Skin Effect in Semiconductors

This paper deals with the theory of skin effect in semiconductor materials including the effect of displacement currents, which are generally neglected in the skin-effect theory for metallic conductors. In the case of flat plates, formulas are derived for the field distribution, the impedance and the eddy-current power losses, considering symmetrical electric as well as magnetic fields. Impedance as a function of frequency is measured for germanium in the microwave cm-range. The measured values agree with the theoretical results. The equivalent depth of penetration is calculated and compared with the skin depth for metals. All theoretical results are represented in graphs for different values of the ratio γ, i.e., the displacement current divided by the conduction current. The formulas are extended to the case of complex permeability, corresponding to hysteresis.