OUTLINES

Types of semiconductors
Intrinsic S.C and its disadvantages
Extrinsic S.C
 Doping
 Types of Extrinsic S.C : N-Type & P-Type
 Band Model of Solid Crystal
(Continued)
Classification Of Solids based on Band theory

Eg : Forbidden Band Energy Gap/Energy Band Gap (Eg) : Energy needed for an electron to
jump from valence to conduction band
 Classification of Materials based on Band
theory
CONDUCTORS
 They have an overlapped Valence and conduction
band.
 So even without any external energy like heat , free
electrons are available ready for conduction. When an
Electric field is applied across it , it starts conducting
 Insulators
 They have a large gap between valence and conduction band of
the order of 6 e.v. Valence band is completely filled with electrons.
So a very large external energy like heat would be needed for it
for valence electrons to jump and reach conduction band and
hence available as free electrons ready for conduction. The
material itself gets damaged with heat, even before electrons jump
from valence to conduction band . So theoretically Insulators
cannot conduct electric current. Here Valence electron is fully filled
where as conduction band is empty.
 Semiconductor

It is a material in which there is an energy band

gap of 1-1.5ev in between valence and conduction
band
 Types of Semiconductors
 Semiconductors are 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.
• The “pure” type of silicon studied thus far is an example
of intrinsic semiconductors.
• It can conduct current under the influence of electric
field only when a finite amount of thermal energy is
imparted to it
 INTRINSIC SEMICONDUCTORS
 Si crystal at Room temperature T=300K

 At higher temperatures, electrons gains thermal

energy, occasionally breaking away from the bonds and
acting as free charge carriers .
 In other words electrons from valence band gain
sufficient energy and jump to conduction band where
they act as free charge carriers and conduct current
once electric field is applied.
 Charge carriers in intrinsic
Semiconductors
Electron is one of the charge carriers in an
intrinsic S.C
It can be shown and also has been found
experimentally that the no. of electrons in an
intrinsic S.C can be expressed as

For Silicon Eg -- Band gap energy = 1.21 eV &

K -- Boltzmann's constant = 8.62 Χ 10-5 eV/oK
ni – intrinsic concentration
Intrinsic concentration at Room
Temperature T = 300K
 Charge carriers in Semiconductors
(Continued)
Holes
• When freed from a covalent bond, an electron
leaves a “void” behind because the bond is
now incomplete, Called a hole
 Why do we bother about Holes
To appreciate the usefulness of holes, consider
the time evolution illustrated
in Fig below

• Looking at the three “snapshots,” we can say one electron has

traveled from right to left, or, alternatively, one hole has moved
from left to right.
• This view of current flow by holes proves extremely useful in the
analysis of semiconductor devices.
 Intrinsic Semiconductors(Continued)
Hole is the other charge carrier in an intrinsic S.C which
moves under the infuence of Electric Field and thus
contributes current
Let n be the Concentration of electrons and
p be the Concentration of holes .
In an intrinsic Semiconductor
No. of electrons/cm3 = No. of holes/cm3
n = p
This concentration is called as Intrinsic Concentration
and is denoted by ni

Therefore n = p = ni
 Mass action Law
At Thermal equilibrium
n p = ni2
Where n is concentration of electrons in intrinsic S.C

p is concentration of holes in intrinsic S.C

n is intrinsic Concentration
i
Energy band diagram of an intrinsic S.C at
finite temperature

Conduction Band

Valence Band
 Conductivity & Resistivity
• When a material has free electrons it can conduct
electricity under the influence of electric field(E).
• Conductivity and Resistivity are 2 parameters that
characterizes the materials ability to conduct and
resist the flow of current respectively.
• Conductivity & Resistivity of a material due to a
charged particle is given by the following
expressions:
• Conductivity   nq
• Units :(Ω-cm)-1 or (Ω-m)-1 or S/cm or S/m
 Conductivities of electrons and holes
• Conductivity due to an electron :

• Conductivity due to a Hole :

• Total Conductivity of a semiconductor material is given by the expression

• But since for an intrinsic S.C

W.K.T n = p = ni
 Current Density(J)
• It is defined as the amount of current flowing
within unit cross sectional area

• Mathematically for a semiconductor it is

expressed as

• Units : A/cm2 or A/m2

Current Density(J)
 PROBLEM
• Determine the value of intrinsic current density in
silicon at room temperature if the motilities of
electrons and holes are 1300 and 500 cm2/V-s.
Given ni = 1.5 Χ 1010 / cm3 . Consider an electric field
of 4 V/cm applied across the S.C
Solution
= 1.6 Χ 10-19 (1.5 Χ 1010 )(1300+500)
= 4.32 Χ 10-6
Is that Intrinsic Concentration attained
at room temperature Sufficient???

• No .of charge carriers(Holes + electrons) = 2 Χ 1010 /cm3

• No. of Si atoms = 5Χ1022 /cm3
• Charge carriers are relatively less w.r.t Si atoms
• Poor Conductor
• Cannot be used for manufacturing Electronic Devices
 How to Modify the carrier densities?
Increasing Temperature
Doping
 Factors affecting the intrinsic
concentration of a pure semiconductor

For Silicon Eg -- Band gap energy = 1.21 eV &

K -- Boltzmann's constant = 8.62 Χ 10-5 eV/oK

For a material we observe that ni is a function

of temperature.
 Effect of temperature on Conductivity
of intrinsic semiconductor
As temperature increases, the number of free electrons and
holes created increases exponentially.

17
Carrier Concentration vs Temp (in Si)
1 10
16
1 10
15
1 10
14
1 10
13
1 10
Intrinsic Concentration (cm^-3)

12
1 10
11
1 10
ni 1 1010
T
9
1 10
8
1 10
7
1 10
6
1 10
5
1 10
4
1 10
3
1 10
100
150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500
T
Temperature (K)

Therefore the conductivity of a semiconductor is influenced by

temperature
 Problem
• Determine the density of electrons in Silicon at
300oK and 600oK.

• Conclusion : Carrier densities increase with

temperature but practically this method cannot
be used.
 Doping
• Carrier densities can also be increased by a
process called Doping
• It is the process of adding an impurity atom in a
controlled manner to a pure S.C to enhance its
conductivity.
• These S.Cs are called as Extrinsic S.Cs
• Depending upon type of impurity added Extrinsic
S.Cs are classified as a) N-Type S.C
b) P-Type S.C
 Classification of Extrinsic S.C
• N-Type S.C : If an intrinsic S.C is doped with an atom
belonging to the V group like phosphorus or Arsenic then
such a S.C is called as N-Type S.C .
• P-Type S.C : If an intrinsic S.C is doped with an atom
belonging to the III group like Boron or Aluminum then
such a S.C is called as N-Type S.C .
 N-Type Extrinsic S.C
Donor

N-Type S.C

Each phosphorus atom donates an electron which is free to

move.
The phosphorus atom is called as Donor.
Let No. of electrons added be ND(Typically of the order of
1016)
Concentration of electrons after doping has increased
n = ni + ND
Since ND >>> ni n = ND
Viewing Doping in Energy band diagram
When impurities or lattice defects are
introduced, additional levels are created in the
energy bands structure, usually within the band
gap.
n-type material
 Viewing Doping in Energy band diagram
• An impurity from column V introduces an energy level
very near the conduction band in Ge or Si.
• This level is filled with electrons at 0 K, and very little
thermal energy is required to excite these electrons to
the conduction band.
• Thus, at about 50 (-223oC) nearly all of the electrons in
the impurity level are "donated" to the conduction band.
• Such an impurity level is called a donor level, and the
column V impurities in Ge or Si are called donor
impurities.
 Carrier densities/Concentrations in
Doped S.C
• Mass action law also holds true here
n p = ni2
n no of electrons in extrinsic S.C ,
p no. of holes in extrinsic S.C
• How is it possible to be true , when no. of
electrons has increase abundantly?
• It is only possible if the no. of holes decrease
proportionately.
• The added electrons go and recombine with holes ,
thus decreasing their number.
 PROBLEM
• A piece of silicon is doped uniformly with
phosphorus atoms . The doping density is 1016
atoms/cm3 . Determine the electron and hole
Concentrations.
Solution :

Note that the hole density has dropped below the intrinsic
level by six orders of magnitude
 Majority & Minority Carriers
• This example justifies us to call electrons as
“majority carriers” and holes as “minority
carriers” in an N-type S.C.
 P-Type Semiconductor
• Is it possible to make holes as majority and electrons as
minority carriers? Acceptor

P-Type S.C

• Each Boron atom creates a hole

• Boron is called as acceptor.
• Let No. of holes added be NA (Typically of the order
of 1016)
• Concentration of holes after doping is p = ni + NA
• Since NA >>> ni p = NA
Viewing Doping in Energy band diagram
• When impurities or lattice defects are
introduced, additional levels are created in the
energy bands structure, usually within the band
gap.

P-type material
Viewing Doping in Energy band diagram
• Atoms from column III (B, Al, Ga, and In) introduce
impurity levels in Ge or Si near the valence band.
• These levels are empty of electrons at 0 K. At low
temperatures, enough thermal energy is available to
excite electrons from the valence band into the
impurity level, leaving behind holes in the valence band.
• Since this type of impurity level "accepts" electrons
from the valence band, it is called an acceptor level, and
the column III impurities are acceptor impurities in Ge
and Si
 Majority & Minority Carriers
• Here Holes act as majority carriers where as
electrons act as minority carriers.
 Summary of Doping
• If an intrinsic S.C is doped with density of ND(>>ni) Donor
atoms per cm3 then the mobile charge densities are

• If an intrinsic S.C is doped with density of NA(>>ni)

Acceptor atoms per cm3 then the mobile charge densities
are
 Current density of Extrinsic S.C (J)

Current Density
 Conductivity of N-Type & P-Type S.C
• For N-Type S.C
n>>p
σ n nqμn NDqμn

σ NDqμn

• For P-Type S.C

p>>n
σ n pqμp NAqμp

σ NAqμp
• Current Density
 Problem
• Determine the conductivity and current density of Germanium
a)in intrinsic condition at 300K
b) with donor impurity of 1 in 107
c) with acceptor impurity of 1 in 108.
Given that for germanium at room temperature
ni =2.5Χ1013/cm3, μn = 3800cm2/V-s , μp=1800cm2/V-s and
no. of germanium atoms /cm3 = 4.4 Χ 1022
 Current Conduction mechanisms
• Curent conduction in semiconductors takes place
in 2 ways
Drift
Diffusion

Drift Current : It is the current flowing in the

semiconductor due to the application of electric
field. The current flow mechanism we studied so
far was drift current which was characterized by
Drift current density & whose expression was
expressed as where
 Diffusion Current
• It is the current mechanism due to concentration gradient of charge
carriers.

• Even in the absence of an electric field, the carriers move toward

regions of low concentration, thereby carrying an electric current so
long as the non-uniformity is sustained. Diffusion is therefore
distinctly different from drift.
 Diffusion Current(Continued)
• A gradient in electron concentration yields:
J

• Similarly a gradient in electron concentration yields

Where Dn & Dp are proportionality constants called Diffusion

constants with units cm2/s.
Einstein’s Relation
Summary of Charge flow mechanisms/Current
Conduction mechanisms