Optical properties and photoelectric effects in semiconductors

Optical Properties
Light has both particulate and wavelike characteristics
A quantum unit of light is known as Photon
Energy of a photon is given by
hc
E  hf 

E  energy of a photon
  wavelength of radiation
f  frequency of radiation
h  Planck’s constant (6.62 x 1034 J  s)
c  speed of light in a vacuum (3.00 x 108 m/s)

Light Interactions with Solids

When Incident light strike a solid, it is reflected, absorbed, scattered, and/or transmitted:

I 0  IT  I A  I R  I S

Light Absorption in Semiconductors

Dielectrics and semiconductors behave essentially the same way, the only difference being in the
size of the bandgap
Photons with energies greater than Eg will be absorbed by giving their energy to electron-hole
pairs i.e absorption of light of frequency f by electron transition occurs if hf > Egap which may or
may not re-emit light when they relax
(a) What is the minimum wavelength absorbed by Ge, for which Eg = 0.67 eV?

hc (6.63x1034 J  s)(3 x 108 m/s)

Ge (min)  
Eg (Ge) (0.67 eV)(1.60x1019 J/eV)

(b) Redoing this computation for Si which has a band gap of 1.1 eV

Si (min)  1.13m

Note: the presence of donor and/or acceptor states allows for light absorption at other
wavelengths.
Semiconductors can appear “metallic” if visible photons are all reflected (like Ge) but those with
smaller Eg, such as Cadmium sulphide (CdS) look coloured
Impurities can add extra absorption features to semiconductors

Impurity levels divide up the bandgap to allow transitions with energies less than Eg
Refraction in non-metals/semiconductors
This refers to the bending of a light beam as it passes from one material into another
  e.g. from air to glass
We define the index of refraction to be
n = c/v
 where c is the speed of light in a vacuum and v is the speed of light in the material
(which is in general wavelength-dependent)
A familiar example is the prism where the different amounts of bending separates out the
wavelengths
Refraction is also vital for other applications, such as:
• optical fibres – keeps the light in
• semiconductor laser – keeps the light in the amplifying cavity of the laser
Given that
1 1
v and c 
  0 0

• where µ and µ0 (µ = µrµ0) are the permeability of the material and free space,
respectively (a magnetic property)
• and  and 0 (= r0) are the permittivity of the material and free space,
respectively (an electrostatic property)
We find that n = √(µrr) (≈ √r for many materials)

Since light is an electromagnetic wave, the connection with both the dielectric permittivity ()
and the magnetic permeability (µ) is not surprising
The index of refraction is a consequence of electrical polarization, especially electronic
polarization
Hence, the radiation loses energy to the electrons
Since E = hf=hc/, and  doesn’t change, the velocity must be smaller in the material than in free
space. Since we lose E to the atoms, f must also decrease
Electronic polarization tends to be easier for larger atoms so n is higher in those materials

Reflection in non-metals/semiconductors
What is Reflection of Light?
When a ray of light approaches a smooth polished surface and the light ray bounces back, it is
called the reflection of light. The incident light ray that land on the surface is reflected off the
surface. The ray that bounces back is called the reflected ray. If a perpendicular were drawn on
a reflecting surface, it would be called normal.

Laws of Reflection
The law of reflection states that:
1. The incident ray, the reflected ray and the normal all lie in the same plane
2. The angle of incidence = Angle of reflection
Types of Reflection of Light
 Regular reflection is also known as specular reflection
 Diffused reflection
 Multiple reflection
Regular/ Specular Reflection
Specular Reflection refers to a clear and sharp reflection, like the ones you get in a mirror. A
mirror is made of glass coated with a uniform layer of a highly reflective material such as
powder. This reflective surface reflects almost all the light incident on it uniformly. There is not
much variation in the angles of reflections between various points. This means that the haziness
and the blurring are almost entirely eliminated.
Diffused Reflection
Reflective surfaces other than mirrors, in general, have a very rough finish. This may be due to
wear and tear such as scratches and dents or dirt on the surface. Sometimes even the material of
which the surface is made of matters. All this leads to a loss of both the brightness and the
quality of the reflection.
In the case of such rough surfaces, the angle of reflection when compared between points is
completely haphazard. For rough surfaces, the rays incident at slightly different points on the
surface is reflected in completely different directions. This type of reflection is called diffused
reflection and is what enables us to see non-shiny objects.
Multiple Reflection
A single image is formed when an object is placed in front of a mirror. What happens if we use
two mirrors? Since reflective surfaces such as mirrors are very good at preserving the intensity of
light in a reflection, a single light source can be reflected multiple times. These multiple
reflections are possible until the intensity of light becomes low to the point that we cannot see.
This means that we can have almost infinite multiple reflections. We can also see an image in
every individual reflection. This means that each image is the result of an image or an image of
an image.
The number of images we see depends on the angle between the two mirrors. We see that as we
go on decreasing the angle between the mirrors, the number of images increases. And when the
angle becomes zero, i.e., when the mirrors become parallel, the number of images becomes
infinite. This effect can be easily observed when your barber uses another smaller mirror to show
you the back of your head. When this happens, not only do you see the back of your head, but
you also see innumerable images of yourself. The variation of the number of images of an object
placed between two mirrors with the angle between the mirrors can be described by a simple
formula:

Reflection occurs at the interface between two materials and is therefore related to index of
refraction
Reflectivity, R = IR/I0, where the I’s are intensities
Assuming the light is normally incident to the interface, then
2
n n 
R   2 1 
 n2  n1 
 where n1 and n2 are the indices for the two materials
Optical lenses are frequently coated with antireflection layers which work by reducing the
overall reflectivity
Transmission
Transmission of light, where light waves pass through a material without absorption and
reflection, is affected by thickness, and type of material.
Colours
Small differences in composition can lead to large differences in appearance
For example, high-purity single-crystal Aluminium oxide, Al2O3 is colourless
 sapphire
If we add only 0.5 - 2.0% of chromium III oxide, Cr2O3 we find that the material looks red
 ruby
The Cr substitutes for the Al and introduces impurity levels in the bandgap of the sapphire
These levels give strong absorptions at:
 400nm (green) and 600nm (blue)
 leaving only red to be transmitted
Translucency
• Even after the light has entered the material, it might yet be reflected out again due to
scattering inside the material
• Even the transmitted light can lose information by being scattered internally
 so a beam of light will spread out or an image will become blurred
• In extreme cases, the material could become opaque due to excessive internal scattering
• Scattering can come from obvious causes:
 grain boundaries in poly-crystalline materials
 fine pores in ceramics
 different phases of materials
• In highly pure materials, scattering still occurs and an important contribution comes from
Rayleigh scattering
• Rayleigh scattering is the predominantly elastic scattering of light or
other electromagnetic radiation by particles much smaller than the wavelength of the
radiation.
• This is due to small, random differences in refractive index from place to place
• In amorphous materials such as glass this is typically due to density or compositional
differences in the random structure
• In crystals, lattice defects, thermal motion of atoms etc. also give rise to Rayleigh
scattering
• Rayleigh scattering also causes the sky to be blue. The reason for this is the wavelength-
dependence of Rayleigh scattering
 • This mechanism is of great technological importance because it governs losses in optical
fibres for communication
Dispersion
• If a pulse of white light is transmitted through a material, different wavelengths arrive at
the other end at different times
 this is also called dispersion
Luminescence:
Luminescence is the property by which a material emits the light.
In semiconducting materials, the light is emitted under certain conditions which are as
below:
i. When electron-hole pairs (EHP) are generated, or
ii. When the carriers fall to their equilibrium state after being excited to higher impurity
levels.
Different Types of Luminescence:
1. Photo-Luminescence:
It is the phenomenon of emission of light from a semiconductor on account of recombination of
excited electron-hole pair (EHP).
Here one photon is emitted from each photon absorbed. Recombination in semiconductors takes
place at varying rates; fast and slow.
Accordingly, the photo-luminescence may be of following two types:
a. Fluorescence:
It is a fast process property of material in which the emission of photon stops in about 10–8s after
the excitation is removed.
Example:
i. Glass surface coated with tungstates or silicates such as in fluorescent lamps.
ii. Television screen coated with sulphides, oxides, tungstates etc.
b. Phosphorescence:
Slow process property of material in which the emission of photon continues for a longer
duration, lasting for seconds and minutes after removal of excitation.
Materials falling in this category are termed as phosphors, example:
i. ZnS coated with Cu an impurity
ii. CdS coated with Ag as impurity
 iii. KCI coated with Tl as impurity
iv. Nal coated with Tl as impurity
Example:
‘Fluorescent lamp’. It is a glass tube filled with a gas, which is generally the mixture of mercury
vapours and argon. The inside of the tube has a fluorescent coating. When an electric discharge
is induced between electrodes of the tube, the atoms of the gas are excited and emit photons.
2. Electro-Luminescence:
This effect can be created by introducing the electric current into a semiconductor. The electrical
current can be used in different ways to generate the photon emission from semiconductors. One
such way is ‘injection’.
The name of the process is injection electro-luminescence which is use in making light-emitting
diodes (LEDs).
In them the minority carriers are injected by electric current, into the regions of a crystal where
they can recombine with majority carriers. It results in emission of recombination radiation.
The effect of electro-luminescence can be found in devices incorporating the phosphor powder
(such as of ZnS) in a plastic binder.
This phosphor gives-off the light when an alternating current (a.c.) filed is applied on it. Such
device is known as ‘electro-luminescence cell’, which is used as lighting panel.
Destriau effect- The emission of photons in certain phosphors occurs when they are subjected to
alternating electric field, was observed for the first time by Destriau. Hence this phenomenon is
known as ‘Destriau effect’.
Photoelectric effects in semiconductors
Introduction
It is not always possible to distinguish the properties of a highly doped semiconductor from those
of a poorly conducting metal or a semimetal.
Heavily doped germanium and silicon (carrier concentrations higher than ~ 10 ~9 cm-3) are
sometimes called metallic.
What makes these materials semiconductors is the possibility of making them intrinsic with an
energy gap for electronic excitations < 2 eV.
Photoemission in semiconductors has found practical applications for cathodes of photocells

Photoelectric effects
Consider a circuit (fig. 1) consisting of a vacuum tube with two electrodes, cathode-and anode,
connected to a battery and' a sensitive ammeter.
When the cathode is cold; there is no thermionic emission and therefore no current flows in the
circuit. If the cathode is now illuminated, the result - under favourable conditions - is a
measurable current: the light releases electrons from the cathode.
This phenomenon, called photoelectric emission or the external photoelectric effect.
This effect was found to obey simple laws. These laws are easily understood, however, if it is
assumed that monochromatic light of frequency f consists of a current of light quanta, each with
an energy E = hf.

Fig. I. Principle of photoemission. K cathode, A anode, B battery, M micro-ammeter.

A measurable current flows in the circuit only when the cathode is exposed to light radiation.
Upon absorbing a light quantum an electron is excited to a state of higher energy.
If the energy hf of the absorbed light quantum is sufficiently high, the excited electron is able to
surmount the potential barrier at the surface.
Conclusions from the experiment.
1) No photoemission occurs for photon energies below a certain value Ed, called the
photoelectric work function or long wavelength threshold.
2) The number of electrons emitted per second is proportional to the number of photons
incident per second on the cathode; in other words, the photoelectric saturation current is
proportional to the intensity of the incident beam of light.
3) The maximum Emax of the energy of the emitted electrons is linearly related to the photon
energy: Emax = hf - Ed.

The concern here is photoemission of semiconductors. There are two aspects we will look at it:
a) The photoelectric effect can be used as a tool for studying the solid state, in our case
semiconductor materials.
b) As photoemission finds wide application in light detectors, an attempt can be made to design a
good light detector using the knowledge obtained under (a).
In research on semiconductors, photoemission provides information on the energy levels which
have a significance in electron population.
The photoelectric work function gives directly the distance from the upper of these levels to the
vacuum level

The above-mentioned threshold energy for photoemission or the thermionic work function 𝝋 is
a quantity which is directly accessible by experiment, for example by contact potential
measurements;
𝝋 is the difference between the vacuum level and the Fermi level in the semi-conductor.
According to the band theory of semiconductors a zone of forbidden energies exists for the
electrons in the material.
In general, however, electronic states with energies in this forbidden zone will occur at the
surface (because of impurities, lattice irregularities or other reasons).
These surface states have a considerable influence on the properties of the semiconductor. For
example:
1. If there are many surface states, all at roughly the same energy, then 𝜑 is independent of
the doping content
2. If there are no surface states, then 𝜑 is dependent upon the doping content

If we now attempt to make a good photocathode from a conventional semiconductor, and in

particular, a photocathode which is sensitive to visible light (430T-770T Hz), we require in the
first place that the threshold wavelength should lie in the infra-red (300G- 430T Hz). In other
words, the photoelectric threshold energy must be sufficiently low. Conventional semiconductors
do not meet this requirement.
Another requirement of a good photocathode is a high quantum yield. To achieve this, a
substantial fraction of the photons has to be absorbed in the escape layer. Heavily-doped GaAs,
coated with caesium, looks particularly promising in this repect. In this system the energy of an
electron in vacuum lies roughly at the same height as the bottom of the conduction band. This
means that an electron, once it has been excited to the conduction band, needs hardly any kinetic
energy to escape from the semiconductor. The escape depth is then of the order of the diffusion-
recombination length, that is to say many times greater than the escape depths normally
encountered

Metal-Semiconductors Contacts
The principle of forming different types of the metal-semiconductor contact is the mismatch of
the Fermi energy between metal and semiconductor material, which is due to the difference in
work functions.
Figure 1 shows the energy band diagram after the contact is made, the vacuum level is labeled
E0.
The minimum energy needed to release an electron from the material, is used to align the metal
and the semiconductor together.
The work function Φ is defined as the energy difference between the Fermi energy and the
vacuum level.
The electron affinity, χ is defined as the required energy for moving an electron from the
vacuum level to the conduction band: χ=(E0−Ec)
When a metal and a semiconductor material are brought together, an instant ideal MS contact is
formed. If there is no electron movement during the contacting process, the band diagram for the
contact will be as Figure 1, where there is a mismatch for the Fermi energy (EFM) in the metal
and the Fermi energy in the semiconductor (EF).
For the ideal MS contact, several assumptions are made:
1. The metal and the semiconductor are contacted intimately, which means that there is no
oxide or charge layers between the contact on the atomic scale.
2. No intermixing and inter diffusion between the metal and the semiconductor.
3. There are no impurities at the MS interface.

(a)
(b)

Figure 1: Energy band diagram for ideal MS contacts at an instant after contact for:
(a) ΦM>ΦS and (b) ΦM<ΦS

The electron affinity χ and the metal work function ΦM are invariant fundamental properties that
remain unaffected by the contacting process. However, the work fuction of semiconductors is
related with the electron affinity, the conduction band, and the Fermi energy:

where

However, the situations in Figure 1 are not in equilibrium condition, since the Fermi energy in the
metal is not aligned with the Fermi energy in semiconductor ( EFS≠EFM). Therefore, electrons will
keep transferring between the semiconductor and the metal until the EF is aligned, which would
cause a formation of depletion region between the MS contact.

With different characteristics of the metal-semiconductor interface, two types of MS contact will
be formed: the rectifying Schottky barrier contact and the Ohmic contact.

Schottky Barrier Contact

The Schottky barrier contact refers to the MS contact having a large potential barrier height formed
when the Fermi energy of the metal and the semiconductor are aligned together.

The barrier height ΦB is defined as the energy difference between the band edge with majority
carriers and the Fermi energy of the metal.

Since the Schottky barriers could lead to rectifying characteristics, it is normally used as a diode,
which is a single MS junction with rectifying characteristics.

Both n-type and p-type semiconductors can form the Schottky contact, such as Titanium Silicide,
and Platinum Silicide.

Under Equilibrium Condition (applied bias V=0)

Consider the case of ΦM > ΦS, electrons will move from the semiconductor to the metal due to
their greater energy until the equilibrium condition is established.

The net loss of electrons creates a negative charge in the metal and a positive charge in the
semiconductor, which results a depletion region and a growing barrier at the semiconductor
surface.
As the result, the equilibrium band structure for a metal and a n-type semiconductor is illustrated
in Figure 2.

Figure 2. Flat band diagram of MS contact under equilibrium condition

The surface potential-energy barrier ΦB, is a function of the metal and the semiconductor:

The barrier results in a high resistance when there is even a small applied voltage. Since the
potential barrier height could be governed by the voltage bias, which has a significant influence of
the electrical current flowing through the barrier, the effect of forward bias and reverse bias are of
interest.

Effect of Biasing

Consider the ΦM>ΦS MS contact, a current I will be formed if there is an applied biasing VA on
the metal and the semiconductor is connected to be grounded. (Figure 3) The current is defined to
be positive when it flows from the metal to the semiconductor.
 Figure 3. MS contact to an applied d.c. bias

Forward Biasing

Under a forward biasing (VA>0), the operation of MS junction is illustrated in Figure 4.

The Fermi energy of metal becomes lower than the Fermi energy in the semiconductor EF, which
results a reduction of the potential barrier ΦB across the semiconductor. Consequently, it will be
much easier for electrons to pass over the barrier, which makes the electrons diffuse much easier
from semiconductor to the metal. Therefore, as the VA increases, the current will increase rapidly,
since more electrons will be able to overcome the surface barrier without coming back corresponds
to the opposite direction of the current. There will be more electrons diffusion from the
semiconductor towards the metal than the electrons drifting into the semiconductor, a positive
current will be generated across the MS junction.

Figure 4. Energy band diagram and carrier activity at forward biasing (VA>0)
Reverse Biasing

With a negative applied bias on the metal (VA<0), the operation of MS junction is illustrated in
Figure 5. The Fermi energy of metal becomes higher than the Fermi energy in the semiconductor,
which results in an increase of the barrier potential across the MS junction. The large barrier will
block the diffusion of electrons from semiconductor to the metal. Under a small reversed bias, only
a small amount of electrons in the metal may be able to overcome the potential barrier. Therefore,
the current I will become a small constant at reversed bias, which is characterized as the rectifying
behavior.

Figure 5. Energy band diagram and carrier activity at VA<0

I−V Characteristics

In general, the current flowing through the Schottky contact can be defined with the applied
voltage, which is very similar to those of pn-junction diode. The IV expression is described by
the analytical equation called Boltzmann diode equation given below:

The diode current equation relates the current with the voltage across the diode. Suppose the
voltage V across and current I flowing through the diode. The current I can be expressed as

Where
I – Diode Current
Io- Diode reverse saturation current at room temperature
V- External Voltage applied to the diode
 η – A constant, two for Silicon and one for Germanium
VT = kT/q=T/11600 Volts-equivalent of temperature, thermal voltage
By putting the value of VT, we may get the following equation

By substituting the value of VT, we may get the following equation

Where

k – Boltzmann’s constant, 1.38066×10−23J/K

q- charge of an electron, 1.60219×10−19 C
T- temperature of the diode junction K=C+273deg
At the room temperature K=300, the thermal voltage VT=26mV. Put these values in the
current equation (1), we get

As the constant η, is one for germanium and two for silicon, so the above equations will become
For Germanium

For Silicon

For reverse bias current, the sign of the voltage applied V is changed and the equation for reverse
bias will be

As V≫VT, so the term e−V/ηVT≪1. So, I≈-Io, is valid up till external voltage is below the
breakdown voltage. The diode reverse saturation current is also called dark saturation current.
It depends upon the rate of recombination and quality of the material. It is also notable that the
dark current increases as the temperature increases. And it decreases as the material quality
increases.

For the Schottky Barrier Contact discussed above, Under a forward bias (VA>0), when the forward
bias exceeds than a few kT/q volts, the current will be dominated by the exponential term. For the reverse
bias (VA<0), when the reverse bias greater than a few kT/q volts, the exponential term will be neglected,
which results a small saturate current: I=−I0.The I−V characteristics is shown in Figure 6.

Figure 6. Schematic IV characteristics of Schottky diodes

Ohmic Contact

Not all MS contact can perform as the rectifying Schottky diode, since there is no potential barrier
formed. Under this situation, when the current flows in both directions of the MS contact, the
contact is defined as the Ohmic contact. An ideal Ohmic contact is a low resistance, and non-
rectifying junction where no potential exists between the the metal-semiconductor interface.
Consider the case in Figure 1 (b), the MS contact with ΦM<ΦS, electrons will flow from the metal
to the semiconductor due to their low energy, which will cause the Fermi level in semiconductor
move up until the equilibrium state is established. The band diagram under equilibrium state is
illustrated in Figure 7(a).
(a)

(b)

Figure 7. (a) Energy band diagram under equilibrium for ΦM<ΦS and (b)
Schematic IV characteristics of Ohmic contact

Since there is no barrier structure for electron flow from the semiconductor to metal, even a very
small forward bias voltage (VA>0) will rise a large forward bias current. When there is an applied
reverse bias voltage, a small potential barrier is formed for electron flow from metal to
semiconductor. However, the small barrier will eventually vanish when the reverse bias voltage
becomes larger. Consequently, there is a large reverse current flow when V<0.
The I−V characteristic is shown in Figure 7(b).

Different with the rectifying Schottky contact, the Ohmic contact behaves a linear I−V curve
that follows the Ohm's Law in both forward and reverse bias condition.

Schottky Diode

Schottky diode is a device, which comes under the type of a metal – semiconductor junction
diode.

Barrier diode and low voltage diode are the other names for Schottky diode.

When compared to a PN junction diode, power loss is lower in Schottky diode. A scientist
named Walter. H. Schottky first discovered Schottky diode.

Generally, in a PN junction device, when positive type (p-type) and negative type (n-type) are
joined together they form a PN junction. However, in a Schottky diode, materials like aluminum
or platinum are used instead of P type semiconductors.

Symbol of Schottky Diode

The following image shows the symbol of a Schottky Diode.

The most important physical parameter of this Schottky diode is their fast switching rate and less
forward voltage drop. It is a metal – semiconductor junction that does not have the capacity to
store charges at their junction.

Usually, a voltage drop happens across the diode terminals, when current flows through a diode.
Schottky diode voltage drop is usually between 0.15 and 0.45 volts when compared to a normal
diode. A normal PN junction diode has a voltage drop ranging between 0.6 to 1.7 volts. For a
better efficiency and output, voltage drop should be low. When manufacturing the diode, N-type
semiconductor acts as a cathode and the metal side acts an anode of the diode.

When voltage is given to the diode, the current flows in the forward direction. When this current
flows through the diode, there will be a minimum voltage loss across the terminals of the diode.
This loss of voltage is called as Voltage drop.

Construction of Schottky Diode

It is made of a metal and semiconductor forming unilateral junction. Few metals like gold, silver,
molybdenum, tungsten or platinum are utilized. Usually an N type semiconductor, which
includes Gallium, is used. Silicon is used for low frequency operation. Between the
semiconductors–metal junctions, a depletion layer is formed known as Schottky barrier.

This barrier is called as potential energy barrier.

Two types of Schottky barriers are Rectifying and Non-rectifying type.

When a metal and lightly doped semiconductor meets each other, the Rectifying Schottky
barrier is formed. Sequentially when a metal encounters the heavily doped semiconductor, it
forms a non-rectifying barrier

When doping level increases, the junction does not act as rectifier and it becomes ohmic contact.
Operation of Schottky Diode

Unbiased Schottky Diode

The free electrons present inside the n – type semiconductor will move from n – type
semiconductor to a metal during the combination between metal and n – type semiconductor.
This results in production of equilibrium state. When free electrons moves across the junction, it
provides an extra electron to the atoms present.

Due to this, atoms present in the metal junction receive an extra electron. The atoms at the
negative side junction lose electrons and become positive ions. On the metal junction, atoms will
gain extra electrons and tries to become negative ions.

Hence, this will result in production of positive ions at negative side and negative ions on the
positive side at the metal junction. Depletion region will be formed when these positive and
negative ions comes together. In unbiased Schottky diode, only less number of electrons will
flow from semiconductor to metal. Other electron flow is stopped due to the built in voltage.

Forward Biased Schottky Diode

In the n-type semiconductor when positive terminal of the battery is connected to metal and
negative terminal is connected to n-type conductor, it is called as Forward biased Schottky diode.
On the diode, when forward bias voltage is applied, more electrons are formed in the metal and
semi-conductor.
When a voltage greater than 0.2 volts are applied, free electrons move through the junction
barrier. Due to this current will flow through diode. When voltage value increases, depletion
region becomes thin and disappears.

Reverse Biased Schottky Diode

In the n-type semiconductor if the negative terminal of the battery is coupled to metal and
positive terminal is connected to n-type conductor, it is called as Reverse biased Schottky diode.
At the same time, if a reverse bias voltage is applied, the width of depletion region increases.
Therefore, the current flow stops. In the metal plate, there will be more number of excited
electrons. Due to this, there will be flow of a small amount of leakage current. When reverse
biased voltage increases further, current also increases due to weak barrier. When abnormal
increase in bias voltage takes place, electric current also increases suddenly. A device will be
damaged, when the depletion region breaks down.

V-I Characteristics of Schottky Barrier Diode

The V-I (Voltage-Current) characteristics of Schottky diode is shown in the below figure. Along
the graph, the vertical line signifies the current flow and the horizontal line denotes the voltage
applied across the Schottky diode. The V-I characteristics of Schottky diode is almost similar to
the P-N junction diode.
Nevertheless, the forward voltage drop of Schottky diode is very low when compared to the P-N
junction diode. The forward voltage drop ranges from 0.3 volts to 0.5 volts. The barrier of
forward voltage drop is made of silicon. The forward voltage drop is proportional to the doping
concentration of N type semiconductor. Due to high concentration of current carriers, the V-I
characteristic of Schottky diode is steeper.

Applications of Schottky Diode

i. diode rectifier because of its properties.
ii. They are used for voltage clamping applications, to prevent transistor saturation.
iii. It is used as Schottky TTL in digital devices as these devices require fast switching. as
the performance of digital computers is determined by switching speed of diodes

Schottky Barrier
When a metal or superconductor makes intimate contact with a semiconductor, the Fermi levels
in the two materials must be equal at thermal equilibrium. In addition, the vacuum level must
also be continuous. These two requirements determine a unique energy band diagram for the
contact, as shown in Figure below.
The resulting band bending at the interface creates a potential barrier known as the Schottky
barrier.
The barrier height, ΦBn, is simply the difference between the metal work function, Φm, (the
energy difference between the metal Fermi level and the vacuum level) and the electron affinity,
Χ, of the semiconductor (the difference between the semiconductor conduction band edge and
the vacuum level).

Figure : (a) An energy band diagram of an metal and an n-type semiconductor under non-
equilibrium conditions.
(b) an energy band diagram of a metal semiconductor contact in thermal equilibrium.

The width of the Schottky barrier is dependent on, among other things, the doping density of the
semiconductor. It is therefore possible, in the case of MS junctions, to tune the barrier in order to
allow either more or fewer electrons to tunnel through.

Photonic devices

Light Emitting Diode (LED)

Theory
As the name indicates, it is a forward-biased P-N junction which emits visible light when
energized.
Charge carrier recombination takes place when electrons from the N-side cross the junction and
recombine with the holes on the P-side.
Now, electrons are in the higher conduction band on the N-side whereas holes are in the lower
valence band on the P-side. During recombination, some of the energy difference is given up in
the form of heat and light (i.e. photons). For Si and Ge junctions, greater percentage of this
energy is given up in the form of heat so that the amount emitted as light is insignificant. But in
the case of other semiconductor materials like gallium arsenide (GaAs), gallium phosphide
(GaP) and gallium- arsenide-phosphide (GaAsP), a greater percentage of energy released during
recombination is given out in the form of light. If the semiconductor material is translucent, light
is emitted and the junction becomes a light source i.e. a light-emitting diode (LED) as shown
schematically in Fig..1. The colour of the emitted light depends on the type of material used as
given below.

Fig.1

1. GaAs — infrared radiation (invisible).

2. GaP — red or green light.
3. GaAsP — red or yellow (amber) light.
LEDs that emit blue light are also available but red is the most common. LEDs emit no light
when reverse-biased. In fact, operating LEDs in reverse direction will quickly destroy them.

Construction
Broadly speaking, the LED structures can be divided into two categories:
1. Surface-emitting LEDs: These LEDs emit light in a direction perpendicular to the PN
junction plane.
2. Edge-emitting LEDs: These LEDs emit light in a direction parallel to the PN junction plane.
Fig. 2 shows the construction of a surface-emitting LED.
 Fig.2

As seen from this figure, an N-type layer is grown on a substrate and a P-type layer is deposited
on it by diffusion. Since carrier recombination takes place in the P-layer, it is kept upper most.
The metal anode connections are made at the outer edges of the P-layer so as to allow more
central surface area for the light to escape. LEDs are manufactured with domed lenses in
order to lessen the reabsorption problem.
A metal (gold) film is applied to the bottom of the substrate for reflecting as much light as
possible to the surface of the device and also to provide cathode connection. LEDs are always
encased in order to protect their delicate wires. Being made of semiconductor material, it is
rugged and has a life of more than 10,000 hours.

Working
The forward voltage across an LED is considerably greater than for a silicon PN junction diode.
Typically, the maximum forward voltage for LED is between 1.2 V and 3.2 V depending on the
device. Reverse breakdown voltage for an LED is of the order of 3 V to 10 V. Fig.3 (a) shows a
simple circuit to illustrate the working of an LED. The LED emits light in response to a
sufficient forward current. The amount of power output translated into light is directly
proportional to the forward current as shown in Fig.3 (b). It is evident from this figure that
greater the forward current, the greater the light output.
Fig. 53.3

Applications
To choose emitting diodes for a particular application, one or more of the following points have
to be considered: wavelength of light emitted, input power required, output power, efficiency,
turn-on and turn-off time, mounting arrangement, light intensity and brightness etc.
Since LEDs operate at voltage levels from 1.5 V to 3.3 V, they are highly compatible with solid
state circuitry.
Their uses include the following:
1. LEDs are used in burglar-alarm systems;
2. for solid-state video displays which are rapidly replacing cathode-ray tubes (CRT);
3. in image sensing circuits;
4. in the field of optical fibre communication systems where high-radiance GaAs diodes are
matched into the silica-fibre optical cable;
5. in data links and remote controllers;
6. in arrays of different types for displaying alphanumeric (letters and numbers) or supplying
input power to lasers or for entering information into optical computer memories;
7. for numeric displays in hand-held or pocket calculators.

As shown in Fig.4 (a) a seven-segment display consists of seven rectangular LEDs which
can form the digits 0 to 9. The seven LED segments are labelled ‘a’ to ‘g’. Each of this segments
is controlled through one of the display LEDs. Seven-segment displays come in two types,
common-cathode and common-anode type. In the common-cathode type, all the
cathodes of the diodes are tied together as shown in Fig.4 (b). This makes it possible to light any
segment by forward-biasing that particular LED. For example, to light number 5, segments a, f,
g, c and d must be forward-biased. Since the cathodes are tied to ground, only 5 volt is to be
applied to the anode of these segments to light them.
The common-anode seven-segment display has all its anodes tied together to +5 volt and ground
is used to light the individual segments. Fig. 4(c) shows a picture of a seven-segment display.
 Fig. 4

controlled through one of the display LEDs. Seven-segment displays come in two types,
common-cathode and common-anode type. In the common-cathode type, all the cathodes of the
diodes are tied together as shown in Fig. 4 (b). This makes it possible to light any segment by
forward-biasing that particular LED. For example, to light number 5, segments a, f, g, c and d
must be forward-biased.
Since the cathodes are tied to ground, only 5 volt is to be applied to the anode of these segments
to light them. The common-anode seven-segment display has all its anodes tied together to +5
volt and ground is used to light the individual segments. Fig. 4(c) shows a picture of a seven-
segment display.