Drift current and Diffusion current

in Semiconductors
 Drift motion and Drift Current
 There are two kinds of charge carriers in a semiconductor, viz. holes and electrons.

 When an electric field is applied to a semiconductor, positive carriers (holes) move in the same
direction as the electric field while negative carriers (electrons) move in the opposite direction.
 The net movement of carriers (electrons/holes) in a particular direction under the influence of
electric field is known as drift motion.
 Current due to this drift motion is known as drift current.
 Drift velocity and Mobility
The net velocity at which the electrons drift due to the applied electric field is known as drift
velocity of electron. In other words, drift velocity is the average velocity attained by the charged
particles (electrons or holes) in a semiconductor material due to an applied electric field.
In a semiconductor, the drift velocity is directly proportional to the electric field.

i.e. vd α E

or vd = μ E

Where the proportionality constant, μ is known as the

carrier mobility.

The mobility (μ) of the electrons is defined as average drift velocity acquired by the
electrons per unit electric field.
i.e. μ = vd / E
 Electron and Hole Mobility

→ →
The electron mobility is defined as 𝒆 𝒏
→ →
The hole mobility is defined as 𝒉 𝒑

→ →
where and are the electron and hole velocity , respectively

𝒑  hole mobility (cm2/V·s)

𝒏 electron mobility (cm2/V·s)
 Drift Current

The drift current due to electron in the conduction band is given by:
In,drift = -qnve A

Similarly, drift current due to holes in the valence band is given by:
Ip,drift = qpvh A

where
n and p represent the concentration of electrons and holes, respectively
A is the area of the cross-section of the semiconductor
ve and vh are the drift velocity of the electrons and holes, respectively.
q is the charge of an electron.
 Drift current density of electrons and holes

Drift current density, J is defined as the total amount of drift current passing through a unit cross-
sectional area in unit time.
From the previous expressions of electron and hole drift,
the current density due to drift of electrons in the conduction band is given by,
In,drift
,

The current density due to drift of holes in the valence band is given by,
Ip,drift
,

Hence , or ,

Similarly, , or , =
 Total drift current density

The total or resultant drift current density due to both charge carriers is given by:

, , ,

This equation is applicable to both, intrinsic as well as extrinsic semiconductors.

Hence drift current depends upon 2 variables:
(i) The carrier concentration (n or p)
(ii) the electric field (E)
 Conductivity of a semiconductor

The total or resultant drift current density due to charge carriers can also be
written as

Where σ = 𝒑 𝒏 is known as the conductivity of the semiconductor

Unit of σ : mho/cm.

The resistivity of a semiconductor is ρ = 1/ σ

Unit of ρ : ohm-cm
 Carrier diffusion and Diffusion current

 Due to thermally induced random motion, charge carriers tend to move from a region of
high concentration to a region of low concentration. This process of movement of charge
carriers due to the charge carrier concentration gradient is known as carrier
diffusion.
 Analogy: ink droplet in water

 The directional movement of charge carriers due to their concentration gradient produces
a component of current, which is known as the diffusion current.
 Diffusion current components due to electrons and holes
The diffusion current density due to charge carriers is directly proportional to the rate of change of
carrier concentration per unit length, i.e., concentration gradient. In case of electrons, if they are
moving from left to right, then current flows right to left in the negative x-direction.

The diffusion current density component due to electrons, Jn , is given by

𝒅𝒏
𝑱𝒏 𝜶
𝒅𝒙
𝒅𝒏
or 𝑱𝒏 = 𝒒𝑫𝒏
𝒅𝒙

Where the proportionality constant, Dn is known as the electron diffusion constant. Its unit
is (cm2/s). dn/dx is known as the concentration gradient of electrons

Similarly, the diffusion current density component due to holes, Jp is given by

𝒅𝒑
𝑱𝒑 = −𝒒𝑫𝒑
𝒅𝒙
 Total Diffusion Current density

 Diffusion current within a semiconductor consists of hole and electron

components:

, ,

Total Diffusion Current density is given by:

, , ,

𝒕𝒐𝒕,𝒅𝒊𝒇𝒇 𝒏 𝒑
 Total current density in a semiconductor

Drift and diffusion current due to charge carriers exists in

semiconductors.

Hence, the total current density, Jtot , in a semiconductor is the sum

of drift current density and diffusion current density due to both
electrons and holes.

, , , ,
 Drift current Diffusion current
The electric current in a semiconductor caused by The electric current in a semiconductor caused
the movement of charge carriers due to the by the flow of charge due to the concentration
external electric field is known as drift current. gradient of charge is known as diffusion current.
There is no need for an external source of
An external source of electrical energy is
electrical energy for the existence of diffusion
required for the flow of drift current through the
current. It is because the diffusion current flows
semiconductor.
due to the difference in charge concentration.
The direction of flow of diffusion current
The direction of flow of the drift current is the
depends on the slope of charge carrier
same as the direction of the applied electric field.
concentration.
Diffusion current obeys Fick’s law, i.e. the rate of
Drift current obeys Ohm’s law, i.e. the drift
diffusion of charge carriers in a semiconductor
current is directly proportional to the applied
crystal is proportional to the concentration
voltage.
gradient.
If the direction of an externally applied electric The direction of diffusion current is almost
field is changed, the direction of the drift current independent of the applied electric field. It
through the semiconductor will also change. mainly depends on charge concentration.
 Einstein Relations

Although drift and diffusion are two seemingly different processes, the parameters μ, the
mobility and D, the diffusion length are not independent. There exists a close relationship
between them, since both these parameters are determined by the thermal motion and scattering
of the free carriers. They are related as follows:
(1)

(2)

The equations 1 and 2 are known as Einstein relations.

From these, relations we get