Introduction to Applied Solid State Physics: Topics in the Applications of Semiconductors, Superconductors, and the Nonlinear Optical Properties of Solids

335 Pages·1980·8.319 MB·English

by  Richard Dalven (auth.)

INTRODUCTION TO
APPLIED SOLID
STATE PHYSICS
TOPICS IN THE APPLICATIONS OF
SEMICONDUCTORS, SUPERCONDUCTORS, AND THE
NONLINEAR OPTICAL PROPERTIES OF SOLIDS
INTRODUCTION TO
APPLIED SOLID
STATE PHYSICS
TOPICS IN THE APPLICATIONS OF
SEMICONDUCTORS, SUPERCONDUCTORS, AND THE
NONLINEAR OPTICAL PROPERTIES OF SOLIDS
RICHARD DALVEN
Department of Physics
University of California
Berkeley, California
PLENUM PRESS· NEW YORK AND LONDON
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Dalven, Richard.
Introduction to applied solid state physics.
Includes bibliographies and index.
1. Solid state physics. 2. Semiconductors. I. Title.
QC176.D24 621.3'028 79-21902
ISBN-13: 978-1-4684-3676-1 e-ISBN-13: 978-1-4684-3674-7
001: 10.1007/978-1-4684-3674-7
© 1980 Plenum Press, New York
A Division of Plenum Publishing Corporation
227 West 17th Street, New York, N.Y. 10011
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1s t edition 1980
All rights reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted,
in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming,
recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the Publisher
To my father, JOSEPH DALVEN
and to the memory of my mother
RUTH NEWTON DALVEN
Preface
The aim of this book is a discussion, at the introductory level, of some
applications of solid state physics.
The book evolved from notes written for a course offered three times
in the Department of Physics of the University of California at Berkeley.
The objects of the course were (a) to broaden the knowledge of graduate
students in physics, especially those in solid state physics; (b) to provide a
useful course covering the physics of a variety of solid state devices for
students in several areas of physics; (c) to indicate some areas of research
in applied solid state physics.
To achieve these ends, this book is designed to be a survey of the physics
of a number of solid state devices. As the italics indicate, the key words
in this description are physics and survey. Physics is a key word because
the book stresses the basic qualitative physics of the applications, in enough
depth to explain the essentials of how a device works but not deeply enough
to allow the reader to design one. The question emphasized is how the
solid state physics of the application results in the basic useful property of
the device. An example is how the physics of the tunnel diode results in
a negative dynamic resistance. Specific circuit applications of devices are
mentioned, but not emphasized, since expositions are available in the elec
trical engineering textbooks given as references. To summarize, the aim
of the book is the physics underlying the applications, rather than the
applications themselves.
The second key word is survey. The book is designed to be broad
rather than deep. Although the survey approach is not to everyone's taste,
it has proved popular with the approximately 120 Berkeley graduate students
(mostly in physics) who took or audited the course in 1973, 1974, and 1977.
They seemed to want to learn something, but not everything, about the
applications of the solid state physics they already knew. As a survey, the
selection of topics is a compromise between recognition of the overwhelming
vii
viii Preface
technological importance of semiconductor devices and a desire to have
some breadth of coverage. To this end, about 70% of the material covers
applications of semiconductors, and the remainder is divided about evenly
between nonlinear optical devices and superconductive materials and
devices. Since the physics of the applications is the central interest of the
book, no special effort was made to select the latest devices or to indicate
the present "state of the art."
The book is a textbook ("A textbook explains, a treatise expounds"
J. M. Ziman) in that its aim is frankly tutorial. The book is essentially a
collection of material from a number of sources, ranging from introductory
textbooks to research journals, organized and presented with the intent
of emphasizing the basic physics involved. There is no original work in
cluded. More advanced treatments and discussions of fine points are left
to the literature. However, the reader is provided with references where
fuller and/or more advanced treatments may be found. Further, a special
effort has been made to give very specific references, telling where values of
parameters, etc., were obtained. A selection of problems can be found at
the end of each chapter. These are derivations, illustrative calculations, or
invitations to explore the physics of some application. It is believed that
these points harmonize with the attempt to provide a broad selection of the
applications of solid state physics, while telling the reader where further
information may be found.
The order of the first seven chapters is more or less linear. After a
first chapter that is partly review and partly new material that will be useful,
Chapter 2 treats the semiconductor p-n junction in some detail. The third
chapter exploits this treatment in a discussion of several device applications.
Chapter 4 treats the physics of metal-semiconductor and metal-insulator
semiconductor junctions, and the results are used in Chapter 5 to explore
a few applications. In Chapter 6, a potpourri of "other" devices is discussed;
they were chosen principally on the basis of my own interests. The seventh
chapter treats a number of detectors and generators (principally semi
conductors) of electromagnetic radiation. Chapter 8 is mostly concerned
with the physics of Josephson junction devices, but concludes with a short
discussion of the transition temperature in superconductors. Finally, Chap
ter 9 covers the interaction of electromagnetic waves in nonlinear solids,
and concludes with a few applications.
In teaching a course on these topics, I have found that this book con
tains too much material for a one-quarter course. One semester would seem
about right, particularly if appropriate review material were included. The
notation used is standard, except perhaps that I have used W for the electric
Preface ix
field vector to avoid confusion with energy E, particularly in band dia
grams. The chapter on nonlinear optics reverts to the more common E
for electric field because there seemed little possibility of ambiguity.
The presentation relies on a number of standard sources. Charles
Kittel's classic introductory text on solid state physics is constantly quoted
and used as a reference. Other books on which I have drawn particularly are
Solid State Electronic Devices by B. G. Streetman; "Optical Second Har
monic Generation and Parametric Oscillation" by A. Yariv, in Topics in
Solid State and Quantum Electronics, W. D. Hershberger (editor); The
Feynman Lectures on Physics by R. P. Feynman, R. B. Leighton, and
M. Sands; and Long-Range Order in Solids by R. M. White and T. H.
Geballe.
This book is at the introductory level in that no particular prior
knowledge of solid state device physics is assumed. However, the introduc
tory level is not the same for all topics. For example, the treatment of the
applications of nonlinear optical effects in solids is more complex than the
treatment of the p-n junction. As for prerequisites, it is assumed that the
reader has had an introductory course in solid state physics at the level
of Kittel's Introduction to Solid State Physics, Fifth Edition. In particular,
it is assumed that the reader has a knowledge of energy bands, semiconduc
tors, and superconductivity equivalent to that covered in Chapters 7, 8,
and 12 of Kittel's book. In addition, this book assumes a knowledge of
electromagnetic theory at the level of Reitz and Milford's Foundations of
Electromagnetic Theory, of optics at the level of Stone's Radiation and
Optics or Fowles's Modern Optics, and of quantum mechanics at the level
of Bohm's Quantum Theory.
Many people have shared their expertise with me and have commented
on the manuscript at various stages. I would like to thank N. Amer, T.
Andrade, B. Black, R. W. Boyd, J. Clarke, M. L. Cohen, L. M. Falicov,
L. T. Greenberg, E. L. Hahn, G. I. Hoffer, M. B. Ketchen, A. F. Kip,
R. U. Martinelli, R. S. Muller, W. G. Oldham, and P. L. Richards for
helping me improve the book. However, the responsibility for errors and
misconceptions is mine alone. Special thanks are due M. L. Cohen and
C. Kittel for their encouragement during the development of the course.
T. H. Geballe kindly provided me with a prepublication copy of his work.
I would like to thank M. L. Cohen, D. Long, G. S. Kino, W. F. Oldham,
J. Tauc, D. Adler, E. Gutsche, J. Millman, B. G. Streetman, T. C. Harman,
H. Y. Fan, and J. Clarke for permission to use figures from their publica
tions. The hospitality extended by John Clarke was invaluable and is
sincerely appreciated. Linda Billard typed part of the manuscript with great
x Preface
skill, and Leslie Hausman typed the first draft. Gloria Pelatowski executed
the drawings with exceptional skill and enthusiasm.
Last, but also first, I would like to thank D. and G. for making this
book a reality.
Berkeley, California RICHARD DALVEN
Contents
1. Review of Semiconductor Physics
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . .
Metals, Insulators, and Semiconductors . 1
Band Structure Diagrams . . . . . . . 3
Holes in Semiconductors . . . . . . . 6
Effective Mass of Carriers in Semiconductors 7
Conductivity of Semiconductors . . . . . . 10
Carrier Density in an Intrinsic Semiconductor. 12
Impurity Conductivity (Extrinsic Conductivity). 14
Fermi Level Position in Extrinsic Semiconductors 17
Carrier Lifetime in Semiconductors . 21
Problems ....... . 22
References and Comments . 23
Suggested Reading . . . . 24
2. The Semiconductor p-n Junction
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Qualitative Discussion of the p-n Junction in Equilibrium . 25
Quantitative Treatment of the p-n Junction in Equilibrium. 33
Effect of an Applied Potential on Electron Energy Bands . 48
Diffusion and Recombination of Excess Carriers ..... 49
Qualitative Discussion of a Junction under an Applied Potential 53
Qualitative Discussion of Current Flow in the Biased Junction 57
Quantitative Treatment of Carrier Injection in the Junction 59
Calculation of the Current through the Junction . . . . . . . 62
Majority and Minority Carrier Components of the Junction Current. 69
Summary of the Basic Physics of the p-n Junction 72
Reverse Breakdown in p-n Junctions 73
Other Topics on p-n Junctions 75
Problems ........ 75
References and Comments. 76
Suggested Reading . . . . 77
xi
Contents
3. Semiconductor p-II Junction Devices
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Semiconductor ~n Junction Diodes . 79
The Bipolar Junction Transistor . . . 81
Amplification in the Bipolar Transistor . 85
Current Gain in the Bipolar Transistor . 86
Circuit Configurations for Amplification with the Bipolar Transistor. 88
Quantitative Discussion of the Bipolar Transistor . . . . . . .. 91
Summary of the Physics of Amplification in the Bipolar Transistor 96
Tunnel Diodes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
The Junction Field Effect Transistor (JFET) . . • . • . . . . . 101
Physical Basis of the Current-Voltage Characteristic of the JFET. 102
Problems .. . . . . . . 106
References and Comments. 106
Suggested Reading . . . . IOd
4.; Pbysics of Metal-Semiconductor and
Metal-Insulator-Semiconductor Junctions
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
The Metal-Semiconductor Junction at Equilibrium ....... . 109
Effect of an Applied Potential on the Metal-Semiconductor Junction 115
Physics of the Metal-Insulator-Semiconductor Structure 119
Problems ....... . 123
References and Comments . 124
Suggested Reading . . . . 125
5. Metal-Semiconductor and Metal-Insulator-Semiconductor Devices
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Metal-Semiconductor (Schottky) Diodes 127
The Insulated-Gate Field-Effect Transistor (IGFET) 128
The Induced-Channel MOSFET . . . . . . . . . 131
Summary of the Physics of Field-Effect Transistors 132
Applications of the MOSFET 133
Charge-Coupled Devices. . 134
Problems ....... . 136
References and Comments . 137
Suggested Reading . . . . 138
6. Other Semiconductor Devices
Introduction . . . . . . . . . 139
Semiconductor Surface States . 139
Band Structure at the Semiconductor Surface 141