Atomic Structure

Atoms go around the nucleolus in their orbits

discrete distances
Each orbit has some energy level
The closer the orbit to the nucleus the less energy it
has
Group of orbits called shell
Electrons on the same shell have similar energy level
Valence shell is the outmost shell
Valence shell has valence electrons ready to be
freed
Number of electrons (Ne) on each shell (n)


First shell has 2 electrons
Second shell has 8 electrons (not shown here)


Ne = 2n
2
Atomic Structure
Elements are made of atoms
110 Elements; each has an atomic
structure
Today, quarks and leptons, and their
antiparticles, are candidates for being the
fundamental building blocks from which
all else is made!
Bohr Model
Atoms have planetary structure
Atoms are made of nucleus (Protons (+)
& Neutrons) and electrons (-)




110 th element is called Darmstadtium (Ds)
Valence Shell
Atoms are made of valence shell
and core
Core includes nucleus and other
inner shells
For a Carbon atom the atomic
number is 6
Core charge = 6 P + 2 e = (+6)+(-
2)=(+4)
Remember the first shell has 2
electrons
Elements
Basic categories
Conductors
Examples: Copper, silver
One valence electron , the e can
easily be freed
Insulators
Valence electrons are tightly
bounded to the atom
Semiconductors
Silicon, germanium (single
element)
Gallium arsenide, indium
phosphide (compounds)
They can act as conductors or
insulators

Conduction band is where
the electron leaves the
valence shell and becomes
free
Valence band is where the
outmost shell is
Always free
electrons
Free electrons
Semiconductors
Remember the further away from the
nucleus the less energy is required to
free the electrons
Germanium is less stable
Less energy is required to make the
electron to jump to the conduction band


When atoms combine to form a solid,
they arrange themselves in a
symmetrical patterns
Semiconductor atoms (silicon) form
crystals
Intrinsic crystals have no impurities


Conduction Electrons and Holes
Electrons exist only within
prescribed energy bands
These bands are separated by
energy gaps
When an electron jumps to the
conduction band it causes a hole
When electron falls back to its
initial valence recombination
occurs
Consequently there are two
different types of currents
Hole current (electrons are the
minority carriers)
Electron current (holes are the
minority carriers)
Remember: We are interested in electrical current!
Doping
By adding impurities to the intrinsic
semiconductor we can change the
conductivity of the material this is called
doping
N-type doping
P-type doping
N-type: pentavalent (atom with 5 valence
electrons) impurity atoms are added
[Sb(Antimony) + Si]
Negative charges (electrons) are
generated
N-type has lots of free electrons
P-type: trivalent (atom with 3 valence
electrons) impurity atoms are added
[B(Boron) + Si]
Positive charges (holes) are generated
P-type has lots of holes



What is a Semiconductor?
Low resistivity => conductor
High resistivity => insulator
Intermediate resistivity => semiconductor
conductivity lies between that of conductors and insulators
generally crystalline in structure for IC devices
In recent years, however, non-crystalline semiconductors have
become commercially very important
polycrystalline amorphous crystalline
Semiconductor Materials
Gallium
(Ga)
Phosphorus
(P)
Silicon
Atomic density: 5 x 10
22
atoms/cm
3
Si has four valence electrons. Therefore, it can form
covalent bonds with four of its nearest neighbors.
When temperature goes up, electrons can become
free to move about the Si lattice.
Electronic Properties of Si
Silicon is a semiconductor material.
Pure Si has a relatively high electrical resistivity at room temperature.

There are 2 types of mobile charge-carriers in Si:
Conduction electrons are negatively charged;
Holes are positively charged.

The concentration (#/cm
3
) of conduction electrons & holes in a
semiconductor can be modulated in several ways:
1. by adding special impurity atoms ( dopants )
2. by applying an electric field
3. by changing the temperature
4. by irradiation
Electron-Hole Pair Generation
When a conduction electron is thermally generated,
a hole is also generated.
A hole is associated with a positive charge, and is
free to move about the Si lattice as well.
Carrier Concentrations in Intrinsic Si
The band-gap energy E
g
is the amount of energy
needed to remove an electron from a covalent bond.
The concentration of conduction electrons in intrinsic
silicon, n
i
, depends exponentially on E
g
and the
absolute temperature (T):
600K at / 10 1
300K at / 10 1
/
2
exp 10 2 . 5
3 15
3 10
3 2 / 3 15
cm electrons n
cm electrons n
cm electrons
kT
E
T n
i
i
g
i

Doping (N type)
Si can be doped with other elements to change its
electrical properties.
For example, if Si is doped with phosphorus (P), each
P atom can contribute a conduction electron, so that
the Si lattice has more electrons than holes, i.e. it
becomes N type:
Notation:
n = conduction electron
concentration
Doping (P type)
If Si is doped with Boron (B), each B atom can
contribute a hole, so that the Si lattice has more
holes than electrons, i.e. it becomes P type:
Notation:
p = hole concentration
Summary of Charge Carriers
Electron and Hole Concentrations
Under thermal equilibrium conditions, the product
of the conduction-electron density and the hole
density is ALWAYS equal to the square of n
i
:
2
i
n np
P-type material
A
i
A
N
n
n
N p
2

D
i
D
N
n
p
N n
2

N-type material
Terminology
donor: impurity atom that increases n
acceptor: impurity atom that increases p
N-type material: contains more electrons than holes
P-type material: contains more holes than electrons
majority carrier: the most abundant carrier
minority carrier: the least abundant carrier
intrinsic semiconductor: n = p = n
i
extrinsic semiconductor: doped semiconductor
Summary
The band gap energy is the energy required to free an
electron from a covalent bond.
E
g
for Si at 300K = 1.12eV
In a pure Si crystal, conduction electrons and holes are
formed in pairs.
Holes can be considered as positively charged mobile particles
which exist inside a semiconductor.
Both holes and electrons can conduct current.
Substitutional dopants in Si:
Group-V elements (donors) contribute conduction electrons
Group-III elements (acceptors) contribute holes
Very low ionization energies (<50 meV)