SEMICONDUCTOR

PHYSICS




INTRODUCTION
Why Semiconductors?
Information
acquisition
(sensors)
Image, sound,
temperature,
pressure,
Information
processing
(Amps, A/D,
processors,
tranceivers)
Information
processing
(tranceivers,
processors, )
Displays
Information transmission
(wires, busses, cables, optical fibers, or just air!)
Brains and muscles of the
system are made of
semiconductors
Metals & dielectrics are used as
transmission media
Why?
Image, sound,
temperature,
pressure,
Whats common for all the core components?
Light, sound,
temperature,
pressure,
sensor
Voltage,
current
input
o
u
t
p
u
t

A
V
in
V
in

V
in

V
out

V
out

V
in

V
out

Modulation of some physical quantity (output) by some others

Some kind of gain, conversion ratio, sensitivity, etc
Example: Field-Effect Transistors (FETs)
Semiconductor vs Metal
V
in
V
out

V
in

V
out

FETs are building blocks.
S D
G
Schematic illustration of a FET
For SiO
2
dielectric, breakdown field E
b
~ 10
7
V/cm.
No matter how thick it is, the maximum induced
carrier area density is
r

0
E
b
/q = 2 10
13
/cm
2
.
For a 1 m thick Si channel,
n
i
= 1.45 10
10
/cm
3
,
the background carrier area density is
n
i
10
4
cm = 1.45 10
6
/cm
2
.

In principle, the area carrier density, and therefore
the channel conductance, can be modulated by 7
orders of mag!!!
For Al, n = 1.8 10
23
/cm
3
. Even for 1 nm thin (monolayers!) Al, the background carrier
area density is 1.8 10
16
/cm
2
. The conductance can only be modulated by 0.1%!!!

What are semiconductors, anyway???
What Is a Semiconductor?




Many materials, such as most metals, allow electrical current to flow through
them
These are known as conductors
Materials that do not allow electrical current to flow through them are called
insulators
Pure silicon, the base material of most transistors, is considered a
semiconductor because its conductivity can be modulated by the introduction
of impurities

Semiconductors
A material whose properties are such that it is
not quite a conductor, not quite an insulator
Some common semiconductors
elemental
Si - Silicon (most common)
Ge - Germanium
compound
GaAs - Gallium arsenide
GaP - Gallium phosphide
AlAs - Aluminum arsenide
AlP - Aluminum phosphide
InP - Indium Phosphide
Semiconductors: Si, Ge, and Compound (III-V, II-VI)
Four valence
electrons
Covalent bonding:
no free electrons at
0K
P-type dopants
N-type dopants
Review: materials and devices
(after El-Kareh, Streetman & Kano)
Dopants have
to be compatible with processing (ex. slow
diffusion through oxide)
to have high solubility in Si

Silicon Crystal Structure
Diamond lattice (Si, Ge, GaAs)
Two interpenetrating FCC
structures shifted by a/4 in
all three directions
All atoms in both FCCs
Atoms inside one FCC come from
the second lattice
Diamond
covalent bonding
(100) Si for devices
(111) Si not used - oxide charges
Plummer
Semiconductor Crystalline
Structure
Silicon atoms have 4 electrons
in outer shell
inner electrons are very
closely bound to atom
These electrons are shared
with neighbor atoms on both
sides to fill the shell

resulting structure is very
stable
electrons are fairly tightly
bound
no loose electrons
at room temperature, if
battery applied, very little
electric current flows
Conduction in Crystal Lattices
Semiconductors (Si and Ge) have 4 electrons in
their outer shell
2 in the s subshell
2 in the p subshell

As the distance between atoms decreases the
discrete subshells spread out into bands

As the distance decreases further, the bands
overlap and then separate
the subshell model doesnt hold anymore, and the electrons can be
thought of as being part of the crystal, not part of the atom
4 possible electrons in the lower band (valence band)
4 possible electrons in the upper band (conduction band)
Energy Bands in
Semiconductors
The space
between the
bands is the
energy gap, or
forbidden band
The quantized atomic energy
levels broaden into energy
bands when the atoms
combine to form a solid.
N = number of atoms in the solid
Pauli Exclusion Principle:
only 1 electron with a given
set of quantum numbers can
be in a state (2 can be there
if they have opposite spin).
Energy Band Model
Energy Band Structure In Solid State
Simplified energy-band diagram illustrating
the increase in the band-width with increasing
principle quantum number.
Energy Levels in Periodic Solid
State (crystalline materials)
Band Structure in Crystals
Shallow donors and acceptors in silicon
Compensated semiconductor
Two Level Band Structure
Metals
Semiconductors
Insulators
Insulators, Semiconductors, and
Metals
This separation of the valence and conduction bands
determines the electrical properties of the material

Insulators have a large energy gap
electrons cant jump from valence to conduction bands
no current flows

Conductors (metals) have a very small (or nonexistent)
energy gap
electrons easily jump to conduction bands due to thermal
excitation
current flows easily

Semiconductors have a moderate energy gap
only a few electrons can jump to the conduction band
leaving holes
only a little current can flow
Semiconductors
The materials whose electrical conductivity lies between those
of conductors and insulators, are known as semiconductors.
Silicon 1.1 eV
Germanium 0.7 eV
Cadmium Sulphide 2.4 eV

Silicon is the most widely used semiconductor.
Semiconductors have negative temperature coefficients of
resistance, i.e. as temperature increases resistivity deceases
Energy Band Diagram
Conduction
electrons
Energy Band Diagram
Forbidden energy band is small
for semiconductors.

Less energy is required for
electron to move from valence
to conduction band.

A vacancy (hole) remains when
an electron leaves the valence
band.

Hole acts as a positive charge
carrier.
Both full and empty bands do not partake in electrical conduction.
.:: Semiconductor, Insulators, Conductors ::.
Full band
All energy levels are
occupied by electrons
Empty band
All energy levels are empty
( no electrons)
.:: Semiconductor energy bands at low temperature ::.
At low temperatures the valance
band is full, and the conduction
band is empty.

Recall that a full band can not
conduct, and neither can an empty
band.

At low temperatures, s/cs do not
conduct, they behave like
insulators.

The thermal energy of the electrons
sitting at the top of the full band is
much lower than that of the Eg at
low temperatures.
Forbidden
energy gap [Eg]
Empty
conduction
band
Full
valance
band
E
l
e
c
t
r
o
n

e
n
e
r
g
y

Conduction Electron :
Assume some kind of energy is
provided to the electron (valence
electron) sitting at the top of the
valance band.

This electron gains energy from the
applied field and it would like to
move into higher energy states.

This electron contributes to the
conductivity and this electron is
called as a conduction electron.

At 0
0
K, electron sits at the lowest
energy levels. The valance band is
the highest filled band at zero
kelvin.




Forbidden
energy gap [Eg]
Empty
conduction
band
Full
valance
band
When enough energy is supplied to
the e
-
sitting at the top of the
valance band, e
-
can make a
transition to the bottom of the
conduction band.


When electron makes such a
transition it leaves behind a missing
electron state.
This missing electron state is called
as a hole.
Hole behaves as a positive charge
carrier.
Magnitude of its charge is the same
with that of the electron but with an
opposite sign.
Semiconductor energy bands at room temperature
Forbidden
energy gap [Eg]
Full
valance
band
Empty
conduction
band
+ e
-
+ e
-
+ e
-
+ e
-

energy
Conclusions ::.
Holes contribute to current in valance band (VB) as e
-
s
are able to create current in conduction band (CB).

Hole is not a free particle. It can only exist within the
crystal. A hole is simply a vacant electron state.

A transition results an equal number of e
-
in CB and
holes in VB. This is an important property of intrinsic, or
undoped s/cs. For extrinsic, or doped, semiconductors
this is no longer true.

Intrinsic Semiconductor
Both silicon and germanium are
tetravalent, i.e. each has four
electrons (valence electrons) in
their outermost shell.

Each atom shares its four
valence electrons with its four
immediate neighbours, so that
each atom is involved in four
covalent bonds.
A semiconductor, which is in its extremely pure form, is known
as an intrinsic semiconductor. Silicon and germanium are the
most widely used intrinsic semiconductors.
Intrinsic Semiconductor
When the temperature of an intrinsic semiconductor is
increased, beyond room temperature a large number of
electron-hole pairs are generated.
Since the electron and holes are generated in pairs so,

Free electron concentration (n) = concentration of holes (p)
= Intrinsic carrier concentration (n
i
)
Extrinsic Semiconductor
Pure semiconductors have negligible conductivity at room
temperature. To increase the conductivity of intrinsic
semiconductor, some impurity is added. The resulting
semiconductor is called impure or extrinsic semiconductor.
Impurities are added at the rate of ~ one atom per 10
6
to 10
10

semiconductor atoms. The purpose of adding impurity is to
increase either the number of free electrons or holes in a
semiconductor.
Extrinsic Semiconductor
Two types of impurity atoms are added to the semiconductor
Atoms containing 5
valance electrons
(Pentavalent impurity atoms)
Atoms containing 3
valance electrons
(Trivalent impurity atoms)
e.g. P, As, Sb, Bi e.g. Al, Ga, B, In
N-type semiconductor
P-type semiconductor
N-type Semiconductor
The semiconductors which are obtained by introducing
pentavalent impurity atoms are known as N-type
semiconductors.
Examples are P, Sb, As and Bi. These elements have 5
electrons in their valance shell. Out of which 4 electrons will
form covalent bonds with the neighbouring atoms and the 5
th

electron will be available as a current carrier. The impurity atom
is thus known as donor atom.

In N-type semiconductor current flows due to the movement of
electrons and holes but majority of through electrons. Thus
electrons in a N-type semiconductor are known as majority
charge carriers while holes as minority charge carriers.
P-type Semiconductor
The semiconductors which are obtained by introducing trivalent
impurity atoms are known as P-type semiconductors.
Examples are Ga, In, Al and B. These elements have 3
electrons in their valance shell which will form covalent bonds
with the neighbouring atoms.

In P-type semiconductor current flows due to the movement of
electrons and holes but majority of through holes. Thus holes in
a P-type semiconductor are known as majority charge carriers
while electrons as minority charge carriers.
The fourth covalent bond will remain incomplete. A vacancy,
which exists in the incomplete covalent bond constitute a hole.
The impurity atom is thus known as acceptor atom.