Electronic materials, importance

The supplanting of germanium-based semiconductor devices by shicon devices has almost eliminated the use of indium in the related ahoy junction (see Semiconductors). Indium, however, is finding increased use in III—V compound semiconductors such as indium phosphide [22398-80-7] for laser diodes used in fiber optic communication systems (see Electronic materials Fiber optics Light generation). Other important indium-containing semiconductors include indium arsenide [1303-11-3] indium antimonide [1312-41 -0] and copper—indium—diselenide [12018-95-0]. 

Trace contaminants in the phosphoms may be deterrnined by oxidation of the phosphoms by various techniques. The metals are then deterrnined by an inductively coupled plasma spectrophotometer or by atomic absorption. The most important trace metal is arsenic, which must be reduced in concentration for food-grade products. Numerous other trace metals have become important in recent years owing to the specifications for electronic-grade phosphoric acid requited by the semiconductor industry (see Electronic materials Semiconductors). Some trace elements must be reduced to the low ppb range in phosphoric acid to comply. 

In spite of the importance of having an accurate description of the real electrochemical environment for obtaining absolute values, it seems that for these systems many trends and relative features can be obtained within a somewhat simpler framework. To make use of the wide range of theoretical tools and models developed within the fields of surface science and heterogeneous catalysis, we will concentrate on the effect of the surface and the electronic structure of the catalyst material. Importantly, we will extend the analysis by introducing a simple technique to account for the electrode potential. Hence, the aim of this chapter is to link the successful theoretical surface science framework with the complicated electrochemical environment in a model simple enough to allow for the development of both trends and general conclusions. 

The scale of components in complex condensed matter often results in structures having a high surface-area-to-volume ratio. In these systems, interfacial effects can be very important. The interfaces between vapor and condensed phases and between two condensed phases have been well studied over the past four decades. These studies have contributed to technologies from electronic materials and devices, to corrosion passivation, to heterogeneous catalysis. In recent years, the focus has broadened to include the interfaces between vapors, liquids, or solids and self-assembled structures of organic, biological, and polymeric nature. 

A major contribution from chemistry and chemical engineering has been the development of materials with important military applications. Chemists and chemical engineers, working with experts from areas such as electronics, materials science, and physics, have contributed to such developments as new explosives and propellants, reactive armor (a complex material with an explosive layer that can reduce the penetration of an incoming projectile), and stealth materials that reduce the detectability of aircraft by radar. 

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Polymers are major materials in the nanotechnology revolution, including as conductive (photo and electronic) materials. Delocalization of electrons throughout a polymer chain or matrix is important for electronic conductance. This is often accomplished through doping, which encourages flow of electrons. 

The electronic and magnetic properties of nanolayers are important in devices formed from electronic materials that are more conventional. We have already discussed quantum well lasers (see Chapter 8) and giant magnetoresistance (GMR) devices used for hard disk read heads (see Chapter 9). Quantum well lasers may be an important component of light-based computers. Other possibilities include magnets with unusual properties (Section 11.2). 

Stability for use in optical interconnects. In the near future, optoelectronic integrated circuits and optoelectronic multichip modules will be produced. Materials with high thermal stability will thus become very important in providing compatibility with conventional 1C fabrication processes and in ensuring device reliability. Polyimides have excellent thermal stability so they are often used as electronic materials. Furuya et al. introduced polyimide as an optical interconnect material for the first time. Reuter et al. have applied polyimides to optical interconnects and have evaluated the fluorinated polyimides prepared from 6FDA and three diamines, ODA (3), 2,2-bis(3-aminophenyl) hexafluoropropane (3,3 -6F) (4), and 4,4 -6F (2), as optical waveguide materials. 

Semiconductive elements Si and Ge (Group IVB or 13 in the periodic table) have become very important electronic materials since development of a purification method. The electronic properties of semiconductive elements of high purity can be controlled by the species and concentration of defects and impurity elements. On the other hand, in the case of semiconductive compounds, that is, III-V and II-VI compounds, we have to consider not only control of the purity of constituent elements but also the nonstoichiometry, both of which have much influence on the electronic properties. In this sense, control of the electrical properties of semiconductive compounds is more difficult than that of semiconductive elements. 

Materials processing, via approaches like chemical vapor deposition (CVD), are important applications of chemically reacting flow. Such processes are used widely, for example, in the production of silicon-based semiconductors, compound semiconductors, optoelectronics, photovoltaics, or other thin-film electronic materials. Quite often materials processing is done in reactors with reactive gases at less than atmospheric pressure. In this case, owing to the fact that reducing pressure increases diffusive transport compared to inertial transport, the flows tend to remain laminar. 

Bardsley W., 1980, Important electronic materials, J. Crystal Growth, 48, 505-513. 

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