What is true about a semiconductor's electrical conductivity?

In semiconductors, electrical conductivity is highly temperature-dependent. As the temperature increases, so does the thermal energy available to the electrons in the semiconductor material. This added energy allows more electrons to break free from their atomic bonds and move into the conduction band, where they can participate in electrical conduction.

Consequently, this increase in the number of charge carriers is what leads to a rise in electrical conductivity with increasing temperature. The intrinsic properties of semiconductors, such as the band gap energy, influence this behavior significantly, enabling them to conduct electricity more effectively at higher temperatures.

Other options do not align with the behavior of semiconductors. For instance, stating that conductivity decreases with temperature would be characteristic of metals rather than semiconductors. Similarly, the notion that conductivity remains constant irrespective of temperature does not account for the fundamental nature of semiconductors. Lastly, the idea that the conductivity of semiconductors is always higher than that of conductors is not accurate; typical conductors, like metals, usually have higher conductivity due to a greater density of free charge carriers at all temperatures compared to semiconductors, except under specific conditions where semiconductors may be engineered to surpass conductors.