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A semiconductor is a substance whose resistivity lies between that of a conductor and an insulator. The resistance of a semiconductor decreases as the temperature increases.
Conduction in semiconductors
A Si atom has 4 electrons in its outermost shell. In a piece of Si at low temp. (near 0 K) each of these electrons forms covalent bonds with 4 other Si atoms
As the temp. of the semiconductor is increased, these electrons gain more energy. Some gain enough energy to break free of their bonds, and wander through the piece of material. Once an electron moves out of a bond, it leaves behind a hole in that bond
This hole is positive, and so can attract nearby electrons which then move out of their bond etc. Thus, as electrons move in one direction, holes effectively move in the other direction
The difference between conduction in metals and semiconductors, in metals conduction is due solely to movement of electrons, in semiconductors it is due to movement of negative electrons and positive holes.
Intrinsic semiconductors
When conduction in a semiconductor is due to electrons moving from - to + and an equal no. of holes moving from + to -, it is called intrinsic conduction
The resistance of an intrinsic semiconductor, even at room temp. is quite high
(b) Shine light on surface. When light shines on some semiconductors, (e.g. cadmium sulphide) it gives sufficient energy to the valence electrons for them to break free of their bonds, and so increases conduction. Such a semiconductor is called an LDR (Light Dependent Resistor)
Its resistance varies from several M in darkness, to 100 in daylight-used in automatic streetlight circuits
(c ) Adding small amounts of impurities to the semiconductor can also effect its conduction. This process is known as doping
Doping
Si has 4 valence electrons. B has 3 valence electrons. If a small amount of B is introduced into the Si lattice, at each location that a B atom occurs in the bond, there will be one electron missing, in other words, a positive hole exists.
This means that even before you raise the temperature there are already holes in existence, which, if a voltage is applied across the material,it will cause conduction to occur.
Thus, in a semiconductor doped with B, there are more holes than electrons. Positive holes are thus the majority charge carriers, and the system is called a p-type semiconductor
N-type semiconductors
If, instead, the semiconductor has small quantities of phosphorus (which has 5 valence electrons) added to it, then at each location where P occurs, there is an extra electron.
Thus the semiconductor has more electrons than holes. The electrons are the majority charge carriers and the system is called an ntype semiconductor
Extrinsic conduction
-increased conduction due to the presence of impurity elements is called extrinsic conduction
It is important to note that even though there are extra FREE electrons or holes, the piece of material is still electrically neutral. Overall there are still the same TOTAL no. of electrons as protons
P-N Junction
If a piece of p-type an n-type semiconductors are placed next to each other, at the boundary some of the electrons from the n-type jump to the boundary to fill some of the holes in the ptype.
Effects: Firstly, the p-type has now gained extra electrons, and so is negatively charged. Similarly the n-type is now positively charged. Thus there is a voltage across the material this is known as the junction voltage. For Si the junction voltage =0.6V, for germanium = 0.2V
Depletion layer
Also, at the boundary region (junction) there are no free electrons and no holes (as they have cancelled each other) Thus, in this region there are no free charge carriers, so no conduction can occur. This insulating layer is called the depletion layer
PN junction (diode)
A popular semiconductor device called a diode is made by joining p- and n-type semiconductor materials
Symbol
P type
N type
PN junction (diode)
In order to get current to flow through the diode it is necessary to break down the depletion layer (i.e. drive free electrons and free holes into the layer)
all diodes have a maximum reverse voltage (usually 50V or more) and if this is exceeded the diode will fail and pass a large current in the reverse direction, this is called breakdown.
Diodes
Diode Ratings
Diode ratings include maximum ratings and electrical characteristics. Typical ratings are
Breakdown Voltage Rating, VBR Average Forward-Current rating, IO Maximum Forward-Surge Current Rating, IFSM Maximum Reverse Current, IR
Diode Ratings
Rating
Breakdown Voltage
Abbreviation
VBR
Designated As
PIV, PRV, VBR, or VRRM
Significance
Voltage at which avalanche occurs; diode is destroyed if this rating is exceeded. Maximum allowable average current. Maximum instantaneous current. Maximum reverse current.
IO
IO
IFSM
IFSM
IR
IR
Rectifier Diodes
The circuit shown is called a half-wave rectifier. When the top of the transformer secondary voltage is positive, D1 is forward-biased, producing current flow in the load. When the top of the secondary is negative, D1 is reverse-biased and acts like an open switch. This results in zero current in the load, RL. The output voltage is a series of positive pulses, as shown in the figure in the right.
Germanium diodes such as the OA90 have a lower forward voltage drop of 0.2V and this makes them suitable to use in radio circuits as detectors which extract the audio signal from the weak radio signal.
They are also used elsewhere in circuits where a large current must pass through the diode.
All rectifier diodes are made from silicon and therefore have a forward voltage drop of 0.7V.
The 1N4001 is suitable for most low voltage circuits with a current of less than 1A.
Bridge Rectifier
.
converts AC to DC
They have four leads or terminals: the two DC outputs are labelled + and -, the two AC inputs are labelled
Special Diodes
Besides rectification, a semiconductor diode has many other useful applications. Semiconductor diodes can be manufactured to regulate voltage or emit different colors of light. Examples of two special purpose diodes are Light-emitting diode Zener diode
Special Diodes
A light-emitting diode (LED) is a diode that emits a certain color light when forward-biased. The color of light emitted by an LED is determined by the type of material used in doping. A schematic symbol of an LED is shown in the figure.
LED
The cathode is the short lead and there may be a slight flat on the body of round LEDs
Never connect an LED directly to a battery or power supply! It will be destroyed almost instantly because too much current will pass through and burn it out. LEDs must have a resistor in series to limit the current to a safe value, for quick testing purposes a 1k resistor is suitable for most LEDs if your supply voltage is 12V or less. Remember to connect the LED the correct way round!
Special Diodes
A zener diode is a
special diode that has been optimized for operation in the breakdown region. Voltage regulation is the most common application of a zener diode.
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