Impurity Doping, Carrier transport

Davood Shahrjerdi

Solid-State Electronic Devices – EL6513

Electrical and Computer Engineering Department

Carrier concentration in semiconductors

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Donors and acceptors
- When a semiconductor is doped with a donor or acceptor
impurity, impurity energy levels are introduced (usually
within the energy gap)

Ionization energy of hydrogen atom

in vacuum

Ionization energy of donors in a lattice

- The predications are nearly valid for shallow impurities

(e.g., 25 meV for Si) (near band edges)
- Since the small ionization energy values are close to
thermal energy, kT, the ionization is usually complete at
room temperature
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Donor and acceptor energy levels

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Carrier concentration under thermal equilibrium

Intrinsic

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Impurity ionization rate

Concentration of ionized donors

Concentration of ionized acceptors ground-state degeneracy

gD=2, gA=4

Charge neutrality at equilibrium

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Carrier concentration under thermal equilibrium

Intrinsic

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Fermi level calculation in doped semiconductors

In an n-type semiconductor (NA and p negligible):

For a set of given ND, ED, NC, and T, the Fermi level
uniquely determined.

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Fermi level calculation in doped semiconductors

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 Carrier concentration in doped semiconductors

In an n-type semiconductor (at sufficiently high temperature):

1" 2 %
nn0 = $(N D − N A ) + (ND − NA ) + 4ni2 ' ~ N
2# & D

N D − N A >> ni or N D >> N A

ni2 ni2
pn0 = ≈
nn0 N D

Majority carriers and minority carriers in a semiconductor

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Carrier concentration in doped semiconductors

~ ND

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 Doping compensation in semiconductors

Compensation in an n-type semiconductor (ND > NA ). For approx. uniform

doping, get space charge neutrality.
n + NA- = p + ND+
n.p = ni2
n = (ni2/n) + (ND – NA)
If (ND-NA) >> ni, n=(ND-NA) and p= ni2/n
Electron density as a function of temperature

n=ni

n~ND

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Fermi level in silicon

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 Drift and mobility

As low electric field: vd=μξ where μ is the proportionality constant

Carriers are scattered in a solid by various perturbing potentials:

• Ionized scattering
• Phonon scattering of lattice (acoustic and optical phonons)
• Long-wavelength phonons: Acoustic
• Energetic phonons: Optical

Matthiessen rule:

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Drift and mobility

Ionized impurity scattering:

- NI is impurity concentration
- Mobility increase with T because carriers with higher thermal
velocity are less deflected by Coulomb scattering

Acoustic phonon scattering (dominant in non-polar semiconductors):

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Mean free path and mean free time

Mobility and mean free path (average effect):

3D solid

The effective mean free time for multiple scattering events is given by:

1 1 1
= + +...
τ m τ m1 τ m2

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Mobility vs. impurity doping concentration

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Mobility vs. temperature
Deviation from 3/2 slope because of the presence of other
scattering events or type

Increasing T à higher thermal velocity à less deflection due to coulomb scattering

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Conductivity

Drift current under applied field (J) = Q.v (v is carrier velocity)

In an n-type material when n>>p:

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Resistivity vs. Impurity (in silicon)

σ=qnμn

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Resistivity measurement

Four-point probe measurement:

CF: correction factor. When W<<d and S<<d à CF~p/ln 2

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Examples of 4-point structures

Z. Huang, Nature Communications, 11 (2020)

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 (normal) Hall Effect – Discovered 1879

“mobile” carrier concentration, carrier type, carrier “Hall” mobility

No current flow in y direction: Lorentz force = Hall force

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 Hall Measurement

No current flow in y direction: Lorentz force = Hall force

Hall voltage

- Hall measurements are taken at low magnetic field

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Quantum Hall Effect (Opportunity for Project)
RH
2DEG system

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High field properties – polar semiconductors
Transferred electron effect
Origin of Gunn effect

Gunn effect: transfer of electrons from Γ valley to L valley à

increase in conduction electron mass à negative resistance
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For a Si conductor of length 5 µm, doped n-type at 1015 cm-3, calculate the
current density for an applied voltage of 2.5V across its length. How about for
2500 V? The electron and hole mobilities are 1500 cm2/V-s and 500 cm2/V-s,
respectively in the ohmic region for electric fields below 104V/cm. For higher
fields, electrons and holes have a saturation velocity of 107 cm/s.

For 2.5V,
σ = q ⋅ µ n ⋅ n 0 (since n o ≫ n i ) = 1.6 ⋅10-19C ⋅1500 cm 15 1
2

V⋅s
⋅10 cm3
= 0.24 Ω⋅cm
1

1 1
ρ= = = 4.17 Ω⋅ cm
σ 0.24 Ω⋅cm
1

ρ ⋅ L 4.17 Ω⋅ cm ⋅ 5⋅10-4cm 2.83⋅103Ω⋅ cm 2

R= = =
A A A
I V 2.5V -2 A
= = 3 2
= 8.82 ⋅10 cm 2
for 2.5V
A R⋅A 2.83⋅10 Ω⋅ cm
2500V
For 2500V, ε= -4 = 5 ×106 V
cm
5 ×10 cm
which is in the velocity saturation regime.
I
= q × n × vs = 1.6 ×10-19C ×1015 1
cm3
×107 cm
s =1.6 ×103 cmA2
A
Excess carriers and recombination

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Impact ionization: carrier multiplication @ high electric field

αp=0 in this example Ionization rate: # of e-h pairs generated

by a carrier per unit distance travelled

Generation rate at any fixed location at any given time

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Impact ionization: Temperature dependence

Tê à αé
Egê à αé Decelerating effects:
Thermal, optical phonons, and
ionization scattering

Wide bandgap materials have

larger breakdown voltage, for
e.g., GaN>GaAs>Si

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 Carrier Recombination

Trap-assisted

• When n.p≠ni2, processes exist to restore thermal equilibrium

• Auger recombination: Reverse process of impact ionization
• Radiative recombination: Reverse process of absorption

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Carrier Recombination
• Band to band transition (or direct transition): more probable in direct
bandgap materials
Rec recombination coefficient

Gth thermal generation rate

• Net transition rate in n-type semiconductor and low level injection:

Δn=Δp, pn=pn0+Δp, nn≈ND

Minority carrier lifetime (direct transition)

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Carrier Recombination

Indirect transition

Trap-assisted à single trap recombination

• (single-level) Trap-assisted recombination (SRH recombination):

SRH: dominant at low carrier concentration

Auger: dominant at high carrier concentration (Opportunity
for project)
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Carrier Recombination

Qualitative observations:

1. Transition rate a (pn-ni2)

1. Transition rate maximum when Et=Ei (midgap traps)

• For low level injection in n-type semiconductors (single trap in the

midgap):

Minority carrier lifetime (indirect transition)

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High-injection level

• High-level injection in an n-type semiconductor Δn=Δp>n

• Minority carrier lifetime in band-to-band transition:

direct transition

• lifetime due to band-to-band recombination decreases

with increasing carrier injection
• Minority carrier lifetime for trap-assisted recombination:

indirect transition

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Generation Rate

• When carriers are below their thermal equilibrium value

(np<ni2)
Assuming single-trap in midgap

• tg is generation carrier lifetime

Minimum value: twice of minority carrier lifetime

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 General Recombination Rate

• R= An+Bn2+Cn3
• n is the carrier concentration in an n-type material
• A: SRH recombination rate
• B: Radiative recombination rate
• C: Auger recombination rate

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