The Story Of Semiconductors

by Orton, John

• ISBN13: 9780198530831
• ISBN10: 0198530838
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2004-11-18
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

The book provides an overview of the fascinating spectrum of semiconductor physics, devices and applications, presented from a historical perspective. It covers the development of the subject from its inception in the early nineteenth century to the recent millennium. Written in a lively,informal style, it emphasizes the interaction between pure scientific push and commercial pull, on the one hand, and between basic physics, materials, and devices, on the other. It also sets the various device developments in the context of systems requirements and explains how such developments metwide ranging consumer demands. It is written so as to appeal to students at all levels in physics, electrical engineering, and materials science, to teachers, lecturers, and professionals working in the field, as well as to a non-specialist scientific readership.

Table of Contents

Perspectives	1	(18)
The `Information Age'	1	(2)
Early materials technology	3	(2)
What makes a semiconductor?	5	(7)
Semiconductor doping	12	(3)
How many semiconductors are there?	15	(4)
Bibliography	18	(1)
The cat's whiskers	19	(28)
Early days	19	(2)
First applications	21	(2)
Commercial semiconductor rectifiers	23	(5)
Early semiconductor physics	28	(10)
The cat's whisker reborn	38	(4)
Postscript---how things happen	42	(5)
Bibliography	46	(1)
Minority rule	47	(46)
The transistor	47	(7)
Ge and Si technology	54	(6)
The physics of Ge and Si	60	(19)
The junction transistor	79	(14)
Bibliography	91	(2)
Silicon, silicon, and yet more silicon	93	(56)
Precursor to the revolution	93	(7)
The Metal Oxide Silicon transistor	100	(7)
Semiconductor technology	107	(13)
Wise men from the East	120	(7)
Power and energy---sometimes size is important	127	(12)
Silicon is good for physics, too	139	(10)
Bibliography	147	(2)
The compound challenge	149	(64)
Why bother?	149	(3)
Gallium arsenide	152	(6)
Crystal growth	158	(13)
Material characterization	171	(13)
Light emitting devices	184	(11)
Microwave devices	195	(12)
Indium-phosphide	207	(6)
Bibliography	211	(2)
Low dimensional structures	213	(64)
Small really is beautiful	213	(6)
The two-dimensional electron gas	219	(10)
Mesoscopic systems	229	(8)
Optical properties of quantum wells	237	(9)
Electronic devices	246	(12)
Optical devices	258	(19)
Bibliography	275	(2)
Let there be light	277	(54)
Basic principles	277	(9)
Red-emitting alloys	286	(8)
Gallium phosphide	294	(10)
Wide band gap semiconductors	304	(11)
Short wavelength laser diodes	315	(16)
Bibliography	328	(3)
Communicating with light	331	(54)
Fibre optics	331	(12)
Long wavelength sources	343	(16)
Photodetectors	359	(14)
Optical modulators	373	(5)
Recent developments	378	(7)
Bibliography	384	(1)
Semiconductors in the infrared	385	(62)
The infrared spectral region	385	(6)
Infrared components	391	(7)
Two world wars---and after	398	(14)
Growing sophistication---the 1960s and 1970s	412	(13)
Quantum wells, superlattices, and other modern wonders	425	(11)
Long wavelength lasers	436	(11)
Bibliography	445	(2)
Polycrystalline and amorphous semiconductors	447	(56)
Introduction	447	(1)
Polycrystalline semiconductors	448	(12)
Amorphous semiconductors	460	(11)
Solar cells	471	(15)
Liquid crystal displays	486	(12)
Porous silicon	498	(5)
Bibliography	501	(2)
Index	503