Semi conductor Physics and Applications

Band Theory of Solids

 Band Theory

Band Theory was developed with some help from the knowledge
gained during the quantum revolution in science. In 1928, Felix
Bloch had the idea to take the quantum theory and apply it to
solids. In 1927, Walter Heitler and Fritz London discovered
bands- very closely spaced orbitals with not much difference in
energy.
Origin of energy band formation in solids
 In this image, orbitals are
represented by the black horizontal
lines, and they are being filled with
an increasing number of electrons
as their amount increases.
 Eventually, as more orbitals are
added, the space in between them
decreases to hardly anything, and
as a result, a band is formed where
the orbitals have been filled.
 Different metals will produce different
combinations of filled and half filled bands.
 Sodium's bands are shown with the rectangles.
Filled bands are colored in blue. As you can see,
bands may overlap each other (the bands are
shown to be able to tell the difference between
different bands).
 The lowest unoccupied band is called the
conduction band, and the highest occupied band is
called the valence band.
 Energy Bands
—What will happen when two isolated atoms (e.g., H) are brought together?

Wave functions
Energy degeneracy is brokenthe splitting of energy level 1s and 2s .
Energy levels
The lowering of energy of the bonding state gives rise to the cohesion of the
system.
These results can be obtained by solving the Schrödinger equation with the
LCAO approximation.
LCAO liner combination of atomic orbital's.
—What will happen when many (N) Si atoms are
brought together to form a solid?

Electronic configuration of Si
1s22s22p63s23p2

Energy bands are formed

 Conduction band
 Valence band
 Forbidden band (band gap Eg)
 Electronic properties
Energy Bands models for solids

The last completely filled (at least at T = 0 K)

band is called the Valence Band (VB).
The next band with higher energy is the
Conduction Band (CB).
The Conduction Band (CB) can be empty or
partially filled.
The energy difference between the bottom of
the CB and the top of the VB is called the
Band Gap (or Forbidden Gap).
Energy Bands for Solids

An important parameter in the band theory is the Fermi level, the top of the
available electron energy levels at low temperatures. The position of the Fermi
level with the relation to the conduction band is a crucial factor in determining
electrical properties.
Conductors
Metals are conductors. There is no band gap between their valence and conduction bands,
since they overlap. There is a continuous availability of electrons in these closely spaced
orbitals.
Insulators
In insulators, the band gap between the valence band the the conduction band is so large
that electrons cannot make the energy jump from the valence band to the conduction band.
Semiconductors
Semiconductors have a small energy gap between the valence band and the conduction
band. Electrons can make the jump up to the conduction band, but not with the same ease
as they do in conductors.
 Metals, Semiconductors, and Insulators
—Every solid has its own characteristic energy band structure.
—In order for a material to be conductive, both free electrons and empty states must be available.
Metals have free electrons and partially filled valence bands, therefore they
are highly conductive (a).
Semimetals have their highest band filled. This filled band, however,
overlaps with the next higher band, therefore they are conductive but with
slightly higher resistivity than normal metals (b). Examples: arsenic, bismuth,
and antimony.
Insulators have filled valence bands and empty conduction bands, separated
by a large band gap Eg(typically >4eV), they have high resistivity (c ).
 Semiconductors have similar band structure as insulators but with a much
smaller band gap. Some electrons can jump to the empty conduction band by
thermal or optical excitation (d). Eg=1.1 eV for Si, 0.67 eV for Ge and 1.43 eV
for GaAs.
Semiconductor
Semiconductor is a material that has resistivity (ρSc) value
between that of a conductor and insulator.
(ρc < ρSc <ρins)

There are two types of semiconductors,

1. Intrinsic semiconductor .
2. Extrinsic semiconductor.
 Silicon Energy Bands

Silicon Energy Bands

Germanium Energy Bands
Extrinsic Semiconductor

 a doped semiconductor crystal whose equilibrium carrier concentrations n0 and

p0 are different from the intrinsic carrier concentration ni
The consequences of doping
 New donor or acceptor levels are created in the band gap.
In extrinsic semiconductors, the number of holes will not equal the
number of electrons jumped.
 Conductivities can be vastly increased(n0 or p0 >> ni)
semiconductor becomes either n-type or p-type (either n >> p0
or p0 >> n0 ).

For Si and Ge
Group V elements such as As, P, Sb are donor impurities.
Group III elements such as B, Al, Ga and In are acceptor impurities.
 Ionization energies for dopants in Si & Ge (eV)
Type Element In Si In Ge
P 0.044 0.012
n-type As 0.049 0.013
Sb 0.039 0.010
B 0.045 0.010
Al 0.057 0.010
p-type
Ga 0.065 0.011
In 0.16 0.011
  A semiconductor is direct if
Direct and Indirect band gap Semiconductors the maximum of the conduction
• The real band structure in 3D is calculated with various band and the minimum of the
numerical methods, plotted as E vs k. k is called wave valence band has the same k
vector.
value.
•For electron transition, both E and p (k) must be
 A semiconductor is indirect if
conserved.
the …do not have the same k
value.
 Direct semiconductors are
suitable for making light-
emitting devices, whereas the
indirect semiconductors are not.
Realistic Band Structures in Semiconductors

 GaAs is a direct band gap semiconductor.

 For holes we have light hole band, heavy

hole band and split-off band.

 Si is an indirect band gap semiconductor.

 Si has six equivalent conduction band

minima at X along six equivalent <100>
directions.
Carrier concentration in intrinsic semiconductors
Energy State Being Occupied by an Electron

One can derive an expression to describe the probability of finding an electron at a

certain energy. A statistical thermodynamic analysis without regard to the
specifics of how particles bounce off the atoms or one another and only assuming
that the number of particles and the total system energy are held constant yield the
following result,

Fermi function, or the Fermi–Dirac distribution function,

or the Fermi–Dirac statistics. EF is called the Fermi energy
or the Fermi level.
 (1)

 f(E) is the probability of a state at energy E being occupied by an

electron.

 At large E (i.e.,E – EF >> kT) the probability of a state being

occupied decreases exponentially with increasing E.

(2)

 Equation (2) is known as the Boltzmann approximation.

Intrinsic semiconductors

 At zero K very high field

strengths (~ 1010 V/m) are
required to move an electron

E →
from the top of the valence
P(E) → band to the bottom of the
Eg/2 conduction band.
EF   Thermal excitation is an
Eg easier route.

0 0.5 1
In the low energy region (i.e., E – EF << –kT),
the occupation probability approaches 1. In other
words, the low energy states tend to be fully
occupied.

(3)

In this energy region, the probability of a state

not being occupied, i.e., being occupied by a hole
is
(4)
The probability of occupation at EF is 1/2.
 Thermal equilibrium

The probability approaches unity if E is much lower than EF,

and approaches zero at E much higher than EF. A very
important fact to remember about EF is that there is only one
Fermi level in a system at thermal equilibrium.
 What Determines EF ?
 Each energy state can hold either one electron or none, i.e., be either
occupied or empty.
 It is known that there is only one electron in this system. Since there is
only one electron in the system, the sum of the probabilities that each
state is occupied must be equal to 1.
 By trial and error, convince yourself that only one specific EF,
somewhere above E1 and below E2, can satisfy this condition.
 ELECTRON AND HOLE CONCENTRATIONS
We have stated that if a semiconductor is doped with 1016 donors per cubic centimeter, the
electron concentration will be 1016 cm–3.
First, we will derive the concentration of electrons in the conduction band, known as the electron
concentration. Since Dc(E) dE is the number of energy states between E and E + dE for each
cubic centimeter, the product f(E)Dc(E) dE is then the number of electrons between E and E + dE
per cubic centimeter of the semiconductor. Therefore, the number of electrons per cubic
centimeter in the entire conduction band is,

(5)
Where there are more acceptors there are more
holes

This is neutrality: at
any location, the
number of positive
charges equals the
So you might expect this:
number of negative
charges
  Graphically, this integration
gives the shaded area in Fig.
which yields the density of
electrons.
 And set the upper limit of
integration at infinity. Resetting
the upper limit is acceptable
because of the rapid fall of f(E)
with increasing E.
Schematic band diagram, density of states, Fermi–Dirac
distribution, and carrier distributions versus energy.
DENSITY OF STATES

Energy band as a collection of discrete energy states.

In quantum mechanics terms, each state represents a unique spin (up and down) and unique
solution to the Schrodinger’s wave equation for the periodic electric potential function of the
semiconductor.
If we count the number of states in a small range of energy, ΔΕ, in the conduction band, we
can find the density of states:
This conduction-band density of
states is a function of E (i.e., where
ΔΕ is located). Similarly, there is a
valence-band density of states,
Dv(E). Dc and Dv, graphically
illustrated as,
 np = ni2
In a semiconductor the law of mass action states that the product of
the electron concentration and the hole concentration is always equal
to the square of the intrinsic carrier concentration.
Pure (intrinsic) semiconductor
ne = nh = ni = nQ e-∆/2kT
ni is called the “intrinsic carrier concentration”
=
intrinsic (e-h) pair concentration
Doped semiconductor
ne = nh + nd
nenh = ni2

The law of mass action

This is valid for intrinsic and doped semiconductors.
Densities of charge
carriers
Nc is called the effective density of states in the conduction band.
Equation is an important equation and should be memorized.
It is easy to remember this equation if we understand why Nc is
called the effective density of states.
It is as if all the energy states in the conduction band were
effectively squeezed into a single energy level, Ec, which can hold Nc
electrons (per cubic centimeter).
 Hole Concentration …..?

 An expression for the hole concentration can be derived in the same way. The probability of
an energy state being occupied by a hole is the probability of it not being occupied by an
electron, i.e., 1– f (E). Therefore,

 Nv is the effective density of states of the valence

band. (The full name of Nc is the effective density of
states of the conduction band.) The values of Nc and
Nv, both about 1019cm–3, differ only because mn and
mp are different. Nc and Nv vary somewhat from one
semiconductor to another because of the variation in the
effective masses. This is called as Law of mass Action
Intrinsic Carrier Concentration

 Since EF cannot be close to both Ec and Ev, n and p cannot both be large numbers at
the same time. When Eqs. n and p are multiplied together, we obtain
(a)

 Equation (a) states that the np product is a constant for a given semiconductor and T,
independent of the dopant concentrations. It is an important relationship and is usually
expressed in the following form:
For Intrinsic semiconductors n=p=ni

 There are always some electrons and holes present—whether dopants are present or not. If
there are no dopants present, the semiconductor is said to be intrinsic.
Intrinsic Semiconductor
—a perfect semiconductor crystal with no impurities or
lattice defects.

nconduction band electron

concentration (electrons per cm3);
pvalence band hole concentration

n = p = ni

EHP (electron- hole pair) generation

in an intrinsic semiconductor.
Extrinsic Semiconductors: n-Type

 The four valence electrons of As

allow it to bond just like Si but the
fifth electron is left orbiting the As
site. Fig (a)
 The energy required to release to
free fifth-electron into the CB is very
small. Fig (b)
 Energy band diagram for an n-type
Si doped with 1 ppm As.
There are donor energy levels just
below Ec around As+ sites.
  Nd >> ni, then at room
temperature, the electron
np = ni2 concentration in the CB will
nearly be equal to Nd, i.e. n ≈ Nd
n = Nd and p = ni2/Nd
A small fraction of the large
 ni2  number of electrons in the CB
  eN d e  e   h  eN d e
 recombine with holes in the VB
 Nd  so as to maintain np = ni2
 Extrinsic Semiconductors: p-Type
 Boron doped Si crystal. B has only
three valence electrons.

 When it substitutes for a Si atom one of

its bonds has an electron missing and
therefore a hole.

 Fig. (b) Energy band diagram for a p-

type Si doped with 1 ppm B.

 There are acceptor energy levels just

above Ev around B- sites.

 These acceptor levels accept electrons

from the V.B and therefore create holes in
the V.B.
Extrinsic semiconductor
1. According to Law of Mass Action, if we intentionally dope the
Semiconductor there by increasing n (electrons) value say by one
million p(holes) must be decreases by the same order of magnitude
(1/ one million) in order to maintain the constant product.
2. The number of holes must be lower than the intrinsic case and
would be negligible. Thus on doping with negative
impurities(electrons), the process has two effects, such as
i) n (electrons) increased and
ii) p (holes) decreased by same factor,
3. This is really contrary to intuition in which one might think that p
(holes) remains constant.
4. In terms of the Fermi level, it will move towards the majority
carriers concentration.
For N- Type material fermi level getting closer to the C.B
And For P-Type material Fermi level is close to the V.B
 Continuation……………. Of Extrinsic Semiconductors
Charge Neutrality

A semi conductor can be doped with both donors and acceptors

at the same time, to maintain neutrality
Then according to neutrality condition
p – n +∑ (Zi×Ni) = 0

Here
Zi = Charge of an impurity type < + for donar , - for acceptor,
Ni = Concentration of the impurity type (per volume)

For Example, if there are one type of donor and one type of acceptor,

p +ND + - NA - -n=0

p +ND + = NA - +n
Extrinsic Semiconductors: P-Type

 Na >> ni, then at room temperature,

np = ni2 the hole concentration in the VB will
nearly be equal to Na, i.e. p ≈ Nd.
p = Na and n = ni2/Na
 A small fraction of the large number
 ni2  of holes in the VB recombine with
  eN a h  e 
 e  eN a h electrons in the CB so as to maintain np
 Na  = n i2 .
Summary of Compensation Doping

More donors than acceptors N d  N a  ni

ni2 ni2
p 
n  Nd  Na n Nd  Na
N a  N d  ni
More acceptors than donors

ni2 ni2
n 
p  Na  Nd p Na  Nd
 Silicon bond model
Si is Column IV of the periodic table,

 Electronic structure of silicon atom:

– 10 core electrons (tightly bound)
– 4 valence electrons (loosely bound, responsible for most of the chemical
properties
 Other semiconductors:
– Ge, C (diamond form)
– GaAs, InP, InGaAs, InGaAsP, ZnSe, CdTe (on the average, 4 valence
electrons per atom).
 Silicon crystal structure

 Diamond lattice: atoms

tetrahedrally bonded by sharing
valence electrons
– covalent bonding.
 Each atom shares 8 electrons
– low energy situation.
 Si atomic density : 5 x 1022 cm-3
 Simple “flattened” model of Si crystal

At 0K:

 All bonds are satisfied,

⇒ all valence electrons
engaged in bonding.

 No “free” electrons.
 Generation and Recombination
GENERATION process
=> break-up of covalent bond to form electron and hole pairs…..

Requires energy from thermal or optical sources (or external sources)

RECOMBINATION process
=> formation of covalent bond by bringing together electron and hole

Releases energy in thermal or optical form

Generation and recombination most likely at surfaces where periodic

crystalline structure is broken….
 DIFFUSION
when excess carriers are created non uniformly in a semiconductor , the
electron and holes concentration varies with position in the sample .
due to this process concentration gradient is formed and to maintain
thermal equilibrium ,net motion of charge carriers from region of higher
concentration to lower concentration takes place ,this is the natural
phenomenon and this type of motion is called diffusion . and a net
diffusion current will flow in semiconductor material.
 Carrier Diffusion
• Due to thermally induced random motion, mobile particles tend
to move from a region of high concentration to a region of low
concentration.
– Analogy: ink droplet in water.
• Current flow due to mobile charge diffusion is proportional to
the carrier concentration gradient.
– The proportionality constant is the diffusion constant.
dp
J p   qD p
dx
Notation:
Dp  hole diffusion constant (cm2/s)
Dn  electron diffusion constant (cm2/s)
Diffusion Examples

• Non-linear concentration profile

Linear concentration profile
 varying diffusion current
 constant diffusion current


p  N 1 
x 
 x
 L  p  N exp
Ld

dp dp
J p , diff   qD p J p ,diff  qD p
dx dx
N qD p N x
 qD p  exp
L Ld Ld
NOTE:

(1) Keep in mind that diffusion process occurs not due to

mutual attraction or repulsion among the charge carriers
, this is a natural phenomenon and occurs due to
formation of concentration gradient of charge carriers in
semiconductor sample to maintain thermal equilibrium.

(2) Keep in mind that diffusion process occurs in absence of

electric field and drift occurs in presence of electric field.
 Diffusion Current
Consider an n-type semiconductor in which excess charge carriers injected
from left side as shown in below figure. initially more number of electrons
is present at left side whereas lesser number of electrons is present at right
side , so due to non uniformity in charge carrier concentration a
concentration gradient will create and electron starts to move from higher
concentration to lower concentration(from left to right) in the
semiconductor sample and a current starts to flow in opposite direction of
electron flow this current is called diffusion current.
 some important parameters
and quantities

(1)We can calculate rate at which charge carriers diffuse in

semiconductor sample.

(2) Diffusion current in semiconductor sample.

(3) Diffusion current density in semiconductor sample.

 Let excess electron injected at x=0 and at time t=0 will spread out in
time as figure shown below . Initially , the excess electron are
concentrated at x=0 , as time passes electrons diffuse to region of low
electron concentration until finally n(x) will get constant .

Assume here diffusion in one dimension only

we can calculate the rate at which the electron diffuse in one dimensional problem by
considering an arbitrary distribution n(x) as shown in figure below , since mean free
path between collision is a small incremental distance , we can divide x into segment wide ,
with n(x) evaluated at the center of each segment
 Consider two segment from above figure for the analysis

consider segment (1) and segment (2)

the electron in segment (1) to the left of in above figure

have equal chance to moving left or right and in a mean
free time ,

it is a chance to move half of electron [ per unit

volume] of segment (1) into the segment (2) and half of
the electron [ per unit volume] to the back side of
segment (1) in one mean free time, same chance of
movement of electron will possible for segment (2)
means half of electron [ per unit volume] of segment
(2) move into the segment (1) and half of the electron [
per unit volume] towards forward direction of
segment(2) ……………
so net flow of electron from left to right ( from segment (1) to segment(2) ) crossing the point in one
mean free time t is
=( ) per unit volume

=( )
where = mean free path between collision

= area of cross section of semiconductor sample

so rate of flow of electron in +x direction per unit area will be = electron flux density[ ] crossing
point
= (1)
since is very small differential length so difference in electron concentration can be written as
=
The Potential Variation within a Graded Semiconductor
 Consider a semiconductor where the hole concentration p is a
function of x; that is, the doping is non-uniform or graded.

 Assume a steady-state situation and zero excitation; that is, no

carriers are injected into the specimen from any external source.

 With no excitation there can be no steady movement of charge

in the bar, although the carriers possess random motion due to
thermal agitation.

 Hence the total hole current must be zero (also, the total
electron current must be zero).
 Since p is not constant, we expect a non-zero hole diffusion
current. In order for the total hole current to vanish there
must exist a hole drift current which is equal and opposite
to the diffusion current.
 Diffusion current: This is the current which is due to the
transport of charges occurring because of non-uniform
concentration of charged particles in a semiconductor.
 Drift current, by contrast, is due to the motion of charge
carriers due to the force exerted on them by an electric field.
Diffusion current can be in the same or opposite direction of a
drift current.
 However, conduction current requires an electric field
and hence we conclude that, as a result of the non-uniform
doping, an electric field is generated within the
semiconductor.
 We shall now find this field and the corresponding potential variation
throughout the bar. (Drift Diffusion Equation)

If the doping concentration p (x) is known, this equation allows the built
in field E (x) to be calculated.
PN Diode
When N-type and P-type dopants are introduced side-by side in a
semiconductor, a PN junction or a diode is formed.
 Depletion Region

As free electrons and holes diffuse across the junction, a region of fixed
ions is left behind. This region is known as the “depletion region.”
 Current Flow Across Junction: Drift

The fixed ions in depletion region create an

electric field that results in a drift current.
 The net positively and
negatively charged regions
are shown in Figure 7.2.

 These two regions are

referred to as the space
charge region. Essentially all
electrons and holes are swept
out of the space charge region
by the electric field.

 Since the space charge

region is depleted of any
mobile charge, this region is
also referred to as the
depletion region.
The depletion layer contains no free and mobile charge carriers but
only fixed and immobile ions.
Its width depending upon the doping level…..
Heavily doped ……………. Thin depletion layer
Lightly doped……………… Thick depletion layer
Forward-Biased pn Junction

 Creating current in the pn +ve terminal is applied to the p-region of the pn

junction and vice versa.
 Direction of the applied electric field EA is the opposite as that of the E-field in
the space-charge region.
 The net result is that the electric field in the space-charge region lower than the
thermal equilibrium value causing diffusion of charges to begin again.
 The diffusion process continues as long as VD is applied.
 Creating current in the pn junction, iD.
 Forward-Biased pn Junction

-- ++
Equilibrium
p n
- - E ++
-- ++ -- ++
p -- ++ n Forward Biased
W
-- ++

WF

Width reduces, causing diffusion of carriers  current flows

Ideal Current-Voltage Relationship

 So, the current iD is

IS = the reverse-bias saturation current (for silicon 10-15 to 10-13 A)

VT = the thermal voltage (0.026 V at room temperature)
n = the emission coefficient (1 ≤ n ≤ 2)
 The basic PN junction diode circuit symbol, and
conventional current direction and voltage
polarity.

 The graphs shows the ideal I-V

characteristics of a PN junction diode.
 The diode current is an exponential
function of diode voltage in the
forward-bias region.
 The current is very nearly zero in the
reverse-bias region.
Temperature Effects
 Both IS and VT are functions of temperature.
 The diode characteristics vary with
temperature.
 For silicon diodes, the change is
approximately 2 mV/oC.

 Forward-biased PN junction characteristics

versus temperature.
 The required diode voltage, V to produce a
given current decreases with an increase in
temperature.
Reverse-Biased pn Junction

 +ve terminal is applied to the n-region of the pn junction and vice versa.
 Applied voltage VR will induce an applied electric field EA.
 Direction of the EA is the same as that of the E-field in the space-charge region.
 Magnitude of the electric field in the space-charge region increases above the
thermal equilibrium value. Total ET = E + EA
 Increased electric field holds back the holes in the p-region and the electrons in
the n-region.
 Hence, no current Reverse-Biased pn Junction
across the pn junction. W
 This applied voltage
polarity is called
-- ++
reverse bias.
p E n Equilibrium
 E  charge so, since -- ++
there is an increase of
the electric field in the - - ++
depletion region, the - - - - ++ ++
ET
number of charges p n Reverse Biased
- - - - ++ ++
increases too since the
width of the depletion - - - - ++ ++
increases. WR