Semiconductor Devices

Electronic circuit component built of a substance which is neither a good conductor nor an excellent insulator (hence semiconductor). Due to their compactness, dependability, and low cost, such devices have a wide range of applications. They’ve been used in power devices, optical sensors, and light emitters, including solid-state lasers, as discrete components. With current values ranging from a few nanoamperes to more than 5000 amperes and voltage ratings exceeding 100000 volts, they can handle a wide variety of current and voltage.

More significantly, semiconductor devices are well suitable to being integrated into complicated but easily manufactured microelectronic circuits. They are, and will continue to be, the most important components of most electronic systems, including communications, consumer, data-processing, and industrial-control equipment.

Semiconductor Devices

Materials used in semiconductor devices are neither good conductors nor good insulators. They’re characterized as semiconductor devices. Since they are reliable, small, and cost-effective, these devices have a wide range of applications. Furthermore, they are capable of handling a wide variety of current and voltage. Their current ratings exceed 5000  amps, whereas their voltage ratings exceed 100000 volts. We shall learn everything there is to know about these devices in this article.

Semiconductor devices are electronic components which take advantage of semiconductor material’s electronic characteristics. Semiconductors, as well as silicon, germanium, and gallium arsenide, are among these materials.

In many applications, these devices have taken the place of vacuum tubes. Instead of thermionic emission in a high vacuum, they use electronic conduction in the solid state.

Such devices are made for both discrete devices and integrated circuits, that are made up of a few to billions of devices that are fabricated and coupled on a single semiconductor wafer or substrate.

Furthermore, a semiconductor material is a device which permits electric current to travel via it. Like an example, consider the device CPU. It is made up of a large number of transistors.

Likewise, these transistors are made up of a semiconductor substance that allows current to travel through and is controlled by a switch. The flow of electric current in a transistor is regulated by actions based on the state of the switch, if it is on or off. 

Types of Semiconductor Devices

We categorize these devices into two categories: two-terminal and three-terminal devices, as well as terminal devices. Diode, Zener diode, Phototransistor, Schottky diode, Light-emitting diode (LED), Laser diode, Photocell, Solar cell, and other two-terminal devices are examples.

Bipolar transistors, IGBTs, TRIACs, Field-effect transistors, Silicon-controlled rectifiers, Thyristors, and other three-terminal semiconductor devices are instances.

Diode

A diode is a semiconductor device made up of only one p-n junction. P-n junctions are formed when p-type and n-type semiconductor materials are joined together. Since n-type region has a higher number of electron concentrations, this creation occurs.

The p-type region, from the other hand, has a higher concentration of holes. The electrons diffuse from the n-type to the p-type area as a result.

Transistors

Bipolar junction transistors and field-effect transistors are the different sorts of transistors. The creation of two p-n junctions in two different configurations, such as n-p-n or p-n-p, results in a bipolar junction transistor.

The three regions that make up this type of transistor are the emitter, collector, and base (or middle region).

The field-effect transistor functions on the basis of conductivity, and the presence of an electric field can change the conductivity.

Semiconductor Device Materials

Silicon (Si) is the most commonly used semiconductor material. It has a cheaper cost of raw materials and a reasonably easy fabrication procedure. Its useful temperature range makes it the finest compromise among competing materials right now. Silicon is currently produced into bowls with a diameter large enough to allow the fabrication of 300  mm (12 in.) wafers in semiconductor device manufacturing.

Germanium (Ge) was an early semiconductor material which was widely employed, but its temperature sensitivity made it less practical than silicon. In today’s world, germanium is frequently alloyed with (Si) silicon for use in ultra-high-speed SiGe devices, of which IBM is a leading manufacturer.

Gallium arsenide (GaAs) is also commonly employed in high-speed devices, but it has proved difficult to make large-diameter bowls of this material, restricting wafer diameter sizes to substantially smaller than silicon wafers, making mass manufacture of GaAs devices generally more expensive than silicon.

Examples of Semiconductor Devices

We’ll look at examples of semiconductor devices, which include op-amps, resistors, capacitors, diodes, and transistors, since these devices are neither good insulators nor good conductors.

These devices are self-contained in terms of integrating into sophisticated microelectronic circuits and are easily fabricated. Furthermore, these devices have a bright future ahead of them.

In aspects of forming major components for the majority of electrical and electronic instruments and systems in a number of disciplines, such as communications, data processing, consumer electronics, and industrial control equipment.

Applications of Semiconductor Devices

These devices are used in the fabrication of logic gates and digital circuits. In furthermore, we employ them in microprocessors. In addition, we employ them in analogue circuits such as oscillators and amplifiers. Eventually, they’re used in high-voltage situations.

Conclusion

Electronic components that take advantage of the electronic properties of semiconductor materials such as silicon, germanium, and gallium arsenide, and also organic semiconductors, are referred as semiconductor devices. Semiconductor devices are built of a material which is neither a good conductor nor an excellent insulator. Due to their dependability, compactness, and low cost, these devices have a wide range of applications. Diodes are semiconductor devices with only one p-n junction. If p-type and n-type semiconductor materials are combined, p-n junctions are created. Different types of transistors include bipolar junction transistors and field-effect transistors. A bipolar junction transistor is comprised of two p-n junctions in two distinct configurations, including n-p-n or p-n-p.