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

semiconductors A semiconductor is a material which has an electrical conductivity value falling between that of a conductor, such as copper, and an insulator, such as glass. Its resistivity falls as its temperature rises; metals behave in the opposite way. ...

that reduces the lifetime of both electron and hole

charge carriers In 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. The term is use ...

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

electrons The electron ( or ) is a subatomic particle with a negative one elementary electric charge. Electrons belong to the first generation of the lepton particle family, and are generally thought to be elementary particles because they have no ...

, 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, uses only one kind of charge carrier. A bipolar ...

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 with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) 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- ...

.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