EE105 – Fall 2015

Microelectronic Devices and Circuits

Prof. Ming C. Wu
wu@eecs.berkeley.edu
511 Sutardja Dai Hall (SDH)

5-1

Silicon: Group IV Element

P-type N-type
dopant dopant

5-2

1
 Silicon
Crystalline Structure Schematic Two-Dimensional
(Diamond Cubic) Representation

At 0 Kelvin, all electrons are

“locked” in covalent bonds
à Behave like insulator

5-3

Electrons and Holes

•  At room temperature, thermal
energy breaks some
covalent bonds, creating
free electrons and “holes”
•  Hole: empty space left by
electron
–  Hole “moves” as
adjacent electron move
into its space
–  Treat hole like a
positively charged
particle

5-4

2
Intrinsic Semiconductor
Intrinsic semiconductor
n = p = ni
n : electron concentration [cm −3 ]
p : hole concentration [cm −3 ]
3 Eg
−
ni = BT 2 e 2kT
: instrinsic carrier concentration
B : material dependent constant
T : temperature in Kelvin
Eg : bandgap energy (=1.12 eV for Si)
k : Boltzmann's constant = 8.62x10 −5 eV/K
At room temperature (T = 300K )
ni = 1.5 ×1010 [cm −3 ]
Note: There are 5 ×10 22 atoms/cm −3, so the
number of free electrons and holes are very small
In general, np = ni2
5-5

N-Type Semiconductor
Electron concentration can begreatly
increased by replacing some Si atoms
with P (phosphorus) or As (Arsenic), which
have 5 shell electrons (one more than Si).
P or As are called "donors"
nn = N D (donor impurtiy concentration)
ni2
pn = where ni = 1.5 ×1010 [cm −3 ]
ND
Subscript n refers to n-type semiconductor
(n stands for "negative", referring to the
charge carried by electrons)
In n-type semiconductor, nn >> ni >> pn
e.g., N D = 1017 cm −3, nn = 1017, pn = 2.2 ×10 3
Electrons are "majority" carriers,
holes are "minority" carriers
5-6

3
 P-Type Semiconductor
Hole concentration can begreatly
increased by replacing some Si atoms
with B (boron), which has 3 shell
electrons (one less than Si).
B is called "acceptors"
p p = N A (acceptor impurtiy concentration)
ni2
np = where ni = 1.5 ×1010 [cm −3 ]
NA
The subscript p refers to p-type semiconductor
(p stands for "positive", referring to the
charge carried by holes)
In p-type semiconductor, p p >> ni >> n p
e.g., N A = 1017 cm −3, p p = 1017, n p = 2.2 ×10 3
Holes are "majority" carriers,
electrons are "minority" carriers
5-7

Current in Semiconductor (1):

Drift Current
When an electrical field, E, is applied,
holes moves in the direction of E, while
electrons move opposite to E :
"$v p−drift = µ p E, µ p : hole mobility
#
%$vn−drift = −µ n E, µ n : electron mobility
In intrinsic Si, µ n = 1350 cm 2 / V ⋅ s
µ p = 480 cm 2 / V ⋅ s (Note: µ n ≈ 2.5µ p )

Current density, J [A/cm 2 ]

J = qpv p−drift + qnvn−drift = q( pµ p + nµ n )E = σ E
where σ = q( pµ p + nµ n ) is conductivity [S/cm]
1
Resistivity ρ = [Ω-cm]
σ

5-8

4
 Current in Semiconductor (2):
Diffusion Current
Hole Diffusion Diffusion: particles move from high to
low concentrations. As electrons and holes
diffuse, currents flow because they carry charges
dp(x)
J p−diff = −qDp
dx
dn(x) dn(x)
J n−diff = −(−q)Dn =qDn
dx dx
where Dp and Dn are hole and electron diffusion
Electron Diffusion coefficients [cm 2 /s]
In instrinsic Si, Dp = 12cm 2 /s, Dn = 35cm 2 /s
Total diffusion current density, J diff [A/cm 2 ]
dp(x) dn(x)
J diff = −qDp + qDn
dx dx

5-9

Einstein Relationship
Proof: Total electron current:
Dn Dn kT
= = VT = dn(x)
µn µn q J n = J n−drift + J n−diff = qn(x)µ n E + qDn
dx
dφ
E =− , φ : potential
VT : Thermal voltage dx
φ
At room temperature, VT = 26 mV −
(−qφ )
n(x) = n0 e kT
= n0 e VT : Boltzmann distribution
In equilibrium, no net current flow
dn(x)
⇒ qn(x)µ n E + qDn =0
dx
dn(x) dφ
n(x)µ n E + Dn =0
dφ dx
#1 &
n(x)µ n E + Dn % n(x)( (−E ) = 0
$ VT '
Dn
= VT
µn
5-10