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Our extensive semiconductor offer provides a single point of supply throughout an electronic product life-cycle. For prototyping, we offer an extensive range of development boards and silicon in convenient small quantities. To cater for production we also supply silicon in manufacturer standard bulk packaging, such as trays, tubes and reels etc. Combined with the wide variety of semiconductor device types and technologies on offer, RS is an excellent source for you electronic component needs.

What is a Semiconductor?

Simplistically, a semiconductor is a material that has an electrical conductance between that of an insulator and a conductor. This means that a semiconductor can conduct current, but only partially. This key characteristic provides the foundation for modern electronic devices.

Semiconductors are essential in electronics as their properties can be modified and manipulated to provide useful functionality. For example, in a mosfet transistor, a voltage can be applied to the semiconductor material from which it is constructed to control whether the mosfet conducts current or not, providing an electronic, solid state switch. Another example would be a rectifier, where the semiconductor construction means that current can flow more easily in one direction that the other, providing directional current flow control.

The most common semiconductor material used within electronics is silicon, the term becoming ubiquitous to describe PCB semiconductor devices as a whole.

Common Semiconductor Devices Types

There are hundreds, if not thousands of semiconductor device types that can be split into two broad device types:

• Discretes - A simple device, a device with just one circuit element. Common examples include transistors such as mosfets, diodes, TRIACS and LEDs.
• Integrated Circuits (ICs) - Electronic devices that incorporate several circuit elements into one package. Examples include microcontrollers, microprocessors, analogue-to-digital converters, operational amplifiers and voltage regulators.

Typical Applications

An electronic product will have many semiconductor devices within its construction. The global market for semiconductors in 2017 was over $400 billion, demonstrating how essential they are to modern society.