Semiconductors, electric current

Figure 10-53 shows band-gap diagrams of n-type and p-type semiconductors. Electrical current flows in a doped semiconductor in the same way as current flows in a metal (see Figure 10-501. Only a small energy difference exists between the top of the filled band and the next available orbital, so the slightest applied potential tilts the bands enough to allow electrons to move and current to flow.

More complex phenomena occur when current crosses interfaces between semiconductors. The most typical example is the rectification produced at interfaces between p- and n-type semiconductors. Electric current freely flows from the former into the latter semiconductor, but an electric field repelling the free carriers from the junction arises when the attempt is made to pass current in the opposite direction Holes are sent back into the p-phase, and electrons are sent back into the n-phase. As a result, the layers adjoining the interface are depleted of free charges, their conductivities drop drastically, and current flow ceases ( blocking the interface). 

The first semiconductor lasers, fabricated from gallium arsenide material, were formed from a simple junction (called a homojunction because the composition of the material was the same on each side of the junction) between the type and n-ty e materials. Those devices required high electrical current density, which produced damage ia the region of the junction so that the lasers were short-Hved. To reduce this problem, a heterojunction stmcture was developed. This junction is formed by growing a number of layers of different composition epitaxially. This is shown ia Figure 12. There are a number of layers of material having different composition is this ternary alloy system, which may be denoted Al Ga his notation, x is a composition... 

Photovoltaic devices typically consist of a series of thin semiconductor layers that are designed to convert sunlight to dkect-current electricity (see Semiconductors). As long as the device is exposed to sunlight, a photovoltaic (PV) cell produces an electric current proportional to the amount of light it receives. The photovoltaic effect, first observed in 1839, did not see commercial appHcation until the 1950s when photovoltaic modules were used to power early space sateHites. Many good descriptions of the photovoltaic phenomenon are available (7). 

Finally, an electric current can produce injection luminescence from the recombination of electrons and holes in the contact 2one between differendy doped semiconductor regions. This is used in light-emitting diodes (LED, usually ted), in electronic displays, and in semiconductor lasers. 

Some heat pumps, called thermoelectric heat pumps, employ the Peltier effect, using thermocouples. The Peltier effect refers to the evolution or absorption of heat produced by an electric current passing across junctions of two suitable, dissimilar metals, alloys, or semiconductors. Presently, thermoelectric heat pumps are used only in some specialized applications. They have not been developed to a point to make them practical for general heating and cooling of buildings. 

The passage of an electric current through junctions of dissimilar metals causes a fall in temperature at one junction and a rise at the other, the Peltier effect. Improvements in this method of cooling have heen made possible in recent years hy the production of suitable semiconductors. Applications are limited in size, owing to the high electric currents required, and practical uses are small cooling systems for military, aerospace and laboratory use (Figure 2.13). 

Metals and semiconductors are electronic conductors in which an electric current is carried by delocalized electrons. A metallic conductor is an electronic conductor in which the electrical conductivity decreases as the temperature is raised. A semiconductor is an electronic conductor in which the electrical conductivity increases as the temperature is raised. In most cases, a metallic conductor has a much higher electrical conductivity than a semiconductor, but it is the temperature dependence of the conductivity that distinguishes the two types of conductors. An insulator does not conduct electricity. A superconductor is a solid that has zero resistance to an electric current. Some metals become superconductors at very low temperatures, at about 20 K or less, and some compounds also show superconductivity (see Box 5.2). High-temperature superconductors have enormous technological potential because they offer the prospect of more efficient power transmission and the generation of high magnetic fields for use in transport systems (Fig. 3.42). 

Solid-state electronic devices such as diodes, transistors, and integrated circuits contain p-n junctions in which a p-type semiconductor is in contact with an n-type semiconductor (Fig. 3.47). The structure of a p-n junction allows an electric current to flow in only one direction. When the electrode attached to the p-type semiconductor has a negative charge, the holes in the p-type semiconductor are attracted to it, the electrons in the n-type semiconductor are attracted to the other (positive) electrode, and current does not flow. When the polarity is reversed, with the negative electrode attached to the n-type semiconductor, electrons flow from the n-type semiconductor through the p-type semiconductor toward the positive electrode. 

FIGURE 3.47 The structure of a p-n junction allows an electric current to flow in only one direction, (a) Reverse bias the negative electrode is attached to the p-type semiconductor and current does not flow, (b) Forward bias the electrodes are reversed to allow charge carriers to be regenerated. 

An electric current can be defined as a flow of electrons. In conductors, such as metals, the attraction between the outer electrons and the nucleus of the atom is weak, the outer electrons can move readily and consequently metals are good conductors of electricity. In other materials, electrons are strongly bonded to the nucleus and are not free to move. Such materials are insulators (or dielectrics). In semiconductors, the conductivity falls between those of conductors and insulators. Table 13.1 lists the characteristics of all three groups. 

Silicon s atomic structure makes it an extremely important semiconductor. Highly purified silicon, doped with such elements as boron, phosphorus, and arsenic, is the basic material used in computer chips, transistors, sUicon diodes, and various other electronic circuits and electrical-current switching devices. Silicon of lesser purity is used in metallurgy as a reducing agent and as an alloying element in steel, brass, and bronze. 

By the nature of conduction and values of conductivity, materials can be classified as conductors, semiconductors, or insulators (dielectrics). It is a special attribute of conductors that free electric charges are present in them. The migration of these free charges in an applied electric field manifests itself as electric current. 

The band edges are flattened when the anode is illuminated, the Fermi level rises, and the electrode potential shifts in the negative direction. As a result, a potential difference which amounts to about 0.6 to 0.8 V develops between the semiconductor and metal electrode. When the external circuit is closed over some load R, the electrons produced by illumination in the conduction band of the semiconductor electrode will flow through the external circuit to the metal electrode, where they are consumed in the cathodic reaction. Holes from the valence band of the semiconductor electrode at the same time are directly absorbed by the anodic reaction. Therefore, a steady electrical current arises in the system, and the energy of this current can be utilized in the external circuit. In such devices, the solar-to-electrical energy conversion efficiency is as high as 5 to 10%. Unfortunately, their operating life is restricted by the low corrosion resistance of semiconductor electrodes. 

Electric current is conducted either by these excited electrons in the conduction band or by holes remaining in place of excited electrons in the original valence energy band. These holes have a positive effective charge. If an electron from a neighbouring atom jumps over into a free site (hole), then this process is equivalent to movement of the hole in the opposite direction. In the valence band, the electric current is thus conducted by these positive charge carriers. Semiconductors are divided into intrinsic semiconductors, where electrons are thermally excited to the conduction band, and semiconductors with intentionally introduced impurities, called doped semiconductors, where the traces of impurities account for most of the conductivity. 

Other methods of excitation are effective or necessary for certain gain media. For example, certain energetic chemical reactions produce molecules in excited states. These excited molecules may then comprise the upper laser level of an inverted-population system. A specific example is the hydrogen fluoride "chemical laser" wherein excitation is provided by the reaction of hydrogen gas with atomic fluorine. Another method of excitation is simply the passage of an electric current through a semiconductor device. This serves as the exciter for diode lasers. 

Note the flow of positive holes in one direction is, in effect, a flow of electrons in the opposite direction. So, the p-n junction should still have the same orientation in (b) as in (a). Now the conduction electrons are pulled to the right and the positive holes to the left. Because there are very few conduction electrons in the p-type semiconductor and very few positive holes in the n-type semiconductor, there are very few carriers of electric charge across the p-n junction. Very little electric current flows. 

Photodiodes make use of the unique properties of semiconductors, such as silicon. Silicon can be doped with impurities to make it either electron rich (an n-type semiconductor) or electron poor (a p-type semiconductor). When an n-type semiconductor is in contact with a p-type semiconductor, electronic changes occur at the boundary, or junction. A photodiode is a p-n junction constructed with the top p layer so thin that it is transparent to fight. Light shining through the p layer creates additional free electrons in the n layer that can diffuse to the p layer, thus creating an electrical current that depends on the intensity of the fight. This small current is easily amplified and measured. 

Figures 2.13(a) and 2.13(b) illustrate the basis of a semiconductor diode laser. The laser action is produced by electronic transitions between the conduction and the valence bands at the p-n junction of a diode. When an electric current is sent in the forward direction through a p-n semiconductor diode, the electrons and holes can recombine within the p-n junction and may emit the recombination energy as electromagnetic radiation. Above a certain threshold current, the radiation field in the junction becomes sufficiently intense to make the stimulated emission rate exceed the spontaneous processes.

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