Semiconductor Devices

Atoms and electricity

Semiconductor structure
Conduction in semiconductors
Doping
epitaxy
diffusion
ion implantation

Transistors
MOS
CMOS

Implementing logic functions

(4.1)

(4.2)

Electricity

Electricity is the flow of electrons

Good conductors (copper) have easily released
electrons that drift within the metal
Under influence of electric field, electrons flow in
a current

magnitude of current depends on magnitude of

voltage applied to circuit, and the resistance in the
path of the circuit

Current flow governed by Ohms Law

V=
IR

+
-

electron flow
direction

(4.3)

Electron Bands
Electrons circle nucleus
in defined shells

K
2 electrons
L 8 electrons
M
18 electrons
N
32 electrons

Within each shell,

electrons are further
grouped into subshells
s
p
d
f

2 electrons
6 electrons
10 electrons
14 electrons

electrons are assigned to

shells and subshells from
inside out
Si has 14 electrons: 2 K,
8 L, 4 M

M shell
d

10

Semiconductor Crystalline Structure

Semiconductors have a
regular crystalline
structure
for monocrystal,
extends through entire
structure
for polycrystal,
structure is interrupted
at irregular boundaries

Monocrystal has
uniform 3-dimensional
structure
Atoms occupy fixed
positions relative to one
another, but are in
constant vibration
about equilibrium

(4.4)

Semiconductor Crystalline Structure

Silicon atoms have 4
electrons in outer
shell

inner electrons are

very closely bound to
atom

These electrons are

shared with neighbor
atoms on both sides
to fill the shell

resulting structure is
very stable
electrons are fairly
tightly bound
no loose electrons

at room temperature,
if battery applied,
very little electric
current flows

(4.5)

Conduction in Crystal Lattices

(4.6)

Semiconductors (Si and Ge) have 4

electrons in their outer shell
2 in the s subshell
2 in the p subshell

As the distance between atoms decreases

the discrete subshells spread out into
bands
As the distance decreases further, the
bands overlap and then separate
the subshell model doesnt hold anymore,
and the electrons can be thought of as being
part of the crystal, not part of the atom
4 possible electrons in the lower band
(valence band)
4 possible electrons in the upper band
(conduction band)

Energy Bands in Semiconductors

The
space
between
the
bands is
the
energy
gap, or
forbidde
n band

(4.7)

Insulators, Semiconductors, and Metals

(4.8)

This separation of the valence and

conduction bands determines the electrical
properties of the material
Insulators have a large energy gap
electrons cant jump from valence to
conduction bands
no current flows

Conductors (metals) have a very small (or

nonexistent) energy gap
electrons easily jump to conduction bands
due to thermal excitation
current flows easily

Semiconductors have a moderate energy

gap
only a few electrons can jump to the
conduction band
leaving holes

only a little current can flow

Insulators, Semiconductors, and Metals

(continued)
Conduction
Band

Valence
Band
Conductor

Semiconductor

Insulator

(4.9)

(4.10)

Hole - Electron Pairs

Sometimes thermal energy is enough to

cause an electron to jump from the
valence band to the conduction band
produces a hole - electron pair
Electrons also fall back out of the
conduction band into the valence band,
combining with a hole

pair elimination

hole

pair creation

electron

Improving Conduction by Doping

(4.11)

To make semiconductors better

conductors, add impurities (dopants)
to contribute extra electrons or extra
holes
elements with 5 outer electrons
contribute an extra electron to the
lattice (donor dopant)
elements with 3 outer electrons accept
an electron from the silicon (acceptor
dopant)

Improving Conduction by Doping (cont.)

Phosphorus and arsenic
are donor dopants

if phosphorus is
introduced into the
silicon lattice, there is
an extra electron free
to move around and
contribute to electric
current
very loosely bound to
atom and can easily
jump to conduction
band

produces n type silicon

sometimes use +
symbol to indicate
heavier doping, so n+
silicon

phosphorus becomes
positive ion after giving
up electron

(4.12)

Improving Conduction by Doping (cont.)

Boron has 3
electrons in its
outer shell, so it
contributes a hole
if it displaces a
silicon atom
boron is an
acceptor dopant
yields p type
silicon
boron becomes
negative ion after
accepting an
electron

(4.13)

Epitaxial Growth of Silicon

Epitaxy grows silicon on
top of existing silicon
uses chemical vapor
deposition
new silicon has same
crystal structure as
original
Silicon is placed in
chamber at high
temperature
1200 o C (2150 o F)
Appropriate gases are
fed into the chamber
other gases add
impurities to the mix
Can grow n type, then
switch to p type very
quickly

(4.14)

Diffusion of Dopants
It is also possible to
introduce dopants into
silicon by heating them
so they diffuse into the
silicon
no new silicon is added
high heat causes
diffusion
Can be done with
constant concentration in
atmosphere
close to straight line
concentration gradient
Or with constant number
of atoms per unit area
predeposition
bell-shaped gradient
Diffusion causes
spreading of doped areas

(4.15)

top

side

Diffusion of Dopants (continued)

Concentration of dopant
in surrounding
atmosphere kept

(4.16)

Dopant deposited on
surface - constant
amount per unit area

Ion Implantation of Dopants

(4.17)

One way to reduce the spreading found

with diffusion is to use ion implantation
also gives better uniformity of dopant
yields faster devices
lower temperature process

Ions are accelerated from 5 Kev to 10 Mev

and directed at silicon
higher energy gives greater depth
penetration
total dose is measured by flux

number of ions per cm2

typically 1012 per cm2 - 1016 per cm2

Flux is over entire surface of silicon

use masks to cover areas where
implantation is not wanted

Heat afterward to work into crystal lattice

Hole and Electron Concentrations

(4.18)

To produce reasonable levels of

conduction doesnt require much doping
silicon has about 5 x 10 22 atoms/cm3
typical dopant levels are about 10 15
atoms/cm3

In undoped (intrinsic) silicon, the number

of holes and number of free electrons is
equal, and their product equals a constant
actually, ni increases with increasing
temperature

np = ni2
This equation holds true for doped silicon
as well, so increasing the number of free
electrons decreases the number of holes

Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor Transistors

(4.19)

Most modern digital devices use MOS transistors,

which have two advantages over other types
greater density
simpler geometry, hence easier to make

MOS transistors switch on/off more slowly

MOS transistors consist of source and drain
diffusions, with a gate that controls whether the
transistor is on
S

Gate

n+

D
n+

metal
silicon
dioxide
monosilicon

(4.20)

MOS Transistors (continued)

Making gate positive (for n channel device)

causes current to flow from source to drain
attracts electrons to gate area, creates
conductive path

For given gate voltage, increasing voltage

difference between source and drain
increases current from source to drain

n+

n+
p

+
-

Complementary MOS Transistors

(4.21)

A variant of MOS transistor uses both n-channel and pchannel devices to make the fundamental building
block (an inverter, or not gate)
lower power consumption
symmetry of design
If in = +, n-channel device is on, p-channel is off, out is
connected to If in = -, n-channel is off, p-channel is on, out is
connected to +
No current flows through battery in either case!!

P
out
i
n

(4.22)

CMOS (continued)

CMOS geometry (and manufacturing process)

is more complicated
Lower power consumption offsets that
Bi-CMOS combines CMOS and bipolar
(another transistor type) on one chip
CMOS for logic circuits
Bi-polar to drive larger electrical circuits off
the chip
S

n+

n+

S
p+

p+

(4.23)

Logic Functions Using CMOS

p
A
p
B

input 0

out

two input NAND

n
- if both inputs
1, both pchannel are off,
n
both n-channel
are on, out is
negative;
otherwise at
input 1least one pchannel is on
and one n-