Germanium
Germanium is another
semiconductor found in group 14 of the periodic table. It is
grey white with a shimmering white luster. In the 1950s
germanium was the semiconducting material preferably used in
the transistor. It is however, not as abundant as silicon and
is therefore rarely used today.
To cite this page MLA style: "The Transistor". Nobelprize.org. Nobel Media AB 2013. Web. 20 Jun 2013. <http://www.nobelprize.org/educational/physics/transistor/function/germanium.html>