Semiconductors

A semiconductor has electrical conductivity intermediate to that of a conductor and an insulator. Semiconductors differ from metals in their characteristic property of decreasing electrical resistivity with increasing temperature.[1] Semiconductor materials are useful because their behavior can be manipulated by the addition of impurities, known as doping.

Current conduction in a semiconductor occurs via mobile or "free" electrons and holes, collectively known as charge carriers. Doping a semiconductor with a small amount of impurity atoms greatly increases the number of charge carriers within it. When a doped semiconductor contains excess holes it is called "p-type", and when it contains excess free electrons it is known as "n-type". The semiconductor material used in devices is doped under highly controlled conditions to precisely control the location and concentration of p- and n-type dopants. Semiconductors are the foundation of modern electronics, including radio, computers, and telephones. Semiconductor-based electronic components include transistors, solar cells, many kinds of diodes including the light-emitting diode (LED), the silicon controlled rectifier, photodiodes, and digital and analog integrated circuits.

pn junction
A pn junction is formed at the boundary between a p-type and n-type semiconductor created in a single crystal of semiconductor by doping A pn junction is formed at the boundary between a p-type and n-type semiconductor created in a single crystal of semiconductor by doping

Properties of a pn junction
The pn junction possesses some interesting properties that have useful applications in modern electronics. A p-doped semiconductor is relatively conductive. The same is true of an n-doped semiconductor, but the junction between them can become depleted of charge carriers, and hence non-conductive, depending on the relative voltages of the two semiconductor regions. By manipulating this non-conductive layer, pn junctions are commonly used as diodes: circuit elements that allow a flow of electricity in one direction but not in the other (opposite) direction. This property is explained in terms of forward bias and reverse bias, where the term bias refers to an application of electric voltage to the pn junction.

Equilibrium (zero bias)

In a "pn" junction, without an external applied voltage, an equilibrium condition is reached in which a potential difference is formed across the junction. This potential difference is called built-in potential . After joining p-type and n-type semiconductors, electrons near the pn interface tend to diffuse into the p region. As electrons diffuse, they leave positively charged ions (donors) in the n region. Likewise, holes near the pn interface begin to diffuse into the n-type region, leaving fixed ions (acceptors) with negative charge. The regions nearby the pn interfaces lose their neutrality and become charged, forming the space charge region or depletion layer
The electric field created by the space charge region opposes the diffusion process for both electrons and holes. There are two concurrent phenomena: the diffusion process that tends to generate more space charge, and the electric field generated by the space charge that tends to counteract the diffusion.

Diffusion current is a current in a semiconductor caused by the diffusion of charge carriers (holes and/or electrons). Diffusion current can be in the same or opposite direction of a drift current, that is formed due to the electric field in the semiconductor. At equilibrium in a pn junction, the forward diffusion current in the depletion region is balanced with a reverse drift current, so that the net current is zero.

In a p-n junction diode, electrons and holes are the minority charge carriers in the p-region and the nregion, respectively. Due to the diffusion of charge carriers, the diffusion current, which flows from the p to n region, is exactly balanced by the equal and opposite drift current.[1] In a biased p-n junction, the drift current is independent of the biasing, as the number of minority carriers is independent of the biasing voltages. But as minority charge carriers can be thermally generated, drift current is temperature dependent.