Page 236 - Semiconductor For Micro- and Nanotechnology An Introduction For Engineers

Chapter 7 Interacting

Subsystems

The interactions among the phonon, electron, and photon pseudo parti-
cles and with the classical fields of strain, electromagnetics and thermal
gradients are the cause of a range of effects that are exploited in many
amazing semiconductor devices we know today. In this chapter we con-
sider those solid-state effects that are used in the well-known devices of
microelectronics, such as the diode and the transistor, and we also take a
look at the solid-state effects that are exploited in the devices of micro-
technology, and ever increasingly, the devices of nano-technology. In
fact, some effects may hamper devices from one application area, and
and hence be termed parasitic, whereas in another field they become of
primary interest, providing a way to measure an external quantity or pro-
vide a source of actuation. Mechanical stress or the temperature are two
typical examples of effects that are either parasitic or useful, depending
on how and where they arise. In the pressure sensor, or the atomic micro-
scope beam, the level of stress is measured in a resistor to indicate the
level of deflection of a membrane or the beam—here stress is useful.
However, when a magnetic field sensor is packaged carelessly, it shows

Semiconductors for Micro and Nanosystem Technology 233