Volt-Ampere (V-I) Characteristics Of Semiconductor Diode

Fig. 1.1 Shows a circuit of volt-ampere of a semiconductor diode.

Reverse Biased Diode

When the p-n junction is

P-N Junction As a Diode

Depletion Region:

The simplest semiconductor device

Silicon Vs Germanium

Both silicon and germanium have semiconducting properties.

Hall Effect

Let a bar of semiconductor carry a current I and lie in a transverse magnetic field B. because of a phenomenon known as hall effect, an electric field E is induced. The direction of electric field E is perpendicular to both I and B. This effect is used to find the type of semiconductor (P-type or N-type), carrier concentration and also to measure conductivity δ and hence find mobility µ.

Fig.1: Shows a bar of semiconductor having width "d" and thickness "t". the current "I" is in the positive "x" direction and the magnetic field "B" is the positive "z" direction. A force will be exerted on the carriers are electrons and these electrons will be forced downwards. Therefore, terminal 1 will become negative with respect to terminal 2. A potential difference
E_N (Known as Hall Voltage)

Minority and Majority Charge Carriers

In a P-type semiconductor the number of holes is larger than the number of free electrons in the conduction band. Therefore, in p-type material, holes are majority carriers and electrons are minority carriers. However, in an n-type material the number of free electrons in the conduction band is much larger than the number of holes. Thus, in an n-type semiconductor, electrons are majority carriers and holes are minority carriers.

Extrinsic Semiconductor: Donor and Acceptor Impurities

The conductivity