Unit 1

Semiconductor Physics
A Classification of Solids on the basis of energy band, CO1
electrons and holes concentration in intrinsic
semiconductors, Fermi levels, Mobility,
conductivity,
B Donor and Acceptor impurities (n-type and p-type CO1
semiconductor), Drift and diffusion current, Hall
effect,
C p-n junction, types of p-n junction (step-graded and CO1,
Linearly-graded junction), formation of depletion CO6
region, barrier potential, Zener diode, Avalanche
and Zener breakdown.
 Formation of Energy Bands

• Electrons revolve around the nucleus in

defined shells
• K 2 electrons L
• L 8 electrons
• M 18 electrons K
• N 32 electrons
• Within each shell, electrons are further
grouped into subshells
• s 2 electrons
• p 6 electrons
• d 10 electrons
• f 14 electrons
• electrons are assigned to shells and d 10
subshells from inside out
For eg. Si has 14 electrons: 2 K, 8 L, 4 M p 6
s 2
Energy band
 Formation of Energy bands

When two atoms come close, one energy level splits into two energy levels.

When three atoms approach each other closely, the original level splits into three
levels; four atoms produce four levels and so on.

In general, N interacting atoms cause a particular energy level to split into N
levels. The group of energy levels resulting from splitting is so closely spaced
that it is called an energy band.

The individual valence electrons no longer belong to individual atoms; but they
now belong to all nuclei in the solid.
 Energy level splitting and band formation

We take example
of a carbon
atom having
electronic
configuration
1s22s22p2
 Formation of Energy Bands in a Solid

To form a solid, a large number of atoms are brought together.

Figure shows energy bands as a function of interatomic separation of atoms.

 BAND THEORY OF SOLIDS

 A crystal (i.e., solid) consists of an enormous number of atoms arranged in a regular periodic
structure.

 Let us assume that N identical atoms form the crystal. Electrons of each atom will have
discrete energies in different orbits. The electron energy will be same if all atoms are isolated,
i.e. separated from each other by a large distance.

 Suppose these atoms start coming nearer to each other to form a solid.

 As the atoms approach, a continuously increasing interaction occurs between the atoms. Each
of the energy levels splits into many distinct levels and form energy bands.
 These allowed energy bands are separated by forbidden bands of energy which is known as
band gap.
 FORMATION OF ENERGY BANDS In Diamond (Carbon)

At large separation, there is a filled 2s band and a 1/3 filled 2p band.

There is a range of carbon-carbon separations for which the 2s and 2p bands overlap and
form a hybrid band containing 8N states (levels).
 But the minimum total
electron energy occurs at this
carbon carbon separation. At
this separation, the energy
band of 8N states is split apart
into 2 bands (each containing
4N states), which are
separated by an energy gap,
Eg.
The lower band which is
completely occupied by the
4N valence electrons at
absolute zero temperature is
known as the valence band. Energy level splitting as a function of interatomic distance.

The other band consisting of 4N energy states is completely empty at absolute zero, is known as
the conduction band.
ENERGY BAND STRUCTURE OF A SOLID (Carbon)
 ENERGY BAND DIAGRAM
An energy band diagram is a graphic representation of the energy levels associated with top
energy band and the next lower energy band in a solid.

The energy band diagram shows two bands with a gap in-between. The upper band is called the
conduction band (Lowermost empty band) and the lower energy band is called the valence
band (Uppermost filled band). These two bands are separated by a forbidden gap.
 This energy gap is more popularly called band gap and is denoted by the
symbol Eg. The conduction band corresponds to the energy values of free
electrons that have broken their valence bonds, and hence have become free to
move in the crystal.

 The bottom of the conduction band represents the smallest energy that the
electron must possess to become free. Only the free electrons can move in the
crystal under the influence of the externally applied electric field.

 Hence, these electrons are called conduction electrons and the energies of such
electrons constitute the conduction band. The band showing the energy values
of valence electrons that are engaged in covalent bonding is called the valence
band.
Valence band and Conduction band
 Classification of Solids on the basis of Energy Band

The concept of energy bands helps us in understanding the division of solids into three
groups. Based on ‘band theory’, solids can be classified into three categories, namely,

1. Conductors
2. Semiconductors
3. Insulators

The nature of the energy bands determines whether the solid is an electrical conductor,
semi-conductor and insulator.

According to the band theory, the electrical conductivity a solid is characterized by the
energy gap Eg separating the outermost energy bands namely, the valence band and the
conduction band. The ability of electrical conduction is decided by the order of magnitude
of the energy gap Eg.
 Conductor

Energy band structure of a conductor

In some solids, the upper vacant conduction band overlaps the valence band. It means that
electrons in the valence band have easy access to levels in the upper vacant band. For this
reason, very large numbers of electrons are available for conduction, even at extremely low
temperatures. When electric field is impressed across the solid, electrons readily jump into upper
unoccupied energy levels of the vacant band and current flows in a large measure in the solid.
Therefore, these solids exhibit good electrical conductivity and are called conductors.
 Semiconductor

Energy band structure of a semiconductor

In some solids the band gap is narrow and of the order of 2 eV or less, as shown in Fig above.
Acquisition of small amounts of energy from the vibrations of atom can raise electrons from the valence
band to the conduction band. The conduction band is then partially filled.
If a potential is applied across the material, it causes the electrons in the conduction band to move to
upper levels.
As a result, current flows in a modest measure in the solid. Such solids are called semiconductors.
 Insulator

Energy band structure of an insulator

Some solids have band gaps that are very wide (Eg > 3 eV). It would require the acquisition of
very large amounts of energy to cause an electron to jump from the valence band to the
conduction band. Very few electrons can get this large amount of energy to jump from valence
band to conduction band at ambient temperature. Hence, there are very few electrons in the
conduction band. When a voltage is applied across the solid, negligible current flows and the
solid exhibits very low electrical conductivity. These solids are called insulators.
 Conductors, Semiconductors and Insulators
• The separation of the valence and conduction bands determines the electrical properties of
the material

• Conductors (metals) have a very small (or nonexistent) energy gap

• electrons can easily jump from VB to CB due to thermal excitation.
• current flows easily.
• Semiconductors have a moderate energy gap
• only few electrons can jump from VB to CB leaving “holes”.
• only a little current can flow
• Insulators have a large energy gap
• electrons can’t jump from valence to conduction band
• no current flows
 CONDUCTORS

• Conduction and valence bands are overlapped.

• Abundant free electrons already exist in the conduction band at room

temperature hence conductivity is high.

• The resistivity increases with temperature as the mobility of already existing

electrons will be reduced due to collisions.

• Metals like Cu, Ag and Al are best examples.

 SEMICONDUCTORS

• Forbidden gap is less.

• Conduction band and valence band are partially filled at room temperature.

• Conductivity increases with temperature as more and more electrons cross

over the small energy gap.

• Examples Si (1.1eV) & Ge (0.72eV).

 INSULATORS

• Bad conductors of electricity

• Conduction band is empty and valence band is full, and these band are
separated by a large forbidden energy gap.

• The best example is Diamond with Eg= 7eV.

 Properties of Semiconductors
•A semiconductor is a material with conducting properties between those of a good insulator (e.g.
glass) and a good conductor (e.g. copper). Ex: Si, Ge, GaAs etc. The typical energy band gap of a
semiconductor is around 1 eV.

• Semiconductors can conduct electricity under preferable conditions or circumstances. This

unique property makes it an excellent material to conduct electricity in a controlled manner as
required.

•At absolute zero, all energy states in the valence band are full and all states in the conduction
band are empty. Hence pure semiconductors are insulators at absolute zero temperature.

•At room temperature however, some of the valence electrons acquire thermal energy greater than
Eg and cross over into the conduction band.

•These free electrons, and (the corresponding holes created in the valence band), can move about
even under a small applied field.
 Applications of Semiconductors

Semiconductors are used in almost all electronic devices. Without them, our life
would be much different. They are widely used in a wide range of components and
devices.

1. Computing: Computers, transistors, diodes, photosensors, microcontrollers,

integrated chips.

2. Telecommunication: smartphones, TV remotes, satellites, fiber networks,

photodides and lasers.

3. Household Appliances: Fridges, microwaves, washing machines, air

conditioners, CD players, LED TVs, and digital cameras.
 TYPES OF SEMICONDUCTORS

Intrinsic semiconductors: Chemically pure semiconductors are known

as intrinsic semiconductors. A semiconductor is considered to be pure
when there is less than one impurity atom in a billion host atoms.

Extrinsic semiconductors: Semiconductors doped with impurity atoms

(dopants) are called extrinsic semiconductors.
 INTRINSIC SEMICONDUCTOR
Chemically pure semiconductors are known as intrinsic semiconductors.

A two-dimensional representation of silicon crystal is shown above. Each silicon atom forms covalent
bonds with four surrounding atoms. The shaded circles in the figure represent the cores of the silicon
atoms. The four valence electrons are shown by the small black dots surrounding each hatched circle
 Energy Band Diagram of an Intrinsic Semiconductor
In terms of energy band diagram, a conduction band and a valence band separated by a smaller energy
gap characterize a semiconductor. In a real crystal, the concentration of atoms N is given by

In a real crystal, the concentration of N atoms is given by, N = , where NA is the Avogadro number, 𝜌 the density
and M the atomic weight of the material. Using the data for silicon into above eq,., we obtain, N = 5 × 1028 atoms/m3.
The valence and conduction bands of silicon crystal contain 2N energy levels each. Therefore, the number of energy
levels in each band is 1029 levels/m3. The number of valence electrons available in the silicon crystal is 4N = 2×1029
electrons/m3. These electrons occupy the valence band and leave the conduction band vacant.
(a) At 0K an Intrinsic Semiconductor Behaves as a Perfect Insulator

At 0K and temperatures close to 0K, all valence electrons are locked in covalent bonds fig. above) and spend most of
the time between neighboring atoms. Since all the valence electrons are engaged in covalent bonds, the bonds are
complete. The energy available at 0K is not sufficient to break the covalent bonds.
Therefore, there are no free electrons within the material at absolute zero. Consequently, the semiconductor at 0K
cannot conduct electricity and acts as a perfect insulator. Hence, the intrinsic semiconductor behaves as a perfect
insulator at 0K.
(b) Mechanism of Conduction in an Intrinsic Semiconductor

At temperatures above absolute zero, the finite thermal energy causes each atom in the crystal to vibrate about its
mean position. When the vibrations become violent, some of the electrons acquire sufficient energy and break away
from covalent bonds (above figure). Whenever a covalent bond is ruptured by thermal energy, a valence electron
becomes free. The higher the temperature, the more covalent bonds are broken.
The electrons liberated from bonds move randomly in the void spaces between the atoms in the crystal. If an electric
field is applied, these free electrons cause electrical conduction.
 Energy band diagram

From the energy band point of view, it means that some of the electrons in the valence band
convert part of their thermal energy into potential energy. Those electrons which acquire energy
equal to or in excess of the band gap energy Eg are excited to the conduction band. Thus, the band
gap energy Eg is the minimum amount of energy required to excite an electron from valence band
to conduction band, which is characteristic of the material.
 Charge Carriers in a Semiconductor

With an increase in temperature covalent bonds are broken in an intrinsic semiconductor and
electron-hole pairs are generated. We expect that a large number of electrons can be found in the
conduction band and similarly, a large number of holes in the valence band. As electrons and
holes are charged particles, they are together are called charge carriers.

Carrier concentration is the number of electrons in the conduction band per unit volume (n) and
the number of holes in the valence band per unit volume (p) of the material. Carrier concentration
is also known as the density of charge carriers.
 Electrons and Holes

 When electrons move into the conduction band, they leave behind vacancies in the valence
band. These vacancies are called holes. Because holes represent the absence of negative
charges, it is sometimes useful to think of them as positive charges.

 Whenever an electron leaves its position in the lattice it leaves a vacancy known as a hole. The
process is known as electron-hole pair generation.
 + -
Electric field

Therefore, if an electric field is applied, these electrons can move into higher vacant levels and
current flows in the crystal at ordinary temperatures.
In pure semiconductors all available charge carriers, electrons and holes, arise due to thermally
ruptured bonds and these thermally generated electron-hole pairs cause electrical conduction.
Thermal generation is an intrinsic process. Therefore, we may define an intrinsic semiconductor
as follows.
An intrinsic semiconductor is a semiconductor crystal in which electrical conduction arises
due to thermally excited electrons and holes.
 Energy Band Diagram of Intrinsic Semiconductor

Intrinsic Semiconductor at T = 0 K , At T >0 K, few thermally generated

behaves like an insulator electron-hole pairs are created

 At absolute zero Kelvin temperature (at T = 0 K), the covalent bonds are very strong and
there are no free electrons and the semiconductor behaves as a perfect insulator.
 Above absolute temperature (At T >0 K, ): With the increase in temperature few valence
electrons jump into the conduction band and hence it behaves like a poor conductor.
 Intrinsic Density or Intrinsic Concentration

A single event of bond breaking in an intrinsic semiconductor leads to generation of

an electron-hole pair. At any temperature T, the number of electrons generated will
be equal to the number of holes generated per unit volume.

As the two charge carrier concentrations are equal, they are denoted by a common
symbol ni, which is called intrinsic density or intrinsic concentration.

Thus, n = p = ni
 Characteristics of Intrinsic Semiconductors

 At a given temperature there is a dynamic equilibrium between thermal electron-hole pair

generation and recombination. As a result the concentration of electrons and holes in an
intrinsic semiconductor is constant at any given temperature. i.e. n = p = ni.

 The higher the temperature the more electron-hole pairs (EHPs) that are generated.

 In intrinsic semiconductors, current flows due to the motion of free electrons as well as
holes. The total current is the sum of the electron current Ie due to thermally generated
electrons and the hole current Ih.. Total Current (I) = Ie + Ih

 For an intrinsic semiconductor, the number of electron and hole carriers increases rapidly
with temperature, and thus the conductivity also.
 LIMITATIONS OF INTRINSIC SEMICONDUCTOR

Intrinsic semiconductors are not useful for device manufacture because of low
conductivity and the strong dependence of conductivity on temperature. The main
limitations of intrinsic semiconductors are:

Conductivity
.
is low. Germanium has a conductivity of 1.67 S/m, which is
nearly 107 times smaller than that of copper.

Conductivity is a function of temperature and increases exponentially as the

temperature increases.

Conductivity cannot be controlled from outside.

Carriers in Semiconductors

Ec

300
14
15
20
19
11
12
13
16
17
18
1487652309ºKK
10 Eg

Ev
Electron H
E Hole P
Pair
 LIMITATIONS OF INTRINSIC SEMICONDUCTOR

 Conductivity is low. Germanium has a conductivity of 1.67 S/m, which is

nearly 107 times smaller than that of copper.

 Conductivity is a function of temperature and increases exponentially as the

temperature increases.

 Conductivity cannot be controlled from outside.

 Extrinsic Semiconductors

 The electrical conductivity of an intrinsic semiconductor is very low. Therefore, in order to

improve the conductivity of an intrinsic semiconductor, a controlled amount of impurities are
introduced into an intrinsic semiconductor.

 An intentional introduction of controlled amount of impurity into an intrinsic semiconductor

is called doping. The impurity added is called a dopant. A semiconductor doped with
impurity atoms is called an extrinsic semiconductor.

 Usually, only 1 atom in 107 is replaced by a dopant atom in an extrinsic semiconductor.

 Extrinsic semiconductors are semiconductors that are doped with specific dopants. The
dopants modify the electrical properties of the semiconductor and makes it more suitable for
electronic devices such as diodes and transistors.
 Advantages of Extrinsic Semiconductors

Conductivity is high.

Conductivity can be tailored to the desired value through the

control of doping concentration.

Conductivity is not a function of temperature.

 Classification of Extrinsic Semiconductors

An extrinsic semiconductor can be further classified

into 2 types:

 N-type Semiconductor

 P-type Semiconductor
 N-Type Semiconductor

 An n-type semiconductor is produced when a pure semiconductor is doped with a pentavalent impurity such as
phosphorous. A phosphorous atom has five valence electrons. Out of the five electrons, only four participate in
bonding with four host silicon atoms while the fifth electron remains loosely bound. At normal temperatures, the
 fifth electron becomes free to move about in the crystal and acts as a charge carrier. That is, the electron jumps
into the conduction band leaving behind the positive phosphorous ion that is fixed in the crystal lattice. As the
phosphorous atom is donating an electron for the purpose of electrical conduction, it is called a donor
atom.
 Since the current in this type of semiconductor is mainly due to the negatively charged electrons, hence the
material is called n-type semiconductor.
 Energy band diagram of n-type semiconductor

Donor levels represent the ground state of the fifth electron of impurity atom.
Donor levels are expected to be located very near to the bottom edge of the conduction band, as
even small amount of thermal energy can readily liberate the fifth electron from the atom and send
it into the conduction band.
 N-type Semiconductor

Ec
V
Ed
P
50
14
15
20
19
11
12
13
16
17
18
1487652309ººKKK
10
As
Ev
Sb Donor
 P-Type Semiconductor

A neighbouring
electron can move
here. This creates a
hole where the
+3 electron came from.

 A p-type semiconductor is produced when a pure semiconductor is doped with a trivalent impurity such as
boron. Boron atom has three valence electrons. Therefore, it falls short of one electron for completing the four
covalent bonds with its neighbours. When an electron from a neighbouring atom acquires energy and jumps into
the vacancy to form the fourth bond, it leaves behind a hole. The boron atom having acquired an additional
electron becomes a negative ion. The hole can move freely in the valence band whereas the impurity ion is fixed in
position by the covalent bonds. As the boron atom accepted an electron from the valence band, it is called an
acceptor atom.

 Since the current in this type of semiconductor is mainly due to the positively charged holes, hence the
material is called p-type semiconductor.
 Energy band diagram of a p-type semiconductor

Acceptor levels represent the ground state of the hole.

As even small amount of thermal energy can make an electron in the valence band jump into the
acceptor level, the acceptor levels are expected to be located very near to the top edge of the
valence band.
 P-Type Semiconductor

ш Ec

B
50
14
15
20
19
11
12
13
16
17
18
1487652309ººKKK
10
Al Ea
Ga Ev
In Acceptor
Difference Between Intrinsic and Extrinsic Semiconductors
Intrinsic Semiconductor
Pure semiconductor
Density of electrons is equal
to the density of holes
Electrical conductivity is low
Dependence on temperature
only
No impurities
Extrinsic Semiconductor
Impure semiconductor
Density of electrons is not
equal to the density of holes
Electrical conductivity is high
Dependence on temperature as
well as on the amount of
impurity
Trivalent impurity, or
pentavalent impurity
 Intrinsic and Extrinsic Semiconductors

Intrinsic

n-type semiconductors p- type Semiconductor

 Summary

• In an N-type semiconductor, conduction is mainly due to

electrons (negative charges). Positively charged (holes)
act as the minority carriers.

• In a P-type semiconductor, conduction is mainly due to

holes (positive charges). Negatively charged (electrons)
act as the minority carriers.