Spatial variation of the valence band and conduction band edges associated with a varying electric potential. Near a semiconductor boundary it can deplete mobile charge carriers or create a semiconductor inversion layer.
A near-surface region whose predominant mobile charge carrier species is opposite to that in the interior: for example a layer rich in electron holes on an n-type semiconductor.
For an ideal MOSFET with a nondegenerate p-type semiconductor of acceptor density , define , where is the intrinsic carrier concentration. A positive surface electric potential lowers the local conduction band and valence band by . The surface Electron density is . Equality gives the conventional onset of strong inversion at . The earlier crossover occurs at . Neither condition requires the Fermi level to enter the conduction band.
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Band bending is a phenomenon that occurs in semiconductor physics and materials science, particularly at the interface between two different materials, such as a semiconductor and a metal or between two different semiconductors. It describes the change in energy band structure, specifically the bending of the energy bands (valence band and conduction band) in response to an electric field, charge distribution, or the presence of interfaces.