Understand and apply principles of operation and design of modern electronic devices:

(i) Equations describing device operation;

(ii) Appropriate device models;
(iii) Factors that determine device performance

(iv) Formulas
(v) Example problems worked out
(vi) The steps used in the problem listed in order
(vii) Reminders of things to look out for in doing a problem
(viii) Any rules used to solve problems
 Electronic Properties of Silicon

Quantum Theory

The Waveform of a Small Particle

Wavefunction which describes particle distribution
WAVE
or amplitude as a function of space and time coords. (ei
FUNCTION = cos + i sin to split.)

WAVE 2
k= = wavelength
NUMBER

ANGULAR =2 v v = frequency
FREQUENCY

=h 2 & h is planks
SCHRODINGER constant
EQUATION V(x) is the potential energy
of the particle
m is its mass,

The intensity of the wave and

represents the probability that a
particle exists at a certain point in
space.

CONSERVED
PARTICLE
AKA: NORMALIZATION CONDITION, AS IN PROBABILITY THEORY.

T H E C O M P LET E W AV E F U N C T I O N
For the infinite square well problem.

Note: Plane waves cannot be normalized in this

manner because they have infinite extent.
 Expectation and Uncertainty
Note that the
If in the lowest energy level of expectation value will
AVG well: always be L/2 due to
POSITION OF the mirror image
A PARTICLE symmetry about the
center of the potential
well.
HEISENBERG Uncertainty between position (x) and momentum (p). Can
UNCERTAINTY never know the exact position and momentum of a particle at
PRINCIPLE the same time.

ENERGYTIME
t is the time interval required for an appreciable change to
UNCERTAINTY
occur in the properties of the system under study
RELATION

Atoms and the Periodic Table

Energy In 2 and 3 dimensions is that several eigenfunctions have the same value of
Degeneracy energy.

The value of the ground state energy level E1 (-13.6 eV) is

IONIZATION
known as the ionization energy of hydrogen -- the energy
ENERGY
required to completely remove the electron from the
HYDROGEN hydrogen atom.

ao Corresponds to the
WAVEFUNCTION
BHOR most prob radius for
HYDROGEN RADIUS the electron
energy eigenfunction which represents an electron
there also exist two possible spin states. (spin up or
SPIN s= /2 spin down).
in addition to the wavefunction we must also specify
the spin.
Note: Qualitatively, one can think of the electron wave possessing a circular polarization and thus a
localized current loop leading to an intrinsic magnetic field. Clockwise and counter clockwise
rotation can be related to the two possible values of spin.

PAULI EXCLUSION No more than 1 electron can be in any given state ((x,t) and spin state) at the
PRINCIPLE same time.
Electrons in Crystals
The Two Approaches to Modeling Electrons in Crystals

The other approach

examines the
quantum mechanical
properties of
electrons in a crystal
by attempting to
solve the
Schrodinger equation
One approach considers how the energy levels of directly for particles
isolated atoms change when they are brought traveling in the
together to form a crystal. periodic potential of
a crystal lattice.

Metals vs Insulators
Each band has 2N (spin, remember?) available electron states where N is the number of unit cells
making up the crystal. How the bands are filled with electrons determines whether a material is
a metal or an insulator.
Uppermost populated energy band is only partially filled
(say, half-filled) then there are plenty of higher energy states
METALS available for electrons to gain kinetic energy so that they
can contribute to current flow and thus the crystal is able to
conduct electricity.

The uppermost band is completely filled then there is no

easy and continuous way for charge carriers to gain energy
INSULATORS because there is a forbidden energy band gap - Eg before
the next band of states becomes accessible. The crystal is
therefore insulating and cannot conduct electrical current.
 Band Edge Preliminary
Band Edge Diagram
Energy band edge diagram for aemiconductor. Electronhole
pairs are created when carriers are excited from the valence
band to the conduction band.

Ev - Valence band edge

Ec - The conduction band.
Eg The two band edges are separated by the band
gap

When electrons are excited from the valence band conduction band of a semiconductor
The electrons promoted into the conduction band can now participate in electronic
transport.
In addition, the electrons in the valence band now have some empty states available for them
to also
participate in current flow. The vacant states that are left in the otherwise full valence band
can be treated as if they were particles called holes.

Near the top and bottom of bands they can be

EFFECTIVE approximated by parabolas, similar to a free
MASS particle.

HOLES mp = -mn At the top of the valence band

ELECTRONS mn At bottom of the conduction band

In Conduction
ELECTRON If k0 = k0 then the
Band
ENERGIES band gap is direct
In Valence Band
 Intrinsic / Extrinsic (N or P Type)
intrinsic material extrinsic material
the number of electrons in the conduction band one type of carrier has a greater concentration
is equal to the number of holes in the valence (majority carriers) than the other (minority
band. carriers).
Fermi level lies very close to the middle of
the band gap
Donor Impurities: effective mass and the dielectric
constant of the semiconductor (or relative
BINDING ENERGY permittivity, r) of the atom
Acceptor Impurities: Replace the electron effective
mass with the hole effective mass.
ENERGY LEVEL
E0 the energy of an electron that has been just freed from a material.
VACUUM

The difference between the

Diff between the
WORK Fermi level and E0 (similar to ELECTRON q
q conduction band edge, Ec,
FUNCTION the binding energy of an AFFINITY X and the vacuum level.
atom).

N TYPE P TYPE
Majority Carrier: Electrons Majority Carrier: Holes
Minority Carrier: Holes Minority Carrier: Electrons
doping of the crystal with impurity atoms Doping of the crystal with impurity atoms that
that donate electrons to the accept electrons from the valence band
conduction band B, Al, Ga, and In. etc
P, As, Sb etc

Fermi level of a Fermi level is

semiconductor lowered toward
moves closer to the valence
the conduction band edge for
band edge p-type
(more electrons) doping (less
electrons)

WHICH TO USE?
Fermi Level: Fermi Level:

In other words, the semiconductor becomes intrinsic at very high

temperatures.
 Carrier Concentrations
States the probability that an electron will occupy a state
with energy E at temperature T
FERMIDIRAC
kB is Boltzmanns constant and EF is the Fermi level
DISTRIBUTION
Note: f(E) is always equal to when the energy E is equal to
EF.
HOLE PROB
1 f(E) Since a hole is the absence of an electron.
DISTRIB
INTRINSIC
n = p = ni
CONC. <- Mass Action Law

Note: The intrinsic carrier concentration increases with increasing temperature and
decreases with
increasing band gap
Note that the product of electron and hole concentrations in a semiconductor is constant
for a given temperature (mass-action law)
Thermal equilibrium If E EF <<
DENSITY OF concentration of kBT
STATES electrons in the (Only by like 2-
conduction band 3x)

EFFECTIVE D OF S IN
CARRIER THE COND AND VAL
CONCENTRATIONS BANDS

In terms of
intrinsic
concentration
and Fermi level
intrinsic Fermi level lies very close to the center
of the band gap, with only a slight offset due to
INTRINSIC the difference in electron and hole effective
FERMI LEVEL mass.
POSITION In thermal equilibrium, there is no net current
flow and thus the Fermi level must be constant
throughout the material or device.

Na - and Nd + represent the concentration of ionized dopant

atoms.
SPACE-CHARGE
NEUTRALITY If we start with an electrically neutral semiconductor in thermal
equilibrium it must remain neutral regardless of the number of
holes, electrons, or ionized impurities present.

S PAC E -C H A R G E N E U T R A L I T Y AND M A S S A C T I O N L AW MUS T H O L D AT EQUILIBRIUM

ELECTRON CONCENTRATION IN A HOLE CONCENTRATION IN A SEMICONDUCTOR

SEMICONDUCTOR

HOWEVER: LOOK AT N OR P TYPE PAGE HAS SHORTCUTS

 Charge Transport
AVG
THERMAL This causes random motion of the charge carriers resulting in
ENERGY collisions or scattering with the lattice impurities and between
THERMAL carriers etc. In thermal equilibrium, we have seen that this type
VELOCIT of random motion does not produce any net current flow.
Y

- mean free time: time interval

DRIFT
between scattering events
VELOCITY Ex - constant electric field in x-
direction
Describes how easily an electron can move in
response to an applied electric field. The
MOBILITY electron and hole mobilities (n and p,
respectively) each depend on the total dopant
concentration

CONDUCTIVITY
DRIFT CURRENT =
DENSITY
RESISTIVITY p=1/

By considering a bar of material with cross-sectional:

resistance R
OHMS LAW area A
length L

Scattering
Lattice scattering increases with temperature as the vibrations of the lattice become greater. This type of
cattering causes the mobility to scale as a power law with temperature, T--n, with n typically ~1.53.
Impurity or defect scattering, on the other hand, decreases as temperature increases. This is due to the
increased thermal velocity of carriers, which makes them less susceptible to interaction with impurities/defects

Drift Velocity Saturation Diffusion Current

At very high electric fields the drift velocity becomes
comparable to the thermal velocity.
KE > Thermal Energy Hot Carriers
This is caused by increased scattering at high fields
which limits further increase in the drift velocity. In
silicon
The saturation velocity for both electrons and holes is
approximately 10^7 cm/s
When there is a carrier concentration
gradient.
charge carriers flow from a region of high
concentration to low concentration resulting
in a net current.

DIFFUSION
DIFFUSION
CURRENT
CONSTANTS (kb)
DENSITY
 -----------T O TAL E L E C T R O N AN D H OL E C UR RE NT D E N SIT IE S --------
(INCLUDING BOTH DRIFT AND DIFFUSION)

Generation and Recombination

n0 and p0 denote the RECOMBINATION
EXCESS E- & P
thermal equilibrium carrier NET RATE
CONCENTRATIONS
concentrations n =p =

Examples
Particle Energies (Quantum Well)
Energy of a Free Particle
2 2
k
E= ==hv
2m
h
p=k = de Broglie relation

Energy of a Bound Particle (Infinite Quantum Well)

Inside the well the potential energy is zero whereas at the

boundaries it rapidly increases to infinity and the particle
cannot escape or exist outside the well.

Solve the energy eigenvalue problem for this potential:

AT BOUNDARY Because particle cannot exist outside of this well.

ENERGY
Cant use cos, it wouldnt equal 0 at the origin.
EIGENFUNCTION

LOCATION X = L n is a nonzero positive integer

Therefore, by confining the particle to a box its energy levels become quantized:
 Energy levels are inversely proportionally to the width of the
ENERGY well squared; i.e., more confinement (smaller well) leads to
OF higher energy levels.
PARTICLE In addition, the energy levels become increasingly spaced out
2
as n increases due to the factor of n
IN INFINITE It also tells us the lowest energy a particle can have when
WELL confined to a region of space and that this must be a finite
value, known as the ground state energy

EnergyTime Uncertainty
Fixed Stationary State
The system does not change, as expected for a state fixed in time. E = 0 and thus the energytime
uncertainty relation yields t = 1. (or Vice Versa: t = 1 E = 0)

Excited state
Particle that has been excited to some higher energy level
En and then decays.
Suppose particle in (n = 2) energy level of a quantum well
and spontaneously decays to the lowest (ground) state by the
emission of a photon. If the typical lifetime for this decay to
occur is given by

And the energytime Imposes the condition:

uncertainty:

After the particle reaches its ground state, no further decay can occur and we are back to a fixed
stationary state which does not change in time, as in the previous case. Can know sharpness of the
output spectrum of LEDs can be. Hint: hv

Tunneling : Potential Barriers

Consider a free particle:
with energy E - impinging on a potential energy
barrier of width 2*L and height Vo

Particle must have plane wave solutions since

REGION the potential energy is zero - also a reflected
1 wave in the opp (neg) direction to the
incoming particle.
REGION Classically forbidden rgn, the KE<PE: a classical particle could
never exist in this region (Not enough PE to cross barrier.)
II

REGION Same as I but has a transmitted amplitude

III coefficient t.
 However, we can have a plane wave in RGN II through QM. (Wave vector
becomes complex & complex expns instead become regular [increasing
and decaying] exponentials.)

The amplitude of the transmitted wave is:

If L is fairly large (in other words if the barrier is tall and wide):
Probability of Transmission: T = |t|2 can be approx. as: T ~= exp(-4L)

Particle has a finite Pr of transmission through the barrier that depends sensitively on the height and
width of the barrier. In particular, if the barrier becomes thin, the transmission can be quite
significant. This inherently quantum mechanical phenomenon is known as tunneling.
 Carrier Concentration Calculation
Basic

Basic 2

Calculating Diffusion Const from Dopants

Photoconductor (Gen-regen)
Junctions and Diodes
PN Junction
Ideal Behaviour
Non-Ideal Behaviour (Deviations from Ideal)
Small Signal Model & Circuits
Transient Behaviour
Metal-Semiconductor
Schottky Barrier Diode (Blocking Contact)
Ohmic Metal-Silicon Contacts (Non-Blocking Contact)
Non-Ideal
Small Signal Model
Design Considerations
With respect to device and integrated circuit performance

Problem Examples
Bipolar Junction Transitor (BJT)
Structure (Transistor Effect, Gain, Switching)

Ideal Behaviour (Ebers Moll)

Non-Ideal Behaviour (Deviations from Ideal)

Small-Signal Model (Equivalent Circuits)

Design Optimization and IC Performance.

Field-Effect Devices

MOS Structure (Mos Capacitor System)

Ideal Behaviour

Non-Ideal Behaviour (Deviations from Ideal)

MOSFET Transistor (Long Channel Theory)

Small-Signal Model (Equivalent Circuits)

Design Optimization (Scaling: Short Channel Theory)

IC Performance
Constants
Charts
Dopant Density vs Resistivity
Mobility vs Carrier