EE-906

Solid State Electronics

 EE-906 Solid State Electronics
Credit Hours: 3
Pre-requisites: Nil
Course Objectives
• The objective of this graduate-level course is to provide an
in-depth coverage of Solid State Electronics
• The course will serve to prepare the students to undertake
research and development related to semiconductor
devices
 COURSE CONTENTS
• Crystal Structure
 Crystal structure
 Lattice points, Space Lattice, Lattice Plane, Basis and Unit Cell
 Lattice Parameter
 Lattice Vector and Direction
 Seven Crystal System
 Bravais Space Lattice
 Symmetry Elements of a Crystalline Solid
 Coordinates of a Lattice Point
 Number of Atoms/Molecules per Unit Cell, Coordination
Number, Atomic Radius
 Packing Density or Atomic Packing Factor and its Calculation
 Calculation of Lattice Constant, Miller Indices, Different Crystal
Planes with Miller Indices
 Lattice Vector (Direction of a line in a Crystal), Interplanner
Spacing
 Some Simple and Common Crystals
 COURSE CONTENTS
• Wave Diffraction and the Reciprocal Lattice
 Diffraction of Waves by Crystals-Bragg’s Law
 Scattered wave Amplitude
 Fourier Analysis
 Reciprocal Lattice Vectors
 Diffraction Conditions
 Laue Equations
 Brillouin Zones
 Reciprocal Lattice to SC Lattice
 Reciprocal Lattice to BCC Lattice
 Reciprocal Lattice to FCC Lattice
 Fourier Analysis of the Basis
 Structure Factor of the BCC Lattice
 Structure Factor of the FCC Lattice
 Atomic Form Factor
 COURSE CONTENTS
• Crystal Binding and Elastic Constants
• Crystals of Inert Gases
• Van der Waals-London Interaction
• Repulsive Interaction
• Equilibrium Lattice Constants
• Cohesive Energy
• Ionic Crystals
• Electrostatic or Madelung Energy
• Evaluation of Madelung Energy
• Covalent Crystals
• Metals
• Hydrogen Bonds
• Analysis of Elastic Strains
 COURSE CONTENTS
• Crystal Binding and Elastic Constants
• Dilation
• Stress Components
• Elastic Compliance and Stiffness Constants
• Elastic Energy Density
• Elastic Stiffness Constants of Cubic Crystals
• Bulk Modulus and Compressibility
• Elastic Waves in Cubic Crystals
• Waves in the [100] Direction
• Waves in [110] Direction
 COURSE CONTENTS
• Phonons
 Vibrations of Crystals with Monatomic Basis
 Two Atoms per Primitive Basis
 Quantization of Elastic Waves
 Phonon Momentum
 Inelastic Scattering by Phonons
 Phonon Heat Capacity
 Anharmonic Crystal Interactions
 Thermal Conductivity
 COURSE CONTENTS
• Free Electron Fermi Gas
 Energy Levels in 1-D
 Effects of Temperature on Fermi-Dirac Distribution
 Free Electron Gas in 3-D
 Heat Capacity of the Electron Gas
 Electrical Conductivity and Ohm’s Law
 Motion in Magnetic Fields
 Thermal Conductivity of Metals
• Energy Bands
 Nearly Free Electron Model
 Bloch Functions
 Kronig-Penney Model
 Wave Equation of Electron in a Periodic Potential
 Number of Orbitals in a Band
 COURSE CONTENTS
• Semiconductor Crystals
 Band Gap
 Equations of Motion
 Intrinsic Carrier Concentration
 Impurity Conductivity
 Thermoelectric Effects
 COURSE CONTENTS
• Defects
 Point Defects
 Intrinsic Point Defects
 Extrinsic Point Defects
 Lattice Vacancies
 Diffusion
 Color Centers
 Line Defects
 Dislocations
 Elastic Properties and Motion of Dislocations
 Brittle Verses Ductile Behavior
 Surface imperfections and Interfaces
 COURSE OUTCOMES

• The student will have the in-depth

knowledge of Solid State Electronics
• The student will be able to take advanced
level courses and to do research in
semiconductors
 RECOMMENDED BOOKS

 Introduction to Solid State Physics by Charles Kittle, John

Wiley and Sons, Inc. 8th Edition, 2005.
 Solid State Physics by Neil W. Ashcroft, N. David Mermin
HOLT-SAUNDERS International Edition.1976.
 Atomic and Electronic Structure of Solids Efthimios
Kaxiras Cambridge University Press 2003.
 Solid State Physics- Structure and Properties of Materials
by M.A. Wahab, Narosa Publishing House, New Delhi,
London, 1999.
 SEMESTER SCHEDULE-SPRING 2017

 Semester Starts: 20 Feb 2017

 Semester Ends: 23 Jun 2017

 1st Sessional: 27 - 31 Mar 2017

 2nd Sessional: 08-12 May 2017

 Final Exam: 19-23 Jun 2017

 COURSE PLANNED-EE-906
”SOLID STATE ELECTRONICS”

 1ST CLASS: 1730-1855 HRS (TUESDAY)

 2ND CLASS: 1905-2030 HRS (WEDNESDAY)

 QUIZZs: AFTER EVERY 4-CLASSES

(AT END OF TWO WEEKS)

IN 1ST CLASS OF 3RD , 5TH , 9TH , 11TH, 15TH & 17TH CLASS
 COURSE PLANNED-EE-906
”SOLID STATE ELECTRONICS”

 ASSIGNMENTS:

 (AT END OF EACH CHAPTER)

 AND MUST BE SUBMITTED WITHIN ONE WEEK TIME

 GRADING SCHEME:
 QUIZZES: 10-15 Marks
 ASSIGNMENTS: 05-10 Marks
 SESSIONALS: 25-35 Marks
 FINAL EXAM: 40-60 Marks
 CODE OF ETHICS
• All students must come to class on time (Attendance will
be taken in first 5 to 10 mins)
• Students should remain attentive during class and avoid
use of Mobile phone, Laptops or any gadgets
• Obedience to all laws, discipline code, rules and
community norms
• Respect peers, faculty and staff through actions and
speech
• Student should now be sleeping during class
• Bring writing material and books
• Class participation is encouraged
 Semiconductor Materials

 What distinguishes semiconductors?

 resistance/resistivity
 crystalline structure
The resistance of a bar of material with dimensions L, W, t:
W

R  L
WT
T
L
Resistivity  is:
metals:  < 10-3 -cm
insulators:  >102 -cm
semiconductors: 10-3 -cm <  < 102 -cm
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 Semiconductor Materials

Figure 1: Electrical conductivities of some common materials.

18
 Semiconductor Materials
Conductivity of semiconductor material can
be varied over orders of magnitude by
changes in:-
-temperature
-optical excitation
-impurity content

Periodic table
Column IV Si, Ge Elemental semiconductors
III-V Compound semiconductors example: GaAs
II-VI Compound semiconductors example: CdTe

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 Semiconductor Materials
 The Portion of Periodic Table Where
Semiconductors Occur

20
 Semiconductor Materials
 The Portion of Periodic Table Where
Semiconductors Occur
(b) Elemental IV Binary III-V Binary II-VI
Compounds Compounds Compounds
Si SiC Al P Zn S
Ge SIGe Al AS Zn Se
Al Sb Zn Te
Ga N Cd S
Ga P Cd Se
Ga As Cd Te
Ga Sb
In P
In As
In Sb
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 Semiconductor Materials
Binary compounds: GaAs, GaP, GaN, CdTe, InP etc.
Ternary compounds: AlGaAs, GaAsP, HgCdTe, etc.
Quaternary compounds: InGaAsP, AlGaInAs, etc.

Applications:
* transistors, integrated circuits (Si)
* light emitting diodes (LEDs) (GaAs, GaN, GaP)
* lasers (AlGaInAs, InGaAsP, GaAs, AlGaAs)
* light detectors(Si, InGaAsP, CdSe, InSb, HgCdTe)

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 Semiconductor Materials
• Energy Band Gap
Material Band –Gap Between Corresponding
C.B. &V.B. Wavelength
8688 Å
Ga As 1.43 eV
Near Infra-Red

5402 Å
Ga P 1.23 eV
In Green light range
Si 1.11 eV 11193 Å

Ge 0.67 eV 18543 Å

Si C 2.86 eV 4344 Å

Al P 2.45 eV 5071 Å

Al As 2.16 eV 5752 Å

Zn Se 2.7 eV 4601 Å

Ga N 3.4 eV 3654 Å

Zn S 3.6 eV 3358 Å
 Semiconductor Materials
• Energy Band Gap
Material Band –Gap Between Corresponding
C.B. &V.B. Wavelength
In Sb 0.18 eV 69021 Å

Pb Se 0.27 eV 46014 Å
In As 0.36 eV 34511 Å

PB Te 0.29 eV 42841 Å

Cd Te 1.58 eV 7863 Å

Zn Te 2.25 eV 5522 Å

• In view of large range of band gap of Semiconductor

materials LEDs and Lasers may be constructed over
a broad range of Infrared and Visible portions of the
spectrum
 Semiconductor Materials
• Impurities in Semiconductors strongly affect the

Electronic and Optical properties of semiconductors

• Impurities change the conductivity of the

semiconductors over a wide range

• Impurities may alter the nature of conduction from

positive to negative charge carriers

• Controlled addition of impurities is termed as doping

 Semiconductor Materials

• Atomic arrangements in Solid Materials

is necessary for understanding of
properties of semiconductors
 Crystal Lattices
Solids are classified according to atomic arrangement:-
 Crystalline- A material whose same arrangement of atoms is
repeated at its multiple points throughout its structure
 Amorphous- Materials having no structure at all
 Polycrystalline- Solids consisting of very small regions of
single crystal material

(a) Crystalline (b) Amorphous (c) Polycrystalline

27
Solid state devices employ semiconductor
materials in all of the above forms.
Examples:
Amorphous silicon (a-Si) used to make thin film
transistors (TFTs) used as switching elements in
LCDs.
Ploycrystalline Si – Gate materials in MOSFETs.
The atoms making up the CRYSTAL are arranged in a periodic
fashion called LATTICE.

UNIT CELL is representative of the entire lattice and is

generally repeated throughout the structure.

PRIMITIVE CELL is the smallest unit cell that can be repeated

to form the lattice.

Crystal lattice determines:

 Density of solid (mechanical property)
 Allowed energy bands of electrons (electrical property).

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Atoms in a Crystal
 The Unit Cell Concept
• The simplest repeating unit in a crystal is called a
unit cell.
• Opposite faces of a unit cell are parallel.
• The edge of the unit cell connects equivalent
points.
• Not unique. There can be several unit cells of a
crystal.
• The smallest possible unit cell is called primitive
cell of a particular crystal structure.
Unit Cell
 Unit and Primitive Cells

• A, B, and C are primitive

unit cells. Why?
• D, E, and F are not. Why?
• Notice: the volumes of A, B,
and C are the same. Also,
the choice of origin is
different, but it doesn’t
matter
• Also: There is only one
lattice point in the primitive
unit cell.
 The 3D Bravais Lattices
• In 3D, there are 7
lattice systems,
which give rise to
14 Bravais lattices
• The general lattice
is triclinic, and all
others are derived
from putting
restraints on the
triclinic lattice
 The 14 Bravais Lattices in 3D

• P = primitive (1
lattice point)
• I = Body-
centred (2
lattice pts)
• F = Face-
centred (4
lattice pts)
• C = Side-centred
(2 lattice pts)
 Cubic Lattices

Simple (SC) Body-centered (BCC) Face-centered (FCC)

a – lattice constant

All three structures have different primitive cells,

but the same cubic unit cell.
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Lattice Maximum Packing Fraction
• As atoms are packed into the lattice in any of
these arrangements (i.e. sc, fcc or bcc), the
distances between neighboring atoms will be
determined by a balance between the forces
that attract them together and other forces
that hold them apart.
• We can calculate the maximum fraction of the
lattice volume that can be filled with atoms by
approximating the atoms as hard spheres.
Lattice Maximum Packing Fraction
• The figure illustrates the
packing of spheres in a
face-centered cubic cell
of side a, such that the
nearest neighbors
touch.
• The dimension a for a
cubic unit cell is called
the lattice constant.
 Planes and Directions

Miller indices - A shorthand notation to describe certain

crystallographic directions and planes in a material. Denoted by
[ ], <>, ( ) brackets. A negative number is represented by a bar
over the number.
 Planes and Directions
• In discussing crystals it is very helpful to be able to
refer to planes and directions within the lattice. The
notation system generally adopted uses a set of three
integers to describe the position of a plane or the
direction of a vector within the lattice.
• We first set up an xyz coordinate system with the
origin at any lattice point and the axes are lined up with
the edges of the cubic unit cell.
• The three integers describing a particular plane are
found as listed in the next slide.
 Planes and Directions
1. Find the intercepts of the plane with the crystal axes
and express these intercepts as integral multiples of the
basis vectors (the plane can be moved in and out from
the origin, retaining its orientation, until such an
integral intercept is discovered on each axis).
2. Take the reciprocals of the three integers found in
step 1 and reduce these to the smallest set of integers
h, k, and l, which have the same relationship to each
other as the three reciprocals.
3. Label the plane (hkl).
 Example 1.2 (Streetman)
• The plane illustrated in the
figure has intercepts at 2a, 4b
and 1c along the three crystal
axes.
• Taking the reciprocals of these
intercepts, we get ½, ¼ and 1.
• These three fractions have the
same relationship to each other
as the integers 2,1, and 4
(obtained by multiplying each
fraction by 4).
• Thus the plane can be referred
to as a (214) plane.
 Assignment # 1
Problems 1.1 till 1.5, Neamen (3rd Ed.)
Problems 1.3 till 1.7, Streetman (6th Ed.)

Due date: 24th Sep 2013

Queries, if any, may be addressed to

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