The Physics Behind Semiconductor Technology

This textbook teaches the physics and technology of semiconductors, highlighting the strong interdependence between the engineering principles and underlying physical fundamentals. It focuses on conveying a basic understanding of the physics, materials, and processes involved in semiconductor technology without relying on detailed derivations. The book features separate comments on the key physical principles covered, allowing the reader to quickly grasp the take-home message. Chapter-end questions and answers round out this compact book, making it a helpful and dependable resource for physicists, electrical engineers, and materials scientists working with electronic materials. Aimed at upper-level undergraduate students and written by an author with extensive experience in both industry and academia, this textbook gives physicists the opportunity to learn about the materials and technology behind semiconductors, while providing engineers and materials scientists a deeper understandingof the physics behind the technology.

Crystal Structure and Energy Bands.- Transport of Charge Carriers.- Donors and Acceptors.- Carrier Statistics.- Fabrication of Electronic Si.- Lattice Defects.- Compound Semiconductors.- Amorphous Semiconductors.

Albrecht Winnacker studied physics in Freiburg, Goettingen, Paris, and Heidelberg and got the Ph.D. thesis and habilitation at the University of Heidelberg where he was appointed professor of experimental physics in 1980.

Later, he was a visiting scientist at IBM Research Laboratories San Jose, California, and head of the Division “Compound semiconductors and phosphors” at Siemens Corporate Research in Erlangen. In the following years, he held the chair of electrical engineering and materials at the University of Erlangen. He is a cofounder of the company SiCrystal, a leading provider of Silicon Carbide semiconductor material. After retirement from the University of Erlangen, he got the status of a senior professor of the University Heidelberg and was appointed founding director of the Centre for Advanced Materials (CAM) at this university where afterwards he became its honorary director.

He continues teaching semiconductors physics for master students at theUniversity of Heidelberg.

He was elected a member of the “Heidelberger Akademie der Wissenschaften” and “Nationale Akademie der Technikwissenschaften acatech”.

His scientific interest concerns elemental and compound semiconductors and organic electronics.