23ECE104 – Physics of Semiconductors

Unit-I : Crystal Structures

Unit-II: Classical Free Electron Theory and energy band in semiconductors

Unit-II: Semiconductor Devices

States of matter: Solid
Liquid
Gas

Solids: Large number of atoms bound together by intermolecular forces to have a volume and
definite shape.

Atoms bond with each other in a regular pattern to form periodic

collection.
Periodicity and long range order, sharp melting point,
Solids: Crystalline cleavage property, anisotropic, Quartz.Calcite.Sugar.Mica.Diamonds

Amorphous
They lack regular arrangement of atoms or molecules, hence short
range order in their structure.
Plastics, glass, rubber, metallic glass, polymers, gel, fused silica,
Crystal Lattice: Periodic and regular arrangement of points in space. “Space Lattice”

Basis: Identical group of atoms/molecules at each lattice point.

Lattice + Basis = Crystal structure.

 NaCl

Fe
Bravais Lattice: all the lattice points are equivalent.

𝒂 𝒂 𝒂

𝑹
𝑹 = 𝒏𝟏𝒂 + 𝒏𝟐𝒃
Basis vectors
 𝑹 = 𝒏𝟏𝒂 + 𝒏𝟐𝒃+𝒏𝟑𝒄

𝒂, 𝒃, 𝒄 & , ,  = Lattice Parameters

1 2
𝒂 𝒂 𝒂

3 4

Unit Cell: Geometrical pattern that forms the smallest

Unit of space lattice, which when repeated along the
direction of the three basis vectors generates the space
lattice.
Crystal systems:

1. Cubic

2. Tetragonal

3. Orthorhombic

4. Rhombohedral (Trigonal) 14 Bravais lattices

5. Hexagonal

6. Monoclinic

7. Triclinic
 1. Cubic:

Three Bravais Lattices

𝒂=𝒃 = 𝒄  =  =  = 900

BCC: Fe, Pt

FCC: Cu, Ag, Au, Al, Pb, Ni, Fe

2. Tetragonal: 𝒂=𝒃 ≠ 𝒄

 =  =  = 900
Two Bravais Lattices

3. Orthorhombic:

Four Bravais Lattices

𝒂≠𝒃 ≠ 𝒄  =  =  = 900
 4. Trigonal:
𝒂=𝒃=𝒄

 =  =  ≠ 900

5. Hexagonal:
𝒂=𝒃≠𝒄

 =  = 900;  = 1200
6. Monoclinic:

2 Bravais Lattices

𝒂≠𝒃≠𝒄  =  = 900 ≠ 

7. Triclinic:
𝒂≠𝒃≠𝒄

 ≠  ≠  ≠ 900
Crystallographic planes and directions
These are fundamental concepts in crystallography that provide insight into the arrangement of
atoms in a crystal lattice.
These are essential for understanding the structural, mechanical, and chemical properties of
materials.
They play a critical role in various applications, from material science to solid-state physics and
engineering. Understanding these concepts allows for better manipulation and utilization of
materials in technology and industry.
Crystallographic planes represent specific orientations of atomic layers within a crystal. The
arrangement of atoms in these planes influences various physical properties, such as density,
strength, and electronic characteristics.
Miller indices:
A set of three integers used to specify a plane are called Miller indices (h k l).

• Intercepts of the plane with x,y,z axes is taken as xo, yo, zo respectively in terms of
a, b, c.
• Take the reciprocal of these intercepts
• Find least common multiple of the denominator and clear the fractions to obtain 3
integers (h k l).
Crystallographic directions
1. A way of defining the orientation of a crystal lattice in three-dimensional space.
2. They play an important role in various applications such as materials science,
engineering, and electronics.

For example, in the semiconductor industry, crystal growth is used to produce single
crystal silicon wafers.
The direction of crystal growth is critical to the properties such as its electrical and
thermal conductivity.

By controlling the crystallographic directions during growth, engineers can produce

silicon wafers with optimized properties for specific applications, such as solar cells or
microprocessors.
Coordination number:
Number of atoms per unit cell:
Lattice constant of a cubic lattice:

𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑚𝑜𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑢𝑙𝑒𝑠 𝑏𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑛𝑔𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑜 𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑡 𝑐𝑒𝑙𝑙

𝜌=
𝑉𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑡 𝑐𝑒𝑙𝑙

Total mass of molecules in unit cell = no. of molecules belonging to unit cell x mass of each molecule

𝑀𝑜𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑟 𝑤𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑀
= =
𝐴𝑣𝑎𝑔𝑎𝑑𝑟𝑜 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑁𝐴
𝑀
Total mass of molecules in unit cell = n
𝑁𝐴

1ൗ
𝑛𝑚 3
𝑛𝑀 𝑎=
𝜌= 3 𝜌𝑁𝐴
𝑎 𝑁𝐴
Relation between atomic radius and lattice constant:

Simple Cubic unit cell

Atomic packing factor:
𝑛 𝑥 4Τ3𝜋𝑅3
𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑐𝑐𝑢𝑝𝑖𝑒𝑑 𝑏𝑦 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑎𝑡𝑜𝑚𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑡 𝑐𝑒𝑙𝑙 PF =
PF = 𝑎3
𝑉𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑡 𝑐𝑒𝑙𝑙

Simple cubic :

BCC:

FCC :
 DIAMOND CUBIC STRUCTURE

Diamond is one of the allotropic forms of carbon. In diamond, carbon atoms are arranged
tetrahedraly. Each carbon is attached to four other carbon atoms 1.544 A away with a C-C-C
bond angle of 109.5degree.
Diamond structure is formed due to the combination of two interpenetrating FCC sub lattices
having the origin (000) and (1/4,1/4,1/4) along the body diagonal.
NUMBER OF ATOMS PER UNIT CELL

The total number of corner atoms per unit cell = 1/8+1/8+1/8=1

Number of face centered atoms per unit cell= 6x1/2= 3
Number of atoms present inside the unit cell= 4
Total number of atoms per unit cell= 1+3+4= 8 atoms
Atomic Radius (R)
The corner atoms and face centered atoms don’t touch each other. But both the corner atoms and face centered
atoms have direct contact with the 4 atoms present inside the unit cell.
From fig,
(XY)2=(XW)2+ (WY)2

(XZ)2=(XY)2+ (YZ)2
ATOMIC PACKING FACTOR

The APF is 34%. Since the packing density is very low, it is a loosely packed structure.
Atomic packing fraction ZnS

Cubic zinc sulphide or zinc blende (ZnS) crystal structure

is similar to diamond structure the only difference is that
the four diagonal atoms are of different type.
• ZnS structure becomes diamond structure if all the
diagonal atoms and fcc atoms are same type.
• In figure, red circles represent one type of atoms (say Zn
atoms) and blue circles show another types of atoms (say
S atoms).
• ZnS structure is a prototype and many other compound
form ZnS structure as ZnO, GaAs, SiC, BN etc
The coordination number of both zinc and sulfur ions in zinc
blende (ZnS) is 4:
The packing fraction of zinc-blende structure can be calculated by the following
formula;

APF=4×4/3π[r3+ + r3-]/a3

r+= radius of cations , r− = radius of anions

Atomic packing fraction of NaCl structure:
This is an ionic structure in which the Na+ ions and Cl− ions are alternately arranged. It is a combination of
two FCC sublattice one made up of Na+ions and the other of Cl- ions as if one sublattice is translated through
the other along the cube edges.
NaCl unit cell with Na+ions occupying the regular FCC lattice points with Cl− ions positioned at alternate
points. A face of this unit cell is shown.
Another NaCl unit cell can be considered with the positions of Na+ and Cl− ions interchanged. The face of
such a unit cell is shown
Total number of molecule/unit cells

Na+ forms a FCC structure. Hence total number of Na+ ions = 4

There are 12 Cl− ions at the edges. Every edge lattice points is shared by four neighbouring unit cell. Hence
every edge lattice point carries ¼ of an atom. There is one whole Cl−
ion at the centre of the structure. Hence, Total number of Cl− ions = (12 ×1/4) + 1 = 4.

Since there are 4 Na+ions and four Cl− ions in a NaCl unit cell , there are four NaCl molecule present in a
unit cell. Hence number of molecules / unit cell = 4.

Atomic Radius (r)

Since NaCl is an ionic structure and cations are smaller than anions it is assumed that radius of cation =rC
and the radius of an anion =rA
Atomic packing factor(APF)
Surface or Planar defects
Surface defects are the type of crystal defects in which solid crystal is divided into regions
having different crystal structure and different crystallographic orientations. Surface defect is
called two dimensional because the area between the regions is only just some atomic
diameters.
Grain boundaries: When the boundary separates two small grains or crystals having
different crystallographic orientation in polycrystalline materials then this type of defect is
called interface or grain boundaries. In metals, grain boundaries are created
during solidification, when crystals formed from two different nuclei grow simultaneously
and meet each other.
Twin boundary: Twin boundary is the type of surface defects in which two different atomic
arrangements are separated by twin boundary and one side of the atomic arrangements is
having mirror orientation as that of another side of the atomic arrangements . Twin
boundaries occurs in pairs such that orientation change on one side on twin boundary is
compensated by other side.
This may be produced due to shear deformation
Volume defects
• Porosity
• Cracks
• Inclusions
- These defects form during manufacturing processes for various
reasons and are often harmful to the material.
- A lot of inclusions fall into the material during welding, thermal,
mechanical, grinding and other processing. For example, during
grinding.
- Example porosity reduces the thermal conductivity of material, but
sometimes porosity specifically increases for increase thermal isolate.
Find the Miller Indices of a set of parallel planes which make intercepts in the ratio 3a:4b on x and y
axes respectively. Sketch the plane.

Find the Miller Indices of a plane with intercepts a, b/2, 3c and sketch the plane.
Draw the following planes in a cubic lattice:
(i) 011 ,

(ii) 11ത 2 ,

(iii) 1ത 32
Ni has FCC structure with lattice constant 3.52Å. Calculate the interplanar distance for (001),
(101), (111), (123) & (320) planes.

𝑎
𝑑ℎ𝑘𝑙 =
ℎ2 + 𝑘 2 + 𝑙 2

Cu has FCC structure & atomic radius 0.1278nm. Evaluate interplanar spacing for (321)
planes.
Cs crystallizes in a certain cubic structure with lattice constant 6.14Å. Identify the exact type of
structure. Given, atomic weight and density of Cs are 131.91 and 1900 kg/m3 respectively.