Lecture04 Semiconductor Physics Up

CE222 - Digital Integrated Circuit Design
Nguyen Tran Son
ntsonvldt@gmail.com
Jan 22, 2023
Nguyen Tran Son (∞) Basic Semi. Physics Jan 22, 2023 1 / 28
Basic Semiconductor Physics
Outline
1 Atomic Structure
2 Semiconductor
3 Effect of Temperature on Semiconductors
4 Hole current
5 Fermi Level
6 Intrinsic Semiconductor
7 Extrinsic Semiconductor
8 ntype semiconductor
9 ptype semiconductor
10 pn Junction
Prefixes Used for Large or Small Physical Quantities
Table: Prefixes Used for Large or Small Physical Quantities
Prefix Abbreviation Scale Factor

giga- G 109
meg- or mega- M 106
kilo- k 103
milli- m 10−3
micro- µ 10−6
nano- n 10−9
pico- p 10−12
femto- f 10−15
Semiconductor
A semiconductor is a substance which has resistivity

(10−4 to 0.5 Ωm) inbetween conductors and insulators e.g.
germanium, silicon, selenium, carbon etc
Table: Substance & Resistivity

Substance Nature Resistivity
Copper Good conductor 1.7 × 10−8 Ωm
Germanium Semiconductor 0.6Ωm
Glass Insulator 9 × 1011 Ωm
Nichrome Resistance material 10−4 Ωm
Bonds in Semiconductors
8 electrons in this final shell allow atoms to be stable
and non-reactive.("Lucky number!")
Most of the substances, the last orbit is incomplete
i.e. the last orbit does not have 8 electrons.
To achieve a complete state or a closed shell, an atom
does one of the 3 things: lose, gain, or share its
electrons with other atoms.
Semiconductor: bonds are formed by sharing of
valence electrons (co-valence bonds)
Energy Band Description of Semiconductors
Remind : A semiconductor is a substance which has

almost filled valence band and nearly empty
conduction band with a very small energy gap (≈ 1eV )
separating the two.
Effect of Temperature on Semiconductors
At absolute zero.
At absolute zero temperature, all the electrons are
tightly held by the semiconductor atoms.
At this temperature, the co-valent bonds are very
strong and there are no free electrons. Therefore, the
semiconductor crystal behaves as a perfect insulator
Effect of Temperature on Semiconductors
Above absolute zero.
Some of the covalent bonds in the semiconductor break
due to the thermal energy supplied.
→ free electrons
These free electrons can constitute a tiny electric current
if potential difference is applied across the semiconductor
crystal.
This shows that the resistance of a semiconductor
decreases with the rise in temperature i.e. it has negative
temperature coefficient of resistance.
Hole current
For one electron set free, one hole is created.

Therefore, thermal energy creates hole-electron pairs;
there being as many holes as the free electrons.
The hole having a positive charge has moved from L
to N i.e. towards the negative terminal of supply.
This constitutes hole current.
Hole current: Energy band description
Valence electrons move along the path PNML whereas

holes move in the opposite direction i.e. along the path
LMNP.
Fermi Level
Fermi-Dirac distribution
The distribution of electrons over a range of allowed
energy levels at the equilibrium follows the Fermi-Dirac
distribution law.
1
f (E) =
1 + e(E−EF )/kT
Boltzmann’s constant
k = 8.62 × 10−5 eV/K= 1.38 × 10−23 J/K
EF : Fermi level
f (EF ) = 1/2. Probability is

always 12 regardless of
temperature
T = 0K: the distribution
takes the simple rectangular
Fermi Level
Intrinsic Semiconductor
A semiconductor in an extremely pure form is known as

an intrinsic semiconductor.
It may be noted that current in the external wires is fully electronic i.e. by electrons.
What about the holes ? Referring to above Fig., holes being positively charged
move towards the negative terminal of supply. As the holes reach the negative
terminal B, electrons enter the semiconductor crystal near the terminal and combine
with holes, thus cancelling them
Extrinsic Semiconductor
Extrinsic Semiconductor is achieved by adding a small

amount of suitable impurity to a semiconductor.
The process of adding impurities to a semiconductor is
known as doping.
Depending upon the type of impurity added, extrinsic
semiconductors are classified into:
(i) n-type semiconductor (ii) p-type semiconductor
N-type Semiconductor
N-type Semiconductor is created by adding pentavalent

impurity to a pure semiconductor.
These are atoms with five valence electrons such as
Arsenic (As), Phosphorus (P), Bismuth (Bi), and
Antimony (Sb).
Called donor impurities/donor atoms
N-type Conductivity
The current conduction in an n-type semiconductor is

predominantly by free electrons i.e. negative charges and
is called n-type or electron type conductivity.
P-type Semiconductor
P-type Semiconductor is created by adding trivalent

impurity is added to a pure semiconductor.
These are atoms with three valence electrons such as
Boron (B), Indium (In), Gallium (Ga).
Called acceptor impurities/acceptor atoms
P-type Conductivity
The current conduction in an p-type semiconductor is

predominantly by holes i.e. positive charges and is called
p-type or hole type conductivity.
Majority and Minority Carriers
N-type: majority carriers are free electrons ; minority

carriers are holes
P-type: majority carriers are holes ; minority carriers
are free electrons
pn Junction
When a p-type semiconductor is suitably joined to n-type

semiconductor, the contact surface is called pn junction.
Formation of the Depletion Region
Free electrons near the junction in the n region begin

to diffuse across the junction into the p region where
they combine with holes near the junction.
Depletion layer is formed very quickly and is very
thin compared to the n region and the p region.
Barrier Potential
The potential difference of the electric field across
the depletion region is the amount of voltage required
to move electrons through the electric field. This
potential difference is called the barrier potential and
is expressed in volts.
It depends on: semiconductive material, the amount
of doping, and the temperature
Barrier potential at 25C: Si - 0.7V, Ge - 0.3V
Energy Diagrams of the PN Junction

The valence and conduction bands in an n-type
material are at slightly lower energy levels than the
valence and conduction bands in a p-type material.
Free e in the n region that occupy the upper part of
the conduction band can easily diffuse across the
junction and temporarily become free electrons in the
lower part of the p-region conduction band.
These e quickly lose energy and fall into the holes in
the p-region valence band
Figure: At the instant of junction formation
As the diffusion continues, the depletion region
begins to form and the energy level of the n-region
conduction band decreases.
Soon, there are no electrons left in the n-region
conduction band with enough energy to get across
the junction to the p-region conduction band.
At this point, the junction is at equilibrium; and the
depletion region is complete because diffusion has
stopped.
Figure: At equilibrium
Energy Diagrams of the PN Junction with Fermi Level
Forward and Reverse biase of Junctions
Questions?
Thank you !

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CE222 - Digital Integrated Circuit Design

Nguyen Tran Son

Jan 22, 2023

Basic Semiconductor Physics

Prefixes Used for Large or Small Physical Quantities

Table: Prefixes Used for Large or Small Physical Quantities

Prefix Abbreviation Scale Factor

A semiconductor is a substance which has resistivity

Table: Substance & Resistivity

Remind : A semiconductor is a substance which has

Effect of Temperature on Semiconductors

For one electron set free, one hole is created.

Valence electrons move along the path PNML whereas

f (EF ) = 1/2. Probability is

A semiconductor in an extremely pure form is known as

with holes, thus cancelling them

Extrinsic Semiconductor is achieved by adding a small

N-type Semiconductor is created by adding pentavalent

The current conduction in an n-type semiconductor is

P-type Semiconductor is created by adding trivalent

The current conduction in an p-type semiconductor is

Majority and Minority Carriers

N-type: majority carriers are free electrons ; minority

When a p-type semiconductor is suitably joined to n-type

Formation of the Depletion Region

Free electrons near the junction in the n region begin

Energy Diagrams of the PN Junction

Energy Diagrams of the PN Junction

Energy Diagrams of the PN Junction with Fermi Level

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