What is Semiconductor?

Semiconductor, explained

Semiconductors conduct electricity better than insulators but not as freely as metals. By adding tiny amounts of other elements, a process called doping, engineers can control how they conduct, enabling the creation of transistors, the microscopic switches at the heart of every chip.

The word semiconductor is also used for the chips themselves and the industry that makes them. Modern processors contain billions of transistors fabricated in highly advanced factories called fabs, using techniques such as extreme ultraviolet lithography. The supply chain is global and highly specialized, with chip design, manufacturing equipment, fabrication, and packaging often handled by different companies in different countries. This concentration has made semiconductors a matter of economic and national security policy.