UNIT 9

ELECTRONIC DEVICES
Semiconductors have created a revolution in the electronics industry. Let’s take
the example of computers only. Twenty to Thirty years back, the computer used to
be a huge device occupying almost an entire room. Nobody could have thought of
the "Personal computer" what has become so common today. We now even have
smaller devices like the laptop and tablet PC. All this has become possible
because of the advancement in the semiconductor technology. If the technology
goes on advancing at the same pace, it would be difficult to predict where we would
reach after ten years!

Semiconductors
These are materials which have resistivity in between that of conductors and
insulators. These materials have gained very high importance and most of the
electronic components today are made of semiconductors.
1. Semiconductors are of different type
2. Elemental semiconductors: Si and Ge
3. Compound semiconductors:
 Inorganic: CdS, GaAs.
 Organic: Anthracene, Doped pthalocyanines, etc.
 Organic polymers: Polypyrrole, polyaniline etc.
We will restrict our study to elemental semiconductors like Silicon and Germanium.
The first thing that we need to study is the energy band theory.

Energy Band Theory

Consider the case of N isolated Silicon atoms. Silicon has an electronic
configuration of Is2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p2. Each atom has discrete energy levels which
are clearly separated from each other. Consider only the outermost shell i.e. the
3rd shell (having 3s2 3p2). There are 6N available states in the "3p" level out of
which 2N are occupied. There are 2N available states in the "3s" level and all of
these 2N states are fully occupied. In all there are 8N states in the outermost orbit
out of which 4N are occupied.

When these atoms start coming nearer to each

other to form a solid, the energies of the
electrons in the outermost orbit changes due to
the interaction between the electrons of
different atoms. The "3p" energy level which
originally had identical energy in the isolated
atoms starts spreading out and forms an
energy band. Similarly, the "3s" energy level,
having identical energies in the isolated atoms,
splits into a second band separated from the
first one by an energy gap.

At still smaller spacing, the two bands seem to merge and there appears to be no
energy gap between them and the upper and lower energy states get mixed.
Finally, if the distance between the atoms further decreases, the energy bands
again split apart and are separated by an energy gap.

The band having higher energy is called as the "Conduction band" and the band
with lower energy is called "Valence band". The total number of available energy
states 8N has been re-distributed between the two bands (4N states each in the
VB and 4N states in the CB).

The energy gap between the top of valence band and the bottom of conduction
band is called as the forbidden energy gap or the "band gap". Electrons can either
exist in the VB or CB and no electron can exist in the forbidden gap. In silicon, the
4N electrons fully occupy the VB while the CB is totally empty.
* Electrical conduction in a material is possible due to electrons present in the
conduction band. Since in the case of silicon, there are no electrons in the CB, so
there will be no electrical conduction. As such silicon will behave as an insulator.
But, if we provide energy (in the form of heat, light etc.) then we can excite the
electrons from VB to CB. For this we need to provide energy equal to or more than
the band gap. Once the electrons get to the CB then material will start electricity
conduction.
hc 1240
Remember E   . This gives us the relation between the energy gap and
 
the wavelength.
Difference between Conductors / Insulators and Semiconductors on the basis of
band theory
We will now state basic difference between these materials based on the energy
band diagram.
Insulators Semiconductors Conductors
Materials which have Materials with a small There can be two cases in case of
an empty CB and the band gap such that conductors
band gap is very electrons can easily 1. The VB and CB will overlap and hence
large. As a result get excited to CB and electrons can easily move to the CB and
electrons cannot be it can conduct material will conduct electricity.
excited from VB to CB electricity. 2. The CB is already partially filled so that
and it does not the material will easily conduct electricity.
conduct electricity. Eg: Iron, Copper
Eg: Carbon Eg: Silicon

Intrinsic Semiconductors
A pure semiconductor without any impurity is called as intrinsic semiconductor.
Consider the case of pure silicon. Each atom has 4 electrons in the VB and the CB
is empty. Each of these 4 electrons takes part in covalent bonding with the
neighboring silicon atom forming a sheet like structure. The number of electrons in
the CB is zero and material does not conduct electricity.

Consider that the material is provided with Energy

sufficient to excite the electron from VB to CB. When
an electron gets excited to CB, it leaves a vacancy in
the VB. This vacancy of the electron in the VB acts as
a seat of positive charge and is called as a "hole".
We define a quantity called as ne = number of electrons
in the CB

We define a quantity called as nh = number of holes in the VB

For an intrinsic semiconductor, there will always be the condition that ne = nh. This
value is also called as the intrinsic carrier concentration ni.
Electricity Conduction
The electricity conduction in a semiconductor is due to the presence of
1. Electrons in the conduction band
2. Holes in the Valence band

It is important to note that the current carriers are electrons as well as holes. The
material will conduct electricity if either of the above two (or both) is present. The
current in the material will be given by the equation I = IE + IH.
Electrons in the CB have higher mobility than the holes in the VB. As a result the
contribution to total current is more due to the electrons of the CB. We can also
say that the electrons in the CB have higher drift velocity as compared to the holes
in the VB.

CRYSTAL STRUCTURE AND ENERGY BAND DIAGRAM

Doping
It is the process of deliberate addition of impurities to an otherwise pure
semiconductor. Doping is done to modify the properties of the pure semiconductor
(usually to increase the conductivity). Generally doping is done in very small
quantity (given in ppm or parts per million). For example if we say that Silicon is
doped with Boron at a concentration of 4ppm then it means that for every million
silicon atoms, there will be four boron atoms. Doping is usually done with an
impurity which has similar size as that of the semiconductor. Doping can be done
by

1. Adding the impurity in the molten form of the semiconductor

2. Heating the semiconductor to high temperature in an atmosphere of
impurity atoms
 3. Diffusion process

Extrinsic Semiconductor
The semiconductor obtained after doping is an impure semiconductor. It contains
some amount of impurity atoms. This is called as Extrinsic Semiconductor. These
have much higher conductivity that the pure ones. While doping, the impurity can
be of two types

1. Pentavalent impurity: It belongs to group 15 of periodic table like Nitrogen,

Phosphorus, Sb or As.

2. Trivalent impurity: It belongs to group 13 like Boron, Aluminium or Indium.

When we dope with a pentavalent impurity, we get an "n-type" semiconductor while

with a trivalent impurity we get a "p-type" semiconductor. The major differences
b/w them are listed below.

n-type semiconductor p-type semiconductor

1 It is a semiconductor obtained It is a semiconductor obtained by doping
by doping an intrinsic an intrinsic semiconductor with a
semiconductor with a Trivalent impurity (from Group 13)
Pentavalent impurity (from
Group 15)
2 The dopant atom provides one The dopant atom has one less electron
extra electron and a new energy and a new energy level is developed just
level is developed just below the above the valence band. This new level
conduction band. This is called
 as the Donor energy level (0.01 is called as the Acceptor energy level
eV below CB) (0.01 eV above VB)

3 The electrons act as majority The holes act as majority carriers and
carriers and the holes act as the electrons act as minority carriers
minority carriers ne>> nh ne<< nh
 N TYPE SEMICONDUCTOR

In an extrinsic semiconductor, the electron density and hole density are not equal
but the below relation holds true. ne  nh  ni where ni is the intrinsic carrier
2

concentration.

It is also important to note that the crystal maintains an overall charge neutrality as
the charge of additional charge carriers is just equal and opposite to that of the
ionised cores in the lattice. This means that on the whole, an n-type or p-type
(semiconductor is still electrically neutral. In n-type, for each extra donor
electron in the lattice, there is an extra proton in the donor nucleus. Similarly for p-
type, the electron deficiency is compensated by a corresponding proton deficiency
in the acceptor nucleus.

Diode / pn junction
A pn junction is a boundary between a p-type semiconductor and an n-type
semiconductor formed inside the same single crystal. A pn junction can be
obtained by doping a p-type semiconductor on one side by pentavalent impurity.
This would create an n-type region on that side. The boundary b/w n and p would
be called as the pn junction.
It is important to note that we will NOT obtain a pn junction by joining two separate
pieces (one p-type and one n-type). In this case there will a grain boundary which
will not allow the flow of carriers. Hence, both p-type and n-type are produced in
the same semiconductor crystal.

Now this arrangement is called as a

"DIODE". The diagram and symbol are
shown on the right side. We will see
later that the diode is the basic building
block of many other semiconductor
devices. Today these diodes are widely
used in the electronics industry.

When a pn junction in initially formed,

the electrons and holes on either side of
the junction will recombine with each
other. The electrons diffuse from n side
to p side and the holes diffuse from p
side to n side. As a result a space
charge region is formed on both sides
of the junction that has been depleted of its free charge carriers. This is called as
the depletion region. Its width is around 0.1 micrometer.
* Since the n side has lost electrons, it has become a positive space charge region
while the p side has gained electrons so it has become a negative space charge
region.

Due to this space charge (positive charge on n side and negative charge on p
side), an electric field is produced in the depletion region. This is direction from n-
side (positively charged) to p-side (negatively charged). This is called as the
Barrier Electric field.

Due to this electric field, the potential on the n-side is high while the potential on
the p-side is low. Hence there is a potential difference between the two sides (p
side and n side) across the pn junction. This is called as the Barrier Potential and
is shown by the above graph.

Now there are two simultaneous processes in a pn junction

1. Diffusion current: Due to the concentration difference, the electrons tend to
move from n-side to p-side while the holes tend to move from p-side to n-
side. This movement of charge carriers is called as diffusion. Initially due to
diffusion, the depletion region gets formed.
2. Drift current: After the initial movement, the depletion region is formed and
the carrier electric field is setup. The direction of electric field is such that it
will oppose the further diffusion of electrons. The electric field forces the
electrons from p-side to "go-back" to the n-side and similarly it forces the
holes from n-side to "go-back" to the p-side. Since this electric field prevents
the recombination of electrons and holes, it is termed as "Barrier electric
field". This movement of charge carriers in case of drift is opposite to the
diffusion and it called as the drift current.

In a pn junction, the drift current is equal and opposite to the diffusion current.
Hence after the depletion region is formed, there is no further net movement and
the net current is zero.

Biasing of a pn junction
When an external voltage is applied across the pn junction, it is called as biasing.
It can be of two types:
Forward Biasing:
It is when the positive terminal of the battery is connected to the p-side and the
negative terminal is connected to the n-side of the diode. (There is matching
polarity)
The positive terminal on the p-side would repel the holes and make them move,
towards the junction. Similarly, the negative terminal on the n-side would repel the
electrons and make them move towards the
junction. This would reduce the width of the
depletion region.
As a result, the potential barrier would also
reduce (as shown in the graph). As the forward
bias voltage is increase, a time would come
when the depletion region would not exist and
the potential barrier would become zero. At this
stage, there can be easy diffusion of electrons
and holes and hence current would flow. The
forward bias voltage at which the potential
barrier becomes zero and current starts flowing
in the diode is called as the KNEE VOLTAGE or
threshold voltage or Cut-in voltage. We can say
that in FB, depletion region reduces so current
can easily flow. Hence the diode offers low
resistance during FB.
Reverse Biasing:
It is when the positive terminal of the battery is connected to the n-side and the
negative terminal is connected to the p-side of the
diode. (There is un-matching polarity)
The positive terminal on the n-side would attract the
electrons and make them move back from the
junction. Similarly, the negative terminal on the p-
side would attract the electrons and make them
move back from the junction. This would increase
the width of the depletion region. As a result, the
potential barrier would also increase (as shown in
graph). Since in this case, the depletion region is
increasing, there would be negligible amount of
current. The diode offers very high resistance to the
flow of current.
At one stage when reverse biasing is very high, we
see that there is a sudden rise in the current. This
voltage is called as the ZENER VOLTAGE or the reverse breakdown voltage.
At this point, the diode gets permanently damaged due to overheating hence care
must be taken not to reverse bias a diode to such high voltage otherwise it will get
permanently damaged. (* Reason discussed under Zener diode)

Current - Voltage (IV) characteristics of a

diode
The adjacent graph shows the combined IV
characteristics of a diode during FB as well
as RB. We can see that diode allows
current during FB (in mA) while in RB the
current is negligible (in  A).
*We do not consider the case of sudden
current flowing in RB as in this case the diode will get damaged.
ΔV
We define the dynamic resistance of a diode as R d 
ΔI
Applications of a diode
Diodes are widely used in the electronics industry. Some application / special
purpose diodes are:
1. Rectifier (HW + FW) 2. Light Emitting Diode
3. Zener Diode 4. Photodiode
5. Solar Cell

Half Wave Rectifier

We know that in alternating current, the direction of current keeps changing. A
circuit which makes the current flow only in one direction is called as a rectifier.
The figure on the right shows the half wave rectifier, the alternating input the
rectified output. Note that the output is only in one direction and hence rectified.
Let us understand how this works
During the positive half cycle of AC i.e. when the
polarity at "A" is positive, the diode will be forward
biased and will allow current to flow. Current will
flow in load and we will get output voltage.
During the negative half cycle of AC i.e. when the
polarity of "A" is negative, the diode will be reverse
biased and we will not obtain current in the load.
Hence the output will only correspond to the
positive half cycles of AC. The output frequency is
same as the input frequency.

* A step down transformer is used to reduce the

input AC voltage so that the diode does not get
damaged when reverse biased.
Full Wave Rectifier
This circuit gives output for both; the positive
half cycle as well as the negative half cycle.
For the positive half cycle when the polarity at
"A" is positive, the diode Dl gets forward
biased while D2 is reverse biased. The
current in the output is coming through Dl and
we get an output voltage across the load.
During the negative half cycle of AC, the
polarity at "B" will be positive and D2 will be FB while Dl will be RB. As a result, current
will be through D2 while Dl will not conduct. Again we will obtain output voltage across
the load.
The same process goes on repeating. Hence the output is full wave rectified and it
has a frequency double of the input frequency.

Filter Circuit
The rectified voltage is in the form of pulses.
Though it is unidirectional it does not have a
steady value. To get steady dc output, a
capacitor is connected across the output
terminals (parallel to the load RL).
One can also use an inductor in series with RL
for the same purpose. Since these additional
circuits appear to filter out the ac ripple and give
a pure dc voltage, so they are called filter circuits.

Such circuits use large capacitors to have a large time constant (RC)