Capacitor semiconductor materials

What is a semiconductor capacitor?

Semiconductor capacitors are nano-scale capacitors fabricated on integrated circuits by forming oxide layer patterns sandwiched between semiconductor materials. These capacitors are packaged as capacitor arrays and are mainly used in memory and processor ICs. Their tiny capacitances can handle low and pulsating DC voltages.

What is a metal oxide–semiconductor (MOS) capacitor?

Metal–oxide–semiconductor (MOS) capacitors exhibit sophisticated characteristics when compared to the ordinary metal–dielectric–metal capacitors. It is the replacement of one metal electrode by a semiconductor that leads to some unique effects.

What is a capacitor in Electrical Engineering?

In electrical engineering, a capacitor is a device that stores electrical energy by accumulating electric charges on two closely spaced surfaces that are insulated from each other. The capacitor was originally known as the condenser, a term still encountered in a few compound names, such as the condenser microphone.

What is a MOS capacitor made of?

An MOS capacitor (Fig. 5–1) is made of a semiconductor body or substrate, an insulator film, such as SiO2, and a metal electrode called a gate. The oxide film can be as thin as 1.5 nm. One nanometer is equal to 10 Å, or the size of a few oxide molecules. Before 1970, the gate was typically made of metals such as Al (hence the M in MOS).

What types of capacitors are used in electronic devices?

Film and ceramic capacitors and electrolytic capacitors (Section 8.2.2) are the most common capacitors in electronic devices. There are various types of film capacitors with varying dielectric materials.

What materials are used for capacitors?

The materials used for capacitors vary depending on the application. Ceramic capacitors are manufactured, as the name suggests, with a ceramic as dielectric. The advantage of the ceramic is the dielectric strengths of up to 100 kV, which can be achieved by the appropriate choice of ceramic.