6.

012 - Microelectronic Devices and Circuits - Fall 2005

Lecture 15-1

Lecture 15 - The pn Junction Diode (I)

I-V Characteristics
November 1, 2005

Contents:
1. pn junction under bias
2. I-V characteristics
Reading assignment:
Howe and Sodini, Ch. 6, 6.1-6.3

6.012 - Microelectronic Devices and Circuits - Fall 2005

Lecture 15-2

Key questions

Why does the pn junction diode exhibit current rectication?

Why does the junction current in forward bias increase

as exp qV
kT ?

What are the leading dependences of the saturation

current (the factor in front of the exponential)?

Lecture 15-3

6.012 - Microelectronic Devices and Circuits - Fall 2005

1. PN junction under bias

Focus on intrinsic region:

p type

n type

p type

(a)

(Na)

metal contact
to p side

x=0
x

(Nd)

metal contact to
n side

(b)

Upon application of voltage:

electrostatics upset: depletion region widens or shrinks

current ows (with rectifying behavior)

carrier charge storage

Lecture 15-4

6.012 - Microelectronic Devices and Circuits - Fall 2005

Carrier proles in thermal equilibrium:

log po, no
Na

Nd

po

no

ni2
Nd

ni2
Na

Jhdiff
Jhdrift
Jediff
Jedrift

Inside SCR in thermal equilibrium: dynamic balance between drift and diusion for electrons and holes.
|Jdrif t| = |Jdif f |

Lecture 15-5

6.012 - Microelectronic Devices and Circuits - Fall 2005

Carrier concentrations in pn junction under bias:

for V > 0, B V |ESCR | |Jdrif t |
log p, n
Na
po

Nd

no
p

n
ni2
Nd

ni2
Na

Jhdiff
Jhdrift
Jediff
Jedrift

Jh

Je

Current balance in SCR broken:

|Jdrif t| < |Jdif f |
Net diusion current in SCR
minority carrier injection
injection into QNRs
exc
ess minority carrier concentrations in QNRs
excess
Lots of majority carriers in QNRs current can be high.

Lecture 15-6

6.012 - Microelectronic Devices and Circuits - Fall 2005

for V < 0, B V |ESCR | |Jdrif t |

log p, n
Na

po
no

n i2
Na

n
0

Jh

Nd

ni2
Nd
x

Jhdiff

Jhdrift

Je

Jediff
Jedrift

Current balance in SCR broken:

|Jdrif t| > |Jdif f |
Net drift current in SCR
minority carrier extraction
extraction from QNRs
minorityy carrier concentrations in QNRs
decit of minorit
Few minority carriers in QNRs current small.

Lecture 15-7

6.012 - Microelectronic Devices and Circuits - Fall 2005

What happens if minority carrier concentrations in QNR

change from equilibrium?
Balance between generation and recombination broken

In thermal equilibrium: rate of break up of Si-Si bonds

balanced by rate of formation of bonds
generation

no + p o

Si-Si bond
recombination

If minority carrier injection:

carrier concentration above equilibrium

recombination
recom
bination prevails

Si-Si bond

recombination

n+p

If minority carrier extraction:

carrier concentrations below equilibrium

generation prevails
Si-Si bond

generation

n+p

6.012 - Microelectronic Devices and Circuits - Fall 2005

Lecture 15-8

Where does generation and recombination take place?

In modern devices, recombination mainly takes place at

surfaces:
perfect crystalline periodicity broken at a surface

lots of broken bonds: generation and recombination centers

modern devices are very small
high area to volume ratio.
High generation and recombination activity at surfaces

carrier concentrations cannot deviate much from equilibrium values:

n(s)  no, p(s)  po

Lecture 15-9

6.012 - Microelectronic Devices and Circuits - Fall 2005

Complete physical picture for pn diode under bias:

Forward bias: injected minority carriers diuse through

QNR recombine at semiconductor surface
log p, n
Na

po

Nd

no
p

n
ni2
Nd

ni2
Na

Reverse bias: minority carriers extracted by SCR

generated at surface and diuse through QNR
log p, n
Na

po
no

ni2
Na

Nd

ni2
Nd
p

n
0

Lecture 15-10

6.012 - Microelectronic Devices and Circuits - Fall 2005

The current view:

Forward bias:
p

hole injection
and recombination at surface

electron injection
and recombination at surface

I=In+Ip

Reverse bias:
p

hole generation at surface

and extraction

electron generation at surface

and extraction

I=In+Ip

Lecture 15-11

6.012 - Microelectronic Devices and Circuits - Fall 2005

What limits the magnitude of the diode current?

not generation or recombination rate at surfaces

not injection or extraction rates through SCR

diusion rate through QNRs

p

hole injection and

recombination at
surface

electron injection
and recombination
at surface

-Wp

-xp xn

Wn

Development of analytical current model:

1. Calculate concentration of minority carriers at edges
of SCR, p(xn) and n(xp )
2. calculate minority carrier diusion current in each
QNR, In and Ip
3. sum electron and hole diusion currents, I = In + Ip

6.012 - Microelectronic Devices and Circuits - Fall 2005

Lecture 15-12

2. I-V characteristics

2 Step 1: computation of minority carrier boundary

conditions at edges of SCR
In thermal equilibrium in SCR, |Jdrif t| = |Jdif f |, and
q[(x1 ) (x2)]
no(x1 )
= exp
no(x2 )
kT
and
q[(x1 ) (x2 )]
po (x1 )
= exp
po (x2 )
kT
Under bias in SCR, |Jdrif t | = |Jdif f |, but if dierence
small with respect to absolute values of current:
q[(x1 ) (x2 )]
n(x1 )
 exp
n(x2 )
kT
and
q[(x1 ) (x2 )]
p(x1 )
 exp
p(x2 )
kT
This is called quasi-equilibrium.

Lecture 15-13

6.012 - Microelectronic Devices and Circuits - Fall 2005

p-QNR

SCR

n-QNR

-xp
B-V B

xn

At edges of SCR, then:

q[(xn ) (xp )]
q(B V )
n(xn)
 exp
= exp

n(xp )
kT
kT
and
q[(xn ) (xp )]
q(B V )
p(xn )
 exp
= exp

p(xp )
kT
kT
But:
p(xp )  Na and n(xn)  Nd
This is the low-level inje
injection
ction approximation
approximation [will discuss
in more detail next time].

6.012 - Microelectronic Devices and Circuits - Fall 2005

Then:
n(xp )  Nd exp

q(V B )
kT

and
p(xn)  Na exp

q(V B )
kT

Built-in potential:
kT NdNa
ln 2
B =
q
ni
Plug in above and get:
n2i
qV
exp
n(xp ) 
Na
kT
and
n2i
qV
exp
p(xn) 
Nd
kT

Lecture 15-14

Lecture 15-15

6.012 - Microelectronic Devices and Circuits - Fall 2005

Voltage dependence:
Equilibrium (V = 0):
n2i
n(xp ) =

Na
Forward (V > 0):

n2i
p(xn ) =
Nd

n2i
n2i
n(xp ) 

p(xn ) 

Na
Nd
Lots of carriers available for injection:

V concentration of injected carriers

forward current can be high.

Reverse (V < 0):

n2i
n2i
p(xn )
n(xp )

Na
Nd
Few carriers available for extraction:
reverse current is small.
Minority carrier concentration becomes vanishingly
small:
reverse current saturates.

Rectication property of pn diode arises from minoritycarrier boundary conditions at edges of SCR.

Lecture 15-16

6.012 - Microelectronic Devices and Circuits - Fall 2005

2 Step 2: Diusion current in QNR:

Diusion equation (for electrons in p-QNR):
dn
Jn = qDn
dx
Inside p-QNR, electrons diuse to reach and recombine

at contact Jn constant in p-QNR n(x) linear.

n
n(-xp)
n(x)

ni2
Na
-xp

-Wp

Boundary conditions:
n2i
n(x = Wp) = no =

Na

n2i
qV
n(xp ) =
exp

kT
Na

Electron prole:
np (x) = np (xp) +

np (xp ) np (Wp )
(x + xp)
xp + Wp

6.012 - Microelectronic Devices and Circuits - Fall 2005

np (x) = np (xp) +

Lecture 15-17

np (xp ) np (Wp )
(x + xp)
xp + Wp

Electron current density:

dn
np(xp ) np (Wp)
Jn = qDn
= qDn
dx
Wp xp

= qDn

n2i

Na

n2i

qV

exp
kT
Na

Wp xp

or
n2i Dn
qV
Jn = q
(exp
1)
Na Wp xp
kT

Lecture 15-18

6.012 - Microelectronic Devices and Circuits - Fall 2005

Similarly for hole ow in n-QNR:

p
p(xn)

p(x)

ni2

Nd

xn

Wn

Hole current density:

n2i
qV
Dp
(exp
1)
Jp = q
Nd Wn xn
kT

6.012 - Microelectronic Devices and Circuits - Fall 2005

Lecture 15-19

2 Step 3: sum both current components:

J = Jn+Jp = qn2i (

1
1
qV
Dn
Dp
+
)(exp
1)
Na Wp xp Nd Wn xn

kT

Current:
I = qAn2i (

1
qV
1
Dp
Dn
+

)(exp
1)
Na Wp xp Nd Wn xn

kT

often written as:

I = Io(exp

qV
1)
kT

with
Io saturation current [A]
B.C.s contain both forward and reverse bias
equation valid in forward and reverse bias.
[will discuss this result in detail next time]

6.012 - Microelectronic Devices and Circuits - Fall 2005

Lecture 15-20

Key conclusions

Application of voltage to pn junction results in disrup

tion of balance between drift and diusion in SCR:

in forward bias, minority carriers are injected into

quasi-neutral regions
in reverse bias, minority carriers are extracted from
quasi-neutral regions
In forward bias, injected minority carriers recombine
at surface.
In reverse bias, extracted minority carriers are generated at surface.
Computation of boundary conditions across SCR exploits quasi-equilibrium: balance between diusion
and drift in SCR disturbed very little.
Rate limiting step to current ow: diusion through
quasi-neutral regions.
I-V characteristics of p-n diode:
qV
1)
I = Io(exp
kT