SEMICONDUTOR PHYSICS OF DIODE

By
Prof. Shri

Physical Operation of Diodes
Basic Semiconductor Concepts
Electronic materials fall into three categories:
J (A/m
2
)= E(V/m), (A-m/V)=1/
Insulators Resistivity () > 10
5
O-cm
Semiconductors 10
-3
< < 10
5
O-cm
Conductors < 10
-3
O-cm
Elemental semiconductors are formed from a single type of atom (IV, Si,
Ge)
Compound semiconductors are formed from combinations of column III
and V elements or columns II and VI.
Germanium was used in many early devices.
Silicon quickly replaced Germanium due to its higher bandgap energy,
lower cost, and is easily oxidized to form silicon-dioxide insulating layers.
Semiconductor
Bandgap
Energy E
G
(eV)
Carbon (diamond) 5.47
Silicon 1.12
Germanium 0.66
Tin 0.082
Gallium arsenide 1.42
Gallium nitride 3.49
Indium phosphide 1.35
Boron nitride 7.50
Silicon carbide 3.26
Cadmium selenide 1.70
Silicon Covalent Bond Model (cont.)
Near absolute zero, all bonds are
complete. Each Si atom contributes
one electron to each of the four bond
pairs.
Increasing temperature adds
energy to the system and breaks
bonds in the lattice, generating
electron-hole pairs.
n =p= n
i
.
n
i
=concentration of carriers in intrinsic semiconductor
Intrinsic Carrier Concentration
The density of carriers in a semiconductor as a
function of temperature and material properties



E
G
= semiconductor band gap energy in eV
(electron volts)
Band gap energy is the minimum energy
needed to free an electron by breaking a covalent
bond in the semiconductor crystal.
k = Boltzmanns constant, 8.62 x 10
-5
eV/K
T = absolute temperature, K
B = material-dependent parameter, 1.08 x 10
31

K
-3
cm
-6
for Si
n
i
2
1.5x10
10
cm
-3
for Si at 300 K (room
temperature)


n
i
2
= BT
3
exp
E
G
kT
|
\

|
.
|
cm
-6
Diffusion current and Drift current
Diffusion current
(3.37)
p p
dp
J qD
dx
=
(3.38)
n n
dn
J qD
dx
=
D
p
and D
n
are the hole and electron diffusivities with units cm
2
/s.
Drift current
(3.39) :
drift p p
E mobility u =
E (3.40a)
p drift p
J qp

=
E (3.40b)
n drift n
J qn

=
( )E (3.40c)
drift p n
J q p n = +
1/ ( ) (3.41) resistivity
p n
q p n
(
= +

Diffusivity and mobility are related by Einsteins relationship:
Thermal voltage (3.42)
p
n
T
n p
D
D kT
V
q
= = = =
Doped Semiconductor
Doping is the process of adding very small well controlled
amounts of impurities into a semiconductor.
Doping enables the control of the resistivity and other properties
over a wide range of values.
For silicon, impurities are from columns III and V of the periodic
table.
Donor Impurities in Silicon
Phosphorous (or other column V element) atom replaces
silicon atom in crystal lattice.
Since phosphorous has five outer shell electrons, there is
now an extra electron in the structure. Free electron!
Material is still charge neutral, but very little energy is
required to free the electron for conduction since it is not
participating in a bond.
n type !
In thermal equilibrium,
concentration of donor atoms = concentration of free
electrons
A piece of n-type or p-type silicon is electrically neutral !!
10
Acceptor Impurities in Silicon
Boron (column III element) has
been added to silicon.
There is now an incomplete
bond pair, creating a vacancy
for an electron.
Little energy is required to
move a nearby electron into the
vacancy.
As the hole propagates,
charge is moved across the
silicon.
p type!
0 A
(3.46)
p
p N
2
0
A
(3.47)
i
p
n
p
N
Free electrons (holes) in n-type silicon are majority carriers
and holes (free electrons) in p-type silicon are minority
carriers.
12
The pn junction Under Open-Circuit Conditions
Diffusion
current!
Acceptors (B, III)
accept, recombine
with electrons and
become (-).
Donors (P, IV)
donate electrons
and become (+).
This process produces
electric potential and
field and stops when
coulomb force equals to
diffusion mechanism.
There is no free electron and holes in this region.
This region is depleted of free carriers !!
E field
Diffusi
on
A
0 2
V V ln (3.48)
D
T
i
N N
n
| |
=
|
\ . 0.6~0.8 V
Microelectronic Circuits - Fifth Edition
Sedra/Smith 13
The PN junction Under Open-Circuit Conditions
E
field
Drift
current!
Minority
carriers
D S
I I =
0
A D
2 1 1
V (3.50)
s
dep n p
W x x
q N N
c | |
= + = +
|
\ .
0.1~1 m
0.6~0.8 V
Under thermal
equilibrium
16
Figure 3.46 The pn junction excited by a
constant-current source I in the reverse
direction. To avoid breakdown, I is kept smaller
than I
S
.

Note that the depletion layer widens and
the barrier voltage increases by V
R
volts, which
appears between the terminals as a reverse
voltage.
S D
I I I =
The pn junction Under Reverse-Bias Conditions
( )
0
A D
2 1 1
V V (3.52)
s
dep R
W
q N N
c | | | |
= + +
| |
\ .\ .
V V
(3.53) depletion (junction) capacitor at Q
V
R Q
J
j
R
dq
C
d
=
=
A D
0
A D 0
1
A (3.56)
2 V
s
j
q N N
C
N N
c | | | |
| |
=
| |
|
+
\ .
\ . \ .
0
0
(3.57)
V
1
V
j
j m
R
C
C =
| |
+
|
\ .
m : grading coefficient depends on the concentration profile.
0
0
A
= (3.54, 55)
V
1
V
j s
j
dep R
C
C
W
c
=
+
17
The pn junction Under Forward-Bias Conditions
Figure 3.50 Minority-carrier distribution in a forward-biased pn junction.
It is assumed that the p region is more heavily doped than the n region; N
A
>>
N
D
.
V/V
0
( ) (3.58)
law of juction
T
n n n
p x p e =
( )/
0 0
( ) ( ) (3.59)
n p
x x L
n n n n n
p x p p x p e

= + (

L
p
diffusion length 1~100 m
(3.60)
p p p
L D t =
( )/
V/V
0
( 1)
n p
T
x x L p
p n
p
D
J q p e e
L

=
V/V
0
( 1) (3.62)
T
n
n p
n
D
J q n e
L
=
V/V
0
( 1) (3.61)
T
p
p n
p
D
J q p e
L
=
( )
0 0 V/V
A 1
T
p n n p
p n
qD p qD n
I e
L L
| |
= + |
|
\ .
( )
V/V 2
D A
A 1 (3.63)
T
p
n
i
p n
D
D
I qn e
L N L N
| |
= + |
|
\ .
2
D A
A (3.64)
p
n
S i
p n
D
D
I qn
L N L N
| |
= + |
|
\ .
( )
/
1
T
V V
s
I I e =

p
: excess-minority-carrier-
lifetime
Diffusion capacitance
0
shaded area under the ( ) exponential
( )
p n
n n n p
Q Aq p x
Aq p x p L
=
= (

2
p
p p
p
L
Q I
D
=
(3.65)
p p p
Q I t =
(3.66)
n n n
Q I t =
(3.67)
p p n n
Q I I t t = +
(3.68)
T
Q I t =

T
: mean transit time
(3.69)
V
T
d
T
C I
t | |
=
|
\ .
0
we use 2 (3.70).
j j
C C
0
0

1
j
j m
C
C
V
V
=
| |

|
\ .
But accuracy is
poor.
Thank You