[Physics] Derivation of Einstein’s relation in Drift Diffusion model for Semiconductors

semiconductor-physics

I'm currently reading Semiconductor Devices: Basic Principles by Jasprit Singh. In this book he gives a derivation of the Einstein relation for the Drift Diffusion model of semiconductors, supposing equilibrim conditions (all current densities are zero) and Boltzmann statistics, that is, e.g. for the electron concentration:

\begin{equation}
n=n_i exp\left(-\frac{E_{Fi}-E_F}{k_BT}\right),
\end{equation}

Now comes the fishy part, because in the book he writes:

\begin{equation}
\vec{\nabla}n=\frac{n}{k_BT} \left(-\vec{\nabla}E_{Fi}+\vec{\nabla}E_F\right),
\end{equation}

which means that the gradient of the intrinsic carrier density is zero (according to the product rule, its derivative also has to be taken into account, which is not, thus it is zero). To this I see no reason, especially not in the case of an externally applied electric field. Can somebody explain this to me, please?

Side question: he also uses the relation:

\begin{equation}
\vec{E} = \frac{1}{e}\vec{\nabla}E_{Fi}
\end{equation}

Where does this come from?

Best Answer

There are a lot of books on this topic.

Instead of focusing on:

\begin{equation} n=n_i \exp\left(-\frac{E_{Fi}-E_F}{k_BT}\right), \end{equation}

I would focus on a derivation using:

\begin{equation} n=N_C \exp\left(\frac{E_{F}-E_C}{k_BT}\right), \end{equation}

where $N_C$ is the electron density of states and $E_C$ is the conduction band edge. In equilibrium, $E_F$ is constant and $E_C$ depends on the electrostatic potential, and electron affinity. The $N_C$ is a material property that can be considered constant for a homogeneous material.

The definition of $n_i$ would require the consideration of holes and the mass action law. I consider it a mistake that the authors you refer to would involve the intrinsic carrier density. If you now include holes:

\begin{equation} p=N_V \exp\left(\frac{E_{V}-E_F}{k_BT}\right), \end{equation}

and define:

\begin{equation} n p=n_i^2, \end{equation}

and recognize the $E_F$ is the same for both $n$ and $p$ at equilibrium, you will get the definitions for $n_i$ and $E_{Fi}$. If you consider the case where the energy gap is constant

\begin{equation} E_G=E_C-E_V, \end{equation}

and that: \begin{equation} E_C=\chi -q\psi, \end{equation}

where $\chi$ is the electron affinity, and $\psi$ is the electrostatic potential, you will see that $n_i$ is constant.

An excellent reference would be "Device Electronics for Integrated Circuits", by Muller and Kamins.

An excellent online reference is http://ecee.colorado.edu/~bart/book/book/chapter2/ch2_7.htm

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