Semiconductor Device Alphabet

by Michael Shur

With only three valence electrons,

Boron in Si is an Acceptor.

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The first transistors were Bipolar

Why is that RAMs nowadays unipolar?

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Better than magic of Wizard of Oz,

The king of devices is now CMOS.

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Contrary to predictions of some nay-sayers,

Good insulators are Depletion layers.

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Benefited every person in every nation,

When Einstein discovered his famous relation.

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For every device and for every junction

Is very important the Fermi-Dirac function

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If we want to start from a clean slate,

Let us first understand the Ground state.

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In 1940s, many Soviet moles

Tried to grasp the concept of electrons and Holes.

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They compromise semiconductor purity,

So many unwanted and awful Impurities

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The most important professor's function

Is to explain the workings of a p-n Junction

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Not even one of the human race

Has ever visited the k-space.

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Without much effort , without a fight,

A Laser produces coherent light.

No matter who is it, a friend or a foe,

He must obey the Mass-action law

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Good knowledge of crystals will make you famous

So try to remember the Nearest neighbors.

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An Optical fiber will replace the cable,

Is it a true prediction or a fable?

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What is more intelligent than a resistor?

How about an n-P-n transistor?

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It comes to you from your lab director:

A laser needs gain and a Quality factor

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Quantum mechanics my seem surreal

But physical quantities are all Real

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Useful for everything but photonics,

Silicon is the king of electronics

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A person who likes a bipolar Transistor,

Will be happy designing a real thyristor.

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In the next century every School Principal

Will understand the Uncertainty Principle

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In any chip plays an important function

The built-in Voltage of a p-n junction.

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Please do not be dazzled by C plus software,

Highly paid engineers are designing hardWare.

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XOR or NAND, with their virtues and vices

All are made with semiconductor devices.

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Why is Y admittance, why is Z impedance?

To this notation tradition gives credence.

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