Charge Carriers in Semiconductors
- In a metal, the atoms are imbedded in a "sea" of free electrons, and these electrons can move as a group under the influence of an applied electric field.
- In semiconductors at 0 K, all states in the valence band are full, and all states in the conduction band are empty.
- At T > 0 K, electrons get thermally excited from the valence band to the conduction band, and contribute to the conduction process in the conduction band.
- The empty states left in the valence band can also contribute to current conduction.
- Also, introduction of impurities has an important effect on the availability of the charge carriers
- Considerable flexibility in controlling the electrical properties of semiconductors.