Electronics Basics: What Is a Semiconductor?

Semiconductors are used extensively in electronic circuits. As its name

implies, a semiconductor is a material that conducts current, but only partly.
The conductivity of a semiconductor is somewhere between that of an
insulator, which has almost no conductivity, and a conductor, which has
almost full conductivity. Most semiconductors are crystals made of certain
materials, most commonly silicon.
To understand how semiconductors work, you must first understand a little
about how electrons are organized in an atom. The electrons in an atom are
organized in layers. These layers are called shells. The outermost shell is
called the valence shell.
The electrons in this shell are the ones that form bonds with neighboring
atoms. Such bonds are called covalent bonds. Most conductors have just one
electron in the valence shell. Semiconductors, on the other hand, typically
have four electrons in their valence shell.
If all the neighboring atoms are of the same type, it's possible for all the
valence electrons to bind with valence electrons from other atoms. When
that happens, the atoms arrange themselves into structures called crystals.
Semiconductors are made out of such crystals, usually silicon crystals.
Here, each circle represents a silicon atom, and the lines between the atoms
represent the shared electrons. Each of the four valence electrons in each
silicon atom is shared with one neighboring silicon atom. Thus, each silicon
atom is bonded with four other silicon atoms.

Pure silicon crystals are not all that useful electronically. But if you introduce
small amounts of other elements into a crystal, the crystal starts to conduct
in an interesting way.
The process of deliberately introducing other elements into a crystal is called
doping. The element introduced by doping is called a dopant. By carefully
controlling the doping process and the dopants that are used, silicon crystals
can transform into one of two distinct types of conductors:
N-type semiconductor: Created when the dopant is an element that has
five electrons in its valence layer. Phosphorus is commonly used for this
purpose.
The phosphorus atoms join right in the crystal structure of the silicon, each
one bonding with four adjacent silicon atoms just like a silicon atom would.
Because the phosphorus atom has five electrons in its valence shell, but only
four of them are bonded to adjacent atoms, the fifth valence electron is left
hanging out with nothing to bond to.
The extra valence electrons in the phosphorous atoms start to behave like
the single valence electrons in a regular conductor such as copper. They are
free to move about. Because this type of semiconductor has extra electrons,
it's called an N-type semiconductor.

P-type semiconductor: Happens when the dopant (such as boron) has only
three electrons in the valence shell. When a small amount is incorporated
into the crystal, the atom is able to bond with four silicon atoms, but since it
has only three electrons to offer, a hole is created. The hole behaves like a
positive charge, so semiconductors doped in this way are called P-type
semiconductors.
Like a positive charge, holes attract electrons. But when an electron moves
into a hole, the electron leaves a new hole at its previous location. Thus, in a
P-type semiconductor, holes are constantly moving around within the crystal
as electrons constantly try to fill them up.

When voltage is applied to either an N-type or a P-type semiconductor,

current flows, for the same reason that it flows in a regular conductor: The
negative side of the voltage pushes electrons, and the positive side pulls
them. The result is that the random electron and hole movement that's
always present in a semiconductor becomes organized in one direction,
creating measurable electric current.

Electronic properties
at finite temperatures thermal vibrations will break some bonds. When a
bond is broken, a free electron, along with a free hole, results, i.e., the
electron possesses enough thermal energy to cross the bandgap to the
conduction band, leaving behind a hole in the valence band. When an
electric field is applied to the semiconductor, both the electrons in the
conduction band and the holes in the valence band gain kinetic energy and
conduct electricity. The electrical conductivity of a material depends on the

number of charge carriers (i.e., free electrons and free holes) per unit
volume and on the rate at which these carriers move under the influence of
an electric field. In an intrinsic semiconductor there exists an equal number
of free electrons and free holes. The electrons and holes, however, have
different mobilitiesthat is to say, they move with different velocities in an
electric field. For example, for intrinsic silicon at room temperature, the
electron mobility is 1,500 square centimeters per volt second (cm2/Vs)i.e.,
an electron will move at a velocity of 1,500 centimeters per second under an
electric field of one volt per centimeterwhile the hole mobility is 500
cm2/Vs. The mobilities of a given semiconductor generally decrease with
increasing temperature or with increased impurity concentration.
Electrical conduction in intrinsic semiconductors is quite poor at room
temperature. To produce higher conduction, one can intentionally introduce
impurities (typically to a concentration of one part per million host atoms).
This is the so-called doping process. For example, when a silicon atom is
replaced by an atom with five outer electrons such as arsenic (Figure 2C),
four of the electrons form covalent bonds with the four neighboring silicon
atoms. The fifth electron becomes a conduction electron that is donated to
the conduction band. The silicon becomes an n-type semiconductor because
of the addition of the electron. The arsenic atom is the donor. Similarly,
Figure 2C shows that, when an atom with three outer electrons such as
boron is substituted for a silicon atom, an additional electron is accepted
to form four covalent bonds around the boron atom, and a positively charged
hole is created in the valence band. This is a p-type semiconductor, with the
boron constituting an acceptor

The p-n junction

If an abrupt change in impurity type from acceptors (p-type) to donors (ntype) occurs within a single crystal structure, a p-n junction is formed (see
Figure 3B and3C). On the p side, the holes constitute the dominant carriers
and so are called majority carriers. A few thermally generated electrons will
also exist in the p side; these are termed minority carriers. On the n side the
electrons are the majority carriers, while the holes are the minority carriers.
Near the junction is a region having no free-charge carriers. This region,
called the depletion layer, behaves as an insulator.
The most important characteristic of p-n junctions is that they rectify; that is
to say, they allow current to flow easily in only one direction. Figure 3A
shows the current-voltage characteristics of a typical silicon p-n junction.
When a forward bias is applied to the p-n junction (i.e., a positive voltage
applied to the p-side with respect to the n-side, as shown in Figure 3B), the
majority charge carriers move across the junction so that a large current can
flow. However, when a reverse bias is applied (in Figure 3C), the charge
carriers introduced by the impurities move in opposite directions away from
the junction, and only a small leakage current flows initially. As the reverse
bias is increased, the current remains very small until a critical voltage is
reached, at which point the current suddenly increases. This sudden increase
in current is referred to as the junction breakdown, usually a nondestructive
phenomenon if the resulting power dissipation is limited to a safe value. The
applied forward voltage is usually less than one volt, but the reverse critical
voltage, called the breakdown voltage, can vary from less than one volt to
many thousands of volts, depending on the impurity concentration of the
junction and other device parameters.

You can change the behavior of silicon and turn it into a conductor by doping
it. In doping, you mix a small amount of an impurity into the silicon crystal.

There are two types of impurities:

N-type - In N-type doping, phosphorus or arsenic is added to the silicon in
small quantities. Phosphorus and arsenic each have five outer electrons, so
they're out of place when they get into the silicon lattice. The fifth electron
has nothing to bond to, so it's free to move around. It takes only a very small
quantity of the impurity to create enough free electrons to allow an electric
current to flow through the silicon. N-type silicon is a good conductor.
Electrons have a negative charge, hence the name N-type.
P-type - In P-type doping, boron or gallium is the dopant. Boron and gallium
each have only three outer electrons. When mixed into the silicon lattice,
they form "holes" in the lattice where a silicon electron has nothing to bond
to. The absence of an electron creates the effect of a positive charge, hence
the name P-type. Holes can conduct current. A hole happily accepts an
electron from a neighbor, moving the hole over a space. P-type silicon is a
good conductor.

A minute amount of either N-type or P-type doping turns a silicon crystal

from a good insulator into a viable (but not great) conductor -- hence the
name "semiconductor."
N-type and P-type silicon are not that amazing by themselves; but when you
put them together, you get some very interesting behavior at the junction.
That's what happens in a diode.
A diode is the simplest possible semiconductor device. A diode allows current
to flow in one direction but not the other. You may have seen turnstiles at a
stadium or a subway station that let people go through in only one direction.
A diode is a one-way turnstile for electrons.

When you put N-type and P-type silicon together as shown in this diagram,
you get a very interesting phenomenon that gives a diode its unique
properties.
Even though N-type silicon by itself is a conductor, and P-type silicon by itself
is also a conductor, the combination shown in the diagram does not conduct
any electricity. The negative electrons in the N-type silicon get attracted to
the positive terminal of the battery. The positive holes in the P-type silicon
get attracted to the negative terminal of the battery. No current flows across
the junction because the holes and the electrons are each moving in the
wrong direction.
If you flip the battery around, the diode conducts electricity just fine. The
free electrons in the N-type silicon are repelled by the negative terminal of
the battery. The holes in the P-type silicon are repelled by the positive
terminal. At the junction between the N-type and P-type silicon, holes and
free electrons meet. The electrons fill the holes. Those holes and free
electrons cease to exist, and new holes and electrons spring up to take their
place. The effect is that current flows through the junction

Diodes and Transistors

A device that blocks current in one direction while letting current flow in
another direction is called a diode. Diodes can be used in a number of ways.
For example, a device that uses batteries often contains a diode that
protects the device if you insert the batteries backward. The diode simply
blocks any current from leaving the battery if it is reversed -- this protects
the sensitive electronics in the device.
A semiconductor diode's behavior is not perfect, as shown in this graph:
When reverse-biased, an ideal diode would block all current. A real diode lets
perhaps 10 micro amps through -- not a lot, but still not perfect. And if you
apply enough reverse voltage (V), the junction breaks down and lets current
through. Usually, the breakdown voltage is a lot more voltage than the circuit
will ever see, so it is irrelevant.
When forward-biased, there is a small amount of voltage necessary to get
the diode going. In silicon, this voltage is about 0.7 volts. This voltage is
needed to start the hole-electron combination process at the junction.
Another monumental technology that's related to the diode is the transistor.
Transistors and diodes have a lot in common.

Rectifier
This type of p-n junction diode is specifically designed to rectify an
alternating currenti.e., to give a low resistance to current flow in one
direction and a very high resistance in the other direction. Such diodes are
generally designed for use as power-rectifying devices that operate at
frequencies from 50 hertz to 50 kilohertz. The majority of rectifiers have
power-dissipation capabilities from 0.1 to 10 watts and a reverse breakdown
voltage from 50 to more than 5,000 volts. (A high-voltage rectifier is made
from two or more p-n junctions connected in series.)

Zener diode
This voltage regulator is a p-n junction diode that has a precisely tailored
impurity distribution to provide a well-defined breakdown voltage. It can be
designed to have a breakdown voltage over a wide range from 0.1 volt to
thousands of volts. The Zener diode is operated in the reverse direction to
serve as a constant voltage source, as a reference voltage for a regulated
power supply, and as a protective device against voltage and current
transients.

Varactor diode
The varactor (variable reactor) is a device whose reactance can be varied in
a controlled manner with a bias voltage. It is a p-n junction with a special
impurity profile, and its capacitance variation is very sensitive to reversebiased voltage. Varactors are widely used in parametric amplification,
harmonic generation, mixing, detection, and voltage-variable tuning
applications.

Tunnel diode
A tunnel diode consists of a single p-n junction in which both the p and n
sides are heavily doped with impurities. The depletion layer is very narrow
(about 100 angstroms). Under forward biases, the electrons can tunnel or
pass directly through the junction, producing a negative resistance effect
(i.e., the current decreases with increasing voltage). Because of its short

tunneling time across the junction and its inherent low noise (random
fluctuations either of current passing through a device or of voltage
developed across it), the tunnel diode is used in special low-power
microwave applications, such as a local oscillator and a frequency-locking
circuit.

Schottky diode
Such a diode is one that has a metal-semiconductor contact (e.g., an
aluminum layer in intimate contact with an n-type silicon substrate). It is
named for the German physicist Walter H. Schottky, who in 1938 explained
the rectifying behavior of this kind of contact. The Schottky diode is
electrically similar to a p-n junction, though the current flow in the diode is
due primarily to majority carriers having an inherently fast response. It is
used extensively for high-frequency, low-noise mixer and switching circuits.
Metal-semiconductor contacts can also be nonrectifying; i.e.,the contact has
a negligible resistance regardless of the polarity of the applied voltage. Such
a contact is called an ohmic contact. All semiconductor devices as well as
integrated circuits need ohmic contacts to make connections to other
devices in an electronic system.

P-I-N diode
A p-i-n diode is a p-n junction with an impurity profile tailored so that an
intrinsic layer, the i region, is sandwiched between a p layer and an n
layer. The p-i-n diode has found wide application in microwave circuits. It can
be used as a microwave switch with essentially constant depletion-layer
capacitance (equal to that of a parallel-plate capacitor having a distance
between the plates equal to the i-region thickness) and high power-handling
capability.

Transistors

A transistor is created by using three layers rather than the two layers used
in a diode. You can create either an NPN or a PNP sandwich. A transistor can
act as a switch or an amplifier.
A transistor looks like two diodes back-to-back. You'd imagine that no current
could flow through a transistor because back-to-back diodes would block
current both ways. And this is true. However, when you apply a small current
to the center layer of the sandwich, a much larger current can flow through
the sandwich as a whole. This gives a transistor its switching behavior. A
small current can turn a larger current on and off.
A silicon chip is a piece of silicon that can hold thousands of transistors. With
transistors acting as switches, you can create Boolean gates, and with
Boolean gates you can create microprocessor chips.
The natural progression from silicon to doped silicon to transistors to chips is
what has made microprocessors and other electronic devices so inexpensive
and ubiquitous in today's society. The fundamental principles are surprisingly
simple. The miracle is the constant refinement of those principles to the
point where, today, tens of millions of transistors can be inexpensively
formed onto a single chip.

LED
LEDs are semiconductor diodes, electronic devices that permit current to
flow in only one direction. The diode is formed by bringing two slightly
different materials together to form a PN junction (Figure 2). In a PN
junction, the P side contains excess positive charge ("holes," indicating the
absence of electrons) while the N side contains excess negative charge
(electrons).

When a forward voltage is applied to the semiconducting element forming

the PN junction (heretofore referred to as the junction), electrons move from
the N area toward the P area and holes move toward the N area. Near the
junction, the electrons and holes combine. As this occurs, energy is released
in the form of light that is emitted by the LED.

The material used in the semiconducting element of an LED determines its

color. The two main types of LEDs presently used for lighting systems are
aluminum gallium indium phosphide (AlGaInP, sometimes rearranged as
AlInGaP) alloys for red, orange and yellow LEDs; and indium gallium nitride
(InGaN) alloys for green, blue and white LEDs. Slight changes in the
composition of these alloys changes the color of the emitted light.