EE 371

MICROELECTRONIC DEVICES
AND CIRCUITS
 Electronics

Electronics Applied Electric Field

Electron Mechanics Behavior of Electrons

• Electronics is a branch of physics and engineering that
deals with the study, design, fabrication and application
of devices and systems involving the flow of electrons.
Important Concepts
I. Electric Current - The flow of electric charge
through a conductor, such as a wire, semiconductor,
or vacuum.

II. Electronic Components - Fundamental building

blocks used to control and manipulate electrical
signals
Passive Components: Resistors, capacitors, and inductors.
Active Components: Transistors, diodes, and integrated
circuits (ICs).
iii. Circuits - Networks of interconnected electronic
components.

iv. Signal Types

Analog Signals: Continuous signals varying smoothly
over time (e.g., audio signals).
Digital Signals: Discrete signals represented in binary
form (0s and 1s).
Application of Electronics
• Consumer Electronics- Devices like smartphones,
televisions etc

• Communication Systems - Technologies like mobile

phones, satellite systems, and fiber optics.

• Medical Devices- Tools like pacemakers, imaging

systems, and diagnostic devices.
• Industrial Automation - Robotics, sensors, and
control systems in factories.

• Transportation - Electronic systems in vehicles, such

as navigation and safety controls.

• Computing - Hardware like CPUs, GPUs, and storage

devices.
Branches of Electronics
MicroElectronics
• A branch of electronics that focuses on the study,
design, development, and manufacturing of very small
electronic components and circuits, ( at the microscopic
or nanoscale level) typically integrated on a
semiconductor substrate
 Historical Evolution
• Early Foundations (1800s - Early 1900s)

• Key Innovations:

• Discovery of the Electron (1897): J.J. Thomson’s discovery of the electron

laid the foundation for electronics.

• Vacuum Tubes (1904): John Ambrose Fleming developed the vacuum tube
diode, enabling rectification and amplification of signals.

• Semiconductors (1906-1920s): Early studies of semiconductors began,

with materials like selenium showing rectifying properties.
• Birth of Solid-State Electronics (1940s - 1950s)

Key Innovations:

• Transistor Invention (1947): John Bardeen, Walter Brattain, and William

Shockley invented the bipolar junction transistor at Bell Labs, replacing
bulky vacuum tubes.

• Silicon Era (1950s): Introduction of silicon as the primary semiconductor

material, replacing germanium due to better thermal stability.
• The Dawn of Microelectronics (1958 - 1970s)

• Key Innovations:

• Integrated Circuits (ICs) (1958): Jack Kilby (Texas Instruments)

and Robert Noyce (Fairchild Semiconductor) independently developed
the IC, combining multiple transistors on a single chip.

• Planar Process (1960): Jean Hoerni's planar manufacturing method

revolutionized IC fabrication, allowing large-scale production.
• MOSFET (1960): Mohamed Atalla and Dawon Kahng
invented the MOSFET (metal-oxide-semiconductor field-
effect transistor), becoming the cornerstone of modern
microelectronics.

• Moore’s Law (1965): Gordon Moore predicted the

doubling of transistors on ICs approximately every two
years, driving innovation and miniaturization.
• Nanotechnology and Beyond (2000s - Present)
• Key Innovations:
• Nanometer Transistors: Transistor sizes reached the
nanoscale (<10 nm), enabling ultrafast and energy-
efficient devices.
• 3D ICs and FinFETs: 3D integration and FinFET (Fin
Field-Effect Transistor) designs allowed higher transistor
densities.
• SoCs (System on Chips): Integration of CPUs, GPUs,
memory, and other components on a single chip.

• IoT and Wearables: Microelectronics powered sensors

and devices for the Internet of Things (IoT).

• Quantum Computing and AI Chips: Development of

chips tailored for artificial intelligence and early
quantum devices.
Materials Used in Electronic Devices

• With respect to their electrical properties, materials can

be classified into 3;
Insulators: materials than cannot conduct electricity. In
order words, they have high resistivities Eg; Plastic,
Wood, Mica etc

Recall Ohm’s Law:

I= , I = current, R= resistance V= Voltage
• Conductors: materials that easily conduct electricity.
Low resistivities. Mostly metals Eg: aluminium(Al), silver
(Ag), gold(Au) etc.

• Semi-Conductors: Between conductors and Insulators as

far as conductivity is concerned. Neither a good
conductor nor insulator
Semiconductor Materials and
Properties
• Semi conductor materials are substances with electrical
properties that lie between those of insulators and
conductors.

• Fundamentally, they can be divided to two (2) types

Types of Semiconductor materials
• Single-element semiconductors. Eg; silicon (Si),
germanium (Ge),antimony(Sb), aresenic(As)

Compound semiconductors. Eg:, silicon germanium,

silicon carbide, gallium arsenide, gallium nitride etc.
Essence of Semiconductors in
Microelectronics
• Semiconductors are neither good nor bad conductors/
insulators. Therefore their conductivity can be tailored
or tuned to make devices that are of essence to a
particular user.
Properties
Band Gap Energy
The valence electrons in the valence shell of every
single atom possess energy

In reality, solid materials exist in a crystal ie; their

constituent atoms are arranged in a definite pattern.
• The fixed distance between the atoms is called the
lattice constant. Often in a few Angstroms (Å).
1Å =

• If two or more atoms come together, interactions occur

between the valence electrons. This smears the valence
shell into a band of energy levels called the valence
band
• If a valence electron in a valence band acquires enough
additional energy, it can leave the valence band,
become a free electron and exist in a conduction
band.

• The difference in energy between the valence band and

conduction band is called Band Gap/ Energy Gap () in
electron volts(eV)

= –
• Semiconductors have a moderate bandgap (0.1–3 eV),
which allows electrons to jump from the valence band to
the conduction band under suitable conditions.

• Silicon has a bandgap of 1.12 eV, Ge has a band gap of

0.67eV, GaAs has a bandgap of 1.42 eV etc
• When light is absorbed by a semiconductor and
electron-hole pair is created, the number of electrons
and holes increase is proportional to the light intensity.

• In that case, the band gap energy is found by

measuring the absorption of light by the semiconductor,
as a function of the photon energy (hv) .
E(eV)=hv=
h= 6.625s, c = 3

where = wavelength of the light wave

h =Planck’s constant
v= frequency of the radiation
c =speed of light
hv- Photo energy
Example
• If a semiconductor is transparent to light with a
wavelength longer than 0.87 μm, what is its band-gap
energy?

• Determine the energy (in eV) of a photon having a wavelength of

(a) 100 Å
(b) 4500 Å.

NB: 1eV= 1.6

Conductivity and Resistivity
When thermal (heat) energy is applied, some of the
valence electrons may get excited and jump the gap
from the valence band to the conduction band. Such
electrons become free electrons/ conduction
electrons.

The free electron(s) are unattached to any single atom

and are essentially drifting about randomly throughout
a particular material.
When an electron jumps to the conduction band, a
vacancy is left in the valence band. This vacancy is
called a hole.

For every valence electron that jumps to the conduction

band from the valence band, a hole is created in the
valence band resulting in an electron-hole pair.
• Conductivity increases under such conditions due to the
generation of more free carriers (electrons and holes).
• On the contrary, when the temperature of a
semiconductor is reduced, electrons in the valence band
would not have enough energy to jump to the
conduction band ultimately increasing its resistivity.
Intrinsic and Extrinsic Semiconductors
A pure semiconductor is called an Intrinsic
semiconductor.
Eg: Silicon

A impure or doped semiconductive material is called an

Extrinsic Semiconductor.
Eg:
Doping
The process of adding impure semiconductive materials
to an intrinsic semiconductive material to improve on its
conductivity is called Doping.

Two categories of impurities exist;

1. N-Type
2. P-Type
o N-Type: increases the number of free electrons in the
conduction band.

• Pentavalent atoms are introduced as impurities.

• Pentavalent atoms are atoms with five electrons in their

valence shell
• Examples of pentavalent atoms are arsenic (As),
phosphorous(P), bismuth(Bi) and antimony (Sb).

• Using antimony in this case.

• It forms a covalent bond with four
Si atoms
• Four of its valence electrons are
used and it’s left with one electron
that is loosely bound to Sb
• Small amount of energy (even room temperature
energy) can free up the extra electron in the bond.

• Once the electron is free, it can take part in conduction.

• Thus, the addition of the antimony atom has created

one more electron in the conduction band but no hole in
the valence band.
• Essentially, the more pentavalent impurity atoms you add,
the more electrons in the conduction band there will be
without holes in the valence band.
• Thus electrons become the majority charge carriers and
holes minority charge carriers

P-Type: increases the number of holes in the valence band.

• Trivalent atoms are introduced as impurities.
• Trivalent atoms are atoms with three electrons in their
valence shell
• Examples of trivalent atoms are boron(B), indium(In),
and gallium(Ga).

• Using boron(B) in this case,

• It forms a covalent bond with four silicon atoms
• Three of its valence electrons are used
• A hole is left.
• The hole is loosely bound to the B atom and will move if
an electron fills up the vacancy.
• Thus, the addition of the boron atom has created one
more hole in the valence band but no electron in the
conduction band

• Essentially, the more trivalent impurity atoms added,

the more holes there will be in the valence band
without electrons in the conduction band.

• Thus, holes become the majority charge carriers and

electrons minority
• The atom that gives electrons is called the Donor atom

• The atom that accepts/receives electrons is the Acceptor atom.

• In n-type semiconductors, when the free electron leaves, a

positively charged ion core is created.

• Similarly in the p-type semiconductor, when the hole gets filled

with an electron, a negatively charged ion core is created.
• In essence,
• Donor atoms donate electrons in n-type semiconductors and
become positively charged
• In p-type semiconductors, acceptor atoms accept electrons
and become negatively charged