SemiconductorFundamentals:

niistheelectronconcentrationandtheholeconcentrationinundopedsemiconductormaterial.(n=p=niinan
undopedsemiconductor.)
o ni=1010cm3insiliconatroomtemperature(T=300K)
Asemiconductorcanbedopedwithdonoratomsand/oracceptoratoms.
o Iftheconcentrationofdonoratoms(ND)isgreaterthantheconcentrationofacceptoratoms(NA),then
thesemiconductormaterialisntype,becausetheconcentrationofelectrons(n)isgreaterthanthe
concentrationofholes(p):
n=NDNA
p=ni2/n
o IfNA>ND,thenthesemiconductormaterialisptype,becausep>n:
p=NAND
n=ni2/p
Theunitsofresistivityareohmcm.
Theelectronandholemobilities(nandp,respectively)eachdependonthetotaldopantconcentration.
o AsND+NAincreases,Coulombiccarrierscatteringoccursmorefrequentlymobilityislowered.

PNJunctions:
ThebuiltinvoltageV0isthepotentialdroppedacrossthedepletionregionunderzerobias(VD=0):

V0 =

kT N D N A

ln
q ni2

wherekT/qisthethermalvoltage(VT=26mVatroomtemperature),NDisthenetntypedopantconcentration
(NDNA)onthentypesideandNAisthenetptypedopantconcentration(NAND)onthepside.

Thecurrentthatflowsacrossthemetallurgicaljunctionunderforwardbias(VD>0,whichlowersthepotential
dropacrossthedepletionregiontoV0VD)ispredominantlyduetodiffusionofelectronsintothepsideand
diffusionofholesintothenside:
o

Currentdensity(A/cm2)duetoelectronsdiffusingacrossthejunction: J n , diff =

qDn ni2 VD / VT
e
1
Ln N A

whereDn=VTnistheelectrondiffusionconstantwithinthequasineutralptyperegion,and
Lnistheelectrondiffusionlengthwithinthequasineutralptyperegion.
(Note:IfthequasineutralptyperegionismuchshorterthanLnasinthecaseofthequasineutral
baseregionofanNPNbipolarjunctiontransistorthenLnshouldbereplacedbythelengthofthequasi
neutralptyperegionintheequationabove.)
o

Currentdensity(A/cm )duetoholesdiffusingacrossthejunction: J p ,diff =

2

qD p ni2
Lp N D

(e

VD / VT

whereDp=VTpistheholediffusionconstantwithinthequasineutralntyperegion,and
Lpistheholediffusionlengthwithinthequasineutralntyperegion.
(Note:IfthequasineutralntyperegionismuchshorterthanLpasinthecaseofthequasineutral
baseregionofaPNPbipolarjunctiontransistorthenLpshouldbereplacedbythelengthofthequasi
neutralntyperegionintheequationabove.)

Byaddingthecurrentsduetoelectronandholeflowacrossthejunction,weobtainthetotaldiodecurrent:

D
D p VD / VT
I D = AJ p ,diff + AJ n ,diff = Aqni2 n +
1 I S eVD / VT 1
e
Ln N A L p N D

whereAisthejunctionareaandISisthediodereversesaturationcurrent.

Notethatthedominantcurrentcomponentflowingacrossthemetallurgicaljunctionisthatassociatedwith
minoritycarrierdiffusioninthemorelightlydopedside,i.e.mostofthecurrentflowingacrossthejunctionis
duetominoritycarriersinjectedfromthemoreheavilydopedside.

Notethatifthedopantconcentrationisincreasedononeside,theminoritycarrierdiffusioncurrentonthatside
isreduced.
o Example:Ifthedopantconcentrationonthentypesideisincreasedbyafactorof10(i.e.ifNDis
increasedby10),theholediffusioncurrentisreducedbyafactorof10(i.e.Jp,diffisreducedby10).As
aresult,Jn,diff/Jp,diffisincreasedby10.

Thecurrentthatflowsacrossthemetallurgicaljunctionunderreversebias(VD<0,whichraisesthepotential
dropacrossthedepletionregiontoV0+|VD|)ispredominantlyduetodriftofelectronsfromtheptypesideinto
thensideanddriftofholesfromthentypesideintothepside.Thereversebiascurrent(IS)islimitedbythe
rateatwhichminoritycarriersdiffusefromthequasineutralregionsintothedepletionregion(i.e.therateat
whichelectronsontheptypesidediffusetotheedgeofthedepletionregionandtherateatwhichholesonthe
ntypesidediffusetotheedgeofthedepletionregion).
o

Dn
isthereversebias
Ln N A

SinceIDISforVD<0,wecandeducefromtheformulaforISthat Aqni2

currentcomponentduetoelectrons(whichdiffuseinthequasineutralptyperegiontothedepletion

regionandarethensweptacrossthejunctionintothequasineutralntyperegionbytheelectricfield)

Dp
isthereversebiascurrentcomponentduetoholes(whichdiffuseinthequasi
L p N D

and Aqni2

neutralntyperegiontothedepletionregionandarethensweptacrossthejunctionintothequasi
neutralptyperegionbytheelectricfield).

BipolarJunctionTransistors:
Intheforwardactivemodeofoperation:
Thecollectorcurrentconsistsprimarilyofminoritycarrierscollectedfromthebase(whichthenproceedtodrift
inthequasineutralcollectorregionandoutthroughthecollectorcontact).Therateatwhichtheseminority
carriersarecollectedislimitedbytherateatwhichtheydiffuseacrossthequasineutralbaseregionandenter
thecollectorjunctiondepletionregion.

AE qDB ni2 VBE

IC =
e
N BW B

/ VT

1 IS e

VBE / VT

whereAEisthearea(incm2)oftheemitterbasejunction,DBistheminoritycarrierdiffusionconstantwithinthe
quasineutralbaseregion,NBisthenetdopantconcentrationinthebase,andWBisthewidthofthequasi
neutralbaseregion.NotethatthepreexponentialfactorisapproximatelyIS.Thisisbecausethereverse

DB
DE AE qD B ni2
sincethe
+

N BW B
N BW B N E W E

saturationcurrentofthebaseemitterPNjunctionis I S = AE qni2

emitterdopantconcentration(NE)istypicallymuchhigherthanthebasedopantconcentration(NB).
Thebasecurrentisprimarilycomprisedofcarrierflowfromthebaseintotheemitter:

IB =

AE qDE ni2 VBE / VT

I
1 C
e
N EWE

whereAEisthearea(incm2)oftheemitterbasejunction,DEistheminoritycarrierdiffusionconstantwithinthe
quasineutralemitterregion,NEisthenetdopantconcentrationinthebase,andWEisthewidthofthequasi
neutralemitterregion.(InmodernBJTs,theemitterisshort,i.e.muchshorterthantheminoritycarrier
diffusionlength.)
NotethattheequationforIBlookslikethatofaPNjunctiondiode,exceptthatthepreexponentialfactor
containsonlyone(small)term,associatedwithdiffusionofminoritycarriersacrossthequasineutralemitter
region.ThisiswhythebaseemitterjunctionismodeledasadiodeinthelargesignalmodelofaBJT.
NotethatonlyICdependsonWB,sothatonlyICshowstheEarlyeffect(increasingcurrentwithincreasing
reversebiasonthecollectorjunction).Thecommonemittercurrentgainisthusafunctionof|VCE|duetothe
Earlyeffect.

CircuitAnalysis:
IftwoimpedancesZ1andZ2areconnectedinparallel,theircombinedimpedanceis

Z1 Z 2 =

Z1 Z 2

Z1 + Z 2

whichissmallerthaneitherZ1orZ2.

NotethatifZ2>>Z1,then Z 1 Z 2 =

Z1 Z 2
ZZ
1 2 = Z 1 .
Z1 + Z 2
Z2

Forexample,inthesmallsignalanalysisofaBJTcircuit, r

1
1
1

gm gm gm gm

MOSFETs:
ThresholdVoltage:
AMOSFETisintheonstate(i.e.mobilechargecarrierscanflowfromthesourcetothedrainundertheinfluenceof
alateralelectricfield)whenaninversionlayerisformedinthechannelregion.
IntheequationsforMOSFETcurrent,thesourcevoltageisusedasthereferencevoltage.Thus,thethreshold
voltage(VTH)ofaMOSFETisdefinedtobethegatetosourcevoltage(ratherthanthegatetobodyvoltage)
requiredtoformaninversionlayerinthechannelregion.
o Recallthatthevoltagedroppedwithinthesemiconductoratthethresholdconditionis|2B|,sothat

VTH = VFB + 2 B +

2qN A Si (2 B + VSB )
C ox

forannchannelMOSFET.(Thesecondtermontherighthandsiderepresentsthevoltagedroppedwithin
thesemiconductor.)Thelastterminthisequationrepresentsthevoltagedroppedwithinthegateoxide,
Vox,whichisproportionaltothetotalarealchargedensity(units:C/cm2)inthesemiconductor(fromGauss
Lawref.Lecture15,Slide17),whichisapproximatelyequaltothearealdepletionchargedensity(sincethe
inversionchargedensityatthethresholdconditionisnegligibleincomparison):

Qdep = 2qN A Si (2 B + VSB ) .

(ForapchannelMOSFET,thedepletionchargeinthesemiconductorisofoppositesign:

Qdep = + 2qN D Si (2 B + VSB ) .Thus,thevoltagedroppedacrossthegateoxideisnegative.Thisiswhy

thelasttermintheVTHequationhasanegativesign,forapchannelMOSFETref.Lecture16,Slide8.Note
that2BisnegativeforapchannelMOSFET,aswell.)
Ifthebodyvoltageisnotequaltothesourcevoltage,(i.e.ifVSB0)thenVTHwillbealteredaccordingtothe
followingequation(forannchannelMOSFET):

VTH = VFB + 2 B +

2qN A Si (2 B + VSB )
C ox

kT N A
and
where B
ln
q ni
o

= VTH 0 +

2qN A Si

2 B + VSB 2 B

C ox

(VTH0isdefinedtobethethresholdvoltageforVSB=0V.)
NotethatVSBdoesnotdirectlyaffectVTH,i.e.thechangeinVTHwithVSBisnotsimplyequaltoVSB!
Rather,VSBaffectsthearealdepletionchargedensityinthesemiconductor(Qdep)andtherebythe
voltagedropacrossthegateoxide(Vox=Qdep/Cox).
IfthebodysourcePNjunctionisreversebiased(i.e.ifVSB>0),thenthedepletiondepth
increasesandhencethedepletionchargeinthebodyisincreased;thus,themagnitudeofVTH
isincreased.
FromtheequationforVTH,wecanseethatthemoreheavilythebodyisdoped(i.e.thelargerNA
is),themoreinfluencethebodybiashasonthechannelpotentialandthereforeonVTH.Thisis
becausethearealdepletioncapacitance(Cdep)increaseswithNAsothatthecapacitivecoupling
betweenthechannelpotentialandthebodyvoltageisincreased.

Currentflowintheonstate(VGS>VTH,forannchannelMOSFET;VGS<VTH,forapchannelMOSFET):
ThedraincurrentIDisproportionaltotheamountofarealinversionchargedensity(units:C/cm2),Qinv,inthe
channelregionatthesourceend,whichinturndependsonVGS:
Qinv = C ox (VGS VTH )
As|VGSVTH|increases,|Qinv|increaseshenceIDincreases,forafixeddraintosourcevoltagedifference,VDS.
LongchannelnMOSFETs:
ForafixedvalueofVGS>VTH:
o VDS<VGSVTH:(Trioderegionofoperation)
AsVDSincreases,thevoltageappliedacrosstheinversionlayerincreases;hencethelateral
electricfieldincreasesandsothecarrierdriftvelocityincreasesIDincreases.
TherateatwhichIDincreaseswithincreasingVDSgetssmallerasVDSincreases,however,
becausetheaveragepotentialintheinversionlayerincreaseswithincreasingVDS,so
thattheaveragevalueofQinv(fromthesourceendtothedrainend)decreaseswith
increasingVDS.Eventually,IDreachesamaximumvaluewhenVDS=VGSVTH.
o VDS=VGSVTHVDsat:(PinchofforEdgeofSaturation)
Thechannelpotentialatthedrainendistoohightoallowaninversionlayertoformthere.(The
voltagedifferencebetweenthegateandthechannelatthedrainendisequaltoVTH,soQinv=0
there.)Thus,theinversionlayerispinchedoffjustatthedrainendofthechannel.
o VDS>VDsat:(Saturationregionofoperation)
Thechannelpotentialneartothedrainendistoohightoallowaninversionlayertoformthere.
(ThevoltagedifferencebetweenthegateandthechannelneartothedrainissmallerthanVTH.)
Thus,thereisnoinversionlayerintheregionnearthedrainendofthechannel,calledthe
pinchoffregion.
AsVDSincreasesbeyondVGSVTHVDsat,morevoltage(VDSVDsat)isdroppedacrossthepinchoff
region;whereasthesameamountofvoltage(VGSVTH)isdroppedacrosstheinversionlayer.
Currentflowislimitedbytherateatwhichmobilechargecarriersreachthepinchoffregion
(wheretheyarequicklysweptacrossthepinchoffregionwhichisthedepletionregionofthe
reversebiasedbodydrainPNjunctionintothedrain).Thisinturnisdeterminedbythe
averagelateralelectricfieldintheinversionlayer,~(VGSVTH)/L1,whichis~independentofVDS.
(L1isthelengthoftheinversionlayer.)Thus,IDsaturates.(IDdoesnotincreaserapidlywith
increasingVDSinthesaturationregionofoperation.)
Ifthelengthofthepinchoffregion(LL1)isasubstantialfractionofthechannellength,thenID
increasesnoticeablywithincreasingVDS.Thisisbecausethesizeofthepinchoffregiongrows
asthevoltagedroppedacrossit(VDSVDsat)increases,sothelengthoftheinversionlayer(L1)
decreasessubstantiallywithincreasingVDS;thus,thelateralelectricfieldintheinversionlayer
(~(VGSVTH)/L1)increasessothatthedriftvelocityofthemobilechargecarriers(henceID)
increasessubstantiallywithincreasingVDS.
ThefractionalincreaseinIDwithVDSinthesaturationregionofoperationis(VDS
VDsat). isthechannellengthmodulationcoefficient.
ThechannellengthmodulationeffectbecomesmoresignificantasLisdecreased,
sincethesizeofthepinchoffregionrelativetothechannellengthbecomeslarger.
ThisiswhyisapproximatelyproportionaltotheinverseofL.
MOSFETsmallsignalmodel:TheincrementalincreaseinIDwithanincrementalincrease
inVDSismodeledasanextraresistance(ro),inparallelwiththevoltagedependent
currentsource(gmvgs)thatmodelsthechangeinIDduetoachangeinVGS,betweenthe
drainandsourceterminals.Ifroislarge,thismeansthattheincrementalchangeinID
withanincrementalincreaseinVDSissmall,i.e.issmall.(ro1/)

ShortchannelnMOSFETs:
AshortchannelMOSFETisoneinwhichIDsaturateswithincreasingVDS,duetovelocitysaturation:AsVDS
increasesabovethesaturationvoltageEsatLwhereEsatistheelectricfieldstrengthatwhichthesaturationvelocity
isreachedthecarriervelocitydoesnotincrease(eventhoughtheaveragelateralelectricfieldintheinversion
layerincreases)soIDdoesnotincrease.
ForafixedvalueofVGS>VTH:
o VDS<EsatL:(Trioderegionofoperation)
AsVDSincreases,thevoltageappliedacrosstheinversionlayerincreases;hencethelateral
electricfieldincreasesandsothecarrierdriftvelocityincreasesIDincreases.
TherateatwhichIDincreaseswithincreasingVDSgetssmallerasVDSincreases,however,
becausetheaveragepotentialintheinversionlayerincreaseswithincreasingVDS,so
thattheaveragevalueofQinv(fromthesourceendtothedrainend)decreaseswith
increasingVDS.
o VDS=EsatLVDsat:(EdgeofSaturation)
Themobilechargecarriersintheinversionlayerreachmaximumdriftvelocity.
o VDS>EsatL:(Saturationregionofoperation)
IDdoesnotincreaserapidlywithincreasingVDSbecausethevelocityofthemobilecharge
carriersislimitedtoamaximumofthesaturationvelocity,vsat.IDisnotstronglydependenton
VDS/L(theaveragelateralelectricfieldinthechannel);itissimplyproportionaltothewidth(W)
ofthetransistorchannelregionandthearealinversionchargedensityatthesourceend:
ID=WvsatCox(VGSVTH)
AsVDSincreases,thereversebiasonthebodydrainPNjunctionincreasesandsothedepletion
regioninthebodyatthedrainjunctionincreases.Thishelpstodepletethechannelregion
underneaththegateelectrodeneartothedrain,sothatlesschargeisneededonthegatein
ordertoformaninversionlayerinthechannelregion,i.e.thethresholdvoltage(VTH)isreduced.
SinceID(VGSVTH),thismeansthatIDincreaseswithincreasingVDS.Thiseffectiscalleddrain
inducedbarrierlowering(DIBL).
ThefractionalincreaseinIDwithVDSinthesaturationregionofoperationis(VDSVDsat).
(NotethattheDIBLeffectismodeledinthesamewayaschannellengthmodulationfor
alongchannelMOSFET.)
DIBLbecomesmoresignificantasLisdecreased,sincethesizeofthedepletionregionin
thebodyatthedrainjunctionrelativetothechannellengthbecomeslarger.Thisiswhy
isapproximatelyproportionaltotheinverseofL,forashortchannelMOSFET.
MOSFETsmallsignalmodel:
o TheincrementalincreaseinIDwithanincrementalincreaseinVDSismodeledas
anextraresistance(ro),inparallelwiththevoltagedependentcurrentsource
(gmvgs)thatmodelsthechangeinIDduetoachangeinVGS,betweenthedrain
andsourceterminals.Ifroislarge,thismeansthattheincrementalchangeinID
withanincrementalincreaseinVDSissmall,i.e.shouldbesmall.(ro1/)
o NotethatthetransconductanceofaMOSFEToperatinginthevelocity
saturationlimitedregimeisindependentofVGS:gm=WvsatCox
ToreduceDIBL(i.e.toincreasero),weneedtoreducethelateralextentofthedepletion
regioninthebodyatthedrainjunction.Thiscanbedonebyincreasingthedopingin
thechannelregionneartothedrainjunction.(Inthesemiconductorindustry,thistype
ofdopingisreferredtoashalodoping.)