Semiconductors are at the heart of most electronics. We explain what semiconductors are, how they work, and just how tiny those transistors can get.

Revise conductors, semiconductors, insulators and p-n junctions for your Higher physics exam with Bitesize Scotland interactive ... giving electrons enough energy to enter the conduction band ...

In conductors, the valence band (which holds electrons) and the conduction band (where electrons move freely) overlap, enabling easy electron flow. Insulators, by contrast, have a large band gap ...

Conductors have a band gap close to 0 eV (electronvolts), semiconductors range approximately between 1 and 9 eV, and anything above is usually considered an insulator.

Conductors, semiconductors and insulators are differentiated by their band gap, which essentially measures how much energy electrons need to move freely through the material.

A material’s band gap describes the energy difference between that material’s valence and conduction bands. An insulator will have a large band gap, making it impossible for electrons to circulate by ...

Insulators have a wide band gap that is difficult for electrons to cross without absorbing a great deal of energy, if they can cross it at all. By contrast, conductors have a band gap that is ...