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Electrons and Defects in Semiconductors

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 February 2011

H.J. Queisser
H.J. Queisser*
Affiliation:
Miller-Institute Visiting Professor, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720 on leave from Max-Planck-Institut für Festkörperforschung, Heisenbergstrasse 1 D-70569 Stuttgart, Germany queisser@quasix.mpi-stuttgart.mpg.de
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Abstract

This review addresses the centennial of the identification of the electron as the unit charge particle as well as the golden anniversary of the first demonstration of transistor action in a semiconductor material. Surprising skepticism arose in the acceptance of the quantized nature of the electric fluid; and formidable hurdles were encountered by the early generations of transistors. These obstacles are difficult to understand today. The transistor demonstration initiated research leading to highly perfected semiconductors. These materials can today be utilized toward precision measurements of fundamental quantities, such as the elementary charge by the quantum Hall effect, or the electron's effective spin magnetic moments by spectroscopy of quantum beats. Electrons and holes represent particle-antiparticle pairs in semiconductors with strong photon interactions, much like the fundamental lepton particles, for which a speculation on an evolutionary origin is presented. The unexpectedly long life of injected excess minority carriers in germanium established lifetime as the essential quantitative measure for materials quality and initiated massive and successful research on semiconductor defects.

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