Semiconductor Terms and Definitions

These flashcards cover key terms and definitions from the semiconductor lecture, assisting in understanding and retention of essential concepts.

binary semiconductor

A two-element compound semiconductor, such as gallium arsenide (GaAs).

covalent bonding

The bonding between atoms in which valence electrons are shared.

diamond lattice

The atomic crystal structure of silicon, in which each atom has four nearest neighbors in a tetrahedral configuration.

doping

The process of adding specific types of atoms to a semiconductor to favorably alter its electrical characteristics.

elemental semiconductor

A semiconductor composed of a single species of atom, such as silicon or germanium.

epitaxial layer

A thin single-crystal layer of material formed on the surface of a substrate.

ion implantation

A process used for doping a semiconductor.

lattice

The periodic arrangement of atoms in a crystal.

Miller indices

A set of integers used to describe a crystal plane.

primitive cell

The smallest unit cell that can be repeated to form a lattice.

substrate

A semiconductor wafer or material used as the starting material for semiconductor processing.

de Broglie wavelength

The wavelength of a particle calculated as the ratio of Planck's constant to momentum.

Heisenberg uncertainty principle

The principle that states we cannot describe the relationship between sets of conjugate variables with absolute accuracy.

Pauli exclusion principle

The principle that no two electrons can occupy the same quantum state.

photon

The particle-like packet of electromagnetic energy.

quanta

The particle-like packet of thermal radiation.

quantized energies

The allowed discrete energy levels that bound particles may occupy.

quantum numbers

A set of numbers that describes the quantum state of a particle, such as an electron in an atom.

ternary semiconductor

A three-element compound semiconductor, such as aluminum gallium arsenide (AlGaAs).

unit cell

A small volume of a crystal that can reproduce the entire crystal.

zincblende lattice

A lattice structure identical to the diamond lattice but contains two types of atoms instead of one.

quantum state

A particular state of an electron described by a set of quantum numbers.

tunneling

The quantum mechanical phenomenon where a particle penetrates through a thin potential barrier.

wave-particle duality

The characteristic of electromagnetic waves that sometimes exhibit particle-like behavior and vice versa.

allowed energy band

A range of energy levels that an electron in a crystal is allowed to occupy.

density of states function

The density of available quantum states as a function of energy.

electron effective mass

The parameter relating the acceleration of an electron in the conduction band to an external force.

Fermi-Dirac probability function

The function describing the statistical distribution of electrons among available energy states.

fermi energy

The energy below which all states are filled with electrons at absolute zero temperature.

forbidden energy band

A range of energy levels that an electron in a crystal is not allowed to occupy.

hole

The positively charged "particle" associated with an empty state in the valence band.

hole effective mass

The parameter that relates the acceleration of a hole in the valence band to an external force.

k-space diagram

The plot of electron energy in a crystal versus momentum-related constant.

Kronig-Penney model

The mathematical model representing a one-dimensional single-crystal lattice.

Maxwell-Boltzmann approximation

Condition when energy is several kT above or below the Fermi energy.

acceptor atoms

Impurity atoms added to a semiconductor to create a p-type material.

charge carrier

The electron and/or hole that move inside the semiconductor, causing electrical currents.

compensated semiconductor

A semiconductor that contains both donors and acceptors in the same semiconductor region.

complete ionization

Condition when all donor atoms are positively charged and acceptor atoms are negatively charged.

degenerate semiconductor

A semiconductor where electron or hole concentration is greater than the effective density of states.

donor atoms

Impurity atoms added to a semiconductor to create n-type material.

effective density of states

Parameter resulting from integrating the density of quantum states over the conduction-band and valence-band energy.

extrinsic semiconductor

A semiconductor where managed amounts of donors and/or acceptors have changed carrier concentrations.

freeze-out

Condition when temperature lowers, donors and acceptors become neutrally charged, resulting in low carrier concentrations.