Semiconductors

SolidState Physics
SEMICONDUCTOR

Syllabus:-Classification of Solids, Fermi-Dirac statestics, concept of Fermi level & its variation with
temperature, impurity & applied voltage.
Intrinsic & extrinsic carrier concentrations, carrier drift, mobility, resistivity & Hall effect, carrier
diffusion, Einstien’s relations, current density & continuity equation.
Energy Band diagrams of p-n junction-formation of depletion region, derivation of depletion layer width.
Formation of Energy Bands in Solids:-
When an atom is isolated, its constituent electrons occupy distinct & discrete energy levels. So atoms
of one & the same material, if isolated, will give the same energy structure i.e. same shell electrons will
have exactly the same energy, in all isolated atoms of same element.

Energy Energy
M Nenergy band
E4 -N shell
L E3 -M shell Menergy band
K

E2 -L shell Lenergy band

E1 - K shell K energy band

Energy level for an isolated atom Energy structure of a solid.

As shown in figure, electron revolving in an orbit corresponds to one energy level, like a K-shell electron
belongs to the lowest(1st ) level, L-shell electron to 2nd level, etc.
But when atom is not isolated the surroundings of atom affect the electron energies. When a solid is
formed, lacks & lacks of atoms of same kind (or sometimes molecules of same kind) come together, they
are packed very closely. Now for any atom, it has electrons of neighboring atoms in the surrounding &
also positively charged nuclei of neighboring atoms. Due to this, electrostatic farces acting on electrons
in the atom change their energies slightly. But to revolving electron cloud in the surrounding, the change
in energies is not one & the same for all atom-electrons, at all times.
Therefore now say, a K-shell electron in all atoms of the solid will not have a single energy value, but it
can have any value from a range of slightly different energies. So collectively for an atom in a solid, an

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 Semiconductors
energy level will be transformed into a collection very closely numerous energy levels which form an
energy band.
So K-band of energy will give energy values that can be possessed by K-electron from any atom in a
solid. Similarly all other shell-electrons having single value energy in case of isolated atom, will have
now a range of slightly varying energies giving rise to corresponding energy bands. Thus energy
structure for a solid is found different from that of its isolated constituent atoms.
Conduction Band & Valence Band
As we know, in solid all electrons in an atom occupying a particular orbit belong to a particular energy
band of solid. Therefore we get energy Band structure of solid, whereas isolated atom has energy level
structure.
In atom, the outer most shell occupied with few numbers of electrons is called valence shell which
decides physical & chemical characteristics of that material. This valence shell of an atom corresponds
to valence band in solid
So valence band in solid gives the range of slightly different energies which can be possessed by
electrons in valence shell of all the atoms forming that solid.
For any single atom, valence energy is the highest energy level in its energy structure i.e. noany electron
in that atom will be observed to have energy higher than that. But in solid, all electrons are not bound
to atoms. Some valence electrons can get detached from a parent atom, called free electrons& that can
roam around, within body of that solid.
Now energies of these free electrons must be higher than valence band energies because they are able to
overcome attractive force of respective nuclei, and hence they form a new band of higher allowed
energies called conduction band of solid.
These free electronics inside solid are actually responsible for conduction of heat pr electricity through
solid & hence the corresponding energy band is named so. Thus conduction band in solid gives the range
of slightly different energies permitted to free electrons inside the solid.
Fobidden Energy Gap
In some solids atomic structure is such that valence electrons do not detached easily from parent atom
due to strong bindings. Hence some excess small or large amount of energy has to be provided to such
valence electrons & then only they get detached. Then free electrons in such solids are having energy
high above the valence band with that much amount. Therefore the conduction band starts at some
higher value above upper end of valence band in that energy structure.
The energy gap observed between top of valence band & bottom of conduction band indicate the

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energies, which are never possessed by any of the electrons inside that solid. So these energies are
forbidden in the solid & hence that energy range is termed as forbidden energy gap or forbidden band.
No any electron in a pure solid material is allowed to occupy energy in forbidden band. But if some
impurity is there, then certain energy levels corresponding to impurity atom electrons may lie in the
forbidden gap of the parent solid.
Classification of Solids(on basis of energy band structure)
Depending on relative positions of valence band (V.B.) & conduction band (C.B.) along energy axis of
solid, solids can be classified into three categories.
1) Conductor: with C.B. overlapping V.B.
2) Semiconductor: with C.B. slightly above V.B. with small forbidden gap
3) Insulator: with C.B. well above V.B. large forbidden gap.

Energy
Energy
Energy
C.B

C.B C.B

Forbidden Forbidden
gap gap
V.B
V.B
V.B

Conductor
Semiconductor Insulator

Conductor
The C.B. overlapping V.B. means that here some valence electrons themselves are free without acquiring
any excess energy. So at the valence energy itself i.e. being in V.B., these electrons can cause
conduction, so belong to C.B. also. But few valence electrons may acquire excess energy & with higher
energy they can occupy higher levels in C.B.
So at room temperature, a large amount of free electrons are available for conduction of heat or electricity
through solid & hence these solids are termed as conductors.
Insulators
The term itself indicates that these solids do not allow conduction of heat or electricity through their
body. This must be due to absence of free electrons. i.e. no electrons are occupying energies in C.B.

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In these solids C.B. is at large energy separation from top of V.B., because the valence electrons are so
hardly bound to the parent atoms, that it’s difficult to separate them from atoms.
In order to detach valence electrons in this case, very large amount of energy (called binding energy) is
required & this energy is equivalently represented by the large forbidden gap between C.B.& V.B.
In insulators, forbidden gap is usually of the order of few tens of eV. So at room temperature, no; any
electron is free i.e. available in C.B. Hence conduction of energy is highly impossible through insulator s.
Semiconductors
In these solids the forbidden gap is smaller of the order ;ofleV. E.g. for Silicon it is leV, for Germanium
it is 0.7eV
This means few electrons with a small excess energy acquired can jump from V.B. to C.B. The small
energy can be sufficiently provided through thermal agitation (the energy possessed due to nonzero
temperature)
Hence at low temperature, no any electron is free. But at a little high temperature thermal agitatio n
makes few electrons free i.e. they can jump to C.B. from V.B. & these available for conduction. With
increasing temperature, number of electrons available in C.B. goes on increasing & conductivity of solid
increases accordingly.
Thus at lower temperature, these solids behaves as an insulator & at higher temperatures(even room
temperature) as a conductor. Hence it is called semiconductor.
Intrinsic Semiconductors:
An intrinsic semiconductor is one which is made of the
semiconductor material in its extremely pure form, which has
moderate conductivity. At any temperature the number of
electrons available in the conduction band is equal to the
number of holes found in the conduction band.
If ne denotes the number density of electrons in the
conduction band and nh denotes the number of holes in the
valence band, at any temperature
ne = nh = ni
whereni is called the intrinsic density or intrinsic carrier
concentration. The equal number of electrons and holes in an
intrinsic semiconductors are called the intrinsic charge carriers.

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Extrinsic Semiconductors: To increase conductivity for practical purpose, it is added with some
pentavalent or trivalent impurity & the process of adding such impurity to the semiconductor is called
doping.Usually doping agents are
(i) pentavalent atoms having 5 valence electrons (arsenic, antimony, phosphorous ) are known as donors
because it donates or contributes one electron to conduction band of silicon.
(ii) trivalent atoms having 3 valence electrons (gallium, indium, aluminium, boron) or trivalent doping
atoms are known as acceptors because it accepts one electron from the silicon.
Then such doped semiconductor is called extrinsic semiconductor. In doping process, the doped atoms
get absorbed in crystal structure of semiconductor, having similar bond structure with neighbor ing
atoms. In intrinsic semiconductor concentration of both electrons & holes is same-called intrinsic carrier
concentration.
n-Type semiconductor:

Si Si Si E
An electron C.B
with each
impurity atom
Ed Donor Level
Si P Si

Si Si Si V.B

Intrinsic semiconductor (say Si) is doped with pentavalent impurity e.g. P, As, Sb, Bi. Each impurity
atom forms covalent bonds with surrounding four silicon atoms with the help of four of its five electrons.
The fifth electron is superfluous and is loosely bound to the impurity atom. Hence it can be easily excited
from the valence band to the conduction band by application of electric field or increase in thermal
energy.So ‘one free electron’ per impurity atom will be in excess to the normal electron-ho le
concentration. Here electrons are called majority charge carriers & holes as minority carriers.
If the density of the donor level electrons is nD, the carrier densities in n- type semiconductors is
ne = ni + nD and nh = ni.
p-type semiconductor:

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E
Si Si Si C.B
A hole with
each impurity
atom

Si P Si
Ea Acceptor Level

V.B
Si Si Si

Intrinsic semiconductor (say Si) when doped with trivalent impurity. E.g. B, Al, Ga, In, Ti Each impurity
atom forming covalent bonds with neighboring silicon atoms one bond is left incomplete and gives rise
to a hole as shown in fig, i.e. creates one ‘hole in a bond’. So we get one hole per impurity atom in
excess, along with the normal electron-hole concentration in semiconductor. Here holes are called
majority charge carriers & electrons as minority carriers.
If the density of the acceptor level holes is nA, the carrier densities in p- type semiconductors is
nh = ni + nA and ne = ni.
Direct and Indirect Band Gap of Semiconductors
The energy of a free electron is given by
𝑝2
𝐸=
2𝑚

where p is the momentum and m is the mass of an electron. The energy-momentum relation of an electron
is parabolic in nature as shown in figure-a. The energy momentum relationship of semiconductor is
shown in figure-b. The upper parabolain the conduction band indicates free electrons and the lower
parabola in the valence band represent the free holes. The spacing between these two parabolas at p=0
is the bandgapEg.

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According to the energy-momentum relationship, semiconductors are classified into

i) Direct and ii) Indirect bandgap types.
i) Direct bandgap: In some semiconductors,eg-GaAs, GaP, the maximum of the valence band and the
minimum of the conduction band occur at the same momentum value as shown in figure-b. Thus an
electron making a transition from conduction band to valence band need not undergo any change in its
momentum.
ii) Indirect bandgap: In elemental semiconductors, eg- Si, Ge, the maximum of the valence band and
the minimum of conduction band occur at two different momentum values as shown in figure- c.
Therefore, when an electron makes a transition from minimum of conduction band to maximum of
valence band, it has to undergo a change in its momentum.

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Devices such as LEDs and diode lasers require direct bandgap semiconductors for efficient generatio n
of photons.
Elemental and Compound semiconductors:
The commonly known semiconductors, Si and Ge have mono-atomic teteravalent diamond cubic
structure. Their conductivity is improved by doping them with trivalent or pentavalent impurities. These
elements in intrinsic and extrinsic forms are called elemental semiconductors. During electron transitio n
from conduction to valence band, the energy is released in form of heat energy. This is a non-radiative
transition. These are indirect bandgap semiconductors.
The compound semiconductors contains more than one element nearly in equal proportion. It may
contain two or more than two elements eg- GaAs, GaP, GaAsP. During electron transition from
conduction to valence band, the energy is released in the form of electromagnetic radiation. Thus this is
a radiative transition. These are direct bandgap semiconductors which has wide applications in LEDs
and laser diodes.

Band structure of solids & Fermi Energy / Fermi Level:

In an atom, electrons occupy discrete energy levels with preference to the lowest available levels. So
lower energy levels are occupied first, then the next lower & so on. Naturally in solids also lower energy
bands are fully occupied & the uppermost band – valence band remains either fully occupied or partially
occupied. Also conduction band remains either vacant or partially filled.
In a solid at 00 K, the highest filled energy level is called fermi level& the corresponding energy as
fermi energy (Ef).So at 0o K, all levels below EFare completely filled and all levels aboveEF are
totally empty.
This means at 0o K, no electron in a solid can have energy greater than EF. When temperature increases,
due to the acquired energy few electrons in uppermost level, jump above EF to occupy higher energy
levels. So at higher temperature, some levels above EF are partially occupied & some levels below EFare
partially empty. But in any case the concentration of occupied states above EFis exactly equal to vacant
states below EF.
Therefore, in general position of Fermi level along energy axis, shows the balance reference
between occupied higher levels & unoccupied lower levels.
But everytime, Fermi level may not be one of the allowed energy level of a solid. It may lie, sometime s
in the forbidden energy band also.
Remember,

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 Fermi level is just an energy reference with which distribution of electrons in all levels can
be compared statistically.
 Fermi level need not be actually occupied by electrons every time. Fermi level may not be
an allowed energy level in the solid.
In conductors, Fermi level coincides with top of V.B., where as in intrinsic semiconductors it lies at
center of forbidden gap between C.B. & V.B.

Following figure shows Fermi level position in conductor & intrinsic semiconductor,

E Conductor E Semiconductor

C.B.
C.B.

Ef
Ef

V.B. V.B.

In case of conductor & intrinsic semiconductor, position of Fermi level is unaffected with
increasing temperature.
In extrinsic semiconductors, it is not the same case.

E P- type semiconductor E N- type semiconductor

(at very low temperature) (at very low temperature)

C.B.
C.B.
Ef
Ea
Acceptor Level Donar Level
Ed
Ef

V.B. V.B.

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In extrinsic semiconductors, due to added impurity one new allowed energy level appears in forbidden
gap the semiconductor band structure (which belongs to energy structure of the impurity atom). In p-
type, the level is called acceptor level& is located in the forbidden gap slightly above top of V.B.,
whereas in n-type it is the donor level& is situated in forbidden gap slightly below bottom of C.B. At
very low temperature, fermi level position for extrinsic semiconductors is as shown in above figure.
It is the situation when no free electrons (in C.B.) or holes (in V.B) are available.
[Donor level is fully occupied with fifth electron from each pentavalent impurity atom which or on the
verge of jumping to C.B. to be free, whereas acceptor level is said to be fully occupied with holes
(actually the level is empty that are attached with each trivalent impurity atom).
Fermi –Dirac Distribution Function:
It is a statistical function giving distribution of electrons in solid among different energy states, especially
among valence band & conduction band. It is represented by f(E).
f(E)– Fermi-Dirac distribution function that gives probability of, an energy state with energy E being
occupied by an electron at given temperature T0 K.

1
f(E)=
1  e( E  EF ) / kT
whereEF- Fermi level of the solid
T- absolute temperature
k - Boltzmann constant
f(E) - probability that an energy state with energy E being occupied by an
electron in solid at temperature To K
Let’s see how this Fermi function gives consistent results according to definition of Fermi level.
Case 1:At T=0o K, for all energy levels with E  EF
1 1 1
 f(E)= ( E  EF ) / 0
 

1 e 1 e 1  1

1
 f(E)= 1
1 0
This implies that any energy states below EFare completely occupied for all solids at 0o K
Case 2:At T = 0o K for all energy levels with E>EF
1 1 1
 f(E)=  
1 e ( E  EF ) / 0
1 e 
1 

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 Semiconductors
1
 f(E)=  0

This implies that all energy states above EFare completely empty for all solids at 0o K
Both these conclusions are exactly matching with concept of Fermi level is the highest filled energy
level in solid at 0o K.
Case 3: At T 0o K for Fermi Energy level i.e. E=EF
1 1 1
 f(E)=  
1 e ( E  EF ) / kT
1 e 0
11
1
 f(E)=  0.5
2
This means at higher temperatures Fermi level always remains half filled (if it is one of the allowed
energy level in solid)
In the cases where Fermi level is not an
E
allowed energy level (as in semiconducto rs)
Fermi level acting as an energy reference for T2  T1
says that f(E)=0.5 means the number of
occupied states above EF is just equal to
number of unoccupied states below EFOR for T = 0 0 K
EF
energy wise distribution of occupied &
unoccupied states on both sides of for T1  0 0 K
EFbalances around EF .
The above figure shows, how probability of f(E)
0 0.5 1.0
occupation of state, f(E) changes with
temperature along the energy axis. At higher temperature To K some electrons from upper levels cross
over fermi level & occupy higher energy levels. The maximum energy width to which this jumping can
happen is always equal to ‘kT’

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 Semiconductors
E
E

for T  0 0 K

kT

kT for T = 0 0 K
Ef
Ef
kT
kT

1.0 f(E)
At temperature 0 0 K At some higher temperature T0 K

To show that Fermi level lies at center of forbidden gap in intrinsic semiconductors : (Using Fermi
function concept qualitatively )

For an intrinsic semiconductors, let at any temperature

E
To K , we have
nc– number of electrons in C.B.
C.B.
nv– number of electrons in V.B.
N = nc+nv – number of electrons in both bands
Eg i.e located near EF
Ef
Ec – bottom energy level of C.B.
Ev – top energy level in V.B.
V.B. Eg – energy –width of forbidden gap

In solids the forbidden gaps are much larger than the

widths of bands along energy axis. Hence for simplicity, let’s assume that widths of V.B. & C.B. are
very small as compared to width of forbidden gap ‘Eg’ so that all energy levels in C.B. correspond
to almost same energy Ec& also all energy levels in V.B. can be considered as having atmost same
energy Ev.
Thus, nc electrons occupy energy level Ec&nvelectrons occupy energy level Ev
Then we can apply Fermi function to both energy levels as - out of total N electrons , nc are observed to
occupy Ec energy level i.e. if f(Ec) is probability of occupancy of Ec then

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 Semiconductors
nc  N  f ( Ec )

Similarly, out of total N electrons, nv are observed to occupy Ev energy level so nv  N  f ( Ev )

By definition of Fermi function.
1 1
f(EC )= ( Ec  EF ) / kT and f(Ev )= ( Ev  EF ) / kT
1 e 1 e
As N  nc  nv we get N  N . f ( Ec )  N . f ( Ev )

N N
N= 
1  e( Ec EF ) / kT 1  e( Ev EF ) / kT
1 1
1= ( Ec  EF ) / kT
 ( Ev  EF ) / kT
1 e 1 e
Ec  E F E  EF
For convenience, let’s substitute  x& v y
kT kT
1 1
So, 1= 
1 e 1 e y
x

1  e 1  e =1  e   1  e 
x y y x

1  e x  e y  e x y=2  e x  e y
1  e x  e y  e x y=2  e x  e y
Ec  E F E v  E F
e x y=1  x  y  0 i.e.  0
kT kT
 Ec  Ev  2 E F  0

Ec  Ev E g
 EF  
2 2
This expression indicates that fermi level lies at midpoint between C.B. & V. B i.e at center of forbidden
gap for intrinsic semiconductor.,
Corollary – above expression suggests that if Eg is energy band gap then
Eg
E c  E F   E F  E v  
2
Probability of occupation of level E ci.e the probability of having valence electrons excited to C.B. will
be given by Fermi function as
1 1
f(Ec )= ( Ec  EF ) / kT

1 e 1 e
Eg / 2 kT

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Effect of temperature on position of Fermi level in extrinsic semiconductor
At very low temperature in n-type semiconductor the Fermi level lies between the conduction band and
the donor energy level. In p-type semiconductor the Fermi level lies between the valence band and the
acceptor energy level.As temperature increases electrons from the valence band moves to the conduction
band leaving behind holes in valence band. As a result the Fermi level shifts towards the centre of the
energy gap i.e the intrinsic Fermi energy level (Efi) but never merges with it.

E
E

o
Conduction Band Conduction Band

Ed
Ef

Ef
Ea

Valence Band ValenceBand

100 200 300 400 500 T0 K 100 200 300 400 500 T0 K

Qualitative variation of Fermi level with increasing temperature in p -type & n- type semiconductors

Effect of doping concentration on position of Fermi level in extrinsic semiconductor

When impurity concentration is low, the impurity level is introduced in the forbidden band gap of
intrinsic semiconductor. When doping concentration is increased, the impurity atom starts interacting
with each other, due to which impurity level starts splitting i.e. formation of ‘impurity band’ starts. With
increasing doping concentration, the impurity band widens & overlaps with conduction band.
When the impurity band width increases, band gap of host semiconductor automatically reduces along
with shifting of Fermi level. In n-type semiconductor, Fermi level shifts upwards & enters in conduction
band. The figure shows this effect at low temperature for n-type semiconductor. In p-type
semiconductors the reverse happens.

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E

Conduction Band Conduction Band Conduction Band

EF
Ec
EF
EF
ED ED
ED

Eg

Valence Band Valence Band Valence Band

Light doping Medium doping Heavy doping

Variation of Fermi Level with carrier concentration in n-type semiconductor

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Drift velocity & Mobility of Carriers : Mobility means ability to move. Denoted by letter ‘’, When
electric field is applied across a solid & a current has to flow, the free electrons in solid move in a
particular direction to cause the current. Electron inside a solid cannot speed up in a particular direction
easily due to surrounding atoms & other electron coming in its path. But its motion is a drifting motion
in a direction opposite to that of applied electric field (i.e. it drifts from lower potential side to higher
potential side). Drift velocity is the net average speed the charge carrier is attaining when it moves under
the applied electric field. It is denoted by ‘v d ’
Mobility ( ) of an electron is defined as the acquired drift velocity ‘ v d ’ per unit electric field
vd 2
 (m /V-sec)
E
CURRENT DENSITY (J) [under action of applied electric field i.e. drift current density ]:-
I
It is the ‘current per unit cross-sectional area’ flowing through solid i.e. J  =E
A
Where ‘I’ is total current passing through solid,‘A’ is its cross-sectional area,  is conductivity of the
material, and E is the applied electric field.
Conductivity ():- Current as a flow of charges can be logically defined as
I  n e vd A With n -concentration of electrons
e -charge on electron
vd -drift velocity of electrons
A -cross-sectional area of conductor
So current ‘I’ means ‘n.e’ charge flowing through area ‘A’ with velocity ‘v d ’
Hence J  n e vd

But we have J   E comparing both expressions, we get,

 E  n e vd
vd
  ne    n e
E
1 1
Thus resistivity of a material   
 n e
Conductivity in semiconductor material :
Here conduction occurs due to both electrons & holes, which have different mobility (  e   h ). Hence

both charge carriers contribute differently to total conductivity.

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   e   h  n e  e  p e  h  en  e  p  h 
Where n- concentration of electrons &p- concentration of holes.
For intrinsic semiconductor, both carrier concentrations are equal i.e. n=p=n (say). Hence
 int risic  n e  e   h 
In extrinsic semiconductor majority carrier concentration is always very much greater than minority
carrier concentration. In –type semiconductor, holes are in majority. So p>> n.
Hence contribution from electrons’ conductivity is negligible.
 extrinsic( p)  p e h
In n-type semiconductor, electrons are in majority, so n >>p. Hence conductivity contribution from
holes is negligible.
 extrinsic(n)  n e e

Current:- In a semiconductor, mainly there are two types of currents that flow across the junctio n: Drift
Current & Diffusion Current.
Drift Current is because of the net motion of carriers in one direction due to some applied electric field.
Here the applied field’s strength & direction decide the current’s value & direction.
Diffusion current is constituted by motion of carriers occurring due to ‘carrier concentration gradient’
present in the lattice at given temperature & time. This current will flow from region with higher
concentration gradient to lower concentration gradient region
Further current is constituted by not only motion of free electrons but also by effective motion of holes.
So the net current in semiconductor is always sum of current due to flow of electrons & current due to
flow of holes.

Hall Effect-(VERY VERY IMPORTANT)

When a piece of conductor (metal or semiconductor) carrying current is placed in a transverse magnetic
field, an electric field gets produced inside the conductor in a direction normal to both current and
magnetic field. This phenomenon is known as Hall Effect.

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As shown in figure, consider a rectangular plate of a p-type semiconductor of width 'w' and thickness 'd'.
When a potential difference is applied along its length 'l', current ' I ' starts flowing through it in x-
direction. The current 'I' is given by
𝐼 = 𝑛ℎ 𝑒𝑣𝑑 𝐴 -----------------(1)
where nh  density of holes,
vd  drift velocity of holes,
and, A  cross-sectional area of the specimen = w x d.
The current density 'J' is given by
𝐼
𝐽 = = 𝑛ℎ 𝑒𝑣𝑑 --------------------(2)Type equation here.
𝐴

The figure shows schematically how can one observe Hall effect. As shown, the charge carriers (holes
in p-type semiconductor) experience force due to applied magnetic field in downward direction. So
holes will accumulate at down face of the semiconductor. This gives rise to potential difference VH
between lower face and upper face. VH is known as Hall voltage. If‘d’ is the thickness of the
semiconductor plate, the Hall electric field developed will be with intensity
VH
EH  ---------------------------------(3)
d
In equilibrium condition, the force due to the this electric field must be balancing the force due to applied
magnetic field.

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 Fm  e vd B  eEH
i.e EH  vd B -------------------------(4)
Then, VH  vd dB [using equations (3) and (4)] -----------(5)
𝐼 𝐽
But, 𝑣𝑑 = = [from equation (1)] ---------(6)
𝑛ℎ 𝑒𝐴 𝑛ℎ 𝑒

Combining equations (5) and (6), the Hall voltage VH can be written as,
𝐼𝐵𝑑 𝐽𝐵𝑑
𝑉𝐻 = = ----------------------(7)
𝑛ℎ 𝑒𝐴 𝑛ℎ 𝑒

As, A = w x d, it can also be written as,

𝐼𝐵 𝐽𝐵𝐴
𝑉𝐻 = = ------------------------(8)
𝑛ℎ 𝑒𝑤 𝑛ℎ 𝑒𝑤

An important parameter of Hall effect is Hall coefficient. Hall coefficient is defined as the Hall electric
field generated per unit current density per unit magnetic induction and written as
EH VH / d V JBd 1
RH    H   [using equation (7)]
BJ BJ BJd en h BJd
1
RH  -------------------(8)
en h

Here the term,

1
RH  is Hall coefficient.
nhe
Thus, Hall coefficient is the reciprocal of the charge density or charge concentration.

1
RH  for a p-type semiconductor,
nhe

1
and RH   for a n-type semiconductor (Here ne is the charge carrier
nee

density).

Hall coefficient RH decreases sharply with increase in temperature in case of a semiconductor, as the

carrier concentration nh or ne increases with temperature. Hall coefficient RH is independent of

temperature in case of conductors as carrier concentration does not vary with temperature. The unit of

Hall coefficient R H is m3 /C.

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 Semiconductors
The net electric field E acting on the charge carriers is the resultant of the applied electric field E x along

x-direction and Hall electric filed EH. The angle made by E with the applied electric field Ex is called the

Hall angle (H). Expression for Hall angle is:

𝐸
𝜃𝐻 = 𝑡𝑎𝑛 −1 ( 𝐸𝐻 ) = 𝑡𝑎𝑛 −1 (𝑅𝐻 𝜎𝐵 ) = 𝑡𝑎𝑛−1 (𝜇𝐻 𝐵 )
𝑥

where, 𝜇𝐻 = 𝜎𝑅𝐻

Applications of Hall Effect

1) To determine type of semiconductor- n type or p type- depending on polarity of VH
1 1
2) To calculate carrier concentration: RH  i.e. n
ne RH  e

3) To determine mobility of carriers  e     RH
ne
VH w
4) To measure magnetic flux density, RH 
B I
VH w
So for material with known Hall coefficient RH, B 
RH I

SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES
The semiconductors are used to build circuit devices like diode, transistor which have successfully &
economically replaced old time bulky devices like vacuum diode valve, vacuum triode valve.
Semiconductor devices are very compact in size & due to mass production their price is also very low
as compared to vacuum valves.
PN – Junction diode:-
A single-semiconductor crystal is doped with p-type impurity on one side & with n-type impurity on
other side. When these two doped regions meet each other in the crystal, pn-junction is formed. The
device formed is called pn-junction diode (due to its working similar to vacuum diode valve).
On p-type side, holes are majority carriers whereas on n-side electrons are majority carriers. When at
the junction, both regions meet these majority carriers diffuse to the other side & recombine with each
other. The recombination process continues, till diffusion of carriers occur across the junction. But this
doesn’t continue indefinitely. The e-h pair recombination at junction develops immobile charges on
both side of junction in form of impurity ions. Trivalent impurity atom gains an extra electron whereas

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 Semiconductors
pentavalent impurity atom looses one electron. Thus on p-side –ve ions (anions) are formed & on n-side
+ve ions (cations) are formed. This collection of immobile prevents further diffusion of charges across
the junction.
The barrier potential doesn’t allow any charge carrier (electron or hole ) to remain around the junction ,
in the region of immobile ions & hence that region is called depletion region (being depleted off the
carriers)
Silicon has barrier potential around 0.7 Volt& Germanium has around 0.3 Volt.
Thus when junction is formed, depletion layer is developed which prevents further crossing of electrons
or holes across the junction.

Junction
P N

Anode Cathode

Depletion region with

Immobile impurity ions

In terms of energy diagram, this situation can be viewed as if free electrons on n-side are having lower
energies as compared to the p-side free electrons’ energies i.e. C.B. on p-side should be at higher energies
than C.B. on n-side

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 Semiconductors
Junction
P N
Anode Cathode
A
A K
Anode
Cathode

eV0
C.B.
C.B.
EF EF

V.B.
V.B.

Initially as it is a single semiconductor crystal, both sides are having their energy bands same level. But
once pn-junction is formed, development of barrier potential lifts the P-side energy bands to higher
energy values. More precisely, the shifting of energy bands occurs in order to match Fermi levels of two
sides (on p-side Fermi level is always below midpoint of forbidden gap, whereas on-side Fermi level is
always above the midpoint).
The energy lift gained by p-side is numerically equal to eVo (in electron –volts) with e-electronic charge
&Vo – the barrier potential.

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 Semiconductors

Forward Biasing:-Forward biasing

increases the electron density in the
conduction diode of the n-side. As a result
the Fermi level EFn moves upwards.
Similarly, due to the increase in the hole
density in the valence band of the p side,
the Fermi level EFp moves downwards. The
Fermi levels EFn and EFp are displaced
relatively by an amount eV equal to the
potential energy due to the applied voltage
V which causes the displacement. The
height of the conduction hill reduces by the
same amount eV and becomes e(Vo -V). Similarly, the height of the valence hill becomes -e(Vo -V).

Reverse Biasing: In this case the electrons from the

conduction band of p side are repelled by the negative
polarity of the applied potential difference, V. So the
electrons diffuse through the junction and reach the
conduction band of n region. As the conduction band of
p-region gets excess population of electrons the Fermi
level EFp moves upwards. Similarly, the valence band of
n side receives excess holes hence the Fermi level EFn
shifts downwards. The relative displacement of the Fermi
levels EFp and EFn is equal to –eV which is the potential
energy due to the potential difference V. Equilibr ium
condition is achieved when the conduction hill of height
-e(Vo +V) and the valence hill of height e(Vo +V) are
formed.

Breakdown mechanism of diode:-In reverse biasing semiconductor diode exhibits negligibly small
reverse saturation current. If the reverse bias voltage is increased gradually a point is reached where the

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 Semiconductors
junction breaks down and starts conducting heavily. This critical value of voltage is called breakdown
voltage. Once the breakdown occurs, even a very small increase in voltage causes large change in the
reverse current. In normal operation, the condition of breakdown is avoided as it permanently damages
the crystal structure of the diode.

Avalanche Breakdown: This type of breakdown occurs when a high reverse voltage is applied to a
lightly doped junction diode. When we increase applied reverse bias, the electron gets accelerated to
very high speeds. This highly energetic electron in its path of motion when strikes any valence electron,
it can knock out that valence electron & these two electrons again get accelerated. Further these
secondary electrons can knock out two more valence electrons & further these tertiary electrons can
knock out 4 more valence electrons. This multiplication goes on rapidly and within a very short time,
free electrons in large number, moving with high speed, are generated inside diode. This is known as
avalanche multiplication. This causes sudden and large increase in reverse current. Such large current
flowing through crystal produces excessive heat in diode and diode burns out.

Zener Breakdown: This breakdown occurred in a heavily doped p-n junction. The depletion region is
very narrow and requires a relatively low reverse biased voltage for breakdown. Electrons can tunnel
through the narrow depletion layer even at a small reverse bias voltage causing a sudden large reverse
current from n to p side. This is called Zener effect. The Zener Breakdown is observed in the Zener
diodes having breakdown voltage less than 5V or between 5 to 8 volts.

**Note : The semiconductor devices LED, Zener diode & Solar cell can be referred from Textbooks of
Technical Prakashan or Applied Physics-I by Dr.Swati Bawra.

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