This new book by M Levinshtein and G Simin tells the readers about the design and work of the most important and most interesting semiconductor devices ? the transistors.The book is written in a friendly and easy to read manner and is meant primarily for young people, high school students, freshmen and sophomores. However, the original approach to semiconductor physics makes this book attractive to physics teachers and professors as well.The book consists of 3 parts: Part I: The section on semiconductors describes the main properties of semiconductors, explains the difference between the semiconductors, metals and dielectrics. We find here the explanation of the appearance of those wonderful properties of semiconductors which underlie their numerous applications. This part also contains a vivid and detailed description of the main types of motion of the charge carriers in semiconductors: thermal motion, motion in the electric field and diffusion.Part II covers Barriers and Junctions. In order to understand the principles of the work of the most important semiconductor devices, it is not sufficient just to get to know the properties of semiconductors. It is also quite essential to study certain specific and interesting phenomena ? the so-called junctions. This part of the book contains a detailed and vivid description of those properties and in that view of the properties of the p-n junctions and diodes: photodiodes, varicaps, light emitting diodes, solar cells and rectifier diodes.Part III covers Transitors. It describes the basis of the work of the Bipolar and Field Effect Transistors. Without making use of rather complicated equations or notions of quantum mechanics the authors give a clear and simple explanation of the cause of ability of those devices to amplify and generate electric signals. They tell the readers how transistors are manufactured and describe the work of the transistor's simplest circuits.The last chapter of the book is devoted to the ideas underlying the transistors: integrated circuits. It is these integrated circuits which are the foundation of modern electronics: from telephone apparatus to supercomputers, from medical instruments to cosmic communication systems.In conclusion, the authors make an attempt to foresee and imagine, together with the reader what other devices may come to substitute the transistor in the future.

This new book by M Levinshtein and G Simin tells the readers about the design and work of the most important and most interesting semiconductor devices — the transistors.The book is written in a friendly and easy to read manner and is meant primarily for young people, high school students, freshmen and sophomores. However, the original approach to semiconductor physics makes this book attractive to physics teachers and professors as well.The book consists of 3 parts:Part I: The section on semiconductors describes the main properties of semiconductors, explains the difference between the semiconductors, metals and dielectrics. We find here the explanation of the appearance of those wonderful properties of semiconductors which underlie their numerous applications. This part also contains a vivid and detailed description of the main types of motion of the charge carriers in semiconductors: thermal motion, motion in the electric field and diffusion.Part II covers Barriers and Junctions. In order to understand the principles of the work of the most important semiconductor devices, it is not sufficient just to get to know the properties of semiconductors. It is also quite essential to study certain specific and interesting phenomena — the so-called junctions. This part of the book contains a detailed and vivid description of those properties and in that view of the properties of the p-n junctions and diodes: photodiodes, varicaps, light emitting diodes, solar cells and rectifier diodes.Part III covers Transitors. It describes the basis of the work of the Bipolar and Field Effect Transistors. Without making use of rather complicated equations or notions of quantum mechanics the authors give a clear and simple explanation of the cause of ability of those devices to amplify and generate electric signals. They tell the readers how transistors are manufactured and describe the work of the transistor's simplest circuits.The last chapter of the book is devoted to the ideas underlying the transistors: integrated circuits. It is these integrated circuits which are the foundation of modern electronics: from telephone apparatus to supercomputers, from medical instruments to cosmic communication systems.In conclusion, the authors make an attempt to foresee and imagine, together with the reader what other devices may come to substitute the transistor in the future.

A practical, comprehensive introduction to transistor devices in electronics as they are currently used in integrated circuits. Includes high-level conditions as encountered in BJT operations. Unique to the book is a user's guide to the subject matter and a cross-referenced index. Includes tables at the end of each chapter summarizing important equations for quick references.

Semiconductors and the Information Revolution sets out to explain the development of modern electronic systems and devices from the viewpoint of the semiconductor materials (germanium, silicon, gallium arsenide and many others) which made them possible. It covers the scientific understanding of these materials and its intimate relationship with their technology and many applications. It began with Michael Faraday, took off in a big way with the invention of the transistor at Bell Labs in 1947 and is still burgeoning today. It is a story to match any artistic or engineering achievement of man and this is the first time it has been presented in a style suited to the non-specialist. It is written in a lively, non-mathematical style which brings out the excitement of discovery and the fascinating interplay between the demands of system pull and technological push. It also looks at the nature of some of the personal interactions which helped to shape the modern technological world. An introductory chapter illustrates just how dependent we are on modern electronic systems and explains the significance of semiconductors in their development. It also provides, in as painless a way as possible, a necessary understanding of semiconductor properties in relation to these applications. The second chapter takes up the historical account and ends with some important results emerging from the Second World War – including its effect on the organisation of scientific research. Chapter three describes the world-shaking discovery of the transistor and some of the early struggles to make it commercially viable, including the marketing of the first transistor radio. In chapter four we meet the integrated circuit which gave shape to much of our modern life in the form of the personal computer (and which gave rise to a famously long-running patent war!). Later chapters cover the application of compound semiconductors to light-emitting devices, such as LEDs and lasers, and light detecting devices such as photocells. We learn how these developments led to the invention of the CD player and DVD recorder, how other materials were applied to the development of sophisticated night vision equipment, fibre optical communications systems, solar photovoltaic panels and flat panel displays. Similarly, microwave techniques essential to our modern day love of mobile phoning are seen to depend on clever materials scientists who, not for the first time, "invented" new semiconductors with just the right properties. Altogether, it is an amazing story and one which deserves to be more widely known. Read this book and you will be rewarded with a much deeper understanding and appreciation of the technological revolution which shapes so many aspects of our lives. A historical account of the development of semiconductor physics, devices and applications from the nineteenth century to the present day Coverage of the importance of material quality and its relation to the physics of the devices Presented in a strictly non-mathematical and anecedotal way, to appeal to a wide audience Provides the broad sweep of science history

Polycrystalline Silicon for Integrated Circuits and Displays, Second Edition presents much of the available knowledge about polysilicon. It represents an effort to interrelate the deposition, properties, and applications of polysilicon. By properly understanding the properties of polycrystalline silicon and their relation to the deposition conditions, polysilicon can be designed to ensure optimum device and integrated-circuit performance. Polycrystalline silicon has played an important role in integrated-circuit technology for two decades. It was first used in self-aligned, silicon-gate, MOS ICs to reduce capacitance and improve circuit speed. In addition to this dominant use, polysilicon is now also included in virtually all modern bipolar ICs, where it improves the basic physics of device operation. The compatibility of polycrystalline silicon with subsequent high-temperature processing allows its efficient integration into advanced IC processes. This compatibility also permits polysilicon to be used early in the fabrication process for trench isolation and dynamic random-access-memory (DRAM) storage capacitors. In addition to its integrated-circuit applications, polysilicon is becoming vital as the active layer in the channel of thin-film transistors in place of amorphous silicon. When polysilicon thin-film transistors are used in advanced active-matrix displays, the peripheral circuitry can be integrated into the same substrate as the pixel transistors. Recently, polysilicon has been used in the emerging field of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), especially for microsensors and microactuators. In these devices, the mechanical properties, especially the stress in the polysilicon film, are critical to successful device fabrication. Polycrystalline Silicon for Integrated Circuits and Displays, Second Edition is an invaluable reference for professionals and technicians working with polycrystalline silicon in the integrated circuit and display industries.

With the world marching inexorably towards the fourth industrial revolution (IR 4.0), one is now embracing lives with artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoTs), virtual reality (VR) and 5G technology. Wherever we are, whatever we are doing, there are electronic devices that we rely indispensably on. While some of these technologies, such as those fueled with smart, autonomous systems, are seemingly precocious; others have existed for quite a while. These devices range from simple home appliances, entertainment media to complex aeronautical instruments. Clearly, the daily lives of mankind today are interwoven seamlessly with electronics. Surprising as it may seem, the cornerstone that empowers these electronic devices is nothing more than a mere diminutive semiconductor cube block. More colloquially referred to as the Very-Large-Scale-Integration (VLSI) chip or an integrated circuit (IC) chip or simply a microchip, this semiconductor cube block, approximately the size of a grain of rice, is composed of millions to billions of transistors. The transistors are interconnected in such a way that allows electrical circuitries for certain applications to be realized. Some of these chips serve specific permanent applications and are known as Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICS); while, others are computing processors which could be programmed for diverse applications. The computer processor, together with its supporting hardware and user interfaces, is known as an embedded system.In this book, a variety of topics related to microchips are extensively illustrated. The topics encompass the physics of the microchip device, as well as its design methods and applications.