CHARGE-CARRIER DRIFT IN

SEMICONDUCTORS
 CHARGE-CARRIER TRANSPORT IN
SEMICONDUCTORS
* In chapter 4 we studied semiconductors in equilibrium and determined the free
electron and free hole concentrations.
* The knowledge of free carriers densities is very essential toward the
understanding of the electrical and optical properties of semiconductor materials
and devices.
* This is because current, which are the flow of free electrons and holes, is strongly
dependent on these free carriers densities. The process, by which electrons and
holes flow, is called transport.
* In this chapter, we will study the two basic transport mechanisms in
semiconductor materials : drift which is the movement of charge due to an applied
electric field, and diffusion which is the flow of charge due to density gradients.
* We will also develop the first electronic device which is a simple resistor and
explain the theory behind its operation.
 CURRENT DENSITY : GENERAL
DEFINITION
* Consider the volume element of a
unit cross-sectional area shown
taken in an n-type semiconductor
of electron concentration n.
* Under the application of an
electric field E the acquired
electron velocity is vn as shown.
* The electric current density
developed, Jn, is defined as the
current per unit area and given by

Jn = -envn
* Similarly for a p-type
semiconductor the hole current
density Jp for a hole density p and
an average hole velocity vp is
J p = epv p
 DRIFT IN ELECTRIC FIELD
* When electrons and holes move in a force field they are said to drift in the field.
In general, drift is a type of transport available to electrons and holes in a
semiconductor.
* When drift is the cause of the average velocities given to electrons and holes,
these velocities are termed drift velocities in this specific case.
The question that now arises is what is the relationship between drift velocity and
electric field E.
* Before we tackle this question, let us consider the situation in the semiconductor
when it is in thermodynamic equilibrium, which means when there is no voltage V
applied across the semiconductor.
* In thermal equilibrium and when no voltage is applied and on the average, half
the electrons in the conduction band must be moving in one direction and half in
the opposite direction in thermodynamic equilibrium.
* The same must be true for the holes in this situation. That is, vn must be zero
because there is no current density, Jn, for conduction band electrons in
thermodynamic equilibrium and vp must be zero because there is no current
density, Jp, for valence band holes in thermodynamic equilibrium.
* Now what happens when the electric field E is turned on ?
* To determine these values of and in the presence of the electric field, we
consider electrons first and note that the effective mass approximation, allows
us to write
dv
m*n = -eE
dt

* Since the velocity of an electron, written here as without the subscript n to

distinguish it from the average electron velocity, is made-up of , its field-caused
component, and , its random component, this expression tells us how the
additional velocity component given to an electron's random velocity changes
with time in the presence of our external electric field E. Upon integration

-eEt
v= *
+ constant
mn

* The constant in this equation is a particular electron's random velocity at t=0.

The electron concentration does not increase indefinitely but is limited by
collisions with other electrons, phonons, impurities and crystal defects
* The average velocity, vn, one particular electron has at any particular time is
hence governed by an average time between collisions, tn, and may be written
as -eEt n
vn =
m*n
* This may be written as v n = -mn E
and
et n
mn =
m *n
where mn is called the electron mobility.

* Similar algebra for holes shows that eEt p

vp =
m*p
v p = mpE
which may be re-written as and
et p
mp =
m *p
where mp is called the hole mobility.
Experimentally measured mobilities at 300 K for some single
crystalline pure semiconductors.
* The drift velocity of electrons in an electric field is proportional to the
electric field. It is in the direction opposite to E.
* The drift velocity of holes in an electric field is also proportional to the
electric field. It is in the direction of E.
If these expressions are substituted into the basic definitions of current
density, the result is a model

Jn = enmn E = s n E
where s n = enmn is conductivity component contributed by electrons

for electron drift current density and a model

J p = enm p E = s p E
where s p = enm p is conductivity component contributed by holes

for hole drift current density.

Conductivity and Resistivity

s = enmn + epm p
and

= (enmn + ep m p )
1 -1
r=
s
At room-temperature

Material s in W-1cm-1

Copper 6x105

Si (undoped) 5x10-6

Silicon dioxide 10-14 to -16

Problem (1)
Electrons are injected into one end of 1.5 mm long semiconductor and are
found to require a transit time of 10-2 seconds to reach the opposite end at
room temperature, when the sample is subjected to a voltage of 0.1 mV. What
is the electron drift velocity and the electron mobility for this semiconductor ?
Solution

The average drift velocity of the electrons vn is given by

L
vn = (1)
t

where L is the length of the semiconductor and t is the transit time. Hence

vn =
(1.5X10 ) = 1.5X10
-4
-2
cm /s (2)
(10 )
-2

The drift velocity and electron mobility are related as given by

v n = mn E
Where E is the electric field. Therefore
vn
mn = (4)
E

However the electric field and the potential difference, V, across the
semiconductor are related by

V
E= (5)
L

Therefore from Eqs. (3) and (4)

vn L
mn =
V
or

mn =
(1.5X10 )(1.5X10 ) = 22.5
-2 -4

cm 2V -1s-1
(6)
(0.1X10 )
-6
 DRIFT IN ELECTRIC AND MAGNETIC
FIELDS : THE HALL EFFECT
N-TYPE SEMICONDUCTOR
* We will explore the motion of electrons and holes in a semiconductor that is
subjected to an applied electric field E and the semiconductor is placed in a
magnetic field B. We will first study the case of electrons in an n-type
semiconductor.
* Let us consider an n-type semiconductor biased as shown the figure below.
Before the magnetic field is turned on the electrons drift with the average drift
velocity
v n = -mn E
* A charge moving in a magnetic field experiences a magnetic force Fm. This
magnetic force is referred to as Lorentz force.
* The magnitude of this force is proportional to the magnitudes of the charge,
velocity, and magnetic field.
* The magnetic force is in a direction perpendicular to the plane containing the
magnetic field and velocity vectors.
* When the magnetic field is turned on, an electron drifting in our n-type
semiconductor would be acted upon by a Lorentz force Fm given by

Fm = -ev n ´ B

in which vn, B, and Fm constitute a right-handed system for a moving positive

charge.
* Using the right-hand rule to figure out how Fm is directed, we see that it is a
force pushing the electrons toward the surface we have labeled "Top" in the
figure.
* As the electrons are drifting due to the net interaction of the drift force and
the collision force, they are also subjected to a Lorentz force orthogonal to their
drift direction.
* This will cause the top surface to become negatively charged. Since the
semiconductor is space-charge neutral and will try to stay that way, a
corresponding positive charge (holes and positive ion cores) will develop on the
"Bottom" surface in the figure.
* This accumulation of charges in both surfaces will continue until an
electrostatic field is developed between these two charges such that the force
on charge carriers caused by this field is equal to the Lorentz force.
* This electrostatic field is called the Hall field, EH, and it will be oriented from
bottom to top as seen in the figure above. The magnitude of this Hall field is

ev n B = eE H
* We can see from the figure that
VH
EH =
H
where VH is the resulting Hall voltage and H is the sample's thickness.

* Using the equation above and the relation

V
v n = mn
L
and from the figure, and for a uniform electric field applied to the semiconductor
the electric field, E = V/L ; L is the length of the sample) we get
æ L öæ VH ö 1
mn = ç ÷ç ÷
è H øè V ø B
which provides us with a way of measuring the mobility of the electrons in the
material.
 V
* If we use the relation v n = mn
L

(only the magnitude of Jn) for an electron drift current we get

BJn H
n=
eVH
which provides us with a way of finding the density of electrons in the
material.

* The above equation is often written as æ1ö

V H = ç ÷BHJ n
è ne ø
or
V H = R H BHJn
æ1ö
where RH = ç ÷
è ne ø
and RH is called the Hall coefficient.
P-TYPE SEMICONDUCTOR
We can similarly derive relations similar to those for n-type for a p-
type semiconductor as follows :

æ L öæ V H ö 1
m p = ç ÷ç ÷
è H øè V ø B

and
æ 1ö
V H = ç ÷BHJ p
è pe ø
or
V H = R H BHJ p

where
æ1ö
RH = ç ÷
è pe ø

is the Hall coefficient.

Problem (2)
A Hall sample is biased as shown below. The magnetic field Bx = 1 weber/m2 is
applied along the positive x-axis.
(i) If the charge carriers in the sample are electrons, what will be the direction of
the Hall field EH ?
(ii) The magnitude of the Hall voltage Vz is measured to be 10 mV. Evaluate the
free electron concentration n in the material.
(iii) For the small Hall voltage Vz in (ii) above, find the electron mobility, mn, in the
material.
Solution
(i) Using the right-hand rule for vn, B, and the force Fm we see, from the figure,
that the negatively-charged electrons tend to be deflected in the negative z-
axis direction. In this case electrons will accumulate in the bottom surface of
the Hall sample, whereas positive charge will accumulate on the top surface.
The electric field EH will be directed from the top surface to the bottom surface
; i. e., in the negative z-direction.

(ii) The relation between the free electron concentration, the magnetic field,
current density, and Hall voltage is given as BJ H (1)
n= n
eVH
Substituting for B, Jn, H, VH, and e in Eq. (1) gives
é (10X10-3 ) ù
(1W /m )ê 1.0X10-6 1.0X10-2 A /m úú(1.0X10-6 m)
2
ê 2

ë( )( ) û
n= (2)
(1.6X10 C)(10X10 V )
-19 -3

or
n = 0.625X10 21 m-3
LVH
mn =
HVB
(iii) The electron mobility is given by or

mn =
(5X10 -2
m)(10X10-3 V )
= 50 m 2V -1s-1
(3)
(1.0X10 -6
m)(10 V )(1W /m 2 )
 DRIFT AND DIFFUSION IN
SEMICONDUCTORS
* In semiconductors the origins of drift current lie, as we know, in the directed
motion superimposed on the random thermal motion of electrons and holes by
an electric field.
* The origins of diffusion current, on the other hand, lie in the random thermal
motion itself.
* Using Jn = envn we can write for the diffusion of electrons

* Dn is the diffusion coefficient for electrons and n is their density.

* Similarly, the hole diffusion current density, Jp, can be written as

where Dp is the hole diffusion coefficient and p is the free hole density.
* If the concentration gradients are along one direction only (e. g., x-axis), then
the one-dimensional current densities Jnx and Jpx for electrons and holes,
respectively, take the forms

dn dp
Jnx = eDn and J px = -eDp
dx dx

* The total electron current density, Jn, in the presence of both drift and diffusion
transport mechanisms can be obtained by combining drift and diffusion currents

* Also the total hole current density Jp is given by

* If the applied electric field and the concentration gradients are along the same
direction so will the free carrier flux. In this case we may drop out the vector
notations

dn dp
Jn = emn nE + eDn and J p = em p pE - eDp
dx dx
Typical diffusion coefficient values at T = 300 K
 EINSTEIN RELATIONS
Since both the mobility and the diffusion coefficient (also called the diffusivity)
of a carrier capture the physics of collision processes, the question of whether
they are related arises.
Here we just report the relationship without going through the derivations
æk Tö
Dn = ç B ÷mn
è e ø

A similar relation holds for holes in a p-type semiconductor ; i. e.,

æ kB T ö
Dp = ç ÷m
è e ø p
T is absolute temperature, kB is Boltzmann’s constant, ms are electron and
hole mobilities and e electronic charge.
Problem (3)
The hole concentration in silicon at T = 300 K is given by
æ x ö
p( x ) = 1015 expç- ÷ cm
-3

è 22.5 ø

where x is measured in mm. If the hole diffusion coefficient is Dp = 48 cm2s-1,

determine the hole diffusion current density as a function of x.
Solution
The hole concentration p(x) at T = 300 K is given by
æ x ö
p( x ) = 1015 expç- ÷ cm
-3 (1)
è 22.5 ø

The hole diffusion current density along the x-axis is given as

dp
J px = -eDp (2)
dx
Differentiating p(x) with respect to x, and substituting for Dp and e in Eq. (2) gives

é 1015 æ x öù
J px ( x ) = -(1.6X10 )( 48)ê-
-19
expç- ÷ú
ë 22.5 è 22.5 øû
or (3)
æ x ö
J px ( x ) = 3.41X10-4 expç- ÷ C /cm s
2

è 22.5 ø

where the current density is in C cm-2 s-1 and x is measured in microns.

THERMODYNAMIC EQUILIBRIUM AND
THE PRINCIPLE OF DETAILED BALANCE
* In thermodynamic equilibrium the principle of detailed balance tells us that
the drift component of the current density is exactly equal and opposite to the
diffusion component of the current density ; i. e., in thermodynamic equilibrium
Jn = 0 which implies dn
0 = emn nE + eDn
dx
* The electric field can be written as

where V is the electric potential and eV is, hence, the potential energy of the
electron.
* Since we are interested in the gradient of the potential energy, we can use any
part of the band diagram that is parallel to Ec such as Ei (the intrinsic Fermi
level), hence
dE i
eE =
dx
* The electron concentration in the semiconductor in terms of Ei can be written as

æ EF - Ei ö
n = n i expç ÷
è Bk T ø

dn æ E - E i öé 1 æ dE F dE i öù
or we can write = n i expç F ÷ê ç - ÷ú
dx è kB T øë kB T è dx dx øû
or
dn n æ dE F dE i ö
= ç - ÷
dx kB T è dx dx ø

* Which yields the condition for thermodynamic equilibrium as

dE F
=0
dx
* Had we started by requiring Jp = 0 for thermodynamic equilibrium we would
have obtained the same condition.
* This condition states that the Fermi level in a semiconductor in thermal
equilibrium is independent of position and it stays flat (parallel to the x-axis)
throughout the entire semiconductor.