SILICON-BASED APPLICATIONS

Silicon is the second most abundant element in the earth s crust, next to oxygen. Due to the stability of silicon oxide compounds, elemental silicon does not occur in its free state in nature, but occurs as oxide (e.g., sand, quartz, amethyst, flint, opal, etc.) 

More recently, the applications for silicon now include electronics. A silicon-based device is found in almost every consumer product available in our world today. Even refrigerators now have extensive microprocessor controls, some fitted with television screens The popularity of flat-panel televisions has also employed silicon-based technology, especially for thin-fllm transistor liquid crystal displays (TFT LCDs). In addition to electronics, as the world looks for alternative sources of energy due to dwindling petroleum reserves, silicon-based photovoltaic devices will represent an increasingly important application for our society. 

---