Solid State Devices And Materials

A modern and concise treatment of the solid state electronic devices that are fundamental to electronic systems and information technology is provided in this book. The main devices that comprise semiconductor integrated circuits are covered in a clear manner accessible to the wide range of scientific and engineering disciplines that are impacted by this technology. Catering to a wider audience is becoming increasingly important as the field of electronic materials and devices becomes more interdisciplinary, with applications in biology, chemistry and electro-mechanical devices (to name a few) becoming more prevalent. Updated and state-of-the-art advancements are included along with emerging trends in electronic devices and their applications. In addition, an appendix containing the relevant physical background will be included to assist readers from different disciplines and provide a review for those more familiar with the area. Readers of this book can expect to derive a solid foundation for understanding modern electronic devices and also be prepared for future developments and advancements in this far-reaching area of science and technology.

It is beneficial for technical personnel working in the field of microelectronics, optoelectronics, and photonics to get a good understanding of the physical foundations of modern semiconductor devices. Questions that technical personnel may ask are: How are electrons propagating in the periodic potential of a crystal lattice? What are the foundations of semiconductor heterostructure devices? How does quantum mechanics relate to semiconductor heterostructures? This book tries to answer questions such as these. The book provides a basis for the understanding of modern semiconductor devices that have dimensions in the nanometer range, that is, comparable to the electron de Broglie wavelength. For such small spatial dimensions, classical physics no longer gives a full description of physical processes. The inclusion of quantum mechanical principles becomes mandatory and provides a useful description of common physical processes in electronic, optoelectronic, and photonic devices. Chapters 1 to 11 teach the quantum‐mechanical principles, including the postulates of quantum mechanics, operators, the uncertainty principle, the Schrödinger equation, non‐periodic and periodic potentials, quantum wells, and perturbation theory. Chapters 12 to 20 apply these principles to semiconductor devices and discuss the density of states, semiconductor statistics, carrier concentrations, doping, tunneling, and aspects of heterostructure devices. The 2022 edition is a complete revision of the 2015 edition and also updates the formatting to make it easily viewable with electronic display devices.

Designed as a text for undergraduate students of engineering in Electrical, Electronics, and Computer Science and IT disciplines as well as undergraduate students (B.Sc.) of physics and electronics as also for postgraduate students of physics and electronics, this compact and accessible text endeavours to simplify the theory of solid state devices so that even an average student will be able to understand the concepts with ease. The authors, Prof. Somanathan Nair and Prof. S.R. Deepa, with their rich and long experience in teaching the subject, provide a detailed discussion of such topics as crystal structures of semiconductor materials, Miller indices, energy band theory of solids, energy level diagrams and mass action law. Besides, they give a masterly analysis of topics such as direct and indirect gap materials, Fermi–Dirac statistics, electrons in semiconductors, Hall effect, PN junction diodes, Zener and avalanche breakdowns, Schottky barrier diodes, bipolar junction transistors, MOS field-effect transistors, Early effect, Shockley diodes, SCRs, TRIAC, and IGBTs. In the Second Edition, two new chapters on opto-electronic devices and electro-optic devices have been added. The text has been thoroughly revised and updated. A number of solved problems and objective type questions have been included to help students develop grasp of the contents. This fully illustrated and well-organized text should prove invaluable to students pursuing various courses in engineering and physics. DISTINGUISHING FEATURES • Discusses the concepts in an easy-to-understand style. • Furnishes over 300 clear-cut diagrams to illustrate the discussed. • Gives a very large number of questions—short answer, fill in the blanks, tick the correct answer and review questions—to sharpen the minds of the reader. • Provides more than 200 fully solved numerical problems. • Gives answers to a large number of exercises.