Day 1

Electronic Devices and Circuit Theory
Semiconductor Diodes
Chapter 1
Atomic Theory of Materials
Electrical Classification of Materials
• Conductor – a substance, body or material….
… which supports the flow of electricity
… which allows electric current to flow with ease
… which has a very low electrical resistance
… with less than four valence electrons
Ex. Metals
•Insulator – material with more than four valence
electrons.
- has a characteristic that is extremely
opposite to that of a conductor
ex. glass
Electronic Devices and Circuit Theory © 2013 by Pearson Higher Education, Inc
Boylestad Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458 • All Rights Reserved
Electrical Classification of Materials
• Semiconductor – with exactly four valence electrons
- has characteristics in between conductor and
insulator
Chapter 1 Semiconductors: A General Introduction
Semiconductor Materials
Elemental: Si, Ge
Compound: GaAs
AlAs
GaP
Review of Basic Atomic Model
• Atoms are comprised of

electrons, neutrons and
protons.
• Electrons are found orbiting

the nucleus of an atom at
specific intervals, based
upon their energy levels.
• The outermost orbit is the

valence orbit.
Energy levels
• Valence band
electrons are the
furthest from the
nucleus and have
higher energy levels
than electrons in lower
orbits.
• The region beyond the

valence band is called
the conduction band.
• Electrons in the
conduction band are
easily made to be free
electrons.
Energy- Gap (Eg) Comparison
Semiconductor Theory
Intrinsic Semiconductor
• Silicon(Si), germanium(Ge) and gallium arsenide
(GaAs) are the primary materials used in
semiconductor devices.
• Si and Ge are elements and are intrinsic
semiconductor.
• In pure form, Si and Ge do not exhibit the
characteristics needed for practical solid-state
devices.
Isolated Semiconductor Atoms
• Si and Ge are electrically neutral, that is, each has the same number of
orbiting electrons as protons.
• Both Si and Ge have four valence band electrons, and so they are
referred to as tetravalent atoms.
Semiconductor Crystals
• Tetravalent atoms such as Si, GaAs and Ge
bond together to form a crystal or crystal lattice.
• Because of the crystalline structure of
semiconductor materials, valence electrons are
shared between atoms.
• This sharing of valence electrons is called
covalent bonding. Covalent bonding makes it
more difficult for materials to move their
electrons into the conduction band.
Tetravalent atoms bond
to form a crystal lattice.
Each atom has four
valence electron. In
the outer ring they
share four atom with
other atoms for a total
of eight valence
electrons. The shared
electrons are referred
to as “covalent bond”.
Semiconductor Doping
• Impurities are added to intrinsic semiconductor materials to improve
the electrical properties of the material.
• This process is referred to as doping and the resulting material is
called an extrinsic semiconductor.
• There are two major classifications of doping material.
– Trivalent – gallium, aluminum, boron, indium
• Materials with three valence electron
– Pentavalent – phosphorus, antimony, arsenic
• Materials with five valence electrons
Pentavalent and Trivalent materials
Trivalent Doping
Trivalent Doping
When doped
with trivalent
material holes
are created in
the
semiconductor
valence band.
Doping
impurity in this
case is
aluminum.
Trivalent Doping
• Silicon is the most widely used semiconductor
material.
• By adding a trivalent material to the crystal
structure, holes are introduced and provide a
mechanism for conduction.
• Because trivalent materials can accept an
additional electron, they are called acceptor
atoms.
• A silicon crystal doped with trivalent material is
called p – type material.
Pentavalent Doping
Pentavalent Doping
Impurity doping material
phosphorus added to
silicon.
Note that valence shell
is full with eight
electrons, and extra
electron is available.
It is now called an
n-type semiconductor
Pentavalent Doping
• Doping silicon with pentavalent material results
in extra electrons being available, improving the
conduction characteristics.
• Pentavalent materials donate electrons, and
therefore are called donor atoms.
• Once a silicon crystal has been doped with
pentavalent materials, it is called n-type
semiconductor material.
Review
• Semiconductors (pure) have equal numbers of
free electrons and holes.
• P-type materials (doped with trivalent materials)
will always have more holes than electrons in
the conduction band.
• N-type material (doped with pentavalent
materials) will always have more free electrons
in the conduction band than holes.
Semiconductor Junctions
When p-type material

meets n-type material
within a single silicon
crystal, a pn junction is
formed.
Unbiased Junction
• The pn junction is formed in the process of
creating the semiconductor device.
• Before carrier migration, there are equal
numbers of holes and electrons on either side of
the junction. Net charge 0.
• Because of the random thermal energy, some
electrons will pass across the pn junction mating
with holes on the other side.
– This is recombination
Unbiased Junction
• The end result of recombination is the
creation of the depletion region which
means an area depleted of carriers.
• The free electrons in the n material have
filled the holes in the p material.
• Because the n material lost an electron it
now has a net positive charge.
• Because the p material gained an electron
it now has a net negative charge.
Unbiased Junction
• After a time, the region will be depleted of
charge carriers because of the migration of
electrons and holes.
• This leaves an area known as depletion region
in the pn junction.
• Further electron migration will not take place
until the barrier potential is overcome.
• In silicon, the potential is 0.6-0.7 V; in
germanium, it is 0.2-0.3V.
Forward Biased Junction
• An external source can either oppose or aid the
barrier potential.
• If the positive side of the voltage is connected to
the p-type material, and the negative side to the
n-type material, then the junction is said to be
forward biased.
Forward Biased Junction
• In a forward biased junction, the following
conditions exist:
– Forward bias overcomes barrier potential.
• The electrostatic field created the barrier potential and stopped
electron migration
• A voltage of 0.7 will overcome the barrier.
– Forward bias narrows the depletion region.
• FB forces the majority carriers in both materials towards each
other thus narrowing the depletion region.
– There is a maximum current flow with forward bias.
• The power supply provides an abundance of free electrons and
overcomes the barrier potential.
• When forward biased the pn junction resembles as short circuit.
Reversed Biased Junction
• Reversed bias occurs when

the negative source is
connected to the p-type
material and the positive
source is connected to the n-
type material.
• Reverse bias strengthens the
barrier potential.
• Reverse bias widens the
depletion region.
• Current flow is minimum.
Reversed Biased Junction
• A reversed biased junction has zero current flow (ideally).
• Reverse current is temperature dependent.
– The higher the temperature, the greater the probability for reverse current.
• If reverse bias is increased enough, the reverse current increases

dramatically causing the pn junction to breakdown.
– This called junction breakdown. The voltage required to reach this point is
the reverse breakdown voltage (RBV).
– RBV is usually specified on data sheets.
• As the breakdown occurs, avalanche may occur and destroy the

device if uncontrolled.

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Electronic Devices and Circuit Theory

• Atoms are comprised of

• Electrons are found orbiting

• The outermost orbit is the

• The region beyond the

When p-type material

• Reversed bias occurs when

• If reverse bias is increased enough, the reverse current increases

• As the breakdown occurs, avalanche may occur and destroy the

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