Name: Dela Rosa, Renier Joseph V.

ASCI 321 1D

Assignment No. 1

Date: November 12, 2014

Rating:

I. Define the following terms:

1. Semiconductor - A materials product - usually comprised of silicon - which conducts electricity more than an insulator but less than
a pure conductor, such as copper and aluminum. Semiconductors are usually very small and complex devices, and can be found in
thousands of products such as computers, cell phones, appliances, and medical equipment.

2. Electron - a very small particle of matter that has a negative charge of electricity and that travels around the nucleus of an atom;
Electrons in atoms exist in spherical shells of various radii, representing energy levels. The larger the spherical shell, the higher the
energy contained in the electron. In electrical conductors, current flow results from the movement of electrons from atom to atom
individually, and from negative to positive electric poles in general. In semiconductor materials, current also occurs as a movement of
electrons. But in some cases, it is more illustrative to envision the current as a movement of electron deficiencies from atom to atom.

3. Hole - is an electric charge carrier with a positive charge, equal in magnitude but opposite in polarity to the charge on the electron.
Holes and electrons are the two types of charge carriers responsible for current in semiconductor materials.

4. Diode - is a specialized electronic component with two electrodes called the anode and the cathode; The addition of a small
percentage of foreign atoms in the regular crystal of silicon or germanium produces dramatic changes in their electrical properties,
producing n-type and p-type semiconductors. In semiconductor production, doping intentionally introduces impurities into an
extremely pure (also referred to as intrinsic) semiconductor for the purpose of modulating its electrical properties. The impurities are
dependent upon the type of semiconductor. Lightly and moderately doped semiconductors are referred to as extrinsic. A
semiconductor doped to such high levels that it acts more like a conductor than a semiconductor is referred to as degenerate.

5. Doping it intentionally introduces impurities into an extremely pure (also referred to as intrinsic) semiconductor for the purpose of
modulating its electrical properties. The impurities are dependent upon the type of semiconductor. Lightly and moderately doped
semiconductors are referred to as extrinsic. A semiconductor doped to such high levels that it acts more like a conductor than a
semiconductor is referred to as degenerate.

6. Impurity - a small quantity of an element added to a pure semiconductor crystal to control its electrical conductivity; Impurities are
either naturally occurring or added during synthesis of a chemical or commercial product. During production, impurities may be
purposely, accidentally, inevitably, or incidentally added into the substance. The levels of impurities in a material are generally
defined in relative terms.

7. Covalent Bond - is a chemical bond that involves the sharing of electron pairs between atoms. The stable balance of attractive and
repulsive forces between atoms when they share electrons is known as covalent bonding.

8. Conduction Band - quantifies the range of energy required to free an electron from its bond to an atom.

9. Intrinsic Conductor An intrinsic semiconductor material is chemically very pure and possesses poor conductivity. It has equal
numbers of negative carriers (electrons) and positive carriers (holes). A silicon crystal is different from an insulator because at any
temperature above absolute zero temperature, there is a finite probability that an electron in the lattice will be knocked loose from its
position, leaving behind an electron deficiency called a "hole".
10. Extrinsic Conductor Where as an extrinsic semiconductor is an improved intrinsic semiconductor with a small amount of
impurities added by a process, known as doping, which alters the electrical properties of the semiconductor and improves its
conductivity. Introducing impurities into the semiconductor materials (doping process) can control their conductivity.

II.
1. What are the two charges or polarity of semiconductor?
- There are two types of charge carriers in semiconductors. One is electrons, which carry a negative electric charge. In addition, it is
convenient to treat the traveling vacancies in the valence band electron population (holes) as the second type of charge carrier, which
carry a positive charge equal in magnitude to that of an electron.

2. What are the two types of semiconductor?

-Semiconductors are mainly classified into two categories: Intrinsic and Extrinsic.
An intrinsic semiconductor material is chemically very pure and possesses poor conductivity. It has equal numbers of negative carriers
(electrons) and positive carriers (holes). A silicon crystal is different from an insulator because at any temperature above absolute zero
temperature, there is a finite probability that an electron in the lattice will be knocked loose from its position, leaving behind an
electron deficiency called a "hole", and an extrinsic semiconductor is an improved intrinsic semiconductor with a small amount of
impurities added by a process, known as doping, which alters the electrical properties of the semiconductor and improves its
conductivity. Introducing impurities into the semiconductor materials (doping process) can control their conductivity.

3. What are the two kinds of semiconductor?

- P-type: The semiconductor in which trivalent element is introduced as impurity is known as P-type semiconductor. The trivalent
elements are generally boron, gallium, indium etc.
- N-type: The semiconductor in which pentavalent element is introduced as impurity is known as N-type semiconductor. The
impurities are generally Arsenic, antimony, Phosphorous etc.