Class : XII PHYSICS Semiconductor Devices

SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES
1. Energy Band Theory:
c o n d u c tio n
b and
i) In an isolated atom, electrons are present in
fo rb id d e n e n e r g y
band
sharply defined energy levels. 3s
v a le n c e
band
ii) In solids, atoms are very close to each other. 2p
2p
So, because of their interactions, each electron
2s 2s
doesn't have fixed energy.
1s 1s
iii) Number of closely spaced energy levels in a f o r is o la te d a to m fo r a to m s in s o lid

very small energy range is known as energy band.

iv) The number of energy levels in a band depends upon the number of interacting atoms.
v) Energy band which is containing valence electrons called valence band (VB).
vi) Energy band which is containing conducting (free)electrons called conduction band (CB).
2. Valence band (VB):
i) It is formed by a series of energy levels containing valence electrons.
ii) This band is always fulfill by electrons partially or completely.
iii) Valence band Have bonded electrons.
iv) No flow of current due to electrons in Valence band.
v) Electrons are not capable of gaining energy from external E.field.
3. Conduction band (CB):
i) It is formed by a series of energy levels containing conduction electrons.
ii) It is partially filled by the electrons. In this band, electrons may or may not exist.
iii) The electrons in the conduction band are called the free electrons.
These electrons are able to move any where within the volume of the solid.
iv) Current flows due to free electrons in conduction band.
If conduction band is fully empty, then there current conduction is not possible.
v) In this band the electrons can gain energy from external electric field.

4. Forbidden energy gap ( E g ):

i) The minimum energy required to shift an electron from valence band to conduction band is
called Forbidden energy gap or band gap ( E g )

ii) It is the energy gap between CB and VB.

i.e, Eg  ECB min   EVB max 

iii) No free electron present in forbidden energy gap.

iv) Width of forbidden energy gap depends on nature of substance.
v) Width is more, then valence electrons are strongly attached with nucleus.
vi) As temperature increases, forbidden energy gap decreases (very slightly)
vii) If the energy gap is Eg eV, then the wave length of photon required to exited an electron from
12400
VB to CB is given by  A0
E g (in eV )

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Class : XII PHYSICS Semiconductor Devices
5. Classification of materials:

S.No Properties Conductors Semiconductors Insulators

Electrical high intermediate Low

1.
conductivity (  ) 102 to 108 1m1 105 to 10-6 1m1 10-11 to 10-19 1m1

very low
intermediate high
2. Resistivity    10–2 to 10–8 -m
10-5 to 106 -m 1011 to 1019 -m
(negligible)

Band structure
3.

Small (Eg < 3eV).

Very large (Eg > 3eV)
4. Energy gap Zero or very small Ge  0.7eV
Diamond  6 eV
Si  1.1 eV

Free electrons and

5. Current carries Free electrons No current
holes

Temperature co-efficient
6.   ve   ve   ve
of resistance ()

7. Effect of temperature T  R   T  R   No conduction

Wood, plastic, mica,

8. Examples Metals Ge, Si, GaAs etc.
diamond, glass etc.

Ge ~ 1019 /m3
9. Electron density 1029/m3 —
Si ~ 1016 /m3

6. Example of semiconducting materials.

Elemental semiconductor : Si and Ge
Compound semiconductor : • Inorganic : CdS, GaAs, CdSe, InP etc.
• Organic : Anthracene, Doped pthalocyanines etc.
• Organic polymers : Poly pyrrole, Poly aniline, polythiophene
7. Fermi energy Level:
i) The highest energy level which can be occupied by an
electron in VB at 0K is called fermi level.
ii) At 0K , electrons exists only upto fermi level and all bands above this level are empty.
iii) At room temperature (>0K), due to thermal agitation electrons are in energy level which is
above the fermi level.
8. Acceptor level : The energy level occupied by the hole due to trivalent doping which lies
very close to valance band is called acceptor level.
9. Donor level : The energy level occupied by an electron donated by pentavalent impurity
which lies very close to conduction band is called donar level.

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Class : XII PHYSICS Semiconductor Devices
10. Holes in semiconductors:
i) When electron jumps from VB to CB, a vacancy of electron is created in valence band.
This vacancy (or deficiency) of electron is known as hole or cotter.
ii) It acts as positive charge carrier.
iii) It’s charge is , qhole = + 1.6  10-19 C.
iv) Holes acts as virtual charge and there is no physical charge on it.
v) Effective mass of hole is more than electron. i.e, mh > me

vi) Mobility of holes is less than electron. i.e, h  e

vii) Drift velocity of holes is less than that of electrons. i.e, vh  ve

viii) Holes are available only in VB and moves in the direction of applied electric field.
11. Doping:
i) It is the Process of adding impurity to a pure semiconductor to increase its conductivity.
ii) Added impurities are called dopants.
iii) Types of dopants: There are two types of dopants used in doping the tetravalent Si or Ge.
a) Pentavalent(valency 5) atoms. Ex: Arsenic(As) , Atimony(Sb) , Phosphorus(P) , etc..
b) Trivalent (valency 3) atoms. Ex: Indium (In), Boron(B), Aluminium (Al),etc...
12. Effect on temperature on semiconductor:
i) It’s temperature coefficient of Resistivity is negative.
ii) When temperature is increased , more valance electrons cross the band gap and number of
electron– hole pairs increases.
iii) Number of electrons(n) reaching from VB to CB at absolute temperature T is given by
 Eg / 2 kT
n  A T 3/ 2 e

A= constant, Eg = band gap, k = Boltz’man constant, T = absolute temperature

iv) If temperature increases, then
No.of covalent bonds breaking  increases
No.of Charge carriers  increases
Conductivity , current  increases
Drift speed, mobility, Resistivity, Resistance  decreases
v) Absolute zero kelvin temperature (T = 0K) Above absolute temperature (T > 0K)
At this temperautre , covalent bonds are very With increase in temperature few
strong and there are no free electrons and valence electrons jump into CB and
semiconductor behaves as perfect insulator. hence it behaves as poor conductor.
hole free e–

Si Si Si Si
Si Si Si Si

Si Si Si Si
Si Si Si Si

Si Si Si Si
Si Si Si Si

at 0 K
at high temperature
Valence band fully filled Valence band partially empty
Conduction band fully empty Conduction band partially filled

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Class : XII PHYSICS Semiconductor Devices
13. Types of Semiconductors:
Semiconductor

Intrinsic semiconductor Extrinsic semiconductor (doped semicondutor)

(pure form of Ge, Si)

ne = nh = ni N-type P-type
pentavalent impurity trivalent impurity
(Ga, B, In, Al)
(P, As, Sb etc.)
donar impurity (ND) acceptor impurity (NA)
ne >> nh nh >> ne

14. Intrinsic semiconductor:

i) It is a pure form of semiconductor.
ii) Crystalline structure with covalent bonding [Face centred cubic (FCC)].
iii) The atoms of pure semiconductors are tetravalent (generally). Ex: Si , Ge
iv) They have four electrons in the outermost orbit of atom and atoms are held together by
covalent bonds .
v) Carbon is treated as a insulator, because it’s forbidden energy gap is very large. i.e, 5.54eV
–
hole free e

Si Si Si
Si Si Si

Si Si Si Si Si Si Si

At 0 Kelvin At > 0 Kelvin

vi) Forbidden energy gap : 0.1 eV to 3 eV

Ex: Ge  0.72eV ; Si  1.1eV ; GaAs  1.42eV
vii) Charge carriers : Free electrons and holes
viii) Charge : Electrically neutral
ix) Quantity of charge carriers : No.of electrons = No.of holes
x) Fermi energy level : It lies at the middle of the forbidden band.
xi) At 0 Kelvin temperature, Pure semiconductor behaves as an insulator.
xii) As temperature increases,
conduction also increases, but resistance
decreases.
xiii) At room temperature, due to less number
of charge carriers , intrinsic
semiconductors have low conductivity.
so they have no practical use.
xiv) In silicon, at room temperature,
out of 1012 Si atoms only one electron
goes from VB to CB.
xv) In germanium, at room temperature, out of 109 Ge atoms only one electron goes from VB to CB.

xvi) In intrinsic semiconductor, ni  ne  nh

here, ne = Electron density in C.B ; nh = Hole density in V.B ; ni = Density of intrinsic carriers.

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Class : XII PHYSICS Semiconductor Devices

15. Extrinsic semiconductors:

i) It is impure form of semiconductor.
ii) The process of adding impurity is called Doping and impurity atoms are called dopants and its
order is approximately 100 ppm (parts per million).
iii) The doping ratio varies from
impure : pure : 1 : 106 to 1 : 1010. In general, it is 1 : 108
iv) Due to impurity, the conductivity increases approximately 105 times.
v) Types of extrinsic semiconductor:i) N-type semiconductor ii) P-type semiconductor
a) N-type semiconductor:
i) It is formed by doping of pure semiconductor (Si or Ge) with a pentavalent impurity (nitrogen,
phosphorus, arsenic, antimony and bismuth).
ii) Pentavalent impurities are called donar impurities.
thermally
–
generated e
Si As Si Si

thermally
generated hole
Si Si Si Si
–
donar e

Si Si As

iii) Charge : Electrically neutral.

iv) Charge carriers : Free electrons and holes
v) Quantity of charge carriers : Majority – electrons
Minority – holes . i.e, ne >> nh

vi) Current : Mainly due to electrons. i.e I  I e  I h  I e  ne eAve

vii) Conductivity : Mainly due to electrons. i.e,    e   h   e  ne ee

viii) Donor energy level : just lies below the conduction band.
ix) Fermi energy level : just lies below the conduction band.

x) Intrinsic charge carrier density, ni  ne nh  or  ni 2  ne nh  Mass Action Law

ne= electron density ; nh= hole density ,

ni = intrinsic charge carrier density ( density of electrons or holes in pure semiconductor and
is called intrinsic concentrton)
b) P-type semiconductor:
i) When a pure semiconductor(Si or Ge) is doped with a trivalent imurity (boron, aluminium,
gallium and indium), P- type semiconductor is formed
ii) Trivalent imurity atom is called acceptor impurity.
Extra hole created by
acceptor impurity atom

thermally
–
generated e
Si Al– Si Si

thermally
generated hole
Si Si Si Si

Al– Si Si Al–

P-type semiconducting crystal

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Class : XII PHYSICS Semiconductor Devices
iii) Charge : : Electrically neutral.
iv) Charge carriers: : Free electrons and holes
v) Quantity of charge carriers : Majority – holes
Minority – electrons; i.e, nh >> ne

vi) Current : Mainly due to holes. i.e, I  I e  I h  I h  nh eAvh

vii) Conductivity : Mainly due to holes. i.e,    e   h   h  nh eh

viii) Acceptor energy level : just lies above the valence band.
ix) Fermi energy level : just lies above the valence band.

x) Intrinsic charge carrier density, ni  ne nh  or  ni 2  ne nh  Mass Action Law

(ne= electron density, nh= hole density , ni = intrinsic charge carrier density)
Note: ni depends only on the nature of semiconductor material and temperature, it does not
depend on the doping level.
16. Conductivity : N-type > P-type > Intrinsic semi conductors.

ne  ne 
i) With the increase of temperature, the ratio n for n-type decreases, but  n  1
h  h 

ne  ne 
ii) With the increase of temperature, the ratio n for p-type increases, but  n  1 
h  h 
17. Current and conductivity in conductors:
i) Current : I  neAvd (Due to only electrons)
I 
ii) Current density : J  nevd
A A

vd
iii) Mobility : 
E
J E= V

iv) Conductivity :   ne
E
1 1 V
v) Resistivity :  
 ne
Notations: e = charge of electron. ; vd = drift speed of electrons.
A = Area of cross section of conductors. ; E = E.field across conductor.
n = electron density or No.of electrons per unit volume.
18. Current and conductivity in Semi conductors:

i) Current : I  I e  I h  ne eAve  nh eAvh (Due to electrons and holes )

I
ii) Current density : J  ne eve  nh evh
A

iii) Conductivity :   ne ee  nh e h

1 1
iv) Resistivity :  
 ne e e  nh e h

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Class : XII PHYSICS Semiconductor Devices

19. P-N Junction Diode:

i) In a single Ge (or) Si crystal by doping one part with trivalent impurity and the other part with
pentavalent impurity , a P-N junction is formed.
ii) P region has mobile majority holes and immobile negatively charged impurity ions.
N region has mobile majority free electrons and immobile positively charged impurity ions.
– +
p n

hole free electron

deplition layer
y
e

iii) Diffusion:
Due to concentration difference , Near the junction, the free electrons in p-region migrate
towards p-region and the holes in p-region migrate towards N-region. This process is known
as diffusion.
This motion of charge carries gives rise to diffusion current across the junction. i.e,P to N.
iv) Due to diffusion, positive ions are left over in n-region and negative ions are left over in p-
region,near the junction. These ions are immobile.
v) Due to the immobile ions on either side of the junction, an internal electric field is formed at
the junction which is directed from N-region to P - region.
vi) During diffusion,magnitude of E.field increases, due to this field , diffusion gradually decreases.
vii) Depletion region: The layer of immobile positive and negative ions, which have no free
electrons and holes called as depletion layer.
a) Width of depletion layer  1 m

1
b) Depletion layer 
Dopping

i.e, As doping increases, width of depletion layer decreases.

c) Depletion layer is directly proportional to temperature.
d) P-N junction diode  nonohmic, due to nonlinear relation between I and V.

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Class : XII PHYSICS Semiconductor Devices

viii) Potential barrier (or) Contact Potential:

The potential difference created across the P-N junction due to the diffusion of electrons and
holes is called potential barrier or contact potential. This potential difference tends to
prevent the movement of electron from the N - region into the P- region.
a) Potential barrier value lies in between 0.1 V to 0.7 V.
Ex: Si  0.7 V ; Ge  0.3 V
b) Potential barrier depends on, i) nature of semiconductor
ii) doping concentration
iii) temperature of the junction.
VB
ix) Strength of junction field, E 
d
This field prevents the respective majority carriers from crossing barrier region.
Direction of E : From N to P-side.
x) On the average, the potential barrier height in PN junction is  0.5 V and the width of the
depletion region  1 m or 10–6 m. Then, barrier electric field is

VB 0.5
E   5  105 V / m
d 10 6
xi) P-N junction diode is equivalent to capacitor in which the depletion layer acts as a dielectric.
xii) P-N junction diode is a non-ohmic device.
20. Drift and diffuson currents :
i) Diffusion current:
Due to the concentration gradient, across p and n-sides, holes diffuse from p-side to n-side
and electrons diffuse from n-side to p-side. The movement of these charge carriers across the
junction causes a current. This current is called diffusion current.
Direction of Diffusion current: P to N -side
ii) Drift current:
Due to internal electrical field, an electron on P-side of the junction moves to N-side and a
hole on N-side of the junction moves to P-side. The motion of charge carriers due to the
electric field is called drift. Thus a drift current flows, which is opposite in direction to the
diffusion current.
Direction of Drift current: N to P-side.
iii) Initially, diffusion current is large and drift current is small. As the diffusion process continues,
the space-charge regions on either side of the junction extend, thus increasing the electric
field strength and hence drift current.
This process continues until the diffusion current equals the drift current.
iv) At equilibrium condition, If there is no biasing , then
|diffusion current| = |drift current| , So, total current is zero.

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Class : XII PHYSICS Semiconductor Devices
21. Biasing of a diode:
Biasing:
Forward Bias Reverse Bias

1.

P-side : High potential P-side : Low potential

2.
N-side: Low potential N-side: High potential

3.

4. Width of the depletion layer decrease. Width of the depletion layer increases.
Current is mainly due to majority charge Current is mainly due to minority charge
5.
carriers. carriers.
order of current is in  A or nA
6. order of current is in mA
Ge  in A , Si  in nA
Resistance offered by the diode: Resistance offered by the diode:
Normal Diode: small Normal Diode: high
Ideal Diode : Zero Ideal Diode: infinity (  )
7.

8. Potential Barrier decreases. Potential Barrier Increases.

Effective barrier potential = V  VB
9. V = External applied voltage Effective barrier potential = V + VB
VB = Barrier potential

10. 1  VB without battery

2  VB when low voltage battery connected 1  VB is without battery ,
3  VB when high voltage battery 2  VB when voltage battery connected
connected
Cut-in (Knee) voltage : Breakdown voltage:
11.
Ge  0.3 V ; Si  0.7 V. Ge  25 V ; Si  35 V
Forward characteristic curve:

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Class : XII PHYSICS Semiconductor Devices

Forward characteristic curve:

Reverse characteristic curve:

12.

Forward resistance: Reverse resistance

13. V f V
RF   100 RB  B  106 
I f I B
Diode behaves as a conductor when it is In reverse bias, the flow of current through diode
forward biased. is mainly drift current.

a) If E < VB, then current (i) = 0

b) If E > VB, then
14. i) Net potential = E  VB
E  VB
ii) Current in circuit, i 
R  rf
Where R = external resistance,
rf = Resistance of diode in FB
c) Power developed across the diode = VB i
Power developed across the resistor =
 E  VB  i
14. I-V Characteristics of a junction diode:

22. The potential barrier existing across an unbiased p-n junction is VB volt . Then
i) The minimum K.E required by a hole to diffuse from the p-side to the n-side is ' eVB '
ii) If the junction is forward biased at V volt, then the minimum K.E required by a hole to diffuse
from the p-side to the n-side is e VB  V 
iii) If the junction is reverse biased at V volt, then the minimum K.E required by a hole to diffuse
from the p-side to the n-side is e VB  V 
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Class : XII PHYSICS Semiconductor Devices

24. Breakdown mechanism:

i) The current under reverse bias is essentially voltage independent upto a critical reverse bias
voltage, known as breakdown voltage (Vbr). When V = Vbr, the diode reverse current increases
sharply. Even a slight increase in the bias voltage causes large change in the current. This
phenomena is known as Breakdown.
ii) Breakdown voltage is depends on the width of the depletion region.
iii) Types of break down:
Zener breakdown Avalanche breakdown

This phenomena takes place, when This phenomena takes place, when

1. a) P–N junction is "High doping" a) P – N junction having "Low doping"

b) P–N junction having thin depletion layer. b) P – N junction having thick depletion layer

Covalent bonds of depletion layer are broken

Due to very high electric field, Covalent
by collision of minority electrons which
2. bonds in depletion layer, itself break and
acquire high kinetic energy from high electric
generates excess electron-hole pairs.
field of very-very high reverse bias voltage.

3. Breakdown voltage is very small. Breakdown voltage is very high.

P – N junction does not damage permanently P – N junction damages permanently due

4. "In D.C voltage stabilizer , zener phenomena to abruptly increment of minorities during
is used" repeatative collisions.

25. Zener diode:

i) The heavily doped P-N junction diode which has sharp breakdown voltage when operated in
the reverse bias condition is called Zener diode.

ii) Circuit symbol :

iii) Uses: a) Voltage regulators b) Peak clippers c) Calibrating voltages

iv) In Forward bias, it behaves like normal diode.
26. Zener diode as a voltage regulator:
i) It maintains a constant output voltage, even when input voltage Vi or load current IL varies.
ii) If input voltage fluctuations occur, the series resistance 'RS' controls the output voltage
fluctuations, so as to maintain constant voltage across the load.
iii) If Vs is the voltage across the series resistance Rs I
>
n Iz
>

IL
>

and Vz is the zener voltage, then +

V in- p Vz RL VO
Vin  Vs  VZ  Vs  Vin  VZ and VZ  V0  I L RL

iv) The current passing through the zener diode is,

Vin  VZ VZ
I  IZ  IL , IZ  I  IL , IZ  
Rs RL

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Class : XII PHYSICS Semiconductor Devices

27. P-N Junction Diode as a Rectifier:

i) Rectification: It is the process of converting an AC to DC.
ii) Rectifier: Device which is used to convert an AC to a DC is called rectifier.
a) Half wave rectifier
Secondry Voltage

S1 A S1 A
D D Input
A.C. Supply RL A.C. Supply RL

B B
S2 S2 Output

For positive half cycle For negative half cycle

During positive half cycle: Diode  FB , current flows through RL , ouput obtained.
During negative half cycle: Diode  RB, current does not flow through RL,ouput not obtained.
b) Full wave rectifier:

D1 D1 Secondry Voltage

S1 S1 Input
B A B A
A. C. Supply A. C. Supply
RL RL D1 D2 D1 D2 D1 D2 D1

S2 S2
Output
For positive half cycle D2 For negative half cycle D2

During positive half cycle: D1  FB, D2  RB ,Current flows through RL , ouput obtained.
During negative half cycle: D1  RB, D2  FB ,Current flows through RL , ouput obtained.
c) Full wave bridge Rectifier:
This circuit consists of four diodes D1, D2, D3 and D4.

D2
D1 Input
RL
D1,D4 D2,D3 D1,D4 D2,D3 D1,D4
D3 D4 Output

During Positive half cycle: During Negative half cycle:

D1,D4  FB , these are conduct current D1, D4  RB, these are not conduct current.
D2,D3  RB, these are not conduct current D2, D3  FB, these are conduct current.
Output signal: obtained due to D1,D4 only Output signal: obtained due to D2,D4 only.

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28. Comparision of Half and Full wave rectifier:

S.No Half wave Rectifier Full wave Rectifier
1. No.of Diodes used 1 2
It rectifies only half of It rectifies both the
2. Rectification
the ac input wave cycles of input ac wave
Input frequency = n Input frequency = n
3. Frequency
ripple frequency = n ripple frequency = 2n
Efficiency, i 2R 0.406 RL
  2 dc L  idc 2 RL 0.812 RL
 output power dc irms  rf  RL  rf  RL  
4.  irms 2
r f  RL  rf  RL
 input power ac RL = Load resistance
rf = Forward resistance of diode
Max.efficiency for max  40.6%  max  81.2%
5.
ideal diode
Average value (or) i0
,
V0 2i0
,
2V0
6.
DC value    
i0 V0 i0 V0
7. rms value , ,
2 2 2 2
Ripple factor =
2
8. iac i  1.21 0.48
  rms   1
idc  idc 
irms  
9. Form factor =
idc 2 2 2

29. Capacitor Filter:

When the voltage across the capacitor is rising, it gets charge. If there is no external load, it
remains charged to the peak voltage of the rectified output. When there is a load, it gets
discharged through the load and the voltage across it begins to fall. In the next half-cycle of
rectified output it again gets charged to the peak value but due to large value of time constant
of capacitor, voltage across the capacitor approximate remains constant.
A full-wave rectifier with capacitor filter:

DC

AC + DC
AC C RL
output of rectifier output

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Class : XII PHYSICS Semiconductor Devices
30. Optoelectronic devices:
a) Light Emitting Diode (LED) :

i) LED is a p-n junction diode which emits visible or invisible light.

ii) It converts electrical energy into light energy.
iii) It is operated in forward bias.
iv) when LED is forward biased, then electrons move from N  P and holes move from P  N.
At the junction boundary, these are recombined. On recombination, energy is released in the
form of photons of energy equal to or slightly less than the band gap.
hc
v) The wavelength of emitted Photon is given by   E
gap

v) When the forward current of the diode is small, the intensity of light emitted is small.
As the forward current increases, intensity of light increases and reaches a maximum.
Further increase in the forward current results in decrease of light intensity.
vi) LEDs are biased in such a way that the light emitting efficiency should be maximum.
vi) For Si, Ge, the wavelength falls in IR region. So, these cannot be used in making LED bulbs.
vii) To form LED, semiconductors are to be used which have band gap from 1.8 eV to 3 eV.
Hence GaAs1–x Px is used in forming LED.
viii) The colour of the light is determined by the energy band gap of the material.

b) Photodiode:
i) A p-n junction diode which converts an optical signal into electric current.

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Class : XII PHYSICS Semiconductor Devices

ii) The operation of photodiode is exactly opposite to that of an LED.

iii) Photo diode works in reverse bias.
iv) When light of energy " hv’' ( > energy gap) falls on the photodiode, then electron-hole pairs are
generated.
v) Due to the electric field of the junction, electrons and holes are separated , and electrons
reach n-side and holes reach p-side.
vi) Electrons are collected on n-side and holes are collected on p-side giving rise to an emf.
When an external load is connected, current flows.
vii) Photo current is praportional to the incident light intensity.
i.e, light intensity is increased, the photo current goes on increasing.
viii) It is used as photo detector "to detect light intensity".
c) Solar cell :

i) It converts light energy into electrical energy.

ii) It is simply a photo diode operated at zero bias voltage.
iii) A p-n junction which generates emf when solar radiation falls on it, called solar cell.
iv) It works on the same principle (photovoltaic effect) as the photodiode.
v) A p-Si wafer of about 300 m is taken over which a thin layer (  0.3 m ) of n-Si is grown on
one-side by diffusion process. The other side of p-Si is coated with a metal (back contact).
On the top of n-Si layer, metal finger electrode (or metallic grid) is deposited. This acts as a
front contact.
The metallic grid occupies only a very small fraction of the cell area (<15%) so that light can
be incident on the cell from the top.
vi) when light falls on solar cell, emf generated, due to three basic processes.
i.e, generation, separation and collection
a) generation of e-h pairs due to light (with hv > Eg ).
b) Separation of electrons and holes due to electric field of the depletion region.
Electrons are move to n-side and holes move to p-side by the junction electric field.
c) The electrons reaching the n-side are collected by the front contact and holes reaching p side
are collected by the back contact.
Thus p-side becomes positive and n-side becomes negative giving rise to photovoltage.
vii) Solar cells are widely used in calculators, watches, toys, portable power supplies, etc.
Solar cells are used in satellites and space applications.
Solar panels are used to generate electricity.

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