Chapter 14: Semiconductor

Electronic: Material, Devices And

Simple Circuits Revision Notes

 Metals: They have extremely low resistivity or extremely high

conductivity.

ρ ~ 10-2.10-8 Ωm, σ ~102. 108 Sm-1

 Semiconductors: Semiconductors have resistivity or conductivity

intermediate between metals and insulators.

ρ ~ 10-5. 106 Ωm, σ ~ 10+5 .10-6 Sm-1

 Semiconductors come in a variety of shapes and sizes. The following

are examples of semiconductors:

(i) Elements Semiconductor: These semiconductors, such as silicon and

germanium, are available in their natural state.

(ii) Compound Semiconductors: CdS, GaAs, CdSe, InP, anthracene,

polyaniline, and other metal compounds are used to make these
semiconductors.

 Insulators: They either have a high or low conductivity.

ρ ~ 1011 . 1019 Ωm, σ ~ 10-11. 10-19 Sm-1

 Energy Band: The valence electrons of one atom are shared by more
than one atom in a crystal due to interatomic interaction. The energy
level is now split in half. An energy band is a collection of these closely
spaced energy levels.
 Valence Band: The valence band is an energy band that includes the
valence electrons’ energy levels.
 Conduction Band: The energy band above the valence band is known
as the conduction band.
 Energy Band Gap: The energy band gap is the minimum energy
required to shift electrons from the valence band to the conduction band
(Eg ).
 The following are the energy band differences between a conductor, an
insulator, and a semiconductor:
 Fermi Energy: At absolute zero temperature, it is the maximum
possible energy possessed by free electrons in a material (i.e. 0K)
 Semiconductors are classified into two groups based on their purity:

 n-type and p-type semiconductors are in close contact.

 Depletion Region Formation in the p-n Junction: Due to the
concentration gradient across the p and n sides, holes diffuse from the
p-side to the n-side (p —> n) and electrons diffuse from the n-side to the
p-side (n —> p) during the formation of a p-n junction.
 Depletion region refers to the space charge region on both sides of the
junction.
 Mobile charge carriers are not present in the depletion region. The
depletion region’s width is on the order of 10-6 meters. The potential
barrier is the potential difference that has developed across the
depletion region.
 P-n Junction Diode/Semiconductor Diode: A semiconductor diode is
essentially a p-n junction with metallic contacts at the ends that allow an
external voltage to be applied.

 The I-V characteristics of a junction diode are the graphical

relationships between the voltage applied across the p-n junction and
the current flowing through the junction.
 When the positive terminal of the external battery is connected less to
the p-side and the negative terminal to the n-side of the diode, the
junction diode is said to be forward biased. A forward biased diode’s
circuit diagram and I-V characteristics are shown below:
 Source

 A reverse biased diode’s circuit diagram and I-V characteristics are

shown below.

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 rDC = V/I is the DC resistance of a junction diode.

 rAC = V/I is the dynamic resistance of a junction diode.
Diode as Rectifier: Rectification is the process of converting
alternating voltage/current to direct voltage/current. A rectifier is a device that
converts alternating current and voltage into direct current and voltage.

(i) Diode as Half-Wave Rectifier: The diode conducts during the positive half
of the cycle and does not conduct during the negative half. As a result, the
diode converts AC to unidirectional pulsating DC. Half-wave rectification is
the term for this process.

Source

(ii) Diode as Full-Wave Rectifier: Two p-n junction diodes, D1 and D2, are
used in the full-wave rectifier.

Source

 Its operation is based on the principle that junction diodes have very low
forward bias resistance and very high reverse bias resistance.
 A half-wave rectifier’s pulse frequency is equal to the frequency of AC.
 A full-wave rectifier’s pulse frequency is twice that of an AC source.
 Optoelectronic devices are semiconductor diodes in which the carriers
are generated by photons, i.e. photo-excitation.

The following are some of them:

(i) Light Emitting Diode (LED): A LED is a highly doped p-n junction diode
that converts electrical energy into light energy.

LEDs have the following advantages over traditional low-power incandescent

lamps:

a) Quick action with no warm-up time;

b) Nearly monochromatic;

c) Low operational voltage and lower power consumption;

d) Fast ON-OFF switching capability.

(ii) Photodiode: A photodiode is a type of junction diode that is used to detect

light signals. A photosensitive material is used to create a reverse biased p-n
junction.

When reverse bias is applied, the current in the photodiode changes with the
change in light intensity.

(iii) Photovoltaic Cell: A solar cell is a p-n junction diode that converts
sunlight into electricity. Si and GaAs are the materials used in solar cells.