Department of Physics, School of Natural Sciences, NUST

EE903 Advanced Semiconductor Device Theory

Assignment # 2
Guide lines:

i. The following problems have been extracted from the Text Book by Donald Neamen.
ii. It is recommended as well as required to give physical pictures corresponding to the problems
rather than simply giving a mathematical answer.
iii. The deadline for the assignment is Friday 29, May 2020
iv. The plagiarism is not allowed and misconduct will result in the reduction of score of both
parties.

1. Consider a homogeneous gallium arsenide semiconductor at T = 300 K with Nd =

1016 cm-3 and Na = 0. (a) Calculate the thermal-equilibrium values of electron and hole
concentrations. (b) For an applied E-field of 10 V-cm-1, calculate the drift current density.
2. A silicon crystal at room temperature having a cross-sectional area of 0.001 cm' and a
length of 10-3 cm connected at its ends to a 10-V battery., calculate the density of donor
atoms to be added to in order to get a current of 100 mA. b) If the initial concentration of
donor atoms is Nd = 1015 cm-3, calculate the concentration of acceptor atoms to be added
to form a compensated p-type material with the conductivity obtained in part (a). c)
Calculate the average drift velocity of electrons for part (a). Now suppose that the
concentrations of acceptor and donor atoms are same (Nd = Na = 1014 cm-3). Such a
semiconductor is called compensated semiconductor. A compensated semiconductor
behaves as an intrinsic material. What will be the impact on conductivity if Nd = Na =
1018 cm-3. d)
3. A semiconductor material has electron and hole mobilities n and p respectively. When
the conductivity is considered as a function of the hole concentration p0, (a) show that the
minimum value of conductivity, min can be written as
⁄

where i is the intrinsic conductivity, and (b) show that the corresponding hole
⁄
concentration is ( ) .
4. A particular intrinsic semiconductor has a resistivity of 50 -cm at T = 300 K and 5 -
cm at T = 330 K. Neglecting the change in mobility with temperature, determine the
bandgap energy of the semiconductor.
5. The hole concentration is given by p = 1015 exp(-x/Lp) cm-3 for x  0 and the electron
concentration is given by 5 × I014 exp(+x/Ln) cm-3 for x  0. The values of Lp and Ln are 5
 × l0-4 cm and l0-3 cm, respectively. The hole and electron diffusion coefficients are 10
cm2/s and 25 cm2/s, respectively. Calculate the total current density which is the sum of
carrier current densities at x = 0.
6. The electron concentration in silicon at T = 300 K is given by

( )

where x is measured in m and is limited to 0  x  25 m. The electron diffusion

coefficient is Dn = 25 cm2/s and the electron mobility is n = 960 cm2/V-s. The total
electron current density through the semiconductor is constant and equal to Jn = -40
A/cm2. The electron current has both diffusion and drift current components. Determine
the electric field as a function of x which must exist in the semiconductor.
7. The total current in a semiconductor is constant and is composed of electron drift current
and hole diffusion current. The electron concentration is constant and is equal to 1016
cm-3. The hole concentration is given by

( )

The hole diffusion coefficient is Dp = 12 cm2/s and the electron mobility is n = 1000
cm2/V-s. The total current density is J = 4.8 A/cm2. Calculate the expressions for (a) the
hole diffusion current density (b) the electron current density and (c) the electric field as a
function of x.

8. A constant electric field, E = 12 V/cm, exists in the +x direction of an n-type Ga-As

semiconductor at room temperature having n = 8000 cm2/V-s for 0  x  50 m. The
total current density is (J = 100 A/cm2) a constant. At x = 0, the drift and diffusion
currents are equal. (a) Determine the expression for the electron concentration n(x). (b)
Calculate the drift and diffusion current densities at x = 50 m. (c) Now suppose that the
electron concentration is given by n = 1016 (1 - x/L) cm-3 for 0  x  50 m. The electron
mobility and diffusion coefficients are n = 1000 cm2/V-s and Dn = 25.9 cm2/s.
Determine the electric field as a function of x required to maintain a total current density
(J = -80 A/cm2) over the entire range of x.

9. Consider a semiconductor in thermal equilibrium (no current). Assume that the donor
concentration varies exponentially as Nd(x) = Nd0exp(-x) over the range 0  x  1/
where Nd0 is a constant. (a) Calculate the electric field as a function of x for the
mentioned range (b) Calculate the potential difference between x = 0 and x = 1/.

10. (a) Show that the Hall coefficient is related to the Hall voltage as
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