Deathnium is a name given by early electronic engineers to a trap in

semiconductors A semiconductor is a material with electrical conductivity between that of a conductor and an insulator. Its conductivity can be modified by adding impurities (" doping") to its crystal structure. When two regions with different doping levels ...

that reduces the lifetime of both electron and hole

charge carriers In solid state physics, a charge carrier is a particle or quasiparticle that is free to move, carrying an electric charge, especially the particles that carry electric charges in electrical conductors. Examples are electrons, ions and holes. In ...

. It is considered the fifth of the imperfections that must be considered in semiconductor crystals to understand semiconductor effects along with

holes A hole is an opening in or through a particular medium, usually a solid body. Holes occur through natural and artificial processes, and may be useful for various purposes, or may represent a problem needing to be addressed in many fields of en ...

electrons The electron (, or in nuclear reactions) is a subatomic particle with a negative one elementary charge, elementary electric charge. It is a fundamental particle that comprises the ordinary matter that makes up the universe, along with up qua ...

, donors, and acceptors. Deathnium hastens the establishment of equilibrium between holes and electrons. This condition was not anticipated but it emerged during the invention of

bipolar junction transistor A bipolar junction transistor (BJT) is a type of transistor that uses both electrons and electron holes as charge carriers. In contrast, a unipolar transistor, such as a field-effect transistor (FET), uses only one kind of charge carrier. A ...

after the influence of deep-trap impurities introduced by contamination of the manufacturing machinery, which reduced the lifetime of semiconductor. Research in the early 1950s eventually revealed that "deathnium" was usually

copper Copper is a chemical element; it has symbol Cu (from Latin ) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish-orang ...

.Burton, J.A. et al. ''Effects of Nickel and Copper Impurities on the Recombination of Holes and Electrons in Germanium''. J. Phys. Chem. 1953, 57, 8, p. 853

References

*''Transistor Electronics: Imperfections, Unipolar and Analog Transistors'', Shockley, W., Bell Telephone Laboratories, Inc., Murray Hill, N.J.; Proceedings of the IRE Volume: 40, Issue: 11 pp: 1289-1313 (Nov. 1952)

External links

* http://www.guitarjamdaily.com/index.php/columnists/120-columnists/2105-pedal-insider-junction-capacitance-and-the-miller-effect-in-the-fuzz-face.html * Charge carriers Semiconductors {{electronics-stub