Electronic Processes on Semiconductor Surfaces during Chemisorption

by T. Wolkenstein

Overview

"Hands are useless if there are no eyes to see what is obvious." -M. V. Lomonosov Dear Reader, I invite you to open this book and step on the semiconductor surface, where the processes that form the subject of the book come into play. The surface of the semiconductor is attracting more and more interest among researchers, in fact researchers in two different fields. These are notably the physicists and engineers engaged in research in semi­ conductor physics and the making of semiconductor devices. The entire industry of semiconductor instruments hinges on the problem of the surface. The quality of semiconductor devices, whose use is growing steadily, depends essentially on the properties of the surface. The instability of these properties and their uncontrollable alterations with temperature and under the influence of environmental conditions result in a lack of stability in the performance of semiconductor devices, hence the high percentage of waste in their industrial production. The methods used in factory laboratories to prevent such waste are largely empirical. The properties of the surface, the nature of the physicochemical processes that take place on it, and the role of environmental factors still remain obscure. A major task of the semiconductor industry is to learn to control the properties of the surface.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780306110290
Publisher:	Springer US
Publication date:	01/31/1991
Edition description:	1991
Pages:	444
Product dimensions:	6.69(w) x 9.61(h) x (d)

Table of Contents

1. Electrons and Holes in a Semiconductor.- 1.1. Order and Disorder in Crystals.- 1.2. Electrical Conduction of Nonmetallic Crystals.- 1.3. The Mechanism of n- and p-type Conduction.- 1.4. The Energy Spectrum of an Electron in an Infinite Crystal Lattice.- 1.5. The Energy Spectrum of an Electron in a Finite Crystal Lattice.- 1.6. Statistics of Electrons and Holes in Semiconductors.- 1.7. Limits of the Band Theory of Semiconductors.- 2. The Various Types of Adsorption.- 2.1. The Main Laws of Adsorption.- 2.2. Physical and Chemical Adsorption.- 2.3. “Strong” and “Weak” Bonds in Chemisorption.- 2.4. Radical and Valence-Saturated Forms of Chemisorption.- 2.5. The One-Electron Bond in Chemisorption.- 2.6. The Two-Electron Bond in Chemisorption.- 2.7. Quantum-Mechanical Calculations in Adsorption Theory.- 3. Electron Transitions in Chemisorption.- 3.1. Transitions between Various Forms of Chemisorption.- 3.2. Adsorption Equilibrium.- 3.3. The Kinetics of Adsorption.- 3.4. The Kinetics of Desorption.- 3.5. The Role of the Fermi Level in Chemisorption.- 4. The Interaction of the Surface with the Bulk in a Semiconductor.- 4.1. The Connection between Surface and Bulk Properties of a Semiconductor.- 4.2. Effects due to the Charging of the Surface.- 4.3. The “Quasiisolated” Surface.- 4.4. Adsorptive Properties of a Charged Semiconductor.- 4.5. The Influence of the Surface on the Impurity Distribution inside a Semiconductor.- 4.6. The Adsorptivity of Semiconductor Films on Metals.- 4.7. Growth of a Semiconductor Film on a Metal.- 5. The Catalytic Effect of a Semiconductor.- 5.1. The Basics.- 5.2. The Role of the Fermi Level in Catalysis.- 5.3. Electronic Mechanisms of Catalytic Reactions.- 5.4. The Relationship between the Catalytic Activity of a Semiconductor and ItsElectronic Properties.- 5.5. The Effect of Various Factors on Catalytic Activity.- 6. Processes on a Real Surface.- 6.1. Deviations from Langmuir’s Theory on a Real Surface.- 6.2. The Adsorption-Heat Distribution Function.- 6.3. The Role of Surface Structural Defe.- 6.4. Adsorption on Dispersed Semiconductors.- 6.5. Controlling the Stoichiometry of Crystals.- 7. The Effect of Illumination on the Adsorptive and Catalytic Properties of a Semiconductor.- 7.1. The Photoadsorption Effect.- 7.2. The Photoadsorption Effect at an Ideal Surface.- 7.3. The Sign and Absolute Value of the Photoadsorption Effect at an Ideal Surface.- 7.4. Adsorption Centers in Photoadsorption.- 7.5. The Photoadsorption Effect at a Real Surface.- 7.6. Comparison of the Theory of the Photoadsorption Effect with the Experimental Data.- 7.7. The Phoatalytic Effect.- 8. Adsorption and Luminescence.- 8.1. Basic Facts on Luminescence of Crystals.- 8.2. The Effect of Adsorption on Luminescence.- 8.3. The Basic Laws of Radical-Recombination Luminescence.- 8.4. The Mechanism of Radical-Recombination Luminescence.- 8.5. Adsorption Luminescence.- 9. Conclusion.- 9.1. The “Local” and “Collective” Effects in Chemisorption and Catalysis.- 9.2. The Basic Concepts of the Electronic Theory of Chemisorption.- 9.3. The Electronic Theory of Chemisorption and Experiment.- References.

Editorial Reviews

A number of books and articles written by the late Wolkenstein alone or in collaboration with colleagues form the core of this book, which deals with the mechanism of the processes taking place on the semiconductor surface. The book is mainly theoretical; the review of experimental data serves only to illustrate the theory. The book begins with two introductory chapters, the first dealing with some problems of semiconductor physics and aimed at chemists unacquainted with this field, and the second containing information about the theory of adsorption and intended for semiconductor physicists not versed in the subject. Translated from the Russian edition of 1987 (Nauka, Moscow), and distributed by Plenum. No index. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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