Introduction to

Semiconductors

1
 Why semiconductors?
• SEMICONDUCTORS: They are here, there, and everywhere

• Computers, Silicon (Si) MOSFETs, ICs

• laptops
• Cell phones, pagers Si ICs, GaAs FETs, BJTs
• CD players AlGaAs laser diodes, Si photodiodes
• TV remotes, mobile terminals Light emitting diodes (LEDs)
• Satellite dishes InGaAs MMICs (Monolithic Microwave
ICs)
• Fiber networks InGaAsP laser diodes, pin photodiodes
• Traffic signals, car GaN LEDs (green, blue)
taillights InGaAsP LEDs (red, amber)
• Air bags Si MEMs, Si ICs

2
Why Semiconductors

3
 Evolution of semiconductors
• Bardeen and Brattain at Bell Laboratories in the US invented
the point-contact transistor in 1947

• Shockley invented the junction transistor in 1948

• In 1956, the Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded jointly to

Shockley, Bardeen and Brattain for their contribution
to semiconductor research and the development of
the transistor.
Point contact Transistor

4
Transistor inventors:- John Bardeen, and Walter Brattain, with
their supervisor William Shockley (seated) 1948. (Credit: AT&T
Archives.)

5
 Evolution of semiconductors
• In 1959, the bipolar integrated circuit (ICs) was invented by
Kilby of Texas Instruments and Noyce of Fairchild
Semiconductor in the US.

• In 1967, Texas Instruments developed the electronic desktop

calculator (the calculator) using IC.

• The VLSI (from 100 thousand to 10 million electronic

components per chip) was developed in the 1980s.

• The ULSI (more than 10 million electronic components per chip)

was developed in the 1990s.

6
 Introduction
Semiconductors are materials whose electrical
properties lie between Conductors and Insulators.

Ex : Silicon and Germanium

Give the examples of Conductors and Insulators!

Difference in conductivity

8
Semiconductor
materials

9
 Semiconductor Materials
• Elemental semiconductors – Si and Ge (column IV of periodic
table) –compose of single species of atoms
• Compound semiconductors – combinations of atoms of column
III and column V and some atoms from column II and VI.
(combination of two atoms results in binary compounds)
• There are also three-element (ternary) compounds (GaAsP) and
four-elements (quaternary) compounds such as InGaAsP.

10
 Semiconductor Materials
• Ge was widely used in the early days of semiconductor
development for transistors and diodes.
• Si is now used for the majority of rectifiers,
transistors and integrated circuits.
• Compounds are widely used in high-speed devices and
devices requiring the emission or absorption of light.

• The electronic and optical properties of

semiconductors are strongly affected by impurities,
which may be added in precisely controlled amounts
(e.g. an impurity concentration of one part per million
can change a sample of Si from a poor conductor to a
good conductor of electric current). This process is
called doping.
11
 Solid state structures
• A crystalline solid is distinguished by the fact that atoms making the
crystal are arranged in a periodic fashion. Thus the crystal appears
exactly the same at one point as it does at a series of other equivalent
points, once the basic periodicity is discovered.
• However, not all solids are crystals ; some have no periodic structure
at all (amorphous solids), and other are composed of many small
regions of single-crystal material (polycrystalline solids).

The periodic arrangement of atoms in crystal is called the lattice; the

lattice contains a volume, called a unit cell, which is representative of the
entire lattice and is regularly repeated throughout the crystal.
12
 Solid state structures
• Cubic lattices: TYPES OF UNIT CELLS

Simple cubic (sc) Body-centered cubic (bcc) Face-centered cubic (fcc)

Diamond lattice unit cell, showing the four nearest neighbour structure
• The basic lattice structure for many important
semiconductors is the diamond lattice, which is
characteristic of Si and Ge.
• In many compound semiconductors, atoms are
arranged in a basic diamond structure but are
different on alternating sites. This is called a
zincblende lattice and is typical of the III-V
compounds.

13
 Solid state structures

Each atom in the diamond

lattice has a covalent bond
with four adjacent atoms,
which together form a
tetrahedron. This lattice can
also be formed from two fcc-
cubic lattices, which are
displaced along the body
The diamond lattice of silicon and germanium. diagonal of the larger cube in
Figure by one quarter of that
body diagonal. The diamond
lattice therefore is a fcc-cubic
lattice with a basis containing
two identical atoms.

The zinc-blende crystal structure of GaAs and InP

14
 Diamond lattice structure

The diamond lattice can be thought of as an fcc structure

with an extra atom placed at a/4+b/4+c/4 from each of the
fcc atoms.

Diamond lattice - [Link]

15
 The Bohr model

To develop the model, Bohr made

several postulates:

1. Electrons exist in certain stable,

circular orbits about the nucleus.

2. The electron may shift to an orbit of

higher or lower energy, thereby
gaining or losing energy equal to the
difference in the energy levels (by
absorption or emission of a photon
of energy hν).

16
 The Silicon Atomic Structure

-
- -
-
- -
- Si -
-
14 -
- -
-
-
Silicon: our primary example and
focus
Atomic no. 14 However, like all
14 electrons in three shells: 2 ) 8 ) 4 other elements it
i.e., 4 electrons in the outer "bonding" would prefer to have
shell
Silicon forms strong covalent bonds with
8 electrons in its
4 neighbors outer shell
17
 The Silicon Atom
• Electrons circle the nucleus in orbits having
different associated energies. The electrons also
spin on their own axes.
• The energy of electrons is quantised in that only
certain discrete levels of energy can be
possessed by electrons and no values in between
these discrete levels are allowed.
• The levels exist in groups which are referred to
as shells and there are sub-shells (l) within main
shells (n).

Silicon, Si, is a group IV material having an atomic number of 14. Consequently it has 14
positively charged protons and 14 neutrons in its nucleus. It has 14 orbiting negatively
charged electrons: 2 in a full K shell; 8 in a full L shell and 4 in a half-full M sub-shell.
With a half full outer sub-shell the atom has an affinity for 4 additional electrons to try to
complete the outer sub-shell.

The Pauli’s Exclusion Principle

states that no two electrons in an atom or molecule can share the exact same quantum
specification. In practice, this means that no more than two electrons can share
precisely the same energy level and the two must have opposite spins.
18
 Band theory of a solid
• A solid is formed by bringing together isolated single atoms.
• Consider the combination of two atoms. If the atoms are far
apart there is no interaction between them and the energy
levels are the same for each atom. The numbers of levels at a
particular energy is simply doubled

n=3 n=3

n=2 n=2

n=1 n=1

Atom 1 Atom 2

• If the atoms are close together the electron wave functions will
overlap and the energy levels are shifted with respect to each
other.
n=3 n=3 n=3

n=2 n=2 n=2

n=1 n=1 n=1

Atom 1 Atom 2 Atom 1 + 2

19
• A solid will have millions of atoms n=3
close together in a lattice so
these energy levels will create
bands each separated by a gap. n=2

• Conductors: n=1

– If we have used up all the

electrons available and a band
is still only half filled, the solid Conduction band,
half filled with
is said to be a good conductor. electrons
The half filled band is known
as the conduction band. Valence band,
filled with
electrons
• Insulators:
– If, when we have used up all
the electrons, one band is full Empty
and the next one is empty with conduction band

a large gap between the two

bands, the material is said to
Large energy gap

be a good insulator. The filled Valence band,

band is known as the valence filled with
band while the empty band is electrons
known as the conduction band.

20
Semiconductors:
• Some materials have a filled valence band
just like insulators but a small gap to the
Empty
conduction band
conduction band.
• At zero Kelvin the material behave just Small energy gap

like an insulator but at room temperature,

it is possible for some electrons to Valence bands,
filled with
acquire the energy to jump up to the electrons
conduction band. The electrons move
easily through this conduction band under
the application of an electric field. This is At zero Kelvin – no conduction
an intrinsic semiconductor.
Conduction
band, with some
electrons

<- At room temperature

Top valence
band now
missing some
electrons

21
 Band Gap Energy
n=3 n=3

n=2 n=2

n=1 n=1

Atom 1 Atom 2

Discrete energy levels for 2 atoms separated by a

large distance.

Note that the band gap energy,

Eg for insulators is ~ 10 eV,
while for metals it is close to 0
Typical continuous band pictures at eV (1eV=1.6x10-19 J).
0 K for different solid materials.

22
 Bonding of Si atoms

A Covalent Bond Formed by the Sharing of

Electrons in an Outer Energy Level

23
 Electrons and Holes
Si and Ge are tetravalent elements – each atom of Si (Ge) has 4 valence
electrons in crystal matrix

T=0 all electrons are bound in For T> 0 thermal fluctuations can
covalent bonds break electrons free creating
electron-hole pairs
no carriers available for
conduction. Both can move throughout the lattice
and therefore conduct current.

24
 Electrons and Holes
For T>0
some electrons in the valence band receive
enough thermal energy to be excited
across the band gap to the conduction
band.
The result is a material with some electrons
in an otherwise empty conduction band and
some unoccupied states in an otherwise
filled valence band.
An empty state in the valence band is
referred to as a hole. (=> Charged
Electron-hole pairs in a semiconductor. particles with positive charge and
The bottom of the conduction band effective mass, and with a moving
denotes as Ec and the top of the valence direction opposite to that of electrons)
band denotes as Ev.
If the conduction band electron and the
hole are created by the excitation of a
valence band electron to the conduction
band, they are called an electron-hole
pair (EHP). 25
 Silicon Lattice Structure
At 0K, all Free electron
electrons
are tightly
- - - - Vacancy
shared with - Si -- Si -- Si - - Si - left by
neighbours - - - - electron.
→ no - - - - - Overall
current - Si -- Si -- -+- Si - -
Si - on
Sicharge
flow - - - - - - silicon is
- - - - - zero →
this “hole”
- Si -- Si - - Si - - Si - - Si - must be
- - - -- - - positive
- - -
- Si -- Si -- Si -+- Si -
- - - -
-
- Si -
- Shares electrons
with 4 neighbouring
Adding heat (even to room atoms → 8
temperature) allows some bonds to electrons in outer
break, and electrons can flow shell
26
 Intrinsic Material
A perfect semiconductor crystal with no impurities or lattice defects is
called an intrinsic semiconductor.

At T=0 K – At T>0
No charge carriers Electron-hole pairs are generated
Valence band is filled with electrons
EHPs are the only charge carriers in
Conduction band is empty
intrinsic material

Since electron and holes are created in

pairs – the electron concentration in
conduction band, n (electron/cm3) is
equal to the concentration of holes in the
valence band, p (holes/cm3).
Each of these intrinsic carrier
concentrations is denoted ni.
Thus for intrinsic materials n=p=ni

Electron-hole pairs in the covalent bonding

model in the Si crystal.

27
 Intrinsic Material

• At a given temperature there is a certain concentration of electron-

hole pairs ni.
• If a steady state carrier concentration is maintained, there must be
recombination of EHPs at the same rate at which they are generated.
• Recombination occurs when an electron in the conduction band
makes a transition to an empty state (hole) in the valence band,
thus annihilating the pair.
• If we denote the generation rate of EHPs as gi (EHP/cm3·s) and the
recombination rate as ri, equilibrium requires that
ri = gi

28
 Intrinsic Material

• Each of these rates is temperature dependent.

• For example, gi(T) increases when the temperature is raised, and a
new carrier concentration ni is established such that the higher
recombination rate ri (T) just balances generation.
• At any temperature, we can predict that the rate of recombination
of electrons and holes ri, is proportional to the equilibrium
concentration of electrons n0 and the concentration of holes p0:
ri = r n0 p0 = r ni2 = gi

• The factor r is a constant of proportionality which depends on the

particular mechanism by which recombination takes place.

29
 Increasing conductivity by temperature
As temperature increases, the number of free electrons and
holes created increases exponentially.

17
Carrier Concentration vs Temp (in Si)
1 10
16
1 10
15
1 10
14
1 10
13
1 10
Intrinsic Concentration (cm^-3)

12
1 10
11
1 10
ni 10
T 1 10
9
1 10
8
1 10
7
1 10
6
1 10
5
1 10
4
1 10
3
1 10

100
150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500
T
Temperature (K)

Therefore,the conductivity of a semiconductor is influenced by

temperature.
30
 Increasing conductivity

• Another way to increase the number of charge carriers is to add

them in from an external source.

• Doping or implant is the term given to a process whereby one

element is injected with atoms of another element in order to
change its properties.

• Semiconductors (Si or Ge) are typically doped with elements such

as Boron, Arsenic and Phosphorous to change and enhance their
electrical properties.

31
 Extrinsic Material
By doping, a crystal can be altered so that it has a predominance of either
electrons or holes. Thus there are two types of doped semiconductors, n-type
(mostly electrons) and p-type (mostly holes). When a crystal is doped such
that the equilibrium carrier concentrations n0 and po are different from the
intrinsic carrier concentration ni, the material is said to be extrinsic.

When impurities or lattice

defects are introduced,
Donor impurities (elements
of group V): P, Sb, As
additional levels are created
Acceptor elements (group in the energy bands
III): B, Al, Ga, In structure, usually within the
band gap.

Total number of electrons

III – Al – 13
The valence and conduction bands of IV – Si – 14
silicon with additional impurity energy
levels within the energy gap. V- P - 15
32
Extrinsic Material – donation of electrons
• An impurity from column V introduces an
n-type material
energy level very near the conduction
band in Ge or Si. This level is filled with
electrons at 0 K, and very little thermal
energy is required to excite these
electrons to the conduction band. Thus,
at about 50-100 K nearly all of the
electrons in the impurity level are
"donated" to the conduction band.
Such an impurity level is called a
donor level.
• Thus semiconductors doped with a
significant number of donor atoms will
have n0>>(ni,p0) at room temperature.
Donation of electrons from This is n-type material.
a donor level to the
conduction band

33
Extrinsic Material – acceptance of electrons

P-type material • Atoms from column III (B, Al, Ga,

and In) introduce impurity levels in
Ge or Si near the valence band.
These levels are empty of electrons
at 0 K. At low temperatures, enough
thermal energy is available to
excite electrons from the valence
band into the impurity level, leaving
behind holes in the valence band.
Since this type of impurity level
"accepts" electrons from the
valence band, it is called an
acceptor level
Acceptance of valence band • Doping with acceptor impurities can
electrons by an acceptor level, create a semiconductor with a hole
and the resulting creation of concentration p0 much greater than
holes. the conduction band electron
concentration n0 (this is p-type
material).
34
 Increasing conductivity by doping
- - - -
- Si -- Si -+- Si - - Si-
- - -- -
- -- - - + -
- Si -- Si - -
As Si -+- Si - - Si -
- - -- - - -- -
-- - -- -
- AsSi - - Si - - Si - -
As Si - - Si - -
- - - - - -
- - - -
- Si - - Si - - Si -+- Si -
- - - -
-
- Si -
• Inject Arsenic into the crystal with an implant step.
- with 5 electrons in its outer shell, (one more than
• Arsenic is Group5 element
silicon).
• This introduces extra electrons into the lattice which can be released through
the application of heat and so produces and electron current
• The result here is an N-type semiconductor (n for negative current carrier)
35
 Increasing conductivity by doping
- - - -
- Si - - Si -+- Si - - Si -
- - - -
- - - + - -
- Si - - Si - - Si -+- Si - - Si -
- - + - - - -
- - +- - -+
- Si - - Si - - Si
B - - Si - - Si
B -
- + - - - - -
- -+ - -
B - - Si -+- Si -
- Si - - Si
- - - -
-
- Si -
-
• Inject Boron into the crystal with an implant step.
• Boron is Group3 element is has 3 electrons in its outer shell (one less than silicon)
• This introduces holes into the lattice which can be made mobile by applying heat. This
gives us a hole current
• The result is a P-type semiconductor (p for positive current carrier)
36
 The Fermi level
Electrons in solids obey Fermi - Dirac statistics:

1
f (E) =
1 + exp( E − E F ) / kT 
(4.6)

where k is Boltzmann’s constant

k=8.62ּ10-5 eV/K=1.38 10-23 J/K.

The function f(E) called the Fermi-Dirac distribution function gives the probability
that an available energy state at E will be occupied by an electron at absolute
temperature T.
The quantity EF is called the Fermi level, and it represents an important quantity in the
analysis of semiconductor behavior. For an energy E = EF the occupation probability is

(4.7)
f ( E F ) = 1 + exp( E F − E F ) / kT 
−1 1 1
= =
1+1 2

37
 The Fermi – Dirac distribution function

The Fermi – Dirac distribution

function for different temperatures

At 0 К every available energy state up to EF is filled with electrons, and all states above
EF are empty.
At temperatures higher than 0 K, some probability f(E) exists for states above the Fermi level
to be filled with electrons and there is a corresponding probability [1 - f(E)] that states below
EF are empty.
The Fermi function is symmetrical about EF for all temperatures. The probability exists for
state E above EF is filled – f(EF+ E)
state E below EF is empty – [1- f(EF - E)]

38
 The Fermi – Dirac distribution function

The Fermi – Dirac distribution

function for different temperatures

The symmetry of the distribution of empty and filled states about EF makes the Fermi
level a natural reference point in calculations of electron and hole concentrations in
semiconductors.
In applying the Fermi-Dirac distribution to semiconductors, we must recall that f(E)
is the probability of occupancy of an available state at E. Thus, if there is no
available state at E (e.g., in the band gap of a semiconductor), there is no possibility
of finding an electron there.
39
 Relation between f(E) and the band structure

Electron probability tail

f(E)

Hole probability tail

[1-f(E)]

40
In intrinsic material the Fermi level EF must lie at the middle of
the band gap.
In n-type material the distribution function f(E) must lie above
its intrinsic position on the energy scale. The energy
difference (Ec – EF) gives a measure of n.
For p-type material the Fermi level lies near the valence
band such that the [1-f(E)] tail below EF is larger than the
f(E) tail above EF. The value of (EF – Ev) indicates how
strongly p-type the material is.
The distribution function has values within the band gap
between Eν and Ec, but there are no energy states available,
and no electron occupancy results from f(E) in this range.

41
Electron and Hole Concentrations at Equilibrium

The Fermi distribution function can be used to calculate the concentrations of

electrons and holes in a semiconductor if the densities of available states in the
valence and conduction bands are known. The concentration of electrons in the
conduction band is


n0 =  f ( E ) N ( E )dE
Ec
(4.8)

where N(E)dE is the density of states (cm-3) in the energy range

dE. The subscript 0 used for the electron and hole concentration
symbols (n0, p0) indicates equilibrium conditions.

42
The number of electrons per unit volume in the energy
range dE is the product of the density of states and
the probability of occupancy f(E).
Thus, the
total electron concentration is the integral
over the entire conduction band.
The function N(E) can be calculated by using quantum mechanics and the
Pauli exclusion principle.

43
N(E) is proportional to E1/2, so the density of states in the
conduction band increases with electron energy. On the other
hand, the Fermi function becomes extremely small for large
energies. The result is that the product f(E)N(E) decreases
rapidly above Ec, and very few electrons occupy energy states
far above the conduction band edge.
Similarly, the probability of finding an empty state (hole) in the
valence band [1 - f(E)] decreases rapidly below Ev, and most
holes occupy states near the top of the valence band.

44
Band diagram, density of states, Fermi-Dirac distribution,
and the carrier concentrations at thermal equilibrium

Intrinsic
semiconductor

n-type
semiconductor

p-type
semiconductor

45
The conduction band electron concentration is simply the effective density of states at Ec
(Nc)times the probability of occupancy at Ec [f(EC)]
n0 = N c f ( E c ) (4-9)

Assume the Fermi level EF lies at least several kT below the conduction band.
Then the exponential term is large compared with unity, and the Fermi function f(Ec)
can be simplified as

 exp− ( Ec − EF ) / kT 
1
f ( Ec ) =
1 + exp( Ec − EF ) / kT  (4-10)

Since kT at room temperature is only 0.026 eV, this is generally a good approximation.
For this condition the concentration of electrons in the conduction band is

n0 = N c exp− ( Ec − E F ) / kT  (4-11)

46
 n0 = N c exp− ( Ec − E F ) / kT 
(4-11)

It can be shown that the effective density of states Nc is

2mn* kT 3 / 2
N c = 2( 2
) (4-12)
h

Values of Nc can be tabulated as a function of temperature. As Eq. (4-11) indicates, the

electron concentration increases as EF moves closer to the conduction band.

47
 By similar arguments, the concentration of holes in the valence band is

p 0 = N v [1 − f ( E v )] (4-13)
where Nv is the effective density of states in the valence band.
The probability of finding an empty state at Ev, is

 exp− ( E F − Ev ) / kT 
1
1 − f ( Ev ) = 1 −
1 + exp( Ev − E F ) / kT  (4-14)

for EF larger than Ev by several kT. From these equations, the concentration of holes
in the valence band is

p0 = N v exp− ( E F − Ev ) / kT  (4-15)

The effective density of states in the valence band reduced to the band edge is

2m *p kT
N v = 2( 2
)3/ 2 (4-16)
h

48
Eq. (4-15) predicts that the hole concentration increases as EF moves closer to the
valence band.
The electron and hole concentrations predicted by Eqs. (4-11) and (4-15) 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

ni = N c exp− ( Ec − Ei ) / kT  ,

(4-17)
pi = N v exp− ( Ei − Ev ) / kT 

49
 The product of n0 and p0 at equilibrium is a constant for a particular material and
temperature, even if the doping is varied:

n0 p 0 = ( N c exp− ( E c − E F ) / kT )( N v exp− ( E F − E v ) / kT ) = (4-18a)


= N c N v exp− ( Ec − Ev ) / kT  = N c N v exp − E g / kT 
ni pi = ( N c exp− ( E c − Ei ) / kT )( N v exp− ( Ei − E v ) / kT ) = (4-18b)


= Nc Nv exp − Eg / kT 
In Eqns. (4-18a) and (4-18b) Eg = Ec – Ev. The intrinsic electron and hole
concentrations are equal (since the carriers are created in pairs), ni = pi ; thus the
intrinsic concentration is
ni = N c N v exp(− Eg / 2kT ) (4-19)

The constant product of electron and hole concentrations in Eq. (4-18) can be
written conveniently as
n 0 p0 = ni2 Law of mass action (4-20)
This is an important relation, and we shall use it extensively in later calculations. The
intrinsic concentration for Si at room temperature is approximately ni = 1.5 x 1010 cm -3
50 .
51
 Comparing Eqs. (4-17) and (4-19), we note that the intrinsic level Ei is the middle
of the band gap (Ec - Ei= Eg/2), if the effective densities of states Nc and Nv are equal.

Another convenient way of writing Eqs. (4-11) and (4-15) is

n0 = ni exp( E F − Ei ) / kT  (4-21)

p0 = ni exp( Ei − EF ) / kT  (4-22)

obtained by the application of Eq. (4-17). This form of the equations indicates
directly that the electron concentration is ni, when EF is at the intrinsic level Ei, and
that n0 increases exponentially as the Fermi level moves away from Ei toward the
conduction band. Similarly, the hole concentration p0 varies from ni, to larger values
as EF moves from Ei toward the valence band. Since these equations reveal the
qualitative features of carrier concentration so directly, they are particularly
convenient to remember.

52
 Temperature dependence of Carrier
Concentrations

• ni has a strong temperature dependence and that EF can also

vary with temperature

• By substituting for NC and NV in eqn for ni,

• The exponential temperature dependence dominates ni(T), and a

plot of ln ni vs. 103/T appears linear.
• neglect variations due to the T 3/2 dependence of the density-
of-states function and the fact that Eg varies somewhat with
temperature
53
When plotting quantities such as
carrier concentration, which
involve a Boltzmann factor,
it is common to use an inverse
temperature scale.
This allows terms which are
exponential in 1/T to appear
linear in the semi-logarithmic
plot.
When reading such graphs,
remember that temperature
increases from right to left .

54
 Temperature dependence of electron
concentrations in a doped Si

• Assume Si is doped n-type with a donor concentration Nd of 1015

cm - 3
• At very low temperatures (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 100 K (1000/T = 10) all the
donor atoms are ionized. This temperature range is called the
ionization region.
• Once the donors are ionized, the conduction band electron
concentration is n0 ≃ Nd = 1015 cm +, since one electron is
obtained for each donor atom.

55
 Temperature dependence of electron
concentrations in a doped Si
• When every available extrinsic electron has been transferred to
the conduction band, n0 is virtually constant with temperature
until the concentration of intrinsic carriers ni becomes
comparable to the extrinsic concentration Nd.
• Finally, at higher temperatures 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 is to be used.

56
57
 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):

• The net electron concentration in the conduction band is

• If the material is doped n-type (n0 >> p0) and all the impurities
are ionized,
n0 ≃ Nd - Na.

58
 Summary
Intrinsic semiconductors

Doped semiconductors n 0 p0 = n 2
i
n-type p-type

n0 = ni exp( E F − Ei ) / kT  p0 = ni exp( Ei − E F ) / kT 
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 Tutorial-1
Q.1)

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 TUTORIAL -1
Q.2) An unknown semiconductor has Eg = 1.1 eV and Nc = Nv. It is doped
with 1015 cm-3 donors, where the donor level is 0.2 eV below Ec. Given that
EF is 0.25 eV below Ec, calculate ni and the concentration of electrons and
holes in the semiconductor at 300 K.

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EXCESS CARRIERS

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 Excess carriers in semiconductors
• Charge carriers which are excess to the thermal equilibrium
conc – Excess carriers

• Can be generated by
– Optical excitation
– Electron bombardment
– By applied bias

• Excess carriers are represented by δn (excess e conc) & δp

(excess hole conc)
• When excess electrons and holes are created in a
semiconductor, there is a corresponding increase in the
conductivity of the sample.
• If the excess carriers arise from optical luminescence, the
resulting increase in conductivity is called photoconductivity.

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 Direct recombination of Electrons and holes
• Electrons in the conduction band of a semiconductor may make
transitions to the valence band (i.e., recombine with holes in the
valence band) either directly or indirectly.
• In direct recombination, an excess population of electrons and
holes decays by electrons falling from the conduction band to
empty states (holes) in the valence band.
• Energy lost by an electron in making the transition is given up as
a photon.
• Direct recombination occurs spontaneously; that is, the
probability that an electron and a hole will recombine is constant
in time.
• This constant probability leads us to expect an exponential
solution for the decay of the excess carriers.
• In this case the rate of decay of electrons at any time t is
proportional to the number of electrons remaining at t and the
number of holes, with some constant of proportionality for
recombination, αr.
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 Direct recombination of Electrons and holes
• The net rate of change in the conduction band electron
concentration is the thermal generation rate αr ni2 minus the
recombination rate

• Let us assume the excess electron–hole population is created at

t = 0, for example by a short flash of light, and the initial
excess electron and hole concentrations Δn and Δp are equal.
• Then as the electrons and holes recombine in pairs, the
instantaneous concentrations of excess carriers Δn(t) and Δp(t)
are also equal.

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 Direct recombination of Electrons and holes
• Thus we can write the total concentrations in terms of the
equilibrium values n0 and p0 and the excess carrier
concentrations δn(t) = δp(t).

• If the excess carrier concentrations are small, we can neglect

the Δn2 term. Furthermore, if the material is extrinsic, we can
usually neglect the term representing the equilibrium minority
carriers. For example, if the material is p-type (p0 >> n0),

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 Direct recombination of Electrons and holes

• Thus we can write the total concentrations in terms of the

equilibrium values n0 and p0 and the excess carrier
concentrations δn(t) = δp(t).
• The solution to this equation is an exponential decay from the
original excess carrier concentration Δn:

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Decay of excess carriers

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Recombination lifetime

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 Recombination
• The inverse process to the generation of excess carriers in a
semiconductor is called recombination.

• The annihilation of excess electrons/holes - recombination

mechanisms.

• Carrier lifetime – time spent b/w generation and recombination

of a carrier in SC.

• Two types:- Direct & Indirect

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Direct & Indirect recombination

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 Recombination mechanisms - Direct
recombination

Optical absorption of a photon with hѵ > Eg :

(a) An EHP is created during photon absorption;
(b) The excited electron gives up energy to the lattice by
scattering events;
(c) the electron recombines with a hole in the valence band.
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 Bandgap of a few semiconductors & Optical
spectrum

• When electron–hole pairs are generated in a semiconductor, or

when carriers are excited into higher impurity levels from which
they fall to their equilibrium states, light can be given off by the
material.
• Many of the semiconductors are well suited for light emission,
particularly the compound semiconductors with direct band gaps.
The general property of light emission is called luminescence.
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 Luminescence

• If carriers are excited by photon absorption, the radiation resulting

from the recombination of the excited carriers is called
photoluminescence.
• If the excited carriers are created by high-energy electron
bombardment of the material, the mechanism is called
cathodoluminescence
• If the excitation occurs by the introduction of current into the
sample, the resulting luminescence is called electroluminescence.

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 Direct Recombination- Photoluminescence
• Direct recombination is a fast process; the mean lifetime of the
EHP is usually on the order of 10-8 s or less.

• The emission of photons stops within approximately 10-8 s after

the excitation is turned off. Such fast luminescent processes are
often referred to as fluorescence.

• Recombination occurs directly rather than via a defect level,

band gap light is given off in the process. For steady state
excitation, the recombination of EHPs occurs at the same
rate as the generation, and one photon is emitted for each
photon absorbed.

• Eg: fluorescent lamp 78

 Indirect recombination
(a)An incoming photon with hѵ1 > 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 reexcited 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 (h ѵ 2) of
approximately the band gap energy.

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 Indirect recombination
• Emission continues for periods up to seconds or minutes after
the excitation is removed. These slow processes are called
phosphorescence, and the materials are called phosphors.

• The color of light emitted by a phosphor such as ZnS depends

primarily on the impurities present, since many radiative
transitions involve impurity levels within the band gap.

• Eg: color television screen

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 Steady state carrier generation
• A semiconductor at equilibrium experiences thermal
generation of EHPs at a rate g(T) = gi
• This generation is balanced by the recombination rate so that
the equilibrium concentrations of carriers n0 and p0 are
maintained:
g(T) = αrni2 = αrn0 p0
• If a steady light is shone on the sample, an optical
generation rate gop will be added to the thermal generation,
and the carrier concentrations n and p will increase to new
steady state values.
• We can write the balance between generation and
recombination in terms of the equilibrium carrier
concentrations and the departures from equilibrium δn and δp:

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 Steady state carrier generation

• The term αrn0 p0 is just equal to the thermal generation rate

g(T). Thus, neglecting the δn2 term for low-level excitation,

• The excess carrier concentration can be written as,

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 Quasi fermi levels
• The Fermi level EF is meaningful only when no excess
carriers are present.
• We can write expressions for the steady state concentrations in
the same form as the equilibrium expressions by defining
separate quasi-Fermi levels Fn and Fp for electrons and holes.
• The resulting carrier concentration equations

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 Quasi fermi levels
• In summary, the quasi-Fermi levels Fn and Fp are the steady
state analogues of the equilibrium Fermi level EF.
• 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).

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 TUTORIAL - 2
Q.1) Assume that 1013 EHP/cm3 are created optically every
microsecond in a Si sample with n0 = 1014 cm-3 and Ʈn = Ʈp = 2 µs.
a) Find the steady state excess electron (or hole) concentration.
b) Find the change in minority carrier concentration.

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86
 TUTORIAL -2

Q.1) The probability of a state being filled by an

electron at energy 𝐸𝐶 − 𝑘𝑇 is equal to the probability
of a state being filled by a hole at energy 𝐸𝐶 − 3𝑘𝑇.
Where is the Fermi level located?

Q.2) A new semiconductor has Nc = 1019 cm-3, Nv = 5

x 1018 cm-3, and Eg = 2 eV. If it is doped with 1017
donors (fully ionized), calculate the electron, hole,
and intrinsic carrier concentrations at 627°C. Sketch
the simplified band diagram, showing the position of
EF. (kT = 0.078 eV) (k in eV/K is 8.61x10-5)

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