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Lecture

Semiconductors: Fundamentals and Applications

In course

MSE-484: Properties of semiconductors and related nanostructures

This course explains the origin of optical and electrical properties of semiconductors. The course elaborates how they change when the semiconductors are reduced to sizes of few nanometers. The course provides also the basis to use software to calculate th ...

Description

This lecture covers the generalities on semiconductors, including their history, chemical bonds, crystal structure, charge carriers, doping, and optical properties. It also delves into the physics of nanostructures, key milestones in semiconductor history, and the potential of nanotechnology in various fields.

Instructors (2)

Anna Fontcuberta i Morral

2014 Associate Professor at the Institut des Matériaux, EPFL 2008 Assistant Professor Tenure Track at the Institut des Matériaux, EPFL 2009 Habilitation in Physics, Technische Universität München 2005-2010 Marie Curie Excellence Grant Team Leader at Walter Schottky Institut, Technische Universität München, on leave from Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS, France) 2004-2005 Visiting Scientist at the California Institute of Technology, on leave from CNRS; Senior Scientist and co-founder of Aonex Technologies (a startup company for large area layer transfer of InP and Ge on foreign substrates for the main application of multi-junction solar cells) 2003 Permanent Research Fellow at CNRS, Ecole Polytechnique, France 2001-2002 Postdoctoral Scholar at the California Institute of Technology Study of wafer bonding and hydrogen-induced exfoliation processes for integration of mismatched materials in views of photovoltaic applications Sponsor: Professor Harry A. Atwater 1998-2001 PhD in Materials Science, Ecole Polytechnique Study of polymorphous silicon: growth mechanisms, optical and structural properties. Application to Solar Cells and Thin Film Transistors Advisor: Pere Roca i Cabarrocas 1997-1998 Diplôme dEtudes Approfondis (D.E.A.) in Materials Science at Université Paris XI, France . 1993-1997 BA in Physics at Universitat de Barcelona

Valerio Piazza

Official source

Related concepts (25)

Doping (semiconductor)

In semiconductor production, doping is the intentional introduction of impurities into an intrinsic semiconductor for the purpose of modulating its electrical, optical and structural properties. The doped material is referred to as an extrinsic semiconductor. Small numbers of dopant atoms can change the ability of a semiconductor to conduct electricity. When on the order of one dopant atom is added per 100 million atoms, the doping is said to be low or light.

Semiconductor

A semiconductor is a material which has an electrical conductivity value falling between that of a conductor, such as copper, and an insulator, such as glass. Its resistivity falls as its temperature rises; metals behave in the opposite way. Its conducting properties may be altered in useful ways by introducing impurities ("doping") into the crystal structure. When two differently doped regions exist in the same crystal, a semiconductor junction is created.

Semiconductor device

A semiconductor device is an electronic component that relies on the electronic properties of a semiconductor material (primarily silicon, germanium, and gallium arsenide, as well as organic semiconductors) for its function. Its conductivity lies between conductors and insulators. Semiconductor devices have replaced vacuum tubes in most applications. They conduct electric current in the solid state, rather than as free electrons across a vacuum (typically liberated by thermionic emission) or as free electrons and ions through an ionized gas.

Nanostructure

A nanostructure is a structure of intermediate size between microscopic and molecular structures. Nanostructural detail is microstructure at nanoscale. In describing nanostructures, it is necessary to differentiate between the number of dimensions in the volume of an object which are on the nanoscale. Nanotextured surfaces have one dimension on the nanoscale, i.e., only the thickness of the surface of an object is between 0.1 and 100 nm. Nanotubes have two dimensions on the nanoscale, i.e.

Nanotechnology

Nanotechnology, often shortened to nanotech, is the use of matter on atomic, molecular, and supramolecular scales for industrial purposes. The earliest, widespread description of nanotechnology referred to the particular technological goal of precisely manipulating atoms and molecules for fabrication of macroscale products, also now referred to as molecular nanotechnology. A more generalized description of nanotechnology was subsequently established by the National Nanotechnology Initiative, which defined nanotechnology as the manipulation of matter with at least one dimension sized from 1 to 100 nanometers (nm).

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Semiconductor Materials and Nanostructures

Covers the history of semiconductor materials, band structure, charge carriers, doping, electronic transport, optical properties, and applications.

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Explores the bandgap in semiconductors, focusing on the interaction between atoms in a crystal and the derivation of the secular equation.

Charge Carriers in Organic Semiconductors

Explores the formation of polarons, excitons, chemical doping effects, and charge carrier behavior in organic semiconductors.

Strain and Heteroepitaxy

Explores the impact of strain on semiconductor band structures, epitaxy, critical thickness, and defect formation, emphasizing the role of Hooke's law and elasticity theory.

Density of States in Semiconductor Devices