1 / 30

Electrical Transport BW, Chs 4 & 8; YC, Ch 5; S, Chs 4 & 5

Electrical Transport BW, Chs 4 & 8; YC, Ch 5; S, Chs 4 & 5. What was Lord Kelvin’s name?. Electrical Transport BW, Chs 4 & 8; YC, Ch 5; S, Chs 4 & 5. What was Lord Kelvin’s name? “Lord Kelvin” was his title , NOT his name !!! . 1. Current (drift & diffusion) 2. Conductivity 3. Mobility

lizina
Download Presentation

Electrical Transport BW, Chs 4 & 8; YC, Ch 5; S, Chs 4 & 5

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Electrical TransportBW, Chs 4 & 8; YC, Ch 5; S, Chs 4 & 5 What was Lord Kelvin’s name?

  2. Electrical TransportBW, Chs 4 & 8; YC, Ch 5; S, Chs 4 & 5 What was Lord Kelvin’s name? “Lord Kelvin” was his title,NOT his name!!!

  3. 1.Current(drift & diffusion) 2.Conductivity 3.Mobility 4.Hall Effect 5.Thermal Conductivity 6.Saturated Drift Velocity 7.Derivation of“Ohm’s Law” • 8.Flux equation • 9.Einstein relation • 10.Total current density • 11.Carrier recombination • 12.Carrier diffusion • 13.Band diagrams in an • electric field • Electrical Transport≡The study of the transport of electrons & holes (in semiconductors) under various conditions. A broad & somewhat specialized area. Among possible topics:

  4. Definitions & Terminology • Bound Electrons & Holes:Electrons which are immobile or trapped at defect or impurity sites. Or deep in the Valence Bands. “Free” Electrons: In the conduction bands “Free” Holes: In the valence bands “Free” charge carriers: Free electrons or holes. • Note:It is shown in manySolid State Physics texts that: • Only free charge carriers contribute to the current! • Bound charge carriers do NOT contribute to the current! • As discussed earlier, only charge carriers within  kBT of the Fermi energy EF contribute to the current.

  5. The Fermi-Dirac Distribution • NOTE! The energy levels within ~  2kBT of EF (in the “tail”, where it differs from a step function) are the ONLYones which enter conduction (transport) processes! Within that tail, instead of a Fermi-Dirac Distribution, the distribution function is: f(ε) ≈ exp[-(E - EF)/kBT] (A Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution)

  6. Only charge carriers within 2 kBT of EF contribute to the current:  Because of this, as briefly discussed last time, the Fermi-Dirac distribution can be replaced by the Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution to describe the charge carriers at equilibrium. BUT, note that, in transport phenomena, they are NOT at equilibrium! The electron transport problem isn’t as simple as it looks! • Because they are not at equilibrium, to be rigorous, for a correct theory,we need to find the non-equilibrium charge carrier distribution function to be able to calculate observable properties. • In general, this is difficult. Rigorously, this must be approached by using the classical (or the quantum mechanical generalization of) Boltzmann Transport Equation. We will only briefly discuss this, to get an overview.

  7. A “Quasi-Classical” Treatment of Transport • This approach treats electronic motion in an electric field Eusing a Classical, Newton’s 2nd Law method, but it modifies Newton’s 2nd Lawin 2 ways: 1.The electron massmois replaced by the effective massm* (obtained from the Quantum Mechanical bandstructures). 2.An additional, (internal “frictional” or “scattering” or “collisional”) force is added, & characterized by a “scattering time”τ • In this theory, all Quantum Effects are “buried” in m*& τ. Note that: • m*can, in principle, be obtained from the bandstructures. • τcan, in principle, be obtained from a combination of Quantum Mechanical & Statistical Mechanical calculations. • The scattering time, τ could be treatedas an empirical parameter in this quasi-classical approach.

  8. Justification of this quasi-classical approach is found with a combination of: • The Boltzmann Transport Equation(in the relaxation time approximation). We’ll briefly discuss this. • Ehrenfest’s Theorem from Quantum Mechanics. This says that the Quantum Mechanical expectation values of observables obey their classical equations of motion! Our Text by BW Ch. 4, calculations are quasi-classical & use Newton’s 2nd Law. Ch. 8,combines quasi-classical & Boltzmann Transport methods. The text by YC The calculations are quasi-classical & use Newton’s 2nd Law. The text by S Most calculations use the Boltzmann transport approach.

  9. Notation & Definitions (notation varies from text to text) v (or vd)  Drift Velocity This is the velocity of a charge carrier in an E field E External Electric Field J (or j) Current Density • Recall from classical E&M that, for electrons alone (no holes): j = nevd(1) n= electron density A goalis to find the Quantum & Statistical Mechanics average of Eq. (1) under various conditions (E & B fields, etc.).

  10. In this quasi-classical approach, the electronic bandstructures are almost always treated in the parabolic (spherical) band approximation. • This is not necessary, of course! • So, for example, for an electron at the bottom of the conduction bands: EC(k)  EC(0) + (ħ2k2)/(2m*) • Similarly, fora hole at the top of the valence bands: EV(k)  EV(0) - (ħ2k2)/(2m*)

  11. Recall: NEWTON’S 2nd Law In the quasi-classical approach, the left side contains 2 forces: FE = -eE =electric force due to the E field FS =frictional or scattering force due to electrons scattering with impurities & imperfections. Characterized by a scattering time τ.

  12. Newton’s 2nd LawAn Electron in an External Electric Field Assume that the magnetic field B = 0. Later, B  0 The Quasi-classical Approximation • Let r = e-position & use ∑F = ma m*a = m*(d2r/dt2) = - (m*/τ)(dr/dt) -eEor m*(d2r/dt2) + (m*/τ)(dr/dt) = -eE • Here,-(m*/τ)(dr/dt) = - (m*/τ)v =“frictional” or “scattering” force. Here, τ = Scattering Time. • τincludes the effects of e-scattering from phonons, mpurities, other e-, etc. Usually treated as an empirical, phenomenological parameter • However, can τ be calculated from QM & Statistical Mechanics, as we will briefly discuss.

  13. With this approach:  The entire transport problem is classical! • The scattering force: Fs = - (m*/τ)(dr/dt) = - (m*v)/τ • Note that Fs decreases (gets more negative) as v increases. • The electrical force: Fe = qE • Note that Fe causes v to increase. • Newton’s 2nd Law:∑F = ma m*(d2r/dt2) = m*(dv/dt) = Fs – Fe • Define the “Steady State” condition, when a = dv/dt = 0  At steady state, Newton’s 2nd Law becomesFs = Fe (1) At steady state, v  vd (the drift velocity) Almost always, we’ll talk about Steady State Transport (1)  qE = (m*vd)/τ

  14. So, at steady state, qE = (m*vd)/τor vd = (qEτ)/m* (1) • Using the definition of the mobilityμ: vd  μE (2) • (1) & (2)  The mobility is: μ  (qτ) (3) • Using the definition of current densityJ, along with (2): J  nqvd = nqμE (4) • Using the definition of the conductivityσ gives: J  σE(This isOhm’s “Law” ) (5) (4) & (5) σ = nqμ (6) (3) & (6)  The conductivity in terms of τ&m* σ = (nq2 τ)/m* (7)

  15. Summary of “Quasi-Classical” Theory of Transport Macroscopic Microscopic Current Charge Ohm’s Law Resistance • The Drift velocity vd is the net electron velocity (0.1 to 10-7 m/s). • TheScattering timeτ is the time between electron-lattice collisions.

  16. Electronic Motion • The charge carriers travel at (relatively) high velocities for a timet& then “collide” with the crystal lattice. This results in a net motion opposite to the E field with drift velocityvd. • The scattering time tdecreaseswithincreasing temperature T, i.e. more scattering at higher temperatures. This leads to higher resistivity.

  17. Resistivity vs Temperature • The resistivity is temperature dependentmostly because of the temperature dependence of the scattering time τ. • In Metals,the resistivityincreases with increasing temperature. Why? Because the scattering time τdecreaseswithincreasing temperature T, so as the temperature increases ρ increases (for the same number of conduction electrons n) • InSemiconductors,the resistivitydecreases with increasing temperature. Why? The scattering time τalso decreaseswithincreasing temperature T. But, as the temperature increases, the number of conduction electrons also increases. That is, more carriers are able to conduct at higher temperatures.

  18. “Quasi-Classical” Steady State TransportSummary(Ohm’s “Law”) • Current density: J  σE(Ohm’s “Law”) • Conductivity:σ = (nq2τ)/m* • Mobility:μ = (qτ)/m* σ = nqμ • As we’ve seen, the electron concentration n is strongly temperature dependent! n = n(T) • We’ve said that τ is also strongly temperature dependent! τ = τ(T).  So, the conductivityσ is strongly temperature dependent! σ = σ(T)

  19. We’ll soon see that, if a magnetic field B is present also, σis a tensor: Ji = ∑jσijEjσ, σij= σij(B)(i,j = x,y,z) • NOTE:This means that Jis not necessarily parallel to E! • In the simplest case, σisa scalar: J = σE, σ = (nq2τ)/m* J = nqvd, vd = μE μ = (qτ)/m*, σ = nqμ • If there are both electrons & holes, the 2 contributions are simply added (qe= -e, qh = +e): σ = e(nμe + pμh), μe = -(eτe)/me , μh = +(eτh)/mh • Note that the resistivity is simply the inverse of the conductivity: ρ  (1/σ)

  20. More Details • The scattering time τthe average time a charged particle spends betweenscatterings from impurities, phonons, etc. • Detailed Quantum Mechanical scattering theory (we’ll briefly describe) shows that τis not a constant, but depends on the particle velocity v: τ = τ(v). • If we use the classical free particle energy ε = (½)m*v2,then τ = τ(ε). • Seeger (Ch. 6) shows that τhas the approximate form: τ(ε)  τo[ε/(kBT)]r where τo= classical mean time between collisions & the exponent rdepends on the scattering mechanism: Ionized Impurity Scattering:r = (3/2) Acoustic Phonon Scattering:r = - (½)

  21. Numerical Calculation of Typical Parameters • Calculate the mean scattering time τ & the mean free path for scattering ℓ = vthτ for electrons in n-type silicon & for holes in p-type silicon. • vd = μE, J = σE, μ = (qτ)/m* • σ = nqμ, (½)(m*)(vth)2 = (3/2) kBT

  22. Carrier Scattering in Semiconductors Solid-State Physics

  23. Some Carrier Scattering Mechanisms • Defect Scattering • Phonon Scattering • Boundary Scattering • (From film surfaces, grain boundaries, ...)

  24. Some Possible Results of Carrier Scattering Intra-valley Inter-valley Inter-band

  25. Defect Scattering Ionized Defects Perturbation Potential Charged Defect (Neutral Defects

  26. Scattering from Ionized Defects (“Rutherford Scattering”) • The thermal average Carrier Velocity in the • absence of an external E field depends on • temperature as: • as • The Mean Free Scattering Ratedepends on • the temperature as: • So, (1/)  <v>-3  T-3/2 • This gives the temperature dependence of the • Mobility as:

  27. Carrier-Phonon Scattering • Lattice vibrations (phonons) modulate the periodic potential, so carriers are scattered by this (slow) time dependent, periodic, potential. A scattering rate calculation gives: 1/tph ~ T-3/2 . So

  28. Scattering from Ionized Defects & Lattice Vibrations Together • 1/tph ~ T-3/2

  29. Mobility Measurements in n-Type Ge

  30. Electrical Conductivity Measurements in n-Type Ge

More Related