Lab 4 and 5: PN junctions and Solar Cells
Summary
TLDRThis video lecture provides a concise overview of PN junction diodes and their operation. It explains the basic concepts of diodes as electronic components that allow current to flow in one direction, akin to a plumbing valve. The lecture revisits the principles of p-type and n-type semiconductors, the formation of depletion regions, and the role of built-in electric fields. It also touches on forward and reverse biasing of diodes, leading to their rectification properties, which are crucial for various semiconductor devices. The lecture concludes with a brief mention of upcoming topics on solar cells.
Takeaways
- 📘 The lab focuses on experiments with PN junction diodes and solar cells, with a brief theory recap.
- 🧠 A diode is compared to a one-way valve in plumbing, allowing current to flow in one direction while blocking it in the opposite direction.
- ⚙️ A diode is made from p-type and n-type semiconductor materials, typically silicon, which are joined together to form a junction.
- 🔋 In intrinsic silicon, there are no free electrons, making it an insulator; doping silicon with trivalent or pentavalent atoms turns it into p-type or n-type silicon, respectively.
- ⚡ P-type silicon has an excess of holes (positive charge carriers), while n-type silicon has an excess of electrons (negative charge carriers).
- 🔄 When p-type and n-type silicon are joined, electrons and holes diffuse across the junction, creating a space charge region or depletion region where no free carriers exist.
- ⚖️ The built-in electric field created by the separation of charges in the depletion region prevents further diffusion, maintaining equilibrium.
- ➡️ Applying a forward bias (positive on p-side, negative on n-side) reduces the built-in electric field, allowing current to flow.
- ⬅️ Applying a reverse bias (negative on p-side, positive on n-side) strengthens the built-in electric field, blocking current flow.
- 📈 In the forward bias, the current increases exponentially with voltage, while in reverse bias, the current remains negligible and constant.
Q & A
What is the primary function of a diode?
-A diode acts as an electronic switch, allowing current to flow in one direction (forward bias) and blocking current flow in the opposite direction (reverse bias).
What happens when a P-type and an N-type semiconductor material are brought into close contact?
-When a P-type and an N-type semiconductor material are brought into close contact, a PN junction is formed. This junction creates a depletion region where the majority of free charge carriers (electrons and holes) are depleted due to diffusion of electrons from the N-side to the P-side and holes from the P-side to the N-side.
Why is silicon commonly used as a semiconductor material?
-Silicon is commonly used as a semiconductor material because it is a group 4 element with four valence electrons, which allows for the formation of a perfect lattice structure. It can be easily doped to create P-type or N-type semiconductors by adding impurities like boron (trivalent) or phosphorus (pentavalent).
How does doping with a trivalent atom like boron create a P-type semiconductor?
-Doping with a trivalent atom like boron creates a P-type semiconductor because boron has three valence electrons, which leaves an unpaired 'hole' when it bonds with neighboring silicon atoms. This hole can move through the lattice and act like a positively charged entity, thus creating P-type material.
What is the role of the built-in electric field in a PN junction?
-The built-in electric field in a PN junction acts as a barrier to prevent further diffusion of charge carriers (electrons and holes). It is generated due to the separation of charges in the depletion region and helps maintain equilibrium in the system.
What is the effect of applying a forward bias to a PN junction diode?
-Applying a forward bias to a PN junction diode reduces the barrier created by the built-in electric field, allowing current to flow more easily from the P-side to the N-side. This results in an exponential increase in current with increasing voltage.
How does reverse bias affect the current flow in a PN junction diode?
-Applying a reverse bias to a PN junction diode strengthens the built-in electric field, which further prevents the flow of charge carriers. This results in a very small, almost negligible, and constant current flow that does not significantly change with voltage.
What is the significance of the depletion region in a PN junction?
-The depletion region in a PN junction is significant because it is devoid of free charge carriers (electrons and holes). This region is crucial for the diode's rectification property, allowing current to flow in one direction and blocking it in the other.
What will be observed during the lab experiment with PN junction diodes?
-During the lab experiment with PN junction diodes, students will observe the IV characteristics of the diode. In forward bias, they will see an exponential increase in current with voltage, while in reverse bias, the current will remain negligible and almost constant.
What is the difference between equilibrium and non-equilibrium conditions in a PN junction?
-In equilibrium conditions, no external bias is applied, and the system is in a balanced state with a built-in electric field preventing further diffusion of charge carriers. In non-equilibrium conditions, an external bias is applied, which can either counteract (forward bias) or strengthen (reverse bias) the built-in electric field, affecting the flow of current.
Outlines
🔬 Introduction to PN Junction Diodes and Solar Cells
This paragraph serves as an introduction to the lab session, focusing on experiments with PN junction diodes and solar cells. The speaker briefly revisits the basic theory of these topics, highlighting their importance and explaining that while detailed theory will be covered in a later course, the provided information is sufficient for conducting the experiments.
🛠️ Basics of Diodes: Electronic Valves
The speaker introduces the concept of a diode, comparing it to a valve in plumbing that controls the direction of flow. In electronics, diodes allow current to flow in one direction (forward bias) while blocking it in the reverse direction. The paragraph emphasizes the importance of diodes in creating controlled circuits and discusses their ideal versus real characteristics, which will be explored in the lab through IV measurements.
🧪 Understanding P-Type and N-Type Semiconductors
This paragraph explains how doping silicon with trivalent or pentavalent atoms creates P-type and N-type semiconductors, respectively. It describes how replacing a silicon atom with boron introduces holes (P-type), and replacing it with phosphorus introduces free electrons (N-type). The paragraph underscores the maintenance of overall charge neutrality in both types of semiconductors despite the presence of these charge carriers.
🔄 Diffusion and Space Charge Region in PN Junctions
The focus here is on the diffusion process when P-type and N-type silicon are joined, leading to the formation of a space charge region or depletion region. The speaker explains how holes and electrons diffuse across the junction, resulting in a separation of charges and the creation of an internal electric field. This field opposes further diffusion, stabilizing the junction in equilibrium.
⚡ Built-In Electric Field and PN Junction Equilibrium
This paragraph discusses the role of the built-in electric field in a PN junction at equilibrium, where no external bias is applied. The electric field, generated by the separation of charges, prevents further diffusion of charge carriers. The speaker sets the stage for discussing non-equilibrium conditions by explaining how the internal electric field maintains the junction's stability.
🔌 Forward and Reverse Bias in PN Junctions
The speaker explains how applying an external bias affects the PN junction. In forward bias, the external field opposes the built-in field, reducing its effect and allowing current to flow easily. In reverse bias, the external field strengthens the built-in field, further inhibiting the flow of charge carriers. The paragraph outlines how these behaviors lead to the rectifying properties of diodes, with forward bias allowing exponential current increase and reverse bias resulting in minimal current flow.
📝 Summary and Conclusion on PN Junction Diodes
This final paragraph recaps the main points about PN junction diodes, focusing on how the space charge region and built-in electric field create the diode's rectifying behavior. The speaker concludes with a preview of the next lab session, which will cover solar cells, and encourages the audience to understand these foundational concepts before moving forward.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡PN Junction
💡Diode
💡Forward Bias
💡Reverse Bias
💡Depletion Region
💡Built-in Electric Field
💡Doping
💡Rectification
💡Semiconductor
💡Diffusion
Highlights
Introduction to lab experiments on PN Junction diodes and solar cells.
Recap of PN Junctions and solar cells theory from 11th and 12th grade studies.
Explanation of a diode as an electronic switch, allowing current flow in one direction.
Description of forward bias and reverse bias in diodes.
Composition of a diode from P-type and N-type semiconductor materials.
The role of doping in creating P-type and N-type semiconductors.
Mechanism of hole and electron movement in PN Junctions.
Formation of the depletion region and its effect on charge carrier movement.
The concept of charge neutrality in PN Junctions despite local charges.
Diffusion of charge carriers and the creation of the space charge region.
The built-in electric field's role in preventing further diffusion of charge carriers.
Equilibrium condition in PN Junctions without external bias.
Impact of forward bias on reducing the built-in electric field and increasing current flow.
Exponential increase in current under forward bias due to reduced internal electric field.
Application of reverse bias and its effect on strengthening the internal electric field.
Negligible current flow in reverse bias due to strengthened internal electric field.
Practical lab measurements of IV characteristics of PN Junction diodes.
Overview of the rectification process in PN Junction diodes.
预告下一周将讲解太阳能电池的更多细节。
Transcripts
so hello and welcome to the lab four and
five
uh in ae2301e2501
uh in this particular lab we will be
doing a few experiments
on PN Junction diodes and solar cells so
before we do the experiments it might be
worthwhile to
recall or revise a little bit of theory
and that is what the objective of this
short video lecture will be
so you might have already studied about
PN Junctions and solar cells in your
11th and 12th I'll just recap
uh the key Concepts whereas you have but
please note that your
detailed Theory would be covered in your
semiconductor device fundamentals course
but the stuff that I'm going to discuss
today will suffice in helping you do the
experiment so let us begin
so
so we begin with PN Junctions to create
these device called diodes
so this is the base very basic and most
fundamental semiconductor device that
you can build in the lab so what is a
diode a diode is nothing what I would
call is nothing but an electronic wolf
right so as you know in your water
Plumbing Systems you suppose you have a
pipe in most cases you need to build
these so-called walls
and these walls what their primary
functionality is to
uh they are built something like this so
as you can see the primary functionality
of the wall is to allow the flow of
water in this direction but to disallow
the flow of water in this particular
direction right
so similarly it is also very important
to have diodes which act as electronic
words so what what does what the diode
essentially does is allows the flow of
current so if I draw a corresponding
electronic
counterpart for a plumbing wall what I
would do is I have voltage and I have
current so the job of a diode in the
forward
quadrant or in the first quadrant is to
allow the flow of current as you know
and in the reverse quadrant is to block
the flow of current so this is
therefore called forward bias
and this is called reverse price right
so what we are going to do is try to see
that this is your ideal characteristics
that you want from a dial
but as you know when you start making
semiconductor devices hardly anything is
ideal so the question that we will try
to ask is uh what does an actual
semiconductor diode look like
so before we ask that question what we
will do is and not just ask the question
we will also make measurements on a
common diode uh which will be given to
you in the lab we will make certain IV
measurements and see how diodes
characteristics looks like
but what is a diode made up of so a
diode as you know might be as you might
know is made up of a b type
semiconductor material and an type
semiconductor material brought in close
content so when a junction is formed
between
a p-type semitone P type semiconductor
let's assume that the semiconductor is
is the commonly known silicon and an
n-type semiconductor
and type silicon when you bring the n t
type and N type Semiconductor in this
case happens to be silicon the most
common semiconductor together
you are able to construct or you are
able to make a diode okay so how does
this work is what we will try to explore
right now
so let's try to recall what we know or
what we understand by P and N type
doping uh so as you know silicon
is a group 4 element
so it has
four valence electrons which is bonded
to other silicon atoms as well
and in its intrinsic Case by intrinsic
case I mean that you have a perfect
silicon lattice
with no impurities this B has more or
less like a
insulator why because all the electrons
are bound to each other and there is no
movement of electrons for it to become a
conductor as you know how conductors and
insulators are distinguished is from the
fact that in conductors you have very
high conductivity because of presence of
free electrons as you can see if you
have a
perfect lattice of silicon all silicon
atoms are bonded uh to neighboring four
silicon atoms and therefore there is no
presence of any free electrons therefore
we can assume that a silicon's perfect
lattice will behave more like an
insulator and that is what we generally
see it's insulin it has very uh High
Resistance or very low conductivity so
but however we want current to flow
through certain system through this
particular material and that is what
makes semiconductor so special that you
can alter or you can dope the material
or dope the semiconductor such that it
can either conduct electrons or holes
right this is what we have been studying
in our 11th and 12th standard also so
how does that happen what you
essentially do is you replace one of the
Silicon atoms with a pentavalent atom or
a trivalent atom so let's try to do that
so if we replace this particular silicon
if we delete off this particular silicon
and you replace it with a
if you replace this with a
atom which is you substitution you
substitute the silicon atom which was on
the right hand side with a trivalent
atom such as Boron you will see boron
will have three
valence electrons only and because boron
has three valence electrons it will bond
to only three neighboring atoms of
silicon right so suppose it goes and
bonds with three neighboring atoms of
silicon and what you have remaining if
you look carefully is this
extra electron which is unpaired
right and as we were discussing that
there is no
atom there is no electron from Boron to
compensate for this missing
one extra electron in the Silicon so
what we have in
this place is an absence of an electron
which is also called a hole
and as we know this particular hole can
Traverse through the lattice
on application of an electric field and
act like a like a positively charged
entity and therefore we call that this
has become a
p-type silicon
on the other hand if I have the same
silicon lattice
and I replace one of the silicons
with a pentavalent atom
pentavalent
let's say phosphorus
what will happen the phosphorus has five
the phosphorus atom has five
electrons which will bond to its
neighboring silicon atoms
and what remains is this extra electron
and this extra electron
which I will Mark with
red
can Traverse through the lattice
and this extra electron is what gives
this silicon
just an n-type silicon characteristics
so as we just discussed p-type silicon
has an excess of holes
and the n-type Silicon has an excess of
electrons please remember that although
you have electrons and holes which are
positively uh and negative uh positive
negatively and positively charged
respectively overall the charge
neutrality of the system remains why is
that the case because of an electron
leaves this particular side and moves
around in the lattice and equivalent
positive charge is created on the
phosphorus atom
so please never get confused that n type
and p-type silicon atoms are negatively
and positively charged yes locally they
might have some charge but overall
charge neutrality is maintained okay so
now that we understand what P type and
n-type silicon is or an n-type and
p-type semiconductor is let's see what
happens when you join both PN and type
silicon together
so what happens when you join p and N
type silicon together is the following
so I'm sure you might have studied about
this law called the law of diffusion or
the fixed law
remember what the fixed law used to tell
you which was nothing but the law of
diffusion
it just says that
if there is some
quantity which can move around in space
a best example to give is probably a gas
molecule if a gas molecule can move
around its space and you have a high you
open a bottle which has a high
concentration of this particular gas
molecule it could be a perfume it will
diffuse into space what does that mean
that it will move from region of
higher concentration to a area of lower
concentration and this is what exactly
happens when you join an p and n-type
silica material together so please
recall you had P silicon and N silicon
and when you the P silicon had an excess
of holes
which I'm marking with red and the N
silicon had an excess of electrons
which I am marking with green
so if there are excess of electrons and
holes what essentially will happen if
electrons will move or diffuse from the
n-type Silicon to the p-type Silicon
and
holes will move from p-type Silicon to
n-type Silicon right
so this diffusion will happen because
holes are higher in concentration and B
side compared to enzyme and electrons
are in higher concentration in inside
compared to the P side this is very
simple but the question we ask is will
this diffusion
happen continuously or there will be an
opposite Force to prevent this
particular diffusion so the answer is
that please remember that earlier n-type
silicon and p-type silicon where overall
charge neutral however if electrons
start flooding out from the inside what
will they leave behind as we discuss it
will leave behind these
positively charged donor atoms which is
phosphorus in this case so what will
happen is as
diffusion progresses in this particular
system
what you will notice is the near the
junction near the metrological junction
or the physical Junction where you have
made the p and ends silicon you have
made an intimate contact between p and N
silicon what essentially happens is
there is a positive charge which starts
forming on the inside
and the negative charge
with forms on the P side please recall
where what is the source of this
positive and negative charge as we
discussed previously
this electron if it
if phosphorus
overall it looks neutral right however
however if the electron starts moving
very far away from the
phosphorus atom there will be the
uncovering of phosph the phosphorus
which was neutral with five electrons
now it has lost an electron the electron
has moved away so a local positive
charge will develop over this phosphorus
and that is why as we discussed a
positive charge develops over because of
the uncovering of donor atoms at the
inside and uncovering of acceptor atoms
at the P side there is a resultant
negative charge so now let's see what
happens because of this uh specific
distribution of chart so earlier you had
the material was which was completely
neutral but now you have regions where
there is a separation of charge and
therefore this area is called
chart separation area
also please note that this particular
region earlier had lot of electrons on
the right hand side and holes on the
left hand side but since they are devoid
of electrons and holes why the electrons
from the right hand side have moved to
the left hand side and holes have moved
from the right hand side to the left
hand side because of this there are
devoid of free charge carriers and
therefore this area is also called
depletion
region so these are the two regions
there these are the two kind of names by
which we denote this particular region
which I have shaded out
so this area is also called the
depletion region because it is depleted
of mobile or free carriers which is
electrons and holes and because they
have moved away and diffused into the
other side what essentially has happened
is they have uncovered the donor atoms
and therefore this is called the chart
separation area or the space charge
region and this as you will see is the
main functional reason why the diode is
able to give you a rectification
property or it allows current to flow in
One Direction and not in the other
direction so how does that happen let's
have a closer look
why did we start this discussion we were
trying to understand what happens when
there is a space charge region so what
happens essentially when there is a
space charge region because you as you
know from gauss's law Whenever there is
a separation in charge it will give a
equivalent electric field as you know
electric field is always from the
positive side to the negative side so in
this in this particular example there
will be an equivalent equal electric
field which will get generated in this
direction
so you will have an electric field let
me Mark it with
a different color
so there will be an electric field in
this particular direction right so if
you want to draw on top of this electric
field will be from
positive charge to the negative charge
now what does this electric field do
please remember why the space charge
region was created the space charge
region was created because of diffusion
of holes from P side to inside and
diffusion of electrons from the inside
to the P side this created the space
chart region which in turn created this
electric field this electric field is
called the built-in electric field
the electric field built-in electric
field is created because of the
separation of charges and what does
these built-in electric Fields do please
remember
it will prevent electrons from flowing
from n-type to P type why because
electric field electrons in general move
opposite to the direction of electric
field so if there is an electric field
in this direction it will prevent the
movement of electrons from right hand
side to left hand side and it will
prevent the movement of holes from the
left hand side to the right hand side or
from the P side to the inside
and this built-in electric field is what
finally brings equilibrium to the system
the 10th in in short what I mean to say
is that the built-in electric field is
created
to prevent the further diffusion of
holes from the inside to the P side and
therefore there is a limited space
charge region so this is what a PN
Junction looks in equilibrium what does
equilibrium mean that you have not
applied any external bias to the P side
or the inside so the equilibrium if we
Define clearly is nothing but
the external bias
we bias is equal to 0 is nothing but
the
that the system is in equilibrium okay
so in equilibrium what we understood is
there will be a built-in electric field
and this built-in electric field will
prevent the further uh diffusion of
electrons from inside and holes from the
P side okay so in this equilibrium
condition what we will understand we
will understand how the rectification
happens so let me just draw the two
cases
what happens when we move away from
equilibrium or we move to so called
non-equilibrium condition
so in non-equilibrium condition what
essentially happens is either you can
apply a positive bias
or you can apply a negative bias
and what we will do is does the applied
bias strengthen the built-in electric
field which is there even at zero bias
which is at equilibrium condition or
does it oppose the electric field right
so that is what we will try to uh check
so please remember what we studied till
now we had the p-type material
and we had the n-type material
in both the cases
and because of the separation of charges
there was a built-in electric field
and this built-in electric field created
due to the separation of charges was
preventing further diffusion of
electrons and holes now what we say is
this is the story in or this is a
picture in the equilibrium condition
what happens in the non-equilibrium
condition in the non-equilibrium
condition we apply a positive bias
especially in the forward case in the
forward equilibrium condition what we do
is we apply a positive bias
to the B side and the negative bias
to the N side right so in forward bias
we apply a positive to the B side and a
negative to the N sign so what happens
so this was your e internal electric
field
and what you are essentially with what
was the internal electric field doing it
was preventing the flow of carriers
right mobile carriers and if we apply a
external electric field in this case
which
is in the opposite direction so this is
e external so the EA internal was the
internal electric field the built-in
electric field of the diode this by
applying a positive bias we are
counteracting or we are suppressing the
internal electric field so if we add
both of them you will see that
you the extent of the electric field
internal electric field the E net
goes down substantially
because the e-net goes down
substantially what happens is now
current concussion why can current
gushing in this direction from the P
side to the inside because the effective
internal electric field or the built-in
field is counteracted by the external
electric field and therefore and
therefore in the positive half or in
forward bias
you see an increase in current
of course this increasing current is not
ah
linear in nature but it is exponential
in nature so if I need to draw it well
it will look like this Y is is
exponential in nature we will study in
detail in some other course like
semiconductor device fundamentals it
requires understanding of the band
diagrams and type picture but we will
not get into that at the moment we will
just very roughly try to understand why
applying an external electric field
in the forward bias reduces the net
internal electric field allowing
carriers to flow through so now it might
have been also very apparent to you by
applying
reverse bias or a negative on the P side
and a positive
on the inside
strengthens this internal electric field
and the net electric field becomes
really big and prevents further movement
of carriers right and therefore what you
see is that in the reverse bias when you
apply a negative bias to the P side and
a positive bias to the N side you see
because of the further strengthening of
the external internal electric field
from the external source
there is a very slow amount of current
which flows through right so this is in
summary
what we were the basics of why uh PN
Junctions work atom in a nutshell so in
the lab what we will try to do is in
essence measure the ID characteristics
of this PN Junction diode and we will
see that the IB characteristics of a PN
Junction diode in forward bios looks
like an exponential whereas in Reverse
bias we will not go to very high reverse
biases or as you know there can be some
kind of a breakdown also we will not go
into that region for a small range of
reverse bias around 10 volts whichever
diode which will be supplied you can
handle you see that the amount of
current that flows through uh the uh
through the terminal in the reverse
biases not just very negligible but also
you will see that it can in essence it
it does not change with voltage it is
more or less flat width voltage it
doesn't change with voltage
and this property we will be using in
detail to explain how transistors work
so please note that in forward bias you
see an exponential change in current as
you apply the bias so let me just apply
V and I just Mark V and I but in the
reverse bias irrespective of how much V
you apply the current remains quite
negligible and also it remains constant
so this is a brief introduction about a
PN Junction diodes why do they work in a
nutshell
they work because
the movement of free electrons from the
inside to the P side
the electrons from the diffusion of
electrons from n side to psi and vice
versa of holes from PSI to n side create
this particular depletion charge region
or chart separation region which has an
which induces an internal electric field
or a built-in electric field
how do you make the diode conduct in One
Direction You counteract this built-in
electric field and therefore which was
preventing the flow of free carriers you
reduce that barrier of flow of free
carriers and therefore there is a smooth
oh smooth current carrying capability in
the forward bias whereas in the reverse
bias you strengthen this built-in
electric field which prevents the flow
of carriers and therefore uh you have a
condition where current does not flow so
this is the basics of rectification in
the PN in Junction uh diode in the next
week I will explain a few more details
of solar sets which you will also be
working on thank you
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