Doping:

For the semiconductor material to have properties required to work in electronic components, impurities are added usually. The impurities cause material to conduct currents in several ways. The addition of an impurity to a semiconductor is called as doping. At times the impurity is also called as dopant.

Donor impurities

When the impurity contains excess of electrons, dopant is termed as donor impurity.  Adding this type of substance causes conduction majorly by means of electron flow, as in the metal like copper. The excess electrons can be passed from atom to atom when a voltage exists across material. Elements which serve as donor impurities include antimony, bismuth, arsenic, and phosphorus.

A material with the donor impurity is called as N type semiconductor, as electrons posses negative charge.

Acceptor  impurities

If the impurity has a shortage of electrons, the dopant is termed as acceptor impurity. When the substance such as boron, gallium, aluminum, or indium are added to a semiconductor, the material conducts by the means of hole flow. A hole is a missing electron. A material having an acceptor impurity is called as P-type semiconductor,  as holes have positive charge.