SEMICONDUCTOR

MATERIALS
Created and Presented by
Doren Nedrick

The Basic Principles Of Heat

Sensitive Devices
A

change in temperature results in a

change in its resistance depending on
the temperature coefficient.

Thermistor
Thermistors

also called thermal

resistors are semiconductor devices
whose use as transducers is due to the
fact that their resistance changes
when their temperature increases.

 Thermistors

are used for the

measurement and control of
temperature, being heated either
externally or internally by the current
they carry.
Used as a means of sensing
temperature change. Commonly found
embedded in motor windings to detect
overheating.

Thermionic Emission
The

thermionic emission of electrons is

also known as thermal electron emission.
Thermionic emission is the heat-induced
flow of charge carriers from a surface or
over a potential-energy barrier. This occurs
because the thermal energy given to the
carrier overcomes the forces restraining it.
The charge carriers can be electrons or
ions, and in older literature are sometimes
referred to as "thermions".

 Closeup

of the
filament on a low
pressure mercury
gas discharge lamp
showing white
thermionic emission
mix coating on the
central portion of
the coil.

Thermocouple
Thermocouple

is a thermoelectric
device for measuring or sensing
temperature difference, consisting of
two wires of dissimilar metals
connected at two points, between
which a voltage is developed in
proportion to any temperature
difference. Its application therefore is
to measure temperatures accurately

Summary
The Bohr atom is a tool for visualizing atomic structure.
The nucleus is positively charged
and has the protons and neutrons.
Electrons are negatively
charged and in discrete shells.
The atomic number is the number
of protons and determines the
particular element.
In the neutral atom, the number
of electrons is equal to the
number of protons.
Electron

Proton

Neutron

Summary
The outer shell is called the valence shell.Electronsinthis
shellareinvolvedinchemicalreactionsandinmetalsthey
accountforelectricalandthermalconductivity.
A neutral Si atom is shown.
There are 4 electrons in the
valence shell.
+

Is Si a conductor, insulator,
or semiconductor?
Semiconductor

Shell1

Shell2

Shell3

Semiconductors
An

insulator is any material that

opposes the flow of electrons (current).
A conductor is any material which allows
for free flow of electrons (current).
Semi means half.
A semiconductor therefore is a material
that has a conductivity level somewhere
between the extremes of an insulator
and a conductor.

 An

atom is made up tiny particles. Two of

these particles, the electron and the proton
are important to our studies. Electrons move
around the center, or nucleus, of an atom in
paths. These paths are usually called shells

 An

atom can have several shells around the

nucleus.
Each of these shells can have only up to a
certain number of electrons. The number is
called the quota of the shell.
The first shell can hold two electrons while
the second, third, fourth and so on can hold
eight.
When every shell of an atom contains its
quota of electrons, the atom is said to be in
stable condition.

 The

proton carries a positive charge while

the electron carries negative. Recall a
material with a lot of electrons free to
move are called conductors and a material
that have a shortage is called an insulator.
For semiconductor it is somewhere
between that (having just about half its
quota) eg silicon and germanium - having
four (4) valence electrons,

Crystal Lattice of Silicon

The resistance of a semiconductor decreases with temperature rise

Valence Electrons
Electrons

in the outermost shell of an

atom are called valence electrons.
The combining power of the atom
depends on these electrons.
The valence electrons form bonds with
the valence electrons of neighboring
atoms to produce, in the case of most
solids, a regular repeating pattern of
atoms called a crystal lattice.

 An

atom can lose one or more electrons.

If it does it becomes positively charged,
because it then has more protons than
electrons, and is called a positive ion. If
it gains one or more electrons it
becomes a negative ion

 Electric

charges exert forces on one

another.
Like charges repel, opposite charges
attract.

Doping
The

addition of certain impurity atom

into the relatively pure semiconductor
material is called doping. N and P-Type
materials are formed by adding a
predetermined number of impurity
atoms into a semiconductor base
usually silicon or germanium.

N-Type Materials
These

are extrinsic materials

(subjected to doping) created by
doping the silicon base with impurity
elements that have five (5) valence
electrons (pentavalent), eg.
Phosphorous and arsenic fig 1 shows
that.

 Four

of its valence electrons form a bond

with four neighboring silicon atoms but
the fifth is spare and loosely held and
takes part in conduction. The impurity
(phosphorous) atom is called a donor. It
is so called because it has the extra
electron which has a negative charge,
thus N for negative. In N-Type materials
there are a few positive holes are
present and are called minority carrier.

P-Type Materials
these

are extrinsic materials created

by doping the silicon base with
impurity elements that have three (3)
valence electrons, eg. Boron. Fig 2
shows that. The three (3) valence
electrons each share an electron with
three (3) of the four silicon atoms
surrounding it.

The PN junction
The

operation of many semiconductor

devices depends on effects which
occur at the boundary (junction)
between P- and N-Type materials
formed in the same continuous crystal
lattice.

A PN junction is represented in fig 3a. As soon as

the junction is produced, free electrons near it in
the N Type material are attracted across into the PType material where they fill holes. At the same
time holes pass across the junction from P-Type to
N-Type, capturing electrons there. As a result the NType material becomes positively charge and the PType material becomes negatively charged. The
exchange of charge soon stops because the
negative charge on the P-Type material opposes the
further flow of electrons and the positive charge on
the N-Type opposes the further flow of holes.

Biasing
Bias

is a current or a voltage that is

applied to a device (diode) to obtain a
desired mode of operation. The
potential is applied to control the width
of the depletion layer. Two types of
bias are forward and reverse bias.

Reverse Bias on a PN junction

If

a battery is connected across a PN

junction with its negative terminal to the
P-Type side, it helps the junction voltage.
Electrons and holes are repelled farther
from the junction and the depletion layer
widens, fig 6. Only a few minority carriers
cross the junction and a tiny current,
called the leakage or reverse current
flows.
The resistance of the junction is very high
in reverse bias.

 If

Forward Bias On A PN
Junction

a battery is connected so as to oppose

the junction voltage, the depletion layer
narrows. When the battery voltage exceeds
the junction voltage, appreciable current
flows because majority carriers are able to
cross the junction. Electrons travel from the
N to the P side and holes in the opposite
direction, fig 4. The junction is then forward
biased, i.e. the P Type side is connected to
the positive terminal of the battery and the
N-Type side to the negative terminal.

 The

resistance of the junction is very

low in forward bias.

The Junction diode

Construction

A junction diode
consists of a p-n junction with one
connection to the p-side, the anode A,
and another to the n-side, the cathode
K. Its symbol is shown in Fig. 26.3a. In
actual diodes the cathode end is often
marked by a band, Fig. 26.3b; it is the
end from which conventional current
leaves the diode when forward biased.

Characteristics of the
Semiconductor Diode

Typical Characteristic curves for silicon and germanium

diodes at 25 C are shown in fig 6. Conduction does not
start until the forward voltage vf is about 0.7V for
silicon and 0.3 for germanium thereafter, a very small
change in vf causes a sudden, large increase in forward
current if. When if is limited to a value within the power
rating of the diode (by a resistor in the circuit). The
reverse currents ir are negligible (note the change of
scales on the negative axes of the graph and remain so
until the reverse voltage vr is large enough (from 5V up
to 1000V depending on the level of doping) to break
down the insulation of the depletion layer. ir then
increases suddenly and rapidly and permanent damage
to the diode occurs. ir is similar and more constant for
silicon and germanium. Fig 7

 The

average forward current if (av) and the

maximum reverse Voltage Vrrm

Application Of The
Semiconductor Diode

Diodes operate as a rectifier to change AC to

DC in power supplies.
To prevent damage to a circuit by a reversed
power supply.
As a clamp diode or DC restorer to prevent dc
level shift problems in capacitor coupling circuit
The average forward current if (av) and the
maximum reverse Voltage vrrm or PIV rating
are
usually quoted for a diode.