Model Answer to the Practice set

Class Test II
Semiconductor Physics (BSCM101/BSCD101)

1. Write down the mathematical relation showing the variation of resistivity (𝜌) of a
semiconductor with the absolute temperature (𝑇).
Resistivity (𝜌) of a semiconductor varies with its temperature (𝑇) in Kelvin
𝐸𝑔
scale as ln(𝜌) = 2𝐾 𝑇 + 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑡, where 𝐸𝑔 is the bandgap of the
𝐵
semiconductor.
2. Why does the resistivity of a semiconductor decrease upon heating?
As the temperature increases, electrons in the valence band of a semiconductor
gain energy and move to the conduction band. These electron in the
conduction band are the free electrons that carry electricity. Therefore, the
number of charge carriers in the conduction band increases as temperature
increases. Thus, resistivity of a semiconductor decreases as temperature
increases.
3. Explain the law of mass action.
Law of mass action states that the product of the electron concentration (𝑛)
and hole concentration (𝑝) in an extrinsic semiconductor is constant and
depends on the intrinsic carrier concentration (𝑛𝑖 ) and temperature. At thermal
equilibrium, 𝑛𝑖2 = 𝑛 𝑝.
4. An intrinsic semiconductor has a carrier concentration of 1019 𝑚−3 at room
temperature. When doped, the hole concentration decreases to 1018 𝑚−3 at the same
temperature. Calculate the electron concentration in the doped semiconductor.
𝑛𝑖 = 1019 𝑚−3 and 𝑝 = 1018 𝑚−3 . Therefore (1019 )2 = 𝑛 × 1018 ⇒ 𝑛 =
1020 𝑚−3.
5. The electron and hole mobility at 300 K in Ge are 0.39 𝑚2 /(𝑉 𝑠) and 0.19 𝑚2 /(𝑉 𝑠)
respectively. Calculate the conductivity of intrinsic Ge at 300 K if the intrinsic carrier
concentration is 1016 atoms/m3.
𝜎 = 𝑛𝑖 𝑒(𝜇𝑒 + 𝜇ℎ )
∴ 𝜎 = 1016 × 1.6 × 10−19 × (0.39 + 0.19) = 0.928 × 10−3 𝑆/𝑚
6. Estimate the diffusion coefficient of electron in Si at 320 𝐾 if 𝜇𝑒 =
0.185 𝑚2 𝑉 −1 𝑠 −1.
The Einstein relation in semiconductors expresses a relationship between the
mobility of charge carriers (typically electrons or holes) and their diffusion
𝐷 𝐾 𝑇
coefficient. 𝜇 = 𝐵𝑒 , where 𝐷 is the diffusion coefficient of electrons or holes
and 𝜇 is the mobility of the corresponding charge carrier.
𝜇𝐾 𝑇 0.185×1.38×10−23 ×320
𝐷 = 𝑒𝐵 = = 51.06 × 10−4 𝑚2 /𝑠.
1.6×10−19
7. Explain the term spontaneous emission and stimulated emission.
Spontaneous emission is the optical transition by which an atom moves from a
higher energy state to a lower energy state on its own, releasing energy in the
form of a photon without any external stimulation.
Stimulated emission is the optical transition in which an atom, already in an
excited state, absorbs an extra photon and then moves down to the lower
energy state from a higher state by emitting two photons. This process
produces the amplification of light.
8. Explain the term population inversion in the context of laser.
Population inversion is a crucial condition for laser operation. It occurs when
 more atoms are present in an excited state than in the lower energy state. This
inversion of population allows stimulated emission to dominate over
spontaneous emission, leading to coherent and amplified light production in a
laser.
9. In an emission process, the emitted radiation has a wavelength of 645.2 nm. Calculate
the energy difference between the two energy levels involved.
ℎ𝑐 6.626 × 10−34 × 3 × 108 3.08 × 10−19
Δ𝐸 = ℎ𝜈 = = 𝐽 = 𝑒𝑉 = 1.92 𝑒𝑉
𝜆 645.2 × 10−9 1.6 × 10−19
10. Calculate the numerical aperture, acceptance angle, and the critical angle between
core and cladding materials of an optical fiber having refractive indices 1.5 (core) and
1.45 (cladding).
2
2
𝑁. 𝐴. = √𝑛𝑐𝑜𝑟𝑒 − 𝑛𝑐𝑙𝑎𝑑𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 = √1.52 − 1.452 = 0.384
𝑎𝑐𝑐𝑒𝑝𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑙𝑒 𝜃 = sin−1 (𝑁. 𝐴. ) = sin−1(0.384) = 22.6∘
𝑛𝑐𝑙𝑎𝑑𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 1.45
𝑐𝑟𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙 𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑙𝑒 𝜃𝑐 = sin−1 ( ) = sin−1 ( ) = 75.16∘
𝑛𝑐𝑜𝑟𝑒 1.5
11. Define refractive index in terms of the speed of light in a medium. Why absolute
refractive index of any material is always greater than 1.
The refractive index (n) of a medium is defined by the ratio of the speed of
𝑐
light in a vacuum (c) to the speed of light in the medium (v), 𝑛 = 𝑣 .
In all materials 𝑐 > 𝑣, therefore 𝑛 is greater than 1.
12. Using a simple ray diagram, explain the terms a) critical angle and b) total internal
reflection.
Critical angle: When light travels from an optically denser medium to an
optically rarer medium, for a particular angle of incidence the angle of
refraction becomes 90 degrees. This specific angle is known as the critical
angle (𝜃𝑐 ) for the two media involved.
Total internal reflection: When light travels from an optically denser
medium to an optically rarer medium, if the angle of incidence is greater than
the critical angle of the two media involved, then, light rays do not enter the
second medium but completely reflect from the boundary to the first medium.
This phenomenon is called total internal reflection.

13. The concentration of the charge carriers in a semiconductor is 2.1 × 1021 𝑚−3.
Estimate the Hall coefficient of the sample.
1
𝑅𝐻 = = 0.298 × 10−2 Ω𝑚𝑇 −1
2.1 × 10 × 1.6 × 10−19
21
14. Calculate the Hall voltage when the magnetic field is 8 𝐴/𝑚, current is 4 mA, width
of the sample is 5 cm and concentration of carrier is 1020 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑚3 .
1 𝑉𝐻 𝑡
𝑅𝐻 = =
𝑛𝑒 𝐼𝐻
𝐼𝐻 4 × 10−3 × 8
𝑉𝐻 = = 20 = 40 𝑚𝑉
𝑛𝑒𝑡 10 × 1.6 × 10−19 × 5 × 10−2