Abstract
The device functionalities of bipolar, heterobipolar and field effect transistors (JFET, MESFET and MOSFET) are explained. Within physical models for drift, diffusion and recombination given earlier in the book, the characteristics of these devices are derived. Remarks on integrated circuits, miniaturization and thin film transistors finish this chapter.
Frequently, I have been asked if an experiment I have planned is pure or applied research; to me it is more important to know if the experiment will yield new and probably enduring knowledge about nature. If it is likely to yield such knowledge, it is, in my opinion, good fundamental research; and this is much more important than whether the motivation is purely esthetic satisfaction on the part of the experimenter on the one hand or the improvement of the stability of a high-power transistor on the other.
W.B. Shockley [2046, 2047]
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Notes
- 1.
- 2.
\(\coth x\equiv \cosh x/\sinh x\), \(\mathrm {csch} x\equiv 1/\sinh x\).
- 3.
Also, a recombination current in the emitter–base depletion region is possible. However, since in normal operating conditions this diode is forward biased, the depletion layer is short and the associated recombination current is small, cf. p. xx.
- 4.
We neglect recombination, in particular since the current is a majority-carrier current.
- 5.
The threshold voltage can also be obtained from the condition \(g_{\mathrm {D0}}=0\) (cf. (24.49)).
- 6.
Technically, here \(g_{\mathrm {D0}}=-g_{\mathrm {m,sat}}\), however, we had counted \(V_{\mathrm {G}}\) positive for the reverse direction.
- 7.
except for the subthreshold current and other leakage currents. These need to be reduced further since the dissipated power limits chip performance (speed and device density) and battery lifetime in handheld applications.
- 8.
The term ‘high-k dielectric’ means a dielectric material with large dielectric constant \(\epsilon \).
- 9.
After year 2003 data for maximum clock rate are not for highest integration density processors.
- 10.
Only commercial profit, rather than testing physical limits, drives the miniaturization. Insufficient economic advantages or low yield of further chip generations possibly can limit or slow down large-scale integration.
- 11.
www.semichips.org.
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Grundmann, M. (2021). Transistors. In: The Physics of Semiconductors. Graduate Texts in Physics. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-51569-0_24
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-51569-0_24
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