How do Electrons and Holes Populate the Bands?

Density of States and Fermi Energy Concepts

Density of States Concept

gc ( E ) dE

The number of conduction band states/cm3 lying in the energy range between E and E + dE (if E Ec).

gv ( E ) dE

The number of valence band states/cm3 lying in the energy range between E and E + dE (if E Ev).

General energy dependence of gc (E) and gv (E) near the band edges.

How do Electrons and Holes Populate the Bands?

Density of States Concept
Quantum Mechanics tells us that the number of available states in a cm3 per unit of energy, the density of states, is given by:

How do electrons and holes populate the bands?

Probability of Occupation (Fermi Function) Concept
Now that we know the number of available states at each energy, then how do the electrons occupy these states? We need to know how the electrons are distributed in energy. Again, Quantum Mechanics tells us that the electrons follow the

Density of States in Conduction Band

Fermi-distribution function.

Density of States in Valence Band

f ( E) =

1 1+ e
( EE f ) / kT

Ef Fermi energy (average energy in the crystal) k Boltzmann constant (k=8.61710-5eV/K) T Temperature in Kelvin (K)

f(E)

is the probability that a state at energy E is occupied.

1-f(E) is the probability that a state at energy E is unoccupied.

How do electrons and holes populate the bands?

Fermi-Dirac Distribution

How do electrons and holes populate the bands?

Probability of Occupation (Fermi function) Concept

f ( E) =

1 1+ e
( EE f ) / kT

kT = 0.0259eV @300K

At T=0K, occupancy is digital: No occupation of states above Ef and complete occupation of states below Ef . At T>0K, occupation probability is reduced with increasing energy. f(E=Ef ) = 1/2 regardless of temperature.

How do electrons and holes populate the bands?

Probability of Occupation (Fermi function) Concept

How do electrons and holes populate the bands?

Probability of Occupation (Fermi function) Concept

f ( E) =

1+ e

1 ( EE f )/ kT

kT = 0.0259eV @300K

At T=0K, occupancy is digital: No occupation of states above Ef and complete occupation of states below Ef . At T>0K, occupation probability is reduced with increasing energy. f(E=Ef ) = 1/2 regardless of temperature. At higher temperatures, higher energy states can be occupied, leaving more lower energy states unoccupied [1 - f(Ef )].

How do electrons and holes populate the bands?

Example 2.2
The probability that a state is filled at the conduction band edge (Ec) is precisely equal to the probability that a state is empty at the valence band edge (Ev). Where is the Fermi energy locate?

How do electrons and holes populate the bands?

Probability of Occupation Concept
The density of electrons (or holes) occupying the states in energy between E and E + dE is:

Solution
The Fermi function, f(E), specifies the probability of electron occupying states at a given energy E. The probability that a state is empty (not filled) at a given energy E is equal to 1- f(E).

gc ( E ) f ( E ) dE

Electrons/cm3 in the conduction band between E and E + dE (if E Ec).

f ( EC ) = 1 f ( EV )
f (EC ) = 1 1 + e ( EC E F ) / kT
1 f ( EV ) = 1 1 1 = 1 + e ( EV E F ) / kT 1 + e ( E F EV ) / kT

gv ( E ) f ( E ) dE

Holes/cm3 in the conduction band between E and E + dE (if E Ev).

EC EF kT

EV E F kT

EF =

EC + EV 2

Otherwise

How do electrons and holes populate the bands?

How do electrons and holes populate the bands?

Fermi function and Carrier Concentration

Probability of Occupation Concept

How do electrons and holes populate the bands?

Typical band structures of Semiconductor
E g (E) (EEc)1/2 E [1f(E)] For electrons number of states per unit energy per unit volume Ec EF probability of occupancy of a state Ev For holes VB E

How do electrons and holes populate the bands?

Fermi function and Carrier Concentration

Note that although the Fermi function has a finite value in the gap, there is no electron population at those energies (that's what you mean by a gap). The population depends upon the product of the Fermi function and the electron density of states. So in the gap there are no electrons because the density of states is zero. In the conduction band at 0K, there are no electrons even though there are plenty of available states, but the Fermi function is zero. At high temperatures, both the density of states and the Fermi function have finite values in the conduction band, so there is a finite conducting population.

Ec+
CB

Area = n E ( E ) dE = n
nE(E) number of electrons per unit energy per unit volume The area under nE(E) vs. E is the electron concentration. pE(E) Area = p

Ec EF Ev

0 g (E ) Energy band diagram Density of states

fE) Fermi-Dirac probability function

nE(E) or pE(E) g(E) X f(E) Energy density of electrons in the CB

How do electrons and holes populate the bands?

Current Flow of Intrinsic Semiconductor

How do electrons and holes populate the bands?

Energy Band Occupation

Intrinsic Semiconductor.mov

How do electrons and holes populate the bands?

Intrinsic Energy (or Intrinsic Level)

How do electrons and holes populate the bands?

Additional Dopant States
Intrinsic Equal number of electrons and holes

Ef is said to equal Ei (intrinsic energy) when

equal number of electrons and holes.

n-type More electrons than Holes

p-type More holes than electrons

Intrinsic, n-Type, p-Type Semiconductors

Energy band diagrams

How do electrons and holes populate the bands?

Heavily Doped Dopant States

CB Ec EFi Ev VB Ec EFn Ev Ec EFp Ev

E Impurities forming a band g(E) CB

EFn Ec Ev

CB
Ec Ev EFp VB
Degenerated p-type semiconductor

(a) intrinsic

(b) n-type

(c) p-type

Degenerated n-type semiconductor Large number of donors form a band that overlaps the CB

np = ni2
Note that donor and acceptor energy levels are not shown.