I.

Carrier Transport: Drift

B.
A. Diffusion Current Density- Holes
Drift Velocity
• Current density = (charge) x (# carriers per second per area):

(a) Thermal Equilibrium, E = 0 p -1 ( x – λ ) Aλ – -1(b)pElectric (x + Field λ) Aλ E>0

diff 2 2
J
Electron # 1 p
= q --------------------------------------------------------------
Electron # 1
-
Aτ c
E
• If we assume the mean free path is much smaller than the dimensions
x
then we can consider λ = dx xand
xi xf,1 i xf,1 x
of our device, use
#2
a Taylor
Electron expansion on p(x - λ) and p(x #+2 λ):
Electron

diff d px
• J x =
xi – qD
p , where Dp = λ2xf,2/ τc is xthe diffusionx coefficent
p f,2 dx
i

Electron # 3 Electron # 3

• Holes diffuse down the concentration gradient and carryE positive

charge.
xf,3 xi x xf,3 xi x

* xi = initial position * xf, n = final position of electron n after 7 collisions

• Electrons drifting in an Electric Field move (on average) with a drift

velocity which is proportional to the Electric Field, E.

EECS 6.012 Spring 1998

Lecture 3
 Drift Velocity (Cont.)

Velocity
in Direction
of E Field

t
qE
v = at = ± ------- t
m

 qτ c 
v ave =  – ----------  E
 2m n 
• mn is an effective mass to take into account quantum mechanics
• Lump it into a quantity we call mobility µn (units:cm2/V-s)

vd = -µnE

EECS 6.012 Spring 1998

Lecture 3
B. Electron and Hole Mobility
• mobilities vary with doping concentration-- plot is for 300K

1400

1200
electrons
1000
mobility (cm2/Vs)

800

600
holes
400

200

0
1013 1014 1015 1016 1017 1018 1019 1020
Nd + Na total dopant concentration (cm−3)

• “typical values” for bulk silicon -- 300 K

µn = 1000 cm2/(Vs)

µp = 400 cm2/(Vs)

EECS 6.012 Spring 1998

Lecture 3
C. Velocity Saturation
• At electric fields greater >~ 104 V/cm
• Drift velocities saturate --> max. out at around 107 V/cm.
• Velocity saturation is very common in VLSI devices, due to sub-
micron dimensions

−vdn, vdp
(cm/s)
108

107

electrons
106
holes
105

104

103

10 102 103 104 105 E

(V/cm)

EECS 6.012 Spring 1998

Lecture 3
 D. Drift Current Density
• Electrons drift against electric field
• Electrons carry negative charge
• Jn dr = (-q) n vd units: Ccm-2 s-1 = Acm-2

Jndr = (-q) n (- µn E) = q n µn E

• Holes drift with electric field

• vd = µp E
• Jp dr = (+q) p vd

Jp dr = q p µp E

Caution:: The linear relationship between field and drift velocity breaks down for
high electric fields.

EECS 6.012 Spring 1998

Lecture 3
II. Carrier Transport: Diffusion

A. Diffusion
• Diffusion is a transport process driven by gradients in the
concentration of particles in random motion undergoing frequent
collisions.
• Average carrier velocity = vth = 107 cm/s
• Average interval between collisions = τc = 10-13 s = 0.1 picoseconds
• mean free path = λ = vth τc = 10-6 cm = 10 nm

reference plane
(area = A)
p(x)
hole diffusion

Jpdiff (positive)
p(xr − λ)
volume Aλ:
p(xr + λ) volume Aλ:
holes moving
holes moving
in + x direction cross
in − x direction cross
reference plane within
reference plane within
∆t = τc.
∆t = τc.

x
xr − λ xr xr + λ

• Since their motion is random, half of the carriers in each volume

will pass through the plane before their next collision.

EECS 6.012 Spring 1998

Lecture 3
 B. Diffusion Current Density- Holes
• Current density = (charge) x (# carriers per second per area):

-1 [ p ( x – λ ) ] Aλ – -1 [ p(x + λ) ] Aλ
diff 2 2
J
p
= q ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Aτ c
:
• If we assume the mean free path is much smaller than the dimensions
of our device, then we can consider λ = dx and use
a Taylor expansion on p(x - λ) and p(x + λ):

diff dp
• J = – qD p where Dp = λ2 / τc is the diffusion coefficent
p dx

• Holes diffuse down the concentration gradient and carry positive

charge.

p(x)

Jpdiff ( > 0)

Jpdiff ( < 0)

EECS 6.012 Spring 1998

Lecture 3
C. Diffusion Current Density - Electrons
• Electrons diffuse down the concentration gradient, yet carry negative
charge --> electron diffusion current density points in the direction
of the gradient

n(x)
Jndiff ( < 0)

Jndiff ( > 0)

D. Einstein Relation
• Both mobility and the diffusion constant are related to the mean time
between collisions τc. There is a relation between these important
quantities called the Einstein Relationship.

D D
p kT n kT
-------- = ------ and ------- = ------
µ q µ q
p n

EECS 6.012 Spring 1998

Lecture 3
III. Total Current Density

dr diff dn
J
n
= J
n
+ Jn = qnµ E
n
+ q Dn
dx

dr diff dp
J
p
= J
p
+ Jp = qpµ E
p
– qDp
dx

• Fortunately, we will be able to eliminate one or the other component

in finding the internal currents in microelectronic devices.

EECS 6.012 Spring 1998

Lecture 3