Verified Solution • 2025–26 Session moderate

QPages 416-417: Q8: HC Verma: Concepts of Physics - Volume 2 Semiconductors and Semiconductor Devices Pages 416-417: Q8 Solution: When a p-type impurity is doped in a semiconductor, a large…

⚠️ Common Exam Traps & Conceptual Pitfalls

Students often treat holes as free positive charges that pile up on the n‑side, forgetting that a hole is merely the absence of an electron; when a hole moves it leaves behind a negatively charged acceptor ion on the p‑side and, after recombination on the n‑side, a donor ion becomes positively charged. Thus the net charge on each side arises from ionized dopants, not from the holes themselves.

When a p-type impurity is doped in a semiconductor, a large number of holes are created. This does not make the semiconductor charged. But when holes diffuse from the p-side to the n-side in a p-n junction, the n-side gets positively charged. Explain.

Step-by-Step Verified Solution

**Answer:** Doping creates holes but does not charge the semiconductor because the impurity atoms are neutral. When holes diffuse from p-side to n-side, they leave behind negatively charged acceptor ions, making the n-side positively charged. **Step-by-Step Explanation:** When a trivalent impurity (like boron) replaces a silicon atom, it forms three covalent bonds and leaves one bond incomplete (a hole). The impurity atom is electrically neutral overall. Hence, the p-type semiconductor remains neutral. When holes diffuse from the p-side to the n-side, they leave behind negatively charged acceptor ions. The n-side receives these holes, which recombine with electrons, leaving behind positively charged donor ions. This charge separation creates the built-in potential .

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