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Quasi-Fermi Level

Electronics

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52 views2 pages

Quasi-Fermi Level

Electronics

Uploaded by

opacheco
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as TXT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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In this video we will introduce

the concept of quasi-Fermi level. Now, recall what the Fermi level was, it's
something that we describe the
equilibrium carrier concentration with. So when a semiconductor is at
a thermal equilibrium, then we can use Fermi level to express
the carrier concentrations. So for example, if you recall, for
a non-degenerate semiconductor, we derive this very convenient exponential
equation containing E sub f Fermi level. Now note that we have
used a single Fermi level to describe both n and p, and
this will be the case for equilibrium. Now, consider a semiconductor
in a non-equilibrium situation, say, by light illumination. Then the light is going
create this excess carrier concentration,
delta n and delta p. Now assume low level
injection condition again, so this excess carrier concentration
is small compared to the majority carrier concentration, equilibrium
majority carrier concentration. Then, the majority carrier
concentration doesn't change, it still can be described by
this equilibrium equation. However, your minority carrier
concentration is going to be many orders of magnitude greater or
smaller than the equal equilibrium value. So in that case, obviously, we can't use
the same equation for
the minority carrier concentrations. Now, it would be nice if we can use an
expression as compact and
as simple as this, so hence the concept of quasi-Fermi level. So if the
semiconductor is
not too far from equilibrium, we call that quasi-equilibrium. In that case,
we can write down the majority and minority carrier concentration in
the same form as the equilibrium case, except that we use two separate
formula levels F sub n and F sub p. Two separate Fermi levels for electron and
hole, for majority carriers and minority carriers, and these guys
are called the quasi-Fermi level. For majority carrier concentration,
if the semiconductor, if the excitation condition,
satisfies the low level injection, then this thing will be very similar. Majority
carrier concentration will
be the same as the equilibrium value. In that case, your F sub n,
the electron quasi-Fermi level, will be equal to
the equilibrium Fermi level. But the hole quasi-Fermi level, or
the quasi-Fermi level for holes, will be very different from
the equilibrium Fermi level. Now let's consider an example here, so
this is an example that we considered in the previous video as an example
of a continuity equation. We were considering a p-type semiconductor
with a doping density of 10 to the 17th, with a light illumination. And in this
case,
the excess carrier concentration generated by this light illumination is 10
to the 14th per cubic centimeters. And it's much smaller than
the equilibrium majority carrier concentration, but it is much, much greater than
the equilibrium
minority carrier concentration. Now we can describe this as
carrier concentration itself, but it is very convenient that we can describe
the situation using Fermi levels as well, quasi-Fermi level, that is, because
this is a non-equilibrium situation. So, here is the equilibrium case, before light
illumination, there is a
conduction band, there is a valance band. In the middle of band gap,
you have an intrinsic Fermi level. Now, doping density is 10 to the 17th,
and so majority carrier concentration
is 10 to the 17th. And minority of concentration given
by the law of mass action, so about 10 to the 3rd power. Now, Fermi level is down
below here,
because this is a p-type semiconductor, with a hole concentration much
greater than the electron. Under light illumination, the carrier
concentration changes like this, whole concentration remains the same,
it changes only by 0.1%. Whereas the minority carrier concentration
increase by 11 orders of magnitude. So you can describe these two cases,
majority carrier concentration and the minority carrier concentration,
in this non equilibrium situation using quasi-Fermi level, one for hole,
quasi-Fermi level for hole, F sub p. Because the hole concentration didn't
really change, your quasi-Fermi level for hole will basically be the same
as the equilibrium Fermi level. For electrons,
this guy 10 to the 14th is larger than the intrinsic carrier concentration. So if
you express this number
In terms of Fermi level, that Fermi level is going to be up
above the intrinsic Fermi level, just like in the n-type semiconductor. So your
quasi-Fermi level for hole will be located in
the upper half of the band gap. So you can describe this non-equilibrium
situation created by light illumination as a minority carrier
increasing dramatically. Or equivalently, you can describe this
situation as the original Fermi level split up into two quasi-Fermi levels,
one for holes and one for electrons. Now, this quasi-Fermi level
gives you a very convenient mathematical approach to
describe current as well. So the hole current in general is
combination of the drift current and the diffusion current, this is
something that we talked about before. And use the non-degenerate semiconductor
equation for hole concentration and that is, That was p is equal to ni exponential
e sub i- fp kt, this was the equation that
was in the previous slide. Now take a gradient of p, and
then you will get this equation here. Now plug this expression back into your
general current density equation above, then you get this. Now, you can work this
out and
show that this hole current here, Hole current here is given by
simply a mobility times the carrier concentration times the gradient
of your quasi-Fermi level. And similarly,
the electron current also is given by the gradient of the quasi-Fermi level for
electrons. So now you can imagine that
whenever you have a current, then the current is
necessarily accompanying some gradient of quasi-Fermi level.

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