PHIC 103: ADVANCED ENGINEERING PHYSICS

• Some Observations
• Material classification
• Semiconductor Materials in Periodic Table
– Inorganic Semiconductors
– Organic
g Semiconductors
• Inorganic Semiconductors: Elemental and Compound
semiconductors
• Crystal properties
• What we know from QQuantum free electron theory
y

1
 Semiconductors: Some Observations

• Insulators < Eg < metals (ambiguous).

2
 Semiconductors: Some Observations

• Insulators < Eg < metals (ambiguous).

• Insulators <  < metals (ambiguous).

3
 Semiconductors: Some Observations

• Insulators < Eg < metals (ambiguous).

• Insulators <  < metals (ambiguous).

• Metals cannot be doped. Semiconductor can be

p
doped. Insulators have fixed conductivity.
y

4
 Semiconductors: Some Observations

• Insulators < Eg < metals (ambiguous).

• Insulators <  < metals (ambiguous).

• Metals cannot be doped. Semiconductor can be

p
doped. Insulators have fixed conductivity.
y

• Metals reflects visible EM wavelengths.

S i
Semiconductors
d t absorb
b b large
l EM wavelengths
l th
while insulators absorb shorter wavelengths
(i t
(interesting).
ti )

5
 Semiconductors: Some Observations

• Metals and Semiconductors are ALWAYS solid.

6
 Semiconductors: Some Observations

• Metals and Semiconductors are ALWAYS solid.

• Insulators
I l t can b
be solid,
lid liliquid
id or gas.

7
 Semiconductors: Some Observations

• Metals and Semiconductors are ALWAYS solid.

• Insulators
I l t can b
be solid,
lid liliquid
id or gas.
• Sometimes, something that is insulator as solid
becomes a conductor when heated and melted.
For example, glass.

8
 Semiconductors: Some Observations

• Metals and Semiconductors are ALWAYS solid.

• Insulators
I l t can b
be solid,
lid liliquid
id or gas.
• Sometimes, something that is insulator as solid
becomes a conductor when heated and melted.
For example, glass.
• Liquids can be either insulators or conductors,
depending on what they areare. Liquid metals are
electrically conductive but absolutely pure water
is an insulator.
insulator Gasses are insulators but
become electrically conductive when ionized
(interesting).
(interesting)
9
 nce
Resistan
R Semiconductors: Some Observations

METALS

Temperature
10
 nce
Resistan Semiconductors: Some Observations

SEMICONDUCTORS
R

METALS

Temperature
11
 Semiconductors: Some Observations

• Both Insulators and

INSULATORS Semiconductors exhibit
<0
• However, the rate of
decrease of resistivity
nce
Resistan

with increasing
SEMICONDUCTORS
temperature is very
small for Insulators
R

compared to
Semiconductors
METALS (conceptual).

Temperature
12
 Semiconductors: Some Observations
• It iis nott only the Eg which
l th defines
hi h d fi the  off the
th th
semiconductor but the band width (of VB and CB) is also
crucial to consider
consider.
For instance, a semiconductor having small Eg with narrow band
width shall behave like Insulator. On the other hand, a semiconductor
with
ith large
l Eg and
d wide
id band
b d width
idth shall
h ll behave
b h like
lik semiconductors
i d t if
the bands are well populated with charge carriers.

13
 p
Transparent

LIGHT

 > 80 %
Metal

CURRENT

 > 102 S cm-11

14
 p q
Opaque

LIGHT

 0%
Insulator

CURRENT

 ~ 10-77 S cm-11
15
 Translucent

LIGHT

10 % < T < 80 %
SEMICONDUCTOR

CURRENT

10-77 S cm-11 <  < 102 S cm-11

16
 Semiconductor Materials in Periodic table
Bandgap Energy EG
Semiconductor (eV)

Carbon (diamond) 5.47

Silicon 1.12
Germanium 0.66
Tin 0.082
Gallium arsenide 1.42
Gallium nitride 3 49
3.49
Indium phosphide 1.35
Boron nitride 7 50
7.50
Silicon carbide 3.26
Cadmium selenide 1 70
1.70

17
Evolution of Electronic devices (1940- till date)

INORGANIC Semiconductors

ORGANIC Semiconductors

Image sources: World wide web

18
 ORGANIC Semiconductors
Shirakawa, MacDiarmid, and Heeger, J. Chem. Soc., Chem. Commun., p. 578, 1977
I2 +
* *
* n * n

  10 9 S/cm I3   38 S/cm

Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2000

• Alan G
G. MacDiarmid
MacDiarmid, University of Pennsylvania
• Hideki Shirakawa, University of Tsukuba
• Alan Heeger, University of California, Santa Barbara

http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/laureates/2000/press.html
19
 Conjugated Polymers
R

S
n n n
S
R R R
PPV PFO P3AT

Small Molecules

N
N O
N N
N Cu N Al N
O O
N N
N
N

CuPc Alq3 Pentacene

20
Organic semiconductor: from Insulator to Semiconductor

*
n* O

I
Insulator
l t S i
Semiconductor
d t n
O

• Unlimited choice
of materials 
LUMO wide range of
Band gap
gap.
HOMO
• Amorphous
nature in solid
form

Emerging band gap with conjugation length

21
 ORGANIC Semiconductors:Typical applications
Light Emitting Diode

Past

NOW

Image sources: World wide web

22
 Inorganic
g Semiconductors
• Limited choice of materials  limited range
of Band gap.
• Crystalline nature in solid form  limited
possible applications.
p pp

Organic
g Semiconductors
• Unlimited choice of materials  wide range
off Band
B d gap.
• Amorphous nature in solid form  suitable
f Flexible
for Fl ibl electronic
l t i devices
d i

23
 Semiconductor Materials
• Elemental Semiconductor
• Compound Semiconductor

24
 Elemental semiconductor

• In column IV of the periodic table.

• They are composed of single species of
atoms:
– silicon (Si)
– germanium (Ge) etc

25
 Compound Semiconductor

• Compounds of column III & V atoms

– Such as GaN, GaP and GaAs are common in light-
emitting diodes (LEDs).
– GaAs is semiconductor laser.
• Compounds of column II & VI atoms
– Such as ZnS is fluorescent materials that used in
television screens.
– InSb & CdSe are light detector
26
Multi-element Compounds Semiconductor

• 3-element (ternary) compounds

– Such as GaAsP
– AlGaAs can make semiconductor laser.
– HgCdTe can make light detector.
• 4-element (quaternary) compounds
– InGaAsP can be grown to provide added
flexibility in choosing material properties.

27
 Electronic Property of Semiconductors

• Represented by the band-structure

– which defines the energy levels that an electron can have
in semiconductor.
– Transport and optical properties are determined by the
band-structure.
• We also examine approaches that can be exploited
to modify the band-structure.
– Modify and optimize optoelectronic devices
– Mixing of semiconductors -> hetero-structures
– Doping -> alter their free carrier density.
28
Diamond lattice structure: Silicon

Corner of diamond lattice

Silicon shows diamond showing four nearest
like lattice unit cell. neighbor bonding.
bonding

Diamond lattice - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Diamond_cubic_animation.gif

29
Diamond lattice structure: Silicon

Corner of diamond lattice

Silicon shows diamond showing four nearest
like lattice unit cell. neighbor bonding.
bonding

Diamond lattice - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Diamond_cubic_animation.gif

30
Diamond lattice structure: Silicon

Corner of diamond lattice

Silicon shows diamond showing four nearest
like lattice unit cell. neighbor bonding.
bonding

The diamond lattice can be thought

g of as an FCC
structure with an extra atom placed at a/4+b/4+c/4
from each of the fcc atoms.
Diamond lattice - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Diamond_cubic_animation.gif
31
Volume density of Si atoms

32
Volume density of Si atoms

33
Volume density of Si atoms

34
Volume density of Si atoms
Number of atoms in a unit cell:
• 4 atoms completely inside cell.
• Each
E h off the
th 8 atoms
t on corners
are shared among cells  1
atom inside cell
cell.
• Each of the 6 atoms on the
faces are shared among 2 cells
 3 atoms inside cell.
 Total number inside the cell = 4
+1+3=8

(0 543 nm)3 = 1.6

• Cell volume: (0.543 1 6 x 10-22 cm3
• Density
y of silicon atoms = ((8 atoms)) / (cell
(
volume) = 5 x 1022 atoms/cm3
35
Areal density of Si atoms on the (1 0 0) plane
Number
N b off atoms
t in
i (1 0 0)
plane:
• 4 atoms at the corner  1
atom inside the (1 0 0) plane
• 1 atom at the centre 1
atom inside the (1 0 0) plane
• Total number inside the cell
a = 5.43Å =1+1=2

• Plane area: (0.543 nm)2

• Density of silicon atoms in (1 0 0) plane = (2
6 78 × 1014 atoms/cm2
atoms) / (Plane area) = 6.78
36
 Areal density of Si atoms on the (1 1 0) plane
Number
N b off atoms
t in
i (1 1 0)
plane:
• 4 atoms
t th corner  1
att the
atom inside the (1 1 0)
43Å

plane
a = 5.4

• 2 atoms at the edge 1

atom inside the (1 1 0)
plane
Å • 2 atoms in the p plane
• Total number inside the
cell = 1 + 1 +2= 4
o o
• Plane area: 2  5.43 A 5.43 A
• Density of silicon atoms in (1 1 0) plane = (4
atoms) / (Plane area) = 9.59 × 1014 atoms/cm2
37
Areal density of Si atoms on the (1 1 1) plane
Number
N b off atoms
t in
i (1 1 1)
plane:
• 3 atoms
t th corner  (3 
att the
1/6) atoms inside the (1 1 1)
plane
• 3 atoms at the edge (3  1/2)
atoms inside the (1 1 1) plane
• Total number inside the cell =
Å
3/6 + 3/2 = 2
3 o o
• Plane area:  5.43 A 5.43 A
2
• Density of silicon atoms in (1 1 1) plane = (2 atoms) /
(Plane area) = 7.83 × 1014 atoms/cm2
38
What we know from (Sommerfeld) Quantum free
electron theory
32
1  2m 
g (E)  2  2 
E
2   

1
f FD ( E ) 
E
exp   1
 k BT 


n( E )   g ( E ) f FD ( E )dE
0

39
 Fermi-Dirac “Filling” Function

Probability of electrons to be found at various energy levels.

1
f FD  E  
 E  EF  • 300K ((room temp)
p) = 25.86meV
e kT 1
• Temperature dependence of Fermi
Fermi-Dirac
Dirac function shown as follows:

40
 
n( E )   g (E  E
EC
C ) f FD ( E )dE

EV

p( E )   g(E

V  E )[1  f FD ( E )]dE

AWNISH K TRIPATHI 41 NIT KKR

AWNISH K TRIPATHI 42 NIT KKR