A dopant, also called doping agent and dope, is an impurity element added to a semiconductor lattice in low concentrations in order to alter the optical/electrical properties of the semiconductor. Look up dope in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

The process of introducing dopants into a semiconductor is called doping. In semiconductor production, doping refers to the process of intentionally introducing impurities into an extremely pure (also referred to as intrinsic) semiconductor in order to change its electrical properties. ...

The addition of a dopant to a semiconductor has the effect of shifting the Fermi level within the material. This results in a material with predominantly negative (n type) or positive (p type) charge carriers depending on the dopant species. Pure semiconductors altered by the presence of dopants are known as extrinsic semiconductors (cf. intrinsic semiconductor). Dopants are introduced into semiconductors in a variety of ways including ion implantation and surface diffusion. A semiconductor is a material with an electrical conductivity that is intermediate between that of an insulator and a conductor. ... In quantum mechanics, particles with a half-integer spin, usually spin 1/2 (for example electrons) follow the Pauli exclusion principle, which states that no two particles may occupy the same quantum state. ... An N-type semiconductor is obtained by carrying out a process of doping, that is adding a certain type of atoms to the semiconductor in order to increase the number of free (in this case negative) charge carriers. ... A P-type semiconductor is obtained by carrying out a process of doping, that is adding a certain type of atoms to the semiconductor in order to increase the number of free (in this case positive) charges. ... Charge carrier denotes in physics a free (mobile, unbound) particle carrying an electric charge. ... An intrinsic semiconductor is a material which has the conductivity of a semiconductor without the introduction of a deliberate dopant species. ... Ion implantation is a materials engineering process by which ions of a material can be implanted into another solid, thereby changing the physical properties of the solid. ... Schematic drawing of the effects of diffusion through a semipermeable membrane. ...

Examples

• Boron, arsenic, phosphorus, antimony, among other substances, are commonly used dopants in the semiconductor industry.

• Artificially produced gemstones (such as rubies) sometimes contain a dopant to identify them as such.