HCMUT – FEEE – Electronic engineering department

Instructor: Hồ Trung Mỹ

Chapter 3

Energy bands and charge carries

in semiconductors

Refs:
1. Solid State Electronic Devices, Ben G. Streetman and
Sanjay Banerjee, Sixth Edition

1
 Objectives
1. Understand conduction and valence energy bands, and
how bandgaps are formed
2. Appreciate the idea of doping in semiconductors
3. Use the density of states and Fermi Dirac statistics to
calculate carrier concentrations
4. Calculate drift currents in an electric field in terms of
carrier mobility, and how mobility is^affected by
scattering
5. Discuss the idea of "effective" masses

2
 Introduction
• In this chapter we begin to discuss the specific mechanisms
by which current flows in a solid.
• In examining these mechanisms we shall learn why some
materials are good conductors of electric current, whereas
others are poor conductors.
• We shall see how the conductivity of a semiconductor can
be varied by changing the temperature or the number of
impurities.
• These fundamental concepts of charge transport form the
basis for later discussions of solid state device behavior.

3
3.1 Bonding Forces and Energy Bands in Solids
• In Chapter 2 we found that electrons are restricted to sets of
discrete energy levels within atoms. Large gaps exist in the energy
scale in which no energy states are available.
• Electrons in solids are restricted to certain energies and are not
allowed at other energies.
• The basic difference between the case of an electron in a solid and
that of an electron in an isolated atom is that in the solid the
electron 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.
– For example, an electron in the outer orbit of one atom feels the
influence of neighboring atoms, and its overall wave function is
altered.
4
 3.1.1 Bonding Forces in Solids
Bond: The interaction of electrons in neighboring atoms is
called bond.
The bonding mechanisms between atoms are closely
related to the structure of the atoms themselves.

• Primary Interatomic Bonding

 Ionic
 Covalent
 Metallic

• Secondary Bonding
Three types of dipole-dipole bonds

5
Molecules and General Bonding Principles

6
 Types of Bonding
The electronic structure of atoms defines the character of
their interaction among each other. Filled outer shells
result in a stable configuration as in noble inert gases.
Atoms with incomplete outer shells strive to reach this
noble gas configuration by sharing or transferring
electrons among each other for maximal stability. Strong
“primary” bonding results from the electron sharing or
transfer.

7
Types of Bonding

8
Types of Bonding

9
Ionic Bonding

10
 Ionic Bonding

Example: table salt (NaCl)

11
 Covalent Bonding
• In covalent bonding, electrons are shared between the
molecules, to saturate the valency. In this case the electrons
are not transferred as in the ionic bonding, but they are
localized between the neighboring ions and form directional
bond between them. The ions repel each other, but are
attracted to the electrons that spend most of the time in
between the ions. Ex: Si, C, Cl2 . . .
• Formation of covalent bonds:
– Cooperative sharing of valence electrons
– Can be described by orbital overlap
– Covalent bonds are HIGHLY directional
– Bonds - in the direction of the greatest orbital overlap
– Covalent bond model: an atom can covalently bond with at
most 8 – N’, N’ = number of valence electrons
12
 Metallic Bonding
• Valence electrons are detached from atoms, and spread
in an 'electron sea' that "glues" the positive ions together.
– A metallic bond is non-directional (bonds form in any
direction) → atoms pack closely
• The “bonds” do not “break” when atoms are rearranged
– metals can experience a significant degree of plastic
deformation.
• Examples of typical metallic bonding: Cu, Al, Au, Ag, etc.
• Transition metals (Fe, Ni, etc.) form mixed bonds that are
comprising of metallic bonds and covalent bonds
involving their 3d-electrons. As a result the transition
metals are more brittle (less ductile) that Au or Cu.

13
Secondary Bonding

14
 Secondary Bonding

Example: hydrogen bond in water. The H end of the molecule

is positively charged and can bond to the negative side of
another H2O molecule (the O side of the H2O dipole)
15
 3.1.2 Energy Bands in Solids
As isolated atoms are brought together to form a solid, various interactions
occur between neighboring atoms, including those described in the
preceding section. 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
configurations, and these changes result in the varied electrical properties
of solids.
• Pauli Exclusion Principle:
No more than 2 electrons may occupy any given orbital. If 2 electrons
occupy one orbital, then their spin must be paired.
In other words, no two electrons in the same atom can have exactly the
same values for n, ℓ, mℓ, and ms.

C (Z=6) 1s2 2s2 2p2
2 states for 1s level
2 states for 2s level
6 states for 2p level
For N atoms, there will be 2N, 2N, and 6N
states of type 1s, 2s, and 2p, respectively.
16
17
 Band Theory of Solids
We concluded that, due to the periodic potential
associated with the crystalline lattice, there are
allowed and disallowed energy bands. Let us look
at how carrier transport is affected if a band is
filled with electrons or not.

1. If an allowed band is completely empty of

electrons, obviously there are no electrons in
the band to participate in electrical conduction.
This can happen, for example, in a high-energy
band where the energies of the band are above
the energies of the systems electrons.
2. Similarly, and surprisingly, if an allowed band
is completely filled with electrons, those
electrons can not contributive to electric
conduction either.
3. Only electrons in a partially filled energy band
can contribute to conduction.

© Nezih Pala npala@fiu.edu

EEE5425 Introduction to Nanotechnology 18
 Band Theory of Solids
The splitting is due to the overlap of each system's wavefunctions (orbitals). For
example, in the case of two atoms that can come together to form a molecule, the
atomic orbitals associated with each atom begin to overlap as atoms are brought
together. This can be seen by considering a simplified liner model of forming a lithium
(Li) molecule. Lithium has the electronic configuration 1s2 2s1 and in forming the
molecule Li2 the s shell atomic orbitals form antibonding and bonding molecular
orbitals as depicted . In the ground configuration the bonding molecular state is filled
with two 2s1 electrons (one from each atom) and the antibonding state is empty.

If N identical atoms are brought together, each energy level of an isolated atom, E1,
E2, E3 will split into N levels forming quasi-continous bands.
© Nezih Pala npala@fiu.edu
19
EEE5425 Introduction to Nanotechnology
 Band Theory of Solids

• when two atoms are completely isolated from each other,

they can have identical electronic structures

• as the spacing between the two atoms becomes

smaller, electron wave functions begin to overlap. The
Pauli exclusion principle dictates that no two electrons in a
given interacting system may have the same quantum state;
thus there must be a splitting of the discrete energy
levels of the isolated atoms into new levels belonging to the
pair rather than to individual atoms.

© Nezih Pala npala@fiu.edu EEE5425 Introduction to 20

Nanotechnology
 Band Theory of Solids

© Nezih Pala npala@fiu.edu EEE5425 Introduction to 21

Nanotechnology
 Band Theory of Solids

Linear combinations of atomic orbitals (LCAO): The LCAO when 2 atoms are brought together
leads to 2 distinct “normal modes – a higher energy antibonding orbital and a lower energy bonding
orbital . Note that the electron probability density is high in the region between the ion cores
(covalent “bond”), leading to lowering of the bonding energy level and the cohesion of the crystal. If
instead of 2 atoms, one brings together N atoms, there will be N distinct LCAO, and N closely
spaced energy levels in a band.
© Nezih Pala npala@fiu.edu EEE5425 Introduction to 22
Nanotechnology
 LCAO

Note: Each energy state for an isolated atom gives rise to bands 23
 sp3 Hybridization in Si

When individual atoms are very close together, the s and p-orbitals in
adjacent atoms overlap so much that they can form hybridized orbitals. For
example: 1s and 3p orbitals can mix to give sp3 hybridized orbitals
24
 Band Theory of Solids (9)

1s2 ⇨ 2N states

2s2 ⇨ 2N states
2p6 ⇨ 6N states

3p6 ⇨ 6N states
3s2 ⇨ 2N states
As distance reduces the bands first mix among themselves, then hybridize (mix),
and then for even lower distance splits into conduction and valence bands 25
 Band Theory of Solids (10)

Two atoms Six atoms Solid of N atoms

Electrons must occupy different energies due to Pauli Exclusion principle.

© Nezih Pala npala@fiu.edu EEE5425 Introduction to 26

Nanotechnology
3.1.3 Metals, Semiconductors, and Insulators
• For electrons to experience acceleration in an applied
electric field, they must be able to move into new energy
states. This implies there must be empty states (allowed
energy states which are not already occupied by
electrons) available to the electrons.
• The diamond structure is such that the valence band is
completely filled with electrons at 0ºK and the
conduction band is empty. There can be no charge
transport within the valence band, since no empty states
are available into which electrons can move.

27
Classification of Solids by Resistivity

28
3.1.4 Direct and Indirect Semiconductors

29
Direct and Indirect Semiconductors (2)

30
Direct and Indirect Semiconductors (3)

31
3.1.5 Variation of Energy Bands with
Alloy Composition

32
 3.2 Charge Carriers in Semiconductors
• The mechanism of current conduction is relatively easy to visualize in
the case of a metal:
– the metal atoms are imbedded in a "sea" of relatively free electrons, and
– these electrons can move as a group under the influence of an electric
field.
• The free electron view is oversimplified, but many important
conduction properties of metals can be derived from just such a
model.
• Since the semiconductor has a filled valence band and an empty
conduction band at 0 K, we must consider the increase in conduction
band electrons by thermal excitations across the band gap as the
temperature is raised.
– After electrons are excited to the conduction band, the empty states left
in the valence band can contribute to the conduction process.
– There is considerable flexibility in controlling the electrical properties of
semiconductors 33
3.2.1 Electrons and Holes

34
Electrons in Valence Band

35
Mathematical description

36
Motion of Electrons in an Electric Field

37
3.2.2 Effective Mass

38
Effective Mass

39
 Effective Mass

Table 3-1. Effective mass values for Ge, Si and GaAs.

Ge Si GaAs
*
m 0.55 m0 1.1m0 0.067 m0
n
*
m p
0.37 m0 0.56 m0 0.48 m0
40
† m0 is the free electron rest mass.
 3.2.3 Intrinsic Material
• A perfect semiconductor crystal with no impurities or lattice
defects is called an Intrinsic semiconductor.
• In such material there are no charge carriers at 0ºK, 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 created in pairs, the conduction
band electron concentration n (electron/cm3) is equal to the
concentration of holes in the valence band p (holes/cm3).
• Each of these intrinsic carrier concentrations is commonly
referred to as ni. Thus for intrinsic material: n = p = ni (3-6)
• At a temperature there is a carrier concentration of EHPs ni.
41
 Electrical Properties of Semicondutors
Explained by a Band Model and Bond Model

Intrinsic (Undoped) Silicon

Energy Gap T>0K

n=p=ni
n=p
Intrinsic Material

43
 3.2.4 Extrinsic Material
• When a crystal is doped such that the equilibrium carrier concentrations n0 and p0
are different from carrier concentration
ni, 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 : more electrons (majority) than holes (minority).
 p‐type : more holes (majority) than electrons (minority).
• Impurities introduced into the lattice actually create additional energy levels,
usually within the forbidden band.
 Group V impurities, such as P, As, and Sb, introduce energy levels (donor levels)
near the bottom of the conduction band in Ge and Si. Each donor impurity provides
one extra electron to the lattice.
 Group III impurity, such as B, introduces energy levels (acceptor levels) near the
top of the valence band in Ge and Si. Each acceptor impurity provides one extra hole
to the lattice. 44
Electrical Properties of Semicondutors Explained by a Band Model and Bond Model
n-type Silicon doped with As
n=NAs

Very small
ionization
energies ED and
EA

moves
 Electrons and Holes in Quantum Wells
• One of most useful applications of MBE or OMVPE growth of
multilayer compound semiconductors is the fact that a
continuous single crystal can be grown in which adjacent
layer have different band gaps.
• A consequence of confining electrons and holes in a very
thin layer is that hese particles behave according to “the
particle in a potential well problem”.
Al0.3Ga0.7As GaAs Al0.3Ga0.7As

50Å

E1
0.28eV
1.85eV 1.43e
1.43eV
Eh 0.14eV
46
 Electrons and Holes in Quantum Wells (2/2)
• Instead of having the continuum of states as described by

n 2 2 h 2
En 
2mL2
modified for effective mass and finite barrier height.

• Similarly, the states in the valence band available for holes are
restricted to discrete levels in the quantum well.

• An electron on one of the discrete condu-ction band states (E1)

can make a transition to an empty discrete valance band state in
the GaAs quantum well (such as Eh), giving off a photon of energy
Eg+E1+Eh, greater than the GaAs band gap.
47
 3.3 Carrier Concentrations
Fermi Dirac Statistics

48
Properties of the Fermi Dirac Distribution Function

49
Determination of the Fermi Level Ef

50
EF deviation

51
EF deviation (2)

52
EF deviation (3)

53
• 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, Ea – EF ={0.03-(1.1-0.2)} eV= -0.87 eV
kT= 8.62×10-5 eV/K×320=2758.4 eV
we know that,

54
Formulation for a “Continuum” of Allowed /
Available States

55
 Thermal equilibrium
• A semicondutor material is in thermal equilibrium, if the
temperature at each position of the crystal is the same,
the overall current through the material is 0, and the
solid state is not illuminated. Furthermore, we assume
that no chemical reaction is taking part.
• As a consequence the Fermi energy throughout the
material is constant
EF = EF(x,y, z) = const. Thermal equilibrium

56
Electron and Hole Concentrations at Equilibrium
• The concentration of electron and hole in the conduction band
and valance are

• The subscript 0 used with the electron and hole concentration

symbols (n0, p0) 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. 57
Similarly, the probability of finding an empty state (hole) in the
valence band [1-f(E)] decreases rapidly below Ev, 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.

58
 59
Fig. 3.16 (c) Concentration of electrons and holes in p-type material
• The electron concentration (in terms of effective density of states Nc
which is located at the conduction band edge Ec) in thermal equilibrium
can also be written as follows:

• It is assumed that the Fermi level EF lies at least several kT below the
conduction band. Then exp(EC-EF)/kT)>> 1 and the Fermi function f(Ec)
can be simplified as

• For this condition the concentration of electrons in the conduction band is

60
• By similar argument, the hole concentration (in terms of
effective density of states Nv which is located at the valance
band edge Ev) in thermal equilibrium can also be written as
follows:

• For EF larger than Ev by several kT, the probability of

finding an empty state at Ev is

• For this condition the concentration of holes in the valance

band is

61
• 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, EF lies at some intrinsic level
Ei near the middle of the band gap, and the intrinsic
electron and hole concentrations are

• From Eqs. (3.15) and (3.18), we obtain

62
• From Eq. (21), we obtain

• From Eqs. (3.22) and (3.23), the product of n0 and p0 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, ni =pi ; thus from
Eq. (3.23) the intrinsic concentrations is

• The constant product of electron and hole concentrations in Eq. (3.24) can
be written conveniently from (3.22) and (3.23) as

• At room temperature (300K) is: For Si approximately ni=1.5×1010 cm-3; For

Ge approximately ni=2.5×1013 cm-3;
63
• From Eq. (3.21), we can write as

• Substitute the value of Nc from (3.26) into (3.15), we obtain

• Substitute the value of Nv from (3.26) into (3.18), we obtain

• It seen from the equation (3.27) that the electron concentrations n0 increases
exponentially as the Fermi level moves away from Ei toward the conduction band.
• Similarly, the hole concentrations p0 varies from ni to larger values as EF moves from
Ei toward the valence band.
64
• Example 3-5 A Si sample is doped with 1017 As atoms/cm3. What is the
equilibrium hole concentration p0 at 300K? Where is EF relative to Ei ?
• Solution: Nd=1017 atoms/cm3; kT=0.0259eV; ni (for Si)=1.5×1010 cm-3;
Since Nd>>ni, we can approximate n0=Nd

We know that

The resulting band diagram is

65
For intrinsic semiconductor : EF Location

66
 Temperature Dependence of Carrier Concentrations
• The variation of carrier concentration with temperature is
indicated by Eq. (3.21)

• The intrinsic carrier ni has a strong temperature ependence (Eq.

3.24) and that EF can vary with temperature.

• The temperature dependence of electron concentration in a

doped semiconductor can be visualized as shown in Fig. 3-18.

67
 Temperature Dependence of Carrier Concentrations (2)
In this example, Si is doped
n-type with donor
concentration Nd of 1015 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 n0≈Nd=1015 cm-3, since one electron is
obtained for each donor atom. 68
 Temperature Dependence of Carrier Concentrations (3)

• When every available extrinsic electron has been transferred to

the conduction band, no is virtually constant with temperature
until the concentration of intrinsic carriers ni becomes
comparable to the extrinsic concentration Nd.
• Finally, at higher temperature ni is much greater than Nd, 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.

69
 Compensation and Space Charge Neutrality
• 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 Nd >Na.
• The predominance of donors makes the material n-type, and the Fermi
level is therefore in the upper part of the band gap. Since EF is well
above acceptor level Ea, this level is essentially filled with electrons.
• However, with EF above Ei, it cannot
be expected that a hole concentration
in valence band commensurate with
the acceptor concentration.
• In fact, the filling of the Ea states
occurs at the expense of the
donated conduction band electrons.

70
 Compensation and Space Charge Neutrality (2)
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 Nd -Na instead of the total Nd.
• This process is called compensation.
• By this process it is possible to begin with an n-type
semiconductor and add acceptors until Na=Nd and no donated
electrons remain in the conduction band.
• In such compensated material n0=ni=po, and intrinsic conduction
is obtained.
• With further acceptor doping the semiconductor becomes p-type
with a hole concentration of essentially Na-Nd.
71
 Compensation and Space Charge Neutrality (3)
• 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):

• Thus in Fig 3.19 the net electron concentration in the conduction band is

(3.28)

• If the material doped n-type (n0>>p0)

and all the impurities are ionized, we can
approximate Eq. (3-28) by

72
Compensated Semiconductor

73
• Example: A Si is doped with 9×1015 cm-3 donors and 3×1015
acceptors. Find the position of the Fermi level at 40°C.
• Solution: Nd=9×1015 cm-3; Na=3×1015 cm-3; ni=1.5×1010 cm-3;
Since Nd>Na, the Fermi level near to the donor states.
We obtain, Nrd = Nd -Na=6×1015 cm-3 donor atoms; Thus the Fermi
level depends on the donor atoms Nrd.
Now we consider n0=Nrd because Nrd>>ni. T=(273+40)K=313K
So we obtain,

74
 3.4 Drift of Carriers in Electric and
Magnetic Fields
• Electrons in the conduction band and holes in the valence band are able
to move upon thermal activation, a gradient or an applied electric field.
• During current collision and scattering of the carrier depend on the
process temperature, the thermal motion of atoms and the lattice which
affects the velocity of the carrier
• There are two main currents in semiconductor devices:
– Drift
 Applying an electric field according to the movement of electrons and
holes generated
– Diffusion (diffusion)
 Carrier concentration due to non-uniform
 Graded doping, or the like appropriate carrier injection from the source
position can be changed according to the concentration of
• Lattice and impurity scattering of carriers (scattering)
– The calculation of the flow of current n, p considered with
– Also in the solid content (mobility, the ease with which the carrier is
present) affected
– Depends on the temperature and the thermal motion of atoms and
the lattice effect on carrier velocity 75
 3.4.1 Conductivity and Mobility
Thermal movement of carriers
Electrons in the conduction or holes in the valence band can essentially be
treated as free carriers or free particles. Even in the absence of an electric
field the carriers follow a thermally activated random motion. In thermal
equilibrium the average thermal energy of a particle (electron or hole) can
be obtained from the theorem for equipartition of
Average thermal energy of an electron / hole

The thermal energy of the particle is equal to the kinetic energy of the
electron, so that the velocity of the particle can be calculated. The mass of
the electron is equal to the effective mass of the electron.
Furthermore, the velocity of the electron corresponds to the thermal velocity
of the electron, so that the thermal velocity can be determined by:

Kinetic energy of an electron / hole

Note: meff  m* 76
 Thermal movement of carriers (2/2)
• At room temperature the average thermal velocity of an electron
is about 105m/s in silicon and GaAs.

Thermal velocity of an electron

• Thermal motion of free carriers can be seen as random collision

(scattering) of the free carriers with the crystal lattice. A random
motion of an electron or hole leads to zero net displacement of
the free carrier over a sufficient long distance / period of time. The
average distance between two collisions within the crystal lattice
is called mean free path. Associated to the mean free path we
can introduce a mean free time . A typical mean free path is in
the range of 100nm and the mean free time is in the range of 1ps.

77
 Carrier Drift
• When a small electric field is applied to the semiconductor
material each free carrier will experience an electrostatic force
Force = −qE
• So that the carrier is accelerated along the field (in opposite
direction of the field).
E=0 E

Schematic path of an electron in a semiconductor

(a) random thermal motion, (b) combined motion due to random
thermal motion and an applied electric field 78
 Carrier Drift (2)
• An additional velocity component will be superimposed upon the
thermal motion of the electron. The additional velocity is caused
by an applied electric field E. The additional component is called
drift velocity. The drift of the electrons can be described by a
steady state motion since the gained momentum is lost due to
collisions of the electrons and the lattice.
P = mnvn P = –qEC
• Based on momentum conservation the drift velocity can be
calculated. The drift velocity is proportional to the applied electric
field E.

E Electron drift velocity

Note: mn  m*
79
 Carrier Drift (3)
• The electric field is multiplied with a prefactor. The prefactor
depends on the mean free time, the effective mass of the free
carrier, and the charge of the carrier. The prefactor is called the
hole or electron mobility μn,p in units of cm2/Vs.

Drift velocity as a function of the electric field in silicon and GaAs.

80
 Carrier Drift (4/4)

• Then for electrons: vn = –μnE

• And for holes: vp = μpE
• Mobility is a measure of ease of carrier drift in E-
field
 If m↓ “lighter” particle means μ…
 If τC↑ means longer time between collisions, so μ…
• Mobilities of some undoped (intrinsic)
semiconductors at room temperature:
Si Ge GaAs InAs
m n (cm2/V·s) 1400 3900 8500 30000
m p (cm2/V·s) 470 1900 400 500
81
Example: Calculate the mean free time of an electron and mean free
path having a mobility of 1000 cm2/V-s at 300 K. Assume me =
0.26m0, where m0 = electron rest mass = 9.1 x 10-31 kg.
Solution
me me
We have  
e
(0.26  9.1 1031 kg)(1000  104 m 2 .V -1.s-1 )

1.6  1019 C
 0.148 ps
s mv 2 3kT
v ; 
t 2 2
3kT
vth  105 m/s
m
l  vth  14.8 nm
 3.4.2 Drift and Resistance
• Now we can calculate current flow in realistic
devices!
• Net velocity of charge particles  electric current
• Drift current density ∝ net carrier drift velocity
∝ carrier concentration
∝ carrier charge

J ndrift   qnvdn  qnm n E

J pdrift  qpvdp  qpm p E

(charge crossing plane of area A in time t)

• First “=“ sign always applies. Second “=“ applies

typically at low-fields (<104 V/cm in Si)
83
 Drift and Resistance (2)
• Check units and signs:

• Total drift current:

J drift  J ndrift  J pdrift  q(nmn  pm p )E

• Has the form of Ohm’s Law!

E
• Current density: J  E 

• Current:
I  JA 

• This is very neat. We derived Ohm’s Law from basic

considerations (electrons, holes) in a semiconductor. 84
 Drift and Resistance (3)
• Resistivity of a semiconductor: 1 1
 
 q ( nm n  pm p )
• What about when n >> p? (n-type doped sample)
• What about when n << p? (p-type doped sample)
Electric field
Current Electron motion
Hole motion

x=L
• Drift and resistance:

L 1 L
R 
wt  wt
Electron motion

85
 Drift and Resistance (4/4)

• Experimentally, for
Si at room T:

• This is absolutely
essential to show
our control over
resistivity via doping!

Resistivity versus impurity concentration for Si and GaAs

• Notes:
 This plot does not apply to compensated material (with comparable
amounts of both n- and p-type doping)
 This plot applies most accurately at low-field (<104 V/cm) 86
87
 3.4.3 Effects of Temperature and Doping on Mobility
• The mobility is directly related to the mean free time between two
collisions, which is determined by various scattering mechanisms. The
most important scattering mechanisms are lattice scattering and
impurity scattering. Lattice scattering is caused by thermal vibrations of
the lattice atoms at any temperature above 0K. Due to the vibrations
energy can be transferred from the carriers and the lattice.
• Since lattice vibrations increase with increasing temperature the influence
of lattice scattering is getting the determinant effect at high
temperatures. As a consequence the mobility is reduced. Theoretical
analysis show that the mobility is decreased in proportion to T-3/2.
• Impurity scattering is observed when a charged carrier (in our case a
free carrier) interacts with dopants/impurities (acceptors or donors). The
charged carriers will be deflected due to Coulomb interaction between the
two charges.
– The probability of impurity scattering depends on the total concentration of
impurities (sum of the positively and negatively charged ions). Impurity
scattering is becoming less dominant for higher temperatures.
– Theoretical calculations reveal that the impurity scattering scales with T3/2/NT,
where NT is the total impurity concentration. 88
 Effects of Temperature and Doping on Mobility (2)
• The probability of a collision can
be expressed in terms of the
mean free time

• The probability of a collision is

proportional to 1/C. The
mobility can be described by

where μL is the mobility as a

function of the lattice scattering
and μI is the mobility as a Measured temperature dependent electron mobility
function of the impurity in silicon for various donor concentrations.
concentration. The insert shows the limiting electron transport
mechanisms for high and low temperatures.
89
 Effects of Temperature and Doping on Mobility (3/3)

Measured electron and

hole mobilities in
silicon and gallium
arsenide at 300K for
various impurity
concentrations.

90
 3.4.4 High-Field Effects

Slope gives the

mobility only at
low electric field

Vn = – mnE Electron drift velocity

saturates at high
is valid only at electric fields for Si.
low field

1. At high electric field, the velocity of electrons CANNOT increase linearly

with voltage due to increased scattering from the lattice vibrations
(electron loses the entire extra energy from electric field immediately)
2. At a particular electric field called the critical electric field, the mobility
becomes almost zero, and the velocity of the electrons become almost
constant w.r.t. the electric field 91
 3.4.5 The Hall Effect <optional>
Hall effect is used to find mobility and carrier concentration in materials
The establishment of E-field Ey is called Hall-Effect

Figure 3—25
The Hall effect.1

VH • VH = Hall voltage

• cross-sectional area
A = t.w

92
 The Hall Voltage

B
Ix

w
VH

t
n-type sample

For current in the positive x direction, electrons flow in the negative x direction.
With B directed out of the plane, electrons are deflected to the bottom of the
sample, so the Hall voltage is negative. The sample width is w and the thickness
is t.

93
 Hall Effect Calculations
In steady state, the total force on the charge carrier is 0:
  
F  qv  B  E   0
The orientation of the velocity and magnetic field are as follows.
   
v  v x a x and B  B z a z
The current density is defined as:
J x  nqvx
Jx
Bz  E y
nq
Ey
We define the Hall Coefficient as follows. RH 
J x Bz
For the sample geometry given above, Ey = VH/w, and Jx = Ix/w.t,
so…
1 VH t
RH    10 8
nq I x B z
The factor of 108 allows us to use Gauss (instead of Wb/cm2) for B. 94
 Hall Mobility
The Hall coefficient gives the carrier density; the sign gives the carrier
type (negative for electrons and positive for holes).

1 VH t
RH    10 8
nq I x B z

We can also find the Hall Mobility if we know the resistivity (or
equivalently the conductivity s).

m  RH 

Recall that R = rL/A and A = w.t so that if we make a measurement of

the sample resistance we have everything we need.

95
Example

96
 Hall Effect Sensor

B
(B is emerging from the paper.)

w=
0.10 cm t=
0.025 cm
L = 0.20 cm

+ -
VH Ix

The sample is a FH-500 Series Hall Generator manufactured by F. W. Bell.

The material is bulk InAs.

97
 Data Analysis

In principle, we can calculate RH

with a single pair of values Ix, VH.
1 VH t
RH    10 8
VH nq I x B z

Least-squares fit
x However, if we make a plot of VH vs.
x x Ix and then calculate RH from the
x slope, we can account for
x x experimental error and get a more
x x accurate value.
You will need to look at the
Ix
equations describing RH to see how
it relates to the slope of this curve.
This graph assumes that VH increases
with increasing Ix. Your data may be
different.

98
5. Invariance of the Fermi Level at Equilibrium
• Let us consider two materials in intimate contact such that
electrons can move between the two
• Qualitatively
– At thermal equilibrium there can be no discontinuity or
gradient in the Fermi level.
– Assume two dissimilar semiconductors
• There can be no net charge transport at thermal
equilibrium, therefor no net charge transfer
• The charges must balance each other. This leads to:

dEF
0
dx
99
 Invariance of the Fermi Level at Equilibrium (2/2)

• Rate of charge movement from 1 to 2 ~ N1(E)F1(E)N2(E)[1 – f2(E)]

• Rate of charge movement from 2 to 1 ~ N2(E)F2(E)N1(E)[1 – f1(E)]
• At equilibrium both rates are equal (since no net movement of charge):
N1(E)F1(E)N2(E)[1 – f2(E)] = N2(E)F2(E)N1(E)[1 – f1(E)]
dEF
 f1(E) = f2(E) So, in the limit of the regions very small 0
• Message:
dx
In equilibrium Fermi level EF is same everywhere (zero gradient)
100