Introduction To Semiconductors

Introduction to Semiconductors
A semiconductor can be considered a material

having a conductivity ranging between that of an insulator and a metal. A
crucial property of semiconductors is the band gap; a range of forbidden
energies within the electronic structure of the material. Semiconductors
typically have bandgaps ranging between 1 and 4 eV, whilst insulators have
larger bandgaps, often greater than 5 eV .
Semiconducting materials are very sensitive to

impurities in the crystal lattice as these can have a dramatic effect on the
number of mobile charge carriers present. The controlled addition of these
impurities is known as doping and allows the tuning of the electronic
properties, an important requirement for technological applications. The
properties of a pure semiconductor are called 'intrinsic', whilst those
resulting from the introduction of dopants are called 'extrinsic'. This
introduction of dopants results in the creation of new, intra-band, energy
levels and the generation of either negative (electrons) or positive (holes)
charge carriers.. Where two differently-doped regions exist in the same
crystal, a semiconductor junction is created.
Some examples of semiconductors

are silicon, germanium, gallium arsenide, and elements near the so-called
"metalloid staircase" on the periodic table. After silicon, gallium arsenide is
the second most common semiconductor and is used in laser diodes, solar
cells, microwave-frequency integrated circuits and others. Silicon is a critical
element for fabricating most electronic circuits. Semiconductor devices can
display a range of useful properties such as passing current more easily in
one direction than the other, showing variable resistance, and sensitivity to
light or heat. Because the electrical properties of a semiconductor material
can be modified by doping, or by the application of electrical fields or light,
devices made from semiconductors can be used for amplification, switching,
and energy conversion.
A p–n junction. The circuit symbol is shown: the triangle corresponds to the p side.
Properties
Variable electrical conductivity

Semiconductors in their natural state are poor conductors because
a current requires the flow of electrons, and semiconductors have
their valence bands filled, preventing the entry flow of new electrons.
There are several developed techniques that allow semiconducting
materials to behave like conducting materials, such
as doping or gating. These modifications have two outcomes: n-type
and p-type. These refer to the excess or shortage of electrons,
respectively. An unbalanced number of electrons would cause a
current to flow through the material.
Heterojunctions
Heterojunctions occur when two differently doped semiconducting
materials are joined together. For example, a configuration could
consist of p-doped and n-doped germanium. This results in an
exchange of electrons and holes between the differently doped
semiconducting materials. The n-doped germanium would have an
excess of electrons, and the p-doped germanium would have an
excess of holes. The transfer occurs until equilibrium is reached by a
process called recombination, which causes the migrating electrons
from the n-type to come in contact with the migrating holes from the p-
type. A product of this process is charged ions, which result in
an electric field.
Excited electrons
A difference in electric potential on a semiconducting material would
cause it to leave thermal equilibrium and create a non-equilibrium
situation. This introduces electrons and holes to the system, which
interact via a process called ambipolar diffusion. Whenever thermal
equilibrium is disturbed in a semiconducting material, the number of
holes and electrons changes. Such disruptions can occur as a result
of a temperature difference or photons, which can enter the system
and create electrons and holes. The process that creates and
annihilates electrons and holes are
called generation and recombination.
Light emission
In certain semiconductors, excited electrons can relax by emitting light
instead of producing heat. These semiconductors are used in the
construction of light-emitting diodes and fluorescent quantum dots.
High thermal conductivity

Semiconductors with high thermal conductivity can be used for heat
dissipation and improving thermal management of electronics. [5]
Thermal energy conversion

Semiconductors have large thermoelectric power factors making them
useful in thermoelectric generators, as well as high thermoelectric
figures of merit making them useful in thermoelectric coolers.
Types of Semiconductors:
Semiconductor may be classified as under:
Energy Band of Semiconductors
In semiconductors and insulators, electrons are confined to a number

of bands of energy, and forbidden from other regions. In solid-state
physics, the electronic band structure of a solid describes the range of
energies an electron within the solid may have and ranges of energy that it
may not have.
Energy bands consisting of a large number of closely spaced energy levels

exist in crystalline materials. The bands can be thought of as the collection
of the individual energy levels of electrons surrounding each atom. The
wavefunctions of the individual electrons, however, overlap with those of
electrons confined to neighboring atoms. The Pauli exclusion principle does
not allow the electron energy levels to be the same so that one obtains a set
of closely spaced energy levels, forming an energy band. The energy band
model is crucial to any detailed treatment of semiconductor devices. It
provides the framework needed to understand the concept of an energy
bandgap and that of conduction in an almost filled band as described by the
empty states.
Energy band diagrams of common semiconductors

The energy band diagrams of semiconductors are rather complex. The energy is
plotted as a function of the wavenumber, k, along the main crystallographic
directions in the crystal, since the band diagram depends on the direction in the
crystal. The energy band diagrams contain multiple completely-filled and
completely-empty bands. In addition, there are multiple partially-filled band.
Simple energy band diagram of a semiconductor
The energy band diagrams shown in the previous section are frequently simplified
when analyzing semiconductor devices. Since the electronic properties of a
semiconductor are dominated by the highest partially empty band and the lowest
partially filled band, it is often sufficient to only consider those bands
Figure 2.3.7.: A simplified energy band diagram used to describe semiconductors. Shown are the valence
and conduction band as indicated by the valence band edge, Ev, and the conduction band
edge, Ec. The vacuum level, Evacuum, and the electron affinity, , are also indicated on the figure.

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Introduction To Semiconductors

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Introduction to Semiconductors

A semiconductor can be considered a material

Semiconducting materials are very sensitive to

Some examples of semiconductors

Variable electrical conductivity

High thermal conductivity

Thermal energy conversion

Energy Band of Semiconductors

In semiconductors and insulators, electrons are confined to a number

Energy bands consisting of a large number of closely spaced energy levels

Energy band diagrams of common semiconductors

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