Electronic Devices (18EC33)

Module 1 : Semiconductors
Module 2 : PN Junction
Module 3 : BJT (Bipolar Junction Transistor)
Module 4 : FET (Field Effect Transistor)
Module 5 : i)Fabrication of PN Junctions
ii) Integrated Circuits
 Text Books
1. Ben G Streetman, Sanjay Kumar Banergee, “
Solid State Electronic Devices, 7th Edition,
Pearson Education, 2016, ISBN:
978-93-325-5508-2
2. Donald Neamen, Dhrubes Biswas,
“Semiconductor Physics and Devices”, 4th
edition, MCGraw Hill Education, 2012,
ISBN: 978-0-07-107010-2
Band Theory of Solids
Energy Levels
Energy Bands in Solids
 Definitions
Energy Bands
Valance Band
Conduction Band
Forbidden Energy Gap
 Classification of Solids
Conductors
Insulators
Semiconductors
Covalent Bond
Intrinsic semiconductor
Extrinsic Semiconductors
 Extrinsic Semiconductors
N Type Semiconductor
P Type Semiconductor
 Bonding Forces in solids
1. Metals bond to Non Metals Ionically
2. Non Metals Bond covalently
3. Metals bond themselves Metallically
Ionic Bonding
Ionic Bonding
Ionic Bonding
Ionic Bonding
Ionic Bonding
Ionic Bonding
Ionic Bonding
Electronic Structure of Na(Z=11) is given by
[Ne]3s1 and Cl (Z=17) has a structure [Ne]3s2
3p5.
In the lattice each Na atom gives up its outer
3s electrons to Cl atom so that crystal is made
up of ions with the electronic structures of
the inert atoms Ne and Ar.
Each Na+ ion exerts an electrostatic attractive
force upon its six Cl- neighbors and Vice versa.
Periodic Table
 Metallic Bonding
Outer Electronic shell is partially filled with
electrons
Alkali metals usually have one electron in its
outer orbit
This electron is loosely bound
This accounts for chemical activity and and
higher conductivity
Metallic Bonding
Covalent Bond
Direct & Indirect Semiconductors
The wave function of the electron is assumed
in the form of plane wave moving in x
direction
The space dependent wave function is given
by
The band structure of Ga As has a minimum
in the conduction band and a maximum in the
valence band for the same value of k.
Direct & Indirect Semiconductors
In case of silicon, valance band has maximum
at different k than its conduction band
minimum
In case of GaAs, an electron making a energy
transition from conduction band to valence
band need not change the value of k
In case of si, electron making a energy
transition from conduction band to valence
band requires change in k
Direct Semiconductors
In a direct Semiconductor, an electron in the conduction band can fall to an empty
state in the valence band by generating energy difference Eg as a photon of Light
Indirect Semiconductor
Indirect Semiconductor
In Indirect Semiconductor, an electron in
conduction band minimum of an indirect
semiconductor such as Si cannot fall directly
to the valence band maximum
Hence it must undergo momentum change
as well as changing its energy
Also it may go through some defect state
within bandgap
Indirect Semiconductor
In Indirect transition, part of energy is given
up in the form of heat to the lattice structure
rather than as emitted photon
Metals
Insulators
Semiconductors
Electronic Structure of Si
Energy Levels in a Si atom
Overlapping of S & P orbitals (Linear
Combination of Atomic Orbitals)
Bonding & Antibonding Orbitals
Bonding & Antibonding Orbitals
Fundamental particles in nature have integer
spin called bosons
It may be have half integer spin called
fermions
Quantum mechanical wave function of the
electrons has spatial part and spin dependent
part
Two electrons in the bonding orbitals have a
opposite spins
Bonding & Antibonding Orbitals
Two electrons in anti bonding state have
parallel spins
Parallel spin electrons repel with each other
To determine the energy levels of the
bonding and anti bonding states, it is
important to recognize region between the
two nuclei
Vr is lowered when compared to isolated
atom
Bonding & Antibonding Orbitals
For the bonding states electron probability
density is higher in this region of lowered
potential energy than for the antibonding
state
As a result the original isolated atomic
energy level would be split into two lower
bonding energy level and higher antibonding
level.
 Energy levels in Si
In a solid, many atoms are brought together,
so that the split energy levels form essentially
continuous bands of energies.
Each isolated silicon atom has an electronic
structure ls2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p2 in the ground
state.
Each atom has available two Is states, two 2s
states, six 2p states, two 3s states, six 3p
states, and higher states.
 Energy levels in Si
If we consider N atoms, there will be 2N, 2N,
6N, 2N, and 6N states of type Is, 2s, 2p, 3s,
and 3p, respectively
As the interatomic spacing decreases, these
energy levels split into bands, beginning with
the outer (n = 3) shell
As the 3s and 3p bands grow, they merge into
a single band composed of a mixture of
energy levels.
Energy levels in Si
 Energy levels in Si
This band of 3s-3p levels contains 8N
available states.
As the distance between atoms approaches
the equilibrium interatomic spacing of silicon,
this band splits into two bands separated by
an energy gap Eg.
The upper band (called the conduction band)
contains 4JV states, as does the
lower(valence) band.
 Energy levels in Si
Thus, apart from the low-lying and tightly
bound "core" levels, the silicon crystal has
two bands of available energy levels
separated by an energy gap Eg wide, which
contains n allowed energy levels for electrons
to occupy.
This gap is sometimes called a "forbidden
band
 Energy levels in Si
The lower "Is" band is filled with the 2N
electrons which originally resided in the
collective Is states of the isolated atoms.
Similarly, the 2s band and the 2p bands will
have 2N and 6N electrons in them,
respectively.
There were 4N electrons in the original
isolated n = 3 shells.
 Energy levels in Si
These 4N electrons must occupy states in the
valence band or the conduction band in the
crystal.
At 0 K the electrons will occupy the lowest
energy states available to them.
In the case of the Si crystal, there are exactly
4N states in the valence band available to the
4N electrons.
 Energy levels in Si
Thus at 0 K, every state in the valence band
will be filled, while the conduction band will
be completely empty of electrons.
 Electrons and Holes

As the temperature of a semiconductor is

raised from 0 K, some electrons in the valence
band receive enough thermal energy to be
excited across the band gap to the conduction
band.
The result is a material with some electrons in
an otherwise empty conduction band and
some unoccupied states in an otherwise filled
valence band.
 Electrons and Holes
The conduction band electron and the hole
are created by the excitation of a valence
band electron to the conduction band, they
are called an electron-hole pair.
After excitation to the conduction band, an
electron is surrounded by a large number of
unoccupied energy states
Electrons and Holes
 Electrons and Holes
In a filled band, all available energy states are
occupied.
For every electron moving with a given
velocity, there is an equal and opposite
electron motion elsewhere in the band.
If we apply an electric field, the net current is
zero because for every electron j moving with
velocity vj there is a corresponding Electron j'
with velocity —vj.
 Electrons and Holes
Since k is proportional to electron
momentum, it is clear the two electrons have
oppositely directed velocities.
With N electrons/cm3 in the band we express
the current density using a sum over all of the
electron velocities, and including the charge
— q on each electron. In a unit volume,
 Electrons and Holes
Now if we create a hole by removing the /th
electron, the net current density in the
valence band involves the sum over all
velocities, minus the contribution of the
electron we have removed:
 Electrons and Holes
Since first term is zero, thus the net current is
+qVj.
Means, the current contribution of the hole is
equivalent to that of a positively charged particle
with velocity v/t that of the missing electron.
The charge transport is actually due to the
motion of the new uncompensated electron (J').
Its current contribution ( - q) (-vj) is equivalent to
that of a positively charged particle with velocity
+vj.
Energy Bands & Charge Carriers in
Semiconductors
 Electrons and Holes
In the valence band, hole energy increases
oppositely to electron energy, because the
two carriers have opposite charge.
Thus hole energy increases downward in Fig.
and holes, seeking the lowest energy state
available.
In contrast, conduction band electrons are
found at the bottom of the conduction band.
EK Diagram
 EK Diagram
The bottom of the conduction band
corresponds to zero electron velocity or
kinetic energy, and simply gives us the
potential energy at that point in space.
For holes, the top of the valence band
corresponds to zero kinetic energy.
 EK Diagram
An electron at location A sees an electric field
given by the slope of the band edge (potential
energy), and gains kinetic energy (at the
expense of potential energy) by moving to
point B.
Correspondingly, in the (£, k) diagram, the
electron starts at k = 0, but moves to a
nonzero wave vector Kb.
 EK Diagram
The electron when loses kinetic energy to
heat by scattering mechanisms and returns to
the bottom of the band at B.
The slopes of the (E,x) band edges at
different points in space reflect the local
electric fields at those points.
 Intrinsic Semiconductors
A perfect semiconductor crystal with no
impurities or lattice defects is called an intrinsic
semiconductor.
In such material there are no charge carriers at 0
K, since the valence band is filled with electrons
and the conduction band is empty.
At higher temperatures electron-hole pairs are
generated as valence band electrons are excited
thermally across the band gap to the conduction
band.
 Intrinsic Semiconductors
The generation of EHPs can be visualized in a
qualitative way by considering the breaking of
covalent bonds in the crystal lattice.
If one of the Si valence electrons is broken
away from its position in the bonding
structure such that it becomes free to move
about in the lattice, a conduction electron is
created and a broken bond (hole) is left
behind.
 Intrinsic Semiconductors
The energy required to break the bond is the
band gap energy Eg.
Since the electrons and holes are created in
pairs, the conduction band electron
concentration n is equal to the concentration
of holes in the valence band p.
Each of these intrinsic carrier concentrations
is commonly referred to as ni.
 Intrinsic Semiconductors
Thus for intrinsic material

At a given temperature there is a certain

concentration of electron hole pairs ni.

If a steady state carrier concentration is maintained,

there must be recombination of EHPs at the same
rate at which they are generated.
 Intrinsic Semiconductors
If a steady state carrier concentration is
maintained, there must be recombination of
EHPs at the same rate at which they are
generated.
 Intrinsic Semiconductors
Recombination occurs when an electron in
the conduction band makes a transition
(direct or indirect) to an empty state (hole) in
the valence band, thus annihilating the pair.
If we denote the generation rate of EHPs as gi
and the recombination rate as ri, equilibrium
requires that
 Intrinsic Semiconductors
Each of these rates is temperature dependent.
At any temperature, we can predict that the
rate of recombination of electrons and holes
ri is proportional to the equilibrium
concentration of electrons n0 and the
concentration of holes p0:
 Extrinsic Semiconductors
In addition to the intrinsic carriers generated
thermally, it is possible to create carriers in
semiconductors by purposely introducing
impurities into the crystal.
This process, called doping, is the most
common technique for varying the
conductivity of semiconductors.
 Extrinsic Semiconductors
By doping, a crystal can be altered so that it has a
predominance of either electrons or holes.
Thus there are two types of doped
semiconductors, n-type (mostly electrons) and p-
type (mostly holes).
When a crystal is doped such that the
equilibrium carrier concentrations n0 and p0 are
different from the intrinsic carrier concentration
ni the material is said to be extrinsic.
Extrinsic Semiconductors
Extrinsic Semiconductors
Extrinsic Semiconductors
 Extrinsic Semiconductors
When impurities or lattice defects are
introduced into an otherwise perfect crystal,
additional levels are created in the energy
band structure, usually within the band gap.
An impurity from column V of the periodic
table (P, As, and Sb) introduces an energy
level very near the conduction band in Ge or
Si.
 Extrinsic Semiconductors
This level is filled with electrons at 0 K, and
very little thermal energy is required to excite
these electrons to the conduction band.
Thus at about 50-100 K virtually all of the
electrons in the impurity level are "donated"
to the conduction band.
 Extrinsic Semiconductors
The material doped with donor impurities can
have a considerable concentration of
electrons in the conduction band, even when
the temperature is too low for the intrinsic
EHP concentration to be appreciable.
Thus semiconductors doped with a significant
number of donor atoms will have n0 » {ni, p0)
at room temperature. This is n-type material.
 Extrinsic Semiconductors
Atoms from column III (B, Al, Ga, and In)
introduce impurity levels in Ge or Si near the
valence band.
These levels are empty of electrons at 0 K.
At low temperatures, enough thermal energy
is available to excite electrons from the
valence band into the impurity level, leaving
behind holes in the valence band.
 Extrinsic Semiconductors
Since this type of impurity level "accepts"
electrons from the valence band, it is called
an acceptor level, and the column III
impurities are acceptor impurities in Ge and
Si.
Doping with acceptor impurities can create a
semiconductor with a hole concentration p0
much greater than the conduction band
electron concentration n0 (this type is p-type
material).
Extrinsic Semiconductors
Covalent Bond
 Extrinsic Semiconductors
The magnitude of the ground-state energy (n =
1) of such an electron is

The value of K is given by