DEE20023

TOPIC 1 :
INTRODUCTION TO SEMICONDUCTOR

Faizah Amir
JKE POLISAS
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Learning Outcomes

By the end of this lesson, students should be

able to :
1. describe a semiconductor
2. explain the characteristics of N-type and P-type
semiconductor
3. explain the formation of a P-N junction
4. explain the P-N junction under biased voltage
5. explain the effects on P-N junction under biased
voltage
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 Introduction

Electric current
Electric current Electric current conduction
can flow very cannot flow capacity is
easily through through insulator between
conductor material conductor and
material
insulator

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 Introduction

Electrical
insulator
materials

Metal
Electrical
conductor
materials
Copper Gold
Silver

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Definition

Semiconductor is solid material whose electrical

conductivity at room temperature is between a
conductor and an insulator.
Semiconductor Materials

Silicon Germanium
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 Semiconductor
Most semiconductors are formed from elements from group IV of the periodic table.
The most commonly used semiconductor is Silicon or Si.

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Silicon

The atomic number of Si is 14 –

meaning that Si has 14 number of
electrons and protons.

Si has 4 electrons in its valence (or

outer most shell) and therefore it
can bond with 4 other Si atoms.

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 Silicon Crystal Structure

•In a Si crystal each Si atom bonds with 4

other Si atoms in a tetrahedral geometry.

•This structure is called a “diamond Lattice” (since diamond crystals

consisting of C atoms also have the same structure).

•The diamond lattice is essentially an FCC lattice (face centered cubic) with a
single-atom basis.
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Intrinsic & Extrinsic Semiconductor

SEMICONDUCTOR

Intrinsic Extrinsic

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Intrinsic & Extrinsic Semiconductor
• Semiconductors are mainly classified into two categories:
i. Intrinsic
ii. Extrinsic
• Intrinsic - chemically very pure semiconductor and possesses poor
conductivity.
- It has equal numbers of negative carriers (electrons) and positive
carriers (holes).
- Impurities do not affect its electrical behavior.

• Extrinsic - improved intrinsic semiconductor with a small amount

of impurities added by a process, known as doping
process, which alters the electrical properties of the
semiconductor and improves its conductivity.
- Introducing impurities into the semiconductor materials
(doping process) can control their conductivity.

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 N-type & P-type Semiconductor
• Adding impurities atom into intrinsic
semiconductor = extrinsic semiconductor.
• Doping - The process of adding specific types of
atoms to a semiconductor to favorably alter
electric characteristics.
• 2 types of extrinsic (impure) semiconductor:
– N-type
– P-type

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 N– type material
The silicon doped with pentavalent material is called an “N-
type” semiconductor.
• “N” is for negative, which is the charge of an electron.

Pentavalent (atom with 5 valence electrons)

impurity atoms are added.
 Examples of pentavalent materials are
Phosphorus, Arsenic and Antimony.
 Si + As (Arsenic)  Negative charges
(electrons) are generated.
N-type has lots of free electrons
• Pentavalent material is called donor atom –
it donates electron.

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 P– type material
Silicon doped with trivalent material is called “P -type”
semiconductor.
• “P” is for positive, which is the charge of a hole.

•Trivalent (atom with 3 valence electrons)

impurity atoms are added.
•Examples of trivalent materials are
Boron, Aluminum and Indium.
•B (Boron) + Si  Positive charges (holes)
are generated
P-type has lots of holes.
• Trivalent material is called acceptor
atom – it accepts free electron.
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 Formation of P-type & N-type

N-type semiconductor – extra

P-type semiconductor – extra
electron
hole 14
 Characteristics of N-type and P-type
Semiconductors

N-type P-type
Group V Group III
Dopant (e.g. Arsenic, Antimony and (e.g. Indium, Gallium
Phosphorus) and Boron)

Bonds Excess Electrons Missing Electrons

(Holes)

Majority Carriers Electrons Hole

Minority Carriers Holes Electrons

Dopant atom Donor atom Acceptor atom

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 Positive ions & Negative ions

- ve
Si + B = ion

Silicon neutral atom Boron neutral atom Boron negative ion

14 electrons = 14 protons 5 electrons = 5 protons 6 electrons
4 electron valence 3 electron valens 5 protons

+ve
Si + P = ion

Silicon neutral atom Phosphorus neutral atom Phosphorus positive ion

14 electrons = 14 protons 15 electrons = 15 protons 14 electrons
15 protons 16
4 electron valence 5 electron valens
 Positive ions & Negative ions

Negative ion
Positive ion

P-type N-type
-Majority carriers : Hole -Majority carriers : Electron
- contains negative ion - contains positive ion

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 P-N Junction
P-type and N-type before junction formation
P-type N-type

P-type and N-type form a junction When the P-type and N-type
hole diffusion semiconductor materials are
joined together, the electrons
from the N-type material diffuse
into P-type material.

Similarly the holes from the P-

type material diffuse into N-type
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electron diffusion material
 Diffusion

Diffusion is the net movement of a substance from a region of

high concentration to a region of low concentration.
This is also referred to as the movement of a substance down a
concentration gradient. 19
 Depletion Region
P-type N-type

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.
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.

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 Threshold Voltage
The negative and positive ions at
the depletion region will create an
electric field in the direction from N-
type to P-type.
As more electrons diffuse into P-
type material, the electric field
strength goes on increasing. The
electrons from N-type material now electric field
diffusing into P-type material will
have to overcome the electric field
due to negative ions. So if we want to move an electron from N-type
At one point the electric field material to P-type material, energy must be
becomes sufficiently strong to stop supplied to the electrons to overcome the
further diffusion of electrons. “barrier”. 
The electric field acts a “barrier” The external voltage required to move the
which prevents further diffusion of electrons through the electric field is called
electrons and holes after threshold voltage.
equilibrium is established. Typical value of threshold voltage at 25° C is
0.7 V for silicon and 0.3 V for germanium.
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 P-N Junction Under Bias
 Biasing, in general, refers to the application of DC voltage across the terminals of
device to establish certain operating condition for the device.
It means that external voltage is applied across the two terminals of the P-N junction.
Biasing can be done in two different ways:
i. Forward biasing
ii. Reverse biasing

+ _ _ +

Forward bias Reverse bias

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 Forward Bias
When the P-N junction is forward
biased, the electric field in the
depletion region and the external
electric field due the DC voltage
source are in opposite direction.
This reduces the net electric field
in the junction and the electrons
can now pass from N-type to the
P-type. As more electrons now
flows into the depletion region,
the number of positive ions is
reduced.
Also, with the reduction in net
electric field, the holes can now Hence, the width of depletion region
flow into the N-type. As the holes decreases due to reduction in the number of
pass through the depletion positive and negative ions.
region, the number of negative The decreased width of the depletion region
ions also decreases. will cause a low junction resistance.
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 Reverse Bias
When the P-N junction 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 When the reverse bias is applied, the electrons from the N-type
becomes even more difficult for semiconductor are quickly drawn towards the positive terminal. This
reduces the number of majority carriers in N-type. As the number of
them to move towards the P-type electrons reduces, additional positive ions are created. 
material. Similarly, the holes from the P-type are attracted towards the
Also, the holes from the P-type negative terminal of the battery. This reduces the number of holes in
the P-type s and hence additional negative ions are created in the P-
material (majority carriers) now type material.
faces a stronger electric field and it Hence, we conclude that as the number of positive and negative
becomes even more difficult to ions increases, the width of the depletion region increases. So,
there is no flow of current due to majority carriers when the P-N
move from P-type to N-type
junction is reverse biased. The increased width of the depletion
material.
region will cause a high junction resistance. 24
 Reverse Bias
We shall discuss following important points with regards to the reverse biased P-N junction:
• Reverse saturation current
• Reverse breakdown voltage

Reverse saturation current

There is no flow of current due to majority carriers when the diode is reverse biased. However there is a
very little flow of current (in nano ampere range for silicon ) due to minority carriers that are produced in
the crystal due to thermal energy.
This movement of electrons and holes constitutes a current called reverse saturation current.  The
term saturation refers to the fact that it reaches its maximum value very quickly and does not change
significantly with increase in reverse bias potential.

Reverse breakdown voltage

The magnitude of reverse current is of the order of nano-amperes for silicon devices. This current does
not change significantly with the applied reverse bias potential. However, when the reverse bias is
increased beyond a certain limit, the reverse current increases drastically.
The voltage beyond which the reverse current increases drastically is called reverse breakdown voltage.
The P-N junction is said to undergo breakdown when the voltage is increased above breakdown voltage.

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 Conclusion
1. Semiconductor is a material - usually comprised of silicon or germanium -
which conducts electricity more than an insulator but less than a pure
conductor.
2. Adding impurities atom into intrinsic semiconductor will produce
extrinsic semiconductor (N-type or P-type).
3. P-N junction is formed when N-type and P-type semiconductor are
located next to each other.
4. Forward biased P-N junction will decrease the width of the depletion
region, while reverse biased P-N junction will increase the width of the
depletion region.
5. The P-N junction will undergo breakdown when the bias voltage is
increased above breakdown voltage.

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