Question

How do semiconductors work?

Answer 1

Hint: A material that has the ability to conduct a small amount of electricity is called a semiconductor. Mainly there are 2 types of semiconductors. They are intrinsic and extrinsic semiconductors. The extrinsic semiconductors are further divided into n-type and p-type semiconductors.

Complete answer:
The level of conductivity of the semiconductors lies between that of conductors and insulators. A material that has the ability to conduct a small amount of electricity is called a semiconductor.
The working process of the semiconductors.
As the silicon is abundantly available on the earth and is easy to work with while manufacturing, thus, most of the semiconductors are made by using the silicon. The stable silicon crystal gets unstable when a small quantity of the impurities, such as, the boron or gallium substances are added to the silicon. The electrons become free to move because of this instability. The imbalance in the electrons occurs due to the formation of the free electrons. A charge gets generated because of the imbalance in electrons. This charge can either be positive or negative. The charge will be positive if there are lesser electrons compared to the holes. The charge will be negative if there are more electrons compared to the holes. Based on the polarity of the charge generated, the semiconductors are classified into p-type and n-type semiconductors. The semiconductors that generate a positive charge are called the p-type semiconductor. The semiconductors that generate a negative charge are called the n-type semiconductor.
 $$\therefore$$ The semiconductors generate a charge when the impurities are added to the silicon.

Note:
There are 2 types of semiconductors. They are n-type semiconductors and p-type semiconductors. In the case of n-type semiconductors, one electron will be present to act as a negative charge, whereas, in the case of p-type semiconductors, one hole will be present to act as a positive charge.