Semiconductor Physics

RUPESH KUMAR DUTTA

Assistant Professor, IIST Indore, ECE Department
What you will learn:

Introduction to Semiconductor theory

Classification of materials

Types of semiconductors

PN Junction Diode

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Introduction to Semiconductor theory
Periodic Table

III IV V

Boron Carbon
(B) (C)
Aluminum Silicon Phosphorous
(Al) (Si) (P)
Galium Germanium Arsenic
(Ga) (Ge) (As)

This shorten table contains elements with three to five valence

electrons, with Silicon(Si) being the most important.

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Some Semiconductor materials

Elementary Semiconductors

Si Silicon

Ge Germanium

Compound Semiconductors

AlP Aluminum Phosphide

AlAs Aluminum arsenide

GaAs Gallium arsenide

InP Indium phosphide

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Important Terms
Valence electron---each silicon atom has four valence
electrons.
Covalent bond---two valence electrons from different two
silicon atoms form the covalent bond
Be intact at sufficiently low temperature (0K)
Be broken at room temperature
Free electron---produced by thermal ionization, move freely in
the lattice structure.
Hole---empty position in broken covalent bond, can be filled
by free electron, positive charge.
Carriers---A free electron is negative charge and a hole is
positive charge. Both of them can move in the crystal
structure. They can conduct electric circuit.

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Silicon Bonding Si

Si Si Si

Each Si atom shares one electron with eachSiof its four closest neighbors so that its
valence band will have a full 8 electrons.
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 Types of semiconductors- Intrinsic,
Extrinsic
Intrinsic Semiconductor

Si Si Si
+4 +4 +4
Trivalent Dopant
Pentavalent Dopant Si Si Si
+4 +4 +4

Si Si Si
+4 +4 +4

+4 +4 +4 +4 +4 +4

+4 +5 +4 +4 +3 +4
Extrinsic Semiconductor
+4 +4 +4 +4 +4 +4

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n type Semiconductor
Concept
Doped silicon in which the majority of
charge carriers are the negatively
charged electrons is called n type
semiconductor.
+4 +4 +4 Terminology
Donor---impurity provides free electrons,
usually entirely ionized.
+4 +5 +4 carriers
Free electron---majority, generated mostly
by ionized and slightly by thermal
ionization.
+4 +4 +4 Hole---minority, only generated by thermal
ionization.
The 2D diagram to the left shows the
extra electron that will be present when
a Group V dopant is introduced to a
material such as silicon. This extra
electron is very mobile.

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p type Semiconductor
Concept
Doped silicon in which the majority of charge
carriers are the positively charged holes is
called p type semiconductor.
Terminology
+4 +4 +4
acceptor---impurity provides holes, usually
entirely ionized.
carriers
+4 +3 +4 Hole---majority, generated mostly by ionized and
slightly by thermal ionization.
Free electron---minority, only generated by
thermal ionization.
+4 +4 +4
The 2D diagram to the left shows the
hole that will be present when a Group
III dopant is introduced to a material
such as silicon. This hole is quite mobile
in the same way the extra electron is
mobile in a n-type material.
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Reflection Spot
Now pause the video for few minutes and recollect all
the points I have explained till now.

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The PN Junction

p n

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The PN Junction

- - - + + +
- - - + + +

p -
-
-
-
-
-
+
+
+
+
+
+ n
- - -
+ + +
- - - + + +

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The PN Junction
Metallurgical Junction

- - - - - - + + + + + +
- - - - - -
- - - - - - + + + + + +
P - - - - - - + + + + + + n
- - - - - -
+ + + + + +
- - - - - -
- - - - - - + + + + + +

Space Charge
ionized Region ionized
acceptors donors
E-Field
Space Charge Region: Also called the depletion region. This region includes the
net positively and negatively charged regions. The space charge region does not
have any free carriers. The width of the space charge region is denoted by W.

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The PN Junction Diode

14 Assistant Professor Mr. Rupesh Kumar Dutta

EC111: Fundamental of Electronics
 End of Presentation....
Send comments and suggestions to dutta.rupesh@gmail.com

Thank You

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