Concepts
Semiconductor
Physical Concept
Citation Formats
General Reference
APA Style
BibTeX
A material whose electrical conductivity lies between that of a conductor and an insulator, and which can be precisely controlled by chemical doping. Devices built from semiconducting materials, most consequentially the point-contact transistor built at Bell Labs in 1947, replaced the vacuum tube and became the physical basis of every digital computer since. Computing Atlas describes the semiconductor as the concept underlying the field's hardware and its practice in computation; the materials science of doping and crystal growth is Technology Atlas's own subject, linked here by cross-atlas edge.
Facts
Disputed
Origin YearSemiconducting materials were studied through the 19th century, but the concept's practical significance to computing is usually dated to the invention of the point-contact transistor at Bell Labs in 1947, the first semiconductor device to replace the vacuum tube. Core PrincipleConductivity between that of a conductor and an insulator, controllable by doping, temperature and applied electric field, is what makes a semiconductor useful as a switch or amplifier rather than a passive material. 1 Cross-Tradition Connections
In the Other Atlases
- Also in Technology and Engineering Atlas: Jack Kilby, was influenced by this subject there.
- Also in Technology and Engineering Atlas: John Bardeen, was influenced by this subject there.
- Also in Technology and Engineering Atlas: Robert Noyce, was influenced by this subject there.
- Also in Technology and Engineering Atlas: Semiconductor Doping, was influenced by this subject there.
- Also in Technology and Engineering Atlas: Silicon, originated there.
- Also in Technology and Engineering Atlas: Walter Brattain, was influenced by this subject there.
- Also in Technology and Engineering Atlas: William Shockley, was influenced by this subject there.
Sources
Reader Challenges (0 open reader challenges)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.
Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.
View At A Past Year
The atlas records no dated fact of its own for this entry, so there is no other year to choose.