ECE3600 Physical Electronics

Clarification from 25th March 2009 Lecture

ln(n)
INTRINSIC
slope = -Eg/2k

ln(Nd)

EXTRINSIC

Ti
ni(T)

Ts

IONIZATION
slope = !"E/2k

1/T

The temperature dependence of the electron concentration in an n-type

semiconductor.

The above figure is Fig. 5.15 from Kasap, as shown in the last slide of the sequence in Bands.ppt. The
discussion in the lecture was not clear as a quite pertinent question revealed. In an effort to ensure some clarity
here is a quick reprise of the discussion. Full details may be found in section 5.3.1 Carrier Concentration
Temperature Dependence, pp396 410 of the text.
There are three regions in Fig 5.15. The figure is correct the 1/T axis implies that temperature increases as we
follow the curve from right to left. Conductivity, the inverse of resistivity, increases with temperature this is
unlike a metal (the opposite if you recall Lab #1). The reason for this difference is that in a metal, scattering
processes due to impurities limit the free passage of charge carriers hence resistance increasing with
temperature. However, in a non-metal it is the number density of charge carriers that limit the size of the current
that can flow. The character of the material, as discussed below, determines the number density of charge
carriers and, in turn, the conductivity. There are three regimes for this:
a) Ionization: T < Ts (low temperatures, far RHS of Fig 5.15)
In this region, the temperature is low enough that not all dopants are ionized. This is well below room
temperature for the systems we have discussed. In this region, n & p are still dominated by some fraction of ND,
this will always be bigger than the intrinsic contribution as this too is temperature dependent.
b) Extrinsic Ts < T < Ti (the middle region, includes room temperature for most systems)
In this region, the temperature lies above a threshold value (saturation temperature) at which k BT is large enough
that we can treat all dopants as ionized. Thus ND ~ n or p and the electronic character as discussed for extrinsic
materials in the last few lectures results.
c) Intrinsic T > Ti (far left region in Fig 5.15)
In this region the temperature is so high that the value of n & p due to probability of electrons having energy to
be excited over the band gap from the valence band dominates ND. To get a feel for this, consider a dopant state
~0.2 eV from a band edge in Silicon. The relative probabilities of that excitation vs 1.1 eV for the full band can
be tracked to the exponential relations discussed earlier the implied temperature above room temperature is
significant. In this range, the slope of ln (n) and therefore ln () or ln () will respond as an intrinsic material (in
the same manner as explored in Assignment 8).