Si

Silicon has a bandgap of around 1.12 eV. It offers inherent conductivity while allowing precise electrical tuning through doping: doping with phosphorus produces N-type Silicon (electron conduction), while doping with boron produces P-type Silicon (hole conduction), By combining P- and N-type regions, fundamental semiconductor devices such as diodes, transistors, and MOSFETs can be constructed. These components provide switching, amplification, and control functions to electronic circuits from low voltage consumer devices to high voltage industrial systems.

Silicon is chemically stable at room temperature and it is resistant to air and moisture reactions. It has a high melting point of 1414°C. It can withstand high temperature process in semiconductor fabrication (deposition, annealing, etc.). Its high mechanical strength allows Silicon to be processed into wafers with only a few hundred micrometers thickness, supporting high integration density and miniaturization, while maintaining structural stability during assembly and operation.

Silicon is the second most abundant element in the Earth’s crust (~28% by mass), primarily found as quartz sand (SiO₂). Its raw materials are inexpensive and easy to obtain. Over decades of development, Silicon technologies including ultra-high purification (99.9999999%+ purity), wafer manufacturing (mass production from 4-inch to 12-inch wafers), and device packaging have become highly mature. Large-scale manufacturing continues to reduce per-unit cost, making Silicon the most economical option for consumer electronics and industrial control applications.

While wide bandgap semiconductors (GaN, SiC) outperform Silicon in high frequency, high temperature, and high voltage applications, Silicon remains the dominant material in the global semiconductor industry due to its balanced performance and manufacturing maturity. Silicon is the foundational substrate for integrated circuits (ICs) such as CPUs, MCUs and memory chips, discrete devices such as rectifier diodes, BJTs and MOSFETs, as well as photovoltaics such as Silicon solar cells which still account for over 90% of global PV usage. Its applications include electronics, information technology, renewable energy and industrial automation. Silicon cannot be fully replaced in the near future.