot in finalizing this
project
within the limited time
frame.
I would like to express my
special thanks of gratitude
to my teacher
“Mrs. Uzma Khan”,
who gave me the
golden opportunity to do
this
wonderful project of
Chemistry on “Methods of
Purification of Water”,
who also helped me in
completing my project. I
came to know about so
many things I am really
thankful to them.
Secondly I would also
like to
thank my parents and
friends who helped me a
lot in finalizing this
project
within the limited time
frame.
I would like to express my special gratitude to
my teacher “Mr. Rajesh Pal”, who gave me the
golden opportunity to do this wonderful
project of Physics on “Semiconductors”, who
also helped me in completing my project. I
came to know about so many things I am
really thankful to him.
Secondly I would also like to thank my

parents and friends who helped me a lot in
finalizing this project within the limited time
frame.
Samarth Mathur XII-S1
Introduction
Semiconductors are materials that have
electrical conductivity between conductors
such as most metals and non-conductors or
insulators like ceramics. How much electricity a
semiconductor can conduct depends on the
material and its mixture content.
Semiconductors can be insulators at low
temperatures and conductors at high
temperatures. As they are used in the
fabrication of electronic devices,
semiconductors play an important role in our
lives.
Intrinsic Semiconductors
Semiconductors that are chemically pure, in
other words, free from impurities are termed as
intrinsic semiconductors. The number of holes
and electrons is therefore determined by the
properties of the material itself instead of the
impurities. In intrinsic semiconductors, the
number of excited electrons is equal to the
number of holes; n = p.
They are also termed as undoped

semiconductors or i-type semiconductors.
Silicon and germanium are examples of i-type
semiconductors. These elements belong to the
IVth Group of the periodic table and their
atomic numbers are 14 and 32 respectively.
Extrinsic Semiconductors
Extrinsic Semiconductor is a type of
semiconductor material that has been doped,
with impurities to alter its electrical
conductivity. The deliberate addition of an
impurity in a semiconductor is achieved
through doping.
The dopant has to be such that the original

structural lattice of the semiconductor is not
disrupted. A necessary condition for adding the
impurity is that the size of the dopant atom
must be equal to the size of the atom of the
original material.
In an extrinsic semiconductor, there are two

types of dopants used:
1.Pentavalent (valency 5): arsenic,
antimony, phosphorus, etc.
2.Trivalent (valency 3): indium,
boron, aluminium, etc.
The pentavalent and trivalent elements used for
doping also give us two different types of
extrinsic semiconductors: n-type extrinsic
semiconductors and p-type extrinsic
semiconductors
p-n Junction
In a semiconductor, the P-N junction is created
by the method of doping. The p-side or the
positive side of the semiconductor has an excess
of holes, and the n-side or the negative side has
an excess of electrons. The process of doping is
explained in further detail in the next section.
Formation
As we know, if we use different semiconductor

materials to make a P-N junction, there will be a
grain boundary that would inhibit the movement of
electrons from one side to the other by scattering the
electrons and holes and thus, we use the process of
doping. We will understand the process of doping
with the help of this example. Let us consider a thin
p-type silicon semiconductor sheet. If we add a small
amount of pentavalent impurity to this, a part of the
p-type Si will get converted to n-type silicon. This
sheet will now contain both the p-type region and
the n-type region and a junction between these two
regions. The processes that follow after forming a P-
N junction are of two types – diffusion and drift.
There is a difference in the concentration of holes
and electrons at the two sides of a junction. The
holes from the p-side diffuse to the n-side, and the
electrons from the n-side diffuse to the p-side. These
give rise to a diffusion current across the junction.
Depletion Layer
Also, when an electron diffuses from the n-side to
the p-side, an ionised donor is left behind on the n-
side, which is immobile. As the process goes on, a
layer of positive charge is developed on the n-side of
the junction
Similarly, when a hole goes from the p-side to the n-

side, an ionized acceptor is left behind on the p-side,
resulting in the formation of a layer of negative
charges in the p-side of the junction.
This region of positive charge and negative charge

on either side of the junction is termed as the
depletion region
Forward Biasing
When the p-type is connected to the battery’s

positive terminal and the n-type to the negative
terminal, then the P-N junction is said to be
forward-biased. When the P-N junction is
forward biased, the built-in electric field at the
P-N junction and the applied electric field are in
opposite directions. When both the electric
fields add up, the resultant electric field has a
magnitude lesser than the built-in electric field.
This results in a less resistive and thinner
depletion region. The depletion region’s
resistance becomes negligible when the applied
voltage is large. In silicon, at the voltage of 0.6 V,
the resistance of the depletion region becomes
completely negligible, and the current flows
across it unimpeded.
Reverse Biasing
When the p-type is connected to the battery’s

negative terminal and the n-type is connected to
the positive side, the P-N junction is reverse
biased. In this case, the built-in electric field and
the applied electric field are in the same
direction. When the two fields are added, the
resultant electric field is in the same direction
as the built-in electric field, creating a more
resistive, thicker depletion region. The
depletion region becomes more resistive and
thicker if the applied voltage becomes larger.
Certificate
This is hereby to certify that the original and
genuine investigation work has been carried
out to investigate about the subject matter and
the related data collection has been completed
solely, sincerely and satisfactorily by SAMARTH
MATHUR of CLASS XII-S1, DPS KALYANPUR,
KANPUR regarding his project titled
“Semiconductors”.
____________________________
SIGNATURE OF EXTERNAL EXAMINER
______________________________
SIGNATURE OF INTERNAL EXAMINER

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Investigator

Secondly I would also like to thank my

Samarth Mathur XII-S1

They are also termed as undoped

The dopant has to be such that the original

In an extrinsic semiconductor, there are two

As we know, if we use different semiconductor

Similarly, when a hole goes from the p-side to the n-

This region of positive charge and negative charge

When the p-type is connected to the battery’s

When the p-type is connected to the battery’s

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