Page "Metalloid" Paragraph 51

All the elements commonly recognized as metalloids ( or their compounds ) have found application in the semiconductor or solid-state electronic industries.

Some properties of boron have retarded its use as a semiconductor.

It has a high melting point and single crystals are relatively hard to obtain.

Introducing and retaining controlled impurities is also difficult.

Silicon is the foremost commercial semiconductor ; it forms the basis of modern electronics and information and communication technologies.

This has occurred despite the study of semiconductors, early in the 20th century, being regarded as the ' physics of dirt ' and not deserving of close attention.

Silicon has largely replaced germanium in semiconducting devices, being cheaper, more resilient at higher operating temperatures, and easier to work during the microelectronic fabrication process.

Semiconducting silicon-germanium ' alloys ' have however been growing in use, particularly for wireless communication devices ; these alloys exploit the higher carrier mobility of germanium.

Arsenic and antimony are not semiconductors in their standard states.

On the other hand, both form type III-V semiconductors ( such as GaAs, AlSb or GaInAsSb ) in which the average number of valence electrons per atom is the same as that of Group 14 elements ; these compounds are preferred for some special applications.

Tellurium, which is a semiconductor in its standard state, is used mainly as a component in a very large group of type II / VI semiconducting-chalcogenides ; these compounds have applications in electro-optics and electronics.