Semiconductors
Materials between conductors and insulators — the basis of diodes, transistors and integrated circuits.
Semiconductors like silicon have a conductivity that can be controlled precisely by adding impurities (doping), by voltage and by light. Joining differently doped regions creates junctions with one-way and amplifying behaviour — the foundation of every diode, transistor and chip.
Sub-topics (7)
Semiconductor Physics
Energy bands, intrinsic and extrinsic material, doping and charge carriers.
PN Junction
Where p-type meets n-type, a depletion region forms with a built-in voltage that lets current flow mainly one way.
Diodes
Two-terminal devices that conduct in one direction — rectifiers, regulators, LEDs and more.
Bipolar Junction Transistor
A three-layer (NPN or PNP) device where a small base current controls a much larger collector current.
Field Effect Transistors
Voltage-controlled transistors (JFET and MOSFET) — the building block of every modern chip.
Thyristors
SCRs, TRIACs and DIACs — latching switches for controlling high-power AC.
Integrated Circuits
Many transistors and components fabricated together on a single chip.
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