WHAT IS A SEMICONDUCTOR? INFORMATION ABOUT SEMICONDUCTORSSemiconductors are a categoryofmaterialswith an electrical conductivity that is between that of conductors and insulators. Good conductors, which are all metals, have electrical resistivities down in the range of 10^−6 OHM -cm.
Insulators have electrical resistivities that are up in the range from 10^6 to as much as about 10^12 OHM - cm. Semiconductors have resistivities that are generally in the range of 10^−4–10^4 OHM -cm.
The resistivity of a semiconductor is strongly influenced by impurities, called dopants, that are purposely added to the material to change the electronic characteristics.
We will first consider the case of the pure, or intrinsic semiconductor. As a result of the thermal energy present in the material, electrons can break loose from covalent bonds and become free electrons able to move through the solid and contribute to the electrical conductivity.
The covalent bonds left behind have an electron vacancy called a hole. Electrons from neighboring covalent bonds can easily move into an adjacent bond with an electron vacancy, or hole, and thus the hold can move from one covalent bond to an adjacent bond.
As this process continues, we can say that the hole is moving through the material. These holes act as if they have a positive charge equal in magnitude to the electron charge, and they can also contribute to the electrical conductivity.
Thus, in a semiconductor there are two types of mobile electrical charge carriers that can contribute to the electrical conductivity, the free electrons and the holes. Since the electrons and holes are generated in equal numbers, and recombine in equal numbers, the free electron and hole populations are equal.
In the extrinsic or doped semiconductor, impurities are purposely added to modify the electronic characteristics. In the case of silicon, every silicon atom shares its four valence electrons with each of its four nearest neighbors in covalent bonds.
If an impurity or dopant atom with a valency of five, such as phosphorus, is substituted for silicon, four of the five valence electrons of the dopant atom will be held in covalent bonds. The extra, or fifth electron will not be in a covalent bond, and is loosely held.
At room temperature, almost all of these extra electronswill have broken loose fromtheir parent atoms, and become free electrons. These pentavalent dopants thus donate free electrons to the semiconductor and are called donors.
These donated electrons upset the balance between the electron and hole populations, so there are now more electrons than holes. This is now called an N-type semiconductor, in which the electrons are the majority carriers, and holes are the minority carriers.
In an N-type semiconductor the free electron concentration is generally many orders of magnitude larger than the hole concentration. If an impurity or dopant atom with a valency of three, such as boron, is substituted for silicon, three of the four valence electrons of the dopant atom will be held in covalent bonds.
One of the covalent bonds will be missing an electron. An electron from a neighboring silicon-to-silicon covalent bond, however, can easily jump into this electron vacancy, thereby creating a vacancy, or hole, in the silicon-to-silicon covalent bond. Thus, these trivalent dopants accept free electrons, thereby generating holes, and are called acceptors.
These additional holes upset the balance between the electron and hole populations, and so there are now more holes than electrons. This is called a P-type semiconductor, in which the holes are the majority carriers, and the electrons are the minority carriers. In a P-type semiconductor the hole concentration is generally many orders of magnitude larger than the electron concentration.
The transition between the two sides is called the PN junction. As a result of the concentration difference of the free electrons and holes there will be an initial flow of these charge carriers across the junction, which will result in the N-type side attaining a net positive charge with respect to the P-type side.
This results in the formation of an electric potential hill or barrier at the junction. Under equilibrium conditions the height of this potential hill, called the contact potential is such that the flow of the majority carrier holes from the P-type side up the hill to the N-type side is reduced to the extent that it becomes equal to the flow of the minority carrier holes from the N-type side down the hill to the P-type side.
Similarly, the flow of the majority carrier free electrons fromthe N-type side is reduced to the extent that it becomes equal to the flow of the minority carrier electrons from the P-type side. Thus, the net current flow across the junction under equilibrium conditions is zero.
