CRAWFORD UNIVERSITY

Computer & Mathematical science Department

Test1: 2019/2020 Session

ICT217: Electronic Devices & Device Manufacturing

TIME ALLOWED: 1 hour

INSTRUCTIONS: ATTEMPT ALL QUESTIONS IN SECTION A AND ONLY 2 QUESTION IN SECTION B

SECTION A: OBJECTIVES (5 mks each)

1. At room temperatures, the majority charge carriers in N-type semiconductor are:
A. Free electrons from donor atoms
B. Holes from donor atoms
C. Free electrons from acceptor atoms
D. Holes from acceptor atoms
E. Free electrons from the energy of the crystal
2. Conductivity of a piece of extrinsic semiconductor increases with:
A. Concentration and mobility of the majority charge carriers
B. Purity level of the semiconductor material
C. Resistivity of the semiconductor material
D. Weight of the semiconductor material
E. Length of the semiconductor
3. Free electrons are:
A. Electrons in the outermost shell of an atom.
B. Electrons from impurity atoms
C. Electrons closest to the nucleus of an atom
D. Electrons that have left their own atoms and are free to move within the crystal
E. Electrons that are used in covalent bonds.
4. Aluminium can be used to dope silicon to obtain a P-type semiconductor because aluminium is a:
A. Metal
B. Semiconductor
C. Group 3 element
D. Group 4 element
E. Group 5 element
5. The concentration of electrons in an intrinsic piece of silicon is 1.46 x1016/m3. What is the concentration of holes?
A. 1.46 x1016/m3
B. 2.92 x 1016/m3
C. 1.46 x 1032/m3
D. 1.46 x 108/m3
E. It cannot be determined from the information given

6. If the charge on an electron is taken as -1, what is the charge on a hole?

A. -1 B. -2 C. +1 D. +2 E. 0
7. A sodium atom with 11 protons and 12 neutrons gives out one electron. What is the mass number of the resulting ion?
B. A. 12 B. 11 C. 13 D. 23 E. 22
8. Doping an intrinsic semiconductor with a group 5 element will always
a. Increase the concentration of both holes and free electrons.
b. Increase concentration of free electrons and reduce concentration of holes.
c. Increase concentration of holes and reduce concentration of free electrons
d. Increase the resistivity of the semiconductor
e. Increase the temperature of the semiconductor
9. Which of the following electrons has the highest energy?
A. Free electrons
B. Valence electrons
C. Electrons in K shell
D. Electrons in L shell
E. Electrons in M shell

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10. Which of the following makes a semiconductor crystal to give out energy?
A. Creation of an electron – hole pair
B. Doping with a group3 element
C. Doping with a group 5 element
D. Movement of a hole from one atom to another
E. Recombination
11. The type of bonding between atoms in semiconductors is
A. Covalent Bond
B. Electrovalent Bond
C. Metallic Bond
D. Ionic Bond
E. Dative Bond
12. Which of the following conducts electricity better when hot than when cold?
A. Conductors only
B. Conductors and semiconductors
C. Insulators only
D. Insulators and semiconductors
E. Conductors and semiconductors

SECTION B: THEORY
Answer any 2 questions in this section.

13. 1. (a) Arsenic has an atomic number of 33 and a mass number of 75. Draw a large diagram of an arsenic atom showing the number
and locations of the electrons, protons and neutrons. (7 mks)

(b). Determine from your answer above if Arsenic is a group 3, 4, 5 or 6 element. What type of semiconductor (P or N) will result if arsenic
is used to dope an intrinsic semiconductor? (3 mks)

(c) State the Mass Action Law. (2 marks)

A piece of silicon with an intrinsic concentration of 1.5x10 16/m3 is doped with arsenic at 7.5x1018/m3. Calculate the concentration of:
i. Holes (4 mks)
ii. Free electrons (4 mks)
14. (a) What does it mean to dope a semiconductor? (2 mks)

(b) A piece of intrinsic silicon is doped with group 5 element at a concentration of 4.8x10 18/m3. If the intrinsic concentration for silicon is
1.5x1016/m3 calculate: (8 mks)
i. Hole concentration
ii. Free electrons concentration
iii. Conductivity
iv. Resistivity

(c) Repeat the above calculations in a case when the same silicon is doped a second time with group 3 element at a concentration of 3x10 18/m3
(10 mks)

( take e=1.6x10-19, hole mobility = 0.05m2/vs, electron mobility = 0.13m2/vs )

15. (a) i. Between a free electron and a hole which one moves faster. Why? (2 mks)
ii. With a series of suitable diagrams, explain how a hole moves from one end of a piece of semiconductor to another. (4 mk)

(b) What is a charge carrier? List the charge carriers commonly encountered in electronics. For each one mentioned, state the charge it
carries. (3 mks)

(c) Explain the terms Energy Level, Energy Band and Fermi level (3 mks)

(d) The electrons of a certain atom exist in 3 shells K, L and M. Show in a diagram the 3 energy levels of this atom (2 mks)

(e} Draw the energy band diagrams of a semiconductor showing only the valence band, conduction band, forbidden gap and Fermi level
for the 3 cases of Intrinsic semiconductor , P-type and N-type semiconductors.(6 mks)