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Semiconductor Physics and Devices
Assignment-1
1) Assume that rectangular semiconductor bars are fabricated using Ge, Si, and GaAs materials.
Find the resistivities of intrinsic Ge, intrinsic Si, and intrinsic GaAs at 300 K. Determine the
resistance of each bar if its cross-sectional area is 100 µm2 and length is 200 µm.
2) Calculate the position of the intrinsic Fermi level with respect to the center of the bandgap in
Ge, Si, and GaAs materials, at T = 300 K.
3) Consider a silicon at T = 300 K. A Hall effect device is fabricated with the following geometry:
t = 10−3 cm, w = 10−3 cm, and l = 10−1 cm. The electrical parameters measured are: Ix =
0.50 mA, Vx = 1.5 V , and Bz = 5 × 10−2 tesla. The Hall field is EH = −15 mV /cm. Determine
(a) the Hall voltage, (b) the conductivity type, (c) the majority carrier concentration, and (d)
the majority carrier mobility.
4) The concentration of donor impurity atoms in silicon is Nd = 1014 cm−3 . Calculate the resistivity
and conductivity of the material.
5) A p-type silicon material is designed to have a conductivity of σ = 2.0 (Ω − cm)−1 , what must
be the acceptor impurity concentration in the material?
6) Determine the thermal-equilibrium electron and hole concentrations in silicon at T = 300 K for
the following doping concentrations,
a) Nd = 3 × 1015 cm−3 and Na = 0
b) Nd = 3 × 1015 cm−3 and Na = 1.5 × 1015 cm−3
c) Nd = 3 × 1015 cm−3 and Na = 3 × 1015 cm−3
7) In n-type silicon, the Fermi energy level varies linearly with distance over a short range. At
x = 0, (EF − EF i ) = 0.5 eV and, at x = 10−3 cm, (EF − EF i ) = 0.25 eV .
a) Write the expression for the electron concentration over the distance.
b) If the electron diffusion coefficient is Dn = 25 cm2 /s, calculate the electron diffusion current
density at x = 0 and x = 5 × 10−4 cm.
8) A constant electric field, E = 10 V /cm, exists in the +x direction of an n-type silicon semicon-
ductor for (0 ≤ x ≤ 50µm). The total current density is a constant and is J = 100 A/cm2 . At
x = 0, the drift and diffusion currents are equal. Assume T = 300 K.
a) Determine the expression for the electron concentration n(x).
b) Calculate the electron concentration at x = 0 and at x = 50 µm.
c) Calculate the drift and diffusion current densities at x = 50 µm.
9) Determine the doping profile in a semiconductor at T = 300 K that will induce a constant
electric field of 100 V /cm over a length of 0.01 cm.
10) An n-type silicon sample contains a donor concentration of Nd = 1015 cm−3 . The minority carrier
hole lifetime is found to be τp0 = 10 µs.
a) What is the lifetime of the majority carrier electrons?
b) Determine the thermal-equilibrium generation rate for electrons and holes in this material.
c) Determine the thermal-equilibrium recombination rate for electrons and holes in this material.
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TABLE I: Physical constants
Parameter Value Unit
atoms
Avogadro’s number, (NA ) 6.023 × 1023
per gram
Boltzmann constant, (k) 1.38 × 10−23 J/K
Elementary charge, (q) 1.6 × 10−19 C
Electron rest mass, (m0 ) 9.1 × 10−31 kg
Proton rest mass, (mp0 ) 1.67 × 10−27 kg
Electron volt, (1 eV ) 1.6 × 10−19 J
Permeability in vacuum, (µ0 ) 4π × 10−7 H/m
Permittivity in vacuum, (ǫ0 ) 8.854 × 10−12 F/m
Planck constant, (h) 6.626 × 10−34 Js
Reduced Planck constant, (h/2π) 1.05457 × 10−34 Js
Speed of light in vacuum, (c) 3 × 108 m/s
Thermal voltage at 300K, (kT /q) 25.852 × 10−3 V
Wavelength of 1 eV quantum, (λ) 1.24 µm
TABLE II: Germanium (Ge), Silicon (Si), and Gallium arsenide (GaAs) properties at T = 300 K
Property Ge Si GaAs
No. of atomes, (cm−3 ) 4.42 × 1022 5 × 1022 4.42 × 1022
Breakdown field, (V /m) 1 × 107 3 × 107 4 × 107
Dielectric constant, (ǫr ) 16.0 11.8 13.3
Bandgap energy, (eV ) 0.66 1.12 1.42
Nc, (cm−3 ) 1.04 × 1019 2.8 × 1019 4.7 × 1017
Nv, (cm−3 ) 6.1 × 1018 1.04 × 1019 7.0 × 1018
Electron effective mass (m∗n /m0 ) 0.55 1.08 0.067
Holes effective mass (m∗p /m0 ) 0.37 0.56 0.48
ni, (cm−3 ) 2.4 × 1013 1.5 × 1010 1.8 × 106
Electron mobility, (m2 /V s) 0.39 0.15 0.86
Hole mobility, (m2 /V s) 0.19 0.05 0.04
Melting point, (o C) 937 1415 1238
