The behavior of holes and electrons in semiconductors

“Holes” and “electrons” are words used to describe the two processes by which electrons carry current in semiconductors like silicon and germanium. These two processes, although prominent in theory for the last two decades, have acquired much greater reality as a result of new experiments stemming from the invention of the transistor. In fact a new engineering science, referred to as transistor electronics, is now being built about the behavior of holes and electrons.