Module 2

Carrier Transport in Semiconductor

Three kinds of carrier transport are observed in semiconductors

➢Drift: motion of charged particles in the presence of an electric field.
➢Diffusion: motion of particles due to concentration differences.
➢Tunnelling.

Charge carriers at thermal equilibrium.

➢ The thermal motion of an individual electron may be
visualized as random scattering from lattice vibrations,
impurities, other electrons, and defects.

➢ Since the scattering is random there is no net motion

(no current) for a group of n electrons/cm3 over any
period of time. Random thermal motion of an
electron in a solid.
An External Electric Field E is applied
 Derivation for drift current
➢ If an electric field ℰx is applied in the x-direction, each electron experiences a net
force -qℰx from the field.

➢ This force may be insufficient to alter appreciably the random path of an individual
electron; the effect when averaged over all the electrons, however, is a net motion of
the group in the -x-direction.
➢ If Px is the x-component of the total momentum of the
group, the force of the field on the n electrons/cm3 is

Eq 1

➢ Initially, above equation seems to indicate a continuous

acceleration of the electrons in the -x-direction.
➢ The net acceleration of Eq 1 is just balanced in steady state by the decelerations of the
collision processes.

➢ If the collisions are truly random, there will be a constant probability of collision at any
time for each electron.

➢ Let us consider a group of N0 electrons at time t = 0 and define N(t) as the number of
electrons that have not undergone a collision by time t.

➢ The rate of decrease in N(t) at any time t is proportional to the number left unscattered
at t,

Eq 2

where is a constant of proportionality.

➢ The solution to Eq. (2) is an exponential function
Eq 3

and represents the mean time between scattering events called the mean free time.

➢ The probability that any electron has a collision in the time interval dt is

➢ Thus the differential change in px due to collisions in time dt is

Eq 4

➢ The rate of change of px due to the decelerating effect of collisions is

Eq 5
➢ The sum of acceleration and deceleration effects must be zero for steady state.

Eq 6

➢ The average momentum per electron is

Eq 7

➢ For steady state, the electrons have on the average a constant net velocity in the negative x-direction:

Represent the net drift velocity Eq 8

net drift of an average electron in response to the electric field

➢ The current density due to electron drift is number of electrons crossing unit area per unit time
multiplied by the charge on the electron (–q):

Eq 9

Sub Eq 8 in Eq 9 Eq 10

➢ Thus the current density is proportional to the electric field, as we expect from Ohm’s law:

Eq 11
➢ The conductivity can be written

Eq 12

➢ The quantity called the electron mobility, describes the ease with which electrons drift
in the material.

➢ is the conductivity effective mass for electrons

➢ The mobility can be expressed as the average particle drift velocity per unit electric field.

Eq 13

For Si n = 1350 cm2/Vs, p = 480 cm2/Vs;

for Ge n = 3900 cm2/Vs, p = 1900 cm2/Vs.
➢ The current density can be written in terms of mobility as

➢ If both electrons and holes participate in current flow

Eq 14

Conductivity Eq 15
 Factors Affecting Mobility
Effects of Temperature on mobility
➢ The two basic types of scattering mechanisms that influence electron and hole mobility are
lattice scattering and impurity scattering.
➢ In lattice scattering a carrier moving through the crystal is scattered by a vibration of the
lattice, resulting from the temperature.

➢ The frequency of such scattering events increases as the temperature increases, since the
thermal agitation of the lattice becomes greater.

➢ Therefore, we should expect the mobility to decrease as the sample is heated

Mobility lattice scattering  L  T −3 / 2
➢ Scattering from crystal defects such as ionized impurities becomes the dominant
mechanism at low temperatures.

➢ The thermal motion of the carriers is also slower at lower temperature. Since a slowly
moving carrier is likely to be scattered more strongly by an interaction with a charged ion,
impurity scattering events cause a decrease in mobility with decreasing temperature.

➢ The other scattering mechanisms include neutral Impurity scattering and carrier-carrier
scattering.

➢ The scattering probability is inversely proportional to the mean free time and therefore to
the mobilities due to two or more scattering mechanisms add inversely.
Approximate
temperature
dependence of
mobility with
both lattice
and impurity
scattering
 Mobility vs Concentration of impurities
➢ As concentration of impurities increases ➔ Ionized impurity scattering increases and mobility
decreases
1. Find the electron and hole concentrations and resistivities of silicon samples, for each of the
following impurity concentrations 5 x 1015 boron atoms/cm3, ni = 9.65 x 109
 The Hall Effect

➢ Experimental setup to measure the carrier concentration directly and the type of the
semiconductor.

➢ Electric field applied along the x-axis

A ➢ Magnetic field applied along the z-axis.

D
C
➢ Consider a p-type semiconductor sample.
B
➢ The force on a single hole due to magnetic fields is

➢ In the y-direction the force is

In the negative y-direction

➢ This Lorentz force due to the magnetic field will exert an average upward force on the
holes flowing in the x-direction.

➢ The upward directed current causes an accumulation of holes at the top of the sample that
gives rise to a downward-directed electric field Ey.
➢ Since there is no net current flow along the y-direction in the steady state, the electric field
along the y-axis exactly balances the Lorentz force

➢ Once the electric field Ey becomes equal to vxBz, no net force along the y-direction is
experienced by the holes as they drift in the x-direction

➢ The establishment of the electric field is known as the Hall effect.

➢ The electric field is called the Hall field, and the terminal voltage called the Hall voltage(VH.= VAB

➢ For the hole drift velocity, the Hall field

➢ The Hall field Ey is proportional to the product of the current density and the magnetic field.

➢ The proportionality constant RH is the Hall coefficient.

➢ Similar result can be obtained for an n-type semiconductor, A negative value of q is used for
electrons, and the Hall voltage VH and Hall coefficient RH are negative

➢ A measurement of the Hall voltage for a known current and magnetic field yields

➢ All the quantities in the right-hand side of the equation can be measured. Thus, the carrier
concentration and carrier type can be obtained directly from the Hall measurement.
➢ If a measurement of resistance R is made, the sample resistivity can be calculated:

➢ The mobility is simply the ratio of the Hall coefficient and the resistivity:
 Diffusion Processes
➢ Current component due to 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 diffusion current.

➢ Carriers in a semiconductor diffuse in a carrier

gradient by random thermal motion and
scattering from the lattice and impurities.
Spreading of a
pulse of electrons
➢ Initially, the excess electrons are concentrated at by diffusion.
x = 0; as time passes, however, electrons diffuse
to regions of low electron concentration until
finally n(x) is constant.
 An arbitrary electron concentration gradient in one dimension

division of n(x) into segments Expanded view of two of

of length equal to a mean the segments centred at x0.
free path for the electrons;
➢ Lets consider an arbitrary distribution n(x) shown.

➢ Since the mean free path between collisions is a small incremental distance, we can divide x into
segments wide, with n(x) evaluated at the center of each segment.

• Half of these electrons are • Half of these electrons are

moving to the right moving to the right
• Half are moving to the left • Half are moving to the left
➢ The electrons in segment (1) to the left of x0 have equal chances of moving left or right,
and in a mean free time one-half of them will move into segment (2).

➢ The same is true of electrons within one mean free path of x0 to the right; one- half of
these electrons will move through x0 from right to left in a mean free time.

➢ From carrier distribution, electron concentration in segment 1 is n1 and segment 2 is n2 n1 > n2

Total number of electron in segment 1 :

Total number of electron in segment 2 :

Net number of electron cross x0 (from region 1 &2):

➢ The rate of electron flow in the +x-direction(from higher to lower concentration) per unit
area (the electron flux density) is given by

Eqn 1

➢ Since the mean free path is a small differential length, the difference in electron
concentration (n1 - n2) can be written as

Eqn 2
Then

Similarly
 ➢ The diffusion current crossing a unit area (the current density) is the particle flux density
multiplied by the charge of the carrier:

➢ It is important to note that electrons and holes move together in a carrier gradient but the
resulting currents are in opposite directions because of the opposite charge of electrons and
holes.
Total current in a semiconductor is sum of drift and diffusion current due to electrons
and holes.

Net current density due to Electron

Net current density due to Holes

Total Current Density

➢ Minority carriers can contribute significantly to the current through diffusion.

➢ Since the drift terms are proportional to carrier concentration, minority carriers seldom provide
much drift current.

➢ On the other hand, diffusion current is proportional to the gradient of concentration

Direction of Current due to Drift and Diffusion
➢ For given direction of field
electron and holes move in
opposite directions and the
resulting drift current is along
the same direction.

➢ For the same gradient electrons

and holes move in the same
direction and the resulting
currents are in opposite
directions.
Determine the carrier density gradient to produce a given diffusion current density.
The hole concentration in silicon at T = 300 K varies linearly from x = 0 to x = 0.01 cm. The hole
diffusion coefficient is Dp = 10 cm2/s, the hole diffusion current density is Jdif = 20 A/cm2, and the
hole concentration at x = 0 is p = 4  1017 cm-3. Determine the hole concentration at x = 0.01 cm.

= −
dpdpdp
 −
 ppp
=
(
 pp (
0p.0(01 .)01
.001 )
− )
− (
p−p (
0p)
0(0) ) 
J = −
difdifdif= − eD
JJ eD eD  −
 −eD
eD eD =
= eD
eD eD
p
p p 
   − −
p p p p p p
dxdxdx x xx   0 .
0 01
0
.01. 01−
0 0 0 

 p (0.01) − 4  1017 
(
20 = − 1.6  10 −19
)
(10 )
0.01 − 0


 

p(0.01) = 2.75  1017 cm-3

Since the hole diffusion current is positive, the hole gradient must be negative, which implies that the value of
hole concentration at x = 0.01 must be smaller than the concentration at x = 0.
 Influence of the field on the energies of electrons in the band diagrams.

➢ Assume an electric field (x) in the x- direction.

➢ Since electrons drift in a direction opposite to the field, we expect the

potential energy for electrons to increase in the direction of the field.

Eq 1
➢ The electrostatic potential V(x) related to the electron potential energy E(x)

V(x)
➢ Choosing Ei as a convenient reference, we can relate the electric field as
 Interpret the Energy band diagram shown in Figure

➢ Under thermal equilibrium

Fermi energy level of non
uniform semiconductor is flat
and constant.

➢ No discontinuity or gradient
can arise in the equilibrium
Fermi level EF . NO Excess carriers
 Einstein Relation

➢ At equilibrium, no net current flows in a semiconductor.

➢ Thus any fluctuation which would begin a diffusion current also sets up an electric field which
redistributes carriers by drift.
At Equilibrium

Eq 1
Concentration of holes wrt x is given by

Eq2

Sub Eq 2 in 1

Under thermal Equilibrium

 Similarly

➢ Built- in fields result from doping gradients.

➢ For example, a donor distribution Nd(x) causes a gradient in n0(x), which must be
balanced by a built- in electric field .
Q: Minority carriers (holes) are injected into a homogeneous n-type semiconductor
sample at one point. An electric field of 50 V/cm is applied across the sample, and the
field moves these minority carriers a distance of 1 cm in 100 ps. Find the drift velocity
and the diffusivity of the minority carriers.
 Diffusion and Recombination; The Continuity Equation
➢ When the excess carriers diffuse we have to consider the important effects of recombination.

➢ These effects must be included in a description of conduction processes, however, since

recombination can cause a variation in the carrier distribution.

➢ Consider a differential length

of a semiconductor sample with
area A in the yz- plane.

➢ The net increase in hole

concentration per unit time, ,
is the difference between the hole
flux per unit volume entering and
leaving, minus the recombination
rate
➢ We can convert hole current density to hole particle flux density by dividing Jp by q.

➢ The current densities are already expressed per unit area; thus dividing Jp(x)/q by
gives the number of carriers per unit volume entering A per unit time.

Number of holes entering

elemental per unit volume (Adx) =

Number of holes leaving

elemental per unit volume Adx =

Rate of recombination in
elemental Adx =
➢ As Δx approaches zero, we can write the current change in derivative form:

Eqn 1

➢ The expression is called the continuity equation for holes.

➢ For electrons we can write Eqn 2

➢ When the current is carried strictly by diffusion (negligible drift), the electron diffusion current
begins

Eqn 3

Substitute Eqn 3 in Eqn 1 Eqn 4

➢ These equations are useful
in solving transient
problems of diffusion with
recombination.
Similarly for holes
Eqn 5
➢ If a steady state distribution of excess carriers is maintained, such that the time derivatives are
zero.

➢ In the steady state case the diffusion equations become

where

is called the electron diffusion length and Lp is

the diffusion length for holes
 Solution of Diffusion equation

➢ Let us assume that excess holes are somehow injected into a n-type semi- infinite semiconductor
bar at x = 0.

➢ The steady state hole injection maintains a constant excess hole concentration at the injection
point

➢ The injected holes diffuse along the bar, recombining with a characteristic lifetime.

➢ In steady state we expect the distribution of

excess holes to decay to zero for large values of x,
because of the recombination.
  2p p
➢ Steady state diffusion equation of holes = 2
x 2
Lp

➢ Solution of simple second order differential equation become

− x / Lp
pn ( x) = C1e + C2 e
x / Lp

➢ The injected excess hole concentration dies out exponentially in x due to recombination

➢ Diffusion length Lp represents the distance at which the excess hole distribution is reduced to
1/e of its value at the point of injection.
Injection of holes at x = 0, giving a steady state hole
distribution p(x) and a resulting diffusion current density Jp(x).
 Diffusion constant

Diffusion length

Total hole concentration

Steady state separation

Hole current

Excess stored hole charge

 Gradient in Quasi Fermi Levels

➢ At thermal equilibrium, no current flows in semiconductor and gradient in Fermi level is zero

➢ Any combination of drift and diffusion implies a gradient in the steady state quasi- Fermi level.

➢ In case of nonequilibrium electron concentration with drift and diffusion total electron current
in semiconductor
Shows that total electron current is proportional to the
gradient of electron quasi-Fermi Level

Similarly for Holes