INTRO TO

SEMICONDUCTORS
Notes: Materials to Transistor Biasing
MATERIALS
There are two types of energy associated with an electron
moving around the nucleus of an atom.

● One is kinetic energy due to the motion of the electron.

● Other is potential energy due to the charge of the
electron as well as the charge of the nucleus.

The total energy associated with an electron is the sum of

these two energies.
● The energy of an electron is more in outer orbit than
that of an electron in inner orbit.
● The the electrons moving in the outermost orbit posses
the highest level of energy.
● The electrons in the last orbit or outermost orbit play a
vital role in signifying physical, chemical and obviously
electrical properties of an element.
VALENCE ELECTRONS

The electrons in the last orbit which also determines mainly the electrical
properties of the elements are known as valence electrons.
It is well known to us that the outermost shell of an atom processes maximum 8
number of electrons. So the maximum number of valence electrons of an atom
cannot be more than 8. In this article, we will concentrate on the electrical
properties of an element and try to observe how the electrical property is
determined by the number of valence electrons in the outermost shell.
Electrical Conductivity and Valence Electrons

By electrical conductivity, the elements are divided into three groups.

● Conductors
● Semiconductors
● Insulators
Interactive version
CONDUCTORS
All metallic substances are the good conductor of electricity.

If we observe the electronic configuration of any metal element we will find

that it has less than 4 electrons in its outermost shell that means it has less
than four valence electrons.

Most commonly used electrical conducting material is aluminium and it has

three valence electrons, and another metallic conductor is magnesium which
has two valence electrons.

The most popularly known electrical conductor is copper, and the copper
atom has only one valence electron.
(24V - 1.85V)/.02A = 1107.5
free electrons, charge behaviour
Free Electrons

Electrons of all elements do not process the same level of energy. The energy of
valence electrons is more in metallic element than that in the non-metallic
element. If a valence electron possesses high energy, it is closely associated
with its parent atom. The slight influence of an external force can easily detach the
electron from its orbit. These loosely attached or detached electrons can freely
move into the metallic crystal with random motion. These freely and randomly
moving valence electrons are called free electrons. The movement of these
separated free electrons towards a particular direction causes an electric current
in a conductor. Hence, the electrical conductivity of a material depends upon the
behaviour of free-electrons in it.
The metallic conductors do have plenty of free electrons in its crystal even at room
temperature. When we apply a potential difference across the conductor due to
the electrostatic force or due to the influence of electric field the free electrons
move towards the positive side of the applied potential. The movement of free-
electrons with their localised random motion causes an electric current in the
conductor.
INSULATORS
When the number of valence electrons in the atom is more than four, the element
behaves as non-metal. The non-metal is a bad conductor of electricity. These
elements and the materials made of those elements are called
insulator or insulation materials. The three well-known examples of the insulator
are nitrogen, sulphur and neon.

1. Nitrogen has 5 valence electrons

2. Sulphur has 6 valence electrons
3. Neon has 8 Valence electrons.
A pure and ideal insulator does not have any free electron at room temperature
hence it does not allow electric current to flow through it. In other words, due to
lack of free electrons in an insulator, there would not be any current developed in it
when we apply a potential difference across the insulator.
SEMICONDUCTORS
Source
 EXTRINSIC
SEMICONDUCTORS
PN JUNCTION
PN junction building
DIODE TYPES

GP

ZENER

PHOTODIODE

LED
Analyzing Diode Circuits

Diodes make circuit analysis more difficult because they have a nonlinear
current–voltage characteristic. In other words, a diode doesn’t have a single
numerical value that captures the mathematical relationship between current and
voltage.
With a resistor, this single numerical value is the resistance, and consequently
when we plot a resistor’s relationship between current and voltage, we obtain a
straight line. With a typical silicon diode, on the other hand, a plot of the nonlinear
I–V relationship looks like an exponential curve.
Reference the results of your experiment.
Method 1: The Diode as a Switch

The most painless (and least accurate) way to analyze diode circuits is to pretend
that the diode is a voltage-controlled switch that functions as a perfect one-way
valve for electric current. If the voltage across this “switch” is greater than 0 V,
current flows freely, without any resistance or voltage drop. If the voltage across
the “switch” is less than or equal to 0 V, no current flows.
The first step in this type of analysis is to assume that the diode is conducting or
non-conducting. Either assumption will lead to correct results, so just make your
best guess. If the diode is assumed to be conducting, keep the diode in the
schematic but treat it like a piece of wire. If it is assumed to be non-conducting,
replace it with an open circuit.
Now proceed with the analysis, and check for results that make sense. If the
voltage across an assumed open circuit is greater than zero, the assumption was
wrong—that diode is actually conducting. If the current flowing through a
conducting diode is directed from cathode to anode, the assumption was wrong—
we’re limiting our analysis to forward-conducting diodes, so current flowing from
cathode to anode indicates that the diode is actually non-conducting.
Method 2: The Constant-Voltage-Drop Approach

When we are using the method described in the preceding section, we are
analyzing the circuit as though diodes are ideal, meaning that they function as
perfect one-way valves for current. We can make that method much more realistic
simply by incorporating an ideal battery that represents the diode’s voltage drop.
The battery becomes an integral part of the overall diode component, as shown in
the following diagram.
Since the voltage of an ideal battery is fixed and constant, this analysis technique
corresponds to a simplified diode model consisting of two discrete states:

● If the anode-to-cathode voltage across the diode is less than 0.7 V, the diode
is off and functions as an open circuit;
● if the voltage is greater than or equal to 0.7 V, the diode conducts with zero
resistance but produces a voltage drop of 0.7 V. (You don’t have to use 0.7 V
as the constant voltage drop, but this is the standard choice for typical silicon
diodes.)
Understanding the Constant-Voltage-Drop Model

If you’re unclear on how this model functions, keep in mind that the battery’s
polarity is opposing the direction of forward current flow through the diode. Thus,
no current can flow from anode to cathode until the forward voltage exceeds the
battery voltage, and this means that the battery creates a threshold condition for
diode conduction. Also, note that the battery doesn’t generate spurious current
that interferes with our circuit analysis, because the ideal diode doesn’t allow
current to flow in the cathode-to-anode direction.
After conduction has begun, the battery voltage becomes a normal voltage drop.
Again, let’s consider the polarity of the battery. Imagine a resistor in the battery’s
place; we would represent the voltage drop of the resistor by drawing positive
polarity on the left and negative polarity on the right, and we know that this
orientation indicates a loss of voltage as we move along the current path. The
battery has the same polarity orientation, and thus it also represents a loss of
voltage, in this case caused by a diode instead of a resistor.
DESIGN
ZENER DIODE CIRCUITS

There are many Zener diode electronic circuit designs from voltage reference
circuits to those providing voltage transient protection and many more.
TRANSISTORS
simulation link
Typically, α takes values in the range of 0.98 to 0.999,
while β takes value in the range of 50 to 1000.
EXAMPLE
Find IC, IB , and vo in the transistor circuit of Figure.(5). Assume that the transistor operates in the
active mode and that β = 50.

example link
For the input loop, KVL gives
Since VBE = 0.7 V in the active mode,
But
For the output loop, KVL gives
 TRANSISTOR
CONFIGURATIONS
We know that generally the transistor has three terminals – emitter (E), base (B) and collector. But in the circuit
connections we need four terminals, two terminals for input and another two terminals for output. To overcome
these problems we use one terminal as common for both input and output actions.

Using this property we construct the circuits and these structures are called transistor configurations. Generally
there are three different configurations of transistors and they are common base (CB) configuration, common
collector (CC) configuration and common emitter (CE) configuration.

The behavior of these three different configurations of transistors with respect to gain is given below.

● Common Base (CB) Configuration: no current gain but voltage gain

● Common Collector (CC) Configuration: current gain but no voltage gain
● Common Emitter (CE) Configuration: current gain and voltage gain
COMMON BASE
CB falstad circuit txt

CB falstad link
TRANSISTOR
BIASING
BASE BIAS
COLLECTOR FEEDBACK BIAS
EMITTER BIAS
VOLTAGE DIVIDER BIAS