Non-equilibrium thermodynamic description of junctions in semiconductor devices

Abstract

The methods of non-equilibrium thermodynamics of systems with an interface have been applied to the study of transport processes in semiconductor junctions. A complete phenomenological model for drift-diffusion processes in a junction has been derived, which includes, from first principles, both surface equations and boundary conditions, together with the usual drift-diffusion equations for the bulks. In this way a self-consistent characterisation of the whole system, bulks and interface, has been obtained in a common framework. The completeness of the model has been shown and a simple application to metal-semiconductor junctions developed.