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semiconductor.md
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{ For a physicist and electronics guys there's probably quite a lot of simplification, this is written from the limited point of view of a programmer. ~drummyfish }
Semiconductors are, very simply speaking, materials whose electrical conductivity varies greatly with conditions such as temperature, illumination their purity or applied voltage, unlike insulators who generally don't conduct electricity very well (have a great [resistivity](resistivity.md)) and conductors who do. Semiconductors, especially [silicon](silicon.md) (Si), are the key component of [digital](digital.md) [electronic](electronic.md) [computers](computer.md) and integrated circuits. Other semiconductors include germanium, selenium or compound ones (composed of multiple elements).
Semiconductors are materials with electric conductivity between insulators and conductors, their conductivity may vary greatly with conditions such as temperature, illumination, their purity or applied voltage. In this they're unlike insulators who generally don't conduct electricity very well (have a great [resistivity](resistivity.md)) and conductors who do. Semiconductors, especially [silicon](silicon.md) (Si), are the key component of [digital](digital.md) [electronic](electronic.md) [computers](computer.md) and integrated circuits. Other semiconductors include germanium, selenium or compound ones (composed of multiple elements).
Semiconductors are important for computers because they help implement the [binary](binary.md) [logic circuits](logic_circuit.md), they can behave like a switch that is either on (1) or off (0). Besides that they can serve e.g. for making measurements (a component whose resistivity depends on its illumination can be used to measure amount of light by measuring the resistivity). Especially important electronic components based on semiconductors are the **[diode](diode.md)** (lets current flow only one way) and **[transistor](transistor.md)** (a purely electrical "switch" that can be made extremely tiny).