Optical absorption

Q. Describe the optical absorption of photon with hυ > Eg ,where hυ = photon energy and Eg = Band gap
Ans. Considering hυ > Eg ; the electrons get excited from valence band to
Conduction band as valence band contains many electrons and the
conduction band has many empty states. An electron excited to the
conduction band by optical absorption initially have more energy than in
Common for conduction band electrons. Thus the excited electron losses
Energy to the lattice in scattering events until its velocity reaches the
thermal equilibrium velocity of other conduction band electrons. The
electron and hole created by this optical absorption process are excess
Carriers; since they are out of balance with their environment, they must eventually recombine.
While the excess carriers exist in their respective bands, however, they are free to contribute to the conductivity
of the material.
 Optical absorption
Q. Describe the optical absorption of photon with hυ ˂ Eg ,where hυ = photon energy and Eg = Band gap
Ans. A photon with energy less than Eg is unable to excite an electron from the valence band to the conduction
band. Thus in a pure semiconductor, there is negligible absorption of
photons with hυ ˂ Eg.

Transparent material: If the incident energy is not high enough to excite

an electron from valence band to conduction band then the energy just
passes through the material and that particular material get transparent at
that wavelength of the incident light.
For example NaCl crystal.
 Optical absorption
Q. Show that the ratio of transmitted to incident light intensity depends on the photon wavelength and the
thickness of the sample.
Ans. Considering a semiconductor of band gap energy = Eg
If the photon is emitted with wavelength of 𝝀
Thickness of the material = l
A source of monochromatic light (single wavelength)
is incident to a sample with an intensity of I0 and the light emitted
from the sample is It Then the energy absorbed is (I0 - It)
As the beam passes through the sample, its intensity at a distance x
from the surface can be calculated by considering the probability of
absorption within any increment dx.
Fig: Optical absorption experiment

Thus the degradation of the intensity, dI(x)/dx, is proportional to the intensity remaining at x
 Optical absorption
The solution to this equation is
And the equation is It = I0 e-αl
Here , α = absorption coefficient
So we can say the emitted light decreases exponentially as it moves
through the sample.

Fig: Optical absorption experiment

 Band gap of energies
Q. Band gap of energy of some semiconductors and compound semiconductors.
Ans. In a typical plot of α vs. wavelength from fig, there is negligible absorption at long wavelengths (hυ small) and
considerable absorption of photons with energies larger than Eg
We observe that GaAs, Si, Ge, and InSb lie outside the visible region, in the
Infrared (430 THz down to 300 GHz.). Other semiconductors, such as GaP and
CdS, have band gaps wide enough to pass photons in the visible range
(400 THz to 800 THz). It is important to note here that a semiconductor absorbs
photons with energies equal to the band gap, or larger.

Fig: Dependence of optical absorption

coefficient on the wavelength of incident light

Fig: Band gaps of some common semiconductors relative to the optical spectrum
 Luminescence
Q. Define luminescence . Classify different types of luminescence.
Ans. When electron-hole pairs are generated in a semiconductor, or
when the carriers are excited into higher impurity levels from which
They fall to their equilibrium states , lights can be given off the
material. The general property of light emission is called luminescence.
Many of the semiconductors are well suited for light emission, particularly the
compound semiconductors with direct band gaps.
Q. Classify different types of luminescence.
Luminescence is classified into three section according to excitation mechanism.
1. Photoluminescence- If carriers are excited by photon absorption. the radiation resulting from the recombination of the
excited carriers .
2. Cathodoluminescence- if the excited carriers are created by high-energy electron bombardment of the material,
3. Electroluminescence- if the excitation occurs by the introduction of current into the sample.
 Luminescence
Q. Define luminescence . Classify different types of luminescence.
Ans. When electron-hole pairs are generated in a semiconductor, or
when the carriers are excited into higher impurity levels from which
They fall to their equilibrium states , lights can be given off the
material. The general property of light emission is called luminescence.
Many of the semiconductors are well suited for light emission, particularly the
compound semiconductors with direct band gaps.
Q. Classify different types of luminescence.
Luminescence is classified into three section according to excitation mechanism.
1. Photoluminescence- If carriers are excited by photon absorption. the radiation resulting from the recombination of the
excited carriers .
2. Cathodoluminescence- if the excited carriers are created by high-energy electron bombardment of the material,
3. Electroluminescence- if the excitation occurs by the introduction of current into the sample.
 Luminescence
Q. Different types of Photoluminescence .
Generally luminescence takes place in semiconductor due to direct
Recombination of an electron-hole pair and the recombination takes place
Via direct band gap between valence band and conduction band.
Steady state EHP generation and recombination takes place if one photon is
Emitted for one photon absorbed. Such fast luminescence process is called
Fluorescence.
Phosphorescence : is a slow process. The material contains defect levels
And the no of defect levels depends on rate of recombination . As much the
defect level add, the recombination rate gets slower. The event occurs as follows,
(a) An incoming photon with hυ1 >Eg is absorbed, creating an EHP;
(b) the excited electron gives up energy to the lattice by scattering until it nears the bottom of the conduction band;
(c) the electron is trapped by the impurity level Et and remains trapped until it can be thermally re-excited to the conduction band (d);
(e) finally, direct recombination occurs as the electron falls to an empty state in the valence band, giving off a photon (hυ2) of approximately the band
gap energy.
The delay time between excitation and recombination can be relatively long if the probability of thermal re-excitation from the trap (d) is small.
Even longer delay times result if the electron is re-trapped several times before recombination.
If the trapping probability is greater than the probability of recombination, an electron may make several trips between the trap and
the conduction band before recombination finally occurs
 Photoluminescence
One of the most common examples of photoluminescence is the fluorescent lamp. Typically such a lamp is
composed of a glass tube filled with gas (e.g., a mixture of argon and
mercury), with a fluorescent coating on the inside of the tube. When an
electric discharge is induced between electrodes in the tube, the excited
atoms of the gas emit photons, largely in the visible and ultraviolet regions
of the spectrum. This light is absorbed by the luminescent coating, and the
visible photons are emitted. The efficiency of such a lamp is considerably
better than that of an incandescent bulb, and the wavelength mixture in light
given off can be adjusted by proper selection of the fluorescent material.
 Indirect recombination
Q. Describe the indirect recombination process .
Recombination process occur in two ways. One is direct recombination and another is indirect recombination.
In direct recombination process, light is given off by materials during recombination from conduction to valence
band. , but this radiation is very weak and may be detected only by sensitive equipment.
In indirect recombination, the recombination takes place via impurity level. Any impurity or lattice defect can serve as a
recombination center if it is capable of receiving a carrier of one type (say hole) and subsequently capturing the opposite
type of carrier (electron).
Recombination level: Considering a recombination level. Er, below EF at equilibrium.
The Recombination level is filled with electrons . So the first event is the hole capture
In recombination process and an electron falls to valence band leaving behind an empty state in the recombination level.
Thus in hole capture, energy is given up as heat to the lattice. When both of these
events have occurred, the recombination center is back to its original state
(filled with an electron),
Trapping center: When a carrier is trapped temporarily at a center and then is
re-excited without recombination taking place, the process is often called temporary
trapping and the center is catted trapping center
 Fermi level and Quasi fermi level
Steady state carrier generation
A semiconductor experiences thermal generation of EHPs at a rate g(T) = gi and this generation is balanced by
the recombination rate to maintain equilibrium carrier concentrations of n0 and p0 are maintained.
g(T) = αr ni2 = αr n0 p0
This equilibrium rate balance can include generation from defect level centers as well as band-to-band
Generation.
If a steady light is shone on the sample, an optical generation rate gop will be added to the thermal generation and
the carrier concentration n and p will increase to new steady state values. To maintain balance between
generation and recombination in terms the equilibrium carrier concentration and the departures from the
equilibrium δn and δp
g(T) + gop = αr np = αr (n0 + δn ) (p0 + δp )

For steady state recombination and no trapping Δn= Δp and thus

g(T) + gop = αr n0 p0 + αr [(n0 +p0 ) δn + δn2 ]
 Fermi level and Quasi fermi level
Steady state carrier generation
g(T) + gop = αr n0 p0 + αr [(n0 +p0 ) δn + δn2 ]
The term αr n0 p0 is equal to the thermal generation rate g(T) and neglection the δn2 terms for low level
δ
excitation, so the equation becomes gop = αr [(n0 +p0 ) δn = n
τ𝑛
And the excess carrier concentration is written as δn = δp = gop τ𝑛
 Fermi level and Quasi fermi level
Q. Define Fermi level and Quasi Fermi level.
Quasi Fermi level:
The Fermi level EF used is meaningful only when no excess carriers are present. However,
quasi- Fermi levels Fn and FP for electrons. The optical excitation cause the steady
state Fn is only slightly above the
equilibrium EF , whereas FP is greatly displaced below EF.
The figure shows that the excitation causes a large percentage
change in minority carrier hole concentration and a relatively small change
in the electron concentration
When excess carriers are present, the deviations
of Fn and Fp from EF indicate how far the electron and hole populations are from the
equilibrium values n0 and p0 . A given concentration of excess EHPs causes a large shift in the minority carrier quasi-Fermi
level compared with that for the majority carriers. The separation of the quasi Fermi levels Fn - Fp is a direct measure of the
deviation from equilibrium (at equilibrium Fn = Fp = EF)
The quasi-Fermi level Fn and Fp are the steady state analogues of the equilibrium Fermi level EF .
 Photoconductive Devices
Q. Principle of operation of photoconductive devices.
Photoconductive devices change their resistance when expose to light. These devices are used in light detection
circuits such as moving object counters, burglar alarms, measuring illumination levels in cameras.

Features to be considered for photoconductive device:

1. Sensitive wavelength range
2. Time response: Time response of the conductive cell is limited by the recombination times, the degree of
carrier trapping and the time required for carriers to drift through the device in an electric field.
3. Optical sensitivity

Conditions of photoconductivity:
1. Photons with energies equal to band gap or the energy more than the band gap are absorbed and results
conductivity.
2. Some photoconductors respond to excitations of carriers from impurity levels within the band gap and therefore are
sensitive to photons of less than band gap energy.
 Diffusion of carriers
Q. Diffusion of carriers : When excess carriers are created nonuniformly in a semiconductor, the electron and hole
concentrations vary with position in the sample. Any such spatial variation (gradient) in n and p cells for a net
motion of the carriers from regions of high carrier concentration to regions of low carrier concentration. This
type of motion is called diffusion. Carriers in a semiconductor diffuse in a carrier gradient by random thermal
motion and scattering from the lattice and impurities
Example: a pulse of excess electrons injected at x = 0 at time t = 0 will spread out in time.
Initially, the excess electrons are concentrated at x = 0; as time passes, however,
electrons diffuse to regions of low electron concentration until finally
n(x) is constant.
We can calculate the rate at which the electrons diffuse in a one
dimensional problem by considering an arbitrary distribution n(x) .
Since the mean free path l between collisions is a
small incremental distance, we can divide x into
segments l wide, with n(x) evaluated at the center of each segment
The electrons in segment (1) to the left of x0 in Fig have equal
chances of moving left or right, and in a mean free time t one-half of
them will move into segment (2).
Fig: Spreading of pulse electrons by diffusion
 Diffusion of carriers
We can calculate the rate at which the electrons diffuse in a one
dimensional problem by considering an arbitrary distribution n(x) .
Since the mean free path l between collisions is a
small incremental distance, we can divide x into
segments l wide, with n(x) evaluated at the center of each segment
The electrons in segment (1) to the left of x0 in Fig. 4–13b have equal
chances of moving left or right, and in a mean free time t one-half of
them will move into segment (2).
 Diffusion and Drift of carriers
The same is true of electrons within one mean free path of x0 to the right; one-half of these
electrons will move through x0 from right to left in a mean free time. Therefore, the net
number of electrons passing x0 from left to right in one mean free time is
1 /2(n1lA) – 1/2(n2lA), where the area perpendicular to x is A. The rate of electron flow in the
+x-direction per unit area (the electron flux density ɸn) is given by
𝑙
ɸn = 2𝑡 (𝑛1 − 𝑛2 )
 Diffusion and Drift of carriers; Built in fields
If an electric field is present in addition to the carrier gradient, the current densities will each have a drift component and a
diffusion component

and the total current density is the sum of the contributions due to electrons and holes:

An important result of Eq is that minority carriers can contribute significantly to the current through diffusion. Since the drift
terms are proportional to carrier concentration, minority carriers seldom provide much drift current. On the other hand,
diffusion current is proportional to the gradient of concentration. For example, in n-type material the minority hole
concentration p may be many orders of magnitude smaller than the electron concentration n, but the gradient dp>dx may be
significant. As a result, minority carrier currents through diffusion can sometimes be as large as majority carrier currents.
 Diffusion and Drift of carriers; Built in fields
Relation between particle flow and the current flow
In this figure an electric field is assumed to be in the +x
direction along with carrier distributions n(x) and p(x)
Which decrease with increasing x. The diffusion takes place in t
the +x direction. The resulting electron and hole diffusion
Currents [Jp(drift) and Jp (diffusion)] are in the opposite
Direction. Hole drift in the direction of electric field and
Electron drift in the opposite direction because of their
negative charge. Note that the drift and diffusion components
Fig: Drift and Diffusion for electrons and holes in a carrier
of the current are additive for holes when the field is in the Gradient and an electric field
direction of decreasing hole concentration, whereas the two components are subtractive for electrons under similar
conditions.
The total current may be due primarily to the flow of electrons or holes, depending on the relative concentrations and the
relative magnitudes and directions of electric field and carrier gradients.
 Diffusion and Drift of carriers; Built in fields
Relation between particle flow and the current flow
In this figure an electric field is assumed to be in the +x
direction along with carrier distributions n(x) and p(x)
Which decrease with increasing x. The diffusion takes place in t
the +x direction. The resulting electron and hole diffusion
Currents [Jp(drift) and Jp (diffusion)] are in the opposite
Direction. Hole drift in the direction of electric field and
Electron drift in the opposite direction because of their
negative charge. Note that the drift and diffusion components
Fig: Drift and Diffusion for electrons and holes in a carrier
of the current are additive for holes when the field is in the Gradient and an electric field
direction of decreasing hole concentration, whereas the two components are subtractive for electrons under similar
conditions.
The total current may be due primarily to the flow of electrons or holes, depending on the relative concentrations and the
relative magnitudes and directions of electric field and carrier gradients.
 The Continuity equation
Considering a differential length Δx of a semiconductor sample with
area A in the yz plane. The hole current density leaving the volume
Jp (x+Δx) can be larger or smaller than the current density entering
Jp (x) depending on the generation and recombination of carriers per
unit time δp/δt, is the difference between the hole flux per unit volume
entering and leaving minus the recombination rate.
Now converting hole current density to hole particle flux density by
Dividing Jp / q and dividing Jp /q by Δx gives the number of carriers per
Unit volume entering ΔxA per unit time and Jp (x+ ΔxA)/q Δx is the number Fig: Current entering and leaving a volume ΔxA
leaving per unit volume and time.
 The Continuity equation

As Δx approaches zero,

Fig: Current entering and leaving a volume ΔxA

Is the continuity equation for holes and For electrons