Semiconductors

Where Found

Semiconductor materials are found all over the world. The most frequently used semiconductor materials are composed of crystalline inorganic solid elements found in nature, with silicon the most common semiconductor material. Standardized semiconductor crystals are grown in laboratories, with the global semiconductor industry dominated by Taiwan, South Korea, the United States, and Japan. By 2024, Taiwan had become the world's largest producer of semiconductors, with more than 60 percent of the global market.

Primary Uses

Semiconductors form the basis for how modern technology operates. Many different types of semiconductor devices, including radios, diodes, microprocessors, computer chips, cellular phones, and power grids, utilize semiconductor materials. Integrated circuits comprise numerous interconnected semiconductors. Current “smart” technology products, such as cell phones and autonomous, or self-driving, cars, combine integrated circuits with power semiconductor technology.

Technical Definition

Semiconductors are special materials that conduct differently under different conditions and are frequently silicon-based. Semiconductors can act as a nonconductor or a conductor, depending on the polarity of electrical charge applied to it, thus leading to the term “semiconductor.” A number of elements are classified as semiconductors, including silicon, zinc, and germanium. Other materials include gallium arsenide and silicon carbide. Because silicon is readily obtained, it is the most widely used semiconductor material. These compounds have the ability to conduct electrical current and can be regulated in the amount of their conductivity. Semiconductor devices operate by utilizing electronic properties of semiconductor materials.

Description, Distribution, and Forms

Semiconductor material takes advantage of the movement of electrons between materials with varied conductive properties. Semiconductors, special materials that are frequently silicon-based, have varying electrical conductivity properties depending on specific conditions. Electrical resistance properties of semiconductor materials fall somewhere between those of a conductor and those of an insulator. Most semiconductor devices contain silicon chips with impurities embedded to conduct electricity under some conditions and not others. Silicon is the material most frequently used to create semiconductors. Applying an external electrical field to a semiconductor material changes its resistance. The ability of a semiconductor material to conduct electricity can be changed dramatically by adding other elements or “impurities,” a process known as “doping.” A pure semiconductor without impurities is called an “intrinsic” semiconductor. The amount of impurity, or dopant, added to a semiconductor determines its level of conductivity.

Semiconductors are used to control electricity flowing through a circuit, to amplify a signal, or to turn a flow of current on or off. Semiconductor devices utilize the electronic properties of semiconductor materials and have replaced vacuum tubes in most applications. They utilize the conductivity of electricity in the solid state compared with the gaseous state of a vacuum. Semiconductor devices are manufactured both as discrete devices and as integrated circuits that consist of numerous devices, ranging from a few to millions, manufactured and interconnected on a single semiconductor substrate. Typical semiconductor circuits include a combination of transistors, diodes, resistors, and capacitors that function in switching, regulating, resisting, and storing electricity. Combining smaller circuits such as these can be used to produce integrated circuits, sensors, and microcontroller chips. These devices are important in a broad spectrum of consumer products and business equipment. Devices made from semiconductor materials are the foundation of modern electronics, including radios, computers, telephones, solar cells, and many other devices. In fact, semiconductors serve as the essential component in almost every modern electronic device.

Silicon, which is extracted from sand, is the most common semiconductor material. In the 1990s, there was tremendous growth in the semiconductor materials industry. The increase in production of computers increased the need for semiconductors, with major industry centers emerging in South Korea, Taiwan, China, Singapore, Malaysia, and Hong Kong.

Throughout the twenty-first century, the market for semiconductors continued to grow around the world. However, this growth was dampened in the early 2020s due to the global spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, which contributed to major supply chain issues while spiking demand for products, such as computers, which required semiconductors. Strong demand from the automobile industry also strained global semiconductor supplies, and many auto manufacturers were unable to meet demand for electric and autonomous vehicles. While the shortage continued into 2022, by August of that year, some analysts had begun predicting increased availability of semiconductors by the end of that year. By 2024, Taiwan had become the world leader in semiconductor manufacturing. Its semiconductors were manufactured at the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC). In 2024, Taiwan produced $737.28 billion in semiconductors.

History

Semiconductor materials were studied in laboratories as early as 1830. Over the years, many semiconductor materials have been researched. The first materials studied were a group of elements and compounds that were generally poor conductors if heated. Shining light on some of them would generate an electrical current that could pass through them only in one direction.

In the electronics field, semiconductors were used for some time before the invention of the transistor. By 1874, electricity was used not only to carry power but also to carry information. The telegraph, the telephone, and, later, the radio were the earliest devices in an industry that would later be called electronics. In the early part of the twentieth century, semiconductors became common as detectors in radios, used in a device called a “cat’s whisker.” The cat’s whisker diode was created using the galena crystal, a semiconductor material composed of lead sulfide, and was considered the first semiconductor device. In the late 1950s, a process called “planar technology” enabled scientists to diffuse various layers onto the surface of a silicon wafer to make a transistor with a layer of protective oxide in the junctions, making commercial production of integrated circuits possible.

Obtaining Semiconductors

Most semiconductor chips and transistors are created with silicon, because the material is easily obtained. Semiconductors with predictable and reliable electronic properties are required for commercial production of semiconductor devices. Because the presence of even small amounts of impurities can result in large effects on properties of the material, an extremely high level of chemical purity is necessary. High crystalline perfection is also necessary because faults in structure interfere with semiconducting properties. Consequently, most semiconductors are grown in laboratories as crystals. Commercial production uses crystal ingots between 10 and 30 centimeters in diameter. These crystals are grown as cylinders up to 2 meters in length and weighing several hundred kilograms. They are sliced thin, into wafers of standardized dimensions. The Czochralski process is a method for growing single crystals of semiconductors and results in high-purity crystals.

Uses of Semiconductors

Semiconductor substances, commonly composed of silicon, germanium, or compounds of gallium, are the basis of integrated circuits controlling computers, cell phones, and other electronic devices. Semiconductors serve as essential components in almost every electronic device in use. From outdated items such as transistor radios to continuously evolving ones such as the computer, semiconductors are responsible for current technology. Modern semiconductor devices include transistors, diodes, resistors, and capacitors. They are found in televisions, automobiles, washing machines, and computers. Automobiles use semiconductors to control air-conditioning, injection processes, ignition processes, sunroofs, mirrors, and steering. Any item that is computerized or uses radio waves depends on semiconductors in order to function. Power semiconductor devices combine integrated circuits with power semiconductor technology, devices often referred to as “smart” power devices. Semiconductors serve essential roles in the control of motor systems by optimizing a wide array of manufacturing and industrial motor systems responsible for production of many diverse goods. Semiconductors are also used in light-emitting diode lighting. All items that use sensors or controllers rely on semiconductor materials.

Semiconductor-based power electronics are crucial tools in the battle for energy efficiency. Semiconductor technologies have enabled both performance and energy efficiency improvements in telecommunication devices such as radios, televisions, emergency response networks, and networking technology, processes that require increasingly fast speeds and data-management capabilities. Semiconductors have helped increase efficiency of transportation in the United States, with automobiles increasing their fuel economy by more that 70 percent since 1980; electric and self-driving vehicles, which became increasingly available to consumers starting in the 2010s, also make use of semiconductors.

Semiconductor technologies are used in diverse capacities to enhance home life, business, and personal communications. Semiconductor technologies lead to industrial productivity and enhanced energy efficiency and use. Although there are many modern uses of semiconductors, their application in future devices appears unlimited.

Bibliography

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