Review:

• Electric Circuit
• Current
• Voltage
• Resistance
Electric Circuits

Key Question:
What is an electric circuit?
A Basic Circuit
All electric circuits have three main parts

1. A source of energy
2. A closed path
3. A device which uses the energy

If ANY part of the circuit is open the device will not work!
Electric Circuits

 Electricity refers to the

presence of electric
current in wires, motors,
light bulbs, and other
devices.
 Electric current flows in
solid metal wires so it is
not visible.
 Electric current can carry
a lot of power.
 circuit diagram
Scientists usually draw electric circuits using symbols;

cell lamp switch wires

 simple circuits
When the switch is closed, the lamp lights up. This is
because there is a continuous path of metal for the
electric current to flow around.

If there were any breaks in the circuit, the current

could not flow.
Voltage

 Voltage is a measure of
electric potential energy.
 Voltage is measured in volts
(V).
 A voltage difference of 1 volt
means 1 amp of current does
1 joule of work in 1 second.
Electrical resistance

 Resistance measures how difficult it is

for current to flow.
Electrical Resistance
 The total amount of electrical resistance in a
circuit determines the amount of current that in
the circuit for a given voltage.
 The more resistance the circuit has, the less
current that flows.
Electrical Conductivity

 Define conductor, insulator, semiconductor

Electrical Conductivity

 The electrical conductivity describes a

material’s ability to pass electric current.
Conductors and insulators
 A material such as copper
is called a conductor
because it can conduct, or
carry, electric current.
 Materials that insulate
against (or block) the flow
of current are classified as
electrical insulators.
 Some materials are neither
conductors nor insulators.
 These materials are named
semiconductors.
The Building Blocks of Matter:
Atoms

- -

++ +
- + + + -
+ +
-

- -
Matter
 Anything that has mass and takes up
space (volume)
◦ Examples:
 A brick has mass and takes up space
 A desk has mass and takes up space
 A pencil has mass and takes up space
 Air has mass and takes up space

All of the above examples are considered matter because

they have mass and take up space. Can you think of anything
that would not be considered matter?
Atoms
 Smallest possible unit
into which matter can be
divided, while still
- maintaining its
properties.
+  Made up of:

+ +
- - ◦ protons +

+
◦ neutrons
◦ electrons -

 The solar system is

- commonly used as an
analogy to describe the
structure of an atom
Bohr's Model of the Atom
Bohr's model:

-electrons orbit the nucleus like

planets orbit the sun
Atomic Theory

 Define nucleus, proton, neutron, &

electron
WHAT IS THE NUCLEUS?
o The central part of an
atom.

o Composed of protons
and neutrons.
WHAT IS A PROTON?

o Positively charged
particle.

o Found within an atomic

nucleus.
WHAT IS A NEUTRON?

o Uncharged particle.

o Found within an atomic

nucleus.
WHAT IS AN ELECTRON?

o Negatively charged
particle.

o Located in shells that

surround an atom's
nucleus.
Atomic Structure by: Bohr’s Model

Nucleus

Electron

Orbit

Energy Levels
 Define atomic number
Atomic Number : Atomic Model

The number of protons in the nucleus is

called the Atomic Number.

The number of protons always equals the

number of electrons. This ensures that
the overall atom is neutral.

The number of neutrons does not have to

equal the number of protons. Neutrons
don’t affect the charge of an atom
because they have no charge.
Bohr’s Model
 Why don’t the electrons fall into the nucleus?

 Move like planets around the sun.

 In circular orbits at different levels.

 Amounts of energy separate one level from another.

 Define shell
Electron Energy Level
 Electrons do not travel around the nucleus
of an atom in orbits

 They are found in energy levels at

different distances away from the nucleus.
(kind of like shells or layers).
Electron Energy Level

 Only a certain number of electrons may exist

in an energy level, but the number varies. It
can be determined by:
 # of electrons in level = 2 x (# of energy
level)2
 Therefore:
 energy level 1 = 2 (1)2 = 2
 energy level 2 = 2 (2)2 = 8
 energy level 3 = 18
 energy level 4 = 32
 etc...
 Bohr's Model of the Atom

e.g. fluorine:
#P =

#e- =
 Bohr's Model of the Atom

e.g. fluorine:
#P = atomic #
=9
#e- =
 Bohr's Model of the Atom

e.g. fluorine:
#P = 9

#e- = # P
=9
 Bohr's Model of the Atom

e.g. fluorine:
#P = 9

#e- = 9
9P

how many electrons can fit in the first orbit?

2
 Bohr's Model of the Atom

e.g. fluorine:
#P = 9

#e- = 9
9P
#N = 10

how many electrons are left?

7
 Bohr's Model of the Atom

e.g. fluorine:
#P = 9

#e- = 9
9P

how many electrons are left? 7

how many electrons fit in the second orbit?
8
 Bohr's Model of the Atom

e.g. fluorine:
#P = 9

#e- = 9
9P
 Bohr's Model of the Atom

try this:

magnesium
 Bohr's Model of the Atom

try these:

12P

magnesium
Recall:
The Bohr atom

The Bohr atom is useful for visualizing atomic structure.

•The nucleus is positively

charged and has the protons
and neutrons.
•Electrons are
negatively charged and
in discrete
•The atomicshells.
number is the
number of protons and
determines the particular
element.
•In the neutral atom, the
number of electrons is
equal to the number of
protons. Electron Proton Neutron
Explain what valence electron is
The valence shell

The outer shell is called the valence shell. Electrons in this shell are
involved in chemical reactions and they account for electrical and thermal
conductivity in metals.

A neutral Si atom is shown.

There are 4 electrons in the
valence shell.
+ Shell 1 Shell 2 Shell 3

Is Si a conductor, insulator,
or semiconductor?
Semiconductor
Conductor / Insulator / Semiconductor

 The stability of the electrons in the outer ring

determines whether a material made from this
element is a conductor, insulator, or semiconductor.
 Elements whose electrons are unstable and can easily
move from one atom to another make good
conductors.
 Elements whose electrons are stable and can not
easily move from one atom to another make good
insulators.
 Any elements that are not considered conductors or
insulators are categorized as semiconductors.
Semiconductors

Semiconductors are crystalline materials that are

characterized by specific energy bands for electrons.

Between the bands are gaps; Energ

these gaps represent energies y
that electrons cannot posses. Conduction
band
Energy
The last energy band is the gap
Valence
conduction band, where band
electrons are mobile. Energy
gap
Second
The next to the last band is band
the valence band, which is Energy
gap
the energy level associated First
band
with electrons involved in
Nucleus
bonding.
Electron and hole current

At room temperature, some electrons have enough

energy to jump into the conduction band.

After jumping the gap, these electrons are free to

drift throughout the material and form electron
current when a voltage is applied.
Energ Electron
y -hole
For every
pair
electron in the Conduction
conduction band
Energy
Heat
energy
band, a hole gap

is left behind Valence

band
in the valence
band.
Conductors: Example Ag & Cu
Silver Copper
(Ag) (Cu)
Because the outer-
most band is
incomplete, the single
electron is unstable
and loosely bonded to
2 8 18 18 1 the atom. Hence, it can 1 18 8 2
easily move to the
outer band of another
adjacent atom.

This free flow of

electrons is what
Number of makes silver and
Electrons in
Nucleus
Orbit
copper good
conductors.
Insulator
 When an element’s outer ring is complete, or full, its
electrons can not easily move from one atom to
another atom.
 Elements whose electrons can not move freely make
good insulators.
 Examples of good insulators are glass, plastic, rubber,
paper, or air. Most wiring uses plastic as an insulator.
 Plastics are polymers or long chains of atoms bonded
to one another. Viewing the atomic structure of
plastics is far beyond the scope of this class (If you
are interested in such topics, you may want to take
AP Chemistry.).
 Neon and argon, both gases, are good insulators and
are often used in light bulbs.
Insulator: Example Ne & Ar
Neon Argon
(Ne) (Ar)
The outer-most orbits of neon
and argon can each contain a
maximum of eight (8)
electrons. This is exactly how
2 8
many they have. This makes 8 8 2

the electron in the outer-most

bands stable.

This stable electron structure is

what makes neon and argon
good insulators.
Semiconductors: Example C & Si
Carbo
Silicon
n (Si)
(C)
The outer-most orbits of
carbon and silicon can each
contain a maximum of eight
(8) electrons. Because they
2 4
both contain four (4), these 4 8 2
electrons are neither stable nor
unstable.

This electron structure is what

makes carbon and silicon good
semiconductors.
 Semiconductor
Energy Electron

r3

r r1
r2 14P
r3 2

r1

Center of core Valence orbit

Energy levels in a has four electrons
Isolated silicon atom
single atom
Electrons in the same
orbit has same energy
Electrical Resistivity
and Conductivity of
Selected Materials
at 293 K
Reviewing the previous table
reveals that:
 The electrical conductivity at room
temperature is quite different for each of
these three kinds of solids
◦ Metals and alloys have the highest
conductivities
◦ followed by semiconductors
◦ and then by insulators
Semiconductors are mainly two types

1. Intrinsic (Pure) Semiconductors

2. Extrinsic (Impure) Semiconductors
 Silicon and Germanium are elemental
semiconductors and they have four valence
electrons
 Intrinsic Semiconductor
Valence Cell

Covalent bonds
Si

Si Si Si

Si
A silicon crystal is
formed by
zillions of silicon
atoms
Covalent Bond
Electron

14P
An electron
shared by two
neighboring atoms
14P 14P 14P to form a covalent
bond.
This way an atom
14P can have a stable
structure with
eight valence band
electrons.
Silicon crystal
 Energy bands
Electron (in conduction band)
Higher band higher energy

Conduction band
Hole (in valence band)

Valence band

14P
2nd band

1st band

In a crystal, electrons in the same orbit do not

have the same energy and thus form energy bands
Covalent Bonding

 Silicon crystal formed by covalent bonds

 Covalent bonds share electrons between
atoms
 Most important bands are therefore –
band which would be filled at 0 K -
valence band – next band above in energy
- conduction band
 Extrinsic Semiconductors
 The Extrinsic Semiconductors are those in which
impurities of large quantity are present. Usually, the
impurities can be either 3rd group elements or 5th group
elements.

 Based on the impurities present in the Extrinsic

Semiconductors, they are classified into two categories.
1. N-type semiconductors
2. P-type semiconductors
 N - type Semiconductors

When any pentavalent element such as Phosphorous,

Arsenic or Antimony is added to the intrinsic
Semiconductor , four electrons are involved in covalent
bonding with four neighboring pure Semiconductor
atoms.

The fifth electron is weakly bound to the parent atom.

And even for lesser thermal energy it is released Leaving
the parent atom positively ionized.
N-type Semiconductor

Free electron

Si

Si P Si

Si Impure atom
(Donor)
The Intrinsic Semiconductors doped with pentavalent
impurities are called N-type Semiconductors.

The energy level of fifth electron is called donor level.

The donor level is close to the bottom of the conduction

band most of the donor level electrons are excited in to the
conduction band at room temperature and become the
Majority charge carriers.

Hence in N-type Semiconductors electrons are Majority

carriers and holes are Minority carriers.
 P-type semiconductors
 When a trivalent elements such as Al, Ga or
Indium have three electrons in their outer most
orbits , added to the intrinsic semiconductor all the
three electrons of Indium are engaged in covalent
bonding with the three neighboring Si atoms.
 Indium needs one more electron to complete its
bond. this electron maybe supplied by Silicon , there
by creating a vacant electron site or hole on the
semiconductor atom.
 Indium accepts one extra electron, the energy level
of this impurity atom is called acceptor level and
this acceptor level lies just above the valence band.
 These type of trivalent impurities are called
acceptor impurities and the semiconductors
doped the acceptor impurities are called P-type
semiconductors.
 Hole
Co-Valent
bonds Si

Si In Si

Si

Impure atom
(acceptor)
 Even at relatively low temperatures,
these acceptor atoms get ionized taking
electrons from valence band and thus
giving rise to holes in valence band for
conduction.

 Due to ionization of acceptor atoms only

holes and no electrons are created.

 Thus holes are more in number than

electrons and hence holes are majority
carriers and electros are minority
carriers in P-type semiconductors.
RECALL…
Conductor / Insulator / Semiconductor
 The stability of the electrons in the outer ring determines
whether a material made from this element is a conductor,
insulator, or semiconductor.
 Elements whose electrons are unstable and can easily move
from one atom to another make good
__________
 conductors.
 Elements whose electrons are stable and can not easily
move from one atom to another make good
_________
insulators.
 Any elements that are not considered conductors or
insulators are categorized as
__________
semiconductors.
Electrical Resistivity
and Conductivity of
Conductor, Insulator
and Semiconducto
at 293 K
Electron and hole current

At room temperature, some electrons have enough

energy to jump into the conduction band.

After jumping the gap, these electrons are free to

drift throughout the material and form electron
current when a voltage is applied.
Energ Electron
y -hole
For every
pair
electron in the Conduction
conduction band
Energy
Heat
energy
band, a hole gap

is left behind Valence

band
in the valence
band.
Semiconductors are mainly two types

1. Intrinsic (Pure) Semiconductors

2. Extrinsic (Impure) Semiconductors
 Example of intrinsic material

 Silicon and Germanium are elemental

semiconductors and they have four valence
electrons
 Intrinsic Semiconductor
Valence Cell

Covalent bonds
Si

Si Si Si

Si
Covalent Bond
Electron

14P
An electron
shared by two
neighboring atoms
14P 14P 14P to form a covalent
bond.
This way an atom
14P can have a stable
structure with
eight valence band
electrons.
Silicon crystal
Extrinsic Semiconductor

Two types of Extrinsic Semiconduc

 Example of Pentavalent Impurities

◦ Phosphorus, Arsenic, Antimony

 Example of Trivalent Impurities
◦ Aluminium, Gallium, Indium
Impurities
To increase the number of conduction band electrons,
_______impurities are added, forming an n-type
semiconductor. (Donor or acceptor) atom

To increase the number of holes, trivalent impurities

are added, forming a p-type semiconductor.
3 Types of Semiconductor Diodes

1. Silicon
2. Germanium
3. Ideal
Semiconductor Diodes
 Forward and reverse currents
 Silicon diodes
◦ generally have a turn-on voltage of about 0.5 V
◦ generally have a conduction voltage of about 0.7
V
◦ have a breakdown voltage that depends on their
construction
 perhaps 75 V for a small-signal diode
 perhaps 400 V for a power device
◦ have a maximum current that depends on their
construction
 perhaps 100 mA for a small-signal diode
 perhaps many amps for a power device
 Turn-on and breakdown voltages for a
silicon device
Practical Aspects of pn Junction
anode

Reversed bias

+ + Forward bias
- -
cathode

The left hand diagram shows reverse bias, with positive on the
cathode and negative on the anode (via the lamp). No current flows.

The other diagram shows forward bias, with positive on the anode
and negative on the cathode. A current flows.
Polarization of the pn Junction

(1) (2)
Forward bias
examples

(3) (4)
Polarization of the pn Junction

(1) (2)

Reversed bias
examples

(3) (4)
Diode Ohms Check:

Checks preformed on Si diode, by reversing the leads on the

Digital Voltage Mutimeter (DMM).

+
-
1. DMM = 0 

P N

N P

DMM 2. DMM =  
Diode Voltages

To forward bias a
diode, the anode must
be more positive than
the cathode or LESS
NEGATIVE.

To reverse bias a
diode, the anode must
be less positive than
the cathode or MORE
NEGATIVE.

A conducting diode has about 0.6 volts across if silicon, 0.3 volts if
germanium.
A Diode Puzzle

Which lamps are alight? Some may not be full brightness.

+ +
- -
A Diode Puzzle

Which lamps are alight? Some may not be full brightness.

+ +
- -
Exercise - a Diode Puzzle

Which lamps are alight? Some may not be full brightness.

+
-
Exercise - a Diode Puzzle

Which lamps are alight? Some may not be full brightness.

+ +
- -
 Diode Characteristic
circuit A reading

Rp
R D
V reading
Ev
Diode in Series and Parallel
Connection
 Example: Series Configuration
 Example 2: Series Configuration

 VR = 8V
 Example 3.
Example 4.

Determine I , V 1 , V 2 , and V o for the

series dc configuration of figure below
 Example 5.