DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICS

SRM INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

21PYB102J –Semiconductor Physics and Computational methods

Fermi-Dirac Distribution Function

f(E) and Influence of donors in
semiconductors

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Electron distribution in bands:

where n is in cm-3, and D(E) is in (cm3–eV)-1.

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 Fermi-Dirac Distribution Function f(E)

The probability that an electron occupies an electronic state with energy

E is given by the Fermi–Dirac distribution function, which is also called
the Fermi distribution function

The Fermi-Dirac distribution function is defined as,

where k is the Boltzmann constant, T is the absolute temperature in degrees

Kelvin, and EF is the energy of the Fermi level.

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 Fermi-Dirac Distribution Function f(E)

The distribution of electrons among the levels is described by function F

(E), probability of an electron occupying an energy level ‘E’.

If the level is certainly empty, then F(E) = 0. Generally the F(E) has a
value in between zero and unity.

When E< EF (i.e.,) for energy levels lying below EF, (E –EF) is a
negative quantity and hence,

1 1
f(E) 
 1
1 e 1 0
That means all the levels below EF are occupied by the electrons.

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 Fermi-Dirac Distribution Function f(E)

When E > EF (i.e.) for energy levels lying above EF, (E – EF) is a
positive quantity
1 1
f(E) 
 0
1 e 1 

This equation indicates all the levels above EF are vacant.

At absolute zero, all levels below EF are completely filled and all levels
above EF are completely empty.

This level, which divides the filled and vacant states, is known as the
Fermi energy level.

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 Fermi-Dirac Distribution Function f(E)

When E = EF ,

1 1 1
f (E)    at all temperatures
1 e0 11 2

The probability of finding an electron with energy equal to the Fermi

energy in a metal is ½ at any temperature.

At T = 0 K all the energy level upto EF are occupied and all the energy
levels above EF are empty .

When T > 0 K, some levels above EF are partially filled while some
levels below EF are partially empty.

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There are a large number of allowed states in the conduction band. However, for an intrinsic
semiconductor there will not be many electrons in the conduction band. Therefore, the probability of an
electron occupying one of these states is small. Also, there are a large number of allowed states in the
valence band. By contrast, most of these are occupied by electrons.

Thus, the probability of an electron occupying one of these states in the valence band is nearly unity.
There will be only a few unoccupied electron states, that is, holes, in the valence band. The Fermi energy
EF for which the probability of occupation by an electron is 0.5 lies midway between the two bands.

At a finite temperature, the number of electrons in the conduction band is equal to the number of holes in
the valence band. The Fermi distribution is symmetrical around the Fermi level E F. The Fermi level must
be at the mid gap in order to obtain equal electron and hole concentrations if the density of state in the
conduction and valence bands is the same.
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 Fermi-Dirac Distribution Function f(E)

Fermi Dirac distribution function at different temperatures

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18PYB101J Module-I Lecture-14
Therefore, the electron concentration or carrier density in the conduction band of a
semiconductor is given by the equation:

Similarly, the hole concentration in valence band is given by

NC and Nv are effective density of states in conduction and valence bands

respectively.

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 Influence of donors in semiconductors

The group V element has five valence electrons. Four of these will contribute
to the covalent bonding with the silicon atoms, leaving the fifth more loosely
hound to the phosphorus atom. the fifth valence electron as a donor electron.

The phosphorus atom without the donor electron is positively charged.

At very low temperatures, the donor electron is bound to the phosphorus

atom.

However By intuition, it should seem clear that the energy required to

elevate the donor electron into the conduction band is considerably less than
that for the electrons involved in the covalent bonding.

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 Influence of donors in semiconductors

If a small amount of energy, such as thermal energy. is added to the donor electron,
it can be elevated into the conduction band, leaving behind a positively charge
phosphorus ion.

The electron in the conduction band can now move through the crystal generating a
current, while the positively charged ion is fixed in the crystal.

This type of impurity atom donates an electron to the conduction band and so is
called a donor impurity atom.

The donor impurity atoms add electrons to the conduction band without creating
holes in the valence band. The resulting material is referred to as an n-type
semiconductor (n for the negatively charged electron)

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 Influence of donors in semiconductors

Figure shows the energy-hand diagram that we would expect. The energy
level, Ed, is the energy state of the donor electron.
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