Carrier Mobility and Velocity

Mobility - the ease at which a carrier

(electron or hole) moves in a
semiconductor
Symbol:
n
for electrons and
p
for holes
Drift velocity the speed at which a
carrier moves in a crystal when an electric
field is present
For electrons: v
d
=
n
E
For holes: v
d
=
p
E
Drift Currents
( )
( )
( )E p n Aq I
L
V
E
p n Aq
L
V
I
p n q A
L
V
R
V
I
o p o n
a
o p o n
a
o p o n
a a



+ =
=
+ =
|
|
.
|

\
|
+
= =
1
Four Point Probe
Probe tips must make
an Ohmic contact
Useful for Si
Not most compound
semiconductors

S when t
2 ln
S when t 2
<< =
>> =
I
V t
I
V
S
t

t
Diffusion
When there are changes in the
concentration of electrons and/or holes
along a piece of semiconductor
the Coulombic repulsion of the carriers force
the carriers to flow towards the region with a
lower concentration.
Diffusion Currents
( )
o p o n diff diff
diff
o
p o p diff
diff
o
n o n diff
diff
p D n D q J J
A
I
dx
dp
qD p qD J
A
I
dx
dn
qD n qD J
A
I
p n
p
p
n
n
V V = + =
= V = =
= V = =
Relationship between Diffusivity
and Mobility
q
kT
D
q
kT D
p
p
n
n
=
=

Mobility vs. Dopant Concentration

in Silicon
http://www.ioffe.ru/SVA/NSM/Semicond/Si/electric.html#Hall
Van der Pauw
Four equidistant Ohmic
contacts
Contacts are small in
area
Current is injected
across the diagonal
Voltage is measured
across the other
diagonal

Top view of Van der Pauw sample
http://www.eeel.nist.gov/812/meas.htm#geom
Calculation
Resistance is determined with and without a
magnetic field applied perpendicular to the
sample.
F
R R
t
R
B
t
H
2 2 ln
14 , 23 34 , 12
24 , 13
+
=
A
=
t

F is a correction factor that takes

into account the geometric shape
of the sample.
Hall Measurement







See http://www.eeel.nist.gov/812/hall.html for a
more complete explanation
http://www.sp.phy.cam.ac.uk/SPWeb/research/QHE.html
Calculation
Measurement of resistance is made while a
magnetic field is applied perpendicular to the
surface of the Hall sample.
The force applied causes a build-up of carriers along
the sidewall of the sample
The magnitude of this buildup is also a function of the
mobility of the carriers





where A is the cross-sectional area.
L
A
R
R R
L
H H
H
= =

N vs. P doping
The sign of the Hall voltage, V
H
, and on
A R
13,24
in the Van der Pauw measurement
provide information on doping.
Epitaxial Material Growth
Liquid Phase Epitaxy (LPE)
Vapor Phase Epitaxy (VPE)
Molecular Beam Epitaxy (MBE)
Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) or Atomic
Layer Epitaxy (ALE)
Metal Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition
(MOCVD) or Organometallic Vapor Phase
Epitaxy (OMVPE)
MBE
Wafer is moved into the chamber using a
magnetically coupled transfer rod
Evaporation and sublimation of source material
under ultralow pressure conditions (10
-10
torr)
Shutters in front of evaporation ovens allow vapor to
enter chamber, temperature of oven determines
vapor pressure
Condensation of material on to a heated wafer
Heat allows the atoms to move to appropriate sites to
form a crystal
Schematic View
http://web.tiscali.it/decartes/phd_html/III-Vms-mbe.png
http://www.mse.engin.umich.edu/research/facilities/132/photo
http://ssel-front.eecs.umich.edu/Projects/proj00630002.jpg
Advantages
Slow growth rates
In-situ monitoring of growth
Extremely easy to prevent introduction of
impurities

Disadvantages
Slow growth rates
Difficult to evaporate/sublimate some
materials and hard to prevent the
evaporation/sublimation of others
Hard to scale up for multiple wafers
Expensive
MOCVD
Growths are performed at room pressure or low
pressure (10 mtorr-100 torr)
Wafers may rotate or be placed at a slant to the
direction of gas flow
Inductive heating (RF coil) or conductive heating
Reactants are gases carried by N
2
or H
2
into
chamber
If original source was a liquid, the carrier gas is
bubbled through it to pick up vapor
Flow rates determines ratio of gas at wafer surface
Schematic of MOCVD System
http://nsr.mij.mrs.org/1/24/figure1.gif
http://www.semiconductor-today.com/news_items/2008/FEB/VEECOe450.jpg
Advantages
Less expensive to operate
Growth rates are fast
Gas sources are inexpensive
Easy to scale up to multiple wafers

Disadvantages
Gas sources pose a potential health and
safety hazard
A number are pyrophoric and AsH
3
and PH
3

are highly toxic
Difficult to grow hyperabrupt layers
Residual gases in chamber
Higher background impurity
concentrations in grown layers

Misfit Dislocations
Occur when the difference between the
lattice constant of the substrate and the
epitaxial layers is larger than the critical
thickness.
http://www.iue.tuwien.ac.at/phd/smirnov/node68.html
Critical Thickness, t
C


where
b is the magnitude of the lattice distortion caused by a
dislocation (Burger vector)
f is the mismatch between the lattice constants of film
and the substrate
v is Poissons ratio (transverse strain divided by the axial
strain).