1) Junction capacitance of a pn junction The capacitance (C) of a reverse-biased abrupt

Si 𝑝+ 𝑛 junction has been measured as a function of the reverse bias voltage 𝑉𝑟 as

listed in Table 1. The parasitic capacitance has been subtracted from the
measurements so that C represents the depletion region capacitance. The pn junction
cross-sectional area is 500 μm × 500 μm. By plotting 1/𝐶 2 versus 𝑉𝑟 , obtain the
built-in potential Vo and the donor concentration Nd in the n-region. What is 𝑁𝑎 ?

Table 1:Capacitance at various values of reverse bias Vr

𝑉𝑟 (V) 1 2 3 5 10 15 20
C(pF) 38.3 30.7 26.4 21.3 15.6 12.9 11.3

2) Characteristics of an npn Si BJT: Consider an idealized silicon npn bipolar transistor

with the properties in Table 2. Assume uniform doping in each region. The emitter and
base widths are between metallurgical junctions (not neutral regions). The cross-
sectional area is 100 μm × 100 μm. The transistor is biased to operate in the normal
active mode. The base–emitter forward bias voltage is 0.6 V and the reverse bias base–
collector voltage is 18 V.
Table 2:Properties of an npn BJT
Emitter Emitter Hole Base Base Electron Collector
width doping lifetime width doping Lifetime doping
in in base
emitter
10 μm 1018 𝑐𝑚−3 10 ns 5 μm 1016 𝑐𝑚−3 200 ns 1016 𝑐𝑚−3
a. Calculate the depletion layer width extending from the collector into the base and
also from the emitter into the base. What is the width of the neutral base region?

3) Consider a Si npn bipolar transistor operating under normal active conditions with the
base– emitter forward biased, and the base–collector reverse biased. The transistor has
narrow emitter and base regions. The emitter neutral region width 𝑊𝐸 is 1 μm, and the
donor doping is 1019 𝑐𝑚−3. The width 𝑊𝐵 of the neutral base region is 1 μm, and the
acceptor doping is 1017 𝑐𝑚−3. Assume that 𝑊𝐸 and 𝑊𝐵 are less than the minority
carrier diffusion lengths in the emitter and the base.
a. Obtain an expression for the emitter injection efficiency taking into account the
emitter bandgap narrowing effect above.
b. Calculate the emitter injection efficiency with and without the emitter bandgap
narrowing.
c. Calculate the common emitter current gain β with and without the emitter bandgap
narrowing effect given a perfect base transport factor (α𝑇 = 1).

4) The JFET pinch-off voltage Consider the symmetric n-channel JFET shown in Figure
2. The width of each depletion region extending into the n-channel is W. The thickness,
or depth, of the channel, defined between the two metallurgical junctions, is 2a.
Assuming an abrupt pn junction and 𝑉𝐷𝑆 = 0, show that when the gate to source voltage
is −𝑉𝑝 the channel is pinched off where
 𝑎2 𝑒𝑁𝑑
𝑉𝑝 = -𝑉0
2 εs

where 𝑉0 is the built-in potential between 𝑝+ 𝑛 junction and 𝑁𝑑 is the donor

concentration of the channel. Calculate the pinch-off voltage of a JFET that has an acceptor
concentration of 1019 𝑐𝑚−3 in the 𝑝+ gate, a channel donor doping of 1016 𝑐𝑚−3, and a
channel thickness (depth) 2a of 2 μm.

Figure 1:A symmetric JFET

5) The JFET Consider an n-channel JFET that has a symmetric 𝑝+ 𝑛 gate–channel structure
as shown in Fig. 2 and Fig 3. Let L be the gate length, Z the gate width, and 2a the
channel thickness. The pinch-off voltage is given by Question 4. The drain saturation
current 𝐼𝐷𝑆𝑆 is the drain current when 𝑉𝐺𝑆 = 0. This occurs when 𝑉𝐷𝑆 = 𝑉𝐷𝑆(𝑠𝑎𝑡) = 𝑉𝑃
(Figure 4), so 𝐼𝐷𝑆𝑆 = 𝑉𝑝 𝐺𝑐ℎ , where 𝐺𝑐ℎ is the conductance of the channel between the
source and the pinched-off point (Figure 5). Taking into account the shape of the
channel at pinch-off, if 𝐺𝑐ℎ is about one-third of the conductance of the free or
1 (μ𝑒 𝑒𝑁𝑑 )(2𝑎)𝑍
unmodulated (rectangular) channel, show that 𝐼𝐷𝑆𝑆 = 𝑉𝑝 [3] [ ]
𝐿
A particular n-channel JFETwith a symmetric 𝑝+ n gate–channel structure has a pinch-
off voltage of 3.9 V and an 𝐼𝐷𝑆𝑆 of 5.5 mA. If the gate and channel dopant
concentrations are 𝑁𝐴 = 1019 𝑐𝑚−3 and 𝑁𝐷 = 1015 𝑐𝑚−3 , respectively, find the
channel thickness 2a and Z∕L. If L = 10 μm, what is Z?
Figure 2: The basic structure of the junction field effect transistor (JFET) with an n-channel. The two p + regions are
electrically connected and form the gate

Figure 3:Typical Id verses Vds characteristics of JFET for various Vgs

Figure 4:The pinched off channel and conduction for VDS>VP(5V)

6) The enhancement NMOSFET amplifier Consider an n-channel Si enhancement NMOS
transistor that has a gate width (Z) of 150 μm, channel length (L) of 10 μm, and oxide
thickness (tox) of 500 Å. The channel has μe = 700 𝑐𝑚2 𝑉 −1 𝑠 −1 and the threshold
voltage (Vth) is 2 V (ε𝑟 = 3.9 for SiO2 ).
Calculate the drain current when 𝑉𝐺𝑆 = 5 V and 𝑉𝐷𝑆 = 5 V and assuming λ = 0.01.
 Figure 5:NMOSFET amplifier

7) Ultimate limits to device performance:

a. Consider the speed of operation of an n-channel FET-type device. The time
required for an electron to transit from the source to the drain is τ𝑡 = L∕v𝑑 , where L is
the channel length and v𝑑 is the drift velocity. This transit time can be shortened by
shortening L and increasing v𝑑 . As the field increase, the drift velocity eventually
saturates at about v𝑑𝑠𝑎𝑡 = 105 m/s, when the field in the channel is equal to 𝐸𝑐 ≈
106 V/m. A short τ𝑡 requires a field that is at least 𝐸𝑐 .
a. What is the change in the PE of an electron when it traverses the channel length L
from source to drain if the voltage difference is 𝑉𝐷𝑆 ?
b. This energy must be greater than the energy due to thermal fluctuations, which is
of the order of kT. Otherwise, electrons would be brought in and out of the drain due
to thermal fluctuations. Given the minimum field and 𝑉𝐷𝑆 , what is the minimum
channel length and hence the minimum transit time?
c. Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle relates the energy and the time duration in which
that energy is possessed through a relationship of the form (Chapter 3) ΔE Δt > ħ.
Given that during the transit of the electron from the source to the drain its energy
changes by e𝑉𝐷𝑆 , what is the shortest transit time τ satisfying Heisenberg’s
uncertainty principle? How does it compare with your calculation in part (a)?
d. How does electron tunneling limit the thickness of the gate oxide and the channel
length in a MOSFET? What would be typical distances for tunneling to be effective?

8) Energy distribution of electrons in the conduction band of a semiconductor and LED

emission spectrum:
a.Consider the energy distribution of electrons 𝑛𝐸 (E) in the conduction band (CB).
1
Assuming that the density of states 𝑔𝑐𝑏 (E) ∝ (𝐸 − 𝐸𝐶 )2 and using Boltzmann statistics
f(E) ≈ exp[−(𝐸 − 𝐸𝐶 )∕kT], show that the energy distribution of the electrons in the CB
can be written as 𝑛𝑥 (x)=C𝑥 0.5 exp(−𝑥)
 where x = (𝐸 − 𝐸𝐶 )∕kT is electron energy in terms of kT measured from 𝐸𝐶 , and
C is a temperaturedependent constant (independent of E).
b.Setting arbitrarily C = 1, plot 𝑛𝑥 versus x. Where is the maximum, and what is
full width at half maximum (FWHM), i.e., between half maximum points?
c. Show that the average electron energy in the CB is 3/2 kT, by using the definition
∞
∫ 𝑥 𝑛𝑥 𝑑𝑥
of the average, 𝑥𝑎𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 = 0∞ 𝑛
∫0 𝑥 𝑑𝑥

where the integration is from x = 0 (Ec ) to say x = 10 (far away from Ec where
𝑛𝑥 → 0). You need to use numerical integration.
d. Show that the maximum in the energy distribution is at x = 1/ 2 or at 𝐸𝑚𝑎𝑥 = 1/ 2 kT
above Ec .
e. Consider the recombination of electrons and holes in GaAs. The recombination
involves the emission of a photon. Given that both electron and hole concentrations
have energy distributions in the conduction and valence bands, respectively, sketch
schematically the expected light intensity emitted from electron and hole
recombinations against the photon energy. What is your conclusion?
9) LED output wavelength variations Show that the change in the emitted wavelength λ
with temperature T from an LED is approximately given by
dλ ℎ𝑐 𝑑𝐸𝑔
= − 2( )
𝑑𝑇 𝐸𝑔 𝑑𝑇
where 𝐸𝑔 is the bandgap. Consider a GaAs LED. The bandgap of GaAs at 300 K is 1.42
𝑑𝐸𝑔
eV which changes (decreases) with temperature as = −4.5 × 10−4 eV/K. What is
𝑑𝑇
the change in the emitted wavelength if the temperature change is 10 °C?

10) Linewidth of direct recombination LEDs Experiments carried out on various direct
bandgap semiconductor LEDs give the output spectral linewidth (between half-
intensity points) listed in Table 3.Since the wavelength λ= ℎ𝑐⁄𝐸 where 𝐸𝑝ℎ = ℎ𝑣 is
𝑝ℎ
the photon energy we know that the spread in the wavelength is related to a spread in
the photon energy
ℎ𝑐
𝚫 λ =𝐸2 𝚫 𝐸𝑝ℎ
𝑝ℎ
Suppose that we write 𝐸𝑝ℎ = ℎ𝑐/ λ and 𝚫 𝐸𝑝ℎ = 𝚫(hv)=nkT where n is a numerical
𝑛𝑘𝑇
constant.show that 𝚫 λ = ℎ𝑣 λ2 and by appropriately plotting the data in table3.

Table 3:Linewidth Δλ1∕2 between half-points in the output spectrum (intensity vs. wavelength) of GaAs and AlGaAs LEDs

Peak wavelength of emission λ nm

650 810 820 890 950 1150 1270 1500

𝚫λ1/ 2 nm 22 36 40 50 55 90 110 150
Material AlGaAs AlGaAs AlGaAs GaAs GaAs InGaAsP InGaAsP InGaAsP
direct 𝐸𝑔

11) AlGaAs LED emitter An AlGaAs LED emitter for use in a local optical fiber network
has the output spectrum shown in Figure 6. It is designed for peak emission at 820 nm
at 25 °C.
a. What is the linewidth 𝚫 λ between half power points at tempereatures -40 °C,25
°C,85 °C.Given these three temperatures, plot 𝚫 λ and T in K and find empirical
relationship between 𝚫 λ and T. How does this compare 𝚫 (hv)=2.5Kt to 3 k T.
b. Why does the peak emission wavelength increase with temperature?
c. What is the bandgap of AlGaAs in this LED?
d. The bandgap 𝐸𝑔 of the ternary alloys 𝐴𝑙𝑥 𝐺𝑎1−𝑥 As follows the empirical expression
𝐸𝑔 (eV) = 1.424 + 1.266𝑥 + 0.266𝑥 2 What is the composition of the AlGaAs in this
LED?

Figure 6:The output spectrum from an AlGaAs LED.values are normalized to peak emission at 25 °C

12) Solar cell driving a load

a. A Si solar cell of area 2.5 cm × 2.5 cm is connected to drive a load R as in Figure 8.
It has the I–V characteristics in Figure 9. Suppose that the load is 2 Ω and it is used
under a light intensity of 800 W/ 𝑚2 . What are the current and voltage in the curcuit?
What is the power delivered to the load? What is the efficiency of the solar cell in this
circuit?
b. What should the load be to obtain maximum power transfer from the solar cell to
the load at 800 W/ 𝑚2 illumination? What is this load at 400 W/ 𝑚2 ?
c. Consider using a number of such solar cells to drive a calculator that needs a
minimum of 3 V and draws 50 mA at 3–4 V. It is to be used at a light intensity of
about 400 W/ 𝑚2 . How many solar cells would you need and how would you connect
them?
Figure 7:(a) When a solar cell drives a load R, R has the same voltage as the solar cell but the current through it is in the
opposite direction to the convention that current flows from high to low potential. (b) The current I′ and voltage V′ in the
circuit of (a) can be found from a load line construction. Point P is the operating point (I′, V′). The load line is for R = 3 Ω.

Figure 8: Typical I–V characteristics of a Si solar cell. The short circuit

current is Iph and the open circuit voltage is Voc. The I–V curves for
positive current require an external bias voltage. Photovoltaic
operation is always in the negative current region.

13) Open circuit voltage A solar cell under an illumination of 1000 W 𝑚−2 has a short
circuit current 𝐼𝑠𝑐 of 50 mA and an open circuit output voltage 𝑉𝑜𝑐 of 0.65 V. What are
the short circuit current and open circuit voltages when the light intensity is halved?
Assume η = 1.
14) Maximum power from a solar cell Suppose that the power delivered by a solar cell, 𝑃=
𝐼𝑉, is maximum when 𝐼 = 𝐼𝑚 and 𝑉 = 𝑉𝑚 . Suppose that we define normalized voltage
and current for maximum power as
𝑉 𝐼
𝑣 = η𝑉𝑚 and 𝑖 = 𝐼 𝑚
𝑇 𝑆𝐶
where η is the ideality factor, 𝑉𝑇 = kT∕e is called the thermal voltage (0.026 V at 300
K), and 𝐼𝑆𝐶 = −𝐼𝑝ℎ . Suppose that 𝑣𝑜𝑐 = 𝑉∕(η𝑉𝑇 ) is the normalized open circuit voltage.
Under illumination with the solar cell delivering power with 𝑉 > η𝑉𝑇 .
 𝑃 = 𝐼𝑉 = [−𝐼𝑝ℎ + 𝐼𝑂 exp(𝑉⁄η𝑉 )]V
𝑇
One can differentiate 𝑃 = 𝐼𝑉 with respect to V, set it to zero for maximum power, and
find expressions for 𝐼𝑚 and 𝑉𝑚 for maximum power. One can then use the open circuit
condition (I = 0) to relate 𝑉𝑂𝐶 to 𝐼𝑂 . Show that maximum power occurs when
𝑣 = 𝑣𝑜𝑐 -ln(𝑣 + 1) and 𝑖 = 1 − exp(−(𝑣𝑜𝑐 − 𝑣))
Consider a solar cell with η = 1.5, 𝑉𝑜𝑐 = 0.60 V, and 𝐼𝑝ℎ = 35 mA, with an area of 1 𝑐𝑚2
Find i and v, and hence the current 𝐼𝑚 and voltage 𝑉𝑚 for maximum power. (Note: Solve
the first equation numerically or graphically to find 𝑣 ≈ 12.76.) What is the fill factor?
15) Series resistance The series resistance causes a voltage drop when a current is drawn
from a solar cell. By convention, the positive current is taken to flow into the device.
(If calculations yield a negative value, it means that, physically, the current is flowing
out, which is the actual case under illumination.) If 𝑉 is the actual voltage across the
solar cell output (accessed by the user), then the voltage across the diode is 𝑉 − 𝐼𝑅𝑠 .
The solar cell equation becomes
𝑒(𝑉 − 𝐼𝑅𝑠 )
𝐼 = −𝐼𝑝ℎ + 𝐼𝑑 = −𝐼𝑝ℎ + 𝐼𝑜 exp ( )
η 𝑘𝑇
Plot 𝐼 𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑒𝑠 𝑉 for Si solar cell has η = 1.5 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐼𝑜 = 3 × 10−6mA. For an illumination
such that 𝐼𝑝ℎ = 10 𝑚𝐴 for 𝑅𝑠 = 0,20 𝑎𝑛𝑑 50 Ω. what is your conclusion?

16) Shunt resistance Consider the shunt resistance 𝑅𝑝 of a solar cell. Whenever there is a
voltage 𝑉 at the terminals of the solar cell, the shunt resistance draws a current 𝑉/𝑅𝑝 .
Thus, the total current as seen at the terminals (and flowing in by convention) is
𝑒(𝑉 )
𝐼 = −𝐼𝑝ℎ + 𝐼𝑑 +( 𝑉/𝑅𝑝 ) = −𝐼𝑝ℎ + 𝐼𝑜 exp ( η 𝑘𝑇 ) + ( 𝑉/𝑅𝑝 )=0
Plot 𝐼 verses 𝑉 for polycrystalline Si solar cell that has η = 1.5and 𝐼𝑜 = 3 x10−6mA,for
an illumination such that 𝐼𝑝ℎ = 10mA.Use 𝑅𝑝 = ∞, 1000, 100 Ω. What is your
conclusion?
17) Series connected solar cells Consider two identical solar cells connected in series. There
are two Rs in series and two pn junctions in series. If I is the total current through the
devices, then the voltage across one pn junction is 𝑉𝑑 = 0.5[𝑉 − 𝐼(2𝑅𝑠 )] so that the
current I flowing into the combined solar cells is

(𝑉 − 𝐼(2𝑅𝑠 )) 𝑘𝑇
𝐼 = −𝐼𝑝ℎ + 𝐼𝑜 exp ( ) 𝑉𝑑 > η( 𝑒 )
2η 𝑉𝑇
Where 𝑉𝑇 is the thermal voltage. Rearranging, for two cells in series
𝐼 + 𝐼𝑝ℎ
𝑉 = 2η 𝑉𝑇 ln ( ) + 2𝑅𝑠 𝐼
𝐼𝑂
whereas for one cell,
𝐼 + 𝐼𝑝ℎ
𝑉 = η 𝑉𝑇 ln ( ) + 𝑅𝑠 𝐼
𝐼𝑂
Suppose that the cells have the properties 𝐼𝑂 =25x10−6 mA, η = 1.5, Rs = 20 Ω, and
both are subjected to the same illumination so that 𝐼𝑝ℎ = 10 mA. Plot the individual I–
V characteristics and the I–V characteristics of the two cells in series. Find the
maximum power that can be delivered by one cell and two cells in series. Find the
corresponding voltage and current at the maximum power point.
18) A solar cell used in Eskimo Point The intensity of light arriving at a point on Earth,
where the solar latitude is α can be approximated by the Meinel and Meinel equation:
0.678
𝐼 = 1.353(0.7)𝑐𝑜𝑠𝑒𝑐𝛼 kW/𝑚−2
where cosec α = 1∕(sin α). The solar latitude α is the angle between the sun’s rays and
the horizon. Around September 23 and March 22, the sun’s rays arrive parallel to the
plane of the equator. What is the maximum power available for a photovoltaic device
panel of area 1 𝑚2 if its efficiency of conversion is 10 percent?
A manufacturer’s characterization tests on a particular Si pn junction solar cell at 27 °C
specifies an open circuit output voltage of 0.45 V and a short circuit current of 400 mA
when illuminated directly with a light of intensity 1 kW 𝑚−2. The fill factor for the
solar cell is 0.73. This solar cell is to be used in a portable equipment application near
Eskimo Point (Canada) at a geographical latitude (ϕ) of 63°. Calculate the open circuit
output voltage and the maximum available power when the solar cell is used at noon
on September 23 when the temperature is around −10 °C. What is the maximum current
this solar cell can supply to an electronic equipment? What is your conclusion? (Note:
α + ϕ = π∕2