Semiconductor device

A semiconductor device is an electronic component whose operation depends on the electrical properties of semiconductor materials, often controlled by doping, electric fields, or light.

Semiconductor: A material whose electrical conductivity lies between that of a conductor and an insulator and can be altered by impurities or fields. Its controllable conductivity is the material basis of semiconductor devices.
MOSFET: A transistor in which an insulated gate voltage controls a conducting channel in a semiconductor. It is the dominant switching element in modern integrated circuits.
Integrated circuit: An electronic circuit whose components and interconnections are fabricated together on a semiconductor substrate. It combines large numbers of semiconductor devices into a single functional chip.
Vacuum tube: An electronic device that controls electron flow through a vacuum using electrodes. It performs amplification and switching without a semiconductor solid-state channel.
Doping (semiconductor): The deliberate addition of impurities to a semiconductor to change its charge-carrier concentration. Doping creates the carrier-rich regions used in many device structures.
Bipolar junction transistor: A transistor that uses two p–n junctions and both electrons and holes to control current. It amplifies current through carrier injection rather than an insulated gate.
Light-emitting diode: A semiconductor diode that emits light when electrons and holes recombine across its junction. It turns electrical energy into light through semiconductor carrier recombination.
Superconductor: A material that exhibits zero electrical resistance and expels magnetic fields below characteristic conditions. Its near-zero-resistance behavior contrasts with semiconductor conductivity control.
P–n junction: An interface between p-type and n-type semiconductor regions, forming a carrier-depleted region and an internal electric field. Its rectifying behavior underlies diodes and many transistor structures.
Diode: A two-terminal semiconductor component that conducts strongly in one direction and weakly in the other. Its p–n junction illustrates how semiconductor structure produces rectification.

Linked from 6 pages