Semiconductor - Revision history

Jnc: /* Further reading */ +Crystal Fire

2024-01-10T22:36:32Z

‎Further reading: +Crystal Fire

Jnc: +cat

2018-12-14T18:08:20Z

+cat

Jnc: Proper cat

2018-10-21T12:32:55Z

Proper cat

Jnc: Mention use in ICs and memory

2018-05-27T22:05:02Z

Mention use in ICs and memory

Jnc: A start

2017-12-06T01:57:20Z

A start

New page

A '''semiconductor''' is a material (most often an element like silicon, but sometimes a compound like galena, used in early [[diode]]s) which is intermediate in its ability to carry [[current]] between an [[insulator]] (e.g. most plastics) and a conductor (e.g. most metals).

Semiconductors are very important to modern electronics because the addition of trace amounts of dopants (other elements) can render them into materials which have an excess of [[electron]]s (so-called 'N'-type semiconducors) or [[hole]]s (the absence of an electron, so-called 'P'-type semiconducors). Joining together blocks of P- and N-type semiconductors in the appropriate configurations can produce a wide range of devices, including diodes and [[transistor]]s.

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		+	==Further reading==
		+
		+	* Michael Riordan, Lillian Hoddeson, ''Crystal Fire: The Birth of the Information Age'', Norton, New York, 1997 - a wonderful history of transistors and ICs, [https://web.archive.org/web/20120627121017/http://laimbio08.escet.urjc.es/docencia/FOTONICA/origins_p_n_junction_IEEE_spectrum_34_1997.pdf Chapter 6] contains the definitive history of the invention of the transistor
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		+	==External links==
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		+	* [https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/sts-340j-introduction-to-the-history-of-technology-fall-2006/a96089fb1b0343cb358c982a9bb3c072_fox_crystalfire.pdf Crystal Fire: The Birth of the Information Age - Theme: Sources] - interesting detail on the sources used for 'Crystal Fire'
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	The term may also be used to refer to sub-systems constructed using semiconductor devices; e.g. at one point all [[main memory]] was [[core memory]], so the term 'semiconductor [[Random Access Memory\|RAM]]' was used to indicate the use of ICs to actually hold data.		The term may also be used to refer to sub-systems constructed using semiconductor devices; e.g. at one point all [[main memory]] was [[core memory]], so the term 'semiconductor [[Random Access Memory\|RAM]]' was used to indicate the use of ICs to actually hold data.

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-A '''semiconductor''' is a material (most often an element like silicon, but sometimes a compound like galena, used in early [[diode]]s) which is intermediate in its ability to carry [[current]] between an [[insulator]] (e.g. most plastics) and a conductor (e.g. most metals).
+A '''semiconductor''' is a material (most often an element like silicon, but sometimes a compound like galena, used in early [[diode]]s) which is intermediate in its ability to carry [[current]] between an [[insulator]] (e.g. most plastics) and a [[conductor]] (e.g. most metals).
-Semiconductors are very important to modern electronics because the addition of trace amounts of dopants (other elements) can render them into materials which have an excess of [[electron]]s (so-called 'N'-type semiconducors) or [[hole]]s (the absence of an electron, so-called 'P'-type semiconducors). Joining together blocks of P- and N-type semiconductors in the appropriate configurations can produce a wide range of devices, including diodes and [[transistor]]s.
+Semiconductors are very important to modern [[electronics]] because the addition of trace amounts of dopants (other elements) can render them into materials which have an excess of [[electron]]s (so-called 'N'-type semiconducors) or [[hole]]s (the absence of an electron, so-called 'P'-type semiconducors).
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