Paul F.
Weller
State University College
An Analogy for Elementary Band
Fredonia, New York 14063
Theory C0nceph in Solids
The concepts of solid state physics and
chemistry are foreign to most chemists and particularly
to undergraduate students. The author has found the
following analogies to be valuable in the study of e l e
mentary solid state principles.
Insulators and Metals
One of the major distinctions between metals and
insulators is the ability to conduct an electric current.
This is generally explained on the basis of the band
theory of solids (a description of this theory as well as
all of the other principles described below can be found
in the excellent monograph edited by N. B. Hannay1).
The band theory assumes that isolated free atom energy
levels are broadened into a baud of allowed energy
levels, separated by forbidden energy regions or gaps,
when the atom exists in a solid substance. A typical
picture of the band structure of a metal and an insulator
is given in Figure 1.
Under the influence of an electric field, the electrons
that ~artiallvfill the conduction band in the metal can
move'. In the insulator, however, all of the electrons
CONDUCTION
BAND
VALENCE
BAND
METAL INSULATOR
Figure 1. A representation of energy bands in solids The diagonal
lines indicate electron populations. The electrons in the valence bonds ore
flxod while those in the metal condudion bond are mobile.
are used for bonding purposes, i.e., all of the energy
levels of the valence band are occupied, and there are
essentially no electrons in the conduction band. In
order to move an electron through an insulator, suffi-
cient energy must be provided to promote the electron
from the valence band to the empty energy levels of
the conduction band. Energy gaps for typical insula
tors are five or more electron volts (1 ev = 23 kcal/
mole). Consequently, very few electrons are promoted
under ordinary conditions.
A rather good analogy can be drawn between the
energy bands in metals and insulators and a sectioned
water bottle as shown in Figure 2. The large sections
of the bottle, connected by capillary tubing, correspond
' HANNAY,N. B., (Editor), "Semiconductors," Reinhold
Publishing Cop., New York, 1959.
to the conduction and valence bands of the band theory,
shown in Figure 1.
In the bottle correspondimg to the metal, water fills
thelower section, "valence band," and part of the upper
section, "conduction band." The application of an
electric field is analogous to tipping the bottle. When
the bottle is tipped, the water in the "conduction band"
is free to flow to the low side of the bottle, correspond-
ing to the flow of electrons in a metal. The water
contained in the L'valenceband" is not free to move and
remains essentially in place, just as the valence band
electrons are thought to do in real solids.
The bottle corresponding to the insulator has only
the "valence band" filled with water, i.e., there are no
electrons in the conduction band. Now when the bottle
is tipped, there is no water flow, corresponding to the
lack of electrical conductivity in an insulator.
The forbidden energy gap corresponds to the distance
between the upper and lower sections of the bottle, i.e.,
to the length of the capillary tubmg. The larger the
energy gap, the longer the tube. In order to transport
water to the "conduction band," the bottle must be
tipped or jostled vigorously, corresponding to the ex-
penditure of high energy. As the capillary tubing in-
creases in length, it becomes more diicult to get water
into the "conduction band," i.e., the energy gap has
increased with a subsequent increase in the electrical
resistance of the insulator.
Semiconductors
Semiconductors can be divided into two broad
categories, intrinsic and extrinsic. Extrinsic semi-
conductivity is considered further in the following sec-
tion. For the case of an intrinsic semiconductor the
band picture and correspondingwater bottle analogy for
an insulator in Figures 1 and 2 can be used. The only
difference between an intrinsic semiconductor and an
insulator is in the size of the forbidden energy gap.
Insulators have much larger band gaps, i.e., the capil-
lary tube is much longer than in the semiconductor
WATER
\
METAL INSULATOR
Figure 2. A water bottle onology to the energy bands depicted in
Figure 1. The lower and upper sections correspond to the valence ond
conduction bands, rerpoctively. The water is ondogour to electrons and
the capillary tube to the forbidden energy gap.
Volume 44, Number 7, July 1967 / 391
case. With the relatively short capillary tube, water
(electrons) can be "excited" into the "conduction
hand" with much less vigorous tipping. This allows
for a greater electron concentration in the conduction
hand of the semiconductor and, hence, for a material
with lower electrical resistance.
It is interesting to note what happens when a drop
of water is transferred from the lower bottle section to
the upper section-a hubhle is simultaneously formed
in the lower section. This bubble exhibits two interest-
ing properties. First, it floats at the top of the "va-
lence band." It has a tendency to escape up (the
capillary tube) into the upper bottle section. This is
exactly the opposite behavior displayed by the water
droplet. The lower section of the bottle is the preferred
level, and energy must be expended to transfer the
water to the upper section. Second, note what happens
to the water droplet in the "conduction band" and the
hubhle in the "valence hand" when the bottle is tipped.
The water runs to the low side of the bottle while the
bubble floats to the high side, still in the "valence
band.''
This is an excellent analogy to what happens in a
semiconductor. When an electron (the water droplet)
is excited from the valence hand into the conduction
hand (lower to upper bottle section), an electron d o
ficiency (the bubble) is produced in the valence hand.
This deficiency is called a hole. Electron and hole
behavior in solids is similar to that of the water droplet
and bubble. Electrons prefer low-energy levels while
holes tend to "float," i.e., prefer high-energy levels.
Electrons move in one direction in an applied electric
field while holes move in exactly the opposite direction.
If it is imagined that the water droplet carries a nega-
tive charge and the bubble a positive charge, then the
electrical charge transport properties of electrons and
holes are illustrated. If the electrons dominate in the
charge transport process, the semiconductor is n-type
(negative charge carriers). If the holes are dominant,
the semiconductor is p-type (positive charge carriers).
The dominance of one charge carrier type in intrinsic
semiconductors is caused by the relative ease of move-
ment of one of the carriers over the other. Generally,
electrons are more mobile than holes. This is not shown
by the water bottle analogy.
Extrinsic Semiconductors
Electrical charge carriers, electrons or holes, can be
produced in semiconducting materials in ways that
require much less energy than in the case of an intrinsic
semiconductor. Defects in the semiconductor crystal
lattice can serve as electron or hole sources. These
lattice defects are generally lattice vacancies, i.e., the
absence of a host cation or anion, or impurity ions dis-
solved in t,he semiconductor host. These defects give
rise to energy levels within the forbidden energy gap of
the semiconductor. Generally, levels introduced near
the conduction band edge are called donor levels, i.e.,
an electron can be easily excited from the level into the
conduction baud, and levels occurring near the valence
band edge are called acceptor levels, i.e., they will
readily accept an electron from the valence hand, there
by producing a hole in the valence baud. Donor and
acceptor levels are shown in a typical band picture in
392 / Journal of Chemical Edumfion
CONDUCTION A-
r r r r ,ACCEPTORS
VALENCE
BAND
Figure 3. Donor ond acceptor lsvelr, occupied b y electrons and holes,
respectively, of on extrinsic tamiconductor reprarontod b y a typical bond
picture and a water bottle analogy.
Figure 3. In this same figure is the correspondingwater
bottle analogy. Donor and acceptor levels are simu-
lated by drilling small "wells" in the "conduction band"
section and erecting small "water storage tanks" on
the "valence baud" section. The "wells" are partly
filled with water, i.e., they are occupied by electrons.
The "storage tanks" are empty, i.e., they are occupied
by holes.
I t is now relatively easy to transport water droplets
from the "wells" into the "conduction band," producing
electron charge carriers, or water into the "storage
tanks" from the "valence band," producing bubbles
(holes). Tipping the bottle only slightly, corresponding
to a small applied voltage, can produce charge carriers
(contrasted with the vigorous tipping necessary to
transport water from the "valence" to the "conduction
hand").
In semiconducting materials there is a variation in
donor or acceptor level position, depending on the type
of defect present. This is easily shown with the water
bottle by having "wells" of various depths or "storage
tanks" with various heights. I t takes more energy to
transport a water droplet from a deep "well'' than from
a shallow "well." A deep donor level in a semiconductor
is one with a high energy of activation, i.e., it lies farther
in energy below the conduction baud edge than does
a shallow donor. A corresponding analogy exists for
the "storage tanks" and hole activation energies.
The production of charge carriers, say electrons, in
semiconductors by heat energy can also be shown by
the water bottle analogy. The most easily visualized
case is with an n-type, extrinsic semiconductor with a
shallow donor level. When the bottle is heated slightly,
water contained in the donor level expands, flows up
the short connecting tube and into the "conduction
band." This is analogous to the production of free
conduction electrons in the semiconductor. No water
(electron) is transferred from the "valence" to the
"conduction" bauds since the capillary tube (energy
gap) is too long.
The p-n Junction
The technological importance of p-n junctions is
very great. One of the most useful characteristics of
such a junction is rectification, i.e., allowing a current
to flow in one direction through the junction but not
in the other direction. This property can he visualized
by using the water bottle analogy as shown in Figure 4.
One section of the bottle has been made p-type by
transferring water droplets (electrons) into the "storage
tanks" (acceptor levels), leaving bubbles (holes) in the
"valence hand." The second section of the bottle has
been made n-type by transferring water from the
"wells" (donor levels) into the "conduction band."
These two sections of the bottle me separated from one
another by an energy barrier, the p-n junction which
is simulated by the jog between the water bottles,
high enough to keep the water and bubbles in their
respective sections. This jog between the bottles
corresponds to the real energy barriers found in solids
when junctions are formed.
p -TYPE n-TYPE
Figure 4. A water b o n k analogy for o p-n junction. The junction
occurs at the iog between the n- and p-type regions. Electron and hole
charge carriers, onologour to the woter in the upper section and
bubbler in the lower 3ection. orire from the simulated donor and
occeptor Isvelr
Now note what happens when the bottle is tipped,
i.e., an electric field is applied to the p-n junction.
If the n-type side is elevated (corresponding to the
application of a negative charge to the n-type region,
often called a positive bias), water will run over the
barrier into the empty "conduction hand" of the p-
type region while bubbles will flow from the p-type
region, over their barrier (actually down) and up into
the n-type "valence band." Again, imagining that
the water droplets are negatively charged and the
bubbles positively charged shows that there is charge
transfer or current flow across the p-n junction.
If the bottle is tipped so that the p-type side is
higher than the n-type side (applying a positive charge
to the n-type region, often called negative bias), no
water flows from the n-type region and no buhbles
from the p-type region. Hence, no charge transfer
and no current flow across the junction. Alternate
application of negative and positive charge to the n-type
region will result in current flow only during the nega-
tive charge (forward bias) part of the cycle. Hence,
the change of alternating to direct current.
Volume 44, Number 7,July 7 967 / 393