Semiconductor Material &

Devices
AN OVERVIEW OF THE SUBJECT

Usman Ali Khan

Contents
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Subject Information
The study of Electronics
History
Semiconductor
Materials
Atomic Structure

Subject Information
Code: EE120
Text Book: Electronic Devices & Circuits by Theodore F.
Bogart 6th ed.
Electronic Devices & Circuits by David A Bell 4th ed.
Electronic Devices & Circuits by Floyd
Electronic Devices & Circuits by Manzar Saeed
Basics of Electronic Device by NIIT

Marks distribution

Total Marks: 150

Theory: 100
Practical: 50 Session Marks: 20
Assignments: 05
Quiz: 05
Project + Presentations: 05
Attendance: 05

Introduction
Semiconductor Devices

Building blocks of useful electronic devices

Semiconductor devices include:
Diodes
PN junction
Light Emitting Diode (LED)
Zener Diode
Tunnel Diode
Varactor Diode
Laser Diode
Photo Diode

Transistors
Bipolar Junction Transistor (BJT)
NPN BJT
PNP BJT
Junction Field Effect Transistor
(JFET)
Amplifier Fundamentals
Small Signal Transistor Amplifier
Integrated Circuits (ICs)
Analog ICs
Digital ICs

Basic Atomic Theory

Every chemical element is composed of atoms
All atoms within a single element have same
structure
Every element is unique because the structure of its
atoms is unique
Nucleus
Atom is composed of three basic
particles:
Protons (+ive charge)
Neutrons
Electrons (-ive charge)

Silicon Atom

Orbits or Shells
K, L, M,N

Draw the atomic

structure of Ge (32)

P=14
N=14
Valence Shell

+
Ne( Electrons in nth orbit) = 2n2

Sub-shells

Shell

Sub-shell

Capacity

10

10

14

Free Electrons

When electrons get enough energy (e.g. from heating),

they leave their parent atoms and become free electrons.
Flow of free electrons is called current. Therefore more
free electrons and more current.

+
Valence electrons have more tendency to become free
electrons because of less attraction force between nucleus
and valence shell
Free electrons in (i) conductors (ii) Insulators & (iii) Semiconductors

Flow of Free Electrons (Current)

Material containing free electrons

Force of attraction

Force of repulsion
-

Excess of electrons

Lack of electrons

Silicon Crystal (Covalent Bonding)

Si Crystal

*
*

*
*
*

*
*

*
*

*
*
*
*

*
*
*

*
*

*
*
*
*
*

*
*
*
*

*
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*
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*
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*
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*
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*
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*
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*
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For stability there should be 8 electrons in valence shell

Current in Semiconductors
HOLE CURRENT

Usman Ali Khan

Contents
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Basics
Electron Energy
Energy Bands
Temperature &
Resistance
Holes & Hole Current

Basics:

Rupturing of covalent bond

The unit of energy is electronvolt(eV)
Energy acquired by one electron if it is accelerated
through potential difference of one volt
1 eV = 1.602 x 10-19 J
Valence Electron energy considerably large and need a
few amount of energy to release
Electrons in inner shell possess little energy and need a
large amount of energy to release
Electrons can lose energy in the form of heat and light
Free electrons can alco lose and fall into valence shell

Important Quantities

Quantity

Symbol

Unit

Unit Symbol

Current

Ampere

Voltage

Volt

Charge

Coulomb

Energy

W,E

Joule

Electric Field Strength

Volt/meter

V/m

Volume

Cubic meter

m3

Area

Squared meter

m2

Resistance

Ohm

Conductance

Moh, Siemens

Resistivity

Ohm-meter

-m

Conductivity

Siemens/meter

S/m

Important Relations
V = IR (Ohm's Law)
I = Q/t
W = QV
R = l/A
G = 1/R
= 1/
Charge on electron = e = 1.602 X 10-19 C
Electron energy = 1 eV = 1.602 X 10-19 J

Rupturing of Covalent Bonds

Hole created

Electron Freed
(Conduction Band)

Covalent bond ruptured

+
Valence band

+
+

+
Energy is supplied in the form of
heat to rupture covalent band

Electron Energy

Electrons closer to nucleus are more tightly

bound and need more energy to become free

E2
Therefore:
P=14
N=14

E3

E1

E1 > E2 > E3

If free electron loses energy and falls

back to valence band, this process is
called Annihilation or Recombination

Lost energy emits as light

Energy Bands:
Quantum theory explain these bands as

Conduction Band :
Free electrons accommodate there
Valence Band :

Electrons having lesser energy accommodate there

Forbidden band:
The region between valence and conduction band
No electrons can stay at this energy levet

Energy Bands

eV
Conduction Band
(Free Electrons)

Energy
Gap

Forbidden Band

Valence Band
(Electrons in Valence Shell)

Energy gap is the

energy required to
rupture covalent
bond

Energy Bands for Different Materials

Conduction Band

Conduction Band
Forbidden Band

Forbidden Band

Valence Band

Valence Band

Conductors

Insulators

Conduction Band

Conduction Band

1.1eV

0.01eV

Forbidden Band

0.67eV

Forbidden Band

Valence Band
Valence Band

Silicon

Germanium
Temperature dependent

Temperature & Resistance

dR
Temp. Coeff. = =
dT
= -ive
= +ive
I
I
R
R

T
Conductors

T
Semiconductors

Holes & Hole Current

Hole Movement

+
+

Electron Movement

Hole Current Vs Electron Current

The movement of holes and electrons is in opposite
directions
There are no holes in pure conductors, they are only
created in semiconductors
There are two currents in semiconductors:
Hole current
(Band ? Charge ?)
Free electron current
(Band ? Charge ?)

The total current in semiconductor materials is the

sum of hole current and electron current
Number of holes = ?

Charge Carriers

Holes are called positive charge carriers

Free electrons are called negative charge carriers
For pure (Intrinsic) semiconductors: Number of positive charge carriers =
Number of negative charge carriers
Is there any way to make charge carriers unequal?
Let hole density be pi (holes/m3) and electron density be ni (electrons/m3)
where i denotes intrinsic semiconductor, then:
ni = pi
-

+
+

Intrinsic Semiconductor

+
-

Charge Carriers at Room Temperature

Silicon
Carriers/m3

Germanium
Carriers/m3

Copper
Carriers/m3

1.5 X 1016

2.4 X 1019

8.4 X 1028

Thank You