PN JUNCTION DIODES AND
RESISTORS
OVERVIEW
Semiconductor fundamentals
Doping
PN Junction
Diode Equation
Zener Diodes
LEDs
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SEMICONDUCTOR: AN
INTRODUCTION
Insulators: Do not Allow Electric current to flow
through them
Semiconductors: Materials whose conductivity
lies in between of Conductors and Semiconductor
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Conductors: Allow Electric
current to flow through them
SEMICONDUCTORS
A material whose properties are such that it is
not quite a conductor, not quite an insulator
Some common semiconductors
Si - Silicon (most common)
Ge - Germanium
compound
GaAs - Gallium arsenide
GaP - Gallium phosphide
AlAs - Aluminum arsenide
AlP - Aluminum phosphide
InP - Indium Phosphide
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elemental
INSULATORS, SEMICONDUCTORS,
AND METALS: COMPARISON
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This separation of the valence and conduction
bands determines the electrical properties of the
material
Insulators have a large energy gap
electrons cant jump from valence to
conduction bands
no current flows
Conductors (metals) have a very small (or
nonexistent) energy gap
electrons easily jump to conduction bands due
to thermal excitation
current flows easily
Semiconductors have a moderate energy gap
only a few electrons can jump to the
conduction band
leaving holes
only a little current can flow
INSULATORS, SEMICONDUCTORS,
AND METALS (CONTINUED)
Overlap
Band
Gap
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Conduction
Band
More Band
Gap
Valence
Band
Conductor Semiconductor Insulator
ELECTRON-HOLE PAIRS
Sometimes thermal energy is enough to cause an
electron to jump from the valence band to the
conduction band
Electrons also fall back out of the conduction
band into the valence band, combining with a
hole
hole
pair creation
electron
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pair elimination
DOPING AND CONDUCTION
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To make semiconductors better conductors, add
impurities (dopants) to contribute extra electrons
or extra holes
elements with 5 outer electrons contribute an
extra electron to the lattice (donor dopant)
elements with 3 outer electrons accept an
electron from the silicon (acceptor dopant)
DOPING AND CONDUCTION
CONTINUED...
Phosphorus and arsenic are donor dopants
if phosphorus is introduced into the silicon lattice,
there is an extra electron free to move around and
contribute to electric current
very loosely bound to atom and can easily jump to
conduction band
n type silicon
sometimes use + symbol to indicate heavier doping, so n+
silicon
phosphorus
electron
becomes positive ion after giving up
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produces
DOPING AND CONDUCTION
CONTINUED
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Boron has 3 electrons in its outer shell, so it contributes a
hole if it displaces a silicon atom
boron is an acceptor dopant
yields p type silicon
boron becomes negative ion after accepting an electron
DIFFUSION OF DOPANTS
no new silicon is added
high heat causes diffusion
Can be done with constant
concentration in atmosphere
close
to straight line
concentration gradient
Or with constant number of atoms
per unit area
predeposition
bell-shaped gradient
Diffusion causes spreading of doped
areas
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It is also possible to introduce
dopants into silicon by heating
them so they diffuse into the silicon
Top
vie
w
Side
view
DIFFUSION OF DOPANTS
(CONTINUED)
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Concentration of dopant
in surrounding
atmosphere kept
constant per unit volume
Dopant deposited on
surface - constant
amount per unit area
ION IMPLANTATION OF DOPANTS
One way to reduce the spreading found with
diffusion is to use ion implantation
also gives better uniformity of dopant
yields faster devices
lower temperature process
Ions are accelerated from 5 Kev to 10 Mev and
directed at silicon
higher energy gives greater depth penetration
total dose is measured by flux
number of ions per cm2
typically 1012 per cm2 - 1016 per cm2
Flux is over entire surface of silicon
use masks to cover areas where implantation is
not wanted
Heat afterward to work into crystal lattice
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HOLE AND ELECTRON
CONCENTRATIONS
To produce reasonable levels of conduction
doesnt require much doping
silicon has about 5 x 1022 atoms/cm3
typical dopant levels are about 1015
atoms/cm3
In undoped (intrinsic) silicon, the number of
holes and number of free electrons is equal,
and their product equals a constant
actually, ni increases with increasing
temperature
This equation holds true for doped silicon as
well, so increasing the number of free
electrons decreases the number of holes
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There are two types of doping
DOPING
N-type and P-type.
A column V ion is inserted.
The extra valence electron is
free to move about the lattice
The P in P-type stands for
positive.
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The N in N-type stands for
negative.
A column III ion is inserted.
Electrons from the
surrounding Silicon move to fill
ENERGY-BAND DIAGRAM
A very important concept in the study of semiconductors
is the energy-band diagram
It is used to represent the range of energy a valence
electron can have
For semiconductors the electrons can have any one value
of a continuous range of energy levels while they occupy
the valence shell of the atom
band of energy levels is called the valence band
This
is the conduction band
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That
Within the same valence shell, but at a slightly higher
energy level, is yet another band of continuously variable,
allowed energy levels
BAND GAP
EG
This is the band gap
E G 11
. eV
In silicon at room temperature [in electron volts]:
Electron volt is an atomic measurement unit, 1 eV
energy is necessary to decrease of the potential of the
electron with 1 V.
1eV 1.602 10 19 joule
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Between the valence and the conduction band is a range
of energy levels where there are no allowed states for an
electron
COUNTER DOPING
The extra electron and the
extra hole cancel out
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Insert more than one type
of Ion
P-N JUNCTION
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Also known as a diode
One of the basics of semiconductor technology Created by placing n-type and p-type material in
close contact
Diffusion - mobile charges (holes) in p-type combine
with mobile charges (electrons) in n-type
P-N JUNCTION
Region of charges left behind (dopants fixed in
crystal lattice)
III in p-type (one less proton than Si- negative
charge)
Group IV in n-type (one more proton than Si - positive
charge)
Region is totally depleted of mobile charges depletion region
Electric
field forms due to fixed charges in the depletion
region
Depletion region has high resistance due to lack of
mobile charges
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Group
THE P-N JUNCTION
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Direction of
Current
DEPLETION LAYER FORMATION
The potential or voltage across the
silicon changes in the depletion
region and goes from + in the n
region to in the p region
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BIASING THE P-N DIODE
DIODES CAN BE
CONSIDERED AS SWITCH
Reverse Bias
Applies voltage to the
n region and +
voltage to the
p region
Applies +
voltage to n
region and
voltage to p
region
CURRENT!
NO CURRENT
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Forward Bias
P-N JUNCTION REVERSE BIAS
Depletion layer width
Increses
No current Flow
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positive voltage placed on n-type material
electrons in n-type move closer to positive terminal,
holes in p-type move closer to negative terminal
width of depletion region increases
allowed current is essentially zero (small drift current)
P-N JUNCTION FORWARD BIAS
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positive voltage placed on p-type material
holes in p-type move away from positive terminal, electrons in ntype move further from negative terminal
depletion region becomes smaller - resistance of device decreases
voltage increased until critical voltage is reached, depletion
region disappears, current can flow freely
P-N JUNCTION - V-I
CHARACTERISTICS
Voltage-Current relationship for a p-n junction (diode)
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CURRENT-VOLTAGE
CHARACTERISTICS
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THE IDEAL DIODE
Positive voltage yields
finite current
Negative voltage yields
zero current
REAL DIODE
THE IDEAL DIODE EQUATION
q 1602
.
10 19 coulomb , the electronic ch arg e
eV
k 8.62 10 5
, Boltzmann' s cons tan t
K
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qV
I I 0 exp
1
,
kT
where
I 0 diode current with reverse bias
SEMICONDUCTOR DIODE - OPENED
REGION
The
Opened:
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p-side is the cathode, the n-side is the anode
The dropped voltage, VD is measured from the
cathode to the anode
VD VF:
VD = V F
ID = circuit limited, in our model the VD cannot exceed
VF
SEMICONDUCTOR DIODE - CUT-OFF
REGION
Cut-off:
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0 < VD < VF:
ID 0 mA
SEMICONDUCTOR DIODE - CLOSED
REGION
VD
VF < VD 0:
is determined by the circuit, I D = 0 mA
Typical
values of VF: 0.5 0.7 V
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Closed:
ZENER EFFECT
Zener
Utilization of the Zener effect
Typical break down values of VZ : -4.5 ... -15 V
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break down: VD <= VZ:
VD = VZ, ID is determined by the circuit.
In case of standard diode the typical values of the
break down voltage VZ of the Zener effect -20 ... -100
V
Zener diode
LED
emitting diode, made from GaAs
VF=1.6 V
IF >= 6 mA
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Light
Transistor
BJT TRANSISTORS:
NPNTransistor
Sandwichinga
P-typelayer
betweentwontypelayers.
PNPTransistor
Sandwichinga
N-typelayer
betweentwoptypelayers.
HOW A NPN TRANSISTOR
WORKS?
Thebase-emitterdiode(forward)
actsasaswitch.whenv1>0.7itlets
theelectronsflowtowardcollector.
sowecancontrolouroutputcurrent
(Ic)withtheinputcurrent(Ib)by
usingtransistors.
backward
Forward
Transistorshavethreeterminals:
Collector
Base
Emitter
Active:Alwayson
Ic=BIb
Transistorsworkin3regions
Saturation:Ic=Isaturation
Onasaswitch
Off:Ic=0
Offasaswitch
TransistorasaSwitch
Transistorscanbeusedasswitches.1
Transistor
Switch
Transistorscaneither
2
conductor
conduct notconductcurrent.
notconduct
ie,transistorscaneitherbeonor
on off.
off 2
TransistorSwitchingExample15
X
12V
Variable
Voltage
Supply
WhenVBEislessthan0.7Vthetransistorisoff
andthelampdoesnotlight.
WhenVBEisgreaterthan0.7Vthetransistorison
andthelamplights.
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