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    ECEG 2131 AEI Lec 02 Carrier Transport and The PN Junction 2

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    yilkal Eniyew
    This document discusses carrier transport and PN junctions in semiconductors. It defines drift current as the movement of charge carriers due to an electric field and diffusion current as the movement of carriers from areas of high concentration to low concentration. It then explains how the PN junction forms an electric field that opposes diffusion when a P-type and N-type semiconductor are joined, bringing the junction to equilibrium. Under a reverse bias the junction's barrier height increases, while under a forward bias carriers can more easily flow across.

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    ECEG 2131 AEI Lec 02 Carrier Transport and The PN Junction 2

    Uploaded by

    yilkal Eniyew
    14 views20 pages
    This document discusses carrier transport and PN junctions in semiconductors. It defines drift current as the movement of charge carriers due to an electric field and diffusion current as the movement of carriers from areas of high concentration to low concentration. It then explains how the PN junction forms an electric field that opposes diffusion when a P-type and N-type semiconductor are joined, bringing the junction to equilibrium. Under a reverse bias the junction's barrier height increases, while under a forward bias carriers can more easily flow across.

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    ECEG 2131 AEI Lec 02 Carrier Transport and the PN Junction 2

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    This document discusses carrier transport and PN junctions in semiconductors. It defines drift current as the movement of charge carriers due to an electric field and diffusion current as the movement of carriers from areas of high concentration to low concentration. It then explains how the PN junction forms an electric field that opposes diffusion when a P-type and N-type semiconductor are joined, bringing the junction to equilibrium. Under a reverse bias the junction's barrier height increases, while under a forward bias carriers can more easily flow across.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pptx, pdf, or txt
    14 views20 pages

    ECEG 2131 AEI Lec 02 Carrier Transport and The PN Junction 2

    Uploaded by

    yilkal Eniyew
    This document discusses carrier transport and PN junctions in semiconductors. It defines drift current as the movement of charge carriers due to an electric field and diffusion current as the movement of carriers from areas of high concentration to low concentration. It then explains how the PN junction forms an electric field that opposes diffusion when a P-type and N-type semiconductor are joined, bringing the junction to equilibrium. Under a reverse bias the junction's barrier height increases, while under a forward bias carriers can more easily flow across.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pptx, pdf, or txt
    of 20

    ECEG-2131 (AEI): Carrier Transport and PN junction

    Addis Ababa Institute of Technology (AAIT) School of Electrical and


    Computer Engineering
    Learning Outcomes

     At the end of the lecture, students should


    be able to know about:
     Drift Current.
     Diffusion Current
     Resistivity of a material
     Conductivity of a material
     The PN junction

    2
    AAIT, School of Electrical
    and Computer Engineering
    Carrier Transport
     Having studied charge carriers and the concept of doping, we are ready to
    examine the movement of charge in semiconductors, i.e., the mechanisms
    leading to the flow of current.
     Current = Drift + Diffusion

    3
    AAIT, School of Electrical
    and Computer Engineering
    Drift
     Drift it is the movement of charge carriers due to an electric field.

     Charge carriers are accelerated by the field and accidentally collide with the atoms in
    the crystal, eventually reaching the other end and flowing into the battery.
     The acceleration due to the field and the collision with the crystal counteract, leading
    to a constant velocity for the carriers.

    4
    AAIT, School of Electrical
    and Computer Engineering
    Drift
     We expect the velocity, v, to be proportional to the electric field strength, E:

     Where μ is called the “mobility”. For example in silicon, the mobility of electrons,
    μn = 1350 cm2/(V·s), and that of holes, μp = 480 cm2/(V·s).
     For electrons and holes, we can rewrite the formula as follows:

     So, how can we calculate the current due to drift based on the drift velocity?

    AAIT, School of Electrical 5


    and Computer Engineering
    Drift

     We can calculate the total charge passing through in 1 second as follows,

     The corresponding current density due to electrons is given by,

    The conductivity σ of a semiconductor

    AAIT, School of Electrical 6


    and Computer Engineering
    Exercise
     Compute the conductivity of an intrinsic Silicon. Assuming n = p = n i
    = 1.5 × 1016carriers/m3 , µn = 0.14 m2/(V · s) and µp = 0.05 m2/(V · s)

    7
    AAIT, School of Electrical
    and Computer Engineering
    Exercise
     A bar of silicon with intrinsic electron density
    1.4 × 1016 electrons/m3 is doped with impurity atoms until the hole
    density is 8.5 × 1021holes/m3.
     Find the electron density of the extrinsic material

     Is the extrinsic material n-type or p-type

     Find the extrinsic conductivity

    8
    AAIT, School of Electrical
    and Computer Engineering
    Diffusion
     In addition to drift, another mechanism can lead to current flow.
     If charge carriers are “dropped” (injected) into a semiconductor it creates a
    nonuniform density of charge carriers.
     This high concentration of the injected carriers tend to flow from the region
    of high concentration to regions of low concentration.
     This mechanism is known as “diffusion”.
     Even in the absence of an electric field, the carriers move toward regions of
    low concentration, thereby carrying an electric current so long as the
    nonuniformity is sustained.

    9
    AAIT, School of Electrical
    and Computer Engineering
    Diffusion

     From what we know qualitatively, the more nonuniform the concentration the more the
    current. Hence,

     We call dn/dx the concentration gradient with respect to x. If each carrier has a charge
    equal to q and the semiconductor has a cross sectional area of A,

    10
    AAIT, School of Electrical
    and Computer Engineering
    Diffusion
     Therefore the total current will be given by,

     Where Dn is a proportionality factor called the “diffusion constant”.


     In intrinsic Silicon, Dn = 34cm2/s (for electrons), and Dp = 12cm2/s (for holes).
     The corresponding current density then becomes:

    AAIT, School of Electrical 11


    and Computer Engineering
    Einstein Relation
     From our discussions, we have seen two types of currents of
    a semiconductor.
     These have introduced factors µn (or µp) and Dn (or Dp) for
    drift and diffusion respectively.
     They can be related using the Einstein relation,

    AAIT, School of Electrical 12


    and Computer Engineering
    pn Junction
     An interesting situation arises when we introduce n-type and p-type dopants
    into two adjacent sections of a piece of semiconductor.
     We can only build this device on a single crystal, i.e. we can’t bring a separate
    n-type material and p-type material together.
     This device finds applications in many electronic devices

    AAIT, School of Electrical 13


    and Computer Engineering
    pn junction in equilibrium
     With no external connections, i.e. the terminals are open and no voltage is
    applied across the device.

     There is an initial diffusion of majority carriers from both sides.

    AAIT, School of Electrical 14


    and Computer Engineering
    pn junction in equilibrium
     Initially there is a diffusion of carriers from both sides.

     This diffusion eventually decays to zero.


     For every electron that departs from the n side, a positive ion is left behind.
     The immediate vicinity of the junction is depleted of free carriers and hence
    called the “depletion region”.

    AAIT, School of Electrical 15


    and Computer Engineering
    pn junction in equilibrium
     Because of the ions left in the depletion region, an electric field is generated.
     Hence, we have a drift current which opposes the diffusion current.

     The junction reaches equilibrium once the electric field is strong enough to
    completely stop the diffusion current.

    AAIT, School of Electrical 16


    and Computer Engineering
    pn junction in equilibrium
     In equilibrium, we must impose this condition,

     From this, we get:

     Finally,

    or

    AAIT, School of Electrical 17


    and Computer Engineering
    pn junction under reverse bias
     We first apply a voltage source that makes the n side more positive and the p
    side more negative, i.e. reverse bias

    AAIT, School of Electrical 18


    and Computer Engineering
    pn junction under forward bias
     We can also apply a voltage that makes the p side more positive and the n
    side more negative, i.e. forward bias

     This is also known as the diode.

    AAIT, School of Electrical 19


    and Computer Engineering
    What to Do This Week?

     Reading Assignment
     Diode modeling
     Diode circuits
     Diode applications

    20
    AAIT, School of Electrical
    and Computer Engineering

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