Electronic Device

Any device whose action is based on the controlled flow of

electrons through it is called an electronic device.

The branch of physics that deals with the study of these

electronic devices is called electronics.

Electronic devices are the basic building blocks of all the

electronic circuits
Classification of Solids on the basis of their Conductivity

On the basis of the relative values of electrical conductivity or

resistivity (rho = 1/sigma) the solids are broadly classified as:

1. Metals (low resistivity or high conductivity).

Rho = 10 ^ - 2 – 10 ^ - 8
sigma=10 ^ 2 – 10 ^ 8 S m ^ - 1

2. Insulators (high resistivity or low conductivity)

rho = 10 ^ 11 – 10 ^ 19 * Omega*m
sigma = 10 ^ - 11 – 10 ^ - 19 * S * m ^ - 1

3. Semiconductors (resistivity or conductivity intermediate to metals

and insulators)

rho = 10 ^ - 5 – 10 ^ 6 * Omega*m
Semiconductors

1. Semiconductors have a much higher resistivity

than metals.

Semiconductors have a temperature coefficient of

resistivity (a) that is both negative and high. That is
the resistivity of semiconductors decreases rapidly
with temperature, while that of metals increases.

3. Semiconductors have a considerable lower number

density n of charge carriers (charge carriers per unit
volume) than metals
Classification of Semiconductors

Classification on the basis of their Chemical composition

1. Elemental semiconductors: Si (Silicon) and Ge (Germanium)

2. Compound semiconductors: Examples are:

(i) Inorganic: CdS (Cadmium sulfide), GaAs (Gallium arsenide), CdSe

(Cadmium selenide), InP (Indium phosphide) etc.

24 umbro

(ii) Organic: Polypyrrole, polythiophene, etc

Classification of Semiconductors

Classification on the basis of the source & the nature of charge carriers

1. Intrinsic semiconductors: The pure semiconductors (impurity less than 1

part in 10^10) are called intrinsic semiconductors.

2. Extrinsic semiconductors: The semiconductors obtained by adding or

doping the pure semiconductor with small amounts of certain specific
impurity atoms having valency different from that of the host atoms.
Energy Bands in Solids

According to the Bohr atomic model, in an isolated

atom the energy of any of its electrons is decided by
the orbit in which it revolves.

But when the atoms come together to form a solid they

are close to each other. So the outer orbits of electrons
from neighbouring atoms would come very close or
could even overlap. This would make the nature of
electron motion in a solid very different from that in an
isolated atom.
Energy Bands in Solids

Inside the crystal each electron has a unique position

and no two electrons see exactly the same pattern of
surrounding charges.

Because of this, each electron will have a different

energy level.

These different energy levels with continuous energy

variation form what are called energy bands.
Valence Band: It is the energy band occupied by the valence electrons. This
energy band is formed when different energy levels of isolated atoms almost
combine when these atoms come closer to form a solid.

Conduction Band: It is the energy band of higher energy levels which is

either empty or partially filled with electrons above the valence band.

Forbidden Energy Gap: It is the separation between valence band and

conduction band in a solid. Electrons do not have energy corresponding to
this energy gap. It is denoted by Eg

NOTE

1. The size of forbidden energy gap is different for different materials.

2. The maximum energy, an electron can have at GK is called Fermi Energy

(Ef)
Difference between Valence band, Conduction Band & Energy Band gap

1. Valence band. In the energy band diagram of semiconductors, the valence

band is a lower band belonging to valence electrons of the given crystal. This
band may be partially or completely filled with electrons.

This band is never empty.

➤ In this band electrons are not capable of gaining energy from external
electric field. Therefore, the electrons in this band do not contribute to the
electric current
Difference between Valence band,
Conduction Band & Energy Band gap

2. Conduction band. In the energy

band diagram of semiconductors, the
conduction band is an upper band in
which the electrons are not present at
O K.

At room temperature, this band is

either empty or partially filled with
electrons. In this band, electrons can
gain energy from external electric
field and contribute to the electric
current.
3. Energy band gap (i.e. energy gap). In the energy band
diagram, energy band gap is the separation between highest
energy level of valence band and lowest energy level in
conduction band. Electrons are not found in this band. This
band is completely empty.

The minimum energy required for shifting electrons from

valence band to conduction band is called energy band gap
(Eg)
MATELS

There are two cases

Case I: When the conduction band is partially

filled and the Valance band is partially empty.

(When the valence band is partially empty,

electrons from its lower level can move to
higher level making conduction possible.
Therefore, the resistance of such materials is
low or the conductivity is high)

Case II: When the conduction bands overlaps

with valence band.

(When there is overlap electrons from

valence band can easily move into the
conduction band. This situation makes a large
number of electrons available for electrical
conduction)
SMICONDUCTORS

This situation is shown in Fig.. Here a

finite but small band gap (E_{g} < 3eV)
exists. Because of the small band gap, at
room temperature some electrons from
valence band can acquire enough energy
to cross the energy gap and enter the
conduction band. These electrons (though
small in numbers) can move in the
conduction band. Hence, the resistance of
semiconductors is not as high as that of
the insulators.

For example, the energy gap for

germanium is of 0.72 eV & for silicon it is
of 1.1 eV. At zero kelvin temperature,
electrons are not able to cross even this
small energy gap and hence the
conduction band remains totally empty.
Therefore, the semiconductor at zero
kelvin behaves as insulator.
INSULATORS

In this case, as shown in Fig., a large band

gap Eg exists (E_{g} > 3eV) There are no
electrons in conduction band, and
therefore no electrical conduction is
possible. Note that the energy gap is so
large that electrons cannot be excited
from the valence band to the conduction
band by thermal excitation. This is the
case of insulators.

For example, in case of diamond, the

energy gap is of 6 eV.
INTRINSIC SEMICONDUCTORS

The semiconductor in which the current carriers (holes and electrons)

are created due to thermal excitation only across the forbidden energy
gap is called an intrinsic semiconductor.

A pure semiconductor is called intrinsic semiconductor. It has thermally

generated current carriers. Germanium and silicon are frequently used
as intrinsic semiconductors
Explanation of Behaviour of Intrinsic Semiconductors on the Basis of
Valence-Bond Theory
At 0 K (very low temperature), all the covalent
bonds are complete. Therefore, no free
electron is available in the crystal for the
conduction of current. Hence, silicon or
germanium crystal behaves as an insulator at
O K.
Generation of electrons & holes. At room
temperature, some of the covalent bonds will
be broken because of the thermal energy
supplied to the crystal. When a covalent bond
breaks, an electron becomes free. The
electron which leaves the bond is called free
electron and the vacancy created in the
covalent bond due to the release of the
electron is called a hole (i.e., deficiency of an
electron). The hole is equivalent to a positive
charge (+). This hole can be filled up by an
electron from the neighbouring covalent
bond, where another hole is created [
The neighbourhood, from which
the free electron (with charge -৭) In an intrinsic
has come out leaves a vacancy semiconductor, the
number density of free
with an effective charge (+q). electrons (ie, number of
This vacancy with the effective free electrons per unit
volume) is equal to the
positive electronic charge is number density of holes
called a [Link] hole behaves and is known as number
as an apparent free particle with density of intrinsic
carriers
effective positive charge
Explanation of Behaviour of Intrinsic Semiconductors on the
Basis of Energy Band Theory
In a semiconductor, valence
band and conduction band
are separated by a
forbidden energy gap E, 1
eV. The valence band is
completely filled with
electrons while conduction
band is empty at 0K .At
room temperature (T>0 K),
the electrons in the valence
band gain thermal energy
and jump over the forbidden
energy gap to reach the
conduction band. The
electrons reaching the
conduction band leave
behind equal number of
holes in the valence band .
These holes create empty
energy levels in the valence
band. The hole can be filled
Intrinsic Semi-Conductors

Important points (Intrinsic Semi- Conductors)

1. In an intrinsic semiconductor

(i) there are two types of current carriers (i.e., free electrons and holes)

(ii) number of electrons is equal to number of holes.

2. An intrinsic semiconductor is electrical neutral as a whole.

3. In a semiconductor the total current is due to the movement of both the

free electrons and holes, whereas in a metal conductor the current is due
to flow of electrons only.
Limitations of Intrinsic (pure) Semi-Conductors

Limitations of developing pure semiconductor

1. Intrinsic semiconductors have low intrinsic charge carrier concentration

(of hole and electrons) as 10^6 m^-³. So they have low electrical
conductivity.

2. As intrinsic charge carriers are always thermally generated, so flexibility

is not available to control their number.

3. For intrinsic semiconductors, ne = nh They cannot have predominant

hole or electron conduction. This puts a limit to the usefulness of such
materials
Need to improve intrinsic Semiconductors

Looking into the Limitations of an

Intrinsic Semiconductors, no important
electronic devices can be developed
using their conductivity.

Hence there is a necessity of improving

their conductivity.

This can be done by making use of

impurities.
Doping

The dopant has to be such that it does not distort the original pure semiconductor
lattice. It occupies only a very few of the original semiconductor atom sites in the
crystal.

A necessary condition to attain this is that the sizes of the dopant and the
semiconductor atoms should be nearly the same.

The deliberate addition of a desirable impurity is called doping and the impurity
atoms are called dopants. Such a material is also called a doped semiconductor.

When a small amount, say, a few parts per million (ppm), of a suitable impurity is
added to the pure semiconductor, the conductivity of the semiconductor is
increased manifold. Such materials are known as extrinsic semiconductors or
impurity semiconductors.
Extrinsic Semi-Conductors

A doped semiconductor or a semi- conductor with suitable

impurity atom added to it, is called extrinsic semiconductor.

There are two types of dopants used in doping the tetravalent

Si or Ge:

(i) Pentavalent (valency 5); like Arsenic (As), Antimony (Sb),

Phosphorous (P), etc.

(ii) Trivalent (valency 3); like Indium (In), Boron (B), Aluminum
(Al), etc.
(i) p-type Semiconductor

When suitable trivalent impurity is added to

pure germanium or silicon crystal, we get
extrinsic semiconductor known as p-type
semiconductor.

Trivalent impurity atom (say indium) has

three valence electrons. When an atom of
indium is added into the silicon (say silicon)
crystal, this atoms replaces one of the silicon
atoms and settles in the lattice site of
replaced semiconductor atom. This indium
atom forms three covalent bonds with the
neighbouring three silicon atoms. The fourth
bond remains incomplete which has a Majority charge carriers in this type of
deficiency of one electron. This deficiency of semiconductor are positively charged
an electron is called hole and behaves like a holes (and the minority carriers are
positively charged particle. This hole attracts electrons which are thermally generated),
the electron from the neighbouring covalent so this type of doped semiconductor is
bond to fill itself. Now a new hole is created called P-type or p-type semiconductor
at the site from which the electron has been Since each trivalent impurity atom
attracted to fill the hole . In this way, a accepts one electron from the valence
number of holes are formed by adding more band of silicon, so it is known as acceptor
Energy band diagram of p-type
SemiconductorThe energy band diagram
of p-type semiconductor . The energy
level corresponding to the holes in the p-
type semiconductor lies just above the
valence band. This energy level is known
as acceptor level. The energy difference
between the acceptor level and the
highest energy level of valence band
(Ea=0.01 eV for Ge and 0.05 eV for Si) is
much less than the forbidden energy gap
(Eg= 0.72 eV for Ge and Eg 1.2 eV for Si).
At room temperature, the thermally
generated electrons in the valence band
are easily transferred to the acceptor
level and hence large number of holes are
created in the valence band. These holes
act as current carriers when p-type
semiconductor is connected across the
battery
ii) n-type Semiconductor.

When suitable pentavalent impurity is added to pure germanium or silicon crystal, we get an
extrinsic semiconductor known as n-type semiconductor.

Pentavalent impurity atom, say arsenic (As) has five valence electrons. When arsenic atom is
added into the semi-conductor (say silicon) crystal, it replaces silicon atom and settles in the
lattice site of replaced silicon atom. This arsenic atom forms four covalent bonds by sharing
its four electrons with the neighbouring four semiconductor atoms. The fifth valence electron
of arsenic remains un-accommodated This electron is loosely bound to its parent nucleus and
is detached easily even at the room temperature. Now, it becomes a free electron and move
randomly through the crystal [Figure 18]. In this way, a number of free electrons are available
in the crystal when a small amount of arsenic is added to the silicon crystal.

Majority charge carriers in this type of semiconductor are electrons and the minority charge
carriers are holes which are thermally generated. Thus, this type of extrinsic semiconductor is
called n-type or N type semiconductor. Since each pentavalent impurity atom donates one
extra electron to the crystal, so it is known as donor impurity.

Energy Band diagram of n-type Semiconductor

The fifth free electron in n-type semiconductor occupies a discrete energy level known as
donor level just below the conduction hand of the semiconductor crystal [Figure 191. The
energy gap between donor level and the conduction band is very small (E0-01 eV for Ge and
0-05 eV for Si). Even room temperature provides sufficient thermal energy to the free
P n Junction

It is a single crystal of Ge or Si doped in such

a manner that one half portion of it acts as p-
type semiconductor and other half as n-type
semiconductor.
Formation of p n junction

Two important processes involved during

formation of p-n junction are

1. Diffusion (diffusion current p → n)

2. Drift (Drift Current n <=p)

The small region in the vicinity of the

junction which is depleted of free charge
carriers and has only immobile ions is called
depletion region.

The accumulation of negative charges in the

p-region and positive charges in the n-region
sets up a potential difference across the
junction. This acts as a barrier and is called
barrier potential(VB)
P-n Junction (depletion Layer & barrier
potential)

The barrier potential Ve depends on

(i) the nature of the semiconductor

(ii) temperature

(iii) amount of doping

At room temp (300K) The value of V is 0.3

V for Ge & 0.7 V for Si

IMPORTANT

Doping ↑ Depletion layer↓ EB (barrier

field) ↑
Doping ↓ Depletion layer ↑ EB↓
Working of a p n Junction
(Forward Bias)

Forward Biasing:

If the positive terminal of

a battery is connected to
the p- side and the
negative terminal to the n-
side, then the p-n junction
is said to be forward
biased. Forward biasing of a p n Junction

① Barrier Potential decreases (Vo-V)

or (VB-V)

② width of depletion layer decreases

③ Effective resistance across p-n

junction decreases.
Working of a p n Junction
(Reverse Bias)

Reverse Biasing:

If the positive terminal of

a battery is connected to
the n-side and the
negative terminal to the
p-side, then the p-n
junction is said to be
reverse biased Potential Barier Increases (Vo+v) or (VB+V)

② Increasing the width of depletion layer.

③ Resistance across p-n junction very large.

No Current due to majority Charge Carrier.

⑤ Very small current (mA) due to minority,

charges
V – I Characteristic of a p n Junction Diode

Forward Bias Characteristic

These are the graphical relations between forward bias voltage applied to p-n
junction and the forward current through the p-n junction.
Forward Bias Characteristic

Important Features of graph:

1. The V-I graph is not a straight line

(does not obey Ohm’s law)

2. Initially current increases very slowly,

till the voltage crosses a certain value,
called threshold- → voltage/cut-in
voltage or knee –voltage. (ex. 0.3 V for
Ge diode & 0.7 V for Si diode)

3. After the cut-in voltage, diode current

increase rapidly (exponentially). Here
majority charge carriers feel negligible
resistance at the junction.
Reverse Bias Characteristic

Important Features of graph:

1. Reverse bias voltage

produces a very small current
few µA which almost remains
constant with bias. This small
current is called reverse
saturation current. It is due to
drift of minority charge
carriers.

2. When reverse voltage

reaches sufficiently high value,
the reverse current suddenly
increases to a large value. This
voltage is called Zener
breakdown voltage of the
diode. (this property is used to
convert a.c. to d.c., called
rectification)
Rectifier is a device which converts alternating
current (a.c.) into direct current (d.c.)

Rectification is the process of converting a.c. into d.c.

Principle: The fact which makes a junction diode act

as a rectifier is that it conducts only when forward
biased which means that it does not conduct when
reverse biased. A semiconductor diode acts as a
valve.
The a.c. input signal to be rectified is fed to the primary (P) coil of the transformer. The secondary (S) coil
is connected to the junction diode through a load resistance R_{L} The d.c. output signal is obtained
across the load resistance R_{L}

Working: When the positive half of a.c. input signal flows through the primary coil, an induced em.f. is set
up in the secondary coil due to mutual induction. Let the direction of induced e.m.f. be such that the uppe
end of the secondary coil becomes positive and lower end becomes negative. Since upper end of
secondary coil is connected to p-region and lower end is connected to the n-region of the junction diode,
so the junction diode is forward biased during the positive half of input a.c. Thus the junction diode
conducts and flow of current starts in the direction shown by arrows. The output voltage which varies in
accordance with the input half cycle is obtained across the load resistance R_{L}

When negative half cycle of a.c. input flows through the primary coil, again induced e.m.f. is set up across
the secondary coil due to mutual induction. Now the direction of induced e.m.f. is such that upper end of
the secondary coil becomes negative and lower end becomes positive. So the junction diode is reverse
biased. Hence the junction diode does not conduct and therefore, we get no output across the load
resistance during negative half of input a.c. The input and corresponding output voltages are shown

in figure 35. Since only half of the portion of the wave (input signal) is obtained as output in the form of
d.c., so the junction diode is called a half wave rectifier.

Disadvantages:

1. Since the output signal is discontinuous, so the efficiency of half wave rectifier is less.
Working: When positive half cycle of input a.c. signal flows through the primary coil, induced
e.m.f. is set up in the secondary coil due to mutual induction. Let the direction of induced e.m.f.
be such that the upper end of the secondary coil becomes positive while the lower end becomes
negative. This makes diode D_{1} forward biased and diode D_{2} reverse biased. The current
due to diode flows through the circuit in a direction shown by arrows. D_{1} The output voltage
which varies in accordance with the input half cycle is obtained across the load resistance (R_{1})

During negative half cycle of a.c. signal input, diode D_{1} is reverse biased and diode D_{2} is
forward biased. The current due to diode D_{2} flows through the circuit in a direction shown by
arrows. The output voltage is obtained across the load resistance (R_{L}) The input and
corresponding output voltag

Since both the halves of input a.c. (wave) are available in the output in rectified form, so the
junction diode is called a full wave rectifier.

Advantage: In full wave rectifier, output is continuous, so its efficiency is more than that of the
half wave rectifier.

Disadvantage: The output is again fluctuating (or pulsating d.c.). Additional filter circuit is
required to get smooth d.c. output
Filters

The rectified voltage is in the form of pulses of the shape of half sinusoids. Though it is
unidirectional it does not have a steady value.

To get steady dc output from the pulsating voltage normally a capacitor is connected
across the output terminals (parallel to the load R.). One can also use an inductor in
series with R₁ for the same purpose.

Since these additional circuits appear to filter out the ac ripple and give a pure dc
voltage, so they are called filters.