CHAPTER 2

CARRIER TRANSPORT PHENOMENA

 The operation of semiconductor devices depends on the motion
of charge carriers in semiconductor under the influences of
electric field, carrier concentration gradient, and temperature. We
will investigate various transport phenomena, and derive the
basic governing equations for semiconductor-device operation.

 In this chapter we consider:

 The current density equation and its drift and diffusion
components.
 The continuity equation and its generation and recombination
components.
 Other transport phenomena, including thermionic emission,
tunneling, space-charge effect, and impact ionization.
 Methods to measure key semiconductor parameters such as
resistivity, mobility, majority-carrier concentration, and minority-
carrier lifetime. 1
 CARRIER DRIFT
 Mobility
 Carrier drift is due to applied electric field.

 At low field the drift velocity is proportional to the electric field, the

proportionality constant is called the mobility.

 Equipartition theorem: average thermal energy of an electron is 𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘⁄2

per degree of freedom.

11
Kinetic energy of a free electron = 𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚00𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡22
22
1
= ( three degrees of freedom )× 𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘
2
33
𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘
= 𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘
22

3𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘 3×1.38×10−23 ×300

∴ 𝑣𝑣𝑡𝑡𝑡 = = = 105 m/s = 107 cm/s (100 km/s)
𝑚𝑚0 0.91×10−30
∴ electrons move rapidly in all directions.
2
 DRIFT VELOCITY AND MOBILITY
 Figure 1 shows schematic path of an electron in a
semiconductor. (a) Random thermal motion. (b) Combined
motion due to random thermal motion and an applied
electric field.

 If no electric field (𝓔𝓔 = 𝟎𝟎), there is zero net displacement.

When an electric field is applied, there is a drift velocity
for the electrons.
3
 DRIFT VELOCITY AND MOBILITY (Cont.)

 Momentum = 𝒎𝒎𝒏𝒏 𝒗𝒗𝒏𝒏 = force × time = (−𝒒𝒒𝓔𝓔 )(𝝉𝝉𝒄𝒄 )

momentum gained momentum applied
by the electron in 𝝉𝝉𝐜𝐜 to the electron in 𝝉𝝉𝐜𝐜

𝑞𝑞𝜏𝜏𝑐𝑐𝒒𝒒𝝉𝝉𝒄𝒄
∴∴𝑣𝑣𝒗𝒗𝑛𝑛𝒏𝒏==−(
− 𝑚𝑚 )ℰ 𝓔𝓔 = drift velocity
𝑛𝑛𝒎𝒎
𝒏𝒏

𝒒𝒒𝝉𝝉 𝒄𝒄 |𝒗𝒗|
𝝁𝝁𝝁𝝁𝒏𝒏𝒏𝒏≡≡ 𝒒𝒒𝝉𝝉𝒄𝒄 in cm
2
 Mobility 𝒗𝒗𝒏𝒏
𝒎𝒎
𝒎𝒎𝒏𝒏
𝒏𝒏 V∙s
𝒗𝒗𝒏𝒏 = −𝝁𝝁𝒏𝒏 𝓔𝓔 𝝁𝝁𝒏𝒏 > 𝝁𝝁𝒑𝒑
𝒗𝒗𝒑𝒑 = +𝝁𝝁𝒑𝒑 𝓔𝓔 𝒗𝒗𝒑𝒑

0 𝓔𝓔
4
 ELECTRON MOBILITY IN SI
 Figure 2 shows electron mobility in silicon versus
temperature for various donor concentrations. Inset shows
the theoretical temperature dependence of electron mobility.

5
 ELECTRON MOBILITY IN SI (Cont.)
 𝝁𝝁𝑳𝑳 (mobility due to lattice scattering) ~𝑻𝑻−𝟑𝟑⁄𝟐𝟐
3
𝟑𝟑⁄𝟐𝟐
𝑻𝑻𝑻𝑻2
𝝁𝝁𝑰𝑰 (mobility due to impurity scattering) ~
~ 𝑵𝑵𝑵𝑵
𝑰𝑰 𝑰𝑰

𝟏𝟏 𝟏𝟏 𝟏𝟏
 ∴ = +
𝝉𝝉𝒄𝒄 𝝉𝝉𝒄𝒄, 𝐥𝐥𝐥𝐥𝐥𝐥𝐥𝐥𝐥𝐥𝐥𝐥𝐥𝐥 𝝉𝝉𝒄𝒄, 𝐢𝐢𝐢𝐢𝐢𝐢𝐢𝐢𝐢𝐢𝐢𝐢𝐢𝐢𝐢𝐢
𝟏𝟏 𝟏𝟏 𝟏𝟏
or = +
𝝁𝝁 𝝁𝝁𝑳𝑳 𝝁𝝁𝑰𝑰

For 𝑵𝑵𝑰𝑰 = 𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏 cm−𝟑𝟑 , lattice scattering dominates, since 𝑵𝑵𝑰𝑰 is small.
For 𝑵𝑵𝑰𝑰 = 𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏 cm−𝟑𝟑 , impurity scattering dominates at low 𝑻𝑻,
lattice scattering at high 𝑻𝑻.

6
 MOBILITY & DIFFUSIVITY IN Si & GaAs
 Figure 3 shows mobility and diffusivity in Si and GaAs at 300K
as a function of impurity concentration.

 𝝁𝝁𝒏𝒏 > 𝝁𝝁𝒑𝒑 in Si and GaAs became 𝒎𝒎𝒏𝒏 < 𝒎𝒎𝒑𝒑 .

 It will be shown in Sec. 2.2 that the diffusivity 𝑫𝑫𝒏𝒏 is related to 𝝁𝝁𝒏𝒏
𝒌𝒌𝒌𝒌
i.e., 𝑫𝑫𝒏𝒏 = 𝝁𝝁𝒏𝒏 = 0.0259 𝝁𝝁𝒏𝒏
𝒒𝒒
For example, if 𝝁𝝁𝒏𝒏 = 1000 cm𝟐𝟐 /V∙s (left scale in Fig.3)
then 𝑫𝑫𝒏𝒏 = 25.9 cm𝟐𝟐 /s (right scale in Fig.3) 7
 EXAMPLE 1
 Calculate the mean free time of an electron having a mobility of
1000 cm𝟐𝟐 / V∙s at 300 K; also calculate the mean free path. Assume
𝒎𝒎𝒏𝒏 = 0.26 𝒎𝒎𝟎𝟎 in these calculations.

SOLUTION From Eq. 3, the mean free time is given by

𝑚𝑚𝑛𝑛𝜇𝜇𝑛𝑛 (0.26 × 0.91 × 10−30 kg) × 1000 × 10−4 m2/V∙s

𝜏𝜏 = =
𝑞𝑞 1.6 × 10−19 C
= 1.48 × 10−13 s = 0.148 ps
The thermal velocity is 𝟐𝟐. 𝟐𝟐𝟐𝟐 × 𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟕𝟕 cm/s for 𝒎𝒎𝒏𝒏 = 𝟎𝟎. 𝟐𝟐𝟐𝟐𝒎𝒎𝟎𝟎 from Eq.(1).
The mean free path is given by
𝑙𝑙 = 𝑣𝑣𝑡𝑡𝑡 𝜏𝜏𝑐𝑐 = (3𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘⁄𝑚𝑚𝑛𝑛 )𝜏𝜏𝑐𝑐 = 2.28 × 107 cm/s ∙ 1.48 × 10−13 s
= 3.37 × 10−6 cm
= 33.7 nm
8
 RESISTIVITY

 Figure 4 shows conduction process in an n-type

semiconductor (a) at thermal equilibrium and (b) under a
biasing condition.

9
 RESISTIVITY (Cont.)
 When an electron filed 𝓔𝓔 is applied to a semiconductor, each
electron will experience a force − 𝒒𝒒𝒒𝒒
Force = − 𝑞𝑞ℰ
= − (gradient of potential energy)
𝑑𝑑𝐸𝐸
𝒅𝒅𝑬𝑬𝑖𝑖𝒊𝒊
= −
= − 𝒅𝒅𝒅𝒅
𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑
 If we define 𝝍𝝍 as the electrostatic potential:
𝑑𝑑𝜓𝜓
ℰ≡−
𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑
1 𝑑𝑑𝐸𝐸𝑖𝑖 𝑑𝑑𝜓𝜓
ℰ= + = −
𝑞𝑞 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑
𝐸𝐸𝑖𝑖
thus 𝜓𝜓 = −
𝑞𝑞
10
 RESISTIVITY (Cont.)
 Figure 5 shows current conduction in a uniformly doped
semiconductor bar with length 𝑳𝑳 and cross-sectional area 𝑨𝑨.

𝑰𝑰𝒏𝒏
 Electron current density = J𝒏𝒏 = = sum of product of the
𝑨𝑨
charge (−𝒒𝒒) on each electron and the electron velocity over
all electrons per unit volume
= ∑𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒊=𝟏𝟏 −𝒒𝒒𝒗𝒗𝒊𝒊 = −𝒒𝒒𝒒𝒒𝒗𝒗𝒏𝒏 = 𝒒𝒒𝒒𝒒 𝝁𝝁𝒏𝒏𝓔𝓔 (in conduction band)

11
 RESISTIVITY (Cont.)

 Hole current density = J𝒑𝒑 = 𝒒𝒒𝒒𝒒𝝁𝝁𝒑𝒑𝓔𝓔 (in valence band)

 ∴Total current density= J𝒏𝒏 + J𝒑𝒑 = (𝒒𝒒𝒒𝒒𝝁𝝁𝒏𝒏 + 𝒒𝒒𝒒𝒒𝝁𝝁𝒑𝒑 )𝓔𝓔 ≡ 𝝈𝝈𝓔𝓔

∴ 𝝈𝝈 ≡ 𝒒𝒒𝒒𝒒𝝁𝝁𝒏𝒏 + 𝒒𝒒𝒒𝒒𝝁𝝁𝒑𝒑 (conductivity in S/cm)
𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏 𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏
𝝆𝝆 =
𝝆𝝆 = = = (resistivity in Ω∙cm)
𝝈𝝈
𝝈𝝈 𝒒𝒒𝒒𝒒𝝁𝝁𝒏𝒏𝒏𝒏 + 𝒒𝒒𝒒𝒒𝝁𝝁
𝒒𝒒𝒒𝒒𝝁𝝁 +𝒒𝒒𝒒𝒒𝝁𝝁 𝒑𝒑 𝒑𝒑

𝟏𝟏
𝟏𝟏
=
= 𝒒𝒒𝒒𝒒𝝁𝝁 if 𝒏𝒏
if 𝒏𝒏 ≫
≫ 𝒑𝒑𝒑𝒑 |J𝒏𝒏 |
𝒒𝒒𝒒𝒒𝝁𝝁𝒏𝒏𝒏𝒏
𝟏𝟏
= 𝟏𝟏 if 𝒑𝒑 ≫ 𝒏𝒏 𝑬𝑬𝑪𝑪
= 𝒒𝒒𝒒𝒒𝝁𝝁𝒑𝒑 if 𝒑𝒑 ≫ 𝒏𝒏
𝒒𝒒𝒒𝒒𝝁𝝁𝒑𝒑 J𝒑𝒑

𝑬𝑬𝑽𝑽

12
 FOUR POINT PROBE
 Four Point Probe is used to measure the resistivity ρ

𝑽𝑽
𝝆𝝆 = ∙ 𝑾𝑾 ∙ 𝑪𝑪𝑪𝑪 Ω∙cm ( 𝒅𝒅 ≫ 𝑾𝑾 )
𝑰𝑰
𝑪𝑪𝑪𝑪 (correction factor) = 4.54 when 𝒅𝒅 ≫ 𝒔𝒔
13
 RESISTISITY VERSUS IMPURITY
CONCENTRATION
 Figure 7 shows resistivity versus impurity concentration for Si
and GaAs.

14
 RESISTISITY VERSUS IMPURITY
CONCENTRATION (Cont.)
 At room temperature, all shallow donors (P and As) and
acceptor (B) are ionized, therefore the carrier concentration =
impurity concentration.

Example: ND = 𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏 𝐜𝐜𝐦𝐦−𝟑𝟑 , 𝒏𝒏 ≈ 𝑵𝑵𝑫𝑫 = 𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏 𝐜𝐜𝐦𝐦−𝟑𝟑

𝟏𝟏
𝟏𝟏 𝟏𝟏
𝟏𝟏
𝝆𝝆𝝆𝝆 =
= =
= −𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏 = 𝟎𝟎. 𝟒𝟒𝟒𝟒 = 0.48 Ω∙cm
Ω∙cm
𝒒𝒒𝒒𝒒𝝁𝝁 𝟏𝟏. 𝟔𝟔 ×−𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏
𝒒𝒒𝒒𝒒𝝁𝝁𝒏𝒏𝒏𝒏 𝟏𝟏.𝟔𝟔×𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏 𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏×𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏 𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏
××𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏 × 𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏

(µ𝒏𝒏 from Fig. 3)

Also from Fig. 7, 𝝆𝝆 ≅ 0.5 Ω∙cm

 For deep impurity levels and/or low temperature, carrier

concentration is less than the impurity concentration, i.e.,
𝒏𝒏 < 𝑵𝑵𝑫𝑫 or 𝒑𝒑 < 𝑵𝑵𝑨𝑨. 15
 HALL EFFECT
 The Hall effect is used to measure the carrier
concentration and type directly.
 Figure 8 shows a basic setup to measure concentration
using the Hall effect.
Lorentz Force

𝐵𝐵

𝑣𝑣
+
ℰ𝑦𝑦
p-type
−

16
 HALL EFFECT (Cont.)

 Since J𝒚𝒚 = 0, the Lorentz force 𝒒𝒒𝒗𝒗 × 𝑩𝑩 = 𝒒𝒒𝒗𝒗𝒙𝒙 𝑩𝑩𝒛𝒛 ↑ is balanced

by the downward electric field ∴ 𝒒𝒒𝓔𝓔𝒚𝒚 = 𝒒𝒒𝒗𝒗𝒙𝒙 𝑩𝑩𝒛𝒛
𝓔𝓔𝒚𝒚 = 𝒗𝒗𝒙𝒙 𝑩𝑩𝒛𝒛 = Hall field
∵ J𝒑𝒑 = 𝒒𝒒𝒒𝒒𝒗𝒗𝒙𝒙
J𝑱𝑱𝒑𝒑
∴∴ 𝒗𝒗𝒗𝒗𝒙𝒙𝒙𝒙 = 𝒑𝒑
= 𝒒𝒒𝒒𝒒
𝒒𝒒𝒒𝒒
𝟏𝟏 𝟏𝟏
∴ 𝓔𝓔𝒚𝒚 = J𝒑𝒑 𝑩𝑩𝒛𝒛 𝑹𝑹𝑯𝑯 ≡ Hall coefficient for p-type
𝒒𝒒𝒒𝒒 𝒒𝒒𝒒𝒒
𝟏𝟏
𝑹𝑹𝑯𝑯 ≡ − for n-type
𝒒𝒒𝒒𝒒

17
 EXAMPLE 3
 A sample of Si is doped with 𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏 phosphorus atom/cm3. Find

the Hall voltage in a sample with 𝑾𝑾 = 500 µm, 𝑨𝑨 = 2.5×10−3 cm2,

𝑰𝑰 = 1 mA, and 𝑩𝑩𝒛𝒛 = 10−𝟒𝟒 Wb/cm2.

SOLUTION
𝑽𝑽𝑯𝑯
𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏 𝓔𝓔𝒚𝒚 𝑾𝑾 𝑽𝑽𝑯𝑯𝑨𝑨
𝓔𝓔 = − 𝑩𝑩 = 𝑹𝑹
Since 𝒚𝒚𝓔𝓔𝒚𝒚 = − 𝒒𝒒𝒒𝒒 J𝒑𝒑𝒑𝒑𝑩𝑩𝒛𝒛𝒛𝒛 = 𝑹𝑹𝑯𝑯𝑯𝑯J𝒑𝒑 𝑩𝑩
J J 𝑩𝑩
𝒑𝒑 𝒛𝒛 𝒛𝒛 ∴ 𝑹𝑹𝑯𝑯 = = =
𝒒𝒒𝒒𝒒 J𝒑𝒑 𝑩𝑩𝒛𝒛 𝑰𝑰
𝑩𝑩𝒛𝒛 𝑰𝑰𝑩𝑩𝒛𝒛 𝑾𝑾
𝑨𝑨
the Hall coefficient is
𝟏𝟏 𝟏𝟏 𝟑𝟑 /C
𝑹𝑹𝑯𝑯 = − =− _𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏 = −𝟔𝟔𝟔𝟔𝟔𝟔 cm
𝒒𝒒𝒒𝒒 𝟏𝟏. 𝟔𝟔 × 𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏 × 𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏
the Hall voltage is
𝑰𝑰
𝑽𝑽𝑯𝑯 = 𝑹𝑹𝑯𝑯 𝑩𝑩𝒛𝒛 𝑾𝑾
𝑨𝑨
𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏−𝟑𝟑
= −𝟔𝟔𝟔𝟔𝟔𝟔 ∙ −𝟑𝟑
∙ 𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏−𝟒𝟒 𝟓𝟓𝟓𝟓𝟓𝟓 × 𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏−𝟒𝟒 = −𝟏𝟏. 𝟐𝟐𝟐𝟐 mV
𝟐𝟐. 𝟓𝟓 × 𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏
18
 CARRIER DIFFUSION
 Diffusion process: Carries will move from a region of
high concentration to a region of low concentration. This
current is called diffusion current.
 Figure 9 shows the electron concentration versus
distance; 𝒍𝒍 is the mean free path. Arrows show the
directions of electron and current flows.

19
 CARRIER DIFFUSION (Cont.)
 Let mean free path= 𝒍𝒍, thermal velocity= 𝒗𝒗𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕 , mean free time= 𝝉𝝉𝒄𝒄
𝒍𝒍 = 𝒗𝒗𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕 𝝉𝝉𝒄𝒄 , 𝒗𝒗𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕 = 𝒍𝒍⁄𝝉𝝉𝒄𝒄
1
𝒏𝒏 −𝒍𝒍 ∙ 𝒍𝒍 ∙ (𝟏𝟏 cm𝟐𝟐 ) 1
𝑭𝑭𝟏𝟏 = 2 = 𝒏𝒏 −𝒍𝒍 𝒗𝒗𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕
𝝉𝝉𝒄𝒄 2
1
𝑭𝑭𝟐𝟐 = 𝒏𝒏 𝒍𝒍 𝒗𝒗𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕
2
 Net rate:
1
F = F𝟏𝟏 − F𝟐𝟐 = 𝒗𝒗𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕 𝒏𝒏 −𝒍𝒍 − 𝒏𝒏 𝒍𝒍
2
1 𝒅𝒅𝒅𝒅 𝒅𝒅𝒅𝒅
= 𝒗𝒗𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕 𝒏𝒏 𝟎𝟎 − 𝒍𝒍 − 𝒏𝒏 𝟎𝟎 + 𝒍𝒍
2 𝒅𝒅𝒅𝒅 𝒅𝒅𝒅𝒅
𝒅𝒅𝒅𝒅 𝒅𝒅𝒅𝒅 𝑫𝑫𝒏𝒏 ≡ 𝒗𝒗𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕 𝒍𝒍 = diffusivity,
= −𝒗𝒗𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕 𝒍𝒍 ≡ −𝑫𝑫𝒏𝒏
𝒅𝒅𝒅𝒅 𝒅𝒅𝒅𝒅 diffusion coefficient (cm𝟐𝟐 ⁄s)
Since each electron carries a charge 𝒒𝒒
𝒅𝒅𝒅𝒅
J𝒏𝒏 = −𝒒𝒒F = 𝒒𝒒𝑫𝑫𝒏𝒏
𝒅𝒅𝒅𝒅 20
 EXAMPLE 4
 Assume that, in an n-type semiconductor at 𝑻𝑻 = 𝟑𝟑𝟑𝟑𝟑𝟑 K, the
electron concentration varies linearly from 𝟏𝟏 × 𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏 to
𝟕𝟕 × 𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏 cm−𝟑𝟑 over a distance of 𝟎𝟎. 𝟏𝟏 cm. Calculate the diffusion
current density if the electron diffusion coefficient is 𝑫𝑫𝒏𝒏 =
𝟐𝟐𝟐𝟐. 𝟓𝟓 cm𝟐𝟐 ⁄s.

SOLUTION
The diffusion current density is given by
𝒅𝒅𝒅𝒅 ∆𝒏𝒏
J𝒏𝒏,𝒅𝒅𝒅𝒅𝒅𝒅𝒅𝒅 = 𝒒𝒒𝑫𝑫𝒏𝒏 ≈ 𝒒𝒒𝑫𝑫𝒏𝒏
𝒅𝒅𝒅𝒅 ∆𝒙𝒙
𝟏𝟏 × 𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏 − 𝟕𝟕 × 𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏
= 𝟏𝟏. 𝟔𝟔 × 𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏−𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏 𝟐𝟐𝟐𝟐. 𝟓𝟓 =
𝟎𝟎. 𝟏𝟏
= 𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏. 𝟖𝟖 A⁄cm𝟐𝟐

21
 EINSTEIN RELATION
 Einstein relation:
𝒒𝒒𝝉𝝉𝒄𝒄 𝟏𝟏 𝟐𝟐 𝟏𝟏
𝒍𝒍 = 𝒗𝒗𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕 𝝉𝝉𝒄𝒄 𝝁𝝁𝒏𝒏 = 𝒎𝒎 𝒗𝒗 = 𝒌𝒌𝒌𝒌 (one degree of freedom)
𝒎𝒎𝒏𝒏 𝟐𝟐 𝒏𝒏 𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕 𝟐𝟐
𝝁𝝁𝒏𝒏 𝒎𝒎𝒏𝒏 𝟏𝟏 𝝁𝝁𝒏𝒏 𝟏𝟏 𝝁𝝁𝒏𝒏
𝑫𝑫𝒏𝒏 = 𝒗𝒗𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕 𝒍𝒍 = 𝒗𝒗𝟐𝟐𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕 𝝉𝝉𝒄𝒄 = 𝒗𝒗𝟐𝟐𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕 = 𝒎𝒎𝒏𝒏 𝒗𝒗𝟐𝟐𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕 𝟐𝟐 = 𝒌𝒌𝒌𝒌 𝟐𝟐
𝒒𝒒 𝟐𝟐 𝒒𝒒 𝟐𝟐 𝒒𝒒
𝒌𝒌𝒌𝒌
= 𝝁𝝁𝒏𝒏
𝒒𝒒

𝒌𝒌𝒌𝒌
Also 𝑫𝑫𝒑𝒑 == 𝝁𝝁𝒑𝒑
𝒒𝒒
From the above Einstein relations, we can obtain 𝑫𝑫𝒏𝒏 and 𝑫𝑫𝒑𝒑
from Fig.3

22
 CURRENT DENSITY EQUATIONS
 J𝒏𝒏 = drift current + diffusion current
𝒅𝒅𝒅𝒅
= 𝒒𝒒𝝁𝝁𝒏𝒏 𝒏𝒏𝓔𝓔 + 𝒒𝒒𝑫𝑫𝒏𝒏
𝒅𝒅𝒅𝒅
𝒅𝒅𝒅𝒅
J𝒑𝒑 = 𝒒𝒒𝝁𝝁𝒑𝒑 𝒑𝒑𝓔𝓔 − 𝒒𝒒𝑫𝑫𝒑𝒑
𝒅𝒅𝒅𝒅
∴Total current = J𝒏𝒏 + J𝒑𝒑

 At very high field, 𝝁𝝁𝒏𝒏 𝓔𝓔 and 𝝁𝝁𝒑𝒑 𝓔𝓔 will be replaced by the

saturation velocity 𝒗𝒗𝒔𝒔 (see Sec. 2.7) then
p
𝒅𝒅𝒅𝒅
𝒅𝒅𝒏𝒏
JJ𝒏𝒏𝒏𝒏 =
= 𝒒𝒒𝒒𝒒𝒗𝒗
𝒒𝒒𝒒𝒒𝒗𝒗𝒔𝒔𝒔𝒔 + 𝒒𝒒𝑫𝑫𝒏𝒏 𝒅𝒅𝒅𝒅
𝒅𝒅𝒅𝒅 𝒅𝒅𝒅𝒅
> 𝟎𝟎
𝒅𝒅𝒅𝒅
𝒅𝒅𝒅𝒅 𝒅𝒅𝒅𝒅
JJ𝒑𝒑 = 𝒒𝒒𝒒𝒒𝒗𝒗 − 𝒒𝒒𝑫𝑫
𝒑𝒑 = 𝒒𝒒𝒒𝒒𝒗𝒗𝒔𝒔 − 𝒒𝒒𝑫𝑫𝒑𝒑 𝒅𝒅𝒅𝒅
𝒔𝒔 𝒑𝒑
𝒅𝒅𝒅𝒅

x 23
 GENERATION AND RECOMBINATION
PROCESSES
 Direct Recombination (for band-to-band recombination, e.g., in
GaAs)
 Figure 10 shows direct generation and recombination of
electron-hole pairs: (a) at thermal equilibrium and (b) under
illumination.

 Under thermal equilibrium condition: 𝑮𝑮𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕 = 𝑹𝑹𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕 ,

where the generation rate 𝑮𝑮𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕 is the number of electron-hole
pairs generated per cm𝟑𝟑 per second, the recombination rate 𝑹𝑹𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕
is the reverse process of electron-hole pair annihilation.
24
 GENERATION AND RECOMBINATION
PROCESSES (Cont.)
 The recombination rate 𝑹𝑹 is given by
𝑹𝑹 = 𝜷𝜷𝒏𝒏𝒏𝒏
where 𝜷𝜷 is a constant
 At thermal equilibrium
𝑮𝑮𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕 = 𝑹𝑹𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕 = 𝜷𝜷𝒏𝒏𝒏𝒏𝒏𝒏 𝒑𝒑𝒏𝒏𝒏𝒏
(for n-type semiconductor)
 When we shine a light on the semiconductor to produce
electron-hole pairs at a rate 𝑮𝑮𝑳𝑳
∴ 𝑮𝑮 = 𝑮𝑮𝑳𝑳 + 𝑮𝑮𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕
𝑹𝑹 = 𝜷𝜷𝒏𝒏𝒏𝒏 𝒑𝒑𝒏𝒏 = 𝜷𝜷(𝒏𝒏𝒏𝒏𝒏𝒏 + ∆𝒏𝒏) (𝒑𝒑𝒏𝒏𝒏𝒏 + ∆𝒑𝒑)
𝒏𝒏𝒏𝒏 𝒑𝒑𝒏𝒏
∆𝒏𝒏 = ∆𝒑𝒑 to maintain overall charge neutrality
25
 GENERATION AND RECOMBINATION
PROCESSES (Cont.)
 The net rate of change of hole concentration
𝒅𝒅𝒑𝒑𝒏𝒏
= 𝑮𝑮 − 𝑹𝑹 = 𝑮𝑮𝑳𝑳 + 𝑮𝑮𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕 − 𝑹𝑹
𝒅𝒅𝒅𝒅
In steady state 𝒅𝒅𝒑𝒑𝒏𝒏 ⁄𝒅𝒅𝒅𝒅 = 𝟎𝟎
∴ 𝑮𝑮𝑳𝑳 = 𝑹𝑹 − 𝑮𝑮𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕 ≡ 𝑼𝑼 = the net recombination rate
𝑼𝑼 = 𝜷𝜷 𝒏𝒏𝒏𝒏𝒏𝒏 + ∆𝒏𝒏 𝒑𝒑𝒏𝒏𝒏𝒏 + ∆𝒑𝒑 − 𝑮𝑮𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕
≅ 𝜷𝜷𝒏𝒏𝒏𝒏𝒏𝒏 𝒑𝒑𝒏𝒏𝒏𝒏 + 𝜷𝜷 𝒏𝒏𝒏𝒏𝒏𝒏 + 𝒑𝒑𝒏𝒏𝒏𝒏 + ∆𝒑𝒑 ∆𝒑𝒑 − 𝑮𝑮𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕
𝑮𝑮𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕
= 𝜷𝜷 𝒏𝒏𝒏𝒏𝒐𝒐 + 𝒑𝒑𝒏𝒏𝒐𝒐 + ∆𝒑𝒑 ∆𝒑𝒑 (if ∆𝒑𝒑, 𝒑𝒑𝒏𝒏𝒏𝒏 ≪ 𝒏𝒏𝒏𝒏𝒏𝒏 )
≅ 𝜷𝜷𝒏𝒏𝒏𝒏𝒏𝒏 ∆𝒑𝒑
𝒑𝒑𝒏𝒏 − 𝒑𝒑𝒏𝒏𝒏𝒏
=
𝟏𝟏⁄𝜷𝜷𝒏𝒏𝒏𝒏𝒏𝒏
Let 𝝉𝝉𝒑𝒑 = 𝟏𝟏⁄𝜷𝜷𝒏𝒏𝒏𝒏𝒐𝒐 = lifetime of the excess minority carriers
𝒑𝒑𝒏𝒏 − 𝒑𝒑𝒏𝒏𝒏𝒏
∴ 𝑼𝑼 =
𝝉𝝉𝒑𝒑
26
 MINORITY CARRIER LIFETIME
 Photoconductivity method is used to measure the minority lifetime.
 Figure 11 shows the decay of photoexcited carriers. (a) n-type sample
under constant illumination. (b) Decay of minority carriers (holes) with
time. (c) Schematic setup to measure minority carrier lifetime.
𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑛𝑛−𝑝𝑝
− 𝑝𝑝𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛
 ∵
∵ 𝐺𝐺
𝐺𝐺𝐿𝐿𝐿𝐿 =
= 𝑈𝑈 = 𝑛𝑛 𝜏𝜏 𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛
𝑈𝑈 =
𝑝𝑝𝜏𝜏𝑝𝑝 at steady state
∴ 𝑝𝑝𝑛𝑛 = 𝑝𝑝𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛 + 𝐺𝐺𝐿𝐿 𝜏𝜏𝑝𝑝 ∆𝑛𝑛 = ∆𝑝𝑝 = 𝐺𝐺𝐿𝐿 𝜏𝜏𝑝𝑝

 At 𝑡𝑡 = 0, light is turned off

𝑝𝑝𝑛𝑛 𝑡𝑡 = 0 = 𝑝𝑝𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛 + 𝐺𝐺𝐿𝐿 𝜏𝜏𝑝𝑝
𝑑𝑑𝑝𝑝𝑛𝑛 𝑝𝑝𝑛𝑛 − 𝑝𝑝𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛
= 𝐺𝐺𝑡𝑡𝑡 − 𝑅𝑅 = −𝑈𝑈 = −
𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 𝜏𝜏𝑝𝑝
The solution is 𝑝𝑝𝑛𝑛 𝑡𝑡 = 𝑝𝑝𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛 + 𝐺𝐺𝐿𝐿 𝜏𝜏𝑝𝑝 𝑒𝑒 −𝑡𝑡⁄𝜏𝜏𝑝𝑝

27
 INDIRECT RECOMBINATION
(for indirect semiconductors such as Si)
 For indirect semiconductors, recombination process is indirect
transition via localized energy states in the forbidden energy gap.
 Figure 13 shows the indirect generation-recombination processes of
(a) electron capture, (b) electron emission, (c) hole capture, and (d)
hole emission at thermal equilibrium.

 In the figure, arrows indicate the directions of transition, the squares

are the generation/recombination centers which serve as stepping
stones between the conduction band and the valence band.
28
 RECOMBINATION AND GENERATION RATES

 The recombination rate is derived in Appendix I∶

𝒗𝒗𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕 𝝈𝝈𝒏𝒏 𝝈𝝈𝒑𝒑 𝑵𝑵𝒕𝒕 (𝒑𝒑𝒏𝒏 𝒏𝒏𝒏𝒏 − 𝒏𝒏𝟐𝟐𝒊𝒊 ) (50)
𝑼𝑼 = 𝑬𝑬𝒊𝒊 −𝑬𝑬𝒕𝒕⁄𝒌𝒌𝒌𝒌 𝑬𝑬𝒕𝒕 −𝑬𝑬𝒊𝒊 )⁄𝒌𝒌𝒌𝒌
𝝈𝝈𝒑𝒑 [𝒑𝒑𝒏𝒏 + 𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒊 𝒆𝒆 ] + 𝝈𝝈𝒏𝒏 [𝒏𝒏𝒏𝒏 + 𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒊 𝒆𝒆 ]

where 𝑵𝑵𝒕𝒕 is the concentration of the recombination

centers in the semiconductor, 𝝈𝝈𝒏𝒏 is the electron capture
cross section － a measure of how close the electron
has to come to the center to be captured, 𝝈𝝈𝒑𝒑 is the
capture cross section of holes, and 𝑬𝑬𝒕𝒕 is the energy
level of the recombination center.

 If 𝝈𝝈𝒏𝒏 = 𝝈𝝈𝒑𝒑 = 𝝈𝝈𝒐𝒐 , 𝑼𝑼 (Eq.50) can be written as:

(𝒑𝒑𝒏𝒏 𝒏𝒏𝒏𝒏 − 𝒏𝒏𝟐𝟐𝒊𝒊 )
𝑼𝑼 = 𝒗𝒗𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕 𝝈𝝈𝒐𝒐 𝑵𝑵𝒕𝒕
𝑬𝑬 − 𝑬𝑬𝒊𝒊
𝒑𝒑𝒏𝒏 + 𝒏𝒏𝒏𝒏 + 𝟐𝟐𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒊 cosh 𝒕𝒕
𝒌𝒌𝒌𝒌 29
 RECOMBINATION AND GENERATION RATES
(Cont.)
 Under low injection condition (𝒏𝒏𝒏𝒏 ≫ 𝒑𝒑𝒏𝒏 ), 𝑼𝑼 becomes:
𝒑𝒑𝒏𝒏 − 𝒑𝒑𝒏𝒏𝒏𝒏 𝒑𝒑𝒏𝒏 − 𝒑𝒑𝒏𝒏𝒏𝒏
𝑼𝑼 = 𝒗𝒗𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕 𝝈𝝈𝒐𝒐 𝑵𝑵𝒕𝒕 =
𝟐𝟐𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒊 𝑬𝑬𝒕𝒕 − 𝑬𝑬𝒊𝒊 𝝉𝝉𝒓𝒓 (52)
𝟏𝟏 + 𝐜𝐜𝐜𝐜𝐜𝐜𝐜𝐜
𝒏𝒏𝒏𝒏𝒏𝒏 𝒌𝒌𝒌𝒌
𝟐𝟐𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒊 𝑬𝑬 − 𝑬𝑬𝒊𝒊
𝟏𝟏 + cosh 𝒕𝒕
𝒏𝒏𝒏𝒏𝒏𝒏 𝒌𝒌𝒌𝒌
𝝉𝝉𝒓𝒓 ≡ = recombination lifetime
𝒗𝒗𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕 𝝈𝝈𝒐𝒐 𝑵𝑵𝒕𝒕

 If 𝑬𝑬𝒕𝒕 ≈ 𝑬𝑬𝒊𝒊 , the recombination center is located near 𝑬𝑬𝒊𝒊 , and

𝒏𝒏𝒏𝒏𝒏𝒏 ≫ 𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒊
𝟏𝟏
𝝉𝝉𝒑𝒑 ≅
𝒗𝒗𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕 𝝈𝝈𝒐𝒐 𝑵𝑵𝒕𝒕
∴ 𝝉𝝉𝒑𝒑 ↓ as 𝑵𝑵𝒕𝒕 ↑ and 𝝈𝝈𝒐𝒐 ↑
Typically 𝝉𝝉𝒑𝒑 = 𝟎𝟎. 𝟑𝟑 μs in n-type Si at 300K
𝝉𝝉𝒏𝒏 = 𝟏𝟏 μs in p-type Si at 300K
30
 RECOMBINATION AND GENERATION RATES
(Cont.)
 The generation rate is for 𝒑𝒑𝒑𝒑 < 𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒊 𝟐𝟐 , carriers are extracted
from the semiconductor. To restore the system to
equilibrium, carriers must be generated by the 𝑮𝑮 − 𝑹𝑹
centers.
Let 𝒑𝒑𝒏𝒏 < 𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒊 , 𝒏𝒏𝒏𝒏 < 𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒊
𝒑𝒑𝒏𝒏 𝒏𝒏𝒏𝒏 − 𝒏𝒏𝟐𝟐𝒊𝒊
𝑮𝑮 = −𝑼𝑼 ≡ −𝒗𝒗𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕 𝝈𝝈𝒐𝒐 𝑵𝑵𝒕𝒕
𝑬𝑬𝒕𝒕 − 𝑬𝑬𝒊𝒊
𝒑𝒑𝒏𝒏 + 𝒏𝒏𝒏𝒏 + 𝟐𝟐𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒊 cosh
𝒌𝒌𝒌𝒌

𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒊 𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒊
= +𝒗𝒗𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕 𝝈𝝈𝒐𝒐 𝑵𝑵𝒕𝒕 =
𝑬𝑬𝒕𝒕 − 𝑬𝑬𝒊𝒊 𝝉𝝉𝒈𝒈
𝟐𝟐 cosh
𝒌𝒌𝒌𝒌
𝑬𝑬𝒕𝒕 − 𝑬𝑬𝒊𝒊
𝟐𝟐 cosh
𝝉𝝉𝒈𝒈 generation lifetime = 𝒌𝒌𝒌𝒌
𝒗𝒗𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕 𝝈𝝈𝒐𝒐 𝑵𝑵𝒕𝒕
31
 EXAMPLE
 Assume 𝑵𝑵𝑫𝑫 ≈ 𝒏𝒏𝒏𝒏𝒏𝒏 = 𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏 cm−𝟑𝟑 in Si,

𝟐𝟐𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒊 𝑬𝑬𝒕𝒕 − 𝑬𝑬𝒊𝒊 𝑬𝑬𝒕𝒕 − 𝑬𝑬𝒊𝒊

cosh = 𝟐𝟐 × 𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏−𝟓𝟓 cosh
𝒏𝒏𝒏𝒏𝒐𝒐 𝒌𝒌𝒌𝒌 𝒌𝒌𝒌𝒌

The above expression will remain small until (𝑬𝑬𝒕𝒕 − 𝑬𝑬𝒊𝒊 )⁄𝒌𝒌𝒌𝒌 ≥ 𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏

and 𝐜𝐜𝐜𝐜𝐜𝐜𝐜𝐜(𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏) ≈ 𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟒𝟒 . Therefore, 𝝉𝝉𝒓𝒓 has a broad minimum of 𝟏𝟏⁄𝒗𝒗𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕 𝝈𝝈𝒐𝒐 𝑵𝑵𝒕𝒕

shown below. But for 𝝉𝝉𝒈𝒈 , it varies rapidly with (𝑬𝑬𝒕𝒕 − 𝑬𝑬𝒊𝒊 )⁄𝒌𝒌𝑻𝑻 also shown

below.

For 𝑬𝑬𝒕𝒕 = 𝑬𝑬𝒊𝒊 , 𝐜𝐜𝐜𝐜𝐜𝐜𝐜𝐜 𝟎𝟎 = 𝟏𝟏,

𝟐𝟐
𝝉𝝉𝒈𝒈 =
𝒗𝒗𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕 𝝈𝝈𝒐𝒐 𝑵𝑵𝒕𝒕

32
 SURFACE RECOMBINATION
 Figure 14 shows a schematic diagram of bonds at a clean
semiconductor surface. The bonds are anisotropic and differ from
those in the bulk.

 Abrupt discontinuity of lattice at surface

introduces 𝑮𝑮 − 𝑹𝑹 centers
33
 SURFACE RECOMBINATION (Cont.)
 Under low injection condition (𝒏𝒏𝒏𝒏 ≫ 𝒑𝒑𝒏𝒏 ),
the surface recombination rate is similar to Eq.52 with
𝟐𝟐𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒊 𝒊𝒊
𝟐𝟐𝒏𝒏 𝑬𝑬 𝑬𝑬−−𝑬𝑬𝑬𝑬
cosh 𝒕𝒕 𝒕𝒕 𝒊𝒊𝒊𝒊 ≪
�𝒏𝒏𝒏𝒏𝒏𝒏cosh ≪ 𝟏𝟏:
𝟏𝟏 ∶
𝒏𝒏𝒏𝒏𝒏𝒏 𝒌𝒌𝒌𝒌
𝒌𝒌𝒌𝒌
𝑼𝑼𝒔𝒔 = 𝒗𝒗𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕 𝝈𝝈𝒑𝒑 𝑵𝑵𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕 𝒑𝒑𝒔𝒔 − 𝒑𝒑𝒏𝒏𝒏𝒏 (53)

where 𝒑𝒑𝒔𝒔 is the hole concentration at the surface

𝑵𝑵𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕 is the recombination center density per unit area in the
surface region

 ∵ 𝒗𝒗𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕 𝝈𝝈𝒑𝒑 𝑵𝑵𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕 cm⁄s cm𝟐𝟐 number of center⁄cm𝟐𝟐

cm⁄s velocity dimension
∴ 𝑺𝑺𝒍𝒍𝒍𝒍 = surface recombination velocity = 𝒗𝒗𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕 𝝈𝝈𝒑𝒑 𝑵𝑵𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕
𝑺𝑺𝒍𝒍𝒍𝒍 = 𝟏𝟏 ~ 𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏 cm⁄s for Si,
𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟑𝟑 cm⁄s for InP,
~𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟔𝟔 cm⁄s for GaAs
34
 CONTINUITY EQUATION
 Figure 15 shows the current flow and generation-recombination
processes in an infinitesimal slice of thickness 𝒅𝒅𝒅𝒅

 Overall effect: drift (electric field)

− diffusion (concentration gradient)
+ generation − recombination
→ Continuity equation
35
 CONTINUITY EQUATION (Cont.)
 There are 4 components for electrons:
 Number of electrons flowing into the slice at 𝑥𝑥
J𝑛𝑛 𝑥𝑥
∙ 𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴
−𝑞𝑞

 Number of electrons flowing out at 𝑥𝑥 + 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑

J𝑛𝑛 𝑥𝑥 + 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 Taylor expansion 𝜕𝜕J𝑛𝑛
∙ 𝐴𝐴 J𝑛𝑛 𝑥𝑥 + 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 = J𝑛𝑛 𝑥𝑥 + 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 + ⋯
−𝑞𝑞 𝜕𝜕𝜕𝜕

 Electrons generated in the volume 𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴

𝐺𝐺𝑛𝑛 (𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴)

 Electrons recombined with holes in the volume 𝐴𝐴𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑

𝑅𝑅𝑛𝑛 (𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴)
36
 CONTINUITY EQUATION (Cont.)

𝒅𝒅𝒅𝒅
𝒅𝒅𝒅𝒅 JJ𝒏𝒏𝒏𝒏𝒙𝒙 𝒙𝒙 𝒏𝒏 𝒙𝒙 +∙ 𝒅𝒅𝒅𝒅
J𝒏𝒏J𝒙𝒙+𝒅𝒅𝒅𝒅
∴ 𝑨𝑨𝑨𝑨𝑨𝑨 = ∙ 𝑨𝑨 − 𝑨𝑨 +∙ 𝑨𝑨𝑮𝑮𝒏𝒏+− 𝑮𝑮
𝑹𝑹𝒏𝒏𝒏𝒏 −
𝑨𝑨𝑨𝑨
𝒅𝒅𝒅𝒅 𝑨𝑨𝑨𝑨𝑨𝑨 = −𝒒𝒒 ∙ 𝑨𝑨 − −𝒒𝒒 𝑹𝑹𝒏𝒏 𝑨𝑨𝒅𝒅𝒙𝒙

𝒅𝒅𝒅𝒅 −𝒒𝒒 −𝒒𝒒
Taylor expansion
𝟏𝟏 𝝏𝝏J𝒏𝒏
J 𝒙𝒙 + 𝒅𝒅𝒅𝒅 + ⋯ 𝑨𝑨
−𝒒𝒒 𝒏𝒏 𝝏𝝏𝝏𝝏

𝒅𝒅𝒅𝒅 1 𝝏𝝏J𝒏𝒏
∴ = + 𝑮𝑮𝒏𝒏 − 𝑹𝑹𝒏𝒏 electrons
𝒅𝒅𝒅𝒅 𝒒𝒒 𝝏𝝏𝝏𝝏
𝒅𝒅𝒅𝒅 1 𝝏𝝏J𝒑𝒑
and =− + 𝑮𝑮𝒑𝒑 − 𝑹𝑹𝒑𝒑 holes
𝒅𝒅𝒅𝒅 𝒒𝒒 𝝏𝝏𝝏𝝏

37
 CONTINUITY EQUATION (Cont.)
𝒅𝒅𝒅𝒅
Since J𝒏𝒏 = 𝒒𝒒𝝁𝝁𝒏𝒏 𝒏𝒏𝓔𝓔 + 𝒒𝒒𝑫𝑫𝒏𝒏
𝒅𝒅𝒅𝒅
𝒏𝒏𝒑𝒑 − 𝒏𝒏𝒑𝒑𝒑𝒑
𝑼𝑼 =
𝝉𝝉𝒑𝒑

𝒅𝒅𝒏𝒏𝒑𝒑 𝟏𝟏 𝝏𝝏𝓔𝓔 𝝏𝝏𝒏𝒏𝒑𝒑 𝟏𝟏 𝝏𝝏𝟐𝟐 𝒏𝒏𝒑𝒑 𝒏𝒏𝒑𝒑 − 𝒏𝒏𝒑𝒑𝒑𝒑

∴ = 𝒒𝒒𝝁𝝁𝒏𝒏 𝒏𝒏𝒑𝒑 + 𝒒𝒒𝝁𝝁𝒏𝒏 𝓔𝓔 + 𝒒𝒒𝑫𝑫𝒏𝒏 + 𝑮𝑮𝒏𝒏 −
𝒅𝒅𝒅𝒅 𝒒𝒒 𝝏𝝏𝝏𝝏 𝝏𝝏𝝏𝝏 𝒒𝒒 𝝏𝝏𝒙𝒙𝟐𝟐 𝝉𝝉𝒏𝒏

𝒅𝒅𝒏𝒏𝒑𝒑 𝝏𝝏𝓔𝓔 𝝏𝝏𝒏𝒏𝒑𝒑 𝝏𝝏𝟐𝟐 𝒏𝒏𝒑𝒑 𝒏𝒏𝒑𝒑 − 𝒏𝒏𝒑𝒑𝒑𝒑

= 𝝁𝝁𝒏𝒏 𝒏𝒏𝒑𝒑 + 𝝁𝝁𝒏𝒏 𝓔𝓔 + 𝑫𝑫𝒏𝒏 + 𝑮𝑮𝒏𝒏 − (59)
𝒅𝒅𝒅𝒅 𝝏𝝏𝝏𝝏 𝝏𝝏𝝏𝝏 𝝏𝝏𝒙𝒙𝟐𝟐 𝝉𝝉𝒏𝒏

Similarly we have

𝒅𝒅𝒑𝒑𝒏𝒏 𝝏𝝏𝓔𝓔 𝝏𝝏𝒑𝒑𝒏𝒏 𝝏𝝏𝟐𝟐 𝒑𝒑𝒏𝒏 𝒑𝒑𝒏𝒏 − 𝒑𝒑𝒏𝒏𝒏𝒏

= −𝝁𝝁𝒑𝒑 𝒑𝒑𝒏𝒏 − 𝝁𝝁𝒑𝒑 𝓔𝓔 + 𝑫𝑫𝒑𝒑 + 𝑮𝑮𝒑𝒑 − (60)
𝒅𝒅𝒅𝒅 𝝏𝝏𝝏𝝏 𝝏𝝏𝝏𝝏 𝝏𝝏𝒙𝒙𝟐𝟐 𝝉𝝉𝒑𝒑
38
BASIC EQUATIONS FOR SEMICONDUCTOR
DEVICE OPERATION
 Current Density Equation
𝒅𝒅𝒅𝒅
J𝒏𝒏 = 𝒒𝒒𝝁𝝁𝒏𝒏 𝒏𝒏𝓔𝓔 + 𝒒𝒒𝑫𝑫𝒏𝒏
𝒅𝒅𝒅𝒅
𝒅𝒅𝒅𝒅 J = J𝒏𝒏 +J𝒑𝒑
J𝒑𝒑 = 𝒒𝒒𝝁𝝁𝒑𝒑 𝒑𝒑𝓔𝓔 − 𝒒𝒒𝑫𝑫𝒑𝒑
𝒅𝒅𝒅𝒅
 Continuity Equation
𝒅𝒅𝒅𝒅 1 𝝏𝝏J𝒏𝒏
= + 𝑮𝑮𝒏𝒏 − 𝑹𝑹𝒏𝒏
𝒅𝒅𝒅𝒅 𝒒𝒒 𝝏𝝏𝝏𝝏
𝒅𝒅𝒅𝒅 1 𝝏𝝏J𝒑𝒑
= + 𝑮𝑮𝒑𝒑 − 𝑹𝑹𝒑𝒑
𝒅𝒅𝒅𝒅 𝒒𝒒 𝝏𝝏𝝏𝝏
 Poisson Equation
𝝏𝝏𝓔𝓔 𝝆𝝆𝒔𝒔 𝒒𝒒(𝒑𝒑 − 𝒏𝒏 + 𝑵𝑵𝑫𝑫 + − 𝑵𝑵𝑨𝑨 − )
= =
𝝏𝝏𝝏𝝏 𝟄𝟄𝒔𝒔 𝟄𝟄𝒔𝒔
𝝆𝝆𝒔𝒔 = net charge carrier density + ionized impurity density
𝟄𝟄𝒔𝒔 = dielectric permittivity of semiconductor
39
 STEADY-STATE INJECTION FROM ONE SIDE

 Figure 16 shows the steady-state carrier injection from

one side. (a) Semiinfinite sample. (b) Sample with
thickness W.

40
 STEADY-STATE INJECTION FROM ONE SIDE
(Cont.)
 Refer to Fig.16a
From Eq.60
𝒅𝒅𝒅𝒅
𝓔𝓔 = 𝟎𝟎 , = 𝟎𝟎, also 𝑮𝑮𝒑𝒑 (𝐟𝐟𝐟𝐟𝐟𝐟 𝒙𝒙 > 𝟎𝟎) = 𝟎𝟎
𝒅𝒅𝒅𝒅
𝒅𝒅𝒑𝒑𝒏𝒏 𝝏𝝏𝟐𝟐 𝒑𝒑𝒏𝒏 𝒑𝒑𝒏𝒏 − 𝒑𝒑𝒏𝒏𝒐𝒐
= 𝟎𝟎 = 𝑫𝑫𝒑𝒑 𝟐𝟐 −
𝒅𝒅𝒅𝒅 𝝏𝝏𝒙𝒙 𝝉𝝉𝒑𝒑
Boundary Condition
𝒑𝒑𝒏𝒏 𝒙𝒙 = 𝟎𝟎 = 𝒑𝒑𝒏𝒏 𝟎𝟎 , 𝒑𝒑𝒏𝒏 𝒙𝒙 → ∞ = 𝒑𝒑𝒏𝒏𝒐𝒐
∴ 𝒑𝒑𝒏𝒏 𝒙𝒙 = 𝒑𝒑𝒏𝒏𝒐𝒐 + 𝒑𝒑𝒏𝒏 𝟎𝟎 − 𝒑𝒑𝒏𝒏𝒐𝒐 𝒆𝒆−𝒙𝒙⁄𝑳𝑳𝒑𝒑
𝑳𝑳𝒑𝒑 ≡ 𝑫𝑫𝒑𝒑 𝝉𝝉𝒑𝒑 = diffusion length
Check 𝐚𝐚𝐚𝐚 𝒙𝒙 = 𝟎𝟎, 𝒑𝒑𝒏𝒏 𝟎𝟎 = 𝒑𝒑𝒏𝒏𝒐𝒐 + 𝒑𝒑𝒏𝒏 𝟎𝟎 − 𝒑𝒑𝒏𝒏𝒐𝒐 = 𝒑𝒑𝒏𝒏 𝟎𝟎
𝐚𝐚𝐚𝐚 𝒙𝒙 = ∞, 𝒑𝒑𝒏𝒏 ∞ = 𝒑𝒑𝒏𝒏𝒐𝒐
41
 STEADY-STATE INJECTION (Cont.)
 Refer to Fig. 16b
A new boundary condition
𝒑𝒑𝒏𝒏 𝑾𝑾 = 𝒑𝒑𝒏𝒏𝒐𝒐 (all excess carriers are extracted at 𝒙𝒙 = 𝑾𝑾)
𝑾𝑾 − 𝒙𝒙
sinh
𝑳𝑳𝒑𝒑
∴ 𝒑𝒑𝒏𝒏 𝒙𝒙 = 𝒑𝒑𝒏𝒏𝒏𝒏 + 𝒑𝒑𝒏𝒏 𝟎𝟎 − 𝒑𝒑𝒏𝒏𝒏𝒏 (64)
𝑾𝑾
sinh
𝑳𝑳𝒑𝒑
The current at 𝒙𝒙 = 𝑾𝑾
𝒅𝒅𝒑𝒑𝒏𝒏 𝑫𝑫𝒑𝒑 𝟏𝟏
J𝒏𝒏 = −𝒒𝒒𝑫𝑫𝒑𝒑 = 𝒒𝒒 𝒑𝒑𝒏𝒏 𝟎𝟎 − 𝒑𝒑𝒏𝒏𝒏𝒏 (65)
𝒅𝒅𝒅𝒅 𝑳𝑳𝒑𝒑 sinh(𝑾𝑾⁄𝑳𝑳𝒑𝒑 )
Check at 𝒙𝒙 = 𝟎𝟎
sinh 𝑾𝑾⁄𝑳𝑳𝒑𝒑
𝒑𝒑𝒏𝒏 𝟎𝟎 = 𝒑𝒑𝒏𝒏𝒏𝒏 + 𝒑𝒑𝒏𝒏 𝟎𝟎 − 𝒑𝒑𝒏𝒏𝒏𝒏 = 𝒑𝒑𝒏𝒏 𝟎𝟎
sinh 𝑾𝑾⁄𝑳𝑳𝒑𝒑
sinh 𝟎𝟎
𝒑𝒑𝒏𝒏 𝑾𝑾 = 𝒑𝒑𝒏𝒏𝒏𝒏 + 𝒑𝒑𝒏𝒏 𝟎𝟎 − 𝒑𝒑𝒏𝒏𝒏𝒏 = 𝒑𝒑𝒏𝒏𝒏𝒏
sinh 𝑾𝑾⁄𝑳𝑳𝒑𝒑
0 42
 MINORITY CARRIERS AT THE SURFACE
 Figure 17 shows the surface recombination at 𝒙𝒙 = 𝟎𝟎. The
minority carrier distribution near the surface is affected by the
surface recombination velocity.

 Hole current flowing into the surface from the bulk is

𝒒𝒒𝑺𝑺𝒍𝒍𝒍𝒍 𝒑𝒑𝒏𝒏 𝟎𝟎 − 𝒑𝒑𝒏𝒏𝒐𝒐 = 𝒒𝒒𝑼𝑼𝒔𝒔 Eq. (53)

 The gradient of the hole concentration at 𝒙𝒙 = 𝟎𝟎 yields a

diffusion current density.
𝒅𝒅𝒑𝒑𝒏𝒏
∴ 𝒒𝒒𝑫𝑫𝒑𝒑 � = 𝒒𝒒𝑺𝑺𝒍𝒍𝒍𝒍 𝒑𝒑𝒏𝒏 𝟎𝟎 − 𝒑𝒑𝒏𝒏𝒐𝒐
𝒅𝒅𝒅𝒅 𝒙𝒙=𝟎𝟎
43
MINORITY CARRIERS AT THE SURFACE (Cont.)

 At steady state
𝒅𝒅𝒑𝒑𝒏𝒏 𝝏𝝏𝟐𝟐 𝒑𝒑𝒏𝒏 𝒑𝒑𝒏𝒏 − 𝒑𝒑𝒏𝒏𝒐𝒐
= 𝟎𝟎 = 𝑫𝑫𝒑𝒑 + 𝑮𝑮𝑳𝑳 −
𝒅𝒅𝒅𝒅 𝝏𝝏𝒙𝒙𝟐𝟐 𝝉𝝉𝒑𝒑
𝝉𝝉𝒑𝒑 𝑺𝑺𝒍𝒍𝒍𝒍 𝒆𝒆−𝒙𝒙⁄𝑳𝑳𝒑𝒑
∴ 𝒑𝒑𝒏𝒏 𝒙𝒙 = 𝒑𝒑𝒏𝒏𝒏𝒏 + 𝝉𝝉𝒑𝒑 𝑮𝑮𝑳𝑳 𝟏𝟏 − (68)
𝑳𝑳𝒑𝒑 + 𝝉𝝉𝒑𝒑 𝑺𝑺𝒍𝒍𝒍𝒍
When 𝑺𝑺𝒍𝒍𝒍𝒍 → ∞
𝒑𝒑𝒏𝒏 𝒙𝒙 = 𝒑𝒑𝒏𝒏𝒐𝒐 + 𝝉𝝉𝒑𝒑 𝑮𝑮𝑳𝑳 𝟏𝟏 − 𝒆𝒆−𝒙𝒙⁄𝑳𝑳𝒑𝒑 (69)

When 𝑺𝑺𝒍𝒍𝒍𝒍 → 𝟎𝟎
𝒑𝒑𝒏𝒏 𝒙𝒙 = 𝒑𝒑𝒏𝒏𝒐𝒐 + 𝝉𝝉𝒑𝒑 𝑮𝑮𝑳𝑳 (same as Eq. 45a)

44
 HAYNES-SHOCKLEY EXPERIMENT
 Figure 18 shows the Haynes-Shockley experiment. (a) Experimental
setup. (b) Carrier distributions without an applied field. (c) Carrier
distributions with an applied field.

45
 HAYNES-SHOCKLEY EXPERIMENT (Cont.)

 Eq. 60 after the pulse 𝑮𝑮𝑳𝑳 = 𝟎𝟎, 𝓔𝓔 = 𝟎𝟎

𝒅𝒅𝒑𝒑𝒏𝒏 𝝏𝝏𝟐𝟐 𝒑𝒑𝒏𝒏 𝒑𝒑𝒏𝒏 − 𝒑𝒑𝒏𝒏𝒏𝒏

= 𝑫𝑫𝒑𝒑 −
𝒅𝒅𝒅𝒅 𝝏𝝏𝒙𝒙𝟐𝟐 𝝉𝝉𝒑𝒑
𝑵𝑵 𝒙𝒙𝟐𝟐 𝒕𝒕
𝒑𝒑𝒏𝒏 𝒙𝒙, 𝒕𝒕 = exp − − + 𝒑𝒑𝒏𝒏𝒏𝒏 (71)
𝟒𝟒𝟒𝟒𝑫𝑫𝒑𝒑 𝒕𝒕 𝟒𝟒𝑫𝑫 𝒑𝒑 𝒕𝒕 𝝉𝝉𝒑𝒑

𝑵𝑵 = number of electrons generated/area

 If 𝓔𝓔 ≠ 𝟎𝟎, 𝒅𝒅𝒅𝒅⁄𝒅𝒅𝒅𝒅 ≠ 𝟎𝟎
in Eq. 71 𝒙𝒙 𝒙𝒙 − 𝝁𝝁𝒑𝒑 𝓔𝓔𝓔𝓔 . Carriers move to right with 𝒗𝒗 = 𝝁𝝁𝒑𝒑 𝓔𝓔, and
carriers diffuse outward and recombine

46
 EXAMPLE 8
 In a Haynes-Shockley experiment, the maximum amplitudes of
the minority carriers at 𝒕𝒕𝟏𝟏 = 𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏 μs and 𝒕𝒕𝟐𝟐 = 𝟐𝟐𝟎𝟎𝟎𝟎 μs differ by a
factor of 5. Calculate the minority carrier lifetime.

SOLUTION
When an electric field is applied, the minority carrier distribution
is given by
𝟐𝟐
𝑵𝑵 𝒙𝒙 − 𝝁𝝁𝒑𝒑 𝓔𝓔𝓔𝓔 𝒕𝒕
∆𝒑𝒑 ≡ 𝒑𝒑𝒏𝒏 − 𝒑𝒑𝒏𝒏𝒏𝒏 = exp − −
𝟒𝟒𝝅𝝅𝑫𝑫𝒑𝒑 𝒕𝒕 𝟒𝟒𝑫𝑫𝒑𝒑 𝒕𝒕 𝝉𝝉𝒑𝒑

At the maximum amplitude

𝑵𝑵 𝒕𝒕
∆𝒑𝒑 = exp −
𝟒𝟒𝝅𝝅𝑫𝑫𝒑𝒑 𝒕𝒕 𝝉𝝉𝒑𝒑
Therefore
∆𝒑𝒑(𝒕𝒕𝟏𝟏 ) 𝒕𝒕𝟐𝟐 exp(−𝒕𝒕𝟏𝟏 ⁄𝝉𝝉𝒑𝒑 ) 𝟐𝟐𝟐𝟐𝟐𝟐 𝟐𝟐𝟐𝟐𝟐𝟐 − 𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏
= = exp = 𝟓𝟓
∆𝒑𝒑(𝒕𝒕𝟐𝟐 ) 𝒕𝒕𝟏𝟏 exp(−𝒕𝒕 ⁄ 𝝉𝝉
𝟐𝟐 𝒑𝒑 ) 𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏 𝝉𝝉𝒑𝒑
𝟐𝟐𝟐𝟐𝟐𝟐 − 𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏
∴ 𝝉𝝉𝒑𝒑 = = 𝟕𝟕𝟕𝟕 µs
𝐥𝐥𝐥𝐥 𝟓𝟓/ 𝟐𝟐 47
 THERMIONIC EMISSION
 At the semiconductor surface, carriers may be emitted into the
vacuum, if they have sufficient energy.
 Figure 19 (a) The band diagram of an isolated n-type
semiconductor. (b) The thermionic emission process.

 Similar to Eqs. 6 &13

∞
𝒏𝒏𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕 = � 𝒏𝒏 𝑬𝑬 𝒅𝒅𝒅𝒅 = 𝑵𝑵𝒄𝒄 exp −(𝑬𝑬′𝒄𝒄 − 𝑬𝑬𝑭𝑭 )/𝒌𝒌𝒌𝒌
𝒒𝒒𝒒𝒒
replaced by the vacuum level,
𝑬𝑬′𝒄𝒄 − 𝑬𝑬𝑭𝑭 = 𝒒𝒒𝝓𝝓𝒔𝒔 = 𝒒𝒒𝝌𝝌 + 𝒒𝒒𝑽𝑽𝒔𝒔
48
 THERMIONIC EMISSION (Cont.)
𝒒𝒒𝝓𝝓𝒔𝒔
 𝒏𝒏𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕 = 𝑵𝑵𝒄𝒄 exp − = 𝑵𝑵𝒄𝒄 exp −𝒒𝒒(𝝌𝝌 + 𝑽𝑽𝒔𝒔 )/𝒌𝒌𝒌𝒌
𝒌𝒌𝒌𝒌
where 𝒒𝒒𝝓𝝓𝒔𝒔 is the work function, measured from 𝑬𝑬𝑭𝑭 to vacuum level.
𝒒𝒒𝝌𝝌 is electron affinity, measured from 𝑬𝑬𝒄𝒄 to vacuum level.
𝒒𝒒𝑽𝑽𝒔𝒔 is the difference between 𝑬𝑬𝒄𝒄 and 𝑬𝑬𝑭𝑭 .
 Example: For n-type Si, 𝒒𝒒𝝌𝝌 = 𝟒𝟒. 𝟎𝟎𝟎𝟎 eV, 𝒒𝒒𝑽𝑽𝒔𝒔 = 𝟎𝟎. 𝟐𝟐 eV
𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏
𝟒𝟒. 𝟎𝟎𝟎𝟎 + 𝟎𝟎. 𝟐𝟐
𝒏𝒏𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕 𝟒𝟒. 𝟎𝟎𝟎𝟎 eV = 𝟐𝟐. 𝟖𝟖𝟖𝟖 × 𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏 exp −
𝟎𝟎. 𝟎𝟎𝟎𝟎𝟎𝟎𝟎𝟎
_
= 𝟐𝟐. 𝟖𝟖𝟖𝟖 × 𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏 exp −𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏 = 𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏 𝟓𝟓𝟓𝟓 ≈ 𝟎𝟎
There is no emission of electrons into vacuum for 𝒒𝒒𝝌𝝌 = 𝟒𝟒. 𝟎𝟎𝟎𝟎 eV.
However, if we reduce 𝒒𝒒𝝌𝝌 to 0.6 eV:
𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏
𝟎𝟎. 𝟔𝟔 + 𝟎𝟎. 𝟐𝟐
𝒏𝒏𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕 𝟎𝟎. 𝟔𝟔 eV = 𝟐𝟐. 𝟖𝟖𝟖𝟖 × 𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏 exp −
𝟎𝟎. 𝟎𝟎𝟎𝟎𝟎𝟎𝟎𝟎
= 𝟐𝟐. 𝟖𝟖𝟖𝟖 × 𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏 exp −𝟑𝟑𝟑𝟑. 𝟗𝟗 = 𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟔𝟔 cm−𝟑𝟑
A substantial number of electrons can be thermionically emitted.

49
 TUNNELING PROCESS
 Tunneling is a quantum phenomenon. Electrons may transport
across a barrier even if the electron energy is less than the barrier
height.
 Figure 20 (a) The band diagram of two isolated semiconductors
separated by a distance 𝒅𝒅. (b) One-dimensional potential barrier.
(c) Schematic representation of the wave function across the
potential barrier.

50
 TUNNELING PROCESS (Cont.)
 To obtain the tunneling probability, we use the Schrö dinger
equation:
ℏ𝟐𝟐 𝒅𝒅𝟐𝟐 𝝍𝝍
− + 𝒒𝒒𝒒𝒒𝝍𝝍 = 𝑬𝑬𝝍𝝍 (77)
𝟐𝟐𝒎𝒎𝒏𝒏 𝒅𝒅𝒙𝒙𝟐𝟐
where ℏ is the reduced Planck constant (𝒉𝒉⁄𝟐𝟐𝝅𝝅),
𝝍𝝍 is the wave function of electron.

 In the region where 𝒒𝒒𝒒𝒒 𝒙𝒙 = 𝟎𝟎 (no barrier)

ℏ𝟐𝟐 𝒅𝒅𝟐𝟐 𝝍𝝍
− 𝟐𝟐
= 𝑬𝑬𝝍𝝍
𝟐𝟐𝒎𝒎𝒏𝒏 𝒅𝒅𝒙𝒙
𝒅𝒅𝟐𝟐 𝝍𝝍 𝟐𝟐𝒎𝒎𝒏𝒏 𝑬𝑬
or =− 𝝍𝝍
𝒅𝒅𝒙𝒙𝟐𝟐 ℏ𝟐𝟐
The solutions are
𝝍𝝍 𝒙𝒙 = 𝑨𝑨𝒆𝒆𝒋𝒋𝓴𝓴𝒙𝒙 + 𝑩𝑩𝒆𝒆−𝒋𝒋𝓴𝓴𝒙𝒙 , 𝒙𝒙 ≤ 𝟎𝟎 𝓴𝓴 ≡ 𝟐𝟐𝒎𝒎𝒏𝒏 𝑬𝑬
incident wave function reflected wave function

𝝍𝝍 𝒙𝒙 = 𝑪𝑪𝒆𝒆𝒋𝒋𝓴𝓴𝒙𝒙 , 𝒙𝒙 ≥ 𝒅𝒅
transmitted wave function 51
 TUNNELING PROCESS (Cont.)
 Inside the barrier, from Eq. 77 we have:

𝒅𝒅𝟐𝟐 𝝍𝝍 𝟐𝟐𝒎𝒎𝒏𝒏 (𝒒𝒒𝑽𝑽𝟎𝟎 − 𝑬𝑬)

=− 𝝍𝝍
𝒅𝒅𝒙𝒙𝟐𝟐 ℏ𝟐𝟐
𝝍𝝍 𝒙𝒙 = 𝑭𝑭𝒆𝒆𝜷𝜷𝒙𝒙 + 𝑮𝑮𝒆𝒆−𝜷𝜷𝒙𝒙 , 𝟎𝟎 ≤ 𝒙𝒙 ≤ 𝒅𝒅 𝜷𝜷 ≡ 𝟐𝟐𝒎𝒎𝒏𝒏 (𝒒𝒒𝑽𝑽𝟎𝟎 − 𝑬𝑬)/ℏ𝟐𝟐

𝝍𝝍 and 𝒅𝒅𝝍𝝍⁄𝒅𝒅𝒅𝒅 at 𝒙𝒙 = 𝟎𝟎 and 𝒙𝒙 = 𝒅𝒅 must have continuity, then

we obtain the transmission coefficient:
−𝟏𝟏
𝒒𝒒𝑽𝑽𝟎𝟎 sinh 𝜷𝜷𝜷𝜷
𝑪𝑪⁄𝑨𝑨 𝟐𝟐 = 𝟏𝟏 +
𝟒𝟒𝟒𝟒(𝒒𝒒𝑽𝑽𝟎𝟎 − 𝑬𝑬)
If 𝜷𝜷𝜷𝜷 ≫ 𝟏𝟏
𝑪𝑪⁄𝑨𝑨 𝟐𝟐 ~ exp −𝟐𝟐𝟐𝟐𝟐𝟐 = exp −𝟐𝟐𝟐𝟐 𝟐𝟐𝒎𝒎𝒏𝒏 (𝒒𝒒𝑽𝑽𝟎𝟎 − 𝑬𝑬)/ℏ𝟐𝟐

For a finite transmission coefficient (i.e., tunneling probability),

small 𝒅𝒅, low 𝒒𝒒𝑽𝑽𝟎𝟎 , and small 𝒎𝒎𝒏𝒏 are required.
52
 SPACE CHARGE EFFECT
 The space charge in a semiconductor is
𝝆𝝆 = 𝒒𝒒(𝒑𝒑 − 𝒏𝒏 + 𝑵𝑵+
𝑫𝑫 − 𝑵𝑵 −
𝑨𝑨 )

In neutral region 𝒏𝒏 = 𝑵𝑵+ −

𝑫𝑫 and 𝒑𝒑 = 𝑵𝑵𝑨𝑨 , space charge is zero.

 For an n-type semiconductor 𝑵𝑵− 𝑨𝑨 ≈ 𝒑𝒑 ≈ 𝟎𝟎, if we inject electrons

into it, so that 𝒏𝒏 ≫ 𝑵𝑵+
𝑫𝑫 , 𝝆𝝆 = −𝒒𝒒𝒒𝒒 ≠ 𝟎𝟎

J = 𝒒𝒒𝒒𝒒𝒒𝒒
 From Poisson equation:
𝒅𝒅𝓔𝓔 𝝆𝝆 𝒒𝒒𝒒𝒒
= =
𝒅𝒅𝒅𝒅 𝝐𝝐𝒔𝒔 𝝐𝝐𝒔𝒔
Assume constant mobility
𝒗𝒗 = 𝝁𝝁𝓔𝓔
𝒅𝒅𝓔𝓔 J J
∴ = =
𝒅𝒅𝒅𝒅 𝝐𝝐𝒔𝒔 𝒗𝒗 𝝐𝝐𝒔𝒔 𝝁𝝁𝓔𝓔
53
 SPACE CHARGE EFFECT (Cont.)
J
or 𝓔𝓔𝓔𝓔𝓔𝓔 = 𝒅𝒅𝒅𝒅
𝝐𝝐𝒔𝒔 𝝁𝝁
𝟐𝟐
2J
𝓔𝓔 = 𝒙𝒙
𝝐𝝐𝒔𝒔 𝝁𝝁
𝒅𝒅𝒅𝒅 2J𝒙𝒙
𝓔𝓔 = =
𝒅𝒅𝒅𝒅 𝝐𝝐𝒔𝒔 𝝁𝝁

2J
∴ 𝒅𝒅𝒅𝒅 = 𝒙𝒙𝒅𝒅𝒅𝒅 (90)
𝝐𝝐𝒔𝒔 𝝁𝝁
 Integrating Eq.90 with boundary condition 𝑽𝑽 = 𝑽𝑽 at 𝒙𝒙 = 𝑳𝑳, 𝜹𝜹 ≈ 𝟎𝟎
gives: 𝟏𝟏⁄𝟐𝟐
𝟐𝟐 𝟐𝟐J
𝑽𝑽 = 𝑳𝑳𝟑𝟑⁄𝟐𝟐
𝟑𝟑 𝝐𝝐𝒔𝒔 𝝁𝝁
𝟗𝟗𝝐𝝐𝒔𝒔 𝝁𝝁𝑽𝑽𝟐𝟐 𝟐𝟐
J= ~𝑽𝑽
and 𝟖𝟖𝑳𝑳𝟑𝟑 (92)
So the space-charge-limited current for constant mobility is ~𝑽𝑽𝟐𝟐
54
 SPACE-CHARGE EFFECT (Cont.)
 If the velocity is saturated (saturation velocity regime), J= 𝒒𝒒𝒒𝒒𝒗𝒗𝒔𝒔 ,
𝟐𝟐𝝐𝝐𝒔𝒔 𝒗𝒗𝒔𝒔
J = 𝟐𝟐 𝑽𝑽~ 𝑽𝑽 (93)
𝑳𝑳
In velocity-saturation regime, J varies linearly with 𝑽𝑽

 Figure 21 shows the space-charge effect. (a) The band diagram

for the case of electron injection. (b) The space-charge-limited
current in the constant-mobility regime is proportional to the
square of the applied voltage.

55
 HIGH-FIELD EFFECT
 Figure 22 shows the drift velocity versus electric field in Si

 At low electric fields 𝒗𝒗 ~ 𝓔𝓔 (linearly proportional to the field)

or 𝒗𝒗 = 𝝁𝝁𝓔𝓔 (proportionality constant is the mobility)
 As 𝓔𝓔 ↑, 𝒗𝒗 approaches a saturation velocity in Si
𝒗𝒗𝒔𝒔
𝒗𝒗𝒏𝒏 , 𝒗𝒗𝒑𝒑 =
𝟏𝟏 + 𝓔𝓔𝟎𝟎 ⁄𝓔𝓔 𝒓𝒓 𝟏𝟏⁄𝒓𝒓
where 𝒗𝒗𝒔𝒔 is the saturation velocity ~𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟕𝟕 cm⁄s at 300K
𝓔𝓔𝒐𝒐 = 𝟕𝟕 × 𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟑𝟑 V⁄cm for electrons, 𝟐𝟐 × 𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟑𝟑 V⁄cm for holes
𝒓𝒓 = 𝟐𝟐 for electrons, 𝟏𝟏 for holes
56
 AVALANCHE PROCESS
 Figure 26 shows the energy band diagram for the avalanche
process.

 When 𝓔𝓔 is increased above a certain value, carriers gain

enough kinetic energy to generate electron-hole pairs ⎻⎻
avalanche process occurs.
Assume 𝒎𝒎𝟏𝟏 = 𝒎𝒎𝟐𝟐 = 𝒎𝒎′𝟐𝟐
same kinetic energy after collision
same momentum after collision
57
 AVALANCHE PROCESS (Cont.)
Conservation of energy
𝟏𝟏 𝟏𝟏
𝑬𝑬𝟎𝟎 ≡ 𝒎𝒎𝟏𝟏 𝒗𝒗𝒔𝒔 = 𝑬𝑬𝒈𝒈 + 𝟑𝟑 ∙ 𝒎𝒎𝟏𝟏 𝒗𝒗𝟐𝟐𝒇𝒇
𝟐𝟐
𝟐𝟐 𝟐𝟐
Conservation of momentum
𝒎𝒎𝟏𝟏 𝒗𝒗𝒔𝒔 = 𝟑𝟑𝒎𝒎𝟏𝟏 𝒗𝒗𝒇𝒇
𝟏𝟏
∴ 𝒗𝒗𝒇𝒇 = 𝒗𝒗𝒔𝒔
𝟑𝟑
𝟏𝟏 𝟏𝟏 𝟏𝟏
𝒎𝒎𝟏𝟏 𝒗𝒗𝒔𝒔 = 𝑬𝑬𝒈𝒈 + 𝟑𝟑 ∙ ∙ 𝒎𝒎𝟏𝟏 𝒗𝒗𝟐𝟐𝒔𝒔
𝟐𝟐
𝟐𝟐 𝟐𝟐 𝟗𝟗
𝟐𝟐
𝟏𝟏 𝟏𝟏
𝒎𝒎𝟏𝟏 𝒗𝒗𝒔𝒔 − = 𝑬𝑬𝒈𝒈
𝟐𝟐 𝟔𝟔
𝒎𝒎𝟏𝟏 𝒗𝒗𝟐𝟐𝒔𝒔 = 𝟑𝟑𝑬𝑬𝒈𝒈
or 𝟏𝟏 𝒎𝒎 𝒗𝒗𝟐𝟐 = 𝟏𝟏. 𝟓𝟓𝑬𝑬 = 𝟏𝟏. 𝟕𝟕 eV for Si
𝟐𝟐 𝟏𝟏 𝒔𝒔 𝒈𝒈

 Actually 𝑬𝑬𝟎𝟎 = 𝟏𝟏. 𝟔𝟔 𝐞𝐞𝐞𝐞 for electrons in Si

= 𝟐𝟐 𝐞𝐞𝐞𝐞 for holes in Si
58
 IONIZATION RATES
 At very high field, impact ionization process will occur.

𝜶𝜶𝒏𝒏 = electron ionization rate

= number of e−h pairs generated by an electron per one cm
traveled
JJ𝒏𝒏𝒏𝒏
= number of electrons per 𝐜𝐜𝐜𝐜𝟐𝟐𝟐𝟐
𝒒𝒒𝒒𝒒
J𝒏𝒏 J𝒑𝒑 1
𝑮𝑮𝑨𝑨 = 𝜶𝜶𝒏𝒏 + 𝜶𝜶𝒑𝒑 = 𝜶𝜶𝒏𝒏 J𝒏𝒏 + 𝜶𝜶𝒑𝒑 J𝒑𝒑 (103)
𝒒𝒒 𝒒𝒒 𝒒𝒒
= total e−h pairs generated per 𝐜𝐜𝐜𝐜𝟑𝟑

1
59
 IONIZATION RATES (Cont.)
 Figure 27 shows measured ionization rates versus reciprocal
field for Si and GaAs.

 At 𝟑𝟑 × 𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟓𝟓 𝐕𝐕⁄𝐜𝐜𝐜𝐜
𝜶𝜶𝒏𝒏 Si = 𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟒𝟒 /𝐜𝐜𝐜𝐜
i.e., every cm traveled by
an electron can generate
10,000 e-h pairs.

 At 𝟑𝟑 × 𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟓𝟓 𝐕𝐕⁄𝐜𝐜𝐜𝐜
𝜶𝜶𝒑𝒑 Si = 𝟐𝟐 × 𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟑𝟑 /𝐜𝐜𝐜𝐜
𝜶𝜶𝒑𝒑 is smaller than 𝜶𝜶𝒏𝒏

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 SUMMARY OF CHAPTER 2
 The two most important transport processes in semiconductors
are the carrier drift due to electric field and carrier diffusion due
to carrier concentration gradient.
 When excess minority carriers are generated in silicon,
equilibrium condition can be restored by recombination process
with majority carries via localized energy states in the bandgap.
 Other transport processes, including thermionic emission,
tunneling, and space-charge-limited current will occur when
carriers are emitted over a barrier, tunneling through a barrier, or
injected into an uncompensated region, respectively.
 As the electric field increases, the drift velocity in silicon departs
from its linear relationship (i.e., constant mobility) with the field
and approaches a saturation value. When the field exceeds a
certain value (e.g., 𝟑𝟑 × 𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟓𝟓 𝐕𝐕⁄𝐜𝐜𝐜𝐜 in Si) avalanche process will
occur and conduct a large current.
61