FÍSICA DE SEMICONDUCTORES

Presentado a:
IVAN CAMILO NIETO
Tutor

Entregado por:
EMIRO PEREZ
Código:

Grupo: 299002_1

UNIVERSIDAD NACIONAL ABIERTA Y A DISTANCIA - UNAD

ESCUELA DE CIENCIAS BÁSICAS TECNOLOGÍA E INGENIERÍA
VALLEDUPAR
2018
 INTRODUCTION

The working principle of semiconductor materials, and specifically what

happens when a P-type crystal is combined with an N-type crystal, you
can start the study of the most well-known basic electronic devices, which
have turned out to be one of the most flexible and functional discovered
by humans: the semiconductor diode.

The main application that was looked for in a diode was its capacity to
only conduct electricity if it was polarized in the correct direction (rectifier
mode), at present there is a great variety of diodes that are used in
multiple applications within the electronic industry. This means that you
know in depth the principle of operation of the diodes. It is essential for
the understanding of various complex electronic circuits

The union pn is the basic building block on which the operation depends
of every semiconductor device. This structure gives rise to the device
called "pn junction diode" which does not it is more than a semiconductor
crystal that contains a pn junction inside it. Sometimes, the terms diode
and union pn are used interchangeably
Union devices

Types of Unions

The unions are classified according to the form of the Nd function when
going from region p to region n. Thus, when the transition is extremely
narrow, the union is said to be abrupt. In contrast, the gradual union is
one in which the transition extends to a greater distance
The abrupt junction
In the abrupt junction, a constant density of NA acceptor impurities is
passed in zone P to another of constant value also ND of donor impurities
in zone N. abrupt union is said to be symmetric if the equality NA = N D
and asymmetric or yes NA ≠ N D, in which case, if NA << N D it is said
that the union is p-n + and if NA >> N D the union is p + -n. When the
concentration of impurities in a zone of the union is much greater than in
the other (unions p-n + or p + -n) it is said that the union is abrupt on
one side, being the most frequent case a p + union -n. The p-n junction
will finally be characterized by specifying its contact potential Vbi, the
width of the space region of charge W, the maximum value of the electric
field internal εmax and the electric charge density Q.
 Fig. 7: (a) Spatial distribution of charge in the area of the junction in
thermal equilibrium.
(b) Electric field distribution.

Fig. 7a shows the spatial distribution of load in an abrupt junction. In the

space area of charge there are no mobile carriers and the Poisson
equation has the form:


d 2   q
 N A for -x p  x  0 (zone P)
dx2 
d 2    
qs
 

2 ND for 0 x xn (zone N)
dx s

The load neutrality condition in the semiconductor assembly requires that

the positive area and negative area enclosed by the spatial distribution of
charge be the same (Fig. 7a).

NA  xp  ND  xn

The width W of the space region of charge is:

W  xp  xn
The graduated union

At the graduated junction, the acceptor impurities in the p region begin

with a large concentration value and decrease as it approaches the
junction; in the n region near the union it starts with a small value and
increases in concentration as it moves away from the junction

Fig. 9: Gradual union in thermal equilibrium. (a) Spatial distribution of

cargo. (b) Electric field distribution. (c) Electrostatic potential as a
function of distance.
(d) Energy band diagram.
The spatial variation experienced by the net concentration of impurities is
linear:
ND  NA  a  x

where a  Gradient of impurities

The load neutrality condition in the semiconductor assembly requires that

the positive area and the negative area enclosed by the spatial distribution
of charge be the same, so if W is the width of the space region of charge,
it will be equally distributed in zone N and in zone P
(xn = W/2 y -xp = -W/2).

Unions by Alloy.
This method has been used since the 50's; An example of the process is
the following. To a sample of type material n of germanium, a point of
indium is placed on it (acceptor type impurity, figure 3.2a), then heated
to a temperature of approximately 160 ° C (for these two elements, figure
3.2b) forming a small local fusion or "alloy" between the two materials.
Then, the temperature decreases and the germanium begins to grow out
of the alloy mixture (after the union); This regrowth has the same lattice
structure of the original germanium but is now heavily impurified with
Indian atoms and, therefore, is a type material p

The polarized P-N junction: union diode.

Until now only the p-n junction has been considered without any type of
polarization (Fig. 11a). However, when the union is subjected to a
constant assumed external potential difference, a new behavior appears.
There are two cases to consider, depending on the external voltage
applied in the direct or inverse direction.

Direct polarization.
In this case, part P is subjected to a positive potential with respect to part
N, VF.> 0. The effect is that the electrostatic contact potential at the
junction decreases in said amount VF, ie Vb-VF, further reducing the
spatial region of charge, whose width depends on the potential difference
to which the junction is subjected (Fig. 11b). The energy levels in the N-
type semiconductor are shifted upwards by an amount q VF, which is the
same difference that exists between the Fermi levels of the N and P
semiconductors as there is a potential difference between them of VF .
The reduction of the potential barrier when the polarization is direct
causes the diffusion current to predominate over the drag current. This
allows the majority carriers to cross the union, then becoming minority
and giving rise to a measurable current. There is, therefore, an injection
of minority carriers, that is, of electrons in the P zone and of holes in the
N.

Reverse polarization.
In this case, part N has an applied positive voltage VR> 0 with respect to
P. Unlike the previous case, the electrostatic potential is increased by the
amount VR, that is, Vbi + VR, increasing the width of the space region of
charge (Fig. 11c). The consequent increase of the electric field in the
space region of charge causes the diffusion currents to be very reduced,
resulting only in a small reverse current of entrainment.

Substituting said voltage values in the union Vj  Vbi V where V is

positive

for the case of direct polarization (VF) and negative for the case of reverse
polarization (-VR), instead of Vbi in the expression that gives us the width
of the spatial region of charge in the equilibrium we can obtain a new
expression for W , now out of balance, in the case of an abrupt union:

2s N A  N D 
W     V V 
q  N A  N D 
bi


Fig. 11: Schematic representation of the width of the load spatial region
and of the bands diagrams of the p-n junction under different polarization
conditions. (a) In thermal equilibrium. (b) In direct polarization. (c) In
reverse bias.

Transition capacity of the polarized junction.

There is a parameter of capacitive type that can be obtained considering

what is the variation of the load in the space region of charge per unit
area when an increase in potential is made at the p-n junction.
This parameter is called the capacity of the space region of charge or
transition capacity, Cj under reverse polarization.
Fig. 12 shows said capacity for a p-n junction with an arbitrary distribution
of impurities. The continuous line corresponds to the charge and electric
field distributions when a voltage V is applied in the N zone. If this voltage
is increased by an amount dV, the charge and electric field distributions
expand to the regions delimited by the dashed line . In Fig. 12b the
incremental load dQ corresponds to the area marked between the two
load distribution curves on each side of the space region of charge. The
incremental loads in the N and P zones of the space region of charge are
of equal magnitude but with polarity of the opposite charge, since the
charge neutrality must be maintained.

Mathematical model of the union P-N: Shockley's equation.

When a voltage is applied to the p-n junction, the diffusion and drag
currents are altered, breaking the equilibrium situation (Fig. 13).

Fig. 14: Movement of the carriers with direct polarization (Va> 0).

The number of electrons, minority carriers in the P zone, above Ec is the

same as in the equilibrium situation. These constitute the electron
entrainment current. The number of electrons in the zone N that has
energies above Ec in the P zone is considerably greater than in
equilibrium. These electrons will diffuse to P. Therefore, there is an
electron diffusion current through the junction that is greater than the
entrainment current caused by the electrons that move from P to N.
Similarly, the holes ( with energy higher than Ev of zone N) they will
diffuse from P to N and this diffusion current will be much greater than
the drag due to the movement of the holes from N to P.
When a reverse bias voltage is applied to the junction (Va <0), the drag
currents do not change since the concentration of minority carriers has
not changed. But currents due to diffusion are small because there are
fewer major carriers, electrons in the N zone and holes in the P zone, with
energies greater than Ec in the P zone and Ev in the N zone respectively.
This is shown in Fig. 15:

Fig. 15: Movement of the carriers with reverse polarization (Va <0).
In other words, the electrons in the N zone and the holes in the P have a
greater energy barrier to overcome, compared with that existing in the
equilibrium condition, so that the net current is negative. This current is
negative because it is composed of a greater number of electrons crossing
from P to N (drag) than crossing from N to P (diffusion) and, similarly, a
greater number of holes crossing from N to P than from P to N, comparing
with the equilibrium situation.
Therefore, the current is limited to the possibility of generating minority
thermal carriers and is, in fact, independent of the reverse bias voltage
for tens of volts or more.
Ideal characteristics
Next we will develop a mathematical model of the p-n junction in the
absence of equilibrium and that explains the internal behavior of the
device. Finally, the mathematical model will give rise to the current-
voltage electrical macroscopic characteristics.
To obtain the mathematical model, the following hypotheses will be
carried out:

1. The space region of charge has abrupt limits (abrupt union model).
2. There are no carriers in the space region of charge, they only pass
through it (in practice the concentrations of mobile carriers -electrons and
holes- that cross the junction are negligible compared to the
concentrations of impurities). Therefore, it will be assumed that this
region consists solely of ionized impurities.
3. Outside the limits of the charge space region, the semiconductor is
neutral.
4. Operation is at a temperature such that all the impurities atoms
They are ionized.
5. The concentrations of carriers at the limits of the spatial region of
charge are given as a function of the electrostatic contact potential Vbi.
6. The contacts at the end of regions P and N are perfectly ohmic contacts.
A perfectly ohmic contact is one that has zero resistance so that the
voltage drop between its ends is zero.
7. When the diode is directly polarized, low injection condition is assumed.
This means that when the electrons from N or the holes from P are
injected in the opposite regions, the concentration of said carriers at the
limit with the space region of charge of the new region, where these are
now minority carriers, is much smaller than the concentration of majority
carriers in the balance in said region.
In other words, the concentration of majority carriers in the contacts with
the neutral zones does not change appreciably due to the fact of applying
a polarization.
8. The processes of recombination and generation of carriers in the space
region of charge will be considered non-existent. Consequently, the void
and electron currents will be constant throughout the space region of
charge.
 CONCLUSION
As a conclusion to the present the most necessary applications in the early
days of electronics, was the obtaining of a device that was able to conduct
the electric current when a voltage was applied in a certain sense, but
that would block it if the polarization changed. This behavior was essential
for the correct reception and demodulation of the radio signals
transmitted in modulated amplitude, so the entire radio industry
depended on the development of a device that had that behavior, and at
the same time was the most economical and reliable possible.

It is said that in a semiconductor monocrystal there is a pn junction, when

the net concentration of impurities, Nd ≡ ND - NA, (in reality it would be
net concentration of ionized impurities. Now, we assume that we are at
temperature environment, Ta = 300 K and that the ionization of the
impurities is total) is variable in said material so that there is a region
type n, with Nd> 0, and another type p with Nd <0. Obviously, there will
be a region where Nd = 0 and what we will call Union