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Engineering LibreTexts

1: Conductors, Semiconductors and Diodes

  • Page ID
    88597
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    • 1.1: Simple Conduction
      Introduction of simple conduction, including the basic ideas and models of conductor. Includes the Drude theory of conduction, Ohm's law, resistivity, and conductivity.
    • 1.2: Introduction to Semiconductors
      Introduction to semiconductors, mainly looking at the behavior of electrons in a solid from a quantum mechanical point of view.
    • 1.3: Doped Semiconductors
      Expanding from the silicon's crystal structure to discuss how to make doped semiconductors and the mechanics.
    • 1.4: P-N Junction, Part I
      Introduction of P-N junction, the first real and actual electric device.
    • 1.5: P-N Junction, Part II
      Advanced discussion about P-N junction, with special focus on the effect of the depletion region on energy band diagrams.
    • 1.6: Gauss's Law
      Introduction to Gauss's Law, one of the electric field theories.
    • 1.7: Depletion Width
      Finding the electric field in the depletion region as a function of position.
    • 1.8: Forward Biased
      Phenomena involving energy gaps and current when the diode is forward biased.
    • 1.9: The Diode Equation
      Introduction of the Diode Equation, including both the basic and more general form.
    • 1.10: Reverse Biased/Breakdown
      Discussing the phenomenon when the diode is reverse biased and breakdown occurs.
    • 1.11: Diffusion
      Discussion of the process of diffusion, where electrons move across a p-n or n-p junction.
    • 1.12: Light Emitting Diode
      How light-emitting diodes work. Discussion of direct and indirect band-gap semiconductors, and recombination centers.
    • 1.13: LASER
      The difference in structure between an LED and a solid state laser.
    • 1.14: Solar Cells
      The structure of solar cells.

    Thumbnail: Pictorial representation of Gauss's Law.


    This page titled 1: Conductors, Semiconductors and Diodes is shared under a CC BY 1.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Bill Wilson via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform; a detailed edit history is available upon request.

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