20/07/2026
Behind every high-speed 5G connection is a world of nanometer-scale precision.👏🏻
Semiconductors are materials that control electricity and light. Manufacturers use them to make microchips that power cutting-edge technologies.
The most common semiconductor is made of just one chemical element: silicon. But they can also be made from multiple elements, known as compound semiconductors, depending on their function. For example, semiconductors made from gallium and arsenic are great for solar cells, which convert direct sunlight into electricity.
Did you know that NIST has a standard reference material (SRM) for compound semiconductors?
The semiconductor thin film material, aka SRM 2841, consists of a layer of aluminum gallium arsenide (AlGaAs) that’s three millionths of a meter thick on top of a wafer (made from GaAs) that’s 1 cm by 1 cm, or about the size of a fingernail.
The SRM is particularly useful for improving technologies made with AlGaAs semiconductors, such as wireless and fiber-optic communications.
Manufacturers make semiconductor devices by building up layers with different properties on a wafer. They can use SRM 2841 to accurately calibrate the instruments they use to measure these layers, enabling the creation of products that are both innovative and reliable.