A semiconductor is a material that doesn’t conduct electricity as well as a really conductive material , but conducts electricity better than an insulating material . Semiconductors are somewhere in the middle of the conductivity spectrum, hence the name. They’re usually materials that have a crystalline structure when solid, like silicon. The flat base of a microchip, which holds circuits and other components, is a semiconductor. A leading physicist is among the latest civilian casualties of the war in Ukraine . Will this have an impact in semiconductor production?