What is the importance of semiconductor in our daily life

 Before we going to our topic we have get know about what is Semiconductor and their proporties.

What is Semiconductor?

The substances which allow electric current to flow through them in a very limited amount or negligible are called semi-conducting materials. like :Silicon and Germanium

Silicon

If some amount of non-conducting material is added to the conducting material, then a semi-conducting material is formed. These semi-conducting materials are used to make diodes, transistors, etc.Silicon and germanium are mainly used in making transistors.

Germanium

There are two types of semiconductor material – Types of semiconductor

• Intrinsic Semiconductor
• Extrinsic Semiconductor

1) Intrinsic Semiconductor

An intrinsic type of semiconductor material is chemically very pure. It is made up of only one type of element.

2) Extrinsic Semiconductor

The conductivity of semiconductors can be greatly improved by introducing a small number of suitable replacement atoms called impurities. The process of adding impurity atoms to pure semiconductors is called doping. Typically, only 1 atom in 107 is replaced by a dopant atom in doped semiconductors. An extrinsic semiconductors can be further classified as:

• P Type
• N Type

N Type Semiconductor

P type - positive charge and N type negative charge. Semi-conductor components are prepared by mixing these two.

P Type Semiconductor

Diodes are one such semiconductor component. P-N Juction is formed by mixing P type and N type.

Diodes work in two ways. Forward Bias and Reverse Bias

The diode has two ends. anode and cathode.

The P type end of the diode is called the anode and the N type end is called the cathode.

What is diode biasing

Forward Biasing

When a positive supply is given to the anode, current flows from the anode to the cathode. And when a negative supply is given to the cathode, the current flows from the cathode to the anode. This process is called forward biasing of the diode.

That is to say, the anode head of the diode allows only positive current to flow through it. Similarly cathode only for negative current. The current given in this way is called forward biasing of the diode.

Reverse Biasing - Reverse Biasing 

When positive current is given to the cathode and negative current to the anode. So this is how the diode works in reverse bias. In reverse bias, the diode does not allow the current to pass through it.

Due to this property, diodes are used in various circuits.

• Filtration circuit
• Rectification circuit
• protection circuit

Properties of Semiconductors:

• At zero Kelvin the semiconductor acts as an insulator. As the temperature rises, it acts as a conductor.
• Because of their exceptional electrical properties, semiconductors can be modified by doping to make semiconductor devices suitable for energy conversion, switches and amplifiers.
• Less electricity loss.
• Semiconductors are smaller in size and weigh less.
• Their resistivity is higher than that of conductors, but less than that of insulators.
• The resistance of semiconductor materials decreases with increase in temperature and conversely, the resistance of semiconductor materials increases with decrease in temperature.

Intrinsic and Extrinsic Semiconductors differences.

Intrinsic Semiconductor:

• It is pure semiconductor
• The density of electrons is equal to the density of holes
• electrical conductivity is reduced
• Dependence on temperature only
• no impurity

Extrinsic Semiconductor:

• Impure semiconductor
• Density of electrons is not equal to the density of holes
• electrical conductivity is high
• Dependence on temperature as well as on the amount of impurity
• Trivalent impurity, pentavalent impurity

Applications of Semiconductors -

Let us now understand the use of semiconductors in daily life. Semiconductors are used in almost all electronic devices. Without them, our life would have been very different.

Their reliability, compactness, low cost and controlled conduction of electricity make them ideal for a variety of components and equipment to be used for a variety of purposes. Transistors, diodes, photo sensors, microcontrollers, integrated chips and much more are made up of semiconductors.

Uses of Semiconductors in Everyday life

• Temperature sensors are built with semiconductor devices.
• They are used in 3D printing machines
• Used in microchips and self-driving cars
• Used in calculators, solar plates, computers and other electronic devices.
• Transistors and MOSFETs are used as switches in electrical circuits manufactured using semiconductors.

Industrial uses of semiconductors

The physical and chemical properties of semiconductors enable them to design technological marvels such as microchips, transistors, LEDs, solar cells, etc.

Microprocessors are used to control the operation of space vehicles, trains, robots, etc., composed of transistors and other controlling devices that are manufactured by semiconductor materials.

Importance of Semiconductors-

Here we have discussed some of the advantages of semiconductors which makes them highly useful everywhere.

• They are highly portable due to their small size
• They require less input power
• Semiconductor devices are shockproof
• they have a long life
• They are noise-free while operating

Semiconductor Crisis:

There is a huge shortage of semiconductors around the world. Due to which the production of smartphones, computers, laptops and vehicles has all been affected. Last month, Tata Motors had said that Jaguar Land Rover's production would be reduced due to their shortage.

The global economy is currently staggered due to a small chip. There has been a big gap in the demand and supply of these chips, which are called semiconductors, due to which there has been a huge shortage of them. Due to this, the production of smartphones, computers, laptops and vehicles has all been affected. Last month, Tata Motors had said that Jaguar Land Rover's production would be reduced due to semiconductor shortage. According to media reports, the production of vehicles of Tata's rival companies Mercedes-Benz, Audi and BMW has also decreased due to this.

Experts believe that this problem is very serious and the supply of semiconductor will now be normal only after one to one and a half years. Bosch, the company that supplies chips to automobile companies, has also warned that there may be a shortage of semiconductors throughout this financial year. At the same time, the computer chip maker Samsung has also warned of its shortage.

Due to increase in demand and decrease in production

Last year, due to Corona, there was a tremendous decline in the sales of most such products, in which semiconductors are used. In view of this, companies placed orders for semiconductors for the same products, which were being sold even during the first wave of Corona. But after the first wave, the demand for many other products suddenly increased. According to this demand, the supply of semiconductors could not be done and there was a huge shortage of them. The fire in the Japanese semiconductor company 'Renaissance' worked to increase this shortage further.But till now, in response to the question 'why was its most impact on cars', Madhukar Krishna, who works in an American semiconductor manufacturer, says, "It is not so. Cars affect most of the public, so They are discussed more. But at this time there is also a huge shortage of machines like GPU i.e. Graphics Processing Unit. It is similar to CPU of computer but it is used by computer gamers. These GPUs are also used in cryptocurrency mining and This has also been the reason for its huge demand in the last year. This means that except for a few essential products, there has been a shortage of semiconductors in most sectors.

India's role in semiconductor race

By far the world's largest semiconductor manufacturing companies are in the US and Taiwan. China and South Korea are also making serious efforts in this direction. In fact, China is the biggest importer of these processor chips and semiconductors, but a few months ago, after the semiconductor shortage in the world, the US stopped the supply of American semiconductors to many Chinese companies like Huawei. After which China talked about promoting its domestic manufacturing. Experts say that China wants to produce them for many years, but the world's big semiconductor companies are not ready to support it.Madhukar Krishna says, "Big semiconductor companies are afraid to set up such large research and manufacturing projects in China because they fear their technology being stolen. This is because China has been copying many technology companies, on their lines. Bringing its products to the market. Semiconductor production debate is going on in India too. Madhukar Krishna says, “India has great opportunities for semiconductor manufacturing and the government is also in talks with many big companies to set up semiconductor production units (called fabs) here, but most of the semiconductor-related activities here are research and development. are limited to."

Why is semiconductor manufacturing so difficult?

Experts say that there are 400-500 steps in the process of making a small semiconductor. In such a situation, if even one step goes wrong, there can be a loss of crores of rupees. Madhukar Krishna explains, "The world of semiconductors is very vast. Those we know as the biggest companies of semiconductors, not necessarily all they are making semiconductors. There are many different types of companies in this field. Most of the big companies have separate ones. There are patents of different semiconductors, which make semiconductors from other companies based on their production formula.These factories that make semiconductors are called foundries. At present, Taiwanese companywTSMC, Global Foundry and Samsung have their own foundries. But there are also third types of companies associated with this sector, which manufacture the necessary technology and machinery to make semiconductors. There are many companies with such research and development in India. These companies do not make semiconductors, but do research and development related to it. Madhukar Krishna explains this whole process like this, "If semiconductor is considered as bread, then big companies provide flour for this bread and how to make it. Companies with foundry make and prepare that roti. But from research and development The companies involved provide the necessary tawa to make this roti.

This tiny chip is also called the 'brain of electronic devices'. According to experts, at present, semiconductors are used in the infotainment system, power steering, safety features and brake operators of cars. But in the future, when technologies like electric vehicles and Internet of Things will be accessible to everyone, their demand will increase manifold. That is, the tension in the world about this will increase even more. In such a situation, if India is successful in producing them in the next few years, then it can be very beneficial for her and the world.