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

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 ...

As few as five electrons in a semiconductor can exhibit collective behaviour, forming a “Coulomb liquid”, according to researchers in Europe. This extends the study of correlated systems to electron ...

The semiconductor's electron-occupied outermost energy level is known as the valence band. By applying the appropriate amount of energy, electrons in the valence band's orbitals are excited into the ...

This electron requires minimal energy to be excited into the semiconductor’s conduction band. Increased Conductivity: With the introduction of donor atoms, ...

The energy gap separating the valence and conduction bands is referred to as the bandgap. Pure materials like silicon or germanium are considered intrinsic semiconductors, which possess a valence band ...

A quantum dot is a semiconductor nanostructure that confines the motion of conduction band electrons, valence band holes, or excitons (bound pairs of conduction band electrons and valence band ...

Many displays found in smartphones and televisions rely on thin-film transistors (TFTs) made from indium gallium zinc oxide ...

Definition: Band Gap Engineering is a process used in semiconductor material science to tailor the energy gap between the valence and conduction bands.This manipulation affects how electrons and holes ...