semiconductor
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.
a semiconductor device.
Origin of semiconductor
1Words Nearby semiconductor
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use semiconductor in a sentence
The company joins General Motors, Nissan, Volkswagen, Toyota, Mazda and Subaru in cutting production output — all citing the semiconductor shortage.
Reporting third-quarter data last November, the office also highlighted the role of semiconductors in driving growth in the manufacturing sector.
Semiconductors helped make Taiwan Asia’s top-performing economy in 2020 | Mary Hui | February 3, 2021 | QuartzAs many semiconductor companies increasingly focus on more complex chips, they have started to “outsource a portion of their noncore chip design,” notes Keith.
China imported $350 billion worth of semiconductors in 2020, an increase of 15% over 2019.
Beijing’s quest for chip independence is made in Taiwan | Clay Chandler | January 21, 2021 | FortuneSo when … we want to invest in the best AI semiconductor company in the world, we looked at them in China, Israel and Europe.
7 things we just learned about Sequoia’s European expansion plans | Steve O'Hear | November 23, 2020 | TechCrunch
Likewise, the semiconductor industry as we know it today originated in the highly taxed 1970s, not the 1980s.
Take Intel, which has been the leading maker of semiconductor chips for decades.
What Market Panic? Halcyon Days for Silicon Valley | Zachary Karabell | March 7, 2012 | THE DAILY BEASTThe chips that IBM has made still use traditional semiconductor materials.
It may not be the only impurity causing the peculiar behavior of this semiconductor, but it does seem a likely candidate.
The Atomic Fingerprint | Bernard Keisch
British Dictionary definitions for semiconductor
/ (ˌsɛmɪkənˈdʌktə) /
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, The behaviour may be exhibited by the pure substance (intrinsic semiconductor) or as a result of impurities (extrinsic semiconductor)
a device, such as a transistor or integrated circuit, that depends on the properties of such a substance
(as modifier): a semiconductor diode
Derived forms of semiconductor
- semiconduction, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for semiconductor
[ sĕm′ē-kən-dŭk′tər ]
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.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Cultural definitions for semiconductor
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.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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