Problems and Solutions to

Physics of Semiconductor Devices

E.V. Lavrov

Contents
1 Problems 2
1.1 Properties of Semiconductors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
1.2 Schottky Diode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
1.3 Ideal p-n Junction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.4 Nonideal p-n Junction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.5 Solar Cells . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.6 Bipolar Transistor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.7 MIS/MOS Capacitor and MOSFET . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
1.8 Low-dimensional Structures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
1.9 LEDs and Lasers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
2 Literature 9
3 Tables 10
4 Answers and Solutions 12
4.1 Properties of Semiconductors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
4.2 Schottky Diode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
4.3 Ideal p-n Junction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
4.4 Nonideal p-n Junction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
4.5 Solar Cells . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
4.6 Bipolar Transistor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
4.7 MIS/MOS Capacitor and MOSFET . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
4.8 Low-dimensional Structures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
4.9 LEDs and Lasers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

IAP/HLP, Tel: 33637, Physikgebaude C305, e-mail: edward.lavrov@physik.tu-dresden.de

1
1 Problems
1.1 Properties of Semiconductors
1. Which of the following semiconductors are transparent, partially transparent, non-
transparent for visible light ( = 0.40.7 m): Si, GaAs, GaP, and GaN?
2. Band gap of Si depends on the temperature as
E
g
= 1.17 eV 4.73 10
4
T
2
T + 636
.
Find a concentration of electrons in the conduction band of intrinsic (undoped) Si at
T = 77 K if at 300 K n
i
= 1.05 10
10
cm
3
.
3. Electron mobility in Si is 1400 cm
2
V
1
s
1
. Calculate the mean free time in scat-
tering (Relaxationszeit) of electrons. Eective mass is m

e
/m
0
= 0.33.
4. Calculate thermal velocity of electrons and holes in GaAs at room temperature.
Eective masses are m

e
/m
0
= 0.063 and m

h
/m
0
= 0.53.
5. Hole mobility in Ge at room temperature is 1900 cm
2
V
1
s
1
. Find the diusion
coecient.
6. Calculate dielectric relaxation time in p-type Ge at room temperature. Assume that
all acceptors are ionized. N
a
= 10
15
cm
3
, = 16,
p
= 1900 cm
2
V
1
s
1
.
7. Calculate dielectric relaxation time in intrinsic Si at 300 K. = 12,
n
= 1400
cm
2
V
1
s
1
,
n
= 3.1
p
.
8. Find Debye length in p-type Ge at 300 K if N
a
= 10
14
cm
3
. Assume that all
acceptors are ionized, = 16.
9. Calculate the ambipolar diusion coecient of intrinsic (undoped) Ge at 300 K.

n
/
p
= 2.1,
n
= 3900 cm
2
V
1
s
1
.
10. Holes are injected into n-type Ge so that at the sample surface p
0
= 10
14
cm
3
.
Calculate p at the distance of 4 mm from the surface if
p
= 10
3
s and D
p
= 49 cm
2
/s.
1.2 Schottky Diode
1. Find a hight of the potential barrier for a Au-n-Ge Schottky contact at room tem-
perature (T = 293 K) if = 1 cm,
Au
= 5.1 eV, and
Ge
= 4.0 eV. Electron
mobility in Ge is 3900 cm
2
V
1
s
1
, density of the states in the conduction band is
N
c
= 1.98 10
15
T
3/2
cm
3
.
2
2. Calculate the depletion width for a Pt-n-Si Schottky diode (T = 300 K) at V = 0,
+0.4, and 2 V. Concentration of doping impurity in Si equals 4 10
16
cm
3
. Work
function of Pt is 5.65 eV, electron anity of Si is 4.05 eV,
Si
= 11.9, density of the
states in the conduction band is N
c
= 6.2 10
15
T
3/2
cm
3
.
3. For a Schottky contact Au-GaAs calculate the maximum electric eld within the
space charge region at V = 0, +0.3, and 100 V. N
d
= 10
16
cm
3
,
GaAs
= 4.07 eV,

GaAs
= 12.9. Work function of Au is 5.1 eV, T = 300 K, density of the states in the
conduction band is N
c
= 8.63 10
13
T
3/2
cm
3
.
4. What is the electric eld E for a Schottky diode Au-n-Si at V = 5 V at the distance
of 1.2 m from the interface at room temperature if = 10 cm,
n
= 1400 cm
2
V
1
s
1
,
N
c
= 6.2 10
15
T
3/2
cm
3
.
5. Find current densities j at room temperature for a Schottky diode Pt-n-GaAs at
V = +0.5 and 5 V if = 50 cm.
n
= 8800 cm
2
V
1
s
1
, m
n
/m
0
= 0.063, work
function of Pt is 5.65 eV,
GaAs
= 4.07 eV, N
c
= 8.63 10
13
T
3/2
cm
3
. Apply
thermionic-emission theory.
6. The capacitance of a Au-n-GaAs Schottky diode is given by the relation 1/C
2
=
1.57 10
15
2.12 10
15
V, where C is expressed in F and V is in Volts. Taking the
diode area to be 0.1 cm
2
, calculate the barrier height and the dopant concentration.
7. From comparison of the de Broglie wavelength of electron with the depletion width
of a contact metal-n-Si, estimate the electron concentration at which Schottky diode
loses its rectifying characteristics. For the estimate, assume that the height of the
potential barrier a the contact is half the value of the band gap at room temperature
(E
g
= 1.12 eV), m

e
= m
0
, T = 300 K, and
Si
= 11.9.
1.3 Ideal p-n Junction
1. Find the built-in potential for a p-n Si junction at room temperature if the bulk
resistivity of Si is 1 cm. Electron mobility in Si at RT is 1400 cm
2
V
1
s
1
;
n
/
p
= 3.1;
n
i
= 1.05 10
10
cm
3
.
2. For the p-n Si junction from the previous problem calculate the width of the space
charge region for the applied voltages V = 10, 0, and +0.3 V.
Si
= 11.9
3. For the parameters given in the previous problem nd the maximum electric eld
within the space charge region. Compare these values with the electric eld within a
shallow donor: E e/
Si
a
2
B
, where a
B
is the Bohr radius of a shallow donor, a
B
=

Si

2
/m

e
e
2
and m

e
/m
0
= 0.33.
4. Calculate the capacity of the p-n junction from the problem 2 if the area of the
junction is 0.1 cm
2
.
3
5. n-Si of a p-n Si junction has a resistivity of 1 cm. What should be the resistivity
of p-Si so that 99 % of the total width of the space charge region would be located in
n-Si (p
+
-n junction)? For the parameters needed see problem 1.
6. At room temperature under the forward bias of 0.15 V the current through a p-n
junction is 1.66 mA. What will be the current through the junction under reverse bias?
7. For a p
+
-n Si junction the reverse current at room temperature is 0.9 nA/cm
2
.
Calculate the minority-carrier lifetime if N
d
= 10
15
cm
3
, n
i
= 1.05 10
10
cm
3
, and

p
= 450 cm
2
V
1
s
1
.
8. How does the reverse current of a Si p-n junction change if the temperature raises
from 20 to 50

C? The same for a Ge p-n junction. Band gaps of Si and Ge are 1.12 and
0.66 eV, respectively.
9. Estimate temperatures at which p-n junctions made of Ge, Si, and GaN lose their
rectifying characteristics. In all cases N
a
= N
d
= 10
15
cm
3
. Assume that E
g
are
independent of the temperature and are 0.66, 1.12, and 3.44 eV for Ge, Si, and GaN,
respectively. Intrinsic carrier concentrations at room temperature are n
Ge
i
= 2 10
13
,
n
Si
i
= 10
10
, and n
GaN
i
= 10
9
cm
3
.
1.4 Nonideal p-n Junction
1. n-Si with N
d
= 7 10
15
cm
3
additionally contains N
t
= 10
15
cm
3
generation-
recombination centers located at the intrinsic Fermi level with
n
=
p
= 10
15
cm
2
and
v
t
= 10
7
cm/s. Calculate generation rate, if
1. n and p are low as compared to the equilibrium value
2. only p is below the equilibrium value.
For Si, n
i
= 1.05 10
10
cm
3
.
2. Illumination of n-type Si (N
d
= 10
16
cm
3
) generates 10
21
cm
3
/s electron-hole
pairs. Si has N
t
= 10
15
cm
3
generation-recombination centers with
n
=
p
=
10
16
cm
2
. Calculate equilibrium concentration of electrons and holes if E
t
= E
i
, where
E
i
is the Fermi level of intrinsic Si, and v
t
= 10
7
cm/s.
3. A p
+
-n Si junction (n
i
= 1.0510
10
cm
3
, = 11.9) is formed in an n-type substrate
with N
d
= 10
15
cm
3
. If the junction contains 10
15
cm
3
generation-recombination
centers located at the intrinsic Fermi level with
n
=
p
= 10
15
cm
2
(v
t
= 10
7
cm/s),
calculate generation current density at a reverse bias of 10 V.
4. For a p-n Si junction with the p-side doped to 10
17
cm
3
, the n-side doped to
10
19
cm
3
(n
+
-p junction), and a reverse bias of 2 V, calculate the generation current
density at room temperature, assuming that the eective lifetime is 10
5
s.
4
5. For a p-n GaAs junction at room temperature nd the donor/acceptor concentration
at which de Broglie wavelength ( = 2/

2m

E) of electrons/holes is equal to the

width of the space charge region. Assume E = 3kT/2, m

e
/m
0
= 0.063, m

h
/m
0
= 0.53,
and
GaAs
= 12.9, n
GaAs
i
= 2.1 10
6
cm
3
, and N
a
= N
d
.
6. When a silicon p
+
-n junction is reverse-biased to 30 V, the depletion-layer ca-
pacitance is 1.75 nF/cm
2
. If the maximum electric eld at avalanche breakdown is
3 10
5
V/cm, nd the breakdown voltage.
Si
= 11.9.
7. For a p
+
-n Si junction with N
d
= 10
16
cm
3
, the breakdown voltage is 32 V.
Calculate the maximum electric eld at the breakdown.
Si
= 11.9.
1.5 Solar Cells
1. The spectrum of Sun could be reasonably well modelled by that of the black body
with T 5800 K. In this case, the number of photons and power per unit energy could
be approximated as
dN

= g()d

2
d
e
/kT
1
, dE

= g()d

3
d
e
/kT
1
.
Find the maximum ux density and power per photon energy coming to Earth from Sun
(nd maxima of g() and g()). What are the corresponding maxima in wavelength?
Hint: use the relation = 2c/ in g().
2. Consider a Si p-n junction solar sell of area 2 cm
2
. If the dopings of the solar cell
are N
a
= 1.7 10
16
cm
3
and N
d
= 5 10
19
cm
3
, and given
n
= 10 s,
p
= 0.5 s,
D
n
= 9.3 cm
2
/s, D
p
= 2.5 cm
2
/s, and I
L
= 95 mA, (i) calculate the open-circuit voltage,
and (ii) determine the maximum output power of the solar cell at room temperature.
3. At room temperature, an ideal solar cell has a short-circuit current of 3 A and an
open-circuit voltage of 0.6 V. Calculate and sketch its power output as a function of
operation voltage and nd its ll factor from this power output.
4. What happens to the short-circuit current, the open-circuit voltage, and the max-
imum output power of the solar cell from the previous problem if it is employed as a
power supply for the Mars Pathnder mission? Mean distance from the Mars to the
Sun is approximately a factor of 1.5 longer than that of between the Earth and the Sun.
Assume that in both cases the solar cell operates at room temperature.
5. At room temperature, an ideal solar cell has a short-circuit current of 2 A and an
open-circuit voltage of 0.5 V. How does the open-circuit voltage change if the short-
circuit current drops by a factor of 2, 5, or 10?
6. At 300 K, an ideal Si p-n junction solar cell has a short-circuit current of 2 A and
an open-circuit voltage of 0.5 V. How does the maximum output power of the solar cell
change if the temperature raises to 400 K?
5
1.6 Bipolar Transistor
1. A silicon p
+
-n-p transistor has impurity concentrations of 510
18
, 10
16
, and 10
15
cm
3
in the emitter, base, and collector, respectively. If the metallurgical base width is 1.0 m,
V
EB
= 0.5 V, and V
CB
= 5 V (reverse), calculate (i) the neutral base width, and (ii)
the minority carrier concentration at the emitter-base junction. Transistor operates at
room temperature.
2. For the transistor from the previous problem calculate the emitter injection e-
ciency, , assuming that D
E
= D
B
and the neutral base and emitter widths are equal
(x
E
= x
B
).
3. For the same transistor calculate the base transport factor (
T
) assuming the dif-
fusion length of the minority carriers in the base of 3.5 m.
4. Diusion length of the minority carriers in the base region is 4 m. Calculate he
base width at which the base transport factor is 0.99, 0.9, and 0.5.
5. A Si n
+
-p-n transistor has dopings of 10
19
, 310
16
, and 510
15
cm
3
in the emitter,
base, and collector, respectively. Find the upper limit of the base-collector voltage at
which the neutral base width becomes zero (punch-through). Assume the base width
(between metallurgical junctions) is 0.5 m.
6. Empirically the band gap reduction E
g
in Si can be expressed as
E
g
= 18.7 ln
_
N
7 10
17
_
meV.
Compare the emitter injection eciency at room temperature for emitter dopings of 10
19
and 10
20
cm
3
. The base doping in both cases is 10
18
cm
3
. Assume that x
E
= x
B
and
D
E
= D
B
.
7. What prole of the base doping results in a uniform electric eld in the base?
8. For a nonuniform doping prole of the base resulting in a mean electric eld of
10
4
V/cm compare the drift and diusion transport time at room temperature of the
minority carriers through the base (x
B
= 0.5 m).
9. For a Si transistor with D
B
= 50 cm
2
/s and L
B
= 3.5 m in the base and
x
B
= 0.5 m estimate the cut-o frequencies in common-emitter and common-base
congurations.
6
1.7 MIS/MOS Capacitor and MOSFET
1. For an ideal Si-SiO
2
MOS capacitor with d = 10 nm, N
a
= 5 10
17
cm
3
, nd the
applied voltage at the SiO
2
-Si interface required (a) to make the silicon surface intrinsic,
and (b) to bring about a strong inversion. Dielectric permittivities of Si and SiO
2
are
11.9 and 3.9, respectively. T = 296 K.
2. A voltage of 1 V is applied to the MOS capacitor from the previous problem. How
this voltage is distributed between insulator and semiconductor?
3. An ideal Si-SiO
2
MOSFET has d = 15 nm and N
a
= 10
16
cm
3
. What is the
at-band capacitance of this system? S = 1 mm
2
, and T = 296 K.
4. For the MOSFET from the previous problem nd the turn-on voltage (V
T
) and the
minimum capacitance under high-frequency regime.
5. For a metal-SiO
2
-Si capacitor with N
a
= 10
16
cm
3
and d = 8 nm, calculate the
minimum capacitance on the C-V curve under high-frequency condition. S = 1 mm
2
,
and T = 296 K.
6. Find a number of electrons per unit area in the inversion region for an ideal Si-SiO
2
MOS capacitor with N
a
= 10
16
cm
3
, d = 10 nm, V = 1.5 V, T = 296 K.
7. Turn-on voltage of the MOS from the previous problem was found to be shifted by
0.5 V from the ideal value. Assuming that the shift is due entirely to the xed oxide
charges at the SiO
2
-Si interface, nd the number of xed oxide charges.
1.8 Low-dimensional Structures
1. Electric eld at the surface of a semiconductor in the inversion layer is E = 5
10
4
V/cm. Using the variational principle with the probe function z exp(z/a)
estimate the lowest energy of an electron in the triangle potential well (V = 0 for z 0
and V = eEz for z > 0) formed by the electric eld.
1
Eective mass of the electron is
m

= 0.063 m.
2. A potential well has a hight of 0.05 eV. What should be the width of the well so
that the binding energy of the electron (m

= 0.063 m
e
) would be equal to 0.025 eV.
3. A potential well of width 10 nm is formed by GaAs and Al
x
Ga
1x
As. Band gap of
GaAs is 1.42 eV, the band gap of Al
x
Ga
1x
As is 1.42 + 1.247 x (x 0.45). The band
gap discontinuity is E
c
= 0.78 x. What should be x so that the binding energy of an
electron (m

= 0.063 m
e
) in the well is 5 kT at room temperature?
1
The ground state energy is E = min
|
b
H|
|
7
4. Two barriers with the hight of 0.1 eV and width of 20 nm are separated by the
distance of 5 nm. Calculate at which bias voltage a resonance tunneling diode made
of this structure has the rst local maximum on the I/V curve. Eective mass of the
electron is m

= 0.063 m.
5. Estimate the ground state lifetime of an electron trapped between the two barriers
from the previous problem.
1.9 LEDs and Lasers
1. The spectrum for spontaneous emission is proportional to
(E E
g
)
1/2
exp(E/kT) .
Find (a) the photon energy at the maximum of the spectrum and (b) the full width at
half maximum (FWHM) of the emission spectrum.
2. Find the FWHM of the spontaneous emission in wavelength. If the maximum
intensity occurs at 0.555 m, what is the FWHM at room temperature?
3. Assume that the radiative lifetime
r
is given by
r
= 10
9
/N s, where N is the
semiconductor doping in cm
3
and the nonradiative lifetime
nr
is equal to 10
7
s. Find
the cuto frequency of an LED having a doping of 10
19
cm
3
.
4. For an InGaAsP laser operating at a wavelength of 1.3 m, calculate the mode
spacing in nanometer for a cavity of 300 m, assuming that the group refractive index
is 3.4.
5. Assuming that the refractive index depends on the wavelength as n = n
0
+dn/d(

0
), nd the separation between the allowed modes for a GaAs laser at
0
= 0.89 m,
L = 300 m, n
0
= 3.58, dn/d = 2.5 m
1
.
6. An InGaAsP Fabry-Perot laser operating at a wavelength of 1.3 m has a cavity
length of 300 m. The refractive index of InGaAsP is 3.9. If one of the laser facets
is coated to produce 90 % reectivity, what should be the minimum gain for lasing,
assuming the absorption coecient of the material to be 10 cm
1
?
8
2 Literature
1. P.Y. Yu & M. Cardona, Fundamentals of Semiconductors, Springer.
2. O. Madelung. Grundlagen der Halbleiterphysik, Springer.
3. S.M. Sze & K.K. Ng, Physics of Semiconductor Devices, Wiley-Interscience.
4. R. Paul, Transistoren, VEB Verlag Technik, Berlin.
5. M. Levinstein, S. Rumyantsev, and M. Shur, Handbook series on Semiconductor
Parameters, World Scientic.
6. O. Madelung, Semiconductors: Data Handbook, Springer.
7. M. Shur, GaAs. Devices and Circuits, Plenum Press.
8. Useful parameters of some technologically important semiconductors:
http://www.ee.byu.edu/cleanroom/semiconductor_properties.phtml
9. H. Schaumburg, Halbleiter, B.G. Teubner, Stuttgart.
10. S.M. Sze, VLSI Technology, Mc Graw Hill.
11. A. Schachetzki, Halbleiter Elektronik, Teubner Studienb ucher.
12. S.M. Sze, High Speed Semiconductor Devices, Wiley.
13. K. Hess, Advanced Theory of Semiconductor Devices, Prentice Hall International
Editions.
14. C.T. Sah, Fundamentals of Solid-State Electronics, World Scientic.
15. K. Leaver, Microelectronic Devices, Imperial College Press.
16. D.J. Roulson, An Introduction to the Physics Semiconductor Devices, Oxford Uni-
versity Press.
9
3 Tables
Table 1: SI vs. CGS units.
Quantity SI CGS
Force 1 Newton (N) 1 dyne (dyn) = 10
5
N
Work, energy 1 Joule (J) 1 erg = 10
7
J
Dynamic viscosity 1 Pas 1 Poise (P) = 0.1 Pas
Kinematic viscosity 1 m
2
/s 1 Stokes (St) = 10
4
m
2
/s
Pressure 1 Pascal (Pa) 1 barye (ba) = 0.1 Pa
Charge 1 Coulomb (C) 1 esu = 10/c 3.3356 10
10
C
Current 1 Amperes (A) 1 esu/s = 10/c 3.3356 10
10
A
Voltage 1 Volt (V) 1 Statvolt = 10
8
c 300 V
Resistance 1 Ohm () 1 s/cm = 10
9
c
2
9 10
11

Capacitance 1 Farad (F) 1 cm = 10

9
/c
2
10
11
/9 F
Magnetic eld strength 1 A/m 1 Oersted (Oe) = 10
3
/(4) 79.6 A/m
Magnetic ux density 1 Tesla (T) 1 Gauss (G) = 10
4
T
Magnetic ux 1 Weber (Wb) 1 Maxwell (Mx) = 10
8
Wb
Table 2: Basic parameters of some semiconductors at room temperature.
Eective mass,
a
m
0
Mobility, cm
2
/Vsec
Semiconductor E
g
, eV Band m

e
m

h

e

h

Ge 0.66 I 0.57 0.37 3900 1900 16.0
Si 1.12 I 1.08 0.59 1400 450 11.9
GaAs 1.42 D 0.063 0.53 8800 400 12.9
GaP 2.26 I 0.8 0,83 250 150 11.4
GaN 3.44 D 0.22 0,61 8500 400 10.4
a
Eective mass in the expression for the density of the states of the conduction/valence band:
N
c(v)
= 2(m

e(h)
kT/2
2
)
3/2
.
Table 3: Work function of some metals.
Au Ag Al Cu Pt

m
, eV 5.1 4.3 4.25 4.7 5.65
10
Table 4: Electron anity of some semiconductors.
Si Ge GaAs GaP GaN
, eV 4.05 4.0 4.07 3.8 4.2
Table 5: Properties of SiO
2
and Si
3
N
4
at room temperature.
Property SiO
2
Si
3
N
4
Energy gap, eV 9 5
Electron anity, eV 0.9
Dielectric constant 3.9 7.5
Refractive index 1.46 2.05
Resistivity, cm 10
14
10
16
10
14
11
4 Answers and Solutions
4.1 Properties of Semiconductors
1. It follows from Table 2 that Si and GaAs are not transparent, GaP is partially
transparent, and GaN is transparent for the visible light.
2. n
2
i
= N
c
N
v
exp (E
g
/kT) T
3
exp (E
g
/kT). Therefore
n
i
(T
2
) = n
i
(T
1
)
_
T
2
T
1
_
3/2
exp
_

E
g
(T
2
)
2kT
2
+
E
g
(T
1
)
2kT
1
_
.
Putting the proper values in the formula we obtain that n
i
(77 K) 10
20
cm
3
.
3. From = e/m

we get that = 2.6 10

13
s.
4. Since
v
t
=
_

0
v exp (m

v
2
/2kT) d
3
v
_

0
exp (m

v
2
/2kT) d
3
v
=
_
8kT
m

,
thermal velocities of electrons and holes are 4.3 10
7
and 1.5 10
7
cm/s, respec-
tively.
5. From eD = kT, it follows that D = 49 cm
2
/s.
6.
r
= /4eN
a

p
= 4.7 10
12
s.
7. In this case,

r
=

4en
i
(
n
+
p
)
= 3.4 10
7
s .
8. L
D
= 0.48 m.
9. D = 65 cm
2
/s.
10. p = p
0
exp
_

D
p

p
_
= 1.6 10
13
cm
3
.
4.2 Schottky Diode
1. eV
d
= 0.88 eV.
2. w = 0.22, 0.19, and 0.34 m for V = 0, +0.4, and 2 V, respectively.
3. E = 5.1 10
4
, 4.2 10
4
, and 5.1 10
5
V/cm for V = 0, +0.3, and 100 V,
respectively.
4. E = 2 10
4
V/cm.
5. From n = 1/e
n
we obtain that n = 1.4 10
13
cm
3
. Thus,
e
d
=
Pt

GaAs
kT ln N
c
/n = 1.32 eV.
The average thermal velocity is
v
T
= (8kT/m
n
)
1/2
= 4.6 10
7
cm/s.
12
From here we get
j
s
=
1
4
env
T
exp(e
d
/kT) = 3 10
22
A/cm
2
.
Finally, from
j = j
s
(exp(eV/kT) 1)
we obtain j(0.5 V) = 1.5 10
13
A/cm
2
and j(5 V) = j
s
.
6.
d
= 0.74 V, n = 2.8 10
17
cm
3
.
7. A Schottky diode loses its rectifying characteristics when de Broglie wavelength,
, of electron becomes comparable with the depletion width, , of the diode. Since
= 2/

2m
0
E and =
_

Si
E
g
/4e
2
n from the condition we obtain
that
n
3
Si
m
0
kTE
g
16
3
e
2

2
Here, we assumed that the mean energy of electron is E = 3kT/2 and the po-
tential barrier at the contact is
d
= E
g
/2e. Substituting numerical values in the
above expression we get that for proper functioning of the Schottky diode, electron
concentration must be signicantly less than 2 10
19
cm
3
.
4.3 Ideal p-n Junction
1. By denition, e
d
= F
n
F
p
. Concentrations of the free carriers are given by
n = N
c
exp
_

E
g
F
n
kT
_
, p = N
v
exp
_

F
p
kT
_
.
From here we get that
e
d
= E
g
+ kT ln
_
n
N
c
_
+ kT ln
_
p
N
v
_
= E
g
+ kT ln
_
np
N
c
N
v
_
.
Since,
n
2
i
= N
c
N
v
exp
_

E
g
kT
_
,
we obtain that

d
=
kT
e
ln
_
np
n
2
i
_
.
From n = 1/e
n
and p = 1/e
p
, we nally get
d
= 0.68 V.
2. Taking into account that at room temperature all donors and acceptors are ionized,
i.e. n = N
d
and p = N
a
, from the values found in the previous problem and
=
_
(
d
V )
2e
N
d
+ N
a
N
d
N
a
_
1/2
we get (10 V) = 2 m, (0 V) = 0.5 m, and (+0.3 V) = 0.4 m.
13
3. From the previous problem and
E = 2
_
2e(
d
V )

N
d
N
a
N
d
+N
a
_
1/2
,
we obtain that E(10 V) = 10
5
V/cm, E(0 V) = 2.610
4
V/cm, and E(+0.3 V) =
2 10
4
V/cm.
The electric eld within a shallow donor is, in turn, E 3.4 10
5
V/cm, that is,
comparable to that of the p-n junction.
4. Since
C =
S
4
,
we get C(10 V) = 0.5 nF, C(0 V) = 2 nF, and C(+0.3 V) = 2.6 nF.
5. From the conditions of the problem
a
= 0.01 and
d
= 0.99. Since

a
/
d
= N
d
/N
a
,
we get that N
a
= 99N
d
. Because N
d
= 1/e
n
= 4.5 10
15
cm
3
, we get N
a
=
4.4 10
17
cm
3
.
6. j
s
= 1.66 mAexp(eV/kT) = 4 A.
7. For a p
+
-n junction
j
s
=
eD
p
p
L
p
=
eD
p
n
2
i
N
d
L
p
=
en
2
i
N
d
_
D
p

p
_
1/2
.
Taking into account that = eD/kT, we nally get
p
= 4.5 10
9
s.
8. Since
j
s
n
2
i
T
3
exp (E
g
/kT) ,
we get
j
s
(T
2
)/j
s
(T
1
) = (T
2
/T
1
)
3
exp
_

E
g
kT
2
+
E
g
kT
1
_
.
From here the ratios of the reverse currents in the p-n junctions made of Ge and
Si are 15 and 82, respectively.
9. p-n junction stops working when concentrations of electrons and holes equalize.
It happens when N
d
(N
a
) n
i
=

N
c
N
v
exp(E
g
/2kT) T
3/2
exp(E
g
/2kT).
From here and the parameters given we get that the maximum temperatures are
T
Ge
400 K, T
Si
650 K, and T
GaN
1700 K. That is, only wide band gap
semiconductors are suitable for extremal applications.
4.4 Nonideal p-n Junction
1. By denition
G
n
= R
n
=
n
2
i
pn

p
(n + n
i
) +
n
(p + p
i
)
,
14
where
1
n
=
1
p
= N
t

n
v
t
= 10
7
sec
1
. In the rst case n and p are less than n
i
.
Thus, np < n
2
i
and hence
G
n
=
n
2
i

n
(n
i
+ p
i
)
=
n
i
2
n
= 5.3 10
16
cm
3
/s.
In the second case n = N
d
n
i
, whereas p < n
i
, hence
G
n
=
n
2
i

n
(n + n
i
+p
i
)
=
n
2
i

n
n
=
n
2
i

n
N
d
= 1.6 10
11
cm
3
/s.
2. In equilibrium, the generation G = 10
21
cm
3
/s and recombination R rates are
equal,
G = R =
np n
2
i

p
(n + n
i
) +
n
(p +n
i
)

np

p
n +
n
p
=
np
(n + p)
.
Here we used
n
=
p
= = (N
t
v
t

n
)
1
= 10
6
sec.
In n-type Si under illumination, n = N
d
+ n, p p = n. Thus,
G =
(N
d
+ n)n
N
d
+ 2n
.
Solving this equation with respect to n we obtain p = n = 1.110
15
cm
3
and
n = 1.1 10
16
cm
3
.
3. Generation current in the space charge region w is given by
j
g
=
en
i
w
2
.
Here,
1
= N
t

n
v
t
= 10
7
s
1
. The width w of the space charge region for a p
+
-n
junction under reverse bias is
w =
_
(
d
V )
2eN
d
_
1/2

_
|V |
2eN
d
_
1/2
= 3.6 m.
Here we used relation |V |
d
. From here we obtain that j
g
= 3 A/cm
2
.
4. Using the formulae of the previous problem and relation

d
=
kT
e
ln
_
np
n
2
i
_
,
we get j
s
= 1.6 nA/cm
2
.
5. From the parameters given, we nd
n
= 2.5 10
6
cm and
p
= 8.5 10
7
cm.
If N
d
= N
a
= N the width of the space charge region is
w =
_

d
eN
_
1/2
.
By denition, w = . Substituting

d
=
kT
e
ln
_
N
2
n
2
i
_
15
into the expression above and after some simplications, we get
N =

e
2
2kT
e
ln
_
N
n
i
_
.
Solving the above equation numerically, we obtain N = 6.8 10
18
cm
3
and
6.2 10
19
cm
3
for electron and holes, respectively.
6. Since C = /4w
0
, and under strong reverse bias w
0
(V/2eN
d
)
1/2
, we obtain
N
d
= 1.1 10
15
cm
3
.
Maximum electric eld is at the interface and for a p
+
-n junction equals E
4eN
d
w
1
/. From conditions of the problem we nd that at the breakdown w
1
=
18 m and, hence, the breakdown voltage is 273 V .
7. The width of the space charge region is w (V/2eN
d
)
1/2
= 2 m. From here
we get that the maximum electric eld at the breakdown is
E =
4eN
d

w 3 10
5
V/cm.
4.5 Solar Cells
1. To nd the maxima of the photon ux density and the incoming energy one has to
calculate g

(
ux
) = 0 and (
energy
g(
energy
))

= 0. Denoting x = /kT we obtain

x
ux
= 2
_
1 e
x
ux
_
, x
energy
= 3
_
1 e
x
energy
_
.
Solving these equations numerically we obtain that x
ux
= 1.59 and x
energy
= 2.82,
which for T = 5800 K corresponds to 0.8 and 1.4 eV, respectively.
After replacing with 2c/ and taking into account that d = 2c d/
2
we
obtain that in terms of wavelength the maxima are to nd from
x
ux
= 4
_
1 e
x
ux
_
, x
energy
= 5
_
1 e
x
energy
_
.
Here, x = 2c/kT. The solutions of the above equations are x
ux
= 3.92 and
x
energy
= 4.97, which corresponds to = 0.63 and 0.5 m, respectively.
2. The open-circuit voltage is obtained from
0 = I
s
_
exp
_
eV
oc
kT
_
1
_
I
L
, V
oc

kT
e
ln
_
I
L
I
s
_
.
With the parameters given we nd I
s
= 2 10
12
A and hence V
oc
= 0.61 V at
room temperature.
The maximum power operating voltage V
m
we nd from dP/dV = 0, where the
operating power is
P = I
L
V I
s
V
_
exp
_
eV
kT
_
1
_
.
From here, we obtain
V
m
V
oc

kT
e
ln
_
1 +
eV
m
kT
_
.
Solving the above equation numerically we get V
m
= 0.53 V and nally obtain the
maximum operating power P
m
= 48 mW.
16
3. Since at room temperature kT/e = 0.025 V, from
I
s
I
L
exp
_

eV
oc
kT
_
,
we nd that I
s
= 1.1 10
10
A.
The power output is
P(V ) = IV = I
L
V I
s
V
_
exp
_
eV
kT
_
1
_
.
From the plot P vs. V , we nd that the maximum power output is P
m
= 1.5 W.
By denition, the ll factor is
F
F
=
P
m
I
L
V
oc
In our case, the ll factor equals 0.83.
4. Since the ux density depends as r
2
from the distance to the Sun, the short-circuit
current is I
Mars
L
= I
Earth
L
/1.5
2
= 1.33 A. The open-circuit voltage is then
V
Mars
oc
=
kT
e
ln
_
I
Mars
L
I
s
_
= 0.58 A.
From here, we nd V
m
= 0.5 V and, thus, P
m
= V
m
I
m
= 0.61 W.
5. From the paremeters given, we nd that I
s
I
L
exp(eV
oc
/kT) = 4.1 10
9
A.
Therefore, V
oc
= 0.48, 0.46, and 0.44 V, for I
L
= 1, 0.4, and 0.2 A, respectively.
6. From the values of V
oc
and I
L
, we nd that at 300 K I
s
I
L
exp(eV
oc
/kT) =
4.1 10
9
A. Employing the results of the previous problems, we nd that the
maximum output power at 300 K is equal to 0.8 W.
In the case of a p-n junction I
s
n
2
i
exp(E
g
/kT). Since for Si E
g
= 1.12 eV,
we obtain that I
s
= 0.2 mA when the temperature raises to 400 K. The new value
of I
s
corresponds to V
oc
= 0.3 V.
Finally, we get that the maximum output power of the Si solar cell at 400 K drops
down to 0.4 W.
17
4.6 Bipolar Transistor
1. From the concentrations given we obtain the built-in potential of the junctions
emitter-base (
EB
) and base-collector (
BC
)

EB
=
kT
e
ln
_
N
E
N
B
n
2
i
_
= 0.84 V,

BC
=
kT
e
ln
_
N
B
N
C
n
2
i
_
= 0.63 V.
Knowing the built-in potentials and the voltages applied to the emitter-base and
base collector junctions, from the theory of the p-n junction we get the appropriate
widths of the space charge regions and accordinglythe neutral base width x
B
=
0.5 m.
The minority carrier concentraton at the emitter-base junction is
n
B
= n
B0
exp
_
eV
EB
kT
_
=
n
2
i
N
B
exp
_
eV
EB
kT
_
= 5 10
12
cm
3
.
2. By denition,
=
j
nE
j
nE
+ j
pE
=
1
1 +
D
E
D
B
N
B
N
E
x
B
x
E
.
Since x
E
= x
B
and D
E
= D
B
,
=
1
1 +N
B
/N
E
= 0.998.
3. For a thin base (x
B
L
B
),

T
=
1
cosh (x
B
/L
B
)

1
1 +
1
2
(x
B
/L
B
)
2
.
From the rst problem we know that x
B
= 0.5 m. Thus, we obtain that
T
=
0.99.
4. From the previous problem we obtain that
x
B
= L
B
ln
_
1 +
_
1
2
T

T
_
.
Substituting the proper values in this formula we get that x
B
= 0.57, 1.87, and
5.3 m for
T
= 0.99, 0.9, and 0.5, respectively.
5. Punch-through occurs when the neutral base width becomes zero. Employing
the theory of an ideal p-n junction, after somewhat tiresome but straightforward
calculation we obtain that for the given parameters the punch-through voltage is
13.6 V.
18
6. For certainty, we assume that we have a n
+
-p-n transistor. The injection eciency
is
=
1
1 +
D
E
D
B
p
E0
n
B0
x
B
x
E
=
1
1 +
p
E0
n
B0
=
1
1 +
N
B
N
E
n
2
Ei
n
2
Bi
.
Here, n
Ei
and n
Bi
are the intrinsic concentrations of free carriers in emitter and
collector, respectively.
Since n
2
i
exp(E
g
/kT), we obtain that
n
2
E
i
n
2
Bi
= exp
_
E
Eg
E
Bg
kT
_
.
From here, we get that = 0.64 and 0.76 for the emitter dopings of 10
19
and
10
20
cm
3
, respectively.
7. For certainty, we assume that the base is n-type. Without applied voltage j =
en
n
E(x) +eD
n
dn/dx = 0. Since
n
= eD
n
/kT, from here we obtain an equation
to determine the concentration prole
dn
dx
=
eE(x)
kT
n.
Because E(x) = const, from the above equation follows that the concentration
prole should be exponential, n exp(x/l), where l = kT/eE.
8. The drift time of minority carriers through the base is
drift
= x
B
/v
drift
= x
B
/E.
The diusion transport time is approximately
diff
= x
2
B
/2D. From here we get
the ratio of the two values

diff

drift
=
x
2
B
2D
E
x
B
=
ex
B
E
2kT
= 10.
That is, the drift transistor can operate at about one order of magnitude higher
frequencies.
9. In the case of common-emitter conguration, the frequency is determined by the
life time of the minority carriers in the base f
1
B
= D
B
/L
2
B
= 0.4 GHz. For the
common-base conguration the frequency depends on the diusion rate through
the base, that is, f
1
diff
= 2D
B
/x
2
B
= 40 GHz.
4.7 MIS/MOS Capacitor and MOSFET
1. The voltage (V ) applied to a MOS capacitor appears across an insulator (V
i
) and
a semiconductor (
s
). Thus
V = V
i
+
s
.
The voltage across the insulator is
V
i
=
|Q
s
|
C
i
, where C
i
=

i
4d
.
Here, |Q
s
| is the charge stored in the semiconductor,
i
is the dielectric permittivity
of the insulator, and d is the thickness of the insulator.
19
If the voltage across the semiconductor is less than the one needed to bring about
a strong inversion the charge stored in the semiconductor is
|Q
s
| = eN
a
w
d
= eN
a
_

s

s
2eN
a
_
1/2
,
where
s
is the dielectric permittivity of the semiconductor and w
d
is the width of
the depletion layer. From here we obtain that
V =
s
+
2d

i
_
2e
s
N
a

s
.
The value of
s
to make the surface intrinsic is

s
=
pB
=
kT
e
ln
_
N
a
n
i
_
,
whereas a strong inverstion occurs at
s
= 2
pB
.
Thus, from the parameters given we obtain that V = 1.24 and 2.0 V result in the
intrinsic surface of Si and the strong inverstion, respectively.
2. From the results obtained in the previous problem we nd that
s
= 0.32 V and
V
i
= 0.68 V.
3. By denition, the at-band capacitance is
C
FB
=

i

s
S
4(
s
d +
i
L
D
)
,
where L
D
is the Debye length. Substituting in this formula the parameters given
we obtain that C
FB
= 1.2 nF.
4. By denition, the turn-on voltage (V
T
) is the voltage at which the strong inversion
occurs, that is
s
= 2
pB
. Based on the results of Problem 1 we obtain that
V
T
= 2
pB
+ +
2d

i
_
2e
s
N
a
(2
pB
).
From the parameters given we nd that V
T
= 0.9 V.
The minimum capacitance under high-frequency regime is
C

min
=

i

s
S
4(
s
d +
i
w
d
)
,
where w
d
is the width of the depletion layer under
s
= 2
pB
. From here we nd
that C

min
= 0.3 nF.
5. C

min
= 0.32 nF.
6. The turn-on voltage V
T
= 2
pB
= 2kT/e ln(N
a
/n
i
) = 0.69 V. The maximum width
of the depletion layer is
w
d
=
_

s
V
T
2eN
a
_
1/2
= 0.3 m.
20
Thus, the number of negatively charged acceptors per unit area in the depletion
layer is
a
= N
a
w
d
= 3 10
11
cm
2
.
To nd the total charge stored in the semiconductor we have to solve a nonlinear
equation (see the solution of Problem 1)
V =
s
+ V
i
=
s
+
|Q
s
|
C
i
=
s
+
4d

i
|Q
s
|. (1)
The charge |Q
s
| is given by
|Q
s
| =

2
s
kT
4eL
D
F(
s
, n
p0
/p
p0
).
Under strong inverstion
F
_
n
p0
p
p0
_
1/2
exp
_

s
2kT
_
.
Substituting this expression into Eq. (1) we obtain an equation to determine
s
.
Numerical solution gives
s
= 0.85 V. We see that
s
> V
T
, which justies our
suggestion that the capacitor is in the strong inversion regime.
Knowing the value of
s
we nd |Q
s
| and nally determine the number of electrons
per unit area in the inversion layer of the capacitor

e
=
|Q
s
|
e

a
= 1.1 10
12
cm
2
.
7. The voltage shift is given by
V =
Q
C
i
,
whereas the number of xed charges in the oxide is = Q/e. From the parameters
given we obtain that = 1.1 10
12
cm
2
.
4.8 Low-dimensional Structures
1. Schrodinger equation for an electron in the triangle potential is

H =

2
2m

+ eEz = E. (2)
To nd the ground state energy we have to calculate
|

H| =

2
2m

_

0

dz + eE
_

0
z||
2
dz
and
| =
_

0
||
2
dz.
21
With the probe function = Az exp(z/a) we obtain that
|

H| = A
2
_

2
8m

a +
3eE
8
a
4
_
and | = A
2
a
3
4
.
As follows from Eq. (2), energy of the ground state is a minimum of
E =
|

H|
|
=

2
2m

a
2
+
3
2
eEa.
From E

= 0 we obtain that E
min
occurs at a = (2
2
/3meE)
1/3
and equals
E
min
=
9
4
_
2
2
e
2
E
2
3m

_
1/3
.
With the values given, we get E
min
= 61 meV. Note that E
min
in bigger than kT
at room temperature.
2
2. Denoting the hight of the potential well as V
0
we get that the well width a should
be equal
a =

2

V
0
80

A.
3. The ground state energy E
0
of a particle in a square box is found from
_
V
0
E
0
E
0
_
1/2
= tan
_
2m

E
0
a
2
_
.
By denition E
0
= V
0
5kT. From the above equation we nd that V
0
= 1.24
5kT = 155 meV and, hence, x = 0.16.
4. The ground level of an electron trapped between the barriers is found from
_
V
0
E
0
E
0
_
1/2
= tan
_
2m

E
0
a
2
_
.
Here, V
0
= 0.1 eV is the barrier hight, and a = 5 nm is the distance between the
barriers. From here we nd that E
0
= 55 meV.
Since the resonance tunneling diode is symmetric, to line up the ground level of an
electron in the wall with the conduction band minimum of the emitter the voltage
to be applied is V 2E
0
/e. Thus, the rst maximum on the I/V curve occurs at
approximately 110 mV.
5. Probability of tunneling for an electron with the energy E
0
= 55 meV through the
square barrier with the hight of V = 0.1 eV and the width of b = 20 nm is
D =
1
1 +
1
4
__
E
0
V
0
E
0
+
_
V
0
E
0
E
0
_
2
sinh
2
_

2m

(V
0
E
0
)

b
_ 7 10
5
.
Attempt frequency can be estimated from E
0
/2 = 1.310
13
s
1
. Thus,
the lifetime of an electron between the barriers is
(D)
1
10
9
s.
2
The exact value of the ground state energy is about 94 % of E
min
.
22
4.9 LEDs and Lasers
1. Dierentiating the expression given and equalizing it to zero we nd that the
maximum of the emission spectrum occurs at E
max
= E
g
+ kT/2. The FWHM is
found from the condition
(E E
g
)
1/2
exp(E/kT) =
1
2
(E
max
E
g
) exp(E
max
/kT).
Numerical solution gives E = 1.8 kT.
2. Based on the results of the previous problem we nd that the FWHM of the
spontaneous emission in wavelength is
=
1.8 kT
2
2c
= 12 nm.
Note that / = 0.02.
3. Per denition,
f
T
=
1
2
=
1
2
r
+
1
2
nr
.
Substituting in this relation the parameters given we obtain that f
T
= 1.6 GHz.
4. Since
=

2
2nL
m,
for the neighboring modes (m = 1) we obtain = 8.3

A.
5. Dierentiating the condition for the resonance modes
m

2n
= L,
we obtain that
=

2
0
2L(n
0

0
dn/d)
= 9.7

A.
6. The minimum gain for lasing is
g
min
= +
1
2L
ln
_
1
R
1
R
2
_
.
Here, R
1
= 0.9. The reectivity of the noncoated facet is
R
2
=
_
n 1
n + 1
_
2
= 0.35.
Finally, we get that g
min
= 29.3 cm
1
.
23