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• Introduction to Electronics
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• Basics of Semiconductors
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semiconductors
Semiconductors
Electrical Conductivities of Different
Materials
Semiconductors are materials whose electrical
properties lie between Conductors and
Insulators.
Difference in conductivity
Why Semiconductors to make Electronic
Devices
Allows Controlled flow of electrons.
i.e unilateral Conduction.
Insulators
Semiconductors
Conductors
Why Semiconductors to make Electronic
Devices (Continued)
Resistivity of semiconductors varies in a non-
linear manner with electric field which is a useful
property in contrast to Resistor where the
relation is linear.
Resistor Diode
Why Semiconductors to make Electronic
Devices (Continued)
Resistivity of a semiconductor also changes with addition of
impurity atoms to a pure silicon by a process called Doping
OTHER ADVANTAGES
Compact size
Low cost
Light weight
Rugged construction
More resistance to shocks and vibrations
Low operating Voltages
High Operating Efficiency
Long Life
No ageing effect
Which Materials are suitable for
Making semiconductor Devices
• The above discussed advantages can be obtained from
elements of III,IV & V column of Periodic table
Semiconductor
materials
Possible Semiconductor Materials
Advantages of Using Silicon Over
others as a Semiconductor Material
Among all Ge and Si are suitable , but among these 2 Si is
more Suitable
Ge becomes less stable at higher Temperatures where as Si
does not get damaged by excess heat.
Si is less sensitive to temperature than Ge
Si is available abundant in nature in the form of SiO2 in Soil.
It is possible to obtain highly efficient design strategies and
higher levels of performances
Compounds Like GaAs are widely used in high-speed devices
and devices requiring the emission or absorption of light. But
is more difficult to manufacture , more expensive and has
little design support
Semiconductor Materials
• Elemental semiconductors – Si and Ge (column
IV of periodic table) –compose of single species
of atoms
• Compound semiconductors – combinations of
atoms of column III and column V and some
atoms from column II and VI. (combination of
two atoms results in binary compounds) Gallium
Arsenide (GaAs) , Indium Phosphide(InP)
• There are also three-element (ternary)
compounds (GaAsP) and four-elements
(quaternary) compounds such as InGaAsP.
Bond Model of Si
3S2 3P2
Energy Level
2S2 2P6
1S2
Conduction band
Energy Level
1S2
Distance from the nucleus
C.B
V.B
Types of Semiconductors
Semiconductors can be classified into 2 Types
Intrinsic Semiconductor
Extrinsic Semiconductor
Intrinsic Semiconductors
• Intrinsic Semiconductors A perfect semiconductor
crystal with no impurities or lattice defects is called an
intrinsic semiconductor.
• At 0K Valence band is completely filled with electrons .
Electrons not having space to move in valence band do
not contribute for conduction. So Semiconductors are
insulators at 0K.
• At room temperature T = 300k Sufficient energy is
acquired by valence electrons and they successfully
jump and reach Conduction band , thus being available
as free charge carriers , and hence can cause current
conduction if electric field is applied . Therefore S.Cs are
Conductors at higher temperatures
Intrinsic Semiconductors(Continued)
Once electrons leave valence band , they leave behind
empty space , called as holes which are positively
charged particles.
In an intrinsic Semiconductor
No. of electrons = No. of holes
Let n be the concentration of electrons and p be the
Concentration of holes .This concentration is called as
Intrinsic Concentration and is denoted by ni
Then in an intrinsic S.C n = p = ni
• At Room Temperature the intrinsic concentration
can be found using the following expression.