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A thin P-type silicon sample is uniformly illuminated with light which generates excess
carriers. The recombination rate is directly proportional to
This question was previot
GATE EC2014 offical Paper: Shit 3
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1. the minority carrier mobility
2. the minority cartier recombination lifetime
3. the majority carrier concentration
4, the excess minority carrier concentration
Answer (Detailed Solution Below)
Option 4 : the excess minority carrier concentration
Detailed Solution
Concept:
Recombination rate (R) is defined as the ratio of the excess minority carrier concentration to the
minority carrier lifetime, ie.
R= Excess minority carrier Concentration
(Mime temee Set> -
Consider a p-type sample with hole concentration pp and electron concentration no, where
Po = Na
1 = (n?)/Na
nj = Intrinsic carrier concentration
When Illuminated with light, excess electron-hole pairs are generated.
Illuminated
with light
+ When light is fallen on the semiconductor, because of the photon energy at the surface of the
semiconductor, a large number of covalent bonds will be broken due to the photon energy, and
electron-hole pairs will be generated.
+ Since excess carriers are generated in pairs, we can write:
Excess electron generated = excess hole generated
An= Ap
+ But the percentage increase in minority carriers will be high than the percentage increase in the
majority carrier concentration.
+ In our case, the minority carrier concentration is electrons, that’s why we have shown it in the
diagram. There will be holes generation also but the percentage increase will be less.
+ Now, these minority carriers, in our case electrons generated, undergo diffusion from high
concentration to lower concentration.
+ So for a uniformly doped semiconductor, a diffusion current will flow.
+ Also the recombination of these minority carriers will take place because majority charge carriers
are too present in the sample.
R) = A" or AP
Tp
Recombination Rate (
An of Ap = Excess minority cartier concentration
1h OF Tp = Minority carrier lifetime
nm
In our case: =
Re An
. The recombination rate is directly proportional to excess minority carrier concentration.