Semiconductor materials



         


Semiconductor materials are insulators at zero temperature that conduct electricity in a limited way at room temperature (see also Semiconductor). The defining property of a semiconductor material is that it can be doped with impurities that alter its electronic properties in a controllable way.

Because of their application in devices like transistors (and therefore computers) and lasers, the search for new semiconductor materials and the improvement of existing materials is an important field of study in materials science.

The most commonly used semiconductor materials are crystalline inorganic solids. These materials can be classified according to the periodic table groups from which their constituent atoms come.

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List of semiconductor materials






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