EE 121B:

Principles of
Semiconductor Device Design
Lecture 2:
Semiconductor Fundamentals
Sam Emaminejad
 Course Overview
1. Semiconductor Properties
2. P-N Junction
3. Metal-Semiconductor Contacts
4. MOS Devices
5. Bipolar Junction Transistor
Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor (MOS)
Field-Effect Transistor (FET)

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 Lecture 2

OUTLINE
• Semiconductor Fundamentals (cont’d)
– Bond model
– Energy band model
– Band gap energy
– Density of states
– Doping

Reading: Pierret 2.2-2.3, 3.1.5; Hu 1.3-1.4,1.6, 2.4

 Recall
• Crystalline Si:
– 4 valence electrons per atom
– diamond lattice (each atom has 4 nearest neighbors)
– atomic density = 5 x 1022 atoms/cm3
– intrinsic carrier concentration ni = 1010 cm-3
– Miller indices are used to designate planes and directions
within a crystalline lattice

• In a pure Si crystal, conduction electrons and holes are

formed in pairs.
– Holes can be considered as positively charged mobile particles.
– Both holes and electrons can conduct current.
Recall: Electrons and Holes (Bond Model)
Si Si Si

2-D representation of Si lattice: Si Si Si

Si Si Si

C. C. Hu, Modern Semiconductor Devices for ICs, Figure 1-4

When an electron breaks loose Si Si Si

and becomes a conduction electron,
Si Si Si
a hole is also created.
Si Si Si
C. C. Hu, Modern Semiconductor Devices for ICs, Figure 1-5a
Recall: The Hole as a Positive Mobile Charge
• Positive charge is associated with a half-filled covalent bond
– Moves when an electron from a neighboring covalent bond fills it

Si Si Si

Si Si Si

Si Si Si
Recall: Intrinsic Carrier Concentration, ni

conduction

• At temperatures > 0 K,
some electrons will be
freed from covalent
bonds, resulting in
electron-hole pairs.
For Si: ni  1010 cm-3 at room temperature
 Definition of Terms
n ≡ number of electrons/cm3
p ≡ number of holes/cm3
ni ≡ intrinsic carrier concentration

In a pure semiconductor,
n = p = ni
 Potential Energy Profiles
1 atom 2 atoms

Discrete allowed
energy levels

V(r)1/r is mostly a coulombic potential btwn When two atoms are in close proximity, the upper energy
the positive nucleus & negative electrons. levels are shifted to bonding and anti-bonding levels.

N atoms

Lecture 2, Slide 9
 Si: From Atom to Crystal (N atoms)

R.F. Pierret, Semiconductor Fundamentals, Figure 2.5

conduction band
(conduction electrons)

valence band
(electrons in covalent bonds)

6 states 4N states, closely spaced in energy

2 states 4N states, closely spaced in energy

Energy states in Si atom → energy bands in Si crystal

• The highest nearly-filled band is the valence band
• The lowest nearly-empty band is the conduction band
Lecture 2, Slide 10
 Energy Band Diagram
allowed energy states
(mostly empty)
Ec
electron energy

EG = 1.12 eV
for Si @ T = 300 K

Ev
allowed energy states
(mostly filled)
location

• Simplified version of energy band model, showing

only the bottom edge of the conduction band (Ec)
and the top edge of the valence band (Ev)
• Ec and Ev are separated by the band gap energy EG
Lecture 2, Slide 11
Electrons and Holes (Band Model)
• Conduction electron = occupied state in the conduction band
• Hole = empty state in the valence band
• Electrons & holes tend to seek lowest-energy positions
→ Electrons tend to fall and holes tend to float up (like bubbles in water)
Increasing electron energy
Increasing hole energy

electron kinetic energy

Ec Ec represents the
electron potential
energy.

Ev P.E. = Ec − Ereference
hole kinetic energy

Lecture 2, Slide 12
 Electrostatic Potential, V
and Electric Field, E
• The potential energy of a
particle with charge -q is
related to the electrostatic
potential V(x):
P.E. = −qV = 𝐸𝑐 – 𝐸𝑟𝑒𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒
1
 V = ( Ereference − Ec )
q

 =−
dV 1 dEc
=
dx q dx
EG
0.7 eV • Variation of Ec with position is
called “band bending.”
Lecture 2, Slide 13
 Measuring the Band Gap Energy
• EG can be determined from the minimum energy of
photons that are absorbed by the semiconductor

Ec

photon
hn > EG
Ev

Band gap energies of selected semiconductors

Semiconductor Ge Si GaAs
Band gap energy (eV) 0.67 1.12 1.42

Lecture 2, Slide 14
 Density of States
𝑔𝑐 ∝ 𝐸 − 𝐸𝑐 E

dE increasing 𝑔𝑐
𝑔𝑐 (𝐸)
Ec Ec
density of states, g(E)
Ev Ev 𝑔𝑣 (𝐸)
increasing 𝑔𝑣

𝑔𝑣 ∝ 𝐸𝑣 − 𝐸
g(E)dE = number of states per cm3 in the energy range between E and E+dE

Near the band edges: Electron and hole

density-of-states effective masses
8 2 *
gc (E) =
h3
(
mn , DOS ) (E − E )
3/ 2
c for E  Ec Si Ge GaAs
mn,DOS*/mo 1.08 0.56 0.067
8 2 *
gv (E) =
h 3
(
m p , DOS ) (E
3/ 2
v − E ) for E  Ev mp,DOS*/mo 0.81 0.29 0.47
m0 = 9.1 × 10-31 kg

Lecture 2, Slide 15
 EG and Material Classification
silicon dioxide silicon metal
Ec
Ec
EG = 1.12 eV Ev
EG = ~ 9 eV Ev Ec

Ev

• Neither filled bands nor empty bands allow current flow

• Insulators have large EG
• Semiconductors have small EG
• Metals have no band gap (conduction band is partially filled)
Lecture 2, Slide 16
 Doping Typically, 1015 to 1020 cm-3

• By substituting a Si atom with a special impurity atom (Column V

or Column III element), a conduction electron or hole is created.
Column V Column III
Donors: P, As, Sb Acceptors: B, Al, Ga, In

ND ≡ ionized donor concentration (cm-3) NA ≡ ionized acceptor concentration (cm-3)

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Lecture 2, Slide 17
 Doping Silicon with a Donor
Example: Add arsenic (As) atom to the Si crystal

Si Si Si
e- conduction electron
+
Si As Si

Si Si Si

The loosely bound 5th valence electron of the As atom “breaks free” and
becomes a mobile electron for current conduction.

Lecture 2, Slide 18
 Doping Silicon with an Acceptor
Example: Add boron (B) atom to the Si crystal

Si Si Si
h+ mobile hole
-
Si B Si

Si Si Si

The B atom accepts an electron from a neighboring Si atom, resulting in a

missing bonding electron, or “hole”. The hole is free to roam around the Si
lattice, carrying current as a positive charge.
Lecture 2, Slide 19
 Solid Solubility of Dopants in Si
F. A. Trumbore, Bell Systems Technical Journal, 1960

increasing
temperature

Lecture 2, Slide 20 ATOMS PER CUBIC CENTIMETER

increasing concentration
 Doping (Band Model)
e-
Donor ionization energy
Ec Energy level of 5th valence
E D electron in donor atom
localized electron
energy states
Energy level of 4th valence
EA
Ev electron in acceptor atom
h+
Acceptor ionization energy

Ionization energy of selected donors and acceptors in silicon

Donors Acceptors
Dopant Sb P As B Al In
Ionization energy (meV)
39 45 54 45 67 160
Ec-ED or EA-Ev
Lecture 2, Slide 21
Dopant Ionization
R.F. Pierret, Semiconductor Fundamentals, Figure 2.13

Lecture 2, Slide 22
 Charge-Carrier Concentrations
negatively charged
Charge neutrality condition: N D + p = NA + n
positively charged

At thermal equilibrium, np = ni2 (“Law of Mass Action”)

Note: Carrier concentrations depend on net dopant concentration!

Lecture 2, Slide 23
 n-type Material (n > p)
ND > NA (more specifically, ND – NA >> ni):
Example: 𝑁𝐷 = 1017 cm-3 𝑁𝐴 = 0

negligible

2 2
𝑁𝐷 − 𝑁𝐴 𝑁𝐷 − 𝑁𝐴 2
1017 1017
𝑛= + + 𝑛𝑖 = + + 1010 2
2 2 2 2
2
1017 1017
≈ + = 1016 cm-3
2 2

𝑛𝑖 2 1010 2
𝑝= = 17
= 103 cm-3
𝑛 10

Note 𝑛 ≫ 𝑝 !

Lecture 2, Slide 24
 p-type Material (p > n)
NA > ND (more specifically, NA – ND >> ni):
Example: 𝑁𝐴 = 1016 cm-3 𝑁𝐷 = 0

negligible

2 2
𝑁𝐴 − 𝑁𝐷 𝑁𝐴 − 𝑁𝐷 2
1016 1016
𝑝= + + 𝑛𝑖 = + + 1010 2
2 2 2 2
2
1016 1016
≈ + = 1016 cm-3
2 2

𝑛𝑖 2 1010 2
𝑛= = 16
= 104 cm-3
𝑝 10

Note 𝑝 ≫ 𝑛 !

Lecture 2, Slide 25
Carrier Concentration vs. Temperature
R.F. Pierret, Semiconductor Fundamentals, Figure 2.22

𝑛 ≈ 𝑝 ≈ 𝑛𝑖 ≫ 𝑁𝐴 & 𝑁𝐷

Lecture 2, Slide 26
 Terminology
donor: impurity atom that increases n
acceptor: impurity atom that increases p
n-type material: contains more electrons than holes
p-type material: contains more holes than electrons
majority carrier: the most abundant carrier
minority carrier: the least abundant carrier
intrinsic semiconductor: n = p = ni
extrinsic semiconductor: doped semiconductor
such that majority carrier concentration = net dopant concentration

Lecture 2, Slide 27
 Thermal Equilibrium
• No external forces are applied:
– electric field = 0, magnetic field = 0
– mechanical stress = 0
– no light

• Dynamic situation in which every process is balanced by

its inverse process
Electron-hole pair (EHP) generation rate = EHP recombination rate

• Thermal agitation → electrons and holes exchange

energy with the crystal lattice and each other
→ Every energy state in the conduction band and valence band
has a certain probability of being occupied by an electron
Lecture 2, Slide 28
 Analogy for Thermal Equilibrium

Sand particles

Analogous to
thermal excitation

C. C. Hu, Modern Semiconductor Devices for Integrated Circuits, Figure 1-17

• There is a certain probability for the electrons in the

conduction band to occupy high-energy states under
the agitation of thermal energy (vibrating atoms).

Lecture 2, Slide 29
 Fermi Function
• Probability that an available state at energy E is occupied:
1
f (E) = ( E − E F ) / kT
1+ e
• EF is called the Fermi energy or the Fermi level

There is only one Fermi level in a system at equilibrium.

If E >> EF : 𝑓(𝐸) approaches 0

If E << EF : 𝑓(𝐸) approaches 1

1
If E = EF : 𝑓 𝐸 =
2
Lecture 2, Slide 30
Effect of Temperature on f(E)

Lecture 2, Slide 31
 Boltzmann Approximation
− ( E − E F ) / kT
If E − EF  3kT , f ( E )  e

( E − E F ) / kT
If EF − E  3kT , f ( E )  1 − e

Probability that a state is empty (i.e. occupied by a hole):

( E − E F ) / kT − ( E F − E ) / kT
1 − f (E)  e =e

Lecture 2, Slide 32
 Summary
• Allowed electron energy levels in an atom give rise to
bands of allowed electron energy levels in a crystal.
– The valence band is the highest nearly-filled band.
– The conduction band is the lowest nearly-empty band.

• The band gap energy is the energy required to free an

electron from a covalent bond.
– EG for Si at 300 K = 1.12 eV
– Insulators have large EG; semiconductors have small EG

Lecture 2, Slide 33
 Summary (cont’d)
• Ec represents the electron potential energy
Variation in Ec(x) → variation in electric potential V

Electric field  =
1 dEc 1 dEv
=
q dx q dx
• E - Ec represents the electron kinetic energy

Lecture 2, Slide 34
 Summary (cont’d)
• Dopants in silicon:
– Reside on lattice sites (substituting for Si)
– Have relatively low ionization energies (<50 meV)
→ ionized at room temperature
– Group-V elements contribute conduction electrons, and are
called donors
– Group-III elements contribute holes, and are called acceptors

Dopant concentrations typically range from 1015 cm-3 to 1020 cm-3

Lecture 2, Slide 35
 Acknowledgement
• Modern Semiconductor Devices for Integrated Circuits
by C. Hu (Prentice Hall, 2009)
• Semiconductor Device Fundamentals by R. F. Pierret
(Addison Wesley, 1996)
• Professor Tsu-Jae King Liu EE130/230A notes