Characteristics of silicon crystal, its covalent bonding and their structure, electrical properties, uses
Abstract
This article briefly reviews and explores the characteristics of silicon crystal, silicon derivative and its applications in electronics, semiconductors, alloys, compound and human nutrition. The silicon semiconductors are solid crystalline substances that tend to have greater electrical conductivity than insulators, but less than good conductors. Silicon crystallises in a giant covalent structure at standard conditions, specifically in a diamond cubic lattice. It thus has a high melting point of 1414 °C, as a lot of energy is required to break the strong covalent bonds and melt the solid. Silicon crystallizes in the same pattern as diamond, in a structure which Ashcroft and Mermin call "two interpenetrating face-centered cubic" primitive lattices. The lines between silicon atoms in the lattice illustration indicate nearest-neighbor bonds. The cube side for silicon is 0.543 nm. Silicon's electrical conductivity increases with higher temperatures. Pure silicon has too low a conductivity (i.e., too high a resistivity) to be used as a circuit element in electronics. In practice, pure silicon is doped with small concentrations of certain other elements, which greatly increase its conductivity and adjust its electrical response by controlling the number and charge (positive or negative) of activated carriers.
- Publication:
-
American Institute of Physics Conference Series
- Pub Date:
- May 2020
- DOI:
- 10.1063/5.0003505
- Bibcode:
- 2020AIPC.2220d0037K