The components that make your radio work is made up of semiconductor materials. Semiconductor components has tremendously replaced vacuum tubes. The components that make up your computer's motherboard are also made up of semiconductors. Examples of these are the integrated circuits and transistors.What are semiconductors?
Semiconductors are materials whose conductivity can be controlled.
Examples: Silicon and Germanium
The semiconductor in its pure form is termed intrinsic
When doped, the semiconductor is termed extrinsic.
Doping is the addition of impurities to the semiconductor to change its conductivity.
When doped, the semiconductor either becomes a P type semiconductor or a N type semiconductor.
When boron is doped with silicon, a N type semiconductor is formed. Boron has too many electrons in its outer shell.
When phosphorus is doped with silicon, a
P type semiconductor is formed. Phosphorus has few electrons in its outer shell.
You think of how the positive and negative poles of a magnet attract each other:
When a P type semiconductor is placed next to a N type conductor, a diode is formed . The diode is the combination of an N type and P type material.
