The technological progress is closely related to the developments of
various materials and tools made of those materials. Even the different
ages have been defined in relation to the materials used. Some of the
major attributes of the present-day age (i.e., the electronic materials'
age) are such common tools as computers and fiber-optic
telecommunication systems, in which semiconductor materials provide
vital components for various mic- electronic and optoelectronic devices
in applications such as computing, memory storage, and communication.
The field of semiconductors encompasses a variety of disciplines. This
book is not intended to provide a comprehensive description of a wide
range of semiconductor properties or of a continually increasing number
of the semiconductor device applications. Rather, the main purpose of
this book is to provide an introductory perspective on the basic
principles of semiconductor materials and their applications that are
described in a relatively concise format in a single volume. Thus, this
book should especially be suitable as an introductory text for a single
course on semiconductor materials that may be taken by both
undergraduate and graduate engineering students. This book should also
be useful, as a concise reference on semiconductor materials, for
researchers working in a wide variety of fields in physical and
engineering sciences.