Semiconductor Components

SEMICONDUCTOR COMPONENTS
Jabatan Kejuruteraan Mekanikal

Politeknik Ibrahim Sultan
1
Introduction
1) Three basic types of materials :
a. Conductors
b. Semiconductors
c. Insulators
2) Materials that have very low electrical resistivity ; 1 x 10-6 ohm-
metres) are called conductors.
3) Materials that have very high electrical resistivity ; 1 x 1013 ohm-
metres) are called insulators.
4) The resistivity values in between of conductors and insulators
are called semiconductors.
Examples of conductors Examples of insulators Examples of Semiconductors
 Copper  Rubber  Silicon
 Aluminium  PVC  Germanium
 Silver  Paper
 Gold  Mica
2
Introduction
4) Semiconductor materials are used to make a range of
devices that are used in modern electronic circuits.
5) To understand how these devices work, we must understand
of the electrical properties of naturally occurring (intrinsic)
semiconductors and pure semiconductor material (extrinsic)
that has been modified by a manufacturing process.
6) First we will look at the atomic structure of intrinsic
semiconductors to understand their electrical properties.
Then we will look at how this structure is modified to produce
extrinsic semiconductor material and how this changes the
materials electrical properties.
7) Finally we will look at the construction and operation of a
semiconductor diode which is the most basic semiconductor
device used in electronic circuits. During this section we will
consider "true" electron flow rather than conventional
current flow which is used in electrical circuit analysis.
3
Atomic Theory
The atom has 3 basic particles:
i. Proton
positive charge
Same magnitude but different pole with electron
ii. Electron
negative charge
Same magnitude but different pole with hole
iii. Neutron
neutral

4
Atomic Theory
The atom has 3 basic particles:

i. Proton
positive charge
Same magnitude but different pole with electron
ii. Electron
negative charge
Same magnitude but different pole with hole
iii. Neutron
neutral
 Protons and neutrons form the nucleus

 Electrons appear in fixed orbits around the nucleus.

5
Atomic Theory
For each atom;

No. of proton in nucleus = no. of electron
ATOM IS NEUTRAL
If an atom losses 1 valence electron : +ve

If an atom gains 1 valence electron : -ve
Bohr Model

6
Atomic Theory
 The orbital paths or shells are identified using K through M.

 The innermost shell - K shell.
 The outermost atom- valence shell.
 Valence shell – determines the conductivity of atom.
 The conductivity of atom depends on the number of electron in
valence shell (valence electrons).
Orbital shells
K L M
The orbital shells for an atom

7
Atomic Theory

Atomic Structure 8
Atomic Structures
Jabatan Kejuruteraan Mekanikal The Periodic Table

9
Atomic Structures
 Element in periodic table are

arranged according to atomic
number.
 The atomic number of an
element = the number of protons
(which also equals the number of
electrons) in the nucleus of a
neutral atom.
 Atomic number, often represented
by the symbol Z.

10
Atomic Structures
Shells are divided into sub shells :
i. s – max 2 electrons
ii. p – max 6 electrons
iii. d – max 10 electrons
iv. f – max 14 electrons

The structure for nickel atom
11
Energy Band
a) Electron energy level in valence shell is changing depend on the
atomic force.
b) Electron energy level always stated as energy band.
c) In any material, there are 2 energy band;
 Valence band – the outermost shell that determines the
conductivity
 Energy band – the band outside the valence shell.
d) The 2 bands are separated by one energy gap called – forbidden
gap.

12
Energy Band
a) The valence band
contains with electrons.
b) The electrons can move
to the conduction band if it
have enough energy ( eg:
light or heat)
c) When the electron
absorbs enough energy to Energy band in Silicon Atom
jump from valence band
to the conduction band,
the electron is said to be
in excited state.

13
INSULATOR, SEMICONDUCTOR & CONDUCTOR
Energy Band Gap
CONDUCTOR
INSULATOR
SEMICONDUCTOR
The energy band gap for conductor, insulator and semiconductor

14
Energy Band Gap
The concept of energy bands is particularly important in classifying
materials as conductors, semiconductors, and insulators
Energy Diagram for Three Types of Material

15
Insulator - very wide energy gap. The amount of energy
required to move the electron from the valence band to the
conduction band. Therefore, an insulator requires a large
amount of energy to obtain a small amount of current.
The insulator "insulates" because of the wide forbidden band or
energy gap.
Semiconductor - has a smaller forbidden band and requires less

energy to move an electron from the valence band to the
conduction band. Therefore, for a certain amount of applied
voltage, more current will flow in the semiconductor than in the
insulator.
Conductor - no forbidden band or energy gap and the

valence and conduction bands overlap. With no energy gap, it
takes a small amount of energy to move electrons into the
conduction band; consequently, conductors pass electrons
very easily.

16
1. The valence shell determines the ability of material to conduct
current.
2. The number of valence electron in valence shell:
1e– perfect conductor ( < 4e)
(Easy to drift or move to other atom)
8e– insulator
4e– semiconductor
Note: conductivity decreases with an increase

in the number of valence electrons

17
Conductors
a) Most of the conductors used in electronics are metals like copper, aluminum
and steel.
b) Conductors are materials that obey Ohm's law and have very low resistance.
c) They can also carry electric currents from place to place without dissipating a
lot of power.
Insulators
a) i.e: glass, most polymers (plastics), rubber and wood.
b) Materials which will refuse to carry an electric current.
c) Useful for jobs like coating electric wires to prevent them from shorting
together' or giving a shock.
d) Silk and cotton are also good insulators (when they're dry!!)
e) Modern insulators like PVC (Polyvinylchloride) are much better and safer.
f) Insulators are also very useful to fill the 'gap' in between the metal plates of a
capacitor.
18
Semiconductors
a) Special class of elements having a conductivity between that of a good
conductor (like cooper) and that of an insulator (like plastic).
b) Most of the transistors, diodes, integrated circuits, etc. used in modern
electronics are built using a range of semiconductors.
c) The basic property of a semiconductor is given away by its name - it
'conducts a little bit'.
d) A semiconductor will carry electric current, but not as easily as a normal
conductor.
e) The semiconductor atoms complete their valence shells by sharing valence
electrons with other atoms – covalent bonding.
f) For low temperature, semiconductor material will act as an insulator.

19
Semiconductors
g) In room temperature, the stability of atom is threatened. Some of the
electrons free from its bonding and jump to forbidden gap.
h) When the temperature increases, more valence electrons (free electron)
jump to conduction band and increase the conductivity.
i) When the covalent bonding break, the hole is created by free electrons in
valence bands.
j) The thermal energy (heat) causes the constant creation of electron – hole
pairs.
k) Recombination occurs when the free electrons loss their energy and fall
down to valence band (fill the hole).

20
SEMICONDUCTOR
Type of Semiconductor
Semiconductors are mainly classified into two categories:
a) Intrinsic
 chemically very pure and possesses poor conductivity
 It has equal numbers of negative carriers (electrons) and
positive carriers (holes)
 Impurities do not affect its electrical behavior
b) Extrinsic
 improved intrinsic semiconductor with a small amount of
impurities added by a process, known as doping
process
 Introducing impurities into the semiconductor materials
(doping process) can control their conductivity
21
SEMICONDUCTOR
Intrinsic
 The pure semiconductor material without impurities atoms.
 Example: Silicon and Germanium
Silicon bonding

22
SEMICONDUCTOR
Extrinsic
a) Adding impurities atom into intrinsic semiconductor = extrinsic
semiconductor.
b) The process of adding specific types of atoms to a semiconductor to
favorably alter electric characteristics – Doping process
c) TWO types of extrinsic (impure) semiconductor;
N-type semiconductor
P-type semiconductor
d) When an impurity increases the number of free electrons, the
doped semiconductor is NEGATIVE or N-TYPE.
e) An impurity that reduces the number of free electrons, causing
more holes, creates a POSITIVE or P-TYPE semiconductor

23
SEMICONDUCTOR
Extrinsic - N type material
 Diffused impurities with 5
valence electrons are called
donor atoms
Antimony (Sb) impurity in n-type material

24
SEMICONDUCTOR
Extrinsic - P type material
 The diffused impurities with
3 valence electrons are
called acceptor atoms.
Boron (B) impurity in p-type material

25
PN JUNCTION
PN Junction Formation
i. A PN junction is fabricated from a single slice of semiconductor.
ii. One side doped with acceptor impurity atoms – p region.
iii. One side doped with donor impurity atoms – n region.
iv. The interface separating the n and p regions is referred as the

metallurgical junction.

26
PN JUNCTION
Majority & Minority Carriers
Diffusion Process
In trying to neutralize charges;
i. free electrons in n-type
diffuse across junction to
p-type
ii. free holes in p-type
diffuse to n-type
iii. electrons & holes close
to junction recombine. The movement of holes and electrons in diffusion process.

27
PN JUNCTION
Diffusion Process (Proses resapan)
Depletion
region
A depletion region formation due to electrons and holes movement in diffusion process and
electric field.
28
DIODE
Introduction
i. Diodes are made of silicon or germanium, p-n junction with two
terminals, anode and cathode.
ii. P-N junction is formed by alloying, diffusion and epitaxial growth.
iii. The advantages :
 High mechanical and thermal reliability
 High peak inverse voltage
 Low reverse current
 Low forward voltage drop
 High efficiency
 Compactness

29
DIODE
Junction Diode
There are two operating regions and three possible "biasing"
conditions for the standard Junction Diode :
1) Zero Bias - No external voltage potential is applied to the
PN-junction.

30
DIODE
Junction Diode
2) Reverse Bias
 The voltage potential is
connected negative, (-
ve) to the P-type
material and positive,
(+ve) to the N-type
material across the
diode which has the
effect of Increasing the
PN-junction width.
 Think it as switch.
 When reverse biased,

act as open (off) switch
RLIMIT

31
DIODE
Junction Diode
3) Forward Bias
 The voltage potential is
connected positive,
(+ve) to the P-type
material and negative,
(-ve) to the N-type
material across the
diode which has the
effect of Decreasing
the PN-junction width.
 Think it as switch.
 When forward biased,

act as a closed (on)
switch
RLIMIT

32
DIODE
The I-V Characteristics Graph

33
DIODE
The I-V Characteristics Graph for Silicon & Germanium Diode
When diode is forward
biased, it conducts current
with a small forward voltage
(Vf) across it.
When reversed biased (or

blocking state), a negligibly
small leakage current (µa to
mA) flow until the reverse
breakdown occurs.

34
DIODE
The I-V Characteristics Graph
The diode
characteristic can be
divided into 3 regions:
1. Forward biased :
Vd> 0
2. Reverse biased :
Vd < 0
3. Breakdown region :
Vd < -Vbr

35
DIODE
Symbol
i. Fabricate from semi-
conductor material.
Identification letter is A
for germanium and B
for silicon.
ii. Has 2 lead: Anode (A)

& Cathode (k) and
encased in glass, metal
or plastic housing.
iii. Their resistance vary

low in one direction
(forward biased) and
very high at opposite
direction (reverse
biased).

36
DIODE
Symbol
Diode symbol :
a. standard diode
b. LED
c. d. Zener
e. Photo
f. g. Tunnel
h. Schottky
i. Breakdown
j. Capacitative

37
DIODE
Function
a) Diode : flow a current in one direction
only.
b) LED will allow the exact voltage (1.7V)
to appear across it and the brightness
will depend on the value of the resistor,
if you supply it with more than this
voltage, it will be damaged
c) Zener diodes are designed to stabilize
a voltage. Diodes marked as ZPD5.6V
or ZPY15V have operating voltages of
5.6V and 15V.
Zener Diode
d) Photo diodes - no light, a photo diode
acts as a regular diode, It has high
resistance in one direction, and low
resistance in opposite direction. When
there is light, both resistances are low
Photo Diode
38
DIODE
Types of Diode
Several different types of diode

39
DIODE
Types of Diode
The four most common diode types
1) Power Diode: high electrical current, 1A -
6A, almost all power diodes have a forward
voltage drop of ~0.6V.
2) Signal Diode: used in AM detection, very
small voltage drops, (often considerably
less than 0.1V)
3) Zener Diodes: like a power diode with a
similar power rating for current flowing from
the anode to the cathode, and blocks
current from cathode to anode up until the
zener voltage.
4) Light Emitting Diode (LED): glows with an
intensity proportional to the forward current
applied. The semiconductor which does
the glowing in LEDs cannot withstand large
current flow so the forward current must be
limited to about 25mA. (depending on the
LED)

40
DIODE
Exercise
a) Define diode?
b) What is the P Material of a Diode.
c) Semiconductors are grouped into two types. State the TWO (2)
types of semiconductor and give an example for each type.
d) Name TWO (2) types of biasing a p-n junction.
e) State the differences between the signal diode and power diode.
f) Explain the function of power diode and draw the schematic
symbol with correct labels.
g) Power diode has the characteristics to block voltage in reverse
direction and to allow current in forward direction. Sketch the I-V
characteristics curve for silicon diode.

41
DIODE
December 2012
a) Define diode?
b) Explain the function of diode and draw the schematic symbol using
the correct labels.
c) Draw the symbol and structured
i. N channel MOSFET
ii. GTO-SCR.
d) Power diode has the characteristic to block voltage in reverse
direction and to allow current in forward bias. Draw the I -V
characteristic graph for power diode.
e) Define Bipolar Junction Transistor (BJT) and name ONE (1) example
of BJT.
f) Draw the schematic symbol of BJT for NPN and PNP.

42
DIODE
December 2013

43
DIODE
June 2014
a) Define of power diode?
b) Sketch and label the structure of power diode.
c) Explain briefly on diode forward bias with the aid of a suitable
diagram.
d) Power diode has the characteristic to block voltage in reverse
direction and to allow current in forward bias. Draw the I verses V
characteristic for that power diode.

44

Semiconductor Components

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What are the three basic types of materials?

What are the three basic types of materials?

What are examples of conductors, insulators and semiconductors?

What are examples of conductors, insulators and semiconductors?

SEMICONDUCTOR COMPONENTS

Jabatan Kejuruteraan Mekanikal

Jabatan Kejuruteraan Mekanikal

The atom has 3 basic particles:

 Protons and neutrons form the nucleus

Jabatan Kejuruteraan Mekanikal

For each atom;

If an atom losses 1 valence electron : +ve

Jabatan Kejuruteraan Mekanikal

 The orbital paths or shells are identified using K through M.

The orbital shells for an atom

Jabatan Kejuruteraan Mekanikal

Jabatan Kejuruteraan Mekanikal The Periodic Table

 Element in periodic table are

Jabatan Kejuruteraan Mekanikal

Jabatan Kejuruteraan Mekanikal

Jabatan Kejuruteraan Mekanikal

Jabatan Kejuruteraan Mekanikal

The energy band gap for conductor, insulator and semiconductor

Jabatan Kejuruteraan Mekanikal

Energy Diagram for Three Types of Material

Semiconductor - has a smaller forbidden band and requires less

Conductor - no forbidden band or energy gap and the

Jabatan Kejuruteraan Mekanikal

Note: conductivity decreases with an increase

Jabatan Kejuruteraan Mekanikal

Jabatan Kejuruteraan Mekanikal

Jabatan Kejuruteraan Mekanikal

Jabatan Kejuruteraan Mekanikal

Jabatan Kejuruteraan Mekanikal

Antimony (Sb) impurity in n-type material

Jabatan Kejuruteraan Mekanikal

Boron (B) impurity in p-type material

Jabatan Kejuruteraan Mekanikal

iv. The interface separating the n and p regions is referred as the

Jabatan Kejuruteraan Mekanikal

Jabatan Kejuruteraan Mekanikal

Jabatan Kejuruteraan Mekanikal

Jabatan Kejuruteraan Mekanikal

 When reverse biased,

Jabatan Kejuruteraan Mekanikal

 When forward biased,

Jabatan Kejuruteraan Mekanikal

Jabatan Kejuruteraan Mekanikal

When reversed biased (or

Jabatan Kejuruteraan Mekanikal

Jabatan Kejuruteraan Mekanikal

ii. Has 2 lead: Anode (A)

iii. Their resistance vary

Jabatan Kejuruteraan Mekanikal

Jabatan Kejuruteraan Mekanikal

Several different types of diode

Jabatan Kejuruteraan Mekanikal

Jabatan Kejuruteraan Mekanikal