Synopses & Reviews
The Materials Science of Semiconductors serves as a general textbook on semiconductors, and discusses semiconductors in detail, from the fundamental basis for their electronic structure to engineering of alloys and the effects of defects. Written for graduate and advanced undergraduate students in the hard sciences, this book covers the materials science of semiconductors rather than focusing on electronic devices as a primary topic. The Materials Science of Semiconductors is focused on classical concepts of materials physics (including band theory), alloy design, defects and their physics, organic electronic materials, amorphous semiconductors, and thin film growth methods. This textbook includes a discussion of organic materials concepts and applications for light emitting and switching devices, and also covers the major methods for processing semiconductors from Czochralsky growth to atomic-layer deposition. Unlike other books on semiconductors, this book discusses how band structures are developed and gives a detailed calculation technique based on the LCAO method, without any significant reliance on a background in quantum mechanics. The Materials Science of Semiconductors is dedicated to presenting fundamental concepts in a manner that is accessible to students without a background in physics or quantum mechanics. Each chapter includes current applications, particularly in optoelectronics, along with recommended readings and homework problems.
Review
From the reviews: "This textbook on semiconductors for students at advanced undergraduate or graduate level covers the basis of electronic band structures, engineering of alloys, and the effect of defects. Concentrating on semiconductors materials science rather than devices, Rockett also includes discussion of organic electronic materials, amorphous semiconductors, and methods for growth and deposition. Each chapter includes recommended reading suggestions and problems for study." (Materials Today, Vol. 11 (5), May, 2008) "The 12 summarized chapters of The Materials Science of Semiconductors by Rockett ... provide excellent coverage for practicing engineers or students interrelating the underlying materials considerations with semiconductor devices. Each chapter contains diagrams, problems, substantial references, and additional readings; the book also includes an appendix and a dozen tables. ... Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduate through professional collections." (S. M. Pilgrim, Choice, Vol. 46 (2), October, 2008)
Synopsis
This book describes semiconductors from a materials science perspective rather than from condensed matter physics or electrical engineering viewpoints. It includes discussion of current approaches to organic materials for electronic devices. It further describes the fundamental aspects of thin film nucleation and growth, and the most common physical and chemical vapor deposition techniques. Examples of the application of the concepts in each chapter to specific problems or situations are included, along with recommended readings and homework problems.
Synopsis
OBJECTIVES The primary purpose of this book is to convey insight into why semiconductors are the way they are, either because of how their atoms bond with one another, because of mistakes in their structure, or because of how they are produced or processed. The approach is to explore both the science of how atoms interact and to connect the results to real materials properties, and to show the engineering concepts that can be used to produce or improve a semiconductor by design. Along with this I hope to show some applications for the topics under discussion so that one may see how the concepts are applied in the laboratory. The intended audience of this book is senior undergraduate students and graduate students early in their careers or with limited background in the subject. I intend this book to be equally useful to those teaching in electrical engineering, materials science, or even chemical engineering or physics curricula, although the book is written for a materials science audience primarily. To try to maintain the focus on materials concepts the details of many of the derivations and equations are left out of the book. Likewise I have not delved into the details of electrical engineering topics in as much detail as an electrical engineer might wish. It is assumed that students are familiar with these topics from earlier courses.
Synopsis
The book reviews the most relevant concepts of semiconductor materials and processing including condensed matter physics, electronic device theory, and materials science. It describes the development of energy bands from atomic orbitals and the effect of atomic chemistry on the semiconductor. Semiconductor alloys are described including issues of miscibility, ordering, and electronic properties. Defects in semiconductors are described with particular emphasis on point and line defects, their sources and effects. A chapter on amorphous semiconductors is included as well as a chapter on organic materials used in optical and switching devices. The book concludes with chapters on general aspects of thin film nucleation and growth, physical vapor deposition and chemical vapor deposition methods. Examples of the application of the concepts in each chapter to specific problems or situations are included, along with recommended readings and homework problems.
About the Author
Angus Rockett is a Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He is a fellow of the AVS and teaches short courses and tuitorials for the AVS, MRS and IEEE. He has in excess of 120 published journal articles and conference proceedings and has conducted research in a wide variety of thin film and electronic materials topics. He received a B.S. in Physics from Brown University in 1980 and a Ph.D. from the University of Illinois in Materials Science in 1986. He has been a visiting scientist at the Uppsala University in Sweden, the Hahn Meitner Institute in Berlin, Germany and has served as a senior program administrator at the U.S. Department of Energy in Germantown, Maryland.
Table of Contents
An Environment of Challenges.- The Physics of Solids.- Overview of Electronic Devices.- Aspects of Materials Science.- Engineering Electronic Structure.- Semiconductor Alloys.- Defects in Semiconductors.- Amorphous Semiconductors.- Organic Semiconductors.- Thin Film Growth Processes.- Physical Vapor Deposition.- Chemical Vapor Deposition. Appendix.- List of Tables.