Physics of Semiconductors PN Junction Diodes and Resistors

PHYSICS OF
SEMICONDUCTORS
PN JUNCTION DIODES AND
RESISTORS
OVERVIEW
Semiconductor fundamentals
Doping
PN Junction
Diode Equation
Zener Diodes
LEDs
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SEMICONDUCTOR: AN
INTRODUCTION
Insulators: Do not Allow Electric current to flow

through them
Semiconductors: Materials whose conductivity

lies in between of Conductors and Semiconductor
Conductors: Allow Electric

current to flow through them
SEMICONDUCTORS
A material whose properties are such that it is
not quite a conductor, not quite an insulator
Some common semiconductors
Si - Silicon (most common)

Ge - Germanium
compound
GaAs - Gallium arsenide

GaP - Gallium phosphide
AlAs - Aluminum arsenide
AlP - Aluminum phosphide
InP - Indium Phosphide
elemental
CRYSTALLINE SOLIDS
In a crystalline solid, the periodic arrangement of

atoms is repeated over the entire crystal
Silicon crystal has a diamond lattice
CRYSTALLINE NATURE OF SILICON

Silicon as utilized in integrated circuits is
crystalline in nature
As with all crystalline material, silicon consists
of a repeating basic unit structure called a unit
cell
For silicon, the unit cell consists of an atom
surrounded by four equidistant nearest neighbors
which lie at the corners of the tetrahedron
INTRINSIC NATURE OF SILICON

Silicon that is free of doping impurities is called
intrinsic
Silicon has a valence of 4 and forms covalent
bonds with four other neighboring silicon atoms
CRYSTALLINE STRUCTURE OF
SEMICONDUCTOR
Semiconductors have a regular crystalline structure

for monocrystal, extends through entire structure
for polycrystal, structure is interrupted at irregular
boundaries
Monocrystal has uniform 3-dimensional structure
Atoms occupy fixed positions relative to one another,
but
are in constant vibration about equilibrium
CRYSTALLINE STRUCTURE OF
SEMICONDUCTOR
Silicon atoms have 4 electrons in outer shell

inner electrons are very closely bound to atom
These electrons are shared with neighbor atoms
on both sides to fill the shell
resulting structure is very stable
electrons are fairly tightly bound
no loose electrons
at room temperature, if battery applied, very
little electric current flows
CONDUCTION IN CRYSTAL
LATTICES
Semiconductors (Si and Ge) have 4 electrons in

their outer shell
2 in the s subshell
2 in the p subshell
As the distance between atoms decreases the
discrete subshells spread out into bands
As the distance decreases further, the bands
overlap and then separate
the subshell model doesnt hold anymore, and
the electrons can be thought of as being part of
the crystal, not part of the atom
4 possible electrons in the lower band (valence
band)
4 possible electrons in the upper band
(conduction band)
ENERGY BANDS IN
SEMICONDUCTORS
The space between the bands is the energy gap,

or forbidden band
INSULATORS, SEMICONDUCTORS,
AND METALS: COMPARISON
This separation of the valence and conduction

bands determines the electrical properties of the
material
Insulators have a large energy gap
electrons cant jump from valence to
conduction bands
no current flows
Conductors (metals) have a very small (or
nonexistent) energy gap
electrons easily jump to conduction bands due
to thermal excitation
current flows easily
Semiconductors have a moderate energy gap
only a few electrons can jump to the
conduction band
leaving holes
only a little current can flow
INSULATORS, SEMICONDUCTORS,
AND METALS (CONTINUED)
Overlap
Band
Gap
Conduction
Band
More Band
Gap
Valence
Band
Conductor Semiconductor Insulator
ELECTRON-HOLE PAIRS
Sometimes thermal energy is enough to cause an
electron to jump from the valence band to the
conduction band
Electrons also fall back out of the conduction
band into the valence band, combining with a
hole
hole
pair creation
electron
pair elimination
DOPING AND CONDUCTION
To make semiconductors better conductors, add

impurities (dopants) to contribute extra electrons
or extra holes
elements with 5 outer electrons contribute an
extra electron to the lattice (donor dopant)
elements with 3 outer electrons accept an
electron from the silicon (acceptor dopant)

CONTINUED...
Phosphorus and arsenic are donor dopants

if phosphorus is introduced into the silicon lattice,
there is an extra electron free to move around and
contribute to electric current
very loosely bound to atom and can easily jump to

conduction band
n type silicon
sometimes use + symbol to indicate heavier doping, so n+

silicon
phosphorus
electron
becomes positive ion after giving up
produces

CONTINUED
Boron has 3 electrons in its outer shell, so it contributes a

hole if it displaces a silicon atom
boron is an acceptor dopant
yields p type silicon
boron becomes negative ion after accepting an electron
DIFFUSION OF DOPANTS
no new silicon is added

high heat causes diffusion
Can be done with constant

concentration in atmosphere
close
to straight line
concentration gradient
Or with constant number of atoms
per unit area
predeposition
bell-shaped gradient
Diffusion causes spreading of doped
areas
It is also possible to introduce

dopants into silicon by heating
them so they diffuse into the silicon
Top
vie
w
Side
view
DIFFUSION OF DOPANTS
(CONTINUED)
Concentration of dopant
in surrounding
atmosphere kept
constant per unit volume
Dopant deposited on
surface - constant
amount per unit area
ION IMPLANTATION OF DOPANTS

One way to reduce the spreading found with
diffusion is to use ion implantation
also gives better uniformity of dopant
yields faster devices
lower temperature process
Ions are accelerated from 5 Kev to 10 Mev and
directed at silicon
higher energy gives greater depth penetration
total dose is measured by flux
number of ions per cm2
typically 1012 per cm2 - 1016 per cm2
Flux is over entire surface of silicon
use masks to cover areas where implantation is
not wanted
Heat afterward to work into crystal lattice
HOLE AND ELECTRON

CONCENTRATIONS
To produce reasonable levels of conduction
doesnt require much doping
silicon has about 5 x 1022 atoms/cm3
typical dopant levels are about 1015
atoms/cm3
In undoped (intrinsic) silicon, the number of
holes and number of free electrons is equal,
and their product equals a constant
actually, ni increases with increasing
temperature
This equation holds true for doped silicon as

well, so increasing the number of free
electrons decreases the number of holes
There are two types of doping
DOPING
N-type and P-type.
A column V ion is inserted.

The extra valence electron is
free to move about the lattice
The P in P-type stands for
positive.
The N in N-type stands for

negative.
A column III ion is inserted.

Electrons from the
surrounding Silicon move to fill
ENERGY-BAND DIAGRAM
A very important concept in the study of semiconductors
is the energy-band diagram
It is used to represent the range of energy a valence
electron can have
For semiconductors the electrons can have any one value
of a continuous range of energy levels while they occupy
the valence shell of the atom
band of energy levels is called the valence band
This
is the conduction band
That
Within the same valence shell, but at a slightly higher

energy level, is yet another band of continuously variable,
allowed energy levels
BAND GAP
EG
This is the band gap

E G 11
. eV
In silicon at room temperature [in electron volts]:

Electron volt is an atomic measurement unit, 1 eV
energy is necessary to decrease of the potential of the
electron with 1 V.
1eV 1.602 10 19 joule
Between the valence and the conduction band is a range

of energy levels where there are no allowed states for an
electron
COUNTER DOPING
The extra electron and the

extra hole cancel out
Insert more than one type

of Ion
P-N JUNCTION
Also known as a diode

One of the basics of semiconductor technology Created by placing n-type and p-type material in
close contact
Diffusion - mobile charges (holes) in p-type combine
with mobile charges (electrons) in n-type
P-N JUNCTION
Region of charges left behind (dopants fixed in

crystal lattice)
III in p-type (one less proton than Si- negative

charge)
Group IV in n-type (one more proton than Si - positive
charge)
Region is totally depleted of mobile charges depletion region

Electric
field forms due to fixed charges in the depletion
region
Depletion region has high resistance due to lack of
mobile charges
Group
THE P-N JUNCTION
Direction of
Current
DEPLETION LAYER FORMATION
The potential or voltage across the

silicon changes in the depletion
region and goes from + in the n
region to in the p region
BIASING THE P-N DIODE
DIODES CAN BE
CONSIDERED AS SWITCH
Reverse Bias
Applies voltage to the

n region and +
voltage to the
p region
Applies +
voltage to n
region and
voltage to p
region
CURRENT!
NO CURRENT
Forward Bias
P-N JUNCTION REVERSE BIAS
Depletion layer width

Increses
No current Flow
positive voltage placed on n-type material

electrons in n-type move closer to positive terminal,
holes in p-type move closer to negative terminal
width of depletion region increases
allowed current is essentially zero (small drift current)
P-N JUNCTION FORWARD BIAS
positive voltage placed on p-type material

holes in p-type move away from positive terminal, electrons in ntype move further from negative terminal
depletion region becomes smaller - resistance of device decreases
voltage increased until critical voltage is reached, depletion
region disappears, current can flow freely
P-N JUNCTION - V-I

CHARACTERISTICS
Voltage-Current relationship for a p-n junction (diode)
CURRENT-VOLTAGE
CHARACTERISTICS
THE IDEAL DIODE

Positive voltage yields
finite current
Negative voltage yields
zero current
REAL DIODE
THE IDEAL DIODE EQUATION
q 1602
.
10 19 coulomb , the electronic ch arg e
eV
k 8.62 10 5
, Boltzmann' s cons tan t
K
qV
I I 0 exp
1
,
kT
where
I 0 diode current with reverse bias
SEMICONDUCTOR DIODE - OPENED

REGION
The
Opened:
p-side is the cathode, the n-side is the anode

The dropped voltage, VD is measured from the
cathode to the anode
VD VF:
VD = V F
ID = circuit limited, in our model the VD cannot exceed
VF
SEMICONDUCTOR DIODE - CUT-OFF

REGION
Cut-off:
0 < VD < VF:

ID 0 mA
SEMICONDUCTOR DIODE - CLOSED

REGION
VD
VF < VD 0:
is determined by the circuit, I D = 0 mA
Typical
values of VF: 0.5 0.7 V
Closed:
ZENER EFFECT
Zener
Utilization of the Zener effect

Typical break down values of VZ : -4.5 ... -15 V
break down: VD <= VZ:

VD = VZ, ID is determined by the circuit.
In case of standard diode the typical values of the
break down voltage VZ of the Zener effect -20 ... -100
V
Zener diode
LED
emitting diode, made from GaAs
VF=1.6 V
IF >= 6 mA
Light

Physics of Semiconductors PN Junction Diodes and Resistors

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PHYSICS OF

Insulators: Do not Allow Electric current to flow

Semiconductors: Materials whose conductivity

Conductors: Allow Electric

Si - Silicon (most common)

GaAs - Gallium arsenide

In a crystalline solid, the periodic arrangement of

CRYSTALLINE NATURE OF SILICON

INTRINSIC NATURE OF SILICON

Semiconductors have a regular crystalline structure

Silicon atoms have 4 electrons in outer shell

Semiconductors (Si and Ge) have 4 electrons in

The space between the bands is the energy gap,

This separation of the valence and conduction

DOPING AND CONDUCTION

To make semiconductors better conductors, add

DOPING AND CONDUCTION

Phosphorus and arsenic are donor dopants

very loosely bound to atom and can easily jump to

sometimes use + symbol to indicate heavier doping, so n+

becomes positive ion after giving up

DOPING AND CONDUCTION

Boron has 3 electrons in its outer shell, so it contributes a

no new silicon is added

Can be done with constant

It is also possible to introduce

ION IMPLANTATION OF DOPANTS

HOLE AND ELECTRON

This equation holds true for doped silicon as

There are two types of doping

N-type and P-type.

A column V ion is inserted.

The N in N-type stands for

A column III ion is inserted.

band of energy levels is called the valence band

is the conduction band

Within the same valence shell, but at a slightly higher

This is the band gap

In silicon at room temperature [in electron volts]:

1eV 1.602 10 19 joule

Between the valence and the conduction band is a range

The extra electron and the

Insert more than one type

Also known as a diode

Region of charges left behind (dopants fixed in

III in p-type (one less proton than Si- negative

Region is totally depleted of mobile charges depletion region

field forms due to fixed charges in the depletion

THE P-N JUNCTION

DEPLETION LAYER FORMATION

The potential or voltage across the

BIASING THE P-N DIODE

Applies voltage to the

P-N JUNCTION REVERSE BIAS

Depletion layer width

positive voltage placed on n-type material

P-N JUNCTION FORWARD BIAS

positive voltage placed on p-type material

P-N JUNCTION - V-I

THE IDEAL DIODE

THE IDEAL DIODE EQUATION

SEMICONDUCTOR DIODE - OPENED

p-side is the cathode, the n-side is the anode