p–n junction

Abstract: For certain p-n junctions, it has been observed that the measured current-voltage characteristics deviate from the ideal case of the diffusion model. It is the purpose of this paper to show that the current due to generation and recombination of carriers from generation-recombination centers in the space charge region of a p-n junction accounts for the observed characteristics. This phenomenon dominates in semiconductors with large energy gap, low lifetimes, and low resistivity. This model not only accounts for the nonsaturable reverse current, but also predicts an apparent exp (qV/nkT) dependence of the forward current in a p-n junction. The relative importance of the diffusion current outside the space charge layer and the recombination current inside the space charge layer also explains the increase of the emitter efficiency of silicon transistors with emitter current. A correlation of the theory with experiment indicates that the energy level of the centers is a few kT from the intrinsic Fermi level.

Abstract: In a single crystal of semiconductor the impurity concentration may vary from p-type to n-type producing a mechanically continuous rectifying junction. The theory of potential distribution and rectification for p-n junctions is developed with emphasis on germanium. The currents across the junction are carried by the diffusion of holes in n-type material and electrons in p-type material, resulting in an admittance for a simple case varying as (1 + iωτ p )1/2 where τ p is the lifetime of a hole in the n-region. Contact potentials across p-n junctions, carrying no current, may develop when hole or electron injection occurs. The principles and theory of a p-n-p transistor are described.

Abstract: A II-VI compound semiconductor laser diode (10) is formed from overlaying layers of material including an n-type single crystal semiconductor substrate (12), adjacent n-type and p-type guiding lasers (14) and (16) of II-VI semiconductor forming a pn junction, a quantum well active layer (18) of II-VI semiconductor between the guiding layers (14) and (16), first electrode (32) opposite the substrate (12) from the n-type guiding layer (14), and a second electrode (30) opposite the p-type guiding layer (16) from the quantum well layer (18) Electrode layer (30) is characterized by a Fermi energy A p-type ohmic contact layer (26) is doped, with shallow acceptors having a shallow acceptor energy, to a net acceptor concentration of at least 1 x 1017 cm-3, and includes sufficient deep energy states between the shallow acceptor energy and the electrode layer Fermi energy to enable cascade tunneling by charge carriers

Abstract: A device physics model has been developed for radial p-n junction nanorod solar cells, in which densely packed nanorods, each having a p-n junction in the radial direction, are oriented with the rod axis parallel to the incident light direction. High-aspect-ratio (length/diameter) nanorods allow the use of a sufficient thickness of material to obtain good optical absorption while simultaneously providing short collection lengths for excited carriers in a direction normal to the light absorption. The short collection lengths facilitate the efficient collection of photogenerated carriers in materials with low minority-carrier diffusion lengths. The modeling indicates that the design of the radial p-n junction nanorod device should provide large improvements in efficiency relative to a conventional planar geometry p-n junction solar cell, provided that two conditions are satisfied: (1) In a planar solar cell made from the same absorber material, the diffusion length of minority carriers must be too low to allow for extraction of most of the light-generated carriers in the absorber thickness needed to obtain full light absorption. (2) The rate of carrier recombination in the depletion region must not be too large (for silicon this means that the carrier lifetimes in the depletion region must be longer than ~10 ns). If only condition (1) is satisfied, the modeling indicates that the radial cell design will offer only modest improvements in efficiency relative to a conventional planar cell design. Application to Si and GaAs nanorod solar cells is also discussed in detail.

Abstract: I. SEMICONDUCTOR FUNDAMENTALS. 1. Semiconductors -- A General Introduction. General Material Properties. Crystal Structure. Crystal Growth. 2. Carrier Modeling. The Quantization Concept. Semiconductor Models. Carrier Properties. State and Carrier Distributions. Equilibrium Carrier Concentrations. 3. Carrier Action. Drift. Diffusion. Recombination -- Generation. Equations of State. Supplemental Concepts. 4. Basics of Device Fabrication. Fabrication Processes. Device Fabrication Examples. R1. Part I Supplement and Review. Alternative/Supplemental Reading List. Figure Sources/Cited References. Review List of Terms. Part I Review Problem Sets and Answers. IIA. PN JUNCTION DIODES. 5. PN Junction Electrostatics. Preliminaries. Quantitative Electrostatic Relationships. 6. PN Junction Diode -- I-V Characteristics. The Ideal Diode Equation. Deviations from the Ideal. Special Considerations. 7. PN Junction Diode -- Small-Signal Admittance. Introduction. Reverse-Bias Junction Capacitance. Forward-Bias Diffusion Admittance. 8. PN Junction Diode -- Transient Response. Turn-Off Transient. Turn-On Transient. 9. Optoelectronic Diodes. Introduction. Photodiodes. Solar Cells. LEDs. IIB. BJTS AND OTHER JUNCTION DEVICES. 10. BJT Fundamentals. Terminology. Fabrication. Electrostatics. Introductory Operational Considerations. Performance Parameters. 11. BJT Static Characteristics. Ideal Transistor Analysis. Deviations from the Ideal. Modern BJT Structures. 12. BJT Dynamic Response Modeling. Equivalent Circuits. Transient (Switching) Response. 13. PNPN Devices. Silicon Controlled Rectifier (SCR). SCR Operational Theory. Practical Turn-on/Turn-off Considerations. Other PNPN Devices. 14. MS Contacts and Schottky Diodes. Ideal MS Contacts. Schottky Diode. Practical Contact Considerations. R2. Part II Supplement and Review. Alternative/Supplemental Reading List. Figure Sources/Cited References. Review List of Terms. Part II Review Problem Sets and Answers. III. FIELD EFFECT DEVICES. 15. Field Effect Introduction -- the J-FET and MESFET. General Introduction. J-FET. MESFET. 16. MOS Fundamentals. Ideal Structure Definition. Electrostatics -- Mostly Qualitative. Electrostatics -- Quantitative Formulation. Capacitance-Voltage Characteristics. 17. MOSFETs -- The Essentials. Qualitative Theory of Operation. Quantitative ID - VD Relationships. ac Response. 18. Nonideal MOS. Metal-Semiconductor Workfunction Difference. Oxide Charges. MOSFET Threshold Considerations. 19. Modern FET Structures. Small Dimension Effects. Select Structure Survey. R3. Part III Supplement and Review. Alternative/Supplemental Reading List. Figure Sources/Cited References. Review List of Terms. Part III Review Problem Sets and Answers. Appendix A. Elements of Quantum Mechanics. Appendix B. MOS Semiconductor Electrostatics -- Exact Solution. Appendix C. MOS C-V Supplement. Appendix D. MOS I-Vsupplement. Appendix E. List of Symbols. Appendix M. MATLAB Program Script.