Semiconductors

Understanding the basics

Lenlyn M. Villena Batangas State University

ECE/ICE/MEXE Department
Atomic Structure
The Atom and its characteristics

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 The ATOM
The smallest particle of
an element that retains
the characteristics of
the element.
Parts
 Electron
 Nucleus
• Proton
• Neutron

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 Atomic Number
All elements are arranged in the periodic
table of elements in order according to
their atomic number. The atomic number
equals the number of protons in the
nucleus, which is the same as the number
of electrons in an electrically balanced
(neutral) atom.

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 Electron Shells and Orbits
Electron Orbit- discrete
distances of electrons in the
nucleus of an atom.
Electron Shell- energy bands
formed by group of electron
orbits, represented by number
1, 2, 3, etc.

Energy of an electron increases

as the distance of the electron
from the nucleus increases.

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 Valence Electrons
Valence Shell- the outermost shell of
an atom

Valence Electron- electrons that are

in the valence shell, they have the
highest energy and are relatively
loosely bounded to the atom.

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 Ionization
Ionization the process of losing valence electron in an
atom.
Ions atoms of the same element but have
different number of electrons.
Positive Ion ions that have more protons than electron.
Negative Ion ions that have more electrons than proton.
Free Electron valence electrons that have acquired
sufficient energy to escape the valence shell.
Holes vacancies in the valence shell when an
electron escaped.

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 Electrons in a Shell
 

2
The number of

𝑁 𝑒=2𝑛
electrons in a shell
can be calculated by
the formula


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Electrical Classification
of Materials
Conductors, Insulators and
Semiconductor

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 Core of an Atom
The core of an atom is
composed of the
nucleus and the inner
orbits.

The diagram of a
carbon atom showing
its core

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 Electrical Classification of Materials
Conductors Insulators Semiconductors
• Easily conducts • Does not conduct • Between
electrical current electrical current conductor and
• Less than four at normal insulator in
valence electrons conditions terms of electric
• More than four conductivity
• Metals
valence electrons • Exactly four
• Plastics,glass,mica valence electrons

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 Energy Levels
The more distant the
electron from the nucleus,
the higher the energy state,
and any electron that has
left its parent atom has a
higher energy state than any
electron in the atomic
structure.

Energy Gap- the difference

between energy levels

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 Valence and Conduction Band

Valence Band - energy level of an electron

when it is in the valence shell
Conduction Band - energy level required
to remove an electron out of the valence
shell

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 Semiconductors and Conductors
Compared
Silicon Atom Copper Atom

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 Silicon and Germanium
Silicon and Germanium
are the most widely
used single element
semiconductor material
in the production of
semiconductor
electronic devices.

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 Covalent Bond
A bonding of atoms, strengthened by the
sharing of electrons, is called covalent
bonding.

Crystal- a definite pattern of some atom

bonded covalently with the same atoms.
Lattice- a periodic arrangement of crystal

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 Covalent Bonding

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 Intrinsic Crystal

Intrinsic Semiconductors those

whose crystal structure does not
have any impurity.

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 Silicon Crystal

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Conduction in
Semiconductors
Semiconductors either allow or
stop current to flow.

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 Free Electrons and Holes
Free Electrons -also called conduction electrons,
are valence electrons that have acquired enough
energy to escape from the valence band
Holes -vacancy in the valence band when ionization
happens or when a free electron is excited
Electron-Hole Pair -for every electron in the
conduction band there is one hole left in the
valence band, creating an electron-hole pair
Recombination -occurs when a free electron losses
energy and falls back to the hole in the conduction
band
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 Electron-Hole Pair
An intrinsic silicon crystal at
room temperature creating
electron-hole pairs. Free
electrons are generated
continuously while some
recombine with the holes.

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 Effects of Temperature
An increase in temperature of a semiconductor
can result in a substantial increase in the
number of free electrons in a material.

Semiconductor material such as Germanium

and Silicon that show a reduction in resistance
with increase in temperature are said to have
negative temperature coefficient.

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 Electron Current
When voltage is applied
across a piece of an
intrinsic silicon crystal
the thermally generated
free electrons are free
to move randomly in
the crystal structure
and are now easily
Current occurs and this current
attracted to the positive
end.
is called Electron Current.

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 Hole Current
Electrons remaining in the
valence band are still
attached to their atoms and
are not free to move
randomly in the crystal
structure however, a valence
electron can move into a
nearby hole with little
change in its energy level.
Current occurs and this
current is called Hole Current.

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Extrinsic
Semiconductors
N-type and P-type semiconductors

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 Doping
Doping the process of adding small quantities
of particular impurity to an
intrinsically pure semiconductor in
order to alter its conducting
properties
Extrinsic are materials that have been subjected
to doping
Impurity are materials added to a pure
semiconductor thus making the
semiconductor not pure anymore

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 Types of Impurities
Pentavalent Impurity Trivalent Impurity
• Five valence electrons
• Three valence
• Donor Atoms electrons
• Gives off free electron • Acceptor Atoms
when doped
• Creates holes when
• Examples: doped
• Arsenic (As) • Examples:
• Phosphorus (P)
• Boron (B)
• Bismuth (Bi)
• Indium (In)
• Antimony (Sb)
• Gallium (Ga)
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N-type Semiconductor
To increase the number
of conduction electrons
in an intrinsic
semiconductor crystal ,
a pentavalent impurity
is added. The resulting
material is an n-type
extrinsic semiconductor.

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 N-type Semiconductor
N-type semiconductor
crystal showing that the
majority charge carriers are
the free electrons resulted
from doping and some
minority carriers which are
holes thermally produced.

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P-type Semiconductor
To increase the number
of holes in an intrinsic
semiconductor crystal ,
a trivalent impurity is
added. The resulting
material is an p-type
extrinsic semiconductor.

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 P-type Semiconductor
P-type semiconductor crystal
showing that the majority
charge carriers are the holes
resulted from doping and
some minority carriers
which are free electrons
thermally produced.

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 Majority and Minority Carriers
In an n-type material the electron is
called the majority carrier and the
hole is the minority carrier.
In a p-type material the hole is the
majority carrier and the electron is
the minority carrier.

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