nis 60 5 CLASSIFICATION OF SOLIDS (METALS, INSULATORS AND SEMICONDUCTORS) 60.1 ENERGY LEVELS IN SOLIDS In case of single isolated atom, there are single energy levels (as we have seen in case of hydrogen atom). But when the two atoms are brought very near to each other there will be profound modifica~ tions in the energy levels.(We know that in case of solids, the atoms are arranged ina systematic space lattice The closeness of atoms results in the intermixing of electrons of neighbouring atoms, of course, for the valence electrons in the outermost shells which are not strongly bounded by nucleus. Due to this intermixing the number of permissible energy levels increases.(Hence is case of solid, in- stead of single enqrgy levels associated with the single atom, there will be bands of energy level Now the bands of energy levels are referred to thé entire solid as a whole and not to the single in- dividual atom. Here it should be remembered that the individual energies within the band are so close together that for many purposes, the energy band may be considered to be continucus,) Consider the case of lithium metal, whose atom has three electrons (two electrons in K shell and one electron in L shell). Fig. 60.1 (a) shows the energy levels for isolated lithium atom while Fig. 60.1 (b) shows the energy bands of lithium metal. Consider that lithium metal contains N atoms. As shown in Fig, 60.1 (6) there are 2N electrons occupying N different energy states in K shell. The higher L shell forms a wider band of N energy state with N electrons. Although the L shell may accommodate 2N electrons, hence it is half filled. To make the picture more clear, let us consider the case of sodium crystal. This crystal has many closely packed sodium atoms usually referred to as crystal lattice. Fig. 60.1 Each sodium atom has eleven electrons. As s and p subshells can accommodate 2'and 6 electrons respectively hence the subshells, 1s%, 2s?, 2p® are filled while 3s! can have still one more electron i.e., this is unfilled. The outermost 3s” electron is called valence electron. The valence bond is formed by the valence electroks in the crystal. Fig. 60.2 (a, b, c) Fig. 60.2 (a)cronsents the energy shells of Na atom, splitting of atomic levels into energy bands and pictorial rep- resentation respectively. Empty 3s eS | SS if 3 Files 2) wag ) Hy 298 Files Q 2s ee |? £ 254 Flee ts —___e|é K 18?Filled Fig. 60.2 (b) Fig. 60.2 (c) A small sodium crystal containing 10”° atoms, the band formed by splitting of s subshell will have 10 levels of slightly different energy because the ® subshell has two electronic levels. Similarly the p band has 3 x 10”” closely packed levels as, there are six electrons in a filled p subshell. In general, ina sodium crystal having N atoms, the splitting of K- shell gives rise to N energy levels while the splitting of p subshell give rise to 3N energy levels densely Packed to form a continuous band. We know that the potential energy of anelectron s given by 2 Aner’ Ze Thegr (@Z=1) vhee r is the distance of the electron from aucleus, IF @ graph is plotted between potential energy 'safunction of radial distance, Fig. 60.3is obtained f=— 9 Pls "2 in Fig. 60.3 When the number of atoms is increased, the ape of the graph is modified. Fig. 60.4 shows the arlous energy levels splitted into energy bands in ase of sodium crystal by considering three atoms, Kr Js obvious from Fig. 604 that the bands “ inier olomie distance Fig. 60.4 1s?, 252, 2p8 are discrete while ‘3s and 3p levels over. {apped to produce a single band. The electrons this band are easily available for conduction pure Poses. The electrons accommodated in 1:2, 282, 26 energy bands are attached to their parent nucle 60.2 VALENCE BAND, CONDUCTION BAND AND FORBIDDEN BAND We know that the atoms of a solid are arranged in a egular repeated geometric pattern and the clectrons of the atoms rotate around their nuclei is certain permitted energy levels. The electrons in the inner shells are strongly bounded to thein nuclei while the electrons in the outermost shells are not strongly bounded to their nuclei. The electrons in the outermost shell are called valence electrons. The band formed by a series of energy levels containing the valence electrons is knownex ‘alence bard. The valence band may also be defined as band which is occupied by the valence electrons or a band having highest occupied band energy. ‘The valence band is shown in Fig 60.5. The valance NY Emoty se CeAeeeeeR, RUE partially filed 3] | Forbidden bond & lence band) _ Fully or ZZ a 5 g ler files Eee. et Inter, ctomic distance —— Fig. 60.5 band may be partially or completely filled up depending on the nature of the crystal.ee Ee ee ne : Se Ee eT ae seid atin ita hil The next higher permit! + band is the conduc tion band. The electrons o_apying this band are knownas conduction electrons. The conduction band may also be defined as the lowest unfilled energy band. This band may be empty or partially filled. In con- duction band the electrons can move freely. The two bands, ie., conduction band and valence band are separated by a region or gap known as forbidden band. This band is collectively formed by a series of energy levels above top of the valence band and below the bottom of the conduc- tion band. Itshould be remembered thatnoelectron can exist in this band. When an electron in the valence band absorbs enough energy, it jumps the forbidden gap and enters the conduction band. When an electron jumps from valence band to conduction band, a covalent bond is broken. Now a positively charged holeis created as shown in Fig 606. Conduction bond Yolence bond Fig. 60.6 This hole is filled by the electron from the ad- jacent atoms. This process repeats as if hole moves from one place to another. In fact the hole is station- ary. 60.3 CONDUCTORS, SEMICONDUCTORS AND INSULATORS On the basis of forbidden band, the insulators, semiconductors and conductors are described as follows (1) Insulators. Incase of insulators, the forbid- den energy band is wide [Fig. 60.7 (a)]. Due to this fact electrons cannot jump for valence band to con- duction band. In insulators the valence electrons are bound very tightly to their parent atoms. For example, in case of materials like glass, the valence band is completely filled at 0 K and the energy gap between valence band and conduction band is of the order of 10 eV. Even in the presence of high electric field, the electrons do not move from valence band to conduction band. when a very large energy is supplied, an electron may be able to jump across the forbidden gap. Increase in temperature enables some electrons to go to the conduction band. This explains. why certain materials which are insulators become conductors at high temperature. The resistivity of insulators is of the order of 10” ohm-metre. (2) Semi-Conductors. In semi-conductors, the forbidden band is very small Fig, 60.7 (b)] Ger- manium and Silicon are the examples of semicon- ductors. In Germanium the forbidden band is of the order of 0.7 eV while in case of Silicon, the forbid- den band is of the order of 1.1 eV. Actually, a semi- conductor material is one whose electrical properties lie between insulators and good conduc tors. At 0°K, there are no electrons in conduction band and the valence band is completely filled. When a small amount of energy is supplied, the electrons can easily jump from valence band to con- duction band. For example, when,he temperature isincreased, the forbidden band is decreased so that some electrons are liberated into the conduction band. In semi-conductors, the conductivities are of the order of 10? ohm-metre. G) Conductors. Incase of conductors, there is no forbidden band and the valence band and con- duction band overlap each other [Fig. 60.7 (0)]. Here plenty of free electrons are available for electric \ conduction bend TL TIN Nectar tee Forbidden bond reviten tons | LNolence, 6) @ ) ©60.4 conduction. The electrons from valence band freely enter in the conduction band. The most important point in conductors is that due to the absence of forbidden band, there is no structure to establish holes. The total current in conductors is simply a flow of electrons. 60.4 CHEMICAL BONDS IN SEWMl- CONDUCTORS LIKE GERMANIUM AND SILICON Semi-conductors like germanium and Silicon have crystalline structure. Both these materials are tetravalent i.c,, each has four valence electrons in the outermost shell. Consider the case of a pure germanium. It has thirty-two electrons. Out of these thirty-two electrons, twenty-eight are tightly bond to the nucleus while the remaining four revolve in outermost orbit. These four electrons are known as valence electrons. Nucleus with twenty- eight tightly bound electrons form the ‘positive core’ of the atom. Let us consider the case when the two atoms of germanium are brought close to each other. Now the positive core of one atom interacts with one of the valence electrons of the other atom. Each core attracts the electron from the other atom and the two electrons are shared by two atonts. These two such electrons form an electron pair’ as show'n in Fig. 608. Core of valence Germoniim — Exorons Fig. 60.8 When the attractive force is balanced by the repulsive force between two positive cores, a covalent bond ig formed. The covalent bonds are the binding forces between the adjacent atoms. Here it should be remembered that the two electrons contributed by two atoms are still not available for conduction ie., the electron pairsis, ENGINEERING PHYsigg bound to the cores-of the atoms. At O'K, a pure» germanium crystal is a non-conductor as there arg. no free mobile carriers of charge. a The energy needed to liberate an electron froig yah) germanium atom is very small ic, of the order gf 0.7 eV. Thus even at room temperature an electron of one atom or the other can get detached from it, bond by thermal agitation, The detached electron! now becomes free and can move throughout th crystal lattice in a random motion. a When an electric field is applied, the randoms. motion of the electron experiences a drift towards _ the positive electrode representing the flow of curs rent ? When the electron escapes from the covalent bond, an empty space is left behind which is called | a hole (Fig. 60.9). Once the hole is created, an) Fig. 60.8. Hole formation in semi-conductor. electron from the covalent bond of a nearby atom shifts to occupy this hole. In this way, this process continues and the hold goes on shifting from one atom to another. The hold acts like a free positive charge. When an external electric field is applied, the hole moves towards the negative plate. The free electron moving to and from in acrystal lattice may collide with one of the broken covalent bonds and may combine with a hole. Now again a covalent bond is formed i.., free electron is con- verted into bound electron. Thus it is semi-conduc- tor like germanium not only electrons but also the holes contributed towards electrical conductivity. 60.5 PURE OR INTRINSIC SEMI-CONDUCTOR AND IMPURITY OR EXTRINSIC ‘SEMI-CONDUCTOR Intrinsic Semi-conductors. A semi-conductor in which electrons and holes are solely created by| CLASSIFICATION OF soLIDS thermal excitation is called a puse or intuinsiesemi- conductor: For example, pure erystals (like ger manium) which provide electron hole pairs are called intrinsic semi-conductors. The electrons reaching the conduction band due to thermal oo citation leave equal number of vacancies or hole, in valence band ic, in intrinsic semi-conductor the umber of free electrons is alzoays equal to the number af holes Extrinsic Semi-conductors. The electrical con: ductivity of pure germanium or silicon can be ne creased by adding some impurity in the process of crystallization. The added impurity is very small of the order of one atom per million atoms ofthe pure semi-conductor. Such semi-conductors arecalled ae extrinsic ‘semi-conductors. The added impurity may be pentavalent or trivalent. The suitable per favalent elements are phosphorus arsenic, an, timony etc. whereas tilen cement e iminium, gallium etc 60.7 IMPURITY SEMI-CONDUCTORS Depending on the type of impurity added, the ex- trinsic semi-conductors can be divided in two clas. ses () N-type semi-conductors ; and i) P-type semi-conductors. ” Netype extrinsic semi-conductor. Whena pen- feealent impurity is added to a pure crystal during the crystal growth, the resulting crystal is called N-type extrinsic semi-conductor, Let ug consider the case when pentavalent arsenic is added to pure Sermanium crystal. As shown in Fig. 60.10, the four Fa, 60.10. Arsenic impurity added to germanivm crystal —___ “Nis used to denote negative (electrons) current carriers eos electrons of the arseni with the valence electron of germanium atoms The fifth electron of arsenic atom is not covalently bonded but it is loosely bound to the arsenic atom, Now by increasing the thermal energy or applying lectric field, this electron can easily be excited hone the valence band to the conduction band. Thus every arsenic atom contributes one conduction lectron without creating a positive hole. Henec arsenic is called a donor element since it donates free electrons. The crystal as a whole has excese of electrons which are the current carriers. Since the Guirent carriers are negatively charged particles, this type of semiconductor is called » Netype se conductor. atom form covalent bonds In case of *N-type semi-conductor, the follow- ing points should be remembered ©) The donor atom after giving its one valence electron becomes positively charged ion but it ean. Tot take part in conduction as itis tightly bound to the crystal lattice. (i) InN-type semi-conductor material, there is an excess of electrons. Here the number of holes is small in comparison to parent intrinsic semi-con. ductor, because the large number of. electrons avail- able fill up the vacancies. Thus” in N-type semi-conductor, the electrons are the majority carriers while positive holes are minority carriers, (ii) Although N-type semi-conductor has excess electrons but iti electrically neutral. This is due to th fact that electrons are created by the addition of neutral pentavalent impurity atoms to the semicone Guctor, te, there is no addition of either negative charges or positive charges (@) When N-type semiconductor is placed be- tween two electrodes and an, electric field is ap- Plied, the excess electrons donated by impurity atoms will travel towards the positive electrode, Petype extrinsic semi-conductor. When a trivalent impurity atom (like boron or aluminium) iSadded toa pure crystal during the crystal growth, the resulting crystal is called a P-type extrinsic semi-conductor. Let us consider. the case when: trivalent boron isadded to pure germanium crystal.60.6 As shows in Fig. 60.11, the three electrons of boron atom form covalent bonds with the valence Fig. 60.11 Boron impurity added to germanium crystal. electrons of germanium atom. There is a deficiency of one electron which is called a hole. Now the remaining fourth atom of the germanium also tries to form a covalent bond. Actually it does so by taking the advantage of the thermal motion. It steals an electron from the neighbouring ger- manium atom. Due to this stealing action, a hole is created in the adjacent atom. This process con- tinues and the hole moves about in a random way due to thermal effects. Impuiity atoms that con- tribute holes in this manner are termed as. ac- ceptors because they accept, electrons from germanium atoms. Since current carriers are posi- tively charged particles (holes this type of semi- conductor is called P-type semiconductor. In case of P-type semiconductor, the following points should be remembered : () In P-type semiconductor materials, the majority carriers are positive holes while the minority carriers-are the electrons. (ii) The P-type semiconductor remains electri- cally neutral as the number of mobile holes under all conditions remains equal to the number of ac- ceptors. (ii) When an electric field is applied across a P-type semiconductor, the electrons move towards the positive terminal of battery while the holes move towards the negative terminal. 60.7 CONDUCTIVITY OF SEMICONDUCTOR MATERIALS The conductivity of a semiconductor is different from a metal in the respect that in a semiconductor ‘the charge carriers are electrons as well as holes (On the basis of free electron theory the condi fvity oofa metals given by given by, ENGINEERING PHYSICS where 11 = number of free electron per unit volume of the conductor, ie., electron density electronic charge i, =electron mobility On the basis of this expression, the conductivity 6 of a semiconductor material can be obtained in the following manner : Let 1n = electron density in the conduction band per unit volume (per metre”) = positive hole density in the valence band electron mobility Uj, = positive hole mobility Now the conductivity o,,, of the semi conductor due to electrons in conduction band is given by +-Q) Similarly, the conductivity op, of the semi con- ductor due to holes is given by Oy = Hedy Op = PEM The total conductivity o is given by 8) © = G40) = NeHet+peny = elth. +P Hyd Conductivity of intrins case of intrinsic semiconductor (germanium or silicon), the number of conduction electrons is equal to the number of holes, ie., (4), semiconductor. In (5) where 1, is the intrinsic concentration of electrons of holes in the semiconductor. Thus the conductivity 6, of the intrinsic semi conductor is given by npn; (6) Conductivity of N-type semiconductors. In 6) = elm He + me Hi) = enti fhe + Hid case of N-type semiconductor, the electron con- centration is far-far greater than the hole concentra- tion, ie., hole concentration is negligibly small in omparison to electron concentration. The electron: concentration isnow represented by 14, ie., the con centration of donor atoms. From equation (4), We haveCLASSIFICATION OF SOLIDS In N-type semiconductor 1 > p oF 1 He, > P By Oy = EMG He (7) Conductivity of P-type semiconductors. In case of P-type semiconductors, the electron con- centration is negligibly small in comparison tohole concentration, ic., p >>" OF p jy >> 1 He: The hole concentration is represented by 1g, ie, the con- centration of acceptor atoms. Hence the conduc- tivity of P-type semiconductor is given by Op = eM Bh (8) EXAMPLE 1. Find the mobility of electrons in copper assuming that each atom contributes one free electron {for conduction. (Resistivity of copper = 1.7 x10" ohm. ‘cm, atomic weight = 63.54, density = 896 gm/cc 025 x 10° and electronic charge = 1.6 x 10"? coulomb). Avogadro's number Solution First of all we shall find the number of free electrons per unit volume. This is given by Avogadro’s number x density ‘Atomic weight 6.025 x 10 x 8.96 5 x 10% .7 ae 8.496 x 107 The mobility of electrons is given by On PHie ne where G;, is the conductivity. If px be the resistivity, then 1 Pu = 5 sothat f= 55 1 © T7 10" x 8.496 x 10? x 1.6 10° = 43.28 em*/volt-sec. EXAMPLE 2. Calculate the conductivity of pure silicon at room temperature when the concentration of carriers 1s 1.610" per cm. Take p= 1500 60.7 cm?/volt-sec and uy =500 cm?/volt-sec at roo: temperature. Solution ductor We know that in case of pure semi-con- enjlhe+ Hal Here = 16x10" coulomb, 1.6 10” per cm? = 1500 cm*/volt-sec mo and py, = 500cm?*/volt-sec 6; = 1.6 x 107 9x 1.6 x 10"° [1500 + 500] 5.12 x10" ® mho/em EXAMPLE 8. Calculate the current produced in a small germanium plate of area 1 cm? and of thickness 0.3 mm when a potential difference of 2V is applied across the faces. Given, concentration of free electrons in Ge is 2x 10!?/m® and mobilities f electrons and holes are 0.36 m?/V-s and 0.17 m?/V-sec respectively. Solution : The current produced lis given by AxV P= melita) where A = area of cross section, V = voltage applied across the two ends 1 = length of the semi-conductor Here 1;=2x10!9/m3, e=1.6 x 10° coulomb, be = 0.36 sec, by = 0.17 m2/v-s, A= 1x 107“ metre’, V=2volts and | = 0.3 mm =0.3 x 10”? metre. Substituting these values, we have 2x 10° x 1.6x 10-7? (0.36 + 0.17) x1 x 10" # x2. 0.3 x10"? 60.8 P.N. JUNCTION DIODE When a P-type material is intimately joined to N- type, a P-N junction is formed. In fact, merely join- ing the two pieces a P-N junction cannot be formed because the surface films and other irregularities produce major discontinuities in the crystal struc- ture. Therefore,(a P-N junction is formed from a = 113. Amp60.8 citvty ENGINEERING PHYSics N ype eee « e cee ee Negative charged (0) in majrty chorged oes © 0 © many ° P ype © Immobie +e ion [>> © tnmatie we ion] © tice : © ection eo 0° Nigroted electron from N ype ‘Space. charge resin or depletion layer Mroted holes fiom P ype Petentot borer ©) (@) P-type and N-type semiconductors (not joined) (0) PAN junction (ater joining) (c) Potential barrier. Fig. 60.12 piece of semi-conductor (say germanium) by dif- fusing P-type material to one half side and N type material to the other half side, The plane dividing the two zones is known as a junction, ‘We know that there are free hols whjch move about on P-type, of course, there are equal number of negative acceptor sites keeping the charge balanced. Similarly, there are free electrons which move about on N-type, of course, there are fixed donor sites which keep the: ‘electric charge balanced. P-type and N-type semiconductor pieces before they are joined are shown in Fig. 60.12 (a). Now let us consider that the two pieces are joined together as shown in Fig. 60.12 (b). Due to diffusion, some of the electrons from N region cross over to P region where. they combine with holes’ and become neutral. Similarly, some of the holes from P region cross over to N region where they combine with electrons and become neutral. Thus a layer is formed which is known _as_depletionTa Gambed fess region or space charge region because iere is no charge available for conduction. The diffusion of electrons and holes across the junction continues till a potential barrier (Fig. 60.12 (0)] is developed in depletion Tayer or space charge region which prevents further diffusion or neutralization. ‘he potential barrier can be increased or decreased yy applying an external voltage’) Junction voltage. When the depletion layer is formed there are positive immobile ions in N type semiconductor and negative immobile ions in P type semiconductor as shown in Fig. 60.13. @ oN ae Immebile negative ions Fig. 60.13.Showing junction vottage Now due to charge separation, a voltage, Vp is. developed across the junction under equilibrium conditions. This voltage is known as junction volt- age or internal voltage,_~ Rectifying action.” We shall consider the effect of forward bias and reverse bias across the PN. junction. () Forward bias. When the positive terminal of a battery is connected to P type semiconductor and negative terminal is connected to N type semi- conductor, then the junction is forward biased asCLASSIFICATION OF SOLIDS shown in Fig, 60.14, The effect of the forward bias is to lower the potential barrier across the depletion, layer. P N ectrone|— @ mA Electron flow Fig. 60.14 P-N-Junction forward biased. In case of the forward bias, the holes from P type semi-conductor are repelled by the positive battery terminal towards the junction and simultaneously. the electrons in N type semi-conductor are repelled by negative battery terminal towards junction. — Here battery voltage should be high to impart suf- ficient energy to these carriers to overcome the potential barrier at the junction and enable them to cross through it. Hence large current flows so long as the battery voltage is applied. The current flow may be understood as follows : When an electron hole combination takes place near the junction, a covalent bond near the positive terminal of batlery breaks down. This causes the liberation of an electron which enters the positive terminal. This action creates a new hole which moves towards the junction. For each electron in N region that com- bines with a hole from P region, an electron’enters the crystal from the negative terminal of the battery. The constant movement of the electrons towards the positive terminal and the holes towards the negative terminal produces a high forward current As the applied voltage is increased further, the electrons and holes having lower energy will be able to cross the potential barrier and the current will increase further. (2) Reverse bias. When the positive terminal ofa battery is connected to N-type semi-conductor, and negative terminal is connected to P type semi- conductor, the junction is reverse biased as shown Fig. 60.15. The effect of reverse bias is to increase the poten- tial barrier, thus allowing a very little current to flow. When the junction is reverse biased, the electrons in N type semi-conductor and holes in P 60.9 —ihi a ce | 1 pe A Patentcl borer is increased Fig. 60.15 P-N junction reverse bias, type semi-conductor are attracted away from the junction under the action of applied voltage. Since there is no recombination of electron-hole pairs, the current is negligibly small, ie, the junc- tion has high resistance. The variation of current in forward bias as well as in reverse bias is shown in Fig. 60.16. Forward volts Reverse current Fig. 60.16. Showing diode current in forward as well as in reverse biased. Itis, therefore, concluded that P-N junction acts asa rectifier because it passes current more readily in one direction than the other. 60.9 JUNCTION TRANSISTO# ‘When two P-N junction diodes are placed back to back, a triode transistor or junction transistor is formed. There are two common types of junction transistors : (1) PNP type: This is formed by joining a layer of P type germanium to P-N junction. (2) NPN type: This is formed by joining a layer of N type germanium to P-N junction. _—~60.10 Both types are shown in Fig, 60.17 with symbols for representation. Emitter Bose Collector ef [rf T 8 (np swe Emitter Bose Collector ofp [xl e e T e E c 2 (b) PNP transistor. Fig. 60.17. Junction transistors Operation of PNP Transistor. In case of a PNP transistor, the P region of the leftiis connected to the positive terminal of a battery and N region to the négative terminal ie., P-N is forward biased. The junction that is forward biased in transistor is always termed as emitter junction. The P region of the right is connected to the negative of a battery and the N region to the positive terminal ie.,reverse biased as shown in Fig. 60.18. The junction with Emitter junetion Fig. 60.18 PNP transistor operation reverse bias in.a-transistor is termed as collector. This configuration is known as common base or grounded base configuration. ENGINEERING PHYSICS \e operation of PNP transistor is as follows the holes of P region (known asemitter) are repelled by the positive terminal of battery towards emitter junction. The potential barrier at emitter junction is reduced as it is forward bias hence the holes cross thisjunction and penetrate intoN region. The width of the base region is very thin and itis lightly doped and hence only two to five percent of the holes recombine with the free electrons of N region. This constitutes the base current which is, of course, very small. The remaining holes (95% to 98%) are able to drift across the base and enter the collector region. They are swept up by the negative collector voltage Ve As each hole reaches the collector electrode, an electron is emitted from the negative terminal of battery and neutralizes the hole. Now a covalent bond near the emitter electrode breaks down. The liberated electron enters the positive terminal of battery V. while the hole immediately moves towards the emitter junction. The process is repeated again and again. Here it should be remem- bered that ( Current conduction within PNP transistor takes place by hole conduction from emitter to col- lector ie, majority Charge carries ina PNP transis- tor are holes. The conduction in the external circuit (ii) The collector currentis slightly less than the emitter current. this is due to the fact that 2 to 5% of the holes are lost in recombination with electrons in base region. Thus the collector current is slightly Jess than emitter current. (iii) The collectorcurrentisa function ofemitter currentie.,with the decrease or increase in theemit- ter current a corresponding change in the collector current is observed. Besides holes current, there is electron current which flows from base region to emitter region. This current depends upon emitter base potential. As the width of base region is very small, the ratio of hole current to the electron current is very small. So for all practical purposes, the electron current may be neglected. Thus only the hole current plays the important role in the operation of PNP transis- tor.CLASSIFICATION OF S_.0S Operation of NPN transistor. The biasing of NPN transistor is shown in Fig, 60.19. The emitter Emitter Callector rl ] w= & ect = fon few Fig. 60.19 NPN transistor operation junction is forward biased because electrons are repelled from the negative emitter battery terminal V,, towards the junction. The collector junction is reverse biased because electrons are flowing away from the collector junction towards the positive col- lector battery terminal V.. The operation of NPN transistor is as follows: ‘The electron in the emitter region are repelled from the negative terminal of battery towards the ‘emitter junction. Since the potential barrier at this junction is reduced due to forward bias, and base region is very thin and lightly doped, electrons cross the P type base region. A few electrons com- bine with the holes in P region and are lostag charge carrier. Now the electrons in N region (collector region) are readily swept up by the positive collec~ tor voltage V.. For every electron flowing out the collector and entering the positive terminal of bat- tery V;, and electron from the negative emitter bat- tery terminal enters the emitter region. In this way electron conduction takes place continuously so long as the two junctions are properly biased. The main difference between the operation of PNP and NPN transistor is that current conduction in latter is carrier out by electrons while in the former the charge carriers are holes 60.10 SUPER CONDUCTIVITY 9<~ The electrical resistance R of a piece of metal is defined as the ratio of potential difference V volts applied across the piece of the material to the cur- rent i amp. flowing through it. Thus Vv R = ohms i If I be the length of a piece of homogeneous material with uniform cross-sectional area A, then its specific resistance or resistivity p is defined as 60.11 where 6 = : = conductivity Around room temperature, the resistivity for good conductors is of the order of 10°* ohm-m and for insulators, it is between the range of 10° or 10! ohm-m, Semiconductors have p of the order of 107} to 10! ohm-m. Metals havea positive tempera- ture coefficient ie. theit electrical resistance decreases with the decrease in temperature, Of ‘Course, the decrease In resRANCE IS aIMOST propor- tional to the decrease in temperature. Before the production of low temperatures, it was thought that the electrical resistance of a conductor becomes zero only at absolute zero. But it is found that the electrical resistivity of many metals and alloys drop to zero when they are cooled to a sufficiently low temperature. For example, K Onnes in 1911 ob- served that the electrical 8 {pure mercury suddenly drops to 20:6aeitis.cooled below i phenomenon of super-conductivity was discovered by Kamerlingth Onnes, in 1911, when he was measuring the resistivity of mercury at low temperature. He observed that the electrical resis tivity of pure mercury drops abruptly to zero at about the boiling point of helium ie., 4.2 K. He concluded that mercury has passe intoa new state which is called the super-conducting, state. The temperature at which the resistance disappears is called the transition temperature or critical temperature. The critical temperature of mercury is shown in Fig, 60.20. 0.5; 0.19} 1 Sample restonce (sh) —— 8 40 At 42 YK Fig. 60.20, Resistance of mercury as a function of temperature.