semiconductor

[sem-ee-kuh n-duhk-ter, sem-ahy-] /ˌsɛm i kənˈdʌk tər, ˌsɛm aɪ-/

noun

a substance, as silicon or germanium, with electrical conductivity intermediate between that of an insulator and a conductor: a basic component of various kinds of electronic circuit element (semiconductor device) used in communications, control, and detection technology and in computers.

a semiconductor device.

Origin

1875-80; semi- + conductor

Examples from the web for semiconductor

The films contain gallium arsenide, a mixture of the elements gallium and arsenic that acts as a semiconductor in solar cells.
Most solar cells are made from silicon-the same semiconductor material that is at the heart of computers.
The color of the light is a direct result of the energy gap in the semiconductor of the diode.
Thin-film cells are overlaid with a layer of semiconductor material which is only a few microns thick.
semiconductor-grade silicon must be ultrapure before doping, or adding tiny amounts of impurities to change its conductivity.
The essence of the design was the ability to transfer charge along the surface of a semiconductor.
The semiconductor industry is learning from the mistakes it made during the dot-com boom.
The semiconductor industry usually has more ups and downs than a roller coaster.
What makes this possible is the addition of buffer layers between the semiconductor layers.
Reverse engineering hardware is a time-honored tradition, made famous in the early days of the semiconductor industry.

British Dictionary definitions for semiconductor

semiconductor

/ˌsɛmɪkənˈdʌktə/

noun

a substance, such as germanium or silicon, that has an electrical conductivity that increases with temperature and is intermediate between that of a metal and an insulator The behaviour may be exhibited by the pure substance (intrinsic semiconductor) or as a result of impurities (extrinsic semiconductor)

a device, such as a transistor or integrated circuit, that depends on the properties of such a substance
(as modifier): a semiconductor diode

Derived Forms

semiconduction, noun

Word Origin and History for semiconductor

1838, "material whose electrical conductivity is between that of a conductor and that of an insulator," from semi- + conductor. Modern very specific sense is recorded from 1931.

semiconductor in Science

semiconductor

(sěm'ē-kən-dŭk'tər)
Any of various solid substances, such as silicon or germanium, that conduct electricity more easily than insulators but less easily than conductors. In semiconductors, thermal energy is enough to cause a small number of electrons to escape from the valence bonds between the atoms (the valence band); they orbit instead in the higher-energy conduction band, in which they are relatively free. The resulting gaps in the valence band are called holes. Semiconductors are vital to the design of electronic components and circuitry, including transistors, laser diodes, and memory and computer processing circuits.

semiconductor in Culture

semiconductor definition

A material that conducts (see conduction) electricity, but very poorly. Silicon is the most common and familiar semiconductor. Devices made from semiconductors, such as the transistor, are the basis of the modern microelectric industry.

semiconductor in Technology

electronics
A material, typically crystaline, which allows current to flow under certain circumstances. Common semiconductors are silicon, germanium, gallium arsenide. Semiconductors are used to make diodes, transistors and other basic "solid state" electronic components.
As crystals of these materials are grown, they are "doped" with traces of other elements called donors or acceptors to make regions which are n- or p-type respectively for the electron model or p- or n-type under the hole model. Where n and p type regions adjoin, a junction is formed which will pass current in one direction (from p to n) but not the other, giving a diode.
One model of semiconductor behaviour describes the doping elements as having either free electrons or holes dangling at the points in the crystal lattice where the doping elements replace one of the atoms of the foundation material. When external electrons are applied to n-type material (which already has free electrons present) the repulsive force of like charges causes the free electrons to migrate toward the junction, where they are attracted to the holes in the p-type material. Thus the junction conducts current.
In contrast, when external electrons are applied to p-type material, the attraction of unlike charges causes the holes to migrate away from the junction and toward the source of external electrons. The junction thus becomes "depleted" of its charge carriers and is non-conducting.
(1995-10-04)