This third updated edition fills the gap between a general solid-state physics textbook and research articles by providing detailed explanations of the electronic, vibrational, transport, and optical properties of semiconductors. The approach is physical and intuitive rather than formal and pedantic. The textbook emphasizes understanding the physical properties of Si and similar tetrahedrally coordinated semiconductors. Each chapter is enriched by an extensive collection of tables of material parameters, figures, and problems. Many of these problems "lead the student by the hand" to arrive at the results.