What is a Semiconductor?

Table of Contents

I. Definition

A semiconductor refers to a material whose electrical conductivity lies between that of a conductor and an insulator at room temperature. Semiconductors form the foundation of modern electronics and are extensively used in integrated circuits, consumer electronics, communication systems, photovoltaic power generation, lighting applications, and high-power conversion systems. Diodes, transistors, and numerous other electronic devices are manufactured using semiconductor materials.

From both technological and economic perspectives, the importance of semiconductors cannot be overstated. The core components of most contemporary electronic products—including computers, smartphones, digital recorders, and artificial intelligence systems—are fundamentally dependent on semiconductor technology. Common semiconductor materials include silicon (Si), germanium (Ge), gallium arsenide (GaAs), silicon carbide (SiC), and gallium nitride (GaN). Among these, silicon remains the most commercially significant semiconductor material, accounting for over 95% of all semiconductor devices manufactured globally.

Matter exists in various forms: solid, liquid, gas, plasma, and others. Materials with poor electrical conductivity—such as coal, certain artificial crystals, amber, and ceramics—are classified as insulators. Conversely, materials with excellent conductivity—including metals like gold, silver, copper, iron, tin, and aluminum—are termed conductors. Semiconductors occupy the intermediate position between these two categories. Until the 1930s, when material purification technology advanced significantly, the existence and unique properties of semiconductors were not fully recognized by the scientific community. Today, from both scientific and economic standpoints, semiconductors profoundly influence daily work, communication, entertainment, transportation, healthcare, and virtually every aspect of modern civilization.

Silicon wafer - the foundation of modern semiconductor technology

II. History

The discovery of semiconductor phenomena extends back nearly two centuries, with several pivotal observations laying the groundwork for modern semiconductor technology.

In 1833, Michael Faraday, often called the father of electromagnetism, first discovered that the electrical resistance of silver sulfide (Ag₂S) exhibited behavior opposite to that of ordinary metals. While the resistance of typical metals increases with temperature, Faraday observed that silver sulfide's resistance decreased as temperature rose. This negative temperature coefficient of resistance represented the first documented observation of a semiconductor phenomenon.

In 1839, French physicist Edmond Becquerel discovered that a junction formed between a semiconductor and an electrolyte would generate a voltage when exposed to light. This photovoltaic effect, later recognized as the second characteristic property of semiconductors, would eventually lead to the development of solar cells more than a century later.

In 1873, Willoughby Smith of the United Kingdom discovered the photoconductance effect in selenium crystals, observing that their electrical conductance increased dramatically under illumination. This photoconductivity represents the third characteristic property of semiconductors and found early applications in light-sensitive devices.

In 1874, German physicist Karl Ferdinand Braun observed that the conductance of certain sulfide materials depended on the direction of the applied electric field—that is, their conductivity was directional. When a forward voltage was applied, the material conducted electricity; when the polarity was reversed, it did not. This rectifying effect constitutes the fourth characteristic property of semiconductors. In the same year, Arthur Schuster discovered similar rectification behavior in copper and copper oxide junctions.

Although these four fundamental characteristics of semiconductors were discovered before 1880, the term "semiconductor" was not formally introduced until 1911 by researchers Königsberger and Weiss. The comprehensive theoretical understanding of these phenomena was not achieved until December 1947, when researchers at Bell Laboratories—John Bardeen, Walter Brattain, and William Shockley—successfully demonstrated the first point-contact transistor, ushering in the modern semiconductor era. This breakthrough earned them the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1956.

In October 2019, an international research team announced a significant advancement in semiconductor characterization techniques. Compared to traditional Hall effect measurements that yield only three parameters, the new technology can extract up to seven parameters at each test illumination intensity, including the mobility of electrons and holes, charge carrier density under illumination, recombination lifetime, and diffusion lengths for electrons, holes, and bipolar carriers. This advancement has enabled more precise characterization of emerging semiconductor materials.

III. Classification and Performance

1. Elemental Semiconductor

Elemental semiconductors are composed of a single chemical element and represent the earliest studied category of semiconductor materials. These are solid materials with semiconducting properties consisting of atoms of the same element. Their electrical characteristics are highly sensitive to trace impurities and external conditions such as temperature, pressure, and electromagnetic fields.

Currently, silicon (Si) and germanium (Ge) are the most well-developed and widely utilized elemental semiconductors, with silicon dominating the semiconductor industry. Selenium (Se) finds specialized applications in photovoltaic devices and optoelectronics. Silicon's preeminence in the semiconductor industry is largely attributable to the exceptional properties of silicon dioxide (SiO₂), which can form a stable, high-quality insulating layer on silicon surfaces. This native oxide serves as an effective mask during device fabrication, significantly improves the stability and reliability of semiconductor devices, and facilitates automated industrial-scale production processes.

Single-crystal germanium wafer

2. Inorganic Composite Semiconductor

Inorganic compound semiconductors are composed of two or more elements and offer a broader range of properties than elemental semiconductors. The principal categories include compounds formed between elements from different groups of the periodic table: Groups III-V (such as GaAs, GaN, InP), Groups II-VI (such as CdTe, ZnSe), Groups IV-IV (such as SiC), and various other combinations.

However, not all elemental combinations yield materials suitable for semiconductor applications, as this depends on crystal structure, bonding characteristics, and manufacturing feasibility. These compound semiconductors are particularly valued for high-speed electronic devices. For instance, indium phosphide (InP) transistors exhibit superior electron mobility compared to silicon, enabling faster switching speeds. InP is extensively employed in optoelectronic integrated circuits, fiber-optic communication systems, and radiation-hardened devices for aerospace applications.

Gallium arsenide (GaAs) combines high electron mobility with direct bandgap properties, making it ideal for high-frequency applications, microwave devices, and optoelectronics. Light-emitting diodes (LEDs), laser diodes, and solar cells for space applications frequently utilize GaAs and related III-V compounds.

3. Organic Compound Semiconductor

Organic semiconductors are carbon-based compounds featuring conjugated π-electron systems. In these materials, alternating single and double bonds create delocalized electron clouds perpendicular to the molecular backbone, forming conduction pathways. Through chemical doping or modification, charge carriers can be introduced into the energy bands, enabling electrical conductivity and creating functional organic semiconductor materials.

Compared to conventional inorganic semiconductors, organic semiconductors offer several distinctive advantages: significantly lower material and processing costs, excellent solution processability enabling large-area fabrication, mechanical flexibility allowing bendable and stretchable devices, and tunable electronic properties through molecular engineering. These characteristics have led to widespread applications in organic thin-film transistors (OTFTs), organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) for display technology, organic photovoltaics (OPVs), and flexible electronics for wearable devices.

4. Amorphous Semiconductor

Amorphous semiconductors, also known as glassy semiconductors, constitute a class of non-crystalline semiconductor materials. Like other amorphous materials, they exhibit short-range atomic order but lack the long-range periodic structure characteristic of crystalline materials. Amorphous silicon (a-Si), for example, is formed by disrupting the regular tetrahedral network of crystalline silicon through techniques such as plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition.

The fundamental distinction between crystalline and amorphous states lies in whether the atomic arrangement exhibits long-range periodicity. While the electrical properties of amorphous semiconductors are generally more difficult to control precisely than their crystalline counterparts, advances in deposition and passivation technologies have enabled practical applications. The manufacturing processes for amorphous semiconductors are relatively simple and cost-effective, making them particularly suitable for large-area applications.

Amorphous silicon demonstrates excellent optical absorption characteristics, particularly for visible light, making it highly effective for photovoltaic applications. It is extensively used in thin-film solar cells, particularly for building-integrated photovoltaics and consumer electronics. Additionally, amorphous silicon serves as the active layer in thin-film transistors (TFTs) for liquid crystal displays (LCDs) and is increasingly employed in flexible electronics.

5. Intrinsic Semiconductor

An intrinsic semiconductor is an extremely pure semiconductor material containing no intentional impurities and minimal lattice defects. At absolute zero temperature, the valence band of an intrinsic semiconductor is completely filled with electrons, while the conduction band is empty, rendering the material non-conductive. However, at finite temperatures, thermal energy excites some electrons from the valence band across the forbidden energy gap (bandgap) into the conduction band.

When an electron is promoted to the conduction band, it leaves behind a positively charged vacancy in the valence band called a hole. Although hole conduction does not involve actual movement of positive charges, it represents an equivalent and convenient description of electron motion in the valence band. Under an applied electric field, both electrons in the conduction band and holes in the valence band undergo directional motion, generating a macroscopic current. This dual-carrier conduction mechanism is termed intrinsic conduction.

Electrons in the conduction band can recombine with holes in the valence band, causing electron-hole pairs to disappear. The energy released during recombination is emitted either as electromagnetic radiation (photons, resulting in luminescence) or as lattice vibrations (phonons, producing heat). At any given temperature, the generation and recombination of electron-hole pairs reach a dynamic equilibrium, establishing a characteristic carrier density and corresponding electrical resistivity.

As temperature increases, more electron-hole pairs are thermally generated, increasing carrier density and decreasing resistivity. Pure intrinsic semiconductors without lattice defects exhibit relatively high resistivity and limited practical utility. In practice, controlled introduction of specific impurities (doping) creates extrinsic semiconductors with precisely tailored electrical properties, forming the basis for virtually all semiconductor devices.

IV. Semiconductor Applications

Semiconductors have become indispensable in modern technology, finding applications across integrated circuits, consumer electronics, telecommunications infrastructure, renewable energy systems, solid-state lighting, and power electronics. The semiconductor industry has grown into a global market exceeding $600 billion annually as of 2024, driven by increasing demand for computing power, mobile connectivity, artificial intelligence, and sustainable energy solutions.

1. Photovoltaic Application

The photovoltaic effect in semiconductor materials forms the fundamental operating principle of solar cells. Semiconductor-based photovoltaics have emerged as one of the fastest-growing clean energy technologies globally, with installations expanding exponentially over the past two decades. The primary criterion for evaluating solar cell performance is the photoelectric conversion efficiency—the percentage of incident solar energy converted into electrical energy. Higher conversion efficiency translates directly into greater power output per unit area and improved economic viability.

Solar cells are categorized according to their semiconductor materials into three main families: crystalline silicon cells, thin-film cells, and III-V compound cells. Crystalline silicon solar cells, including both monocrystalline and polycrystalline variants, dominate the commercial market due to their excellent efficiency-cost balance. As of 2025, the highest confirmed efficiency for crystalline silicon research cells has reached approximately 27.8%, approaching the theoretical Shockley-Queisser limit for single-junction cells of about 33%.

Thin-film solar cells utilize materials such as cadmium telluride (CdTe), copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS), and amorphous silicon. While generally exhibiting lower efficiencies than crystalline silicon, thin-film technologies offer advantages in manufacturing cost, material usage, and flexibility, making them suitable for building-integrated photovoltaics and specialized applications.

III-V compound solar cells, particularly multi-junction cells based on gallium arsenide and related materials, achieve the highest efficiencies among all photovoltaic technologies, exceeding 39% for research cells and approaching 47% for concentrated photovoltaic systems. However, their high cost restricts applications primarily to aerospace and concentrated solar power systems.

2025 Breakthrough: Perovskite-Silicon Tandem Solar Cells

A major advancement in photovoltaic technology has been the development of perovskite-silicon tandem solar cells, which stack a perovskite top cell on a silicon bottom cell to capture a broader spectrum of sunlight. In April 2025, LONGi Solar achieved a world-record certified efficiency of 34.85% for a two-terminal crystalline silicon-perovskite tandem cell, surpassing the theoretical efficiency limit of single-junction cells. Oxford PV has demonstrated tandem solar panels with 25% module efficiency, representing a significant breakthrough for commercial deployment. Theoretical calculations suggest that perovskite-silicon tandem cells could ultimately achieve efficiencies exceeding 47%, promising substantial improvements in solar energy economics.

2. Lighting Application

Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are semiconductor light-emitting devices based on electroluminescence in semiconductor junctions. LED technology has revolutionized illumination through numerous advantages: compact size enabling versatile form factors, low heat generation during operation, exceptional energy efficiency (converting over 50% of electrical energy to light compared to less than 5% for incandescent bulbs), extraordinarily long operational lifetimes exceeding 50,000 hours, rapid response times measured in nanoseconds, and environmental friendliness with no toxic materials like mercury.

Since their commercial introduction, LEDs have rapidly displaced traditional lighting technologies and now dominate applications including traffic signals, electronic display backlighting, architectural and landscape illumination, automotive lighting, and general indoor and outdoor lighting. The global transition to LED lighting has resulted in substantial energy savings, with estimates suggesting that widespread LED adoption could reduce global lighting electricity consumption by more than 50%.

LED technology - revolutionizing lighting and display applications

LED Technology Advances in 2024-2025

Recent developments in LED technology have focused on several key areas. Smart LED systems integrate Internet of Things (IoT) connectivity, enabling remote control, automated scheduling, and adaptive lighting based on occupancy and ambient conditions. Human-centric lighting (HCL) adjusts color temperature and intensity throughout the day to align with circadian rhythms, potentially improving sleep quality, alertness, and overall well-being. Micro-LED displays are emerging as next-generation display technology, offering superior brightness, contrast, and energy efficiency compared to OLED displays, with applications in premium smartphones, wearable devices, and large-format displays. Laboratory demonstrations have achieved luminous efficacies exceeding 200 lumens per watt, further improving energy efficiency.

3. High-Power Power Conversion

Efficient conversion between alternating current (AC) and direct current (DC), as well as voltage transformation and power conditioning, is essential for modern electrical systems and represents a critical protection mechanism for sensitive electronic equipment. These functions require sophisticated power conversion devices, increasingly based on wide-bandgap semiconductor materials.

Silicon carbide (SiC) possesses exceptional properties for power electronics: high breakdown electric field strength (approximately 10 times that of silicon), wide bandgap energy (3.26 eV compared to 1.12 eV for silicon), and high thermal conductivity (approximately 3 times that of silicon). These characteristics enable SiC semiconductor devices to operate at higher voltages, temperatures, and switching frequencies while maintaining superior efficiency compared to silicon-based devices.

SiC power devices have found widespread adoption in electric and hybrid vehicle inverters and onboard chargers, renewable energy inverters for solar and wind power systems, industrial motor drives, power supplies for data centers and telecommunications infrastructure, and traction systems for electric trains and light rail. The superior performance of SiC devices in high-voltage, high-temperature, and high-frequency applications has made them increasingly indispensable.

Gallium nitride (GaN) represents another wide-bandgap semiconductor material with complementary properties to SiC. While SiC excels in high-voltage applications (typically above 650V), GaN demonstrates superior performance in lower-voltage, high-frequency applications (typically below 650V). GaN power devices have rapidly gained market share in consumer electronics chargers (particularly USB-C fast chargers), power adapters, wireless charging systems, 5G base station power supplies, and automotive applications including 48V systems and DC-DC converters.

Wide-Bandgap Semiconductor Market Growth

The wide-bandgap semiconductor market, encompassing SiC and GaN devices, has experienced remarkable growth. Market valuations indicate the sector reached approximately $2.38 billion in 2025 and is projected to expand to $6.22 billion by 2032, representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14.7%. The GaN semiconductor device market specifically was valued at $3.06 billion in 2024 and is forecast to reach $12.47 billion by 2030. Industry analysts have characterized 2025 as a "breakthrough year" for GaN technology, with major semiconductor manufacturers significantly expanding production capacity and introducing advanced GaN products across multiple application segments.

V. Semiconductor Refrigeration Technology

Semiconductor refrigeration technology, based on the thermoelectric effect, represents a solid-state cooling approach with numerous advantages over conventional vapor-compression refrigeration. Thermoelectric coolers (TECs), also known as Peltier coolers, offer several distinctive benefits: absence of moving parts and refrigerants, resulting in silent operation and environmental friendliness; compact size and scalability from milliwatts to kilowatts; precise temperature control with rapid response; reversible operation enabling both cooling and heating; and high reliability with long operational lifetimes.

These characteristics make thermoelectric cooling particularly suitable for applications requiring precise temperature control, compact form factors, or operation in challenging environments. Current applications span temperature control in agricultural greenhouses, thermal management for electronic components and laser diodes, portable refrigeration for medical and recreational purposes, and temperature stabilization in scientific instrumentation.

1. Operating Principle

Semiconductor refrigeration technology operates based on the Peltier effect, discovered by French physicist Jean Charles Athanase Peltier in 1834. The Peltier effect describes the phenomenon whereby an electric current flowing through a junction between two dissimilar conductors causes heat to be absorbed at one junction and released at the other junction, beyond the Joule heating effect present throughout the conductor.

In practical thermoelectric coolers, pairs of n-type and p-type semiconductor elements (typically bismuth telluride alloys) are connected electrically in series and thermally in parallel between two ceramic plates. When direct current flows through the circuit, electrons in the n-type material and holes in the p-type material both move away from one junction (the cold side) and toward the other junction (the hot side), transporting thermal energy in the process. This results in cooling at one junction and heating at the other.

The Peltier effect is fully reversible: reversing the current direction reverses the heat transfer direction, converting the cooler into a heater. The magnitude of heat absorbed or released is proportional to the current intensity and depends on the Seebeck coefficient of the semiconductor materials. The cooling performance is quantified by the dimensionless figure of merit ZT, where higher values indicate better thermoelectric performance.

Most conventional thermoelectric materials exhibit ZT values near 1 at room temperature, significantly below the theoretical maximum. Consequently, thermoelectric coolers typically achieve coefficients of performance (COP) of 0.3-0.7, substantially lower than vapor-compression systems. However, recent advances in materials science and nanotechnology have opened pathways toward significantly improved thermoelectric performance.

Semiconductor refrigerator utilizing Peltier effect

2. Application Strategy

Semiconductor refrigeration technology has established applications across medical, industrial, and consumer domains, with development prospects continuing to expand. In modern refrigeration equipment, thermoelectric technology enables innovative product designs. Semiconductor refrigerators utilize arrays of thermoelectric cooling chips that can be configured in parallel or series arrangements according to cooling requirements and space constraints.

In the 1950s, the Soviet Union developed compact thermoelectric refrigerators with capacities around 10 liters, demonstrating the feasibility of portable solid-state cooling. Japan subsequently developed specialized thermoelectric wine coolers, where precise temperature control (typically 12-18°C) is critical for wine preservation. Semiconductor refrigeration technology meets these stringent temperature stability requirements while operating silently—an important consideration for residential environments.

Modern semiconductor refrigerators demonstrate significant energy efficiency improvements compared to early models. Advanced designs incorporating optimized heat sink configurations and efficient power management can reduce energy consumption by approximately 20% compared to conventional small-capacity refrigerators, particularly in applications with modest cooling loads and temperature differentials.

Specialized semiconductor air conditioning systems serve niche applications where conventional vapor-compression systems are impractical or undesirable, including aircraft cabins, submarines, spacecraft, telecommunications equipment shelters, and portable cooling units. The absence of vibration, acoustic noise, and refrigerant leakage risks makes thermoelectric cooling particularly attractive for these demanding environments.

Emerging applications continue to expand the scope of thermoelectric technology. Automotive applications include seat cooling and heating, beverage coolers, and thermal management for battery systems in electric vehicles. Medical applications encompass portable vaccine refrigerators, laboratory sample storage, and therapeutic cooling devices. Consumer products include camping coolers, personal air conditioners, and temperature-controlled storage containers.

3. Difficulties and Problems

(1) Technical Difficulties in Semiconductor Refrigeration

Semiconductor refrigeration involves numerous interdependent parameters, and the operating conditions are complex and variable. Any parameter deviation can significantly affect cooling performance. In laboratory research, achieving the idealized conditions assumed in theoretical models proves challenging, complicating the systematic investigation of individual factors. The inherent reversibility of the Peltier effect means that large temperature differences between hot and cold sides inevitably reduce cooling efficiency, as heat conduction through the thermoelectric elements partially counteracts the Peltier cooling effect.

(2) Persistent Challenges in Semiconductor Refrigeration Technology

First, the figure of merit (ZT) of available thermoelectric materials has not improved sufficiently to enable widespread displacement of vapor-compression refrigeration. While laboratory demonstrations have achieved ZT values exceeding 2 in specialized materials, translating these advances into cost-effective, reliable commercial products remains challenging.

Second, although cold-side and hot-side heat exchanger systems have been optimized through computational fluid dynamics and advanced manufacturing techniques, further improvements in thermal interface materials and heat dissipation strategies are needed to fully exploit the potential of advanced thermoelectric materials.

Third, semiconductor refrigeration technology faces economic and technical limitations for large-scale cooling applications. The relatively low coefficient of performance restricts thermoelectric cooling primarily to niche applications where its unique advantages—compactness, silence, reliability, precise control—justify the efficiency penalty.

Fourth, in the context of market economics and technological development, advancing semiconductor refrigeration technology requires addressing multiple interdependent challenges: materials science (developing higher-ZT materials), manufacturing (scaling up production while controlling costs), systems engineering (optimizing complete thermal management systems), and market development (identifying and cultivating applications where thermoelectric technology offers compelling advantages).

Breakthrough in Thermoelectric Efficiency (2025)

Significant progress has been achieved in thermoelectric cooling efficiency through advanced materials engineering. In 2025, researchers at Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory announced the development of nano-engineered thin-film thermoelectric devices that demonstrate twice the efficiency of conventional bulk thermoelectric coolers. These devices, fabricated using a technology called CHESS (nano-engineered materials), achieve approximately 100% improvement in cooling efficiency compared to traditional thermoelectric modules.

Kyocera Corporation introduced advanced Peltier modules in 2024 featuring 21% improved cooling efficiency compared to previous generations, primarily targeting automotive battery thermal management and seat climate control applications. These efficiency improvements, combined with decreasing manufacturing costs, are expanding the economic viability of thermoelectric cooling for applications including precision thermal management of AI accelerator chips, advanced medical devices, and next-generation consumer electronics.

The semiconductor cooler market reflects this technological progress, with valuations projected to grow from approximately $600 million in 2024 to $950 million by 2031, driven by increasing demand for compact, silent, and precise thermal management solutions across multiple industries.

VI. Future Development

GaN charger - exemplifying third-generation semiconductor applications

The development of third-generation semiconductor materials and devices, represented by gallium nitride (GaN) and silicon carbide (SiC), constitutes the foundation of emerging semiconductor applications and has exhibited remarkable growth trajectories. These wide-bandgap semiconductors offer transformative capabilities for power electronics, radio-frequency systems, and optoelectronics.

Among GaN-based optoelectronic devices, blue light-emitting diodes were the first to achieve commercial production, earning the 2014 Nobel Prize in Physics for Isamu Akasaki, Hiroshi Amano, and Shuji Nakamura. Following the successful development of blue LEDs and laser diodes (LDs), research attention expanded to GaN ultraviolet photodetectors for applications including water purification, medical sterilization, and secure communications.

GaN materials have established substantial application markets in microwave power electronics, particularly for 5G infrastructure, radar systems, and satellite communications. GaN high-electron-mobility transistors (HEMTs) deliver superior power density and efficiency at microwave frequencies compared to silicon or gallium arsenide devices.

GaN power semiconductor switches have been characterized as a milestone in semiconductor device design. In June 2025, researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology demonstrated successful integration of high-performance GaN transistors onto standard silicon CMOS platforms using advanced 3D fabrication processes. This breakthrough enables heterogeneous integration combining the computational capabilities of silicon with the power-handling advantages of GaN, potentially revolutionizing power management in computing systems.

Emerging Semiconductor Technologies and Trends

Beyond GaN and SiC, several additional semiconductor technology trends are shaping the industry's future:

Artificial Intelligence Chips: Specialized semiconductor architectures optimized for AI workloads—including tensor processing units (TPUs), neural processing units (NPUs), and domain-specific accelerators—have become critical for machine learning applications. These devices incorporate novel memory architectures, massive parallelism, and reduced-precision arithmetic to maximize computational efficiency for neural network inference and training.

Advanced Packaging and Chiplets: As conventional transistor scaling approaches physical limits, the semiconductor industry is increasingly adopting advanced packaging technologies including 3D stacking, chiplet-based architectures, and heterogeneous integration. These approaches enable continued performance improvements by optimizing interconnect density, reducing latency, and combining specialized semiconductor technologies within single packages.

Quantum Dot and Perovskite Materials: Quantum dots—semiconductor nanocrystals with size-tunable optical properties—have achieved commercial success in display technology (QLED televisions) and are being developed for next-generation solar cells, lighting, and quantum computing applications. Perovskite semiconductors, particularly metal halide perovskites, have demonstrated remarkable progress in photovoltaics and are being explored for LEDs, photodetectors, and radiation detectors.

Two-Dimensional Materials: Graphene, transition metal dichalcogenides (such as MoS₂ and WSe₂), and other 2D materials exhibit unique electronic and optical properties arising from their atomically thin structure. Research continues toward practical applications in flexible electronics, high-frequency transistors, and optoelectronic devices, though manufacturing challenges remain substantial.

Neuromorphic Computing: Brain-inspired semiconductor architectures that implement spiking neural networks and analog computation show promise for energy-efficient processing of sensory data and pattern recognition tasks. Neuromorphic chips from organizations including Intel (Loihi) and IBM (TrueNorth) demonstrate orders-of-magnitude improvements in energy efficiency for specific workloads compared to conventional digital processors.

Sustainability and Circular Economy: The semiconductor industry is increasingly focused on environmental sustainability, including reducing energy consumption in manufacturing, developing recyclable packaging materials, extending product lifetimes, and establishing semiconductor recycling infrastructure. As the industry grows, minimizing its environmental footprint becomes increasingly critical.

VII. Article Update Information

📝 Article Update Notice

Original Publication: 2020
               Updated: October 2025
               Updated By: Technical Editorial Team

This article has been comprehensively updated to reflect the latest developments in semiconductor technology as of October 2025. Major updates include:

• Correction of historical inaccuracies (Edmond Becquerel's name)

• Addition of 2025 solar cell efficiency records, including perovskite-silicon tandem cells achieving 34.85% efficiency

• Updated information on GaN and SiC wide-bandgap semiconductors with current market data

• Inclusion of breakthrough thermoelectric cooling efficiency improvements (2x efficiency gains)

• Expansion of LED technology section with smart lighting and micro-LED developments

• Addition of emerging technologies including AI chips, advanced packaging, and 2D materials

• Updated market statistics and growth projections for various semiconductor segments

• Enhanced discussion of sustainability considerations in semiconductor manufacturing

All original images have been preserved. Technical information has been verified against peer-reviewed sources and industry reports current as of October 2025. Readers are encouraged to consult primary sources for the most current information on rapidly evolving semiconductor technologies.

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