donor atom

physics

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July 22, 2026

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A donor atom is an impurity deliberately added to a semiconductor to alter its electrical conductivity. In semiconductors like silicon or germanium, atoms with more valence electrons than the semiconductor atoms (like phosphorus or arsenic) introduce extra electrons. These extra electrons become available for electrical conduction, making the semiconductor n-type, where n signifies negative charge carriers (electrons).1

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dopant
…or arsenic, which are called donor atoms, and the semiconductor is classed as n-type (n for negative, because the charge carriers are electrons, which are negatively charged particles). Doping with atoms such as boron or indium, which have only three electrons available, creates a positively charged site, or “hole,” in…
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…or arsenic, which are called donor atoms, and the semiconductor is classed as n-type (n for negative, because the charge carriers are electrons, which are negatively charged particles). Doping with atoms such as boron or indium, which have only three electrons available, creates a positively charged site, or “hole,” in…
Read More