Semiconductors/Introduction

Introduction of semiconductor

Nearly everything that we use contains semiconductors. From old relics such as "Transistor Radios", to computers, and everything in between, semiconductors make modern human technology operate. Before this book, wikibooks had a number of sources on semiconductors, scattered as stub pages and individual chapters in other books. However, this book is an attempt to bring all that information together into a single resource, and therefore become more valuable to the wikibooks community at large. Now, other books that used to provide their own mini discussions of semiconductors can instead link to this book in an effort to save time and space.

What Semiconductors Are

Semiconductors are special materials (frequently silicon-based) that conduct differently under different conditions. This is, of course, only a partial definition, but it is certainly an important part. Semiconductors can be used to control the flow of electricity in a circuit, they can be used to amplify a signal, or they can be used to switch current flow on or off. In fact, this is only a small subset of the things that semiconductors can do. This book will explain what semiconductors are, and how they are used.

What This Book Will Cover

It is the intent of this book to become a thorough and complete reference resource on semiconductors. The first section will discuss what semiconductors are, and how they are constructed physically. The second section will begin to discuss transistors, first through the use of specific models (Transistors as a switch, and Transistors as an amplifier). Section 3 will talk about Field Effect Transistors (FET), how they operate, and how they are made. Section 4 will talk further about the use of transistors as amplifiers, and will discuss Op-Amp circuits in detail. Section 5 will discuss rectifier circuits and regulator circuits. Section 6 will talk more in depth about using transistors as switches, and will discuss the popular CMOS and TTL design methodologies. Finally, section 7 will discuss the use of light with semiconductors, including phototransistors, photodiodes, and LEDs. In the future, additional topics may be covered.

Who This Book Is For

This book is designed to be a complete resource on semiconductors, from manufacture to theory, and finally through the use of semiconductors in complex circuits. As such, this book is squarely designed for all readers who are looking to increase their understanding of any of these subjects (or all of them). University-level students, especially those in physics, engineering, chemistry, and mathematics will find this book most helpful.