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Week – 6

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Chapter 3 – Semiconductor Science and

Assignment-3
LIGHT EMITTING DIODES
SOLVE Examples from Chapter 3 of your text book:– 1) Semiconductor Concepts and Energy Bands
1.1, 1.2, 8.1, 8.2, 8.3
2) Direct and Indirect Bandgap Semiconductors
SOLVE Problems from Chapter 3 of your text book:– 3) pn Junction Principles
2, 5, 6, 10 4) The pn Junction Band Diagram
5) Light Emitting Diodes
6) LED Materials
7) Heterojunction High Intensity LEDs
8) LED Characteristics
SOLVE Examples from Chapter 4 of your text book:–
9) LEDs for Optical Fiber Communications
4.1, 4.2, 5.1, 6.1

SOLVE Problems from Chapter 4 of your text book:– Sections to be read by yourself = 7,9
3, 4, 6
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Energy Band Diagrams Metal Energy Bands

0 Quantization of the atom 0 Overlapping energy degeneracies in metals
0 Lone atoms act like infinite potential 0 Lead to continuous energy bands
wells in which bound electrons 0 Statistically stable energy for electrons lies within these overlapping bands and only
oscillate within allowed states at slight excitations lead to conduction b/c the variation in allowable quantum states is
particular well defined energies nearly continuous
0 The Schrödinger equation is used to
Electron Energy, E
define these allowed energy states Free electron
𝜕 Ψ 2𝑚 Vacuum
+ 𝐸−𝑉 𝑥 Ψ=0 3s Band E =0
𝜕𝑥 ℏ level
2 p Band
E=energy, V=potential energy 3p Overlapping energy
3s bands
0 Solutions are in the form of waves
2p
oscillating at quantized energies and 2s 2 s Band Electrons
related propagation constants
defined by the differential equation
Ψ 𝑥 = 𝐶𝑒 + 𝐷𝑒
1s 1s
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In a metal the various energy bands overlap to give a single band

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Semiconductors Bandgap Basics

0 Semiconductors are distinctly different Covalent bond
Si ion core (+4e)
0 The application of excess energy (light, thermal, electrical) or the addition of extra electrons
Electron energy, E
0 In Semiconductors there is no overlapping Ec+
into the system results in conduction by moving electrons into the conduction band
degeneracy between conduction and valence
Conduction Band (CB)
Empty of electrons at 0 K. 0 In thermal equilibrium electrons can be excited into the conduction band leaving a hole in the
bands
Ec
Band gap = Eg
valance band
Ev 0 Holes and electrons propagate in throughout the material via quantum mechanical tunneling
0 The result is a bandgap, Eg, that is present Valence Band (VB)
from site to site randomly
between bound and conducting electron states
Full of electrons at 0 K.

0
0 The application of a driving potential forces electrons and holes to migrate in opposite
Eg = EC –EV (a) (b)
directions based on charge density
0 The width of the conduction band is called the 0 The effective mass of holes, mh*, and electrons me* is a quantum mechanical quantity relating
Electron energy, E
electron affinity, χ the inertial resistance to acceleration of each under a driving force due to electric fields
E +
within the periodic structure
c

0 At energies above the EC + χ electrons can be CB

ejected from the material h > E

E
g
c
Free e–
h hole
Electron energy, E
Eg
Ec+
0 In silicon for example, all of the valence E
Hole h+
v
e–
CB
electrons are used to fill the binding orbitals h > Eg
Ec
Free e–
VB h
located in the valance band 0
Eg hole
e–
Hole h+
Ev

VB
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Optical Emission From Semiconductors

0 For a semiconductor in thermal equilibrium the energy-level occupation is
described by the Fermi–Dirac distribution function (rather than the
0 A perfect semiconductor Boltzmann).
crystal containing no
impurities or lattice defects is 0 Consequently, the probability P(E) that an electron gains sufficient thermal
said to be intrinsic. energy at an absolute temperature T, such that it will be found occupying a
particular energy level E, is given by the Fermi–Dirac distribution
0 The energy band structure of
an intrinsic semiconductor is
illustrated which shows the
valence and conduction bands
separated by a bandgap Eg, the
width of which varies for
different semiconductor where K is Boltzmann’s constant and EF is known as the Fermi energy or Fermi
materials. level.

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Intrinsic Semiconductors
0 Intrinsic semiconductors are pure crystals where n = p
0 It can be shown that in an intrinsic semiconductor that the Fermi level, Efi, is above
Ev, and located in the bandgap at

1 1 𝑁
𝐸 = 𝐸 + 𝐸 − 𝑘 𝑇 𝑙𝑛
2 2 𝑁
0 Typically Nc and Nv values are comparable and both occur in the logarithmic term
so that Efi is approximately in the middle of the bandgap as shown in previous slides
0 The product of n and p in an intrinsic semiconductor provides the mass action law

𝑛𝑝 = 𝑁 𝑁 𝑒 =𝑛
0 Where Eg = Ec – Ev is the bandgap energy, ni2
is the constant that depends on
temperature and material properties, and not the Fermi energy.
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Extrinsic Semiconductors Extrinsic Semiconductors

0 Semiconductors with small amounts of impurities 0 Semiconductors with small amounts of impurities
0 These impurities increase/decrease the probability 0 These impurities increase/decrease the
of obtaining an electron in the conduction band probability of obtaining an electron in the h+
0 N-type semiconductors As+ conduction band B–

e– 0 P-type semiconductors
0 extrinsic semiconductors with excess electrons
0 Arsenic added to silicon to which have one more 0 extrinsic with less electrons
valence (available electron) than silicon 0 Adding Boron (+3) metal which has one fewer
0 Arsenic is called a donor b/c it donates electrons to electron and yields an increased hole per doped atom
the system 0 Boron is called an acceptor Electron energy
B atom sites every 106 Si atoms
0 For Nd>>ni, at room temperature, the electron Electron Energy 0 For Na>>ni , at room temperature, the hole
E
concentration inside the conduction band will be concentration inside the valence band will be nearly c x Distance
into crystal
nearly equal to Nd such that Nd = n equal to Na such that Na = p
CB
0 Number of holes, p = ni2/Nd. Ec
0 Electron carrier concentration is determined by the
0 Conductivity, σ, depends on drift mobilities, μ, of ~0.05 eV Ed mass action law as n = ni2/Na, Ea
B– B– B– B–
As+ As+ As+ As+
electrons and holes 0 This value is much smaller than p and thus the h + ~0.05 eV
conductivity is given by Ev
𝜎 = 𝑒𝑛𝜇 + 𝑒𝑝𝜇 = 𝑒𝑁 𝜇 + 𝑒 𝜇 VB
Ev x Distance into

𝝈 ≈ 𝒆𝑵𝒅 𝝁𝒆 crystal 𝝈 = 𝒆𝑵𝒂 𝝁𝒉

As atom sites every 106 Si atoms 13 14

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Simplified Band Diagrams for Semiconductors Energy Band Diagrams

0 Notice in the chart below that the Fermi level changes as a function of doping
0 Notice also that carrier concentration (holes or electrons) also changes as a
function of doping
0 N-type: majority carriers are electrons and minority carriers are holes
0 P-type: majority carriers are holes and minority carriers are electrons
0 Mass action law still valid: nnoppo = ni2 where no is the doped equilibrium carrier
concentration

CB

Ec Ec Ec
EFn
EFi
EFp
Ev Ev Ev
VB

INTRINSIC (b)
N-TYPE P-TYPE
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0 The Fermi level is only a mathematical parameter but it gives an indication of

the distribution of carriers within the material.

0 To create an extrinsic semiconductor the material is doped with impurity atoms

which create either more free electrons (donor impurity) or holes (acceptor
impurity).

0 When donor impurities are added, the semiconductor is said to be n-type, and the
Fermi level corresponding to this carrier distribution is raised to a position
above the center of the bandgap. 0 The p–n junction diode is formed by creating adjoining p-type and n-type
semiconductor layers in a single crystal, as shown above.
0 When acceptor impurities are added, the semiconductor is said to be p-type and
the Fermi level corresponding to this carrier distribution is lowered below the 0 A thin depletion region or layer is formed at the junction through carrier
center of the bandgap. recombination which effectively leaves it free of mobile charge carriers (both
electrons and holes).

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0 This establishes a potential barrier between the p-type and n-type regions
which restricts the interdiffusion of majority carriers from their respective 0 The width of the depletion region and thus the magnitude of the potential
regions, as illustrated below. barrier is dependent upon the carrier concentrations (doping) in the p- and
n-type regions and any external applied voltage.

0 In the absence of an externally applied voltage no current flows as the potential

barrier prevents the net flow of carriers. When the junction is in this 0 When an external positive voltage is applied to the p-type region with respect
equilibrium state the Fermi level for the p-type and n-type semiconductor is to the n-type, both the depletion region width and the resulting potential
the same as shown. barrier are reduced and the diode is said to be forward biased.

0 Electrons from the n-type region and holes from the p-type region can flow
more readily across the junction into the opposite type region.

0 These minority carriers are effectively injected across the junction by the
application of the external voltage and form a current flow through the
device as they continuously diffuse away from the interface.

0 However, this situation in suitable semiconductor materials allows carrier

recombination with the emission of light.
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Spontaneous Emission
0 The increased concentration of minority carriers in the opposite type region in
the forward-biased p–n diode leads to the recombination of carriers across
the bandgap.

0 This process is shown in the next slide for a direct bandgap semiconductor
material where the normally empty electron states in the conduction band of
the p-type material and the normally empty hole states in the valence band of
the n-type material are populated by injected carriers which recombine across
the bandgap.
0 Excess carrier population is therefore decreased by recombination which
may be radiative or nonradiative.
0 The energy released by this electron–hole recombination is approximately
equal to the bandgap energy Eg.
0 In nonradiative recombination the energy released is dissipated in the
form of lattice vibrations and thus heat.
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0 However, in band-to-band radiative recombination the energy is released with the 0 This spontaneous emission of light from within the diode structure is known as
creation of a photon with a where the energy is approximately equal to the bandgap electroluminescence.
energy Eg and therefore:
0 The light is emitted at the site of carrier recombination which is primarily close
to the junction, although recombination may take place through the hole diode
structure as carriers diffuse away from the junction region.
0 where c is the velocity of light in a vacuum and λ is the optical wavelength written in
μm and Eg in eV. 0 However, the amount
of radiative,
recombination and
the emission area
within the structure
is dependent upon
the semiconductor
materials used and
the fabrication of the
device.

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Carrier Recombination
Thermal Considerations and Recombination
0 The presence of a finite band gap requires that at T=0K, there is no electrical
0 In order to encourage electroluminescence
conduction within the material
it is necessary to select an appropriate
0 As temperature increases, more and more free energy present in the semiconductor semiconductor material.
allows for the population of conduction bands with electrons.
0 The most useful materials for this purpose
0 Due to atomic vibrations that increase with temperature allowing for excitation are direct bandgap semiconductors in which
of conduction band energy states electrons and holes on either side of the
0 Production of electrons in the conduction band due to increased free energy forbidden energy gap have the same value of
generates an equal number of holes in the valance band crystal momentum and thus direct
0 This is referred to as thermal generation recombination is possible.
0 When a wandering electron crosses a site within the lattice where a hole is present, 0 This process is illustrated in the next slide
the electron releases its free energy and binds to the atoms valence band. This with an energy–momentum diagram for a 0 Hence when electron–hole
process is called recombination direct bandgap semiconductor. recombination occurs the
0 The energy maximum of the valence band momentum of the electron remains
0 Electron concentration, n, within the conduction band
occurs at the same (or very nearly the same) virtually constant and the energy
0 Hole concentration, p, within the valance band released, which corresponds to the
value of electron crystal momentum as the
http://jas.eng.buffalo.edu/education/semicon/recombination/indirect.html bandgap energy Eg, may be emitted
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as light.

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Degenerate and Nondegenerate Semiconductors

0 In indirect bandgap 0 In nondegenerate semiconductors the number of states in the carrier band far exceeds
semiconductors, however, the the number of electrons
maximum and minimum energies 0 Thus the probability of two electrons trying to occupy the same allowed state is
occur at different values of crystal virtually zero
momentum. 0 This means that the Pauli exclusion principle can be neglected and the DOS is
represented only by Boltzmann statistics
0 For electron–hole recombination to 0 In this case, 𝒇 𝑬 = 𝟏
E
take place it is essential that the 𝟏 + 𝒆𝒙𝒑
𝑬 − 𝑬𝑭
𝒌𝑻 CB
electron loses momentum such that Impurities
it has a value of momentum is only valid when n<<Nc forming a band
corresponding to the maximum 0 Semiconductors where n<<Nc and p<<Nv are termed nondegenerate g(E)
energy of the valence band. 0 When a semiconductors has been excessively doped (a) with donors
0 Then n may be 1019 – 1020 /cm3
CB
EFn
0 The conservation of momentum n > Np or p > Nv Ec Ec
requires the emission or 0 N is then comparable to Nc and the Pauli
absorption of a third particle, a exclusion principle comes into play Ev Ev
EFp
phonon. 0 In this case Fermi Dirac statistics are required VB
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(a)
0 Degenerate semiconductor

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Degenerate pn junction
0 Population inversion may be obtained at a p-n junction by heavy doping
(degenerate doping) of both the p- and n-type material.
0 Heavy p-type doping (p+-doped) with acceptor impurities causes a lowering of
the Fermi level in the valence band.
0 Heavy n-type doping (n+-doped) causes the Fermi level to enter the conduction
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Heavily doped p+ -n+ junction under forward bias

0 When a forward bias nearly equals or exceeds the bandgap voltage, there is
conduction (eV > Eg)
0 At high injection carrier density in such a junction there is an active region near the
depletion layer that contains simultaneously degenerate populations of electrons
and holes
0 The injection carrier maybe largely electrons injected into the p-n region because of
their higher mobility
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LIGHT EMITTING DIODES (LEDs)

0 The normally empty conduction band of the semiconductor is populated by electrons
injected into it by the forward current through the junction, and light is generated
when these electrons recombine with holes in the valence band to emit a photon.
0 This is the mechanism by which light is emitted from an LED.
0 The LED can therefore operate at lower current densities than the injection laser, but
the emitted photons have random phases and the device is an incoherent optical
source.
0 Also, the energy of the emitted photons is only roughly equal to the bandgap energy
of the semiconductor material, which gives a much wider spectral linewidth
(possibly by a factor of 100) than the injection laser.
0 The linewidth for an LED corresponds to a range of photon energy between 1 and
3.5KT, where K is Boltzmann’s constant and T is the absolute temperature.
0 This gives linewidths of 30 to 40nm for GaAs-based devices operating at room
temperature.
0 Thus the LED supports many optical modes within its structure and is therefore
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often used as a multimode source.

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Disadvantages Advantages of
of LEDs LEDs
0 Generally lower optical power 0 Simpler fabrication
coupled into a fiber (microwatts) 0 Cost
0 Usually lower modulation 0 Reliability
bandwidth 0 Simpler drive circuitry
0 Harmonic distortion
0 Generally less temperature
dependence
0 Linearity
0 These advantages combined with the
development of high-radiance,
relatively high bandwidth devices
have ensured that the LED remains
an extensively used source for
optical fiber communications.
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Semiconductor Materials
vs. LED Color
General Brightness
GaP GaN GaAs GaAIAs --
Green, Red, Red,
Blue --
Red Infrared Infrared
Super Brightness
GaAIAs GaAsP GaN InGaN GaP
Red Red, Yellow Blue Green Green
Ultra Brightness
GaAIAs InGaAIP GaN InGaN --
Red, Yellow,
Red Blue Green --
Orange

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0 THE DOUBLE-HETEROJUNCTION LED 0 THE DOUBLE-HETEROJUNCTION LED

 Photons are produced
 The DH with energy corresponding to
structure is used the bandgap energy of the p-
to provide the type GaAs layer.
most efficient
 Electroluminescence
incoherent only occurs in the GaAs
sources for junction layer.
application within  Furthermore, light is
optical fiber emitted from the device
communications. without reabsorption because
the bandgap energy in the
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AlGaAs layer is large in 58
comparison with that in GaAs.

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Examples of Light Emitting Diodes

Organic LED

Red LED White LED

Organic LED 75
LED for displays LED for traffic light

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