Suppose I have an intrinsic semiconductor and I heat it up on one side. What will be the changes that will occur? As far as I know it won't become an extrinsic semiconductor because that would need to introduce impurity (doping) so what will be the other possible consequences? Am i correct considering that semiconductor would remain an intrinsic semiconductor?
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2 Answers
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Am i correct considering that semiconductor would remain an intrinsic semiconductor?
Yes you are correct, the semiconductor stays in the intrinsic state.
What will be the changes that will occur?
By applying temperature, some electrons acquire a state of excitement, which causes them to jump to the conduction band from the valence band. This increase of electrons in the conduction band corresponding to a decrease of the resistivity of the material.
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To add to Petrei, as you heat an extrinsic semiconductor it becomes more intrinsic.
This is because an intrinsic semiconductor is technically not one that is purely free from impurities, but rather one whose intrinsic behavior overwhelms the extrinsic one. That is the intrinsic charge carriers are much larger than the extrinsic ones.
Since the extrinsic ones are fixed by the doping, if you heat the material you'll create more intrinsic charge carriers. If you don't destroy the crystal, you'll end up with an intrinsic semiconductor.