PYE 211

Semiconductor
Devices and Materials

1
 Text Book:
 Electronic Devices, Conventional current version by Thomas L. Floyd (
9th edition).
 Reference Text:
 Freedman and Young, University Physics, (10th and higher edition)
 Ryder, John D, Electronic circuits and systems, (1st edition)

2
 Chapter 1
Introduction to electronics
 Learning Objectives
 Describe the structure of an atom

 Discuss insulators, conductors, and semiconductors and how

they differ

 Describe how current is produced in a semiconductor

 Describe the properties of n-type and p-type semiconductors

 Describe how a pn junction is formed

3
Matter

 Occupies space

 Has weight

4
Element

 Basic building block of nature

 Can not be reduced to a simpler substance by

chemical means

 Over 100 known elements

5
 Nucleus Located at centre of atom

Positively charges particles inside

Protons
nucleus
Bohr Model
of an Atom Neutrons Uncharged particles inside nucleus

Negatively charged particles that orbit

Electrons
nucleus

6
7
8
 Atomic number
 The number of protons in the nucleus of the atom

 Atomic weight
 The mass of an atom

 Determine by the total number of protons and neutrons in

the nucleus

9
 Shell
 Electrons orbit here

 Concentric circles around nucleus

 Filled in sequence

 Valence shell
 The outer most shell

 Valence
 The number of electrons contained in the outer shell

10
Max Number of
Electrons in shell

 The maximum number

of electrons (Ne) that
can exist in each shell of
an atom can be
calculated by the
formula,

 Ne = 2n2

11
Ionization

 If a valence electron acquires a sufficient amount of energy, called

ionization energy, it can actually escape from the outer shell and
the atom’s influence.

 The departure of a valence electron leaves a previously neutral atom

with an excess of positive charge (more protons than electrons).

 The process of losing a valence electron is known as ionization, and

the resulting positively charged atom is called a positive ion.

 The escaped valence electron is called a free electron.

 Negative ion??
12
The Quantum Model
 Each shell or energy level consists of up to four subshells
called orbitals, which are designated s, p, d, and f.

 Orbital s can hold a maximum of two electrons, orbital p can

hold six electrons, orbital d can hold ten electrons, and orbital
f can hold fourteen electrons.

13
Quiz

 Describe a silicon (Si) atom using an electron configuration

table. Atomic number is 14.

 Develop an electron configuration table for the germanium

(Ge) atom in the periodic table. Atomic number is 32.

14
Materials used in Electronics

 Conductors

 Insulators

 Semi conductors

15
Conductors

 A conductor is a material that easily conducts electrical current.

 Materials that contains a large number of free electrons.

 Most metals are good conductors.

 The best conductors are single-element materials, such as silver

(Ag), copper (Cu), gold (Au), and aluminum (Al), which are
characterized by atoms with only one valence electron very
loosely bound to the atom.

16
Insulators
 An insulator is a material that does not conduct electrical
current under normal conditions.

 Most good insulators are compounds rather than single-element

materials and have very high resistivity.

 Valence electrons are tightly bound to the atoms; therefore,

there are very few free electrons in an insulator.

 Examples of insulators are mica, glass, rubber, plastics, and

quartz.

17
Semi conductors

 A semiconductor is a material that is between conductors

and insulators in its ability to conduct electrical current.

 A semiconductor in its pure (intrinsic) state is neither a good

conductor nor a good insulator.

 Single-element semiconductors are antimony (Sb), arsenic

(As), astatine (At), boron (B), polonium (Po), tellurium (Te),
silicon (Si), and germanium (Ge).

18
Band Gap

 Valence shell of an atom represents a band of energy levels

and that the valence electrons are confined to that band.

 When an electron acquires enough additional energy, it can

leave the valence shell, become a free electron, and exist in
what is known as the conduction band.

 The difference in energy between the valence band and the

conduction band is called an energy gap or band gap.

19
Energy diagram for the three type of materials

20
Comparison

 Semi-Conductor Atom vs Conductor Atom

 The core includes everything except the valence electrons.

 The core of the silicon (semi conductor) atom has a net charge of
+4 (14 protons - 10 electrons)

 The core of the copper (conductor) atom has a net charge of +1

(29 protons - 28 electrons)

21
Bohr diagrams of the silicon and copper atoms.

222
Covalent Bonding
 Example

 A silicon (Si) atom with

its four valence
electrons shares an
electron with each of its
four neighbours.

 This effectively creates

eight shared valence
electrons for each atom
and produces a state of
chemical stability.
23
Current in Semi Conductors

 Energy band
diagram for an
unexcited atom
in a pure
(intrinsic)
silicon crystal.

24
Conduction Electrons and Holes
 Hole
 When an electron jumps to the conduction band, a vacancy is left in the
valence band within the crystal.

 Electron-Hole Pair
 For every electron raised to the conduction band by external energy,
there is one hole left in the valence band, creating what is called an
electron-hole pair.

 Recombination
 occurs when a conduction-band electron loses energy and falls back into
a hole in the valence band. 25
Conduction Electron and Holes

26
Electron and Hole Current

 When a voltage is applied across a piece of intrinsic silicon, the thermally generated

free electrons in the conduction band, which are free to move randomly in the

crystal structure, are now easily attracted toward the positive end.

 This movement of free electrons is one type of current in a semi conductive

27
material and is called electron current.
Electron and Hole Current

28
N-Type and P-Type Semi Conductors
 Doping
 Since semiconductors are generally poor conductors, their
conductivity can be drastically increased by the controlled
addition of impurities to the intrinsic (pure) semi conductive
material.

 This process increases the number of current carriers (electrons or

holes).

 The two categories of impurities are

 n-type and
29

 p-type.
N-Type Semi Conductor

 To increase the number of conduction-band

electrons in intrinsic silicon, pentavalent impurity
atoms are added.

 These are atoms with five valence electrons such as

arsenic (As), phosphorus (P), bismuth (Bi), and
antimony (Sb).

30
N-Type Semi Conductor

31

Donor Atom
Majority and Minority Carriers

 Most of the current carriers are electrons, silicon (or germanium)

doped with pentavalent atoms is an n-type semiconductor (the n
stands for the negative charge on an electron). The electrons are
called the majority carriers in n-type material.

 Although the majority of current carriers in n-type material are

electrons, there are also a few holes that are created when
electron-hole pairs are thermally generated. These holes are not
produced by the addition of the pentavalent impurity atoms.
Holes in an n-type material are called minority carriers.
32
P-Type Semi Conductor

 To increase the number of holes in intrinsic silicon,

trivalent impurity atoms are added.

 These are atoms with three valence electrons such

as boron (B), indium (In), and gallium (Ga).

33
P-Type Semi Conductor

34

Acceptor
 Majority and Minority Carriers
 Most of the current carriers are holes, silicon (or germanium)
doped with trivalent atoms is called a p-type semiconductor.
The holes are the majority carriers in p-type material.

 Although the majority of current carriers in p-type material are

holes, there are also a few conduction-band electrons that are
created when electron-hole pairs are thermally generated.
These conduction-band electrons are not produced by the
addition of the trivalent impurity atoms. Conduction-band
electrons in p-type material are the minority carriers.
35
The PN Junction
 When you take a block of silicon and dope part of it
with a trivalent impurity and the other part with a
pentavalent impurity, a boundary called the PN
junction is formed between the resulting p-type and
n-type portions.

36
The PN Junction
 The basic silicon
structure at the instant of
junction formation
showing only the majority
and minority carriers.

 Free electrons in the n

region near the p-n
junction begin to diffuse
across the junction and
fall into holes near the
junction in the p region.
37
The PN Junction
 For every electron that diffuses
across the junction and combines
with a hole, a positive charge is
left in the n region and a
negative charge is created in the
p region, forming a barrier
potential.

 This action continues until the

voltage of the barrier repels
further diffusion.

 The blue arrows between the

positive and negative charges in
38
the depletion region represent
the electric field.
Formation of The Depletion Region

 When the pn junction is formed, the n region loses free

electrons as they diffuse across the junction.

 This creates a layer of positive charges (pentavalent

ions) near the junction. As the electrons move across the
junction, the p region loses holes as the electrons and
holes combine.

 This creates a layer of negative charges (trivalent ions)

near the junction. These two layers of positive and
39
negative charges form the depletion region.
Energy Diagrams for the PN Junction

 At the instant of junction formation 40

Energy Diagrams for the PN Junction

 At equilibrium
41