(MPM-202)

Optoelectronics and Optical

Communication System

UNIT-I (Optical Process in Semiconductors)

Lecture-1
by
Prof. D. K. Dwivedi
Physics and Material Science department
Madan Mohan Malaviya University of Technology, Gorakhpur
SYLLABUS

SYLLABUS
 Types of Material

• One valance • Four valance

electron • Eight valance
Semiconductor electron
electron
Conductor

• V.B & C.B. • V.B & C.B. is

overlapped Eg≈ 0 • V.B & C.B. separated

Insulator
separated by Eg≈
eV) by Eg≈ 6-10 eV)
1.1 eV)
• Small resistivity • Very high resitivity
• High resistivity
• Good conduction of • No any
• Moderate
electrical current conduction of
conduction of
• Eg : Copper, electrical current
electrical current
Alluminium etc. • Eg : Mica, Paper etc.
• Eg : Silicon,
Germanium etc.
Semiconductors

Tunable Electrical switch

conductivity Amplifier
Logic device (CMOS logic)
Miniaturization of
Memory devices
electrical
LEDs
Advantages

Applications
components
Laser diode
Low power Solar Cell
consumption Photodetector
Longer life Op-Amp
ICs
Used in 3D printing Diodes
machines Capacitor
Tunable bandgap Transistors
Resistor
Sensing ability
Classification of Semiconductor

Classification of Semiconductor

Elemental Compound

Intrinsic Extrinsic

Silicon, Germanium i) n-type

(pentavalent
doped) III-V III-VI
ii) P-type compound compound
(trivalent
doped)
GaN, GaP, GaAs, ZnS, ZnSe, ZnTe,
GaSb, InP, InAs, CdS, CdSe, CdTe,
InSb ZnO
 Why Compound Semiconductors?

 The elemental semiconductors, in particular Si, have been very useful for the development of
microelectronics but they have some important drawbacks as follows-

• The fundamental band gap of these semiconductors is indirect.

• They emit light very poorly and their absorption coefficient are low.

• Silicon is technologically good but because of its small energy gap the conversion efficiency is
low

• It became clear that Si, considered by many as a universal semiconductor material , cannot
perform many important functions.

• For optoelectronic applications, in particular, it was natural to turn to other material.

 Compound Semiconductors

 The compound semiconductor materials offers many of the desired properties and could be
synthesized without much difficulty.

 Compound semiconductors as the name suggest are made of elements of different columns of
the periodic table. Examples are III-V, II-VI, IV-VI or IV-IV compounds.

 The compound semiconductor, represented by AIIIBV or CIIDVI , has the same average number
of valance electrons per atom as Si.

 Si has four valance electrons and in III-V or II-VI compounds, the sum of outer electrons is
eight.
 Electronic Properties of Semiconductors
The models that are used to study the electronic properties of solids are-
Free-electron Model One-electron Model Kronig-Penney Model
• Explains conduction and related • More successful in explaining the • It overcomes the limitations of the free
phenomena in metals. electronic properties of electron model.
semiconductors.
• It is the quantum-mechanical
• In this model, the nearly free
interaction of an electron with the
valance electrons are shared by all • In this model, it is assumed that periodic potential of the lattice that
the atoms in the solid. Thus, there the conduction electron obeying gives rise to the band theory of solids.
is a “sea” of free electrons Pauli exclusion principle is not
swimming around and these entirely free and does not see a • The formation of allowed energy
electron see a nearly constant constant potential. bands in which electron can exist,
smeared-out potential. satisfying Pauli’s exclusive principle,
separated by forbidden energy regions.
• It can't explain phenomena in
• The concept of a hole, effective mass
covalently bonded solids such as
of carriers and conduction properties
semiconductors.
also arise from the band theory.
 Origin of E-k Diagram
 Most of the semiconductors are crystalline and in the crystalline semiconductors the atoms are
periodically arranged in the lattice.

 The periodical arrangement leads to the periodical potential energy variation.

 But the motion of electron in a system is governed by the laws of quantum mechanics.

 For the one electron one proton system like hydrogen it is very easy to solve Schrodinger wave
equation but for many electron system it is quite complicated.
 Origin of E-k diagram
 F. Bloch observed that since the potential vary periodically so the probability of finding the
electron ( should also vary periodically.

 Which implies wave function ( ) should vary periodically where ‘ ’ is wave function.
→
.
 So the wave function is given by a product of plane wave ( multiplied by a periodic
function ( ) which is called the cell function.
→
.

where

 Substituting the value of above wave function ( ) in

 Origin of E-k diagram
 After solving we get that that the energy Eigen value E is also periodic in wave vector k.

 First Brillouin zone corresponds to and k = 0 is

 There are three pictures of E-k diagram-

1. Periodic Zone Picture (as shown above)
2. Reduced Zone Picture
3. Extended Zone Picture
Origin of E-k diagram
 Reduced zone picture is up to first  In extended zone picture we show
Brillouin zone boundary discontinuity. (Kronig-Penney Model)
 E-k diagram
 In this course we can easily work with the reduced zone picture of E-k diagram.

 More precisely just by focusing the maxima of valance band and minima of conduction band.
 From the figure we observe that
• k=0 corresponds to i.e. centre of the
Brillouin zone.
• There are two possible directions from
i.e.
to L which is direction
to X which is direction

• All the energies below the valance band maxima

and above the conduction band minima are allowed
energies and in between there is a gap which is
known as band gap.
 E-k diagram

 The visible energy range (400-800 nm) corresponds to energy range of 1.5-3 eV.

 At room temperature (RT) kT=29 meV so at room temperature and for band gap 1.5-3 eV , 29
meV energy is sufficient enough to cause to jump this band gap.

 The band gap of various semiconductors at RT and atT= 0 K has been tabulated below-

Temperature Si Ge GaAs CdTe GaP

RT 1.1 eV 0.67 eV 1.43 eV 1.49 eV 2.26 eV
0K 1.17 eV 0.74 eV 1.5 eV 1.61 eV 2.32 eV

 In Silicon at 0 K, the conduction band is completely filled and valance band is completely
empty so it does not conduct at 0 K.