Q: Doping of silicon (Si) with boron (B) leads to :

Explanation:

Doping silicon with boron

Doping silicon with boron introduces impurities into the silicon crystal structure. Silicon is a group IV element, meaning it has four valence electrons. Boron, on the other hand, is a group III element with three valence electrons. When boron atoms are added to the silicon lattice, each boron atom forms three covalent bonds with the surrounding silicon atoms, but there is one bond that remains incomplete because boron has only three valence electrons compared to silicon’s four.

This incomplete bond creates a “hole” or a positive charge carrier in the silicon structure. These holes can move through the lattice as neighboring electrons move to fill them, effectively allowing electrical current to flow. Since the majority carriers of charge in this doped silicon are holes (positive charges), the material becomes a p-type semiconductor. The “p” stands for positive, indicating that the charge carriers are positive holes.

In contrast, if silicon were doped with a group V element like phosphorus, which has five valence electrons, it would add extra electrons to the silicon lattice, resulting in an n-type semiconductor where electrons are the majority carriers. Therefore, doping silicon with boron specifically creates a p-type semiconductor.