Technology and the built world

Silicon monoxide composite anode

A silicon monoxide composite anode is a lithium-ion battery negative electrode made of silicon monoxide (SiO) blended with graphite and carbon, storing more lithium than graphite.

Silicon nanowire anode

A silicon nanowire anode is a lithium-ion battery negative electrode made of silicon wires, offering about ten times graphite's capacity while managing silicon's large volume change during charging.

Silicon nitride photonics is an integrated-photonics technology that guides light in low-loss silicon nitride waveguides, known for chip-scale frequency combs, visible-light biosensing, and hybridly integrated narrow-linewidth lasers.

Silicon on insulator

Silicon on insulator (SOI) is a semiconductor wafer technology placing a thin silicon device layer on a buried oxide insulator, improving speed, power, and radiation tolerance.

Silicon photoanodes

Silicon photoanodes are n-type silicon photoelectrodes that use sunlight to oxidize water in photoelectrochemical water splitting. Bare silicon corrodes rapidly, so practical devices rely on protective layers such as TiO2.

Silicon photonic modulator

A silicon photonic modulator is a chip-scale device that uses an electrical signal to encode data onto light in a silicon waveguide, mainly through free-carrier plasma dispersion.

Silicon photonic quantum key distribution

Silicon photonic quantum key distribution is the implementation of QKD, exchanging secret keys using quantum states of light, on silicon photonic chips compatible with CMOS microelectronics.

Silicon photonics

Silicon photonics is the technology of building photonic integrated circuits on silicon with CMOS fabs, widely used in data-center transceivers despite needing external III-V light sources.

Silicon photonics transceiver

A silicon photonics transceiver is an optical module that converts electrical signals to light and back, built on a silicon chip and used in data centers.

Silicon Ranch Corp

Silicon Ranch Corp is a Nashville-based solar energy company founded in 2011 by former Tennessee officials, operating more than 180 solar farms across the United States and Canada.

Silicon spin qubits in CMOS

Silicon spin qubits in CMOS are quantum bits stored in the spin of single electrons or holes in silicon quantum dots, built with standard semiconductor manufacturing processes.

Silicon Valley Robotics

Silicon Valley Robotics is a not-for-profit industry association, launched in 2010, supporting the innovation and commercialization of robotics in the Greater Silicon Valley area of Northern California.

Silicon-carbon composite anode

A silicon-carbon composite anode is a lithium-ion battery anode material in which silicon, offering far more capacity than graphite, is held in a carbon matrix that buffers its swelling.

Silicon-on-sapphire

Silicon-on-sapphire (SOS) is a semiconductor manufacturing technology that grows thin silicon films on insulating sapphire wafers, invented in 1963 and used in radiation-hardened space electronics.

Silicon–germanium

Silicon–germanium, or SiGe, is a semiconductor alloy grown as thin strained layers on silicon wafers, the basis of SiGe BiCMOS RF transceivers, CMOS strain engineering, and germanium-on-silicon photonics.

Silicone elastomer soft actuator

A silicone elastomer soft actuator is a deformable robotic device molded from highly stretchable silicone rubber such as Ecoflex and usually driven by pressurized air or vacuum.

Silicone grease

Silicone grease, also called silicone paste, is a lubricant and sealant made by thickening silicone oil with silica, PTFE, or lithium soap, used for O-rings, electrical connectors, and vacuum systems.

Silicone mold casting

Silicone mold casting is a fabrication process that cures liquid two-part silicone rubber in a mold into flexible parts, the primary method for soft robot prototypes.

Silicone oil conservation

Silicone oil conservation stabilizes waterlogged archaeological wood by replacing its water with silicone oil that is polymerized in place, first proposed by C. W. Smith in 1993.

Silicone rubber

Silicone rubber, also known as silicone elastomer, is an elastomer with a silicon–oxygen backbone instead of carbon chains, sold commercially since 1944 and stable from about −100 to 250 °C.

Silicone sealant

Silicone sealant is an elastomeric joint sealant based on silicone polymers, used on buildings to seal joints that must stay bonded and flexible for decades.

SiliconFlow

SiliconFlow (硅基流动), formally Beijing SiliconFlow Technology Co., is a Beijing generative-AI inference infrastructure company founded in 2023 by Yuan Jinhui; it filed for a Hong Kong listing in 2026.

Silk fibroin

Silk fibroin is the main structural protein of silkworm silk, produced chiefly by Bombyx mori, long used in textiles and surgical sutures and now processed into drug delivery and tissue engineering materials.

Silk fibroin resorbable electronics

Silk fibroin resorbable electronics are electronic devices built on films of silk fibroin protein that dissolve or biodegrade after a programmable lifetime, avoiding removal surgery.

Silk mill

A silk mill is a facility for processing silk thread into yarn or finished fabric, originating in water-powered Italian mills in the 13th century, like Lombe's Mill.

SilkAir

SilkAir was a Singapore-based full-service regional airline serving secondary destinations across Asia Pacific from Changi Airport as the regional wing of Singapore Airlines until its full integration in 2021.

SilkAir Flight 185

SilkAir Flight 185 was a Boeing 737 passenger flight from Jakarta to Singapore that crashed near Palembang, Indonesia, on 19 December 1997, killing all 97 passengers and 7 crew.

Silo

A silo, also called a grain silo, is a structure for storing bulk materials such as grain, silage, cement, and sand, in agriculture and industry.

Siloam tunnel

The Siloam tunnel, also called Hezekiah's tunnel, is a 533-meter rock-cut water tunnel in ancient Jerusalem, connecting the Gihon Spring to the Pool of Siloam.