Unit 3 of your Semiconductor Physics syllabus covers optical transitions, recombination processes,

stimulated and spontaneous emission, density of states, Fermi’s golden rule, and photovoltaic cells​.

Since you haven’t studied Unit 1, the essential topics from it that you need to understand before Unit 2
and Unit 3 are:

1. Energy Bands and Bandgap – Understanding valence and conduction bands.

2. Fermi Energy Level – How it changes for intrinsic and extrinsic semiconductors.

3. Carrier Concentration and Mobility – The role of electrons and holes.

4. P-N Junction Basics – Formation, depletion region, and built-in potential.

5. Basic Quantum Mechanics – Principles behind absorption and emission.

These concepts will help you grasp the derivations and applications in Unit 2 (p-n junction, drift/diffusion
current, carrier generation) and Unit 3 (optical absorption, recombination, and photovoltaic effects)​​.

Sources

I can summarize the answers for the important questions from Unit 2 and Unit 3 based on your PDFs.
Here’s a structured response:

Unit 2: Important Questions & Answers

1. Intrinsic Semiconductor:

A pure semiconductor without any impurities. Examples: Silicon (Si), Germanium (Ge).

Equal concentration of electrons and holes.

2. Atomic Structure & Energy Levels of Intrinsic Semiconductor:

Electrons occupy discrete energy levels in an atom.

In a semiconductor, electrons occupy valence and conduction bands separated by a bandgap.

3. Fermi Level in Intrinsic Semiconductor & Temperature Effect:

Fermi level lies near the middle of the bandgap.

Increases toward conduction band with temperature.

4. Extrinsic Semiconductor:

Doped semiconductor with added impurities to increase conductivity.

N-type: Donor impurities (e.g., Phosphorus).

P-type: Acceptor impurities (e.g., Boron).

5. N-type Semiconductor (Diagram & Explanation):

Doping with pentavalent elements introduces extra electrons.

Majority carriers: Electrons, Minority carriers: Holes.

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 6. P-type Semiconductor (Diagram & Explanation):

Doping with trivalent elements creates holes.

Majority carriers: Holes, Minority carriers: Electrons.

7-8. Fermi Level in P-type & N-type and its Variation with Temperature:

In P-type: Fermi level moves closer to the valence band.

In N-type: Fermi level moves closer to the conduction band.

9. Difference between P-type and N-type Semiconductors:

N-type: Electrons as majority carriers.

P-type: Holes as majority carriers.

10. Photon Transitions:

Electrons absorb energy and move to the conduction band.

When they return, photons are emitted (luminescence).

11. SRH Carrier Generation & Recombination:

Shockley-Read-Hall recombination occurs through trap states in the bandgap.

12. Auger Transition:

Energy from electron-hole recombination is transferred to another carrier instead of being

emitted as light.

13. Impact Ionization:

High-energy carriers ionize other atoms, generating more carriers (used in avalanche diodes).

14-15. Drift Current & Diffusion Current (Derivations):

- Drift: Charge carriers move due to an electric field.
- Diffusion: Movement from high to low concentration.

16. Continuity Equation for Charge Carriers:

Derives the relationship between charge density and current flow.

17-19. P-N Junction: Built-in Potential, Forward & Reverse Bias:

- Built-in potential creates a depletion region.
- Forward bias: Current flows, depletion region narrows.
- Reverse bias: No current, depletion region widens.

20. V-I Characteristics of P-N Junction:

Forward bias: Exponential increase in current.

Reverse bias: Small leakage current until breakdown.

21-22. Schottky Junction (Metal-Semiconductor Contact):

- Rectifying Contact: Forms a potential barrier.

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- Ohmic Contact: Low-resistance contact allows current flow.

23. II-VI & III-V Semiconductors:

II-VI: CdS, ZnSe (used in LEDs, lasers).

III-V: GaAs, InP (used in high-speed electronics).

24. Photodiode Photocurrent Equation:

Current is proportional to incident light intensity.

25. LED: Principle, Construction & Emission Wavelength:

Electron-hole recombination emits photons.

Material choice determines emission wavelength.

26. Active & Passive Components in ICs:

Active: Transistors, diodes.

Passive: Resistors, capacitors.

27-28. OLED: Components, Working, Types, Advantages:

- Organic LEDs use organic compounds for light emission.
- Efficient and flexible displays.

29-30. Built-in Potential & V-I Characteristics of Schottky Junction:

- Schottky barrier affects carrier transport.
- Forward bias: Current increases. Reverse bias: Limited current.

31-35. Numericals on Conductivity, Photodiodes, and p-n Junctions (Refer PDF for calculations).

Unit 3: Important Questions & Answers

1. Types of Optical Absorption & Recombination (Diagrams):

Absorption: Band-to-band, impurity level, free carrier absorption.

Recombination: Radiative (photon emission), non-radiative (phonon emission).

2. Spontaneous & Stimulated Emission (Diagrams):

Spontaneous: Random photon emission.

Stimulated: Incident photon triggers emission of an identical photon.

3. Einstein’s Coefficients & Relation Between A21 & B21:

Describes absorption and emission processes.

Relation: A21 ​ = B21 ⋅ ρ(E).

​

4. Luminescence & Types:

Photoluminescence: Light-induced.

Electroluminescence: Electrical excitation.

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 Cathodoluminescence: Electron bombardment.
5. Radiative & Non-Radiative Recombination, Internal Quantum Efficiency:
τnr
Quantum Efficiency: ηr ​ = ​

τr +τnr
​
. ​
​

6. Optical Joint Density of States (Derivation & Graph):

Defines the number of available states for photon interaction.

7. Density of States of Photons (Derivation):

Derived from quantum mechanics using energy and wavevector relations.

8. Transition Probability & Fermi’s Golden Rule:

Defines probability of transition between quantum states due to perturbation.

9. Optical Gain & Optical Loss:

Gain: More stimulated emission than absorption.

Loss: More absorption than emission.

10. P-N Junction Solar Cell: Limiting Cases:

Short Circuit Current (Isc): No external voltage, max current flow.

**Fill

I'll provide detailed and fundamental explanations for the important questions from Unit 2 and Unit
3 based on your syllabus and PDFs.

Unit 2: Important Questions & Answers

1. What is an Intrinsic Semiconductor?

An intrinsic semiconductor is a pure semiconductor material without any impurities. It has an equal
number of free electrons and holes. The conductivity of an intrinsic semiconductor depends only on
temperature and bandgap energy.

Examples: Silicon (Si), Germanium (Ge).

Bandgap: The energy gap between the valence and conduction bands (Si: 1.12 eV, Ge: 0.66 eV).

Conductivity equation:

σ = q(ne μe + nh μh )
​ ​ ​ ​

where:

q = Charge of an electron
ne = Electron concentration
​

nh = Hole concentration
​

μe , μh = Mobility of electrons and holes

​ ​

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2. Atomic Structure & Energy Level Diagram of Intrinsic
Semiconductor
Energy Levels: Electrons in an atom occupy discrete energy levels.

Energy Band Diagram: In a semiconductor, there are three main energy bands:

Valence Band (VB): Fully filled with electrons at 0K.

Conduction Band (CB): Empty at 0K, but electrons can move into it with thermal energy.

Bandgap (Eg): The energy required to excite an electron from VB to CB.

Energy Band Diagram:

scss

Conduction Band (CB)

↑ (Eg = Energy gap)
Valence Band (VB)

3. Fermi Level in an Intrinsic Semiconductor & Temperature

Effect
The Fermi level (EF ) represents the probability of electron occupancy at a given energy level.
​

In an intrinsic semiconductor, EF is near the middle of the bandgap.

​

As temperature increases, more electrons are excited to the conduction band, shifting EF slightly
​

upward.

Fermi Level Equation:

EC + EV
EF =
​ ​

2
​ ​

4. What is an Extrinsic Semiconductor?

An extrinsic semiconductor is a semiconductor doped with impurities to increase conductivity.

Types:

1. N-type (Negative-type) → Donor doping (e.g., adding phosphorus to silicon).

2. P-type (Positive-type) → Acceptor doping (e.g., adding boron to silicon).

5. N-Type Semiconductor (Diagram & Explanation)

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 Doped with pentavalent elements (P, As, Sb) which donate extra electrons.

Majority carriers: Electrons

Minority carriers: Holes

Fermi level moves closer to the conduction band.

6. P-Type Semiconductor (Diagram & Explanation)

Doped with trivalent elements (B, Al, Ga) creating holes.

Majority carriers: Holes

Minority carriers: Electrons

Fermi level moves closer to the valence band.

7-8. Fermi Level in P-Type & N-Type with Temperature

N-type: EF shifts toward the conduction band.
​

P-type: EF shifts toward the valence band.

​

9. Difference between P-type and N-type Semiconductors

Feature N-type P-type

Dopant Pentavalent (P, As) Trivalent (B, Al)

Majority Carrier Electrons Holes

Minority Carrier Holes Electrons

Conductivity Electrons move Holes move

10. Photon Transitions

Absorption: Electrons absorb energy and move to the conduction band.

Emission: Electrons fall back, releasing energy as light.

11-12. SRH Carrier Generation & Auger Transitions

SRH (Shockley-Read-Hall) Recombination: Recombination through defect states.

Auger Recombination: Energy is transferred to another carrier instead of photon emission.

13. Impact Ionization

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 High-energy carriers ionize atoms, creating more carriers.

Used in avalanche diodes.

14-15. Drift & Diffusion Current Equations

Drift Current: Due to the applied electric field.

Jd = qnμE​

Diffusion Current: Due to concentration gradients.

dn
Jd = qD
​ ​

dx

16-19. P-N Junction: Built-in Potential & Biasing

Forward Bias: Current flows, depletion layer shrinks.

Reverse Bias: No current flows, depletion region widens.

Unit 3: Important Questions & Answers

1. Types of Optical Absorption & Recombination

Absorption: Band-to-band, impurity level, free carrier absorption.

Recombination:

Radiative: Photon emission (used in LEDs).

Non-Radiative: Phonon emission (heat dissipation).

2. Spontaneous & Stimulated Emission

Spontaneous Emission: Electron falls to lower energy state, emitting a photon randomly.

Stimulated Emission: Photon triggers another identical photon emission (used in lasers).

3. Einstein’s Coefficients & Relation Between A21 & B21

Describes the probability of absorption and emission.

Relation:

A21 = B21 ⋅ ρ(E)

​ ​

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4. Luminescence & Types
Photoluminescence: Light-induced excitation.

Electroluminescence: Emission due to electrical excitation (e.g., LEDs).

Cathodoluminescence: Electron bombardment emission.

5. Radiative & Non-Radiative Recombination, Quantum Efficiency

Quantum Efficiency: Ratio of radiative recombination to total recombination.
τnr
ηr =
​

τr + τnr
​

​ ​

6-7. Optical Joint Density of States & Density of States of Photons

Defines the number of available states for photon interaction.

8. Transition Probability & Fermi’s Golden Rule

Probability of electron transition in quantum mechanics:

2π
Wi→f = ∣Mif ∣2 ρf
ℏ
​ ​ ​ ​

9. Optical Gain & Optical Loss

Gain: More stimulated emission than absorption.

Loss: More absorption than emission.

10. P-N Junction Solar Cell: Limiting Cases

Short Circuit Current (Isc ): Maximum current when no external voltage.
​

Fill Factor (FF):

Vm Im
FF =
​ ​

Voc Isc ​ ​

These answers cover the detailed fundamentals and derivations required for Unit 2 and 3. Let me
know if you need diagrams or numerical solutions! 🚀
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