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| What is Silicon? |
Silicon is the chemical element that has the symbol Si and atomic number 14 in the periodic table. Silicon, in crystalline form, is gray with a metallic luster which increases with the size of the crystal. It is similar to glass in that it is rather hard, very brittle, and prone to chipping.
Silicon is the second most abundant element on Earth, after oxygen. It appears more commonly in the form of a compound such as silica (SiO2), a mixture of Silicon and oxygen that usually takes the form of sand. |
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Discovery of Silicon |
Silicon was first identified by Antoine Lavoisier in 1787 as a component of the Latin silex, or silicis (meaning what were more generally termed "the flints" or "Hard Rocks" in the old days where nowadays we would say "silica" or "silicates"). It was first isolated and discovered as an element in 1824 by Jons Jacob Berzelius, a Swedish chemist.
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| Importance of Silicon in electronics and photonics |
| Pure Silicon is important for electronic and photovoltaic applications. It is the principal component of most semiconductor devices, most importantly, integrated circuits or microchips. It is widely used in semiconductors because it remains a semiconductor at higher temperatures than the semiconductor Germanium. In photonics, Silicon can be used as a continuous wave Raman laser to produce coherent light (though it is ineffective as a light source). Silicon is also used in large-area, low-cost thin-film solar cells. |
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