Modules 1 & 2

Semiconductor Theory & Semiconductor Diodes

By

Dr. Bernie Redoa

Reference: Electronic Devices and Circuit Theory by Boylestad & Nashelsky, 10th Ed

Have you seen a semiconductor device???

Semiconductor Diode
ESD Protection diode in compact 2.0 x 1.6 x 1.6 mm Surface Mount Device (SMD) Package

Semiconductor Component Circuitry

Semiconductor component circuitry compared to strand of hair.

LEARNING OUTCOMES:
1. Discuss the concept of atomic theory, and the subatomic particles of the atom such as the electron, proton, and neutron. 2. Identify and differentiate conductors, semiconductors and insulators. 3. Discuss the crystal structure of the common semiconductor materials and ions formed from covalent bonding.

LEARNING OUTCOMES:
4. Explain the general characteristics of three important semiconductor materials (Ge, Si, and GaAs. 5. Explain the concept of conduction in semiconductors using electron and hole theory. 6. Differentiate and describe the difference between n-type and p-type materials. 7. Explain what happens in a diode during no bias, forward bias, and reverse bias conditions.

ATOMIC THEORY:
Discovery of the nucleus: The gold foil experiment
Expected results: alpha particles passing through the plum pudding model of the atom with negligible deflection. Observed results: a small portion of the particles were deflected by the concentrated positive charge of the nucleus. Thomson's plum pudding model was disproved in 1909 by one of his former students, Ernest Rutherford, who discovered that most of the mass and positive charge of an atom is concentrated in a very small fraction of its volume, which he assumed to be at the very center.
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ATOMIC THEORY:
In the gold foil experiment, alpha particles were shot at a thin sheet of gold, measuring their deflection with a fluorescent screen. Given the very small mass of the electrons, the high momentum of the alpha particles and the unconcentrated distribution of positive charge of the plum pudding model, the experimenters expected all the alpha particles to pass through the gold sheet without significant deflection. To their astonishment, a small fraction of the alpha particles experienced heavy deflection. This led Rutherford to propose a planetary model in which a cloud of electrons surrounded a small, compact nucleus of positive charge. Only such a concentration of charge could produce the electric field strong enough to cause the heavy deflection.[12]
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ATOMIC THEORY:
The Bohr model of the atom
Quantum theory revolutionized physics at the beginning of the 20th century, when Max Planck and Albert Einstein postulated that light energy is emitted or absorbed in discrete amounts known as quanta. In 1913, Niels Bohr incorporated this idea into his Bohr model of the atom, in which an electron could only orbit the nucleus in particular circular orbits with fixed angular momentum and energy, its distance from the nucleus (i.e., their radii) being proportional to its energy. Under this model an electron could not spiral into the nucleus because it could not lose energy in a continuous manner; instead, it could only make instantaneous quantum leaps between the fixed energy levels. When this occurred, light was emitted or absorbed at a frequency proportional to the change in energy (hence the absorption and emission of light in discrete spectra).
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SEMICONDUCTOR MATERIALS: Ge, Si and GaAs

NOTE: The construction of every discrete (individual) solidstate (hard crystal structure) electronic device or integrated circuit begins with a semiconductor material of the highest quality. RECALL: Semiconductors are a special class of elements having a conductivity between that of a good conductor and that of an insulator.
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SEMICONDUCTOR MATERIALS: Ge, Si and GaAs

Two (2) General Classes of Semiconductor Materials:
Single crystal like Germanium (Ge) and Silicon having a repetitive crystal structure Compound like Galium Arsenide (GaAs)), Cadmium Sulfide (CdS), Galium Nitride (GaN) and Galium Arsenide Phosphide (GaAsP) constructed of two or more semiconductor materials of different atomic structure

NOTE: The three semiconductors used most frequently in the construction of electronic devices are Ge, Si and GaAs.
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SILICON CRYSTAL STRUCTURE

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SEMICONDUCTOR MATERIALS: Ge, Si and GaAs

1939
Discovery of Diode

1947
Discovery of Transistor

1954
First Silicon Transistor

1970
Development of GaAs Transistor

Use of Germanium easy to find available in fairly large quantities sensitive to changes in temperature Aluminum as Material of Choice less temperature sensitive abundant material on earth GaAs developed demand for increased speed speed 5X of Si but more expensive
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Covalent Bonding and Intrinsic Materials

Silicon

Germanium
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Covalent Bonding and Intrinsic Materials

Gallium

Arsenic

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Covalent Bonding and Intrinsic Materials

Covalent Bonding of the Silicon atom
Si Si Si Sharing of electrons

Si -

Si Si Si -

Si -

The bonding of atoms, strengthened by the sharing of electrons is called covalent bonding.

Si 15

Covalent Bonding and Intrinsic Materials

It is still possible for the valence electrons to absorb sufficient kinetic energy from external natural causes to break the covalent bond and assume the free state. (Room Temp = 1.5 X 10E15 free carriers The external causes include effects such as light energy (photons) and thermal energy (heat) from the surrounding medium. The term intrinsic is applied to any semiconductor material that has been carefully refined to reduce the number of impurities to a very low level essentially as pure as can be made available thru modern technology.
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Covalent Bonding and Intrinsic Materials

The free electrons in a material due only to external causes are referred to as intrinsic carriers. The number of carriers in the intrinsic form is important, but other characteristic such as relative mobility of the free carriers to move throughout the material, are more significant in determining its use in the field.
Semiconductor GaAs Si Ge Intrinsic Carriers
(per cubic centimeter)

Semiconductor Si Ge GaAs

Mobility Factor
(cm2 / V.s)

1.7 x 106 1.5 x 1010 2.5 x 1013

1500 3900 8500

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Covalent Bonding and Intrinsic Materials

Semiconductors and conductors differ in their reaction to heat. For conductors, the resistance increases with an increase in heat, hence having a positive temperature coefficient. Semiconductor materials exhibit an increased level of conductivity with the application of heat, having a negative temperature coefficient.

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Energy Levels
The farther an electron is from the nucleus, the higher is the energy state, and any electron that has left its parent atom has a higher energy state than any electron in the atomic structure. INSULATOR
Energy
Conduction Band Conduction Band Eg > 5 eV

SEMICONDUCTOR
Energy

CONDUCTOR
Energy

Conduction Band

Valence Band

Valence Band

Valence Band

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INSULATORS, SEMICONDUCTORS, CONDUCTORS

The 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
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Energy Levels

Energy
Conduction Band

Eg = 0.67 eV (Ge) Eg = 1.1 eV (Si) Eg = 1.43 eV (GaAs)

Valence Band

SEMICONDUCTOR An electron in the valence band of Silicon must absorb more energy than one in the valence band of Germanium to become a free carrier. Similarly, an electron in the valence band of Galium Arsenide must gain more energy than one in Silicon or Germanium to enter the conduction band.
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QUESTION: If I am designing the following, what semiconductor material shall I use??? 1. Photodetectors sensitive to light
GERMANIUM

2. Security systems sensitive to heat

GERMANIUM

3. Transistor networks requiring stability

SILICON
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Extrinsic Materials: n-Type and p-Type

The characteristics of a semiconductor material can be altered significantly by the addition of specific impurity atoms to the relatively pure semiconductor material. This process is called doping. A semiconductor material that has been subjected to the doping process is called an extrinsic material. There are two extrinsic materials of immeasurable importance to semiconductor device fabrication: n-type and p-type materials. Both n-type and p-type materials are formed by adding a predetermined number of impurity atoms to a silicon base.
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Extrinsic Materials: n-Type

An n-type material is created by introducing impurity elements that have five valence electrons (pentavalent) such as antimony, arsenic and phosphorus. Si Si Si Si Si Si Si 24

Diffused impurities with five valence electrons are called donor atoms

- Sb Si -

Fifth valence electron of antimony Antimony (Sb) impurity

Extrinsic Materials: n-Type

Energy

Conduction Band Eg = considerably less than for intrinsic

Eg for intrinsic materials

Donor energy level

Valence Band

Effect of donor impurities on the energy band structure

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Extrinsic Materials: p-Type

The p-type material is formed by doping a pure germanium or silicon crystal with impurity atoms having three valence electrons (trivalent) such as boron, gallium and indium. Si Si Si Si B Si Si Si Si 26

Diffused impurities with three valence electrons are called acceptor atoms

Void ( + or O)

Boron (B) impurity

Electron versus Hole Flow

If a valence electron acquires enough kinetic energy to break its covalent bond and fills the void created by a hole, then a vacancy or a hole will be created in the covalent bond. There will be transfer of holes to the left and electrons to the right. The conventional flow is the direction of the hole flow.

Si Si -

Si Si -

Si + B -

Si - Si Electron flow Hole flow

In an n-type, the electron is the majority carrier and the hole the minority carrier. In a p-type, the hole is the majority carrier and the electron the minority carrier.
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Semiconductor Diode:
With the availability of n-type and p-type materials, the first solid-state electronic device can be constructed, the SEMICONDUCTOR DIODE. Created by simply joining an n-type and a p-type material together. Can be found in numerous applications.

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SEMICONDUCTOR DIODE: No Applied Bias (V = 0 V)

The instant the two materials are joined the electrons and the holes in the region of the junction will combine resulting to lack of free carriers in the area
Depletion region

- + - + + - + - + + + + + - + + p

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

+ -

+ + + n

- + + -

Metal contact

+ - +

+ + -

ID = 0 mA

ID = 0 mA

VD = 0 V
(no bias)

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SEMICONDUCTOR DIODE: No Applied Bias (V = 0 V)

Depletion region

- + - + + - + - + + + + - - + + + p

- ++ + - ++ + - + - ++ - ++ + + - ++ - ++ + - ++ + + - ++ + - ++ + - ++ n

Metal contact

In the absence of an applied bias across a semiconductor diode, the net flow of charge in one direction is zero.

ID = 0 mA

ID = 0 mA

VD = 0 V

+ VD = 0 V (no bias)

Minority Carrier flow

Ie
ID = 0 mA

Ih
Majority Carrier flow

Ih

Ie
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SEMICONDUCTOR DIODE: Reverse-Bias Condition (VD < 0 V)

An external potential of V volts applied across the p-n junction such that the positive terminal is connected to the n-type material and the negative terminal is connected to the p-type material.
IS Minority-carrier flow Imajority ~= 0 A

+ +-- - + + +- + p

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

+- + - ++ + + - n

VD

+
IS

Depletion region IS IS

p n

(Opposite)

VD

+
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SEMICONDUCTOR DIODE: Reverse-Bias Condition (VD < 0 V)

The number of uncovered positive ions in the depletion region of the n-type material will increase due to the large number of free electrons drawn to the positive potential of the applied voltage. Similarly, the number of uncovered negative ions will increase in the p-type material. The net effect is the widening of the depletion region. This will establish too great a barrier for the majority carriers to overcome, effectively reducing the majority carrier flow to zero.
IS Minority-carrier flow Imajority ~= 0 A

+ +-- - + +- + - + p

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

+- + - ++ + + - n

Depletion region IS IS

The current that exists under reversebias conditions is called the reverse saturation current and is represented by Is.
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VD

SEMICONDUCTOR DIODE: Reverse-Bias Condition (VD < 0 V)

The reverse saturation current is seldom more than a few microamperes, except for high power devices, and typically in the nanoampere range for silicon devices. The term saturation comes from the fact that it reaches its maximum level quickly and does not change significantly with increases in the reversebias potential.
IS Minority-carrier flow Imajority ~= 0 A

+ +-- - + +- + -+ p

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

+- + - + + + + - n

Depletion region IS IS

VD

+
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SEMICONDUCTOR DIODE: Forward-Bias Condition (VD > 0 V)

Also known as on condition, and is established by applying the positive potential to the p-type material and the negative potential to the n-type material.
IS

Imajority + - + - - ++ + - + -+ +- +- - p
Depletion region ID

ID = I majority - IS + + + - + + + + n
p n ID + (Similar) VD +

+ + + + + + + -

ID

VD

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SEMICONDUCTOR DIODE: Forward-Bias Condition (VD > 0 V)

The application of a forward-bias potential VD will pressure electrons in the n-type material and holes in the p-type material to recombine with the ions near the boundary and reduce the width of the depletion region. The resulting minority carrier flow of electrons from the p-type material to the n-type material (and of holes from the n-type material to the p-type material) has not changed in magnitude, but the reduction in the width of the depletion region has resulted in a heavy majority flow across the junction.
IS

Imajority + - + - - ++ + - + -+ +- +- - p
ID

ID = I majority - IS + + + + + + + + + n

+ + + + +

Depletion region ID

VD

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SEMICONDUCTOR DIODE: Forward-Bias Condition (VD > 0 V)

An electron of the n-type material now sees a reduced barrier at the junction due to the reduced depletion region and a strong attraction for the positive potential applied for the p-type material. As the applied bias increases in magnitude, the depletion region will continue to decrease in width until a flood of electrons can pass through the junction, resulting in an exponential rise in current.
IS

Imajority + - + - - ++ + - + -+ +- +- - p
ID

ID = I majority - IS + + + + + + + + + n

+ + + + +

Depletion region ID

VD

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SEMICONDUCTOR DIODE: Forward-Bias Condition (VD > 0 V)

Shockleys Equation: (forward- and reverse-bias regions)

ID = IS ( e VD / nVT - 1 )
where: Is VD n is the reverse saturation current is the applied forward-bias voltage across the diode is the ideality factor, which is the function of the operating conditions and physical construction; it has a range between 1 and 2 depending a wide variety of factors is called the thermal voltage
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VT

SEMICONDUCTOR DIODE: Forward-Bias Condition (VD > 0 V)

The thermal voltage VT is determined by:

VT =
Where: k T q

kT q

is Boltzmanns constant = 1.38 X 10-23 J/K is the absolute temperature in kelvins = 273 + temperature in C is the magnitude of electronic charge = 1.6 x 10-19 C

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SEMICONDUCTOR DIODE: Forward-Bias Condition (VD > 0 V)

EXAMPLE: At a temperature of 27 C (common temperature for components in an enclosed operating system), determine the thermal voltage VT. SOLUTION: Substituting to the equation, we obtain T = 273 + C = 273 + 27 = 300 K

(1.38 x 10-23 J/K) (300 K) VT = 1.6 x 10-19 C

VT = 25.875 mV

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SUMMARY:
A semiconductor is a material that has a conductivity level somewhere between that of a good conductor and that of an insulator. A bonding of atoms, strengthened by the sharing of electrons between neighboring atoms, is called covalent bonding. Increasing temperatures can cause a significant increase in the number of free electrons in a semiconductor material. Most semiconductor materials used in the industry have negative temperature coefficients, i.e., the resistance drops with an increase in temperature. Intrinsic materials are those semiconductors that have very low level of impurities, whereas extrinsic materials are semiconductors that have been exposed to a doping process. An n-type material is formed by adding donor atoms that have five valence electrons the electron is the majority carrier and the hole is the minority carrier.

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SUMMARY:
A p-type material is formed by adding acceptor atoms with three valence electrons the hole is the majority carrier and the electron is the minority carrier. The region near the junction of a diode that has very few carriers is called the depletion region. In the absence of any externally applied bias, the diode current is zero. The characteristics of an ideal diode are a close match with those of a simple switch except for the important fact that an ideal diode can conduct in only one direction. The ideal diode is a short in the region of conduction and an open circuit in the region of non-conduction. In the forward-bias region the diode current increases exponentially with increase in voltage across the diode.
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SUMMARY:
In the reverse-bias region the diode current is the very small reverse saturation current until Zener breakdown is reached and current will flow in the opposite direction through the diode. The threshold voltage for silicon diodes is about 0.7 V, and for germanium diodes is 0.3 V.

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Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like Algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime
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