LECTURE NOTES

ELE2201: PRINCIPLES OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING I

WEEK 8: INTRODUCTION TO SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES

6.1 Introduction

A semiconductor is a material which has an electrical conductivity value falling between that of
a conductor, such as copper, and an insulator, such as glass. Its resistivity falls as its temperature
rises; metals behave in the opposite way. Its conducting properties may be altered in useful ways
by introducing impurities ("doping") into the crystal structure. When two differently doped
regions exist in the same crystal, a semiconductor junction is created. The behavior of charge
carriers, which include electrons, ions, and electron holes, at these junctions is the basis of diodes,
transistors, and most modern electronics. Some examples of semiconductors are silicon,
germanium, gallium arsenide, and elements near the so-called "metalloid staircase" on the periodic
table.

6.2 Intrinsic semiconductor

An intrinsic (pure) semiconductor is a pure semiconductor without any significant dopant species
present. The number of charge carriers is therefore determined by the properties of the material
itself instead of the amount of impurities. In intrinsic semiconductors the number of excited
electrons and the number of holes are equal.

6.3 Extrinsic semiconductor

An extrinsic semiconductor is one that has been doped; during manufacture of the semiconductor
crystal a trace element or chemical called a doping agent has been incorporated chemically into
the crystal, for the purpose of giving it different electrical properties than the pure semiconductor
crystal. Doping is the key to the extraordinarily wide range of electrical behavior that
semiconductors can exhibit, and extrinsic semiconductors are used to make semiconductor
electronic devices such as diodes, transistors, integrated circuits, semiconductor lasers, LEDs, and
photovoltaic cells.

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6.4 Semiconductor doping

Semiconductor doping is the process that changes an intrinsic semiconductor to an extrinsic

semiconductor. During doping, impurity atoms are introduced to an intrinsic semiconductor.
Impurity atoms are atoms of a different element than the atoms of the intrinsic semiconductor.

Impurity atoms act as either donors or acceptors to the intrinsic semiconductor, changing the
electron and hole concentrations of the semiconductor. Impurity atoms are classified as either
donor or acceptor atoms based on the effect they have on the intrinsic semiconductor.

6.4.1 N-type semiconductors

N-type semiconductors are created by doping an intrinsic semiconductor with an electron donor
element during manufacture. The term n-type comes from the negative charge of the electron. In
n-type semiconductors, electrons are the majority carriers and holes are the minority carriers. A
common dopant for n-type silicon is phosphorus or arsenic. In an n-type semiconductor, the Fermi
level is greater than that of the intrinsic semiconductor and lies closer to the conduction band than
the valence band.

Figure 6.1. Band structure of an n-type semiconductor. Dark circles in the conduction band are
electrons and light circles in the valence band are holes. The image shows that the electrons are
the majority charge carrier.

6.4.2 P-type semiconductors

P-type semiconductors are created by doping an intrinsic semiconductor with an electron acceptor
element during manufacture. The term p-type refers to the positive charge of a hole. As opposed
to n-type semiconductors, p-type semiconductors have a larger hole concentration than electron
concentration.

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In p-type semiconductors, holes are the majority carriers and electrons are the minority carriers. A
common p-type dopant for silicon is boron or gallium. For p-type semiconductors the Fermi level
is below the intrinsic semiconductor and lies closer to the valence band than the conduction band.

Figure 6.2. Band structure of a p-type semiconductor. Dark circles in the conduction band are
electrons and light circles in the valence band are holes. The image shows that the holes are the
majority charge carrier

6.4.3 p–n junction

A p–n junction is a boundary or interface between two types of semiconductor materials, p-type
and n-type, inside a single crystal of semiconductor. The "p" (positive) side contains an excess of
holes, while the "n" (negative) side contains an excess of electrons in the outer shells of the
electrically neutral atoms there. This allows electrical current to pass through the junction only in
one direction. p–n junctions are elementary "building blocks" of semiconductor electronic devices
such as diodes, transistors, solar cells, light-emitting diodes (LEDs), and integrated circuits; they
are the active sites where the electronic action of the device takes place.

6.5 Diode

A diode is a two-terminal electronic component that conducts current primarily in one direction;
it has low (ideally zero) resistance in one direction, and high (ideally infinite) resistance in the
other.

Figure 6.3. The circuit diagram symbol for a diode.

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6.5.1 p–n junction diode

A p–n junction diode is made of a crystal of semiconductor, usually silicon, but germanium and
gallium arsenide are also used. Impurities are added to it to create a region on one side that contains
negative charge carriers (electrons), called an n-type semiconductor, and a region on the other side
that contains positive charge carriers (holes), called a p-type semiconductor. When the n-type and
p-type materials are attached together, a momentary flow of electrons occurs from the n to the p
side resulting in a third region between the two where no charge carriers are present. This region
is called the depletion region because there are no charge carriers (neither electrons nor holes) in
it. The diode's terminals are attached to the n-type and p-type regions. The boundary between these
two regions called a p–n junction, is where the action of the diode takes place. When a sufficiently
higher electrical potential is applied to the P side (the anode) than to the N side (the cathode), it
allows electrons to flow through the depletion region from the N-type side to the P-type side.

Figure 6.4. A PN diode that display the electrical symbol associated with it. The triangle
corresponds to the p side, while the other side is the n side.

An equation describes the exact current through a diode, given the voltage dropped across the
junction, the temperature of the junction, and several physical constants. It is commonly known as
the diode equation:

𝑞𝑉𝐷
𝐼𝐷 = 𝐼𝑆 (𝑒 (𝑁𝐾𝑇) − 1)

Where:

𝐼𝐷 = Diode current in amps

𝐼𝑆 = Saturated current in amps

℮ = Eulers constant (2.718281828)

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q = charge of electron 1.6×10-19 coulombs

𝑉𝐷 = Voltage applied across the diode in volts

N = Non-ideality or Emission coefficient

K = Boltzmann constant 1.38×10-23

T = Junction Temperature in Kelvin

6.6 Types of Diode

There different types of diodes, used for various applications. For brevity, few examples are
mentioned in the following subsections.

6.6.1 Zener diode

A Zener diode is a special type of diode designed to reliably allow current to flow "backwards"
(inverted polarity) when a certain set reverse voltage, known as the Zener voltage, is reached.

Figure 6.6. The circuit diagram symbol for a Zener diode

6.6.2 Tunnel diodes

These have a region of operation showing negative resistance caused by quantum tunneling,
allowing amplification of signals and very simple bistable circuits. Because of the high carrier
concentration, tunnel diodes are very fast, may be used at low (mK) temperatures, high magnetic
fields, and in high radiation environments. Because of these properties, they are often used in
spacecraft.

Figure 6.7. The circuit diagram symbol for a tunnel diode.

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6.6.3 Varicap diodes

These are used as voltage-controlled capacitors. These are important in PLL (phase-locked loop)
and FLL (frequency-locked loop) circuits, allowing tuning circuits, such as those in television
receivers, to lock quickly on to the frequency. They also enabled tunable oscillators in the early
discrete tuning of radios, where a cheap and stable, but fixed-frequency, crystal oscillator provided
the reference frequency for a voltage-controlled oscillator.

Figure 6.8. The circuit diagram symbol for a varicap (capacitive diode).

6.6.4 Schottky diodes

The Schottky diode (named after the German physicist Walter H. Schottky), also known as
Schottky barrier diode or hot-carrier diode, is a semiconductor diode formed by the junction of a
semiconductor with a metal. It has a low forward voltage drop and a very fast switching action.
The cat's-whisker detectors used in the early days of wireless and metal rectifiers used in early
power applications can be considered primitive Schottky diodes.

Figure 6.9. The circuit diagram symbol for a Schottky diode

6.6.5 Light-emitting diodes (LEDs)

A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor device that emits light when current flows
through it. Electrons in the semiconductor recombine with electron holes, releasing energy in the
form of photons. The color of the light (corresponding to the energy of the photons) is determined
by the energy required for electrons to cross the band gap of the semiconductor. White light is
obtained by using multiple semiconductors or a layer of light-emitting phosphor on the
semiconductor device.

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 Figure 6.10. The circuit diagram symbol for a light-emitting diode.

(a) (b)

Figure 6.11: (a) Light emitting diodes when energized (b) Red and green LED traffic signals

6.7 Diode Rectifier

A rectifier is an electrical device made of semiconductor diodes that converts alternating current
(AC), which periodically reverses direction, to direct current (DC), which flows in only one
direction. The reverse operation (converting DC to AC) is performed by an inverter.

6.7.1 Half-Wave Rectification

In half-wave rectification of a single-phase supply, either the positive or negative half of the AC
wave is passed, while the other half is blocked. Half-wave rectification requires a single diode in
a single-phase supply, or three in a three-phase supply.

Figure 6.12. Half-wave rectifier, 'U' denotes voltage, 'D' denotes a diode, and 'R' a resistance

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6.7.2 Full-Wave Rectification

A full-wave rectifier converts the whole of the input waveform to one of constant polarity (positive
or negative) at its output. Full-wave rectification converts both polarities of the input waveform to
pulsating DC (direct current), and yields a higher average output voltage. Two diodes and a center-
tapped transformer, or four diodes in a bridge configuration and any AC source (including a
transformer without center tap), are needed.

Figure 6.13. Graetz bridge rectifier: a full-wave rectifier using four diodes.

6.8 Semiconductor device fabrication

Semiconductor device fabrication is the process used to manufacture semiconductor devices,

typically integrated circuit (IC) "chips" such as computer processors, microcontrollers, and
memory chips that are present in everyday electrical and electronic devices. It is a multiple-step
sequence of photolithographic and physico-chemical processing steps (such as thermal oxidation,
thin-film deposition, ion-implantation, etching) during which electronic circuits are gradually
created on a wafer typically made of pure single-crystal semiconducting material. Silicon is almost
always used, but various compound semiconductors are used for specialized applications.

6.8.1 Lithography

Lithography is used to transfer a pattern from a photomask to the surface of the wafer. For example,
the gate area of a MOS transistor is defined by a specific pattern. The pattern information is
recorded on a layer of photoresist which is applied on the top of the wafer. The photoresist changes
its physical properties when exposed to light (often ultraviolet) or another source of illumination
(e.g., X-ray).

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6.8.2 Thermal Oxidation

Oxidation is a process which converts silicon on the wafer into silicon dioxide. The chemical
reaction of silicon and oxygen already starts at room temperature but stops after a very thin native
oxide film. For an effective oxidation rate the wafer must be settled to a furnace with oxygen or
water vapor at elevated temperatures. Silicon dioxide layers are used as high-quality insulators or
masks for ion implantation..

6.8.3 Thin-Film Deposition

A multitude of layers of different materials have to be deposited during the IC fabrication process.
The two most important deposition methods are the physical vapor deposition (PVD) and the
chemical vapor deposition (CVD). During PVD accelerated gas ions sputter particles from a
sputter target in a low-pressure plasma chamber. The principle of CVD is a chemical reaction of a
gas mixture on the substrate surface at high temperatures.

6.8.4 Ion Implantation

Ion implantation is the dominant technique to introduce dopant impurities into crystalline silicon.
This is performed with an electric field which accelerates the ionized atoms or molecules so that
these particles penetrate into the target material until they come to rest because of interactions with
the silicon atoms. Ion implantation is able to control exactly the distribution and dose of the
dopants in silicon, because the penetration depth depends on the kinetic energy of the ions which
is proportional to the electric field.

6.8.5 Etching

Etching is used to remove material selectively in order to create patterns. The pattern is defined by
the etching mask, because the parts of the material, which should remain, are protected by the
mask. The unmasked material can be removed either by wet (chemical) or dry (physical) etching.