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Band Structure and Electrical Conductivity in Semiconductors

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 Band Structure and Electrical Conductivity in
Semiconductors ∗

Amrozia Shaheen, Junaid Alam and Muhammad Sabieh Anwar

LUMS School of Science and Engineering

October 16, 2018

Version 2018-1

Semiconductors are one of the technologically most important class of materials. According
to the band theory of solids, which is an outcome of quantum mechanics, semiconductors
possess a band gap, i.e., there is a range of forbidden energy values for the electrons and
holes. In this experiment, we will calculate the energy band gap in the intrinsic region and
the temperature dependence of the majority carrier mobility in the extrinsic region.

KEYWORDS

Semiconductor · intrinsic conduction · extrinsic conduction · energy band gap · conduction

band · valence band · conductivity · resistivity · mobility · unijunction transistor · temperature
control · low temperature physics

Approximate Performance Time 2 weeks.

Contents

1 Objectives 2

2 Theoretical introduction 3

2.1 Semiconductors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

2.2 Intrinsic and extrinsic semiconductors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

2.3 The ubiquitous role of semiconductor devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

2.4 Conduction in intrinsic semiconductors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

2.5 Conduction in extrinsic semiconductors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

∗
No part of this document can be re-used without explicit permission of Muhammad Sabieh Anwar.
 2.5.1 Temperature dependence of charge carrier concentration . . . . . . . . 8

2.5.2 Temperature and impurity dependence of drift mobility . . . . . . . . . 10

2.6 Temperature dependence of conductivity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

3 The experiment 13

3.1 Overview of the experiment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

3.2 Apparatus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

3.3 Experimental procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

1 Objectives

In this experiment, we will,

1. understand how conductivity in semiconductors depends on carrier concentration and

mobility, and how these depend on temperature,

2. distinguish between intrinsic and extrinsic temperature regimes and identify the appli-
cable temperature range from an examination of measured data,

3. calculate the energy band gap for doped Si,

4. understand how temperature-dependent measurements are a major experimental tech-

nique,

5. calculate the temperature dependent coefficient α of the majority carriers and

6. through experimental realizations, appreciate a physical understanding of the band gap

structure of semiconductors.

References

[1] C. Kittel, “Introduction to Solid State Physics”, John Wiley and Sons, (2005), pp. 216-
226.

[2] S. O. Kasap, “Principles of Electronic Materials and Devices”, Boston, McGraw-Hill,

(2006), pp. 378-405, 114-122.

[3] A. Sconza and G. Torzo, “An undergraduate laboratory experiment for measuring the
energy gap in semiconductors”, Eur. J. Phys. Eur. J. Phys. 10123 (1989).
2 Theoretical introduction

2.1 Semiconductors

The available energies for electrons help us to differentiate between insulators, conductors
and semiconductors. In free atoms, discrete energy levels are present, but in solid materials
(such as insulators, semiconductors and conductors) the available energy states are so close
to one another that they form bands. The band gap is an energy range where no electronic
states are present. In insulators, the valence band is separated from the conduction band

Conduction
band
Electron Energy

Band gap
Conduction Conduction
Eg E band band Overlap
E
Valence band region
f f
Eg E
f

Valence Valence
band band
Insulator Semiconductor Metal

Figure 1: Simplified diagram of the electronic band structure of insulators, semiconductors

and metals. The position of the Fermi level is when the sample is at absolute zero temperature
(0 K).

by a large gap, in good conductors such as metals the valence band overlaps the conduction
band, whereas in semiconductors there is a small gap between the valence and conduction
bands, small enough allowing thermal excitation of electrons from the valence to conduction
band. The overall picture is shown in Figure (1).

The Fermi level is an important consequence of band theory, the highest occupied quantum
state of electrons at absolute zero temperature. The position of the Fermi level relative to
the conduction band is an important parameter that contributes to determine the electrical
properties of a particular material. The position of the Fermi level position is also indicated
in Figure (1).

For a semiconductor, the electrical resistivity lies between a conductor and an insulator,
i.e., in the range of 103 Siemens/cm to 10−8 S/cm. An externally applied electrical field may
change the semiconductor’s resistivity. In conductors, current is carried by electrons, whereas
in semiconductors, current is carried by the flow of electrons or positively charged holes.

Q 1. Explain (or sketch) the temperature dependence of resistance for metals and semicon-
ductors. Why does the resistance of a semiconductor decrease with increasing temperature?

2.2 Intrinsic and extrinsic semiconductors

An intrinsic semiconductor is a pure semiconductor having no impurities. In an intrinsic

semiconductor, the numbers of excited electrons and holes are equal, i.e., n = p as shown
in Figure (2a). A semiconductor in which doping has been introduced, thus changing the
relative number and type of free charge carriers, is called an extrinsic semiconductor.

Conduction band
Ec E E
c c
Ef n
Ef i
Ep
f
Ev Ev Ev
Valence band

(a) (b) (c)

Figure 2: Energy band diagrams for (a) intrinsic, (b) n-type, and (c) p-type semiconductors.
Ef is the Fermi energy level, and the letters i, n, p indicate intrinsic, n and p-type materials.
Ec and Ev are the edges of the conduction and valence bands.

An extrinsic semiconductor, in which conduction electrons are the majority carriers is an n-

type semiconductor and its band diagram is illustrated in Figure (2b), one in which the holes
are the majority charge carriers is a p-type semiconductor and is indicated in Figure (2c).
In extrinsic semiconductors, when they are really behaving in extrinsic region, the dopant
concentration Nd is much larger than the thermally generated electron-hole pairs ni and is
temperature independent at room temperature.

Q 2. Why is doping introduced in semiconductors? How does it effect the conductivity of

a semiconductor?

2.3 The ubiquitous role of semiconductor devices

Semiconductor devices are the foundation of the electronic industry. Most of these devices
can be constructed from a set of building blocks. The first building block is the metal-
semiconductor interface as shown in Figure (3a). This interface can be used as a rectifying
contact, i.e., the device allows current in one direction as in ohmic contact. By using the recti-
fying contact as a gate, we can form a MESFET (metal-semiconductor field-effect transistor),
an important microwave device.

The second building block is the p-n junction, a junction of p-type and n-type materials
indicated in Figure (3b). The p-n junction is the key compound for numerous semiconductor
devices. By combining two p-n junctions, we can form the p-n-p bipolar transistor, and
combining three p-n junctions to form a p-n-p-n structure, a switching device called a thyristor
can be formed.

The third important building block is the heterojunction interface depicted in Figure (3c).
It is formed between two dissimilar semiconductors, for example gallium arsenide (GaAs)
and aluminium arsenide (AlAs) and is used in band gap engineering. Band gap engineering
is a useful technique to design new semiconductor devices and materials. Heterojunctions
and molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) are the most important techniques in which required
 p-type n-type
Metal Semiconductor semiconductor semiconductor
(a) (b)
Oxide

Semiconductor Semiconductor Metal Semiconductor

a b
(c) (d)

Figure 3: Basic device building blocks of (a) metal-semiconductor interface, (b) p-n junction,
(c) heterojunction interface, (d) metal-oxide-semiconductor structure.

band diagrams are devised by continuous band-gap variations. A new generation of devices,
ranging from solid-state photomultipliers to resonant tunneling transistors and spin polarized
electron sources, is the result of this technique.

The fourth building block is the metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) structure. It is a com-

bination of a metal-oxide and an oxide-semiconductor interface indicated as in Figure (3d).
The MOS structure used as a gate and the two semiconductor-metal oxide junctions are the
source and drain; the result is the MOSFET (MOS field-effect transistor). The MOSFET
is the most important component of modern integrated circuits, enabling the integration of
millions of devices per chip.

2.4 Conduction in intrinsic semiconductors

The process in which thermally or optically excited electrons contribute to the conduction
is called intrinsic semiconduction. In the absence of photonic excitation, intrinsic semicon-
duction takes place at temperatures above 0 K as sufficient thermal agitation is required to
transfer electrons from the valence band to the conduction band [?].

The total electrical conductivity is the sum of the conductivities of the valence and conduction
band carriers, which are holes and electrons, respectively. It can be expressed as

σ = ne qe µe + nh qh µh , (1)

where ne , qe , and µe are the electron’s concentration, charge and mobility, and nh , qh , and
µh are the hole’s concentration, charge and mobility, respectively.

The mobility is a quantity that directly relates the drift velocity υd of electrons to the applied
electric field E across the material, i.e.,

υd = µE. (2)

In the intrinsic region the number of electrons is equal to the number of holes, so Equation (1)
implies that,

σ = ne qe (µe + µh ). (3)

The electron density (electrons/volume) in the conduction band is obtained by integrating

g(E)f (E)dE (density of states×probability of occupancy of states) from the bottom to top
 E E E E
Conduction ne = ni
band
Ec Ec
Ef
Ef
E E
v v
n v = ni
Valence
band
0 0.5 1.0
g(E) f(E) ne (E) and n (E)
h
(a) (b) (c) (d)

Figure 4: Band gap structure of an intrinsic semiconductor. (a) Schematic band diagram, (b)
density of states g(E), (c) Fermi distribution function f (E), (d) carrier concentration ne (E)
and nh (E). Ec , Ev and Ef represent the conduction band energy, valence band energy and
Fermi energy level, respectively.

of the conduction band,

Z ∞
ne = g(E)f (E)dE. (4)
Ec

There are two important quantities introduced in the above expression: g(E) is the number
of states per unit energy per unit volume known as the density of sates. The density of states
in the conduction band can be derived from first principle and is given by,
√ 3/2  1/2
( 2)m∗e
g(E) = E − Ec . (5)
π 2 ~3

The function f (E) is the probability of an electronic state of energy E being occupied by an
electron, and is given by the Fermi-Dirac distribution function,
1
f (E) =  . (6)
(E−Ef )
1 + exp kB T

The profiles of g(E) and f (E) are depicted in Figure (4). If we suppose that E − Ef  kB T ,
then Equation (6) can be approximated as,
 
E − Ef
f (E) ≈ exp − . (7)
kB T
Thus, we can replace the Fermi-Dirac distribution by the Boltzmann distribution under the
assumption that the number of electrons in the conduction band is far less than the number
of available states in this band (E − Ef is large as compared to kB T ).
The number of mobile charge carriers (i.e., ne in the conduction band and nh in the valence
band) can be obtained by performing the integration in Equation (4), and is given by,
 
−(Ec − Ef )
ne = Nc exp , (8)
kB T
and
 
−(Ef − Ev )
nh = Nv exp , (9)
kB T
where
3/2
m∗e kB T

Nc = 2 , (10)
2π~2

3/2
m∗h kB T

Nv = 2 . (11)
2π~2
Nc and Nv are the effective density of states for the edges of conduction and valence bands,
respectively [1].

Q 3. Derive the expressions (10) and (11) for the effective density of states for the con-
duction band, Nc , and for the valence band, Nv .

The terms m∗e and m∗h are the effective masses of electrons and holes respectively, kB is
Boltzmann’s constant, T is the absolute temperature, and h is Planck’s constant.

Q 4. What do you understand by the term ‘effective mass’ of an electron? How is it

different from the conventional electron mass?

In an intrinsic semiconductor, the number of electrons is equal to the number of holes, so the
charge carrier concentration is given by,
 1/2  
√ −Eg
ni = ne nh = Nc Nv exp , (12)
2kB T

where, Eg = Ec − Ev is the energy band gap. The term (Nc Nv )1/2 in Equation (12) depends
on the band structure of the semiconductor. It will be shown later that for intrinsic behavior,
ni varies as some power of T , so Equation (12) can be written as,
 
3/2 −Eg
ni = CT exp , (13)
2kB T
where, C is some constant. Substituting the expression (13) into (3) yield the following
expression for the intrinsic conductivity,
   
3/2 −Eg
σ = CT qe µe + µh exp . (14)
2kB T

Equation (14) shows that the electrical conductivity of intrinsic semiconductors or extrinsic
semiconductors in the intrinsic regime, increases with increasing temperature. This relation-
ship is extremely important and will be used to measure the band gap. So make sure you
take a breath of fresh air here, and understand what this relationship means.
 Q 5. Derive Equation (12).

Q 6. Using Equation (14), explain how the conductivity of a semiconductor changes at

−Eg
high temperatures. You will find two competing factors here, T 3/2 and exp( 2k BT
). Which of
these factors dominates and why?

Q 7. What is the difference between Fermi-Dirac and Boltzmann distributions? Which

distribution is being followed by the majority carriers in semiconductors?

Q 8. Given that the effective masses of electrons and holes in Si are approximately 1.08 me
and 0.60 me , respectively, the electron and hole drift mobilities at room temperature are 1350
and 450 cm2 V−1 s−1 , respectively, and the energy band gap value is 1.10 eV, calculate the
intrinsic concentration and intrinsic resistivity of Si [2].

2.5 Conduction in extrinsic semiconductors

In doped semiconductors, the dopant concentrations (ne ' Nd for n-type and nh ' Na for
p-type doping) at room temperatures are greater than the the thermally generated intrinsic
carrier concentrations ni . The conductivity depends on the carrier concentrations and the
mobility. So in order to determine the temperature dependent conductivities, one has to
consider, separately, how temperature affects both the carrier concentration and the mobility
[2].

2.5.1 Temperature dependence of charge carrier concentration

Consider an n-type semiconductor with dopant carrier concentration (Nd ) of arsenic atom
(As). The As atoms introduce a donor energy level Ed , that is located at a gap ∆E below
Ec . The ionization of As atoms leads to electrons jumping across ∆E into the conduction
band. The scenario is depicted in Figure (5).

Conduction
band
Ef
+ As+ As+ As + As+
As As As As Ef As+ As+ As+ As+
Ed
Eg Ef

Valence
band
(a) (b) (c)

Figure 5: Electron concentration of an n-type semiconductor in (a) low temperature regime,

(b) medium temperature regime, (c) high temperature regime. Ef and Ed are the Fermi and
donor atom energy levels, respectively.

1. Low temperature regime At very low temperatures, conductivity is almost zero

because donor atoms are not ionized due to the small thermal vibrational energy. As
 slope=-Eg /2kB

log(n) slope=-∆E/2kB
Intrinsic Extrinsic
region region Ionization
region
1/T

Figure 6: The temperature dependence of the electron concentration in an n-type semicon-

ductor, showing the ionization, extrinsic and intrinsic regimes. Note that the horizontal axis
is 1/T instead of T .

temperature slightly increases, the donor atoms get ionized and move to the conduction
band as shown in Figure (5a). The electron concentration at such low temperature is
given by,
 1/2  
1 ∆E
ne = Nc Nd exp − , (15)
2 2kB T

where, ∆E = Ec − Ed is the energy difference from donor energy level to bottom of

conduction band. The low temperature regime is also called the ionization regime.
Q 9. What are the similarities and differences between Equations (12) and (15)?
Q 10. Explore the origin of the extra factor of one half in Equation (15).

2. Medium temperature regime In this temperature range, the process of ionization

has continued to the extreme that all donor atoms have been ionized as shown in Fig-
ure (5b). This temperature range is often called the extrinsic range and is also indicated
in Figure (6). Since the electrical conductivity depends on carrier concentration n and
mobility µ,

σ = qnµ, (16)

and n = Nd 'constant in the extrinsic region, the conductivity is solely determined by

the temperature variation of the mobility. The mobility is proportional to some power
α of the temperature,
σ = Tα (17)
In the medium temperature regime, a plot of log( σ1 ) versus log( T1 ) will give the value
of temperature dependent coefficient α. Extrinsic semiconductors are almost always
operated in this region.

3. High temperature regime As temperature increases, the electron concentration ni

due to thermal agitations across the band gap is much larger than the dopant concen-
trations Nd . In this regime, excitations from valence band to conduction band are also
 possible due to which hole concentration becomes equal to the electron concentration
nh = ne depicted in Figure (5c). This range is referred as the intrinsic range and is
shown in Figure (6). This is the regime where the purpose of doping is defeated and the
material behaves as an intrinsic semiconductor. In this temperature range, the slope of
log(n) versus 1/T yields (−Eg /2kB ). Also compare this with Eq. (14).

Q 11. An n-type Si sample has been doped with 1015 phosphorus atoms per cm3 . The
donor level for P in Si is 0.045 eV below the conduction band edge energy [2]. (a) What
would be the temperature above which the sample behaves as intrinsic? (b) What is the
lowest temperature above which most of the donors are ionized?

2.5.2 Temperature and impurity dependence of drift mobility

Now that we have established how temperature affects carrier concentration, we turn attention
to the mobility. Drift mobility µ determines the average velocity υd in the presence of an
applied external field. The variation with temperature follows two distinct regions.

1. High temperature region Let suppose an electron in the conduction (CB ) or valence
band (VB ) suffers collisions from a scattering ion (As+ ). These scattering events depend
on how strongly the ions vibrate, the amplitude depends on the temperature T . The
mean free time τ between scattering events, is given by,

νth t=t1
amplitude

Effective scattering
cross-section t=0 Scatterer mean
position
a S=πa 2

t=t2

(a) (b)

Figure 7: (a) Scattering cross-section, (b) scatterer position at three different times t = 0, t =
t1, t = t2.

1
τ = . (18)
Svth Ns
According to the Drude model [2], the drift mobility is,
eτ
µ = . (19)
m∗e
 In Equation (18), S is the cross-sectional area of the scatterer shown in Figure (7a), vth
is the mean speed of the electrons, called the thermal velocity and Ns is the number
of scatterers per unit volume. Now both the scatterer amplitude a and the thermal
velocity of the electron vth is temperature dependent. We unveil these dependences,
one by one. The scatterer amplitude increases with temperature as a2 ∝ T . Now an
electron in the conduction band has only kinetic energy and the mean kinetic energy
per electron in the conduction band is 32 kB T . Applying kinetic molecular theory to the
gas of electrons in the conduction band, we obtain,
1 ∗ 2 3
me vth = kB T, (20)
2 2
implying vth ∝ T 1/2 . Using the above derived temperature dependences of vth , the
scatterer mean time τL due to lattice vibrations will become,
1 1
τL = ∝ 3/2 = T −3/2 , (21)
Svth T
resulting in lattice vibration scattering limited mobility, µL ,

µL ∝ T −3/2 . (22)

Clearly as the temperature goes up, µL decreases.

e- K.E=(1/2)mev 2 K.E>IP.EI
K.E~IP.EI
∼
rc

As+
K.E<IP.EI

Figure 8: Electron scattering by an ionized impurity (As+ ) that is fixed in position.

2. Low temperature region At low temperatures, the scattering of electrons by thermal

lattice vibrations is not strong enough. The electron scattering is performed by the
electrostatic interaction with the ionized donor impurities. Let we consider a case in
which an electron passes by an ionized donor As+ . The deflection from the rectilinear
path depends on the following factors,

• If the K.E of the electron is larger than the P.E of the ionized donor impurity
(As+ ) at a distance r (K.E > |P.E|), then the electron will not feel the P.E and
will continue its course unhindered, unswayed.
• If the K.E < |P.E|, then the columbic interaction energy is strong enough to
deflect the electron. The two cases are depicted in Figure (8).
 • K.E ≈ |P.E| at r = rc , the critical radius at which the electron is just scattered,
leading to,
3 e2
kB T = , (23)
2 4πεo εrc
from which one can deuce the critical radius,
e2
rc = . (24)
6πεo εr kT

log(µ)

T
3/2
T -3/2

Impurity Scattering Lattice Scattering

log(T)

Figure 9: Temperature dependence of mobility including effects of both lattice and impurity
scattering in the two temperature regimes.

Thus, the critical scattering radius rc also possesses the inverse temperature de-
pendence and decreases as temperature increases. By adding the value of rc into
scattering cross section, S = πrc2 , one may infer that S ∝ T −2 . Therefore, the
ionized impurity scattering limited mobility, µI comes out as replacing the same
argument given before Equation (22)
T 3/2
µI ∝ , (25)
NI
where NI is the ionized impurity concentration. Thus in the low temperature
regime, µI decreases with increasing ionized impurity concentration.

The lattice limited and impurity limited regimes of the mobility are shown in Figure (9).
It is observed from Equations (22), (25) and Figure (9) that the mobility has a divergent
behavior with respect to temperature. At low temperature, mobility increases with increasing
temperature, and starts decreasing as temperature increases in the high temperature regime.

Q 12. Calculate the temperature dependence of the mean free time τ between impurities
and derive Equation (25).

2.6 Temperature dependence of conductivity

We have determined the temperature dependence of the carrier concentration and mobility
for a doped semiconductor. Hence, the electrical conductivity in extrinsic semiconductors
can be determined by combining the results of Figures (6) and (9), and is shown in Figure
(10).

Intrinsic Extrinsic Ionization

region region region

slope=-Eg /2kB
log(n)

slope=-∆E/2kB

T -3/2
log(µ)

3/2
T

1/T

Figure 10: Combined effects of mobility and carrier concentration in an extrinsic semicon-
ductor. The solid line shows the relationship between carrier concentration and temperature,
whereas the dotted line shows the temperature dependence of carrier mobility. In the intrinsic
region, slope of the graph is proportional to the band gap, Eg , while in the ionization region
it depends on the difference between conduction band and donor energy levels, ∆E.

3 The experiment

3.1 Overview of the experiment

In this experiment we will investigate the conductivity temperature variation of an n-doped

semiconductor sample (the base region of a unijunction transistor (UJT)). A UJT is a semi-
conductor device, having three leads but only one junction. Figure (11) shows the schematic
of a unijunction transistor with an N-type base and P-type emitter. Conductivity measure-
ment between pins B1 and B2 of the UJT is equivalent to that of a doped semiconductor.

The semiconductor sample is placed inside a sample cell and the resistance of the sample
is measured while its temperature is monitored. The sample cell is placed inside a flow
cryostat which can be filled by liquid nitrogen. The cell is cooled by the cool vapor of N2 .
Alternatively, the cell can be heated to elevated temperatures by passing current through a
heater wire wound around it. The flow cryostat is sketched in Figure (12a) highlighting the
various components.

Resistance of the UJT sample is measured using an ohmmeter. The measured resistance at
different temperatures yields the conductivity versus temperature behavior of the semicon-
 B1

N-Type

B1
P-Type
E
B2
E

B2
(a) (b)

Figure 11: Schematic diagram (a) and symbol (b) of a unijunction transistor.

ductor sample, from which the energy band gap Eg and the temperature dependent coefficient
of mobility α can be calculated.

Figure 12: Experimental setup: (a) A schematic of the cryostat and sample cell assembly,
and (b) electrical diagram of the apparatus.

3.2 Apparatus

The experiment involves the following major components.

1. Cryostat: it is a copper cylinder with one end sealed, so that liquid N2 can be poured
into it for low temperature measurements.The sample cell is situated inside the cryostat
and is cooled by the N2 vapor as it boils. An insulating sheet is wrapped around the
cylinder to reduce thermal losses.
2. Battery or power supply used to energize the heater wrapped around the sample cell.
3. Sample cell wound with heater wire and containing the sample.
4. Thermocouple to sense the temperature of the sample.
5. Temperature monitor: receives input from the thermocouple and displays the temper-
ature ◦ C.
6. Digital multimeter to measure the resistance of the sample.
7. supply of liquid nitrogen N2 to achieve low temperature.

3.3 Experimental procedure

1. You are provided with a unijunction transistor (UJT) to which leads are already con-
nected for resistance measurement.
 2. The insulated wires, enshrouded in a ceramic rod, have to be passed through a steel
pipe coated with ceramic on one end.

3. Connect the multimeter to the resistance measurement leads of sample and set the dial
to the appropriate resistance scale.

4. After passing through the opening on one side of the cryostat, place the thermocouple
inside the sample cell.

5. Turn on the controller. It should show room temperature.

6. Place the ceramic coated end of the steel pipe on the sample cell in such a way that
the UJT is completely inside the cell. The top of the cryostat needs to be covered with
the styrofoam lid and the nozzle of the funnel passed through the space provided in it.
We will start with low temperature measurements.

7. Now slowly pour liquid nitrogen into the cryostat and wait for the controller to show a
temperature of around −150◦ C.

8. Note down the resistance of the sample with every 5◦ change in temperature until the
sample reaches room temperature.
We now move on to high temperature measurements.

9. Connect the heater to the battery or power supply as shown in Figure (12b).

10. Now set the battery voltage to about 20 V. The controller should indicate a rise in
temperature.

11. When the temperature of the sample reaches ∼ 250◦ C, switch OFF the supply and
make a table of the resistance readings for every 5◦ C fall in temperature.

Q 13. Plot a graph of the resistance, R, versus T in Kelvins, and distinguish the intrinsic
and extrinsic regions for the UJT.

Q 14. Calculate the energy band gap from the intrinsic region data. As conductivity
depends on both the charge carrier concentration and mobility, so in calculating band gap
take both of these factors into account. The published energy band gap values for pure
silicon (Si) is 1.12 eV, while the base of a UJT is an n-doped material. See Eq. (14) and the
discussion in Q6.

Q 15. Calculate the temperature coefficient α of the carriers mobility from the extrinsic
region data of the UJT. The published value of the mobility of the charge carriers, α is 2.3.

Q 16. What is the uncertainty in the energy band gap measurement?

Q 17. Find the uncertainty in the mobility measurement.

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