Misr University for Science and Technology

Faculty of Engineering
Electronics and communications Department

Electronics I
(ECE 201)

Lecture (1)
References
➢Sedra, Adel S., and Kenneth C. Smith. "Microelectronic
Circuits" (5th and 7th edition). (2003).

➢Floyd, Thomas L. " Electronic Devices (Conventional

Current Version) " Pearson New International Edition PDF
eBook. Pearson Higher Ed, 2013.
Course Contents
➢Introduction to Semiconductors.
➢P-N Junction
➢V-I characteristics of P-N Junction.
➢Forward and Reverse bias of Diode.
➢Equivalent Circuit models of diode.
➢Diode circuits and Applications( rectifier, clipping, and
Clamping circuits).
➢Special-Purpose Diodes( Zener, Varactor, Optical diodes).
Bohr Atom
The Bohr model of the atom is that electrons can circle the nucleus only in specific
orbits, which correspond to discrete energy levels called shells.

Energy

The atomic number is the number of protons

in the nucleus.

The outermost occupied shell is

called the valence shell and
electrons that occupy this shell are
called valence electrons. Nucleus Shell 1

Shell 2
The valence shell
➢The outer shell is called the valence shell. Electrons in this shell are
involved in chemical reactions and they account for electrical and thermal
conductivity in metals.

➢ A neutral Silicon( Si ) atom is shown. The atomic

number is 14, There are 4 electrons in the valence
shell.
Electrons and Shells
➢ Energy Levels
▪Electrons near the nucleus have less energy than those in
more distant orbits.
▪Only discrete (separate and distinct) values of electron
energies exist within atomic structures.
▪In an atom, the orbits are grouped into energy levels known as
Shells.
▪A given atom has a fixed number of shells. Each shell has a
fixed maximum number of electrons. The shells (energy levels)
are designated 1, 2, 3, and so on, with 1 being closest to the
nucleus.
▪Maximum number of Electrons in Each Shell N e = 2n 2
Ionization
➢If a valence electron acquires a sufficient amount of
energy, called ionization energy, it can actually escape
from the outer shell and the atom’s influence.
➢The departure of a valence electron leaves a previously
neutral atom with an excess of positive charge (more
protons than electrons).
➢The process of losing a valence electron is known as
ionization, and the resulting positively charged atom is
called a positive ion.
Materials Used In Electronics
➢ Insulators
▪ An insulator is a material that does not conduct electrical
current under normal conditions.

▪ Most good insulators are compounds rather than single-element

materials and have very high resistivities.

▪ Valence electrons are tightly bound to the atoms; therefore,

there are very few free electrons in an insulator.

▪ Examples of insulators are rubber, plastics, glass, mica, and

quartz.
Materials Used In Electronics
➢ Conductors
▪ A conductor is a material that easily conducts electrical
current.

▪ Most metals are good conductors.

▪ The best conductors are single-element materials, such as

copper (Cu), silver (Ag), gold (Au), and aluminum (Al), which
are characterized by atoms with only one valence electron
very loosely bound to the atom.
Materials Used In Electronics
➢ Semiconductors
▪ A semiconductor is a material that is between conductors
and insulators in its ability to conduct electrical current.

▪ A semiconductor in its pure (intrinsic) state is neither a good

conductor nor a good insulator.

▪ Single-element semiconductors are antimony (Sb), arsenic

(As), astatine (At), boron (B), silicon (Si), and germanium
(Ge).
Energy Gap
➢ Valence shell of an atom represents a band of energy
levels and that the valence electrons are confined to that
band.

➢ When an electron acquires enough additional energy, it

can leave the valence shell, become a free electron, and
exist in what is known as the conduction band.

➢ The difference in energy between the valence band and

the conduction band is called an energy gap or band gap
Energy Gap
Comparison
➢ Semi-Conductor Atom vs
Conductor Atom

▪ The core includes everything

except the valence electrons.
▪ The core of the silicon atom has a
net charge of +4 (14 protons 10
electrons).
▪ The core of the copper atom has a
net charge of +1 (29 protons 28
electrons)
Silicon & Germanium
Silicon & Germanium
▪ Both Silicon and Germanium have the characteristic Four
Valence electrons.

▪ The valence electrons in Germanium are in the fourth shell

while those in Silicon are in the third shell, closer to the nucleus.

▪ Germanium valence electrons are at higher energy levels than

those in silicon.

▪ Germanium more unstable at high temperatures.

Covalent Bonds
Silicon Crystal
Current In Semiconductors
▪ Energy band diagram for an unexcited atom in a pure
(intrinsic) silicon crystal.
Conduction Electrons and Holes
➢In intrinsic silicon, a few electrons can jump the energy gap
between the valence and conduction band. Having moved
into the conduction band, a “hole” (vacancy) is left in the
crystal structure.

Conduction Free
band electron
Energy gap Heat
Energy
Valence Hole
band
Electron-hole pair
Conduction Electrons and Holes
 Hole
▪ When an electron jumps to the conduction band, a vacancy is left
in the valence band within the crystal.
Electron-Hole Pair
▪ For every electron raised to the conduction band by external
energy, there is one hole left in the valence band, creating what is
called an electron-hole pair.
Recombination
▪ occurs when a conduction-band electron loses energy and falls
back into a hole in the valence band.
Conduction Electronsand Holes
➢ Within the crystalline structure, there are two types of charge
movement (current):
1) The conduction band electrons are free to move under the influence of an electric field.

2) The bound (valence) electrons move between atoms, effectively moving holes from one
atom to another as illustrated. Holes act like positive charges, with their own mobility.

Holes Electrons

Si Si Si
N-type And P-type Semiconductors
➢ Doping
▪ Since semiconductors are generally poor conductors, their
conductivity can be increased by the controlled addition of
impurities to the intrinsic (pure) semiconductive material.

▪ This process increases the number of current carriers

(electrons or holes).
▪ The two categories of impurities are
 n-type and
 p-type.
N-Type Semiconductor
➢ To increase the number of
conduction band electrons in
intrinsic silicon, pentavalent impurity
atoms are added.

➢ These are atoms with five valence

electrons such as arsenic
(As),phosphorus (P), bismuth (Bi),
and antimony (Sb), these atoms are
called donors with donor
concentration ND.
N-Type Semiconductor
𝑛 ≈ 𝑁𝐷 Example:
𝑛. 𝑝 = 𝑛𝑖2 Consider an n-type silicon in which the doping
concentration is 1017 /𝑐𝑚3 .
𝑛𝑖2 Find the free electron and hole concentrations
𝑝≈
𝑁𝐷 given that 𝑛𝑖 =1.5× 1010 /𝑐𝑚3
Where: 𝑛: free electrons concentration.
Solution :
𝑝: free holes concentration.
𝑛 ≈ 𝑁𝐷 = 1017 /𝑐𝑚3
ND : donors concentration.
(1.5× 1010 )2 𝑛𝑖2
=𝑝 ≈𝑁 = 2250/𝑐𝑚3
𝑛𝑖 : intrinsic concentration (denotes 1017 𝐷

the concentration of free electrons

or holes in intrinsic silicon at a given
temperature)
Majority and Minority Carriers
➢ Since most of the current carriers are electrons, silicon (or
germanium) doped with pentavalent atoms is an n-type
semiconductor (the n stands for the negative charge on an
electron). The electrons are called the majority carriers in n-type
material.
➢ Although the majority of current carriers in n-type material are
electrons, there are also a few holes that are created when
electron-hole pairs are thermally generated. These holes are not
produced by the addition of the pentavalent impurity atoms.
Holes in an n-type material are called minority carriers.
P-Type Semiconductor
➢ To increase the number of holes in
intrinsic silicon, trivalent impurity
atoms are added.

➢ These are atoms with three valence

electrons such as boron (B), indium
(In),and gallium (Ga). these atoms are
called acceptors with acceptor
concentration NA
P-Type Semiconductor
𝑝 ≈ 𝑁𝐴 Example:
Consider p-type silicon with free electrons
𝑛. 𝑝 = 𝑛𝑖2 concentration 3000 /𝑐𝑚3 and 𝑛𝑖 =4.18× 1011 /𝑐𝑚3 .
Calculate acceptor concentration.
Solution:
𝑛𝑖2
𝑛≈ 𝑛𝑖2
𝑁𝐴 𝑛≈
𝑁𝐴

Where: 𝑛: free electron concentration. 𝑛𝑖2 (4.18× 1011 )2

𝑁𝐴 = =
𝑛 3000
𝑝: free holes concentration.
𝑁𝐴 = 5.82× 1019 /𝑐𝑚3
𝑁𝐴 : Acceptor concentration.
Semiconductor

Intrinsic Extrinsic

N-type P-type

𝑛 = 𝑝 = 𝑛𝑖
𝑝 ≈ 𝑁𝐴
𝑛 ≈ 𝑁𝐷
𝑛𝑖2
𝑛𝑖2 𝑛≈
𝑝≈ 𝑁𝐴
𝑁𝐷