semiconductor

[sem-ee-kuhn-duhk-ter, sem-ahy-]

noun

1. 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.

2. a semiconductor device.

semiconductor

/ ˌsɛmɪkənˈdʌktə /

noun

1. 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

2. 1. a device, such as a transistor or integrated circuit, that depends on the properties of such a substance

   2. ( as modifier )

      a semiconductor diode

semiconductor

1. 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

1. 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.

Other Word Forms

• semiconduction noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of semiconductor¹

First recorded in 1875–80; semi- + conductor

Example Sentences

Alphabet last year increased production of semiconductors, an effort that potentially reduces reliance on outside vendors.

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The moves highlight Google’s emerging presence in the AI semiconductor space, where Nvidia maintains a commanding lead in terms of market share thanks to cutting-edge systems and software that remain the benchmark for computing performance.

Read more on Barron's

Analog Devices is benefiting from a recovery in the highly cyclical market for analog semiconductors, which measure things like sound, temperature, and light.

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The company said it trained its new Gemini 3 model on tensor processing units, its custom chips, and there seems to be growing outside interest in Google’s semiconductor work.

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The company said it trained its new Gemini 3 model on tensor processing units, its custom chips, and there seems to be growing outside interest in Google’s semiconductor work.

Read more on MarketWatch