Semiconductor Physics

Kumkum Sanyal

Applied Physics Section

Thadomal Shahani Engineering College.
Bandra West, Mumbai - 400050
[email protected]

April 23, 2021

 Unit 03: SEMICONDUCTOR PHYSICS
Prerequisites
(Intrinsic and extrinsic semiconductors, Energy bands in
conductors, semiconductors and insulators, Semiconductor
diode, I-V characteristics in forward and reverse bias)
Contents:
• Direct and indirect band gap semiconductor
• Fermi-Dirac distribution, Fermi Energy and Fermi level
• Fermi level in intrinsic and extrinsic semiconductors
• Effect of impurity concentration and temperature on Fermi
level
• Fermi level diagram for p-n junction (unbiased, forward
bias, reverse bias)
• Mobility, Current density, Hall Effect
• Applications of semiconductors: LED, Zener diode,
Photovoltaic cell.
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 Formation of Band
• The electrons of a single isolated atom occupy atomic
orbitals, which form a discrete set of energy levels.
• When two atoms are brought together to form a molecule,
their valence electron wave-functions overlap.
• This overlapping gives rise to splitting of a single energy
state into two different energy states.
• The number of new energy levels equals the number of
interacting atoms.
• Thus the large number of atoms present in a solid (e.g.
∼ 1023 per cc. in Cu) produces large number of closely
spaced splitted energy levels.
• The levels are so close that they form a virtually
continuous spread of permitted energies.
• This spread of energies is known as Bands.
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 Conduction band and Valence band

• Thus what was discreet 1s energy state for an isolated

atom will now become 1s band in the solid.
• The width of a band depends on the location of the
electron inside the atom, e.g. the width is more for
outer-shell valence electrons than the inner-shell core
electrons.
• The electrons in the solid fill up the bands one after the
other in the ascending order of energy.
• The fully occupied highest energy band at absolute zero
temperature is called Valence Band.
• The band next to it which can be completely empty or
partially filled up is known as Conduction Band.

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 Concept of Band-Gap
• An electron in a solid can only have energies that fall
within its energy bands.
• The two energy bands namely the conduction band and
the valence band in some solid may overlap (case of a
conductor).
• A continuous distribution of permitted energies is
therefore available to the valence electrons.
• In case of a semiconductor or an insulator there is an
interval between the conduction and valence bands
representing energies the electrons cannot possess.
• A forbidden band thus separates the conduction and the
valence bands.
• The energy gap between the bands depends on the
internuclear separation, e.g. gap is more in C than in Si.
• The gap energy less than 3eV correspond to semiconductor
whereas more value of gap energy correspond to insulator.
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 Fermi-Dirac Probability Function
• Fermi-Dirac Probability Function f (E) determines the
statistical distribution of electrons among various available
energy states.
• Assumptions: Electrons are indistinguishable and Pauli
Exclusion Principle is valid.
• f (E) gives the probability that a given quantum energy
state E will be occupied by an electron at an absolute
temperature TK.
• Another interpretation of f (E) is that it is the ratio of filled
to total quantum states at an energy E.
• Fermi-Dirac Probability Function

1
f (E) = (E−Ef )/KB T
1+e

Ef → Fermi Energy, KB →Boltzman’s constant

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 Concept of Fermi Energy

• Let T = 0K and consider the cases (i) E > Ef and (ii) E < Ef
• Case (i): E > Ef → 1 can be neglected in comparison to
1
exponential term (e+∞ ) , f (E) ≈ =0
e+∞
• Case (ii): E < Ef → Exponential term(e−∞ ) being very
small can be neglected, f (E) = 1
• Let T 6= 0K and E = Ef → f (E) = 12 = 0.5
• All states above Ef are empty at 0K.
• All states below Ef are filled up at 0K.
• All states at Ef has 50% chance of being
occupied at any non-zero temperature.
• As the temperature increases but KB T still
smaller than Ef , electrons will leave state
below Ef and occupy states above Ef .
• The graph is symmetrical around Ef and all of
them pass through the f (E) = 0.5 point.

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 Fermi Energy & Fermi Level
• Fermi Energy - It is the highest energy that an electron can
possess at absolute zero temperature.
• Fermi energy has a constant value for a specific material.
• The formula for Fermi energy is
}2 2/3
Ef = ( 2m )(3π 2 n)
with n → free electron density, m → mass of electron and
h
} = 2π , h being Planck’s constant.
• The Fermi level is any energy level of an electron having
the probability of being exactly half-filled at any non-zero
temperature.
• The value of Fermi level at absolute zero is the Fermi
energy.
• The position of the Fermi level in relation to the band
energy levels is a crucial factor in determining electrical
and thermal properties.
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 Effective Mass Approximation

• The movement of an electron in a crystal, in general, will

be different from that of a free electron.
• In addition to the external applied force there will be
internal forces in the crystal due to the periodic presence of
positively charged ions and the negatively charged
electrons.
• The parameter m∗ (effective mass) is the mass that a particle
seems to have when responding to external forces while
taking into account the effect of internal forces; F = m∗ a.
• Mathematically m∗ = }2 2π
(d2 E/dk2 )
; k= λ → the wave number.
• The parameter m∗ thus relates quantum mechanical results
to classical force equation.

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 Intrinsic Semiconductor
• An ideal intrinsic semiconductor is a pure semiconductor
with no impurity atoms and no lattice defects.
• For an intrinsic semiconductor at T = 0K
All energy states are filled up in the valence band,
All energy states are empty in the conduction band.
• Ec is the bottom of the conduction band energy,
Ev is the top of the valence band energy.
• As the temperature rises, electrons and holes are created in
pairs by thermal energy.
• For intrinsic semiconductor at thermal equilibrium,
concentration of electrons in conduction band (n0 ) =
concentration of holes in valence band (p0 ).
• Fermi level must therefore be somewhere between Ec and
Ev .
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Electron Concentration in Conduction Band

• The thermal equilibrium concentration of electrons in the

conduction
R +∞ band is
n0 = Ec gc (E) f (E) dE
gc (E) → density of allowed quantum states (no. of states
per unit energy interval) in the conduction band,
f (E) → Fermi probability function.
• The density of states in the conduction band is given by
∗ )3/2 √
gc (E) = 4π(2m
h3
n
E − Ec
m∗n → effective mass of electron.
• Here E > Ec and if (Ec − Ef )  KB T, then (E − Ef )  KB T.
• Fermi probability function reduces to f (E) ≈ exp −[(E−E
KB T
f )]
.

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 Electron Concentration contd.
R +∞ 4π(2m∗n )3/2 √ −(E−Ef )
• n0 = E − Ec exp[ KB T ] dE
Ec h3
• Consider a variable x = E−Ec
KB T
∗ 3/2
• n0 = 4π(2mn K3 B T) exp[ −(EKc −E f)
R +∞
h BT
] 0 x1/2 exp(−x) dx
R +∞ 1/2 √
• 0 x exp(−x) dx = 12 π
∗ 3/2 −(Ec −Ef )
• n0 = 2( 2πmn2KB T ) exp[ KB T ]
h

• n0 = Nc exp[ −(EKc −E f)
];
BT
∗ 3/2
Nc = 2( 2πmhn2KB T ) → the effective density of states in the
conduction band.
• If effective mass (m∗n )=(m0 ) rest mass of the electron, then at
T = 300K the value of Nc = 2.5 × 1019 cm−3 for most of the
semiconductors.

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 Hole Concentration in Valence Band

• The thermal equilibrium concentration of holes in the

valence
R Evband is
p0 = −∞ gv (E) [1 − f (E)] dE
gv (E) → density of allowed quantum states (no. of states
per unit energy interval) in the valence band,
[1 − f (E)] → Fermi probability function for holes.
• The density of states in the valence band is given by
4π(2m∗p )3/2 √
gv (E) = h3
Ev − E
m∗p → effective mass of hole.
• Here E < Ev and (Ef − Ev )  KB T.
• Therefore [1 − f (E)] ≈ exp −[(E f −E)]
KB T .

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 Hole Concentration contd.

R Ev 4π(2m∗p )3/2 √ −(E −E)

• p0 = Ev − E exp [ KBf T ] dE
−∞ h3
2πm∗ KB T 3/2 −(E −Ev )
• p0 = 2( p
) exp [ f
]
h2 KB T

• p0 = Nv exp [ −(EKf −Ev)

];
BT
2πm∗ KB T 3/2
Nv = 2( hp2 ) → the effective density of states in the
valence band.
• The magnitude of Nv is also ∼ 1019 at T = 300K for most of
the semiconductors.
• Since n0 = p0 in an intrinsic semiconductor, they are
referred to as intrinsic carrier concentration ni .
3
• n2i = n0 p0 = 4[ 2πK2B T ] (m∗n m∗p )3/2 exp[ (EKv −E c)
]
h BT

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 Intrinsic carrier concentration
• The intrinsic carrier concentration ni is given by
−E
ni = AT3/2 exp[ 2KBgT ]; Eg →band gap energy, A → constant.
• The intrinsic carrier concentration(ni ) is a very strong
function of temperature.
• For a given material at a constant temperature(T), ni is
constant and so also the product (n0 p0 ).
• When impurity atoms are added, the concentrations of
electrons and holes are no more equal.
• Whatever be the individual carrier concentration in an
extrinsic semiconductor, the product of electron-hole
concentration(np) will remain same as n2i at thermal
equilibrium.
• The mass action law for semiconductors : np = n2i
Here (n, p) refer to electron and hole concentration
respectively in extrinsic semiconductor.
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 The Intrinsic Fermi-Level Position

• For an intrinsic semiconductor

−(Ec −E ) −(E −Ev )
Nc exp[ KB T fi ] = Nv exp [ KfiB T ]
Efi refers to intrinsic Fermi energy level.
• Take natural log of both sides of above equation and solve
for Efi
Nc
Efi = 12 (Ec + Ev ) + 12 KB T ln( N v
)
• Substitute the expressions of Nc & Nv ,
m∗
Efi = 12 (Ec + Ev ) + 34 KB T ln( mp∗n )
• The term 21 (Ec + Ev ) is the energy exactly midway between
Ec and Ev or 12 (Ec + Ev ) = Emidgap .
• If the effective masses of electron and hole are equal then
Intrinsic Fermi energy Efi is exactly at the center of the
band-gap.

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 Extrinsic Semiconductor (n-type)

• Intrinsic material, when doped with controlled amount of

specific impurity atoms, becomes extrinsic semiconductor.
• n-type semiconductor→ group V elements are added
(majority carrier → electrons; minority carrier →holes).
• Additional energy levels (donor levels Ed ) will be created
near the conduction band.
• At T = 0K, the valence band and the donor levels are filled
up, conduction band will be empty of electrons.
• The energy required to raise the electrons from the donor
levels to the conduction band is much less than that from
the valence band .
• At room temperature (300k), all the donor atoms will
donate their extra electrons to the conduction band.

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 Extrinsic Semiconductor (p-type)

• p-type semiconductor→ group III elements are added

(majority carrier → holes; minority carrier →electrons).
• Additional energy levels (acceptor levels Ea ) will be
created near the valence band.
• At T = 0K, the valence band is filled up but the acceptor
levels and the conduction band are empty of electrons.
• The energy required to raise the electrons from the valence
band to the acceptor levels is much less than it is required
for the conduction band.
• At room temperature (300k), all the acceptor atoms will
receive electrons from the valence band, thereby creating
holes in the valence band.

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 Charge Neutrality
• In thermal equilibrium, the semiconductor crystal is
electrically neutral.
• This charge neutrality condition is valid in intrinsic as well
as in extrinsic semiconductor.
• In intrinsic semiconductor, at thermal equilibrium electron
and hole have the same concentration n0 = p0 .
• Let now add to it the donor impurity concentration Nd and
the acceptor impurity concentration Na .
• At room temperature all the donor atoms have given up
their extra fifth electron and the all the acceptor atoms
have taken the electrons.
• Total positive charge density = total negative charge
density
Nd+ + p = n + Na−
n, p includes all the electrons in the conduction band and
holes in the valence band respectively.
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 n-type Semiconductor :
• Na = 0 and n  p so that n ≈ Nd
• Therefore the majority carrier (electron) concentration in
n-type semiconductor is nn = Nd
n2i
and the minority carrier (hole) concentration is pn = Nd
p-type Semiconductor :
• Nd = 0 and p  n so that p ≈ Na
• Therefore the majority carrier (hole) concentration in
p-type semiconductor is pp = Na
n2i
and the minority carrier (electron) concentration is np = Na

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 Fermi level in Extrinsic Semiconductor

• In extrinsic semiconductor, the number of electrons in the

conduction band and the number of holes in the valence
band are not equal.
• Consequently the Fermi energy level for the extrinsic
semiconductor will also shift from it’s mid-gap energy
position of intrinsic semiconductor.
• At T = 0K, the Fermi level will lie halfway between the
donor energy level Ed and the conduction band energy Ec
for a n-type semiconductor.
• Similarly for a p-type semiconductor, the Fermi level will
be at mid-position of the gap between the valence band
energy Ev and the acceptor level Ea at T = 0K.

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 Energy-Band Diagram
• Energy-band diagram is a diagram plotting various key
electron energy levels (Fermi level and nearby energy
band edges) as a function of some spatial dimension (say
x) and often not being drawn to scale.
• Consider absolute zero temperature condition (T = 0K).

Efi →Fermi level for intrinsic semiconductor

Efn , Efp →Fermi levels for extrinsic semiconductor
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Variation of Fermi Level with Doping Concentration
• Consider first an intrinsic semiconductor at a constant
temperature.
• A small amount of (n-type or p-type) impurity is added
such that there is no interaction between the impurity
atoms.
• Discrete (donor or acceptor) energy states will be created
near the bottom of the conduction band or the top of the
valence band.
• As the impurity concentration increases, so does the
interaction between the impurity atoms.
• Discrete energy states will split to give rise to energy band.
• The impurity concentration keeps on increasing with
temperature being maintained constant.
• The band then broadens in width and finally merges either
with the conduction band(n-type) or with the valence
band(p-type).
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 Fermi Level contd.
n-type Semiconductor :
• The Fermi level is located in the energy gap between the
donor energy state and the bottom of the conduction band
at a constant temperature.
• With the increase in donor impurity density the Fermi
level will also go up towards the conduction band.
• Finally at very high impurity concentration the Fermi level
will enter the conduction band.

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 Fermi Level contd.
p-type Semiconductor :
• The Fermi level is located in the energy gap between the
acceptor energy state and the top of the valence band at a
constant temperature.
• With the increase in acceptor impurity density the Fermi
level will go down towards the valence band.
• Finally at very high impurity concentration the Fermi level
will enter the valence band.

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 Mathematical Derivation

n-type Semiconductor :
• The free electron density for an intrinsic semiconductor is
−(Ec −Ef )
n0 = Nc exp[ KB T ]
• Solving for Ec − Ef we get Ec − Ef = KB T ln( N c
n0 )
• At usual temperature all the donor atoms are ionised.
• Therefore the density of electrons in the conduction band
is approximately equal to the density of donor atoms
Nc
n0 ≈ Nd so that Ec − Ef = KB T ln( N d
).
• As the donor density increases, the Fermi level moves
closer to the conduction band.
• It conversely signify the increased density of electrons in
the conduction band.

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 p-type Semiconductor :
• The hole density in an intrinsic semiconductor is
−(E −Ev )
p0 = Nv exp [ KfB T ]
• Solving for Ef − Ev we get Ef − Ev = KB T ln( Np0v )
• At usual temperature all the acceptor atoms are ionised by
accepting electrons from the valence band.
• Thus the density of holes is nearly equal to the density of
acceptor atoms p0 ≈ Na so that Ef − Ev = KB T ln( N v
Na ).
• Here also with increasing acceptor atom density the Fermi
level moves towards the valence band.

Position of Fermi level as a function of

donor density (n-type) and acceptor
density (p-type).

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Variation of Fermi Level with Temperature
• Here the impurity concentration in the extrinsic
semiconductor is maintained constant.
• In an n-type semiconductor, there are two sources of
electrons :
a) The donor energy levels close to the conduction band
with ionization energy ∼ meV
b) The valence band with ionization energy ∼ eV.
• At absolute zero of temperature, the Fermi level is at the
middle of the band gap between the donor level and the
conduction band.
• As the temperature increases first the donor atoms will get
ionised.
• The Fermi level moves up to a point where the majority of
the states are contained underneath it (Fermi level between
conduction band and donor level).
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 Temperature Variation contd.

• Once all the donor atoms are ionised, the additional

thermal energy will increase the generation of
electron-hole pairs with increasing temperature.
• The intrinsic carrier concentration ni thus becomes a
dominant factor.
• The Fermi level starts moving down closer to the middle of
the band gap resembling an intrinsic semiconductor.
• Eventually the semiconductor will lose its extrinsic
characteristics.
• The Fermi level will then occupy the middle of the
forbidden energy gap.

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• In a p-type semiconductor, the Fermi level lies in the
middle of the gap between the valence band and the
acceptor level at absolute zero temperature.
• With the rise in temperature, first the impurity atoms in
the acceptor level will be ionized.
• The Fermi level will remain within the gap between the
valence band and the acceptor level.
• After complete ionization of acceptor impurity takes place,
the intrinsic electron-hole pair concentration (ni ) begins to
dominate.
• The Fermi level thus starts moving up towards the middle
of the forbidden energy band.
• At very high temperature, when essentially the extrinsic
semiconductor becomes an intrinsic one ,the Fermi level
will occupy the mid position of the band gap.
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 Energy Band Diagram

Here the energy band diagram is shown with the variation of

Fermi energy level with temperature in extrinsic
semiconductor.

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 p-n Junction
• A p-n junction is formed by bringing into contact a p
material and a n material with one another.
• However the entire semiconductor is a single crystal
material with p-impurity on one side and n-impurity on
the other side.
• Initially the concentration gradient across the junction will
activate the diffusion process of the majority carriers.
• This diffusion process will create a space-charge region at
the junction whose n side will be positively charged and p
side will be negatively charged.
• This space-charge region is depleted of any mobile charge,
hence referred to as depletion region.
• An electric field is thus developed in the space-charge
region with polarity as p-side negative and n-side positive.
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 Three Regions of Operation

1. Zero Applied Bias :

• No external voltage is applied across the p-n junction.
• The junction is in then thermal equilibrium.
• The built-in potential barrier Vi in the space-charge region
favours the movement of minority carriers while hindering
the movement of majority carriers across the junction.
• The potential Vi thus maintains equilibrium between
diffusion of majority carriers and drifting of minority
carriers.
• There is no net current across the junction.

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 Fermi Level under Zero Bias
• The Fermi energy level is constant throughout the entire
system.
• The relative position of the conduction and valence bands
with respect to the Fermi energy changes between p and n
regions.
• The conduction and valence band energies bend through
the space-charge region.
• The energy band diagram for zero bias is shown here

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 Second Region of Operation
2. Forward Bias :
• The external voltage Va is applied with p end of the
junction connected to positive and n end to negative
terminal.
• The potential barrier at the junction is thus reduced to give
a lower value of the electric field in the depletion region.
• This field reduction results in the diffusion of large
number of majority carriers across the junction.
• The flow of majority carriers generates forward current
through the junction.
• The drift current is however limited by the small number
of minority carriers on either side of the junction.
• The forward current in a forward biased p-n junction is
If ≈ Io e(qVa /KB T)
If →Forward current ; Io →Reverse saturation current;
q →Charge.
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 Fermi Level under Forward Bias
• When an external voltage is applied ,the equilibrium is
disturbed.
• The Fermi energy level will no longer be constant through
the system.
• The Fermi level in the p region is now lower than that in
the n region.
• The difference between the two is equal to the applied
voltage in units of energy(qVa ).

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 Third Region of Operation

3. Reverse Bias :
• Here the negative end of the external voltage Va is
connected to p side and the positive end to n side of the
junction.
• Thus the width of the depletion region increases.
• No majority carrier can diffuse across the junction.
• Only the thermally generated minority carriers can flow
across the junction.
• The number of minority carriers is very small and limited
at room temperature.
• Therefore a very small current (nA − µA) will flow in the
direction opposite to the conventional current.
• This current is known as reverse saturation current (I0 ).

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 Fermi Level under Reverse Bias

• Here the Fermi energy level in the p region is now higher

than that in the n region.
• The barrier height increases by an amount (qVa ).

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 Current Density, Conductivity, Mobility

• Current density (J): defined as current per unit area, J = I

A.
• Conductivity (σ): defined as current density per unit
electric field, σ = EJ .
• Mobility (µ): defined as drift speed of electron per unit
electric field, µ = vEd .
• Relation between J, σ and µ :

J = σE unit → amp/m2
σ = neµ unit → siemens/m
µ = eτ
m unit → m2 /V.s

n → electron concentration; m → electron mass;

τ → relaxation time
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 J, σ, µ for Semiconductor

• For both intrinsic and extrinsic semiconductor J = σE.

• The electron and hole concentrations are equal to ni in an
intrinsic semiconductor.
• Therefore for an intrinsic semiconductor σi = ni e(µn + µp )
µn → Electron mobility; µp → Hole mobility.
• For an extrinsic semiconductor σex = e(nµn + pµp )
n → Electron concentration; p → Hole concentration.
• Electron mobility µn = meτ∗ ; Hole mobility µp = meτ∗
n p
m∗n → Effective mass of electron
m∗p → Effective mass of hole.

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 Hall Effect

If a current carrying conductor or semiconductor is placed

in a transverse magnetic field, then an electric field
(known as Hall Field EH ) will be developed in a direction
perpendicular to both the current and the magnetic field.

• Consider a rectangular strip of a conductor with

dimensions as length (l), width (w), and thickness (t).
• It carries a current (I) in +ve X direction.
• A magnetic field of strength (B) is applied to it in +ve Z
direction.

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 Explanation of Hall field
• The current flowing in +ve X direction means the electrons
are actually moving with speed vd in the −ve X direction.
• As soon as the electron enters the specimen, it experiences
→
−
a deflecting Lorentz force (q →
−
v × B ) due to the applied
d
magnetic field.
• The negative charges will thus start getting accumulated
on the front face of the strip i.e. along the +ve Y direction.
• This accumulation of the negative charges will continue till
an electric field develops in the +ve Y direction to balance
the deflecting force of the magnetic field.
• Ultimately a steady state is reached in which the net force
on the moving charges in the Y direction vanishes.
• The electron can again move freely along X direction in the
conductor.
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 Derivation of Hall field

• The value of the electric field developed in the stationary

state of a Hall set-up is known as Hall electric field (EH ).
• Therefore eEH = evd B.
I
• The current density is J = AI = tw = nevd
n is the electron concentration.

IB
Hall electric field EH = netw

• Hall electric field EH is developed across the width w,

therefore the corresponding voltage is given by

IB
Hall voltage VH = net

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 Derivation of Hall co-efficient, Hall angle

• Hall co-efficient : It is Hall electric field per unit current

density per unit magnetic field strength.
RH = EJBH or RH = ne 1
.
• The conductivity (σ) of a material is given by σ = neµ.
• Therefore RH = σµ .
−
→
• There exists an electric field EX in the +ve X
direction.
−
→
• Hall electric field EH is developed in the +ve Y
direction.

• Hall angle (θH ) : The angle made by the resultant electric

→
− −
→
field E with EX .
• tan θH = EEH = BJ/ne
J/σ or θH = tan−1 (σRH )B = tan−1 (µB).
X

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Direct and Indirect Band-Gap Semiconductor
• Semiconductors can be classified into two categories on the
basis of band structure.
Direct Band-gap Semiconductor Example: GaAs, InP, CdS
Indirect Band-gap semiconductor Example: Si, Ge, GaP
• The band gap represents the minimum energy difference
between the valence band and the conduction band.
• Thus a minimum energy equal to the band gap energy is
needed to create an electron-hole pair (electron in the
conduction band and hole in the valence band).
• Therefore whenever an electron returns to the valence
band to recombine with a hole, same amount of energy
will be released.
• The energy can be released either in the form of photon
(electromagnetic radiation) or in the form of phonon (heat).

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 Direct Band-Gap Semiconductor
• In direct gap semiconductor, the extra energy is released in
the form of photons during the recombination process of
electron and hole.
• Direct gap semiconductors are helpful for opto-electronic
devices like LEDs, LASERs.
• Here the top of the valence band and the
bottom of the conduction band are at the
same value of the electron momentum.
• The momentum of electrons in crystalline
solid is characterised by the wave vector
k(= 2π/λ).
• Thus an electron can get excited to the conduction band
without change of the wave vector by absorbing a photon
of appropriate energy.
• Similarly an electron can be de-excited from the
conduction band to the valence band easily by the
emission of a photon.
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 Indirect Band-Gap Semiconductor

• The top of the valence band and the

bottom of the conduction band are not at
the same value of the electron
momentum.
• Here the transition of electrons from
conduction to valence band requires a
change in the electron wave vector.
• An electron must therefore transfer its momentum to the
crystal lattice.
• Thus the lattice vibration sets in the form of phonons
(quantised vibrational energy).
• The extra energy is released in the form of heat.
• A common and simple method for determining whether a
band gap is direct or indirect uses absorption spectroscopy.

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 Light Emitting Diode (LED)
• A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor light
source that emits visible light when an electrical current
flows through it.
• Electrons in the semiconductor recombine with holes,
releasing energy in the form of photons.
• A specially doped p-n junction diode, made from a special
type of semiconductor, is used to produce this
electroluminescence phenomenon.
• The diode can emit light when it is in the forward biased
mode.
• The light emitted is at a wavelength defined by the active
region energy gap (Eg ).
• Example : Yellow light is produced by GaAsP, green light
by GaP, white light by GaN and blue by GaInN.
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 LED contd.(1)
The construction of LED is similar to the normal p-n junction
diode except that gallium, phosphorus and arsenic materials
are used for construction instead of Si or Ge materials.
• Construction of LED: It is designed through the
deposition of three semiconducting material
layers over a substrate.
• These three layers are arranged one by one where
the top layer is a p-type region, the middle
junction region is the active one and finally, the
bottom layer is n-type region.
• The junction region of the diode is enclosed in an
epoxy resin of transparent plastic material.
• Working of LED: Forward biasing of the diode pushes the
free electrons from n-side and holes from p-side to the
active region (depletion region).
• Recombination of charge carriers occur in the active region.
• As a result, photons having energy equal to the band-gap
energy are emitted.
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 LED contd.(2)
• The device shows current dependency meaning radiation
emission is possible only when certain current flows
through it.
• The intensity of light emitted by the device varies in
proportion with the forward current flowing through it.
• Most of the LEDs have voltage ratings from (1-3)V
whereas forward current ratings range from (5-20) mA.
• Advantage: LEDs are inexpensive, small, low power
device showing good reliability.
• It’s a highly efficient device in terms of converting applied
power into light.
• LED also gives wide temperature operating range of
around 0 to 70 degrees.
• Disadvantage: If the applied voltage or the current flowing
through it, is not maintained properly, the device can be
damaged totally.
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 Photodiode
• A photodiode is a pn-junction diode that consumes light
energy to produce an electric current.
• It is also known as a photo-detector, a light detector or a
photo-sensor.
• These diodes are particularly designed to work in reverse
biased mode.
• The reverse bias causes faster response times for the
photodiode.
• When photons of sufficient energy strike the diode,
electron–hole pairs are created .
• The p-n junction is made up of a light sensitive
semiconductor.
• Silicon, Germanium, InGaAs, PbS etc are the
semiconductors used for making photodiodes working in
different wavelength range.
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 Photodiode contd.(1)

• Construction : The pn junction of the device is

placed inside a glass material.
• This is done in order to allow the light energy to
pass through it.
• As the junction is only exposed to radiation, the
other portion of the glass material is painted
black.
• The over-all size of the device is very small, ∼ 2.5mm.
• The current flowing through the device is in micro-ampere range.

• Working Principle : In the photodiode, a very small reverse

current flows through the device, known as dark current.
• This current is due to the flow of minority carriers and thus
flows even when the device is not exposed to radiation.
• Now, the junction of the device is illuminated with light.

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 Photodiode contd.(2)

• This causes the generation of electron-hole pairs at the

junction.
• The reverse biasing increases the electric field developed in
the depletion region which quickly pulls the electrons to
the n-region and holes to the p-region.
• The electrons then flow from the n-region to p-region
through an external circuit.
• This movement then generates high reverse current
through the device known as photocurrent.
• The increase in light intensity will generate large number
of electron-hole pairs.
• The photocurrent is thus linearly proportional to the
irradiance (power per unit area).

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 Zener Diode
• This is the type of diodes where the reverse saturation
current increases abruptly when a particular reverse
voltage is reached.
• These Zener diodes are widely used in voltage regulation
circuits.
• The mechanism known as Zener breakdown is responsible
for the sharp increase in current.
• Zener breakdown occurs in highly doped p-n junctions
through a tunneling mechanism.
• In a highly doped junction, the conduction and valence
bands on opposite sides of the junction are sufficiently
close during reverse bias.
• The valence band electrons on the p-side of the junction
thus tunnel through the potential barrier to the conduction
band on the n-side.
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 Zener Diode contd.(1)
• The Zener diode has a well-defined reverse-breakdown
voltage, at which it starts conducting current.
• This breakdown voltage is known as Zener Voltage.
• The diode can operate continuously in the reverse-bias
mode without getting damaged.
• The Zener diode’s operation depends on the heavy doping
of its p-n junction.
• The depletion region formed in the diode is very thin
(< 1µm) and the electric field is consequently very high
(∼ 500KV/m).
• The breakdown voltage can be controlled quite accurately
in the doping process.
• Breakdown voltage for commonly available Zener diodes
can vary widely from 1.2 V to 200 V.
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 Zener Diode contd.(2)
The V-I characteristics of a Zener diode is given below.
• When the diode is connected in forward bias, it acts like a
normal diode.
• When reverse bias voltage is applied to the diode, it allows
only a small amount of leakage current so long the voltage
is less than Zener voltage.
• When reverse voltage reaches Zener voltage (VZ ) value,
the diode starts allowing large amount of electric current
to flow.
• This is the point where Zener breakdown occurs.
• At this point, a small increase in reverse voltage increases the electric current by
a large amount.
• This value of the reverse applied voltage is also known as Zener knee voltage.
• If the diode is heavily doped, Zener breakdown occurs at low reverse voltages.
• For lightly doped diode, high reverse voltage is required for Zener breakdown to
occur.
• This voltage (VZ ) remains almost constant even with large changes in current
provided the current remains between the minimum breakdown value IZ (min)
and its maximum rated value IZ (max).

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 Numerical Problems - 1

1. In a solid, consider the energy level lying 0.01eV below

Fermi level. What is the probability of this level of not
being occupied by an electron at room temperature (27◦ C)?
2. Find the temperature at which there is 1% probability that
a state with energy 2eV is occupied. Given that Fermi
energy is 1.5eV.
3. Evaluate the Fermi-Dirac function for energy KB T above
the Fermi energy.
4. The Fermi level for potassium is 2.1eV. Calculate the
velocity of the electron at Fermi level.
5. Calculate the probability for the electronic state to be
occupied at 20◦ C, if the energy of this state lies 0.11eV
above the Fermi level.

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 Numerical Problems - 2

6. Let Ef be the Fermi energy of a semiconductor. Calculate

the energy range (in eV) for which the probability function
f (E) varies between 0.01 to 0.99 at 300K.
7. If the probability that an electron has an energy ∆E below
the Fermi energy is 0.8, what is the probability that it will
have an energy ∆E above the Fermi energy?
8. The Fermi energy for copper is 7.0 eV. Determine the
electron energy level for which the probability of
occupation is 0.95 at 1100K.
9. Determine the probability that a state at the bottom of the
conduction band is occupied at 300K for each of the
following values of the band gap energy (i)1.0 eV (ii) 6.0
eV. Assume, in each case, the Fermi energy lies in the
middle of the band gap.

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 Numerical Problems - 3

10. A current of 90A passes along a silver ribbon of width

2.5cm and thickness 1.0mm. A transverse magnetic field of
strength 0.80T is applied to the surface of the strip.
Determine (i) the drift velocity of the electrons and
(ii) the Hall electric field.
The density of free electrons in silver is 5.85 × 1028 m−3 .
11. An n-type Ge sample has a donor density 1021 /m3 . It is
arranged in Hall effect experiment having magnetic field
of 0.5T and current density 500A/m2 . Find the Hall voltage
if the sample is 3mm wide.
12. Determine the majority carrier concentration and mobility
from the given Hall effect parameters.
l = 1.0mm, w = 0.1mm, t = 0.01mm,
Ix = 1mA, Vx = 12.5V, Bz = 0.05T, VH = 6.25V.

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 Numerical Problems - 4

13. A copper strip 2cm wide and 1mm thick is placed in a

magnetic field of strength Bz = 1.5wb/m2 . A current Ix of
200A set up in the strip, produces a Hall voltage of 0.18V.
Calculate Hall co-efficient.
14. Find resistivity of intrinsic Ge at 300K. Given electron
mobility as 0.48m2 /V.s and hole mobility as 0.013m2 /V.s,
intrinsic carrier concentration 2.5 × 1019 /m3 .
15. A sample of intrinsic Si at room temperature has a carrier
density 1.5 × 1016 /m3 . A donor impurity is added to the
extent of 1 donor atom per million Si atoms. If the atomic
density is 5 × 1028 /m3 , what will be the conductivity of the
material?
Given µn = 0.135m2 /V.s, µp = 0.048m2 /V.s.

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