Metalloids

Metalloids

Metalloids or semi-metals have mostly non-metallic properties. One of their distinguishing characteristics is that their conductivity increases as their temperature increases.

This is the opposite of what happens in metals. This property is known as semi-conductance and the materials are called semi-conductors. Semi-conductors are important in digital electronics, such as computers. The metalloids include elements such as silicon (\(\text{Si}\)) and germanium (\(\text{Ge}\)).

Silicon chips