Get all the important points of semiconductor which you can cover in your Presentation. Semiconductor is a solid substance that has conductivity between that of an insulator and that of most metals, either due to the addition of an impurity or because of temperature effects. Devices made of semiconductors, notably silicon, are essential components of most electronic circuits.

1. SEMICONDUCTOR
NAME – AMAN SINGH
ENGINEERING PHYSICS II
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2. What Are Semiconductors?
A semiconductor material is defined by its ability to conduct
electricity and its conductivity properties lie between conductor and
insulator.
Under specific conditions, Semiconductors have the ability to act
either as a pure conductor or a pure insulator.
Moreover, semiconductors(after creating a PN junction) can also
control the direction of the flow of electrical charges, which is not the
case with conductors(as they allow current to flow in both
directions).

3. Semiconductors are mainly of two types:
1. Intrinsic Semiconductor
2. Extrinsic Semiconductor
Semiconductors that are chemically pure, in other words, free
from impurities are termed as intrinsic semiconductors.
Extrinsic semiconductors are semiconductors that are doped with
specific impurities.

4. N-type Semiconductor
An extrinsic semiconductor which has been doped with electron donor atoms is
called an n-type semiconductor, because the majority of charge carriers in the
crystal are negative electrons.

5. P-type Semiconductor
A p-type semiconductor is an intrinsic semiconductor doped with boron (B) or
indium (In). Silicon of Group IV has four valence electrons and boron of Group III
has three valence electrons. If a small amount of boron is doped to a single
crystal of silicon, valence electrons will be insufficient at one position to bond
silicon and boron, resulting in holes* that lack electrons.

6. P-N Junction Diode
A PN Junction Diode is one of the simplest semiconductor devices around, and
which has the electrical characteristic of passing current through itself in one
direction only.

7. V-I Characteristics of PN Junction Diode

8. APPLICATION OF SEMICONDUCTORS
1. Consumer Goods(Electronics)
We can’t think of a world without Electronic devices(i.e. mobile phones, laptops,
microwaves, refrigerators etc.).
All these appliances are using semiconductor components(i.e. diode, transistor,
MOSFET, integrated chip etc.) in their electronic control units.
2. Embedded Systems
Microcontrollers/Microprocessors have revolutionized the world and are considered as
the base of Embedded Systems.
These embedded controllers have nano transistors(semiconductor component)
embedded in them, acting as smart switches.
3. Thermal Conductivity
They have high thermal conductivity and are thus used as a cooling agent in
thermoelectric.