The atom

atoms are tiny particles of which everything is made. it is impossible to imagine how small an atoms. a hundred million atoms side by side would measure only 1cm. atoms are made of smaller particles called subatomic particles

Char Mass ge Proton +1 1 Negligible Electron -1 (0.00054) Neutron 0 1 Particle

Defining the Atom

All matter is composed of atoms Atoms are the smallest particle of an element that retains its identity in a chemical reaction. Atom comes from the Greek word atomos meaning indivisible. Democritus Daltons Atomic Theory Thomson Model Rutherford Bohr Model The Wave Model

History of atom

Subatomic Particles
Atoms are now know to be broken down into smaller, more fundamental particles called subatomic particles. There are 3 kinds of subatomic Particles. 1. Electrons 2. Protons 3. Neutrons

Electrons

Discovered in 1897 by J.J. Thomson (1856-1940) an English physicist. They are negatively charged subatomic particles.

Thomson performed experiments using a sealed glass tube with gases in it. He passed an electric current through the tube and the result was a cathode ray.

Electrons Continued
U.S. physicist Robert A. Millikan (1868-1953) carried out experiments to find the quantity of charge carried out by an electron. He calculated the mass of the electron; that is very similar to the excepted mass given today.

Protons
Eugen Goldstein (1850-1930) observed in 1886 that in a cathode-ray tube there were rays going in the opposite direction. He concluded they were positively charged particles. Protons are positively charged subatomic particles. Each proton has a mass about 1840 times that of an electron.

Neutrons
In 1932 English physicist James Chadwick (1891-1974) confirmed the existence of another subatomic particle. Neutrons are subatomic particles with no charge but a mass nearly equal to the proton.

Atomic number - Also called proton number, this is the number of protons the atom has. This can be looked up on the periodic table Elements are different because they contain different numbers of protons. The atomic number of an element is the number of protons in the nucleus of an atom in that element. Ex: The atomic number of Hydrogen (H) is 1, so all hydrogen atoms have 1 proton. Ex: All Oxygen atoms (O) have 8 protons, so the atomic number of Oxygen is 8. Mass number - This basically tells you the number of particles in the nucleus (as the electron has negligible mass). These numbers, along with the element symbol are often written together as follows.

The top number is the mass number and the bottom is the atomic/proton number. Most of the mass of an atom is concentrated in its nucleus. The mass number of an atom is the total number of protons and neutrons in an atom. Ex: Helium (He) has 2 protons and 2 neutrons: its mass number is 4. Ex: Carbon (C) has 6 protons and 6 neutrons: its mass number is12.

Origin of energy band formation in solids

When we consider isolated atom, the electrons are tightly bound and have discrete, sharp energy levels. When two identical atoms are brought closer the outer most orbits of these atoms overlap and interact. If more atoms are brought together more levels are formed and for a solid of N atoms , each of the energy levels of an atom splits into N levels of energy. The levels are so close together that they form an almost continuous band. The width of this band depends on the degree of overlap of electrons of adjacent atoms and is largest for outer most atomic electrons.

"The energy bands in solids..."

The energy bands in solids are important in determining many of physical properties of solids. The allowed energy bands (1) Valance band (2) Conduction band The band corresponding to the outer most orbit is called conduction band and the next inner band is called valence band. The gap between these two allowed bands is called forbidden energy gap.

Covalent Bonding
Covalent bonding is a bonding of two or more atoms by the interaction of their valence electrons. Certain atoms will combine in this way to form a crystal structure. Silicon and Germanium atoms combine in this way in their intrinsic or pure state

Classifications of solids into Conductors, Semiconductors & Insulators

On the basis of forbidden band or energy gap the solids are classified into insulators, semiconductors and conductors.

Insulators:

In case of insulators, the forbidden energy band is very wide as shown in figure. Due to this fact the electrons cannot jump from valance band to conduction band. Electrons, however heated, can not practically jump to conduction band from valence band due to a large energy gap. Therefore, conduction is not possible in insulators.

Semi conductors:

In semi conductors the forbidden energy ( band ) gap is very small as shown in a figure. Ge and Si are the best examples of semiconductors. Forbidden ( band ) is of the order of 0.7ev & 1.1ev. At absolute zero temperature, no electron has energy to jump from valence band to conduction band and hence the crystal is an insulator. At room temperature, some valence electrons gain energy more than the energy gap and move to conduction band to conduct even under the influence of a weak electric field.

Conductors:In conductors there is no forbidden gap. Valence and conduction bands overlap each other as shown in figure above. The electrons from valance band freely enter into conduction band.

Intrinsic Semiconductor is a pure semiconductor. The energy gap in Si is 1.1 eV and in Ge is 0.74 eV. Ge: 1s2, 2s2, 2p6,3s2, 3p6, 3d10, 4s2, 4p2. (Atomic No. is 32)

Si: 1s2, 2s2, 2p6,3s2, 3p2. (Atomic No. is 14) In intrinsic semiconductor, the number of thermally generated electrons always equals the number of holes. So, if ni and pi are the concentration of electrons and holes respectively, then ni = pi. The quantity ni or pi is referred to as the intrinsic carrier concentration. Doping a Semiconductor: Doping is the process of deliberate addition of a very small amount of impurity into an intrinsic semiconductor. The impurity atoms are called dopants. The semiconductor containing impurity is known as impure or extrinsic semiconductor. Methods of doping: i. Heating the crystal in the presence of dopant atoms. ii. Adding impurity atoms in the molten state of semiconductor. iii. Bombarding semiconductor by ions of impurity atoms.

The energy required to detach the fifth loosely bound electron is only of the order of 0.045 eV for germanium. A small amount of energy provided due to thermal agitation is sufficient to detach this electron and it is ready to conduct current.

The force of attraction between this mobile electron and the positively charged (+ 5) impurity ion is weakened by the dielectric constant of the medium. So, such electrons from impurity atoms will have energies slightly less than the energies of the electrons in the conduction band. Therefore, the energy state corresponding to the fifth electron is in the forbidden gap and slightly below the lower level of the conduction band. This energy level is called donor level. The impurity atom is called donor. N type semiconductor is called donor type semiconductor.

The two types of extrinsic semiconductor N type semiconductor

Extrinsic semiconductors with a larger electron concentration than hole concentration are known as n-type semiconductors. The phrase 'n-type' comes from the negative charge of the electron. In ntype semiconductors, electrons are the majority carriers and holes are the minority carriers. N-type semiconductors are created by doping an intrinsic semiconductor with donor impurities. In an ntype semiconductor, the Fermi energy level is greater than that of the intrinsic semiconductor and lies closer to the conduction band than the valence band.

P-type semiconductors

As opposed to n-type semiconductors, p-type semiconductors have a larger hole concentration than electron concentration. The phrase 'p-type' refers to the positive charge of the hole. In p-type semiconductors, holes are the majority carriers and electrons are the minority carriers. P-type semiconductors are created by doping an intrinsic semiconductor with acceptor impurities. P-type semiconductors have Fermi energy levels below the intrinsic Fermi energy level. The Fermi energy level lies closer to the valence band than the conduction band in a p-type semiconductor.

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