charge carrier

References

charge carrier

physics

Written by

The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last updated

June 24, 2026

Quick Summary

In physics, a charge carrier is a subatomic particle that carries an electric charge. The most common charge carriers are electrons, which are negatively charged, and holes, which are positively charged vacancies left by electrons in certain materials like semiconductors.1

An electric current is the flow of these charge carriers. In metals, this current is primarily due to the movement of free electrons. In semiconductors, both electrons and holes can act as charge carriers. Materials are classified by their ability to conduct electricity: insulators have tightly bound electrons and do not conduct well, while metals have excess free electrons that move easily. Semiconductors fall in between, and their conductivity can be precisely controlled by adding impurities, a process called doping.12

Summary created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

2 Britannica Sources

Ask Britannica AI about this topic

Britannica doesn't have a full article on this topic, so we've curated a list of our relevant coverage.

radiation measurement
Spectroscopy systems
…of a finite number of charge carriers. This latter statistical limit is in some ways the most fundamental determinant in energy resolution since, as opposed to the other sources of fluctuation, it cannot be reduced by more careful experimental procedures. Poisson statistics predicts that the fractional standard deviation that characterizes…
Read More
…of a finite number of charge carriers. This latter statistical limit is in some ways the most fundamental determinant in energy resolution since, as opposed to the other sources of fluctuation, it cannot be reduced by more careful experimental procedures. Poisson statistics predicts that the fractional standard deviation that characterizes…
Read More

liquid
Speed of sound and electric properties
…any free carriers of electric charge in the liquid, and the liquid, therefore, conducts electricity. Such carriers are of two kinds: mobile electrons and ions. The former are present in abundance in liquid metals, which have conductivities that are generally about one-third of the conductivity of the corresponding solid. The…
Read More
…any free carriers of electric charge in the liquid, and the liquid, therefore, conducts electricity. Such carriers are of two kinds: mobile electrons and ions. The former are present in abundance in liquid metals, which have conductivities that are generally about one-third of the conductivity of the corresponding solid. The…
Read More

radiation measurement
Scintillators
…production of a pulse of charge due to a single energetic charged particle:
Read More
…production of a pulse of charge due to a single energetic charged particle:
Read More

semiconductor device
Electronic properties
…depends on the number of charge carriers (i.e., free electrons and free holes) per unit volume and on the rate at which these carriers move under the influence of an electric field. In an intrinsic semiconductor there exists an equal number of free electrons and free holes. The electrons and…
Read More
…depends on the number of charge carriers (i.e., free electrons and free holes) per unit volume and on the rate at which these carriers move under the influence of an electric field. In an intrinsic semiconductor there exists an equal number of free electrons and free holes. The electrons and…
Read More

solid-state detector
…ionizing radiation generates pairs of charge carriers (electrons and electron-deficient sites called holes) in a block of semiconducting material; the migration of these carriers under the influence of a voltage maintained between the opposite faces of the block constitutes a pulse of current. The pulses created in this way are…
Read More
…ionizing radiation generates pairs of charge carriers (electrons and electron-deficient sites called holes) in a block of semiconducting material; the migration of these carriers under the influence of a voltage maintained between the opposite faces of the block constitutes a pulse of current. The pulses created in this way are…
Read More