1

Solid State Electronics

Text Book
Ben. G. Streetman and Sanjay Banerjee: Solid State
Electronic Devices, Prentice-Hall of India Private
Limited.
Chapter 3
2
Bonding forces in Solids
Bond: The interaction of electrons in neighboring atoms is called bond.
Ionic bond: Ionic bonds are a type of chemical bond based on electrostatic
forces between two oppositely-charged ions.
In ionic bond formation, a metal donates an electron, due to a low
electronegativity to form a positive ion.
The bonds between the sodium (Na) and chlorine (Cl) ions are ionic bonds.
The electronic structure of Na (Z=11) is [Ne]3s
1
, and Cl(Z=17) has the structure
[Ne]3s
2
3p
5
.
Na atom gives up its outer 3s electron to a Cl atom, so that the crystal is made up
of ions with electronic structures of the inert atoms Ne and Ar.
However, the ions have net electric charges after the electron exchange.
The Na+ ion has a net positive charge, having lost an electron, and the Cl- ion has
a net negative charge, having gained an electron.
Once the electron exchanges have been made between the Na and Cl atoms to
form Na+ and Cl- ions, the outer orbits of all atoms are completely filled.
Since the ions have the closed-shell configurations of the inert atoms Ne and Ar,
there are no loosely bound electrons to participate in current flow; as a result,
NaCl is a good insulator.
3
Metallic bond: Metallic bonding is the bonding within metals. It
involves the delocalized sharing of free electrons among a lattice
(the periodic arrangement of atoms in a crystal is called the lattice)
of metal atoms.
In a metal atom the outer electron shell is only partially filled,
usually by no more than three electrons.
In Na has only one electron in the outer orbit.
This electron is loosely bound and is given up easily in ion
formation.
In the metal the outer electron of each alkali atom is contributed to
the crystal as a whole, so that the solid is made up of ions with
closed shells immersed in a sea of free electrons.
The forces holding the lattice together arise from an interaction
between the positive ion cores and the surrounding free electrons.
This is one type of metallic bonding.
The metals have the sea of electrons in common, and these
electrons are free to move about the crystal under the influence of
an electric field.
4
Covalent bond: Covalent bonding is an intermolecular form of
chemical bonding characterized by the sharing of one or more
pairs of electrons between two components, producing a mutual
attraction that holds the resultant molecule together.
Atoms tend to share electrons in such a way that their outer
electron shells are filled.
Atom in the Ge, Si, or C diamond lattice is surrounded by four
nearest neighbors, each with four electrons in the outer orbit.
In these crystals each atom shares its valence electrons with its
four neighbors.
The bonding forces arise from a quantum mechanical interaction
between the shared electrons.
This is known as covalent bonding; each electron pair constitutes a
covalent bond.
5
Energy Bands
The electron in an isolated atom has discrete energy level but
the electron in a solid has a range, or band, of available
energies.
The discrete energy levels of the isolated atom spread into
bands of energies in the solid because in the solid the wave
functions of electrons in neighboring atoms overlap, and an
electron is not necessarily localized at a particular atom.
As isolated atoms are brought together to form a solid,
various interactions occur between neighboring atoms.
The forces of attraction and repulsion between atoms will find
a balance at the proper interatomic spacing for the crystal.
In the process, important changes occur in the electron energy
level configuration and these changes result in the varied
electrical properties of solid.
6
Fig. (a) shows the curve of wave function
which is obtained from the solution of
Schrodinger Wave Equation.
(a)
Fig. (b) shows the orbital model of a Si
atom, which has a nucleus consisting of 14
protons (with a charge of +14) and neutrons,
10 core electrons in shells n=1 and 2, and 4
valance electrons in the 3s and 3p subshells.
Fig. (c) shows the energy levels of the
various electrons in the coulombic potential
well of the nucleus . Since unlike charges
attract each other, there is an attractive
potential between the negatively charged
electrons and the positively charged nucleus.
The Coulomb potential varies only with
radius in spherical coordinates
7

+
2
+
1


+ +
+
_
Atomic orbitals
Anti-bonding
orbital
Bonding orbital
Anti-bonding energy level
Bonding energy level
V(r)
Figure 3-2 Linear combination of atomic orbitals (LCAO): The
LCAO when 2 atoms are brought together leads to 2 distinct
normal models-a higher energy anti-bonding orbital, and a
lower energy bonding orbital.
In Fig. 3-2, the coulombic
potential wells of two atoms close
to each other, along with the
wave functions of two-electron
centered on the two nuclei are
schematically shown.
By solving the Schrodinger for
such an interacting system, it is
found that the composite two
electron wave functions are linear
combinations of the individual
atomicorbits(LCAO).
The odd or anti-symmetric
combination is called the anti-
bondingorbital, while the even or
symmetric combination is the
bondingorbital.
It is seen that the bonding orbital
has a higher value of the wave
function than the anti-bonding
state in the region between the
two nuclei.
8

+
2

+
1

Atomic orbitals
Anti-bonding energy level
Bonding energy level
V(r)
To determine the energy levels
of the bonding and anti-bonding
states, it is important to
recognize that in the region
between the two nuclei the
coulombic potential energy V(r)
is lowered (solid line in Fig. 3)
compared to isolated atoms
(dashed line in Fig. 3-2).
The potential energy in the
region is lowered because an
electron here would be attracted
by two nuclei; rather than just
one.
For the bonding state the electron probability density is higher in this region of
lowered potential energy than for the anti-bonding state.
As a result, the original isolated atomic energy level would be split into two, a lower
bonding energy level and a higher anti-bonding level.
9
We consider N atoms of silicon in a solid.
Each isolated silicon atom has an electron structure 1s
2
2s
2
2p
6
3s
2
3p
2
in
the ground state.
There will be 2N, 2N, 6N, 2N, and 6N states of type 1s, 2s, 2p, 3s, and
3p, respectively.
As the interatomic spacing decreases, these energy levels split into
bands, beginning with the outer (n=3) shell.
As the 3s and 3p bands grow, they merge into a single band
composed of mixture of energy levels.
This band of 3s-3p levels contains 8N available states.
As the distance between atoms approaches the equilibrium interatomic
spacing of silicon, this band splits into two bands separated by an energy
gap E
g
.
The upper band (called the conduction band) contains 4N states, as does
the lower (valence) band.
10
The energy gap is sometimes
called a forbidden band,
since in a perfect crystal it
contains no electron states.
There are 4N electrons in the
original isolated n=3 shells (2N
in 3s states and 2N in 3p
states).
These 4N electrons must
occupy states in the valence
band or the conduction band in
the crystal.
At 0K the electrons will occupy the lowest energy states available to
them. In the case of Si crystal, there are exactly 4N states in the valence
band available to the 4N electrons. Thus at 0K, every state in the
valence band will be filled, while the conduction band will be
completely empty of the electrons.
11
Metals, Semiconductors, and Insulators
Insulator: A very poor conductor of electricity is
called an insulator.
In an insulator material the valance band
is filled while the conduction band is empty.
The conduction band and valance band in
the insulator are separated by a large forbidden
band or energy gap (almost 10 eV).
In an insulator material, the energy which
can be supplied to an electron from a applied field
is too small to carry the particle from the field
valance band into the empty conduction band.
Since the electron cannot acquire
sufficient applied energy, conduction is
impossible in an insulator.
12
Semiconductor: A substance whose conductivity lies between
insulator and conductor is a semiconductor.
A substance for which the width of the forbidden energy
region is relatively small (almost 1 eV) is called semiconductor.
In a semiconductor material, the energy which can be supplied to
an electron from a applied field is too small to carry the particle
from the field valance band into the empty conduction band at 0
K.
As the temperature is increased, some of the valance band
electrons acquire thermal energy. Thus, the semiconductors allow
for excitation of electrons from the valance band to conduction
band.
These are now free electrons in the sense that they can move
about under the influence of even a small-applied field.
Metal: Ametal is an excellent conductor.
In metals the band either overlap or are only partially
filled.
Thus electrons and empty energy states are intermixed within the
bands so that electrons can move freely under the influence of an
electric field.
13
Direct and Indirect Semiconductors
A single electron is assumed to travel through a perfectly periodic
lattice.
The wave function of the electron is assumed to be in the form of a
plane wave moving.
For example, in the x-direction with propagation constant k, also called
wave vector.
The space-dependent wave function for the electron is
where the function U(k
x
,x) modulates the wave function according to
the periodicity of the lattice.
Depending on the transition of an electron from conduction band to
valance band with respect to the propagation constant, the
semiconductor materials are classified as follows:
(a) Direct semiconductor and
(b) Indirect semiconductor
) 1 3 ( ) , ( ) ( =
x
x
j
e x
x
U x
k
k
k

14
Direct Material: The material (such as
GaAs) in which a transition of an electron
from the minimum point of conduction band
to the maximum point of valence band takes
place with the same value of K (propagation
constant or wave vector) is called direct
semiconductor material.
According to Eq. (3-1) the energy (E) vs
propagation constant (k) curve is shown in
the figure.
A direct semiconductor such as GaAs, an
electron in the conduction band can fall to an
empty state in the valence band, giving off
the energy difference E
g
as a photon of light.
15
Indirect Material: The material (such as Si) in
which a transition of an electron from the
minimum point of conduction band to the
maximum point of valence band takes place
with the different values of K (propagation
constant or wave vector) is called indirect
material.
According to Eq. (3-1) the energy (E) vs
propagation constant (k) curve is shown in the
figure.
An electron in the conduction band minimum of an indirect
semiconductor cannot fall directly to the valence band maximum but
must undergo a momentum change as well as changing its energy.
It may go through some defect state (E
t
) within the band gap.
In an indirect transition which involves a change in k, the energy is
generally given up as heat to the lattice rather than as emitted photon.
16
Electrons and Holes
Hole: An empty state in the valence band is referred to as a
hole.
Electron-Hole Pair: If the conduction band electron and
the hole are created by the excitation of the valence band
electron to the conduction band, they are called an
electron-hole pair (abbreviated EHP).
17
If a filled band, all available energy states are occupied.
For every electron moving with given velocity, there is an equal and
opposite electron motion elsewhere in the band.
If we apply an electric field, the net current is zero because for every
electron j moving velocity v
j
there is a corresponding electron j with
the velocity v
j
.
Fig. 3-8 illustrates this effect in terms of the electron vs. wave vector
plot for the valance band.
Since k is proportional to electron momentum, it is clear the two
electrons have opposite directed velocities.
Fig. 3-8
With N electron/cm
3
in the band we express
the current density using a sum over all of
the electron velocities, and including the
charge q on each electron.
In a unit volume,
) 2 3 ( ) band filled ( 0 ) ( a
N
i
i
v q J = =
18
Now if we create a hole by removing the jth electron, the net current
density in the valance band involves the sum over all velocities, minus
the contribution of the electron we have removed.
) 2 3 ( ) missing electron th ( 0 ) ( ) ( b j
N
i
j
v q
i
v q J = =
Since the first term of (3-2b) is zero in accordance (3-2a), the net
current is
) electron jth of missing the to due current Net (
j
qv J =
The current contribution of the hole is equivalent to that of a positively
charged particle with the velocity v
j
that of the missing electron.
The charge transport is actually due to the motion of the new
uncompensated electron j. Its current contribution (-q)(-v
j
) is
equivalent to that of a positively charged particle with the velocity v
j
.
Thus, it is realized that the current flow in the semiconductor can be
account by the motion of electrons and holes of charge carriers.
19
In the valence band, hole energy increases oppositely to electron
energy, because the two carriers have opposite charge.
Thus hole energy increases downward in Fig. 3-8 and holes, seeking
the lowest energy state available, are generally found at the top of the
valance band.
In contrast, conduction band electrons are found at the bottom of the
conduction band.
Holes are found at the top of the valence band
because the valence band electrons will
rearrange themselves so that they occupy the
lowest energy states, leaving only the highest
energy level vacant in the valance band.
Electrons in the conduction band will
similarly rearrange themselves so they
occupy the lowest energy states of
conduction band.
Fig. 3-8
20
Effective Mass
The electrons in a crystal are not completely free, but instead
interact with periodic potential of the lattice of a crystal.
The electron wave particle motion cannot be expected to be
the same as for electrons in free space.
And, the mass of free electron is not same as for electrons in
a solid.
The electron momentum can be written as P=mv=k. Then
2
2
2 2
2
1
2
2
1
k
m
m
P
mv E

= = =
Thus the electron energy is parabolic with wave vector k.
21
The electron mass is inversely related to the curvature
(second derivative) of the (E, k) relation, since
m
d
E d
2
2
2

=
k
The effective mass of an electron in a band with a given (E,
k) relationship is found as follows:
2
/
2
2
*
k d E d
m

=
Thus, the mass of electron which is obtained from the
curvature of the energy band of a solid is called effective
mass.
22
Intrinsic Material
A perfect semiconductor with no impurities or lattice defect is
called an intrinsic material.
In intrinsic material, there are no charge carrier at 0K, since the
valence band is filled with electrons and the conduction band is
empty.
At high temperature electron-hole pairs are generated as valence
band electrons are excited thermally across the band gap to the
conduction band.
These EHPs are the only charge carriers in intrinsic material.
Since the electrons and holes are crated in pairs, the conduction
band electron concentration n (electron/cm
3
) is equal to the
concentration of holes in the valence band p (holes/cm
3
).
Each of these intrinsic carrier concentrations is commonly
referred to as n
i
. Thus for intrinsic material: n=p=n
i
(3-6)
At a temperature there is a carrier concentration of EHPs n
i
.
23
Recombination is occurs when an electron in the conduction
band makes transition to an empty state (hole) in the valence
band, thus annihilating the pair.
If we denote the generation rate of EHPs as g
i
(EHP/cm
3
-s)
and the recombination rate r
i
, equilibrium requires that
r
i
=g
i
(3-7a)
Each of these rates is temperature dependent.
g
i
(T) increases when the temperature is raised, and a new
carrier concentration n
i
is established such that the higher
recombination rate r
i
(T) just balances generation.
At any temperature, the rate of recombination of electrons
and holes r
i
is proportional to the equilibrium concentration
of electrons n
0
and the concentration of holes p
0
:
r
i
=o
r
n
0
p
0
= o
r
n
i
2
=g
i
(3-7b)
The factor o
r
is a constant of proportionality which depends
on the particular mechanism takes place.
24
Extrinsic Material
When a crystal is doped such that the equilibrium carrier
concentrations n
0
and p
0
are different from carrier concentration
n
i
, the material is said to be extrinsic material.
In addition to the intrinsic carriers generated, it is possible to
create carriers in semiconductors by purposely introducing
impurities into the crystal.
This process, called doping, is the most common technique for
varying conductivity of semiconductor.
There are two types of doped semiconductors, n-type (mostly
electrons) and p-type (mostly holes).
An impurity from column V of the periodic table (P, As and Sb)
introduces an energy level very near the conduction band in Ge or
Si.
25
The energy level very near the conduction band is filled with electrons
at 0K, and very little thermal energy is required to excite these
electrons to the conduction band (Fig. 3-12a).
Thus at 50-100K virtually all of the electrons in the impurity level are,
donated to the conduction band.
Such an impurity level is called a donor level and the column V
impurities in Ge or Si are called donor impurities.
Semiconductors doped with a significant number of donor atoms will
have n
0
>>(n
i
,p
0
) at room temperature.
Fig. 3-12 (a) Donation of
electrons from donor level to
conduction band.
This is n-type material.
26
Similarly, an impurity from column III of the periodic table (B, Al, Ga
and In) introduces an energy level very near the valence band in Ge or
Si.
These levels are empty of electrons at 0K (Fig. 3-12b).
At low temperatures, enough thermal energy is available to excite
electrons from the valence into the impurity level, leaving behind holes
in the valence band.
Since this type of impurity level accepts electrons from the valence
band, it is called an acceptor level, and the column III impurities are
acceptor impurities in the Ge and Si.
Fig. 3.12b
Doping with acceptor
impurities can create a
semiconductor with a hole
concentration p
0
much greater
that the conduction band
electron concentration n
0
.
This type is p-type material.
27
Carrier concentration
The calculating semiconductor properties and analyzing device
behavior, it is often necessary to know the number of charge carriers
per cm
3
in the material.
To obtain equation for the carrier concentration, Fermi-Dirac
distribution function can be used.
The distribution of electrons over a range of allowed energy levels at
thermal equilibrium is
kT
F
E E
e
E f
/ ) (
1
1
) (

+
=
where, k is Boltzmanns constant (k=8.2610
-5
eV/K=1.3810
-23
J/K).
The function f(E), the Fermi-Dirac distribution function, gives the
probability that an available energy state at E will be occupied by an
electron at absolute temperature T.
The quantity E
F
is called the Fermi level, and it represents an
important quantity in the analysis of semiconductor behavior.
28
For an energy E equal to the Fermi level energy E
F
, the occupation
probability is
2
1
1
1
) (
/ ) (
=
+
=
kT
F
E
F
E
F
e
E f
The significant of Fermi Level is that the probability of electron and
hole is 50 percent at the Fermi energy level. And, the Fermi function
is symmetrical about E
F
for all temperature; that is, the probability
f(E
F
+AE) of electron that a state AE above E
F
is filled is the same as
probability [1-f(E
F
-AE)] of hole that a state AE below E
F
is empty.
At 0K the distribution takes the
simple rectangular form shown in
Fig. 3-14.
With T=0K in the denominator of
the exponent, f(E) is 1/(1+0)=1
when the exponent is negative
(E<E
F
), and is 1/(1+)=0 when
the exponent is positive (E>E
F
).
29
This rectangular distribution implies that at 0K every available energy
state up to E
F
is filled with electrons, and all states above E
F
are empty.
At temperature higher than 0K, some probability exists for states above
the Fermi level to be filled.
At T=T
1
in Fig. 3-14 there is
some probability f(E) that states
above E
F
are filled, and there is
a corresponding probability [1-
f(E)] that states below E
F
are
empty.
The symmetry of the
distribution of empty and filled
states about E
F
makes the Fermi
level a natural reference point
in calculations of electron and
hole concentration in
semiconductors.
30
Fig. 3-15(a) Intrinsic Material
For intrinsic material, the concentration of holes in
the valence band is equal to the concentration of
electrons in the conduction band.
Therefore, the Fermi level E
F
must lies at the middle
of the band gap.
Since f(E) is symmetrical
about E
F
, the electron
probability tail if f(E)
extending into the conduction
band of Fig. 3-15a is
symmetrical with the hole
probability tail [1-f(E)] in the
valence band.
31
In n-type material the Fermi level lies near
the conduction band (Fig. 3-15b) such that
the value of f(E) for each energy level in the
conduction band increases as E
F
moves
closer to E
c
.
Thus the energy difference (E
c
- E
F
) gives
measure of n.
Fig. 3.15(b) n-
type material
Fig. 3.15(c) p-
type material
In p-type material the Fermi level lies
near the valence band (Fig. 3-15c) such
that the [1- f(E)] tail value E
v
is larger
than the f(E) tail above E
c
.
The value of (E
F
-E
v
) indicates how
strongly p-type the material is.
32
Example: The Fermi level in a Si sample at equilibrium is located at
0.2 eV below the conduction band. At T=320K, determine the
probability of occupancy of the acceptor states if the acceptor states
relocated at 0.03 eV above the valence band.
Solution:
From above figure, E
a
-E
F
={0.03-(1.1-0.2)} eV= -0.87 eV
kT= 8.6210
-5
eV/K320=2758.4 eV
we know that,
0 . 1
1
1
1
1
) (
)
5
10 4 . 2758 /( 87 . 0
/ ) (
=
+
=
+
=

e
e
E f
kT
F
E
a
E
a
33
Electron and Hole Concentrations at Equilibrium
The concentration of electron and hole in the conduction band and
valance are
where N(E)dE is the density of states (cm
-3
) in the energy range dE.
The subscript 0 used with the electron and hole concentration symbols
(n
0
, p
0
) indicates equilibrium conditions.
The number of electrons (holes) per unit volume in the energy range
dE is the product of the density of states and the probability of
occupancy f(E) [1-f(E)].
Thus the total electron (hole) concentration is the integral over the
entire conduction (valance) band as in Eq. (3.12).
The function N(E) is proportional to E
(1/2)
, so the density of states in
the conduction (valance) band increases (decreases) with electron
(hole) energy.
) 12 . 3 ( ) ( )] ( 1 [
) 12 . 3 ( ) ( ) (
0
0
b dE E N E f p
a dE E N E f n
v
E
c
E
}
=
}
=

34
Similarly, the probability of finding an empty state (hole) in the
valence band [1-f(E)] decreases rapidly below E
v
, and most hole
occupy states near the top of the valence band.
This effect is demonstrated for intrinsic, n-type and p-type materials
in Fig. 3-16.
Fig. 3.16 (a) Concentration of electrons and holes in intrinsic material.
35
Fig. 3.16 (b) Concentration of electrons and holes in n-type material.
Fig. 3.16 (a) Concentration of electrons and holes in p-type material.
36
The electron concentration (in terms of effective density of states N
c
which is located at the conduction band edge E
c
) in thermal
equilibrium can also be written as follows:
) 13 . 3 ( ) (
0 c c
E f N n =
2 / 3
2
*
2
2 where,
|
|
.
|

\
|
=
h
kT m
N
n
c
t
It is assumed that the Fermi level E
F
lies at least several kT below the
conduction band.
Then and the Fermi function f(E
c
) can be simplified
as
1
/ ) (
>>
kT
F
E
c
E
e
) 14 . 3 (
1
1
) (
/ ) (
/ ) (
kT
F
E
c
E
kT
F
E
c
E
c
e
e
E f

=
+
=
For this condition the concentration of electrons in the conduction
band is
) 15 . 3 (
/ ) (
0
kT
F
E
c
E
c
e N n

=
37
By similar argument, the hole concentration (in terms of effective
density of states N
v
which is located at the valance band edge E
v
) in
thermal equilibrium can also be written as follows:
) 16 . 3 ( )] ( 1 [
0 v v
E f N p =
2 / 3
2
*
2
2 where,
|
|
.
|

\
|
=
h
kT m
N
p
v
t
For E
F
larger than E
v
by several kT, the probability of finding an
empty state at E
v
is
) 17 . 3 (
1
1
1 ) ( 1
/ ) (
/ ) (
kT
v
E
F
E
kT
F
E
v
E
v
e
e
E f

=
+
=
For this condition the concentration of holes in the valance band is
) 18 . 3 (
/ ) (
0
kT
v
E
F
E
v
e N p

=
38
The electron and hole concentrations predicted by Eqs. (3-15) and (3-
18) are valid whether the material is intrinsic or doped, provided
thermal equilibrium is maintained.
Thus for intrinsic material, E
F
lies at some intrinsic level E
i
near the
middle of the band gap, and the intrinsic electron and hole
concentrations are
) 21 . 3 ( ,
/ ) ( / ) ( kT
v
E
i
E
v i
kT
i
E
c
E
c i
e N p e N n

= =
From Eqs. (3.15) and (3.18), we obtain
kT
v
E
F
E
v
kT
F
E
c
E
c
e N e N p n
/ ) ( / ) (
0 0

=
) 22 . 3 (
/
/ ) (
0 0
kT
g
E
v c
kT
v
E
c
E
v c
e N N e N N p n


= =
39
From Eq. (21), we obtain
) 23 . 3 (
/
/ ) (
kT
g
E
v c
kT
v
E
c
E
v c i i
e N N e N N p n


= =
kT
v
E
i
E
v
kT
i
E
c
E
c i i
e N e N p n
/ ) ( / ) (
=
From Eqs. (3.22) and (3.23), the product of n
0
and p
0
at equilibrium is
a constant for a particular material and temperature, even if the
doping is varied.
The intrinsic electron and hole concentrations are equal, n
i
=p
i
; thus
from Eq. (3.23) the intrinsic concentrations is
) 24 . 3 (
2 / kT
g
E
v c i
e N N n

=
The constant product of electron and hole concentrations in Eq. (3.24)
can be written conveniently from (3.22) and (3.23) as
) 25 . 3 (
2
0 0 i
n p n =
At roomtemperature(300K) is: For Si approximately n
i
=1.510
10
cm
-3
; For Ge approximately n
i
=2.510
13
cm
-3
;
40
) 26 . 3 (
/ ) (
/ ) (
kT
v
E
i
E
i v
kT
i
E
c
E
i c
e p N
e n N

=
=
From Eq. (3.21), we can write as
kT
F
E
c
E
i
E
c
E
i
kT
F
E
c
E kT
i
E
c
E
i
e n e e n n
/ ) ( / ) ( / ) (
0
+
= =
Substitute the value of N
c
from (3.26) into (3.15), we obtain
) 27 . 3 (
/ ) ( / ) (
0
kT
i
E
F
E
i
kT
F
E
i
E
i
e n e n n

= =
Substitute the value of N
v
from (3.26) into (3.18), we obtain
kT
v
E
F
E
v
E
i
E
i
kT
v
E
F
E kT
v
E
i
E
i
e n e e p p
/ ) ( / ) ( / ) (
0
+
= =
) 28 . 3 (
/ ) ( / ) (
0
kT
F
E
i
E
i
kT
i
E
F
E
i
e n e n p

= =
It seen from the equation (3.27) that the electron concentrations n
0
increases exponentially as the Fermi level moves away from E
i
toward the conduction band.
Similarly, the hole concentrations p
0
varies from n
i
to larger values as
E
F
moves from E
i
toward the valence band.
41
Example 3-5 A Si sample is doped with 10
17
As atoms/cm
3
. What is the
equilibrium hole concentration p
0
at 300K? Where is E
F
relative to E
i
?
Solution: N
d
=10
17
atoms/cm
3
; kT=0.0259eV; n
i
(for Si)=1.510
10
cm
-3
;
Since N
d
>>n
i
, we can approximate n
0
=N
d
3 3
17
2 10
0
2
0
cm 10 25 . 2
10
) 10 5 . 1 (

=

= =
n
n
p
i
We know that
kT
i
E
F
E
i
e n n
/ ) (
0

=
eV 407 . 0
10 5 . 1
10
ln 0259 . 0
ln
10
17
0
=
(

=
(

=
i F
i F
i
i F
E E
E E
n
n
kT E E
The resulting band diagram
is
42
Temperature Dependence of Carrier
Concentrations
The variation of carrier concentration with temperature is indicated
by Eq. (3.21)
The intrinsic carrier n
i
has a strong temperature dependence (Eq.
3.24) and that E
F
can vary with temperature.
) 21 . 3 ( ,
/ ) ( / ) ( kT
v
E
i
E
v i
kT
i
E
c
E
c i
e N p e N n

= =
) 24 . 3 (
2 / kT
g
E
v c i
e N N n

=
The temperature dependence of electron concentration in a doped
semiconductor can be visualized as shown in Fig. 3-18.
43
Figure 3-18 Carrier concentration vs.
inverse temperature for Si doped with
10
15
donors/cm
3
.
In this example, Si is doped
n-type with donor
concentration N
d
of 10
15
cm
-3
.
At very low temperature
(large 1/T) negligible intrinsic
EHPs exist, and the donor
electrons are bound to the
donor atoms.
As the temperature is raised,
these electrons are donated to
the conduction band, and at
about 100K (1000/T=10) all
the donor atoms are ionized.
This temperature range is
called ionization region.
Once the donor atoms are ionized, the conduction band electron
concentration is n
0
~N
d
=10
15
cm
-3
, since one electron is obtained for each
donor atom.
44
When every available extrinsic electron has been transferred to the
conduction band, n
o
is virtually constant with temperature until the
concentration of intrinsic carriers n
i
becomes comparable to the
extrinsic concentration N
d
.
Finally, at higher temperature n
i
is much greater than N
d
, and the
intrinsic carriers dominate.
In most devices it is desirable to
control the carrier concentration by
doping rather than by thermal EHP
generation.
Thus one usually dopes the material
such that the extrinsic range extends
beyond the highest temperature at
which the device to be used.
45
Compensation and Space Charge Neutrality
Figure 3.19 Compensation
in an n-type semiconductor
(N
d
>N
a
)
If a semiconductor contains both donors and acceptors.
For example, Fig. 3.19 illustrates a semiconductor for which both
donor and acceptors are present, but N
d
>N
a
.
The predominance of donors makes the material n-type, and the
Fermi level is therefore in the upper part of the band gap.
Since E
F
is well above acceptor level
E
a
, this level is essentially filled with
electrons. However, With E
F
above E
i
,
it cannot be expected that a hole
concentration in valence band
commensurate with the acceptor
concentration.
In fact, the filling of the E
a
states occurs
at the expense of the donated
conduction band electrons.
46
This mechanism can be visualized as follows:
Assume an acceptor state is filled with a valence band electrons
with a hole resulting in the valence band.
This hole is then filled by recombination with one of the conduction
band electrons.
Extending this logic to all the acceptor atoms, it is expected that the
resultant concentration of electrons in the conduction band to be N
d
-
N
a
instead of the total N
d
.
This process is called compensation.
By this process it is possible to begin with an n-type semiconductor
and add acceptors until N
a
=N
d
and no donated electrons remain in
the conduction band.
In such compensated material n
0
=n
i
=p
o
, and intrinsic conduction is
obtained.
With further acceptor doping the semiconductor becomes p-type
with a hole concentration of essentially N
a
-N
d
.
47
The exact relationship among the electron, hole, donor and acceptor
concentrations can be obtained by considering the requirements for
space charge neutrality.
If the material is to remain electrostatically neutral, the sum of the
positive charges (holes and ionized donor atoms) must balance the
sum of the negative charges (electrons and ionized acceptor atoms):
) 27 . 3 (
0 0
+
+ = +
a d
N n N p
Thus in Fig 3.19 the net electron concentration in the conduction
band is
) 28 . 3 ( ) (
0 0
+
+ + =
a d
N N p n
If the material doped n-type (n
0
>>p
0
) and
all the impurities are ionized, we can
approximate Eq. (3-28) by
a
d
N N n + ~
0
48
Example: A Si is doped with 910
15
cm
-3
donors and 310
15
acceptors. Find the position of the Fermi level at 40C.
Solution: N
d
=910
15
cm
-3
; N
a
=310
15
cm
-3
; n
i
=1.510
10
cm
-3
;
Since N
d
>N
a
, the Fermi level near to the donor states.
We obtain, N
rd
=N
d
-N
a
=610
15
cm
-3
donor atoms; Thus the Fermi
level depends on the donor atoms N
rd
.
Now we consider n
0
=N
rd
because N
rd
>>n
i
. T=(273+40)K=313K
So we obtain, | |
i i F
n n kT E E / ln
0
=
| | ) 10 5 . 1 /( ) 10 6 ( ln ) 313 )( / 10 62 . 8 (
10 15 5
=

K K eV E E
i F
348 . 0 =
i F
E E
The resulting band diagram is
49
End of
Chapter 3