What Is a Semiconductor?

Semiconductors are substances with electrical properties that allow them to serve as a foundational element in computers and other electronic devices. As they are an ideal medium for controlling electrical current in various appliances, semiconductors typically consist of a solid element that can conduct electricity in some instances, but not in others.

Conductors are substances that are able to conduct electricity, while insulators cannot. As such, semiconductors possess properties of both types of substances; they are used to make diodes, integrated circuits, and transistors. This means that the conductance of a semiconductor is different depending on the current or voltage being applied to a control electrode or the intensity of irradiation by infrared, visible light, ultraviolet, or x-rays.

How Do Semiconductors Work?

Semiconductors are considered a crystal structure fabricated from many different materials, and in order to understand their function, knowledge of how electrons are organized in an atom is necessary. To start, electrons are arranged in layers called shells inside the atom, and the outermost shell is called the valence shell. The electrons of the valence shell form bonds with other atoms, many of which are covalent bonds. Typically, conductors have one electron in their valence shell, while semiconductors tend to have four. If nearby atoms have the same valence, electrons will likely bind with the valence electrons of other atoms. When this happens, atoms are organized into crystal structures that comprise a semiconductor.

Semiconductor Types

In N-type semiconductors, negatively charged electrons carry current like a wire would conduct it. On the other hand, P-type semiconductors carry current as electron deficiencies known as holes which have a positive electric charge that is equal and opposite to that of an electron. In semiconductors, the holes flow in the opposite direction of the electrons.

Semiconductors tend to be made of elements including antimony, arsenic, boron, carbon, germanium, selenium, silicon, sulfur, and tellurium, with silicon being the most widely known and used. Other common semiconductor compounds include gallium arsenide, indium antimonide, and most metal oxides.

Semiconductor Uses

There are four general product categories which semiconductors fall into: memory, microprocessors, commodity integrated circuits, and complex system-on-chips (SOCs). To start, memory chips temporarily store data and pass that information to and from the brains of the computer device. Next, microprocessors serve as central processing units that possess the basic logic to perform tasks. Commodity integrated circuits, also called standard chips, are made in large batches for routine processing.

Finally, complex SOCs, also called “systems on a chip,” involve creating an integrated circuit chip that features an entire system’s capability. This industry is focused on developing products with new features and more affordability.

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