APPLIED ELECTRONICS

GM/MN/MR 162

SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES

ISAAC AIDOO
Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering
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LECTURE OBJECTIVES
■ Understand the need to the Semiconductor Physics
■ Be able to use the energy band diagram to differentiate between
Semiconductors, Conductors and Insulators
■ Classify materials as conductors, semiconductors or insulators
■ Understand n-type and p-type materials
■ Understand the p-n junction
■ Appreciate forward and reverse bias of p-n junctions
■ Draw the circuit diagram symbol for a semiconductor diode
■ Understand rectification, and describe methods of obtaining half-
wave and full-wave rectification
 INTRODUCTION
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■ Most Electronics devices and circuitry rely on Semi-conductors materials

■ Due to the wide range of applications of electronics in science and technology, it is essential
that today’s engineer to have a fairly good understanding of the theory on which the
technology is based.
■ Electronics is the branch of science and engineering that deals with the current conduction
phenomena in vacuum or gas or semiconductor and the utilization of the devices based on
these phenomena.
– OR
– Electronics may also be defined as the branch of physics and technology concerned
with the behavior and movement of electrons.
■ To understand the functioning of electronic devices (and many more that are likely to come in
future), it becomes necessary to study the physics of the basic material- the semiconductor.
■ The focus of this course is on solid state electronics. As a result, we will begin with the study
of the atomic structures of some of the most important semiconductor materials, namely,
silicon and germanium.
 ATOMIC STRUCTURE
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■ The atoms of different elements differ in their structure, and thus possess different
characteristics.
■ Every material is made up of one or more elements, an element being a substance
composed entirely of atoms of the same kind.
■ An atom is the smallest particle of an element that still retains the characteristics of
that element. Different elements have different types of atoms
■ According to the Bohr theory, atoms have a planetary type of
structure, consisting of a central nucleus surrounded by
orbiting electrons
■ The nucleus of all atoms except that of hydrogen
consists of protons and neutrons
■ The atomic number is the number of protons per atom
■ The atomic weight is approximately the number of
protons and neutrons in the nucleus
Figure 1 – Bohr’s Model of Atom
 ■ Atomic Mass (or Atomic Weight)
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■ The weight of an atom is determined

by the number of protons and
neutrons that are present in the
nucleus.

■ The proton and neutron, which are

similar in mass, each weighs
approximately 1,836 times greater
than a single electron, thus the mass
contributed by electrons is
insignificant when determining atomic
weight or atomic mass.

■ The atomic mass is the sum of the

protons and neutrons in the nucleus Figure 2 – The Periodic Table
 ■ Electron and Shells
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distant orbits.
■ Each discrete distance (orbit) from the nucleus corresponds to a
certain energy level. In an atom, the orbits are grouped into energy
levels known as shells.
■ A given atom has a fixed number of shells. Each shell has a fixed
maximum number of electrons.
■ The maximum number of electrons (Ne) that can exist in each shell
of an atom is a fact of nature and can be calculated by the Figure 3 – Atomic structure layout
formula,
=2
■ Valence Electrons
■ These are electrons that occupy the outermost shell of an atom.
■ They are loosely bond to the atom because, the force of attraction between the positively charged
nucleus and the negatively charged electron decreases with increasing distance from the nucleus.
■ These valence electrons contribute to chemical reactions and bonding within the structure of a material
and determine its electrical properties.
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■ Ionization and Covalent Bonding
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■ Atoms form either gain or lose electrons to attain the ionization state. This process aids in atomic
bonding and forms the basis for compounds and materials used today.

■ Ionization
■ The valence electrons are more loosely bound to the atom than inner electrons, so they can easily
jump to higher energy shells when external energy is absorbed by the atom
■ 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 (pull).
■ 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 (cation).
■ The reverse process can occur in certain atoms when a free electron collides with the atom and is
captured, the atom thus becomes negatively charged (more electrons than protons) Known as
negative ion (anion).
 ■ Covalent and ionic Bonding
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■ Atoms can attain a more stable

arrangement of electrons in their
outermost shell by interacting with
one another
■ An ionic bond is formed when
electrons are transferred from one
atom to the other
■ Covalent bond is formed when
electrons are shared between
atoms

Figure 4 – Models of Ionic and Covalent Bonds

 Classification of Materials used in Electronics
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Figure 5 – Band gap diagrams

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• Most valence electrons exist in the valence

band

• Whiles free electrons exist in the conduction

band
• Conductors: more electrons are already in the
conduction band

• Insulators: no electrons exist in the

conduction band and require more energy to
cross the band gap

• Semiconductors: no electrons exist in the

conduction band. However, little energy is
required to cross the band gap
 Temperature versus Resistivity
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Figure 6 – Temperature – Resistivity characteristics

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Silicon and Germanium
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These materials possess the following properties:

■ They have 4 valence electrons,

■ Their resistance increases with decreases in temperature, i.e. they have
negative temperature coefficient of resistance.
■ Their conductivity can be improved by doping the semiconductor with suitable
impurities. Incidence of light also leads to an increase in their conductivity.
■ The current in the semiconductor is as a result of the movement of holes and
electrons,
■ At room temperatures, their conductivity lies between that of conductor and
insulator.
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Semi-conductor Types
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■ INTRINSIC EXTRINSIC

Figure 7 – Intrinsic and extrinsic semiconductor diagrams

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P-type And N-type Extrinsic Semiconductors

N-type semi-conductor P-type semi-conductor

Figure 8 – N-type and P-type semiconductor diagrams

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The P-N Junction
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Formation of the PN Junction

Formation of the Depletion Region
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The Diode
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Forward Biasing
 ■ Reverse Biasing
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■ Reverse Current
■ The extremely small current that exists in
reverse bias after the transition current dies
out is caused by the minority carriers
■ Reverse breakdown
■ Occurs due to the avalanche effect (when
reverse voltage is increased over the
breakdown voltage)
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V-I Characteristics of A Diode
■ V-I Characteristics of a Forward Biased Diode V-I Characteristic for Reverse Biased Diode
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The Complete V-I Characteristic Curve
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 Zener Diode
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■ The Zener diode is a special diode that operates in the breakdown region of the
ordinary diode.
■ It is heavily doped when compared to an ordinary diode and thus makes its
depletion layer narrow
■ Finds application in voltage regulation
 Zener Diode
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■ Consequently breakdown of the

junction can occur very low reverse
voltages due to:
■ Zener effect: At voltages up to
about 5 V the electric field near to
the junction is strong enough to pull
electrons out of the covalent bonds
holding the atoms together
■ The avalanche effect occurs if the
reverse bias voltage is made larger
than 5 V
 Rectification
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■ The process of obtaining unidirectional currents and voltages

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from alternating currents and voltages

■ Types of rectification:
– Half-wave rectification
– Full- wave rectification
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Half-wave Rectification
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 Full-wave Rectification
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Full-wave Rectification Cont’d
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 Smoothing Circuit
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■ To smooth the output of the rectifiers capacitors having a

large capacitance may be connected across the load resistor
R
 DIODE CALCULATIONS
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■ (a) Determine the forward voltage and forward current for the diode in
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for each of the diode models. Also find the voltage across the
limiting resistor in each case. Assume r'd= 10 Ω at the determined
value of forward current
■ (b) Determine the reverse voltage and reverse current for the diode in
for each of the diode models. Also find the voltage across the
limiting resistor in each case. Assume IR = 1 µA.
 Three models of the diode
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■ Ideal diode model

– Least accurate model
– Neglects the barrier potential, forward dynamic resistance and reverse
current
– Hence zero voltage across it when forward-biased, VF = 0V
– Since the reverse current is neglected, its value is assumed to be zero,
IR = 0A
– The reverse voltage equals the bias voltage. VR = VBIAS
– The forward current is determined by the bias voltage and the limiting
VBIAS
resistor using Ohm’s law. IF =
RLIMIT
 Three models of the diode
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■ Practical diode model

– Includes the barrier potential
– When the diode is forward-biased, its in series with voltage source (VF) = 0.7
V (equivalent to the barrier potential)
– When the diode is reverse-biased, the barrier potential does not affect
reverse bias, so it is not a factor.
– The diode is assumed to have zero reverse current, IR = 0A, VR = VBIAS
– The forward current is determined by applying KVL law

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 Three models of the diode
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■ Complete diode model

– Includes the barrier potential, the small forward dynamic resistance and
the large internal reverse resistance (since it generates reverse current)
– When the diode is forward-biased, its in series with a barrier potential
voltage (VB) and the small forward dynamic resistance (r‘d)
– Hence VF barrier potential voltage plus the small voltage drop across the
dynamic resistance,
 Solution
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■ (a)

Complete diode model

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 Solution
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■ (a)

Complete diode model

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 SUMMARY
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■ Atomic Structure
– Atomic Mass (or Atomic Weight)
– Electron and Shells
■ Ionization and Covalent Bonding
■ Types or Classification of Materials used in Electronics
– Temperature versus Resistivity
– N-type and P-type Materials
■ The P-N Junction
■ The Diode
– V-I Characteristics of A Diode
■ Zener Diode
■ Rectification
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THANK YOU
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QUESTIONS?