Chapter 4

Carrier dynamics in semiconductors

Questions to address now,
✓How do the electrons and holes in a semiconductor respond to the
presence of an electric field?

✓How do the carriers respond to a concentration gradient in the electron

and hole densities?

✓Do electrons fall down from the conduction band and recombine with
holes in the valence band?

✓Do electrons in the valence band jump up into the conduction band?
 Drift
(Under the influence of a small electric field, E )

E=0 E

oRandom thermal motion  th Electrons accelerated in the opposite

1 * 2 1 direction of the applied field between
oIn one dimension, me th = kT collisions so a net displacement and an
2 2 additional drift velocity component, n
oElectrons scatter off atoms
oNo net displacement over long time
oAverage time between collisions,  c ~ 10−12 s
If all momentum gained between collisions is lost in the collision event
then the momentum applied to the electron during its free flight is equal
to the momentum gained,

F = −qE = me*a
 −qE c = me* n  n = n E

(E Ec )
 q c   n  v th
 n = − *  E
12
1 + ( E Ec ) 
2

 
 me 
 p  v th 
 (E Ec ) 

The electron mobility (cm2V-1s-1) 1 + ( E E c ) 

 n = −n E
E (V/cm)
Similarly for holes in the
valence band moving in the  p = pE Ec is the critical electric field. For n-
type s.c. It is about 1.5×104 V/cm
direction of the applied field,
 Carrier Mobility
Doping dependence

The mobility of electrons and holes in silicon at room temperature is

shown in the following figure.
✓The electron mobility and hole mobility have a similar doping
dependence:

✓For low doping concentrations, the mobility is almost constant and is

primarily limited by phonon scattering.

✓At higher doping concentrations, the mobility decreases due to ionized

impurity scattering with the ionized doping atoms.

✓The actual mobility also depends on the type of dopant.

Temperature dependence
✓ With increasing temperature, phonon concentration increases and
causes increased scattering.
✓ Thus lattice scattering lowers the carrier mobility more and more at
higher temperature.
✓ The effect of ionized impurity scattering, however, decreases with
increasing temperature.

✓ The average thermal speeds of the carriers are increased. Thus, the
carriers spend less time near an ionized impurity as they pass and
the scattering effect of the ions is thus reduced.

✓ These two effects operate simultaneously on the carriers.

✓ At lower temperatures, ionized impurity scattering dominates, while at

higher temperatures, phonon scattering dominates.

✓ The actual mobility reaches a maximum at an intermediate

temperature.
 Scattering types

Impurity scattering Lattice scattering Surface scattering

1 1 1 1
= + +
µ µ1 µ2 µ3

Impurity scattering

By impurities, we mean foreign atoms in the solid, which are efficient scattering
centers especially when they have a net charge. Ionized donors and acceptors in a
semiconductor are a common example of such impurities.
Lattice scattering

Lattice scattering is the scattering by interaction with atoms in a lattice. This effect
can be qualitatively understood as phonons colliding with carriers. In the
current quantum mechanical picture, the electron mobility is dependent on the
near perfectly regular spacing of ions in that lattice.

Surface scattering

The surface and interface mobility of carriers is affected by the nature of the
adjacent layer or surface. Even if the carrier does not transfer into the adjacent
region, its wave function does extend over 1 to 10 nanometer, so that there is a
non-zero probability for the particle to be in the adjacent region.

The net mobility is then a combination of the mobility in both layers.

 Drift current density

The electron current density can be found by summing the product of

charge and velocity for all electrons per unit volume,

In
J n = = −nq n = nqn E
A

Similarly for holes, J p = pq p = pq p E

 Conductivity & resistivity

The total drift current density is simply the sum of both electron and hole
current densities,

J = Jn + J p

J = (nqn + pq p )E

conductivity

= q (n n + p p )
1
=

The resulting resistivity as calculated with the expression above is shown
in Figure.
 Diffusion
✓Whenever there is a concentration gradient of mobile particles, they will
diffuse from the regions of high concentration to the regions of low
concentration, due to the random motion.

✓As the electrons (or holes) move with a thermal velocity vth they undergo
random collisions.

✓Average distance travelled between collision is the mean free path, l

✓Average time between collisions is the mean free time, c

l =  th c
 Diffusion current
✓ A current can flow in the absence of an electric field due to the
diffusion of holes and electrons,

✓ Current is simply the product of the charge and particle flux so,

dn dp
J n (diff ) = qDn J p (diff ) = − qD p
dx dx

✓ Where D is the diffusion coefficient (diffusivity) which is controlled by

scattering mechanisms

D = vth l
 Einstein’s relation
(The relationship between mobility and diffusivity)

In devices where both drift and diffusion play a role, the current due to
electrons is given by,

dn(x )
J n (x ) = q n n(x )E (x ) + qDn
dx
drift diffusion

We have seen from our discussion of diffusion that the diffusion

coefficient is controlled by scattering mechanisms which determine the
mean free path and time.

We have also seen from our discussion of drift that those same
mechanisms control the mobility so the two must be related in some
way…
We know from our definition of the diffusion coefficient or diffusivity that,

Dn = vthl l =  th c
q c Drift
 Dn = v  2
th c
n = * (electron
me mobility)
  m *


 Dn = vth 
2 n e

 q 
1 * 2 1
For this one dimensional case, me th = kT
2 2

 kT   kT 
Dn =    n D p =    p
similarly for holes,
 q 
 q 
Einstein’s relation
 Carrier Recombination and Generation
Carrier Recombination
✓Recombination of electrons and holes is a process by which both carriers
annihilate each other:

✓electrons occupy - through one or multiple steps - the empty state associated
with a hole.

✓Both carriers eventually disappear in the process. The energy difference

between the initial and final state of the electron is released in the process.

✓This leads to one possible classification of the recombination processes.

oIn the case of radiative recombination, this energy is emitted in the form of
a photon.
oIn the case of non- radiative recombination, it is passed on to one or more
phonons and
oin Auger recombination it is given off in the form of kinetic energy to
another electron.
✓Another classification scheme considers the individual energy levels and particles
involved. These different processes are further illustrated with Figure.

Band-to-band recombination
✓Band-to-band recombination occurs when an electron falls from its conduction
band state into the empty valence band state associated with the hole.

✓This band-to-band transition is typically also a radiative transition in direct

bandgap semiconductors
 Trap-assisted recombination

✓Trap-assisted recombination occurs when an electron falls into a "trap", an

energy level within the bandgap caused by the presence of a foreign atom or a
structural defect.

✓Once the trap is filled, it cannot accept another electron. The electron occupying
the trap, in a second step, falls into an empty valence band state, thereby
completing the recombination process.

✓One can envision this process as a two-step transition of an electron from the
conduction band to the valence band or as the annihilation of the electron and
hole, which meet each other in the trap.

✓We will refer to this process as Shockley-Read-Hall (SRH) recombination.

Auger recombination

✓Auger recombination is a process in which an electron and a hole recombine

in a band-to-band transition, but now the resulting energy is given off to
another electron or hole.

✓The involvement of a third particle affects the recombination rate so that we

need to treat Auger recombination differently from band-to-band
recombination.
 Carrier Generation
✓Each of these recombination mechanisms can be reversed leading to carrier
generation rather than recombination.

✓A single expression will be used to describe recombination as well as

generation for each of the above mechanisms.

✓In addition, there are generation mechanisms, which do not have an

associated recombination mechanism: generation of carriers by light
absorption or a high-energy electron/particle beam.
 Carrier generation due to light absorption
✓ Carrier generation due to light absorption occurs if the photon energy is large
enough to lift an electron from the valence band into an empty conduction
band state, generating one electron hole pair.

✓ The photon energy needs to be larger than the bandgap energy to satisfy this
condition. The photon is absorbed in this process and the excess energy,
Eph – Eg , is added to the electron and the hole in the form of kinetic energy.

Carrier generation due to a charged high-energy

✓Carrier generation or ionization due to a high-energy beam consisting of
charged particles is similar except that the available energy can be much larger
than the bandgap energy so that multiple electron-hole pairs can be formed.

✓The high-energy particle gradually loses its energy and eventually stops.

✓This generation mechanism is used in semiconductor-based nuclear particle

counters. As the number of ionized electron-hole pairs varies with the energy of
the particle, one can also use such detector to measure the particle energy.
 Simple recombination-generation model

✓A simple model for the recombination-generation mechanisms states that the

recombination generation rate is proportional to the excess carrier density.

✓It acknowledges the fact that no net recombination takes place if the carrier
density equals the thermal equilibrium value.

✓The resulting expression for the net recombination of electrons in a p-type

semiconductor is given by:

n p
U n = R −G o =
n

and similarly for holes in an n-type semiconductor:

p n
U p = R −G o =
p
where the parameter  can be interpreted as the average time after which an
excess minority carrier recombines.

Recombination in a depletion region and in situations where the hole and

electron density are close to each other cannot be described with the simple
model and the more elaborate expressions for the individual recombination
mechanisms must be used.
 Surface recombination
Dangling bonds at the surface of a semiconductor give rise to localised surface
states which can act as recombination centres. This leads to a higher
recombination rate at the surface compared with the bulk.
The effect of surface recombination on the minority carrier concentration for a
semiconductor under illumination is shown below

The surface recombination causes a

change ΔJ in the current density by,

J = −qsn

✓Values for s vary widely. They change from 1 to 103 m/sec for a free
semiconductor- air surface, depending on its physical and chemical conditions.

✓Values as low as 0.01-0.1 m/sec occur at silicon surfaces well passivated with
thermally grown oxide.
 Current continuity equation

We need then to consider the overall effect when drift, diffusion, generation and
recombination occur simultaneously within the semiconductor material

Here’s where the continuity equation comes in…

To derive it we will consider a thin slice of semiconductor and the processes

which control the number of electrons within it, rate of flow in at x, rate of flow out
at x+dx, and the rates of generation and recombination within the slice

x x+dx Area A
A simple statement of conservation of particles emerges…

Rate of particle flow = Particle flow rate due to current – Particle loss due to
recombination + Particle gain due to generation.

Electron flow rate into the slice at x is simply the current at x divided by the
charge of an electron,
J n ( x )A
−q

Similarly electron flow rate out of the slice at x+dx is simply the current at x+dx
divided by the charge of an electron,

J n ( x + dx )A
−q
The rates of generation and recombination within the slice are defined as Gn and
Un respectively.
The overall rate of change in the number of electrons in the slice is then,

n  J n ( x ) A J n ( x + dx ) A 
Adx =  −  + (Gext − U n ) Adx
t  −q −q 

A Taylor series expansion of the second current term gives,

J n
J n ( x + dx )  J n ( x ) + dx
x
So the basic continuity equation for electrons reduces to,

n 1 J n
= + (Gext − U n )
t q x
Similarly for holes,
p 1 J p
=− + (Gext − U p )
t q x
Let’s consider a p-type semiconductor where p >> n

Excess electrons injected by some means (e.g. the absorption of light) will
recombine with the majority carriers (holes) with a recombination rate given by,

n Excess electron density

Un =
Recombination lifetime n n = n p − n po

electron density
equilibrium electron density

n p 1 J n n p − n po
The continuity equation then, = + Gext −
t q x n

pn 1 J p p − pno
Similarly for holes, =− + Gext − n
t q x p
Things could start to get really complicated when we substitute in our earlier
expressions for drift and diffusion currents…

…but instead we will look at the special case where the current is carried only by
the diffusion process and there is no generation.

This is often the case when considering transport in p-n junction diodes and
bipolar transistors when there are no optical excitations.

n p
J n(diff ) = qDn
x

n p  2n p n p − n po
= Dn −
t x 2 n
 Diffusion length
In the steady state the time derivative is zero so,

 2n p n p − n po
Dn =
x 2 n

 2n p n p − n po n p − n po
= =
x 2 Dn n L2n

Where we have defined an important quantity called the diffusion length,

Ln = Dn n L p = D p p
 pn  2 pn pn − pno
Consider an n-type semiconductor
= 0 = Dp −
with steady state injection on one
side
t x 2 p

Boundary conditions are,

pn ( x = 0 ) = pn (0 ) pn ( x →  ) = pno

Solution of pn(x) is,

pn ( x ) = pno +  pn (0 ) − pno e
− x Lp

Minority carrier density decays with a

characteristic length given by Lp
Backup