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Rating: 
Summary: The future of microelectronics
Review: This book consists of two parts (its not formally laid out that way, it just naturally organizes into two parts). The first part is a qualitative introduction to integrated semiconductor electronics (with emphasis on transistor junctions). The second part focuses on solid state quantum physics with emphasis on optical as well as electrical properties. There is also a smattering of material on super conducting materials and some basic material about how a digital computer works. The author's intended audience is the high school student or first-year college student who wants to pursue a degree in the sciences. An alternate audience is the informed layman who wants to be up to date at a qualitative level with recent advances in electronics and future directions in research and development. I believe the book is well written for the intended audience. Turner has an easy-to-read style, and he manages to explain things (generally) in a technically accurate way without the use of mathematics. Without the mathematical details this book is not what you'd expect in a design reference - and that's not what it's intended for. But it is an excellent book to read in advance of a rigorous quantitative class on the subject. I think it's much easier to understand physical phenomena in mathematical detail if one first obtains a qualitative "feel" for what's going on. Turner opens his book with two short chapters on matter and the origin of conductivity. He spends the next few chapters describing p-n junctions, how they are used to make transistors, and issues that limit their size and speed. Along the way he shows how transistors are used in computers both in the fabrication of basic logic elements, and also in the venerable "flip-flop" memory cell. His descriptions are clear and concise, making liberal use of figures and diagrams so that the concepts can be grasped with no particular pre-existing skills in physics or electronics. The explanation of present semiconductor physics sets the stage for later discussions about the motivation for semiconductor devices at the quantum level. He does a good job of illustrating the fact that quantum-dominated semiconductor devices will not simply be miniaturized versions of the devices populating current integrated circuits. The physics would not allow it. Rather, they will be unique devices that are designed and custom tailored using quantum theory from the ground up. The result will be new devices that have similar - though often dramatically different - operating characteristics, and that are orders of magnitude smaller than present devices, as well as faster. In illustrating the classical and quantum semiconductor circuits, Turner does a nice job of laying out the basic ideas behind these devices. In qualitative prose, he explains the exclusion principle, how it applies to fermions, and how the exclusion principle in conjunction with quantized energy states results in many of the phenomena that we observe in semiconductor devices. Turner's description of the optical properties of semiconductors flows naturally from earlier discussions. He describes the basic ideas behind a laser, though in this regard I found the descriptions somewhat lacking. Other interesting groundwork is provided in his descriptions of tunneling and Compton pairs (which are involved in super conducting). A nice feature is the glossary of terms, along with a nice list of further reading material and a good index. The book is also well illustrated throughout, with figures that add considerably to one's level of understanding. I'd recommend this book to anyone interested in a qualitative introduction to solid-state physics, electronics, or semiconductor optics. I found it enjoyable to read and rich in the sort of qualitative imagery and description that makes learning so much more enjoyable.
Rating:
Summary: The future of microelectronics
Review: This book consists of two parts (its not formally laid out that way, it just naturally organizes into two parts). The first part is a qualitative introduction to integrated semiconductor electronics (with emphasis on transistor junctions). The second part focuses on solid state quantum physics with emphasis on optical as well as electrical properties. There is also a smattering of material on super conducting materials and some basic material about how a digital computer works. The author's intended audience is the high school student or first-year college student who wants to pursue a degree in the sciences. An alternate audience is the informed layman who wants to be up to date at a qualitative level with recent advances in electronics and future directions in research and development. I believe the book is well written for the intended audience. Turner has an easy-to-read style, and he manages to explain things (generally) in a technically accurate way without the use of mathematics. Without the mathematical details this book is not what you'd expect in a design reference - and that's not what it's intended for. But it is an excellent book to read in advance of a rigorous quantitative class on the subject. I think it's much easier to understand physical phenomena in mathematical detail if one first obtains a qualitative "feel" for what's going on. Turner opens his book with two short chapters on matter and the origin of conductivity. He spends the next few chapters describing p-n junctions, how they are used to make transistors, and issues that limit their size and speed. Along the way he shows how transistors are used in computers both in the fabrication of basic logic elements, and also in the venerable "flip-flop" memory cell. His descriptions are clear and concise, making liberal use of figures and diagrams so that the concepts can be grasped with no particular pre-existing skills in physics or electronics. The explanation of present semiconductor physics sets the stage for later discussions about the motivation for semiconductor devices at the quantum level. He does a good job of illustrating the fact that quantum-dominated semiconductor devices will not simply be miniaturized versions of the devices populating current integrated circuits. The physics would not allow it. Rather, they will be unique devices that are designed and custom tailored using quantum theory from the ground up. The result will be new devices that have similar - though often dramatically different - operating characteristics, and that are orders of magnitude smaller than present devices, as well as faster. In illustrating the classical and quantum semiconductor circuits, Turner does a nice job of laying out the basic ideas behind these devices. In qualitative prose, he explains the exclusion principle, how it applies to fermions, and how the exclusion principle in conjunction with quantized energy states results in many of the phenomena that we observe in semiconductor devices. Turner's description of the optical properties of semiconductors flows naturally from earlier discussions. He describes the basic ideas behind a laser, though in this regard I found the descriptions somewhat lacking. Other interesting groundwork is provided in his descriptions of tunneling and Compton pairs (which are involved in super conducting). A nice feature is the glossary of terms, along with a nice list of further reading material and a good index. The book is also well illustrated throughout, with figures that add considerably to one's level of understanding. I'd recommend this book to anyone interested in a qualitative introduction to solid-state physics, electronics, or semiconductor optics. I found it enjoyable to read and rich in the sort of qualitative imagery and description that makes learning so much more enjoyable.
Rating:
Summary: Solid State Physics Explained for the Layman
Review: This book gives sound, complete and comprehensible explanations for a number of solid state devices (pn diodes, FET and bipolar transistors, laser diodes, superconductors, Josephson junctions, etc). This book contains the best (most comprehensible) explanation I have ever read on the theoretical operation of bipolar transistors.
Rating:
Summary: Great conceptual review
Review: This book is a great refresher of concepts that are driving many of our modern semiconductor devices. It does not get into heavy equations or overly complicated scenarios.
Rating: 
Summary: Great book of future technology for the Lay person!
Review: Turton has done a wonderful job descibing the technicalities of today's computer/electronic technology. His descriptions allow the lay-person to understand the current technology and to understand where the future is taking us - probably to the Quantum Dot - and other devices. I highly reccomend it for anyone interested in the nanotechnology field as a primer
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