DIODE

Increasing temperatures can cause a significant increase in the number of free electrons in a semiconductor material

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Intrinsic materials are those semiconductors that have a very low level of impurities ,whereas extrinsic materials are semiconductors that have been exposed to a doping process

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Most semiconductor materials used in the electronics industry have negative temperature coefficients ; that is, the resistance drops with an increase in temperature

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The characteristics of an ideal diode are a close match with those of a simple switch except for the important fact that an ideal diode can conduct in only one direction .

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The ideal diode is a short in the region of conduction and an open circuit in the region of nonconduction.

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Atom

Atom The smallest particle of an element that possesses the unique characteristics of that element.

Doping

Doping The process of imparting impurities to an intrinsic semiconductive material in order to control its conduction characteristics.

Electron

Electron The basic particle of negative electrical charge.

Free electron

Free electron An electron that has acquired enough energy to break away from the valence band of the parent atom; also called a conduction electron.

Hole

Hole The absence of an electron in the valence band of an atom.

Insulator

Insulator A material that does not normally conduct current.

Ionization

Ionization The removal or addition of an electron from or to a neutral atom so that the resulting atom called an ion has a net positive or negative charge.

Orbital

Orbital Subshell in the quantum model of an atom.

PN junction

PN junction The boundary between two different types of semiconductive materials.

Proton

Proton The basic particle of positive charge.

Barrier potential

Barrier potential The amount of energy required to produce full conduction across the pn junction in forward bias.

Conductor

Conductor A material that easily conducts electrical current.

Crystal

Crystal A solid material in which the atoms are arranged in a symmetrical pattern.

Semiconductor

Semiconductor A material that lies between conductors and insulators in its conductive properties. Silicon, germanium, and carbon are examples.

Shell

Shell An energy band in which electrons orbit the nucleus of an atom

Silicon

Silicon A semiconductive material.

Valence

Valence Related to the outer shell of an atom