Physics of electronic devices

This chapter is aimed at engineers and scientists wishing to acquire the necessary solid-state physics concepts to gain a better understanding of the physical phenomena governing the properties of electronic components.

To avoid duplication with the chapters on optoelectronics, the optical or optoelectronic properties of materials and components are not included.

The first part includes an introduction to the concepts of quantum mechanics and statistical mechanics 1 necessary for the presentation of band theory 2 , which governs the notion of electrons and holes and the populations of these two types of carriers in the valence and conduction bands.

The second part presents the electronic properties of semiconductor materials 3 , which govern the properties of components, as well as those relating to electronic emission 4