What is semiconductor and difference between pand n type semiconductor?
Answers
Semiconductors are metals that somewhat conduct electricity. This means that they are not insulators or conductors, hence the name semi-conductors.
They are made by taking a purified semiconductor metal (often silicon) and cutting it into thin sheets called wafers.
Silicon has a unique lattice structure that when purified, is consistent and has a clean crystal structure. See the leftmost picture for pure silicon.
The thin wafer of silicon is then blasted with impurities that help it to be a better semiconductor. These impurities are often comprised of boron or phosphorus.
N-type semiconductors are blasted (doped) with atoms that have five electrons on their outermost shell. See the middle picture, it has an extra electron in the silicon crystal structure. This electron can easily flow around the silicon, making it a better conductor.
A p-type semiconductor is blaster with impurities that have three electrons in the outermost band of electrons. See the right picture. It has one less electron in the boron atom. This is another way to make the semiconductor be a better conductor.
