Prepared by Dr.

Suren Patwardhan

Module 2 Unit 1
SEMICONDUCTORS
(As per Revised Curriculum SVU R-2023)

 Introduction
Solids are classified into three distinct categories based on their electrical properties. They are
conductors, insulators and semiconductors. The range of conductivity is quite large. For metals such
as copper and silver, it is about 10+ 8 S/m while that for insulator such as glass, it is about 10–11 S/m.
It is convenient to consider another intermediate class of materials having moderate conductivity,
which are known as semiconductors. A typical semiconductor such as silicon (pure) has conductivity
of 10– 3 S/m.

Thanks to the development of material engineering and semiconductor technology, it is possible to

fabricate a wide variety of electronic devices from the same semiconductor wafer (chip). This is the
main reason for semiconductors being so much important. All sorts of gadgets made from
semiconductor devices are so much integrated with our daily needs that any branch of science and
engineering cannot bypass the basic knowledge of semiconductor physics in their curriculum.
In different solids, the energy bands may be overlapping each other or they may remain separated
by small or large gaps. The overlapping or separation between valence band and conduction band is
of particular importance as it ultimately decides the electrical, thermal and optical properties of
materials. The classification of solids based on energy bands is shown in figure below.

 Intrinsic semiconductors, doping and extrinsic semiconductors

A. Intrinsic semiconductor: Semiconducting element in which, the electrical conduction is possible
only by breaking covalent bonds between host atoms is called as intrinsic semiconductor. With
each bond broken, we get an electron-hole pair for electrical conduction. Thus, for any intrinsic
semiconductor, the number of electrons and holes are almost equal at any temperature and
electrical conduction takes place with the help of both these charge carriers. The number of
charge carriers available for conduction in intrinsic semiconductors (at room temperature) is
usually low and these materials are almost insulating. For example, for pure/intrinsic Si at RT,

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intrinsic carrier concentration is on the order of 1010/cm3 and its corresponding conductivity is
about a 2.4 x 10-4 S/m.

B. Doping and its need: Usually, impurities in semiconductors hamper its performance e.g. defects
in crystals. However, certain impurities typically those which are referred as “shallow impurities”
(dopants with energy levels close to CB or VB of host semiconductor) are found to be useful for
electrical as well as thermal transport in semiconductors. Boron or Phosphorous are some of the
popular impurities for Si (Si itself serves as shallow impurity in some other semiconductors such
as GaAs). Conductivity of semiconductors can drastically improve if these impurities are
purposefully added to a semiconductor at a low dose (typically 1 ppm to 1 ppb). For example,
conductivity of Si doped with 1015/cm3 phosphorous atoms improves to about 20 S/m. Doping is
a carefully engineered process of adding specific amount of foreign atoms into host
semiconductor. The level of doping depends upon application. For example, in rectifier diodes,
the doping levels vary from 1015 – 1017/cm3 while in laser diodes, the doping level exceeds
1020/cm3 (note that there are about 1023 atoms per cm3 for any solid). Typical methods used for
doping are high temperature (800-900°C) diffusion using vapours of dopants or ion implantation
at room temperature using bombardment of dopant ions having few keV of energy.

C. Extrinsic semiconductor: Semiconducting elements in which, electrical conduction is carried

predominantly by electrons or holes obtained from donor or acceptor impurities are called as
extrinsic semiconductors. The number of electrons or holes obtained is large as compared to
number of electron-hole pairs obtained by breaking bonds. However, this number is a strong
function of temperature. At very low temperatures (< 10 kelvin), no charge carriers are free, at
moderate temperatures (10-100 kelvin), some of the electrons and holes from dopants (i.e.
extrinsic charge carriers) become free but the thermal energy is not yet sufficient to break
covalent bonds and the charge carriers from host atoms (intrinsic charge carriers) are negligible.
Till RT and at moderately higher temperatures (about 100°C), the extrinsic charge carrier
number dominates. Hence, in most of the calculations in semiconductor device Physics,
contribution of only the extrinsic charge carriers is considered as most the semiconductor-based
electronic gadgets work in this range of temperatures.

 Charge carriers in semiconductor

A. Intrinsic
Silicon is used for fabricating almost 70% of the total electronic devices worldwide and hence it
becomes a representative of semiconductors family. Following diagram shows typical bonding
structure of Si. (It is a simplified 2-D picture while the actual geometry is tetragonal). A particular
electron “A” is a part of one of the covalent bonds. The same is indicated in an equivalent
energy band diagram. It takes 1.1 eV of energy (at RT) to break a covalent bond in Si. When we
do that, electron A becomes free and a vacancy bearing positive charge is created due to
incomplete bond. This is regarded as “hole”.

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The same is indicated in the energy band picture by showing electron “A” making a “jump” from VB
to CB. Thus, it takes a minimum of 1.1 eV to create free electron-hole pair for conduction in intrinsic
silicon. This value varies depending upon semiconductors e.g. in GaAs, it is 1.4 eV.
The intrinsic carrier concentration often denoted by “ni” is given by the formula:
Eg
ni = (√NC NV )exp (− 2kT );
Where NC and NV are called effective density of states in the CB and VB. These are temperature and
material dependent parameters and measured in number of energy levels per unit volume per eV
while Eg the energy band gap, k is Boltzmann constant and T is absolute temerature.

B. Extrinsic semiconductor – N-type:

When we dope a pure semiconductor such as silicon with pentavalent impurity such as
phosphorous, all four covalent bonds are completed. It takes very small amount of energy
(merely 0.05 eV) to remove the fifth electron from the impurity. Electron-holes pairs are still
created by breaking bonds between silicon atoms but now their proportion is very low (at RT).
Thus for electrons, there are two sources: one, from host atoms by bond breaking and second,
from donors but for holes, there is only one source that is bond breaking. Therefore, electrons
become excess in number in n-type material and they are called as “majority carriers” while
holes are called as “minority carriers”.

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The addition of impurity is shown by indicating a “donor” level just below the CB in the energy
band diagram
For n-type material at RT:
Majority carrier concentration nn ≈ ND
n2
Minority carrier concentration pn ≈ Ni
D
ND is number of donors per unit volume.

C. Extrinsic semiconductor – P-type:

When we dope a pure semiconductor such as silicon with trivalent impurity such as boron, only
three silicon atoms around it can form bonds with it and the forth bond is incomplete. But this is
not a hole. When an electron shared by a neighbouring pair of silicon atoms jumps to boron to
complete the forth covalent bond between boron and silicon, it leaves behind
“uncompensated” silicon atom with deficit of one electron from its valence level. This is
regarded as hole. Since the silicon atom is uncompensated, it acquires a net positive charge,
which is assigned to the hole. In semiconductors at RT, such processes occur at all times and it
can be called as “bond exchange”. Although it appears like breaking the bond between two host
atoms, it doesn’t take full 1.1 eV of energy but it happens at merely 0.05 eV of energy. This is
the energy required to create a “free hole”.

Electron-holes pairs are still created by breaking bonds between silicon atoms but now their
proportion is very low (at RT) Thus for holes, there are two sources: one, from host bond
breaking and second, bond exchange with acceptors but for electrons, there is only one source
that is bond breaking. Therefore, holes become excess in number in p-type material and they

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are called as “majority carriers” while electrons are called as “minority carriers”. The addition of
impurity is shown by indicating a “acceptor” level just above the VB in the energy band diagram.
For p-type material at RT:
Majority carrier concentration pp ≈ NA
n2
Minority carrier concentration np ≈ Ni
A
NA is number of acceptors per unit volume.

 Charge carrier transport and current mechanisms

1) Carrier drift and drift velocity: Motion of a charged particle under the influence of electric or
magnetic field is called “drift”. If we apply an electric field across a semiconductor, its charge
carriers viz. electrons and holes do not move in straight lines towards the field. Since the solid is
packed by atoms, the charge carriers are continuously deviated from their paths and they end
up in a random walk. In the absence of the external field, the net path covered is zero but under
the influence of electric field, there is a definite shift towards the electric field (in case of a
positive charge) as shown in the diagram:

Although the actual path covered by the particle is large, the effective path covered along the
direction of electric field is small. The ratio of effective path covered to the total time taken is
called as “drift velocity” of the charge carriers.

2) Mobility: The drift velocity is linearly proportional to the electric field intensity (until drift
velocity gets saturated at certain critical field intensity). Thus, vd ∝ ℇ ⇒ vd = μℇ; Where the
symbol “ℇ” is used for electric field intensity. The constant of proportionality is called “mobility”
of charge carriers. It indicates how fluently a charge carrier can sweep through the electric field.
It can be defined as the drift velocity acquired per unit electric field intensity. It SI unit is m 2/V-
sec.

The variation of drift velocity with electric field is shown in following diagram. Mobility depends
upon a numer of factors such as electric field, temperture, crystal structure, defects, impurities,

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grain boundaries but at low fields and at room temperature, we an regard it as constant for a
given material.

3) Microscopic Ohm’s law: In semiconductor physics, the Ohm’s law is expressed in terms of more
fundamental relation, which is J = σℇ; where, J is the current density i.e. current per unit area
normal to it and σ is conductivity

4) Drift current density: The current per unit area perpendicular to the direction of current, which
arises due to drift of charge carriers under the influence of electric field is called “drift current
density”.

⃗⃗d
v

Drift of electrons

The drift current density is given by ⃗Jdrift = qnv ⃗⃗d . Symbol “n” used in the equation here referes
to any particle in general (electron or hole) and it is called the particle density (Unit: m-3 or cm-3).
In particular, for elecrons,
⃗Jdrift (eletrons) = (−q) × n × (−v ⃗⃗d ) … as electrons are negatively charged and they drift
opposite to electric filed. Here, “n” is electron density i.e. number of electrons per unit volume.
∴ Jdrift (eletrons) = qnvd numericaly
For holes,
⃗Jdrift (holes) = (+q) × p × (+v ⃗⃗d ) = qpv ⃗⃗d … as holes are positively charged and they drift along
the electric field. Here, “p” is hole density i.e. number of holes per unit volume
∴ Jdrift (hole) = qpvd numericaly
Using the relation between drift velocity and electric field, we summerize:
 For n-type: Jn = qnμn ℇ
 For p-type: Jp = qpμp ℇ
 For intrinsic: 𝐽 = qℇ(nμn + pμp )

5) Diffusion and diffusion coefficient: All particles have a tendency to spread out from region of
high concentration to region of low concentration. This tendency is called as diffusion. A
concentration gradient exists as we move from one region to the other having different
concentration of particles. In one dimension, the concentration gradient is nothing but spatial
variation of number of particles per unit volume. Due to the concentration gradient, a particle
flux is generated in the direction of decreasing concentration gradient. This particle flux is called
as “diffusion current density”.

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dn
For electrons and holes, we have ⃗Jdiffusion ∝ − dx î. Symbol “n” here is the particle density as
before and here it referes to any particle in general (electron or hole). Negative sign is taken
because the current flows in the direction of decreasing concentration gradient.
For electrons,
dn
⃗Jdiffusion (eletrons) = (−q) × Dn × (− ) î
dx
dn dn
∴ Jdiffusion (eletrons) = qDn numerically. Here is the conentration gradient for electrons.
dx dx
The constant of proportionality is called diffusion coefficient (Dn) of electrons. Its SI unit is m2/s.
For holes,
dp
⃗Jdiffusion (holes) = (+q) × Dp × (− ) î
dx
dp dp
∴ Jdiffusion (holes) = −qDn dx numerically. Here dx is the concentration gradient for holes and
Dp is diffusion coefficient for holes.
Thus,
dn
 For n-type: Jn = qDn dx
dp
 For p-type: Jn = −qDp dx
dn dp
 For intrinsic: J = q (Dn dx − Dp dx )

6) Einstein’s relations: Einstein’s work in statistical mechanics yields an important relation: The
ratio of diffusion coefficient to mobility of any type of charge carrier at a given temperature is
constant and it is expressed as:
Dn Dp kT
= = = constant at a given temperature
μn μp q

7) Total current density: In any semiconductor or a p-n junction device, there are four currents
flowing across the junction: the drift currents and diffusion currents due to electrons and holes.
Electron diffusion and hole drift is directed from p-side to n-side while hole diffusion and
electron drift is directed from n-side to p-side. Their summation gives the total current density
as follows:
dn dp
Jtotal = qDn + qpμp ℇ − qDp + qnμn ℇ
dx dx
dn dp
∴ Jtotal = q [(Dn − Dp ) + (nμn + pμp )ℇ]
dx dx

8) Conductivity and resistivity: The conductivity of semiconductor is proportional to the total

number of charge carriers i.e. number of electrons plus number of holes. With increasing
temperature, more and more charge carriers become free for conduction and conductivity of
semiconductors increases with increasing temperature. Hence, semiconductors have negative
temperature coefficient of resistance. For intrinsic material, both types of charge carriers
contribute evenly while for extrinsic materials, one type of charge carrier dominates and
contribution of the other can be neglected. Thus,
 For n-type: σ = qnμn ; where μn is mobility of electrons.
 For p-type: σ = qpμp ; where μp is mobility of holes.
 For intrinsic: σ = qni (μn + μp )
SI unit of conductivity is siemens/m (S/m).
1
Resistivity is the reciprocal of conductivity. Thus, ρ = σ.
SI unit of resistivity is -m.

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9) Temperature dependence of conductivity of extrinsic semiconductors: The contribution to

conductivity of an extrinsic semiconductor comes from different mechanisms at different
temperatures.
i) At very low temperatures (< 10 K), all the electrons occupy lowest energy states. VB is full
and CB is empty. This is called “freeze-out” regime and the semiconductors behaves as an
insulator.
ii) At low temperatures (10-100 K), electrons and holes from donors and acceptors are liberated
due to increased thermal energy. CB gets filled up and VB starts acquiring holes. This is called
“ionization” regime and the semiconductor starts conducting.
iii) At room temperature (300 K), almost all the donors and acceptors are ionized and
conductivity of semiconductor is predominantly decided by the impurity concentration. This
is called “extrinsic” regime and the conductivity attains plateau till a certain temperature
called the “intrinsic temperature” (Ti).
iv) For temperatures beyond Ti, there is no further contribution from donors or acceptors as
they are already been depleted. However, due to high temperatures, breaking bonds of host
atoms becomes significant and the intrinsic charge carriers start controlling the conductivity.
This is called “intrinsic” regime and the semiconductor behaves as if it is undoped. The
conductivity in this regime rises exponentially with temperature.

The variation in charge carrier concentration and hence the conductivity of semiconductors
due to all the regimes mentioned above is shown in following diagrams:

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 The Fermi-Dirac function

The Fermi-Dirac (F-D) function is one of the three statistical functions used in Physics for a system
consisting of a large collection of particles (or identical, individual units in general). The other two
are namely Maxwell-Boltzmann (M-B) and Bose-Einstein (B-E) statistics. The M-B statistics applied to
systems such as gases. The B-E statistics applies to all particles having integral spin, which are also
called as “boson”. Chief examples of bosonic particles are photons and the recently discovered
Higg’s bosons. The F-D statistics is applicable to all particles having half integral spin (spin ½
particles), which are also called as “fermions”. An electron is a chief example of fermionic particle.
The main feature of any fermion is that it obeys the Pauli’s exclusion principle, which states that “no
two electrons can have the same energy level in an interacting system.” The Fermi-Dirac function is
a function of energy and temperature. It is given by,
1
F(E) = (E−EF )⁄
1+e kT
Where, E is energy, k is Boltzmann constant and T is absolute temperature.

The energy level EF is called the Fermi level. It is used as a reference energy level to evaluate
energies of electrons and holes and also to indicate the majority and minority carrier
concentrations. The Fermi energy level is an important concept in the study of any kind of solid.
More discussion o Fermi level and Fermi-Dirac function is done in further sections.

 Density of states function

This function is related to the degrees of freedom of electrons within any solid. It indicates the
allowed energies per eV per unit volume of the solid. It is given by,
2m∗ 3/2
g(E)dE = 4π ( 2 ) √E dE
h
Here, m* is called the “effective mass” of a charged particle, which is different than its usual mass.

 Illustrative application of Fermi-Dirac function to find number of electrons and holes:

Electrons: The number of electrons in the CB is obtained by integrating the product F(E) g(E). Lowest
energy possessed by a conduction electron is EC and highest energy is taken to be infinity for
mathematical simplicity. Thus,
  1 2m∗ 3/2
n = ∫E F(E) g(E)dE = ∫E E−EF 4π ( h2 ) √E dE
C C 1+exp( )
kT

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EC −EF
The integral evaluates to n = NC exp (− kT
) (derivation not expected in exam)

Holes: Since a hole is nothing but deficiency of electron or electron missing from the VB, the
probability factor for finding hole in the VB is taken as 1 – F(E). Highest energy possessed by a hole
in the VB is EV and lowest energy is taken to be negative infinity for mathematical simplicity. Thus,
E
V E 1 2m∗ 3/2
p = ∫−∞ [1 − F(E)] g(E)dE = ∫−V [1 − E−EF ] 4π ( h2 ) √E dE
1+exp( )
kT

EF −EV
It evaluates to p = NV exp (− kT
) (derivation not expected in exam)

 Temperature dependence of Fermi-Dirac function

The Fermi Dirac function is given by,
1
F(E) = E−EF
1+exp( )
kT

Case 1: At all temperature except absolute zero, for E = EF, we get

1 1
F(E) = E−EF = 1+e0 = 0.5 or 50%.
1+exp( )
kT

Interpretation: The value 50% indicates that in intrinsic semiconductors, the moment we make an
electron free from the VB and transfer it to the CB leading to the equal number of electrons and
holes as described earlier. The result 50% means the probabilities of finding an electron in the CB or
a hole in the VB are equal.

Case 2: At absolute zero

1 1 1 1
a) For E > EF, we get F(E) = E−EF = +ve number = 1+e+ =  = 0
1+exp( ) 1+exp( )
kT 0

1 1 1 1
b) For E < EF, we get F(E) = E−EF = −ve number = 1+e− = 1+0 = 1
1+exp( ) 1+exp( )
kT 0

Interpretation: In intrinsic semiconductors, the Fermi level is taken at the centre of the forbidden
energy gap that is between the CB and the VB. The choice E > EF means electron present in the CB.
Similarly, the choice E < EF means electron present in the VB. Both (a) and (b) imply that at absolute
zero temperature, the probability that an electron can be present in the CB is zero and getting it in
the VB is 100%. It means the CB is empty and VB is full so no vacancies or holes. Since neither
electrons nor holes are available for conduction, the semiconductor would behave as an insulator at
absolute zero. The complete plot for all temperature is shown below:
Note: At absolute zero, E = EF is undefined.

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 The Fermi level

The concept of Fermi energy level is very useful in all of solid state Physics. For semiconductors in
particular, the Fermi level position depends upon whether the semiconductor is pure or doped with
n or p type impurities. For pure or intrinsic semiconductors, since number of electrons and holes are
equal, the Fermi level is located between EC and EV i.e. at the centre of the forbidden energy region.
For n-type material, it is closer to the CB since electrons are excess in number. In p-type material, it
is closer to the VB since holes are excess in number. For semiconductors, the Fermi level is usually
defined in the following manner:

Definition 1 of Fermi level: The Fermi level is that energy level for which, the probability of
occupation is 50% at all temperatures except absolute zero temperature.

For metals and non-metals, the Fermi level can be defined in some different ways. For metals, it is
convenient to define it as:

Definition 2 of Fermi level: The Fermi level is the highest available energy level at absolute zero
temperature. It may or may not be actually occupied by an electron.

 For intrinsic material, the Fermi level is located midway between the CB and VB
For intrinsic materials we have, n = p
EC −EF EF −EV EC −EF E −E N
∴ NC exp (− kT
) = NV exp (− kT
) ∴ exp (− kT
) . exp (+ FkT V ) = NV
C

−EC +2EF−EV NV
∴ exp ( ) =
kT NC

−EC +2EF −EV NV EC +EV kT N

Taking logarithm on both sides, = ln ( ) ∴ EF = + ln ( V )
kT NC 2 2 NC

For semiconductors, the values of NC and NV are close to each other. (e.g. in silicon at RT, NC and NV
are 3.2 x 1025/m3 and 1.8 x 1025/m3 respectively). Further, value of kT  0.026 eV at RT hence the
second term on RHS becomes negligible as compared to the band gap. (For Si, it is 1.1 eV at RT). So,
neglecting the second term on RHS we get
E +E
EF = C V (Intrinsic semiconductors)
2

Thus, Fermi level is located midway between the CB and VB.

 Effect of impurity concentration on Fermi level

As impurities are added to a semiconductor, electrical conduction is dominated by one type of
charge i.e. electrons in n-type and holes in p-type. The Fermi level is an indicator of majority carriers.
Hence, as impurities are added, the Fermi level shifts from its central position.

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In either material, the shift of Fermi level from the central position is directly proportional to the
logarithm of donor or acceptor concentration. It is given by,
n
 For n-type: EF − Ei = kTln (n ) ; n ≈ ND at RT
i
p
 For p-type: EF − Ei = −kTln (n ) ; p ≈ NA at RT
i

Ei is called the “intrinsic level” or the midway position.

The energy band diagrams for n and p-type material show additional energy levels called donor level
ED and acceptor level EA in n-type and p-type material respectively.

 Variation of Fermi level over a rage of doping concentration

For very high doping concentrations i.e. when the doping density exceed effective densities of
states, the Fermi level penetrates into the CB and VB in n-type and p-type semiconductors
respectively. Such semiconductors are called “degenerate” semiconductors. Degenerate
semiconductors are required for certain applications such as zener diodes, laser diodes, microwave
devices etc.
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