ECE Purdue Semiconductor Fundamentals L3.3: Equilibrium Carrier Concentration - Fermi Level

This course provides the essential foundations required to understand the operation of semiconductor devices such as transistors, diodes, solar cells, light-emitting devices, and more. The material will primarily appeal to electrical engineering students whose interests are in applications of semiconductor devices in circuits and systems. The treatment is physical and intuitive, and not heavily mathematical.

Technology users will gain an understanding of the semiconductor physics that is the basis for devices. Semiconductor technology developers may find it a useful starting point for diving deeper into condensed matter physics, statistical mechanics, thermodynamics, and materials science. The course presents an electrical engineering perspective on semiconductors, but those in other fields may find it a useful introduction to the approach that has guided the development of semiconductor technology for the past 50+ years.

[DW-iqlt]

1:35 Fermi level and electron concentration, 2:36 Fermi level and hole concentration, 3:17 From carrier concentration to Fermi level, 4:03 np product, 9:31 Energy band diagram for N-type, P-type and intrinsic semiconductors, 10:14 Intrinsic Fermi level, 12:45 Alternative expression for carrier densities, 14:17 Reading an energy band diagram, 14:48 Summary