SEMICONDUCTOR 2nd

SEMICONDUCTOR
Electronic Emission,Introduction of
valve tubes and classification
Electron Emission
The liberation of electrons from the surface of a substance is known as electron
emission.
For electron emission, metals are used because they have many free electrons. At
the surface of a metal, a free electron encounters forces that prevent it to leave the
metal. In other words, the metallic surface offers a barrier to free electrons and is
known as surface barrier. However, if sufficient external energy is given to the free
electron, its kinetic energy is increased and thus electron will cross over the surface
barrier to leave the metal. This additional energy required by an electron to overcome
the surface barrier of the metal is called work function of the metal.
The amount of additional energy required to emit an electron from a metallic
surface is known as work function of that metal.
Thus, if the total energy required to liberate an electron from a metal is 4 eV and the
energy already possessed by the electron is 0.5 eV. then additional energy required
(i.e., work function) is 4.0− 0.5 = 3.5 eV.
Types of Electron Emission
(i) Thermionic emission : In this method, the metal is heated to sufficient temperature
(about 2500ºC) to enable the free electrons to leave the metal surface. The number of electrons
emitted depends upon the temperature. The higher the temperature, the greater is the
emission of electrons. This type of emission is employed in vacuum tubes.
(ii) Field emission : In this method, a strong electric field (i.e. a high positive voltage) is
applied at the metal surface which pulls the free electrons out of metal because of the attraction
of positive field. The stronger the electric field, the greater is the electron emission.
(iii) Photo-electric emission : In this method, the energy of light falling upon the metal
surface is transferred to the free electrons within the metal to enable them to leave the surface.
The greater the intensity (i.e. brightness) of light beam falling on the metal surface, the greater
is the photo-electric emission.
(iv) Secondary emission : In this method, a high velocity beam of electrons strikes the metal
surface and causes the free electrons of the metal to be knocked out from the surface.
Thermionic Emission
The process of electron emission from a metal surface by supplying thermal energy to it is
known as thermionic emission.
Metals with lower work function will require less additional energy and, therefore, will emit
electrons at lower temperatures. The commonly used materials for electron emission are
tungsten, thoriated tungsten and metallic oxides of barium and strontium. It may be added here
that high temperatures are necessary to cause thermionic emission. For example, pure tungsten
must be heated to about 2300ºC to get electron emission. However, oxide coated emitters need
only 750ºC to cause thermionic emission.
Thermionic Emitter
The substance used for electron emission is known as an emitter or cathode. The cathode is
heated in an evacuated space to emit electrons. A cathode should have the following properties:
(i) Low work function
(ii) High melting point
(iii) High mechanical strength
Cathode Construction
As cathode is sealed in vacuum, therefore, the most convenient way to heat it is electrically.
On this basis, the thermionic cathodes are divided into two types viz directly heated cathode
and indirectly heated cathode.
(i) Directly heated cathode
In this type, the cathode consists of oxide-coated nickel ribbon, called the filament. The
heating current is directly passed through this ribbon which emits the electrons.
(ii) Indirectly heated cathode :
In this type, the cathode consists of a thin metal sleeve coated with barium and strontium
oxides. A filament or heater is enclosed within the sleeve and insulated from it. There is no
electrical connection between the heater and the cathode. The heating current is passed
through the heater and the cathode is heated indirectly through heat transfer from the heater
element.
1.) Work function of metals is generally measured in ..............

(i) joules (ii) electron-volt (iii) watt-hour (iv) watt
2.) A desirable characteristic of an emitter is that it should have .............. work function.
(i) large (ii) very large (iii) small (iv) none of the above
3.) The electrons emitted by a thermionic emitter are called ..............
(i) free electrons (ii) loose electrons (iii) thermionic electrons (iv) bound electron
VACUUM TUBES
A vacuum tube is a device that controls
electric current flow in a high vacuum
between electrodes to which an electric
potential difference has been applied.
The simplest vacuum tube, the diode,
invented in 1904 by John Ambrose
Fleming, contains only a heated
electron-emitting cathode and an
anode. Electrons can only flow in one
direction through the device—from
the cathode to the anode. These devices
became a key component of electronic
circuits for the first half of the twentieth
century. They were crucial to the
development of radio, television, radar,
sound recording and reproduction, long-distance telephone networks, and analog and early
digital computers. It was the invention of the thermionic vacuum tube that made these
technologies widespread and practical, and created the discipline of electronics. In the 1940s,
the invention of semiconductor devices made it possible to produce solid-state devices, which
are smaller, more efficient, reliable, durable, safer, and more economical than thermionic tubes.
A vacuum tube consists of two or more electrodes in a vacuum inside an airtight envelope
TRIODE DIODE
When hot, the filament releases electrons into the vacuum, a process called thermionic

emission. A second electrode, the anode or plate, will attract those electrons if it is at a more
positive voltage. The result is a net flow of electrons from the filament to plate. Such a tube with
only two electrodes is termed a diode, and is used for rectification.
Except for diodes, additional electrodes are positioned between the cathode and the plate
(anode). These electrodes are referred to as grids as they are not solid electrodes but sparse
elements through which electrons can pass on their way to the plate. The vacuum tube is then
known as a triode, tetrode, pentode, etc., depending on the number of grids.
Gas-Filled Tubes
A gas-filled tube is essentially a vacuum tube having a small amount of some inert gas at
low pressure. The gas pressure in a gas-filled tube usually ranges from 10 mm of Hg to 50 mm.
The construction of gas-filled tubes is similar to that of vacuum tubes, except that the
cathodes, grids and anodes are usually larger in order to carry heavier current. A gas filled tube
can conduct much more current than the equivalent vacuum tube.
Classification : Gas-filled tubes are usually classified according to the type of electron
emission employed. On this basis, they may be classified into two types namely:
cold-cathode type and hot-cathode type
Cold-cathode type : In this type of gas-filled tubes, the cathode is not heated as in a vacuum
tube. The ionisation of the gas is caused by the energy available from natural sources such as
cosmic rays, sun rays or radioactive particles in air.
Hot-cathode type : In this type of gas-filled tubes, the cathode is heated just as in an ordinary
vacuum tube. The electrons flowing from cathode to plate cause ionisation of the gas
molecules. Such tubes are used as diodes, triodes and tetrodes.
1. A gas diode can conduct ......... the equivalent vacuum diode for the same plate voltage.
(i) less current than (ii) more current than (iii) same current as (iv) none of the above
2. A cold cathode tube is generally used as a ...........
(i) diode (ii) triode (iii) tetrode (iv) pentode

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SEMICONDUCTOR

1.) Work function of metals is generally measured in ..............

When hot, the filament releases electrons into the vacuum, a process called thermionic

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