School of Electrical Engineering

Department of control system

Engineering
Applied Electronics I

Prepared by: Belsty D.

MAY 2022,
DILLA
Outline

1. Atomic Theory ,
2. Semiconductor Materials and Their Types ,
3. PN Junction
 Atomic Theory
 The atom is the smallest particle of an element that still retains the unique
characteristics of that element.
Atoms are very tiny and are invisible, even under the most powerful
microscope.
An atom is composed of a nucleus, which contains positively charged protons
and neutral neutrons, and negatively charged electrons.
• Atom = electron + proton + neutron
• Nucleus = neutrons + protons
The electrons are distributed in various “shells” at different distances from the
nucleus, and electron energy increases as shell radius increases.
Electrons in the outermost shell are called valence electrons, and the chemical
activity of a material is determined primarily by the number of such electrons.
The electrons in their orbit closest to the nucleus are tightly bound
to the nucleus, while
Electrons in the outer orbit furthest from the nucleus are loosely
bound to the nucleus. Hence we can remove the electron by
Appling very little outside force/energy
 Under the influence of external forces such loosely bound
electrons can be made free from the force of attraction of the
nucleus.
 Electronegative elements:
Electropositive elements: Readily acquire electrons
Readily give up electrons to become - ions.
to become + ions.
 Atomic Structure

No. of electron in each shell

Ne = 2(n)2
n = no of shell.
 Covalent Bonding
 The term covalent bond is used to describe the bonds in compounds that result from the
sharing of one or more pairs of electrons.

Covalent bonding of the Silicon atom

Covalent bonding of the GaAs crystal
Semiconductors, Conductors & Insulators
Conductors
 Material that easily conducts electrical current.
 The best conductors are single-element material (e.g
copper,silver,gold,aluminum,ect.)
 One valence electron very loosely bound to the atom- free electron
Insulators
 Material that does not conduct electric current under normal conditions.
 Valence electron are tightly bound to the atom – less free electron
Semiconductors
 Material between conductors and insulators in its ability to conduct electric
current
 In its pure (intrinsic) state is neither a good conductor nor a good insulator
 Most commonly use semiconductor- silicon(Si), germanium(Ge), and
carbon(C).
 Contains four valence electrons
 Energy Band Theory
When silicon atoms come together to form a crystal, the electrons occupy
particular allowed energy bands.
At T = 0 K, all valence electrons occupy the valence energy band.
 If the temperature increases, the valence electrons may gain thermal energy.
Any such electron may gain enough thermal energy to break the covalent bond
and move away from its original position.
 In order to break the covalent bond, the valence electron must gain a
minimum energy, Eg, called the bandgap energy.
The electrons that gain this minimum energy now exist in the conduction band
and are said to be free electrons.
 These free electrons in the conduction band can move throughout the crystal.
The net flow of electrons in the conduction band generates a current.
 Energy Level

Figure: Energy levels: conduction and valence bands of an insulator,

a semiconductor, and a conductor.
 Cont..
From above energy band ,The energy Eν is the maximum energy of the valence energy
band and the energy Ec is the minimum energy of the conduction energy band.
The bandgap energy Eg is the difference between Ec and Eν , and the region between
these two energies is called the forbidden bandgap.
Electrons cannot exist within the forbidden bandgap.
Materials that have large bandgap energies, in the range of 3 to 6 electron–volts (eV),
are insulators because, at room temperature, essentially no free electrons exist in the
conduction band.
 In contrast, materials that contain very large numbers of free electrons at room
temperature are conductors.
In a semiconductor, the bandgap energy is on the order of 1 eV. The net charge in a
semiconductor is zero; that is, the semiconductor is neutral.
 If a negatively charged electron breaks its covalent bond and moves away from its
original position, a positively charged “empty” state is created at that position.
Difference between Conductors &
Semiconductors
• Conductors – Resistance increases with the increase
in heat, because their vibration pattern about relatively
fixed location makes it increasingly difficult for a
sustained flow of carriers through the material –
positive temperature coefficient.
• Semiconductors – Exhibit an increased level of
conductivity with the application of heat. As the
temperature rises, an increasing number of valence
electron absorb sufficient thermal energy to break the
covalent bond and contribute to the number of free
carriers – negative temperature effects
 Intrinsic semiconductor
 An intrinsic semiconductor is a single-crystal semiconductor material with no other
types of atoms within the crystal.
As the temperature increases, more covalent bonds are broken, and more free
electrons and positive empty states are created.
A valence electron that has a certain thermal energy and is adjacent to an empty
state may move into that position , making it appear as if a positive charge is moving
through the semiconductor.
This positively charged “particle” is called a hole.
In semiconductors, then, two types of charged particles contribute to the current: the
negatively charged free electron, and the positively charged hole.
The concentrations of electrons and holes are important parameters in the
characteristics of a semiconductor material, because they directly influence the
magnitude of the current.
In an intrinsic semiconductor, the densities of electrons and holes are equal, since the
thermally generated electrons and holes are the only source of such particles.
Intrinsic (pure) carriers – The free electrons in a material due to only external causes
 Extrinsic Semiconductors
Since the electron and hole concentrations in an intrinsic semiconductor are
relatively small, only very small currents are possible.
The characteristics of a semiconductor material can be altered significantly by
the addition of a specific purity atoms to relatively pure semiconductor
materials – this process is known as doping process
The most common group III and V elements used for this purpose are
aluminum, boron, gallium , phosphorus and arsenic.
 For example, when a phosphorus atom substitutes for a silicon atom,
as shown in Figure (a), four of its valence electrons are used to
satisfy the covalent bond requirements. The fifth valence electron is
more loosely bound to the phosphorus atom.
 At room temperature, this electron has enough thermal energy to
break the bond, thus being free to move through the crystal and
contribute to the electron current in the semiconductor. When the
fifth phosphorus valence electron moves into the conduction band, a
positively charged phosphorus ion is created
Extrinsic Materials : n-Type and p-Type
Materials
 The characteristics of a semiconductor material can be altered
significantly by the addition of a specific purity atoms to
relatively pure semiconductor materials – this process is known
as doping process
 A semiconductor that has been subjected to the doping process
is called an extrinsic materials.
 Extrinsic Materials are n-type material [five valence electrons
(pentavalent)] and p-type material [three valence electrons
atom (trivalent)]
 n-Type Materials
 n-Type material is created by introducing the impurity (bendasing) elements that
have five valence electrons (pentavalent)
 There are antimony (Sb), Arsenic (As) and phosphorous (P).

Diffused impurities with five

valence electrons are called
donor atoms

Figure: Antimony impurity in n-type material

 n-Type Materials
 The effect of this doping cause the energy level (called the donor
level) appears in the forbidden band with Eg significantly less than
intrinsic material.
 This cause less thermal energy to move free electron (due to added
impurity) into conduction band at room temperature.

Figure: Effect of donor impurities on the energy band structure

 n-Type Material
 Pentavalent atoms is an n-type semiconductor (n stands for
the negative charge on electrons).
 The electrons are called the majority carrier in n-type
materials.
 In n-type material there are also a few holes that are
created when electrons-holes pairs are thermally generated
 Holes in n-type materials are called minority carrier.
 N-Type Semiconductor
An n-type semiconductor is produced when the intrinsic semiconductor is doped with n-type impurity atoms that have
five valence electrons (pentavalent), such as arsenic (As), antimony (Sb), Bismuth (B) and phosphorus (P).
Pentavalent atom is called a donor atom.

- Energy
-
Conduction band
- Si
- - Excess - - - - - - - -
- covalent - - - - - - - -
Si - - - - - - - -
- bond
- electron Electrons
- - P -
- (majority carriers)
- -
- Si Valence band
-
Si -
-
Holes
- - (minority carriers)

Fig. 1.12: N-type semiconductor. Four of P

atom’s valence electrons are used to form the Fig. 1.13: Energy diagram (n-type
covalent bond with Si atoms, leaving one extra semiconductor)
electron
 p-Type Material
 In p-type materials the hole is the majority carrier and the
electron is the minority carrier.
 Holes can be thought as +ve charges because the absence
of electron leaves a net +ve charge on the atom.
P-type Semiconductor
A p-type semiconducotor is produced when the intrinsic semiconductor is doped with p-type
impurity atoms that have three valance electrons (trivalent), such as aluminum, boron, and
gallium. Trivalent atom is referred to as an acceptor atom.

- Energy
-
- Conduction band
Si - - - - -
- - - - - - - -
Si - -
Covalent
Electrons
- bond hole (minority carriers)
- B - -
- Valence band
- - Si
-
Si -
-
- Holes
- (majority carriers)
Fig. 1.14: P-type semiconductor. Three of B
atom’ valence electrons are used in the Fig. 1.15: Energy diagram (p-type
covalent bonds, leaving one hole semiconductor)
 Electron vs Hole Flow
• With sufficient kinetic energy to break its covalent bond, the electron will
fills the void created by a hole, then a vacancy or hole, will be created in
the covalent bond that released the electron.
 PN - Junction Theory
A single type of semiconductor material is not very useful. But, something
interesting happens when a single semiconductor crystal contains both p-type
and n-type regions.
If a piece of intrinsic silicon is doped so that one part is n-type and the other
part is p-type, a pn junction forms at the boundary between the two region
and a diode is created.
Formation of the PN Junction
 Formation of Depletion Region
 When the pn junction is formed - n region
loses electron (diffuse across junction) and
creates a layer of positive charges near the
junction.
 As electron moves across the junction
(from n to p), p region loses hole as the
electron and holes combine. This create a
layer of negative charges near the junction.
These two layers form the depletion
region.
• Depletion refer to the fact that the region
near the pn junction is depleted of charge
carriers (electrons and holes) due to
diffusion across the junction.
 Formation of Depletion Region

 Depletion region is formed very quickly and is very thin

compared to the n region and p region.
 After equilibrium is establish, there is no further diffusion of
electron across the junction.
 The force between the opposite charges form an electric field.
 This electric field is a barrier to the free electrons in the n
region; external energy must be applied to get the electrons to
move across the barrier of the electric field in the depletion region.
 Formation of Depletion Region
 The potential difference of the electric field across the depletion region is
the amount of voltage required to move electrons through the electric field –
barrier potential.

 Barrier potential is expressed in volts.

𝐾𝑇 𝑁𝑎 𝑁𝑑
 𝑉𝑏𝑖 = ln( 2 )
𝑒 𝑛𝑖

 where k = Boltzmann’s constant, T = absolute temperature, e = the

magnitude of the electronic charge, and Na and Nd are the net acceptor and
donor concentrations in the p- and n-regions, respectively.

 Typical barrier potential is approximately 0.7 V for silicon.

 THANK YOU

1 may 2014