dopant

English - English

Definition of dopant in English English dictionary

A substance added in small amounts to a pure semiconductor material to alter its conductive properties

(Elektrik, Elektronik) A substance, such as boron, added in small amounts to a pure semiconductor material to alter its conductive properties for use in transistors and diodes

An atom or ion which replaces an atom in a crystal The dopant will become the active atom or ion when the material is made into a laser rod

  An impurity added to an optical medium to change its optical properties   Note: Dopants are used in optical fibers to control the refractive index profile and other refractive properties of the fiber   [FAA]

A small quantity of a substance, such as phosphorus, added to another substance, such as a semiconductor, to alter the latter's properties

A small quantity of a substance, such as phosphorus, added to another substance, such as a semiconductor, to alter the latter's poperties

Tiny amounts of impurities can change the electronic properties of the silicon, affecting greatly how it conducts electric current Selected impurities called dopants are deliberately introduced into the silicon to create devices such as transistors Typical dopant concentrations in silicon range from one part in a thousand to one part in ten million Phosphorus, arsenic and boron are the most common dopants used for silicon Phosphorus and arsenic make the silicon n-type, which means that the current carriers are negatively charged electrons Boron makes the silicon p-type because the current carriers are positively charged holes Dopants are normally introduced into the silicon by ion implantation back to top

An "impurity" added to silicon that later determines the finished product's electrical properties called "type" and "resistivity " Phosphorous and boron are two dopants commonly used in semiconductor manufacturing

Any impurity added to a semiconductor to modify its electrical conductivity. The most common semiconductors, silicon and germanium, form crystalline lattices in which each atom shares electrons with four neighbours (see bonding). Replacing some atoms with donor atoms (e.g., phosphorus, arsenic) that have five bonding electrons makes extra electrons available. The semiconductor thus doped is called n-type (for negative, because of the additional negative charges). Doping with acceptor atoms (e.g., gallium), which have only three electrons available, creates "holes," which are positively charged. Conduction can occur by migration of holes through the crystal structure of such a semiconductor, known as p-type (for positive)

an impurity element that is deliberately added to a semiconductor

Hyphenation

do·pant

Etymology

[ 'dO-p&nt ] (noun.) 1962. 2dope.