Semiconductor Devices: Physics and Technology, 3rd Edition

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Introduction

• 0.1 SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES
• 0.2 SEMICONDUCTOR TECHNOLOGY
• SUMMARY

As an undergraduate in applied physics, electrical engineering, electronics engineering, or materials science, you might ask why you need to study semiconductor devices. The reason is that semiconductor devices are the foundation of the electronics industry, which is the largest industry in the world. A basic knowledge of semiconductor devices is essential to the understanding of advanced courses in electronics. This knowledge will also enable you to contribute to the Information Age, which is based on electronic technology.

Specifically, we cover the following topics:

• Four building blocks of semiconductor devices.
• Eighteen important semiconductor devices and their roles in electronic applications.
• Twenty three important semiconductor technologies and their roles in device processing.
• Technology trends toward high-density, high-speed, low-power consumption, and nonvolatility.

0.1 SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES

Figure 1 shows the sales volume of the semiconductor-device-based electronics industry in the past 30 years and projects sales to the year 2020. Also shown are the gross world product (GWP) and the sales volumes of the automobile, steel, and semiconductor industries.^1,2 We note that the electronics industry ...