1

EE130 Lecture 3, Slide 1 Spring 2003

Lecture #3
OUTLINE
Thermal equilibrium
Fermi-Dirac distribution
Boltzmann approximation
Relationship between E
F
and n, p
Temperature dependence of E
F
, n, p
Finish reading Chapter 2
EE130 Lecture 3, Slide 2 Spring 2003
Review: Energy Band Model and Doping
2
EE130 Lecture 3, Slide 3 Spring 2003
EE130 Lecture 3, Slide 4 Spring 2003
Important Constants
Electronic charge, q
Permittivity of free space,
o
Boltzmann constant, k
Planck constant, h
Free electron mass, m
o
Thermal voltage kT/q
3
EE130 Lecture 3, Slide 5 Spring 2003
Thermal Equilibrium
No external forces applied:
electric field = 0
magnetic field = 0
mechanical stress = 0
Thermal agitation > electrons and holes exchange
energy with the crystal lattice and each other
Every energy state in the conduction and valence
bands has a certain probability of being occupied by an
electron
EE130 Lecture 3, Slide 6 Spring 2003
Analogy for Thermal Equilibrium
There is a certain probability for the electrons in the
conduction band to occupy high-energy states under
the agitation of thermal energy (vibrating atoms, etc.)
Dish
Vibrating table
Sand particles
4
EE130 Lecture 3, Slide 7 Spring 2003
Fermi Function
kT E E
F
e
E f
/ ) (
1
1
) (

+
=
E
F
is called the Fermi energy or the Fermi level
There is only one Fermi level in a system at equilibrium.
Probability that an available state at energy E is occupied:
EE130 Lecture 3, Slide 8 Spring 2003
Effect of Temperature on f(E)
5
EE130 Lecture 3, Slide 9 Spring 2003
Boltzmann Approximation
( )
) ( , 3 If
kT E E
F
F
e E f kT E E

>
1 ) ( , 3 If
kT E E
F
F
e E f kT E E

>
EE130 Lecture 3, Slide 10 Spring 2003
Density of States
E
E
c
E
v
E
c
E
v

( )

2
) (
3 2
* *
h
E E m m
E g
c n n
c

=
( )

2
) (
3 2
* *
h
E E m m
E g
v p p
v

=
g
c
(E)
g
v
(E)
E E
c
E E
v
g(E)dE = number of states per cm
3
in the energy range between E and E+dE
Near the band edges:
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EE130 Lecture 3, Slide 11 Spring 2003
Equilibrium Distribution of Carriers
Obtain n(E) by multiplying g
c
(E) and f(E)
Obtain p(E) by multiplying g
v
(E) and 1-f(E)
EE130 Lecture 3, Slide 12 Spring 2003
Integrate n(E) over all the energies in the
conduction band to obtain n
By using the Boltzmann approximation, and
extending the integration limit to , we obtain
Equilibrium Carrier Concentrations

=
band conduction of top
) ( ) (
c
E
c
dE E f E g n
2 / 3
2
*
/ ) (
2
2 where

= =

h
kT m
N e N n
n
c
kT E E
c
F c

7
EE130 Lecture 3, Slide 13 Spring 2003
Integrate p(E) over all the energies in the
valence band to obtain p
By using the Boltzmann approximation, and
extending the integration limit to -, we obtain
[ ]

=
v
band valence of bottom
) ( 1 ) (
E
v
dE E f E g p
2 / 3
2
*
/ ) (
2
2 where

= =

h
kT m
N e N p
p
v
kT E E
v
v F

EE130 Lecture 3, Slide 14 Spring 2003
Intrinsic Carrier Concentration n
i
kT E
v c i
g
e N N n
2 /
=
2
i
n np =
kT E E
c
F c
e N n
/ ) (
=
kT E E
v
v F
e N p
/ ) (
= and Multiply
kT E
v c
kT E E
v c
g
v c
e N N e N N np
/
/ ) (


= =
Recall that
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EE130 Lecture 3, Slide 15 Spring 2003
Intrinsic Fermi Level
To find E
F
for an intrinsic semiconductor (n = p = n
i
):
p e N e N n
kT E E
v
kT E E
c
i V C i
= = =
/ ) ( / ) (

+
+
=
C
V V C
i
N
N kT E E
E ln
2 2

+
+
=
*
*
ln
4
3
2
n
p
V C
i
m
m
kT E E
E
EE130 Lecture 3, Slide 16 Spring 2003
n(n
i
, E
F
) andp(n
i
, E
F
)
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EE130 Lecture 3, Slide 17 Spring 2003
Shifting the Fermi Level
EE130 Lecture 3, Slide 18 Spring 2003
Example: Energy-band diagram
Question: Where is E
F
for n = 1x10
17
cm
-3
?
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EE130 Lecture 3, Slide 19 Spring 2003
Carrier Concentration vs. Temperature
intrinsic regime
n = N
D
freeze-out regime
l
n
n
1/T
high
temp.
room
temperature
cryogenic
temperature
EE130 Lecture 3, Slide 20 Spring 2003
Dependence of E
F
on Temperature
10
13
10
14
10
15
10
16
10
17
10
18
10
19
10
20
E
v
E
c
E
f
,
D
o
n
o
r-d
o
p
ed
E
f
, A
c
ce
pto
r-d
op
ed
N
A
or N
D
(cm
-3
)
3
0
0K
4
0
0K
4
0
0K
3
0
0K
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EE130 Lecture 3, Slide 21 Spring 2003
Dopant Ionization
Q: N
d
= 10
17
cm
-3
. What fraction of the donors are not ionized?
Solution: First assume that all the donors are ionized.
E
c
E
F
E
v
146 meV
E
d
45meV
Probability of non-ionization 02 . 0
1
1
1
1
meV 26 / ) meV ) 45 146 (( / ) (
=
+
=
+

e e
kT E E
F d
Therefore, it is reasonable to assume complete ionization, i.e., n = N
D
meV 146 cm 10
3 17
= = =

c f D
E E N n
EE130 Lecture 3, Slide 22 Spring 2003
Thermal equilibrium:
Balance between internal processes with no external stimulus
(no electric field, no light, etc.)
=> Electron-hole pair (EHP) generation rate = EHP recombination rate
Fermi function: probability that a state at energy E is filled with
an electron under equilibrium conditions:
Boltzmann approximation:
For high E, i.e. E - E
F
> 3kT:
For low E, i.e. E
F
E > 3kT:
Summary
kT E E
F
e
E f
/ ) (
1
1
) (

+
=
kT E E
F
e E f
/ ) (
) (

kT E E
F
e E f
/ ) (
) ( 1


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EE130 Lecture 3, Slide 23 Spring 2003
kT E E
i
kT E E
c
i F F c
e n e N n
/ ) ( / ) (
= =
kT E E
i
kT E E
v
F i v F
e n e N p
/ ) ( / ) (
= =