EE40

Lecture 32
Prof. Chang-Hasnain

11/21/07
Reading: Supplementary Reader

EE40 Fall 2007 Slide 1 Prof. Chang-Hasnain

 Electron and Hole Densities in Doped Si
• Instrinsic (undoped) Si
n  p  ni
np  ni 2

• N-doped Si
– Assume each dopant contribute to one electron
( E f  Ec ) kT
n  Nd  Nce
p  ni 2 N d
• p-doped Si
– Assume each dopant contribute to one hole
( Ev  E f ) kT
p  Na  Nve
p  ni 2 N a
EE40 Fall 2007 Slide 2 Prof. Chang-Hasnain
 Summary of n- and p-type silicon

Pure silicon is an insulator. At high temperatures it conducts

weakly.

If we add an impurity with extra electrons (e.g. arsenic,

phosphorus) these extra electrons are set free and we have a
pretty good conductor (n-type silicon).

If we add an impurity with a deficit of electrons (e.g. boron) then

bonding electrons are missing (holes), and the resulting holes
can move around … again a pretty good conductor (p-type
silicon)

Now what is really interesting is when we join n-type and p-type

silicon, that is make a pn junction. It has interesting electrical
properties.

EE40 Fall 2007 Slide 3 Prof. Chang-Hasnain

 Junctions of n- and p-type Regions

p-n junctions form the essential basis of all semiconductor devices.

A silicon chip may have 108 to 109 p-n junctions today.
How do they behave*? What happens to the electrons and holes?
What is the electrical circuit model for such junctions?

n and p regions are brought into contact :

aluminum ? aluminum

wire
n p

*Note that the textbook has a very good explanation.

EE40 Fall 2007 Slide 4 Prof. Chang-Hasnain

 The pn Junction Diode
Schematic diagram Circuit symbol
ID
p-type n-type

net acceptor net donor

concentration NA concentration ND
+ VD –
cross-sectional area AD

Physical structure:
(an example) + ID metal
SiO2 SiO2
p-type Si
VD
For simplicity, assume that
the doping profile changes n-type Si
abruptly at the junction.
– metal

EE40 Fall 2007 Slide 5 Prof. Chang-Hasnain

 Depletion Region Approximation
• When the junction is first formed, mobile carriers diffuse
across the junction (due to the concentration gradients)
– Holes diffuse from the p side to the n side,
leaving behind negatively charged immobile acceptor
ions
– Electrons diffuse from the n side to the p side,
leaving behind positively charged immobile donor ions
acceptor ions donor ions
– +
– +
p – + n
– +
– +

A region depleted of mobile carriers is formed at the junction.

• The space charge due to immobile ions in the depletion region
establishes an electric field that opposes carrier diffusion.

EE40 Fall 2007 Slide 6 Prof. Chang-Hasnain

 Summary: pn-Junction Diode I-V
• Under forward bias, the potential barrier is reduced, so
that carriers flow (by diffusion) across the junction
– Current increases exponentially with increasing forward bias
– The carriers become minority carriers once they cross the
junction; as they diffuse in the quasi-neutral regions, they
recombine with majority carriers (supplied by the metal contacts)
“injection” of minority carriers
• Under reverse bias, the potential barrier is increased, so
that negligible carriers flow across the junction
– If a minority carrier enters the depletion region (by thermal
generation or diffusion from the quasi-neutral regions), it will be
swept across the junction by the built-in electric field
“collection” of minority carriers  reverse current ID (A)

VD (V)
EE40 Fall 2007 Slide 7 Prof. Chang-Hasnain
 Charge Density Distribution
Charge is stored in the depletion region.
acceptor ions donor ions
– +
– +
p – + n
– +
– +

quasi-neutral p region depletion region quasi-neutral n region

charge density (C/cm3)

distance

EE40 Fall 2007 Slide 8 Prof. Chang-Hasnain

 Two Governing Laws
Gauss’s Law describes the relationship of charge (density) and
electric field.
1 Qencl
 E  dA      dV 
S V


dE  1 x


 E ( x)  E ( x0 )   ( x)dx
dx  x0

Poisson’s Equation describes the relationship between electric

field distribution and electric potential
d 2 ( x) dE ( x)  ( x)
   
dx 2 dx 
x
 ( x)   ( x0 )    E ( x)dx
x0

EE40 Fall 2007 Slide 9 Prof. Chang-Hasnain

 Depletion Approximation 1
 qN a  x  x  0
 0 x    and  0 x   0 x   x p 0 , x  xn 0 
p0

 qN d 0  x  xn0 
ρo(x)

p qNd
n
x
-xpo xno
qN a x
E0 ( x)  ( x  x po ) ( x po  x  0)
s
xno 0 ( x) qN d
-qNa Gauss’s Law
E0 ( x)   dx  E0 ( xno )  ( xno  x)  0
x s s
E0(x)
qN d
E0 ( x)  ( x  xno ) p n
s
-xpo xno
(0  x  xno ) x

 qN a x po  qN d xno
E0 (0)  
s s

EE40 Fall 2007 Slide 10 Prof. Chang-Hasnain

 Depletion Approximation 2

p E0(x)
n
-xpo xno
x

 qNa x po 
E0 (0)   qNd xno
Poisson’s Equation s s

qN qN 0(x)
xno2 
d a
xpo2
2s 2s
P=1018 n=1017
n=104 p=105

-xpo xno x

EE40 Fall 2007 Slide 11 Prof. Chang-Hasnain

 EE40
Lecture 33
Prof. Chang-Hasnain

11/26/07
Reading: Supplementary Reader

EE40 Fall 2007 Slide 12 Prof. Chang-Hasnain

 Depletion Approximation 3
x x qN a
0 ( x)    E0 ( x)dx  0 ( x po )   ( x  x po )dx  0
 x po  x po s
qN a  x x

 s   x po  xpo po 
  x dx  x dx

qN a
0 ( x)  ( x  x po ) 2 (  x po  x  0)
2 s
x x qN d qN a
0 ( x)    E0 ( x)dx  0 (0)    ( x  xno )dx  (0  x po ) 2
0 0 s 2 s


qN d
s   0
x
x dx  
0
x
xno dx  
qN a
2 s
x po 2

qN d qN a
0 ( x)  x(2 xno  x) 
2
x po 2 (0  x  xno )
2 s 2 s
EE40 Fall 2007 Slide 13 Prof. Chang-Hasnain
 Effect of Applied Voltage
– +
– +
VD p – + n
– +
– +

• The quasi-neutral p and n regions have low resistivity,

whereas the depletion region has high resistivity. Thus,
when an external voltage VD is applied across the
diode, almost all of this voltage is dropped across
the depletion region. (Think of a voltage divider
circuit.)
• If VD > 0 (forward bias), the potential barrier to carrier
diffusion is reduced by the applied voltage.
• If VD < 0 (reverse bias), the potential barrier to carrier
diffusion is increased by the applied voltage.
EE40 Fall 2007 Slide 14 Prof. Chang-Hasnain
 Depletion Approx. – with VD<0 reverse bias

p E0(x)
n
-xp -xpo xno x
n x

 qNa x po 
E0 (0)   qNd xno
s s
Higher barrier and few holes in n-
type lead to little current! p=105
0(x)
Built-in potential bi=
qN
d
xno2 
qN
a
xpo2
bi-qVD
2s 2s
n=1017
P=1018
bi
n=104
-xp -xpo xnoxn x

EE40 Fall 2007 Slide 15 Prof. Chang-Hasnain

 Depletion Approx. – with VD>0 forward bias

p E0(x)
n
-xpo
-x xnxno
p x

 qNa x po 
E0 (0)   qNd xno
Poisson’s Equation s s
Lower barrier and large hole (electron) density
at the right places lead to large current!
qN qN 0(x)
Built-in potential bi= xno2 
d a
xpo2
2s 2s
P=1018 n=1017
bi p=105
n=104 bi-qVD
-xp
-xpo xnxno x

EE40 Fall 2007 Slide 16 Prof. Chang-Hasnain

 Forward Bias
• As VD increases, the potential barrier to carrier
diffusion across the junction decreases*, and
current increases exponentially.
–
The carriers that diffuse across the
+
VD > 0 – + junction become minority carriers in
p – n
–
+
+ the quasi-neutral regions; they then
– + recombine with majority carriers,
“dying out” with distance.
ID (Amperes)

I D  I S (e qVD kT
 1)
VD (Volts)

* Hence, the width of the depletion region decreases.

EE40 Fall 2007 Slide 17 Prof. Chang-Hasnain
 Reverse Bias
• As |VD| increases, the potential barrier to carrier
diffusion across the junction increases*; thus, no
carriers diffuse across the junction.
A very small amount of reverse
– +
VD < 0 – + current (ID < 0) does flow, due to
p – + n minority carriers diffusing from the
– +
– + quasi-neutral regions into the depletion
region and drifting across the junction.
ID (Amperes)

VD (Volts)

* Hence, the width of the depletion region increases.

EE40 Fall 2007 Slide 18 Prof. Chang-Hasnain
 Optoelectronic Diodes
• Light incident on a pn junction generates electron-hole pairs
• Carriers are generated in the depletion region as well as n-
doped and p-doped quasi-neutral regions.
• The carriers that are generated in the quasi-neutral regions
diffuse into the depletion region, together with the carriers
generated in the depletion region, are swept across the
junction by the electric field

• This results in an additional component of current flowing in

the diode:
I D  I S (e
qVD kT
1)  I optical
where Ioptical is proportional to the intensity of the light
EE40 Fall 2007 Slide 19 Prof. Chang-Hasnain
 Example: Photodiode
• An intrinsic region is placed
between the p-type and n-type
regions
 Wj  Wi-region, so that most of the
electron-hole pairs are generated
in the depletion region
 faster response time
(~10 GHz operation)
ID (A)

in the dark

operating point VD (V)

with incident light

EE40 Fall 2007 Slide 20 Prof. Chang-Hasnain
 Planck Constant
• Planck’s constant h = 6.625·10-34 J·s
• E=hnhc/l1.24 eV-mm/lmm)
• C is speed of light and hn is photon energy
• The first type of quantum effect is the quantization of
certain physical quantities.
• Quantization first arose in the mathematical formulae of
Max Planck in 1900. Max Planck was analyzing how the
radiation emitted from a body was related to its
temperature, in other words, he was analyzing the
energy of a wave.
• The energy of a wave could not be infinite, so Planck
used the property of the wave we designate as the
frequency to define energy. Max Planck discovered a
constant that when multiplied by the frequency of any
wave gives the energy of the wave. This constant is
referred to by the letter h in mathematical formulae. It is
a cornerstone of physics.
EE40 Fall 2007 Slide 21 Prof. Chang-Hasnain
 Bandgap Versus Lattice Constant

Si

EE40 Fall 2007 Slide 22 Prof. Chang-Hasnain