Carriers

A Brief Description
Definitions
What are they?
 Creating Carriers with Dopants
Density of States An Analogy The Fermi Function Where are they?
How many are there?
 Charge?
Effects of Temperature
 Related Topics

Temperature Dependence

Temperature is one of the most, if not the most, important parameter in semiconductors.  A dictionary will tell you that temperature is the degree of hotness or coldness relative to a standardized scale.  You should be accustomed to the Celsius scale by now; it was established with reference values set to the freezing and boiling of water.  We will typically talk about the absolute scale, in degrees Kelvin, which is written as 300 K or 0 K, etc., without a degree symbol because it is absolute temperature.  (need to review?  check this out!)

Why is temperature important?  The average energy of a solid -- and its components (atoms, electrons, etc.) -- is measured by its temperature.  The higher the temperature, the more (thermal) energy is available to be used by the atoms and electrons.  Since we are talking about "electronic" devices, and temperature has a significant impact on the behavior of electron, temperature must have a significant impact on the behavior of electronic devices.

Temperature directly impacts:

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