Chapter

14

Semiconductor Electronics :
Materials, Devices and Simple Circuits
Solutions
SECTION - A
School/Board Exam. Type Questions
Very Short Answer Type Questions :
1.

How does the dc current gain of a transistor change, if the width of the base region is increased?

Sol. Decreases
2.

Why is the conductivity of n-type semiconductor greater than that of the p-type semiconductor even when both
of these have same level of doping?

Sol. Movement of electron is easier

3.

Two semiconductor materials X and Y shown in the given figure are made by doping germanium crystal with
indium and arsenic respectively. The two are joined end to end and connected to a battery as shown. Will
the junction be forward biased or reverse biased?

Sol. Reverse biased

4.

Name the two factors on which electrical conductivity of a pure semiconductor at a given temperature depends.

Sol. (A) Bond strength (B) Forbidden gap

5.

C, Si and Ge have same lattice structure. Why is C insulator while Si and Ge are intrinsic semiconductors?

Sol. Larger forbidden gap in C

6.

In a p-n junction, the barrier potential is 0.5 V and its width is 1 micron. What is the magnitude and direction
of the electric field of the barrier?

Sol. 5 105 V/m from N to P side

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108
7.

Semiconductor Electronics : Materials, Devices and Simple Circuits

Solution of Assignment (Set-1)

Figure shows reverse bias current, under different illumination intensities I1, I2, I3 and I4, for a given photo diode.
Arrange the intensities in decreasing order of magnitude.

V
I1
I2
I3
I4
I(A)
Sol. I4 > I3 > I2 > I1
8.

Which of the two diodes D1 and D2 in the given figures (i) forward biased (ii) reverse biased?

8V

D1

D2

8V

Sol. D1 : Reverse biased

D2 : Forward biased
9.

In n-type semiconductor electrons are majority carriers, even though it is electrically neutral. Why?

Sol. Because intrinsic semiconductor and the doping material, both are neutral
10. If the emitter and base regions of a transistor have same doping concentration, state how collector current will
change?
Sol. Will decrease
11. How does doping affect the conductivity of a semiconductor?
Sol. Increases
12. How does the energy gap of an intrinsic semiconductor vary when doped with a trivalent impurity?
Sol. Some allowed energy levels are produced, situated in the forbidden gap slightly above the valence band.
Short Answer Type Questions :
13. What is a solar cell? How does it work? Give its one use.
Sol. Solar cell is a p-n junction device which converts solar energy into electrical energy. When photons of light
energy h > Eg fall at the junction, electron-hole pairs are generated in the depletion layer, which are collected
at the two sides of the junction, giving rise to a photo voltage between the top and bottom metal electrodes.
They are used for charging storage batteries in day time.
ne
, for three different materials, A, B and C are equal
nh
to one, less than one and more than one respectively. Name the type of semiconductor to which A, B and

14. The ratio of number density of free electrons to holes,

C belong. Draw labelled energy band diagrams for three materials.

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Solution of Assignment (Set-1)

Semiconductor Electronics : Materials, Devices and Simple Circuits

109

Sol. A : Intrinsic semiconductor

B : P-type semiconductor
C : N-type semiconductor
For energy band diagrams refer to theory.
15. The diagram shows a piece of pure semiconductor, S in series with a variable resistor R, and a source of
constant voltage V. Would you increase or decrease the value of R to keep the reading of ammeter constant,
when semiconductor is heated? Give reason.

S
A

R
Sol. When semiconductor is heated, its resistance decreases and hence R has to be increased to keep the current
constant.
16. Determine the currents through the resistanced R of the circuits (i) and (ii), when similar diodes are connected
as shown in the figure.
D2
D1

30
Sol. (i)
(ii)

Current

3V

D2

D1

30

3V

3V
= 0.1 A as the diodes are forward biased.
30

No current will flow as diode D2 is reverse-biased.

17. With the help of a diagram, show the biasing of a light emitting diode (LED). Give its two advantages over
conventional incandescent lamps.
Sol. LED is forward biased

P
N

Advantage over incandescent lamp is that LED has less power and low operational voltage. Also, LED has
fast action and requires no warm up time.
18. An n-p-n transistor is connected in common emitter configuration in which collector voltage is 8 V. The voltage
drop across load resistance of 800 connected in the collector circuit is 0.8 V. If the current amplification
factor is 25, determine (i) collector emitter voltage and (ii) base current
Sol. VCE + 0.8 = 8 VCE = 7.2 volt
IB

0.8V / 800
= 40 A.
25

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110

Semiconductor Electronics : Materials, Devices and Simple Circuits

Solution of Assignment (Set-1)

19. The figure shows the V-I characteristic of a semiconductor diode.

I(mA)
100
80
60
40
20
100 80 60 40 20
VB

10

0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0

20
30
I(A)
(i)

Identify the semiconductor diode used.

(ii)

Draw the circuit diagram to obtain the given characteristic of this device.

Sol. (i)
(ii)

Since the knee voltage is around 0.6V so its a silicon semiconductor.

For forward bias

+
For reverse bias

20.

V+

X
Y

An ac signal is fed into two circuits X and Y and the corresponding output in the two cases have the waveforms
shown in the figure. Name the circuit X and Y. Also draw their detailed circuit diagrams.
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Solution of Assignment (Set-1)

Semiconductor Electronics : Materials, Devices and Simple Circuits

111

Sol. Circuit X is half wave rectifier and circuit Y is full wave rectifier.
Circuit for X

Circuit for Y
+

D1

Full wave rectified

output voltage

Input (Vi)

21.

Output

Half wave
Output rectified

D2

Vo (output)

The set-up, shown in the figure, can produce an a.c. output without any external input signal. Identify the
components X and Y of this set-up.
Sol. X : Transistor as an amplifier
Y : Feedback circuit.
22. A certain n-p-n transistor has the common emitter output characteristics as shown in the figure.
IC(mA)
Ib = 60 A

8
7
6

Ib = 40 A

VCC (volt)

5 10 15 20

(i)

Find the emitter current at Vcc = 10 V and Ib = 60 A.

(ii)

Find at this point.

Sol. (i)
(ii)

IE = Ib + Ic = 60 A + 7mA = 7.06 mA
=

Ic
7mA
=
117
Ib
60A

23. For the given combination of gates, find the values of outputs Y1 and Y2 in the table given below. Identify the
gates G1 and G2.
A
B
C

G1

G2

Y1

Y2

Sol. G1 is OR gate and G2 is AND gate.

Y1 is O and Y2 is O.
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112

Semiconductor Electronics : Materials, Devices and Simple Circuits

Solution of Assignment (Set-1)

24. In a p-n-p transistor circuit, the collector current is 10 mA. If 90% of the holes reach the collector, find emitter
and base current.
Sol. Ib

10
10mA 1.1mA
90

IE Ib Ic 11.1mA
25. In a transistor the base current is changed by 10 A. This results in a change of 0.01 V in base to emitter
voltage and a change of 1 mA in the collector current. Find (i) the current gain ac and (ii) Transconductance
gm
Sol. (i)

ac

Ic
1mA

100
Ib 10A

(ii)

gm

Ic
1mA
5

Ib 0.01V = 10 A/V

26. Two amplifiers are connected one after the other in series. The first amplifier has a voltage gain of 10 and the
second has a voltage gain of 20. If the input signal is 0.01 volt, calculate the output a.c. signal.
Sol. Gains get multiplied therefore output ac signals 0.01 10 20 = 2 volt.
27. The inputs A and B are inverted by using two NOT gates and their outputs are fed to the NOR gate as shown
in the figure. Identify the logic gate of the complete circuit so obtained. Give its symbol and truth table.

A
Y
B

A
Sol. The complete circuit is equivalent to AND gate. Its symbol is B

Truth Table is
A
0
0
1
1

B
0
1
0
1

Y
0
0
0
1

28. In the given circuit, a voltmeter V is connected across a bulb B. What changes would occur in bulb B and
voltmeter V if the resistor R is increased in value? Give reason for your answer.
V

6V

Sol. Here emitter base junction of n-p-n transistor is forward biased with a battery and resistance R. If the value
of R is increased, then emitter current Ie will decrease. Hence the collector current will also decrease. Due
to which the bulb will glow less bright.
Voltmeter V measures potential difference across bulb B. Due to decrease in collector current, the potential
difference across bulb B decreases, hence the reading of voltmeter will decrease.
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Solution of Assignment (Set-1)

Semiconductor Electronics : Materials, Devices and Simple Circuits

113

29. In only one of the circuits given below the bulb (B) lights. Which circuit is it? Give reason for your answer.
B

6V

Sol. In first circuit the bulb will glow, because collector is connected to +ve polarity of 6V source and it will make
the collector current to flow.
30. In the figure shown, is (i) the emitter, and (ii) the collector forward or reverse biased?

+ 1V
C
B
0V

E
2V

Sol. (i)
(ii)

emitter is reverse biased

collector is forward biased.

Long Answer Type Questions :

31. (i)
(ii)

What do you mean by doping? Why is it done?

Explain how an intrinsic semiconductor can be converted into (a) n-type and (b) p-tpye semiconductor.
Give one example of each and their energy band diagram.

Sol. (i)

Doping is a process of deliberate addition of a desirable impurity in a pure semiconductor to modify its
properties in a controlled manner. It is done to increase the conductivity of semiconductor in controlled
manner at room temperature.

(ii)

n-type semiconductor is formed when a pure semiconductor of silicon (Si) or germanium (Ge) is doped
with a controlled amount of pentavalent atoms say arsenic (As) or phosphorus (P) or antimony (Sb) or
bismuth (Bi). Its energy band diagram is

C.B
Donor Energy Level
Eg.
V.B
p-type semiconductor is formed when a pure semiconductor of germanium (Ge) or silicon (Si) is doped
with controlled amount of trivalent atoms say gallium (Ga). or indium (In) or boron (B) or aluminium (Al).
Its energy band diagram is

C.B
Eg.
Acceptor Energy State
V.B
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114

Semiconductor Electronics : Materials, Devices and Simple Circuits

Solution of Assignment (Set-1)

32. (i)

Consider an amplifier circuit using a transistor. The output power is several times greater than the input
power. Where does the extra power come form?

(ii)

A load resistor of 2 k is connected in the collector branch of an amplifier circuit using a transistor in
common-emitter mode. The current gain = 50. The input resistance of the transistor is 0.50 k. If the
input current is changed by 50 A
(a) By what amount does the output voltage change?
(b) By what amount does the input voltage change?
(c) What is the power gain?

Sol. (i) The energy for extra power at the output is being supplied by the DC battery.
(ii)

(a) Output voltage change = Ii RL

= 50 A 50 2 k = 5V
(b) Input voltage change = Ii Ri
= 50A 0.5 k = 25 mV
(c) Power Gain = Voltage Gain Current Gain

33.

5V
50 10,000 .
25mV

(i) In semiconductors, thermal collisions are responsible for taking a valance electron to the conduction band.
Why does the number of conduction electrons not go on increasing with time as thermal collisions
continuously take place?
(ii) In a p-n junction, the depletion region is 400 nm wide and an electric field of 5 105 V/m exists in it.

Sol. (i)
(ii)

(a)

Find the height of the potential barrier.

(b)

What should be the minimum kinetic energy of a conduction electron which can diffuse from n-side
to the p-side?

Presence of electrons in the conduction band saturates the further production of electron-hole pair.
(a) height of potential barrier

5 105

V
400 109 m 0.2V
m

(b) Kinetic energy = qV

= 1.6 1019 C 0.2 V
= 0.2 eV
34.

(i) Explain why there is a very small current across the junction, when a p-n junction diode is reverse biased.
Does it depend on the applied voltage?

I
Solar radiation
intensity

(ii)

h (in eV)

Solar spectrum is shown in the figure. Here h is Plancks constant and is frequency. Why are silicon
Si and GaAs materials preferred for manufacturing solar cells? Why CdS and CdSe are not used?
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Solution of Assignment (Set-1)

Sol. (i)

Semiconductor Electronics : Materials, Devices and Simple Circuits

115

Reverse biasing current is due to minority carriers, which is small in number and hence the reverse current
is small.
Reverse current is voltage independent upto certain reverse bias voltage, known as breakdown voltage.

(ii)

In the solar spectrum the maxima is near 1.5 eV. For photoexcitation h > Eg. Hence, semiconductor
with band gap ~1.5 eV or lower is likely to give better solar conversion efficiency. Silicon has Eg ~ 1.1
eV while for GaAs it is ~ 1.5 3 eV. Infact, GaAs is better (in spite of its higher band gap) than Si because
of its relatively higher absorption coefficient.
If we choose materials like CdS or CdSe (Eg ~ 2.4eV), we can use only the high energy component of
the solar energy for photoconversion and a significant part of energy will be of use.

35.

(i) Emitter base and collector base of a transistor are both reverse biased. What do you expect?
(ii) Explain why the emitter base junction is forward biased and the collector base is reverse biased in a
transitor.
(iii) A transistor is working in CE mode. Current gain of the transistor is 69. If emitter current is 7 mA, Find
base current.

Sol. (i)

If the emitter-base junction will be reverse biased then no emitter current will be produced and transistor
will not work.

(ii)

When emitter base junction is forward biased then only emitter current will start. The collector is reverse
biased so that the current carrier emitted by the emitter is pulled out of collector.

(iii) IE = IB + IC
or, 7mA = IB + 69IB

IB

7mA
0.1mA.
70

SECTION - B
Model Test Paper
Very Short Answer Type Questions :
1.

In n-type semiconductor number of free electrons is greater than the number of holes. Does it have negative
charge?

Sol. No. n-tye semiconductor is neutral

2.

In a transistor, doping level in base is increased slightly. How will it affect (i) Collector current and (ii) Base
current?

Sol. (i)
(ii)
3.

Collector current will be reduced

Base current will increase

Draw the logic circuit of AND gate and write its truth table.

Sol. A
B
A
0
0
1
1

Y
B
0
1
0
1

Y
0
0
0
1

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116
4.

Semiconductor Electronics : Materials, Devices and Simple Circuits

Solution of Assignment (Set-1)

State the reason, why GaAs is most commonly used in making of a solar cell.

Sol. GA as has relatively higher absorption coefficient.

5.

Write the order of energy gap of silicon.

Sol. 1.1 eV
Short Answer Type Questions :
6.

Draw the circuit diagram of an illuminated photo diode in reverse bias. How is photodiode used to measure
light intensity?
h

Sol.

A
p side

n side

By measuring the change in the conductance (or resistance) of the semiconductor, one can measure the
intensity of the optical signal.
7.

Name the semiconductor device that can be used to regulate an unregulated dc power supply. With the help
of I-V characteristic of this device, explain its working principle.

Unregulated voltage
(V)

Sol. Zener diode.

mA

Reverse
biase
VZ

IL
Load
RL

Forward
bias
Volt

Regulated
voltage
(Vz)
A

When unregulated voltage exceeds VZ the extra current goes through zener diode and load gets only regulated
voltage VZ.
8.

Draw the output waveform at x, using the given input A, B for the logic circuit shown below. Also identify the
gate.

A
B

A
(Input)
B

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Solution of Assignment (Set-1)

Semiconductor Electronics : Materials, Devices and Simple Circuits

117

Sol. This is AND gate. Output wave form at X will be

X
9.

How is n-type semiconductor formed? Name the major charge carriers in it. Draw the energy band diagram
of an n-type semiconductors.

Sol. n-type semiconductor is formed by doping pure semiconductors (Si or Ge) with pentavalent atoms like P, As
etc. Majority carriers are electrons in it. Its energy band diagram is

C.B
Donor Energy Level
Eg.
V.B
10. The potential difference across the collector of a transistor, used in common emitter mode its 1.5 V, with the
collector resistance of 3 k. Find (i) the emitter and (ii) the base current, if the dc current gain of the transistor
is 50.
Sol. IC

IB =

1.5V
= 0.5 mA
3k

IC
0.5mA
=
= 102 mA

50

IE = IB + IC = 0.51 mA
11. Which of the diodes is (i) forward biased and (ii) reverse biased in the following circuits?

10 V

+3 V

8V

+8 V

+4 V

Sol. First two circuits are reverse biased.

Last two circuits are forward biased
12. Determine the current through 20 resistance.

40
20
2V
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118

Semiconductor Electronics : Materials, Devices and Simple Circuits

Solution of Assignment (Set-1)

Sol. 40 resistor is reverse biased, so current will flow through only 20 .

I=

2V
= 0.1A
20

13. Give two advantages of LED over conventional incandescent lamps.

Sol. (a)
(b)

LED has less power and low operational voltage

LED has fast action and requires no warm up time

Short Answer Type Questions :

14. A semiconductor has equal electron and hole concentrations of 2 108 m3. On doping with a certain impurity,
the hole concentration increases to 4 1010 m3.
(i)

What type of semiconductor is obtained on doping?

(ii)

Calculate the new electron concentration of the semiconductor.

(iii) How does the energy gap vary with doping?

Sol. (i)

(ii)

P-type

2 108
n2
106 m3
ne i
nh
4 1010

(iii) New acceptor energy level is created close to valence band in the forbidden gap region.
15. In a transistor a change of base current by 20 A, results in a change of 0.02 V in base to emitter voltage
and a change of 2 mA in the collector current. Find (i) ac, (ii) transconductance of the transistor (iii) voltage
gain of the transistor when used as a common emitter amplifier with a load resistance of 5 k.

Sol. (i)

(ii)

ac

IC
2mA

100
IB 20A

Transconductance g m

IC
2mA

0.1 A/V
VB 0.02V

(iii) Voltage gain = gm RL = 0.1 5 k = 500

16. Draw the circuit diagram of a full-wave rectifier and briefly explain its working principle.
Sol. Full-wave rectifier

Centre-tap
transformer

D1

Centre
Tap

RL

B D
2
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Waveform
at A

Waveform
at B

Semiconductor Electronics : Materials, Devices and Simple Circuits

Output waveform
(across RL)

Solution of Assignment (Set-1)

Due to Due to Due to Due to

D1
D2
D1
D2

119

Working : The voltages at any instant at A (input of diode D1) and B (input of diode D2) with respect to the
centre tap are out of phase with each other. Suppose the input voltage to A at any instant is positive. It is
clear that, at that instant, voltage at B being out of phase will be negative as shown in figure. The diode D1
gets forward biased and conducts (while D2 is not conducting). Hence, during this positive half cycle we get
an output current (and a consequent output voltage across the load resistor RL) as shown in last figure. At
another instant, when the voltage at A becomes negative then the voltage at B would be +ve. Hence the diode
D1 does not conduct but the diode D2 conducts giving an output current and output voltage (across RL) during
the negative half cycle of the input ac. Thus, we get output voltage during the +ve as well as the ve half of
the cycle (or in other words, during the full wave). This is the working of full-wave rectifier.
Long Answer Type Questions :
17. Explain the formation of the depletion region for a p-n junction. How does the width of this region change when
the junction is (i) forward-biased (ii) reverse-biased (iii) How does an increase in the doping concentration affect
the width of the depletion region?
Sol. Formation of depletion region
Suppose a p-n junction has just been formed. On the n-side, there are more electrons while the number of
holes on the p-side is larger. Because of this concentration gradient, electrons from n-side will diffuse towards
the p-side of the junction while holes from the p-side will go towards the n-side. On crossing the p-n boundary,
these electrons and holes may collide with each other and recombine (or annihilate) since they have opposite
charges. These electrons/holes have come from donor or acceptor impurity atom cores. Hence, such donor
or acceptor atoms will get depleted of their associated electrons or holes and subsequently will be left with
a charged ion core in the layer near the junction boundary. Hence a layer called the depletion layer is formed
at the junction. Note that on the n-side near the junction, there is a layer of charged donor atom cores (with
effective +ve charge) while on the p-side there are charged acceptor atom cores (with effective ve charge).
p
n

+ + + +
+ + +
+ + + +
+ + +

+
+
+
+

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120

Semiconductor Electronics : Materials, Devices and Simple Circuits

Solution of Assignment (Set-1)

In forward-bias, the thickness of depletion region decreases but in Reverse-bias the thickness increases.
The potential barrier (or field across the junction) and the depletion layer width (or junction width) depends upon
the doping concentration on the two sides. Suppose NA and ND are small. The diffusing electrons and holes
across the junction can move to reasonably large distances before suffering a collision with another hole or
electron to be annihilated or recombined. Hence, junction width would be large. Obviously, the junction field
would be weak. On the other hand, if NA and ND are large the junction width would be small (and hence the
junction field would be strong). In this manner, we can obtain junctions showing different behaviour by simply
changing the doping levels.
Draw the circuit diagram of a base-biased n-p-n transistor in CE configuration. Explain how this circuit
is used to obtain the transfer characteristic (Vo Vi characteristic). How do we explain the working of a
transistor as a switch using this characteristic?

(ii)

The typical output characteristics (IC VCE) of an n-p-n transistor in CE configuration is shown in the
figure. Calculate (a) the output resistance (b) the current amplification factor ac

Collector current (IC) in mA

18. (i)

10

Base current (IB)

8.5

50 A

40 A
30 A

20 A

10 A

2
4
6
8 10 12 14 16
Collector to emitter voltage (VCE) in volts

Sol. (i)

(ii)

60 A

Refer to text for base biased n-p-n transistor circuit and working of transistor as a switch

(a) The output resistance =

VCE
IC

at Ib = 60A we have VCE = 2V and IC = 8mA

(b)

ac

resistance

2V
250
8mA

IC
8.5 7 A = 150.

IB 60 50 A

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