Introduction to

Semiconductor Materials

Prerequisites
To understand this presentation, you should
have the following prior knowledge:
Draw the structure of an atom, including electrons,
protons, and neutrons.
Define resistance and conductance.
Label an electronic schematic, indicating current flow.
Define Ohms and Kirchhoffs laws.
Describe the characteristics of DC and AC (sine wave)
voltages.

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Student Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of viewing this presentation, you
should be able to:
Define conductor, insulator and semiconductor, and
state the resistance or conductance of each.
Name at least three semiconductor materials and state
the most widely used.
Name the basic structure of material and explain how it
is formed with atoms.
Define doping and name the two types of
semiconductor material formed with doping.
Name the current carriers in N and P-type material.
Explain how current flows in semiconductor material.
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The Start of the Modern Electronics Era

Bardeen,Shockley,andBrattainatBellLabsBrattainand

Thefirstgermaniumbipolartransistor.Roughly50yearslater,

Bardeeninventedthebipolartransistorin1947.

electronicsaccountfor10%(4trilliondollars)oftheworldGDP.

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Electronics Milestones
1874 Braun invents the solid-state
rectifier.
1906 DeForest invents triode vacuum
tube.
1907-1927
First radio circuits developed
from diodes and triodes.
1925 Lilienfeld field-effect device
patent filed.
1947 Bardeen and Brattain at Bell
Laboratories invent bipolar
transistors.
1952 Commercial bipolar transistor
production at Texas Instruments.
1956 Bardeen, Brattain, and Shockley
receive Nobel prize.

1958 Integrated circuits developed by

Kilby and Noyce
1961 First commercial IC from
Fairchild Semiconductor
1963 IEEE formed from merger of IRE
and AIEE
1968 First commercial IC opamp
1970 One transistor DRAM cell
invented by Dennard at IBM.
1971 4004 Intel microprocessor
introduced.
1978 First commercial 1-kilobit
memory.
1974 8080 microprocessor introduced.
1984 Megabit memory chip introduced.
2000 Alferov, Kilby, and Kromer share
Nobel prize

MicroelectronicCircuitDesign,4E
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McGrawHill

Chap15

THE ATOM

According to the model of atom proposed by

Bohr in 1913, an atom is composed of a
number of electrons moving in circular or
elliptical orbits around a relatively heavy
nucleus of protons and neutrons.

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THE ATOM
Electron has a mass of nearly 9.1 10 31 kg
and a charge of 1.6 1019 C. The diameter
of an atom is approximately 1010 m and that
of the nucleus about 1015 m.
The number of protons in the atom of an
element gives its atomic number while the
atomic mass number is determined by the
number of protons and neutrons present in
the nucleus.
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Energy Bands in Solids

It is found that each of the energy levels of an atom
splits into N levels of energy where N is the number of
atoms in the crystal. Each original energy level becomes
a band of very closely-spaced levels of slightly different
energy.

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Valence and Conduction Bands

The outermost electrons of an atom i.e. those in the shell furthermost from the
nucleus are called valence electrons and have the highest energy or least
binding energy.
The band of energy occupied by the valence electrons is called the valence
band and is, obviously, the highest occupied band. It may be completely filled
or partially filled with electrons but never empty.
The next higher permitted energy band is called the conduction band and may
either
be
empty
or
partially filled with electrons.

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 In conduction band, electrons can move

freely and hence are known as conduction
electrons. The gap between these two
bands is known as the forbidden energy
gap.

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Electronic Materials

The goal of electronic materials is to

generate and control the flow of an
electrical current.
Electronic materials include:
1. Conductors: have low resistance which
allows electrical current flow
2. Insulators: have high resistance which
suppresses electrical current flow
3. Semiconductors: can allow or suppress
electrical current flow
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Conductors
Good conductors have low resistance so
electrons flow through them with ease.
Best element conductors include:
Copper, silver, gold, aluminum, & nickel

Alloys are also good conductors:

Brass & steel

Good conductors can also be liquid:

Salt water

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Conductor Atomic Structure

The atomic structure of
good conductors usually
includes only one
electron in their outer
shell.
It is called a valence
electron.
It is easily striped from the
atom, producing current
flow.
Copper Atom

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Insulators
Insulators have a high resistance so current
does not flow in them.
Good insulators include:
Glass, ceramic, plastics, & wood

Most insulators are compounds of several

elements.
The atoms are tightly bound to one another
so electrons are difficult to strip away for
current flow.
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Semiconductors
Semiconductors are materials that essentially
can be conditioned to act as good conductors,
or good insulators, or any thing in between.
Common elements such as carbon, silicon,
and germanium are semiconductors.
Silicon is the best and most widely used
semiconductor.

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Conductor

Semiconductor

Insulator

Conductivity

Very high

In-between

Very low

Valence
Electrons

1 to 3

58

Energy Gap(Eg)

0 eV

Eg(Ge) 0.67 eV 5 eV
Eg(Si) 1.10 eV

Resistivity ()

(Cu) 1 u cm (Ge) 50 cm (mica) 1 T

(Si) 50 k cm cm

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Band Theory of Solids

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Current Carriers
Particle that carry charges
Their uniform motion produces electrical
current
Negative charges: electrons and negative
ions
Positive charges: protons, positive ions and
holes

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Current carriers
Carriers for Conductors
Electrons are the only carriers of conductors
Carriers of Semiconductors
Free electrons and holes are the two carriers of
semiconductors
Electron flow: due to movement of free electrons
Hole flow: due to the transfer of valence
electrons from atom to atom, has same direction
as the conventional current flow.
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Current carriers
Hole
Vacancy in the valence orbit.
A completely filled valence has eight
electrons, short of this means existence of
hole.
When a valence electron gains enough
energy and becomes a free electron, it leaves
a HOLE in the valence.

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Current carriers
Diffusion
Random movement of carriers without any
voltage
Drift
Uniform movement of carriers due to applied
voltage.

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Covalent Bonding
Semiconductors exhibit covalent bonding in
their crystal structures.
Sharing of valence electrons with
neighboring atoms.
When thermal energy is applied on the
valence electron, it breaks the bond and
becomes a free electron.

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Recombination
When a free electron loses energy and falls
back into a hole in the valence.

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Lifetime
Amount of time that there is an existing free
electron.

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Semiconductor Valence Orbit

The main
characteristic of a
semiconductor
element is that it has
four electrons in its
outer or valence
orbit.

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Crystal Lattice Structure

The unique capability
of semiconductor
atoms is their ability to
link together to form a
physical structure
called a crystal lattice.
The atoms link
together with one
another sharing their
outer electrons.
These links are called
covalent bonds.
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2D Crystal Lattice Structure

Semiconductors can be Insulators

If the material is pure semiconductor material like
silicon, the crystal lattice structure forms an excellent
insulator since all the atoms are bound to one another
and are not free for current flow.
Good insulating semiconductor material is referred to
as intrinsic.
Since the outer valence electrons of each atom are
tightly bound together with one another, the electrons
are difficult to dislodge for current flow.
Silicon in this form is a great insulator.
Semiconductor material is often used as an insulator.

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Periodic table relevant to electronics

II

Zn
Cd

III
B
Al
Ga
In

IV
C
Si
Ge
Sn
Pb

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VI

P
As
Sb
Bi

S
Se
Te

Doping
To make the semiconductor conduct electricity,
other atoms called impurities must be added.
Impurities are different elements.
This process is called doping.

The usual doping agents are :

1. pentavalent atoms having five valence electrons

(arsenic, antimony, phosphorus) or
2. trivalent atoms having three valence electrons
(gallium, indium, aluminium, boron).
Pentavalent doping atom is known as donor atom.
The trivalent atom, on the other hand, is called acceptor
atom.

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Semiconductors can be Conductors

An impurity, or element
like arsenic, has 5
valence electrons.
Adding arsenic (doping)
will allow four of the
arsenic valence
electrons to bond with
the neighboring silicon
atoms.
The one electron left
over for each arsenic
atom becomes available
to conduct current flow.
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Resistance Effects of Doping

If you use lots of arsenic atoms for doping,
there will be lots of extra electrons so the
resistance of the material will be low and
current will flow freely.
If you use only a few boron atoms, there will
be fewer free electrons so the resistance
will be high and less current will flow.
By controlling the doping amount, virtually
any resistance can be achieved.

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Another Way to Dope

You can also dope a
semiconductor material with an
atom such as boron that has
only 3 valence electrons.
The 3 electrons in the outer orbit
do form covalent bonds with its
neighboring semiconductor
atoms as before. But one
electron is missing from the
bond.
This place where a fourth
electron should be is referred to
as a hole.
The hole assumes a positive
charge so it can attract electrons
from some other source.
Holes become a type of current
carrier like the electron to
support current flow.
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Types of Semiconductor Materials

The silicon doped with extra electrons is
called an N type semiconductor.
N is for negative, which is the charge of an
electron.

Silicon doped with material missing

electrons that produce locations called
holes is called P type semiconductor.
P is for positive, which is the charge of a hole.

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Current Flow in N-type Semiconductors

The DC voltage source has
a positive terminal that
attracts the free electrons in
the semiconductor and pulls
them away from their atoms
leaving the atoms charged
positively.
Electrons from the negative
terminal of the supply enter
the semiconductor material
and are attracted by the
positive charge of the atoms
missing one of their
electrons.
Current (electrons) flows
from the positive terminal to
the negative terminal.
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Current Flow in P-type Semiconductors

Electrons from the
negative supply terminal
are attracted to the
positive holes and fill them.
The positive terminal of the
supply pulls the electrons
from the holes leaving the
holes to attract more
electrons.
Current (electrons) flows
from the negative terminal
to the positive terminal.
Inside the semiconductor
current flow is actually by
the movement of the holes
from positive to negative.
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In Summary
In its pure state, semiconductor material is an excellent
insulator.
The commonly used semiconductor material is silicon.
Semiconductor materials can be doped with other atoms to
add or subtract electrons.
An N-type semiconductor material has extra electrons.
A P-type semiconductor material has a shortage of
electrons with vacancies called holes.
The heavier the doping, the greater the conductivity or the
lower the resistance.
By controlling the doping of silicon the semiconductor
material can be made as conductive as desired.

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