9/8/2011

Semiconductors

A semiconductor is a substance whose resistivity lies between that of a conductor and an insulator. The resistance of a semiconductor decreases as the temperature increases. Semiconductors are usually made from Silicon or Germanium

Conduction in semiconductors
A Si atom has 4 electrons in its outermost shell. In a piece of Si at low temp. (near 0 K) each of these electrons forms covalent bonds with 4 other Si atoms

As the temp. of the semiconductor is increased, these electrons gain more energy. Some gain enough energy to break free of their bonds, and wander through the piece of material. Once an electron moves out of a bond, it leaves behind a hole in that bond

This hole is positive, and so can attract nearby electrons which then move out of their bond etc. Thus, as electrons move in one direction, holes effectively move in the other direction

The difference between conduction in metals and semiconductors, in metals conduction is due solely to movement of electrons, in semiconductors it is due to movement of negative electrons and positive holes.

Electron moves to fill hole

As electron moves in one direction hole effectively moves in other

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Intrinsic semiconductors
When conduction in a semiconductor is due to electrons moving from - to + and an equal no. of holes moving from + to -, it is called intrinsic conduction The resistance of an intrinsic semiconductor, even at room temp. is quite high

To increase conduction in a semiconductor

(a) Increase the temperature
As the temp. increases the no. of electrons which have enough energy to break free of their bonds increases, and so the conduction increases. A thermistor is a device whose resistance changes rapidly as the temperature changes

(b) Shine light on surface. When light shines on some semiconductors, (e.g. cadmium sulphide) it gives sufficient energy to the valence electrons for them to break free of their bonds, and so increases conduction. Such a semiconductor is called an LDR (Light Dependent Resistor)

(c ) Adding small amounts of impurities to the semiconductor can also effect its conduction. This process is known as doping

Its resistance varies from several M in darkness, to 100 in daylight-used in automatic streetlight circuits

Doping
Si has 4 valence electrons. B has 3 valence electrons. If a small amount of B is introduced into the Si lattice, at each location that a B atom occurs in the bond, there will be one electron missing, in other words, a positive hole exists.

This means that even before you raise the temperature there are already holes in existence, which, if a voltage is applied across the material,it will cause conduction to occur.

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N-type semiconductors
Thus, in a semiconductor doped with B, there are more holes than electrons. Positive holes are thus the majority charge carriers, and the system is called a p-type semiconductor If, instead, the semiconductor has small quantities of phosphorus (which has 5 valence electrons) added to it, then at each location where P occurs, there is an extra electron.

Thus the semiconductor has more electrons than holes. The electrons are the majority charge carriers and the system is called an n-type semiconductor

Extrinsic conduction
-increased conduction due to the presence of impurity elements is called extrinsic conduction

P-N Junction
It is important to note that even though there are extra FREE electrons or holes, the piece of material is still electrically neutral. Overall there are still the same TOTAL no. of electrons as protons
If a piece of p-type an n-type semiconductors are placed next to each other, at the boundary some of the electrons from the n-type jump to the boundary to fill some of the holes in the p-type.

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Effects: Firstly, the p-type has now gained extra electrons, and so is negatively charged. Similarly the n-type is now positively charged. Thus there is a voltage across the material this is known as the junction voltage. For Si the junction voltage =0.6V, for germanium = 0.2V

Depletion layer
Also, at the boundary region (junction) there are no free electrons and no holes (as they have cancelled each other) Thus, in this region there are no free charge carriers, so no conduction can occur. This insulating layer is called the depletion layer

PN junction (diode)
A popular semiconductor device called a diode is made by joining p- and n-type semiconductor materials

PN junction (diode)
In order to get current to flow through the diode it is necessary to break down the depletion layer (i.e. drive free electrons and free holes into the layer)

Symbol

P type

N type

Depletion layer forms an insulator between the 2 sides

Forward biased pn junction

The term bias is defined as a control voltage or current. In this case the + of the battery is connected to the p-type and the of the battery to the n-type, the free electrons and the free holes are repelled by the battery and driven into the depletion layer. Once the applied voltage of the battery is greater than the junction voltage, the depletion layer breaks down and the diode conducts Forward-biasing a diode allows current to flow easily through the diode.

Reverse biased pn junction

If the + of the battery is connected to the n-type and the terminal to the p-type, the free electrons and free holes are attracted back towards the battery, hence back from the depletion layer, hence the depletion layer grows. Thus a reverse biased pn junction does not conduct current

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The PN Junction Diode

Volt-Ampere Characteristic Curve

The figure is a graph of diode current versus diode voltage for a silicon diode. The graph includes the diode current for both forward- and reverse-bias voltages. The upper right quadrant of the graph represents the forward-bias condition. Beyond 0.6 V of forward bias the diode current increases sharply. The lower left quadrant of the graph represents the reverse-bias condition. Only a small current flows until breakdown is reached.

Diodes Have Polarity (They must be installed correctly.)

Anode (+) Anode Lead

Diodes

Cathode (-) Cathode Lead

Diode Ratings
Diode ratings include maximum ratings and electrical characteristics. Typical ratings are
Breakdown Voltage Rating, VBR Average Forward-Current rating, IO Maximum Forward-Surge Current Rating, IFSM Maximum Reverse Current, IR

Diode Ratings
Rating
Breakdown Voltage

Abbreviation
VBR

Designated As
PIV, PRV, VBR, or VRRM

Significance
Voltage at which avalanche occurs; diode is destroyed if this rating is exceeded. Maximum allowable average current. Maximum instantaneous current. Maximum reverse current.

Average ForwardCurrent Maximum ForwardSurge Current Maximum Reverse Current

IO

IO

IFSM

IFSM

IR

IR

Rectifier Diodes
The circuit shown is called a half-wave rectifier. When the top of the transformer secondary voltage is positive, D1 is forward-biased, producing current flow in the load. When the top of the secondary is negative, D1 is reverse-biased and acts like an open switch. This results in zero current in the load, RL. The output voltage is a series of positive pulses, as shown in the figure in the right.

Rectifier Diodes
The circuit shown is called a full-wave bridge rectifier. When the top of the secondary is positive, diodes D2 and D3 are forward-biased. producing current flow in the load, RL. When the top of the secondary is negative, D1and D4 are forwardbiased, producing current flow in the load, RL.

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Special Diodes
Besides rectification, a semiconductor diode has many other useful applications. Semiconductor diodes can be manufactured to regulate voltage or emit different colors of light. Examples of two special purpose diodes are Light-emitting diode Zener diode

Special Diodes
A light-emitting diode (LED) is a diode that emits a certain color light when forward-biased. The color of light emitted by an LED is determined by the type of material used in doping. A schematic symbol of an LED is shown in the figure.

Special Diodes
A zener diode is a

Using an Analog Meter to Check a Diode

When using an analog meter, check the resistance of the diode in one direction, then reverse the meter leads & measure the resistance of the diode in the other resistor. A good diode has a very high resistance ( towards infinity) in one direction and a low resistance in the other direction. If the diode is shorted, it will measure low resistance in both directions. If the diode is open, it will measure a high resistance in both directions. When using analog meter, do not use the R x 1 range because the current forced through the diode by the meter may exceed the current rating of the diode. R x 100 or R x 1000 range is usually the best range.

special diode that has been optimized for operation in the breakdown region. Voltage regulation is the most common application of a zener diode.

Using a Digital Multimeter (DMM) to Check a Diode

When using a DMM, a special range, called the diode range, is used for diode testing. When the DMM forward-biases the diode being tested, it measures the forward voltage drop across the diode & not the forward resistance RF. A good silicon diode shows a voltage between 0.6 and 0.7 volts for one connection of the meter leads & an overload (OL) condition for the opposite connection. An open diode shows OL for both connections of the meter leads. A shorted diode shows a very low or zero reading for both connections of the meter leads.