TEMPERATURE DEPENDENCE OF ENERGY BAND GAP OF SILICON SEMICONDUCTOR

Abstract

The beginning of semiconductor research is marked by Faraday’s 1833 report on negative temperature coefficient of resistance of Silver Various experimenters measured the resistance of Selenium bars, but the resistance as measured by them under different conditions did not agree at all. The energy band gap is a major factor in determining the electrical conductivity of a solid. Energy band gap is a gap of energy in solids where no electron states can exist. The energy band gap of semiconductors tends to decrease as the temperature is increased. The temperature dependence of the intrinsic carrier density is dominated by the exponential dependence on the energy band gap. In addition, one has to consider the temperature dependence of the effective densities of states and that of the energy band gap.