Model of a Single Impurity in a Wide Bandgap Semiconductor Describing Electric Field Screening.

Abstract

A mathematical model of the influence on electric field screening arising from a single impurity in a wide bandgap semiconductor has been numerically investigated and compared with analytically derived solutions. The parameter set chosen to perform the comparison of analytical solution and numerical solution is based upon a bismuth silicate crystal. Both the analytical calculations and the numerical calculations are an attempt to mathematically model the internal electric field within a semiconductor. Two types of impurities were looked at: a single donor level and a single trap impurity level. In general, after an abrupt application of a voltage across the semiconductor, net charge regions begin to redistribute and create internal electric fields that screen the applied field. A trap impurity is found to be more self-consistent with the analytical solutions than a donor impurity; the former satisfying the assumption of a constant free electron lifetime. The analytical solutions are valid for observation times much less than the Maxwellian relaxation time tau sub M: t<< tau sub M. The analytical solution properly predicts stratification conditions when the observation time is prior to tau sub M; however, oscillatory behavior, characteristic of stratification, of the internal electric field occurs for times much greater than tau sub M. During this regime the analytical solutions are invalid.

Open PDF

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Dec 01, 1994
Accession Number
ADA289322

Entities

People

  • Anthony N. Dills

Organizations

  • Air Force Institute of Technology

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Advanced Electronics

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Band Gaps
  • Conduction Bands
  • Current Density
  • Electric Fields
  • Electron Density
  • Electron Gas
  • Electron Mobility
  • Electrons
  • Energy Bands
  • Energy Levels
  • Equations
  • Fermi Levels
  • Free Electrons
  • Mathematical Models
  • Relaxation Time
  • Semiconductors

Readers

  • Computational Modeling and Simulation
  • Materials Science and Engineering.
  • Plasma Physics / Magnetohydrodynamics

Technology Areas

  • Microelectronics