Semiconductor Materials

Book excerpt: Semiconductor Materials presents physico-chemical, electronic, electrical, elastic, mechanical, magnetic, optical, and other properties of a vast group of elemental, binary, and ternary inorganic semiconductors and their solid solutions. It also discusses the properties of organic semiconductors. Descriptions are given of the most commonly used semiconductor devices-charge-coupled devices, field-effect transistors, unijunction transistors, thyristors, Zener and avalanche diodes, and photodiodes and lasers. The current trend of transitioning from silicon technology to gallium arsenide technology in field-effect-based electronic devices is a special feature that is also covered. More than 300 figures and 100 tables highlight discussions in the text, and more than 2,000 references guide you to further sources on specific topics. Semiconductor Materials is a relatively compact book containing vast information on semiconductor material properties. Readers can compare results of the property measurements that have been reported by different authors and critically compare the data using the reference information contained in the book. Engineers who design and improve semiconductor devices, researchers in physics and chemistry, and students of materials science and electronics will find this a valuable guide.