Transistors and Semiconductor Devices

1. Devices consisting of solid pieces of crystalline material which allowed alternating current to flow more readily in one direction than the other were known long before the invention of the thermionic valve. The crystal set which became so well known in the early days of radio depended on the rectifying action at the point of contact between the surface of certain crystals and a fine wire. Crystal valves,
using silicon crystals, were found to be more efficient for the very high
frequency signals reaching radar receivers than any thermionic valves.
The action of these devices was not understood, but they were all made
from materials which we now classify as semiconductors: substances
which let electric current pass through them more easily than insulators do but much less easily than do true conductors.

2. In 1948 Bardeen and Brattain invented the point-contact tran­sistor and Shockley invented the junction transistor shortly after. The transistor is a semiconductor triode possessing characteristics which are similar in many respects to those of thermionic triodes. Transistors are widely used in amplifiers, receivers, transmitters, oscilla­tors, TV sets, measuring instruments, pulse circuits, computers, and many other types of radio equipment.

3. The invention of transistors and solid-state devices led to an acce­leration in the growth of electronics. Why were these new devices so im­portant and why are they steadily replacing their older equivalents? A brief review of their advantages compared with thermionic devices will provide the answers to these questions. Transistors are made from parts which do not wear out. Transistors waste very little power. They require no heating to generate their free electrons. This means that equipment made with transistors is more efficient, lighter than compa­rable valve equipment.

4. Since no heating is required there is no delay in transistor equip­ment waiting for things to warm up, as there is with thermionic valves. This is a great advantage with 'entertainment' equipment, such as radio and television receivers, and it may be vital with some kinds of measuring or recording equipment.

5. Their very small size and weight, combined with low heat dissi­pation, permits very high density packing of components and, in combination with their reliability, this has made possible the design of the very compact circuits| which are essential for such applications as computers, portable measuring instruments, satellite instrumentation, etc.

NOTES

1. crystal set — детекторный приемник

2. crystal valve — кристаллический прибор

3. heat dissipation — рассеяние тепла.

 

II. Say whether the following statements are true or false:

1. Devices consisting of crystalline materials were known long be­fore the invention of the thermionic valve. 2. The crystal set became known in the early days of radio. 3. Crystal valves were found to be less efficient rectifiers than thermionic valves. 4. The action of semicon­ductor devices was understood well.

III. Answer the following questions on paragraph 2:

1. What is a transistor? 2. When was the first transistor invented? 3. Where are transistors used?

IV. In paragraph 3 find the English equivalents of the following
words:

транзистор, твердотельный прибор, ускорение, рост, прибор, заменять, неуклонно, краткий, преимущество, сравнивать, давать ответы.

V. Translate paragraph 4.

VI. Read paragraph 5 and say where the small size and weight of
transistors is essential.

VII. Write out of the text the words and phrases describing the transistor.

VIII. Divide text A into logical parts and find the topical sentence of each part.

IX. Tell the story of transistors and semiconductor devices using
the topical sentences.

 

LESSON THREE

I. Look through the list of English words and their Russian equi­valents facilitating reading text B:

integrated circuit - интегральная схема; resistor - резистор; capacitor - конденсатор, емкость; package, case - корпус; lead - ввод, вывод; infinitesimally small terms - бесконечно малые члены выражения; chip (die) - чип, кристаллик; to tend - иметь тенденцию; cost - цена, стоимость; common - широко распространенный; общепринятый; thin- and thick-film ICs - тонкопленочные и толстопленочные интегральные схемы (ИС); simultaneously - 1. одновременно; 2. совместно; complete -полный, завершенный; performance - 1. производительность; эффективность; 2. качество функционирования; digital computer - цифровая ЭВМ; design - 1. проект; 2. конструкция; to design - проектировать, конструировать, разрабатывать; evaluate - оценивать; to bring about - вызывать, быть причиной.

II. Skim through the text and say what it is about (you are given 10 minutes):

 

Text В

Integrated Circuits

 An integrated circuit (IС) is a collection of interconnected tran­sistors, diodes, resistors, and capacitors mounted in one package or case with as many as fourteen leads.

The word "integrated" does not refer to the mathematical process of adding together an infinite number of infinitesimally small terms, but rather to the fact that all transistors, diodes, and resistors are formed from a single piece of semiconductor material called a "chip" or a “die”.* If only one chip is present in the case, the IС is called "monolithic"; if several chips are mounted inside the case the IС is called "hybrid". Some integrated circuits contain several thousand transistors and resis­tors, and so extreme miniaturization is possible.

Because of their extremely small size, integrated circuits tend to be
restricted to low power applications. Their small size, however, does
enable them to operate at high frequencies. The cost of an IC is considerably less than the total cost of the separate components.
   Monolithic ICs are by far the most common, but there are other
kinds. Thin-film and thick-film ICs are larger than monolithic ICs but
smaller than discrete circuits. With a thin- or thick-film IС, the.passive
components like resistors and capacitors are integrated simultaneously
on a substrate. Then, discrete active components like transistors and
diodes are connected to form a complete circuit. Therefore, commercially available thin- and thick-film circuits are combinations of integrated and discrete components.
   If only a few components have been integrated to form the complete circuit it is an example of small-scale integration (SSI). As a guide SSI refers to ICs with less than 12 integrated components.

Medium-scale integration (MSI) refers to ICs that have from 12 to 100 integrated components per chip. Large-scale integration (LSI) refers to more than a hundred components.

The IС is becoming more important as a component to be used in the design of electronic equipment, not only in equipment that must be small and light in weight, but where reliability and performance are demanded. In many areas of application particularly in digital compu­ters, the IС provides more economical designs.  

A number of important new developments are being evaluated both in the laboratory and in limited product usage. Some of these promise to bring about significant changes in the way microcircuits arc designed and used.

 

NOTES

1. discrete component — дискретный компонент

2. SSI (small-scale integration) — малая интегральная схема

3. MSI (medium-scale integration) — средняя интегральная схема

4. LSI (large-scale integration) — большая интегральная схема

Ш. Answer the following questions:

1. What is an integrated circuit? 2. What does the word 'integrated' mean? 3. What types of integrated circuits are known to you? 4. What is large scale integration?

IV. Give the main points of text В in 3-6 sentences.

V. Speak about integrated circuits.

 

 

UNIT SEVEN

• Grammar: Gerund

• Word-formation: suffixes -age, -ment, -ity.

 

LESSON ONE

Pre-text Exercises

I. Practise the reading of the following words:

laser, maser, machine, amplification, concentrate, radiation, emission, intense, neutron, electron, proton, circle, liquid.

II. Make sure if you can read these words correctly and say what words in the Russian language help you to guess their meaning:

laser, maser, distance, radiation, stimulate, intensity, neutron, electron, proton, energy, material, type, spectroscopy, steel, diamond, operation, holography, photograph, hologram, real, engineer, engineering, molecule, atomic, generate, revolutionary, telescope, control, isotope.

III. Give the initial forms of the following words:

making, concentrating, stimulated, made, waves, lasers, increases, excited, given, seen, including, liquids, solids, purposes, developed, gives, changes, generated, known, allowing, smaller, longer.

IV. State to what parts of speech the following words belong:

visible, length, ordinary, different, amplifier, amplification, emission, radiation, semiconductor, scientific, industrial, gives, needed, atomic, microwave, unbelievable.

V. Find the roots of the following words:

amplifier, different, development, industrial, intensity, achievement, atomic, revolutionary, building, shorten, achievable, realize.

VI. Form nouns adding the suffixes a)-age, b)-ment and c)-ity to the
given verbs and adjectives and translate them:

Example: a) to leak - течь b) to equip - оборудовать

leakage - утечка         equipment - оборудование

с) stable - устойчивый stability - устойчивость

a) to use, to cover, to store, to break, to pass, to carry, to link, to stop, to assemble, to short(en);

b) to develop, to arrange, to achieve, to move, to measure, to im­prove, to manage, to establish, to excite, to require;

c) real, active, able, complex, dense, electric, intense, conductive, capable, special, flexible.

VII. Make sure if you remember the meaning of the following verbs. Consult a dictionary:

to increase, to excite, to give, to include, to fall, to use, to test, to check, to join, to mount, to achieve, to exceed, to oscillate, to reach, to jump.

VIII. Define the functions of the Gerund in the following sentences and translate them:

1. A laser is a machine for making and concentrating light waves into a very intense beam. 2. Go on making the experiment. 3. The idea of using lasers came from A. Prokhorov and N. Basov. 4. The laser beam is made by exciting the atoms of a suitable material. 5. Measuring temperature is necessary in many experiments. 6. There can be no progress in science without experimenting. 7. Solving such problems helps us greatly. 8. Their wish is mastering the fundamentals of radio-engineering, 9. The melting point of aluminium is 657°C. 10. I remember visiting this laboratory. 11. They succeeded in obtaining these data.

IX. Choose the sentences with the Gerund from the ones given
Mow and translate them:

1. Special instruments measuring cosmic radio signals are being installed in the observatory. 2. Penetrating into space was very important for mankind. 3. Applying the method we get better results. 4. Upon adding heat we can change the state of a substance. 5. When measuring the voltage we use a voltmeter. 6. A number of materials, including some gases and semiconductors, possess this property. 7. For many i in its men were interested in obtaining new sources of energy. 8. The engineer insisted on experimenting as the best method to solve this problem, 9. The importance of scientific researches and discoveries is growing with every year.

X. Translate the following sentences. Note the words which help you to define whether the word with the suffix -ing is a Verbal Noun, a Gerund or a Participle:

1. Our aim is solving this complex problem. 2. They succeeded in obtaining good results working with this metal. 3. The building of the house will be finished next month. 4. In testing the devices they found some serious faults. 5. The growing importance of automatic equipment in industry attracts world-wide attention. 6. Russian scientists played a great role in the spreading of the metric system in Russia. 7. After graduating from Petersburg University A.S. Popov remained there as a post-graduate at the Physics Department. 8. After Hertz had published his experiments proving the existence of electromagnetic waves, A.S. Popov thought of a possibility of using Hertz waves for transmitting signals over a distance. 9. On March 24, 1896 he demonstrated the transmission and reception of a radiogram consisting of two words: Heinrich Hertz. 10. Using the new method it is possible to increase accuracy and speed of spectral analysis. 11. Thousands of scientists, using the most modern equipment, are studying the atmosphere.

XI. Translate the following sentences paying attention to the func­tions of the Gerund:

1. Large-scale application of electronic technique is a trend of technical progress capable of revolutionizing many branches of industry. 2. The physicists have developed a method for using optical quantum generators for spectral analysis. 3. When atoms or molecules are excited they emit electromagnetic waves. By counting the number of waves in a certain period, a very accurate measure of time can be defined. 4. The operating speeds of these systems will be measured in nano-seconds.5. Telemetry is the science of seeing some place without being there. 6. Electronics is not so much a new subject as a new way of looking at electricity. 7. We know of Kondakov's having made the first synthetic rubber in the world. 8. Russian physicists saw in semiconductors the way of solving complicated engineering problems. 9. These scientists continue working in this promising field of knowledge. 10. We know of Yoffe's having contributed much to the research of transistors.       

XII. Match up the words which are opposite in meaning:

a) high, thin, hot, small, long, visible, possible, increase, known, important, include, different;

b) unimportant, unknown, decrease, impossible, invisible, short, big, cold, thick, low, exclude, the same.

XIII. Listen to the following tape-recorded lexical program. Try to memorize all the words and word-groups:

■ laser - лазер, оптический квантовый генератор ■ maser - мазер, микроволновый квантовый генератор ■ light waves - световые волны ■ amplifier - усилитель ■ to make up - составлять ■ energy level - уровень энергии (энергетический уровень) ■ to give off energy (light) - отдавать энергию; излучать, испускать (свет), ■ to generate — генерировать; вырабатывать, производить ■ solid - твердое тело; твердый ■ property - свойство ■ three-dimensional image - объемное изображение ■ emission - эмиссия, испускание, излучение ■ range - дальность, радиус, сфера (действия); диапазон, пределы ■ wavelength - длина волны ■ by a factor of 10 - в 10 раз ■ to oscillate - колебаться ■ master control - главный орган управления ■ holography – голография.

 

LESSON TWO

1.  Study text A. Try to understand all details. Use a dictionary if necessary:

Text A

Lasers and Masers

l. A laser is a machine for making and concentrating light waves into a very intense beam. The letters LASER stand for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation. The light made by a laser is much more intense than ordinary light. With ordinary light, all the light waves are different lengths. With lasers, all the light waves have the same length, and this increases the intensity.

2.  Atoms are made up of neutrons, electrons and protons. The electrons circle round the protons and neutrons. In a laser, the electrons arc "excited" to a high energy level. As the electrons fall back from their “excited” state to their normal state, they give off energy. This energy is given off as light which can be seen. A number of materials have this property including some gases, liquids, solids and semiconductors. Thus a number of different types of lasers have been developed.

3. Lasers are now used for many scientific, medical and industrial purposes. The thin beam of light gives a lot of heat and it is used to join metal when a very small joint is needed. The beam can also be used us i drill, to make holes in steel, or even in diamonds. Because the beam is so small, it's very important in delicate surgery and is used in eye operations.

Lasers are also used in holography. A hologram is a three-dimensional image, a bit like a photograph. It's different from a photograph because it looks solid. As you walk round a hologram, it changes, as if it were real. Now holography is used for testing engineering ideas. An engineer can use a hologram to build up and check a new building such as a bridge. He can find out all about it before he builds it.

5. The word MASER is also an acronym - for Microwave Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation. The maser is operated on the same principle² as the laser except that the wavelengths generated are much longer and therefore the energy jumps involved are smaller. The excited bodies in a maser are molecules rather than atomic electrons and the beam generated is a coherent beam of microwaves which is not visible to the eye.

6. Masers have made revolutionary advance possible in a number of different fields. They are up to 1.000 times more sensitive than any other type of amplifiers. Maser amplifiers mounted on radio telescopes can increase even their great range by a factor of 10, allowing us to reach out to the bounds of the known universe. Because of the very constant frequency with which masers can be made to oscillate they can be used as master controls for atomic clocks of unbelievable accuracy: an error not exceeding 1 second in 10.000 years has already been achieved.

7. The idea of using stimulated emission of radiation for amplification of very short waves came from A. Prokhorov and N. Basov of the Lebedev Institute in Moscow.

 

NOTES

1. a bit like — немного напоминающий

2. is operated on the same principle — работает на том же принципе

3.1.000 times more sensitive — в 1000 раз более чувствительный

II. Say whether the following statements are true or false:

1. The light made by a laser is much more intense than ordinary light. 2. With ordinary light, all the light waves have the same length. 3. With lasers all the light waves have different length. 4. A laser concentrates light waves into a very intense beam.

III. Answer the following questions on paragraph 2:

1. What are atoms made up of? 2. To what level are the electrons excited in a laser? 3. When do they give off energy? 4. In what form is this energy given off?

IV. Find the place in paragraph 3 containing the information of the uses of lasers. Render this information to your group-mate.

V. In paragraph 4 find the English equivalents of the following words: голография, голограмма, объемное изображение, выглядеть, испытывать, проверять, выяснять.

VI. Translate paragraph 5.

VII. Read paragraph 6 and say where masers are used.

VIII. Write out of the text the words and phrases describing a laser.

IX. Describe the uses of lasers.

X. Divide text A into logical parts and find the topical sentences of each part. Put them down.

XI. Speak about lasers using the topical sentences and the logical diagram given below.

 

 

 

UNIT EIGHT

 

• Grammar: Participle II.

Degrees of Comparison.

• Word-formation: Prefixes de-, re-.

 

LESSON ONE

Pre-text Exercises

I. Practise the reading of the following words:

device, to device, digital, precision, design, equation, mainframe, bubble, hardware, tremendous, software.

II. Make sure if you can read these words correctly and say what words in the Russian language help you to guess their meaning:

computer, mathematician, mechanical, algebra, logician, coded, formulating, symbolically, differential, analyzer, program, cylindri-cally, transistor, production, electronic, miniaturization, technology, integrated, efficient, magnetic, information, packed, scale.

III. a) Give the initial forms of the following words:

  scientists, invented, calculating, devices, developed, formulating, advances, introduced, units, stores, computing, shaped, circuits, names, capacities, devised, machines, designing;

             b)Give the initial words of the following derivatives:

       invention, development, mechanical, notable, digital, symbolically, faster, production, electronic, researcher, earlier, storage, magnetic, densely, equipment.

IV. a) Form verbs adding the prefixes a) de- and b) re- to the given verbs and translate them:

Example: a) to code — кодировать, to decode-декодировать;    

b) to colour — красить, to recolour — перекрашивать

a) to compose, to couple, to generate, to activate, to tune, to magnetize, to polarize, to energize, to excitate, to clutch, to camp, to carbonize, to frost, to control, to mount, to form;

b) to arm, to arrange, to consider, to count, to cover, to model, to construct, to name, to equip, to build, to make, to move, to organize, to place, to produce, to distribute, to measure, to create, to use.

V. Make sure if you remember the meaning of the following verbs. Consult a dictionary:

to calculate, to invent, to continue, to provide, to propose, to result (in), to enable, to design, to store, to contain, to undertake,  to complete, to need, to prove, to expect.

VI. Translate the following sentences into Russian paying attention to the degrees of comparison:

A. 1. This classroom is larger and lighter than other classrooms. It is the largest and the lightest room here. 2. Mathematics is more important for technical students than many other subjects 3. Lesson 3 is much easier than lesson 4. 4. This article is much more interesting than that one. 5. Exercise 10 is the most difficult one. 6.This instrument is more efficient than the other one. 7. This town is as large as that one. 8. These engines are not so powerful as those motors. 9. The speed of our first sputniks was as big as 11 kilometres per second.

B. 1. The nearer the earth, the denser the atmosphere. 2. The higher the voltage, the higher is the electron velocity. 3. The bigger the mass, the bigger the weight of the body. 4. The higher the temperature, the more rapid is the motion of the molecules. 5. The greater the number of free electrons in a substance, the better this substance conducts electricity.

VII. Translate the following sentences paying attention to the functions of Participle II:

1. The discovery mentioned remained unknown to most scientists for a long time. 2. The equipment tested required further improvement. 3. When passed through a motor, electric current can do work. 4. The students have conducted all the experiments. 5. These instruments recorded the cosmic rays and the information obtained was sent back by the radar to the ground. 6. When heated, a magnet loses some of its magnetism. 7, The results received changed with material used. 8. Unless repaired, this part cannot be used in the radio set. 9. The substances investigated showed quite interesting properties. 10. When developed, the device was used for amplification of radio signals. 11. The developed technology enables us to improve the quality of articles produced. 12. The first laser was developed in 1960. 13. The methods introduced received general recognition. 14. If frozen, water becomes ice. 15. The device used in our work is up-to-date. 16. The apparatus tested is looked upon as an experimental one. 17. When required, these data will be applied in our practical work. 18. The investigation analyzed resulted in an interesting discovery.

VIII. Match up the words which are opposite in meaning:

a) fast, expensive, early, high, tremendous;

b)low, late, tiny, cheap, slow.

IX. Listen to the following tape-recorded lexical programme. Try to memorize all word-groups:

■ mechanical calculating machine— механическая счетная машина ■ digital computer — цифровой компьютер - analog computer — аналоговый компьютер analytical engine — аналитическая машина ■ sequence of instructions — последовательность инструкций (команд) ■ logical statement — логическое утверждение ■ tin a way similar to — способом, подобным чему-л. ■ differential analyzer — дифференциальный анализатор ■ to make an important contribution to — внести важный вклад в ■ solid-state device — твердотельное устройство ■ the continued miniaturization — продолжавшаяся миниатюризация ■ integrated circuit — интегральная схема ■highspeed mainframe — быстродействующая (универсальная) вычисли­тельная машина ■ tremendous memory capacities — огромные емкости памяти ■ auxiliary storage equipment — вспомогательное запоминающее оборудование (устройство) ■ bubble — цилиндрический магнитный домен (ЦМД) и magnetic bubble unit — устройство на цилиндрических магнитных доменах ■ semiconductorlike chip — кристалл полупроводникового типа ■ a very large-scale integrated circuit (VLSI) — сверхбольшая интегральная схема (СБИС) ■ to devise hardware and software - изобретать аппаратные и программные средства (обеспечение).

 

LESSON TWO

I. Before reading text A say what you know about computers.

     II. Study text A. Try to understand all details. Use a dictionary if necessary.                                                                                                                         

 

 

Text A