Why Silicon is used widely as a semiconducting material?

Answer 1

Answer

Silicon is abundant in nature as SiO2(sand).

Getting the Si from SiO2 is comparatively easier than other semiconductors like Ge.

And Silicon is a better conductor at room temperature.

valence electron in germanium are in fourth shell whereas on silicon valence electron is in third shell.
germanium valence electron are at higher energy level than silicon .hence germanium valence electron will need smaller amount of energy to escape form the atom due to this germanium more number of electron pair than silicon . hence leakage current is more.
this property makes germanium more unstable at high temperature.

Answer 2

the resistivity of the silicon lies between the conductor and the insulator. the energy gap between the valence band and the conduction band is lesser than the insulator a and greater than the conductor. tats why we use silicon as semiconductor.......

there are many reasons why we prefer silicon rather than germanium is

1. it is cheaper.

2. silicon is the form of silicon di-oxide which is abundantly available.

3. it cannot be triggered by small noise voltages.

Answer 3

Silicon is widely used in electronic devices because it has good thermal transfer characteristics, enhancing the ability to heat sink a component, and because it has poor electrical characteristics, making it a good insulator. It can also be used to prevent contamination, such as in an automotive lamp application, where it would prevent water intrusion while allowing the contacts to remain viable.

If you look at the Periodic Table, you will find that silicon and germanium occupy unique positions: they are semimetals and they have a valence of 4. As a result, they have electrical properties that are different from all other elements. In their pure crystalline form, silicon and germanium do not conduct electric current, but when very small concentrations of impurities are introduced, which either add or remove electron positions, they can be conductors. Even more importantly, a boundary between regions with a surplus or a deficit of electron positions creates an asymmetric barrier to electric current. In other words, a diode.

The effects get even more interesting (and useful) when two or more boundaries are brought microscopically close together; the carriers of electric charge crossing the boundaries behave according to the strange rules of quantum physics and they are controllable! This, in essence, is the mechanism of a transistor.

These tiny devices can be created, in vast numbers, on the surface of either silicon or germanium crystals and they work the same way. For most applications, though, silicon works a bit better. The entire semiconductor industry is mainly geared up for manufacturing using silicon, so the vast majority of integrated circuits are built on silicon wafers.

Answer 4

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ANSWER: Germanium have some advantage the voltage drop when conducting is small that is vastly offset to the fact that they are very leaky components and their thermal characteristics are not good as compared to silicon diode that may sustain 1000v reverse voltage have very good thermal property.

Answer 5

silicon in chemistry is classified as a semi conductor,semi-conductors has a very low resistance toward electric current,so thats why its use in electronic devices,especially the CPU(central processing unit) in computers because it is able to transfer and deal with electronic signals in a very high speed.

Answer 6

I dont know can anyone help?