The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to semiconductors:
Semiconductor – material whose electrical conductivity lies between that of a conductor and an insulator. Semiconductors form the basis of most modern electronics, including transistors, integrated circuits, solar cells, light-emitting diodes, and many other electronic and optoelectronic devices.
Fundamentals Semiconductor Solid-state physics Electronic band structure Band gap Conduction band Valence band Fermi level Charge carrier Electron Electron hole Electron mobility Carrier generation and recombination Electrical conductivity Doping (semiconductor) Intrinsic semiconductor Extrinsic semiconductor N-type semiconductor P-type semiconductor P–n junction Heterojunction Schottky barrier Quantum tunnelling Photoconductivity Hall effect
Semiconductor materials
Amorphous semiconductor Compound semiconductor Magnetic semiconductor Organic semiconductor Two-dimensional semiconductor Wide-bandgap semiconductor
Elemental semiconductors Diamond Germanium Selenium Silicon Amorphous silicon Crystalline silicon Tellurium
Compound semiconductors
Aluminium gallium arsenide Cadmium telluride Gallium arsenide Gallium nitride Gallium phosphide Indium arsenide Indium gallium arsenide Indium gallium nitride Indium phosphide Silicon carbide Silicon–germanium Zinc oxide
Types by chemical composition
I–VII II–V II–VI III III–V IV IV–VI V–VI VI I–III–VI2
Other types Charge-transfer complexes Magnetic semiconductors Metal-organic framework semiconductors Organic semiconductors
Semiconductor devices Semiconductor device Discrete device
Diodes Diode Avalanche diode Laser diode Light-emitting diode PIN diode Photodiode Schottky diode Tunnel diode Varicap Zener diode
Transistors Transistor Bipolar junction transistor Field-effect transistor Junction field-effect transistor MOSFET FinFET Gate-all-around FET High-electron-mobility transistor Phototransistor Thin-film transistor
Power semiconductor devices Power semiconductor device Power MOSFET Insulated-gate bipolar transistor Thyristor Silicon controlled rectifier TRIAC
Optoelectronic devices Optoelectronics Photodetector Avalanche photodiode Photodiode Light-emitting diode Laser diode Image sensor Charge-coupled device Active-pixel sensor
Integrated circuits Integrated circuit Application-specific integrated circuit Analog integrated circuit Digital integrated circuit Field-programmable gate array Mixed-signal integrated circuit Radio-frequency integrated circuit System on a chip
Processors AI accelerator Central processing unit Digital signal processor Graphics processing unit Microcontroller Microprocessor Neural processing unit
Semiconductor memory Semiconductor memory Volatile memory Random-access memory Static random-access memory Dynamic random-access memory High Bandwidth Memory Non-volatile memory Read-only memory EEPROM Flash memory NAND flash Magnetoresistive random-access memory Ferroelectric RAM Phase-change memory Resistive random-access memory
Integrated circuit design Integrated circuit design Circuit design Semiconductor intellectual property core Standard cell Process design kit
Hardware description and logic design Hardware description language Verilog VHDL SystemVerilog Register-transfer level Logic design Logic synthesis
Verification Formal verification Functional verification Hardware verification language Static timing analysis
Physical design Physical design (electronics) Integrated circuit layout Place and route Design rule checking Mask data preparation Tape-out
Electronic design automation software
Electronic design automation
Technology CAD and process simulation Technology CAD Semiconductor process simulation Semiconductor device modeling
Circuit simulation Electronic circuit simulation SPICE Ngspice LTspice
Hardware simulation and verification Formal verification Icarus Verilog Layout versus schematic List of HDL simulators ModelSim Verilator
Logic synthesis and physical design Logic synthesis Physical design (electronics) Place and route Routing (electronic design automation) OpenROAD Project Magic Electric
EDA companies Cadence Design Systems Siemens EDA Silvaco Synopsys
Semiconductor manufacturing
Semiconductor device fabrication Semiconductor fabrication plant Cleanroom Wafer (electronics)
Crystal and wafer production Monocrystalline silicon Czochralski process Float-zone silicon Silicon on insulator Epitaxy
Lithography and patterning Photolithography Extreme ultraviolet lithography Immersion lithography Electron-beam lithography Nanoimprint lithography Photoresist Photomask Spin coating Stepper Mask aligner
Deposition and crystal growth Chemical vapor deposition Physical vapor deposition Atomic layer deposition Sputter deposition Molecular-beam epitaxy Metalorganic vapour-phase epitaxy Thermal oxidation
Etching and material removal Etching Plasma etching Reactive-ion etching Deep reactive-ion etching Atomic layer etching Chemical-mechanical polishing
Doping and modification Doping (semiconductor) Ion implantation Rapid thermal processing Thermal oxidation
Cleaning and contamination control RCA clean Cleanroom Ultrapure water
Front-end and back-end processing Front end of line Back end of line Electromigration
Process technology and scaling MOSFET scaling Process node Moore's law Dennard scaling
Semiconductor packaging Integrated circuit packaging Die (integrated circuit) Wafer dicing Wire bonding Flip chip Ball grid array Chip scale package Wafer-level packaging Through-silicon via Multi-chip module System in a package Package on a package Three-dimensional integrated circuit Chiplet
Semiconductor testing and reliability Wafer testing Wafer prober Automatic test equipment Design for testing Built-in self-test JTAG Burn-in Failure analysis Probe card Reliability engineering Yield
Semiconductor manufacturing processes and equipment Atomic force microscopy Atomic layer deposition Chemical-mechanical polishing Chemical vapor deposition Dicing saw Ellipsometry Ion implantation Mask aligner Photomask Probe card Reactive-ion etching Scanning electron microscope Stepper Wafer prober
Photovoltaics and solar energy conversion Photovoltaics Photovoltaic effect Solar cell Solar cell research List of types of solar cells
Semiconductor solar cells Anti-reflective coating Concentrator photovoltaics Crystalline silicon Dye-sensitized solar cell Luminescent solar concentrator Multi-junction solar cell Organic solar cell Perovskite solar cell Plasmonic solar cell Quantum dot solar cell Thin-film solar cell Amorphous silicon Cadmium telluride photovoltaics Copper indium gallium selenide solar cell
Photoelectrochemistry and artificial photosynthesis Photoelectrochemistry Photoelectrochemical cell Photoelectrolysis of water Photocatalysis Photocatalytic water splitting Artificial photosynthesis Biohybrid solar cell
Photonics and light-emitting semiconductors Photonics Optoelectronics Semiconductor laser Laser diode Light-emitting diode Solid-state lighting Photodetector Photonic integrated circuit Silicon photonics
Applications
Computing AI accelerator Computer hardware Data center Embedded system Graphics processing unit Microcontroller Microprocessor
Communications Microwave engineering Mobile phone Optical fiber communication Photonics Radio-frequency engineering Telecommunications
Consumer and industrial electronics Automation Consumer electronics Industrial electronics Internet of things Robotics
Transportation Automotive electronics Avionics Electric vehicle Railway signalling
Power and energy Inverter (electrical) Photovoltaics Power electronics Power semiconductor device Renewable energy Smart grid
Sensing and imaging Digital camera Image sensor Lidar Medical imaging Microelectromechanical systems Sensor
Advanced and emerging semiconductor technologies
Advanced transistor technologies FinFET Gate-all-around FET High-electron-mobility transistor Tunnel field-effect transistor
Advanced materials Magnetic semiconductor Organic semiconductor Two-dimensional semiconductor Wide-bandgap semiconductor Gallium nitride Silicon carbide
Quantum semiconductor structures Quantum confinement Quantum well Quantum wire Quantum dot Semiconductor heterostructure Superlattice
Advanced integration Chiplet Multi-chip module System in a package Three-dimensional integrated circuit Through-silicon via
Emerging computing and electronics Flexible electronics Neuromorphic computing Photonic integrated circuit Printed electronics Silicon photonics Spintronics Wafer-scale integration
Semiconductor industry Semiconductor industry Integrated device manufacturer Fabless manufacturing Foundry model Semiconductor fabrication plant Outsourced semiconductor assembly and test Semiconductor consolidation 2020–2023 global chip shortage CHIPS and Science Act
Semiconductor industry by country Semiconductor industry in China Semiconductor industry in Japan Semiconductor industry in South Korea Semiconductor industry in Taiwan Semiconductor industry in the United States
Major companies
Fabless companies AMD Alchip Broadcom Cirrus Logic Marvell Technology MediaTek Nvidia Qualcomm Realtek Silicon Labs UNISOC
Foundries GlobalFoundries Hua Hong Powerchip SMIC TSMC Tower Semiconductor UMC Vanguard X-FAB
Integrated device manufacturers Infineon Technologies Intel Kioxia Micron Technology NXP Semiconductors Onsemi Renesas Electronics Samsung Electronics SK Hynix STMicroelectronics Texas Instruments
Equipment companies Advantest Applied Materials ASM International ASML Axcelis Technologies KLA Corporation Kokusai Electric Lam Research SCREEN Holdings Teradyne Tokyo Electron
History Crystal detector Point-contact transistor History of the transistor Bell Labs Shockley Semiconductor Laboratory Traitorous eight Fairchild Semiconductor Silicon Valley Planar process MOSFET Invention of the integrated circuit Microprocessor Very Large Scale Integration Moore's law
Research organizations and institutions Albany NanoTech Complex Birck Nanotechnology Center (Purdue University) CEA-Leti IMEC Industrial Technology Research Institute Semiconductor Research Corporation
Industry and technical organizations Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers International Roadmap for Devices and Systems International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors JEDEC SEMI
Books Chip War Crystal Fire: The Birth of the Information Age Electrons and Holes in Semiconductors with Applications to Transistor Electronics The Art of Electronics The Idea Factory
Lists List of integrated circuit manufacturers List of semiconductor companies in the United States List of semiconductor fabrication plants List of semiconductor materials List of semiconductor occupations List of system on a chip suppliers List of types of solar cells
See also Outline of electronics Outline of electrical engineering Outline of nanotechnology Outline of computing Outline of physics Outline of energy Microelectronics Nanoelectronics Solid-state electronics Materials science
References