Talk:Semiconductor device

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

	This article is part of WikiProject Electronics, an attempt to provide a standard approach to writing articles about electronics on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, you can choose to edit the article attached to this page, or visit the project page, where you can join the project and see a list of open tasks.
B	This article has been rated as B-Class on the quality scale.
Mid	This article has been rated as Mid-importance on the importance scale.

Contents 1 Unclassified 2 History section - free addition 3 Origin of American type numbers- no of junctions? 4 Our typical reader 5 3D images

[edit] Unclassified

I'm going to stick this link in the notes here; I think its cool; way cool. This is an example of a hobbyist using iron pyrite as a semiconductor for an oscillating circuit. - David M

Thyristor and SCR is the same thing. SCRs and triacs have 3 terminals (but 4 layers instead of 3 for a transistor) -- Egil 14:48 Feb 5, 2003 (UTC)

This phrasing seems a bit patronizing for encyclopedia prose! Perhaps we can come up with something better? "in a sense that requires some knowledge of semiconductor physics to understand, a hole is the absence of an electron." --Christofurio 14:19, Mar 13, 2005 (UTC)

Agree. Removed it.--Light current 02:25, 27 September 2005 (UTC)

[edit] History section - free addition

I noticed this page did not have a history section and thought the history copied from transistor would fit better here. We're trying to get rid of it anyway! So if you think it can stay here, you can have it free!.--Light current 01:21, 21 September 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Origin of American type numbers- no of junctions?

Anyone know the reason for the 1N, 2N, 3N designations on diodes and transistors etc. My theory is that its to do with the number of junctions in the device. Any confirmations??--Light current 00:58, 30 September 2005 (UTC)

Best not to have theories. The prefix digit 1, 2, 3, in the JEDEC type number is one less than the number of leads on the device - so a dual-gate MOSFET, which has no junctions at all, will be a 3NXXX device, because it has 4 leads. I've no idea why "N". --Wtshymanski 13:07, 30 September 2005 (UTC)

Ah-ha! Makes some sense! But it does happen to equal the no of junctions in bipolar devices (which came before mosfets)--Light current 13:17, 30 September 2005 (UTC)

I was around before there were more than 2 junctions. It is an interesting coincidence, but the number refers to the quantity of leads available outside the package -1 (discrete devices). With some packages a lead might be available both as a tab and as a lead. 208.106.20.67 06:18, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Our typical reader

The article presents information. But would it be helpful to a typical reader? The article is informationally dense, terms are used which an electronic engineer or technician would know and would have no trouble with. Terms such a "discrete component" and thermionic device" are introduced one after another in rapid sequence. But a person who has heard the term "Semiconductor device" and has little electronic education would have a hard time reading and understanding. Could we discuss a method to make a more flowing, readable article ? Terryeo 16:26, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

This sounds like a perfect opportunity for you to be bold and improve the article!

Atlant 16:32, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

I agree. Go for it. An anonymous edit that I mostly reverted was a bit of an attempt, but it removed everything that made the lead paragraph meaningful and substituted incorrect simplified language that meant almost nothing. I'm sure you'll do better. Dicklyon 18:32, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] 3D images

What's with those images? They seem to have extreme verical exaggeration, show not much structure other than contact plugs and poly gates, and have no sensible structure below the surface of the silicon. Surely we can come up with something more meaningful. Dicklyon 03:10, 24 November 2006 (UTC)

If you can get me some GDSII and the associated fab layer equations and thicknesses, I'd be more than happy to create whatever picture you'd like. Don't forget though, that most of the interesting detail (depending on what you consider interesting) is hidden by the routing layers, which is why they were stripped in the original pictures. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by David Carron (talk • contribs) 16:32, 4 January 2007 (UTC).

I might be able to get some SEM images of the III-V transistors and MEMS I'll be working on this semester... -- mattb @ 2007-01-04T16:38Z