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Stochastic Process

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n signals, parking brake, headlights, transmission position).

Cautions may be displayed


for special problems (fuel low, check engine, tire pressure low, door ajar, seat belt
unfastened). Problems are recorded so they can be reported to diagnostic equipment.
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[1]
2-dimensional random walk of a silver adatom on an Ag(111) surface

Simulation of the Brownian motion of a large particle, analogous to a dust particle, that collides
with a large set of smaller particles, analogous to molecules of a gas, which move with different
velocities in different random directions.

Brownian motion is the random motion of particles suspended in a medium (a liquid or


[2]
a gas).
This motion pattern typically consists of random fluctuations in a particle's position
inside a fluid sub-domain, followed by a relocation to another sub-domain. Each
relocation is followed by more fluctuations within the new closed volume. This pattern
describes a fluid at thermal equilibrium, defined by a given temperature. Within such a
fluid, there exists no preferential direction of flow (as in transport phenomena). More
specifically, the fluid's overall linear and angular momenta remain null over time. The
kinetic energies of the molecular Brownian motions, together with those of molecular
rotations and vibrations, sum up to the caloric component of a fluid's internal energy
[citation needed]
(the equipartition theorem).

This motion is named after the botanist Robert Brown, who first described the
phenomenon in 1827, while looking through a microscope at pollen of the plant Clarkia
pulchella immersed in water. In 1900, the French mathematician Louis Bachelier
modeled the stochastic process now called Brownian motion in his doctoral thesis, The
Theory of Speculation (Théorie de la spéculation), prepared under the supervision of
Henri Poincaré. Then, in 1905, theoretical physicist Albert Einstein published a paper
where he modeled the motion of the pollen particles as being moved by individual water
[3]
molecules, making one of his first major scientific contributions.

The direction of the force of atomic bombardment is constantly changing, and at


different times the particle is hit more on one side than another, leading to the
seemingly random nature of the motion. This explanation of Brownian motion served as
convincing evidence that atoms and molecules exist and was further verified
experimentally by Jean Perrin in 1908. Perrin was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics
[4]
in 1926 "for his work on the discontinuous structure of matter".

The many-body interactions that yield the Brownian pattern cannot be solved by a
model accounting for every involved molecule. Consequently, only probabilistic models
[5]
applied to molecular populations can be employed to describe it. Two such models of
the statistical mechanics, due to Einstein and Smoluchowski, are presented below.
Another, pure probabilistic class of models is the class of the stochastic process
models. There exist sequences of both simpler and more complicated stochastic
processes which converge (in the limit) to Brownian motion (see random walk and
[6][7]
Donsker's theorem).

History[edit]
Reproduced from the book of Jean Baptiste Perrin, Les Atomes, three tracings of the motion of
colloidal particles of radius 0.53 μm, as seen under the microscope, are displayed. Successive
[8]
positions every 30 seconds are joined by straight line segments (the mesh size is 3.2 μm).

The Roman philosopher-poet Lucretius' scientific poem "On the Nature of Things" (c. 60
BC) has a remarkable description of the motion of dust particles in verses 113–140
from Book II. He uses this as a proof of the existence of atoms:

Observe what happens when sunbeams are admitted into a building and shed light on
its shadowy places. You will see a multitude of tiny particles mingling in a multitude of
ways... their dancing is an actual indication of underlying movements of matter that are
hidden from our sight... It originates with the atoms which move of themselves [i.e.,
spontaneously]. Then those small compound bodies that are least removed from the
impetus of the atoms are set in motion by the impact of their invisible blows and in turn
cannon against slightly larger bodies. So the movement mounts up from the atoms and
gradually emerges to the level of our senses so that those bodies are in motion that we
see in sunbeams, moved by blows that remain invisible.

Although the mingling, tumbling motion of dust particles is caused largely by air
currents, the glittering, jiggling motion of small dust particles is caused chiefly by true
Brownian dynamics; Lucretius "perfectly describes and explains the Brownian
[9]
movement by a wrong example".

While Jan Ingenhousz described the irregular motion of coal dust particles on the
surface of alcohol in 1785, the discovery of this phenomenon is often credited to the
botanist Robert Brown in 1827. Brown was studying pollen grains of the plant Clarkia
pulchella suspended in water under a microscope when he observed minute particles,
ejected by the pollen grains, executing a jittery motion. By repeating the experiment
with particles of inorganic matter he was able to rule out that the motion was life-related,
although its origin was yet to be explained.

The first person to describe the mathematics behind Brownian motion was Thorvald N.
Thiele in a paper on the method of least squares published in 1880. This was followed
independently by Louis Bachelier in 1900 in his PhD thesis "The theory of speculation",
in which he presented a stochastic analysis of the stock and option markets. The
Brownian motion model of the stock market is often cited, but Benoit Mandelbrot
rejected its applicability to stock price movements in part because these are
[10]
discontinuous.

Albert Einstein (in one of his 1905 papers) and Marian Smoluchowski (1906) brought
the solution of the problem to the attention of physicists, and presented it as a way to
indirectly confirm the existence of atoms and molecules. Their equations describing
Brownian motion were subsequently verified by the experimental work of Jean Baptiste
Perrin in 1908.

Statistical mechanics theories[edit]


Einstein's theory[edit]

There are two parts to Einstein's theory: the first part consists in the formulation of a
diffusion equation for Brownian particles, in which the diffusion coefficient is related to
the mean squared displacement of a Brownian particle, while the second part consists
[11]
in relating the diffusion coefficient to measurable physical quantities. In this way
Einstein was able to determine the size of atoms, and how many atoms there are in a
[12]
mole, or the molecular weight in grams, of a gas. In accordance to Avogadro's law,
this volume is the same for all ideal gases, which is 22.414 liters at standard
temperature and pressure. The number of atoms contained in this volume is referred to
as the Avogadro number, and the determination of this number is tantamount to the
knowledge of the mass of an atom, since the latter is obtained by dividing the molar
mass of the gas by the Avogadro constant.

The characteristic bell-shaped curves of the diffusion of Brownian particles. The distribution
begins as a Dirac delta function, indicating that all the particles are located at the origin at time t
= 0. As t increases, the distribution flattens (though remains bell-shaped), and ultimately
becomes uniform in the limit that time goes to infinity.
The first part of Einstein's argument was to determine how far a Brownian particle
[3]
travels in a given time interval. Classical mechanics is unable to determine this
distance because of the enormous number of bombardments a Brownian particle will
14 [2]
undergo, roughly of the order of 10 collisions per second.

He regarded the increment of particle positions in time

in a one-dimensional (x) space (with the coordinates chosen so that the origin lies at
the initial position of the particle) as a random variable (

) with some probability density function

φ(q)

(i.e.,

φ(q)

is the probability density for a jump of magnitude

, i.e., the probability density of the particle incrementing its position from

to

x+q

in the time interval

τ
). Further, assuming conservation of particle number, he expanded the number density

ρ(x,t+τ)

(number of particles per unit volume around

) at time

t+τ

in a Taylor series,

ρ(x,t+τ)=ρ(x,t)+τ∂ρ(x,t)∂t+⋯
=∫−∞∞ρ(x−q,t)φ(q)dq=Eq[ρ(x−q,t)]=ρ(x,t)∫−∞∞φ(q)dq−∂ρ∂x∫−∞∞qφ(q)
dq+∂2ρ∂x2∫−∞∞q22φ(q)dq+⋯=ρ(x,t)⋅1−0+∂2ρ∂x2∫−∞∞q22φ(q)dq+⋯

where the second equality is by definition of

. The integral in the first term is equal to one by the definition of probability, and the
second and other even terms (i.e. first and other odd moments) vanish because of
space symmetry. What is left gives rise to the following relation:

∂ρ∂t=∂2ρ∂x2⋅∫−∞∞q22τφ(q)dq+higher-order even moments.


Where the coefficient
after the Laplacian, the second moment of probability of displacement

, is interpreted as mass diffusivity D:

D=∫−∞∞q22τφ(q)dq.

Then the density of Brownian particles ρ at point x at time t


satisfies the diffusion equation:

∂ρ∂t=D⋅∂2ρ∂x2,

Assuming that N particles start from the origin at the initial time t = 0, the diffusion
equation has the solution

ρ(x,t)=N4πDtexp⁡(−x24Dt).

This expression (which is a normal distribution with


the mean

μ=0

and variance

σ2=2Dt

usually called Brownian motion


Bt

) allowed Einstein to calculate the moments directly. The first moment is seen to
vanish, meaning that the Brownian particle is equally likely to move to the left as it is to
move to the right. The second moment is, however, non-vanishing, being given by

E[x2]=2Dt.

This equation expresses the mean squared displacement in terms of the


time elapsed and the diffusivity. From this expression Einstein argued that the
displacement of a Brownian particle is not proportional to the elapsed time, but rather to
[11]
its square root. His argument is based on a conceptual switch from the "ensemble"
of Brownian particles to the "single" Brownian particle: we can speak of the relative
number of particles at a single instant just as well as of the time it takes a Brownian
[13]
particle to reach a given point.

The second part of Einstein's theory relates the diffusion constant to physically
measurable quantities, such as the mean squared displacement of a particle in a given
time interval. This result enables the experimental determination of the Avogadro
number and therefore the size of molecules. Einstein analyzed a dynamic equilibrium
being established between opposing forces. The beauty of his argument is that the final
result does not depend upon which forces are involved in setting up the dynamic
equilibrium.

In his original treatment, Einstein considered an osmotic pressure experiment, but the
same conclusion can be reached in other ways.

Consider, for instance, particles suspended in a viscous fluid in a gravitational field.


Gravity tends to make the particles settle, whereas diffusion acts to homogenize them,
driving them into regions of smaller concentration. Under the action of gravity, a particle
acquires a downward speed of v = μmg, where m is the mass of the particle, g is the
acceleration due to gravity, and μ is the particle's mobility in the fluid. George Stokes
had shown that the mobility for a spherical particle with radius r is

μ=16πηr

, where η is the dynamic viscosity of the fluid. In a state of dynamic


equilibrium, and under the hypothesis of isothermal fluid, the particles are distributed
according to the barometric distribution
ρ=ρoexp⁡(−mghkBT),

where ρ − ρo is the difference in density of particles separated


by a height difference, of

h=z−zo

, kB is the Boltzmann constant (the ratio of the universal gas constant, R, to


the Avogadro constant, NA), and T is the absolute temperature.

Perrin examined the equilibrium (barometric distribution) of granules (0.6 microns) of gamboge,
a viscous substance, under the microscope. The granules move against gravity to regions of
lower concentration. The relative change in density observed in 10 microns of suspension is
equivalent to that occurring in 6 km of air.

Dynamic equilibrium is established because the more that particles are pulled down by
gravity, the greater the tendency for the particles to migrate to regions of lower
concentration. The flux is given by Fick's law,

J=−Ddρdh,

where J = ρv. Introducing the formula for ρ, we find that

v=DmgkBT.
In a state of dynamical equilibrium, this speed must also be equal to v = μmg. Both
expressions for v are proportional to mg, reflecting that the derivation is independent of
the type of forces considered. Similarly, one can derive an equivalent formula for
identical charged particles of charge q in a uniform electric field of magnitude E, where
mg is replaced with the electrostatic force qE. Equating these two expressions yields
the Einstein relation for the diffusivity, independent of mg or qE or other such forces:

E[x2]2t=D=μkBT=μRTNA=RT6πηrNA.

Here the first equality follows from the


first part of Einstein's theory, the third equality follows from the definition of the
Boltzmann constant as kB = R / NA, and the fourth equality follows from Stokes's
formula for the mobility. By measuring the mean squared displacement over a time
interval along with the universal gas constant R, the temperature T, the viscosity η, and
the particle radius r, the Avogadro constant NA can be determined.

The type of dynamical equilibrium proposed by Einstein was not new. It had been
[14]
pointed out previously by J. J. Thomson in his series of lectures at Yale University in
May 1903 that the dynamic equilibrium between the velocity generated by a
concentration gradient given by Fick's law and the velocity due to the variation of the
partial pressure caused when ions are set in motion "gives us a method of determining
Avogadro's Constant which is independent of any hypothesis as to the shape or size of
[14]
molecules, or of the way in which they act upon each other".

An identical expression to Einstein's formula for the diffusion coefficient was also found
[15]
by Walther Nernst in 1888 in which he expressed the diffusion coefficient as the ratio
of the osmotic pressure to the ratio of the frictional force and the velocity to which it
gives rise. The former was equated to the law of van 't Hoff while the latter was given by
Stokes's law. He writes

k′=po/k

for the diffusion coefficient k′, where


po

is the osmotic pressure and k is the ratio of the frictional force to the molecular
viscosity which he assumes is given by Stokes's formula for the viscosity. Introducing
the ideal gas law per unit volume for the osmotic pressure, the formula becomes
[16]
identical to that of Einstein's. The use of Stokes's law in Nernst's case, as well as in
Einstein and Smoluchowski, is not strictly applicable since it does not apply to the case
[17]
where the radius of the sphere is small in comparison with the mean free path.

At first, the predictions of Einstein's formula were seemingly refuted by a series of


experiments by Svedberg in 1906 and 1907, which gave displacements of the particles
as 4 to 6 times the predicted value, and by Henri in 1908 who found displacements 3
[18]
times greater than Einstein's formula predicted. But Einstein's predictions were finally
confirmed in a series of experiments carried out by Chaudesaigues in 1908 and Perrin
in 1909. The confirmation of Einstein's theory constituted empirical progress for the
kinetic theory of heat. In essence, Einstein showed that the motion can be predicted
directly from the kinetic model of thermal equilibrium. The importance of the theory lay
in the fact that it confirmed the kinetic theory's account of the second law of
[19]
thermodynamics as being an essentially statistical law.

Duration: 1 minute and 53 seconds.

1:53

Brownian motion model of the trajectory of a particle of dye in water.

Smoluchowski model[edit]

[20]
Smoluchowski's theory of Brownian motion starts from the same premise as that of
Einstein and derives the same probability distribution ρ(x, t) for the displacement of a
Brownian particle along the x in time t. He therefore gets the same expression for the
mean squared displacement:

E[(Δx)2]

. However, when he relates it to a particle of mass m moving at a velocity u


which is the result of a frictional force governed by Stokes's law, he finds

E[(Δx)2]=2Dt=t3281mu2πμa=t642712mu23πμa,
where μ is the viscosity coefficient,
and a is the radius of the particle. Associating the kinetic energy

Thermal
mu2/2

equilibrium
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Not to be confused with Thermodynamic equilibrium.


Development of a thermal equilibrium in a closed system over time through a heat flow that
levels out temperature differences

Two physical systems are in thermal equilibrium if there is no net flow of thermal
energy between them when they are connected by a path permeable to heat. Thermal
equilibrium obeys the zeroth law of thermodynamics. A system is said to be in thermal
equilibrium with itself if the temperature within the system is spatially uniform and
temporally constant.

Systems in thermodynamic equilibrium are always in thermal equilibrium, but the


converse is not always true. If the connection between the systems allows transfer of
energy as 'change in internal energy' but does not allow transfer of matter or transfer of
energy as work, the two systems may reach thermal equilibrium without reaching
thermodynamic equilibrium.

Two varieties of thermal


equilibrium[edit]
Relation of thermal equilibrium between two thermally
connected bodies[edit]

The relation of thermal equilibrium is an instance of equilibrium between two bodies,


which means that it refers to transfer through a selectively permeable partition of matter
or work; it is called a diathermal connection. According to Lieb and Yngvason, the
essential meaning of the relation of thermal equilibrium includes that it is reflexive and
symmetric. It is not included in the essential meaning whether it is or is not transitive.
After discussing the semantics of the definition, they postulate a substantial physical
axiom, that they call the "zeroth law of thermodynamics", that thermal equilibrium is a
transitive relation. They comment that the equivalence classes of systems so
[1]
established are called isotherms.
Internal thermal equilibrium of an isolated body[edit]

Thermal equilibrium of a body in itself refers to the body when it is isolated. The
background is that no heat enters or leaves it, and that it is allowed unlimited time to
settle under its own intrinsic characteristics. When it is completely settled, so that
macroscopic change is no longer detectable, it is in its own thermal equilibrium. It is not
implied that it is necessarily in other kinds of internal equilibrium. For example, it is
possible that a body might reach internal thermal equilibrium but not be in internal
[2]
chemical equilibrium; glass is an example.

One may imagine an isolated system, initially not in its own state of internal thermal
equilibrium. It could be subjected to a fictive thermodynamic operation of partition into
two subsystems separated by nothing, no wall. One could then consider the possibility
of transfers of energy as heat between the two subsystems. A long time after the fictive
partition operation, the two subsystems will reach a practically stationary state, and so
be in the relation of thermal equilibrium with each other. Such an adventure could be
conducted in indefinitely many ways, with different fictive partitions. All of them will
result in subsystems that could be shown to be in thermal equilibrium with each other,
testing subsystems from different partitions. For this reason, an isolated system, initially
not its own state of internal thermal equilibrium, but left for a long time, practically
always will reach a final state which may be regarded as one of internal thermal
equilibrium. Such a final state is one of spatial uniformity or homogeneity of
[3]
temperature. The existence of such states is a basic postulate of classical
[4][5]
thermodynamics. This postulate is sometimes, but not often, called the minus first
[6]
law of thermodynamics. A notable exception exists for isolated quantum systems
which are many-body localized and which never reach internal thermal equilibrium.

Thermal contact[edit]
Heat can flow into or out of a closed system by way of thermal conduction or of thermal
radiation to or from a thermal reservoir, and when this process is effecting net transfer
of heat, the system is not in thermal equilibrium. While the transfer of energy as heat
continues, the system's temperature can be changing.

Bodies prepared with separately


uniform temperatures, then put
into purely thermal
communication with each other[edit]
If bodies are prepared with separately microscopically stationary states, and are then
put into purely thermal connection with each other, by conductive or radiative pathways,
they will be in thermal equilibrium with each other just when the connection is followed
by no change in either body. But if initially they are not in a relation of thermal
equilibrium, heat will flow from the hotter to the colder, by whatever pathway,
conductive or radiative, is available, and this flow will continue until thermal equilibrium
is reached and then they will have the same temperature.

[7][8]
One form of thermal equilibrium is radiative exchange equilibrium. Two bodies,
each with its own uniform temperature, in solely radiative connection, no matter how far
apart, or what partially obstructive, reflective, or refractive, obstacles lie in their path of
radiative exchange, not moving relative to one another, will exchange thermal radiation,
in net the hotter transferring energy to the cooler, and will exchange equal and opposite
amounts just when they are at the same temperature. In this situation, Kirchhoff's law of
equality of radiative emissivity and absorptivity and the Helmholtz reciprocity principle
are in play.

Change of internal state of an


isolated system[edit]
If an initially isolated physical system, without internal walls that establish adiabatically
isolated subsystems, is left long enough, it will usually reach a state of thermal
equilibrium in itself, in which its temperature will be uniform throughout, but not
necessarily a state of thermodynamic equilibrium, if there is some structural barrier that
can prevent some possible processes in the system from reaching equilibrium; glass is
an example. Classical thermodynamics in general considers idealized systems that
have reached internal equilibrium, and idealized transfers of matter and energy
between them.

An isolated physical system may be inhomogeneous, or may be composed of several


subsystems separated from each other by walls. If an initially inhomogeneous physical
system, without internal walls, is isolated by a thermodynamic operation, it will in
general over time change its internal state. Or if it is composed of several subsystems
separated from each other by walls, it may change its state after a thermodynamic
operation that changes its walls. Such changes may include change of temperature or
spatial distribution of temperature, by changing the state of constituent materials. A rod
of iron, initially prepared to be hot at one end and cold at the other, when isolated, will
change so that its temperature becomes uniform all along its length; during the process,
the rod is not in thermal equilibrium until its temperature is uniform. In a system
prepared as a block of ice floating in a bath of hot water, and then isolated, the ice can
melt; during the melting, the system is not in thermal equilibrium; but eventually, its
temperature will become uniform; the block of ice will not re-form. A system prepared as
a mixture of petrol vapour and air can be ignited by a spark and produce carbon dioxide
and water; if this happens in an isolated system, it will increase the temperature of the
system, and during the increase, the system is not in thermal equilibrium; but
eventually, the system will settle to a uniform temperature.

Such changes in isolated systems are irreversible in the sense that while such a
change will occur spontaneously whenever the system is prepared in the same way, the
reverse change will practically never occur spontaneously within the isolated system;
this is a large part of the content of the second law of thermodynamics. Truly perfectly
isolated systems do not occur in nature, and always are artificially prepared.

In a gravitational field[edit]

One may consider a system contained in a very tall adiabatically isolating vessel with
rigid walls initially containing a thermally heterogeneous distribution of material, left for a
long time under the influence of a steady gravitational field, along its tall dimension, due
to an outside body such as the earth. It will settle to a state of uniform temperature
throughout, though not of uniform pressure or density, and perhaps containing several
phases. It is then in internal thermal equilibrium and even in thermodynamic equilibrium.
This means that all local parts of the system are in mutual radiative exchange
[8]
equilibrium. This means that the temperature of the system is spatially uniform. This is
so in all cases, including those of non-uniform external force fields. For an externally
imposed gravitational field, this may be proved in macroscopic thermodynamic terms,
[9][10][11][12][13]
by the calculus of variations, using the method of Langrangian multipliers.
[14]
Considerations of kinetic theory or statistical mechanics also support this statement.
[15][16][17][18][19][20][21]

Distinctions between thermal and


thermodynamic equilibria[edit]
There is an important distinction between thermal and thermodynamic equilibrium.
According to Münster (1970), in states of thermodynamic equilibrium, the state
variables of a system do not change at a measurable rate. Moreover, "The proviso 'at a
measurable rate' implies that we can consider an equilibrium only with respect to
specified processes and defined experimental conditions." Also, a state of
thermodynamic equilibrium can be described by fewer macroscopic variables than any
other state of a given body of matter. A single isolated body can start in a state which is
not one of thermodynamic equilibrium, and can change till thermodynamic equilibrium is
reached. Thermal equilibrium is a relation between two bodies or closed systems, in
which transfers are allowed only of energy and take place through a partition permeable
to heat, and in which the transfers have proceeded till the states of the bodies cease to
[22]
change.

An explicit distinction between 'thermal equilibrium' and 'thermodynamic equilibrium' is


made by C.J. Adkins. He allows that two systems might be allowed to exchange heat
but be constrained from exchanging work; they will naturally exchange heat till they
have equal temperatures, and reach thermal equilibrium, but in general, will not be in
thermodynamic equilibrium. They can reach thermodynamic equilibrium when they are
[23]
allowed also to exchange work.

Another explicit distinction between 'thermal equilibrium' and 'thermodynamic


equilibrium' is made by B. C. Eu. He considers two systems in thermal contact, one a
thermometer, the other a system in which several irreversible processes are occurring.
He considers the case in which, over the time scale of interest, it happens that both the
thermometer reading and the irreversible processes are steady. Then there is thermal
equilibrium without thermodynamic equilibrium. Eu proposes consequently that the
zeroth law of thermodynamics can be considered to apply even when thermodynamic
equilibrium is not present; also he proposes that if changes are occurring so fast that a
steady temperature cannot be defined, then "it is no longer possible to describe the
process by means of a thermodynamic formalism. In other words, thermodynamics has
[24]
no meaning for such a process."

Thermal equilibrium of planets[edit]


Main article: Planetary equilibrium temperature

A planet is in thermal equilibrium when the incident energy reaching it (typically the
solar irradiance from its parent star) is equal to the infrared energy radiated away to
space.

See also[edit]
● Thermal center
● Thermodynamic equilibrium
● Radiative equilibrium
● Thermal oscillator

Citations[edit]
● '^ Lieb, E.H., Yngvason, J. (1999). The physics and mathematics of the
second law of thermodynamics, Physics Reports, 314..a': 1–96, p. 55–56.
● ^ Adkins, C.J. (1968/1983), pp. 249–251.
● ^ Planck, M., (1897/1903), p. 3.
● ^ Tisza, L. (1966), p. 108.
● ^ Bailyn, M. (1994), p. 20.
● ^ Marsland, Robert; Brown, Harvey R.; Valente, Giovanni (2015). "Time and
irreversibility in axiomatic thermodynamics". American Journal of Physics. 83 (7):
628–634. Bibcode:2015AmJPh..83..628M. doi:10.1119/1.4914528.
hdl:11311/1043322. S2CID 117173742.
● ^ Prevost, P. (1791). Mémoire sur l'equilibre du feu. Journal de Physique (Paris),
vol. 38 pp. 314-322.
● ^
● Jump up to:
ab
● Planck, M. (1914), p. 40.
● ^ Gibbs, J.W. (1876/1878), pp. 144-150.
● ^ ter Haar, D., Wergeland, H. (1966), pp. 127–130.
● ^ Münster, A. (1970), pp. 309–310.
● ^ Bailyn, M. (1994), pp. 254-256.
● ^ Verkley, W. T. M.; Gerkema, T. (2004). "On Maximum Entropy Profiles".
Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences. 61 (8): 931–936.
Bibcode:2004JAtS...61..931V. doi:10.1175/1520-
0469(2004)061<0931:OMEP>2.0.CO;2. ISSN 1520-0469.
● ^ Akmaev, R.A. (2008). On the energetics of maximum-entropy temperature
profiles, Q. J. R. Meteorol. Soc., 134:187–197.
● ^ Maxwell, J.C. (1867).
● ^ Boltzmann, L. (1896/1964), p. 143.
● ^ Chapman, S., Cowling, T.G. (1939/1970), Section 4.14, pp. 75–78.
● ^ Partington, J.R. (1949), pp. 275–278.
● ^ Coombes, C.A., Laue, H. (1985). A paradox concerning the temperature
distribution of a gas in a gravitational field, Am. J. Phys., 53: 272–273.
● ^ Román, F.L., White, J.A., Velasco, S. (1995). Microcanonical single-particle
distributions for an ideal gas in a gravitational field, Eur. J. Phys., 16: 83–90.
● ^ Velasco, S., Román, F.L., White, J.A. (1996). On a paradox concerning the
temperature distribution of an ideal gas in a gravitational field, Eur. J. Phys., 17:
43–44.
● ^ Münster, A. (1970), pp. 6, 22, 52.
● ^ Adkins, C.J. (1968/1983), pp. 6–7.
● ^ Eu, B.C. (2002). Generalized Thermodynamics. The Thermodynamics of
Irreversible Processes and Generalized Hydrodynamics, Kluwer Academic
Publishers, Dordrecht, ISBN 1-4020-0788-4, page 13.
Citation references[edit]
● Adkins, C.J. (1968/1983). Equilibrium Thermodynamics, third edition,
McGraw-Hill, London, ISBN 0-521-25445-0.
● Bailyn, M. (1994). A Survey of Thermodynamics, American Institute of
Physics Press, New York, ISBN 0-88318-797-3.
● Boltzmann, L. (1896/1964). Lectures on Gas Theory, translated by S.G.
Brush, University of California Press, Berkeley.
● Chapman, S., Cowling, T.G. (1939/1970). The Mathematical Theory of Non-
uniform gases. An Account of the Kinetic Theory of Viscosity, Thermal
Conduction and Diffusion in Gases, third edition 1970, Cambridge University
Press, London.Contents hide
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Construction of the concept of an adiabatic enclosure
Toggle Construction of the concept of an adiabatic enclosure subsection
Definitions of transfer of heat
Thermodynamic stream of thinking
Mechanical stream of thinking
Accounts of the adiabatic wall
References
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Bibliography

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In thermodynamics, an adiabatic wall between two thermodynamic systems does not


allow heat or chemical substances to pass across it, in other words there is no heat
transfer or mass transfer.

In theoretical investigations, it is sometimes assumed that one of the two systems is the
surroundings of the other. Then it is assumed that the work transferred is reversible
within the surroundings, but in thermodynamics it is not assumed that the work
transferred is reversible within the system. The assumption of reversibility in the
surroundings has the consequence that the quantity of work transferred is well defined
by macroscopic variables in the surroundings. Accordingly, the surroundings are
sometimes said to have a reversible work reservoir.

Along with the idea of an adiabatic wall is that of an adiabatic enclosure. It is easily
possible that a system has some boundary walls that are adiabatic and others that are
not. When some are not adiabatic, then the system is not adiabatically enclosed,
though adiabatic transfer of energy as work can occur across the adiabatic walls.

The adiabatic enclosure is important because, according to one widely cited author,
Herbert Callen, "An essential prerequisite for the measurability of energy is the
[1]
existence of walls that do not permit the transfer of energy in the form of heat." In
thermodynamics, it is customary to assume a priori the physical existence of adiabatic
enclosures, though it is not customary to label this assumption separately as an axiom
or numbered law.

Construction of the concept of an


adiabatic enclosure[edit]
Definitions of transfer of heat[edit]
In theoretical thermodynamics, respected authors vary in their approaches to the
definition of quantity of heat transferred. There are two main streams of thinking. One is
from a primarily empirical viewpoint (which will here be referred to as the
thermodynamic stream), to define heat transfer as occurring only by specified
macroscopic mechanisms; loosely speaking, this approach is historically older. The
other (which will here be referred to as the mechanical stream) is from a primarily
theoretical viewpoint, to define it as a residual quantity after transfers of energy as
macroscopic work, between two bodies or closed systems, have been determined for a
process, so as to conform with the principle of conservation of energy or the first law of
thermodynamics for closed systems; this approach grew in the twentieth century,
[2]
though was partly manifest in the nineteenth.

Thermodynamic stream of thinking[edit]

In the thermodynamic stream of thinking, the specified mechanisms of heat transfer are
conduction and radiation. These mechanisms presuppose recognition of temperature;
empirical temperature is enough for this purpose, though absolute temperature can also
serve. In this stream of thinking, quantity of heat is defined primarily through
[3][4][5][6]
calorimetry.

Though its definition of them differs from that of the mechanical stream of thinking, the
empirical stream of thinking nevertheless presupposes the existence of adiabatic
enclosures. It defines them through the concepts of heat and temperature. These two
concepts are coordinately coherent in the sense that they arise jointly in the description
[7]
of experiments of transfer of energy as heat.

Mechanical stream of thinking[edit]

In the mechanical stream of thinking about a process of transfer of energy between two
bodies or closed systems, heat transferred is defined as a residual amount of energy
transferred after the energy transferred as work has been determined, assuming for the
calculation the law of conservation of energy, without reference to the concept of
[8][9][10][11][12][13]
temperature. There are five main elements of the underlying theory.

● The existence of states of thermodynamic equilibrium, determinable by


precisely one (called the non-deformation variable) more variable of state
than the number of independent work (deformation) variables.
● That a state of internal thermodynamic equilibrium of a body have a well
defined internal energy, that is postulated by the first law of thermodynamics.
● The universality of the law of conservation of energy.
● The recognition of work as a form of energy transfer.
● The universal irreversibility of natural processes.
● The existence of adiabatic enclosures.
● The existence of walls permeable only to heat.

Axiomatic presentations of this stream of thinking vary slightly, but they intend to avoid
the notions of heat and of temperature in their axioms. It is essential to this stream of
thinking that heat is not presupposed as being measurable by calorimetry. It is essential
to this stream of thinking that, for the specification of the thermodynamic state of a body
or closed system, in addition to the variables of state called deformation variables, there
be precisely one extra real-number-valued variable of state, called the non-deformation
variable, though it should not be axiomatically recognized as an empirical temperature,
even though it satisfies the criteria for one.

Accounts of the adiabatic wall[edit]

The authors Buchdahl, Callen, and Haase make no mention of the passage of radiation,
thermal or coherent, across their adiabatic walls. Carathéodory explicitly discusses
problems with respect to thermal radiation, which is incoherent, and he was probably
unaware of the practical possibility of laser light, which is coherent. Carathéodory in
1909 says that he leaves such questions unanswered.

For the thermodynamic stream of thinking, the notion of empirical temperature is


coordinately presupposed in the notion of heat transfer for the definition of an adiabatic
[7]
wall.

For the mechanical stream of thinking, the exact way in which the adiabatic wall is
defined is important.

In the presentation of Carathéodory, it is essential that the definition of the adiabatic


[9]
wall should in no way depend upon the notions of heat or temperature. This is
achieved by careful wording and reference to transfer of energy only as work. Buchdahl
[12]
is careful in the same way. Nevertheless, Carathéodory explicitly postulates the
existence of walls that are permeable only to heat, that is to say impermeable to work
and to matter, but still permeable to energy in some unspecified way. One might be
forgiven for inferring from this that heat is energy in transfer across walls permeable
only to heat, and that such exist as undefined postulated primitives.

[1]
In the widely cited presentation of Callen, the notion of an adiabatic wall is introduced
as a limit of a wall that is poorly conductive of heat. Although Callen does not here
explicitly mention temperature, he considers the case of an experiment with melting ice,
done on a summer's day, when, the reader may speculate, the temperature of the
surrounds would be higher. Nevertheless, when it comes to a hard core definition,
Callen does not use this introductory account. He eventually defines an adiabatic
enclosure as does Carathéodory, that it passes energy only as work, and does not pass
matter. Accordingly, he defines heat, therefore, as energy that is transferred across the
boundary of a closed system other than by work.

As suggested for example by Carathéodory and used for example by Callen, the
favoured instance of an adiabatic wall is that of a Dewar flask. A Dewar flask has rigid
walls. Nevertheless, Carathéodory requires that his adiabatic walls shall be imagined to
be flexible, and that the pressures on these flexible walls be adjusted and controlled
externally so that the walls are not deformed, unless a process is undertaken in which
work is transferred across the walls. The work considered by Carathéodory is pressure-
volume work. Another text considers asbestos and fiberglass as good examples of
[14]
materials that constitute a practicable adiabatic wall.

The mechanical stream of thinking thus regards the adiabatic enclosure's property of
not allowing the transfer of heat across itself as a deduction from the Carathéodory
axioms of thermodynamics.

References[edit]
● ^
● Jump up to:
ab
● Callen, H.B. (1960/1985), p. 16.
● ^ Bailyn, M. (1994), p. 79.
● ^ Maxwell, J.C. (1871), Chapter III.
● ^ Planck, M. (1897/1903), p. 33.
● ^ Kirkwood & Oppenheim (1961), p. 16.
● ^ Beattie & Oppenheim (1979), Section 3.13.
● ^
● Jump up to:
ab
● Planck. M. (1897/1903).
● ^ Bryan, G.H. (1907), p. 47.
● ^
● Jump up to:
ab
● Carathéodory, C. (1909).
● ^ Born, M. (1921).
● ^ Guggenheim, E.A. (1965), p. 10.
● ^
● Jump up to:
ab
● Buchdahl, H.A. (1966), p. 43.
● ^ Haase, R. (1971), p. 25.
● ^ Reif, F. (1965), p. 68.

Bibliography[edit]
● Bailyn, M. (1994). A Survey of Thermodynamics, American Institute of Physics
Press, New York, ISBN 0-88318-797-3.
● Beattie, J.A., Oppenheim, I. (1979). Principles of Thermodynamics, Elsevier,
Amsterdam, ISBN 0-444-41806-7.
● Born, M. (1921). Kritische Betrachtungen zur traditionellen Darstellung der
Thermodynamik, Physik. Zeitschr. 22: 218–224.
● Bryan, G.H. (1907). Thermodynamics. An Introductory Treatise dealing mainly with
First Principles and their Direct Applications, B.G. Teubner, Leipzig.
● Buchdahl, H.A. (1957/1966). The Concepts of Classical Thermodynamics,
Cambridge University Press, London.
● Callen, H.B. (1960/1985). Thermodynamics and an Introduction to Thermostatistics,
second edition, John Wiley & Sons, New York, ISBN 0-471-86256-8.
● C. Carathéodory (1909). "Untersuchungen über die Grundlagen der
Thermodynamik". Mathematische Annalen. 67: 355–386. doi:10.1007/BF01450409.
S2CID 118230148. A translation may be found here Archived 2019-10-12 at the
Wayback Machine. A partly reliable translation is to be found at Kestin, J. (1976).
The Second Law of Thermodynamics, Dowden, Hutchinson & Ross, Stroudsburg
PA.
● Guggenheim, E.A. (1967) [1949], Thermodynamics. An Advanced Treatment for
Chemists and Physicists (fifth ed.), Amsterdam: North-Holland Publishing Company.
● Haase, R. (1971). Survey of Fundamental Laws, chapter 1 of Thermodynamics,
pages 1–97 of volume 1, ed. W. Jost, of Physical Chemistry. An Advanced Treatise,
ed. H. Eyring, D. Henderson, W. Jost, Academic Press, New York, lcn 73–117081.
● Kirkwood, J.G., Oppenheim, I. (1961). Chemical Thermodynamics, McGraw–Hill,
New York.
● Maxwell, J.C. (1871), Theory of Heat (first ed.), London: Longmans, Green and Co.
● Planck, M. (1903) [1897], Treatise on Thermodynamics, translated by A. Ogg (first
ed.), London: Longmans, Green and Co.*Reif, F. (1965). Fundamentals of Statistical
and Thermal Physics. New York: McGraw-Hill, Inc.

Category:

Thermodynamics
This page was last edited on 23 December 2022, at 15:36 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 4.0; additional terms may apply.
By using this site, you a

The main advantage of a MOSFET is that it requires almost no input current to control
the load current, when compared to bipolar junction transistors (BJTs). In an
enhancement mode MOSFET, voltage applied to the gate terminal increases the
conductivity of the device. In depletion mode transistors, voltage applied at the gate
[2]
reduces the conductivity.
The "metal" in the name MOSFET is sometimes a misnomer, because the gate material
can be a layer of polysilicon (polycrystalline silicon). Similarly, "oxide" in the name can
also be a misnomer, as different dielectric materials are used with the aim of obtaining
strong channels with smaller applied voltages.

The MOSFET is by far the most common transistor in digital circuits, as billions may be
included in a memory chip or microprocessor. Since MOSFETs can be made with either
p-type or n-type semiconductors, complementary pairs of MOS transistors can be used
to make switching circuits with very low power consumption, in the form of CMOS logic.

A cross-section through an nMOSFET when the gate voltage VGS is below the threshold for
making a conductive channel; there is little or no conduction between the terminals drain and
source; the switch is off. When the gate is more positive, it attracts electrons, inducing an n-type
conductive channel in the substrate below the oxide (yellow), which allows electrons to flow
between the n-doped terminals; the switch is on.

Simulation of formation of inversion channel (electron density) and attainment of threshold vol-
tage (IV) in a nanowire MOSFET. Note: Threshold voltage for this device lies around 0.45 V.
History[edit]
The basic principle of this kind of transistor was first patented by Julius Edgar Lilienfeld
[1]
in 1925.

The structure resembling the MOS transistor was proposed by Bell scientists William
Shockley, John Bardeen and Walter Houser Brattain, during their investigation that led
to discovery of the transistor effect. The structure failed to show the anticipated effects,
due to the problem of surface state: traps on the semiconductor surface that hold
electrons immobile. In 1955 Carl Frosch and L. Derick accidentally grew a layer of
silicon dioxide over the silicon wafer. Further research showed that silicon dioxide could
prevent dopants from diffusing into the silicon wafer. Building on this work Mohamed M.
Atalla showed that silicon dioxide is very effective in solving the problem of one
[3]
important class of surface states.

Following this research, Mohamed Atalla and Dawon Kahng demonstrated in the 1960s
[4]
a device that had the structure of a modern MOS transistor. The principles behind the
device were the same as the ones that were tried by Bardeen, Shockley and Brattain in
their unsuccessful attempt to build a surface field-effect device.

The device was about 100 times slower than contemporary bipolar transistors and was
initially seen as inferior. Nevertheless, Kahng pointed out several advantages of the
[5]
device, notably ease of fabrication and its application in integrated circuits.

Composition[edit]
Photomicrograph of two metal-gate MOSFETs in a test pattern. Probe pads for two gates and
three source/drain nodes are labeled.

Usually the semiconductor of choice is silicon. Some chip manufacturers, most notably
IBM and Intel, use an alloy of silicon and germanium (SiGe) in MOSFET channels.
[citation needed]
Many semiconductors with better electrical properties than silicon, such as
gallium arsenide, do not form good semiconductor-to-insulator interfaces, and thus are
not suitable for MOSFETs. Research continues on creating insulators with acceptable
electrical characteristics on other semiconductor materials.

To overcome the increase in power consumption due to gate current leakage, a high-κ
dielectric is used instead of silicon dioxide for the gate insulator, while polysilicon is
[6]
replaced by metal gates (e.g. Intel, 2009).

The gate is separated from the channel by a thin insulating layer, traditionally of silicon
dioxide and later of silicon oxynitride. Some companies use a high-κ dielectric and
metal gate combination in the 45 nanometer node.

When a voltage is applied between the gate and the source, the electric field generated
penetrates through the oxide and creates an inversion layer or channel at the
semiconductor-insulator interface. The inversion layer provides a channel through
which current can pass between source and drain terminals. Varying the voltage
between the gate and body modulates the conductivity of this layer and thereby controls
the current flow between drain and source. This is known as enhancement mode.
Operation[edit]

Metal–oxide–semiconductor structure on p-type silicon

Metal–oxide–semiconductor structure[edit]

The traditional metal–oxide–semiconductor (MOS) structure is obtained by growing a


layer of silicon dioxide (SiO
2) on top of a silicon substrate, commonly by thermal oxidation and depositing a layer of
metal or polycrystalline silicon (the latter is commonly used). As silicon dioxide is a
dielectric material, its structure is equivalent to a planar capacitor, with one of the
electrodes replaced by a semiconductor.

When a voltage is applied across a MOS structure, it modifies the distribution of

charges in the semiconductor. If we consider a p-type semiconductor (with NA the

density of acceptors, p the density of holes; p = NA in neutral bulk), a positive voltage,

VG, from gate to body (see figure) creates a depletion layer by forcing the positively
charged holes away from the gate-insulator/semiconductor interface, leaving exposed a

carrier-free region of immobile, negatively charged acceptor ions (see doping). If VG is


high enough, a high concentration of negative charge carriers forms in an inversion
layer located in a thin layer next to the interface between the semiconductor and the
insulator.
Conventionally, the gate voltage at which the volume density of electrons in the
inversion layer is the same as the volume density of holes in the body is called the

threshold voltage. When the voltage between transistor gate and source (VG) exceeds

the threshold voltage (Vth), the difference is known as overdrive voltage.

This structure with p-type body is the basis of the n-type MOSFET, which requires the
addition of n-type source and drain regions.

MOS capacitors and band diagrams[edit]

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The MOS capacitor structure is the heart of the MOSFET. Consider a MOS capacitor
where the silicon base is of p-type. If a positive voltage is applied at the gate, holes
which are at the surface of the p-type substrate will be repelled by the electric field
generated by the voltage applied. At first, the holes will simply be repelled and what will
remain on the surface will be immobile (negative) atoms of the acceptor type, which
creates a depletion region on the surface. A hole is created by an acceptor atom, e.g.,
boron, which has one less electron than a silicon atom. Holes are not actually repelled,
being non-entities; electrons are attracted by the positive field, and fill these holes. This
creates a depletion region where no charge carriers exist because the electron is now
fixed onto the atom and immobile.

As the voltage at the gate increases, there will be a point at which the surface above
the depletion region will be converted from p-type into n-type, as electrons from the bulk
area will start to get attracted by the larger electric field. This is known as inversion. The
threshold voltage at which this conversion happens is one of the most important
parameters in a MOSFET.

In the case of a p-type MOSFET, bulk inversion happens when the intrinsic energy level
at the surface becomes smaller than the Fermi level at the surface. This can be seen on
a band diagram. The Fermi level defines the type of semiconductor in discussion. If the
Fermi level is equal to the Intrinsic level, the semiconductor is of intrinsic, or pure type.
If the Fermi level lies closer to the conduction band (valence band) then the
semiconductor type will be of n-type (p-type).

[clarify]
When the gate voltage is increased in a positive sense (for the given example),
this will shift the intrinsic energy level band so that it will curve downwards towards the
valence band. If the Fermi level lies closer to the valence band (for p-type), there will be
a point when the Intrinsic level will start to cross the Fermi level and when the voltage
reaches the threshold voltage, the intrinsic level does cross the Fermi level, and that is
what is known as inversion. At that point, the surface of the semiconductor is inverted
from p-type into n-type.

If the Fermi level lies above the intrinsic level, the semiconductor is of n-type, therefore
at inversion, when the intrinsic level reaches and crosses the Fermi level (which lies
closer to the valence band), the semiconductor type changes at the surface as dictated
by the relative positions of the Fermi and Intrinsic energy levels.

Structure and channel formation[edit]

See also: Field effect (semiconductor)


Channel formation in nMOS MOSFET shown as band diagram: Top panels: An applied gate
voltage bends bands, depleting holes from surface (left). The charge inducing the bending is
balanced by a layer of negative acceptor-ion charge (right). Bottom panel: A larger applied
voltage further depletes holes but conduction band lowers enough in energy to populate a
conducting channel.

C–V profile for a bulk MOSFET with different oxide thickness. The leftmost part of the curve
corresponds to accumulation. The valley in the middle corresponds to depletion. The curve on
the right corresponds to inversion.
A MOSFET is based on the modulation of charge concentration by a MOS capacitance
between a body electrode and a gate electrode located above the body and insulated
from all other device regions by a gate dielectric layer. If dielectrics other than an oxide
are employed, the device may be referred to as a metal-insulator-semiconductor FET
(MISFET). Compared to the MOS capacitor, the MOSFET includes two additional
terminals (source and drain), each connected to individual highly doped regions that are
separated by the body region. These regions can be either p or n type, but they must
both be of the same type, and of opposite type to the body region. The source and drain
(unlike the body) are highly doped as signified by a "+" sign after the type of doping.

If the MOSFET is an n-channel or nMOS FET, then the source and drain are n+ regions
and the body is a p region. If the MOSFET is a p-channel or pMOS FET, then the
source and drain are p+ regions and the body is a n region. The source is so named
because it is the source of the charge carriers (electrons for n-channel, holes for p-
channel) that flow through the channel; similarly, the drain is where the charge carriers
leave the channel.

The occupancy of the energy bands in a semiconductor is set by the position of the
Fermi level relative to the semiconductor energy-band edges.

See also: Depletion region

With sufficient gate voltage, the valence band edge is driven far from the Fermi level,
and holes from the body are driven away from the gate.

At larger gate bias still, near the semiconductor surface the conduction band edge is
brought close to the Fermi level, populating the surface with electrons in an inversion
layer or n-channel at the interface between the p region and the oxide. This conducting
channel extends between the source and the drain, and current is conducted through it
when a voltage is applied between the two electrodes. Increasing the voltage on the
gate leads to a higher electron density in the inversion layer and therefore increases the
current flow between the source and drain. For gate voltages below the threshold value,
the channel is lightly populated, and only a very small subthreshold leakage current can
flow between the source and the drain.
When a negative gate-source voltage (positive source-gate) is applied, it creates a p-
channel at the surface of the n region, analogous to the n-channel case, but with
opposite polarities of charges and voltages. When a voltage less negative than the
threshold value (a negative voltage for the p-channel) is applied between gate and
source, the channel disappears and only a very small subthreshold current can flow
between the source and the drain. The device may comprise a silicon on insulator
device in which a buried oxide is formed below a thin semiconductor layer. If the
channel region between the gate dielectric and the buried oxide region is very thin, the
channel is referred to as an ultrathin channel region with the source and drain regions
formed on either side in or above the thin semiconductor layer. Other semiconductor
materials may be employed. When the source and drain regions are formed above the
channel in whole or in part, they are referred to as raised source/drain regions.

Parameter nMOSFET pMOSFET

Source/drain n-type p-type


type

Channel type n-type p-type


(MOS
capacitor)

G Polysilico n+ p+
n
t
Metal φm ~ Si φm ~ Si
conduction valence band
band

Well type p-type n-type

Threshold Positive Negative

voltage, Vth (enhanc (enhanc


ement) ement)
Negative Positive
(depleti (depleti
on) on)

Band-bending Downwards Upwards

Inversion layer Electrons Holes


carriers

Substrate type p-type n-type


as earlier asserted. Along the line, the above expression for

|Vnet(x)|2

is seen to oscillate sinusoidally between

|Vmin|2

and

|Vmax|2

with a period of

2k

. This is half of the guided wavelength λ =

for the frequency f . That

[7][8]
following NSSL's research. In Canada, Environment Canada constructed the King
[9]
City station, with a 5 cm research Doppler radar, by 1985; McGill University
dopplerized its radar (J. S. Marshall Radar Observatory) in 1993. This led to a complete
[10]
Canadian Doppler network between 1998 and 2004. France and other European
countries had switched to Doppler networks by the early 2000s. Meanwhile, rapid
advances in computer technology led to algorithms to detect signs of severe weather,
and many applications for media outlets and researchers.
After 2000, research on dual polarization technology moved into operational use,
increasing the amount of information available on precipitation type (e.g. rain vs. snow).
"Dual polarization" means that microwave radiation which is polarized both horizontally
and vertically (with respect to the ground) is emitted. Wide-scale deployment was done
by the end of the decade or the beginning of the next in some countries such as the
[11]
United States, France, and Canada. In April 2013, all United States National Weather
[12]
Service NEXRADs were completely dual-polarized.

Since 2003, the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has been
experimenting with phased-array radar as a replacement for conventional parabolic
antenna to provide more time resolution in atmospheric sounding. This could be
significant with severe thunderstorms, as their evolution can be better evaluated with
more timely data.

Also in 2003, the National Science Foundation established the Engineering Research

Center for Collaborative Adaptive Sensi Schottky


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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"FET" redirects here. For other uses, see FET (disambiguation).

Cross-sectional view of a field-effect transistor, showing source, gate and drain terminals

The field-effect transistor (FET) is a type of transistor that uses an electric field to
control the flow of current in a semiconductor. It comes in two types: junction FET
(JFET) and metal-oxide-semiconductor FET (MOSFET). FETs have three terminals:
source, gate, and drain. FETs control the flow of current by the application of a voltage
to the gate, which in turn alters the conductivity between the drain and source.

FETs are also known as unipolar transistors since they involve single-carrier-type
operation. That is, FETs use either electrons (n-channel) or holes (p-channel) as charge
carriers in their operation, but not both. Many different types of field effect transistors
exist. Field effect transistors generally display very high input impedance at low
frequencies. The most widely used field-effect transistor is the MOSFET (metal–oxide–
semiconductor field-effect transistor).

History[edit]
Further information: History of the transistor

Julius Edgar Lilienfeld, who proposed the concept of a field-effect transistor in 1925.

The concept of a field-effect transistor (FET) was first patented by the Austro-Hungarian
[1]
born physicist Julius Edgar Lilienfeld in 1925 and by Oskar Heil in 1934, but they were
unable to build a working practical semiconducting device based on the concept. The
transistor effect was later observed and explained by John Bardeen and Walter Houser
Brattain while working under William Shockley at Bell Labs in 1947, shortly after the 17-
year patent expired. Shockley initially attempted to build a working FET by trying to
modulate the conductivity of a semiconductor, but was unsuccessful, mainly due to
problems with the surface states, the dangling bond, and the germanium and copper
compound materials. In the course of trying to understand the mysterious reasons
behind their failure to build a working FET, it led to Bardeen and Brattain instead
inventing the point-contact transistor in 1947, which was followed by Shockley's bipolar
[2][3]
junction transistor in 1948.

The first FET device to be successfully built was the junction field-effect transistor
[2] [4]
(JFET). A JFET was first patented by Heinrich Welker in 1945. The static induction
transistor (SIT), a type of JFET with a short channel, was invented by Japanese
engineers Jun-ichi Nishizawa and Y. Watanabe in 1950. Following Shockley's
theoretical treatment on the JFET in 1952, a working practical JFET was built by
[5]
George C. Dacey and Ian M. Ross in 1953. However, the JFET still had issues
[6]
affecting junction transistors in general. Junction transistors were relatively bulky
devices that were difficult to manufacture on a mass-production basis, which limited
them to a number of specialised applications. The insulated-gate field-effect transistor
(IGFET) was theorized as a potential alternative to junction transistors, but researchers
were unable to build working IGFETs, largely due to the troublesome surface state
[6]
barrier that prevented the external electric field from penetrating into the material. By
the mid-1950s, researchers had largely given up on the FET concept, and instead
[7]
focused on bipolar junction transistor (BJT) technology.

The foundations of MOSFET technology were laid down by the work of William
Shockley, John Bardeen and Walter Brattain. Shockley independently envisioned the
FET concept in 1945, but he was unable to build a working device. The next year
Bardeen explained his failure in terms of surface states. Bardeen applied the theory of
surface states on semiconductors (previous work on surface states was done by
Shockley in 1939 and Igor Tamm in 1932) and realized that the external field was
blocked at the surface because of extra electrons which are drawn to the semiconductor
surface. Electrons become trapped in those localized states forming an inversion layer.
Bardeen's hypothesis marked the birth of surface physics. Bardeen then decided to
make use of an inversion layer instead of the very thin layer of semiconductor which
Shockley had envisioned in his FET designs. Based on his theory, in 1948 Bardeen
patented the progenitor of MOSFET, an insulated-gate FET (IGFET) with an inversion
layer. The inversion layer confines the flow of minority carriers, increasing modulation
and conductivity, although its electron transport depends on the gate's insulator or
quality of oxide if used as an insulator, deposited above the inversion layer. Bardeen's
patent as well as the concept of an inversion layer forms the basis of CMOS technology
today. In 1976 Shockley described Bardeen's surface state hypothesis "as one of the
[8]
most significant research ideas in the semiconductor program".

After Bardeen's surface state theory the trio tried to overcome the effect of surface
states. In late 1947, Robert Gibney and Brattain suggested the use of electrolyte placed
between metal and semiconductor to overcome the effects of surface states. Their FET
device worked, but amplification was poor. Bardeen went further and suggested to
rather focus on the conductivity of the inversion layer. Further experiments led them to
replace electrolyte with a solid oxide layer in the hope of getting better results. Their
goal was to penetrate the oxide layer and get to the inversion layer. However, Bardeen
suggested they switch from silicon to germanium and in the process their oxide got
inadvertently washed off. They stumbled upon a completely different transistor, the
point-contact transistor. Lillian Hoddeson argues that "had Brattain and Bardeen been
working with silicon instead of germanium they would have stumbled across a
[8][9][10][11][12]
successful field effect transistor".

By the end of the first half of the 1950s, following theoretical and experimental work of
Bardeen, Brattain, Kingston, Morrison and others, it became more clear that there were
two types of surface states. Fast surface states were found to be associated with the
bulk and a semiconductor/oxide interface. Slow surface states were found to be
associated with the oxide layer because of adsorption of atoms, molecules and ions by
the oxide from the ambient. The latter were found to be much more numerous and to
have much longer relaxation times. At the time Philo Farnsworth and others came up
with various methods of producing atomically clean semiconductor surfaces.

In 1955, Carl Frosch and Lincoln Derrick accidentally covered the surface of silicon
wafer with a layer of silicon dioxide. They showed that oxide layer prevented certain
dopants into the silicon wafer, while allowing for others, thus discovering the passivating
effect of oxidation on the semiconductor surface. Their further work demonstrated how
to etch small openings in the oxide layer to diffuse dopants into selected areas of the
silicon wafer. In 1957, they published a research paper and patented their technique
summarizing their work. The technique they developed is known as oxide diffusion
masking, which would later be used in the fabrication of MOSFET devices. At Bell Labs,
the importance of Frosch's technique was immediately realized. Results of their work
circulated around Bell Labs in the form of BTL memos before being published in 1957.
At Shockley Semiconductor, Shockley had circulated the preprint of their article in
[6][13][14]
December 1956 to all his senior staff, including Jean Hoerni.

In 1955, Ian Munro Ross filed a patent for a FeFET or MFSFET. Its structure was like
that of a modern inversion channel MOSFET, but ferroelectric material was used as a
dielectric/insulator instead of oxide. He envisioned it as a form of memory, years before
the floating gate MOSFET. In February 1957, John Wallmark filed a patent for FET in
which germanium monoxide was used as a gate dielectric, but he didn't pursue the idea.
In his other patent filed the same year he described a double gate FET. In March 1957,
in his laboratory notebook, Ernesto Labate, a research scientist at Bell Labs, conceived
of a device similar to the later proposed MOSFET, although Labate's device didn't
[15][16][17][18]
explicitly use silicon dioxide as an insulator.

Metal-oxide-semiconductor FET (MOSFET)[edit]

Main article: MOSFET

Mohamed Atalla (left) and Dawon Kahng (right) invented the MOSFET (MOS field-effect
transistor) in 1959.
A breakthrough in FET research came with the work of Egyptian engineer Mohamed
[3]
Atalla in the late 1950s. In 1958 he presented experimental work which showed that
growing thin silicon oxide on clean silicon surface leads to neutralization of surface
states. This is known as surface passivation, a method that became critical to the
semiconductor industry as it made mass-production of silicon integrated circuits
[19][20]
possible.

The metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) was then invented by


[21][22]
Mohamed Atalla and Dawon Kahng in 1959. The MOSFET largely superseded
[2]
both the bipolar transistor and the JFET, and had a profound effect on digital
[23][22] [24]
electronic development. With its high scalability, and much lower power
[25]
consumption and higher density than bipolar junction transistors, the MOSFET made
[26]
it possible to build high-density integrated circuits. The MOSFET is also capable of
[27]
handling higher power than the JFET. The MOSFET was the first truly compact
[6]
transistor that could be miniaturised and mass-produced for a wide range of uses. The
[20]
MOSFET thus became the most common type of transistor in computers, electronics,
[28]
and communications technology (such as smartphones). The US Patent and
Trademark Office calls it a "groundbreaking invention that transformed life and culture
[28]
around the world".

CMOS (complementary MOS), a semiconductor device fabrication process for


MOSFETs, was developed by Chih-Tang Sah and Frank Wanlass at Fairchild
[29][30]
Semiconductor in 1963. The first report of a floating-gate MOSFET was made by
[31]
Dawon Kahng and Simon Sze in 1967. A double-gate MOSFET was first
demonstrated in 1984 by Electrotechnical Laboratory researchers Toshihiro Sekigawa
[32][33]
and Yutaka Hayashi. FinFET (fin field-effect transistor), a type of 3D non-planar
multi-gate MOSFET, originated from the research of Digh Hisamoto and his team at
[34][35]
Hitachi Central Research Laboratory in 1989.

Basic information

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