BME2312 - Analog Electronics

The Instructors:
Dr. Görkem SERBES (C317)
gserbes@yildiz.edu.tr
https://avesis.yildiz.edu.tr/gserbes/

Lab Assistants:
Nihat AKKAN
nakkan@yildiz.edu.tr
https://avesis.yildiz.edu.tr/nakkan
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 LECTURE 4

Semiconductor Diodes

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Why do we need Semiconductors?

An old hard-drive (5 MB) Recent Technology (32 GB)

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 Semiconductors
Conductors Semiconductors Insulators

Semiconductors are a special class of elements having a conductivity between

that of a good conductor and that of an insulator.

In 1965, Dr. Gordon E. Moore presented a paper

predicting that the transistor count in a single IC
chip would double every two years.

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How Semiconductors are used?

Basic unit of a computer

Switch
Not mechanically controlled,
Electricity is used
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 How Semiconductors are used?
We need circuit elements that will allow current in only one direction

Vacuum tubes are used in

old times.
- You need to heat them
up for working.
- Very large size.
- Consume huge power.
- Hard to manufacture.

Today we can use semiconductor technology for implementing switches.

731 million transistors in a package

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 Semiconductor Material Properties

In order to understand semiconductor material behaviour, we need to look

at energy levels of electrons

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Energy Levels

The Pauli Exclusion Principle states that, no

two electrons can have identical energies.

3 different orbitals, not same energy

If we have two atoms

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Energy Levels

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Conductors, Insulators and Semiconductors

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 Intrinsic Semiconductors
The term intrinsic is applied to any semiconductor material that has been carefully
refined to reduce the number of impurities to a very low level—essentially as pure
as can be made available through modern technology.

- For germanium and silicon there are four

electrons in the outermost shell, which are
referred to as valence electrons.
- Gallium has three valence electrons and
arsenic has five valence electrons.
- Atoms that have four valence electrons are
called tetravalent, those with three are
called trivalent, and those with five are
called pentavalent.
- The term valence is used to indicate that the
potential (ionization potential) required to
remove any one of these electrons from the
atomic structure is significantly lower than
that required for any other electron in the
structure.

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Intrinsic Semiconductors

- In a pure silicon crystal the four valence electrons of

one atom form a bonding arrangement with four
adjoining atoms.
- This bonding of atoms, strengthened by the sharing of
electrons, is called covalent bonding.

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Intrinsic Semiconductor, Behaviour at 0 Kelvin

Acts like an insulator, no free electrons

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Intrinsic Semiconductor, Behaviour at 300 Kelvin

Electrons can jump to conduction band as a result of heat.

A single electron example is given above.

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Intrinsic Semiconductor, Behaviour at 300 Kelvin

- Then we will have freely movable holes which are the

second charge carrier.
- Both electrons and holes are responsible from the
current. (Holes are independently moving, not attracting
electrons) 15
Intrinsic Semiconductor, Behaviour at 300 Kelvin

We can think that band region

Under the electric field (E),
is continuous
Electrons (negative carriers)
and holes (positive carriers) will
move to opposite directions.

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Generation and Recombination In Semiconductors

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Generation and Recombination In Semiconductors

In Copper
We need doping elements
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Extrinsic semiconductors N-type

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Extrinsic semiconductors N-type

Energy Level Of
Phosphorus

At 0 Kelvin.
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Extrinsic semiconductors N-type

Most Of electrons come

from Phosphorus

The material is neutral

Room Temperature.
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 Extrinsic semiconductors N-type

Electrons

Holes

Still two way conductor

Majority carriers – electrons
Minority carriers - holes

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Extrinsic semiconductors P-type

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Extrinsic semiconductors P-type

At 0 Kelvin. At 300 Kelvin.

For electrons, it is easier to
jump to this energy level of boron

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Extrinsic semiconductors P-type

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Extrinsic semiconductors P-type
Holes
Electrons

Still two way conductor

Majority carriers – holes
Minority carriers - electrons

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Minority charge carriers in extrinsic semiconductors

Doping Concentration is very low, therefore we use energy levels instead of

bands for donors and acceptors.
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Minority charge carriers in extrinsic semiconductors

This reduces the

number of holes –
Recombination Rate

The left side of this equation is changed

with temperature, therefore it is fixed
Generation rate
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PN Junction

Boylestad, 11th Edition

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 PN Junction

Combine the P and N type material in a single crystal

- In the centre (at junction) of crystal, holes and electrons will diffuse randomly

- the electrons and the holes in the region of the junction will combine, resulting
in a lack of free carriers in the region near the junction
- the only particles displayed in this region are the positive and the negative ions
remaining once the free carriers have been absorbed

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 PN Junction

Depletion Region = region of uncovered positive and negative ions

- If leads are connected to the ends of each material, a two-terminal device

results.
- Three options then become available: no bias, forward bias, and reverse bias.
- The term bias refers to the application of an external voltage across
the two terminals of the device to extract a response.
- In the no-bias situation there is no external voltage applied.
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 PN Junction
Boylestad, 11 th edition

A p–n junction with no

external bias, an internal
distribution of charge

- Under no-bias conditions, the negative and positive ions located in the depletion
region will stop the transfer of majority carriers, but not all of them.
- Any minority carriers of the n-type material that find themselves in the depletion
region will pass directly into the p-type material.

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 PN Junction

- The majority carriers (electrons) of the n-type material must overcome the
attractive forces of the layer of positive ions in the n-type material and the shield
of negative ions in the p-type material to migrate into the area beyond the
depletion region of the p-type material.
- However, the number of majority carriers is so large in the n-type material that
there will invariably be a small number of majority carriers with sufficient kinetic
energy to pass through the depletion region into the p-type material.
- Again, the same type of discussion can be applied to the majority carriers
(holes) of the p-type material.
Random movement, minority
carriers are sucked into regions

Net Current is Zero

Very few of majority carriers are energetic enough to

overcome the repulsion forces of ions
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Diffusion and Drift Current

Electric Field causes the drift current

Electric Field

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 Barrier Voltage
Voltage is the potential energy change of 1C

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Barrier Voltage

In Silicon 36
Forward biasing a PN junction

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Forward biasing a PN junction

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Forward biasing a PN junction

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Forward biasing a PN junction

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Reverse biasing a PN junction

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Reverse biasing a PN junction

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 Diode Symbol
Boylestad, 11 th edition

Forward bias Reverse bias

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 Forward current mechanism

Recombination creates the forward current (diffusion)

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Reverse current mechanism

Generation creates the reverse current

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PN diode characteristics

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PN breakdown and avalanche

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