Physics Lecture Notes on Conductors, Semiconductors and Electronic Devices

Practice flashcards covering important terms and definitions from the physics lecture on conductors, semiconductors, and electronic devices.

Conductor

Materials that have no energy gap between the valence band and conduction band, allowing easy flow of electrons.

Semiconductor

Materials that have a small energy gap between the valence and conduction bands (Eg < 3eV), allowing controlled conductivity.

Insulator

Materials that have a large energy gap between the valence and conduction bands (Eg > 3eV), preventing electrical conductivity.

Doping

The process of adding impurities to intrinsic semiconductors to modify their electrical properties.

N-type Semiconductor

A type of semiconductor where extra electrons are introduced, resulting in a surplus of negative charge carriers.

P-type Semiconductor

A type of semiconductor where holes (positive charge carriers) are introduced, resulting in a surplus of positive charge carriers.

Depletion Region

The region in a p-n junction where mobile charge carriers are depleted, creating an area of fixed charge.

Forward Bias

Condition where p-type is connected to positive voltage and n-type to negative voltage, allowing current flow in a diode.

Reverse Bias

Condition where p-type is connected to negative voltage and n-type to positive voltage, preventing current flow in a diode.

Drift Current

Current caused by the movement of charge carriers due to an electric field.

Diffusion Current

Current caused by the movement of charge carriers from high to low concentration.

Photodiode

A semiconductor device that converts light into electrical current by being reverse biased.

LED

A light-emitting diode that works by electroluminescence, emitting light when current flows in forward bias.

Solar Cell

A device that converts sunlight into electricity using a p-n junction semiconductor.

Common Emitter Configuration

A transistor configuration where the emitter terminal is common to both the input and output circuits.

Mass Action Law

The principle stating that the product of the concentration of electrons and holes is constant in intrinsic semiconductors.

Logic Gate

An electronic circuit that performs a logical operation on one or more binary inputs to produce a single binary output.

Universal Gate

Logic gates that can be used to create any other type of gate, typically NAND or NOR gates.