Semiconductor | Physics| Electronics

 

Semiconductor:

 

Semiconductor is a Material whose Properties lies between Metal (Conductor) and Insulator.

As by the name of Semiconductor it is clear that is not a Pure Conductor.

 

Properties of Semiconductor:

 

 

                                   

 

Solid-state materials are commonly grouped into three classes: insulators, semiconductors, and conductors. (At low temperatures some conductors, semiconductors, and insulators may become superconductor.)

 

Energy Gap in Semiconductor is Minor.

Energy Gap in insulator is Very High that is why Insulator is not Conduct any current.

Energy Gap in Conductor is Zero that is why the conductivity of the conductor is very high. 

As we can see in above figure that Energy Band gap of Insulator is very high and for Conductor Energy gap is Zero but for Semiconductor Energy Gap is Neither high nor Zero its lies between Conductor and Insulator.

 

It is Clear that Conductivity of the material is Inversely Proportional to the Energy Gap.

 

If Eg will be high then Conductivity will be Zero that is why Conductivity of Insulator is Zero and it is not able to carry any Current.

Types of Semiconductor:

Actually Semiconductor are of two types one is Intrinsic Semiconductor and another one is Extrinsic Semiconductor.

 

 

Intrinsic Semiconductor: Intrinsic Semiconductor is known as Pure Semiconductor. there is no any doping with any material. It is also known as un-compound semiconductor.

Silicon and Germanium (Si and Ge) are Intrinsic Semiconductor. this is also known as Pure Semiconductor.

 

Extrinsic Semiconductor: when doping of another material with Intrinsic Semiconductor or with Silicon then it gives a new Material whose properties is to be formed Energy gap in that Material.

" A semiconductor which is doped by a specific impurity with silicon or Germanium which is able to modify it's electrical properties accordingly is called Extrinsic Semiconductor".

Extrinsic semiconductor is also divided in to category:

1. N-type Semiconductor
2. P-type Semiconductor

 N-type semiconductor is also known as Pentavalent impurity while P-type is known as Trivalent impurity.

It's ion structure will be updated in next article.

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