Semi-Conductor Electronics

1 Introduction
The electrical properties of a material play an important role in the motion of electrons through it.
They are distinguished from one another on the basis of band theory of solids, as conductors, insulators
and semi conductors.

2 Band theory of solids

According to Bohr model of an atom, in an atom, the energy of an electron is decided by the orbit of
that electron. If a large number of atoms come close together, then, the orbits of all these atoms put
together form a continuous band.
The energy bands which are completely filled at 0 K, are called “Valence Bands”. The bands with
higher energies are called “Conduction Bands”.
In case of metallic conductors, the conduction band overlaps on the valence band and the electrons
from valence band can freely move into the conduction band.
If there is some gap between the conduction band and valence band, the electrons in the valence band
are bound to the valence band and no free electrons are available in the conduction band. This makes
the material an insulator.
For Germanium and Silicon atoms, the number of electrons in the outer most orbit is 4. Hence for a
crystal with “N” atoms, the total number of outer electrons is 4N. The maximum possible number of
electrons in the outer orbit is 8. So, for the 4N valence electrons, there are 8N available energy states.
These 8N discrete energy levels can either form a continuous band or they may be grouped in different
bands depending upon the distance between the atoms in the crystal.
The energy band of these 8N states is split into 2 which are separated by an energy gap “Eg ”. The
lower energy band is completely occupied by the 4N valence electrons at temperature of absolute
zero and is known as the “Valence band”. The other band consisting of 4N energy states, called the
“Conduction band”, is completely empty at absolute zero.
The lowest energy level in the conduction band is shown as Ec and highest energy level in the valence
band is shown as EV .
The gap between the top of the valence band and the bottom of the conduction band is called as the
“Energy band gap (Eg )”.
The band structure of solids is used to classify the materials into conductors, insulators and semi
conductors.

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3 Conductors

Figure 1: Figure 2:

The energy band structure for metals which are good conductors of electricity can be of 2 types. The
conduction band is only partially filled with electrons at 0 K as shown in the figure 1. Electrons can
jump from valence band to the conduction band and acquire the vacant energy states in presence of a
small electric field applied across the conductor and start conducting.
The second type of band structure for conductors is shown in figure 2. In this case, there is overlapping
of valence band and the conduction band. There are vacant energy states at energies close to the
occupied states. Hence conduction takes place with small applied fields.

4 Insulators
For insulators, the energy gap between the valence
band and conduction band is large. The conduc-
tion band is completely empty for an insulator.
The value of Eg ≈ 3eV for an insulator.
If an electric field is applied across an insulator,
the electrons cannot shift from valence band to
the conduction band due to large energy gap. The
valence band is also completely filled and accord-
ing to Pauli’s exclusion principle, these electrons
are not free.

5 Semiconductors Figure 3: Insulator

The value of Eg for a semi conductor is small.

Eg is ≈ 1.1eV for Silicon and Eg ≈ 0.72eV for
Germanium.

Figure 4: Semi conductors

At temperatures, well above 0 K, some electrons acquire thermal energy greater than Eg and move

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to the conduction band. Thus, even at ordinary temperatures, semi conductors conduct electricity.
The number of electrons available for electrical conduction is small and hence the conductivity of
semiconductors is quite small compared to that of good conductors.

6 Intrinsic semiconductors

Figure 5: Structure of an Intrinsic semi conductor

A pure semiconductor which is free of every impurity is called “intrinsic semiconductor”. Germanium
and Silicon are the important examples of intrinsic semiconductors. Both the atoms have 4 valence
electrons. The 4 valence electrons of a Germanium atom form 4 “covalent bonds” by sharing the
electrons of the neighbouring 4 Germanium atoms.
At low temperatures, these covalent bonds are strong and the electrons are strongly held between the
atoms, as the temperature increases, some of these electrons may gain thermal energy and break free
and hence contribute to conduction. The minimum energy required to break a covalent bond is 0.72eV
for Ge and 1.1eV for Si.
As the energy increases, the electrons in the valence band gain energy and jump to conduction band
by crossing the energy gap.
When an electron breaks away from the covalent bond, the vacancy left in the bond is called a “Hole”.
When an electric field is applied, these electrons and holes move in opposite directions and constitute a
current through the crystal.
The number of free electrons ne = the number of holes nh in intrinsic semiconductors. Therefore,
ni = nh = ne , where ni is called “instrinsic carrier concentration”.
The total current I, is the sum of hole current Ih and electron current Ie . ∴ I = Ih + Ie . At 0 K, the
intrinsic semiconductor behaves as an insulator.

7 Extrinsic semiconductor
The conductivity of an instrinsic semiconductor is extremely low at room temperature. Hence there is a
necessity of improving their conductivity. This can be done by making use of impurities. When a small
amount of impurity is added to the pure semiconductor, its conductivity increases. Such materials are
known as extrinsic semiconductors.
The process of adding impurities to a pure semiconductor is known as “doping” and the impurity
atoms are called “dopants”. The size of the dopant atoms and semiconductor atoms should be nearly

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the same.
There are 2 types of dopants used in doping.
(i) Pentavelent (Valency of 5). Ex: Arsenic, antimony and phosphorous etc.
(ii) Trivalent (Valency 3) Ex: Indium (In), Boron (B), Aluminium (Al) etc.
Extrinsic semiconductors are of 2 types: (i) n-type semiconductor and (ii) p-type semiconductor.

7.1 n-type semiconductors

Germanium or Silicon doped with any one of the pentavalent atoms forms an n type semiconductor.

Figure 6: n type semiconductor

In the diagram a pentavalent impurity atom is surrounded by 4 silicon

atoms. 4 of the 5 valence electrons of the impurity atom form a covalent
bond. The 5th valence electron will be losely bound. It can be freed
easily. The energy required to free the 5th valence electron is much
less than the energy required to break a covalent bond. When the
5th electron is trasferred to the conduction band, the parent impurity
atom becomes an immobile positive ion of charge = +e. Hence, each
impurity atoms donates a free electron to the semi conductor and does
not leave behind a hole. Hence the impurity atom is called a “donor”.
Electrons are the majority charge carriers and holes are the minority
charge carriers in an n type semi conductor. (ne >> nh )
Figure 7: Energy band of n
type semi conductor

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7.2 p-type semiconductor
This is obtained when Si or Ge is doped with a trivalent impurity.

Figure 8: p type semicon- Figure 9: Energy band of

ductor p type semi conductor

The impurity atom is surrounded by 4 silicon atoms. The impurity

atoms provides electrons to fill only 3 covalent bonds as it has only 3
valence electrons.
The valency that exists in the 4th bond constitutes a hole. This hole accepts electrons from the
neighbourhood. The impurity atom is called an “acceptor” because each hole it contributes can accept
a free electron during recombination.
The number of holes at any instant exceeds the number of electrons at that instant. Hence, holes are
majority charge carriers and electrons are the minority charge carriers in a p-type semiconductor.

8 p-n junction
The junction between a p type and n type semiconductor such that the crystal structure remains
continuous at the boundary is called a “p-n junction”.
During the formation of a p-n junction, 2 important processes occur. They are, “diffusion” and “drift”.
When a pn junction is formed, the electrons from the n region diffuse through the junction into p
region and holes from the p region diffuse through the junction into the n region. The motion of charge
carriers gives rise to diffusion current across the junction.
When electrons diffuse from n region to p region, they leave behind ionized donors having positive
charges in the n region. Similarly, when holes diffuse from p-region to the n-region, they leave behind
ionized acceptors having negative charges in the p-region.
The space charge regions on both sides of p-n junction which has immobile ions and is
devoid of any charge carriers will form a region called “Depletion region”.
1 th


The thickness of this region is about 10 of a micro metre.

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 Figure 10: PN-junction

An electric field directed from the positive charge to the negative charge is developed across the junction.
Due to this electric field, an electron on the p side of the junction moves to the n side and a hole on
the n-side moves to p-side. The motion of charge carriers due to the electric field is called “Drift”.
Drift current is opposite in direction to diffuse current.
The loss of electrons from the n region and gain of electrons by the p region causes a difference of
potential across the junction of the 2 regions. This is known as “Barrier potential”.

9 Semi conductor diode

Figure 11: semiconductor-diode

A semi conductor diode is basically a p-n junction with metallic contacts provided at the ends for the
application of an external voltage.

9.1 p-n junction under forward bias

A p-n junction is said to be forward biased if the positive terminal of the external battery is connected
to p-side and the negative terminal to the n-side of the p-n junction

Figure 12: P-n junction under forward bias

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In forward biasing, the applied voltage mostly is dropped across the depletion region. This is because
the resistance of the depletion region is very high as it has no free charge-carriers. As a result of this,
the potential barrier decreases, and the current will be small. The width of the depletion layer also
decreases. As the applied voltage increases, the barrier height reduces and thus current increases.

Figure 13: pn junction in forward bias

Due to the applied voltage, electrons from n-side cross the depletion region and reach p-side, and holes
from p-side cross the junction and reach the n-side. The motion of charge carriers on either side gives
rise to a current. The total diode forward current is the sum of hole diffusion current and conventional
current due to electron diffusion. The magnitude of this current is usually in mA.

9.2 p-n junction under reverse bias

A p-n junction is said to be reverse biased if the positive terminal of the external battery is connected
to n-side the negative terminal to p-side of the p-n junction.

Figure 14: P-n junction under reverse bias

In this case, the barrier height increases and the depletion region widens and hence, the diffusion
current decreases enormously.
The electric field direction is such that the electrons on the p-side and holes on n-side will be swept
away towards their majority zones. This gives rise to “Drift current”, which is of the order of µA.
The current under reverse bias is independent of the applied voltage up to a crucial reverse bias voltage
known as “Breakdown voltage” (VBr ). When V = VBr , the diode reverse current increases sharply.
A graph is plotted between the input voltage and current through the diode for both forward and
reverse bias.

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 Figure 15: pn junction under reverse bias

In forward bias, the current increases very slowly till the voltage across the diode crosses a certain
value. Beyond this voltage the current increases exponentially even for small increase in input voltage.
This voltage is called “Threshold voltage” or “Cut-in Voltage”, which is 0.2V for Ge and 0.6 V for Si.
In reverse bias, the current is very small and almost remains constant with change in bias. This
is called “Reverse saturation current”. At very high reverse bias voltage “Breakdown voltage”, the
current suddenly increases.

Figure 16: Forward and reverse characteristics of a pn junction

9.3 Dynamic resistance

It is the ratio of small change in voltage ∆V to a small change in current ∆I.

∆V
rd =
∆I

The p-n junction diode allows the flow of current only in one direction (when it is forward biased).

10 Application of junction diode as a rectifier

Rectifier is a device which is used for converting alternating current/voltage into direct current/voltage.

10.1 Half wave rectifier

Its working is based on the principle that p-n junction conducts in forward bias and doesn’t conduct in
reverse bias.

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 Figure 17: Half Wave Rectifier

If an alternating voltage is applied across a diode in series with a resistance (load), a pulsating voltage
will appear across the load only during the half cycles of the a.c input, during which the diode is
forward biased. Such a rectifier is known as half wave rectifier. When the voltage at A is positive, the
diode conducts because it is forward biased.
During the negative half cycle of the input, the voltage at A is negative and the diode D is reverse
biased. Hence it doesn’t conduct.
The output waveform is shown in the diagram.

10.2 Full Wave Rectifier

A full wave rectifier provides output rectified voltage corresponding to both the positive as well as
negative half of the cycle.

Figure 18: Full wave rectifier

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 Figure 19: Input and output waveforms for a full wave rectifier

For a full wave rectifier, the voltage rectified by each diode is only half the total secondary voltage.
When point A is positive with respect to the centre tap of the transformer, point B is negative. Hence,
diode D1 conducts since it is forward biased and D2 doesn’t conduct since it is reverse biased. Similarly,
when point A is negative and point B is positive, the diode D2 is in forward bias and hence conducts
and D1 doesn’t conduct as it is reverse biased.
Thus, we get output voltage during both positive and negative half cycles.

10.3 Filter Circuit

To get a steady DC output from the pulsating voltage, we use additional circuits to remove the a.c
ripple and give a pure DC voltage. These circuits are called “Filter circuits”.

Figure 20: Filter circuit

In the given filter circuit, the capacitor gets charged when the voltage across it is rising. The capacitor
gets discharged through the load and the voltage across it begins to fall. In the next half cycle of the
rectified output, it again gets charged to the peak value.
The rate of fall of the voltage across the capacitor depends upon the inverse product of the capacitance
C and the effective load resistance RL . This is called the “Time constant” (RL C).
To make the time constant large, the capacitance must also be large.

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11 Special purpose p-n junction diodes
11.1 Zener diode
It is a diode which is specially designed to operate under reverse bias in the breakdown region. It can
be used as a voltage regulator. Zener diode is fabricated by heavily doping both p-side and n-side of
the p-n junction. As a result of it, the depletion region of the Zener diode is very thin and hence, the
electric field of the junction is very high for even small voltages, which is reverse biased to about 5V.

Figure 21: Zener diode

The high electric field strength pulls the valence electrons from p-side and are accelerated to the n-side.
The electrons account for the high current observed at V = VZ .
In the I-V characters of the Zener diode, it is seen that after the breakdown voltage VZ , a large change
in current can be produced by almost insignificant change in reverse bias voltage.

11.1.1 Zener diode as a voltage regulator

Figure 22: Zener diode as a Voltage regulator

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The working principle of a Voltage Regulator is based on the fact that in reverse breakdown region, a
very small change in voltage across the Zener diode produces a very large change in current through
the circuit, but the voltage across the Zener diode remains a constant.

Working
When the input DC voltage across the Zener diode increases beyond the Zener breakdown voltage, the
current through the circuit rises sharply, causing a sufficient increase in the voltage drop across the
series resistor Rs . As a result of it, the voltage across the Zener diode remains a constant and hence,
the output voltage is lowered to normal. Hence, output voltage remains a constant.
When the input DC voltage across the Zener diode decreases, the current through the circuit goes
down sharply causing sufficient decrease in the voltage across the series resistor Rs . As a result of it,
the voltage across the Zener diode remains constant and hence the output voltage is raised to normal.
Hence output voltage remains a constant.

11.2 Photodiode
It is a p-n junction which is an optoelectronic device in which current carriers are generated by photons
through photo-excitation, i.e., photo conduction by light. It is operated under reverse bias.

Figure 23: Photodiode

Figure 24: Characteristics of a photo diode

When the photo-diode is illuminated with light of energy (hν) greater than the energy gap of the
semi conductor, then the electron hole pairs are generated due to absorption of photons. The diode is

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operated under reverse bias. Due to the electric field of the junction, electron-hole pairs are separated
before they are recombined.
Electrons are collected on the n-side and holes are collected on the p-side, giving rise to an emf. When
an external load is connected, current flows.
The magnitude of the photo-current depends on the intensity of incident light (directly proportional).
Photodiode can be used as photo detector to detect optical signals.

11.3 Light Emitting Diode (LED)

An LED is a photo-electronic device which converts electrical energy into light energy under forward
bias.
When the diode is forward biased, electrons are sent from n side to p side and holes are sent from p
side to n side. Thus, at the junction boundary on either side of the junction, excess minority carriers
are present which recombine with majority carriers near the junction. On recombination, energy is
released in the form of light. The energy of this light is equal to or slightly less than the “forbidden
energy band gap”. As the forward current increases, the intensity of light increases and reaches a
maximum.
The V-I characteristics of an LED is similar to that of a Silicon junction diode.
The semiconductor used for fabrication of visible LEDs must have at least a band gap of 1.8eV.
The compound semi conductor Gallium Arsenide Phosphide (GaAs-P) with energy gap Eg ≈ 1.9eV is
used to make red LEDs.
Gallium Arsenide (GaAs) with Eg ≈ 1.4eV is used for making Infrared LEDs.

Uses
LEDs are used in remote controls, burglar alarm systems, and optical communication etc.,

Advantages of LEDs over incandescent lamps

1. Low operational voltage and less power.
2. Fast action and no warm up required.
3. Emitted light is nearly monochromatic.
4. Long life
5. Fast on - off switching capability.

11.4 Solar Cells

A solar cell is basically a p-n junction which generated emf when solar radiations fall on the p-n
junction.
The generation of emf by a solar cell is due to the following 3 steps.
(1) Generation of electron-hole pairs due to light of energy greater than the energy of forbidden energy
gap, close to the junction.
(2) Separation of electrons and holes due to the electric field of the depletion region. Electrons are
swept towards n-side and holes toward p-side.
(3) Electrons on n-side are collected by front contact and holes on p-side are collected by the back
contact. Thus p-side becomes positively charged and n-side becomes negatively charged giving rise to
“Photovoltage”.

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When an external load is connected as shown, a photo current (IL ) flows through it.

Figure 25: Solar Cell

Figure 26: V-I Characteristics of a solar cell

Uses
1. Solar cells are used to power electronic devices in satellites and space vehicles.
2. Power supply in calculators.
A solar cell material should have (i) Band gap of 1.0 to 1.8 eV (ii) High optical absorption (≈ 104 cm−1 )
(iii) High electrical conductivity (iv) Low cost (v) High availability.

12 Digital electronics and logic gates

In digital electronics, we use only 2 states of voltage, 0s and 1s (ON or OFF states). Such signals are
called “Digital signals”.
A gate is a digital circuit that follows certain logical relationships between the input and output
voltages.

12.1 NOT gate

It produces an inverted version of the input. Therefore, if input is 1, output is 0 and vice versa.
It has only one input and only one output.

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 Figure 28: Truth Table of
Figure 27: NOT gate NOT gate

12.2 OR Gate
It has 2 or more inputs and one output. The output is 1 when either of the inputs or both the inputs
are 1.

Figure 29: OR gate

12.3 AND gate

It has 2 or more inputs and 1 output. Its output is 1 (high) only with all the inputs 1 (high).

Figure 30: AND gate

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12.4 NAND gate
It is an AND gate followed by a NOT gate. Its output is 1 when either of its inputs are 1 or when
both inputs are 0. They are also called “Universal gates” because by using these, you can realise all
other basic gates like OR, AND and NOT gates.

Figure 31: NAND gate

12.5 NOR gate

It is an OR gate followed by a NOT gate. They are also considered as universal gates. Its output is 1
only when both inputs are 0.

Figure 32: NOR gate

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