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TON DUC THANG UNIVERSITY Introduction

Chapter 3
SEMICONDUCTOR

Course Unit: 402057

Faculty of Electrical and Electronic Engineering Departmentt
Major: Electronics and Telecommunications
Thien T. Huynh, PhD.
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Chapter Object Contents

4.1 Semiconductor
 Know the semiconductor fabrication process as well
as different types of semiconductors (intrinsic and 4.2 Intrinsic or Pure semiconductor
extrinsic)
4.3 Extrinsic or Impure semiconductor

 Understand the properties of semiconductors 4.4 Depend on temperature

4.5 Emitting and absorbing light

 Understand the operation of semiconductors under 4.6 Schottky junction

different conditions

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4.1 Semiconductor 4.1 Semiconductor

 Fabrication of semiconductors
 Fabrication of
semiconductors

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4.1 Semiconductor 4.1 Semiconductor

 Semiconductors are materials that essentially can act as good

conductors, or good insulators, or any thing in between.
 Semiconductors are materials whose electrical properties
between Conductors and Insulators.
 Common elements such as Carbon, Silicon, and Germanium
are semiconductors.
 Silicon is the best and most widely used semiconductor.

26 January 2024  Fabrication of semiconductors

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4.1 Semiconductor 4.1 Semiconductor

 Energy band diagram
 At 0oC, no electron has energy to jump from
valence band to conduction band and hence Conduction Band
Ev – Maximum energy of a the crystal is an insulator.
valence electron or hole Forbidden Energy Gap ≈1 eV
 At room temperature, some valence electrons ••• •• •
Ec – Minimum energy of a Valence Band

free electron gain energy more than the energy gap and
move to conduction band to conduct even EgSi = 1.1 eV EgGe= 0.74 eV
Eg – Energy required to
break the covalent bond under the influence of a weak electric field.

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4.1 Semiconductor 4.1 Semiconductor

 Electron-hole pair (EHP): due to thermal energy, atoms are
 As an electron leaves the valence band, it constantly vibrating and the bond becomes overstretched =>
leaves some energy level in band as unfilled. release electron to the CB (a vacancy (called a hole) is left in the
Conduction Band valence)
 Such unfilled regions are termed as ‘holes’ in
the valence band. They are mathematically Forbidden Energy Gap ≈1 eV
••• •• •
taken as positive charge carriers. Valence Band

 Any movement of this region is referred to a

EgSi = 1.1 eV EgGe= 0.74 eV
positive hole moving from one position to
another.

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4.1 Semiconductor 4.1 Semiconductor

 Electron-hole pair (EHP):  Conduction in semiconductors
 The number of free electrons
(also known as conduction
Electron current
electrons) is equals to the Free electrons
number of holes in the valence
band.
 Free electron can wander
around the crystal, so do holes
 Electron and hole can recombine
(recombine process)

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4.1 Semiconductor 4.1 Semiconductor

The main characteristic of a semiconductor element is that it has  2D Crystal Lattice structure
four electrons in its outer or valence orbit.

 Covalent bonding – holding atoms together

by sharing valence electrons
 Semiconductor atoms bond together to
form a solid material = crystal

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4.1 Semiconductor 4.1 Semiconductor

 2D Crystal Lattice structure  3D Crystal Lattice structure
Sharing of
To form Si crystal
valence
electron
produces the
covalent bond

(c) Covalent bonds in a silicon crystal

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4.1 Semiconductor 4.1 Semiconductor

 Semiconductor can be Insulators
 The impurity element produces surplus electrons or holes, the
 If the material is pure semiconductor material like Silicon, the crystal material will no longer behave as an insulator, neither will it
lattice structure forms an excellent insulator since all the atoms are have the properties associated with a metallic conductor => the
bound to one another and are not free for current flow. material a semiconductor.
 Good insulating semiconductor material is referred to as intrinsic.  The process of introducing an atom of another element into the
 Since the outer valence electrons of each atom are tightly bound lattice of an otherwise pure material is called doping.
together with one another, the electrons are difficult to dislodge for  When it is doped with an impurity with five electrons in its
current flow. valence shell become an N-type material. If, however, it is
 Silicon in this form is a great insulator. doped with an impurity having three electrons become P-type
 Semiconductor material is often used as an insulator. material

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4.1 Semiconductor 4.2 Intrinsic or pure semiconductor

 Semiconductor can be Conductors
 Is a pure semiconductor. The energy gap in Si is 1.1 eV and in Ge
 An impurity, or element like Arsenic, is 0.74 eV.
has 5 valence electrons. Si: 1s2, 2s2, 2p6, 3s2, 3p2. (Atomic No. is 14)
 Adding arsenic (doping) will allow Ge: 1s2, 2s2, 2p6, 3s2, 3p6, 3d10, 4s2, 4p2. (Atomic No. is 32)
four of the arsenic valence electrons
to bond with the neighboring silicon  In intrinsic semiconductor, the number of thermally generated
atoms. electrons always equals the number of holes.

 The one electron left over for each 
   
arsenic atom becomes available to     

conduct current flow.         

  
  

   

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4.2 Intrinsic or pure semiconductor 4.2 Intrinsic or pure semiconductor



    Covalent bonding of one Si atom with four other
   
 
         Si atoms to form tetrahedral unit cell.
  
   

   


Si: 1s2, 2s2, 2p6, 3s2, 3p2. (Atomic No. is 14)

Ge: 1s2, 2s2, 2p6,3s2, 3p6, 3d10, 4s2, 4p2. (Atomic No. is 32)
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4.2 Intrinsic or pure semiconductor 4.2 Intrinsic or pure semiconductor

Valence electrons  Conduction in semiconductors
Covalent Bond
The current density:
Ge Ge Ge Ge
Broken Covalent Bond

Free electron ( - )
The drift velocities of electrons
 Germanium Ge Ge Ge Ge
Hole ( + ) and holes:
crystal and
energy
Ge Ge Ge Ge C.B
+

Eg 0.74 eV The conductivity of a semiconductor:

Ge Ge Ge Ge
V.B
+ +
Heat Energy
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4.2 Intrinsic or pure semiconductor 4.2 Intrinsic or pure semiconductor

 Electrical conductivity of semiconductor: 𝜎 = 𝑒𝑛𝜇 + 𝑒𝑝𝜇  Electron & hold concentrations (in special case: intrinsic
𝜎: the conductivity (Ω 𝑐𝑚 ) concentration)
𝑒: Electron (1.6x10^-19 Coulomb)  The electron and hole concentrations are equal (𝑛 = 𝑝). The
𝑛 and 𝑝 are the concentrations of electrons and holes in a semiconductor intrinsic concentration: The effective density of states at the CB edge:
crystal (𝑐𝑚 )
𝜇 : the drift mobility in metal (𝑐𝑚 𝑉 𝑠 )
The effective density of states at the VB edge:
𝜎 = 𝑒𝑛𝜇 + 𝑒𝑝𝜇 = 𝑒𝑛 𝜇 + 𝜇
 The conductivity of semiconductor (intrinsic concentration):
 Recombination rate (R):
𝜎 = 𝑒𝑛𝜇 + 𝑒𝑝𝜇 = 𝑒𝑛 𝜇 + 𝜇
 At equilibrium, generation rate (G): 𝐺 = 𝑅
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4.3 Extrinsic or Impure semiconductor 4.3 Extrinsic or Impure semiconductor

 Doping: the process of creating N and P type
semiconductor by adding impurity atoms to intrinsic  Two types of doping: trivalent (3 valence e-) and penta
semiconductor (Si or Ge) to improve the conductivity. valent (5 valence e-)
 The semiconductor containing impurity is known as  N-type material: a semiconductor that has added penta
‘impure or extrinsic semiconductor’. valent impurities.
Methods of doping:  P-type material: a semiconductor that has added trivalent
i) Heating the crystal in the presence of atoms.
impurities
ii) Adding impurity atoms in the molten state of semiconductor.
iii) Bombarding semiconductor by ions of impurity atoms.

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4.3 Extrinsic or Impure semiconductor 4.3 Extrinsic or Impure semiconductor

 N-type semiconductor  N-type semiconductor

When a semiconductor of Group IV (tetra valent) such as Si or

Ge is doped with a penta valent impurity (Group V elements Ge Ge Ge
C.B
such as P, As or Sb), N – type semiconductor is formed.
0.045 eV
Eg = 0.74 eV
N-type: A N-type material is one in which electrons are majority Ge P Ge

charge carriers, i.e., they are negatively charged materials V.B

Ex: When Germanium (Ge) is doped with Phosphorus (P), the Ge Ge Ge Donor level

four valence electrons of P form covalent bonds with four Ge

atoms and the fifth electron of P atom is loosely bound. The energy required to detach

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4.3 Extrinsic or Impure semiconductor 4.3 Extrinsic or Impure semiconductor

 N-type semiconductor  N-type semiconductor
 The energy required to detach the fifth loosely bound electron is only of
the order of 0.045 eV for Ge.
 A small amount of energy provided due to thermal agitation is sufficient to
detach this electron and it is ready to conduct current.
 The force of attraction between this mobile electron and the positively
charged impurity ion is weakened by the dielectric constant of the
medium.
Phosphorous (P) replaces a Si atom and forms four covalent bonds with other Si atoms.  So, such electrons from impurity atoms will have energies slightly less
The fifth outer shell electron of P is easily freed to become a conduction band electron, than the energies of the electrons in the conduction band.
adding to the number of electrons available to conduct current.
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4.3 Extrinsic or Impure semiconductor 4.3 Extrinsic or Impure semiconductor

 N – type semiconductor is called ‘donor –  N-type semiconductors:
 N-type semiconductors: type semiconductor’.

Sb impurity  In a N – type semiconductor, electrons are

atom the majority charge carriers and the holes
are the minority charge carriers.

n-type conductivity:
Pentavalent 𝑛
impurity atom 𝜎 = 𝑒𝑁 𝜇 + 𝑒 𝜇 ≈ 𝑒𝑁 𝜇
𝑁
(P, As, Sb, Bi)
𝑁 : is the donor atom concentration in the crystal
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4.3 Extrinsic or Impure semiconductor 4.3 Extrinsic or Impure semiconductor

 P-type semiconductor  P-type semiconductor
When a semiconductor of Group IV (tetra valent) such as Si or
Ge is doped with a tri valent impurity (Group III elements such
as In, B or Ga), P – type semiconductor is formed. Ge Ge Ge
C.B

P-type: A P-type material is one in which holes are majority

Eg = 0.74 eV
carriers, i.e., they are positively charged materials (+) Ge In Ge 0.05 eV
V.B
When Germanium (Ge) is doped with Indium (In), the three
valence electrons of In form three covalent bonds with three Ge Ge Ge Ge Acceptor level
atoms. The vacancy that exists with the fourth covalent bond
with fourth Ge atom constitutes a hole.
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4.3 Extrinsic or Impure semiconductor 4.3 Extrinsic or Impure semiconductor

 P-type semiconductor  P-type semiconductor

 The hole which is deliberately created may be filled with an electron from
neighbouring atom, creating a hole in that position from where the electron
jumped.
 Therefore, the tri valent impurity atom is called ‘acceptor’.
 The acceptor impurity produces an energy level just above the valence
band. This energy level is called ‘acceptor level’.

Boron (B) replaces a Si atom and forms only three covalent bonds with other Si atoms.
The missing covalent bond is a hole, which can begin to move through the crystal when a
valence electron from another Si atom is taken to form the fourth B-Si bond.
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4.3 Extrinsic or Impure semiconductor 4.3 Extrinsic or Impure semiconductor

 P – type semiconductor is called ‘acceptor
 p-type semiconductors:  p-type semiconductors:
– type semiconductor’.
Boron  In a P – type semiconductor, holes are the
impurity majority charge carriers and the electrons
atom are the minority charge carriers.

Trivalent impurity
p-type conductivity:
𝑛
atom (Al, Ga, B, In) 𝜎=𝑒 𝜇 + 𝑒𝑁 𝜇 ≈ 𝑒𝑁 𝜇
𝑁
in a Si crystal 𝑁 : the concentration of acceptor impurities in the crystal
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4.3 Extrinsic or Impure semiconductor 4.2 Intrinsic or pure semiconductor

S. No. Intrinsic SC Extrinsic SC
1 Pure Group IV elements. Group III or Group V elements are Ví dụ 1: Cho chất bán dẫn Si (Z=14)
introduced in Group IV elements.
a/ Viết cấu hình nguyên tử và vẽ sơ đồ Bohr cho nguyên tử Si.
2 Conductivity is only Conductivity is greatly increased.
slight. b/ Tính độ dẫn điện của Si tinh khiết nếu biết rằng Si có nồng độ
hạt mang điện tinh khiết (intrinsic concentration) là 1010 cm-3 và độ
3 Conductivity increases Conductivity depends on the amount of
with rise in temperature. impurity added. linh động của electron và lỗ trống lần lượt là 1300 và 400 cm2/(V.s).

4 The number of holes is In N-type, the number of electrons is

always equal to the greater than that of the holes and in P-
number of free type, the number of holes is greater
electrons. than that of the electrons.
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4.2 Intrinsic or pure semiconductor 4.3 Extrinsic or Impure semiconductor

c/ Tiến hành pha tạp Si bằng Photphos với tỉ lệ 1:108. d/ Tiến hành pha tạp Si bằng boron (B) với nồng độ tạp chất
- Bán dẫn sau khi pha tạp thuộc loại gì?
bằng 1018 cm-3.

- Tính độ dẫn điện của Si sau khi pha tạp. Cho biết hằng số Avogadro là - Bán dẫn sau khi pha tạp loại gì?
6.023x1023 mol-1 và Si có khối lượng riêng là 2.24 g/cm3 và khối lượng nguyên - Tính độ dẫn điện của Si sau khi pha tạp.
tử là 28.
- Tính điện trở của khối Si sau khi pha tạp nếu biết khối Si có dạng lập
phương và thể tích là 1 cm3.

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4.4 Depend on temperature 4.4 Depend on temperature

As temperature increases, a bond can break, releasing a Low temperature Medium temperature High temperature
At OK temperature, no bonds valence electron and leaving a broken bond (hole). Current range range range
are broken. Si is an insulator. can flow.
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4.4 Depend on temperature 4.4 Depend on temperature

𝜎 = 𝑒𝑛𝜇 + 𝑒𝑝𝜇 = 𝑒𝑛 𝜇 + 𝜇

Fig. Log–log plot of drift

mobility versus temperature
for n-type Ge and n-type Si
samples. Various donor
concentrations for Si
Fig. Schematic illustration of the
temperature dependence of
electrical conductivity for a doped
(n-type) semiconductor

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4.4 Depend on temperature 4.5 Emitting and absorbing light

 Recombination
 Resistance of semiconductor is significantly changed depend on
temperature,  When a free electron “meet” a hole =>
 when there is a raise about temperature, semiconductor’s recombination
resistance depresses;  Direct recombination of electron and hole at one
location in the crystal
 at higher temperature, resistance declines greater.
 The excess energy = a photon with the energy of
 Base on this property, people make resistances having ℎ𝑓 = 𝐸
temperature changed depend on temperature called photo device.
=> an liberating energy emitting light =>
optoelectronic materials (the light emitting diodes -
LED)

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4.5 Emitting and absorbing light 4.5 Emitting and absorbing light
 Absorption process of a photon of energy 𝒉𝒇  Absorption coefficient 𝜶
 ℎ𝑓 < 𝐸 : the photon is not absorbed and the
semiconductor is transparent.
 ℎ𝑓 ≈ 𝐸 : create EHPs
 ℎ𝑓 > 𝐸 : create EHPs and the excess energy
= heat
 Absorption depends on the thickness of the
semiconductor.
Beer–Lambert law:
The light intensity
at x:
the energy incident per unit area per unit
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4.6 Schottky junction 4.6 Schottky junction

 We consider what happens when a metal and  Schottky diode: is formed when a metal and a
an N-type semiconductor are brought into semiconductor are brought into contact
contact.
 In practice, this process is frequently carried
out by the evaporation of a metal onto the
surface of a semiconductor crystal in vacuum.
 A metal layer replaces the p region of the diode.
 Circuit symbol showing conventional current
direction of current and polarity of voltage drop.
 when a metal and a semiconductor are brought
into contact => Schottky diode

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4.6 Schottky junction 4.6 Schottky junction

 Operation of schottky diode  Operation of schottky diode

(c) I–V characteristics of a Schottky junction

exhibits rectifying properties. The negative
axis is in microamps. (Typical values for a Si
(b) Reverse-biased Schottky junction. Schottky diode with a device cross sectional
(a) Forward-biased Schottky
junction. Electrons in the CB of the Electrons in the metal cannot easily area of 1 mm2.)
semiconductor can easily overcome overcome the PE barrier 𝚽𝑩 to enter the Rectifying property
the small PE barrier to enter the semiconductor.
metal
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4.6 Schottky junction 4.6 Schottky junction

 Schottky junction solar cell
 Structure: thin metal layer deposited onto a n-type semiconductor
 Principle:

The built-in voltage of the Schottky barrier

diode, 𝑉 𝑆𝐵 , is about ½ as large as the
built-in voltage of the p-n junction diode,
𝑉 𝑝𝑛 .

The principle of the Schottky junction solar cell. The built-in field and
built-in voltage are reduced under illumination.
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4.6 Schottky junction Summary

 Schottky junction solar cell
In its pure state, semiconductor material is an excellent insulator.
The commonly used semiconductor material is silicon.
Semiconductor materials can be doped with other atoms to add or
subtract electrons.
An N-type semiconductor material has extra electrons.
A P-type semiconductor material has a shortage of electrons with
vacancies called holes.
The heavier the doping, the greater the conductivity or the lower
the resistance.
By controlling the doping of silicon the semiconductor material can
Reverse-biased Schottky photodiodes are used as fast photodetectors. be made as conductive as desired.
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Homeworks

1. Explaining light emitting and absorbing light in semiconductor

2. Tell about pure semiconductor and impure semiconductor
3. Tell about schottky junction

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