Electronic Devices

(ECE F214)
Lecture – 13

Excess Charge Carriers in Semiconductor

Dr. Manish Gupta

Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering
BITS-Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus
Content

❑ Steady State Thermal Equilibrium

❑ Steady State Carrier Generation

❑ Photoconductive Devices

❑ Einstein Relation

❑ Diffusion and Recombination: The Continuity Equation

❑ Steady State Carrier Injection

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Steady State Thermal Equilibrium
• A steady state thermal equilibrium is the condition when
generation rate is equal to the recombination rate.

Thermal generation = Thermal Recombination

• If ri and gi is the electron-hole pair recombination and generation

rate (EHPs/cm-3 s), respectively

• If n0 and p0 are equilibrium concentrations, at any temperature T,

; is the constant of proportionality and it depends on the

particular recombination mechanism

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Steady State Thermal Equilibrium

Using Mass action law

Since ri = gi at thermal equilibrium,

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Steady State Carrier Generation
In a semiconductor at thermal equilibrium, the thermal generation
rate of EHPs at any temperature T is
g(T) = gi
and

If the semiconductor material is excited with the light, the equilibrium

condition

Excess carriers

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Steady State Carrier Generation

The excess carrier concentration can be written as

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Photoconductive Devices
• The devices which change their resistance when exposed to the
light are called photoconductive device

• If the conductivity of the photoconductive device/material before

illumination is

• After illumination

Since

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Einstein Relation
• Energy (E) of the electron is given by –q × applied potential

and
Electric field = - gradient of potential

(1)

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Einstein Relation
• The total current density in a semiconductor is given by

• At equilibrium, Jn = Jp = 0

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Einstein Relation

(2)

Using eq. 1 and 2

Einstein Relation

= 0.026 V

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The Continuity Equation

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The Continuity Equation

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The Continuity Equation

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The Continuity Equation

Where R is the recombination rate

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The Continuity Equation

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The Continuity Equation

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The Continuity Equation

Substitute Jp in the continuity equation

For Holes

For electrons

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Steady State Carrier Injection

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Steady State Carrier Injection

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Steady State Carrier Injection
Behavior of excess carriers inside the semiconductor

BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus

Steady State Carrier Injection
Behavior of excess carriers inside the semiconductor

BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus

Steady State Carrier Injection
Behavior of excess carriers inside the semiconductor

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Steady State Carrier Injection
Current density due to excess carriers as a function x

The excess carrier concentration and current density decays

exponentially
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Thank you

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