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Welcome back to Chapter 2! Now, we are moving towards the more technical part of this video series. In order to learn solar cells, there are three prerequisites knowledge that we need to know. These are semiconductor physics, pn junction diode, and photons. These will be covered in Chapters 2, 3, 4 of the video series.
Chapter 2: Semiconductor Physics
Chapter 3: Pn Junction Diode
Chapter 4: Photons
In this chapter 2.0, we will cover the basics of semiconductor physics, starting from band diagrams and then to free carriers.
What are semiconductors?
We know our world consists of things that conduct electricity, and things that don’t. We call them conductors and insulators. Semiconductors are in between conductors and insulators. They are conductive only under certain conditions. This fundamental principle has transformed the world into the electronics world we know today. Almost all electronic devices have semiconducting components inside them!
Energy band diagrams
Energy band diagram is the most common tool used to represent and explain semiconductors, depicting the energy levels of electrons in the semiconductor.
Free carriers
Free carriers are basically freely moving electrons and holes in the conduction and valence band, respectively.
Other parts in this series:
Further reference materials that I highly recommend: