Dopant

From Free net encyclopedia

A dopant, also called doping agent and dope, is an impurity element added to a semiconductor lattice in quite low concentrations in order to alter the optical/electrical properties of the semiconductor.

The process of introducing dopants into a semiconductor is called doping.

The addition of a dopant to a semiconductor has the effect of shifting the Fermi level within the material. This results in a material with predominantly negative (n type) or positive (p type) charge carriers depending on the dopant species. Pure semiconductors altered by the presence of dopants are known as extrinsic semiconductors (cf. intrinsic semiconductor). Dopants are introduced into semiconductors in a variety of ways including ion implantation and surface diffusion.

Examples

• Boron, arsenic, phosphorus, antimony, among other substances, are commonly used dopants in the semiconductor industry.

• Artificially produced gemstones (such as rubies) sometimes contain a dopant to identify them as such.

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