Semiconductors

Abstract

The organization of this chapter follows a two-step approach. The first step corresponds to searching for the substance of interest, that is, the relevant group of substances. The second step corresponds to the physical property of interest. This chapter has three sections, characterized by the groups of the Periodic Table that the constituent elements belong to. The first section, Sect. 20.1, deals with the elements of Group IV of the Periodic Table and semiconducting binary compounds between elements of this group (IV–IV compounds). The second section, 20.2, treats the semiconducting binary compounds between the elements of Groups III and V (III–V compounds); Sect. 20.3 treats compounds between the elements of Groups II and VI (II–VI compounds). These two sections are subdivided further according to the first element in the formula of the compound. The elements and compounds treated in Sect. 20.1 (Group IV and IV–IV compounds) are treated as one group; the data in the tables are given for the whole group in all cases. In Sect. 20.2 (III–V compounds) and 20.3 (II–VI compounds), data are given separately for each subdivision of those sections. For each group of substances, the physical properties are organized into four classes. These are: 1.Crystal structure, mechanical and thermal properties 2.Electronic properties3.Transport properties4.Electromagnetic and optical properties These property classes, finally, are subdivided into individual properties, which are described in the text, tables, and figures.