Carrier generation and recombination

Recombination of electrons and holes is a process by which both carriers annihilate each other: electrons occupy - through
one or multiple steps - the empty state associated with a hole. Both carriers eventually disappear in the process. The
energy difference between the initial and final state of the electron is released in the process. This leads to one possible
classification of the recombination processes. In the case of radiative recombination, this energy is emitted in the form of a
photon. In the case of non-radiative recombination, it is passed on to one or more phonons and in the case of Auger
recombination it is given off in the form of kinetic energy to another electron. Another classification scheme considers the
individual energy levels and particles involved. These different processes are further illustrated with Figure

Figure 2.8.1 : Carrier recombination mechanisms in semiconductors

Band-to-band recombination occurs when an electron moves from its conduction band state into the empty valence band state
associated with the hole. This band-to-band transition is typically also a radiative transition in direct bandgap semiconductors.

Ebers moll model of transistor

Ebers Moll model is a simple and elegant way of representing the transistor as a circuit model. The Ebers Moll model of transistor
holds for all regions of operation of transistor. This model is based on assumption that base spreading resistance can be
neglected. It will be obvious that why two diodes connected back to back will not function as a transistor from the following
discussion, as dependent current source term will be missing which is responsible for all the interesting properties of transistor.

Ebers Moll Model of a Bipolar Transistor

Ebers and Moll created a model between the current and voltages in the transistor terminals .
This model, known as the Ebers Moll model sets the following general equations, for an NPN
transistor:

IES and ICS represent saturation current for emitter and collector junctions, respectively. αaF is
the common base forward short circuit current gain (0.98 to 0.998) αR is the injection of minority
carriers fraction. In a PNP bipolar transistor, the Ebers Moll model equations are:
For the ideal transistor, the previous four parameters are related by the Reciprocity
Theorem. αFIES = αRICS. Tipical values of these parameters are: αF = 0.99, αR= 0.66, IES = 10-15A,
ICS = 10-15A.

Threshold voltage
The threshold voltage, also called the gate voltage, commonly abbreviated as Vth or VGS (th), of a field-effect
transistor (FET) is the minimum gate-to-source voltage differential that is needed to create a conducting path
between the source and drain terminals.

When referring to a junction field-effect transistor (JFET), the threshold voltage is often called "pinch-off voltage"
instead. This is somewhat confusing since "pinch off" applied to insulated-gate field-effect transistor (IGFET)
refers to the channel pinching that leads to current saturation behaviour under high source–drain bias, even
though the current is never off. Unlike "pinch off", the term "threshold voltage" is unambiguous and refers to the
same concept in any field-effect transistor.

MOS Capacitors
Structure and principle of operation
The MOS capacitor consists of a Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor structure as illustrated by Figure 6.2.1. Shown is the semiconductor
substrate with a thin oxide layer and a top metal contact, referred to as the gate. A second metal layer forms an Ohmic contact to
the back of the semiconductor and is called the bulk contact.

Band Diagrams When MOSFET is In

Accumulation
Accumulation occurs when one applies a voltage less than the flatband voltage. The negative charge on the
gate attracts holes from the substrate to the oxide-semiconductor interface. Only a small amount of band
bending is needed to build up the accumulation charge so that almost all of the potential variation is within the
oxide.

6.2.3. Depletion
As a more positive voltage than the flatband voltage is applied, a negative charge builds up in the
semiconductor. Initially this charge is due to the depletion of the semiconductor starting from the oxide-
semiconductor interface. The depletion layer width further increases with increasing gate voltage.

6.2.4. Inversion
As the potential across the semiconductor increases beyond twice the bulk potential, another type of negative
charge emerges at the oxide-semiconductor interface: this charge is due to minority carriers, which form a so-
called inversion layer. As one further increases the gate voltage, the depletion layer width barely increases
further since the charge in the inversion layer increases exponentially with the surface potential.