SOLID STATES

FUNDAMENTALS
 Insulator

Conductor

Semiconductor
 Insulator

An insulator is a material that does not conduct

electrical current under normal conditions. Most
good insulators are compounds rather than single-
element materials and have very high resistivities.
Valence electrons are tightly bound to the atoms;
therefore, there are very few free electrons in an
insulator. Examples of insulators are rubber, plastics,
glass, mica, and quartz.
 Insulator

Conductor

Semiconductor
 Conductor

A conductor is a material that easily conducts

electrical current. Most metals are good conductors.
The best conductors are single-element materials,
such as copper (Cu), silver (Ag), gold (Au), and
aluminum (Al), which are characterized by atoms
with only one valence electron very loosely bound to
the atom. These loosely bound valence electrons
become free electrons. Therefore, in a conductive
material the free electrons are valence electrons.
 Insulator

Conductor

Semiconductor
 Semiconductor

A semiconductor is a material that is between conductors

and insulators in its ability to conduct electrical current. A
semiconductor in its pure (intrinsic) state is neither a good
conductor nor a good insulator. Single-element
semiconductors are antimony (Sb), arsenic (As), astatine
(At), boron (B), polonium (Po), tellurium (Te), silicon (Si), and
germanium (Ge). Compound semiconductors such as
gallium arsenide, indium phosphide, gallium nitride, silicon
carbide, and silicon germanium are also commonly used.
The single-element semiconductors are characterized by
atoms with four valence electrons. Silicon is the most
commonly used semiconductor.
 BAND GAP

Also known as Energy Gap , it is the energy difference

between the conduction band and valence band. It is the
energy required to move or transfer a valence electron at the
valence band to the conduction band.

When a valence electron acquires enough additional energy

and leaves valance shell, it becomes free electrons that exists
in the conduction band.
 Energy Required Dislodging an Atom from
its Nucleus

Insulator: Eg > 5eV

Semiconductors:
• For Si : Eg = 1.1 eV
• For Ge: Eg = 0.67 eV
Conductors: Eg = 0

Note: Electron-Volt (eV) is a unit of energy. 1 eV = 1.6 x 10 ^ -19 joules

 Comparison of Semiconductor Atom to a
Conductor Atom

Silicon is a semiconductor and copper is a conductor. Bohr

diagrams of the silicon atom and the copper atom are
shown in Figure in the next slide. Notice that the core of
the silicon atom has a net charge of +4 (14 protons - 10
electrons) and the core of the copper atom has a net
charge of +1 (29 protons - 28 electrons). The core includes
everything except the valence electrons.
Comparison of Semiconductor Atom to a
Conductor Atom
 Silicon and Germanium

The atomic structures of silicon and germanium

are compared in Figure in the next slide. Silicon
is used in diodes, transistors, integrated circuits,
and other semiconductor devices. Notice that
both silicon and germanium have the
characteristic four valence electrons.
Silicon and Germanium
 Bonding of Atoms
Ionic or Electrovalent
• Refers to the bonding resulting from the attractive forces of
or Electrostatic oppositely charged ions (positive and negative)
Bonding

• Refers to the type of bonding resulting from the attractive

Metallic Bonding forces of group of positive ions and electrons that are
generally free to move about among its ions.

• Is when atoms of materials share electrons with another atoms.

Covalent Bonding The shared electrons are attracted simultaneously to the two
atoms resulting to a force that binds them together.
Covalent Bonds in a
Pure Silicon Crystal
 Current in Semiconductor
As you have learned, the electrons of an atom can exist
only within prescribed energy bands. Each shell around
the nucleus corresponds to a certain energy band and is
separated from adjacent shells by band gaps, in which
no electrons can exist. Figure shows the energy band
diagram for an unexcited (no external energy such as
heat) atom in a pure silicon crystal. This condition occurs
only at a temperature of absolute 0 Kelvin.
 Conduction Electron and Holes

An intrinsic (pure) silicon crystal at room

temperature has sufficient heat (thermal) energy
for some valence electrons to jump the gap
from the valence band into the conduction
band, becoming free electrons. Free electrons
are also called conduction electrons.
When an electron jumps to the conduction band, a vacancy is
left in the valence band within the crystal. This vacancy is called
a hole. For every electron raised to the conduction band by
external energy, there is one hole left in the valence band,
creating what is called an electron-hole pair. Recombination
occurs when a conduction-band electron loses energy and falls
back into a hole in the valence band. Lifetime is the amount of
time between the creation and disappearance of a free
electron.
A piece of intrinsic silicon at room temperature has, at any instant, a
number of conduction-band (free) electrons that are unattached to
any atom and are essentially drifting randomly throughout the
material. There is also an equal number of holes in the valence band
created when these electrons jump into the conduction band. This is
illustrated in Figure.
 Electron and Hole Current
When a voltage is applied across a piece of intrinsic
silicon, as shown in Figure in the nest slide, the thermally
generated free electrons in the conduction band,
which are free to move randomly in the crystal
structure, are now easily attracted toward the positive
end. This movement of free electrons is one type of
current in a semiconductive material and is called
electron current.
Another type of current occurs in the valence band, where the
holes created by the free electrons exist. Electrons remaining in
the valence band are still attached to their atoms and are not
free to move randomly in the crystal structure as are the free
electrons. However, a valence electron can move into a nearby
hole with little change in its energy level, thus leaving another
hole where it came from. Effectively the hole has moved from
one place to another in the crystal structure, as illustrated in Figure
in the next slide. Although current in the valence band is
produced by valence electrons, it is called hole current to
distinguish it from electron current in the conduction band.
As you have seen, conduction in semiconductors
is considered to be either the movement of free
electrons in the conduction band or the
movement of holes in the valence band, which is
actually the movement of valence electrons to
nearby atoms, creating hole current in the
opposite direction.
It is interesting to contrast the two types of charge movement in a
semiconductor with the charge movement in a metallic
conductor, such as copper. Copper atoms form a different type
of crystal in which the atoms are not covalently bonded to each
other but consist of a “sea” of positive ion cores, which are atoms
stripped of their valence electrons. The valence electrons are
attracted to the positive ions, keeping the positive ions together
and forming the metallic bond. The valence electrons do not
belong to a given atom, but to the crystal as a whole. Since the
valence electrons in copper are free to move, the application of
a voltage results in current. There is only one type of current—the
movement of free electrons—because there are no “holes” in the
metallic crystal structure.
 N-Type and P-type Semiconductors

Since semiconductors are generally poor

conductors, their conductivity can be drastically
increased by the controlled addition of impurities
to the intrinsic (pure) semiconductive material.
This process, called doping, increases the number
of current carriers (electrons or holes). The two
categories of impurities are n-type and p-type.
 N-Type Semiconductor

To increase the number of conduction-

band electrons in intrinsic silicon,
pentavalent impurity atoms are added.
These are atoms with five valence
electrons such as arsenic (As), phosphorus
(P), bismuth (Bi), and antimony (Sb).
As illustrated in Figure in the next slide, each pentavalent atom
(antimony, in this case) forms covalent bonds with four adjacent
silicon atoms. Four of the antimony atom’s valence electrons are
used to form the covalent bonds with silicon atoms, leaving one
extra electron. This extra electron becomes a conduction
electron because it is not involved in bonding. Because the
pentavalent atom gives up an electron, it is often called a donor
atom. The number of conduction electrons can be carefully
controlled by the number of impurity atoms added to the silicon.
A conduction electron created by this doping process does not
leave a hole in the valence band because it is in excess of the
number required to fill the valence band.
Majority and Minority Carriers Since most of the current
carriers are electrons, silicon (or germanium) doped with
pentavalent atoms is an n-type semiconductor (the n
stands for the negative charge on an electron). The
electrons are called the majority carriers in n-type
material. Although the majority of current carriers in n-
type material are electrons, there are also a few holes
that are created when electron-hole pairs are thermally
generated. These holes are not produced by the
addition of the pentavalent impurity atoms. Holes in an
n-type material are called minority carriers.
 P-Type Semiconductor
To increase the number of holes in intrinsic silicon, trivalent impurity atoms
are added. These are atoms with three valence electrons such as boron
(B), indium (In), and gallium (Ga). As illustrated in Figure in the next slide,
each trivalent atom (boron, in this case) forms covalent bonds with four
adjacent silicon atoms. All three of the boron atom’s valence electrons are
used in the covalent bonds; and, since four electrons are required, a hole
results when each trivalent atom is added. Because the trivalent atom can
take an electron, it is often referred to as an acceptor atom. The number of
holes can be carefully controlled by the number of trivalent impurity atoms
added to the silicon. A hole created by this doping process is not
accompanied by a conduction (free) electron.
Majority and Minority Carriers Since most of the current
carriers are holes, silicon (or germanium) doped with trivalent
atoms is called a p-type semiconductor. The holes are the
majority carriers in p-type material. Although the majority of
current carriers in p-type material are holes, there are also a
few conduction-band electrons that are created when
electron-hole pairs are thermally generated. These
conduction-band electrons are not produced by the
addition of the trivalent impurity atoms. Conduction-band
electrons in p-type material are the minority carriers.
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