What Are Semiconductors?
Semiconductors are the core fundamental materials which are used in solid-state electronic devices such as transistors, diodes etc. The material’s atomic structure decides whether the material will turn out to be a metal, semiconductor or insulator. Semiconductors could also be elements such as Ge, Si or compounds such as CdS or GaAs.
Related Topics:
NCERT Solutions for Class 12 Physics Chapter 14
NCERT Exemplar for Class 12 Physics Chapter 14
Important Questions on Semiconductors
Intrinsic Semiconductors
These are the type of semiconductors devices which are pure and have charged electrons and holes, which are achieved as a result of thermal excitation. The hole’s number is found equal to that of the number of electrons.
Types of Semiconductors
There are two types of semiconductors:
- N-type- in here, \(\begin{array}{l}n_{e}> > n_{h}\end{array} \)
- P-type- in here, \(\begin{array}{l}n_{h}> >n_{e}\end{array} \)
For metals,
Diode
Diodes are for the purpose of AC voltage rectification which means restricting the voltage to follow one direction only using a capacitor or a filter; a DC voltage can be achieved. The types of diodes are:
- Zener Diode – This is used in places where voltage regulation is needed.
- P-N junction diode- It is used in photonic or optoelectronic devices, and the entity is the photon. Examples are solar cells, light-emitting diodes, etc.
Types of Digital Circuits
There are special logic operational digital circuits. They are:
- NOR gate
- NAND
- NOT
- AND
- OR
Important Questions
- When a p-n junction is set to forward-biased,
- We could witness a rise in the potential barrier.
- We could see a reduction in the majority carrier current to the value of zero.
- There is a decrease in the potential barrier.
- None.
2. In transistor action, identify the correct statements.
- The doping concentrations and sizes of the base, emitter, and collector are similar.
- The base region is found to be thin and lightly doped.
- The collector junction and the emitter junction is reversed biased and forward-biased, respectively.
- Both the collector junction and the emitter junction are forward-biased.
Also Read:
| Logic Gates | Diodes |
Frequently Asked Questions on CBSE Class 12 Physics Notes Chapter 14 Semiconductor Electronics Materials Devices and Simple Circuits
Who discovered the transistor?
John Bardeen, Walter Brattain and William Shockley invented the first working transistors at Bell Labs, the point-contact transistor, in 1947.
What are semiconductors?
Semiconductors are substances with properties somewhere between them. ICs(integrated circuits) and electronic discrete components such as diodes and transistors are made of semiconductors.
What is a bipolar junction?
A Bipolar Junction Transistor is a solid-state device in which the current flow between two terminals (collector and emitter) is controlled by the amount of current that flows through a third terminal (base).
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