Boltzmann approximation Created 2026-10-20 Updated 2026-10-20
When , the unit term in the denominator of the Fermi-Dirac distribution is negligible. The resulting exponentially small occupation is the Boltzmann approximation. It justifies the usual nondegenerate semiconductor carrier formulas; it fails near strongly occupied band states.
For an intrinsic, nondegenerate semiconductor, charge neutrality and the Boltzmann approximation to the Fermi-Dirac distribution give . Assume the two polymorphs have equal effective-density-of-states prefactors and retain the quoted band gaps at the temperature being estimated. Their carrier-density ratio is then
with expressed in eV per kelvin. At ,
Both absolute intrinsic densities are extremely small at this temperature; a large ratio does not imply that either material is a good intrinsic conductor. Defects or unintended dopants can dominate real “undoped” specimens.