INTRINSIC CARRIER CONCENTRATION

We now derive the carrier concentration in the thermal equilibrium condition, that is, the steady-
state condition at a given temperature without any external excitations such as light, pressure, or
an electric field. At a given temperature, continuous thermal agitation results in the excitation of
electrons from the valence band to the conduction band and leaves an equal number of holes in
the valence band.

To obtain the electron density in an intrinsic semiconductor, we first evaluate the electron
density in an incremental energy range dE. This density n(E) is given by the product of the
density of states N(E), that is, the density of allowed energy states (including electron spin) per
energy range per unit volume, and by the probability of occupying that energy range F(E). Thus,
the electron density in the conduction band is given by integrating N(E)F(E)dE from the bottom
of the conduction band (EC initially taken to be E = 0 for simplicity) to the top of the conduction
band Etop:

=∫ ( ) =∫ ( ) ( ) …………………………(1)

where n is in cm-3, and N(E) is in (cm3–eV)-1.

The probability that an electron occupies an electronic state with energy E is given
by the Fermi–Dirac distribution function, which is also called the Fermi
distribution function

( )= /
………………………………………………..(2)

where k is the Boltzmann constant, T is the absolute temperature in degrees Kelvin,

and EF is the energy of the Fermi level. The Fermi level is the energy at which the
probability of occupation by an electron is exactly one-half. For energies that are
3kT above or below the Fermi energy, the exponential term in Eq. 2 becomes
larger than 20 or smaller than 0.05, respectively. The Fermi distribution function
can thus be approximated by simpler expressions:
( )/
( )≅ for ( − )>3 ……………………….…(3)
( )/
( )≅1− for ( − )<3 ………………….….(4)

Equation 4 can be regarded as the probability that a hole occupies a state located at
energy E.
Figure 17 shows schematically from left to right the band diagram, the density of
states N(E), which varies as E for a given electron effective mass, the Fermi
distribution function, and the carrier concentrations for an intrinsic semiconductor.
The electron concentration can be obtained graphically from Fig. 17 using Eq. 1;
that is, the product of N(E) in Fig. 17b and F(E) in Fig. 17c gives the n(E)-versus-E
curve (upper curve) in Fig. 17d. The upper shaded area in Fig. 17d corresponds to
the electron density. There are a large number of allowed states in the conduction
band. However, for an intrinsic semiconductor there will not be many electrons in
the conduction band. Therefore, the probability of an electron occupying one of
these states is small. Also, there are a large number of allowed states in the valence
band. By contrast, most of these are occupied by electrons. Thus, the probability of
an electron occupying one of these states in the valence band is nearly unity. There
will be only a few unoccupied electron states, that is, holes, in the valence band.
The Fermi energy EF for which the probability of occupation by an electron is 0.5
lies midway between the two bands. At a finite temperature, the number of
electrons in the conduction band is equal to the number of holes in the valence
band. The Fermi distribution is symmetrical around the Fermi level EF. The Fermi
level must be at the midgap in order to obtain equal electron and hole
concentrations if the density of state in the conduction and valence bands is the
same. That is to say, EF is independent of temperature for an intrinsic
semiconductor. As can be seen, the Fermi level is located near the middle of the
bandgap. The density of state in three dimension is given by
 ( )=4 ……………………………………..(5)

Substituting Eq. 3 and Eq. 5 into Eq. 1 yields

2 /
=4 exp [−( − )/ ]
ℎ
[We have taken Etop to be ∞, because F(E)becomes very small when (E- EF,)>> kT.]

/ / /
Or, = 2(2 /ℎ ) ( ) ∫ exp [−( − )/ ]
√

/ /
Or, = ( ) ∫ exp [−( − )/ ] …… (6)
√

/
≡ 12(2 /ℎ ) for Si…………………….…...(7a)
/
≡ 2(2 /ℎ ) for GaAs. …………………..……...(7b)

Let x ≡ E/kT, or, E ≡ xkT, or, ≡ kT, or, dE ≡ dxkT

Eq. 6 now becomes

2 / / /
= ( ) ( ) exp [−( − )/ ]
√
/ / /
Or, = ( ) ∫ ( ) exp ( / )exp [−E/ ]
√

∞ /
Or, = exp ( / )∫ ……………………(8)
√

The integral in Eq. 11 is of the standard form and equals √ /2. Therefore, Eq. 8
becomes

= exp ( / )……………………………….…..(9)

If we refer to the bottom of the conduction band as Ec instead of E = 0, we obtain

for the electron density in the conduction band

= exp [−( − )/ ]…………………………(10)

where NC defined in Eq.7 is the effective density of states in the conduction band.
At room temperature (300 K), NC is 2.86 × 1019 cm-3 for silicon and 4.7 × 1017 cm-3
for gallium arsenide.

Similarly, we can obtain the hole density p in the valence band:

= exp [−( − )/ ]…………………………..(11)

/
and ≡2 2 /ℎ …………………………..(12)

where NV is the effective density of states in the valence band for both Si and GaAs.

For an intrinsic semiconductor, the number of electrons per unit volume in the
conduction band is equal to the number of holes per unit volume in the valence
band, that is, n = p = ni where ni is the intrinsic carrier density. This relationship of
electrons and holes is depicted in Fig. 17d. Note that the shaded area in the
conduction band is the same as that in the valence band.

The Fermi level for an intrinsic semiconductor is obtained by equating Eq.10 and
Eq. 11:

exp [−( − )/ ]= exp [−( − )/ ]

Or, exp [−( − )/ ]= exp [−( − )/ ]

Or, = exp [(− + + − )/ ]

Or, = exp [(2 − − )/ ]

Or, = exp [ − ]

Or, ln = −

∴ = =( + )/2 + ( /2)ln ( / )………….(13)

At room temperature, the second term is much smaller than the bandgap. Hence,
the intrinsic Fermi level Ei of an intrinsic semiconductor generally lies very close
to the middle of the bandgap.
The intrinsic carrier density is obtained from Eqs. 10, 11, and 13:

= ………………………………………………..(14)

= exp − / …………………………….(15)

and = exp − /2 …………………….(16)

where Eg≡ EC – EV. Thus, the larger the bandgap, the smaller the intrinsic carrier
density.

DONORS AND ACCEPTORS

When a semiconductor is doped with impurities, the semiconductor becomes

extrinsic and impurity energy levels are introduced. Figure 19a shows
schematically that a silicon atom is replaced (or substituted) by an arsenic atom
with five valence electrons. The arsenic atom forms covalent bonds with its four
neighboring silicon atoms. The fifth electron has a relatively small binding energy
to its host arsenic atom and can be “ionized” to become a conduction electron at a
moderate temperature. We say that this electron has been “donated” to the
conduction band. The arsenic atom is called a donor and the silicon becomes n-
type because of the addition of the negative charge carrier. Similarly, Fig. 19b
shows that when a boron atom with three valence electrons substitutes for a
silicon atom, an additional electron is “accepted” to form four covalent bonds
around the boron, and a positively charged “hole” is created in the valence band.
This is a p-type semiconductor, and the boron is an acceptor. The impurity atoms
are imperfections and interrupt the perfect periodicity of the lattice; energy levels
within the band gap that were forbidden are no longer disallowed. That is to say,
the impurity atoms will introduce an energy level or multiple energy levels in the
band gap.

Fermi level in terms of the effective density of states and the donor/acceptor
concentration:

For shallow donors in n-type silicon and gallium arsenide, there usually is enough
thermal energy to supply the energy ED to ionize all donor impurities at room
temperature and thus provide the same number of electrons in the conduction band.
This condition is called complete ionization. Under a complete ionization
condition, we can write the electron density as

= ……………………………………………………(1)
where ND is the donor concentration. Figure 21a illustrates complete ionization
where the donor level ED is measured with respect to the bottom of the conduction
band and equal concentrations of electrons (which are mobile) and donor ions
(which are immobile) are shown. The electron density in the conduction band is

= exp [−( − )/ ]…………………………….(2)

From Eqs. 1 and 2 we obtain the Fermi level in terms of the effective density of
states NC and the donor concentration ND:

− = ln ( / )…………………………………(3)
Similarly, for shallow acceptors for p-type semiconductors as shown in Fig. 21b, if
there is complete ionization, the concentration of holes is

= ……………………………………………(4)
where NA is the acceptor concentration. The hole density p in the valence band is

= exp [−( − )/ ]………………………(5)

We can obtain the corresponding Fermi level from Eqs. 4 and 5

− = ln ( / )………………………….(6)

where NA is the acceptor concentration.

From Eq. 3 we can see that the higher the donor concentration, the smaller the
energy difference (EC – EF); that is, the Fermi level will move closer to the bottom
of the conduction band. Similarly, for higher acceptor concentration, the Fermi
level will move closer to the top of the valence band. Figure 22 illustrates the
procedure for obtaining the carrier concentrations for an n-type semiconductor. It
is useful to express electron and hole densities in terms of the intrinsic carrier
concentration ni and the intrinsic Fermi level Ei since Ei is frequently used as a
reference level when discussing extrinsic semiconductors. From Eq.2 we obtain

= exp [−( − )/ ]

= exp [−( − )/ ]exp [−( − )/ ]

Or, = n exp [−( − )/ ]……………………………(6)

and similarly,
 = n exp [−( − )/ ]…………...……………………(7)

EXAMPLE 4
16 3
A silicon ingot is doped with 10 arsenic atoms/cm . Find the carrier
concentrations and the Fermi level at room temperature (300 K) hence draw the
band diagram. Given that ni=9.65 × 10 cm and NC=2.86 × 10 cm .

SOLUTION: At 300 K, we can assume complete ionization of impurity atoms.

We have

≈ = 10 cm

We know, =

∴ ≈ / = (9.65 × 10 ) /10 = 9.3 × 10 cm

The Fermi level measured from the bottom of the conduction band is given by:
− = ln ( / )
= 0.0259ln (2.86 × 10 /10 ) = 0.205eV

The Fermi level measured from the intrinsic Fermi level is given by:

− ≈ ln ( / )
= 0.0259ln (10 /9.65 × 10 ) = 0.358eV.

These results are shown graphically in Fig. 23.

Mobility
Consider an n-type semiconductor sample with uniform donor concentration in
thermal equilibrium. Under thermal equilibrium, the average thermal energy of a
conduction electron can be obtained from the theorem for equipartition of energy,
1/2 kT units of energy per degree of freedom, where k is Boltzmann’s constant and
T is the absolute temperature. The electrons in a semiconductor have three degrees
of freedom; they can move around in a three-dimensional space. Therefore, the
kinetic energy of the electrons is given by

ℎ = ……………………………………….(1)

where mn is the effective mass of electrons and υth is the average thermal velocity.
At room temperature (300 K), the thermal velocity of electrons in Eq. 1 is about
107 cm/s for silicon and gallium arsenide. The electrons in the semiconductor are
therefore moving rapidly in all directions. The thermal motion of an individual
electron may be visualized as a succession of random scattering from collisions
with lattice atoms, impurity atoms, and other scattering centers, as illustrated in
Fig. 1a. The random motion of electrons leads to zero net displacement of an
electron over a sufficiently long period of time. The average distance between
collisions is called the mean free path, and the average time between collisions is
called the mean free time τc. When a small electric field ℰ is applied to the
semiconductor sample, each electron will experience a force − ℰ from the field
and will be accelerated along the field (in the opposite direction to the field) during
the time between collisions. Therefore, an additional velocity component will be
superimposed upon the thermal motion of electrons. This additional component is
called the drift velocity. The combined displacement of an electron due to the
random thermal motion and the drift component is illustrated in Fig. 1b.
We can obtain the drift velocity υn by equating the momentum (force × time)
applied to an electron during the free flight between collisions to the momentum
gained by the electron in the same period. The equality is valid because in a steady
state all momentum gained between collisions is lost to the lattice in the collision.
The momentum applied to an electron is given by − ℰ , and the momentum
gained is . We have

− ℰ = …………………………………..(2)

Or, = −( / )ℰ………………………….(3)

Equation 3 states that the electron drift velocity is proportional to the applied
electric field. The proportionality factor depends on the mean free time and the
effective mass. The proportionality factor is called the electron mobility , in
units of cm2N-s, or

≡ ………………………………………….(4)

Thus, =− ℰ………………………..(5)

Mobility is an important parameter for carrier transport because it describes how

strongly the motion of an electron is influenced by an applied electric field. A
similar expression can be written for holes in the valence band:

= ℰ………………………………..………(6)

EXAMPLE Calculate the mean free time of an electron having a mobility of 1000
cm2/V-s at 300 K; also calculate the mean free path. Assume mn = 0.26 m, in these
calculations.

SOLUTION The mean free time is given by

(0.26 × 0.91 × 10 kg) × (1000 × 10 m /V − s)

= =
1.6 × 10 C
= 1.48 × 10 s = 0.148ps

The mean free path is given by

= = (10 cm/s)(1.48 × 10 s) = 1.48 × 10 cm

 = 14.8nm

CARRIER DIFFUSION

Diffusion Process

Another important current component can exist if there is a spatial variation of

carrier concentration in the semiconductor material. The carriers tend to move
from a region of high concentration to a region of low concentration. This current
component is called diflusion current. To understand the diffusion process, let us
assume an electron density that varies in the x-direction, as shown in Fig. 9. The
semiconductor is at uniform temperature, so that the average thermal energy of
electrons does not vary with x, only the density n(x) varies. Consider the number of
electrons crossing the plane at x = 0 per unit time and per unit area. Because of
finite temperature, the electrons have random thermal motions with a thermal
velocity vth and a mean free path l (note that = ℎ , where is the mean free
time.) The electrons at x = -l, one mean free path away on the left side, have equal
chances of moving left or right; and in a mean free time , one half of them will
move across the plane x = 0. The average rate of electron flow per unit area F1 of
electrons crossing plane x = 0 from the left is then

( )⋅
= = (− ) ⋅ ………………………………….(1)

[Electron density per unit area is ]

Similarly, the average rate of electron flow per unit area F2 of electrons at x = 1
crossing plane x = 0 from the right is

= ( )⋅ …………………………(2)

The net rate of carrier flow from left to right is

= − = [ (− ) − ( )]……………….(3)

Approximating the densities at = ± by the first two terms of a Taylor series

expansion, we obtain

= (0) − − (0) +

=− ≡− ………………………(4)

where = is called the diflusion coefficient also called the difusivity.

Because each electron carries a charge -q, the carrier flow gives rise to a current
=− = ……………………………….(5)

The diffusion current is proportional to the spatial derivative of the electron

density. Diffusion current results from the random thermal motion of carriers in a
concentration gradient. For an electron density that increases with x, the gradient is
positive, and the electrons will diffuse toward the negative x-direction. The current
is positive and flows in the direction opposite to that of the electrons as indicated in
Fig. 9.