Extrinsic semiconductor
ONE THAT HAS BEEN DOPED, THAT IS, INTO WHICH A DOPING AGENT HAS BEEN INTRODUCED, GIVING IT DIFFERENT ELECTRICAL PROPERTIES THAN THE INTRINSIC (PURE) SEMICONDUCTOR
P-type semiconductor; N-type semiconductor; P-type crystals; N-type crystals; P-type silicon; N-type silicon; N-type (semiconductor); P-type (semiconductor); P-type doping
An extrinsic semiconductor is one that has been doped; during manufacture of the semiconductor crystal a trace element or chemical called a doping agent has been incorporated chemically into the crystal, for the purpose of giving it different electrical properties than the pure semiconductor crystal, which is called an intrinsic semiconductor. In an extrinsic semiconductor it is these foreign dopant atoms in the crystal lattice that mainly provide the charge carriers which carry electric current through the crystal.