Editing Semiconductor device (section)

{{Short description|Electronic component that exploits the electronic properties of semiconductor materials}}
{{For|information on semiconductor physics|Semiconductor}}
{{More citations needed|date=July 2017}}
[[File:Semiconductor outlines.jpg|thumb|Outlines of some packaged semiconductor devices]]

A '''semiconductor device''' is an [[electronic component]] that relies on the [[electronics|electronic]] properties of a [[semiconductor]] material (primarily [[silicon]], [[germanium]], and [[gallium arsenide]], as well as [[organic semiconductor]]s) for its function. Its conductivity lies between conductors and insulators. Semiconductor devices have replaced [[vacuum tube]]s in most applications. They [[electrical conductivity|conduct]] [[electric current]] in the [[solid-state electronics|solid state]], rather than as free electrons across a [[vacuum]] (typically liberated by [[thermionic emission]]) or as free electrons and ions through [[electric discharge in gases|an ionized gas]].

Semiconductor devices are manufactured both as single [[discrete device]]s and as [[integrated circuit]]s, which consist of two or more devices—which can number from the hundreds to the billions—manufactured and interconnected on a single semiconductor [[wafer (electronics)|wafer]] (also called a substrate).

Semiconductor materials are useful because their behavior can be easily manipulated by the deliberate addition of impurities, known as [[doping (semiconductor)|doping]]. Semiconductor [[electrical conductivity|conductivity]] can be controlled by the introduction of an electric or magnetic field, by exposure to [[light]] or heat, or by the mechanical deformation of a doped [[monocrystalline silicon]] grid; thus, semiconductors can make excellent sensors. Current conduction in a semiconductor occurs due to mobile or "free" [[electrons]] and [[electron hole]]s, collectively known as [[charge carrier]]s. Doping a semiconductor with a small proportion of an atomic impurity, such as [[phosphorus]] or [[boron]], greatly increases the number of free electrons or holes within the semiconductor. When a doped semiconductor contains excess holes, it is called a [[p-type semiconductor]] (''p'' for positive [[electric charge]]); when it contains excess free electrons, it is called an [[n-type semiconductor]] (''n'' for a negative electric charge). A majority of mobile charge carriers have negative charges. The manufacture of semiconductors controls precisely the location and concentration of p- and n-type dopants. The connection of n-type and p-type semiconductors form [[p–n junction]]s.

The most common semiconductor device in the world is the [[MOSFET]] (metal–oxide–semiconductor [[field-effect transistor]]),<ref name="Golio">{{cite book |last1=Golio |first1=Mike |last2=Golio |first2=Janet |title=RF and Microwave Passive and Active Technologies |date=2018 |publisher=[[CRC Press]] |isbn=9781420006728 |page=18-2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MCj9jxSVQKIC&pg=SA18-PA2}}</ref> also called the MOS [[transistor]]. As of 2013, billions of MOS transistors are manufactured every day.<ref name="computer history-transistor">{{cite web |title=Who Invented the Transistor? |url=https://www.computerhistory.org/atchm/who-invented-the-transistor/ |website=[[Computer History Museum]] |date=4 December 2013 |access-date=20 July 2019}}</ref> Semiconductor devices made per year have been growing by 9.1% on average since 1978, and shipments in 2018 are predicted for the first time to exceed 1 trillion,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.icinsights.com/news/bulletins/Semiconductor-Shipments-Forecast-To-Exceed-1-Trillion-Devices-In-2018/|title=Semiconductor Shipments Forecast to Exceed 1 Trillion Devices in 2018|quote=Annual semiconductor unit shipments (integrated circuits and Opto-sensor-discrete, or O-S-D, devices) are expected to grow 9% [..] For 2018, semiconductor unit shipments are forecast to climb to 1,075.1 billion, which equates to 9% growth for the year. Starting in 1978 with 32.6 billion units and going through 2018, the compound annual growth rate for semiconductor units is forecast to be 9.1%, a solid growth figure over the 40-year span.<!--
Over the span of just four years (2004-2007), semiconductor shipments broke through the 400-, 500-, and 600-billion unit levels before the global financial meltdown caused a big decline in semiconductor unit shipments in 2008 and 2009--> [..] In 2018, O-S-D devices are forecast to account for 70% of total semiconductor units compared to 30% for ICs.|website=www.icinsights.com|access-date=2018-04-16}}</ref> meaning that well over 7 <!--7.3+ in the decade prior just adding from the graph--> trillion have been made to date.