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Semiconductors power countless devices that keep the modern world running. They fall somewhere between a conductor of electricity and an insulator, and this unique property makes them essential to electronic devices ranging from the smartphone in your pocket to the solar panels installed on your roof.
Learn more about semiconductors, how they work, how they’re made, and their myriad applications in our connected lives.
How Do Semiconductors Work?
Semiconductors can conduct electricity but also block it. How is this possible? They manipulate the flow of electrons through their structure and can precisely control whether they want to conduct or insulate electricity.
Metals allow electrons to move freely, while insulators block electron flow entirely. As mentioned, semiconductors fall somewhere in the middle. The control of semiconductors comes from a process called doping, which uses small impurities to alter the electrical properties of the semiconductor material, usually silicon.
Because semiconductors allow you to determine whether electron flow will be allowed or stopped, they work incredibly well as amplifiers, switches, or energy converters. Their versatility makes them critical to delicate electronics, from your iPhone to EcoFlow Solar Panels, which create efficient and renewable energy.
What Are the Stages of Semiconductor Production?
A lot of work goes into creating semiconductors and transforming them from raw materials into usable, working chips in countless applications.
Research
Scientists and engineers explore new materials and designs to improve the performance and efficiency of semiconductors, known as pre-competitive research. This research is essential to the industry and ensures we always stay on the cutting edge of technology.
Design
Engineers use their research findings to create semiconductor designs with highly sophisticated equipment called computer-aided design (CAD) tools. This process is similar to how architects or interior designers design a building or an interior space so you can see it visually in great detail with accurate dimensions.
Raw Materials
Semiconductors start as raw materials, and often, it looks like a pile of sand. Why sand? Sand contains significant amounts of silicon, the most common semiconductor base material. Other pure materials, like gallium nitride, graphene, pyrite, and bismuthide, can also be used as alternative semiconductor materials.
Ingot
Next, the sand or other raw material must be purified, melted, and formed into large, solid cylinders known as ingots weighing more than 200 pounds.
Blank Wafer
Thus begins the water fabrication step, which creates thin (1mm) blank wafers that are then polished to become smooth. Polishing eliminates any scratches or impurities to create a usable base for further fabrication of the chips. Even a slight contamination of the wafer can cause product defects, so this step is critical.
Finished Wafer
A few steps take the wafer from blank to finished. First, a photoresist coating (a light-sensitive material suitable for circuit printing) is applied. Positive photoresist coating dissolves when exposed to UV light, leaving unexposed resist, while negative photoresist hardens in UV light. Positive photoresists are typically used because they have better thermal stability and resolution capability.
Next is circuit printing, known as photolithography. A circuit blueprint exposes the wafer to UV light, printing the pattern on the wafer and its photoresist film. Quality control during this step ensures no refraction or defects occur during lithography.
After circuit printing comes etching. Etching removes excess materials from the wafer’s surface through wet-washing (chemical solutions) or dry-etching (gases or plasma).
Finally, impurities such as arsenic will be embedded through ion implantation to give the wafers the ability to become semiconductors. Heat processing then activates the ions, creating micro-transistors. Photoresist materials prevent the ions from entering areas that could create defects, and they are removed after implantation using chemicals or ashing.
Cut Wafer
The finished wafer will then be cut into individual chips (dicing) and bonded using a substrate. The cut and bonded wafer is then covered with a protective metal container with a cooling system to prevent overheating.
Packaged Chip
The completed chip gets protective packaging and metal connectors and is ready for use.
Chip on Circuit Board
The packaged chips are mounted onto circuit boards to begin working inside your electronic devices.
It’s an intricate process, but the complexity and dedication to quality allow these chips to power devices like EcoFlow Solar Generators, which rely on advanced semiconductor technology to convert and store solar energy in your solar power system.
Applications of Semiconductors
Semiconductors are hard at work in your electronics in ways you might not even know. Here are some of the most common applications:
Memory
Semi-conductors can hold memory, such as RAM or flash storage, so your devices can store accessible data. The memory market is consolidated now, so you’d recognize memory semiconductors from names like Toshiba and Samsung.
Microprocessors
Microprocessors serve as the “brain” of computers and smartphones. They rely on millions of tiny semiconductors to perform complex calculations effectively and keep things running smoothly. Intel is a big name in the microprocessor segment that you may recognize.
Commodity Integrated Circuit
When someone mentions “standard chips,“ they’re referring to commodity integrated circuits produced in giant batches for routine processing. These chips are used in everyday electronics and offer only razor-thin profit margins for producers.
Complex System on Chip (SOP)
Advanced SOP semiconductors combine multiple functions, creating an entire system’s full capability in one powerful and efficient chip. The semiconductor market continues to grow alongside the demand for new consumer products with improved features and lower prices.
What Is the Difference Between N-Type and P-Type Semiconductors?
N-type and P-type semiconductors have different doping processes. N-type semiconductors are doped with elements with extra electrons, which creates a negative charge carrier. Conversely, P-type semiconductors are doped or coated with elements that emulate the absence of electrons, creating a positive charge carrier.
Both of these types are hard at work in solar photovoltaic cells.
Frequently Asked Questions
A semiconductor is a material that conducts electricity in certain conditions while blocking or insulating electricity in other cases. This makes a semiconductor a flexible component in electronics, acting as a switch that can be adjusted to control how electricity flows precisely.
Although they are similar, semiconductors are not the same as computer chips. However, they can be used to create computer chips. Although semiconductors are the base materials used in the development of computer chips, a finished computer chip arranges many semiconductor components on a single piece of silicon.
Final Thoughts
Semiconductors are at play in ways we may not even realize. They power our computers, smartphones, and other modern solutions, with many uses in digital spheres.
If you want to harness the power of semiconductor technology in your daily life, consider exploring EcoFlow’s Rigid Solar Panels, which connect to our portable power stations to create solar generators. Choose the wattage that works for you, whether the EcoFlow 100W Rigid Solar Panel or the EcoFlow 400W Rigid Solar Panel, and achieve energy dependence today.