Dr.

Nilesh Wadibhasme
Asst. Prof., APSIT
 Module - 7

 Introduction to semiconductors
 Direct and indirect bandgap semiconductors
 Light emitting diodes
 Laser diodes
 Photodetectors
 PN and PIN
Reference Books:
1. Solid State Electronic Devices – Ben G. Streetman and Sanjay Kumar Banerjee

2. Semiconductor Devices – S.M. Sze

3. A Textbook of Engineering Physics – M.N. Avadhanulu and P.G. Kshirsagar

Introduction to Semiconductors
• A semiconductor is a material that has a resistivity lies between that
of a conductor and an insulator. The conductivity of a semiconductor
material can be varied under an external electrical field. Devises
made from semiconductor materials are the foundation of modern
electronics, including computer, radio, telephones and many other
devises
• In a metallic conductor, current is carried by the flow of electrons. In
semiconductors, current can be carried by either flow of electrons
or flow of holes or both. Germanium and Silicon are the best
examples for semiconductor materials. Both are tetravalent (i.e. four
valence electrons) and both have diamond crystal structure. At T=0K,
the semiconductor acts as insulator.
Why Semiconductor Materials are so important ?
 The conductivity of these materials can be varied over
orders of magnitude by changes in
1. Impurity content
2. Temperature
3. optical excitation

 “This sensitivity in conductivity makes the

semiconductor one of the most important materials
for electronic applications”

Applications
1. Integrated circuits (Transistors, MOSFET)
2. Amplification
3. Switching (Logic gates)
4. Photodiodes, LED’s, LASER’s (Optoelectronics)
5. Solar cells
6. Detectors (IR, Nuclear radiations)
Semiconductor Materials
• Elements in the periodic table Group IV are the
most common semiconductors. Ex. C, Si and Ge

• The group II, III, IV, V and VI elements are alloyed

together to give compound semiconductors

(a) The portion of the periodic table where

semiconductors occur
(b) Elemental and compound semiconductors
Bonding in Semiconductor
• Si have Diamond lattice crystal structure where each atom
is surrounded by four nearest neighbors. Such bonding is
called tetrahedron bond

• Each atom has four electrons in the outer orbit, and each
atom shares these valence electrons with its four neighbors.
This sharing of electrons is known as covalent bonding

Tetrahedron bond in A simplified two-dimensional diagram Tetrahedron bond

diamond crystal structure showing tetrahedron bonding
Band Formation in Silicon
Electronic configuration for Si (Z = 1 4 )

Schematic representation of an isolated Formation of energy bands as a lattice is formed by bringing

silicon atom isolated silicon atoms together
Band Theory of Solids

Non-interacting atoms r>>a Interacting atoms r=a

Energy band diagram of one-dimensional lattice

Classification of solids based on band gap energy
• Every solid has its own
characteristic energy band
structure.

• This variation in band

structure is responsible for
the wide range of electrical
characteristics observed in
various materials.

Eg ≥ 3 eV Eg ≈ 0.5 - 3 eV Eg does not exist!

Schematic representation of Energy band structures of
Metal, Semiconductor and Insulator at 0 K
Types of Semiconductor
Concept of Hole
• Two types of charge carriers which conducts current in Semiconductor
1. Electrons
2. Holes (an electric charge carrier with a positive charge, equal in
magnitude but opposite in polarity to the charge on the electron)
Intrinsic Semiconductor
• A perfect semiconductor crystal with no impurities or lattice defects
• There are no charge carriers at 0 K, since the valence band is filled with electrons
and the conduction band is empty
• At higher temperatures Electron-hole pair(EHP) are generated, which are the only
charge carriers in intrinsic material
T = 0 K T > 0 K
Intrinsic semiconductor
• A pure semiconductor is called intrinsic semiconductor. A pure crystal of
Germanium and Silicon is an example for intrinsic semiconductor. At T=0K,
the semiconductor acts as insulator
• Germanium and silicon are tetravalent atoms (i.e. four valence electrons)
and both have diamond crystal structure. In order to gain
stability each Si atom makes four covalent bonds with the four surrounding
Si atoms by sharing of their valence electrons as shown in figure
• At 0K, the semiconductor crystal acts as a perfect insulator since the
covalent bonds are strong and no free electrons are available. At room
temperature (T>0K) the semiconductor gives some conductivity since some
of the covalent bonds are broken due to the thermal energy supplied to the
crystals. The vacancy of an electron in the covalent is called hole. Thus the
valence band has holes and conduction band has electrons
Intrinsic semiconductor
• For silicon energy gap is 1.12eV and for germanium energy gap is
0.7eV. In intrinsic semiconductor the electron concentration is equal
to the hole concentration. In intrinsic semiconductors Fermi level is
always lies between valence band and conduction band
The law of mass action for intrinsic semiconductors is np2
In intrinsic semiconductor the carrier concentration of electrons (n)
and holes (p) is
Extrinsic Semiconductor
• A semiconductor doped with impurity atoms is called extrinsic semiconductor
• These are substitutional impurities and do not cause any distortion in the original crystal
structure
• If doped with trivalent impurity from group III, called as p-type semiconductor and if
doped with pentavalent impurity from group V, called as n-type semiconductor
p-type n-type
Extrinsic semiconductor
• n- type extrinsic semiconductor:-

Intrinsic semiconductor is doped with v group elements such as phosphorus

(P), arsenic (As), and antimony (Sb), n – type semiconductor is formed. V
group elements contain five valence electrons.
When v group element is added to pure semiconductor, four valence
electrons of impurity atoms makes four covalent bonds with the four
surrounded intrinsic atoms and fifth electron is loosely bounded with the
parent atom. When it received a small amount of energy, the fifth valence
electron is excited into conduction band form acceptor level. As a result the
donor levels get ionized
In n-type semiconductors, the Fermi is always lies between conduction level
and donor level at lower temperatures but at higher temperatures the Fermi
level moves towards the intrinsic Fermi level.
Extrinsic semiconductor
• p- Type extrinsic semiconductor:-

• Intrinsic semiconductor is doped with III group elements such as Aluminium (Al), gallium
(Ga), indium (In) p – type semiconductor is formed. III group elements contain three valence
electrons. When III group element is added to pure semiconductor, three valence electrons of
impurity atoms makes three covalent bonds with the three surrounded intrinsic atoms and one
bond is left over with the deficiency of one electron. When the
temperature is raised (>0K) the electrons from the valence band try to occupy the acceptor and it
gets ionized creating the hole in the valence band.
• These holes are responsible for electrical conduction. At higher temperature the electron hole
pairs are created by breaking the covalent bond i.e. electron excited into the conduction band
leaving the holes in the valence band. As a result, the concentrations of holes are greater than
electrons. Hence holes are the majority charge carriers and electrons are minority charge carriers.
The III group impurity atoms are also called acceptor Impurity atoms.
• In p-type semiconductor, the Fermi level is always lies between valence level and acceptor level at
lower temperatures but at higher temperatures the Fermi level moves towards the intrinsic Fermi
level
E-K Band Diagram
• An E-k diagram shows the relationship
between the energy and momentum of
available quantum mechanical states for
electrons in the material

• is a propagation vector of an electron in

a periodic potential of a lattice

is a electron de-Broglie wavelength i.e.

Crystal momentum
Direct and Indirect Bandgap Semiconductor
Direct Semiconductor Indirect Semiconductor

• Crystal momentum of • Crystal momentum are

electrons and holes are different for electrons and
same, electron can CB CB holes, therefore photon
directly emit a photon can not be emitted during
during transition transition

• Only potential energy of • Potential energy and

electron changes while momentum of electron
rising from VB to CB changes while rising from
VB to CB
VB VB
• Direct recombination
releasing energy equal • Electron momentum is
to band gap energy conserved first by
releasing energy to the
lattice and then
recombine
Direct band gap semiconductors Indirect gap semiconductors

1) In direct band gap semiconductors In in-direct band gap semiconductors

the maximum of the valance band the maximum of the valance band
and minimum of the conduction band and minimum of the conduction band
present at the same of k present at the different values of k

2) direct band gap semiconductors, indirect band gap semiconductors,

when an electron recombines with when an electron recombines with
the hole, it emits their energy in the hole, it emits their energy in
terms of light terms of heat

3) Life time(recombination time) of Life time (recombination time) of

charge carriers is very less charge carriers is more.

4) These are mostly form the These are mostly form the elemental
compound semiconductors semiconductors.

5) Examples: InP, GaAs. Examples: Germanium and silicon

p-n Junction
• A p-n junction is a device formed by joining a p-type semiconductor with a n-type
semiconductor such that crystal structure remains continuous at the metallurgical boundary
• The interface lying between p-type and n-type region is called p-n junction
• In practice it is formed by adding excessive impurities to a portion of n-type semiconductor
or donor impurities to a p-type semiconductor
• p-n junction is the basic component of solid state devices and is used as a diode, rectifier,
Zener diode, photodiode, solar cell, LED, a laser, etc
What is special about p-n Junction?
• A p-type or n-type semiconductor, when taken individually, conduct in both
directions equally just like a resistor, exhibiting ohmic nature
• A p-n junction is unidirectional, conducts current only in one direction
 p-n Junction at Equilibrium
• When two blocks are joined, a large
concentration gradient exist across the
junction for charge carriers giving rise to
diffusion current
• Electrons and holes undergo recombinations
near the junction leaving fixed positive and
negative ions, called space charge
• Since this region is depleted of free carriers,
called as depletion region
How Equilibrium is attained in p-n Junction
Potential Barrier 𝑽𝟎 =
𝑲𝑻 𝑵𝑫 𝑵𝑨
𝒆
𝒍𝒏
𝒏𝒊𝟐

• The space charge in a depletion region produces

built-in electric field which prevent further
diffusion of charge carriers across the junction

• Because of this electric filed, a voltage will

appear across the junction called as built-in
potential barrier V0

• The product qV0 gives the height of the barrier in

terms of energy

• The width of the depletion layer depends on the

potential barrier and on the carrier concentration
Drift of Minority Carrier
• The built-in electric field is in right
direction to promote the flow of
minority charge carriers across
the junction resulting into drift
current

• The generation of minority

carriers depends on temperature
and therefore drift current is
constant at a given temperature

• Drift current (µA) is negligibly

small compared to diffusion
current (mA)
Equilibrium Condition
• When p-n junction is at thermal equilibrium and not connected to any external circuit,
the diffusion current due to majority carriers is equal to the drift current due to minority
carriers

• The net current across the junction is zero which is a condition of equilibrium
Width of depletion layer in a p-n junction diode changes when the junction is forward biased

Under forward biasing the applied potential difference causes a field which acts opposite to the potential barrier. This
results in reducing the potential barrier , and hence the width of depletion layer decreases
Depletion layer in a p-n junction diode changes when the junction is reversed biased

Under reverse biasing the applied potential difference causes a field which is in the same direction as the field
due to internal potential barrier. This results in an increase in barrier voltage and hence the width of depletion
layer decreases
Applications of p-n Junction Diode
• Rectifier – Conversion of ac voltage to dc voltage
• Variable capacitor and a tunnel diode – as a oscillator
• Zener Diode – Voltage stabilizer
• Photodiode – Light detector
• Solar cell – Voltage source
• LED and LASER – as a light source
• Transistors – For amplification, switching, IC’s
 P-i-n photodiode
Positive – intrinsic – negative photo diode.
It consists of a thick, lightly doped intrinsic layer sandwiched between thin p
and n regions.
Here the intrinsic region is the depletion region where the absorption of
photon occurs.
The electron hole pairs are generated in this thick layer from the conduction
band to the valance band.
In other words, the intrinsic "i" region is flooded with charge carriers from the
"p" and "n" regions.
Due to this high level injection, which in turn is due to the depletion process,
the electric field extends deeply (almost the entire length) into the region.
(ie. Since the intrinsic layer contains almost no free charge carriers, the
electric field across this layer is large . This results in a efficient separation of
electrons and holes generated by the incident photons)
This electric field helps in speeding up of the transport of charge carriers
from P to N region, which results in faster operation of the diode.
At reverse biased condition the charge carriers that are generated in the
intrinsic region are drawn back to the original p and n regions producing
electrical signals.

Advantage:
The reverse biasing can be small because the thickness of the depletion
region is controlled by the thickness of the intrinsic region and not by the
reverse voltage.
Used in modern fiber optic communication system.
Ease in fabrication, high reliability, low noise, low voltage and relatively high
band width.
Advantages of PIN diode :
•Low noise.
•Low dark current.
•Low bias voltage.
•Higher reverse voltages to be tolerated.
•High-speed response.
•Low junction capacitance.
•Large depletion region.
 Photo diode

Silicon photo diode is a light sensitive device. It is also called as photo detector. Photo diode
converts light signals into electrical signals. It is always operated in reverse biased condition

Construction

The diode is made of semiconductor pn

junction kept in a sealed plastic casing. The cover is
so designed that the light rays are allowed to fall on
one surface of junction and the remaining sides of
the casing are painted to restrict the penetration of
light rays. A lens permits light to fall on the junction

Working

When light falls on the reverse biased p-n photo diode junction, hole-electron
pairs created by breaking of covalent bonding's. The magnitude of photo
current depends on the number of charge carriers generated and on the light
falling of diode element. The current is also affected by the frequency of the
light falling on the diode element

The magnitude of current under large reversed bias is given by

Where Is = short circuit current which is proportional to the light intensity
I0 Reverse saturation current
V Voltage across the diode
VT Volt equaling of temperature
n Parameter, 1 for Ge, 2 for Si

Characteristics

The Characteristics of photo diode are shown in

figure. The reverse current increases in direct
proportion to the level of light. Even no light is
applied, there is minimum reverse lekage current
called dark current, flowing through the diode.
Germanium has higher dark current than silicon.
Applications
Photo diodes are used as
Light detectors,
Demodulators,
Encoders.
Optical communication system
High speed counting and switching circuits.
 LIGHT EMITTING DIODE (LED)

Light emitting diode is a pn junction device. It is always operated in forward biased condition. LED converts
electrical energy into light energy. In the fabrication of LED’s direct band gap semiconductors like GaP, GaAsP
are used. In direct band gap semiconductors most of the energy is emitted in the form of light when hole and
electron recombination takes place.

Construction
The basic structure and of an LED is shown in figure. In LED,
an N type layer is grown on a substrate and a p type is
deposited on it by diffusion. A metal (gold) coating is applied
to the bottom of the substrate for the reflection of light and
also to provide cathode connection. The metal anode
connections are made at the outer edges of the p-layer.
Working

When an LED is forward biased the electrons and holes move in towards the junction and recombination takes
place. As a result of recombination the electrons lying in the conduction band of an n- region fall into the holes
lying in the valence band of a p –region. The difference of energy in the valence band and conduction band is
radiated in the form of light energy. Here their excess energy is transferred to the emitted photon. The brightness
of emitted light is directly proportional to the forward bias current

Applications
LEDs are used in
For instrument display
In calculators
Digital clocks
For indicating power ON/ OFF
For optical switching application
In optical communication system
 Laser Diode

Construction
In this laser system, the active is a p-n junction diode made
from crystalline gallium arsenide. The p-region and n-region in
the diode are obtained by heavily doping germanium and
tellurium respectively in GaAs. The thickness of the p-n
junction is very narrow so that the emitted radiation has large
divergence and poor coherence. At the junction two sides are
roughed to avoid laser emission and the remaining two faces
one is partially polished and the other is fully polished. The
laser emission takes place from the partially polished face. To
provide bias two metal contacts are provided in the top and
bottom of the diode as shown in figure
Working

The semiconductor laser device is always operated in forward bias condition. Electrons and the holes are the
minority charge carriers in p-region and p-region semiconductors. When a huge current (104 Amp/mm2) is passing
through the p-n junction, p region is positively biased, holes are injected into n-region from p-region and n-region is
negatively biased electrons are injected into p-region from n-region as shown in figure

The continuous injection of charge carriers creates the population inversion of minority carriers in n and p sides’
respectively. The electrons and holes recombine and release of light energy takes place in or near the junction as
shown in above figure. The emitted photons increase the rate of recombination of injected electrons from the n-
region and holes in p region by inducing more recombination
For GaAs semiconductor Eg = 1.4 eV

The wave length of emitted radiation depends up on the concentration of donor and acceptor atoms in GaAs. .In
case of GaAs homo-junction which has an energy gap of 1.44eV gives a laser beam of wave length around
8874A0. The efficiency of the laser emission is increases when we cool the GaAs diode