EEC 124

Concept of Semiconductors Materials

 MATTER
All matter is made of atoms, an atom has two
parts, nucleus and the electron cloud. Electrons
are the smallest and lightest particles. They carry
a negative electric charge. The electron cloud
contains one or more electrons which are moving
at high speed around the nucleus. Each electron
carries the same amount of negative charge. The
nucleus consists of one or more particles. The
particles in the nucleus are of two kinds.
The particles in the nucleus are of two kinds;
1. Protons: A proton is about 1840 times more massive than an
electron. It carries a positive electric charge that is equal in size
but opposite in sign to the charge carried by an electron.
Therefore all protons carry the same amount of positive charge.
2. Neutrons: A neutron has about the same mass as a proton but
carries no electric charge. Modern physics has shown that there
are other kinds of participles. It also tells us that protons,
neutrons, electrons and the other particles may really be made
of even smaller particles. To understand electronics we need to
know about protons, neutrons and electrons, but not about the
other kinds of particles.
 Fundamental of Electricity
• Electron and Protons
All solids, liquids and gases are principally made
up of two basic types of participles known as
electrons and protons. The electron is the
smaller of the two; the proton is 1840 times
more massive than the electron. The electron
carries a negative electrical charge. The proton
carries an equal and opposite positive charge.
When a material is in an uncharged state, it contains as
many protons as it does electrons. However, if we remove
some electrons from the material, the net positive charge
on it exceeds the remaining negative charge so that the
material exhibits a net positive charge. This phenomenon
can be experienced by anyone wearing clothes
manufactured from man-made fiber; while the garment is
being worn, some electrons transfer to the wearer, and the
static charge built up in this way may cause the wearer to
experience an electrical shock during removal of the
garment.
 Basic Atomic Structure
All atoms have broadly the same type of structure, with the
heavier protons forming the nucleus around which the
electrons orbit. The electrons orbit in distinct layers or
shells. The radius of the orbit depends on the balance
between two forces: the mechanical outward force on the
electron due to its motion and the inward electrostatic pull
between the positive charge on the nucleus and the
negative charge on the electron. The shell in which an
electron finds itself depends on its energy; a high –energy
electron orbits in a shell further away from the nucleus than
does a low-energy electron.
 Bohr’s Atomic Model
The nuclear atomic model proposed by Rutherford in 1911 was found to suffer from two serious drawbacks
concerning distribution of extra-nuclear electrons and stability of the atom as a whole. It was later on
superseded by atomic model proposed by Bohr in 1913. Using Planck’s Quantum Theory, Bohr made the
following postulates :
1. The atom has a massive positively-charged nucleus.
2. The electrons revolve round their nucleus in circular orbits, the centrifugal force being balanced by the
electrostatic pull between the nucleus and electrons.
3. An electron cannot revolve round the nucleus in any arbitrary orbit but in just certain definite discrete
orbits.
4. While revolving in these permitted stationary (or stable) orbits, the electron does not radiate out any
electromagnetic energy. In other words, the permissible orbits are non-radiating paths of the electron
5. The atom radiates out energy only when an electron jumps from one orbit to another. If E2 and E1 are the
energies corresponding to two orbits before and after the jump, the frequency of the emitted photon is
given by the relation
E2 – E1 = hf
Where;
E2 = Energy of electron before the jump
E1 = Energy of electron after the jump
F = frequency
Scientist have lettered the shells alphabetically,
beginning with the K-shell (which is the shell
nearest to the nucleus). Each shell can also be
given a number (K = 1, L = 2, M = 3, etc) and it
has been shown that the maximum number of
2
electrons which can orbit in any shell is 2n ,
where n is the “number” of the shell.
SHELL SHELL NUMBER MAXIMUM ELECTRONS IN SHELL
K 1 2
L 2 8
M 3 18
N 4 32
In the hydrogen atom, the K –shell contains only one electron,
and the shell is said to be an incomplete shell. Like hydrogen,
neon has only one shell (the K-shell) but, since it contains two
electrons, It is described as a full shell. Silicon with fourteen
protons has fourteen electrons in orbit, which completely fill the
K-shell and L-shall and partially fill the M-shell. In a complex
structure like silicon, the electrons in orbit, which completely fill
the K-shell and L-shell and partially fill the M-shell, the electrons
in the inner shells are tightly bound to the nucleus due to the
electrostatic force involved. Electrons farthest away from the
nucleus (those in the M-shell in silicon) can be detached from
the atom more easily and are said to be loosely bound. The gaps
between the shells are regions where electrons cannot orbit,
and are described as forbidden energy gaps.
It is the electrons in the outermost shell which
are of particular interest electrical and electronic
engineers. Since these dictate many properties
of the substance. The outermost shell is known
as the valence shell and the electrons in this
shell are known as valence electrons.
 Atomic Bonds
When atoms combine, they do so by attempting to empty
the outer shell by losing electrons, or by attempting to fill
the outer shell by gaining electrons, or alternatively they
share electrons with other atoms in order to give the
appearance of a full shell. The latter method is of particular
interest to electronic engineers, since this is the way in
which some of the most useful semiconductor materials
bond together. In the sharing process, each valence
electron forms an orbit around two atoms including the
parent atom and one other atom, forming what is known
as a covalent bond between the atoms.
 Ionization and Excitation
Since an individual atom contains as many electrons as it does
protons. It is electrically neutral in its normal state. However, the
addition of an electron gives it a net negative charge; and the
removal of an electron gives it a net positive charge. when an atom
carries either a negative or a positive charge it is known as an ion
and the process of producing this charge is known as ionization.
When an electron receives energy from an external source, such as
heat or light, the extra energy allows it to move to a higher orbit.
This process is known as excitation. Similarly, when an electron gives
up energy, it falls from a higher orbit to a lower one. This loss of
energy from the electron may appear in the form of heat or light; an
example of the latter occurs in the light-emitting diode (led).
When an electron is completely removed from the atom, the
atom is said to be ionized. If, however, the electron is forced
into an outer or higher n-value orbit, then the atom, is said to
be excited (or in an excited state).
Holes and Electrons
When an atom losses an electron, the electrical charge balance
is upset and the atom takes on a net positive charge. This
positive charge is described as an electronic hole, and can be
regarded as the absence of an electron where one would
normally be found. Thus a hole is regarded as a positive charge
carrier, much as an electron is a negative charge carrier.
 Valence and Conduction Bands
The outermost electrons of an atom i.e. those in the
shell furthermost from the nucleus are called valence
electrons and have the highest energy or least
binding energy. It is these electrons which are most
affected when a number of atoms are brought very
close together as during the formation of a solid. The
band of energy occupied by the valence electrons is
called the valence band and is, obviously, the highest
occupied band. It may be completely filled or partially
filled with electrons but never empty.
 Valence and Conduction Bands
The next higher permitted energy band is called the conduction
band and may either be empty or partially filled with electrons. In
fact, it may be defined as the lowest unfilled energy band. In
conduction band, electrons can move freely and hence are known as
conduction electrons. The gap between these two bands is known
as the forbidden energy gap. If a valence electron happens to
absorb enough energy, it jumps across the forbidden energy gap and
enters the conduction band. An electron in the conduction band can
jump to an adjacent conduction band more readily than it can jump
back to the valence band from where it had come earlier. However,
if a conduction electron happens to radiate too much energy, it will
suddenly reappear in the valence band once again.
 Valence and Conduction Bands
When an electron is ejected from the valence band,
a covalent bond is broken and a positively charged
hole is left behind. This hole can travel to an adjacent
atom by acquiring an electron from that atom which
involves breaking an existing covalent bond and then
re-establishing a covalent bond by filling up the hole.
It is to be noted carefully that holes are filled by
electrons which move from adjacent atoms without
passing through the forbidden energy gap.
 Valence and Conduction Bands
It is simply another way of saying that conditions in the
conduction band have nothing to do with the hole flow. It points
to a very important distinction between the hole current and
electron current— although holes flow with ease, they
experience more opposition than electron flow in the conduction
band. To summarize the above, it may be repeated that :
1. Conduction electrons are found in and freely flow in the
conduction band.
2. Holes exist in and flow in the valence band.
3. Conduction electrons move almost twice as fast as the holes.