ENEE 313, Fall.

08
Homework II - Due March 30, 2009
1. Examine the dispersion relation (E k relationship, or band structure) for a semiconductor
given in the gure above. The dashed line represents the pure parabolic E k relationship of
a free electron, while the solid lines show the allowed E levels and the corresponding k values
for a semiconductor crystal with periodic potential.
(a) (8 pts) The eective mass of an electron in any of the bands can be found from the
curvature (second derivative) of the E k relationship at the maximum and minimum
points of the allowed energy bands, where the relationships are approximately parabolic:
m

n
=
1
d
2
E
dk
2
Using the band diagram plots for the free particle and for each band shown in the diagram
above, comment on the eective masses, comparing the case for the free electron to each
of the band minima and maxima and the bands to each other.
(b) (7 pts) This E k diagram results from the solution to the Schroedinger equation under
a periodic potential prole. Some energy values in this solution result in imaginary k
values, and therefore are forbidden. The wavefunction solution

(
x) = u(x)e
ikx
gives us statistical information about, for instance, the likely location of the electron. But
thanks to the uncertainity principle, no answer to those questions is precise.
There is also always some likelyhood that an electron can be in any of a number of given
dierent states. In this case, the overall wavefunction associated with the electron will
1
be a linear superposition of the individual states wavefunctions. Such a combination of
wavefunctions is called a wavepacket. The velocity with which the center of the wavepacket
is moving is called the group velocity, v
g
, given as
v
g
=
1
h
dE
dk
If a force F is applied on the electron with this wavepacket, the wavepacket energy is
going to change with dE = Fdx = Fv
g
dt. By denition of force as the rate of change of
momentum, we can also write F = d( hk)/dt = m

n
(dv
g
/dt).
Show that we can use the denition of v
g
and the force expressions given above to derive
the eective mass of the electron with a given E k relationship as dened in part a) of
the question above.
2. A hypothetical semiconductor material has E
g
=1.2 eV, N
C
= 0.8N
V
and electron eective
mass m

n
= 0.2m
0
, where m
0
is free electron mass.
(a) (10 pts.) If the electron and hole concentrations are equal for an intrinsic sample of this
semiconductor, nd how far E
i
must be from the exact center of the bandgap at room
temperature T = 300

K such that kT=0.026 eV.
(b) (5 pts.) What is the intrinsic carrier concentration n
i
at room temperature (300

K)
in units of 1/cm
3
? (Hint: You will need to calculate N
C
from m

n
. Make sure you use the
Boltzmann constant and Plancks constant stated in the correct units and convert the result to
1/cm
3
.)
(c) (5 pts.) What is the intrinsic carrier concentration n
i
at 400

K?
(d) (5 pts.) The material is doped such that E
F
is 0.2 eV below the conduction band. What
type is the material? What are n
0
and p
0
at room temperature?
(e) (5 pts.) What are n
0
and p
0
at 400

K?
3. (10 pts.) Consider a semiconductor material. At room temperature, the mean thermal velocity
for electrons in the conduction band of this material is 2 10
7
cm/sec. If the electron mobility
is 2000 cm
2
/(V.sec), at what applied electric eld does the drift velocity equal mean thermal
velocity? What actually happens to the velocity of the electron as the electric eld is increased
close to and then past this threshold eld?
4. (45 pts.) Streetman and Banerjee, 6th edition: Problems 3.3, 3.7a) (5 pts.), 3.8, 3.12 a) and
b), 3.15.
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