Another type of track detectors is based on semiconductors. When a charged particle hits a semiconductor is an electron-hole pair created in the semiconductor. By applying an electrical field in the semiconductor does the electrons and the holes separate. These are collected at the electrodes, which gives a measurable signal.

The greatest advantage with semiconducting detectors is their high precision; they can register the position of particles with an accuracy of the order of 10 µm. Among the drawbacks are that they are sensitive to radiation and expensive to produce.

Semiconducting detectors are located closest to the particle collision, inside the wire chambers, since it is there one has the greatest advantage of their high precision to locate the positions of particle tracks. One usage is to study short-lived particles.