The application of excess energy (light, thermal, electrical) or the addition of

extra electrons into the system results in conduction by moving electrons into
the conduction band
In thermal equilibrium electrons can be excited into the con
duction band leaving a hole in the valance band
Holes and electrons propagate in
throughout the material via quantum mechanical tunneling from site to site rand
omly The application of a driving potential forces electrons and holes to migrat
e in opposite directions based on charge density
The effective mass of holes, mh
*, and electrons me* is a quantum mechanical quantity relating the inertial resi
stance to acceleration of each under a driving force due to electric fields with
in the periodic structure structure
e
hole
CB
VB
Ec
Ev
0
Ec+?
Eg
Free e h ? > Eg
Hole h+
Electron energy, E
(a) A photon with an energy greater than Eg can excite an electron from the VB t
o the CB. (b) Each line between Si-Si atoms is a valence electron in a bond. Whe
n a photon breaks a Si-Si bond, a free electron and a hole in the Si-Si bond is
created.
h ?
(a) (b)
1999 S.O. Kasap, Optoelectronics (Prentice Hall)
Thermal Considerations and Recombination The presence of a finite band gap requi
res that at T=0K, there is no electrical conduction within the material
As tempe
rature increases, more and more free energy present in the semiconductor allows
for the population of conduction bands with electrons. Due to atomic vibrations
that increase with temperature allowing for excitation of conduction band energy
states
Production of electrons in the conduction band due to increased free ene
rgy generates an equal number of holes in the valance band q This is referred to
as thermal generation When a wondering electron crosses a site within the latti
ce where a hole is present, the electron releases its free energy and binds to t
he atoms valence band. This process is called recombination
Electron concentrati
on, n, within the conduction band Hole concentration,p, within the valance band
Semiconductor Statistics: Density of States
Many important properties of semicon
ductors are described by considering electrons in the conduction band and holes
in the valance band. Density of States (DOS), g(E), represents the number of ele
ctronics states in a band per E EF E E For electrons [1 f(E)]
nE(E) Area =  nE(E)dE = n
EcE c
Ec+ ?
EF
CB
(a) (b) (c) (d) g(E) ? (E Ec)1/2
electronics states in a band per unit energy per unit volume of the crystal
gCB(
E) DOS in the CB and gVB(E) in the VB The DOS gCB(E) increases with energy from
the CB edge as
(E-EC )is the electron energy from the bottom of the CB
g(E) fE) nE(E) or pE(E)
For holes
pE(E)
Area = p
EvE v
0

VB
(a) Energy band diagram. (b) Density of states (number of states per unit energy
per unit volume). (c) Fermi-Dirac probability function (probability of occupanc
y of a state). (d) The product of g(E) and f(E) is the energy density of electro
ns in the CB (number of electrons per unit energy per unit volume). The area und
er nE(E) vs. E is the electron concentration. 1999 S.O. Kasap, Optoelectronics (
Prentice Hall) () () () 2 1323*42 eCCB EEmhgE =- - p
Semiconductor Statistics: Density of States
The Fermi Dirac function f(E), is the probability of finding an electron in a qu
antum state with energy E. This function is a fundamental property of a collecti
on of interacting electrons in thermal equilibrium
Where k is the Boltzmann constant, T is the temperature in Kelvin, EF is the Fer
mi energy
()
  
   +
=
kT EE
fE
F1exp
1
the Fermi energy
Fermi Energy = energy required to fill all states at T = 0 K
Th
e Fermi energy is the chemical potential (or Gibbs free energy) per electron in
the material Changes in the Fermi energy across the material represent the elect
rical work input or output per electron
In the equilibrium state of a semiconduc
tor with no light or applied voltage, the change in Fermi energy, EF = 0, AND EF
must be uniform throughout the system
Note: The probability of a finding a hole
is 1-F(E).
Conduction Band Concentrations in a Semiconductor
To find energy distribution of
electrons in the CB, we need FD function When we multiply g(E) with f(F), we ge
t the number of electrons per unit energy per unit volume at E in the CB, nE(E).
Thus
The electron concentration can be obtained by integrating from bottom ECto
the top EC +  of the CB E EF E E For electrons [1 f(E)] nE(E) Area =  nE(E)dE = n E
cE c Ec+ ? EF CB (a) (b) (c) (d) g(E) ? (E Ec)1/2 ()() EdEEfdEgn ECB = p C 
Whenever (EC-E F) >> kT, that is EF is at least a few kTbelow EC, then
The Fermi Dirac statistics can be replaced by Boltzmann statistics. Such semicon
ductor are called nondegenerate.
The number of electrons in the CB is far less t
han the number of states in this band
g(E) fE) nE(E) or pE(E)
For holes
pE(E)
Area = p
EvE v
0
VB
(a) Energy band diagram. (b) Density of states (number of states per unit energy
per unit volume). (c) Fermi-Dirac probability function (probability of occupanc
y of a state). (d) The product of g(E) and f(E) is the energy density of electro
ns in the CB (number of electrons per unit energy per unit volume). The area und
er nE(E) vs. E is the electron concentration. 1999 S.O. Kasap, Optoelectronics (
Prentice Hall)
()() EdEEfng C
C
E
E CB+
= ?
( ) ( ) () EkTEEf F-- exp
Conduction Band Concentrations in a Semiconductor
The electron concentration the
n

Where
Effective density of states at the CB d ttt i tt
E
EF
E E
For electrons
[1 f(E)]
nE(E) Area =  nE(E)dE = n
EcE c
Ec+ ?
EF
CB
(a) (b) (c) (d) g(E) ? (E Ec)1/2
  
   - =- kT EE nN CF C exp
32
2 *2 2



=
h mkT N e C p
edge, constant at ag iven temperature for a given material
Similarly for concent
ration of holes in theVB
Effective density of states at the VB edge, constant at a given temperature for
a given material
g(E) fE) nE(E) or pE(E)
For holes
pE(E)
Area = p
EvE v
0
VB
(a) Energy band diagram. (b) Density of states (number of states per unit energy
per unit volume). (c) Fermi-Dirac probability function (probability of occupanc
y of a state). (d) The product of g(E) and f(E) is the energy density of electro
ns in the CB (number of electrons per unit energy per unit volume). The area und
er nE(E) vs. E is the electron concentration. 1999 S.O. Kasap, Optoelectronics (
Prentice Hall)
  
   - =- kT EE pN FV V exp 32
2 *2 2



=
h mkT N h V p
Important note: The only assumptions specific to these derivations for n and p i
s that the Fermi energy is only a few kTaway from the band edges
Intrinsic Semiconductor
Intrinsic semiconductors are pure crystals where n = p I
t can be shown that in an intrinsic semiconductor that the Fermi level, EFi, is
above EV and located in the bandgap at
Typically NC and NV values are comparable and both occur in the logarithmic term
so that EFi is approximately in the middle of the bandgap as shown in previous
slides         +-= V C VgFi N N EkTEE ln 2 1 2 1 p
The product of n and p in an intrinsi
c semiconductor provides the mass action law
Where Eg =E C E V is the bandgap energy, ni2 is the constant that depends on temp
erature and material properties, and not the Fermi energy.
2exp i g CV n kT E NNnp =         =Extrinsic Semiconductors Semiconductors with small amounts of impurities
These i
mpurities increase / decrease the probability of obtaining an electron in the co
nduction band
N-type semiconductors
extrinsicsemiconductors with excess electron
s Arsenic added to siliconto which have one more valence (available electron)tha
n silicon Arsenic is called a donor because e (a) As+ As+ As+ As+ As+ Ec Ed CB ~0
.05 eV (b) Electron Energy Arsenic is called a donor because it donates electron
s to the system
For Nd >> ni, at room temperature, the electron concentration in
side the conduction band will be nearly equal to Nd such that Nd= n
Number of ho
les p = ni2/Nd Conductivity,, depends on driftmobilities,, of electrons and holes
xE v As atom sites every 106 Si atoms Distance into crystal (a) The four valenc
e electrons of As allow it to bond just like Si but the fifth electron is left o
rbiting the As site. The energy required to release to free fifthelectron into t
he CB is very small. (b) Energy band diagram for an n-type Si doped with 1 ppm A
s. There are donor energy levels just below Ec around As+ sites. 1999 S.O. Kasa
p, Optoelectronics (Prentice Hall)
deh
d
i de eN N n eNe s         =+ 2eh enep
s
=+
Extrinsic Semiconductors Semiconductors with small amounts of impurities
These i
mpurities increase / decrease the probability of obtaining an electron in the co
nduction band
P-type semiconductors
extrinsicsemiconductors with excess holes
Bo
ron added to silicon to which have one less valence (available hole)than silicon
Boron is called a acceptor because B h+ x B Ea B atom sites every 106 Si atoms Di
stance into crystal ~005eV B B B Ec Electron energy Boron is called a acceptor beca
use it accepts electrons to the system For Na >> ni, at room temperature, then a
ll the accptors would have been ionized and thus p  Na Electronconcentration n=
n i 2/Na Conductivity,, depends on driftmobilities,, of electrons and holes
ahahe
a i eNeN N n
e

s +         = 2eh enep
s
=+
(a)
Ev
~0.05eV
h+
VB
(b)
(a) Boron doped Si crystal. B has only three valence electrons. When it substitu
tes for a Si atom one of its bonds has an electron missing and therefore a hole.
(b) Energy band diagram for a p-type Si doped with 1 ppm B. There are acceptor

energy levels just above Ev around B sites. These acceptor levels accept electron
s from the VB and therefore create holes in the VB.
1999 S.O. Kasap, Optoelectronics (Prentice Hall)
Simplified Band Diagrams for Semiconductors
Notice in the chart below that the F
ermi level changes as a function of doping Notice also that carrier concentratio
n (holes or electrons) also changes as a function of doping
N-type: majority car
riers are electrons and minority carriers are holes P-type: majority carriers ar
e holes and minority carriers are electrons Mass action law still valid: nnopno=
ni2 where no is the doped equilibrium carrier concentration
Ec
Ev EFi
CB
EFp
EFn Ec
Ev
Ec
Ev
VB
(a) (c) (b)
Energy band diagrams for (a) intrinsic (b) n-type and (c) p-type semiconductors.
In all cases, np = ni2. Note that donor and acceptor energy levels are not show
n.
1999 S.O. Kasap, Optoelectronics (Prentice Hall)
Compensation