HR Scorecard Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

HR Scorecard - Assignment Example As noted by Becker, Huselid and Ulrich (2001), a company has competitive advantage if it has what it takes to make customers select its products and services over what other competitors offer. Meanwhile, through the use of the HR scorecard to determine the best working outcomes for employees, it is possible to be guaranteed that the employees will show an attitude towards work that is directly responsive to customer request, expectations and needs, making customers select them over other competitors. In the implementation of the HR scorecard however, there are some challenges that may be encountered. The first of this has to do with the assignment of assessment metrics to work outcomes that are considered more qualitative. Typical example of such work outcome is customer satisfaction. The second challenge has to do with cooperation from employees in the implementation of the outcomes with the HR scorecard (Lawler, Jamrog & Boudreau, 2011). The challenges can be minimized by having a communication system that fully involves employees and clearly explains the modalities of the HR scorecard to

Life Styles Inventory Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Life Styles Inventory - Case Study Example On a critical evaluation of myself, I find the concept of power dominating other thinking styles. Occasionally, I overwhelmed with the desire to control actions and be in charge. However, this has always posed a number of challenges on my ability to provide directions as a manager. Power has created an unquestionable authority in the organization. The relationship between me and my employees has been impaired and a sense of personal authority and accountability at the department level has been lost. It has discouraged decentralization leaving me with the bulky duty of ever making each and every decision in the organization. However, in contradiction to the descriptions of this thinking style as shown in the lifestyle inventory, I have never witnessed the trait of coercion and intimidation in me. Often, I treat my employees with respect and listen to their opinions with an open-mind even though most of them do not like participating in the decision making process. Again, as opposed to the results description, I am usually patient and tolerant with my employees as long as the job is done as it ought to be. As my results would have it, my back-up thinking style is avoidance. This scale measures my tendency to use defensive strategies of withdrawal (Humphrey 229). This appears to be another true fact though there could be a few variations. Personally, I believe that problems are part of life and the preeminent method of solving issues is not by running away from them. I am capable of doing whatever it takes just to have the problem solved. It does not matter how much risk is involved. As some scholars would put it, there is no one best way of doing something. Similarly, I do not rely on a single way of tackling my problem of choose the easiest way out, instead, I explore more on other avenues that allows me to have my problem solved. This strengthens my ability to fulfill my role as a leader and a director in the organization Avoidance, as a thinking style has made me become more effective in my job as a manager. Normally, the practice of management is usually faced with lots of challenges, but my ability to solve problems has always seen me through the tough huddles in management practice. However, imperfections are part of humans and I do not believe that I have to be right at all times. Therefore, I differ with the description provided in the lifestyle inventory that people with this thinking style purport to always be right. I like being corrected when I make a mistake and accepting liability as a result of my blunders. On the other hand, my lifestyle inventory results indicate low performance on my humanistic-encouragement thinking style. This scale measures my interest to people and ability to care about others (Humphrey 230). Even though this was not the lowest performance recorded, humanistic engagement is an important style in the practice of management. As a manager, I need to be concerned with my employees and make them believe in themselves. They should also appreciate themselves for who they are and be satisfied with what they have. The lack of humanistic-encouragement in me compromises my ability as a manager since a manager needs to be listening and caring about employees. Presence of this trait in me might enhance manager-employee relationship and this has always proven to be one way of motivating employees. Suggestively, one of the things I should do better my humanistic-enc

PaY For Play Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

PaY For Play - Essay Example Sports players are a huge asset for the colleges because they enhance the college reputation and prestige. One of the realities of the current university and college system is that they derive a residual level of profitability from whatever sports programs that the school offers. This residual level of revenue has come to be an important funding stream that colleges and universities rely on to ameliorate the economic pressures of hard times. However, regardless of the degree of revenue that these institutions are able to garner as a result of their sports programs, the student athletes are not paid for their work outside the scholarships that they are oftentimes offered as an incentive to play the game. However, it is normally seen that the athletes or sportsmen have not given much consideration when it comes to upholding their rights. When it came to my college, I saw that our college athletes were not given due respect with regard to the reward structure. In our society college ath letes undergo much sacrifice and bring money but not be paid in return. I myself have been a football player in college and I understand what it means to be able to have spending money to survive during the university experience; a luxury that those not playing sports can readily achieve merely by picking up a part time job while in school. Thus, following inductive reasoning I can say that those college athletes who participate in major money making sports, such as football in the SEC, should be paid and not just in kind. The approach of ethos, pathos and logos is used in this paper to prove the point. For logical approach inductive reasoning is used based on facts, ethical appeal is used after considering views of different authors regarding payment of college athletes and an emotional appeal also lies underneath the arguments presented in the paper. Background of Sports Play at College and Problems in Pay for Play: Regulation regarding paying college athletes should be changed in order to compensate athletes and payment should be made mandatory. This is because these players bring in a lot of money and put in too much work for that without earning a paycheck. The idea of sports played in college came into existence during 1850. Soon after, sports achieved its place in the curriculum of the college activities. Gradually colleges started to prepare for the intercollegiate competition as a mean of boosting the self confidence and as a method of learning to overcome the obstacles in life. The first intercollegiate athletic competition held in America was secondary to the promotional wishes and was launched as a commercial venture. It has been regarded as the perfect physical activity and the desire of the young men. The competitive spirit and vigor which are parts of college sports enhanced the mental and physical pleasure of the students. The college authorities elaborately planned sports activities which motivated the students immensely and sports events at c ollege and national levels became a prestigious venture and money making phenomena for college authorities. The media kept the young athletes in the lime light and the scholarship provided by colleges to them stood as a bonus (Smith, 2011, pp. 1-8). However one should consider their importance to the colleges and their role as revenue earners in order to compensate them in cash and kind. Here lies the ethical appeal. Playing college sports has evolved to be an honor

Feedback Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Feedback - Essay Example nd of the first placement student social work should demonstrate effective use of knowledge, skills and commitment to core values in social work in a given setting in predominantly less complex situations, with supervision and support. They will have demonstrated capacity to work with people and situations where there may not be simple clear-cut solutions. By the end of last placement student social workers should have demonstrated the knowledge, skills and values to work with a range of user groups, and the ability to undertake a range of tasks at a foundation level, the capacity to work with more complex situations; they should be able to work more autonomously, whilst recognising that the final decision will still rest with their supervisor; they will seek appropriate support and supervision. Mimi instructed the children with clarity about the activity and how to care for it afterwards (name and brief instruction on the plastic cup) she displayed patience when reminding the children how much water/seeds where needed. Even after they had completed the task (wanted more seeds) an understanding of the differences in age and ability was reflected in her approach – giving me or less where necessary. Mimi respected the children wishes by allowing then not to participate if they didn’t want to, health and safety was adhered to by Mimi ensuring that hands where washed after the activity and area was swept clean and all traces of debris cleared. I would consider the feedback given by the professional as an apt assessment of my engagement in social work activity throughout my placement period. Indeed, I concur that the instructor guided me well through the activities. We held several close meetings with the qualified social worker, and I must confess it was quite intimate. Never have I engaged a qualified person in his/her field in a close discussion. I would confess it was the first time. Nevertheless, I composed myself and managed to participate objectively

Compare and contrast of two artworks (art history) Essay

Compare and contrast of two artworks (art history) - Essay Example The general term ‘artwork’ is used in comparing and contrasting since Durer’s work is an engraving and not a painting like Titian’s. Durer, in his depiction of Adam and Eve, is meticulous with balance and proportion in such a way that Adam is almost like Eve’s female counterpart. Both characters have curly hair, and both are nude with covered private parts. Durer’s engraving gives the magical illusion that the characters are somewhat standing out from its dark background (Silver and Smith 49). His work is like a three dimensional image. He uses ink as a medium to darken the background (Silver and Smith 49). His style is what is known as Northern Renaissance in European Art. Like Durer, Titian likes to portray subjects in nude or semi-nude. By contrast, Titian’s Concert Champà ªtre painting is oil on canvas. His love for nature is shown by his vibrant display of the natural colors of an outdoor environment, as opposed to black and white. In effect, his style is more realistic, especially the women’s bodies whose skin texture is quite realistic. His style is considered Italian High Renaissance, Venetian School. The similarities involved are their fondness for the outdoors and how their subjects seem to be interacting with each other in harmony. Also, each of the human subject’s hand is busy holding something. Concert Champà ªtre involves musical instruments, while Adam and Eve shows the biblical ‘forbidden fruit.’ During this time, central Europe had been the ‘seat of religious upheaval,’ which might have played a role in the artist’s choice for a subject. At first glance, there are no traces of writing in Titian’s artwork compared to Durer’s branding, which translates to â€Å"Albrecht Durer of Nuremberg† (Johnson 124). In Concert Champà ªtre, the man carrying a lute and wearing silk looks out of place (Graham-Dixon 251).

The Castle Essay Example for Free

The Castle Essay â€Å"Texts convey certain attitudes and beliefs that help define who we are and how we relate to the world around us† Discuss the attitudes and beliefs that are highlighted in you prescribed text and two related texts of your own choosing. The term global village refers to the idea that individual countries and communities are affected by the media, electronic communications and cheap air travel that their traditions and beliefs are challenged. These challenges may be positive or negative as it makes people to reassess their attitudes and beliefs. There have been numbers of areas of challenges and two of them are food and multi-culturalism. These challenges are explicitly presented in the film directed by Rob Stitch, The Castle, and a number of related materials. One aspect of the global village which is effectively represented by Sitch in The Castle is the attitude towards the food from diverse cultures which exists in Australia. Kerrigan family is very contented with their rather bland and preservative diet which they share in their family home. Sitch represents this situation by repeatedly filming the dining of Kerrigan family. Sitch focuses on the food menus and they are just ordinary Australian food. This shows that Kerrigan family has yet not encountered many diverse food cultures such as Vietnamese and Thai which exists in Australia. Dale, the narrator, comments in an enthusiastic tone that, â€Å"Dad thinks mum is the greatest cook on earth† so when she serves them a rather ordinary looking cake Daryl asks, â€Å"what do you call that, darl? ’† Sal’s simple answer of â€Å"Sponge cake† sums up that this family have yet to really come to grips with the astronomical influence of the global village on Australian cuisine. He states glowingly just how he feels about Sal’s cooking when he says, â€Å"Why go out to a restaurant when this keeps coming up night after night†. Eating meals together is represented as an important family tradition. Daryl’s attitude strongly contrasts with the words of the song from Scene Four of Noelle Janaczewska’s play Blood Orange. In this short play, it explores aspects of global village in Australia. Repetition of ‘Coles is selling tabouli, lemon grass and parmesan cheese! ’ accentuates that a whole range of food from different ethnic backgrounds exists in Australia and even one of Australian food market ‘Coles’ is selling them. Cultural challenges to taste buds are certainly another strong influence in increasing tolerance and acceptance of Australia’s different ethics groups and cultures which are consistently reaffirming that Australia is indeed an excellent example of the concept of the global village. Another aspect of the global village which emerges from the experiences of the Kerrigan family in the film The Castle is that Australia is a multi-cultural country with immigrants from a range of countries. Sitch reveals multi-culturalism in Australia through various characters in the film. The Kerrigans are a very self sustaining family but even they have to open their door and minds to people of different ethnic backgrounds. Sitch is able to represent this in the way Daryl interacts easily with ‘new Australians’. Daryl is portrayed making a real effort at Tracey and Con’s wedding to show his acceptance of a different culture by commenting jokingly on the Greek tradition of breaking plates. He also learned ‘Good Evening’ in Greek which pleased Con’s family. Daryl welcomes Con to their family saying that while Con might be different â€Å"anyone who loves our Trace as much as us deserves our love. So we love you Con. We love you†. Sitch celebrates in a positive way this genuine acceptance of others in the way Con is presented as one of the family up at Bonny Doon and in the family home on returning from Thailand; he is obviously one of the family. Farouk is a neighbour of the Kerrigans and he too is a part of Daryl’s circle of neighbours. Farouk comes to Daryl for leadership and help with English when the letters of compulsory acquisition arrives. Daryl does the same assisting Jack and Yvonne who also are his neighbours. Therefore Daryl’s leadership and kindness to others in his neighbourhood, whether they are Australians or immigrants shows the vibrant part of the global village. An article â€Å"I now call Australia home†, written by Nick Gianopoulos is a relevant piece of related material on the global village which supports the idea of Australia as a multi-cultural country. Gianopoulos talks of the difficulty growing up as a son of Greek immigrant during the 60’s from racism. Similarly with Daryl Kerrigan, Gianopoulos says that Australia has changed to accept people from around the world as part of the Australian mainstream. â€Å"Our cultures are better understood. We’ve even become trendy’. He also believes that we now need to continue to extend that understanding and acceptance to our newest Australians from Asia. Daryl’s and Giannopoulos’ experiences strongly reflect upon the aspect of global village that Australia is a multi-cultural country. As Australia rapidly grows into a multi-cultural country, people are challenged to their beliefs and attitudes. In conclusion Sitch’s film The Castle and related materials â€Å"Blood Orange† and â€Å"I now call Australia home† has effectively revealed and represented how the two aspects of global village could challenge people’s attitudes and beliefs. Through food, it showed the difficulty that Kerrigan’s family encountered. However Kerrigans adapted well to accept multi-culturalism into their neighbourhood and family.

Understanding The Terms Of Semiconductor Devices Information Technology Essay

Understanding The Terms Of Semiconductor Devices Information Technology Essay Semiconductors are materials which have a conductivity between conductors generally metals and nonconductors or insulators (such as most ceramics). Semiconductors can be pure elements, such as silicon or germanium, or compounds such as gallium arsenide or cadmium selenide. In a process called doping, small amounts of impurities are added to pure semiconductors causing large changes in the conductivity of the material. Semiconductor devices now influence our lives on a daily basis. Although insulators and conductors are useful in their own right, semiconductors such as silicon and gallium arsenide have dramatically changed the way in which billions of people live. Their intermediate ability to conduct electricity at room temperature makes them very useful for electronic applications. For example, the modern computing industry was made possible by the ability of silicon transistors to act as fast on/off switches. 1.2 History: Fig 1: History of Semiconductor Part 2: Project Overview 2.1 Types of Semiconductors 2.1.1 Intrinsic Semiconductors An intrinsic semiconductor is one which is made up of a very pure semiconductor material. In more technical terminology it can stated that an intrinsic semiconductor is one where the number of holes is equal to the number of electrons in the conduction band. The forbidden energy gap in case of such semiconductors is very minute and even the energy available at room temperature is sufficient for the valence electrons to jump across to the conduction band. Another characteristic feature of an intrinsic semiconductor is that the Fermi level of such materials lies somewhere in between the valence band and the conduction band. This can be proved mathematically which is beyond the scope of discussion in this article. In case you are not familiar with the term Fermi level, it refers to that level of energy where the probability of finding an electron is 0.5 or half (remember probability is measured on a scale of 0 to 1). 2.1.2 Extrinsic Semiconductors These are semiconductors in which the pure state of the semiconductor material is deliberately diluted by adding very minute quantities of impurities. To be more specific, the impurities are known as dopants or doping agents. It must be kept in mind that the addition of such impurities is really very miniscule and a typical dopant could have a concentration of the order of 1 part in a hundred million parts or it is equivalent to 0.01 ppm. The materials chosen for doping are deliberately chosen in such a manner that either they have 5 electrons in their valence band, or they have just 3 electrons in their valence band. Accordingly such dopants are known as pentavalent or trivalent dopants respectively. The type of dopant also gives rise to two types of extrinsic semiconductors namely P-type and N-type semiconductors. A pentavalent dopant such as Antimony are known as donor impurities since they donate an extra electron in the crystal structure which is not required for covalent bonding purposes and is readily available to be shifted to the conduction band. This electron does not give rise to a corresponding hole in the valence band because it is already excess, therefore upon doping with such a material, the base material such as Germanium contains more electrons than holes, hence the nomenclature N-type intrinsic semiconductors. On the other hand when a trivalent dopant such as Boron is added to Germanium additional or extra holes get formed due to the exactly reverse process of what was described in the upper section. Hence this dopant which is also known as acceptor creates a P-type semiconductor. Hence electrons are the majority carriers (of current) in N-type while holes are minority carriers. The reverse is true of P-type semiconductors. Another difference is that whereas the Fermi level of intrinsic semiconductors is somewhere midway between the valence band and the conduction band, it shifts upwards in case of N-type while it drifts downward in case of P-type due to obvious reasons. 2.2 Semiconductor Device (Diode): A diode is the simplest possible semiconductor device, and is therefore an excellent beginning point if you want to understand how semiconductors work. In this article, youll learn what a semiconductor is, how doping works and how a diode can be created using semiconductors. But first, lets take a close look at silicon. Silicon is a very common element for example, it is the main element in sand and quartz. If you look silicon up in the periodic table, you will find that it sits next to aluminum, below carbon and above germanium. A diode is the simplest possible semiconductor device. A diode allows current to flow in one direction but not the other. You may have seen turnstiles at a stadium or a subway station that let people go through in only one direction. A diode is a one-way turnstile for electrons. When you put N-type and P-type silicon together as shown in this diagram, you get a very interesting phenomenon that gives a diode its unique properties. Fig 2: Diode Even though N-type silicon by itself is a conductor, and P-type silicon by itself is also a conductor, the combination shown in the diagram does not conduct any electricity. The negative electrons in the N-type silicon get attracted to the positive terminal of the battery. The positive holes in the P-type silicon get attracted to the negative terminal of the battery. No current flows across the junction because the holes and the electrons are each moving in the wrong direction. If you flip the battery around, the diode conducts electricity just fine. The free electrons in the N-type silicon are repelled by the negative terminal of the battery. The holes in the P-type silicon are repelled by the positive terminal. At the junction between the N-type and P-type silicon, holes and free electrons meet. The electrons fill the holes. Those holes and free electrons cease to exist, and new holes and electrons spring up to take their place. The effect is that current flows through the junction. Part 3: Analysis 3.1 Application and Research The building block of most semiconductor devices involves combining p-type and n-type regions into p-n junctions. Imagine bringing together two crystals where one is n-type and the other is p-type. A few of the electrons from the n-type flow toward the p-type material. At the point where the p-type and n-type meet (the interface) electrons from the n-side fill the holes on the p-side and a build-up of oppositely charged ions is generated, and thus a potential across the barrier forms. This build-up of charge is called the junction potential. The barrier prevents further migration of electrons and the net current is zero. If a voltage is applied to the p-n junction with the negative terminal connected to the n-region and the p-region is connected to the positive terminal, the electrons will flow toward the positive terminal, while the holes will flow toward the negative terminal. This is called forward bias and current flows. However, if the positive terminal is connected to the n-type and the negative connected to the p-type, a reverse bias forms and no current flows due to the build up of the potential barrier. In other words, these devices must be placed in an electrical circuit with the correct polarity, or they will not function. This application of the p-n junction is used in many electronic devices. Figure 6 shows the formation of a potential at a p-n junction. Figure 7 shows the effect of forward and negative bias on the p-n junction. Figure 3: A p-n junction before and after the two materials are brought in contact. When the two materials are placed together, electrons from the n-side combine with the holes on the p-side. This results in a positive charge on the n-side of the junction and a negative charge accumulation on the p-side. This separation of charge creates a junction potential. Note: There are no electrons or holes at the junction, they have combined with each other. Figure 4: A p-n junction under forward and reverse bias. Notice that in forward bias, the barrier is lowered, while in reverse bias, the barrier is raised. Thought question: In each case in Figure 4, which side is connected to the positive terminal of the outside voltage source? Will electrons or holes carry current when the junction has this arrangement ? 3.1.1 Electronic Devices: There are many electronic devices that function using combinations of p-n junctions such as diodes, solar cells and transistors. In this section a brief explanation of each of these basic devices will be given. The diode is a p-n junction application that acts as a rectifier for converting alternating current to direct current. This is due to the ability of a diode to allow current flow in one direction but not in the other. Solar cells are p-n junction devices which use sunlight to create electrical energy. It is the energy of the sun`s photons that causes the electrons to be promoted into the conduction bands and carry the current. However, the current derived from the solar cell is small. It takes many solar cells to produce enough current to do a large scale job. If the energy output from solar cells could be increased, solar energy could be used for more than individual, isolated applications. Transistors are another application of the p-n junction. Transistors, unlike diodes, contain more than one p-n junction. Because of this, a transistor can be used in a circuit to amplify a small voltage or current into a larger one or function as an on-off switch. Transistors are of two main types: bipolar junction transistors (BJTs) and field effect transistors (FETs). Roughly 95% of all electronic systems utilize one or both of these types of devices. BJTs are composed of three layers of doped materials, either n-p-n or p-n-p in configuration. The BJT acts like a bump or dam in an open stream to control the amount of current let by; thus as the bump is lowered, more current can flow. In the BJT, the height of the bump is controlled by the base current in the semiconductor. The BJT was invented in 1948 by John Bardeen, Walter Brittain and William Shockley using germanium. BJTs remained the only important three terminal semiconductor devices for about a dozen years after their invention, and helped to launch the modern electronics era. Since the early 1960s the FET has been considered one of the most important devices in solid state technology. At present, many of the applications of BJTs have been taken over by metal-oxide semiconductor FETs (MOSFETs). MOSFETs were theorized for many years before they were able to be manufactured. The reason MOSFETs could not be made was that scientists had not yet developed techniques for growing high quality silicon dioxide (SiO2) on silicon. The FET functions more as a gate for controlling the flow of current (like a valve on a faucet). FETs are relatively simple to fabricate compared to BJTs, and they have proven to be extremely fast, reliable switches in miniaturized circuit components with much less power usage than BJTs. Most modern microprocessors are based on FET devicesfrom pentium chips in PCs to the CPUs of super computers. Transistors, diodes, and other electronic devices are combined in many different patterns to form todays integrated circuits. The integrated circuit (IC) has been the workhorse of the microelectronics era which began in the late 1950s. These chips, usually made of silicon, consist of combinations of four fundamental electrical regions. These regions contain resistors, capacitors, diodes and transistors. Since 1971, Very Large Scale Integration (VLSI) has allowed millions of such regions to be fabricated on a chip that is only one square centimeter. Not only are these circuit elements getting smaller, they are getting faster as well. For example todays typical desktop pentium-based computer can perform tens of millions of operations per second, whereas contemporary super computers are rated in gigaflops (billions of operations per second). Teraflop (trillions of operations per second) machines will be ready for production by the year 2000. 3.2 Semiconductors Applications Worldwide We mentioned just a few of the many different applications of semiconductor devices. The use of these devices has become so widespread that it would be impossible to list all their different applications. Instead, a broad coverage of their specific application is presented. Semiconductor devices are all around us. They can be found in just about every commercial product we touch, from the family car to the pocket calculator. Semiconductor devices are contained in television sets, portable radios, stereo equipment, and much more. Science and industry also rely heavily on semiconductor devices. Research laboratories use these devices in all sorts of electronic instruments to perform tests, measurements, and numerous other experimental tasks. Industrial control systems (such as those used to manufacture automobiles) and automatic telephone exchanges also use semiconductors. Even today heavy-duty versions of the solid-state rectifier diode are being use to convert large amounts of power for electric railroads. Of the many different applications for solid-state devices, space systems, computers, and data processing equipment are some of the largest consumers. The various types of modem military equipment are literally loaded with semiconductor devices. Many radars, communication, and airborne equipment are transistorized. Data display systems, data processing units, computers, and aircraft guidance-control assemblies are also good examples of electronic equipments that use semiconductor devices. All of the specific applications of semiconductor devices would make a long impressive list. The fact is, semiconductors are being used extensively in commercial products, industry, and the military. 3.3 Power semiconductor devices for DC/DC converters As the performance of servers, notebook PCs and graphics cards increases, their power consumption grows as well. At the same time, the trend toward lower operating voltages for components such as CPUs, graphics processing units (GPUs), memory devices and ASICs results in increased current flow. This creates a need for DC/DC converters capable of handling low voltages and large currents. Renesas 12th-generation power MOSFETs, the RJK0210DPA, RJK0211DPA and RJK0212DPA are now available for service in DC/DC converters, which operate by having two power MOSFETs, one for control and the other for synchronous rectification, switching on and off alternately to convert the voltage.   For example the new RJK0210DPA MOSFET is used for control and the Renesas Electronics 11th generation RJK0208DPA device can be used for synchronous rectification. Refinements to the manufacturing process allow the new Renesas MOSFETs to achieve approximately 40 percent improvement in FOM (figure of merit; on-state resistance times gate charge) compared to the companys existing products, which contributes to reduction of the power loss during voltage conversion and thereby enables highly efficient DC/DC converter performance. Using the Renesas Virtual Power Lab MOSFET Design Tool lets you check out these and other MOSFETs without the hassle of waiting for device samples, then having to solder the parts down on test boards.   This tool lets engineers evaluate various solutions in a virtual real-time environment to facilitate the selection of optimum MOSFET combinations for synchronous buck-converter applications. Among its benefits: helping you find the right MOSFETs and interactively get help designing your sync buck converter application; analyzing performance, switching behavior and efficiency of your new buck converter design; evaluating MOSFET behavior under a variety of operating conditions using an interactive datasheet and downloading SPICE models. 3.4 Importance Of Semiconductor in Technologies: Due to their role in the fabrication of electronic devices, semiconductors are an important part of our lives. Imagine life without electronic devices. There would be no radios, no TVs, no computers, no video games, and poor medical diagnostic equipment. Although many electronic devices could be made using vacuum tube technology, the developments in semiconductor technology during the past 50 years have made electronic devices smaller, faster, and more reliable. If we think for a minute of all the encounters we have with electronic devices. How many of the following have we seen or used in the last twenty-four hours? Each has important components that have been manufactured with electronic materials. microwave oven, electronic balance, video games, radio, television, VCR, watch, CD player, stereo, computer, lights, air conditioner, calculator, telephone, musical greeting cards, diagnostic equipment, clock, refrigerator, car, security devices , stove Fig 5: Clockwise from top: A chip, an LED and a transistor are all made from semiconductor material   Source: http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/solid-state1.jpg Semiconductors have had a monumental impact on our society. We find semiconductors at the heart of microprocessor chips as well as transistors. Anything thats computerized or uses radio waves depends on semiconductors. Today, most semiconductor chips and transistors are created with silicon. You may have heard expressions like Silicon Valley and the silicon economy, and thats why silicon is the heart of any electronic device. 3.5 Future Trends Since the late 1950s, the discovery and invention of new electronic semiconductor materials and the drastic reduction in the size of electronic devices has moved at a rapid pace. As a result, the speed of electronic devices (particularly integrated circuits) has grown exponentially over the same time period. Great strides have been made by companies such as Bell Laboratories, Intel, Western Electric, American Telephone and Telegraph, Motorola, Rockwell, and IBM. In 1975, Gordon Moore gave a famous talk at the International Electronic Devices Meeting (IEDM) in which he predicted a growth in microchip complexity of roughly a factor of two every year. In most areas of electron device production, his predictions have been met or exceeded. The push for smaller dimensions, which allow for increased functionality and faster devices, also creates problems of long term reliability and heat dissipation. New device designs, new materials, and lower voltages are being employed to make the next generation of devices. One extremely important area of semiconductor technology is the field of telecommunications. The new Information Super Highway requires technology which can transmit and receive information at high rates. One approach which is already being applied to this area is optoelectronics or the use of light to transmit information. Electrons are used to transfer information within computers, but most information sent over long distances uses light pulses traveling through fiber optic cables. The laser diodes which create these pulses and semiconductor receivers that detect the pulses are areas of intensive research. It is clear that semiconductor technology has and will continue to play a major role in the development of the information age. Part 4: Conclusion After the completion of the term paper on Importance Of Semiconductor discovery on Technology I got many new things to learn about. The term paper includes brief description on semiconductors, it also contains the types of Semiconductors and brief description of it. The term paper also gives the importance of Semiconductor in our day today life. It also explains the applications of semiconductor and its uses in some of the technologies. The term paper also gives future trends and research of semiconductor. Through this term paper I wanted to give the reader few ideas about what are semiconductors and about its importance. I have worked very hard on this project and wanted to build it in a very simple and lucid manner so that it could be easy for the reader to go through and understand the term paper. Hopefully, I think that you would have gained some knowledge on semiconductors and could have well understood it. I grant a sincere apologize if any mistake would have crept in my work. Part 5: References http://www.brighthub.com/engineering/electrical/articles/41694.aspx#ixzz145rf13AN http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/diode2.htm http://am.renesas.com/products/discrete/power_mos/vp/vp_landing.jsp http://matse1.matse.illinois.edu/sc/prin.html http://www.howstuffworks.com/diode.htm http://www.tpub.com/neets/book7/24a.htm http://www.gartner.com/it/products/research/asset_129174_2395.jsp