Charge-Unified Semiconductor Switching Theory
Semiconductors and their downstream applications sustain the electronic, information, energy and industrial systems underpinning modern society. Improving their sustainability is therefore an urgent global priority, particularly as global electricity generation is projected to increase more than 2.5 fold by 2050. Yet, since the invention of the transistor in 1947, a unified, global view of circuit elements as media for charge redistribution and transfer one that reveals switching inertia and the dynamical nature of switching while connecting microscopic and macroscopic domains across the semiconductor value chain through a common theoretical language has remained absent. Switching consequently lacks a unified mechanistic account of its physical origins and spatiotemporal evolution, with fundamental disconnects between charge- and energy-conservation frameworks, among carrier dynamic mechanisms and across equivalent-circuit formalisms. These limitations fragment research domains and impede sustainability gains, particularly those requiring cross-domain causal information. Here, we present Charge-Unified Semiconductor Switching Theory (CUSST), a general theory that unifies circuit elements through a charge-mediated view, reveals switching inertia and the dynamical nature of switching, bridges these long-standing disconnects and establishes a unified conceptual, mechanistic, formal and analytical framework. Through these unifications, CUSST provides an unusually simple representation of otherwise fragmented switching phenomena. It establishes a unified micro-macro spatiotemporal view of switching, generalizes circuit theory, extends the application of conservation laws and provides a foundation for developing new theoretical systems.