Semiconductor Physics And Devices: Basic Principles

Needed textbook.

I'm currently using this book for a class in solid state electronics and I feel this covers the topics very well. There are lots of examples throughout the book with problems given right after them, which are similar to the examples. I really liked this because I felt that it gives readers an opportunity to practice and understand the material better as they read through it. So far we have found one mistake in one of the problems, but its just a typo and its easy to figure out what's meant. I've heard that the previous editions had several mistakes that have been corrected in this one, the 4th edition, so if you can afford it, you might want to consider getting this one. I haven't read the whole book, and don't intent to, but from what I've read so far, I've felt that everything was clear and flowed well. There are derivations given for most of the formulas used in the book. I usually skip over them, but if you'd like to study them, they're there.

This book was part of my university studies and it was an absolutely wonderful book to learn from. It also makes a great resource tool for those who need the fundamental knowledge of quantum mechanics and energy diagrams for semiconductor devices. The book is well written and consists of many supporting diagrams which help aid in the understanding of the descriptions. You learn about basic quantum mechanics, simple material science and device physics (which includes band diagrams of different materials from homogeneous to heterojunctions).I definitely recommend this book to people who seek interest in this area!

There are two ways to teach semiconductor physics. The first is to start from first principles (as much as is possible) of quantum mechanics, statistical mechanics, etc., and derive for the reader the basic relationships and equations that the rest of the text relies on. The second is to gloss over the underlying fundamentals and move straight into practical applications. This author takes the first approach, and his text smells more of mathematical formalism than engineering. If that works for you, then fantastic, but fortunately the text does not lean too heavily on the reader having such a background, as most of the material can be learned with just the results the author derives.

The product is better than I expected.

I was required to use this book for a semiconductor class in college. The book is written at a unnecessarily high level, often using more complex words to describe simple concepts. The book also focusses too much time on deriving equations, in my opinion. It seems like this is the number one focus most of the time, instead of the actual concept and use for the derived information. The examples that are given are generally good, though a few of them lack good explanation as to why they did something. Examples seem to have been sacrificed for long derivations.Major formulas and concepts are not introduced well, often the book assumes you know something and the first time you see it is in an example. Sometimes, you were just expected to have read the appendix, with hardly any indication. Even when the book does show major formulas and concepts, they are often not highlighted in any way and it's easy to lose them in the many formulas used while deriving equations.Some sections of the book claim to be optional, however future sections often refer to information from these "optional" sections. There were a few typos, but nothing too major, I think the worst one I found simply made an example problem impossible.Overall, this book is not good for learning physics concepts at all, though I suppose if you wanted to dive deep into how formulas and concepts are found, it might be a good choice.

It well explains many confusing descriptive statements appeared in many other textbooks for beginners. I got an A-ha understanding after reading the whole book. Highly recommend this if you already finished Sedra Smith's microelectronics.

Semiconductor Physics and Devices: Basic Principles by Donald A. Neamen. I have the 4th edition of this textbook. I have read several books on semiconductors, such as Sze and Pierret and in my opinion Neamen is the best. The examples and calculation problems are superb. If you can solve several problems, you will understand the material better. Also, you can find the full instructor's solution manual online if you struggle or just want to take a quick glance for hints.Bandgap is a very big topic and I knew little about it before reading this book. Haha.