EN41 2020

Problem set 9 on electronic properties (14 total points)

Due: Monday, Nov. 30, 2020

For these problems, if needed data is not given in the problem you can find it in the distributed
viewgraphs from class or the textbook . Indicate the values you use when solving the problem.

1) This problem asks you to evaluate some of the parameters used in the scattering model of
conductivity developed in class for a Ag conductor. The conductivity of pure Ag is 6.8 x 107
(ohm-m)-1.The Fermi energy of Ag is 5 eV. The density of conduction electrons is 8.9 x 1028/m3.
The current in the wire is 4 A and the cross sectional area of the wire is 1 x 10-7 m2. The mass of
an electron is 9.1 x 10-31 kg and 1 eV is equal to 1.6 x 10-19 J.

a. What is the Fermi velocity (i.e., the velocity of an electron with the Fermi energy)?
b. What is the scattering time (i.e., the average time between scattering events)?
c. What is the mean free path (i.e., the average distance the electron travels between
scattering events)?
d. What is the mobility? (Using MKS units, the mobility will be in units of m2/V-s).
e. What is the drift velocity? Compare it with the Fermi velocity.
f. What is the electric field in the wire?

2) (a) Calculate the drift velocity of electrons in germanium at room temperature and when the
magnitude of the electric field is 1000 V/m. (b) Under these circumstances, how long does it take
an electron to traverse a 25-mm (1-in.) length of crystal? A table of the electronic properties for
materials is at the end of the assignment.

3) At room temperature the electrical conductivity and the electron mobility for copper are 6.0 ×
107 (Ω-m)-1 and 0.0030 m2/V-s, respectively. (a) Compute the number of free electrons per cubic
meter for copper at room temperature. (b) What is the number of free electrons per copper atom?
Assume a density of 8.9 g/cm3.

4) a) Derive an equation for the dependence of the

resistivity on the impurity concentration using the
scattering model described in class and in the
viewgraphs. Assume that the mean free path
(distance between scatterers) is equal to a/CI
where a is the atomic spacing and CI is the
dimensionless fraction of atomic sites that have
impurities on them.

b) From your formula derived in part a), estimate

the increase in resistivity caused by impurities in
Cu with concentration CI. For Cu, the Fermi
velocity is 1.1x106 m/s and the atomic density is 8.0x1028 /m3. You can assume that each Cu
atom contributes 1 conduction electron.

c) Compare the calculation with the data in the figure. How well do they agree?

5) Use the data in the figure in the previous question to answer the following.
a) Determine the values of ρ0 and a for pure Cu in the equation: ρ = ρ 0 + aT . Take the
temperature T to be in degrees Celsius.
(b) Determine the value of A in the equation ρ i = Aci (1 − ci ) for nickel as an impurity in copper,
using the data in the figure.
(c) Using the results of parts (a) and (b), estimate the electrical resistivity of copper containing
1.75 at% Ni at 100°C.

6) Tin bronze has a composition of 92 wt% Cu and 8 wt% Sn, and consists of two phases at room
temperature: an α phase, which is copper containing a very small amount of tin in solid solution,
and an ε phase (Cu3Sn) , which consists of approximately 37 wt% Sn. Compute the room
temperature conductivity of this alloy given the following data:

Phase Electrical Density (g/cm3)

Resistivity (Ω-m)
α 1.88 × 10–8 8.94
ε 5.32 × 10–7 8.25

The Cu-Sn phase diagram is given at the end of the assignment. You can assume that the
concentration of Sn in the α phase at room temperature is equal to zero.

7) At room temperature, the number of free electrons per atom are 1.13 × 10-9 electron/atom for
pure Ge and 1.40 × 10-12 electron/atom for pure Si.. Explain why there is a difference in these
free-electron-per-atom values.

8) For intrinsic semiconductors, the intrinsic carrier concentration ni depends on temperature as

follows:

 Eg 
n i ∝ exp− 
 2kT 

or taking natural logarithms,

 Eg
ln n i ∝ −
2kT

Thus, a plot of ln ni versus 1/T (K)–1 should be linear

and yield a slope of –Eg/2k. Using this information and
the data presented in the figure, determine the band gap
energy for silicon.

9) The following electrical characteristics have been determined for both intrinsic and p-type
extrinsic indium phosphide (InP) at room temperature:

σ (Ω -m)–1 n (m–3) p (m–3)

Intrinsic 2.5 × 10-6 3.0 × 1013 3.0 × 1013
Extrinsic (n-type) 3.6 × 10-5 4.5 × 1014 2.0 × 1012

Calculate electron and hole mobilities.

10) Calculate the room-temperature electrical

conductivity of silicon that has been doped with 2
× 1023 m–3 of arsenic atoms. Use the
accompanying figure to determine the mobility.
11) a) Ge doped with 1015/cm3 of Boron has a lower conductivity than Ge doped with 1015/cm3
of P. Explain why. (Hint: consider the data in the table from Callister below)

b) The conductivity of Si doped with 1018/cm3 of B is only 20 times greater than the conductivity
of Si doped with 1016/cm3 of B. Explain why the conductivity is not proportional to the change
in carrier density.

12) Briefly describe electron and hole motions in a p–n junction for forward and reverse biases.
Explain how these lead to rectification.

13) Consider the schematic of the CMOS transistor. The

substrate (yellow) is p-type material. The source (S) is at +5
V and the drain (D) is at zero volts. What voltage (+5 V or 0
V) needs to be applied to the gate to allow current to flow
between the source and drain (“on” state)? Explain why this p-type
happens

14) Briefly explain the role of the following processes in the fabrication of CMOS devices:
a) photolithography
b) ion implantation
c) oxide formation
ADDITIONAL MATERIAL

Cu-Sn phase diagram