The Semiconductor Field Effect

In an extrinsic semiconductor, containing only one type of dopant, there are equal densities of mobile charges (electrons in the n-type and holes in the jp-type) and ionized dopant atoms (positively charged for the n-type and negatively charged for the jp-type). For simplicity, we restrict this discussion to a jp-type extrinsic semiconductor. The condition of electroneutrality applies only in the absence of an external electric field. 

If an electric field is applied to the surface of the semiconductor from whatever source, the density of the mobile charge carriers (holes) is either enhanced or depleted, depending on the polarity of the field. If the field enhances the concentration of holes, the surface is said to be accumulated and the semiconductor surface behaves much as a metal, in that the excess charge appears at the surface and the electric field does not penetrate it further. 

on the other hand, the field forces the mobile holes away from the surface, a space charge region consisting of the ionized acceptor atoms, which are fixed in the lattice, forms over an appreciable distance into the semiconductor. The thickness of the surface space charge region is a function of the strength of the field at the surface and the semiconductor doping profile, as is the difference between the surface potential and the bulk potential of the semiconductor. If the surface potential deviates sufficiently far from the bulk potential, the surface will invert that is, it will contain an excess of mobile electrons. In this case, an -type conductive channel 

The surface field effect can be realized in a number of ways. The semiconductor can be built into a capacitor and an external potential applied (IGFET), or the field can arise from the chemical effects on the gate materials (CHEMFET). In both cases, change in the surface electric field intensity changes the density of mobile charge carriers in the surface inversion layer. The physical effect that is measured is the change in the electric current carried by the surface inversion layer, called the drain current. 

---

Work Function (WF) plays a key role in the physics and chemistry of materials. Phenomena such as the semiconductor field effect, photo- and thermionic electron emission (Allen and Gobelli, 1962), catalysis (Vayenas et al 1996), and the like are dominated by the WF. This fundamental property of electronic materials is defined as the minimum work required to extract an electron from the Fermi level Ep of a conducting phase, through the surface and place it in vacuum just outside the reach of the electrostatic forces of that phase (Trasatti and Parsons, 1986). The reference level for this transfer is thus called the vacuum reference level. Because even a clean surface is a physical discontinuity, a surface dipole t] with its associated electric field always appears at the surface of the condensed phase. Thus, the work of extracting the electron can be conceptually divided between the work required to... 

Gate oxide dielectrics are a cmcial element in the down-scaling of n- and -channel metal-oxide semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSEETs) in CMOS technology. Ultrathin dielectric films are required, and the 12.0-nm thick layers are expected to shrink to 6.0 nm by the year 2000 (2). Gate dielectrics have been made by growing thermal oxides, whereas development has turned to the use of oxide/nitride/oxide (ONO) sandwich stmctures, or to oxynitrides, SiO N. Oxynitrides are formed by growing thermal oxides in the presence of a nitrogen source such as ammonia or nitrous oxide, N2O. Oxidation and nitridation are also performed in rapid thermal processors (RTP), which reduce the temperature exposure of a substrate. 

Contacts are the elementary building blocks for all electronic devices. These include interfaces between semiconductors of different doping type (homojunctions) or of different composition (heterojunctions), and junctions between a metal and a semiconductor, which can be either rectifying (Schotlky junction) or ohmic. Because of their primary importance, the physics of semiconductor junctions is largely dealt with in numerous textbooks [11, 12]. We shall concentrate here on basic aspects of the metal-semiconductor (MS) and, above all, metal-insulator-semiconductor (MIS) junctions, which arc involved in the oiganic field-effect transistors. 

A novel development of the use of ion-selective electrodes is the incorporation of a very thin ion-selective membrane (C) into a modified metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor (A) which is encased in a non-conducting shield (B) (Fig. 15.4). When the membrane is placed in contact with a test solution containing an appropriate ion, a potential is developed, and this potential affects the current flowing through the transistor between terminals Tt and T2. 

The ISFET is an electrochemical sensor based on a modification of the metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor (MOSFET). The metal gate of the MOSFET is replaced by a reference electrode and the gate insulator is exposed to the analyte solution or is coated with an ion-selective membrane as illustrated in Fig. 

The operation principle of these TFTs is identical to that of the metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) [617,618]. When a positive voltage Vg Is applied to the gate, electrons are accumulated in the a-Si H. At small voltages these electrons will be localized in the deep states of the a-Si H. The conduction and valence bands at the SiN.v-a-Si H interface bend down, and the Fermi level shifts upward. Above a certain threshold voltage Vth a constant proportion of the electrons will be mobile, and the conductivity is increased linearly with Vg - Vih. As a result the transistor switches on. and a current flows from source to drain. The source-drain current /so can be expressed as [619]... 

John A. Copeland and Stephen Knight, Applications Utilizing Bulk Negative Resistance F.A. Padovani, The Voltage-Current Characteristics of Metal-Semiconductor Contacts P.L. Hower, W.W. Hooper, B.R. Cairns, R.D. Fairman, and D.A. Tremere, The GaAs Field-Effect Transistor Marvin H. White, MOS Transistors... 

Castro EV, Novoselov KS, Morozov S V et al (2007) Biased bilayer graphene semiconductor with a gap tunable by the electric field effect. Phys Rev Lett 99 216802/1-216802/4 Morozov SV, Novoselov KS, Schedin F et al (2005) Two-dimensional electron and hole gases at the surface of graphite. Phys Rev B Condens Matter Mater Phys 72 201401/ 1-201401/4... 

LED due to the direct bandgap of the Ill-nitrides. However, due to the lack of a native substrate for GaN, sapphire or SiC substrates were and are still used. The biggest use of semiconductor-grade SiC is still for LEDs, but now it serves the role as the substrate for the active GaN layer rather than both the substrate and the active layer. Today there are high-freqnency metal-semiconductor-field effect transistors (MES-EETs) offered commercially, as well as an emerging market for Schottky diodes made from SiC. We are still at the beginning of the SiC revolution, however, and the material s full potential has yet to be realized. 

MOSFETs. A type of semiconductor device that utilizes oxide ceramics is a metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor, abbreviated as MOSFET. Just like the semiconductor junction devices of Section 6.1.1.6, the MOSFET is composed of n-and / -type semiconductor regions within a single device, as illustrated in Figure 6.36. 

Metal oxide semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) are field effect transistors with a thin film of silicon dioxide between the gate electrode and the semiconductor. The charge on the silicon dioxide controls the size of the depletion zone in the polype semiconductor. MOSFETs are easier to mass produce and are used in integrated circuits and microprocessors for computers and in amplifiers for cassette players. Traditionally, transistors have been silicon based but a recent development is field-effect transistors based on organic materials. 

Ion-Selective Field Effect Transistors [22b,c,d] An ion-selective field effect transistor (ISFET) is a hybrid of an ion-selective electrode and a metal-oxide semiconductor field effect transistor (MOSFET), the metal gate of the MOSFET being replaced by or contacted with a thin film of a solid or liquid ion-sensitive material. The ISFET and a reference electrode are immersed in the solution containing ion i, to which the ISFET is sensitive, and electrically connected as in Fig. 5.37. A potential which varies with the activity of ion i, o(i), as in Eq. (5.38), is developed at the ion-sensitive film ... 

Figure 19.8—A selective electrode designed from a MOSFET (metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor). A specific reaction can be monitored by putting an enzyme in contact with the electrodes. This schematic shows the three electrodes used for amperometric measurement.

Fig. 9. A Schottky barrier gate used in the metal-semiconductor field-effect transistor (MESFET) in AT T gallium arsenide microchips. The tiny gate is only one micrometer wide (1/25,400 inch). The gate electrode is deposited before the ion-implantation process so that the gate material will shade the channel under it from the ion rain that doses the exposed material. (AT T Technology)...

MOSFETs. The metal-oxide-semiconductor field effect transistor (MOSFET or MOS transistor) (8) is the most important device for very-large-scale integrated circuits, and it is used extensively in memories and microprocessors. MOSFETs consume little power and can be scaled down readily. The process technology for MOSFETs is typically less complex than that for bipolar devices. Figure 12 shows a three-dimensional view of an n-channel MOS (NMOS) transistor and a schematic cross section. The device can be viewed as two p-n junctions separated by a MOS capacitor that consists of a p-type semiconductor with an oxide film and a metal film on top of the oxide. 

---