Analog Electronics
Semiconductor Materials
A conductor is any material that supports a generous flow of
charge when voltage is applied across the terminals.
Some examples include: Copper Wires, Nichrome Wires, etc.
An insulator is a material that offers very low conductivity when
voltage is applied.
Some examples include: Wood, Wool, etc.
A semiconductor is a material that has a conductivity more than
insulators but less than conductors.
Some examples include: Silicon and Germanium.
The order of resistivity goes as follows: Conductor <
Semiconductor < Insulator.
Intrinsic and Extrinsic Semiconductors
There are two types of semiconductors: Intrinsic and Extrinsic. This
is classified based on the way of satisfying the requirement of the
semiconductor to establish full valence band.
Intrinsic Semiconductor:
o They are pure semiconductors.
o Free electrons are only due to natural causes – Light, thermal
and electrical energy.
Extrinsic Semiconductor:
o Impurity atoms are added.
o Two types of impurity are there: p-type semiconductor and n-
type semiconductor.
p-type implies more holes. This is formed using
trivalent impurities.
Some examples include: Boron, Gallium,
Aluminium and Indium.
Here, holes are the majority carriers, while electrons
are the minority carriers.
n-type implies more electrons. This is formed using
pentavalent impurities.
Some examples include: Antimony, Phosphorous,
etc.
Here, electrons are the majority carriers, while holes
are the minority carriers.
o It is usually added in 1 ppm quantity.
o Process of adding certain impurity atoms to pure
semiconductor is called doping.
In semiconductors, with increase in temperature, the conductivity
increases but vie versa for conductors.
Electron vs. Hole Flow
The conventional current is along the direction of propagation of
holes but opposite to the electrons.
Mass Action Law
Under thermal equilibrium, the product of the free electron
concentration and the free hole concentration is equal to a
constant equal to the square of intrinsic carrier concentration.
Charge Densities in a Semiconductor
Electrical neutrality is satisfied by semiconductors.
Total positive charge = Total negative charge.
Conductivity of Semiconductors
Metals are unipolar, whereas semiconductors are bipolar (e and h).
Conductivity = (electron concentration * electron mobility + hole
concentration * hole mobility) * charge of an electron – Refer to a
video source for the derivation.
PN Junction Diode (No applied bias)
Bias, is the application of external voltage across two terminals.
When the two types of semiconductors are fused together through
metal contacts under no bias application, then two currents play a
role.
o Diffusion Current: Result of movement of majority carriers
due to difference in concentration
o Drift Current: Result of the movement of the minority
carriers.
Thus, due to diffusion current, immobile ions are surfaced out in
the junction, which keeps growing in width and potential until it
matches with that of the concentration.
That middle region of immobile ions is called depletion regions.
The potential across the depletion region is called barrier potential.
Under steady state, diffusion current is equal to drift current.
Barrier Potential
The barrier potential can be formulated as:
Width of Depletion Region
PN Junction Diode (Forward and
Reverse-Bias Condition)
Under forward bias condition, the p-terminal is connected with the
positive terminal of the battery and vice versa for the other.
Under forward bias, the width of the depletion layer reduces.
Because the layer of immobile ions gets full from the supply given
from the battery.
Majority carriers responsible for current flow under forward bias.
The minority carriers increase with temperature.
For reverse bias, the width increases because the opposite occurs.
Minority carriers responsible for current flow under reverse bias.
The current under bias is constant and is known as reverse
saturation current. This is because, current due to majority carriers
is nearly zero.
Semiconductor Diode
