Semiconductors

What is a semiconductor? In the case of inorganic semiconductors, a distinction is made between element semiconductors (silicon, germanium) and compound semiconductors (usually oxides, sulfides, selenides, nitrides, phosphides, and arsenides of main and sub-group metals). There are also crystalline and amorphous semiconductors. The electrical conductivity of semiconductors lies between that of metals and that of insulators, with the conductivity of metals generally decreasing with increasing temperature, but that of semiconductors increasing. The cause of this behavior can best be described using the band model.