Facebook Instagram Youtube Twitter

What is Electron Donor and Electron Acceptor – Definition

by
An electron donor is a dopant atom (impurity) that, when added to a semiconductor, can form a n-type semiconductor. An electron acceptor is a dopant atom (impurity) that, when added to a semiconductor, can form a p-type semiconductor. Radiation Dosimetry

In physics of semiconductors, an electron donor is a dopant atom (impurity) that, when added to a semiconductor, can form a n-type semiconductor. An electron acceptor is a dopant atom (impurity) that, when added to a semiconductor, can form a p-type semiconductor. The process of adding controlled impurities to a semiconductor is known as semiconductor doping. This process changes an intrinsic semiconductor to an extrinsic semiconductor. For both types of donor or acceptor atoms, increasing dopant density increases conductivity.

n-type Semiconductors

extrinsic - doped semiconductor - n-type - donorAn 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. Since silicon is a tetravalent element, the normal crystal structure contains 4 covalent bonds from four valence electrons. In silicon, the most common dopants are group III and group V elements. Group V elements (pentavalent) have five valence electrons, which allows them to act as a donor. That means, the addition of these pentavalent impurities such as arsenic, antimony or phosphorus contributes free electrons, greatly increasing the conductivity of the intrinsic semiconductor. For example, a silicon crystal doped with boron (group III) creates a p-type semiconductor whereas a crystal doped with phosphorus (group V) results in an n-type semiconductor.

The conduction electrons are completely dominated by the number of donor electrons. Therefore:

The total number of conduction electrons is approximately equal to the number of donor sites, n≈ND.

Charge neutrality of semiconductor material is maintained because excited donor sites balance the conduction electrons. The net result is that the number of conduction electrons is increased, while the number of holes is reduced. The imbalance of the carrier concentration in the respective bands is expressed by the different absolute number of electrons and holes. Electrons are majority carriers, while holes are minority carriers in n-type material.

p-type Semiconductors

extrinsic - doped semiconductor - p-type - acceptorAn extrinsic semiconductor which has been doped with electron acceptor atoms is called a p-type semiconductor, because the majority of charge carriers in the crystal are electron holes (positive charge carriers). The pure semiconductor silicon is a tetravalent element, the normal crystal structure contains 4 covalent bonds from four valence electrons. In silicon, the most common dopants are group III and group V elements. Group III elements (trivalent) all contain three valence electrons, causing them to function as acceptors when used to dope silicon. When an acceptor atom replaces a tetravalent silicon atom in the crystal, a vacant state (an electron hole) is created. An electron hole (often simply called a hole) is the lack of an electron at a position where one could exist in an atom or atomic lattice. It is one of the two types of charge carriers that are responsible for creating electric current in semiconducting materials. These positively charged holes can move from atom to atom in semiconducting materials as electrons leave their positions. The addition of trivalent impurities such as boron, aluminum or gallium to an intrinsic semiconductor creates these positive electron holes in the structure. For example, a silicon crystal doped with boron (group III) creates a p-type semiconductor whereas a crystal doped with phosphorus (group V) results in an n-type semiconductor.

The number of electron holes are completely dominated by the number of acceptor sites. Therefore:

The total number of holes is approximately equal to the number of donor sites, p ≈ NA.

Charge neutrality of this semiconductor material is also maintained. The net result is that the number of electron holes is increased, while the number of conduction electrons is reduced. The imbalance of the carrier concentration in the respective bands is expressed by the different absolute number of electrons and holes. Electron holes are majority carriers, while electrons are minority carriers in p-type material.

References:

Radiation Protection:

  1. Knoll, Glenn F., Radiation Detection and Measurement 4th Edition, Wiley, 8/2010. ISBN-13: 978-0470131480.
  2. Stabin, Michael G., Radiation Protection and Dosimetry: An Introduction to Health Physics, Springer, 10/2010. ISBN-13: 978-1441923912.
  3. Martin, James E., Physics for Radiation Protection 3rd Edition, Wiley-VCH, 4/2013. ISBN-13: 978-3527411764.
  4. U.S.NRC, NUCLEAR REACTOR CONCEPTS
  5. U.S. Department of Energy, Instrumantation and Control. DOE Fundamentals Handbook, Volume 2 of 2. June 1992.

Nuclear and Reactor Physics:

  1. J. R. Lamarsh, Introduction to Nuclear Reactor Theory, 2nd ed., Addison-Wesley, Reading, MA (1983).
  2. J. R. Lamarsh, A. J. Baratta, Introduction to Nuclear Engineering, 3d ed., Prentice-Hall, 2001, ISBN: 0-201-82498-1.
  3. W. M. Stacey, Nuclear Reactor Physics, John Wiley & Sons, 2001, ISBN: 0- 471-39127-1.
  4. Glasstone, Sesonske. Nuclear Reactor Engineering: Reactor Systems Engineering, Springer; 4th edition, 1994, ISBN: 978-0412985317
  5. W.S.C. Williams. Nuclear and Particle Physics. Clarendon Press; 1 edition, 1991, ISBN: 978-0198520467
  6. G.R.Keepin. Physics of Nuclear Kinetics. Addison-Wesley Pub. Co; 1st edition, 1965
  7. Robert Reed Burn, Introduction to Nuclear Reactor Operation, 1988.
  8. U.S. Department of Energy, Nuclear Physics and Reactor Theory. DOE Fundamentals Handbook, Volume 1 and 2. January 1993.
  9. Paul Reuss, Neutron Physics. EDP Sciences, 2008. ISBN: 978-2759800414.

See also:

Types of Semiconductors

We hope, this article, Electron Donor and Electron Acceptor, helps you. If so, give us a like in the sidebar. Main purpose of this website is to help the public to learn some interesting and important information about radiation and dosimeters.