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Technology ArticleSemiconductors for electronic technology A Semiconductor is a solid material that has electrical conductivity in between a conductor and an insulator; it can vary over that wide range either permanently or dynamically. Semiconductors are important in electronic technology. Semiconductor devices, electronic components made of semiconductor materials, are essential in modern consumer electronics, including computers, mobile phones, and digital audio players. Silicon is used to create most semiconductors commercially, but dozens of other materials are used as well. Explaining semiconductor energy bands There are three popular ways to describe the electronic structure of a crystal. Energy level splitting due to electron energy level Pauli exclusion The first starts from single atoms. An atom has discrete energy levels. When two atoms come close each energy level splits into an upper and a lower level, whereby they delocalize across the two atoms. With more atoms the number of levels increases, and groups of levels form bands. Semiconductors contain many bands. If there is a large distance between the highest occupied state and the lowest unoccupied space, then a gap will likely remain between occupied and unoccupied bands even after band formation. Wikipedia Disclaimer Above information is from wikipedia and is freely distributed under the GNU license Also See: All Articles |